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Louise has just moved to a new flat when she meets her neighbour Isabelle whose husband is carted off by the police. The two women form a friendship but Louise is keeping secrets…

The Silent Friend is a psychological thriller and domestic drama.

Louise and Isabelle make friends as Louise supports Isabelle when Carl is sent to prison. Isabelle is pregnant and reeling from Carl’s situation so is vulnerable. Most of the book is written in the present day to show the developing friendship between Louise and Isabelle. However some chapters show the past including Louise’s sad childhood which has had a major impact on her life.

A fifth of the way through there is a big twist which shows the women’s friendship in a new light and makes you rethink your opinion of the main characters.  It’s hard to review without big spoilers but I love the change in dynamic when we know Louise’s secret. I enjoyed the tension as we wait for events to unfold and wonder how the truth will be revealed.

There are elements of psychological thriller but the domestic drama aspect takes precedence in my opinion. Knowing Louise’s unhappy childhood aligns us with her at first but then her behaviour takes on a more sinister angle when we know her secret. Isabelle has plenty of concerns about her situation being pregnant and worrying about Carl. The writing style is easy to read and builds the tension and plot layers.

The Silent Friend is an entertaining novel with secrets, lies and emotions.

The Silent Friend

When it comes to saving yourself, who will you betray?

Louise has a shadowy past that she wants to break free from and when she develops an unlikely friendship with Isabelle, her neighbour, she finally finds the family she’s always yearned for.

But Louise knows more about Isabelle than her new friend realises, more specifically about her imprisoned husband – and the circumstances behind his arrest.

Louise is faced with a choice: to continue lying to her only friend or tell the truth and ruin any chance she has of starting over…

Purchase Link  – https://mybook.to/Silentfriendsocial

Author Bio –

Alison Stockham’s debut novel The Cuckoo Sister, will be published by Boldwood in February 2023, and has already been longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize. Having worked in TV documentary production for the BBC and Channel 4, Alison is now the Events Coordinator for the Cambridge Literary Festival.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonStockhamAuthor/

Twitter https://twitter.com/AlisonStockham

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/AlisonStockhamNews

Ella has a job she loves and is in a secret relationship with her colleague Lee. But her whole life falls apart one Monday morning when her boss tells her that Lee has been involved with shady dealings with another company. Now she is out of work and out of love, attempting to create a new start for herself…

Love at First Site is a light-hearted romantic comedy about rising from the ashes.

Ella knows she isn’t supposed to date a colleague but she and Lee couldnt resist each other. Now her whole world has crumbled as she loses her job after his dodgy actions and she sees his selfish ways at last. She heads off for a fresh start, pushing away from her comfort zone. I liked her bravery and spark which shine through once she stops being naively trusting of Lee.

Ella’s fresh start doesn’t go smoothly which provides plenty of gentle humour. She meets Noah whose thoughtful behaviour shows her how awful Lee really was. Obviously Ella is wary about having any romantic notions after her last disaster but I was rooting for her to get together with Noah who was soooo lovely.

The book is written in the first person so we get to know Ella really well and explore her emotions, choices and actions. I wanted to scream and shout at her at the beginning for being so trusting and always putting her own needs second. She is a nice person so I wanted her to find happiness. Her fresh start is fraught with difficulties and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was invested in her success as the plot developed.

Love at First Site is a warm and enjoyable book about new beginnings. I really loved the last book I read by Phoebe Macleod: Let’s Not Be Friends.

Love at First Site

It’s a relationship under construction, and there are no warning signs…

Project Manager Ella Mackenzie thought she had her whole life perfectly mapped
out – just like one of her colour-coded spreadsheets.  She is the last person to do anything
reckless or impulsive.

But when her and her terrible boyfriend split, she is left single, homeless and without a backup plan.

Suddenly, her whole worldly belongings are crammed into the back of her little Fiat, and she’s driving two-hundred-and-fifty miles across the country to start a new job that she should never have accepted in an industry she knows nothing about. What could possibly go wrong?

Ella doesn’t know the first thing about building sites, but thankfully Noah Harris is an expert in construction and is there to show her the ropes (and the ladders).

And, as Ella is about to find out, he’s an expert in a few other things too…

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/lovefirstsitesocial

Author Bio –

Phoebe MacLeod is the author of several popular laugh-out-loud romantic comedies. She mainly sets her books in her home county of Kent and her first new title for Boldwood will be published in November 2022. They will also be republishing her existing titles from August this year.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoebeMacleodAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/macleod_phoebe

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebemacleod21/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/PhoebeMacLeodNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/phoebe-macleod

TRIGGER WARNING: misogyny and violence against women including sexual assault

Detective Eve Bennet is called to a polygamous community to investigate a missing newborn and mother. She herself is an apostate from the religious community and shunned while she tries to investigate. Can she defy her own family to locate the mother and child?

Lost Little Angels is the second book to feature detective Eve Bennet but I have not read the first in the series, Only Girl Alive. There are spoilers about events and outcomes from the first book so I would advise reading them in order.

Eve is tenacious and determined. She is also kind and caring. She knows what the community is like and fears for the safety of the women and children at the hands of their husbands and fathers. There is a personal side to the plot as she is targeted by the male members of her family. I really liked the strength of her character and her sense of justice as she tries to rescue women and challenge the dogma of the religious community.

The plot is quite gripping but the latter part of the plot is deeply unpleasant (I can’t give further details without huge spoilers!) I also felt very uncomfortable about the portrayal of the fundamentalist religion although this was contrasted by the positive portrayal of the non derogatory polygamous marriages of a fellow officer. The ending is certainly dramatic and I would read like to read future books in this series as well as catch upon the first.

Lost Little Angels is a tense book with a gripping plotline and strong female lead character.

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Book: Lost Little Angels

Author: Holly S. Roberts

Pub Day:  July 19th 2023

Buy Link(s):

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0C3J4SJG9social

Apple: http://ow.ly/t7ol50NT55s

Kobo: http://ow.ly/RWN850NT51f

Google: http://ow.ly/NOUi50NT5cN 

About the Book: 

She wakes suddenly, realizing with a panic that her darling baby daughter should have woken long before now. Racing to the pink-colored nursery, she lets out a deep cry as she opens the door. The crib is empty. Her little girl has vanished.

It’s after midnight when Detective Eve Bennet receives a distraught phone call from an unknown number. The voice at the other end begs her not to hang up—a baby has gone missing. But what the caller says next makes Eve’s heart race. “She isn’t the first. There are many, many more.”

Rushing to the missing girl’s home, Eve finds the house empty, and when she knocks on their neighbors’ doors, not a single person answers. Whoever reported the missing baby doesn’t want to be found…

Secrets are held tight in the small town of Hilldale and as an outsider, Eve knows that the only way to uncover the truth is to persuade someone to talk. She finally has a breakthrough when a young wife goes against her husband’s wishes and tells Eve it’s not just babies being taken—mothers are disappearing too.

The woman leaves Eve a hand drawn map leading her to an isolated trailer park. What she finds there shocks her to her core. But she hardly has time to think before she notices a lone figure watching her every move. She’s not alone.

Can Eve save herself in time to finally unmask the truth before more innocent children disappear forever?

Fans of Melinda Leigh, Kendra Elliot and Lisa Regan won’t be able to put down this utterly gripping crime thriller from a USA Today bestselling author.

Author Bio

Jen is pretty happy with her life in London with a good job and romantic relationship with her boss. Until she gets a call from her boss’ wife who tells her she is pregnant with twins. Jen realises Jono has been lying to her for months and runs home to Scotland to escape her job and lover…

The Woman Who Ran For The Hills is a warmly written book about fresh starts.

I really felt for Jen as her happy life crumbles. She truly believed Jono’s lies that he was separated from his wife so the news that he is about to become a father again is devastating. It also means she has to leave her job too as he was her boss. Jen travels home to her dad in Scotland but finds that she has other issues to deal with such as her estranged sister. She reconnects with old friends who are eager for her to heal her heart by finding love again.

The book is written in the first person so we see Jen’s heartache and emotional journey. I really wanted her to find happiness so she can forget about Jono’s betrayal and face the future. She also has to swallow her pride, confront the past and make an effort to reconcile with her sister. None of this is easy but the light hearted tone of the narration and the gentle humour makes this a positive and uplifting read.

The Woman Who Ran For The Hills was a richly emotional book and I fully engaged with Jen’s story.

The Woman Who Ran for the Hills

Jennifer McAndrew thinks she’s living her best life in London – wonderful man, great job, happily child-free. Except the ‘wonderful man’ turns out to have a secret that ruins everything…

Shocked and devastated, Jen doesn’t know what to do. So, she packs her bags and runs for the hills – away from her problems, all the way to her childhood home in Scotland and the safety of her dad.

But her dad is a changed man. Busy with his girlfriend, golf and G&Ts, he doesn’t have time for Jen’s worries. And she can’t see her sister, Isla, who she fell out with years ago.

So, Jen rekindles friendships with her old school pals, Alison and Rory. They’re juggling work and young families, but still find time to take her out and set her up with some terrible dates.

The more time she spends with Rory and his daughters, the more Jen thinks there could be something big missing from her life. But could she ever go back to small town life? And can she forgive what happened in the past? Should a good friend become something more?

The biggest question for Jen is – will she try to solve her problems, or will she cut and run for the hills again?

Another brilliant laugh out loud emotional read, perfect for fans of Fiona Gibson, Tracy Bloom and Sophie Ranald!

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/Ranforthehillssocial

Author Bio –

Carmen Reid is the bestselling author of numerous woman’s fiction titles including the Personal Shopper series starring Annie Valentine. After taking a break from writing she is back, introducing her hallmark feisty women characters to a new generation of readers. She lives in Glasgow with her husband and children.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmenreidwrites/

Twitter https://twitter.com/thiscarmenreid

Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/carmenreidwrites/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/CarmenReidNews

1941, Kitty and Edgar have been separated by their roles during the war and both are keen to do anything to defeat the Nazis. But might they need to make the ultimate sacrifice for peace…?

An American Wife in Paris is the second book to feature Kitty during WW2. There are mentions of events in the previous book, The American Wife, so I would suggest reading them in order.

Kitty and Edgar are determined to continue subverting the Nazi regime but this places them both in incredible danger as they work undercover. There is plenty of drama and action as the pair risk their lives for the greater good. Both main characters are extremely brave and as readers we are desperate for them to succeed.

The power of love in the face of the hatred of the Nazis is key to understanding the relationship and decisions of Kitty and Edgar. I felt that the class and gender based social conventions of the historical period were authentic and accurate. The plot is also underpinned by realistic descriptions of the geographical settings and cultural differences.

There is a cliffhanger at the end so you really need to read the next book in order to resolve the story. I know this can frustrate some readers who like a proper conclusion or who dislike a long wait between books so hopefully the next book will arrive shortly!

An American Wife in Paris is a tense historical novel and I look forward to the next book in the series to find out what happens next.

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Book: An American Wife in Paris

Author: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger 

Pub Day:  July 20th 2023

Buy Link(s): 

https://geni.us/B0C24D8VLXsocial

Audible:

UK: https://ow.ly/B1Ng50OUE8n

US: https://ow.ly/rzzz50OUE8o

Listen here: https://ow.ly/7tze50OUE8p

About the Book: 

“If I go back to Paris, it would be my third time there as an undercover agent…” Kitty murmured. “I ask myself, how many chances does one person get?”

Paris, 1941. When Kitty is asked to return to Paris as an undercover agent, she knows the mission is her most dangerous yet. But she has been fighting the Nazis for too long to stop now. And her role within the Resistance has already cost her friends, family and now – almost – her own marriage.

Because while she and Edgar are more in love than ever, his role as an undercover Nazi means it is safer if they are no longer married. And while signing the divorce papers is a formality that breaks her heart, Kitty knows that she and Edgar will find a way to be together when the war is finally over…

More determined than ever to undermine the Nazi regime, Kitty has nothing left to lose. From secretly supplying Prisoner of War camps with essential items, to moving refugees across borders to safety, she will stop at nothing to play her part in bringing the war to a close, even if it means risking her own life.

But when Edgar goes missing, Kitty’s world stops. As she begins a desperate search for her beloved husband, she hears from her contacts that he has been killed. But Kitty feels strongly in her heart that, somewhere out there, Edgar is still alive. And she knows she must risk everything to rescue the man she loves, no matter what…

An absolutely gripping, heartbreaking and powerful story about courage, love and bravery in the midst of World War 2. Perfect for fans of The Nightingale, My Name is Eva and All the Light We Cannot See.

Author Bio

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is a Ukrainian-American who transplanted to Austria.

Born in 1969, she grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of “Nordeast” Minneapolis and started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, and worked as a journalist and managing magazine editor, before jumping the desk and pursuing her own writing and traveling.

Her books tackle David-vs.-Goliath themes with strong women battling for the Underdogs against a system, be it political, geographical, or industrial. Sometimes all three. “I enjoy discovering the good, the bad, and the ugly in my characters when they come into conflict,” she says. “And all of my stories have been inspired by injustices I’ve discovered along my travels.”

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inktreks

Twitter: twitter.com/ckalyna

Website: https://www.inktreks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ckalyna

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/56890.Chrystyna_Lucyk_Berger

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