Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night their family was forever altered.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already-grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her . . .

My Thoughts:

Wow this is my second book by Colleen and I wish I had read her books a long time ago, I have a lot of catching up to do. If you want a creepy book then this will be right up your street, it was so good and kept me captivated that I read it in one day. It is fast paced and a great story to get caught up in. You don’t know what is going to happen and that’s what I liked best about it. I didn’t work out the twist and I could not believe the ending, it was a real shocker to me. I loved it and cannot wait to read more by Colleen. Highly recommend.

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A soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day Hollywood actress who plays her on screen.
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From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a need for freedom and danger.

Determined to live an independent life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession with flight that consumes her most.

Now, as she is about to fulfil her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice.

Over half a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves.

My Thoughts:

This is quite a long book but I wanted to give it a go as I had heard so many great things about it. The first half of the book is all set in the modern day that runs alongside the main story and to be honest I felt it a struggle to keep reading, I didn’t enjoy it at all but was told to persist as the second half of the book is so much better and it was good. We follow Marian who wants to escape and wants to be able to fly and Hadley who is an actress who plays Marian in a film about her life. I was surprised by the ending too.

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They say you can’t choose your family. But you can kill them.

Meet Grace Bernard.
Daughter, sister, serial killer…
Grace has lost everything.
And she will stop at nothing to get revenge.

My Thoughts:

I loved the sound of this book, it sounded so different and unique so I couldn’t wait to start reading it. I have to say I didn’t find it as funny as I thought it would be. Yes there are some parts that are amusing but nothing really funny. Grace is the main character she has been through a lot and is set out on revenge to all members of her family. It is quite a dark story line and I feel that Bella has done a good job with Grace and the plot line. I did feel near to the end it was dragging a little and the ending was not as good as I thought it would be.

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A pool-side weekend in Portugal is the perfect way for five lifelong friends to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of their group, Will, and a chance for the rest of them to get to know Will’s fiancée, Ali, a little better. A newcomer to their group, Ali seems perfectly nice, and they are pleased to see Will finally happy after years of bad choices.

But Ali is hiding secrets and by the end of the holiday one of the group will be dead, with the rest returning home as suspects, wondering if they really know each other at all . . .

My Thoughts:

I was intrigued by the sound of this book and couldn’t wait to start it. A weekend away with a bunch of friends sounds pure bliss doesn’t it? well does it still sound bliss when you have five friends who are all guilty of something and one of them ends up dead. No I didn’t think so. It was an ok read that kept me engaged as I wanted to know what the outcome would be, however I did get confused with who is who and had to keep going back to remember all the characters. The murder itself I found confusing too but I am not going to say anything else as it will give it away. The pace I felt was good and there are plenty of twists and turns. It was alright but I don’t feel as though I would read any more by this author.

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All is not well in Castleby.

Her life hangs in the balance… He needs to be sure she’s dead…

Jesse Stevens lies in a coma after being pulled off a cliff by a psychopath who escaped from prison to find her.
He is in hiding, also hurt from the fall, but fuelled with rage. He needs to make sure she’s dead. If she isn’t, he’ll finish the job once and for all.
Military Intelligence Officer, Sam Jones, missing presumed dead, returns from Afghanistan after two years of brutal torture in captivity. Struggling to cope, Sam has no desire to carry on living, or return to family life, with his wife, Sophie, and son, Marcus. Sophie is desperate to help Sam recover and leans heavily on her friend and ex-forces soldier Foxy for support.

Castleby is plagued by a series of unexplained deaths among the elderly and that of a local fisherman. Inspector Steve Miller works closely with the new local GP, Kate Cooper, to try and find an explanation and they eventually uncover the sinister truth.

My Thoughts:

This is the third book in the Castleby series but can be read as a standalone. I have to say I enjoyed the story and there is a lot going on. There are plenty of interesting characters maybe a few too many as I kept on getting a bit confused as to who was who. There is like three stories intertwining throughout the book, you get plenty of emotions reading this book, the drama and the suspense hits you wanting to know what the outcome will be. I am not sure I would like to live in Castleby it reminded me a bit like Midsummer Murders. I feel as though I want to read book one and two now.

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

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When Paige turns up unannounced at Wynthorpe Hall, she discovers the place she knew when she was growing up has changed beyond all recognition. She’s only planning to stay for a short time, but is quickly pulled into local life.
 
One night while driving home after delivering library books and shopping to residents she stumbles across an isolated cottage and meets Albert, its elderly and rather grumpy owner. She quickly realises there’s more to Albert than meets the eye and the same can be said for the other man she can’t seem to help running into, handsome but brooding Brodie.
 
All three of them have a secret and a desire to hide away from the world, but with Christmas on the horizon, is that really the best way to celebrate the season?

My Thoughts:

I love the cover of this book, it is very eye catching, I picked this book up in the hottest time of the year, I thought if I thought about Christmas and snow, it would make me feel less hot and it did help slightly. The story centres around Paige who is going back to where she grew up but everything has changed and she doesn’t know if she likes it and feels as though she wants to leave but then she meets Albert and even though he doesn’t want her help, he really does need it. Add in a dashing young man and you might see a little romance at Christmas. We discover all three of them have kept a secret but will they be able to help each other. A lovely story that pulled at my heart strings with a wonderful bunch of characters. Pure Joy.

