Cold Sweats and Vignettes: John Bowen - Book Review

From the author of the gripping international Amazon #1 Bestsellers 'Where the Dead Walk' (see previous blog post for my review of this)



Experience 50 pages of spiiiiine-tingling supernatural terror and science fiiiiiction... 

THE STEAL - A thief is hired by a collector to acquire an occult aaaaaartefact... 
CRASH - A hard landing on an alien plaaaaaanet... 
COLLISION - A world changing incident at the Laaaaaarge Hadron Collider... 
THE FALL - A London gangster finds himself in a baaaaaad situation.... 

A wonderful collection of short stories. 4 Spine tingling must reads for all fans of supernatural terror. The writer manages to bring you into a fully formed world in a matter of minutes, makes your hair stand on it's end and leaves you wanting more. I closed the book with a feeling of sanctification and disappointment. John, come back and finish me(it) off!!!

You can find this on amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00U7LT4ZY/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o06_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Book Review: While My Eyes Were Closed - Linda Green

While My Eyes Were Closed

Book Description:

One, two, three . . . Lisa Dale shuts her eyes and counts to one hundred during a game of hide-and-seek. When she opens them, her four-year-old daughter Ella is gone. Disappeared without a trace. The police, the media and Lisa's family all think they know who snatched Ella. But what if the person who took her isn't a stranger? What if they are convinced they are doing the right thing? And what if Lisa's little girl is in danger of disappearing forever?

My Thoughts:

In a nutshell I loved this book! It's quick, fast pasted, and well written. I read this while on holiday with my family, and found myself reading at 3 o'clock in the morning as my kindle wouldn't leave my hands. It's a harrowing tail of a mothers struggle when her child goes missing that made me hug my little girl that little bit tighter. I have also made the decision that I will never allow my child to play hide and seek in a public place! I shed tears while reading, and stopped breathing a couple of times. 
The closer I got to the end the less I wanted to read for 2 reasons. 1, I didn't want it to finish, and 2, I didn't want to know what happened at the end.

I'm going to include the amazon page below because I think all should read it as soon as possible.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/While-Eyes-Were-Closed-Bestseller-ebook/dp/B012CZLLUI

Book review: Underneath by Oli Jacobs

Description

Terry King is a man damaged by his personal demons. With an ex-wife and son who don't want to see him and a career lost to drink, he's at rock bottom when an offer to be security at Station 17 arises. 

Based near the recently discovered Shackleton Trench, Terry arrives to find things are not what they seem, the rig being a front for a vast underwater research facility led by Walker. However down beneath the depths, Terry soon finds his demons becoming real as the Station's discovery infects the crew and Terry finds he has to fight not only his issues, but the creatures from the depths, to survive.

My thoughts -

This is a story that had me eager to pick up my kindle each night. It's a story filled with horror at almost every turn, so I'd recommend you don't do what I did and read it in bed. Underneath - try Nightmare!  More than once I woke up after imagining what I was reading. The writer manages to awaken your own imagination with this story. It's vivid description common my to life in the confines of your kindle. Is not a long book and is written well, allowing you to read it quickly, however it stays with you long after you've put it down.

But what really happened down there? I have my own theory and wonder, how much was real and how much did Station 17 drive Terry to the brink...

It's been a busy week

Yep you read that right, it's been a busy but let me stress, a good week this week. I've seen my readership grow, I've confirmed bookings for my wedding, I've been invited to another wedding, I've been offered a copy of a book by an author that's not even written yet and I'm working on becoming an agent! 

You'll remember that a few days ago I got around to posting some book reviews. My review of John Bowen's Where the Dead Walk, was then linked to by John himself. This then resulted in my blog receiving more clicks than it ever has before. (Thank you John if you are reading this). 

Other book news, my good friend Oli Jacobs (see my review of Strange Days in High Wycombe) is to be featured on the Baatty About Books blog (visit it here: https://baattyaboutbooks.wordpress.com/) appearing along side the likes of Peter James. Well done Oli!

Baatty has also had her best week to date in having a quote from one of her reviews featuring on an international marketing campaign! Well done hun, proud of you. xx

There is more book news I have to tell you  but I'm going to keep you waiting for that one as it's not happened yet, watch this space!

