#Review By Lou of Meet Me When My Heart Stops By Becky Hunter @Bookish_Becky @CorvusBooks #ContemporaryFiction

Meet Me When My Heart Stops is a cleverly plotted romance with a difference…
Take a look at the blurb and my review to discover more…

Blurb

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife?

Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do – if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery’s heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead.

Each time Emery’s heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once – but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her.

As Emery’s life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop – so that she can see Nick again.

This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.

Review

Meet Me When My Heart Stops is poignant and tugs at heartstrings. We meet Emery, who dies the first time at a young age due to a heart defect. She has a few times when she briefly dies, but in order to be with Nick, she has to actually die.

The book explores life and death and what that might mean in a very poignant, touching way. What flows throughout is an in-depth study of exploration of mortality and the lives of Emery and Nick and the choices made and those that are made for them. Emery’s parent’s lives are insightfully written when it shows when they become over-protective and how that plays out.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops blends emotionally interesting concepts with uplifting elements.

Review written by Louise Cannon

Buy Links

Waterstones Amazon

I (Lou) am excited to be part of the #CoverReveal for Pieces of Us By Eve Ainsworth @EveAinsworth for @rararesources #blogtour #PiecesOfUs

Pieces of Us
By Eve Ainsworth

Pieces of Us sounds like it has secrets, happiness, sadness and hope. When the clouds are grey and coldness remains set in, but with glimmers of spring approaching, this book looks good to cosy up with.
It’s the perfect time to check out the cover and the blurb below to whet your reading appetite ahead of an early 2025 publication date. Find out more details of that below…

To move forward, I’ll have to look back to our past…

I know I have to get myself out of this funk, but it feels impossible. My childhood best friend is dead and nothing in life is working out as I’d planned.

Then Lottie leaves me a ‘jar of joy’ in her will – filled with instructions to visit places where we had our happiest memories. But with every happy memory, I also remember the things that tore us apart.

Because Lottie was keeping secrets. And Jay – the man we both loved – keeps turning up at the same places. Even as I feel pieces of myself begin to heal, some wounds run too deep.

It’s time to make a change in my life, but can Lottie’s jar of joy really give me the strength I need?

A heartbreaking yet hopeful novel for fans of PS I Love You, The Memory of Us and The Last Letter from Your Lover.

Pre-order Link – https://geni.us/PiecesOfUsBook

Publication Date: 27^th February 2025

About the Author

Eve Ainsworth is a public speaker, creative workshop coordinator and award-winning author who draws from her extensive work with teenagers managing emotional and behavioural issues to write authentic, honest and real novels for young people and adults. Eve’s adult debut, Duckling, was published by Penguin Random House in 2022. She has had short stories published in magazines such as Writers’ Forum and Prima and articles posted online for the Guardian, Metro and BookTrust. Eve is also a champion for working class voices, has set up the Working Class Writers Network and is an experienced mentor.

Social Media Links –

https://twitter.com/canelo_co

https://twitter.com/EveAinsworth

https://www.instagram.com/canelo_co/

https://www.instagram.com/eveainsworth/

https://www.facebook.com/canelobooks

https://www.facebook.com/eve.mitchell

https://www.tiktok.com/@canelo_books

#Review By Lou of No Way Out By Adam Croft – The Rutland Crime Series @adamcroft #NoWayOut #Book 6 of the #TheRutlandCrimeSeries #CrimeFiction with #Deals to be had

No Way Out
By Adam Croft

It’s been a while, but The Rutland Crime Book series by Adam Croft is back!
It was worth the wait. This is book 6. They work well as standalones as the crimes are completed within singular books. There is a thread running through about the detectives lives though, but you can quickly catch up as that’s not the main crux of each story. Thanks to Adam Croft, I have been able to read and review all the books to date in this series. Discover my latest as you scroll down. Check out his deal with personalised signing too…

Blurb

In the wake of a devastating storm, a body is found on Hambleton peninsula. DI Caroline Hills is called to investigate, and is immediately plunged into a complex case of deception and murder.

With the storm cutting off the only road in or out, the killer must still be on the peninsula. As Caroline and her team delve deeper into the victim’s last hours, they uncover a web of romantic entanglements, hidden motives, and a mysterious newcomer.

But when the road reopens and a second body is found, the stakes are raised, and the investigation takes a deadly turn. Can Caroline untangle the truth before the killer strikes again?

Review

No Way Out is a worthy return to Rutland, the smallest county in England. There’s a lot of fictitious crime in such a small place, thinking about it, as I write this from the smallest county in Scotland…

A storm leaves devastation in its wake, as well as a body. The storm provided the perfect cover to dispose of someone, or so the killer thought. What unfolds is not as simple as that. Secrets, lies and romance are all tangled together, which DI Caroline Hills and her team need to detangle before they can get to the heart of the truth about their body. It provides a twisty read.

As, like the other books in the series, there is a bit about the lives of the detectives, which adds intrigue in itself. All is not well at the moment within the team as something big happens. The question is, will they all pull through and what might things look like within the team in the next book, assuming there will be another. It’s that type of series that could run and run.

No Way Out is, like the others in the series, a police procedural that sits between that and cosy crime, with a good pace, with well-written characters.
It’s a book that readers can unwind with after a busy day and lose themselves in the population of Rutland.

Adam Croft has a nice looking deal of 10% off from his website for his books and he can do a dedication too: https://adamcroft.net/products/no-way-out

#Review By Lou of The Guests by Nikki Smith @Mrssmithmunday @VikingBooksUK #TheGuests #Thriller #CrimeFiction #Islands

The Guests
By Nikki Smith

After reading and enjoying the twists of crime novel, The Beach Party, I was pleased I had the opportunity to review The Guests. Find out more in my blurb and review below.

Blurb

WELCOME TO PARADISE!

Or so the staff say as they greet the Hamiltons on the pristine shores of the idyllic Maldives resort.

And it starts off that way: snorkelling in the serene blue sea, champagne picnics on powder-white sand, and moonlit walks under the stars.

But lies lurk beneath the luxury, because each of the guests has a secret… and they’re not the only ones.

Months later, a grisly discovery is made.

Whatever happened to the Hamiltons? And how did their once-in-a-lifetime trip turn into the holiday from hell?

From the author of THE BEACH PARTY comes a novel of sun, sea and secrets for fans of ONE OF THE GIRLS and WHITE LOTUS.

Review

Set in the Maldives, expect the glamour of a luxurious setting, but it isn’t all it seems in this holiday destination crime novel.

The rich congregate in the Maldives, lapping up the luxurious surroundings and what their accommodation has to offer. It sounds, as they are greeted, like paradise, except it isn’t all it first appears. There are harboured secrets and deceit. not to mention someone dying. It isn’t as anyone would plan a holiday.

The characters are all intriguing as secrets unfold and the psychology behind everything tightens its grip, making it a compelling, suspenseful read.

The Guests is great for the winter sun seekers or for reminiscing about the warmth of summer.

Buy Links

Waterstones Amazon WH Smith

#Review By Lou of #PsychologicalThriller, Beautiful People By Amanda Jennings @MandaJJennings @HQstories @isabelwilliamss #PsychologicalThriller

Beautiful People
By Amanda Jennings

Review written by Lou

What really lies behind Beautiful People? A romance turns into gripping psychological thriller, that’s what and in a way that is unexpected. If you liked Saltburn, you’ll like this.
Thanks to HQ, I have had the opportunity to review Beautiful People. Discover the darkly atmospheric cover that draws the eye in, the intriguing blurb and my review below.

Blurb

When Victoria escapes her broken home for university in London, she is determined to reinvent herself and make a fresh start. She falls in love with Nick, who welcomes her into his privileged circle of friends, opening her eyes to a world she only ever dreamt of.

Then life takes a darker turn.

Twenty-five years later, the circle is reunited alongside a host of glittering guests to celebrate the wedding of Hollywood darling Ingrid Olsson to ruthlessly well-connected Julian Draper. Victoria has spent years trying to forget Nick and put the horror of what happened behind her. Now she has to face the past she tried so hard to bury.

As the champagne flows and painful memories resurface, Victoria can’t shake the feeling that some people seem to get away with everything.

But maybe not this time.

Maybe this time, someone will pay the ultimate price.

Perfect for fans of Saltburn

Review

Beautiful People may look like everything is great on the outside, but it isn’t necessarily a picture of beauty on the inside.

Privilege doesn’t buy the perfect life!
Victoria escapes her broken home for a London university. Hats off to her for trying out reinvention. She falls in love. Nick is rather well-to-do with his rich circle of friends and appears to have everything going for him. Life from one of heartache should have turned into one of love and perfection. There are so many people in a higher class to her own. People who could open doors and show her the world like never before.

Everything changes in Victoria’s life and Beautiful People appear to too… suddenly, not all seems as rosy as first appeared as everything darkly twists.

There’s a dual timeline, which is written succinctly. It tells of Victoria’s story then and now and what happened to her and why she has been trying to forget Nick.

What’s unravelled as you turn each page is an intensely gripping psychological thriller. It’s so tense that your eyes feel pinned open so no beat is missed as the writing builds the dark layers. There are moments when you have to remember to breath. It’s so easy to hold your breath.

It takes reading for believing of what the Beautiful People can do. The question is, will anyone get their comeuppance and how?

Beautiful People is available now in all good book shops.

Waterstones
WHSmith
Amazon

#Review By Lou of A Backstage Betrayal By Michael Ball @mrmichaelball @ZaffreBooks #FromStageToPage #ABackStageBetrayal #TheEmpireSeries #Christmas #Theatre #RoaringTwenties

A Backstage Betrayal
By Michael Ball

Review written by Louise Cannon (Lou)

After being engrossed in the glamorous theatrical world of The Empire, Michael Ball’s debut novel, I was incredibly pleased to be able to review the second, A Backstage Betrayal. Since I enjoy the theatre, I am enjoying the books that are now set in one. The Empire, where this series is set is iconic!
Join the blog stage for the blurb and my review below.
Thanks to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for arranging the book, which did eventually arrive from Zaffre Books, who I thank for sending to me.

Blurb

GLAMOUR. DECEIT. SECRETS. SCANDAL. THE THEATRE MAY SEEM GLAMOROUS, BUT SECRETS WAIT BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

1926. Running a theatre may appear to be all about the showbiz, but times are hard at The Empire. Following a turbulent period Jack Treadwell, erstwhile proprietor, his mother Lillian, and his playwright wife Grace, know they need to get things back on track – and how better than with the annual pantomime, a new venture, and an all-singing all-dancing talent contest, showcasing the best performers around.

But could Lillian’s new admirer, Grand Duke Nikolai Kuznetsov, be bringing disaster in his wake? Will The Empire be caught up in the scandal surrounding West End star, Stella Stanmore? And what are their enemies in Highbridge planning?

While Jack and Grace fight to ensure the show does go on, a royal visitor raises the stakes and a young widow, Sally Blow, dares to dream that the talent contest might be her big break.

As the talent contest draws closer, tragedy strikes. Amid the glitz and glamour there are strange goings on and a plot afoot. Is everything Jack and Grace have worked so hard for about to come crashing down? And could this be curtains for The Empire?

Review

Returning to “the roaring twenties” and The Empire Theatre was a glamourous joy. It is packed full with an entire cast, listed at the front.

Peek behind the curtain and sense the big occasion going to occur, when there’s a royal visit. Michael Ball hasn’t just got you caught up in the glamour, he’s done it again in creating such a drama of secrets and events and send the theatre to the precipice of scandal.

Some people are good, through and through and others are ones that are a bit more dubious. Grand Duke Nikolai Kuznetsov has an air of intrigue and uneasiness as you wonder what he’s going to do…

Who can you trust backstage, behind the theatre curtain and will the show go on?
There’s also a competing theatre to watch out for in this festive Pantomime season.

Michael Ball sure knows how to create potentially scandalous content on a page and intertwine it with charm, romance and a little bit of Christmas.