Why She Ran - Geraldine Hogan

About the book:
‘Rachel. They must have made a mistake. A mother would know?’ She let her words pour into the emptiness of the kitchen. She began to shiver. ‘I can’t feel anything,’ she said softly and rocked back and forth, as if she was a huge child, seeking solace in the simple gesture.

When young, pretty nurse Rachel McDermott is found murdered in the harsh lights of the hospital kitchen where she works, her mother can’t accept the news, and the small Irish town of Corbally reels in disbelief. Rushing to the scene, Detective Iris Locke vows to find the sick killer, whatever it takes.

The last person to see Rachel alive was her close friend, sixteen-year-old Eleanor Marshall, a troubled teenager, estranged from her family. Eleanor was spotted fleeing the kitchen where Rachel’s body was found and becomes the main suspect. Iris has a search party combing the endless woods near the Comeragh mountains where they believe she is hiding. But Iris is consumed with worry for the vulnerable girl and can’t shake a prickly disquiet that Eleanor shouldn’t be a suspect.

Eleanor’s sister agrees but a day later, when she is found dead in the area Eleanor is hiding, things don’t look good for the runaway teen. Iris can’t see Eleanor, who still sleeps with her childhood teddy bear, as someone who would kill her little sister and her best friend, but all the evidence seems to point that way.

Sleep-deprived and desperate to find the truth, Iris takes a closer look into Rachel’s background and discovers that she was keeping strange, shadowy company the night before she died. Convinced that Eleanor is in terrible danger, Iris sets out to find her, in the icy-cold woods, alone. But what if somebody else makes their way through the darkness and reaches Iris and Eleanor first?

This gripping mystery thriller is perfect for fans of Carol Wyer, Robert Dugoni and LJ Ross.  

My Review:

Why She Ran is the second book in a series following Detective Iris Locke series. I hadn’t read the first book and I think it would have been beneficial as while I enjoyed the story, I did at times wish I knew what had happened previously – just to add a bit more as to why Iris was the way she was. There were small references to what had occurred in book 1 but not enough for me to really get a good grip on it. With this wonderful writing style, it’s not a bad thing to make sure you read that one I’m sure you’d be in for a treat.
This is an exciting and dramatic crime thriller, that will keep you guessing until the end. I was really drawn into the story, which was well paced; not too rushed but not drawn out for the sake of it. It had some unexpected twists but nothing too out there and the whole book gave a very interesting perspective of crime procedures.

I liked the Iris character – not appreciating what she had been through previously, her angst and suffering were apparent, yet she was the true professional. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between her and her partner DS Slattery, true respect, banter and care for one another.
The synopsis is what drew me in but I enjoy the authors writing style. I found myself quickly engrossed in the storyline, caring about characters and trying to piece together the puzzle as if I were suddenly a detective too.
I would recommend for crime fans, although I would suggest starting at the first book in the series. 

About the Author: Geraldine Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honors Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree in Training and Management from University College, Galway. She is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of four contemporary fiction novels under the pen name Faith Hogan.
HER SISTER'S BONES is her first crime novel, her second WHY SHE RAN is due out in December 2019.
She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She's a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger - except of course when it is raining!

You can find out more about Geraldine here:
www.Facebook/GeraldineHoganAuthor.com
Twitter @gerhogan
https://www.instagram.com/faithhoganauthor/?hl=en 

Buy Links: 

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2YFZYBm
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2PfIskk
Google Play: https://bit.ly/38wcw2B
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2t7kC1r

BLOGTOUR: Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage - Katie Ginger

On a grey, London day, Esme’s world crumbles around her when she loses her glitzy job on a top TV programme, her gorgeous, city-slicker boyfriend and her stunning apartment, all in one fell swoop just before Christmas.

Esme is forced suddenly to move back to her sleepy hometown of Sandchester, and despite the snow blanketing the roof and the fairy lights that twinkle in her rustic little cottage, everything is looking bleak. That is until she reconnects with an old crush and finds herself unexpectedly getting swept away.

But Joe, handsome and charming as he is, is not all he seems. Esme soon realises that he has a tragic past which he just might not be able to overcome…

Surrounded by her loving, if harebrained, family and with the support of her hilarious friends, Esme is determined to have a go at forging her own path, even if it all comes to nothing. But one question still lingers in her mind: will she find someone to kiss under the mistletoe this Christmas?

Purchase Links

Amazon UK ebook: https://amzn.to/2NL7fhq

Amazon UK paperbook: https://amzn.to/2Y51uPP

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2LP8Ujm

Amazon US ebook: https://amzn.to/2XHxFR1

My Review:

What an enchanting, captivating story! I loved every moment of this gorgeous, romantic and funny read from Katie Ginger. This is definitely one book that will fill you with festive cheer.

Katie has written a story to warm the coldest heart with well-developed characters that you will love. Esme and Joe have gone through so much that even though they get on instantly, they’ve both endured enough misery to put them off any further romantic endeavours; but sometimes feelings can not and should not be ignored.

Esme is such a nice character; I really was on her side from the off. She deserved a better go at things in London but I am so glad we saw her go back to Sandchester and her wonderful, quirky family. I LOVE her Mum and Dad – they add some very funny moments, as do her wonderful friends. I want friends like hers – always having her back no matter what.

This is beautifully written and gives us humour, love, romance, festive fun and a heart-warming tale of moving forwards and working hard to get the happy ending you deserve.  I do love the inclusion of her blog, vlog adventures etc as it felt up to date
.

Love a happy ending? Then I cannot recommend this delightful read enough. 

About the Author:  

KATIE GINGER lives in the South East of England, by the sea, and apart from holidays to very hot places where you can sit by a pool and drink cocktails as big your head, she wouldn't really want to be anywhere else. Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage is her third novel. She is also author of the Seafront series - The Little Theatre on the Seafront, shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year award, and Summer Season on the Seafront.

When she's not writing, Katie spends her time drinking gin, or with her husband, trying to keep alive her two children: Ellie, who believes everything in life should be performed like a musical number from a West End show; and Sam, who is basically a monkey with a boy's face. And there's also their adorable King Charles Spaniel, Wotsit (yes, he is named after the crisps!).

For more about Katie you can visit her website: www.keginger.com, find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KatieGAuthor, or follow her on Twitter: @KatieGAuthor.

One Day in Winter - Shari Low

About the book

On a cold December's morning...

Caro sets off to find the truth: has her relationship with her father been based on a lifetime of lies?

Cammy can't wait to surprise the woman he loves with a proposal. All he needs is the perfect ring.

Lila can no longer hide her secret. She has to tell her lover's wife about their affair.

After thirty years, Bernadette knows it's time. She's ready to leave her controlling husband... and never look back.

Over the course of twenty-four hours, four lives are about to change forever...

My Review:

A captivating story with themes built around trust, betrayal, family values and friendship. The story is told over the period of one day, which I found interesting and although at first, I thought the pace felt slow, it was setting the scene and building up what was to come! We have four characters that are seeming to go about their own lives but bit by bit we see how connected they are and how the smallest of actions can have farther reaching effects.

Whilst not all the main characters are exactly likable – Shari Low gives us circumstances that we can connect with and don’t we all love to hate some characters anyway!  I think many parts of One Day in Winter will be relatable for so many readers.

My advice is not to feel overwhelmed by the long list of characters at the beginning – they soon make themselves known and it is easy to follow. Bernadette is my favourite, out of everyone I wanted her to find the happiness she deserved.

This is an intense, emotional story but it does include many moments that gave me the odd chuckle. I was glad of the light and shade, it made it a book I became deeply engrossed with. I love a book that is deep and meaningful, Shari Low beautifully gives us that with this read.

As the stories develop there is no way you will be able to put this book down! A fantastic read – highly recommended. 

About the author

Shari Low is the No1 best-selling author of over 20 novels, including One Day In Winter, A Life Without You, The Story Of Our Life, With Or Without You, Another Day In Winter and her latest release, This Is Me. 

And because she likes to over-share toe-curling moments and hapless disasters, she is also the shameless mother behind a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. 

Once upon a time she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she lives near Glasgow with her husband, a labradoodle, and two teenagers who think she's fairly embarrassing except when they need a lift. 

Buy links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KIuWlD

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2YIDbIn

iBooks: https://apple.co/2H3NhIS

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2Kw7cm1

My Blog's 1st anniversary!

It’s a year ago today that I set up this blog and posted my first review. I didn’t know what I was doing at all (some may argue that I still don’t) and I certainly had no expectations of what would happen.

So, what has happened? Crikey… well, things beyond what I envisaged. I have found a community of incredible, like-minded people who share, encourage and support one another. Authors, other bloggers, readers all coming together to celebrate books and wonderful stories. If only I knew that having this blog would open a whole new world. I’ve got to know so many new and lovely people that it feels like I’m part of something – that doesn’t always happen to me.

I never expected to be able to read ARCs, I didn’t imagine I’d meet authors I admired, I wouldn’t dream that I could be asked to read and review books from my favourite authors before publication days.  But these things have happened, continue to happen and I am so so sooooo grateful.

Throughout the year I have connected with a lot of wonderful new (to me) author. I’ve instantly become a fan of so many and of course I have had to ensure I read every single book they had ever written in the shortest possible time…  people talk about binge watching a TV series, well I binge read authors that I discover/love.  The world being as it is now, and with book Twitter being totally amazing, the ability to connect with these same authors is incredible and better than I imagined – I love that we, as fans, can get to know authors, help support them in any way possible, whether that’s a book review, tweet, or even something simple like a RT.

“Book Twitter” has led to some wonderful….. friendships. I’ll call them that because although I haven’t had the chance to meet any of the lovelies yet, the people I communicate with regularly are like friends. We share stories, pieces of information about our lives and we support each other like friends do. It’s been the most fun year… I know without a shadow of a doubt these guys will have a book recommendation at hand in an instant and they all share the opinion that there is no such thing as having too many books.

As I head into my second year I’ve been thinking, ‘do I have any goals? Any expectations of what I would like to have happened by this time next year?’ Quite honestly, no. I may not have the level of following as some blogs that are around, I may not have the interaction as others do -but you know what? That’s OK.

Something I would like to do is take the chances to meet others; go to more author events, see other bloggers etc - that is what I will work on over this next year.  

My little blog and I are happily moving along. I’m reading the books I want to read; I’m enjoying what I do and how I do it. I am happy with the community I have become part of and I don’t think I’d change that at all.

Happy Anniversary to me. If you’ve been here since the beginning – thanks, if you have only just found me, then hello.

Here’s to another year in my Comfy Chair.

How many books - Target or Pressure?

New Years Eve 2018 and it's about that time, you know what I'm talking about - the time each year where we all rack our brains, think back over the past 12 months and forward to a brand spanking 365 days of gleaming, new opportunities. Many of us make resolutions; to lose weight, stop smoking, save money etc etc. Half hearted attempts at self improvement that generally don't last until the end of January let alone the year. It's also the time book lovers gather together their lists of 'best reads' or 'ones to watch.' 

I've previously spoken about the self imposed book buying ban (The Book Buying Ban - How to tackle the TBR pile) and how sticking that out for January would never be repeated, but there is something I have done this year as I did in 2018 - set a Goodreads reading challenge target. 

I started late in 2018 - around July time - and set what I thought was a ridiculous number of 50 books. My intention was to add the books I'd read before July, as many as I could remember anyway. I was thrilled as I saw the count go up and up, it really spurred me on. The more I read, the higher it got and the more I wanted to consume any old book I could get my hands on (not hard when you have what seems to be a TBR mountain in your bedroom). 

I completed the challenge - people that know me say I did it easily - and at the end of 2018 I'd finished up reading 69 books. To be honest I thought it was a bit of a fluke.

Deciding my target for 2019 was probably more difficult than it needed to be. 

I didn't want to set it too high as I would hate not to achieve it but then I didn't want to set to too low and it seem silly.

When I had a figure in mind I asked the opinion of my sister and my Mum. They watch me read, they think my book buying habits are hilarious. They have a wonderful ability to know what I think of a book as I am reading it - usually by the pace at which I am reading, the face I pull or the fact that when they speak to me it doesn't register and they have to repeatedly call my name to get my attention.

I told them my target was going to be FIFTY again. I though this was realistic as I work full time and often do things at home, I have a little craft business and attend craft fairs regularly so I am often making stock - I thought fifty would be a great number of books for the year. They laughed - real full on laughter - and just shook their heads in disbelief. Both agreed my target should be 80. I wasn't having it, nope, not with how much of my time is used elsewhere - but I did decide to set my challenge at sixty. 

Four months later and I'm sat questioning if the challenge itself is a good thing or if it is putting pressure on yourself to ensure you meet that number.

I adore Goodreads; I love the way you can keep track of what you've read, what you thought of the books, the authors etc. I enjoy how you can see what you're friends and people with similar book tastes have read, enjoyed and reviewed. It's a great way, for me, of keeping track of what I have read because I didn't really before. I have the intention and would start lists or use address books so I could put them in by author but I used to lose interest or the book.

I mentioned that previously I had felt spurred on, motivated to read knowing it would add to

my tally.. but is actually is it a level of pressure that I don't need adding to my life? Am I really enjoying all the books or just zipping through them for the sake of increasing my number?

So far 2019 has been a lovely year, some AMAZING books, some wonderful ARCs have come my way and I've found some great new authors - would I have come across them regardless of the challenge I've put on myself - yes. Have I had the challenge in my mind with almost every book I've read? Yes. 

I've noticed I don't just read now, I also know which "number book" it is. Should that really be what I care about when reading a book, what it takes my tally to? I've also noticed that I compare my number of reads to that of my friends on Goodreads, I just can't help myself.

I'm not a competitive person by nature, not at all but with this I've woken some kind of weird competitive vibe in me that I dislike. I love that anyone reads any amount, I celebrate when I know people love a good book and when they find an author or genre that they like, I actively go out of my way to share the love of a book, pass books on and make recommendations - so why do I care about the number of books anyone else has read?

As of 7th April my Goodreads Reading Challenge total: 

Not even four full months of the year and I have already reached my target. I have read some incredible books  and genuinely, I don't feel like I have ever read for the sake of my target but I do wonder without it, would I have read this many books by now?! More importantly - would I have cared? 

My sister teases that even her target for me (80) is going to look silly by the end of the year but who knows. The reality is that I could amend that Goodreads target but I know I won't. I'll leave it as it is, hopefully as a reminder that it doesn't really matter.

Reading is loving a book, enjoying the stories that are created, the characters that become friends, finding authors that give us tears, heart break, love and hope - it's why we all stick our head in a book, lose ourselves in a different world and do it over and over again. 

Will I even set Goodreads target next year? Probably.
Will I increase my target next year? Probably not.