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

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There is a renewed interest in the nature on our doorsteps, as can be seen in the work of amateur botanists identifying wildflowers and chalking the names on the pavements.

But beyond the garden wall lies a wealth of cultivated plants, each with a unique tale to tell. In The Grove, award-winning writer and head gardener Ben Dark reveals the remarkable secrets of twenty commonly found species – including the rose, wisteria, buddleja, box and the tulip – encountered in the front gardens of one London street over the course of year.

As Ben writes, in those small front gardens ‘are stories of ambition, envy, hope and failure’ and The Grove is about so much more than a single street, or indeed the plants found in its 19 ½ front gardens. It’s a beguiling blend of horticultural history and personal narrative and a lyrical exploration of why gardens and gardening matter.

My Thoughts:

I could not wait to get my hands on this book and start reading it. I absolutely love being in my garden and feeling at one with nature. I love tending to the plants that I have in my garden and seeing them grow but I also love looking at other people’s front gardens to get ideas and to see what they are growing. The book is divided up into a different plant for each chapter and what I love also are the illustrations that just seem to bring the book to life. It is such a charming and beautiful read, I really felt as though I learnt some new things about some of the different plants that Ben writes about. It is such a lovely and inspiring book to make you get out into your garden and smell the roses.

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

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For as long as Cassie can remember, it had always been the three of them: Cassie, her beloved big brother Tom, and Tom’s best friend Sam.

Since Cassie and Tom’s parents had died, and Sam’s dad was never around, the three kids had stuck together like glue, with Tom always looking out for Cassie, and Sam basically put on earth to annoy her.

Now they are adults and nothing much has changed:

Tom is sorted, cocky Sam is going places and Cassie is……

well, Cassie thinks she’s figured it all out.

And then tragedy happens and three becomes two.

For Cassie picking herself up and moving on seems unimaginable. But then she finds the envelope with her name on it, asking her to follow the clues to a treasure hunt carefully laid out for her months before.

It promises to lead her to one last gift. And suddenly what seemed like an ending just might be the beginning of something unexpected, beautiful and new…

My Thoughts:

This was the perfect pick me up after all the thrillers I have been reading lately. This is an author that is now on my radar. I love how the story is bursting with hope, love and joy and the characters all work so well together. I genuinely liked all the characters and hearing the back story gave the rest of the story some depth. I kind of knew what was going to happen from reading the plot but I loved the idea of the treasure hunt and what it means to Cassie. It was such a beautiful tale, one that I will always remember.

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

I also have a details on how to take part in a treasure hunt to win a voucher for dinner, bed and breakfast at Gravetye Manor – https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk/

It is a four star Country hotel set in beautiful Sussex and the restaurant is Michelin starred and ties in with the book perfectly.

See below for details:

As mentioned above the author is running a treasure hunt as part of the blog tour to win a voucher for Dinner Bed and Breakfast at Gravetye Manor – https://www.gravetyemanor.co.uk/. It’s a 4 star luxury country hotel in Sussex, and the restaurant is Michelin starred! It is the hotel which is featured in One Last Gift – I won’t say anything in case you haven’t read it, but if you have read it, hopefully you’ll know which hotel I mean – it’s a key moment for Cassie and Sam’s journey!

Each day, there will be a clue to solve – that clue will lead to a word. So if you solve the clue on day one, you’ll end up with one word, day two, two words, etc. There are 11 words in total, for the 11 days of the blog tour  – so at the end, everyone who’s figured it out will have an 11-word sentence. 

To enter, after you’ve got the sentence from all the clues at the end of the blog tour, people should email publicity@headline.co.uk with the subject header ONE LAST GIFT TREASURE HUNT and the answer to the clue (the sentence) in the body of the email. The deadline to enter is the end of October. The winner will be chosen at random, and have the voucher emailed to them. If you have space to include details on how to enter on the post, that would be great. 

DAY SEVEN, CLUE THREE: 

Maybe we’ll finish thinking ‘what then?’,

Or maybe it’s one we’ll read again

Good Luck everyone

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It’s New Year’s Eve and the stage is set for a lavish party in one of Edinburgh’s best postcodes. It’s a moment for old friends to set the past to rights – and move on.

The night sky is alive with fireworks and the champagne is flowing. But the celebration fails to materialise.

Because someone at this party is going to die tonight.

Midnight approaches and the countdown begins – but it seems one of the guests doesn’t want a resolution.

They want revenge.

My Thoughts:

I have read a couple of Harriet’s books before and enjoyed them, they are well written and a good read but not as exciting for a thriller as I would love them to be. You never really know who to trust with the characters or who is telling the truth and who is lying? Harriet writes her characters well and there is a lot of research into each one of them. I guessed the ending right from the start, the twists keep coming too. The storyline was quite desolate though.

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Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. Only now they’re facing the most important decision of their lives – and they don’t agree.

With the consequences of an impossible choice threatening to devastate them both, nothing will ever be the same again.

But anything can happen after the end . . .

My Thoughts:

This was such a powerful novel that really tugged on my heart strings. To know that the author Clare had had been in the same position that Max and Pip are in really made me have the utter most respect for her. It is a thought provoking novel, one which made me think about what I would do in the same situation and one where I thought about it when I was not reading it. I think you have to be in the correct mind set to read it as for me it was emotionally draining but I am glad that I have read it. It really made me appreciate everything I have in my life. It was such a journey I went on reading this book, one I will never forget.

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

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