Name: Kate Cassidy. Location: London.Sexual experience: none.
Kate’s virginity is not something billionaire Theo Knight ever wanted to know about. He swore to protect her after her brother’s death, but when he discovers Kate’s dating profile, all he can think about is how much he’s tempted to unravel her…
Kate is mortified when Theo discovers her secret. Yet she can’t resist his tantalizing offer to introduce her to pleasure beyond her wildest imagination! Their chemistry is as unstoppable as it is off-limits, but the biggest scandal of all is yet to happen…
I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
This is a surprisingly engaging story. Theo and Kate both have secrets, troubled pasts, with the consequent emotional damage. The chemistry between the unlikely couple is intense and the sexy romance, hot and passionate.
Theo is not the misogynist you may suspect, he is tough to survive, and his big heart reveals itself, where Kate and her sister are concerned. Kate is courageous. Naive in somerespects, her tragic past has forced her to be independent and resourceful. The internal conflicts often seem insurmountable. The ending is passionate and thankfully happy.
Regan is holding a winning lottery ticket. Goodbye to the boyfriend who never had her back, and so long to the job she can’t stand! Except it’s all a bit too good to be true…
When Regan gets pranked, she finds herself jobless, homeless and boyfriendless in one fell swoop.
Luckily her friendly seaside community provides a beacon of hope, proving to Regan that sometimes you really can rely on the kindness of others – and one local in particular, a handsome fireman called Charlie, helps Regan realise that this could be her chance for a fresh start.
Armed with a list of ways to change her life, Regan decides it’s time to step out of her comfort zone. Because – as Charlie knows all too well – life is for living . . .
I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
What an exciting to start, to an addictive new series. Regan didn’t immediately appeal to me. I’m a neat freak and sympathised with Jarvis, her ultra tidy boyfriend, but she redeemed herself, within a few pages, with her caring attitude and sense of humour.
This first part, of the series, is full of new characters and events. Regan thinks her life is changing for the better, and then it doesn’t, but maybe, it does? Just when you think, things may be okay, life deals her another bad hand and that’s where you’re left. Desperate to know what happens next.
With relatable characters, humour, poignancy, romance and secrets, this story has so much potential. I can’t wait to read part two.
Racing cross-country pursued by danger, widow Lady Ellena Swein isn’t pleased to be taken back to her father’s castle. But with his knight Sir Braedan Leofric, also known as The Beast, as her captor, she has little choice! Ellena is surprised by his honourable and protective nature, even if she shouldn’t trust him. And when all seems to conspire against them, Braedan’s secret could either extinguish the spark between them or make it burn brighter.
I received a copy of this book from the author and Mills and Boon in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
An exciting romantic adventure, featuring a knight with a deadly reputation, and a widow. Braedan has pledged his allegiance to Ellena’s father, as he tries to restore his family’s reputation and estates. Ellena, clever and resourceful, saves her estate from ruin. She values her independence but must convince her father, who has plans for her remarriage.
Gentle romance fuses with adrenaline-pumping adventure and danger. Ellena begins to fall in love with the man behind the reputation. The forbidden love grows, when Braedan is drawn to Ellena by her courage and kindness. Passion and poignancy define this story as it reaches a climax, full of danger and despair. Thankfully, true love triumphs.
Ella Mathews
Ella Matthews lives and works in beautiful South Wales. When not thinking about handsome heroes she can be found walking along the coast with her husband and their two children (probably still thinking about heroes but at least pretending to be interested in everyone else).
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In 19th century Europe the most deadly vampire-killing weapon ever devised is up for grabs – and both the Undead and the living will stop at nothing to possess it…
It’s a legend, a fairy story parents tell frightened children to make them sleep. Basium Lucis – Daylight’s Kiss – the fabled compound that recreates sunlight in a bottle, and incinerates bloodsucking monsters on contact.
Vampire hunter Anton Yoska doesn’t believe in its existence or the whispered rumours of its creation by Leonardo Da Vinci 250 years before.
But when a mysterious Hungarian arts dealer claims to have uncovered the long-lost formula, Anton’s cynicism is shaken to the core as he is tasked to procure the pyrotechnic marvel for the Vatican’s centuries-old battle with the vampire sect known as the Brethren.
In a desperate race to beat nosferatu forces intent on destroying the wonder weapon, and cold-blooded gangsters who desire the Alchemist’s most prized invention for their own aggrandisement and riches, Anton is caught in a maelstrom of double dealing and lies..
Traps loom at every turn, and nothing is what it appears, but acquiring the Basium Lucis is tMyhe least of the his problems – for the ferocious Modjeski vampire family want retribution for his slaughter of their clan chief a year before. And old flame and rival slayer, Nadia, has her own devious plans to thwart Anton’s quest.
As time runs out and predators circle, the beleaguered hunter realises he’s been tricked into a suicide mission. But Anton Yoska won’t go down without a fight – and he doesn’t care who he takes to Hell with him.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
It’s a while since I’ve stepped into the world of vampires and the paranormal. This story has rekindled my interest. Set in the nineteenth-century, it follows a quirky team of vampire hunters as they search for the Daylight Kiss. Pursued by the undead, and held to ransom by the Vatican, the hunters face danger and treachery, in a strange paranormal historical fantasy world.
This is the second in the Blood Riders series and is enjoyable as a standalone read. There is enough backstory to introduce the main characters, in the initial prologue. An engaging, exciting story, with intricate and vivid world-building, and vibrant and easy to visualise characters. Humour lightens the tension. There are some gory scenes, which are in keeping with the genre.
Paranormal adventure, an atmospheric historical setting, and memorable characters.
Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men. He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house on the edge of a 500-acre wood may have something to do with it.
If you would like to be informed of new releases, enjoy free short stories and access exclusive giveways and competitions, please subscribe to Jay’s monthly newsletter on his website at http://www.jayraven.com
Scotland, 1940: War rages across Europe, but Invermoray House is at peace. Until the night of Constance’s twenty-first birthday, when she’s the only person to see a Spitfire crash into the loch. Constance has been longing for adventure – but when she promises to keep the pilot hidden, what will it cost her?
2020: Kate arrives in the Highlands to turn Invermoray into a luxury bed-and-breakfast, only to find that the estate is more troubled than she’d imagined. But when Kate discovers the house has a murky history, with Constance McLay’s name struck from its records, she knows she can’t leave until the mystery is solved…
How will one promise change the fate of two women, decades apart?
Not having read the author’s debut novel, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I needn’t have worried.
This is engaging and easy to read. Full of drama, poignancy, risk and romance. Drawn into both stories from their first chapters, this timeslip novel has believable, easy to like characters, authentic historical detail, a beautiful setting, in a timeless story of forbidden love and desperate times.
There are secrets in both timelines and plots twist. I did work out the tragic historical twist but knowing, just increased the dramatic irony and suspense.
If you’re looking for a story to sweep you away to a different place and time, this is it.
Seven stories, seven whispers into the ears of life: A Yi’s unexpected twists of crime burst from the everyday, with glimpses of romance distorted by the weaknesses of human motive. A Yi employs his forensic skills to offer a series of portraits of modern life, both uniquely Chinese, and universal in their themes. His years as a police officer serve him well as he teases the truth from simple observation, now brought into the English language in a masterful translation by Alex Woodend. The stories include Two Lives, Attic, Spring, Bach, Predator.
I received a copy of this book from Flame Tree Press in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
A collection of literary fiction short stories, set in China and translated from Chinese. The collection focuses on crime and darker aspects of life and love. The unique and well-written stories explore Chinese society and the complexity of its individuals.
Crime features in most of the stories. The author’s knowledge of forensic science colours many of the stories, which are often explicit and graphic. Descriptions of violence and its results make some of the stories closer to horror fiction, but the underlying theme is, what people as individuals and en masse are capable of, given the right provocation.
The stories give the reader a sense of life in China. Like all short stories, some are easier to relate to than others, but if you are looking for something different, and can accept graphic descriptions, this is worth reading.
A Yi (author) is a celebrated Chinese writer living in Beijing. He worked as a police officer before becoming editor-in- chief of Chutzpah, an avant garde literary magazine. He is the author of several collections of short stories and has published fiction in Granta and the Guardian. In 2010 he was shortlisted for the People’s Literature Top 20 Literary Giants of the Future. A Perfect Crime, his first book in English was published by Oneworld in 2015. He is noted for his unsentimental worldview, and challenging literary style.
Alex Woodend (Translator) is a writer/translator whose fascination with Spanish and Chinese began at Franklin & Marshall College. He continued his studies at Columbia University where he wrote his Masters on early post-Mao literature. Translator of The Captain Riley Adventures , Murder in Dragon City, and other works, he currently lives in New York.
The discovery of a woman close to death in a city basement sends Bucharest police officers Anton Iordan and Sorin Matache on a complex chase through the city as they seek to identify the victim. As they try to track down the would-be murderer, they find a macabre trail of missing women and they realise that this isn’t the first time the killer has struck. Iordan and Matache hit one dead end after another, until they decide they’ll have to take a chance that could prove deadly.
I received a copy of the book from Corylus Books in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
Finding the person who left a woman hanging from a pipe in a basement proves difficult for police detectives Jordan and Matache. The two detectives have a good working relationship, Jordan is a police commander, with a troublesome private life. Matahce is a talented, young chief inspector, living the good life.
The story is fast-paced and follows along police procedural lines. The setting in Romania, adds interest for the reader, as the forensic departments, and other aspects of the police investigative team are distinctive. There is a good cast of characters, with insights into the personal lives of the two main detectives. The characters are realistic, and the plot is well thought out. The reader investigates the crime alongside the detectives, finding out information when they do. This immersive quality makes it an enjoyable read.
Corylus Book is a new venture aiming to publish fiction translated into English. The people behind the company have very different backgrounds, but what brings us together is a deep appreciation of crime fiction and a strong interest in books from countries that so have been under-represented in English.
It took a while before it turned out that everyone’s thoughts had been on similar lines – that we wanted to take a chance on presenting some of the great European crime fiction that wouldn’t normally make its way into English. With a mixture of language, translation and other skills between the four of us, it seemed the logical next step to take.
The first Corylus books are a pair of Romanian crime novellas, Living Candles by Teodora Matei and Zodiac by Anamaria Ionescu.
There’s more to come in 2020 – starting with Romanian novelist’s Bogdan Teodorescu’s Sword, a powerful political thriller that has already been a bestseller in Romania and in its French translation. Sword will be available in May and will be followed later in the year by the first of two books by Icelandic crime writer Sólveig Pálsdóttir. The Fox will be available in the second half of this year, followed by Shackles in 2021.
And there’s more to come, with a novel by Bogdan Hrib set partly in Romania and partly in the north-east of England, a second novel from Teodora Matei, and we’re talking to more exciting writers from across Europe about what we can do together…
