Guilt by Joan Ellis

Synopsis
‘You died a month before your fifth birthday. You were probably dead long before Mum downed her third gin with Porky Rawlings.’ 

Seven-year-old Susan is alone with her younger brother when he dies of an overdose. The guilt informs the rest of her life. When it threatens to destroy not only her but also her relationship with her new baby, she sets out to discover the truth. What she discovers is as disturbing as it is magical. 




Review

This book is very different to ‘I’m Ella. Buy Me’ which I read and reviewed in October last year. This is not a bad thing; it shows Joan’s marvellous writing talent at different genres.

Guilt is dark and at times horrifying when reading what happens to Susan as she grows up with her parents. They show her not even one ounce of love. They are often cruel to her and it’s terrible to read, I felt really sorry for her.
The book is written as if Susan is talking to Mark her brother who died just before turning five. Susan feels terribly guilty about it as she was there as the accident occurred. She can’t remember part of what happened and this plays on her mind her whole life until she is forced to search for answers so that she can rescue her relationship with her son and husband.

The most amazing thing was Susan’s childhood perspective. Reading how she genuinely trusted her mum and dad and craved their love and attention despite nothing but indifference, and that’s the best she is treated. It was heart breaking at times, and when she goes back to search for answers is also very sad and was worse than I imagined.

When she is having relationship issues I was just willing her to talk and explain what had happened in her childhood, Liam was so charming and I could see he really cared for Susan and wanted the best for both her and their son.

This book is short and easy to read in a few hours, especially as it is compulsive reading finding out what happened to Mark.

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Gratefully received from the Author for review.

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Did you want to win a copy of C L Taylor's new book 'The Lie'? All you have to do is follow me on twitter and RT the tweet I have embedded above! Good Luck!!

It's an absolutely fantastic book and you can read my review from Monday by clicking here

His Other Life by Beth Thomas

Synopsis
The story of a couple with seemingly perfect lives…and the secrets they hide behind closed doors.

He was hiding a terrible secret...

Grace’s new husband Adam seems like the perfect package. Good looking, great job, completely charming – almost too good to be true...

So when Adam suddenly disappears from Grace’s life, she is left bewildered and heartbroken. And with a lot of unanswered questions.

As she tries desperately to find him, Grace opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets and lies – and starts to learn that Adam wasn’t so perfect after all.

What shameful secrets was her husband hiding? Is Grace in danger? And can she survive the truth? However terrible it may be . . .

Review

I've not read a book by Beth Thomas before, but the cover was pretty and just the title showed that this would be a perfect choice for my week of deceit.

I have a habit of reading the synopsis, liking what I read and then completely forgetting it when it comes to reading the book, so I'm often surprised by the book, which is great, especially when it comes to this book! I was expecting it to be a tale of Adam cheating (bigamy also crossed my mind in the first chapter or so) and Grace's journey on getting over her hurt, but it is completely different to my expectations, in a good way. There is so much more to this book than I thought there would be and had me intrigued to get to the bottom of what was happening.

Pretty much from the get go you that Adam is selfish and controlling, meaning you feel such sympathy for Grace, who is so sweet but unbelievably naive about life and also around Adam. She knew nothing about him whatsoever, and I don't know if I would marry a man like that. This is because she couldn't believe he was with her, thinking he was too good for her, because of this she was manipulated and made to feel stupid. At times I just wanted to shout at her for not caring why Adam revealed no personal information and willed the clock to turn back so she could use the strength she found during the book so she could stick up for herself when Adam was still around. 

One thing I wondered about Grace, in the first chapter she is so paranoid about a text message Adam recieves, and while it was probably because she knew so little of Adam and some intuition, it would have been nice to know exactly why she was so paranoid about something as normal as receiving a text, had she been suspicious of text messages he received before this, any suspicions of affairs or such?! I don’t know and I want to!

I really liked Grace's best friend Ginger, she was funny and bubble, and her brother Matt was also lovely, genuinely kind. The best thing was when he kept speaking to Grace and putting his foot in it, absolutely hilarious, especially about going to uni and studying the art of it, one of my favourite scenes in the book.

This book had me hooked until the end, desperate to find out exactly what happened to Adam, and what he was hiding. I also enjoyed watching Grace develop as a person. At first she seemed like she would be quite dependant on people, but having Adam disappear really lit a fire within her and it was great to see.

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Published by: HarperCollins UK, Avon
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

The Dish by Stella Newman

Synopsis

Love is on the menu. With a side order of lies.

When Laura Parker first crosses forks with Adam Bayley, she's only after one thing: his custard doughnut. But when she takes a closer look she sees a talented, handsome man who outshines the string of jokers she's been dating.

There's just one problem. Adam's job means Laura has to keep her job as restaurant critic for The Dish, a secret. Tricky for someone who prides herself on honesty.

Can the truth be put on ice long enough for love to flourish? 

And how can you expect your boyfriend to be honest if you're not quite telling the truth yourself?

Review

A few years ago I read 'Pear-Shaped' by Stella Newman and I remember being really impressed. So I was really excited to read this book, and it was absolutely wonderful, though it made me really hungry with the incredibly descriptive writing, and when I finished it at 1am after a power reading session, it took all my willpower not to raid my cupboards for a midnight snack. The pastries were especially hunger-inducing.

The story is also incredibly well written, you can feel the atmosphere of wherever Laura is and a wonderful amount of laughs, usually caused by Sandra, Laura's jobsworth colleague who moans about every little thing such as being 3 minutes late to her desk or other nonsense and one of the most memorable scenes is when Laura goes on a date with an investor who she is set up by her interfering sister. I literally couldn't get enough of this book, as I said I was up until 1am reading this as I couldn't bear to put it down.

All the characters are great, from her colleagues to her housemate who has unusual obsessions which means that Laura has to hide certain foods in her bedroom, all of them add to the wonderfulness of this book. At the start I was worried about the emails between Laura and her dad and sister, they seemed a bit surplus, but as the story progressed it added some extra depth to Laura and understanding her hurt, pain and guilt over the death of her mother many years ago.

When Laura meets Adam, it's an utterly charming scene over a bacon sandwich and custard doughnut. You cannot help but love Adam, he is so lovely. While both Adam and Laura make mistakes, you can see they are bound for eachother.

Once again I am really impressed with the quality of Stella's writing, drawing me in so I cannot put it down, even in some desperate need of beauty sleep. It is so incredibly readable you must buy this now!

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Published by: Headline
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

The Liar by Nora Roberts

Synopsis

When her husband Richard dies in a freak accident, Shelby Pomeroy is devastated. But his death reveals a horrible truth - Richard was a liar and a cheat. Now Shelby is left with the consequences - huge, terrifying debts and mounting proof that her late husband betrayed her in every conceivable way. 

Heart-broken but unbowed, Shelby is determined to fix her problems - if only for the sake of her gorgeous little daughter Callie. Returning home to Tennessee and the family she thought she'd lost for ever, she discovers a new sense of strength and freedom. And hope, too, in the handsome form of carpenter Griffin Lott - a straight-dealing man who couldn't lie to her if he tried. 

But not everyone is thrilled to see Shelby Pomeroy back in town. And when a shocking act of violence is traced back to Richard's shady business, it becomes clear that she is not safe from him, even in death. With her life in danger, Shelby must face the lies of the past - or lose everything.

Review

I've never read a book by Nora Roberts before and was really happy to be given the opportunity to read her newest release.

The writing is descriptive and inviting you to read on and on for hours. The setting down in 'Rendezvous Ridge' in Tennessee sounded absolutely beautiful and ideallic, everyone was really relaxed, it sounded an amazing place where you could just chill out, especially in the summer months, sitting in a garden or park drinking some iced tea.

Shelby is a strong woman who is amazingly resourceful, determined yet sensitive and kind hearted. What she finds out about her recently deceased husband is truly shocking and the shocks don't stop there. It is astounding hoew she copes with it and speaks volumes for her character that she is so straight headed and up beat about everything, but then she does have Callie to consider, she is a great mother.

As Shelby and Callie arrive back down south, there is a welcome back party which sounded so wonderful. Everyone was so wam and friendly, you really felt the atmosphere.

Shelby soon meets Griff who is beyond lovely. Charming and handsome but without being cocky. Perfection on a page. I loved how well he go on with Shelby's young daughter, Callie, their scenes together were some of the best in the book, my favourite being the pizza parlour scene, it was so cute and funny.

As mentioned I have never read a book by Nora Roberts, but I will certainly look into her vast back catalogue now! Heart-warming with tension and a fantastic twist at the end, definitely a book you should add to your TBR pile!

Released on 23rd April 2015
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Published by: Piatkus
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.

Thank you to Clara at Piatkus for the opportunity to review this book and take part in the blog tour - check out the other fantastic reviews - Click to get a bigger picture!