My Review for The Man Without Shelter by Indrajit Garai

I was approached by the author’s assistant, who asked if I would like to read a copy of The Man Without Shelter. The synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy and so I agreed. 

Lucy and Arnault are the main characters. Lucy is a lawyer, with a promising future ahead of her and Arnault has recently been released from prison and is now living on the streets of Paris. Through various situations, their lives become linked and the story progresses.

Overall, The Man Without Shelter is a good book. I enjoyed both Lucy and Arnault’s stories and with Arnault in particular; the author described, in detail, how he progressed as he left prison and I enjoyed his story.

That being said, the book could definitely have done with a final edit. There were quite a few grammatical errors, and it appears that English isn’t the author’s first language. I’m not sure whether the book was written in English or whether it has been translated, however, for me, it didn’t flow as well as it could have done. I would suggest a re-edit to address these issues and the few storyline anomalies.

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Man Without Shelter by Indrajit Garai.

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My Review for Happy State by Samantha Fitzgibbons

I can easily immerse myself into someone else’s dystopian world, so when Samantha Fitzgibbons reached out and asked me whether I would like to read her brand new, debut dystopian novel, Happy State, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Happy State is brilliantly written, and I loved it from beginning to end. It was incredibly dark throughout, and I often shuddered and wondering just what the UK would be like if democracy became a dictatorship. It just doesn’t bear thinking about. 

Rafella is our protagonist, and she has had to get used to having a curfew and being told what time she has to be home at night. Mobile phones are no longer allowed and nightclubs no longer exist. What I found difficult to comprehend was the plan to ‘remove’ people with any sort of mental illness from society. It was just horrifying.

Happy State ended on a massive cliffhanger and I hope Samantha Fitzgibbons is well on her way to writing the next one! 

I would definitely recommend Happy State to anyone who enjoys a dystopian story and I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review a copy of her book.

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My Review for You Can Become Someone: It's Your Life by Anita Onli

I really enjoyed this book. You Can Become Someone: It’s Your Life is a story of how Izzie grows into her life and finally works out just what she wants to do, albeit with a few mishaps and traumas along the way.

She needs to find out what job she really wants to do, what it is she actually wants from a relationship, and realise that friends are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. 

The story speeds through quickly and I think the author could make a full-length novel out of this if she wanted to, just by giving the reader more of a background to the characters and including them more in the story.

The book definitely needed a final edit as there were quite a few typos throughout and at one point, Harry became Henry! That being said, I would read another book by Anita Onli. She has a great future as an author in front of her if she wanted to go down that route.

Thank you to Anita Onli for the opportunity to read and review a copy of You Can Become Someone: It’s Your Life.

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My Review for Mayatte's Catharsis: A Feathered Serpent Reborn by Jack E. Mohr

From the beginning, I was drawn onto Naña’s island and into her world. An island that seems to be in the middle of an ocean and perhaps within a Bermuda triangle-type vortex. Naña and her fellow islanders hide from any visitors, and only show themselves when they feel safe. So, when survivors of a shipwreck land on the island, they initially seem to be on a deserted island.

We are soon thrown into a world of fighting monsters and characters fighting for their lives whilst trying to save each other.

I enjoyed this short novella, but I felt that it could have done with a final edit to iron out the few errors I found. I would also appreciate some world-building to understand more about what is happening and why. There is definitely scope for further, perhaps full-length books and I would like to see what the author comes up with next. 

Thank you to Jack E. Mohr for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Mayatte’s Catharsis.

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My Review for A Mother's Heart by Carmel Harrington, Narrated by Aoife McMahon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ OMG, I loved A Mother’s Heart by Carmel Harrington, from the moment I put my AirPods in, until the moment I took them out. It helps that I also love Aoife McMahon. She is such a brilliant narrator who makes a book come alive and invites you into whatever world she reads about.

Full of love and happiness, anger and sadness, I defy anyone who enjoys a family-related story, with its fair share of pain-in-the-ass grandparents but also loveable ones, to not fall in love with Rachel, Olivia, Dylan and their family. You’ll cry, laugh, and shout out loud, in sheer frustration at some of the things that happen between them all.

I haven’t read or listened to anything by Carmel Harrington before, but I’ve just put everything I can find straight onto my TBR list.

Read or listen to this as soon as you can. I promise you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of A Mother's Heart by Carmel Harrington.

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My Review for Typecast by Andrea Stein

⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have had Typecast on my TBR list for a few months and after a very hectic summer, I finally got around to reading it, and boy was it worth the wait! From the very beginning, I was invested in Callie and her life, what had gone before and what was to come. Set over two main timelines, before the break-up with college boyfriend Ethan and present day where Callie is now a preschool teacher and living in the house she grew up in.

Typecast was a delight to read, all the characters were loveable in their own way and I especially had a soft spot for Callie’s niece, four-year-old Zoe who was just so cute when she realised she’d get to share a bedroom with her Auntie Callie for a few months.

Callie finds herself with a lot to contend with, her sister and her family coming to stay for a while, the discovery that Ethan is the screenwriter for a movie that just may or may not be based on what happened when Callie dumped him and finding out what she actually wants to do with her life.

I can imagine Typecast being made into a movie and what an entertaining and funny movie it would be. In the meantime, if you enjoy women’s contemporary fiction and want something easy to read as Christmas approaches, grab yourself a copy of Typecast. Andrea Stein obviously has an amazing talent for writing and I hope she brings out another book soon.  

Thank you to the author for my gifted copy in exchange for a review.

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My Review for We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I read a lot of historical fiction, particularly based on facts surrounding World War II, but never before have I read anything that focused on Russian women who became pilots to fight for their country. I didn’t realise this was a thing and now I have to know whether there were any other women who flew and fought for their country during that time.

Suzanne Kelman has done an amazing job with this book and decided to continue writing it and publish it at a time when Russia incited another war. However, the world needs to read about these amazing women and what they achieved and what is going on right now shouldn’t take our admiration away from that. 

Nadia and Tasha are incredibly brave sisters who cope with so much discrimination as they attempt to infiltrate the world which has, until now, been dominated by men. We Fly Beneath the Stars is laced with expectation, love, and happiness, but a great deal of sadness and pain. I don’t want to give you any spoilers, but look out for the shocking revelation towards the end of the book as the war ends and remember that this is based on fact. 

I urge you to check out Suzanne Kelman’s latest novel; We Fly Beneath the Stars if you enjoy historical fiction and love learning about something you may not have known. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman.

Book Description

1942, Europe: Based on the true story of a female-only bomber battalion, this is a totally heartbreaking and unforgettable story about sacrifice, sisterhood and a love that transcends war.

When the love of Tasha’s life, Luca, joins the air force to fight against the evil Nazi invaders, she knows she has to follow her heart—and him—into battle. Headstrong, impulsive and a daredevil, she’s the perfect recruit.

Tasha’s sensible older sister Nadia plans only to stop Tasha’s madness and bring her home. But a chance encounter puts her in a plane, soaring above the clouds, and she also finds her calling.

Underestimated by their superiors, Nadia and her sister find themselves in airplanes barely fit to fly, being sent on perilous missions with little hope of return. But before long their battalion is being nicknamed ‘the Night Witches’ by the Nazis, their ownership of the skies second to none.

But danger is up in the storm clouds with them, and when both sisters are shot down behind Nazi enemy lines, and taken to a brutal prison camp, they expect to never see their beloved homeland again.

Until Tasha’s eyes meet across the wire fence with someone she never expected to see again: the love of her life, Luca.

But with love comes peril… Will one sister have to sacrifice everything to save the other?

Absolutely unputdownable historical fiction, perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Ragged Edge of Night, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Author Bio

Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.

 

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