Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

Thanks to Bookouture  and Netgalley, I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review..........

DI Kim Stone is back with her investigating team and once again are put on the case. The story opens where DI Stone and her side-kick DS Bryant are part of a kidnapping case where two little nine year old girls, Charlie & Amy whom are best friends have been abducted from outside the local leisure centre.  Two families are plunged into a living nightmare.  The couple who offer the highest ransom will see their daughter again.  One girl will live, the other will die, make no doubt about it. A text message to both couples confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.

When a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children.  But which couple want their child back more!?? As the body count mounts up, DI Kim Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced with their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour. The clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the team.   Will they get to the little girls on time or will it be too late!??  What are the couples trying to hide from their past?  Is there something more sinister behind all this that DI Kim Stone and her team have to try to unravel before it's too late??  Will someone’s child pay the ultimate price??

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!  What a novel Lost Girls was, I didn't think Angela Marsons could top her success with her previous two novels of Silent Scream & Evil Games but once again how wrong was I? It was absolutely fantastic. The sociopath/kidnapper 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 could feel I was right there with the two little girls.  As we discovered in the first and second book in the series, DI Stone has her own hidden past and her own demons and her own buried secrets to deal with which we do touch on a little in Lost Girls.  I will admit that I found parts of the story hard to read and in places it made my skin crawl but it definitely didn't disappoint. It was a spine-chilling , pulse pounding, heart thumping rollercoaster ride.  I know that his book will stick in my memory longer than most because of the subject matter that was involved. I am really looking forward to Angela's next book already where I'm hoping it won't be too long until another DI Stone Novel is upon us.

I've said this in my previous reviews that Angela Marsons is definitely an author to watch and I definitely mean it. It's hard to believe that Angela has written all 3 novels in less than a year which is an amazing achievement and I'm been honest here by saying that all 3 novels will definitely be in my Top 10 Reads of 2015.

I'd HIGHLY recommend ALL three of her novels especially if you're a fan of Rachel Abbott, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham. Silent Scream is only £0.99 & Evil Games is £1.99 respectively on Kindle at the moment so grab it while you can, you won't be disappointed so don't say I never told you so!!!

Lost Girls is published on 5th November and is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores and is currently £1.99 at the time of publication of this review.

Asking For It by Louise O'Neill

Meet Emma O'Donovan, she lives with her parents and brother in a small town in Cork, she's an eighteen year old girl.  She is beautiful, happy, confident and very popular with lots of friends.  One night on a weekend, there's a party which gets out of hand. Everyone is there and all eyes are on Emma.

The next morning, she wakes up on the front porch of her house where her parents find her. She can't remember what happened, she doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. She vaguely starts to remember parts from the night before, drinking hard, taking a few pills but that's it, everything else is a blur.

Photographs taken at the party start to emerge, in explicit detail of what happened to Emma that night. They are put up on social media, on her Facebook page that has been set up and everyone can see them, there are hundreds of likes and comments on these pictures and everyone whispers "slut, skank, bitch, whore, slut, skank, bitch, whore" pointing and giggling everytime they see Emma.  Sometimes people don't want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town's heroes......

I didn't like this book, I absolutely LOVED it, it was brutal, honest, raw and left me emotionally drained after I turned the last page.  I went through alot of emotions reading this and I'm sure I'm not the only one.  It also shows the dangers of social media and how it can be used as a weapon by the wrong people to try destroy someones life and successfully accomplishing it too.  I hated Emma's parents, they were the most unsupportive people I'd ever come across, they dismissed everything that Emma was going through after her ordeal and wanted to forget everything and were willing to turn a blind eye or want to bring attention on themselves by getting the culprits charged especially when Emma went to get legal advice from her parents solicitor and it makes you angry and realise what the legal system is like, when a victim of sexual assault or rape is treated and not just in Ireland mind you.  I Loved her brother Bryan, he was the only one who stood up for Emma, supported her and tried to make their parents see sense but not to much avail.

Louise O'Neill has written a brutal yet honest account of what could, can and has happened to women of all ages and where the questions and blame starts to set in; did they bring it on themselves by the way they acted?? by what they wore?? or where they #AskingForIt or are they a victim of a sexual assault?? I would HIGHLY recommend this to everyone to read from 16 years of age upwards, both male and female and would even go as far as to say that it should be on the Curriculum in Secondary Schools.  Asking For It will definitely be in my Top 10 Reads of 2015.

Asking For It is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores.

Addicted by Nigel May

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review........

Four women….one death, one killer….Getting clean is a dirty business

Meet Martha Eclair the wine heiress with a sex addiction that could destroy her father's wine business empire, Nancy Arlow the faded entertainer who also has a major gambling addiction, Portia Safari the operatic diva who is adored by millions but has a drinking problem that could cost her everything and Lauren Everett the politician's wife, who pretty much has no life since she married her politician husband and she is about to rediscover life she left behind and discover a coke addiction - four women who can’t say no….....

All of these women should be happy with what life has given them. Success, beauty, money and fame. But never judge a book by it's cover, because on the outside they may all seem to be completely in control of their lives, but under their fashionable appearance, deep within their souls, they are all battling their own demons…......they are all addicted.  Addicted to things that could ruin their very existence. In fact, one will snuff it out for good but who will it be?

I didn't like this book, I LOVED it, the book is divided into two parts and couldn't wait to get through to the end of it to see what way it would progress and pan out.  The characters were well written and with great depth too.  There was lots of glitz and glamour throughout this book with some of the characters which I loved, I could imagine myself there at times during the book in Las Vegas. I would state that due to mature content, I would recommend this for readers aged 18+.  There are alot of scenes of  sex and this might not be to everyone's cup of tea but I thought that it was tastefully written.

As I've never read any books by the likes of Jackie Collins or Victoria Fox, I can't really compare or judge the book based on that, I'll probably cause a bit of a stir by saying this but I can tell you that in my opinion I think Nigel May can certainly write better than E.L. James.  I'm looking forward to reading more from Nigel too. So, if you are looking for an escapist read; grab this book, a glass or two of wine and some chocolate. Switch off, relax and enjoy!

Addicted is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores and is currently £1.99 at the time of publication of this review.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Meet Louisa (Lou) Clark, she knows lots of things.  She knows precisely how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home.  She loves working in The Buttered Bun tea shop until she looses her job and she then reluctantly takes a post as a carer to a young man, Will Traynor, who was involved in a serious accident involving a motorcycle 2 years previous which has left him paralysed from the chest down or in a Quadriplegic state.  She also knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

Will Traynor had a high flying well paid career, an active lifestyle, the world was his oyster until that faithful day he was involved in an accident that would change his life forever. It has taken away his desire to live as he needs round the clock care and feels that he's a burden on everyone; nurses, his parents and sister.  He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

However, when Will's Mum Camilla hires Lou to be carer to Will where amongst her daily duties she has to carry out for him she has to also try and convince him that his life is worth living.  Lou knows she's against the clock as she tries to hatch a plan to try and persuade Will of this.  Will she manage to convince Will before it's too late??

Wow, what a beautiful, emotional and thought provoking love story, I LOVED it. This story had it all from family, love with a little hint of humor sprinkled in along the way to more sensitive and hard-hitting issues which were dealt with perfectly and 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, 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.  I'm really looking forward to reading more books from Jojo Moyes especially the sequel to this one, After You and I would highly recommend her if you haven't read any of her books already.

Me Before You is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores.

A Love Like This by Maria Duffy

Can you get a second chance at love at first sight?


Meet Donna and William, they were born on the same day, in the same Dublin maternity hospital but that's where their similarities end.

Will has grown up in an affluent area and struggles to balance what he wants with what will keep his overbearing mother happy and content.  Across the city,  Donna lives with her older sister, Tina who has raised her since she was a child and she often wonders what life would be like without her problematic mother around.

Donna and Will almost meet many times over the years but something has kept them from that chance meeting until a major tragedy strikes each one of them.  Will decides that he wants to travel the world with the hope of finding happiness as he tries to come to terms with a life-shattering event.  Donna is now alone in the world and decides that there's nothing left for her and makes plans to leave Dublin to fulfill her lifelong dream.  They finally meet more than 10,000 miles away from home so perhaps fate has plans for them still or will it be a case of what could've been......

Maria Duffy has done it once again, I loved this book.  I had it read in a few days and couldn't put it down, it was such a sweet, heart-warming and uplifting book, the story flows well throughout the book.  This story had it all from love, family, tragedy, protectiveness to more sensitive and hard-hitting issues and with a little bit of humor thrown into the mix, this story was handled and written perfectly - 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.

This is Maria Duffy's 5th novel, she has also written Any Dream Will Do, The Terrace, The Letter and One Wish and are all available on Kindle & in all good bookstores.

A Love Like This is available on Kindle & in all good bookstores.

Follow Me by Angela Clarke ~ COVER REVEAL

Hi Everyone,

I was really excited to receive an email from Helena Sheffield last week asking me amongst other book bloggers to do a cover reveal for this upcoming book so I'd like to say a huge thanks to Helena from Avon Books/Harper Collins Publishers for been given this huge opportunity to host the cover reveal for Follow Me by Angela Clarke which is her debut novel and is due to be released on Kindle on December 3rd and on December 31st in paperback and I really can't wait to read it and you can pre-order it on Kindle.

So without further ado, here it is......................

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …


Follow me is available on Kindle from the 3rd of December & in paperback from the 31st of December.

Girl Alone by Cathy Glass

Thanks to LoveReading & Harper Element, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.......

When Joss was only 9 years old, she came home from school to discover her father's suicide.  Joss's Mum has also remarried and she is quite bitter about this and resents her stepfather as he's trying to be her father.

Now Joss is now a thirteen year old very troubled, angry and out of control teenager when she arrives to her third foster carer, Cathy Glass, in as many months.  Cathy is highly experienced in this field and been fostering for over 25 years and has cared for more than 150 children and is asked to look after Joss but she knows this is going to be quite challenging.  Joss's attitude towards Cathy and her and her 3 children is horrible.  She won't let anyone get close to her, she believes that she's invincible and can take care of herself, places herself in great danger on numerous occasions.  She drinks alcohol, smokes cannabis, steals, goes missing and gets into trouble with the police and at school but time is running out for Joss, as she will be moved to a secure unit.  One night when you think thing can't any worse for Joss, they do.  Joss arrives home very late sobbing and with bruises on her face....

I really loved this book, it's based on true events also which I really liked.  I had it read in about a day, I couldn't put it down, I really enjoyed Joss's story from when she arrived with Cathy and her journey along until the last page.  I really admire anyone who fosters or adopts children as they're giving someone a great chance at a life they could never imagine, even though they may have some hard and challenging times along the way.  I really didn't like Joss at the start but I had so many emotions for her reading this book, from annoyance, anger, sadness, empathy, sorrow to happiness.

It was such a sad, thought provoking, heart-warming and uplifting story.  This story had it all from love, family to more sensitive and hard-hitting issues which were dealt with perfectly and in a sensitive manner.  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.  I'm really looking forward to reading more books from Cathy Glass and would highly recommend her if you haven't read any of her books already.

Girl Alone is available on Kindle and in all good bookstores.