This winter it’s time to fall in love at Cedarwood Lodge…After years of dreaming, Clio Winters is finally fulfilling her childhood dream of renovating the gorgeous old Cedarwood Lodge in Evergreen and turning it into the perfect destination for celebrations, weddings and extravagant birthday parties. The huge property used to be a bustling holiday camp, now Clio wants to bring it back to its halcyon days – which will be a lot of hard work!
Returning back to the small town of her youth she’s glad to have one of her best friends still around to lean on, Micah who is just as solid as he used to be. But with her own secrets pushing her to run from her glamorous life in New York, she’ll have to tread carefully, especially when the far-too-handsome-for-his-own-good contractor, Kai, shows up on her doorstep…
Sure she’s here in Evergreen to change her life, but there is no way she’s falling in love!

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~I was sent a copy from the publishers - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 4/5

My review - This was a wonderful book. It was the type of book you can just curl up with and it just makes you feel so cosy. Rebecca really has a way to make the reader feel part of the story, to make them part of this wonderful place and again, it's cosiness. 

Clio has finally achieved her dream at Cedarwood Lodge. She is ready to turn the place into a place where people can come and celebrate, a place that will make people happy to be there and she is excited to start this chapter of her life. She has her childhood best friend Micah helping her plus Isla who tends to the garden and Aussie Kai who is the building manager and he isn't too bad on the eyes. With everything starting to come together at the lodge she is also trying to figure out her relationship with her mother who, she isn't having the best time with at the moment. They seem to clash and she isn't too happy with her buying Cedarwood and the mystery behind her not wanting to buy it will keep the reader wanting to know why.

I really adore Clio. She is lovely, friendly and wants to do what she can to make everyone around her happy. Her adventures with her friends was wonderful to read and she really has a great relationship with them and they all care for each other. I really enjoyed reading about Clio and I was rooting for her for the business to take off and to hopefully find the love she deserves. 

Cedarwood Lodge is a fantastic setting and you feel you are part of it. It sounds wonderful and cosy. A place that is quirky and full of character. This is a really sweet book that also has some drama included to do with Clio and her family and it balances it out nicely. It is romantic, charming and also serious! I can't recommend it enough.

​Roa and her sister Essie were born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. It was a magic they cherished - until the terrible day Essie died and her soul was trapped in this world.
Dax, the heir to the throne of Firgaard, was responsible. Roa swore she would never forgive him - yet when he came begging for her help to dethrone his cruel father, Roa made him a deal. She'd give him the army he needed if he made her queen.
Now she is royalty, but an outlander; far from home and married to her enemy. And even after everything she has sacrificed, Dax's promises go unfulfilled. Roa's people still suffer.
Then a chance to right every wrong arises - an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.
All she has to do is kill the king. . .

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~I was sent a copy from the publishers - all my opinions are my own~

I give it - 4/5

My review - This book is just wonderful. Kristen is an amazing storyteller and I could just re-read her books all day long. The writing is beautiful and poetic. I just adore everything she writes and she has definitely became one of my favourite writers.

Even though this book is the second book in the Iskari series, it is also a companion novel. We do follow on from where The Last Namsara left but, we follow new characters. I really like that about this series. I enjoy reading a series about the same characters but, I like reading about different characters and what is going on with them during these events and how it gets all tied together. 

In book one we followed the story of Asha, Torwin and of course dragons and in this book we follow Roa, Dax and the battle for the control of the kingdom. It was interesting to see what happened after the first book and see where this story went. 

This book centres around another amazing Heroine. A main character who develops so much throughout the book and reading about her growth and how she stands up for herself and for the people she cares about is just so wonderful to read. Her relationships with Dax and the other characters are fascinating and intriguing. This book keeps you gripped from the beginning and you won't be able to put it down. It pulls you into this magical world and you just won't want to leave.

I really enjoy the chapters of these characters when they where younger. It gives you more insight to these characters and reading about their childhood just added more depth to the story. I really enjoy books where they give the history on their characters which shows you more about these characters. 

This book was brilliant. I really enjoyed it and was a great second book in this series.
If you haven't started these books I can't recommend them enough! They are addictive and captivating! 

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~I recieved a copy via netgalley - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 4/5

My review - What an interesting, intriguing story! I really enjoyed this book and just couldn't put it down.

I really like how we got to see through Robyns eyes as a child in 1976 and what was going on all around her and then years later when she is older and after everything has happened. It was interesting to read each chapter from Robyn as a child and when she is older. The difference in how she has changed and reading about the things she notices around her and what could possibly be going on. It flips through between the years in each chapter and I really like how the writer did this.

