#Review By Lou of An Invitation To Seashell Bay: Part 1 By Bella Osborne @osborne_bella @AvonBooks

An Invitation to Seashell Bay
By Bella Osborne

Remind yourselves of those long hazy, heat-driven days of summer full of hope and possibility for world out doors as you cosy into the feel-good rom-com.

Blurb

This is the first part of a new feel-good romantic comedy, published as a four-part serialised novel.

*****************************************************

One ambitious businesswoman.

One irresponsible heir.

A deal that will turn both their lives upside down…

To save her business, All Things Crafty, Nancy is in desperate need of two things: help and money. After a pitch goes horribly wrong, Nancy is convinced she’s failed to secure either. But, when a potential investor recommends an assistant, she jumps at the chance to hire them – hoping it will help her land a much-needed deal.

Enter Freddy Astley-Davenport, a notorious socialite with zero work experience. He’s poised to inherit his family’s estate in sunny Seashell Bay, but only if he can hold down a job for six months first. Nancy is not impressed. Freddy’s late, rude and totally incompetent – and that’s just the first day!

Nancy is further horrified to learn of Freddy’s plan to take the assistant role in name only, then do the least work he possibly can, expecting Nancy to lie to his parents on his behalf. She has other ideas, though, and the pair butt heads from day one.

However, as they argue, sparks begin to fly…

An absolutely escapist, funny, feel-good summer romance. Fans of Cathy Bramley, Katie Fforde and Milly Johnson will adore Bella Osborne.

Review

Perfect for shutting out the cold, dank, dark days of winter and transporting yourself back into summer, it’s well worth taking up your Invitation To Seashell Bay.

Freddy Astley-Davenport comes across as that self-righteous, privileged heir. He’s actually an interesting character to explore. There are plenty of people around who think they know it all without having the experience, so this makes him relatable too, in a way. He may well frustrate, with the type of personality he has, but I feel this truly works, to the extent you want to know his outcome.

Nancy’s business is struggling, which then brings in Freddy.
Arguments ensue and take readers on a bit of a rollercoaster of a read to see what’s going to come next in their lives. There’s quite a bit of humour to be had too, which lightens things up a bit.

#Review By Lou of The Repair Shop – Life In The Barn By Elizabeth Wilhide; Jayne Dowle Foreword by Jay Blades #ElizabethWilhide @JayneDowle @jayblades_ @Octopus_Books #TheRepairShop #NonFiction

The Repair Shop – Life In The Barn
By Elizabeth Wilhide; Jayne Dowle
Foreword By Jay Blades

The Repair Shop, a favourite BBC show for millions of us, it burst onto our screens in the UK around March 2017. It has been a go to tv choice ever since, with its main presenter – Jay Blades at the helm, the excellent expertise and craftsmanship by the rest of the workers (with Jay assisting them at times), their warmth, calmness and cosiness and the emotional stories and the origins of other people’s belongings, the reasons behind wanting various items repaired, the reactions is a winning combination. Now there’s a book with a Foreword by Jay Blades. Discover the blurb and my review below.

‘Heartwarming, magical and uplifting’

In today’s throwaway culture, there’s a counter movement growing that urges us to ‘make do and mend’. The BBC’s The Repair Shop has brought this waste-conscious message to an even wider audience, with its regular viewing figures of 7 million in the UK alone, cementing itself as a classic series in the vein of Antiques Roadshow.

This new book concentrates on the show’s much-loved experts, including woodworker and furniture restorer Will Kirk, clock restorer Steve Fletcher, metalworker Dominic Chinea, silversmith Brenton West, leatherworker Suzie Fletcher, upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary, and seamstresses Julie Tatchell & Amanda Middleditch – aka The Teddy Bear Ladies. Each of the experts shares their own stories and their repairs, capturing in the process the magic and ethos of the barn. Includes quotations and Q & As from the experts as well as Jay Blades on some unique restoration collaborations.

