My Review for Storm From Within by Madeline Vaughn

Another great read from Madeline Vaughn for the next book in the Emily Fallon series. Storm From Within continues the story of the dodgy US Navy guys who think they are above the law, not stopping to continue with their villainous ways and woe betide anyone who gets in their way. Unfortunately, Emily is already in their way....

I love Emily. She’s a feisty main character who won’t stop until her family is safe and the bad people are on their way to retribution. Plus, who can’t love a character that names their car Katniss - if you’ve read Hunger Games you’ll understand the Katniss thing!

Storm From Within is a quick, exciting and rollercoaster of a read and I can’t wait to read the next one.

Thank you to Madeline Vaughn for having me on her ARC Street Team. It’s been so much fun and I’m looking forward to doing it all again soon.

About the Book

Naval Engineer Emily Fallon is still working to uncover secrets surrounding her family, but now with a target on her back. As she gets closer to finding out the truth, she realizes she can't return to the only home she's ever known. 

Will she pull the correct thread to unravel the intricate web that has been woven? Will a sworn enemy now be one of her trusted teammates? Why is the person that loves her the most keeping secrets from her?

The clock is ticking. Is finding out the answers worth the price her loved ones will have to pay?

About Madeline

​I have always been passionate about writing and storytelling. I would describe myself as a curious author who loves exploring different themes and motifs. As part of my writing process, I love to immerse myself into my projects—dive headfirst into the research, production, and fine-tuning of the stories that I feel are the most worthy of telling.​Take a look through the site to find everything from my latest work to future projects.

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My Review for The Last Train Home by Elle Cook

I really enjoyed The Last Train Home. It was an easygoing, cute read that made me feel all warm and cosy the more I read. Abbie and Tom are great main characters and Elle tells the story from both points of view, flipping from one to the other.

Meeting on a train late one evening, their lives are thrown together in the worst way possible and from there, things get better, then worse, then better again with loads of life-changing events happening to both of them over the next seven years.

I loved all the characters - most of the time - in this book. Teddy made me laugh and Natasha is just the perfect best friend to have. A book about bad timing, and historical events that actually happened, but mostly it’s about love and romance and how everything will always work out in the end.

If you love well-written contemporary fiction, with some curve balls thrown in, then I’d recommend adding this book to your TBR.

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK and Century Books for the opportunity to read and review The Last Train Home by Elle Cook.

About the Book

On the last train home you expect to find standing space only, drunk people singing, the overpowering smell of McDonalds...

You never expect to find love.

When Abbie and Tom cross paths traveling home after a night out, their eyes meet across a crowded carriage and their connection is unmistakable.

What they don't know is that moments later they will both be caught up in an event that will change them forever.

It's one that will bring them together. But it will also tear them apart.

A lot can happen in seven seconds. A lot can happen in seven years.

Can they find their way back to each other?

Gorgeously romantic and swoon-worthy, this is the next unputdownable, will-they-won't-they love story from Elle Cook.

About Elle

Elle is a former journalist and PR who now writes novels under two different names. 

Lorna Cook is her historical fiction name where she writes novels filled with romance, intrigue, secrets and history and under the name Elle Cook she writes contemporary romance / women’s fiction. She lives in coastal Essex with her husband and their two daughters. When Elle/Lorna isn't making up stories and characters, she can usually be found with a glass of wine in one hand and a good book in the other. It makes it tricky to turn the pages. Her favourite authors are Kate Morton, Lucinda Riley, Liz Fenwick, Jenny Ashcroft, Iona Grey and Holly Miller. She will even put the wine down to read anything by these fantastic writers!

Lorna's debut novel The Forgotten Village sold over 150,000 copies and was a Kindle Number 1 bestseller for over a fortnight. It spent four months in the Kindle Top 100, has eleven overseas/foreign language editions, won the Romantic Novelists' Association Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the RNA Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers.

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My Review for Death Before Dishonor by Madeline Vaughn

I really enjoyed this fast-paced military thriller and Emily, our protagonist, is a force to be reckoned with. Everything in this book surrounds the US Navy. Something has been going down and people have died, and now Emily and her friends and family need to find out what’s going on before worse happens.

Emily Fallon is very family-orientated, but she’s also a badass who will do almost anything to protect that family. She is very capable of looking after herself and I definitely wouldn’t want to cross her. Her enemies should be very afraid of her!

Right up until the end, I was questioning who the bad guys were. There were a lot of ‘Is it him’, and ‘actually no, it’s him’, moments and Vaughn kept the suspense going right the way through the book.

I am lucky enough to be on the Street Team for Madeline’s next book, Storm From Within, which is why I picked up this first one in the Emily Fallon series. I’ve already finished the next one and my review will be coming later this week.

If you enjoy a quick thriller with lots of twists and turns, then I’d recommend this new series.

About the Book 

Lieutenant Emily Fallon returns home from her recent at-sea deployment. All she wants before her next assignment is a little bit of R & R.

As soon as her boots hit the ground in Norfolk, VA, a series of events start to unfold. It is clear that someone is targeting her family.

Follow Emily through Norfolk, VA and the Outer Banks, NC as she tries to unravel the conspiracy that started long before she found out about it.

Will she be able to save her loved ones in time? Who will she be able to trust? She will quickly find out that prior events and people in her life are not truly what and who they seem to be.

About Madeline

​I have always been passionate about writing and storytelling. I would describe myself as a curious author who loves exploring different themes and motifs. As part of my writing process, I love to immerse myself into my projects—dive headfirst into the research, production, and fine-tuning of the stories that I feel are the most worthy of telling.​Take a look through the site to find everything from my latest work to future projects.

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My Review for All in Monte Carlo by Anna Shilling

I wasn’t sure about this book when I started reading it, but it just got better and better, although I’m not sure I’ve read anything like this before! After I finished it, I did a bit of Googling, and although I knew before I started that it was based on true events, I didn’t understand how the book worked.

So basically, Anna Shilling is a pen name for four women living in Monte Carlo. They tell their stories of betrayal, and setting up a book club to act as a cover whilst they put everything to rights! The characters are fictional, but the events, landmarks, hotels and casinos are true.

Much of the story seems completely over the top and melodramatic, but I think that’s how Monte Carlo works. It’s all wrapped up in its own little bubble, without any idea what is going on in the outside world, away from Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Michelin-starred restaurants!

The characters are diverse and live different lives. From businesswomen to models, to magazine editors, with one thing in common, they all live in Monte Carlo, where men seemingly have the upper hand, women go shopping and dogs are carried around in handbags!

This book is fun, busy, conniving and eye-opening and definitely worth a read. It has been left wide open for a sequel, and it seems there are many more tales to come out of Monte Carlo.

Thank you to Troubador Publishing and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review All in Monte Carlo by Anna Shilling.

About the Book

Four women, four ways to revenge… 

A Monaco insider reveals what life is like in the world's richest and most secretive enclave, where revenge is best served with a glass of champagne. 

Wedged between Southern France and the Mediterranean Sea, the miniature principality of Monaco is a place for aspiration, for comic extremes and for outrageous personalities. Where a businesswoman gets her favourite Chanel suit flown in by private jet. Where Hôtel de Paris serves breakfast to a drunken socialite in a prison cell. Where two Gucci-clad women are behind a string of burglaries. 

Against a backdrop of cocktails on superyachts, looking fabulous and feeling empty, this tongue-in-cheek tale revolves around four relatable women who meet by chance in Monte Carlo. After sharing their tales of betrayal, they set up a book club as a cover while they settle each other’s scores. But revenge, like life, doesn’t always go to plan…

About Anna

Anna Shilling is the collective pen name for four women who lived in Monte Carlo. A magazine editor, an aristocrat, a UHNW businesswoman and a private banker formed a book club and shared funny, shocking tales together about life in the principality. The magazine editor wove a fictional plot from their tales into this novel.

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My Review for The Last Line by Stephen Ronson

I love reading historical fiction, particularly anything which revolves around World War II, and this was no exception. Set in a small town in Sussex, close to Brighton, John Cook fought in World War I and now, during the Second World War, he becomes part of an auxiliary unit in the countryside, ready to take on the Germans, should they manage to get across the English Channel.

Considering the subject matter, The Last Line was pretty lighthearted and easy to read, John Cook, with all the best intentions, seems to tackle every situation like a bull at a gate, head down and hoping for the best! John, Margaret and Eric were brilliant characters. I loved them and everything they stood for. Take down the baddies at any cost!

Check the trigger warnings before you buy this book, but if you enjoy historical fiction, particularly WWII, then I’d thoroughly recommend it. I gather there is another book in the series on the way and I can’t wait to read that one next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review The Last Line by Stephen Ronson.

About the Book

THE LAST LINE is a blistering action thriller combined with a smart noir mystery, played out expertly against the taut backdrop of the British home front.

May 1940.

With Nazi forces sweeping across France, invasion seems imminent. The English Channel has never felt so narrow.

In rural Sussex, war veteran John Cook has been tasked with preparing the resistance effort, should the worst happen.

But even as the foreign threat looms, it's rumours of a missing child that are troubling Cook. A twelve-year-old girl was evacuated from London and never seen again, and she's just the tip of the iceberg - countless evacuees haven't made it to their host families.

As Cook investigates, he uncovers a dark conspiracy that reaches to the highest ranks of society. He will do whatever it takes to make the culprits pay. There are some lines you just don't cross.

About Stephen

Stephen Ronson grew up in Sussex, and spent a large part of his childhood exploring the woods and fields around Uckfield, many of which were still dotted with reminders of WW2 - pill boxes, tank traps, nissen huts, and graffiti left by soldiers awaiting D-Day. 

He is a passionate student of local history, and when he learnt about Auxiliary Units - groups of men who were instructed to lay low during the predicted nazi invasion and lead the fight back, he knew he had to write about a Sussex farmer, one with a love of the land, and a natural desire and ability to get the job done. 

Many of the locations and characters in the John Cook series are inspired by real places and real people. In particular, Stephen was inspired by his grandparents, Eric, Bessie, Peter and Vera, each of whom did their bit on the home front.

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My Review for Such A Loving Couple by Hayley Smith

Well, this was the second ****** up book in a row that I’ve read, with such a brilliant plot that I couldn’t put it down. I was desperate to just read and read and read so I could discover how everything would pan out.

It’s not often books cause me to talk out loud, but this one did. A lot! Usually in relation to Freddie, who was a complete cockwomble (Google that word if you don’t know what it means, it’s my word of the moment)! It was scary how he could just essentially kidnap someone and take them into his life - and never want to let them go!

Becka was a great main character as she slowly begins to piece her life back together after an accident left her with little memory of her life before. She and Grace were probably the only decent characters though, almost everyone else was messed up with a rotten core and a twisted agenda.

I haven’t read a Hayley Smith book before, but I’m now on the lookout for more. If a decent domestic thriller is your cup of tea, then I’d start pouring now! It’s definitely worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review Such A Loving Couple by Hayley Smith.

About the Book

I blink open my eyes, taking in bright lights and a white room. A man smiles warmly at me from the end of my bed. ‘Honey, I’ve been so worried,’ he says gently. ‘Do you remember me? I’m your husband.’ My blood runs cold. I don’t know where I am, or who I am. All I know is I’ve never seen this man before…

As he packs my things, the nurses tell me Freddie hasn’t left my bedside since the accident I was in days ago. They tell me I’m lucky. We seem like the perfect couple, and together we’ll figure out what happened. So I go home to a beautiful house with a fancy marble kitchen and manicured garden that is supposedly ours. But deep down I know something isn’t right. Even though my memories are gone, this doesn’t feel like my life.

