#BookReview: NOSY NEIGHBOURS by Freya Sampson @SampsonF @bonnierbooks_uk

Publication: 28th March 2024 – Zaffre

You can choose your home, but you can’t choose who lives next door . . .

Twenty-five-year-old Kat Bennett has never felt at home anywhere, especially not in crumbling Shelley House. The other residents think she’s prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat is plagued by guilt from her past and looking for somewhere to belong.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived in Shelley House for longer than anyone else, and if you believe the other tenants, she’s as cantankerous and vindictive as they come. Dorothy may spend her days spying on the neighbours, but she has a closely guarded secret herself – and a good reason for barely leaving her home.

When their building faces demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy become unlikely allies in their quest to save their historic home; and even less likely detectives when they suspect that foul play is coming from within Shelley House . . .

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Shelley House is the only mansion left of the original houses built on Poets Road, in the village of Chalcot, more than a century ago. Once a beautiful mansion, now it’s in constant need of repairs that the landlord keeps ignoring. The residents are a group of people with not much in common who barely acknowledge each other, but when they face eviction, they come together to save the building they call home, especially two women.

Dorothy Darling is the oldest resident of Shelley House, having been living there for more than thirty years, and every day she checks that everything is in order, recording the comings and goings of the other residents in her diary. She has her routine which includes making sure that the post is sorted, that the trash is in the correct bin, and, above all, that she doesn’t have any kind of relationship with the other residents.

Kat Bennet is the newest resident. Chalcot is the only place where Kat Bennet had ever felt at home, until she was ten years old. Since then, she’s been moving around, never finding a permanent place to stay. Back after fifteen years, she is renting a room from Joseph Chambers and his adorable dog Reggie, in the flat right in front of Dorothy’s, but she has no intention to stay long, just a few weeks until she figures out what to do next. 

Dorothy and Kat couldn’t be more different and yet so similar. Dorothy has lived in Shelley House for more than thirty years and has no intention of ever leaving, even if the building collapses around her. For Kat her stay at Shelley House is only temporary, just a few weeks, and she is ready to leave without a notice. Both are haunted by a past that it’s slowly revealed and that keeps them from forming any kind of relationship with anyone, but the demolition of the building and a cute Jack Russel may change that.

I really enjoyed Nosy Neighbours. While stopping the eviction from Shelley House is at the centre of the story, there is so much more to keep you engrossed. The personal lives of the residents, the sense of community, the friendships and the love stories, and a cast of wonderful and relatable characters that keep you entertained from beginning to end. Beautifully-written, heartwarming, and humorous, I can’t recommend this book enough!

A huge thank you to Zaffre and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Freya Sampson is the USA Today bestselling author of The Last Library and The Girl on the 88 Bus. She studied History at Cambridge University and worked in television as an executive producer, making documentaries about everything from the British royal family to neighbours from hell. She lives in London with her husband, children, and cats. Nosy Neighbours is her third novel.

#BookReview: THE GATHERING by C. J. Tudor @cjtudor @MichaelJBooks

Publication: 11th April 2024 – MichaelJoseph

WELCOME TO DEADHART. ALASKA. POPULATION 673. LIVING.

In a small Alaskan town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and the blood drained from his body.

The brutality of the murder of chillingly echoes a killing from twenty-five years ago.

Out-of-state detective Barbara Atkins is brought in to assist the sheriff, Jensen Tucker, who investigated the original case.

However, the inhabitants of Deadhart believe they know who is responsible: one of the nearby vampyr colony who live in an old mining settlement deep in the mountains.

Barbara is under pressure to authorize a cull of the entire colony.

But the evidence doesn’t stack up, people are lying, and the more Barbara and Tucker delve into Deadhart’s history, the darker the secrets they uncover.

As the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, another teenager goes missing and body parts are found.

Time is running out for Barbara and Tucker to find the truth.

Are they hunting a cold-blooded murderer, or a bloodthirsty monster?

And which is more dangerous?

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The Gathering is the incredible new novel by C. J. Tudor, who never fails to keep me glued to the pages. Set in a world where humans and vampyrs try to cohabit, it’s a story of murder, secrets, suspicions, discrimination, fear, and hate.

Twenty-five years ago, the small town of Deadhart, in Alaska, was shaken by the horrific murder of a teenager. The townspeople suspect the colony of vampyrs who live nearby and take matters in their own hands, killing and chasing away the colony. Now, the vampyrs have returned and when another teenager is found dead, apparently in the same way as the murder twenty-five years before, the townspeople are out for revenge. Enter vampire anthropologist and detective Barbara Atkins whose role is to confirm whether the vampyrs are responsible for the murder and authorize the “cull” that would sanction the massacre of the colony. Teaming up with the former detective that investigated the first murder, now a recluse, Barbara needs to find out the truth before a war between humans and vampyrs breaks out and more blood is spilled, but the truth is more complex and sinister than she expects…

The Gathering is twisty and full of suspense from the first to the last page. The setting is very evocative: a small town where darkness is a constant companion during the winter months and easily cut off from the rest of the world. The characters are intricate and full of secrets. There are different points of views, but the main character is detective Barbara Atkins. Raised by an abusive and racist father, she is determined to remain impartial during the investigation and follow the rules, despite the town’s pressure for her to approve the cull.    

Gruesome, chilling, dark, and gripping: that’s how I would describe The Gathering. I was on the edge the entire time I was reading and it’s not for the fainthearted, that’s for sure. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to MichaelJoseph and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

C. J. Tudor’s love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover, television presenter and copywriter.

She is now the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalk Man, The Taking of Annie Thorne, The Other People, The Burning Girls and The Drift. All of her books are in development or optioned for TV, and The Burning Girls debuted on Paramount Plus in 2023. She is also the author of a short story collection, A Sliver of Darkness.

#CoverReveal: A LADY OF CONSCIENCE by Mimi Matthews @MimiMatthewsEsq #aladyofconscience #somersetstories #mimimatthews #victorianromance #jamesberesford #viscountstclare #HannahHeywood#historicalromance #comingsoon #July2024 #romance #cantwaittoread #mustread #coverreveal #coverlove

I can’t tell you how excited I am to take part in the cover reveal for A LADY OF CONSCIENCE, the fifth book in the Somerset series by USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews.

I read and adored all the first four books in the series and I am really looking forward to reading James and Hannah’s story!!!

A LADY OF CONSCIENCE releases July 30, 2024 and it’s available to pre-order at your favourite online retailer now. 

A Victorian bluestocking with a passion for lost causes attracts the unwilling attention of a frost-hearted viscount during her tumultuous debut season in Bath in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s fifth book in her acclaimed Somerset Stories series.

West Country beauty Hannah Heywood may be quiet with fashionable strangers, but when it comes to animals in need, she has no trouble finding her voice. Newly arrived in Bath for her very first season, all she desires is to find one like-minded gentleman. A man of warmth and compassion, as sensitive to animals as he is to people. But if such a man exists, he dare not approach her. Not with the tall, blond, and menacing Viscount St. Clare standing in the way.

James Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has often been described as a sentient block of ice. A man so cold and dispassionate, he would never suit a young lady of Hannah’s disposition. And she would certainly never suit him. Focused on repairing his family’s infamous reputation, James requires a diamond of the first water. The daughter of a duke or a marquess, at least, not a simple country girl with a passion for four-legged creatures.

And yet, there’s something about conscience-driven young Hannah that draws James, first to Bath, and then into one increasingly hare-brained scheme after another. She confounds him at every turn, subverting his expectations and threatening to do what no lady has succeeded in doing before—thawing his ice-cold heart.

And now let’s take a look at the gorgeous cover:

https://www.mimimatthews.com/books/somerset-stories/a-lady-of-conscience/ 

#BookReview: THE RULE BOOK by Sarah Adams @eternal_books

Publication: 2nd April 2024 – Headline Eternal

Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it’s come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is simple: make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved-she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship be the thing to save their careers?

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I am addicted to Sarah Adams’ novels: the writing is immersive, the story is always funny, engaging and romantic, and the protagonists are fantastic. The Rule Book is her latest novel and probably my favourite.

Told by both protagonists’ point of view, this is the story of Nora and Derek. They first met in their senior year in college and fell madly in love. Then, one day, Nora broke both their hearts and they haven’t seen or talked to each other ever since, until, eight years later, they meet inside a meeting room: Derek is a NFL football player preparing to go back to the field after a bad ankle injury, Nora is his new agent. Desperate to prove herself to her male workers, Nora needs Derek as a client, but he still hasn’t got over his heartbreak and has no intention to spend any time with her. So, they come up with a series of rules that will allow them to work together and keep their hearts intact. But then, one morning, they wake up in Las Vegas with a hangover and married and, to avoid bad publicity, they agree to pretend their marriage is real with a honeymoon in Cancun. Of course, old feelings resurface, forcing them to face their past and make decisions for their future.

I had so much fun reading The Rule Book. Nora and Derek are adorable together and I loved seeing their relationship develop. Nora, especially, is an amazing character. She is funny, smart, and determined and I loved her colourful lifestyle and humourism. Every day, she has to work to prove her worth in an all-male environment, not letting sexist comments and jabs stop her from reaching her dream.

If you are looking for romance, fun, strong female characters, and adorable and tough male characters, then I can’t recommend The Rule Book – and Sarah Adams’ novels – enough!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Sarah Adams was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She loves her family, warm days, and making people smile. Sarah has dreamed of being a writer since she was a girl, but she finally wrote her first novel when her daughters were napping and she no longer had any excuses to put it off. Sarah is a coffee addict, a British history nerd, a mom of two daughters, married to her best friend, and an indecisive introvert. Her hope is to always write stories that make readers laugh, maybe even cry – but always leave them happier than when they started reading.


To learn more, visit: www.authorsarahadams.com or follow Sarah on Facebook and Instagram: @authorsarahadams.

#BookReview: MURDER ROAD by Simone St. James @MichaelJBooks

Publication: 28th March 2024 – Michael Joseph

April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn.

They’re on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble.

They stop and pick her up. It’s only once she’s in the car that they see the blood.

And then they see the headlights, and at last, the woman speaks, her voice faint. “I’m sorry, he’s coming.”

While April and Eddie are able to escape – this time – their terrifying adventure is only just beginning.

The hitchhiker’s injuries prove fatal, and the couple are trapped in the small town of Coldlake Falls, prime suspects in the eyes of local police.

It turns out that this isn’t the first victim to die on this stretch of road, and it isn’t the first time that survivors have seen something that can’t be explained.

But to get out of town, April and Eddie are going to have to drive down that haunted stretch of road one more time…

Ingeniously plotted and heartstoppingly terrifying, are you ready to uncover the secret of Murder Road?

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April and Eddie have just got married. They are on their way to a resort by the lake for their honeymoon, but, somehow, they took a wrong turn and found themselves on a deserted road in the middle of the night. As they try to figure out where they are, they notice someone walking on the side of the road. They ask the young woman if she needs help and they soon realize that she has been stabbed and a car is following them. They manage to take her to the nearest hospital, but she dies soon after and now the police considers them suspects. When they discover that she is not the first person to be killed on that road in the last few decades, April and Eddie decide to start to investigate on their own. And the series of mysterious murders on a remote road in the span of decades is not the only thing that kept me on the edge of my seat. April is hiding her own secrets, a twisty and intriguing past that is slowly and shockingly revealed.

I don’t usually read thrillers with paranormal elements, but for a Simone St. James’s novel I always make an exception. I love her writing and Murder Road is yet another chilling, dark, and gripping novel. An isolated road in the middle of the night, victims that no one is going to look for, a possible serial killer, a couple whose honeymoon is ruined before it’s even started and determined to find out the truth. Who was the young girl who was killed and how did she end up on the side of the road in the middle of the night? Is there a serial killer who has been killing for more than 20 years or none of the murders are connected? I couldn’t put it down!

A huge thank you to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Simone St. James is the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases and The Sun Down Motel. She spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time.. Her debut novel, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, won two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America and an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada.
Simone spent twenty years behind the scenes in the television business before leaving to write full-time. She lives just outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and a spoiled rescue cat.

#BookReview: HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER by Kristen Perrin @Kristen_Perrin @QuercusBooks

Publication – 26th March 2024 – Quercus Books

Frances always said she’d be murdered.
She was right.

In 1965, seventeen-year-old Frances Adams was told by a fortune teller that one day she’d be murdered. Frances spent the next sixty years trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. Of course, no one took her seriously – until she was dead.

For Frances, being the village busybody was a form of insurance. She’d spent a lifetime compiling dirt on every person she met, just in case they might turn out to be her killer. In the heart of her sprawling country estate lies an eccentric library of detective work, where the right person could step in and use her findings to solve her murder.

When her great-niece Annie arrives from London and discovers that Frances’ worst fear has come true, Annie is thrust into her great-aunt’s last act of revenge against her sceptical friends and family. Frances’ will stipulates that the person who solves her murder will inherit her millions.

Can Annie unravel the mystery and find justice for Frances, or will digging up the past lead her into the path of the killer?

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I can’t express how much I loved and enjoyed this novel. It’s a gripping and smart debut that kept me completely captivated and that deserves five stars and more.

The protagonist is Annie Adams. Recently made redundant, she’s dedicating her time writing her first novel while living with her mother in her great-aunt’s house in Chelsea. Annie has never met her great-aunt Frances, but she’s heard all about her and the fortune she was told when she was 17 years old predicting her own murder. Frances then spent the next sixty years trying to figure out who her murderer could be, living in a constant state of fear and paranoia. 

Annie is taken by surprise when she is summoned to Castle Knoll, Frances’ estate, to discuss a change in her will. And things become more intriguing after Frances is found murdered in her own home and her will states that the entire estate will be left to the person who will solve her murder within a week. Her competition is Saxon, Frances’ nephew on her husband’s side, who believes that the estate should be rightfully his, and detective Crane, who partners with her to share information about the case.

Annie is convinced that Frances’ murder could be linked to the disappearance of her friend Emily sixty years earlier and never solved. As Annie reads Frances’ diary, she gets to know her great-aunt and she is determined to seek justice for her. A big estate, a long list of suspects, a toxic friendship, and a village full of secrets keep Annie busy as she receives death threats and the clock is ticking to solve the murder.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a fast-paced and unputdownable debut and I can’t wait for its sequel and more adventures and murder-solving for Annie!!!

A huge thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before immigrating to the UK to do a Masters and PhD. She’s passionate about books and loves working on projects that have a mystery at their heart. Her debut murder mystery for adults, HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER, is released in March 2024 and will be translated into over 18 languages. Her middle grade series, ATTIE AND THE WORLDBREAKERS is available in German, Polish, and Dutch. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants.

#BookReview: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto @thewritinghippo @HQstories

Publication: 28th March 2024 – HQ

It’s Chinese New Year, a time to celebrate…

Fresh from their honeymoon, Meddy and Nathan meet the Aunties in Jakarta for a family celebration. Amid the festivities, an old flame of Second Aunt’s arrives with extravagant gifts. Unfortunately, not all the presents were meant for them.

NOT the time to start an all-out war.

The most important gift goes missing, putting Meddy and the Aunties in the middle of a feud between Jakarta’s most powerful business moguls – and in great danger. To save her loved ones, Meddy must organise a search party, a break-in and a kidnapping. It might sound like an impossible mission– but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is impossible… just complicated.

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Meddy and her loud and feisty mother and aunties are back for a new adventure full of trouble, misunderstandings, and lots of fun that never fails to keep me engrossed in the story. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties picks up a month after Nathan and Meddy’s chaotic wedding. At the end of their month-long honeymoon, Meddy and Nathan arrive in Jakarta to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her very large family. Nathan fits right in with all her aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces and celebrations are in full swing when Second Aunt’s childhood boyfriend, Abraham Lincoln (yes, that’s his name!), turns up full of gifts and determined to win Second Aunt over. However, one of the gifts given away was actually for a business partner, Julia Child (the craziness of those names had me chuckling every time I read them) and he needs it back right away. Except, it’s not easy to get the packet back and Meddy and her family get involved in a years-long war between business rivals with ridiculous names who insist they are no gangsters, but law-abiding citizens (even though they go around with fully-armed guards).

I love this series. It makes me laugh, it keeps on edge with all its twists and turns, and it makes me wish for more adventures for Meddy and her family. Meddy thought that after all the trouble at her wedding she could finally enjoy time with her family and she would have loved to avoid getting involved in yet another complicated and dangerous situation, that now involves gangsters, kidnapping, and disguises. The ending was adorable and perfect and, hopefully, not the end of this highly entertaining series. I can’t wait for more adventures and laughs!

A huge thank you to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of adult, YA, and children’s middle grade books. She has an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford University and a BA in English Lit from Berkeley, though she hasn’t found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women’s fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial A for Aunties, its sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding, and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Her YA books include The Obsession, The New Girl, and Well, That Was Unexpected. Her MG books include Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and its sequel, Theo Tan and the Iron Fan. Find her on Twitter @thewritinghippo and on Instagram @jesseqsutanto.

#BlogTour: THE BETRAYAL OF TRUST by Susan Hill @susanhillwriter @vintagebook

Publication: 10th November 2011 – Vintage

Heavy rain falls on Lafferton. As the rain water slowly drains away, a shallow grave – and a skeleton – are revealed.

It doesn’t take long to identify the remains as those of missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, who was last seen sixteen years ago.

But a cold case isn’t a priority: if Detective Inspector Simon Serrailler is to solve the case, he will have to do it alone.

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I am thrilled today to take part in the blog tour to celebrate 20 years of Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler detective series and share my review of The Betrayal of Trust.

The Betrayal of Trust is the sixth book in the Simon Serrailler series and, since this is my debut reading this series, I can confirm that it can easily read as a stand-alone. Sixteen years ago, the town of Lafferton was shocked by the sudden disappearance of fifteen-years-old Harriet Lowther, the daughter of a prominent local businessman. After spending the day playing tennis with a friend, Harriet had gone to the bus stop, where she was seen by various witnesses, but no one saw her get on the bus and she was never seen again. Now, the town is flooded with heavy rain that reveals a shallow grave where the remains of Harriet are found. The body of another young woman is also found and Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is determined to find out what happened to the two girls and if their murders are connected.

As my first Susan Hill’s novel, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The investigation was intense and full of surprises. It is not easy to conduct an investigation when some of the witnesses are either away or dead. Also, it is not easy to find a motive as Harriet Lowther is described as a happy and likable teenager: who would have wanted to harm her? More complicated is the other victim, as she needs to be identified first: who was she and why no one reported her missing? And, as much as the investigation kept me engrossed, I was easily distracted by Serrailler’s personal life, which becomes much more intriguing after meeting a woman during a gala.

Another interesting plotline is the one about a retired woman who, after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, decides on assisted suicide, against her daughter’s wishes. This created some emotional and thought-provoking moments as the author presents both the perspective of the mother who doesn’t want to suffer and the heartbreak of the daughter (a lawyer who is also conscious that what her mother is doing is illegal) who doesn’t want to lose her mother.

The theme of degenerative diseases is central to the story: one of the characters is married to an older man with Parkinson’s, another has motor neurone disease, and another one takes care of a woman with dementia. Also, Simon’s sister, Dr. Cat Deerbon, is specialized in palliative care and she is head-hunted as the full-time director of a hospice.

I am delighted that I was invited to take part in this blog tour as it allowed me to be introduced to this thrilling police procedural series and I am already planning to read all the other books!

A huge thank you to Carmella and Vintage for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel. 

Susan Hill has been a professional writer for over fifty years. Her books have won awards and prizes including the Whitbread, the John Llewellyn Rhys and a Somerset Maugham, and have been shortlisted for the Booker. Her novels include Strange Meeting, I’m the King of the Castle, In the Springtime of the Year and The Mist in the Mirror. She has also published autobiographical works and collections of short stories as well as the Simon Serrailler series of crime novels. The play of her ghost story The Woman in Black is one of the longest running in the history of London’s West End. In 2020 she was awarded a damehood (DBE) for services to literature. She has two adult daughters and lives in North Norfolk.

#BookReview: FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE by Elle Cosimano @ElleCosimano @headlinepg

Publication: 5th March 2024 – Headline

Finlay and Vero need a girls’ weekend away…

Some peace and quiet to negotiate with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and find a stolen car. But Finlay’s mother and ex-husband Steven are dead set on catching a ride to Atlantic City.

At their casino hotel, the trip takes a nosedive. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, won’t negotiate, demanding to know the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike. Then Marco turns up dead – leaving Finlay and Vero as main suspects in his murder.

To get out of Atlantic City in one piece, they’ll need to stay on top of one jealous ex-husband, one hot cop, two precocious kids, and yet another decomposing body.

All bets are off.
This time, Finlay can’t leave anything to chance.

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Another incredible, entertaining (for me), and challenging (for them) adventure for suspense author Finlay Donovan and her accountant-nanny-housemate-friend Vero as they travel to Atlantic City to save Vero’s childhood crush Javi from a loan shark to whom Vero owes lots of money. Once again, Finn and Vero find themselves hiding bodies, while also escaping a corrupt former detective and the Russian mob, protecting a teenager wanted by the police, and tracking down a stolen sports car, while also hiding the truth from Finn’s new adorable detective boyfriend, her ex-husband, her two young children, her mother, her cop sister and her girlfriend (also a detective), and an FBI agent.

I am always looking forward to a new Finlay Donovan novel and they never disappoint. They are the right dose of fun and suspense, twisty and entertaining, with a cast of irresistible characters. Finlay Donovan is brilliant. Resourceful, determined and smart, she has kept me glued to the pages since the first novel, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, when she was mistaken for a killer for hire and she got mixed up in all kinds of misunderstandings and illegal activities. Now, three books later, she has to juggle not only the mafia, but also a corrupted detective who won’t leave her alone, a loan shark who will release Vero’s friend in exchange for money they don’t have, a techie teenager in hiding, and a dog named Kevin Bacon.

Hilarious and fast-paced, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice is romance and suspense perfectly blended together with an ending that promises much more fun and suspense that I can’t wait for!

A huge thank you to Headline and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this irresistable novel!

Elle Cosimano is an award-winning author. Her YA debut, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award finalist and winner of the International Thriller Award. Her novel Holding Smoke was a finalist for the International Thriller Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Time. Elle lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband, two sons, and her dog. 

#BookReview: THE CATCH by Amy Lea @PenguinUKBooks

Publication: 15th February 2024 – Penguin Books

In a last ditch attempt to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? Burly fisherman Evan Whaler – who single-handedly disproves the theory that canadians are ‘nice’.

After a boating incident lands Evan in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancee by his welcoming yet quirky family. And, in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for just. one. week.

But reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult than expected.

Is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at true love in the wild?

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The Catch is definitely my favourite of novels by Amy Lea. Her previous novels, Set On You and Exes and O’s are fantastic and I truly enjoyed them, but The Catch, with its wonderful characters, the beautiful small town setting, and the fake engagement kept me completely engrossed and I couldn’t put it down.

If you’ve read the author’s previous novels, you have already met Melanie. Fashion influencer in need to boost her brand and increase her followers, she accepts a partnership with a spa resort in Nova Scotia. However, things start going wrong from the beginning. First there is a mix-up with reservations at the spa, then she arrives in a dilapidated inn in a small fishing town where she clashes with the grumpy and handsome owner, Evan Whaler, and then she finds spiders in her bathroom and she is not a nature-loving person. But, following a boat accident and a small lie told in a moment of desperation, Melanie becomes Evan’s fake fiancée, accepting to keep up the farce to help his family solve a years-long feud and save the inn. Melanie is happy to help, after all they must pretend just for one week, right? What Melanie didn’t expect is to be welcomed into the Whaler family like one of their own. Her only family is her younger brother Julian, who she’s been taking care of all her life, and she is not used to having close relationships and unconditional love, especially when her feelings for Evan start to become more real than she would like to.

The Catch has everything I love in romance novels: fake engagement, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and grumpy vs sunshine. Also, it reminds me of one of my favourite movies, The Proposal, so I kept picturing Evan as Ryan Reynolds (with a beard). Witty, steamy, and heart-warming, this is a story I didn’t want to end. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Amy Lea is a Canadian bureaucrat by day and romance and YA author by night (and weekends). She writes laugh out loud romantic comedies featuring strong heroines, witty banter, mid-2000s pop culture references, and happily ever afters. When Amy is not writing, she can be found fan-girling over other romance books on Instagram (@amyleabooks), eating potato chips with reckless abandon, and snuggling with her husband and goldendoodle.