With the focus on the experts themselves, readers will feel as though they’re stepping straight into the ‘workshop of dreams’ and experiencing first hand the magic of the barn.

Review

I love The Repair Shop, everything about it amazes me. The warmth that oozes from it to people mending things that are broken or well worn, I am in awe of it all and wonder where in the world did they learn their craft. I also wonder if I have anything they’d like to repair with sentimental value and if I’d be brave enough to write in, but that’s another story entirely.

This book oozes the same care and attention and love that the tv show does. It has many stories of life inside the barn from the experts. You can learn more about their expertise and the items for repair. It’s a fascinating, insightful book for anyone who would like to know more about this special shed that has flung its wide open for you to enter through this book. It might even answer people’s burning questions as the experts have put together a Q&A section. The experts the book really focuses on is woodworker and furniture restorer Will Kirk, clock restorer Steve Fletcher, metalworker Dominic Chinea, silversmith Brenton West, leatherworker Suzie Fletcher, upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary, and seamstresses Julie Tatchell & Amanda Middleditch – aka The Teddy Bear Ladies. It is a book you can dip in and out of and easily keep going back to

It would make a delightful present for someone or a treat for yourself for anyone who is intrigued to know what life is like for the experts in the impressive Repair Shop barn.

#Review of Dark Truth – A Joe Wilde Investigation By C.D. Steele @BookGuild #CrimeFiction #PrivateInvestigatorFiction #CrimeTrilogy #JoeWildeInvestigation

Dark Truth
By C.D. Steele

It started with False Truth and now there’s the stunning page-turner of a second book in Dark Truth. Discover the blurb and my review below. Thanks to Christopher Steele for requesting an honest review.

Blurb

‘Dark Truth’, the second in a series of three novels, is a suspenseful mystery thriller full of intrigue that will leave you guessing right until the very end. Private investigator Joe Wilde is hired by Tom and Marie Archer to investigate the disappearance of their six-year-old daughter Laura. Joe also takes on an unusual case for a client by the name of Jack Riley. Jack believes he was framed to make it look like he was cheating on his fiancée Claire Brooks. Claire has been the target of disturbing vandalism. As Joe helps the police investigate Laura’s disappearance, he uncovers disturbing secrets concerning the Archers and some of their neighbours. Meanwhile the attacks on Claire become more extreme. Fearing for her life, Claire also hires Joe. As Joe continues to investigate, he puts himself in great danger.

Review

Dark Truth is intensely chilling from the start, with someone creeping upon his victim. From there, the chapters are short and snappy. Personally, I’m rather enjoying this style and it works well for this book.

As the story builds about what is happening to Claire, it is spine-tingling how she died and how technology is used. It tells the dark side of how people use it and how twisted some relationships can become.

DCI Whelan and P.I. Joe Wilde have a challenging working relationship, where info isn’t always being passed on. It’s a type of working relationship that will be familiar to many in, at least certain sectors. The exposing it in this book is interesting and it is quite a change from colleagues just rubbing along. The tensions are there for all to see and feel. It’s clever as Dark Truth then doesn’t solely focus on the crimes, it also delves into the darker side of certain personality types.

As much as False Truth, the first book, was very compelling and well-written, this one exceeds it. It’s tightly written and an excellent page-turner.

#Review of Murder Mile By Lynda La Plante @LaPlanteLynda @simonschusterUK @Tr4cyF3nt0n #TeamTennison #CrimeFiction #Tennison

Set in 1979, possibly most famous or infamously known as “The Winter of Discontent”, Murder Mile is the 4th in the Jane Tennison series. A great read for these dark, cold winter months. It’s an enthralling series so far as this is before Jane Tennison became as we know her in Prime Suspect. Sleuth out more in the blurb and my review below.

Blurb

Prime Suspect meets Ashes to Ashes as we see Jane Tennison starting out on her police career . . .