Slowly, flashes of memory come back. First the accident – the pouring rain, a swerving car, a sudden scream. Somebody whispering, ‘I’ll love you forever’. But most heartbreaking of all are the haunting memories of a blue-eyed little girl. Is she my little girl? Was she in the accident too? Or is she in terrible danger?

Freddie is determined to keep me safe and hide me from the world. But I can’t shake the feeling that we aren’t the loving couple he wants us to be, and that beyond this house a precious child needs me now more than ever. So why am I here? What does Freddie want? And how far will I have to go, to discover the truth?

An utterly gripping and page-turning psychological thriller filled with dark secrets and deadly obsessions. Perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Family Upstairs, and The Serial Killer’s Wife.

About Hayley

Hayley Smith is married with three children and lives in a north Derbyshire village. She has worked as a graphic designer, youth worker and musician, and has been involved for many years in organising music festivals and gigs. She studied English Language and Creative Writing with the Open University and is an avid reader of psychological fiction. Having a penchant for all things alternative, she often dips into the counter-culture scene for writing inspiration, producing quirky rough-edged characters and dark, unpredictable twists, turns and moral dilemmas.

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My Review for We All Keep Secrets by Sheryl Browne

I finished the last page of this book, placed my Kindle down and said, out loud, ‘Well that was ****** up’! I’ve never read anything quite like this, but I loved every single moment. I didn’t know what to expect when I turned a page, but I didn’t expect what happened to happen.

We All Keep Secrets is written from multiple viewpoints, numerous times, often telling the same story three times over, from Ellie, the childminder and also from Jake and Megan, husband and wife. I didn’t guess what was happening at all. Just when I thought I’d got it all sussed, Browne threw another curveball, and I was back to square one.

I thoroughly recommend this book if you love a twisted psychological thriller. Check all the trigger warnings though, there are multiple and if you’re ok with them all, go out and grab yourself a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review We All Keep Secrets by Sheryl Browne.

About the Book

I look into baby Fern’s crib, and my heart pounds. I’m her nanny, I was supposed to keep her safe. I hear the police downstairs, and the next words I hear make my legs buckle underneath me. ‘It was the nanny. She’s guilty’.

When I first walked into Jake and Megan’s immaculate home, I felt totally at ease. Sitting in the crisp white living room, they held hands and talked lovingly about their baby girl, Fern.

As the weeks passed, I began to think I’d made a mistake in taking the job. Jake was overly friendly from the start, watching my every move and always offering to drop me home, even though it was out of his way. And Megan seemed to take pleasure in telling me off in front of her husband, blaming me for things I hadn’t done.

The first time I heard the Haringtons arguing behind the door to their bedroom, I heard my name mentioned, and then they went silent. I should have left right there and then.

Now, as I stand accused of something terrible, my whole past is revealed and the Haringtons admit to knowing every detail about why I was sacked from my last job. We all have secrets, but little do they realise, I know theirs too…

With twist after twist, this is perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Girl on the Train. A gripping thriller you don’t want to miss!

About Sheryl

Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller HER HUSBAND’S HOUSE comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.

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My Review for Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Snowed In is a cute, fun, wintery read, set in Ireland. I read most of the book, snuggled up in front of a wood burner, whilst Storm Ciaran was battering the UK. The snow, a cabin in the woods and festive Christmas cheer were much more fun than what was going on outside the window at home, so I imagined myself there instead.

I loved Megan and Christian, our two protagonists, who bantered their way into my heart very quickly. They were so good together, right from the beginning I knew they’d hit it off. Megan made a rapid exit from her wedding four years ago and has never been back to her home village since - until now.

Full of love, romance and family loyalties, Snowed In is a beautiful read and will leave you wanting to spend some time on Christian’s family’s farm with the newborn lambs in knitted hats!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review Snowed In by Catherine Walsh.

About the Book 

Megan is dreading going home for the holidays. She’s the village pariah, the she-devil who left local golden boy Isaac at the altar four years ago and ran away to the big city. She could really do without the drama. Particularly as he’s engaged again, and she’s just been dumped for the fourth time this year.

Christian’s fed up of being on his own every Christmas. He doesn’t mind being alone, but he hates his family’s sad eyes and soft tones as they sit around coupled up. Because he’s actually, totally, fine.

So when Megan literally bumps into Christian in a Dublin pub, they come up with a pact to see them through the holiday season. They’re going to be the very best fake dates for each other, ever.

Rules are drawn up, a contract is signed on a wine-stained napkin. They will sit through each other’s family gatherings and be outrageously in love until freed from their annual obligations. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.

But with everyone home for the holidays, two big families to deal with alongside old friends, old flames and old feelings, things are bound to get messy. And when a snowed-in cabin and a little Christmas magic are added to the mix, anything could happen…

A swoonworthy and utterly gorgeous romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud and fall completely in love. Fans of Emily Henry, Sophie Kinsella and Abby Jimenez won’t be able to put this down!

About Catherine

Catherine Walsh was born and raised in Ireland. She has a degree in Popular Literature and the only prize she ever won for writing was at the age of 14 in school (but she still cherishes it.)

She lived in London for a few years where she worked in Publishing and the non-profit sector before returning to Dublin where she now lives between the mountains and the sea. When not writing she is trying and failing to not kill her houseplants.

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My Review for The Rutland Connection by Michael Dane

What an amazing read this was! The Rutland Connection was absolutely brilliant and so cleverly written. I loved it from start to finish. It is predominantly told from three viewpoints, that of John Pyke - the dodgy drug dealer, and Bernard and Michael, grandfather and grandson.

A Customs and Excise team are in the throes of investigating John Pyke as a drug runner, along with his two idiot sidekicks who haven’t got a clue, and Pyke isn’t that much more savvy himself! Bernard and Michael decide that Pyke needs a bit of undercover help, but Frank McBride, head of the Customs and Excise team, is now flummoxed as to just how and why Pyke has suddenly become so professional.

Once the scene was set, I was hooked. I know they were essentially part of a drugs team, but I loved Michael and Bernard from the beginning. Bernard was clever and wily, and I definitely wanted to be a part of his gang! Dane wrote about his characters with passion and clarity and I was left in no doubt who was actually in charge!

I can’t tell you too much about the ending, but I guarantee that you won’t see it coming and that it will make you smile and want Bernard as your grandfather!

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a crime-type thriller with lots going on. I can’t wait for the next book in the Frank McBride series.

Thank you to The Book Guild Ltd and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review The Rutland Connection by Michael Dane.

About the Book

Lincoln 1997. Veteran customs investigator Frank McBride has been targeting gangs of drugs smugglers for decades. Taking out John Pyke’s team of Lincoln-based criminals is just another operation until suddenly things become interesting.

Why has Pyke’s team suddenly become so professional? How has it become so adept at evading surveillance? And who is the mysterious figure who is pulling the strings? McBride relishes having found a worthy opponent. But who is he? And what game is he playing?

Michael Butcher wants to know why his grandfather, a retired brigadier living in a tiny Rutland village, has decided to become an international trafficker in narcotics. Involving him in an elaborate game where the price of losing is life in prison.

McBride and the Brigadier become enmeshed in a private duel, but only one of them knows the rules of the game.

About Michael

Michael Dane spent over ten years as an officer in the Customs and Excise National Investigation Service investigating drug trafficking, VAT fraud and smuggling of all kinds. He later retrained as a lawyer and joined the private sector where he investigated fraud and corruption all over the world. He is retired and lives in the Vale of Belvoir.

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