Delve deep into the Rainforest. Start in Mexico City before starting on your journey, but what will you discover? Do you dare to go deep into the pages? Michelle Paver has previously written for young adults/children but this one is suitable only for adults. It is a great original, atmospheric read for autumn/Halloween and beyond. Check out the blurb and my review as part of the Random T. Tours below. Thanks to Orion for supplying the book for review.
Blurb
The jungle watches. The dead remember.
The virgin rainforest seems a paradise to Englishman Simon Corbett. A last chance to salvage his career. A final refuge from a terrible secret.
But the jungle is no Eden. It hides secrets of its own. It does not forgive.
As Simon is drawn deeper into its haunted shadows, he learns to his horror that the past will not stay buried. For there are places in the forest where the line between the living and the dead is thinner than the skin of water.
Review
Rainforest begins with a poetic yet powerful opening chapter, beginning to set the tone and the scene of nature, used in a metaphorical sense and the psyche. It sweeps you into the book in a flash to find out what’s really going on, what the thoughts keeping our main character awake. What has a dead woman got to do with it?
There’s also a sense of foreboding and sinister amongst the dangers of the rainforest. The writing is of very good quality, writing about such a place that has a quietness at times and also noise from the insects and animals that fill it amongst the colour of the trees and flowers. What becomes more mysterious is the muktan and its drug like effects.
Between a strange orchid, an underlying dark, haunting atmosphere, a bit of paranormal and the psychological, the Rainforest is a book that has you enter its secrets and grips, fast and hard. Its compelling nature means there’s no escape from the sinister pages until the end… You’ll have to find courage and dare to read the book to see what happens to the characters in the end…
Charm and wit are sealed within the pages of The Good Boy. I find myself on the blog tour for this chilled out read. Check out the blurb and full review below, thanks to Bedfordshire Sq publishers for sending me a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
Blurb
A woman confronts her past and her unresolved feelings for the boy next door as they work together to reverse a wish gone awry.
On the eve of Genie’s thirtieth birthday, her grandmother gives her an unexpected gift: a wish at midnight. Genie, forever the family skeptic, laughs it off and, after an evening fending off invasive questions about her nonexistent love life, returns home to her empty house and her golden retriever, Rory. Who needs a boyfriend when she has a loyal friend like Rory? As she hugs him and gets ready for bed, she wishes to herself that he were human… at least then their conversations wouldn’t be so one-sided.
She really should’ve listened to her grandmother.
To her surprise, Rory is now a human with big Golden Retriever Energy–like a goofy, adoring Hemsworth. But he doesn’t like being a human. He doesn’t like wearing clothes or human manners, and he most definitely can’t manage a human job.
Genie needs to turn him back before it’s too late and enlists her oldest friend and boy next door, Miles, to help. Their quest brings them closer than they’ve ever been–and maybe, just maybe, her messed up wish is the key to granting her heart’s desire after all…
Review
The Good Boy is charming, witty and warm. There’s some relatability, with the questions surrounding having/not having a love life. There is as a bit of the Bridget Jones about it, with not just this being a running theme, but in the way you just fall into the book and get swept along. It unexpectedly captures you in its slight whimsy and suddenly, you find yourself at the end before you know it.
There are parts where you just have to let imagination take over and appreciate the creativity. The dog is also quite a character within itself and creates some of the fun. There are also cats and they are also shown to have personality and balances out the cat/dog person debate a bit.
In saying that, there is some substance, it isn’t purely whimsical as there are some big issues that are filtered through. They lead to characters to care about or, in the case of the gran, to be entertained by.
After a tiring week, The Good Boy is a book for those moments when you just need to chill out and relax the brain.
For those following the Enceladons Trilogy, this is the grand finale, of what has been a rather urgently relevant, yet entertaining read that’s just got better and better, with this final one being one of the best. Even if you aren’t into sci-fi, which isn’t a huge genre read for me, it has much more than aliens. There’s humanity and eco-awareness too. Discover the blurb and my review below. thanks to being on the Random T. Tours blog tour and Orenda for supplying the book. Please note, all opinions are my own.
Blurb
It’s been eighteen months since the Enceladons escaped the clutches of an American military determined to exterminate the peaceful alien creatures.
Lennox and Vonnie have been lying low in the Scottish Highlands, Ava has been caring for her young daughter Chloe, and Heather is adjusting to her new life with Sandy and the other Enceladons in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland. But fate is about to bring them together again for one last battle.
When Lennox and Vonnie are visited by Karl Jensen, a Norwegian billionaire intent on making contact with the Encedalons again, they are wary of subjecting the aliens to further dangers. But when word arrives that Ava’s daughter has suffered an attack and might die without urgent help, they reluctantly make the trip to Greenland, where they enlist the vital help of local woman Niviaq.
It’s not long before they’re drawn into a complex web of lies, deceit and death. What is Karl’s company really up to? Why are sea creatures attacking boats? Why is Sandy acting so strangely, and why are polar bears getting involved?
Profound, ambitious and immensely moving, The Transcendent Tide is the epic conclusion to the Encedalons Trilogy – a final showdown between the best and worst of humanity, the animal kingdom and the Encedalons. The future of life on earth will be changed forever, but not everyone will survive to see it…
Review
The Transcendent Tide couldn’t be more timely, with a certain US President kicking off, greedily looking at Greenland, one of the most important and vital countries to save planet earth, if left virtually untouched. I’ve always reckoned that nature will always win-out, not humans in the end and this book is a fine example of nature vs humans and makes stark points of why we need to work with, not always against it. Who will win, can there be any winners, will anything turn out alright in the end?
What Doug Johnstone has created is a deeply profound trilogy, which has grown even deeper still come this final book. The way he gets the most important points across, mixed with a bit of entertainment, is done to a highly skilled quality. It’s thought-provoking and intelligently done, so that, if you’re worldly aware, you can join the dots between the events that are happening in the book to what’s happening in the world with the ideas of certain world politicians.
There are twists and turns, secrets and lies which forms some of the entertaining parts of the book, not that this dilutes any of the important points, it does however add to the readability of the plot.
I highly recommend The Transcendent Tide and the previous 2 books in the trilogy.
Navigating life’s troubled waters with resilience and hope By Dr. Rhona Morrison
Review written by: Louise Cannon – Bookmarks and Stages
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Dr Rhona Morrison was a respected Forensic Psychiatrist and is also known for the bestselling book, I Don’t Talk To Dead Bodies. In this new book, she talks in a warm, hopeful manner about being at the crossroads of life that instantly draws you in. Thanks to Right Book Press and Random T. Tours for a gifted copy of the book, I have the pleasure to share the blurb and my review with you, which you can find below. All opinions are my own.
Blurb
What if your biggest challenge became your greatest adventure?
One day, Dr Rhona Morrison was a respected forensic psychiatrist planning for retirement. The next, on her birthday, she became a widow, stepping into an uncertain and unplanned future alone. But as Rhona soon discovered, an ending can also be a beginning – if you grasp the opportunities life presents.
In this warm, witty, and inspiring memoir, Rhona shares how she navigated the twists and turns of her loss and subsequent reinvention, transforming her grief into opportunity. From launching an art business and writing her first book, I Don’t Talk to Dead Bodies, to becoming a cruise ship lecturer and embarking on global adventures, she tackled each step with an open heart. Along the way, she discovered unexpected joys, new passions, and a renewed sense of purpose.
From Crime Scenes to Cruise Ships is an uplifting story of resilience, reinvention and embracing the unknown. Whether you’re facing loss, retirement, or a major life shift, Rhona’s journey is a reminder that even when life feels uncertain, you still have the power to shape your future. It may not look like you once imagined, but it can still be rich with meaning, adventure and possibility.
Your story isn’t over; the next chapter is waiting. So, let’s turn the page and step into what comes next – together.
Review
Dr. Rhona Morrison shows that life doesn’t stand still, not even after you’ve lost the love of your life, your life partner. She lost her husband and one day found herself on a very different, perhaps unexpected path in her life as she ends on a cruise ship. It’s a rather wisely written memoir, that really touches your heart and soul. On the page, anyway, she has this clever ability to draw you in closer to her, to her life story and care about it. It isn’t just merely the content of her life story that does this, and some of it is indeed heart-rendering, it’s the way it’s written and presented too, including the way she frames her life and work, through the good and the more challenging times.
The book is frank and from the prologue, made me want to sit in on one of her talks, it truly sounds fascinating as she explains a bit about her profession and also her inner-self. From the start, I warmed to her. She then rewinds time a bit to her husband, the empty chair and more… I smiled about the 32 Edinburgh Fringe shows. That is impressive and more than me in my limited time. I have to add here, that I like that later in the book, she mentions seeing Kevin Quantum, a fabulous magician, whom I too have had the pleasure to review, interview and meet.
She talks frankly about the stages of grief and how they were for her, whilst smartly acknowledging that it can be different for other people. Still, there’s a lot that people can gain from her opening up like this. Throughout the book, she tells quite a bit about herself in terms of personality, struggles, the ‘human condition’ side really, amongst some of the really positive, cool human life stuff of lecturing/giving talks where lots of people listen to her, seeing some people who are also making their name out there.
There’s a lot of heart-warming content written too, when it comes to friendships and the activities they do. The adventures sound immense!
Dr. Rhona Morrison is inspirational in how she navigates life, even when huge changes occur and cross-roads are presented, she shows there is a way forward.
Crime Scenes to Cruise Ships is fascinating, entertaining and gives bags of hope in a very well articulated book. Whether you’re on the verge of retirement or not, perhaps at a cross-road in life or wanting something new to read, this book caters for it all.
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.
Podcasts. They’re still big business, containing all sorts of interesting insights into humans. The Pod Couple very cleverly sets itself up like this, but in book form, letting you see all sorts of aspects of life, especially love and the human condition.
Blurb
When Chloe Adams embarked on the publicity tour for her new book, she didn’t expect to appear on a live radio interview alongside Joe Harris promoting his memoir on the same subject.
Relationships.
They had last met years ago when Chloe abruptly ended theirs. Now a successful journalist, she is married to an equally ambitious film director, while Joe, still single, has struggled to move on.
The spiky reunion leads to an offer they can’t refuse – hosting a podcast about failed relationships – and three months later they launch Ex-Communicate, exploring other people’s heartbreak while tiptoeing around their own complicated history. Their on-air chemistry makes the podcast a rapid hit, but as their professional success grows, they’re forced to confront the feelings they’ve buried for over a decade. Soon they realise there is a price to pay for discussing their emotions so openly in the pursuit of downloads.
The Pod Couple is a witty examination of our cultural obsession with failed relationships, exploring the uncomfortable truth that time rarely heals. It just makes things more complicated.
‘Wickedly clever and gloriously sharp’
Rob Rinder, author and broadcaster
Review
The Pod Couple is sharp with wit and emotion. It fascinatingly takes readers into the podcast diarist which readers can get to know what’s been going on in the lives of Chloe and Joe over the past few years. The layout and format of the book works really well for this.
The Pod Couple interestingly allows readers to glean over the culturally popular reasons why people may tune into a podcast and why we like hearing about relationships. The storytelling comes across at times as brutally honest when it comes to relationships, parenting duties and more… perhaps some readers will recognise the feelings of all or part of the elements.
The exploration and directions the books take you into, in-terms of human nature and the way the characters relate to each other is compelling, especially as they dig into their pasts that then holds something for their present and perhaps their future. It’s also honest how it doesn’t sugar coat failed relationships and how time is not necessarily a healer.
This cleverly written book is rather refreshing and one to give a try this summer.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 