Our Song by Dani Atkins

Thanks to LoveReading.co.uk and Simon & Schuster, I received an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review...............

Four people. One night to decide their past, present and future.

It's a December night and Joe is on his way home minding his own business one night past a park when he hears panicked cries for help from some kids.  When Joe rushes to their aid, their brother Marty and their dog Todd have fallen through some ice and into the lake below.  Marty is rescued and brought to safety but the kids screams for Joe to go back in and save their dog, he tells the kids to wait there and under no circumstances to follow him.

Across town David is dropped off on a corner not far from the Department store where he needs to do some last minute Christmas shopping, the place is full of last minute shoppers, as he makes his way through the heaving crowds he starts to feel unwell and puts it down that he must be coming down with the flu and continues on but he gets to the counter and feels very hot and sweaty. The shop assistant gets him a bottle of water, still convinced it's the flu the assistant offers him a seat but he doesn't make it and hits the floor.

Upon receiving the news that their husbands both Ally and Charlotte race to be at their respected husbands bedsides awaiting news only to discover they're both in the same hospital. This is the story of Ally and Charlotte, whose paths have intersected over the years although they've never really been good friends but fate is going to bring them together for one last, dramatic time and change their lives forever.

What a beautiful, emotional and thought provoking story, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. This story had it all from family, love to more sensitive and hard-hitting issues which were dealt with perfectly and it was well researched and written in a very sensitive and compassionate manner.  I found I had tears streaming down my face at the end along with shedding a few along the way as it really meant a lot to me as I'm a huge supporter of this issue for years now, so grab this book, curl up on the couch with a few tissues and prepare to have a few lump in your throat moments too.  This is the first book I've read by Dani Atkins and I'm really looking forward to reading more of her books. I would highly recommend her if you haven't read any of her books already. I would definitely even say that this is definitely going to huge this year and is already my favourite book that I've read so far.

Our Song is available on Kindle from 21st January and in all good bookstores from the 28th of January 2016.

Rebound by Aga Lesiewicz

Thanks to Francesa Pear, Pan MacMillan and Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.........

I'm not a bad person, but maybe I did a bad thing .........

Anna Wright is a very successful person, she's got a great job as a media executive working for one of the UK's largest TV corporations.  She had a great boyfriend whom she's recently split from, some close friends and a lovely home. She adores her dog, Wispa, and she loves to run on the Heath to help her de-stress.

But Anna's perfect life starts to crumble from the moment when, out jogging on the Heath one day, she meets a handsome stranger. She takes a running route into unfamiliar territory, and then she has to face the consequences as her obsession of this handsome stranger becomes dangerous the riskier and longer it goes on........

This is Aga Lesiewicz's debut novel and I really enjoyed it, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I really liked the psychological and mystery element also and it was full of twists and turns too.  I liked the way the narrative was written, in two parts, i.e. XX days before the event and XX days after the event, I know it kept me hooked.  I felt that the ending was a little too rushed but apart from that I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Aga, (no pressure though).

Rebound is available on Kindle and currently £5.99 at the time of publication of this review and in all good bookstores.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

With HUGE thanks to Ben Willis from Penguin Random House and Transworld Books, I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.............


A loving husband or a heartless killer........she'd know, wouldn't she?

Jean Taylor is married to Glen for the last number of years, they seem to be a happy couple on the outside but behind closed doors there's a hint of psychological abuse and secrets that Glen tries to hide from Jean, but Glen had been accused of a shocking and unforgivable crime where he was implicated in the disappearance of a little two-year old girl named Bella Elliot where she was snatched from her front garden four year previous.  But after a tragic accident, Glen is now dead and Jean is finally able to tell her story and what she knows.........

Wow, what a debut The Widow was, it was fantastic, I didn't like it, I LOVED it.  It had everything from secrets, lies to betrayals.  It had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end. As I was reading this it was making me question can we really ever truly know someone?? This story is told from four points of view ~ Glen's wife, Jean, the reporter whom has the exclusive interview with Jean Taylor, the detective who was part of the abduction case who failed to get justice for little Bella and also from the mother of Bella Donna, where she tells her side of what happened that faithful day her daughter was snatched.   The story does cover a few subjects and situations which we're all too familiar with on a daily basis, from online grooming, violence to paedophilia, whether it's on the news or in the papers, this story was near enough to real life. This is by no means a happy read and with the subject material it can be quite dark in places and what an ending, I couldn't believe it and I certainly didn't expect it either.  I'd HIGHLY recommend this book if you're a fan of psychological thrillers, it definitely didn't disappoint.  I am really looking forward to reading more work from Fiona Barton.

The Widow is published on 14th January and is available in all good bookstores and is on Kindle for £5.99 at the time of publication of this review.

Death Falls by Todd Ritter

Thanks to Avon, Harper Collins, Maze and Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review........

On the same night of July 20 1969 that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead jumped on his bike to see if he could get a better look. It was the last anyone ever saw of him.

When Perry Hollow's Police Chief Jim Campbell finds Charlie's bike caught up above a waterfall, he assumes the worse, and so did everyone else except for Charlie's mother Maggie who believes that he's still alive. 40 years later, Maggie dies which sees the return of her other son, a now famous author and Charlie's brother Eric Olmstead to bury his mother and fulfill her last request: find his brother.

To do so he goes to the current police chief and his former sweetheart Kat Campbell, and it isn't long before they discover that finding Charlie was his mother's secret obsession, and while she never found him she uncovered clues suggesting that he wasn't the only victim.....

This book was really good, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I really liked the mystery element that lasted for over 40 years.  I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end. I didn't like it, I LOVED it and it definitely didn't disappoint.  Full of secrets, lies, cover ups and a range of suspects, I thought I'd worked it out but I was completely wrong  and wasn't expecting that ending, I didn't see it coming. I will definitely read more of Todd Ritter's work.  This book is perfect for fans of Gregg Hurwitz and P.J. Tracy.

Death Falls is available on Kindle and is currently £1.99 at the time of publication of this review.

Try Not To Breathe by Holly Seddon

Thanks to Corvus Books and the author Holly Seddon, I was delighted to receive a copy of this in exchange for an honest review........

You won't be able to put it down. Just remember to breathe.

Alex is a journalist who cuts herself off from everything and everyone but her one true love - drink, which is a constant battle with her demons but when she is forced to write a piece about a coma ward she meets a face from her past, Amy.  Amy was fifteen when she was savagely attacked and left for dead in a park. Her attacker was never found but since then, she has drifted into a lonely, timeless place.  She's as good as dead, but even her doctors are not sure how much she understands.  As Alex begins to investigate the attack to uncover the truth and find out what happened on that fateful day, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma.........

This book is brilliant, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end. This story is told in a dual time narrative ~ back to 1995 when the attack happened and in the present day of 2010 and it slowly weaves a web with a mystery element of what actually happened to Amy on that fateful afternoon. I thought that I'd worked out who the attacker was halfway through it but I was completely wrong and as it was getting towards the end I could feel my heart beating quickly and I almost forgot to breath so it's definitely not for the fainthearted.  This is Holly Seddon's debut novel. I didn't like it, I LOVED it and it definitely didn't disappoint.  Try Not to Breathe has been compared to last year's hit The Girl On The Train but seeing as I haven't read that one (just yet) I can't really compare but this was a highly addictive and a MUST read for all fans of Psychological Thrillers.  I'm really looking forward to Holly Seddon's new novel which will hopefully be sometime this year (no pressure Holly).

Try Not To Breathe was published on the 7th January and is available on Kindle for £3.99 at the time of publication of this review and from all good bookstores.

Freedom's Child by Jax Miller

Freedom Oliver is a drunk, she's trouble and it seems to follow her around no matter where she goes.  Freedom has lived in a small town in Oregon for the past eighteen years, working at a bar and drinking away her troubled past. Twenty years ago, Freedom was arrested for killing her husband and spent two years in jail (where she put her newborn daughter up for adoption) before being exonerated.  Now she's in witness protection and trying to stay hidden from her dead husband's psychotic family. With nothing to do but anonymously watch on Facebook as her kid grows up, she feels trapped, bored, and heartbroken.

One day she reads that her daughter is missing, possibly even kidnapped. Freedom absconds her handlers, gets on her motorcycle, and heads for Kentucky, where her daughter was raised.  No longer protected by the US marshals, she is targeted and tracked by her husband's vengeful and resentful family, who are eager to make Freedom pay for his death. With nothing else left to lose, Freedom risks everything to make amends for a past that still haunts her. Will she make it or will her husbands family catch up with her???

This book is brilliant, it had me gripped from the first few pages right through to the end. I even had to slow down reading it as I didn't want it to end. It is a pretty gritty book in parts so it's definitely not for the fainthearted.  This is Jax Miller's debut novel, I didn't like it, I LOVED it and it definitely didn't disappoint.  Freedom's Child was a fast paced, action packed read and it was highly addictive and a MUST read for fans of Thrillers.  I loved this book so much that I included it in my Top 12 Reads of 2015.  I'm really looking forward to Jax Miller's new novel which will hopefully be sometime this year (no pressure Jax).

Freedom's Child is currently available on Kindle for £1.99 at the time of publication of this review and from all good bookstores.

The Doctor's Daughter by Vanessa Matthews

Thanks to the author Vanessa Matthews, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review..........

It’s Austria 1927, women have the right to vote and morals are slackening, but 23 year old Marta Rosenblit is not the typical woman of her time. She has little connection with her elder sisters, her mother has been confined in an asylum since Marta was born. Her father’s friend Dr Leopold Kaposi is keen to help her make her name, but his interest is not purely professional and his motivations pose greater risks than she could possibly know. Marta's chance encounter in a café leads to a new friendship with young medical graduate Elise Saloman, but it soon turns out that Elise has some secrets of her own. When Marta’s shock discovery about her family coincides with her mother’s apparent suicide, Marta can’t take anymore. Not one person around her that she has grown to love and trust are who they seem.

This is by no means a happy read and is quite dark and disturbing in places.  This novel is primarily set in Vienna with a dark tale that follows her journey of self-discovery  as she tries to step out of her father’s shadow and find her identity in a man’s world but is full of secrets, lies and betrayals.  This was on my TBR pile for over 6 months and to be honest I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book but I didn't like it, I LOVED it but I'm just sorry I didn't pick it up sooner.  It was well researched and constructed.  The story flowed really well and does deal with a very sensitive and hard-hitting issue - I found I had a little tear in my eye at the end along with shedding a few along the way, so grab this book, curl up on the couch and prepare to have a few lump in your throat moments too. It definitely didn't disappoint. This is Vanessa Matthews  second novel, her first been Melodies of my Other Life and I look forward to reading more work from her.

The Doctor's Daughter is currently on Kindle for £1.99 at the time of publication of this review, in all good bookstores I really enjoyed this book so much that I included it in my Top 12 Reads of 2015 and I'd HIGHLY recommend this book and especially if you're a fan of Historical Fiction.

The Venus Trap by Louise Voss

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer & Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.........

Jo Atkins is a divorced mother of one and has recently  gathered the courage to enter the dating scene again.  She's had a couple of dates with Claudio, whom she vaguely remembers from her youth, but after a few dates decides he’s a bit creepy and politely tells him ‘thanks but no thanks’.  But Claudio doesn't seem to take to this too kindly to this and hoping that she'll never see him again Jo wakes up sick and terrified, handcuffed to her own bed.  She is given a week to prove her love for Claudio—or he will kill her.  Can she escape to raise the alarm before it's too late or will Claudio get his way??

WOW!!!  What a novel The Venus Trap was, it was absolutely fantastic. Claudio's character was absolutely brilliant, very well written and cleverly constructed.  They were everything you'd expect with a sociopath - cold, calculating, manipulating and has no regard for anyone's feelings or who they hurt on their path of destruction.  At times, I felt sorry for Claudio as he just wanted someone to love him back but unfortunately went about it the wrong way and in certain parts I could feel I was right there in the bedroom with Jo willing to help her out.

This is my first book that I've read by Louise Voss and it definitely won't be my last either.  I loved this book so much that I inclued it in my Top 12 Reads of 2015.  I'd HIGHLY recommend this novel especially if you're a fan of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons, Mark Edwards, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham. The Venus Trap is currently £3.98 and FREE with Kindle Unlimited so grab it while you can, you won't be disappointed so don't say I never told you so!!!

The Venus Trap is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores.