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Tag: Greece

ShortBookandScribes #BlogTour #Extract from A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson #RandomThingsTours

Posted on 7th June 2020 By Nicola

It’s my stop on the blog tour for A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson and I have an extract to share with you today. […]

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Blog Tour, Extracts

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shortbookandscribes

UK book blogger (Sheffield), Bookstagrammer and lover of all things bookish.
Just one person trying to read all the books.
Physical books only.

Ad/PR product. New review: 59 Minutes by Holly Sed

Ad/PR product. New review: 59 Minutes by Holly Seddon. To be published on 25th September by @orionbooks.
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59 Minutes has an explosive premise: what would you do if you only had 59 minutes until a nuclear missile hits? The story is told from the perspectives of three women: Carrie is in central London, an obvious target area for the bomb, and just wants to get home to her partner and child; Frankie is on a short break in Devon and doesn’t have much in the way of supplies to be able to hunker down and hope that shelter will save her; and Mrs Dabb’s daughter hasn’t come home from school at the usual time – where is she and can she make it back?
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The chapters are short and punchy, alternating between each main character, often with a cliffhanger to keep up the fast pace. It’s the situation we all hope we never have to live through and for each woman it becomes a race against time, as humanity descends into chaos and debauchery in the time that is left.
⏳
There are some really strong plot surprises that I just didn’t see coming at all – bravo to the author for those. I did feel the last section could perhaps have been wound up a bit quicker but on the whole I found this to be a really riveting book which put me right in the heart of a disaster scenario that felt all too real and possible.
⏳
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #59Minutes #thrillerfiction #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #shortbookandscribes

Instagram post 18010033337619482

Instagram post 18010033337619482

Ad/PR product. New review: A New Home at the Warti

August Reads I had such a great reading month in A

August Reads
I had such a great reading month in August – ten books!! – but I’m under no illusions that it will continue now it’s back to school and the lazy summer holidays are over.

Here’s what I read:

#GettingAway by Kate Sawyer - I loved this story of one family through the holidays they take. Full of emotion and nostalgia.

#TheShellHouseDetectives by Emylia Hall - First in a series featuring Ally and Jayden who turn detective when a man is found at the bottom of the cliffs. I loved the setting and will be reading more in the series.

#APlaceInTheSun by Jo Thomas - I can never go wrong with a Jo Thomas. This one is set in Tuscany with a community kitchen and three feuding Nonna’s and it will make you hungry!

#TheHometownBookshop by Jenna Warren - A delightful book with a bookshop/seaside setting. Actress Charlotte returns to her home town to help with her sister’s bookshop which is run by stuck in his ways Greg.

#WatchingYou by Helen Fields - Absolutely gripping read with a twisty storyline, maverick characters and a killer with an agenda.

#TheLifeAndLovesOfBeccaValentine by Laura Pearson - An emotional read with a unique concept. Written with compassion and sensitivity.

The Best of Intentions by Caroline Scott - An inter-war story set at Anderby Hall where a community of artists have come together. It has a charm to it and some really well-drawn and interesting characters but it didn’t really gel with me overall.

#Unsound by Heather Critchlow - I love this series featuring crime podcaster and investigator, Cal Lovett. Unsound is dark, tense and devastatingly moving, as Cal deals with his sister’s murder trial alongside a new cold case of a missing Edinburgh student.

#TheVictory and #TheRegency by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Books 12 and 13 of the Morland Dynasty series and another two brilliant books.

Book post and stats on my blog post.
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#AugustReads #August2025Reads #AugustReads2025 #monthlywrapup #monthlyroundup #histfic #crimefiction #feelgoodfiction #shortbookandscribes

New review: Unsound by @heather.critchlow. Publish

New review: Unsound by @heather.critchlow. Published by @canelo_co and out now.
🎙️
Unsound is book three in the series featuring podcaster Cal Lovett and it's a series that I love reading. In this book Cal is living through the trial of the man believed to have killed his sister, Margot, a strand that has run through all the series so far. When he's asked to look at the cold case of an Edinburgh University student who went missing thirteen years earlier, it feels like more than he can handle but he agrees to take it on.
🎙️
This is a fantastic crime story written with such empathy that several times a lump formed in my throat. Cal is already struggling with his sister's case and so dealing with the investigation into what happened to Arran, alongside his daughter's first term at the same university that he was attending when he disappeared, really piles the pressure on him and he starts to shut down emotionally.
🎙️
Unsound is a dark, tense and devastatingly moving story that had me flying through the pages. I like the podcast element, although it doesn't account for that much of the book, and I always love a cold case storyline. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for Cal in book four.
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#bookreview #Unsound #crimeseries #crimebooks #fortheloveofbooks #booklover❤️ #ilovereading #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #booksread #podcast #shortbookandscribes

Exciting #CoverReveal 🥳🎉 #CallerUnknown by

Exciting #CoverReveal 🥳🎉

#CallerUnknown by @gillianmauthor will be published on 9th April 2026. It sounds heart-stoppingly brilliant and I can't wait to read it.
📞
Synopsis:
Simone's holiday to Texas was meant to be some much needed bonding time with her teenage daughter, Lucy.

On their first night in the desert, Simone wakes to find Lucy missing and a mobile phone in her place. The phone rings: Lucy has been taken and, in order to get her back, Simone must commit a crime.

As Simone prepares to follow the kidnapper's instructions, she feels certain that there is nothing she wouldn't do to save Lucy. But becoming a wanted woman is just the start...

@michaeljbooks

New review: The Life and Loves of Becca Valentine

New review: The Life and Loves of Becca Valentine by @laurapauthor. Published by @theboldbookclub and out now.
Note: the title was changed after I bought my copy.
✨
The Life and Loves of Becca Valentine has a unique concept: the idea that the children whose mother you may become are there at your side, from your own birth, hidden from view but awaiting their own conception. It sounds a bit bizarre but the way the story is written makes it incredibly plausible. There are four of them in the beginning, Samuel, Lucy, Thomas and Eliza and it's Eliza who narrates the story.
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Through her we witness Becca meeting Anthony and Ryan. Each of the siblings knows who their father is and from their potential conception dates they know that they can't all make it all the way to being born. It's an ingenious way to take what are essentially the ups and downs of Becca's romantic and home life and turn it into something even more intriguing, almost a race for life. The siblings can't help but think about themselves but they also want to do what is best for Becca, somebody they have spent years alongside.
✨
It's a lovely novel and quite an emotional one for the reader who not only sees Becca's difficulties, but also the beforelife situation as each conception date gets closer and closer. This is a book that is written with compassion and sensitivity, a love story in more ways than one. I really enjoyed it.
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#bookreview #TheLifeAndLovesOfBeccaValentine #emotionalfiction #lovelyreads #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #booksread #fortheloveofbooks #ilovebooks #bookish #bookphotography #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Watching You by @helenf

Ad/PR product. New review: Watching You by @helenfields_author. To be published by @avonbooksuk on 28th August.
👀
Watching You is the DS Lively/Dr Connie Woolwine mash-up Helen Fields fans didn't know they needed but wonder now how they managed without it. DS Lively is an old-school, un-PC Edinburgh cop and Connie is an unconventional forensic profiler with some rather unique methods of getting to the bottom of what has occurred. Both have appeared in previous books, together and apart, but this book has them working closely together to try and solve a series of deaths.
👀
This is another completely gripping story from Fields. It has it all: a twisty storyline; maverick characters; a killer with an agenda; a love story element; and all the gory details of killings that I have come to expect from this author. I really loved how characters from other books were brought in and there's a very short paragraph near the end that absolutely made my heart sing with joy (no more spoilers but if you know, you know!).
👀
Watching You has everything I want from a crime thriller. It raised my heart rate with all the excitement and then lowered it again with a satisfied 'aah'. I have a feeling there's lot more to come for all my favourite characters. I can't wait!
👀
Thank you Laura Sherlock and the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #WatchingYou #crimethriller #policeprocedural #thrillerfiction #thrillerbooks #fortheloveofbooks #5starreads #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #bookphotography #ilovereading #ilovethrillers #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Hometown Bookshop b

Ad/PR product. New review: The Hometown Bookshop by @bookcornersaltburn. To be published by @fairlightbooks on 21st August.
📚
The story of The Hometown Bookshop is told in alternate chapters by Charlotte and Greg. Greg is the manager of Seaswept Books in the seaside town of Shellcliff on the North Yorkshire coast. The shop isn't exactly thriving and when it's bought by Sarah, she brings her sister Charlotte on board to help revive it.
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It wasn't exactly in Charlotte's plans to go back to her home town. After ten years in a West End play she thought she was well set up in the acting business. Strangely, as time goes on, she starts to enjoy being back in Shellcliff and the challenge of making the bookshop work, not to mention the local amateur dramatics group production.
📚
I absolutely loved this delightful book. The bookshop/seaside setting was utter perfection for me and I particularly enjoyed the chapters set there and all the ideas Charlotte had to update the place, despite Greg's horrified face! I had a real soft spot for Greg, stuck in his ways and a bit lost, and I grew to like Charlotte too who found a new direction that she didn't even know she needed.
📚
The Hometown Bookshop is a gorgeous, joyful and uplifting read. It's light-hearted yet has emotional depth of feeling as past woes threaten both Greg and Charlotte's futures. I was completely enamoured by it, an ideal summer read about life, love, friendship, reinvention and books.
📚
Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #TheHometownBookshop #booksaboutbooks #5starreads #lovelyreads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #bookish #ilovereading #reader #reviewbooks #reviewer #bookshops #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

New review: A Place in the Sun by @jothomasauthor.

New review: A Place in the Sun by @jothomasauthor. Published by @bantambooksuk and out now.
☀️
Thea arrives at a small village in Tuscany with her two children ready to take up residence in the house her late husband Marco bought for them. She doesn't know what her long-term plans will turn out to be but she soon becomes embroiled in village life, with Giovanni who runs the community kitchen and the three feuding Nonnas, fighting over whose lasagne is the best.
☀️
I loved the idea of the community kitchen, a place where anyone can go for a meal or the dishes can be brought to you if you can't get there yourself or need the company at home. Thea has a lot to get over with losing Marco and their family life together but slowly she starts to integrate with the locals and realises that she has a future after all.
☀️
A Place in the Sun is full of Jo Thomas' particular winning blend of food and travel fiction, making me both want to eat the food that the characters enjoy and to travel to the destination, in this case it's Tuscany. This is feel-good fiction at its very best, a joy to read from start to finish. I always enjoy books by this author but this one might just be a particular favourite as it's light-hearted and so easy to read, yet doesn't shy away from some difficult subjects. I absolutely loved it!
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#bookreview #APlaceInTheSun #feelgoodfiction #travelfiction #foodfiction #italianstories #Italy #5starreads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #ilovereading #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

New review: The Shell House Detectives by @emyliah

New review: The Shell House Detectives by @emyliahall_author. Published by Thomas and Mercer and out now.
🌊
The Shell House Detectives are Ally Bright and Jayden Weston. They hadn't intended to become detectives but the story leads them into solving a local mystery. Ally is a long-time resident of Porthpella in Cornwall, living in a weatherboard house in the dunes (which I thought sounded like absolute perfection). In the midst of a personal loss, she is taken aback one night when a young man comes to her door. When that man is later found at the bottom of the cliffs and Jayden, a former policeman, is one of the first on the scene, he and Ally end up trying to work out what happened to him and how he's linked to a missing local woman.
🌊
I thought Emylia Hall's prose was beautiful in this book. It's clear how much she loves Cornwall and beach life. Whilst this book may be deemed to be something of a cosy mystery, it's got a lot more warmth to it and is a very thoughtful piece of storytelling, about grief and loss, companionship, and about greed and jealousy. There are a few thoroughly unpleasant characters but mostly there are likeable ones, superbly well-drawn and who felt like old friends by the end of the book. I really liked the local beat bobby who was a bit of a buffoon but with a little polishing could turn out quite well.
🌊
I adored the whole setting of the fictional Porthpella, Ally's house and the little beach café in particular, but the small seaside village feel too. I'm going to get myself a copy of the second book in the series now, The Harbour Lights Mystery, as I definitely need a return visit to Porthpella.
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#bookreview #TheShellHouseDetectives #cosymysterystory #Cornishbooks #fortheloveofbooks #ilovebooks #reader #readcrimefiction #booksread #bookblogger #reviewer #readersofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

New review: Getting Away by @mskatesawyer. Publish

New review: Getting Away by @mskatesawyer. Published by @zaffrebooks and out now.
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Getting Away is about all the holidays we take throughout our lives, from the simple trip to the beach with family to the fancy holidays abroad. It's also about the family dynamics that occur, just like when any family gets together. We see the holidays through the eyes of the Smith family taking us from the 1930s through to the 2020s.
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I knew as soon as I heard about the premise that I wanted to read this book and I absolutely adored every bit of it. Sometimes a book that skips through time in this way, linking the characters by events, doesn't work so well as it misses out some of what has happened to them in the meantime (between holidays in this case) but Kate Sawyer does a wonderful job at following the characters through the years, letting the reader know what has happened to them not by simply telling them, but by revealing it slowly through their actions and feelings, with tiny details and what is left unsaid allowing us to read between the lines. I came to care about all the characters and looked forward to seeing them through each decade.
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There are some lovely strands running throughout. In the 1930s it all begins with Betty and Jim and the spectres of WWI and a lost love. The family continues through their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I felt like I knew them all really well by the end.
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Getting Away is a social history of everyday life and the power of the holiday, and it is also a multi-generational, beautifully portrayed family story. It's easy to read (I powered through it) but is also emotional and full of nostalgia. I found it very hard to put it down. It's absolutely perfect and is easily one of my favourite books of this year.
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#bookreview #GettingAway #5starreads #fortheloveofbooks #bookloversofinstagram #bookish #lovebooks #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #ilovereading #shortbookandscribes

July Reads For the first time in ages I can repor

July Reads

For the first time in ages I can report an eight book month. Admittedly, I had started one book in June but even so, I'm taking it as a victory. Enjoyed them all very much too. Here's what I read:

💼 #TheGirlWithTheSuitcase by Lesley Pearse - I always love a Lesley Pearse book and I was hooked on this story of a young woman who takes another woman's identity after a WWII air raid.

⚖️ #KillerInstinct by Nicola Williams - A gripping legal thriller about the death of the senior clerk of the chambers where barrister Lee Mitchell works. A killer storyline written with knowledge and style.

👁️ #WatchYouWatchMe by Lily Samson - Alice agrees to let her boss, Mina, use her flat for what turns out to be a dubious and sexy reason. Taut, addictive and voyeuristic, I loved this psychological thriller.

❤️ #SixPoppies by Lisa Carter - A lovely military romance following Carl and Sarah who met in Afghanistan and who are unable to forget each other, despite their own baggage on returning home. Emotional and moving, it highlights how hard it is for soldiers to adapt to civilian life.

⭐ #DeadAsGold by Bonnie Burke-Patel - Adam is a goldsmith in a small coastal town where a number of strange events occur, culminating in a robbery at his workshop. The reasons must be unravelled and the story has some unexpected twists, interwoven with dark fairy tales. I really enjoyed this gothic crime novel.

🏠 #25LibraryTerrace by Natalie Fergie - An engaging story of the inhabitants of one house over the course of over one hundred years. I particularly enjoyed the more historical aspects and the themes around women's rights.

✨ #TheTangledThread and #TheEmperor by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Books 10 and 11 in the Morland Dynasty series and my love for these books just keeps on going. The Tangled Thread takes place around the French Revolution, following the illegitimate thread of the Morland line and The Emperor encompasses sadness and discontent at home mingled with drama on the high seas.

As always, my book post + Storygraph stats can be found on my blog post (link in bio).
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#JulyReads #July2025Reads #JulyReads2025 #monthlyroundup #monthlywrapup #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: 25 Library Terrace by @

Ad/PR product. New review: 25 Library Terrace by @nataliesfergie. Published by @emblabooks and out now.
✨
25 Library Terrace is the sort of book that immediately grabs my attention. It follows the lives of the inhabitants of the eponymous house over the course of over one hundred years. We begin with Tess Dutton in 2011 who, after a bad end to her relationship, needs somewhere to stay, to rest and to get her confidence back. She is directed towards Georgia, owner of 25 Library Terrace and so the story begins and takes us back to 1911 and the first owners of the house.
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There are themes of women's rights and suffragettes throughout the whole novel. There's also a focus on the census and recording who was living in the house for various of the ten-yearly recordings. I particularly enjoyed the more historical aspects of the story and the metamorphosis that the house goes through from family home to something more of a refuge (albeit not quite the type you might be imagining). Whilst not an enormous house, it's big enough to have a maid in the early years and I liked the 'upstairs downstairs' viewpoints and the descriptions of the scullery and maid's stairs against the more comfortable and luxuriant areas of the building. There's a floor plan at the front for those who like that sort of thing (which I very much do).
✨
I found this to be an engaging story of the lives lived in one home through two world wars, votes for women and a pandemic. It will be of particular interest to those who enjoy reading about how homes were run and food was prepared. I can also recommend Natalie Fergie's first book, The Sewing Machine.
✨
Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #25LibraryTerrace #historicalfiction #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogger #bookphotography #reader #booksr#reviewer #reviewbooks #bookish #ilovereading #shortbookandscribes

New review: Dead as Gold by Bonnie Burke-Patel. Pu

New review: Dead as Gold by Bonnie Burke-Patel. Published by Bedford Square Publishers and out now.
⭐
Dead as Gold is set in a fictional coastal town called Morrow-on-Sea. Adam Conlon resides there, making his living as a goldsmith and co-parenting his son, Felix. A number of unusual things happen all at once: a mysterious face at the window, an item missing from the workshop, an animal heart in the post, a break in and robbery, and the entrance into his life of Ophelia Richards. Ophelia visits Adam's workshop to sell some jewellery but her life seems to become more and more entwined with Adam's as time goes on.
⭐
As with I Died at Fallow Hall, Bonnie Burke-Patel's first book, Dead as Gold has a beautiful pared back clarity to the writing, a kind of melancholy feel to the daily lives of the characters in the quiet seaside setting. Adam and Ophelia are the main protagonists but there is another, DI William Kent, who adds an additional voice to the story when he is called in to investigate the robbery. Each character is very different to each other but as an ensemble piece they complement each other perfectly.
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The story is interwoven with fairy stories, ostensibly Morrow's tales, but based on dark fairy tales of old. A clever device by Burke-Patel and one that gelled really well with the overall themes and style of the novel. The plot itself took one or two quite unexpected turns, just when it seemed that the outcome was going to be pretty straightforward, and it added a nice twist to this gothic crime novel.
⭐
I really enjoyed Dead as Gold. It kept me turning the pages, interested in the characters and what was happening to them. As with Farrow Hall, there are no chapters, but there are section breaks and each section is only a few pages at most, often just a few paragraphs. I found this meant that the book flowed really well. I can't wait for book three now.
⭐
I was lucky enough to win this in a giveaway from the author. Thank you Bonnie.
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#DeadAsGold #bookreview #gothiccrimenovel #fortheloveofbooks #reader #bookblogger #booksread #reviewer #reviewbooks #booklover #readersofinstagram #bookish #bookphotography #shortbookandscribes

A green Last Now Next 📗Last📗 #DeadAsGold b

A green Last Now Next

📗Last📗
#DeadAsGold by Bonnie Burke-Patel

📗 Current 📗
#25LibraryTerrace by Natalie Fergie

📗Next(ish)📗
#TheHometownBookshop by Jenna Warren and
#WatchingYou by Helen Fields

I say 'ish' as they may not strictly be my next reads but I will definitely be reading them in the next couple of weeks or so. Green must be the colour of the moment and I couldn't resist putting these books together.

Ad/PR products. Thank you to the authors and publishers who sent me these books.
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#LastNowNext #LastNowNextReads #contemporaryfiction #historicalfiction #crimebooks #thrillerfiction #reader #reviewbooks #reviewer #bookblogger #ilovereading #bookish #fortheloveofbooks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Six Poppies by Lisa Car

Ad/PR product. New review: Six Poppies by Lisa Carter. Published by Michael Joseph and out now.
❤️
Six Poppies is the story of Sarah and Carl who met at Camp Bastion whilst serving with the British Army in Afghanistan. Sarah has followed her teen sweetheart out there, whilst Carl is serving alongside his best friend, Fridge. The story begins with a group photo being taken of the four along with other soldiers and friends they are serving with.
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We hear from both main characters, in Afghanistan and at home once they have returned. Sadly, as is often the case, some of the group didn't make it back and Carl decides to have a tattoo of a poppy inked on his back, one for each of the lost heroes. However, for Carl it's not enough. He has immense survivor's guilt, feeling somehow responsible for the deaths. Maybe if he had been on patrol instead or if he had stopped them being there…..
❤️
Carl and Sarah have feelings for each other and when they meet up again at home those feelings are stronger than ever. Can they ever be together given all the baggage they both carry? I had a lovely time finding out. Six Poppies is a romance novel but there's nothing romantic about being in the middle of a warzone or dealing with the aftermath and the author explores fully the difficulties that returning servicemen and women experience in trying to fit back into civilian life, not to mention contending with the death of comrades while they get to carry on living their lives.
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I really enjoyed this book. It's easy to read and yet doesn't shy away from the hard-hitting aspects, and it's a love story that doesn't descend into anything that is overly saccharine. It's emotional, moving and heart-rending and yet ultimately uplifting and enriching. I was intrigued to read the author's note at the end about where her inspiration came from. Such a great basis for a lovely debut novel.

❤️
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy for review.
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#bookreview #SixPoppies #lovestory #movingreads #reader #bookblogger #reviewer #booksread #reviewbooks #fortheloveofbooks #bookloversofinstagram #bookish #ilovebooks #reading #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Watch Me Watch You by @

Ad/PR product. New review: Watch Me Watch You by @lilysamsonauthor. Published by @centurybooksuk and out now.
👁️
Watch Me Watch You is a taut and addictive psychological thriller. I've been looking forward to it since I read Lily Samson's debut, The Switch, and I enjoyed this one just as much.
👁️
Alice lives in a spacious flat in Kensington yet has just started a position as an intern at a publishing company. From the beginning there's a disconnect between what Alice has and who Alice is but it all becomes clear as the story progresses. She agrees to let her boss, Mina, who is married to a powerful MP, use the flat for what turns out to be a rather dubious and unexpected reason and the tale then spirals into a tangled web of deceit that thrilled me.
👁️
I loved the voyeuristic style of this book, the dark and sexy aspects of it. I also enjoyed the publishing angle. The story is told from the points of view of both Alice and Mina and I didn't know if I could trust what either of them were saying. It was clear that there were some murky corners in their pasts and as narrators they were totally and excitingly unreliable.
👁️
I found Watch Me Watch You absolutely compulsive reading. As with The Switch, in the wrong hands some of the action could have simply been too far-fetched, but in Samson's hands it just felt plausible and ominously exhilarating. If you like a twisty story filled with power and seduction, with characters who are morally grey, then this is one for you. I loved it.
👁️
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #WatchMeWatchYou #psychologicalfiction #psychologicalthriller #fortheloveofbooks #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #booksread #reviewbooks #ilovebooks #bookloversofinstagram #bookish #shortbookandscribes

Thank you so much @faberbooks for this fabulous #H

Thank you so much @faberbooks for this fabulous #HarrogateAtHome box of epic goodies. Such a wonderful treat.

✨ #MurderTakesAVacation by @lauramlippman

✨#TheGoodPatient by @nileshachauvet

✨ #TheChristmasClue by @nicolaupson

✨ #TheConfessions by @paulbradleycarr

With these books which sound brilliant, Sanpellegrino to keep me refreshed, cocktail recipes and the Faber Crime Times, I'm in for a very good weekend.

#BookPost

Ad/PR product. New review: Killer Instinct by @nic

Ad/PR product. New review: Killer Instinct by @nicolawilliamswriter. Published by @vikingbooksuk and out now.
⚖️
Killer Instinct is the third book to feature barrister, Lee Mitchell. I've also read book two, Until Proven Innocent, which I thought was brilliant, and I can give that same accolade to Killer Instinct too which had me gripped from start to finish.
⚖️
This story focuses very much on the Senior Clerk at Lee's chambers, Tom Mannion. Nobody could say they liked him, but he ruled chambers and most of the tenants respected him for the work he could get for them and for his ruthless attitude when doing so. When he is murdered it is a massive shock to all concerned, and then when Junior Clerk, Dean Carter, is arrested for the crime, Lee takes on the case, hoping to prove his innocence.
⚖️
Whilst this is a Lee Mitchell story, much of the focus is around Tom and Dean, and also the police's investigation. There is plenty of courtroom action though and a legal thriller is always a draw for me. There's a lot of attention on Tom's famous diary too, a tatty notebook that contained a multitude of secrets. What happened to it when Tom was killed is a question many people would like the answer to.
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I thought Killer Instinct had a killer storyline and I loved every bit of it. It's written with style and knowledge and it grabbed me and didn't let me go until I knew the outcome. The characters are diverse and interesting to read about and I really hope there will be more about Lee and Maple Court Chambers. I'd love to know how chambers fares without Tom. In the meantime, this one comes highly recommended by me for its twisty storyline and legal drama.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #KillerInstinct #crimethriller #legalfiction #legalthrillers #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #ilovebooks #booklover #bookish #shortbookandscribes

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