Into The Dark By Karen Rose

I received Into The Dark by Karen Rose to review as part of the Random Things Blog Tours. The Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose is back with the gripping fifth instalment of the Cincinnati Series.

Into The Dark By Karen Rose https://amzn.to/33mI73R

Into The Dark

When Michael Rowland saves his younger brother Joshua from the clutches of his stepfather, he runs for his life with his brother in his arms. From his hiding place he sees the man who has made their lives a misery taken away in the trunk of a stranger’s car, never to be seen again.

Doctor Dani Novak has been keeping soccer coach Diesel Kennedy at arm’s length to protect him from her dark secrets. When they are brought together by the two young brothers who desperately need their help, it seems they might finally be able to leave their damaged pasts behind them.

But as the only witness to the man who kidnapped and murdered his sterpfather, Micheal is in danger. As Diesel and Dani do all that they can to protect him, their own investigation into the murder uncovers a much darker web of secrets than they could have imagined.

As more bodies start to appear it’s clear that his killer wants vengeance. And will wipe out anything that gets in his way…

Karen Rose

Karen Rose Author Picture

Karen Rose was introduce to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep.

Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby – knitting.

My Thoughts

Having read some of Karen Rose’s – The Chicago Series, I was really looking forward to Into The Dark. It definitely didn’t disappoint! Right from the start you find yourself hooked as Michael runs for his life with Joshua in his arms.

I found myself walking around tidying up with the book still in my hand thinking I’ll just read to the end of this chapter. Into The Dark is full of suspense and so many twists and turns. As each dark and dirty secret unfolds it makes you wonder what they will discover next. Dani and Diesel’s complicated relationship with Dani’s own dark secrets keep you just as hooked right until the end.

Having utterly enjoyed Into The Dark, I think I’ll be reading some of the other series I have missed!

Have you read anything by Karen Rose? Does this sound like a book for you?

The Purple-Bellied Parrot By William Fagus

I received The Purple-Bellied Parrot By William Fagus to review as part of the Random Things Blog Tours. This children’s action and adventure book follows The Purple-Bellied Parrot on his quest to live his would-be life.

The Purple-Bellied Parrot by William Fagus

The Purple-Bellied Parrot

Discover…

The power of the ‘HhhuuuUUUUTTT!’

Ever feel you are living the wrong life?

Ever feel another life, your should-be life, is out there waiting for oi, if only you had the courage to…

Have you answered yes to any of those questions?

Then follow the Purple-Bellied Parrot on a rip-roaring globe-spanning adventure packed with unforgettable characters. His quest to live his should-be life.

It Begins: In the sterile apartment of a city executive with unruly nasal hair where the Purple-Bellied parrot cannot even do the very thing he was born to do.

It Ends: On the shores of a distant land after an epic journey which tests his courage, his ingenuity and the bonds of friendship – to the limit.

The Purple-Bellied Parrot Blurb

William Fagus

William Fagus Author Picture

The publicity-shy William Fagus live in a remote location in an upturned fishing smack with a parrot and sundry antique musical instruments and carpentry tools.

The redoubtable Mrs Lush, his cleaning lady and confidant, is his most frequent visitor.

Our Thoughts

Eva and I both read The Purple-Bellied Parrot and really enjoyed it. The Purple-Bellied Parrot finds himself remembering a time before being stuck in a cage looking up at nostril hair. He decides he needs to live his would be life and has quite an adventure doing so. You can’t help but laugh and cry while reading this book. Humour and sadness are weaved cleverly into this beautiful story as the Purple-Bellied Parrot learns about the world around him.

Overall we both think children from around 7 to 8 years and adults will love this book. It’s perfect for reading aloud to all the family. With characters such as the Spuggies, Sergeant Troggers and Millie, the Purple-Bellied Parrots adventure will have you hooked!

Magnificent Women And Their Revolutionary Machines

I received Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines by Henrietta Heald to review. The lost story of Britain’s, trailblazing, boundary-breaking women engineers starting in the 1800’s. Published in time to mark the centenary of the Women’s Engineering society, this really is a must read!

Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines

Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines

In 1919, in the wake of the First World War, a group of extraordinary women came together to create the Women s Engineering Society. They were trailblazers, pioneers and boundary breakers, but many of their stories have been lost to history. To mark the centenary of the society’s creation, Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines brings them back to life.

Their leaders were Katharine and Rachel Parsons, wife and daughter of the engineering genius Charles Parsons, and Caroline Haslett, a self-taught electrical engineer who campaigned to free women from domestic drudgery and became the most powerful professional woman of her age. Also featured are Eleanor Shelley-Rolls, sister of car magnate Charles Rolls; Viscountess Rhondda, a director of thirty-three companies who founded and edited the revolutionary Time and Tide magazine; and Laura Willson, a suffragette and labour rights activist from Halifax, who was twice imprisoned for her political activities.

This is not just the story of the women themselves, but also the era in which they lived. Beginning at the moment when women in Britain were allowed to vote for the first time, and to stand for Parliament and when several professions were opened up to them Magnificent Women charts the changing attitudes towards women in society and in the workplace.

Henrietta Heald Author Photo

Henrietta Heald

Henrietta is the author of William Armstrong: Magician of the North, which was shortlisted for the H, W. Fisher Best First Biography Prize and the Portico Prize for non-fiction. She was chief editor of Chronicle of Britain and Ireland and Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Britain’s Coast. Her other books include Coastal Living, La Vie est Belle, and a National Trust guide to Cragside, Northumberland.

My Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines, it truly is an eye-opener! Henrietta Heald gives a fantastic account of the achievements from these magnificent women from the Women’s Engineering Society, alongside the social pressures they faced. The collection of photographs throughout the book really help you picture these women as you read about their extraordinary lives.

Do you know much about the Women’s Engineering Society and it’s members?

An Echo Of Scandal By Laura Madeleine Blog Tour

I received An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine, a historical fiction full of mystery. Slipping between eras, piece by piece the story unfolds as you lose yourself to its pages.

An Echo of Scandal

An Echo of Scandal

In the dead of night, with blood on her hands, she made her escape.

Accused of murder, Alejandra flees her home, escaping to the southern edge of Spain, where she faces a life of poverty and destitution.

Seduced by the power of the rich and the anonymity that waits across the water in Tangier, Ale makes a bid for a new start. But it will come at a cost: a life of deception. Because Ale’s new friends want to know what she is running from, they want to know who she is and whether they can trust her.

Fifty years later, a young American writer wanders the streets of Tangier, searching for inspiration. When he stumbles across a trace of Ale’s life, he finds himself tangled in a story of scandal, love and danger that has not yet reached its end.

Laura Madeleine

After a childhood spent acting professionally an training at a theatre school, Laura Madeleine changed her mind, and went to study English Literature at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Laura Madeleine

She now writes fiction as well as recipes, an was formerly the resident cake baker for Domestic Sluttery. She lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon, eating cheese and getting up to mischief with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Hounsom.

My Thoughts

I felt fully absorbed in Sam’s life in Tangier mixed with it’s mysterious past and characters within it. You find yourself so wrapped up in the story as Sam digs deeper and more is revealed about Ale’s past. Laura Madeleine writes beautifully, I really didn’t want to stop reading with this book. I will definitely be adding Medeleine to my list of favourite authors and seeking out her other novels. I thoroughly enjoyed An Echo of Scandal, historical fiction fans will fall in love with this beautifully written novel.

Dead Guilty by Michelle Davies

I received Dead Guilty by Michelle Davies to review, the fourth novel in the DC Maggie Neville series. A psychological thriller, published by Pan Macmillan, that is hard to put down!

Dead Guilty

Dead Guilty

Katy Pope was seventeen when she was brutally murdered on a family holiday in Majorca. Despite her mother’s high rank in the Met and the joint major investigation between the British and Spanish police, Katy’s killer was never caught.

Ten years later, Katy’s family return to the Spanish island to launch a fresh appeal for information, taking with them the now skeletal team of investigating Met detectives, and newly seconded Maggie as the family liason officer.

But Maggie’s first international investigation quickly goes from being more than just a press conference when another British girl there on holiday goes missing, and Katy’s killer announces that it’s time for an encore…

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading Dead Guilty, it’s definitely my kind of book! The storyline is fantastically creepy and gets your mind racing to work out who the murderer really is. At least twice I thought I was certain I knew who the killer was. It turns out that I had been clueless all along. I hadn’t heard of the DC Maggie Neville series before and thoroughly enjoyed Dead Guilty. It’s safe to say I will now catch up on the first 3 novels too.

Michelle Davies

Michelle spent the formative years as a reporter on a local newspaper in Buckinghamshire and interviewed many relatives of serious victims during that time.

Michelle Davies

Later, as a freelance journalist for women’s magazines, she secured an interview with Kerry Needham, whose son Ben Needham went missing in Kos 1991 when he was a toddler. It was hearing her talk about it that gave her central police character a FLO.

Do you enjoy reading psychological thrillers too? Have you read any other Michelle Davies novels?

IGIST By L.S Larson – Book And App Review

We received IGIST by L.S Larson to review, an innovative new immersive children’s reading experience. The IGIST book and augmented reality app work together to create an entirely believable and compelling new universe.

IGIST front cover

A story aimed at children and teens 10+ that champion science, curiosity and exploration. Encouraging children to find out more about the amazing world of science and technology through a new reading experience.

IGIST

IGIST Back Cover

According to the one teacher on Earth who believed in her, Emi had a chance. The space academy of her dreams was more than a reach. The Intergalactic Institute of Science and Technology (IGIST) hadn’t admitted and earthling in decades. The bygones left on Earth would lead a boring existence if, and only if, they were lucky enough to evade the plague.

IGIST app screenshot

Emi always thought she was different, not because her only friend growing up in Rockland was a drone named Sadee, but because she was very determined to become a revered scientist like her late mother. But even a passion for science and good old-fashioned grit could not prepare Emi for the challenges that await in a wide, strange galaxy under the auspices of the Star League.

Our Thoughts

We really enjoyed IGIST, Emi’s character is so determined to reach her dreams. Whilst my phone doesn’t work with the AR, we can still use the app. As you read the book the app awards points and badges. Eva has really enjoyed reading IGIST and using the app. She thinks there should be more books with apps like this.

A great read for STEM-interested girls and boys. The main character, Emi is driven by her desire to break barriers and get into the most renowned science academy in the universe. IGIST does for science what Hogwarts did for magic.

You can either read the book on its own or with the app.

The Closer I Get By Paul Burston – Blog Tour

I received The Closer I Get by Paul Burston to read and review. This psychological thriller based around online relationships is deliciously creepy and twisted.

The Closer I Get By Paul Burston

The Closer I Get

Successful author Tom has writer’s block for the first time in his life. An online admirer, Evie is his main distraction, she simply won’t leave him alone. Eva is a smart, well-read and unstable woman living with her sick father. Social media is not only her escape but her everything and she takes social media friendships too far. When she’s hit with as restraining order, her world collapses, whilst Tom is free to live his life again and continue concentrating on his writing.

Things aren’t adding up though, Tom is also addicted to his online relationships, and they take a darker, more menacing turn, he’s powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he’s letting on!

Paul Burston

The author of five novels and the editor of two short story collections. Paul Burstons most recent novel The Black Path was a WHSmith bestseller. His first novel Shameless, was shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. His third novel, Lovers & Losers was shortlisted for a Stonewall Award. The Gay Divorcee, his fourth novel was also optioned for television. Paul is the founding editor of Attitude magazine. He has also written for many publications including Guardian, Independent, Time Out, The Times and Sunday Times.

My Thoughts

The Closer I Get is so creepy because it is plausible. Social media stalkers are all too real and Paul Burston captures both the victim and the stalkers perspectives perfectly with some added twists throughout. I would absolutely recommend this if you enjoy thrillers full of twists surrounding authors.

Have you read any of Paul Burston other novels?

Tony Hawks – The A to Z Of Skateboarding Blog Tour

Tony Hawks has been mistaken for Tony Hawk the American skateboarder for 20 years. It is made clear on his website he is an English comedian and author. Yet he still receives messages from Tony Hawk fans, so one day he decided to write back in a pompous tone, goading his correspondents any way he can.

Tony Hawks - The A to Z of skateboarding

The A to Z of Skateboarding

I received a copy of A to Z of skateboarding for this blog tour full of entries on Pain, Disappointment, Underachievers, Quorn and the Vatican. Along with plenty of skateboarding tips from someone who knows absolutely nothing about it out of mischievousness. Perfect for fans of Joe Lycett’s Parsnips Buttered and The Timewaster Letters by Robin Cooper.

Tony Hawks

Tony Hawks - Author and Comedian

Along with being an author, aTony Hawks is a radio and TV comedian who makes regular appearances on ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue‘ , ‘Just a Minute’ and ‘Have I Got News For You. He also wrote the Sunday Times bestselling Round Ireland With a Fridge which has sold more than 8y0,000 copies and been made into a feature film. His Second book Playing The Moldovans At Tennis has sold well over 100,000 copies.