Veronika Jordan's Blog, page 41
January 15, 2024
Storms, Starlight & Magic by Helena M Craggs Publication Day
He’s a secret weapon against evil. But can he defeat the monster lurking within?
Quinn Carter is in a good place. Along with his half-angel girlfriend, the loyal half-demon teen thrives as he works with supernatural friends to fight ongoing threats. So when the Greek gods seek help, he faces off against a demigod craving world domination.
Genre: YA PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY
Reading Age: 13 – 18
Attacked by a demon king, Quinn survives when aid appears from a dubious ally. But when a blood-sucking enemy makes a devastating move, the teenager finds himself plunged into a clash between light and dark.
Can Quinn rise above the darkness inside and overcome a living nightmare?
The Younglings is the thrilling final book in The Younglings YA paranormal fantasy series. If you like resilient heroes, non-stop action, and sizzling paranormal romance, then you’ll love Helena M Craggs’s high-stakes roller coaster.
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The Liberation of Bella McCaa by Catherine Aitken Out Now
Bella wants her life back but life keeps getting in the way.
Here’s what some early readers have said:
‘It was funny, tragic and uplifting all at once, I couldn’t put it down.’
‘Realistic and romantic with great humour.’
‘I burst into tears at the end, I was so moved.’
When Bella McCaa is released from ten years as sole carer to a very demanding mother, she’s desperate to leave Dundee and pick up the threads of her once high-flying career in London. Fifty-two isn’t too late to start again, is it?
Genre: Romance| Contemporary
Pages: 297
Publisher: Handbag Press
But fate, and family, intervene, and rather than speeding South in her trusty Mini, Bella’s plans go awry and she finds herself living far from friends, facing an empty bank account and urgently in need of a job. London and reclaiming her life seem more distant than ever. To complicate matters further her first love, Jem, strides into town – handsome, successful and stirring up a tempest of emotions. But Jem’s arrival is also the catalyst to unearthing long-buried secrets, shattering
Bella’s view of the world and making her question everything. Can Bella negotiate a whirlwind ride of unexpected curveballs, love and second chances to find a happy every after on her own terms?
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January 14, 2024
The Kitchen by Simone Buchholz translated by Rachel Ward Cover Reveal
Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her colleagues investigate the murders of men with a history of abuse towards women … as a startling, horrifying series of revelations emerge.
When neatly packed male body parts wash up by the River Elbe, Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her colleagues begin a perplexing investigation.
As the murdered men are identified, it becomes clear that they all had a history of abuse towards women, leading Riley to wonder if it would actually be in society’s best interests to catch the killers.
Published by Orenda Books #OrendaTakeover
But when her best friend Carla is attacked, and the police show little interest in tracking down the offender, Chastity takes matters into her own hands and as a link between the two cases emerges, horrifying revelations threaten Chastity’s own moral compass … and put everything at risk.
The award-winning, critically acclaimed Chastity Riley series returns with a slick, hard-boiled, darkly funny thriller that tackles issues of violence and the difference between law and justice with devastating insight, and an ending you will never see coming…
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
January 12, 2024
Under Her Roof by A.A. Chaudhuri Cover Reveal
It seems too good to be true…
When struggling writer Sebastian finds a room to let in a palatial Hampstead residence he cannot believe his luck. The rent is ridiculously cheap and he immediately feels a connection with his beautiful widowed landlady, Adriana.
It is.
Genre: Psychological thriller
Publisher: Hera
Author website: https://aachaudhuri.com/
Things take a dark turn when he finds out what happened to the last lodger. Could this be why the house is a fortress of security, and why Adriana seems so fragile? Adriana doesn’t want to talk about the death and sadness that seem to follow her wherever she goes and Sebastian has secrets of his own.
Now someone is watching their every move and there is nowhere to hide.
This house of light becomes a dark nightmare as the threat ramps up – what does the watcher want? And how far will they go to get it?
A gripping, twisty thriller perfect for fans of B.A. Paris, Shari Lapena and Lucy Foley. If you were hooked by Netflix series You or The Watcher you’ll love this.
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January 11, 2024
Halfway House by Helen Fitzgerald
They’re the housemates from Hell…
When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.
Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…
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And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.
Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breathtaking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…
My Review
This book was not at all what I was expecting. And Lou O’Dowd is not the heroine I was expecting either. To someone of my generation (I could almost be her grandmother), her behaviour, her language, her life choices, were shocking to my gentler sensibilities (I jest). I am used to reading gory crime thrillers, but the sex scenes (I’ll replace this word Amazon) are still a mystery to me.
We first meet 23-year-old Lou living in a posh apartment, paid for by her sugar daddy. She gets a generous allowance as well, and all she has to do is see him twice a week for a few hours and have sex (that word again), while he shouts ‘Don’t move, don’t move,’ at her. What’s that all about?
After breaking up from him, she looks for a job, but isn’t having much luck. ‘Kept woman’ isn’t that good as work experience on her CV, neither is ‘pretending to be dead for a closet necrophiliac’. But then this job comes up across the world in Edinburgh, where her cousin Becks lives, and she can start straight away and live with her cousin (and all the out-of-work actors and performers who come and go). I think Becks is madder than she is, but at least her heart is in the right place.
The job involves being the night carer at a halfway house for offenders out on licence, but we are not talking about possession of a class A, mugging or burglary, these men are the real deal – two murderers, an ex-rockstar paedophile, a flasher/frotter (Google it)/ sex offender, and a paranoid drug dealer. After the first night learning on the job, she will be alone with them. What?! I don’t see much risk assessment going on here. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
So off she goes to Scotland, even partying on the plane (not sleeping like sensible people) and arrives in Edinburgh totally exhausted. She has promised to go and see Becks’ new play Plath: The Musical and even though she sleeps through it (I said she would be exhausted), she meets the handsome Tim.
She starts her job and it’s exactly what one would imagine – risky, boring and downright dangerous. First rule of the house – never talk about the inmates to ANYONE. Second rule of the house – never fall asleep on the job. Or feed them after midnight (if we are into film references). Even with drugged hot chocolate.
Halfway House is darkly funny (very dark), shocking, hilarious at times, sad at others. I’m not sure I felt sorry for Lou at any point, her disasters are almost all of her own making, but I did warm to Becks, in spite of her chaotic lifestyle. Did I warm to Tim? You’ll have to make up your own mind.
The ending descends into total madness, but it was the most entertaining part of the book.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of thirteen adult and young-adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and adapted for a major BBC drama. Her 2019 dark- comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in the Literary Review, Herald Scotland, Guardian, Sunday Times, The Week and Daily Telegraph, shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and won the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award. The critically acclaimed Ash Mountain (2020) and Keep Her Sweet (2022) soon followed. Helen worked as a criminal-justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
January 9, 2024
One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall
If most men say they’re one of the good guys, then why are so many women afraid to walk alone at night?
Cole is the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy.
So when Mel leaves him, he’s floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him.
Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie.
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Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them.
As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, it soon becomes clear that they don’t know each other very well at all.
This is what happens when women have had enough . . .
My Review
In the first part of One Of The Good Guys we hear from Cole as the first person narrator. He believes himself to be ‘one of the good guys’, but certain things appear slightly off. His desire to ‘protect’ his wife Mel becomes overbearing and frankly insulting. He constantly wants to push forward with IVF (he’s desperate to have a child), even when she is physically and emotionally exhausted, he totally disregards her feelings, and then the ‘we’ are going to get pregnant (it’s not you going through this mate – I really wanted to punch him at this point).
And then there is his opinion about keeping Mel’s frozen embryos after their marriage breakdown. I found it deeply shocking that he believed he had a right to her body, but I’m even more shocked at how many people believed he had a right to stop her destroying them. This is one of the things American author Jodi Picoult does so well. A Spark of Light discusses abortion and she delivers both sides expertly, exploring this controversial subject, even when you think there is only one side. She presents an argument that makes you think and it’s a challenging read that questions your own views (and hidden prejudices).
Mel’s behaviour appears to become increasingly erratic, until she makes her ‘escape’ and Cole blames it all on her hormones. Of course he does.
We also have a scene where Cole encounters Molly and Phoebe, who are walking 365 miles around the coast to highlight violence against women. They are sitting on the edge of a cliff and Cole warns them that it’s very dangerous. It’s his job to do so, but he handles it badly. However, so do they and that’s a conflict in itself. When the girls go missing, he fails to inform the police about the meeting. Then they disappear and the fingers are pointing at Cole. I’m somewhat biased I know, because of the rabbit trap – you can’t be one of the ‘good guys’ as far as I’m concerned (country folk will think I’m pathetic I know) and be so cruel.
Reclusive artist Lennie lives in a small cottage close to the edge of the cliffs. She admits that many people don’t like her. I didn’t like her much either, but I definitely admired her. Cole befriends her and believes a relationship will blossom. Yeah right!
A lot of the second half revolves around social media posts and WhatsApp messages, many of which are toxic and less than sympathetic. There are the usual references to pictures of Molly and Phoebe in bikinis or clubbing, which bring out the ‘serves them right bitches’ brigade. Even women rush to criticise them. But nothing will prepare you for the final denouement. It was not at all what I was expecting.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Araminta Hall is a journalist and teacher. She is the author of five previous novels, including her first novel, Everything & Nothing, which was published in 2011 and became a Richard & Judy read that year. She is the great niece of Dodie Smith and the great granddaughter of Lawrence Beesley, who survived the Titanic and wrote a bestselling account of the tragedy in the book, The Loss of the SS Titanic. She teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her
husband and three children.
January 7, 2024
Blackwolf by Phil Gilvin Publication Day
Disease stalks the land like a wolf, but the fighting goes on. And if you’re caught up in it, who can you trust?
2150, the Women’s Republic of Anglia. The world, transformed by climate change, dwindling resources and successive epidemics, is in danger of descending into chaos. Ex-Truth Sister Clara Perdue, having escaped the great flood of London, has become separated from her friend Jack Pike and is now trying to reach Wight, where her mother Sophia is in prison. But once she makes it there, how can she avoid capture herself? And how can she help Sophia?
Meanwhile, Jack has fallen in with Hurn, a warlike chieftain in the lawless lands between Anglia and Wessex. Can he find new friendships and forget Clara? And when the Wessex army attack, can he face his doubts and fight?
And while Hurn seeks to steal a virus weapon, another plague is sweeping through Britain. Can Clara and Jack survive?
Genre: Sci-fi, YA Post-apocalyptic
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January 4, 2024
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.
The identity comes to Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the target: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.
Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes–especially after what happened last time.
Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to—her real identity—just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn’t be higher–but then, Evie has always liked a challenge…
My Review
What a page turner this was! Reading with my fellow ‘pigeons’ on The Pigeonhole online book club was a real detective-fest. We all had our theories, but with a book like this, it’s not a good idea to peak too early. You know the goal posts will move nearer to the end.
Evie Porter is a con artist. In fact it’s not even her real name. Each time she gets a job she is given a new identity, a location and a mark. And finally the job. But does she have a conscience? Or does she just do as she is told? Her boss is the mysterious Mr Smith, whose identity is kept hidden – his voice disguised by one of those voice changers. I wasn’t even sure if Mr Smith was a man or a woman. Evie has no idea either.
But the jobs don’t always go to plan. It might help if she didn’t keep trying to double cross Mr Smith. Is she cleverer than him? We shall see.
The latest job is going to be her biggest challenge to date, because Ryan Sumner is different from the others. She’s falling for him, and that will complicate things. And he has his own secrets.
I loved this book so much. It’s twisty and clever and my only criticism would be that you keep going back to Evie’s previous jobs, which was absolutely necessary, but I wanted to move forward as I needed to know what was happening next.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
About the Author
Ashley Elston is the author of several novels, including The Rules for Disappearing (a finalist in the Best Young Adult Novel category of the International Thriller Awards) and 10 Blind Dates. Her work has been translated into 23 languages. She graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Ashley worked for many years as a wedding photographer before turning her hand to writing. Ashley lives in Louisiana with her husband and three sons. First Lie Wins is her debut adult thriller.
January 2, 2024
The Dubrovnik Book Club by Eva Glyn Cover Reveal
In a tiny bookshop in Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town, a book club begins…
Newly arrived on the sun-drenched shores of Croatia, Claire Thomson’s life is about to change forever when she starts working at a local bookshop. With her cousin Vedran, employee Luna and Karmela, a professor, they form an unlikely book club.
But when their first book club pick – an engrossing cosy crime – inspires them to embark upon an investigation that is close to the group’s heart, they quickly learn the value of keeping their new-found friends close as lives and stories begin to entwine…
Genre: Women’s Fiction (friendship story with a strong mystery element)
Publisher: One More Chapter
About the Author
Eva Glyn fell in love with Croatia during her first holiday there in 2019; the incredible scenery, the delicious food, the country’s dramatic twentieth century history all played their part, but most of all it was the friendliness of the people.
One of these was tour director Darko Barisic, who told an incredible story about growing up in underground shelters during the war in the 1990s, and she knew she had to write a book around his experiences. This became her first Croatian novel, The Olive Grove, and she and Darko have become good friends and he continues to advise her on all aspects of Croatia.
Eva delves into Croatian history and everyday life for her inspiration, and visits the country as often as she can, having uncovered so many stories by talking to local people. Travel in general is her passion, followed closely by food and wine, which also find their way between her pages.
Although Welsh by birth she now lives in Cornwall with the man she met and fell in love with almost thirty years ago. She also writes as Jane Cable.
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Publisher UK https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-dubrovnik-book-club-eva-glyn
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dubrovnik-Book-Club-Croatia-favourite-ebook/dp/B0CDP8HKCM/
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Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/Dubrovnik-Book-Club-Croatia-favourite-ebook/dp/B0CDP8HKCM/
January 1, 2024
My Top 5 Books of 2023
As we slip quietly into 2024 it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of 2023. I used to pick three but I’ve had to up that to five as I just couldn’t narrow it down.
It’s always hard. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to five. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read a lot of crime fiction, which occasionally make my quarterly selections, but my Top books of the year tend to be something a bit different, so here we go.
The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Absolutely fantastic! Who knew that a book about compiling a dictionary could be so emotional and beautiful.
It’s a combination of fictitious characters like Esme and her father ‘Da’, and others like Dr Murray, his daughters Elsie and Rosfrith and Ditte who really existed. The author gives some of the real people more importance and personality in the story than we know as real – Ditte for instance is very central to the book, but in reality we know little about her in real life.
For my full review click here
The Fascination by Essie Fox
This is one of my favourite books of the year so far. I simply adored it. I don’t read that much historical fiction, but when I do it has to be unique and something special and this is. It’s the third book I’ve read this year which involves music halls, entertainers and ‘freak shows’, and The Fascination did not disappoint.
It’s mainly the characters – Theo Seabrook, disowned grandson of Lord Seabrook, the twins Keziah and Tilly, sold by their quack medicine-man father to the mysterious ‘Captain’, Aleski Turgenev based on real-life Fedor Jeftichew, better known as the Dog-Faced Boy, a sideshow performer in Barnum’s circus, Martha who hid her face because of a disfiguring harelip and Dr Eugene Summerwell, owner of the Museum of Anatomy in London, who becomes Theo’s employer.
For my full review click here
Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry-Jones
I’ve only ever read two books that I can compare this with, and they are She Never Told Me About The Ocean by Elizabeth Sharp McKetta and The Unravelling by Polly Crosby. They all have that same whimsical, magical unworldliness, and the first two became my top books of the year in 2021 and 2022. I have a feeling Salt & Skin will be in my top books of 2023.
It’s hard to describe what Salt & Skin is about, because it’s so much more than a story. It’s beautiful, lyrical and filled with superstition and magic. It’s about a family and their journey across the world to find a new beginning, but it’s also about motherhood, grief, love and community. It’s about the witches who were executed in the 17th century and the religion that fears them and would still persecute them if they could.
For my full review click here
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
I love this book so much. It’s gone straight to the top of my favourite books of the year – maybe even the decade. I kept thinking it reminded me of the books of another author, but it was only towards the end that I remembered who that was – Menna Van Praag.
Magical realism is one of my favourite genres, though occasionally it disappoints, because there are books which fall too much into the fantasy genre. The Lost Bookshop, however, is perfect.
For my full review click here
The Stargazers by Harriet Evans
The book is written in three timelines though Iris’s childhood only features fairly briefly. Mostly it’s about Sarah as a child in the 1950s, living with her sister Victoria, and their mother Lady Iris Fane. Their father Henry Fox (the girls have his name Fox, but Iris has reverted to her maiden name of Fane), appears to be totally absent.
Then we have Sarah as an adult in the 1970s, married to Daniel (who is lovely but would annoy me if he was my husband) and their life in a crumbling house in Hampstead. It’s a house they can’t afford and Daniel’s attempts at DIY always end in disaster. After a childhood in a crumbling mansion, I am surprised that Sarah wants to live here, but then I suppose for her it’s normal. Daniel invites his bohemian friends and half the neighbours to drop round all the time and Sarah can’t cope. I’m not sure I would be able to.
For my full review click here