Robyn, as a child, likes to spend days by the pool. She has a lovable older brother, a mother who is a bit unconventional and has a best friend called Debbie.  They think things are changing as her mother gets a new partner but, there is someone who follows her mother who, also seems to invite weeping women into the house. Who is the man with the cowboy hat? And, why does her mother invite these women in?

Then we jump to 1988. Robyn and her brother come back to the house that has been empty for a few years. People are angered that they are back, something happened all those years ago and the book switches between 1976 and 1988. They are searching for something or anyone and they will do what they can to find it. 

There is violence, fear and it is also wonderful reading about simpler times of just wanting to have fun as a child and you will also feel like you are with Robyn as she discovers things that have happened and it is just really gripping. As a child she was more carefree, confused and when she is older you see the switch in her as she is well more aware of everything.

A wonderful, gripping story I cant recommend enough!

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​Marianne Holmes was born in Cyprus to RAF parents and bounced between the UK, Germany, Kuwait and Belgium until firmly basing herself in London – well, apart from those years in the Peak District. A love of language led to degrees in Classics and Linguistics from the University of London but her desire to pay the mortgage steered her to a career in Marketing. After distracting herself in all sorts of ways over the years – sailing, flying, volunteering and running away to India – she is now definitely, absolutely concentrating on her writing. Well, that and making sure her children get fed, clothed and entertained. Obviously. A Little Bird Told Me is Marianne’s first novel.

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No matter where you hide…
Kaitlyn Best is stuck in a rut. So when she discovers she's pregnant after a one-night-stand with Alex, her school crush, she throws caution to the wind and accepts his offer to make a new life together in the depths of the Lake District, far from her home… and her demons.
He will find you.
But Alex is not what he seems. And when Kaitlyn's world begins to crumble before her eyes, she realises she barely knows the man she has agreed to spend the rest of her life with.
Since Alex won't tell her his secrets, Kaitlyn vows to find them out for herself. But when she uncovers the truth, she realises she has made a terrible mistake…

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~I received a copy via netgalley - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 5/5

My review - WHAT A BOOK.

This is a great physocological thriller and I was instantly gripped from the beginning. It has such a nice pace that everything just unravels and you will just be captivated by this story.

Our main character is Kaitlyn. She is bored and decides to look up an old crush, Alex. They get to chatting, messaging each other, face timing each other and decide to meet up. Kaitlyn has always thought Alex was lovely. But, after a one night stand her life is about to change forever. She finds out she's pregnant and Alex suggest she starts a life with him in the Lake District. Far from her home and some things she is trying to get away from. 

Alex seemed like the perfect guy on the outside but, he's not really who he pretends to be. Kaitlyn starts to realise that things aren't what they seem. She has agreed to live her life with this man who she thought she knew but, things are about to change. Her life is crumbling around her and before she knows it she is living her worst nightmare. What she thought would have been a great new life is instantly turning into hell.

I really love the way this story is told. Kaitlyn is a very likeable character. She is honest, lovely and kind. She just wants the best life for her and her unborn child. A 'happily ever after'. Even after her friends have concerns about this whole situation, after awhile Kaitlyn can't ignore those feelings of something isn't right. The guy she thought she knew, the guy she thought she would have a wonderful future with is changing right in front of her eyes and she starts to think she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. 

Diane sets a really great pace for the book and you start to feel the same unsettling feeling Kaitlyn does as the story goes deeper and she starts to feel she isn't so in control anymore. As things start to get darker, more intense and danger is looming.

This is a fantastic thriller that will keep you gripped from the beginning. It is full of suspense, tension and it will take a dark turn towards the end that will keep you captivated until you've finished it. Full of shock, twists and a bunch of characters who really pull this story together!

One of the best thrillers I've read this year.

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The world is different now.
There are no rules, no governments, and no guarantees that you'll be saved.
Rival factions have taken over, fighting each other for survival with no loyalty to anyone but their own. At 21, Hayden has taken over Blackwing and is one of the youngest leaders in the area. In protecting his camp from starvation, raids from other factions and the threat of being kidnapped, he has enough to worry about before he finds Grace.
The daughter of the head of the rival camp Greystone, she is slow to trust anyone, much less the leader of those she has been trained to kill.
This is danger. This is chaos. This is anarchy.

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~I was sent a copy from the publishers - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 4/5

My review - This is a fantastic book. I really enjoyed every moment of it and I was instantly gripped from the beginning. 

This is a book about survival. About being the best you can in a world that is falling apart. There is two rival factions, Greystone and Blackwing. Hayden and Grace are the head of these factions and are fighting each other for survival.

One of my favourite things about this book was the descriptive writing. It really brought this whole world together. The pacing was great, the story-line was captivating and the characters where all so different and interesting in their own way. I really enjoyed where this story went and I cannot wait to read the next one. 

This book is a fantastic dystopian novel. It is interesting and the plot will keep you engrossed till the very end and even then you will need the next book. I really enjoyed the characters and again, the details in this book was so wonderful. It made picturing this dystopian world a lot easier. DeVos is a fantastic author. Her writing is wonderful and she really knows how to tell a story and keep the reader wanting more. I am excited to read more in this series and from her. This book is perfect for dystopians fans who need their fix of a world of people doing what they can to survive and will do whatever it takes...but, you never know who may take your interest and may sway you...

An amazing, gripping book that I cannot recommend enough!!

As far as the world’s concerned, she’s already dead
Jessie Sloane is getting her life back on track after caring for her sick mother. But she’s stopped short when she discovers, that according to official records, ‘Jessie Sloane’ died seventeen years ago.
So why does she still feel in danger?
Thrown into turmoil and questioning everything she’s ever known, Jessie’s confusion is exacerbated by a relentless lack of sleep. Stuck in a waking nightmare and convinced she’s in danger, she can no longer tell what’s real and what she’s imagined.
The truth lies in the past…
Twenty years ago, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret history. Has her whole life been a lie? The truth will shock her to the core…if she lives long enough to discover it.

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~I was sent a copy from the publishers - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 5/5

My review - I am a huge fan of Mary. I adore all of her books and I was really excited to be asked to be part of the blog tour for her new book, When The Lights Go Out. This book did not disappoint. This has to be one of my favourites from her and that is saying something as I adore all of her books. This book is filled with suspense, it is gripping and you won't be able to put it down. 

This book instantly had me gripped. What would you do if you found your social security information actually belonged to a girl who died 17 years ago? That is what our main character Jessie is dealing with. Her mother has recently just died and this is the first time she has ever been on her own after spending her years taking care of her mother and now, she has to find herself but, there may be danger lurking around the corner. 

Also with Jessie's story we are give the story of Eden from 20 years ago. A story of a woman whose dream life is far from perfect and you will start to read the connections between these two women. With each bit of new information there is more twists thrown in. It will keep you guessing until the end, the mystery surrounding Jessie is captivating and will just want to carry on reading to find out what the truth is the connection between these two women.

I love the way Mary writes. The characters are filled with so much depth, the plot is filled with suspense, twists and instantly hooks you in.

Another brilliant story by Mary that has to be one of my favourite thrillers of this year. I can't talk about the plot too much as I think you need to just jump into this book and find out the truth for yourself!

I cannot wait to see what Mary writes next.

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Nova is 32 years old and she is about to see the world for the very first time.
Jillian Safinova, Nova to her friends, can do many things. She can speak five languages. She can always find a silver lining. And she can even tell when someone is lying just from the sound of their voice.
But there’s one thing Nova can’t do. She can’t see.
When her brother convinces her to have an operation that will restore her sight, Nova wakes up to a world she no longer understands. Until she meets Kate.
As Kate comes into focus, her past threatens to throw them into a different kind of darkness. Can they each learn to see the world in a different … and open their eyes to the lives they could have been living all along?

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~I was sent a copy from the publishers - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 5/5

My review - This has to be one of the best books I've read this year. It was absolutely beautiful. The story was so captivating and I just couldn't put it down. It is wonderful, gripping, and keeps you reading until the end. 

This story we meet Nova. She has been blind her entire life. But, that hasn't stopped her fulfilling her life. She has learned how to live with her blindness and doesn't take life for granted.
Then we meet Kate. She is living a different life. She lives life in fear of her abusive husband. Nova works as an interpreter at the police station and that is also where Kate's husband works but, they have never met before until, a trip to the hospital.

Nova is at the hospital having surgery that will give her sight. Something she thought would never happen. And, Kate is at the hospital for another reason and in denial and these women are about to meet.

This story is amazing. A story of a woman who is blind from birth and finally able to see after so long and a woman who is blind to the horrors she deals with at home. Two different women and their lives are about to collide.

It is filled with emotion and tension and chilling. The ending was tense and just ended this amazing book perfectly. I cannot recommend this book enough! It is astonishing and part of this book where sinister and really thought-provoking. One of the best books I have read in a long time. 

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​When Alexa Fisher finds herself trapped on a twelve-day cruise to celebrate her younger sister’s hen-do – just the two of them – she wishes she’d jumped overboard.
Despite the age difference, India has always been the judgemental sibling, and there’s been even more friction than usual since ‘the big engagement’. With India constantly obsessing over wedding plans, Alexa has never felt more single, or more of a failure.
She longs to find a man who was funny, handsome and faithful, but when she meets the enigmatic (and gorgeous) Gabriel Frost on the cruise, he seems to be as cold as his name suggests. Or is he…?
Set sail for an adventure on the high seas, it’s time for Alexa to discover that sometimes, romance can surprise you!

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​India floated off to a polytechnic to do media studies. Heaven only knew what she actually did there. Having never been to uni myself, it seemed her three years away were punctuated with rancid arguments with flatmates, complaints about everything and tearful phone calls for money. The vacations were worse. India spent all her time lounging about the house, eating all the biscuits and having long telephone calls with her friends, which seemed to consist of little more than India saying: ‘Yes, no, no. Did he? What did she say? No! No! Honestly?’

India seemed good fun in those days, maybe because she wasn’t my responsibility. She knew loads of people, introduced me to her friends and was an unending source of fabulous gossip. I can remember us enjoying girls’ nights in, face packs, pizzas, terrible movies and bottles of wine pinched from Dad’s collection. We once watched Mamma Mia! while necking back some vintage Dom Pérignon champagne. We got a lot of grief for doing that but at least India took the blame.

I had just accustomed myself to perhaps taking over entirely at the office and reorganising it after Dad retired when India finished uni. She’d failed to get a degree of any sort. This was breezily explained as being down to a ‘glitch’ in the examinations department that would be sorted out ‘eventually.

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My name is Alice. And my son is a murderer.’Deborah’s son was killed four years ago. Alice’s son is in prison for committing that crime.
Deborah would give anything to have her boy back, and Alice would do anything to right her son’s wrongs.
Driven by guilt and the need for redemption, Alice has started a support group for parents with troubled children. But as the network begins to grow, she soon finds out just how easy it is for one little lie to spiral out of control…
They call it mother’s intuition, but can you ever really know your own child?

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​Things are moving along nicely now. I couldn’t imagine being at this point before: feeling more positive than I have in years. I even feel a bit lighter. I noticed my reflection in the shop windows as I walked past this morning, and I’m standing taller too – not stooped as I had been. This is good. I want to mark this progression somehow.
I should share it.
As founder and leader of the group, it’s my duty to give positive news to my members. Tell them about the steps forwards I’ve made. Of course, I’ll have to be slightly economical with the truth – mould it to make it fit. But it will give them hope. Inspiration. Let them know we can all come through these terrible times, bit by bit. Moment by moment. I’ll finish washing the breakfast dishes, then I’ll get on the laptop
and go to the online support group page. Our next in-person meeting isn’t for another eight days – the last Wednesday of the month. Maybe by then I’ll have even more good news to share.
More to celebrate.
My heart sinks a little as I gaze out of the kitchen window. Is it right to feel this way? Excited about a few minor steps in the right direction? There’s still so much to do; such a long way to travel to get to the end. If there is an end. Oh, please God, let there be an ending to this. I make the sign of the cross on my
chest. Before all of this happened, I’d go to church to pray; being in God’s house made me feel as though I had a direct link with Him. After the murder, though, I was afraid. They’d know. I couldn’t face being judged by the congregation. And, after all, my support group is giving me what the church once did, and
God is everywhere – I don’t have to be in a holy place to pray, to be listened to. So now, at times like this, I look to Heaven for help, wherever I am. Surely I deserve some help, some divine intervention.

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Kat is an adventurer, a food writer who travels the world visiting far-flung places and eating unusual things. Now she is about to embark on her biggest adventure yet - a relationship.
She has fallen in love with an Italian man and is moving to live with him in Venice where she will help him run his small guesthouse, Hotel Gondola. Kat has lined up a book deal and will write about the first year of her new adventure, the food she eats, the recipes she collects, the people she meets, the man she doesn't really know all that well but is going to make a life with.
But as Kat ought to know by now, the thing about adventures is that they never go exactly the way you expect them to...

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~I received a copy via netgalley - all opinions are my own~

I give it - 4/5

My review - I adored this book. I really enjoy a story where you feel like you've been transported to the destination and this book did that for me. I felt I was in Venice and I was ready to book a flight there after I had finished it. The descriptions where wonderful, the characters, the settings just everything! It was such an enjoyable read. 
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In this book we follow Kat. She travels a lot and has decided to stay at Hotel Gondola for a year to see what it's like to stay in one place for awhile. She also has fallen in love and she really wants to see where it goes. This book is split between Kat's writing her book documenting the food she has in this year and the other part is during the real time and what is going on around her. I really enjoyed each different part as it showed two parts to Kat. 

Kat is a wonderful character and Nicky did an amazing job of transporting the reader to the heart of Venice. I enjoyed every second of it and I can't wait to read more from Nicky!!



As part of my stop I also have a wonderful cocktail recipe that you all need to try out.