Cosmic Trap: A Clay Wolfe/Port Essex Mystery 4) By Matt Cost

Cosmic Trap: A Clay Wolfe/Port Essex Mystery 4) By Matt Cost

When Clay Wolfe and Baylee Baker are hired to be the local liaisons for a government task force investigating the recent UAP sightings, things get complicated at lightspeed.

They’re also hired to find the missing Alice Smith, whose disappearance increasingly appears to have something to do with the UAPs-the source of which might just be a governmental defense contractor named Seagull Aviation.

But the more they investigate, the more questions pop up. Who is the assassin gunning for Wolfe and Baker? Who is the mysterious man code-named Arrow? When each witness who has seen one of the UAPs is reported missing, the stakes become sky-high.

My Thoughts:

This is the fourth book in this series and I would highly recommend reading the other books before this one, just because you will understand the characters more but also because they are just such good reads. I didn’t want to put this one down and read it in half a day. I got sucked into this book from the first page, in this book we see Clay Wolf and Baylee Baker are tasked with being liaisons to the government but nothing is as simple as it seems but when is it ever with Clay. There is lots of questions that need answering but will Clay and Baylee be able to solve the mystery. I love how the tension builds up in the story and it is such a gripping and engaging story. You will never guess the ending which was absolutely mind blowing.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

The Satsuma Complex By Bob Mortimer

The Satsuma Complex By Bob Mortimer


Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.

And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life…

My Thoughts:

I always worry when comedians or people in the public eye write books but I really am a big fan of Bob so decided to take a chance and I am so glad I did. This book when it came out got a lot of hype and I can really see why. It was absolutely bloody amazing. When reading it I could hear Bob’s voice in my head. Gary is such a unique character and one you won’t forget in a hurry, a mystery has yet to be solved and there is a whole bunch of interesting characters that we meet through out the book. Some parts really made me chuckle too. I love how the squirrels became part of the story too. I cannot wait to see what Bob comes up with next.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

A Christmas Wish: A Collection of Heart – Warming short stories By Suzanne Rogerson

A Christmas Wish: A Collection of Heart – Warming short stories By Suzanne Rogerson

A heart-warming collection of feel-good stories showing snippets of family life and friendship during the festive period.

My Thoughts:

I loved this festive and cheerful book that has a collection of lots of really good short stories. They are all different stories and I enjoyed each and every one of them. I feel as though anyone will be able to relate to at least one of the stories. One of my favourites is Santa Paws Delivery as there is a dog in it and I am a big animal lover and I also loved the Icing on the cake as it reminded me of my husband and how he is very caring and would do anything for me. I feel as though if I need a little lift I will go to this book and read one of the stories as they really are feel good. I love how the stories are a couple of pages if that. Short and sweet.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:


Enlightened As Hell By Dr Tony Ortega

Enlightened As Hell By Dr Tony Ortega

Geared towards people who want to be enlightened ( or simply live a better life) yet feel they can’t do so because of the past and/or current state of the spiritual world, Enlightened as Hell: How to be spiritual and not be a d*ck is the third book by clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Ortega.

Dr. Ortega brings three decades of experience as an actual mental health professional and consumer of an array of spiritual studies, as well as his sassy humour, to distill mental health and spiritual philosophies down to a street level. This is a book for millennials as much as it is for people 40+. Most likely to appeal more to women than men due to the nature of self – help readerships. Dr. Ortega is also a champion of LGBTQI + rights, so this is an inclusive, accessible book for anyone open to learning more about spirituality and potential answers to the question, “Is this is?”

My Thoughts:

What a fantastic and enlightening read. I really felt as though this book spoke to me. I was a bit sceptical before reading this book but I really found it helpful and I think alot of people will find it relatable. Some of the chapters contain humour which was funny. I like the fact that if you don’t want to read the book or if you have already, Each day you can scroll through to a any page and they have a highlighted affirmation that will literally bring positivity to your day. This is definitely going to help a lot of people see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

Kill A Stranger By Simon Kernick

Kill A Stranger By Simon Kernick

They took your fiancée.
They framed you for murder.

You’re given one chance to save her. To clear your name.
You must kill someone for them.

They give you the time and place.
The weapon. The target.

You have less than 24 hours.
You only know that no-one can be trusted…and nothing is what it seems.

My Thoughts:

This is my first book by Simon. I liked the sound of the plot and I felt it had a good pace, however I feel the characters let the story down, for me they just were not believable enough. I also felt as though the ending was rushed which is a shame as it had good premises for being a fantastic read. I just felt a bit let down by it. I don’t think I would pick up another book by this author.

Get your copy here:


Black Summer ( Washington Poe Book 2) By M. W. Craven

Black Summer ( Washington Poe Book 2) By M. W. Craven

After The Puppet Show, a new storm is coming . . .