The fourth in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison thrillers, MURDER MILE is set at the height of the ‘Winter of Discontent’. Can Jane Tennison uncover a serial killer?

February, 1979, ‘The Winter of Discontent’. Economic chaos has led to widespread strikes across Britain.

Jane Tennison, now a Detective Sergeant, has been posted to Peckham CID, one of London’s toughest areas. As the rubbish on the streets begins to pile up, so does the murder count: two bodies in as many days.

There are no suspects and the manner of death is different in each case. The only link between the two victims is the location of the bodies, found within a short distance of each other near Rye Lane in Peckham. Three days later another murder occurs in the same area. Press headlines scream that a serial killer is loose on ‘Murder Mile’ and that police incompetence is hampering the investigation.

Jane is under immense pressure to catch the killer before they strike again. Working long hours with little sleep, what she uncovers leaves her doubting her own mind.

Review

Peckham, everyone has an image of this place in London and possibly one of them is from that popular comedy, Only Fools and Horses with a lot of wheeling and dealing and banter. Murder Mile paints a very different and darker picture. In 1979 it’s a very tough, hard part of the city. One that you may not want to just wander into on a whim to see what it was like. It is grim and bleak. There’s rubbish piling up like you wouldn’t believe and the murder count is high. The first one is discovered by a man setting up his market place stall one day.
Those bodies are piling up just as much as the rubbish on the streets due to strike action. It’s then honed in on 2 victims and then a 3rd happens. It becomes clear there’s a serial killer wandering the streets of Peckham.
Jane Tennison, meanwhile has been climbing the ranks to CID and Peckham is now her patch. It’s a force in trouble with this current case and as a reader, you can only hope the force comes good in the end as criticism is laid bare.

It’s interesting mixing murder mystery and what was happening within Britain at the time, now what’s famously called “The Winter of Discontent”. It adds a lot of context and enriches the fabric of the story-telling for those, like me, who didn’t live through those times, but have become aware of it all.

The book is darkly enthralling and fascinating. Winter is certainly a great time to read it for added, real-time atmosphere, although could be read at any time of the year.

#Review By Lou of Murder On The Dance Floor By Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure @hqStories #MurderOnThe DanceFloor @ShirleyBallas @McBookieMonster #TheSequinMysteries

Murder On The Dance Floor
Book 1 of The Sequin Mysteries
By Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure

Turn up the glitz and sparkle and Waltz and Rhumba onto the dance floor in Blackpool if you dare. There is Murder On the Dance Floor.

Murder On The Dance Floor by Shirley Ballas, professional dancer extraordinaire, Queen of Latin and currently head judge on Strictly Come Dancing (Strictly) is a spectacular debut by with more twists and glitz than any dance on Strictly. Unlike the dance competitions we see, this one is seriously deadly. Find out more in the blurb and the rest of my review below. I had fun writing this, as you may see.

Blurb

Behind the sequins and the sparkles, the competition is about to turn deadly . . .

‘I loved it! I’m quite convinced I’ve danced with Lily Richmond, and if anyone can solve a few crimes she can . . .’ ANTON DU BEKE

When a promising young dancer collapses during the opening tango of a major competition, Lily Richmond, dance legend, teacher and one-time world champion, is convinced that murder is afoot.

There’s only one person who can help Lily solve the mystery: her former student, now turned private detective, Susie Cooper. But Susie vowed she’d never return to the ballroom . . .

As the competition gets fiercer and the bodies pile up, Susie will be forced to go undercover in Blackpool and come face to face with a man she thought she’d left behind. Can Lily and Susie unravel the rumours from the rumbas and expose the murderer’s identity before they strike again?

Sex, lies and ballroom dancing. Murder on the Dance Floor is a backstage pass to a world where the most ambitious will stop at nothing to win.

🔎🔎 Two amateur detectives on the case
🌹 One second chance romance
🌶 Sex, lies and backstabbing
🔪🔪🔪 And a whole lot of deadly ambition. . .

If you like your crime deadly and your romance spicy, look no further

Review

Immerse yourself in the romance and rivalries of the dance floor, with the addition of deadly crime that keeps you on your toes, guessing what’s going to happen next.

The cast list sparkles and is a fantastic way of introducing so many characters that make up the dance world that readers get immersed in. It’s fun and rather apt that readers are taken to Blackpool, “The Home of Ballroom”. It’s the perfect setting.

Lily Richmond and Susie Cooper, unexpectedly become amateur detectives, when a young dancer collapses and foul play is suspected in the form of murder. As the competition hots up, the bodies pile up. It becomes a bit Strictly meets Midsomer Murders and I mean this in a very good and positive way. It’s a compelling read with a great pace that will have you foxtrotting through the pages, guessing who can be next on the hit-list. The revealing of rivalries and the toxic backstabbing really shows the darker side to dance, with the addition to murder bringing intrigue.

Murder on the Dance Floor is a great read. Once started, you want to keep going. It turns into quite the page-turner because you can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next in a world where the heat of ambition gets stronger and hots up to boiling point and becomes deadly.

I am looking forward to the second book in The Sequin Mysteries.
This is a terrific debut.

#Review of The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough By Chas Newkey-Burden @AllThatChas @Octopus_Bookmarks @RandomTTours #NonFiction #DavidAttenborough #TheWitAndWisdomOfDavidAttenborough

The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough
By Chas Newkey-Burden

We all know naturalist and presenter, David Attenborough for his BBC programmes and conservation work and bringing planet earth and all that it holds to the fore for people, from the general public to world leaders. According to a YouGov survey, David Attenborough is the most popular famous person in the UK – 84% of people have a positive opinion of him – that’s more than Beyoncé and Judi Dench.
Now, there is a book documenting his wit and wisdom. I have great opportunity to review it and to show what David Attenbourgh says he would be if he was an animal at the end. Go on an adventure, downwards to the blurb and then my review.

A fascinating and entertaining collection of facts, quotes and stories,
celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s wicked sense of humour and astute
wisdom.
David Attenborough is a national treasure, known for his soothing voice, calming
presence, passion for the natural world, and his humble, easy-going nature. Despite his incredible talent and influence, he tends to play it all down, one time stating that, ‘I can’t believe I’m still employed’.
So if he won’t celebrate himself, we’ll have to do it for him.
Filled with facts, tributes and anecdotes, as well as beautiful illustrations, this enormously positive book celebrates Sir David, providing a fascinating insight into his life as well as showcasing his brilliant sense of humour. Running chronologically, this book begins with his early days, to his first job at the BBC, to eventually becoming the most esteemed naturalist on the planet, as he is today.
Such revelations include:
– There are 18 plants and animals named after him
– When asked by a reporter how many degrees he had, he said it would be ‘rude to
count’*
– The single thing that would improve his quality of life is ‘good, workable knees’.
Blending his quips galore with his powerful messages on the environment and future of tthe planet, this timely book showcases everything we love about Sir David, making it the perfect gift for any fan.
* He has over thirty!

Review

The Wit and Wisdom of David Attenborough is a celebration of the great naturalist, whom so many people worldwide have got to know over many years. He’s now 97 years old, at the time of writing this and still working hard, spreading his passion for the environment and all that planet earth has within it and sharing his knowledge and warmth. This book isn’t so much a biography, although I’m sure elements of it would no doubt be used in such. It is, instead, a book that people can easily dip in and out of and enjoy his wisdom, shown in the facts and the wit in the quips that are shared.

It is a lovely book that oozes the warmth, humour and knowledge that David Attenborough has and will be familiar to his fans.
It is beautifully illustrated and between that and what is written, where you can’t help but have David Attenborough’s soft voice in your mind, it draws you in and all in all is a rather beautiful celebration of this great man, so many treasure.

To conclude, I leave you with the type of animal David Attenborough would choose to be: