BBNYA Spotlight – After The Party – A.K. Ritchie

I am back with another spotlight on one of the semi-finalists from BBNYA 2022. If you saw my post a couple of days ago, you will already know that this year, the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 50 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

For today’s spotlight, I have After the Party by A.K. Ritchie to share. This wasn’t one of the books that came my way during the early rounds of the competition, but reading the blurb, I think it sounds ace!

BLURB:

The last thing Peyton Young expects on New Year’s Eve is literally crashing into the lead singer of her favourite local band, Forever July. Chase Reid knows her name, that she wrote the not so flattering blog post about his band, and he wants her opinion on their new song. Their exchange, while brief, kindles an unlikely friendship and opens up Peyton to new friends and an unexpected turn for her blog, Eternal Spin.

As Chase and Peyton’s feelings for each other develop, Peyton can’t help but wonder how she fits into Chase’s world. While it makes things more complicated, it’s not just Peyton’s toxic boyfriend and Chase’s perfect girlfriend standing between them. The insecurities that followed her from the past have Peyton trapped in a loop of self doubt that could jeopardize what she has with Chase.

Just as Peyton gathers the courage to make a choice that will change the direction of her life, a figure from her former life appears, forcing her to confront the memories she tried for years to bury.

Can Peyton face down the demons from her youth that whisper she isn’t good enough for Chase Reid? A man whose entire career is unfolding before him. Or will she let the old fears drag her down before she can take her chance at happiness?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A.K. Ritchie hails from a small city in Ontario, Canada. She loves writing contemporary fiction with a focus on Romance and Coming-of-Age stories. The music she loves influences most of what she writes.

When not writing in coffee shops or curled up in her bed scrolling through social media, A.K. Ritchie enjoys seeing live music, spending time in nature, going on road trips, all of which inspire her work.

The Winter Garden – Nicola Cornick

I have a lovely timeslip novel to share today as I join the blog tour for The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick. Many thanks to Nicola and HQ for providing me with a copy of the book, and for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

Remember, remember, the fifth of November…

1605: Anne Catesby fears for her family. Her son, the darkly charismatic Robert, is secretly plotting to kill the King, placing his wife and child in grave danger. Anne must make a terrible choice: betray her only child, or risk her family’s future.

Present day: When her dreams of becoming a musician are shattered, Lucy takes refuge in her family’s ancestral home in Oxfordshire. Everyone knows it was originally home to Robert Catesby, the gunpowder plotter. As Lucy spends more time in the beautiful winter garden that Robert had made, she starts to have strange visions of a woman in Tudor dress, terrified and facing a heartbreaking dilemma.

As Lucy and Anne’s stories converge, a shared secret that has echoed through the centuries separating them, will change Lucy’s life forever…

Sweeping generations from the 1600s to the present day, with the enthralling Gunpowder Plot at its heart, Nicola Cornick’s utterly enchanting new timeslip novel will sweep you off your feet. Perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Barbara Erskine and Kate Morton.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

REVIEW:

With 5th November fast approaching, now was the perfect time to immerse myself in a book steeped in the history of the Gunpowder Plot. I have been fascinated by this particular period in history since visiting Coughton Court a few years ago, and discovering that Guy Fawkes was not the most important player in the plot. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the lives of the Catesby family, and devoured the chapters written from Anne Catesby’s perspective.

Lucy is a character who really got under my skin, and my heart broke for her and what she had lost. Having first-hand experience of how chronic illness can affect your life, the grieving process that we see her go through over the course of the book felt very real, and Nicola handled it beautifully.

Usually, with books told from multiple points of view, and particularly with timeslip novels, I find that there is one point of view that I am more invested in, and it is generally the historical period that captures me the most. However, in The Winter Garden this was not the case, and I was equally keen to find out what happened in both timelines. The intrigue surrounding the missing treasure and the mystery of who was interfering with the project at Gunpowder Cottage held my interest just as much as Anne’s struggles to keep her family safe.

The Winter Garden is a beautiful book, and I only wish that I could visit Gunpowder Cottage to see Catherine’s wonderful garden in all its glory.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nicola Cornick is a writer and historian who has published a multitude of best-selling books around the world.

Nicola Cornick has wide ranging experience of media work, both in print and broadcast. In print she has provided interviews, reviews, Q&As and articles for both news and magazine publication such as Countryfile Magazine and The Daily Telegraph. She has also done both live and recorded broadcast media work for both local and national channels including BBC Radio 4 and History Extra.

Nicola has spoken at a range of literary festivals and live events over the years, including Oxford and Sharjah festivals, London Book and Film Week, and events for the National Trust and other heritage organisations.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs joining the tour for this fascinating book.

BBNYA Spotlight – A Particular Friendship – Paul Van der Spiegel

I have been having a whale of a time over the past few months being a part of the judging panel for the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Awards 2022. We are currently in the final round of judging, and leading up to the announcement of the winner, and I am so excited to be able to share this with all of you soon.

This year, the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 50 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Over the coming days, I will be sharing just a handful of the semi-finalists, and first up I have A Particular Friendship by Paul Van der Spiegel. This is one of the books that I had the privilege to read in the earlier rounds, and I found it absolutely captivating. It is definitely a book that I plan to read in its entirety very soon.

BLURB:

A Particular Friendship is a story about a gay Catholic priest coming to terms with his sexuality. The story has two timelines. In the odd-numbered chapters we meet Tom, an isolated fifty-year old parish priest of St. James’ church, a Jesuit-built church in a northern English town. Tom is an in-the-closet gay man inside the Catholic Church, an organisation that defines homosexuality as inherently disordered. Antony, the only man Tom has ever fallen in love with, the man he abandoned thirty-years earlier, comes back into his life and asks Tom to provide the Sacrament of the Sick to his dying mother.

In the second timeline, the even numbered chapters, we see Tom from childhood through to his ordination as a priest. As he grows into adolescence the confusion begins: he has experiences with girls, as well as burgeoning romantic and sexual feelings for his friend, Antony. After Tom and Antony sleep together for the first time, as the pressure to conform to a heterosexual society reaches fever-pitch, Tom abandons his lover and flees to the Church. At Ash Burrow seminary, Tom finds acceptance, and other gay men like himself.

The story follows Tom’s emotional collapse and the deterioration of his mental health until he reaches the point where he is actively suicidal. In contrast, we see Tom’s teenage-self approaching life with a sense of potential. After Tom is sacked and St. James’ church is closed, he confronts the violent sexual assault he suffered whilst a seminarian at Ash Burrow – and the perpetrator, Derek Worrell, who is now the Bishop of Preston.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Van der Spiegel is the author of four books: Trans Deus, 7 Minutes, Parably Not (an Illuminated book), and A Particular Friendship. He loves great company, great stories, great art, and if he can reflect any of that wisdom back in his own work, he will die happy. His interest is in the intersection of sexuality and faith, the compatibility of LGBTQIA+ love and trust in love as meta-meaning. He adores non-conformist literature, quirky tunes, dissenting art that makes you think. His heroes are William Blake, Susan Cooper, Philip K Dick, Goya, Kristin Hersh, JG Ballard, to name but a few.

Keep your eyes peeled because I have more semi-finalists to tell you about in the coming days – there really is going to be something for everyone!

The Widdershins Series – Helen Steadman

I have a double bill of reviews today as I jump on board the blog tour for Widdershins and Sunwise, (the Widdershins series) by Helen Steadman. Many thanks to Helen for providing me with copies of both books (and the lovely goodies that came with them!), and to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

Jane Chandler is learning the art of healing while John Sharpe wants to rid the world of witchcraft. In an English town gripped by superstition and fear, two destinies collide in these absorbing historical novels based on true events.

WIDDERSHINS

“Did all women have something of the witch about them?”

England, 1649. A sadistic witch hunter. An apprentice healer accused of witchcraft. Can she escape the hangman’s noose?

When John’s parents die at the hands of a witch, he faces a choice: an easy life with a woman who serves Satan, or a hard life with a preacher who serves God. The cursed orphan chooses the church. Raised on raging sermons, he discovers his true purpose: to become a witchfinder and save virtuous souls from the jaws of hell.

In a town mesmerized by superstition and fear, two destinies collide. As John rounds up the local witches, Jane gets more than she bargained for when bartering with the apothecary. Instead of trading herbal remedies, she finds herself on trial for consorting with the devil. Can she prove her innocence, or will she be condemned to death?

SUNWISE

“There is a madness come upon England of late.”

England, 1650. A sadistic witch hunter. An innocent healer and her child accused of witchcraft. Can they escape the hangman’s noose?

Filled with vengeance, John will stop at nothing in his sworn mission to free the world from the scourge of witchcraft. When his quest to vanquish evil is thwarted by Jane, he decrees that she must die.

After defeating the witchfinder, Jane must continue her dangerous healing work. Alone in a hostile and superstitious village, she struggles to keep her little girl alive.

Determined to keep his vow, the witchfinder must put mother and daughter to death. When John brings the witch hunt to Jane’s home, can she herself and her child from certain slaughter?

PURCHASE LINKS:

Widdershins

Sunwise

REVIEW:

The books of the Widdershins series make the perfect duology, with book one, Widdershins, following Jane and John from childhood to their early adult lives and Sunwise picking up the story after their first encounter in Newcastle. I found both books utterly engrossing, and as such sped through them, all the while wishing I could make them last longer and really savour them. Of course, I failed completely to do that, and actually read Sunwise from cover to cover in one sitting.

John was a character who sook me by surprise, and I enjoyed the chapters from his perspective more than I expected. I had thought that I would hate him but instead I was a presented with fascinating insight into what could change someone from sweet, kind boy to a fanatical witch hunter. I bounced from raging at his actions against innocent women and actually pitying him for the damage his early life experiences had done to him. He is a complicated man indeed!

In contrast, Jane is a much gentler character who just wants to live a quiet life with those she loves. Her story and everything that she goes through absolutely broke my heart, not least because for many women of the time, Jane’s experiences were very real dangers that they faced.

The Widdershins series is not a cheerful read, and is in fact quite harrowing in places, but it is clear to see that the author poured her heart and soul into researching the witch trials of Newcastle and Berwick and bringing them to life. I have something of a fascination with this topic, and I have to say that Widdershins and Sunwise are right up there with the best of the books that I have read about the trials.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr Helen Steadman is a historical novelist. Her first novel, Widdershins, and its sequel, Sunwise, were inspired by the seventeenth-century Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf, was inspired by the Shotley Bridge swordmakers, who defected from Solingen, Germany in 1687. Helen’s fourth novel is God of Fire, a Greek myth retelling about Hephaestus, possibly the least well-known of the Olympians. Helen is now working on her fifth novel.

Despite the Newcastle witch trials being one of the largest mass executions of witches on a single day in England, they are not widely known about. Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.

The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who defected from Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword. During her archive research, Helen uncovered a lot of new material and she published her findings in the Northern History journal.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Author Website

Publisher Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs taking part on this tour.

The Gifts – Liz Hyder

I have a glorious historical fiction novel, with a sprinkling of fantasy, to share with you all today in the form of The Gifts by Liz Hyder. Many thanks to Liz for providing me with a copy of the book, and to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

A young woman staggers through the woods. Something is happening deep inside and as she’s thrown to her knees in agony, the world around her stops. When she comes to, she is astonished at the sight of her shadow – it has wings.

Meanwhile when rumours of ‘fallen angels’ cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune will find himself in the grip of a dangerous obsession, and the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .

THE GIFTS is the astonishing debut adult novel from the lauded author of BEARMOUTH. A gripping and ambitious book told through several female voices and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the knife-edge roles of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Purchase Link

REVIEW:

Liz Hyder’s The Gifts is an absolute delight of a book. Part historical fiction, part fantasy, and littered with beautiful illustrations, it really is a joy. The rich descriptions really brought 1840s London to life, with the sights and sounds experienced by the characters becoming totally absorbing – no mean feat when some of the addresses where the characters lived being more recognisable to me as being choked with traffic and full of office blocks.

The cast of characters are wonderfully varied, some of whom I loved and others I loved to hate. Mary was a particular favourite of mine with her passion for life and refusal to be held back by what society expected of her.

Told from a number of seemingly unconnected viewpoints, I loved seeing each strand twine together and build to the conclusion – one which, I have to say, I found distinctly satisfying. I look forward to reading more of Liz’s writing in the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Liz Hyder has been making up stories for as long she can remember. She has a BA
in drama from the University of Bristol and, in early 2018, won the Bridge Award/Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Award. Bearmouth, her debut young adult novel, won a Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award and was chosen as the Children’s Book of the Year by The
Times. Originally from London, she now lives in South Shropshire. The Gifts is her debut adult novel.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter

Website

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs taking part in this tour.

Altered Helix – Stephanie Hansen

Today I am joining the blog tour for Altered Helix, the first book in Stephanie Hansen’s Altered Helix series. Many thanks to Stephanie for providing me with a copy of her book, and to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

I didn’t want to take the traditional path. First, I wasn’t ready for college. Second, I was going to live with my best friend, Tiff, and work at the Haunted House. Third, did I mention the hot guy Josh that works there too?

The most exciting thing about Austria’s new job, at a local haunted house, was the fact that the toughest looking people screamed the loudest. But when she meets the boy without a home, Josh, Austria’s life takes intriguing and eventful turns. Up until now, Josh has managed to hang with his Street crowd, but they’re in danger, and so is Austria, the girl Josh recently fell for. The group finds themselves joining forces with previously considered enemies who also now find themselves in danger.

Deeply compassionate and full of twists, Altered Helix captures the struggle of polarized people that must work together for the greater good.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Purchase Link

REVIEW:

I picked this book up to read whilst in the middle of a humongous book hangover (I’m looking at you Amy Beashel) and I will admit to feeling a little concerned that it would mean it might get a bit of an unfair shot – I always feel a bit sorry for my recovery books, but I needn’t have worried. Altered Helix was just the cure that I needed.

I scare easily, especially when it comes to books and my overactive imagination, but I do like to read slightly spooky books around Halloween, just so I don’t feel left out. A book about a haunted house that might actually be haunted seemed like just the ticket. That said, Altered Helix was darker than I expected, with the real, human threats facing the characters proving scarier than any of the scenes they were acting out.

It took me a second to get to grips with the setting – nothing in the blurb (apart from the title, which just did not click with me for some reason – I am blaming COVID brain) suggested an alternate reality, so talks of telepathy and a dissolved government threw me off but only momentarily. Once that little detail had fallen into place, I found that I quickly became completely engaged in the story, and I romped through it in no time.

Short enough to read in one sitting, Altered Helix is full of rich, atmospheric detail and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft and Global Book Award Winning Author. Her debut novella series, Altered Helix, released in 2020. It hit the #1 New Release, #1 Best Seller, and other top 100 lists on Amazon. It is now being adapted to an animated story for Tales. Her debut novel, Replaced Parts, released in 2021 through Fire & Ice YA and Tantor Audio. It has been in a Forbes article, hit Amazon bestseller lists, and made the Apple young adult coming soon bestsellers list. The second book in the Transformed Nexus series, Omitted Pieces, released in 2022. Her next novella, Ghostly Howls, releases 2/7/23. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community so she tries to incorporate that into her fiction.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Website

Facebook

BookBub

Instagram

TikTok

Twitter

Pinterest

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs taking part in the tour.

Love, Loss and Life In Between – Suzanne Rogerson

I am delighted to be welcoming Suzanne Rogerson back to my blog today with her latest collection of short stories, Love, Loss and Life In Between. Many thanks to Suzanne for providing me with a copy of the book, and to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

This collection of short stories gives a glimpse into life, love, loss, and the inexplicable in between.

Including themes of grief, finding hope and second chances, facing the consequences of your actions and getting help from the unlikeliest of places.

• As Cecilia helps the dying, she questions what happens to their spirits. But is she ready to find out?
• Can a mother’s race through the New Forest save her son?
• Will visiting a medium bring Christina the closure she needs?
• Can an intruder help an old lady with her loneliness?
• Will the start of another wet and miserable Monday morning end with Maeve’s happy ever after?

This anthology includes the prize-winning flash fiction story – ‘Spirit Song’.

Judge’s critique – ‘Unusual, emotional, warm, surprising — a warm, unusual story. It moved me when I read it.’

Full story list:

Spirit Song

Goodbye Forever

Garden Therapy

Starting Over

A Cat-Shaped Hole

The Phone Call

Knocked Off Her Feet

Catalyst

Not Just For Christmas

A Mermaid’s Tail

From the author of fantasy novels Visions of Zarua and ‘Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy’, this short story collection features multiple genres including romance, supernatural and thriller.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Purchase Link

REVIEW:

As you know, I love Suzanne’s writing, and Love, Loss and Life In Between certainly lived up to my high expectations. In a move away from her usual fantasy stories, each short story in this anthology is different in tone to the one before, and they take you through the whole gamut of emotions. In fact, I was surprised at just how much emotion Suzanne managed to inject into each of these small but perfectly formed tales.

My personal favourite stories were Garden Therapy and (perhaps unsurprisingly for those of you who know me) A Cat-Shaped Hole, both of which were heartbreakingly touching. I am sure though that everybody who picks this book up will have a different favourite, and a different story that speaks to them and their experiences.

I was delighted to get a hint of a new series in A Mermaid’s Tail, and I am very much looking forward to discovering that world in due course.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Suzanne lives in Middlesex, England with her husband, two teenagers, a crazy cocker spaniel and an adopted cat that thinks she’s the boss.

Suzanne’s writing journey began at the age of twelve when she completed her first novel. She discovered the fantasy genre in her late teens and has never looked back. Giving up work to raise a family gave her the impetus to take her attempts at novel writing beyond the first draft, and she is lucky enough to have a husband who supports her dream – even if he does occasionally hint that she might think about getting a proper job one day.

Now an author of four novels including the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and her debut, Visions of Zarua, Suzanne hopes the dreaded ‘W’ word will never rear its ugly head again!

She loves gardening and has a Hebe (shrub) fetish. She enjoys cooking with ingredients from the garden and regularly feeds unsuspecting guests vegetable-based cakes.

She collects books, is interested in history and enjoys wandering around castles and old ruins whilst being immersed in the past. She likes to combine her love of nature and photography on family walks, but most of all she loves to escape with a great film, binge watch TV shows, or soak in a hot bubble bath with an ice cream and a book.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter

Goodreads

Bookbub

Amazon

Facebook

Instagram

Website

We Are All Constellations – Amy Beashel

I am honoured to be welcoming Amy Beashel to my blog today, as I join the blog tour for We Are All Constellations. Many thanks to Amy for providing me with a copy of the book, and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of the tour.

BLURB:

You are strong. You are brave. You are not alone.

Seventeen-year-old Iris is happy. She might not have her mother but she refuses to let her past determine who she is. Then Iris finds out the truth about her mum’s death.

As her childhood memories prove uncertain, not even her friends or her new love interest Orla can help her make sense of them. Reeling from the discovery, Iris is forced to question everything she knows about her friends, her family and herself. But can she find a new future now her eyes are open to the past?

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon UK

Waterstones

REVIEW:

As a regular reader of YA, I am used to the emotional turmoil that a lot of books put you through, but every now and again a book comes along that takes you completely by surprise. I finished reading We Are All Constellations on Wednesday, and I am still struggling to put into words everything that I want to say about it.

To be totally honest, I struggled with this book to begin with and didn’t find Iris to be a terribly likable character. However, a few chapters in, something clicked and it became this beautiful, utterly devastating story. I was an emotional wreck by the end, and even now a couple of days after finishing reading, it remains in my thoughts.

There is a lot going on in this book, with mental illness, grief, sexuality and male privilege being just some of the areas covered. Each of these is handled sensitively and in no way are they included purely for shock value or to tick a box. The characters are flawed, but this only serves to make each of them more relatable, and there are some beautiful moments where you would perhaps least expect them.

Amy Beashel is clearly a talented writer, and I know I will be reading her debut, The Sky is Mine, and everything else that she writes in the future – once I have had a lie down in a dark room and stocked up on chocolate and tissues that is!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy Beashel lives in Shropshire with her husband and two kids. Her debut novel, The Sky is Mine, was nominated for a CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021, longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2021 and shortlisted for the Bristol Teen Book Award 2020. Incidentally, she is also the fastest woman in the world on a space hopper.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter

Instagram

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs taking part in this tour.

The Hike – Susi Holliday

Today I am hopping over to Switzerland as I join the blog tour for The Hike by Susi Holliday. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part, and to Susi for providing me with a copy of the book.

BLURB:

Four hikers enter the mountains. Only two return. But is it tragedy? Or treachery?

When sisters Cat and Ginny travel with their husbands to the idyllic Swiss Alps for a hiking holiday, it’s not just a chance to take in the stunning scenery. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with each other after years of drifting apart—and patch up marriages that are straining at the seams.

As they head into the mountains, morale is high, but as the terrain turns treacherous, cracks in the relationships start to show. With worrying signs that someone might be following them, the sun begins to set and exhaustion kicks in. Suddenly, lost high on a terrifying ridge, tensions spill over—with disastrous consequences.

When only two of the four hikers make it down from the mountain, the police press them for their story—but soon become suspicious when their accounts just don’t add up.

What really happened up on that ridge? Who are the survivors? And what secrets are they trying to hide?

PURCHASE LINKS:

REVIEW:

When two couples with more than their fair share of secrets head off on a hiking holiday in the Alps, what could possibly go wrong? Well, a whole lot as it happens! As Cat’s carefully planned trip unravels around her, this particular hike is packed full of drama.

Whilst none of the main characters are particularly likeable, I found them to be an intriguing group of people, and I struggled to put the book down as I was so eager to learn their secrets and understand the motives behind their actions.

Much like Ginny, a hiking trip is my idea of hell, and I can’t say that reading The Hike has changed my opinion on this. Although Susi’s descriptions of the landscape sounded incredibly beautiful, the terrain is definitely not for the faint hearted, and it was easy to see where inspiration struck for the Alps to be a prime location for “accidents” to happen.

In typical Susi Holliday style, The Hike is a book that will keep you guessing until the last. I have learnt from experience to not even bother trying to guess the twists in Holliday’s books and now I just enjoy the ride.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susi (S.J.I.) Holliday is the bestselling Scottish author of 8 novels, a novella and many short stories. By day she works in pharmaceuticals. She lives in London (except when she’s in Edinburgh) and she loves to travel the world.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Don’t forget to visit all the other blogs taking part in this tour.