Away from the book scene, I've confirmed the photographer for my wedding! This is big news! And on top of that, my best friend has confirmed her wedding date for this December this year! So I'm sure you will hear more about that in the coming months. 

I know I promised that I'd tell you about the wedding craft projects I've also been working on, well this picture caused quite a stir in my Book Club:

It's not finished yet and i'm planning on cutting up book pages to add to it, but let me know what you think, is destroying a book a crime or is rescuing a book from a charity shop and up-cycling it an act of love?

It's all go at the mo!

xx

Book Review: Where The Dead Walk - John Bowen

The Amazon Best Seller. #1 Suspense/Occult, #1 Supsense/Ghosts, #2 Suspense/Paranormal, #25 Suspense as a whole.  For some, ghosts are no more than the wounds loved ones leave in their wake, haunting the living only with their absence. Others take a more literal view... Kate Bennett, presenter of paranormal investigation cable TV show, 'Where the Dead Walk', isn't sure what she believes, other than she seems cursed to lose all those closest to her. After investigating a neglected cliff-top house, empty for a decade because its 'haunted', Kate is left convinced a spirit within holds the answers to a childhood she can't remember and an unimaginable crime. What she can't know is that the house's owner, Sebastian Dahl, is searching for something too, and he intends to get it, whatever the cost.

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book, in fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that it is one of my favorite books from an indi author. It's well written, a quick read. It isn't the sort of thing I would normally read as ghost stories don't usually get my interest but this one was chosen by my book group and I'm glad that it was. 
The main character was well written and someone you felt like you really got to know. I felt like I could identify with her in our mutual skepticism of ghosts and the occult and this in turn made me really like her. 
This is a story full of twists and turns that you don't expect (or at least i didn't) and one that will turn it's own pages the closer you get to the end.
Easily a 5 star book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Dead-Walk-John-Bowen/dp/150065423X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462350982&sr=8-1&keywords=where+the+dead+walk

Book Review: Picnics in Hyde Park - Nikki Moore

Super nanny, Zoe Harper is mad! It was bad enough discovering her ex-fiancé Greg cheating on her just weeks before their wedding. But now she’s returned home to London to find her younger sister Melody has been left jobless, homeless, broke and dumped.

Zoe is determined to get revenge on the infamous Reilly brothers for her sister’s heartbreak. So when an unexpected opportunity gives Zoe a way in to uncaring―and dizzyingly gorgeous!―successful music producer Matt Reilly’s world, she jumps at the chance to make him pay.

But living with Matt as nanny to his two adorable, but complicated children, Zoe soon begins to suspect that not everything is as it seems… Matt insists on pushing everyone away including his children, but why? And if his delicious summer kisses are anything to go by, he can’t be that bad surely?

Can Zoe convince Matt to open up a little and help fix this family before she leaves…or worse, before 

____

My thoughts:

It took me a while to get round to reading this but once I had I was glad that I did. It was fun, quick and engaging to read. I really enjoyed it and once I'd started I didn't put it down. It made me laugh, and get angry at the characters and drew me into the book. The characters were well thought out, and had a motivation behind them that really drew me into their lives (apart from the bother, he felt like a background character who's sole purpose was to move the story forward). I'm going to remember the name Nikki Moore and will be buying this as a gift from friends.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picnics-Hyde-Park-Love-London/dp/0008127247/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462350477&sr=8-1&keywords=Picnics+in+Hyde+Park

edit;

p.s. much thanks to Netgalley for this copy

Book Review: Divergent (2) Insurgent - Veronica Roth. 4 Star Review

Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

The thrillingly dark sequel to No. 1 New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT.

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

I enjoyed this book, and find myself really believing in the world that Veronica Roth has created. It’s a full, well rounded universe that opens up more and more with each chapter.

The main character, Tris, is your typical self-centred teenager with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s a character that you want to take away from the horrible situations she finds herself in and protect her from what is going on all around her.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed book 1, it seemed a little slower than the previous edition but I enjoyed the opportunity that gave you to get to know other characters. This in turn helped round off the world and ultimately make it much more believable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Insurgent-Divergent-Book-Veronica-Roth/dp/0007442920/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462349965&sr=8-3&keywords=insurgent

edit;
p.s. much thanks to Netgalley for this copy