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

My Thoughts:

This is book two in the Washington Poe series and every bit as good as book one. I like how the stories are different even though we follow the same characters. Poe and Tilly are trying to solve an crime that happened a while ago but something is not right? can they piece together what really happened. I loved reading about Poe and Tilly as I feel as though I have been reunited with old friends. I love how the first chapter packs a massive punch and you just can’t help being drawn into the story. I now cannot wait to read book three. Such a fantastic series so far.

Get your copy here:


All That She Carried By Tiya Miles

All That She Carried By Tiya Miles

In 1850s South Carolina, an enslaved woman named Rose faced a crisis: the imminent sale of her daughter Ashley. Thinking quickly, she packed a cotton bag for her with a few items, and, soon after, the nine-year-old girl was separated from her mother and sold. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter Ruth embroidered this family history on the sack in spare, haunting language. 
 
Historian Tiya Miles carefully traces these women’s faint presence in archival records, and, where archives fall short, she turns to objects, art, and the environment to write a singular history of the experience of slavery, and the uncertain freedom afterward, in the United States. All That She Carried is a poignant story of resilience and love passed down against steep odds. It honors the creativity and resourcefulness of people who preserved family ties when official systems refused to do so, and it serves as a visionary illustration of how to reconstruct and recount their stories today.

My Thoughts:

This is such a powerful and emotional read. If your into American History this is a good read for you. It is in the 1850’s in America in the time of slavery. We follow the journey of Rose and her daughter Ashley who has been sold for slavery. We see what each other go through on their horrific journey. It was very eye opening to read about and also very sad. This is one story that is hard to review because it was so very sad. I feel as though I have learnt things I never knew about that era.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel By Ruth Hogan

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel By Ruth Hogan

Tilly was a bright, outgoing little girl who liked playing with ghosts and matches. She loved fizzy drinks, swear words, fish fingers and Catholic churches, but most of all she loved living in Brighton in Queenie Malone’s magnificent Paradise Hotel with its endearing and loving family of misfits. But Tilly’s childhood was shattered when her mother sent her away from the only home she’d ever loved to boarding school with little explanation and no warning.

Now an adult, Tilda has grown into an independent woman still damaged by her mother’s unaccountable cruelty. Wary of people, her only friend is her dog, Eli. But when her mother dies, Tilda returns to Brighton and with the help of her beloved Queenie sets about unravelling the mystery of her exile from The Paradise Hotel, only to discover that her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all …

My Thoughts:

I picked this book up because it seemed fun and I love the vibrancy of the cover. The plot sounded really good too. It is about Tilda and we see her story flit back from when she was a child to her now as a adult. It was a really interesting story that had me hooked the whole way through. Now as an adult and having lost her mother, she is clearing out her house when she discovers things that she never knew about herself and her childhood. It is a beautiful and tender story about a mother and daughter. I really enjoyed this read and need to read more of Ruth’s books now.

Get your copy here:

Peel Me A Lotus By Charmain Clift

Peel Me A Lotus By Charmain Clift

In 1951 the Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston left grey, post-war London for Greece. Settling first on the tiny island of Kalymnos, then Hydra, their plan was to live simply and focus on their writing, away from the noise of the big city. The result is two of Charmian Clift’s best known and most loved books, the memoirs Mermaid Singing and Peel Me a Lotus.

Peel Me a Lotus, the companion volume to Mermaid Singing relays their move to Hydra where they bought a house and grappled with the chaos of domestic life and three children whilst also becoming the centre of an informal community of artists and writers. The group later included Leonard Cohen who became their lodger and his girlfriend Marianne Ihlen. Clift paints an evocative picture of the characters and sun-drenched rhythms of traditional life, long before backpackers and mass tourism descended.

My Thoughts:

What a beautiful and inviting cover for this wonderful little hardback book. It is a memoir of someone living in the Hydra in the sixties, what life was like then and how people coped. I fell for the island life and wished I could be there to experience it for myself, but it is not all as it seems. There are some great adventures to read about and how life was like in the sixties for a husband and wife with three children. It was an insightful and engaging read and one that I will re read again some time. This book will stay with me for a long time.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

Home Coming By Isabel Ashdown

Home Coming By Isabel Ashdown

Welcome to The Starlings… sun, sea and neighbours to die for.

Security, a sparkling sea view and the best kind of neighbours – The Starlings gated community has it all. Here, doors are left open, children run free, and at the heart of it all is the entrepreneurial Gold Family, who first dreamed up this aspirational vision of ‘Dorset’s Safest Community’. To the outside world the popular family appears glitteringly blessed… until an idyllic party takes a dark turn and one of their number is found slumped at the foot of the clocktower. Who knows what really happened? And what answers are harboured within the old building, the former Highcap Mother and Baby Home?’

My Thoughts:

Being a new author to me, I was not sure what to expect with this book. I thought the plot had that level of intrigue and intensity that made me want to drop everything and start reading straight away. Each chapter is a different person so you get many people’s perspective on the current situation which I liked. I felt that the beginning took it’s time to build up but that gave it a really good level of tension. It is a very dark thriller that will wrap around you and won’t let you leave until the very last page. It was a good thriller and I want to read more of this author’s books now.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here: