#Review by Lou of The Serial Killer’s Party by Amy Cunningham @Sarah_Goodwin_Author @PenguinUKBooks @RandomTTours #SerialKillersParty #Thriller #Summer #Holiday #Party

The Serial Killer’s Party
By Amy Cunningham

Review written by Louise Cannon

Picture a hot summer’s day. An invitation to a luxury event. The contrast of the Norwegian Fjords with the deep forest. The cool blue of the water. The splatter of red blood…
Check out the blurb and review below… if I survive the invitation to the party of the year…

Blurb

Welcome to the party of the year.
You’ve been invited to an exclusive, luxury event in Norway, hosted by a billionaire. Your moment has finally arrived. But you’re not going for the canapes and champagne. You’re going for revenge.

Where anything is possible.
You’ve spent months preparing for this moment. Because you know that beneath the host’s polished public persona, he’s a vicious killer who has murdered several innocent people, including your sister.

Even murder…
Then a guest dies in mysterious circumstances, and you begin to wonder… is this a trap? Why does it feel like you’re being watched? And will you ever escape?

*** Everyone is talking about The Serial Killer’s Party! ***

Review

Revenge is the order of the day. The host of the luxurious party of the year isn’t all as you would think. What unfolds is summer vibes that turns into mystery and revenge. It has you on-edge a bit with the characterisations of the rich and the bordering on how far someone is prepared to go to get what they want. This adds a compelling nature and bite to the otherwise, cosy summer feel to the book.
Amelia’s story is an interesting one and you can feel her emotions, which leads to understanding her within the immersive, beautiful environment readers find her in.

There is some pockets of suspense with a mysterious disappearance, which adds some intrigue for a while. It isn’t a constant suspense, but I didn’t feel it needed to be, particularly.

I found the book improved and became more compelling and intriguing the further it went on.

It’s a good, well-written book that sits well on a beach or lounging in the garden during the summer holiday period. It’s an invitation you would like to say yes to and be immersed into a darker world in a holiday destination thriller book.

I would read another book by this author.

#Review by Lou of The School Gates by A.A. Chaudhuri @aachaudhuri @hera_books #PsychologicalThriller #LBTCrewbie #BlogTour #Summer #School

The School Gates
By A.A. Chaudhuri

The school gates hold more than a physical entity. If only they could talk. They’d know many secrets, not to mention the parent politics and dynamics. No wonder there is a psychological thriller about this space that is so much more than just a drop-off/pick up point and an entry/exit point to the school grounds…
Find out more in the blurb and review below as today is my turn on the Love Books Tours blog tour.

Blurb

First comes gossip … then comes revenge

When single mum Lola Martinez’s son, Luca, starts school, she feels that she’ll never fit in with the yummy mummies in the playground. Confident, married to wealthy men, with ample free time, they are everything she isn’t.

However, Lola is invited into the inner circle, surrounded by seemingly friendly people, even if Lola’s silence about her child’s father puzzles them. Despite herself, Lola quickly becomes involved in playground politics, making as many enemies as friends.

But then Lola is brutally murdered, her death rocking the close-knit community. As the police investigate the case, they discover that Lola was hiding many secrets – as are the mums in her new social circle. But who had the most reason to kill her? And who else might unwittingly hold the answers to what happened that night?

An addictive psychological thriller with an end twist that will make you gasp, for fans of Lisa Jewell, T.M. Logan and Frieda McFadden. If you loved Big Little Lies, you’ll adore this.

Review

Do you fit in at the school gates? Will you dare, even after reading this book, to enter the school gate politics? You may not stay alive. Lola didn’t as her death shows just how things can get so out of hand that murder happens.
It’s a good topic to choose to write about and to turn it so vicious that murder actually occurs. It’s quite a page-turner, but underneath that aspect lies a more darker, deeper issue. How people are in cliques, inner circles at these gates and if you’re not part of it, you may be seen as an outsider and treated as such. Although the murder is extreme, there are clearly rooted aspects surrounding that in certain characters that I am sure some parents will recognise, either in others or even themselves.

Tensions rise and secrets are revealed across The School Gates and they’re rather juicy and twisty to read. Chaudhuri certainly knows how to play into the psyche of that of what is a normal everyday task such as taking your kid to school and making it so intriguing and twisty that you want to listen more to the gossip and spy on what people are doing.

This is a sharply observed summer read for the end of the school term.

#Review by Lou of Kakigori Summer By Emily Itami @EmilyItami #Summer #JapaneseFiction #Fiction #ReadingCommunity #SummerVibe #KakigoriSummer #CompulsiveReaders

Kakigori Summer
By Emily Itami

One of the big trends that is ever growing is books from Japan with their interesting stories that connect with any reader as themes are often universal. Kakigori Summer is both UK and Japanese based. From the shortlisted Costa Book Awards for Faultlines. This is another one to watch out for!
Today, I am part of the Compulsive Readers blog tour with a review after the blurb…

Blurb

Sisters Rei, Kiki and Ai have always had to look out for one another – but life has taken them on very different paths.

Eldest daughter Rei is spiky and sensible, distracting herself with an all-consuming job at a financial corporation in London.

Big-hearted Kiki is a single mother in Tokyo, juggling the demands of her young son and the cantankerous elderly residents of the retirement home she works in.

The free-spirited youngest, Ai , is a Japanese pop idol who has found fame and fortune but lost herself along the way. When Ai is embroiled in a scandal and thrust into the spotlight, Rei must pick up the pieces of her family once more.

Over the course of a summer in their childhood home on the Japanese coast, the sisters reunite with their sharp-tongued grandmother, entertain Kiki’s irrepressible son and silently worry about Ai, carefully avoiding the subject of their mother’s death fifteen years before. But silence between sisters can only last for so long . . .

Transporting, funny and moving, Kakigori Summer is an uplifting exploration of love and loss, sisterhood and family, the stories we tell ourselves about the past and how they determine our future.

Review

If you look at Google, Kakigori is a Japanese dessert often served in shops and at festivals in summer. It’s a Japanese shaved ice dessert, often flavoured with syrup and sweetened condensed milk. This book is not syrupy sweet. It does, however have sweet moments and summery vibes on the coast that swings you in the mood for summer and family.

Rei, Kiki and Ai provide an interesting exploration into family life and how paths go in different directions and grief and challenges enter their lives. Big responsibilities and emotions ensue.
There are also wonderful uplifting parts in the family ties as you delve into the dynamics and learn more about the sisters.

Kakigori Summer is an absolutely beautifully written book that takes you by the hand into summer and light and shade of family life.

#Review by Lou of The Beach Cabin – A Quick Read and Dyslexic Friendly version by Fern Britton Out Now, Happy Publication Day! @Fern_Britton @booksonthehill @LoveBooksTours #BlogTour #DyslexicFriendly #SummerRead #Summer

The Beach Cabin

Quick Read and Dyslexic Friendly

By Fern Britton

Review by Louise Cannon

The book world is proving that you do not need to be excluded from reading from books when you are diagnosed with Dyslexia. Publishers have been publishing, mostly children’s books, but now Books On The Hill (BOTH) is publishing for the adult dyslexic community. It is proving successful, with many well-known authors attaching themselves to it, with more book titles coming their way soon.
Today, I am on the Love Books Group blog tour to review The Beach Cabin. Check out the blurb and then my review below as well as how you can get your hands on a copy.

Blurb

Charlotte and Ed have been drifting apart, and Ed suspects Charlotte is having and affair. He decides that a family holiday in the Cornish village of Pendruggan could be just the thing to get them back on track. But Charlotte has been let down before and braces herself for disappointment.

Together with teenage daughter Alex, younger son Sam, and dog Molly, they set out on their Cornish escape. Will the trip bring the family closer, or is it too little, too late?

Review

The first thing to notice is how the very particular paper used, really makes the words jump off the page, differently from other books. I asked friend Kelley Duke, who is dyslexic what she thought of the text and readability.

She says “the font and text is clear, which makes reading easier.”

The plot itself is summery with bite. Not everything is as smooth and light as the summer air. The prologue allows readers to see what led up to the events that followed. It takes readers to channel 7 and a children’s tv programme, Skool’s Out. It sounds quite fun. That was in 2000, then time whisks onwards to 2015, Pendruggan, Cornwall.

The characterisation of Charlotte and her family are totally relatable as they embark on their escape to Cornwall to bring them closer. There’s a gently paced exploration of family dynamics, the growing apart and trying to bring it back. Some of the emotions that ebb and out, sometimes coming to a crescendo are piercing and all are realistic and relatable.

Fern Britton has captured family dynamics in a realistically compelling manner with the characters propelling the plot along very well.

The Beach Cabin is a book I recommend this summer. It’s a great holiday read for the beach or lounging in the garden or park.

Buy Links

Waterstones Waterstones WH Smith WH Smith Amazon Amazon

#Review By Lou of Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry @PenguinRandom #GreatBigBeautifulLife

Great Big Beautiful Life
By Emily Henry

Review by Louise Cannon

There are times when life can be absolutely big and beautiful and there are big characters stories to uncover in this delightful book, which is the latest by Emily Henry.

Blurb

When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication.

The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing.

The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll tell her story.

The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can’t put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story – just like the tale Margaret’s spinning – could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad … depending on who’s telling it.

Review

Margaret Ives has had quite the life, so it may seem. Much has been lived in the spotlight, now, journalist, Alice Scott wants to write a biography documenting her life. It just might be the piece of work her parents are proud of or at least see that her choice of career is a serious one and she can do the serious side of it. It isn’t going to be easy because of NDAs and there’s competition in Hayden Anderson to contend with as well. Margaret Ives gives both, rather juicy information. What is being spun out is rather intriguing and keeps you hooked into Margaret’s story.

Amongst the investigative journalism, there is romance in the air, but Alice and Hayden, it seems, aren’t always sure how to be around each other. He is tantalisingly curious about her. Masterfully, the tension between both Alice and Hayden is palpable.

There’s lots for readers to discover and lots that the characters have to discover throughout this engaging book.

Great Big Beautiful Life, with its intrigue that draws you in, the humour that makes you smile and laugh, the romance and characters with big lives to lead, could well be Emily Henry’s best book to date!

#Review by Lou of A Secret Escape by Sarah Morgan Happy Publication Day @sarahmorganwrites @HQstories #summerread #Summer

A Secret Escape
By Sarah Morgan

review written by Louise Cannon

Summery with friendships and thought-provoking aspects with warm escapism is within the newest book by Sarah Morgan. Many people have at least one friend from childhood, but you just never know what’s around the corner… Check out more in the blurb and my review below, thanks to HQ.

Blurb

A lifelong friendship

Childhood friends Milly and Nicole had always been more like sisters so Milly never understood why Nicole dropped out of contact all those months ago. Milly buried that hurt and moved on with her life.

A call for help

Now, suddenly, Nicole is begging for Milly’s help. She needs somewhere private to hide, and the only safe place she can think of is Milly’s holiday home business in the Lake District. Milly knows she should tell Nicole no, but she can’t ignore the desperation in her old friend’s voice so, despite her misgivings, she agrees to let Nicole stay.

A summer to reconnect

Over a summer of tentative conversations, the two women begin to reconnect, and there’s a potential new romance for Milly too. But then the biggest bombshell of all lands and their delicate friendship is put to the test once more …

Can the friends come together in this time of need, or will this summer break their bond forever?

Review

Friendships, however long you’ve known someone can have a certain amount of fragility and this is explored beautifully in this book. There’s a fascinating note from the author at the before the story really begins. It not only sets the scene, it’s poignant and truly thought-provoking in aspects that aren’t often explored in such a way this book does.

Milly and Nicole were friends since childhood and then suddenly this was dismantled quite disarmingly by Nicole.
Milly’s life sounds quite tough at times with other emotional stresses on-top of this, that makes her a bit self-reflective. She also became a mother, with a business to run in the Lakes.
Nicole’s life moved in a very different direction to follow her desires to act.

You get to learn more about what the friendship was like, what it became as you read further along. You can tangibly feel the hurt that is later caused and the desperation of need of help when their lives connect again. Some relationships with the sub-characters of multi-generations can be intense and others are heart-warming and well-meaning.

Friendships really come under the microscope and with well-written characters and plotting, A Secret Escape truly is an intently fascinating book to read.

There are twists and turns as reconnections are made, but you don’t always quite know what direction lives will go in the end. Secrets are revealed and truths come to the surface as the past and present is confronted, all in a lovely setting.

Can new beginnings happen in a positive way? What will become of the tentative re-budding of a friendship?

A Secret Escape truly is a hbeart-warming summer read you can escape into the lives of others as the sun beats down and whisks away the cares of the day.

At the back of the book is a small bit of Sarah Morgan’s next book, All Together for Christmas. We meet Becky at an airport that sounds like it’s in the sort of chaos we see in the news, or have experienced with delays, cancellations, noise. Just where will she end up? Newcastle, Edinburgh or somewhere else? There is also an all important family announcement to be made… It sounds a good read with the complexities of travelling at Christmas and relationships. It publishes October 2025.