~ Becs ~'s bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 01 Mar 2025 17:23:06 -0800 60 ~ Becs ~'s bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Confess 22609310
For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?]]> 306 Colleen Hoover 1476791457 ~ Becs ~ 4

A new release from CoHo always attracts a HUGE amount of interest and deservedly so. She’s a quality author with a large following, she’s very adept at social media (possibly the best), she’s funny and engaging and as such garners many auto 5 star reviews especially from the pre-release reviewers with ARCs which gush like crazy and extoll the book’s virtues and, having noticed this before, I raised a cynical eyebrow and vowed to read Confess with a highly critical eye and truly assess it on its merits before reviewing. In truth, I’m looking for fault. So, as soon as the book downloaded to my Kindle I decided to adopt a total immersion technique, avoiding ŷ and those stellar reviews like the plague, and plunged in head first without even reading the blurb to form my own opinions.

So, having decided to look for fault, I have to confess (get it????) that I actually found very little. Possibly the story dragged a little at around the 60% mark and maybe the H and h didn’t get quite enough page time together as I would have liked but that was pretty much it and I think the conclusion to my experiment would be that she really does deserve all those rave reviews. She’s right at the top of the new adult contemporary romance category, the undefeated champion of the genre and, even though there are plenty of pretenders for her crown, she ain’t going nowhere!

And so I began. By 3% I was bawling my eyes out (rather like watching Pixar’s Up), by 15% I had the warm and fuzzies and was grinning like a loon into my Kindle, by 55% I was in the depths of despair and at 100% I sighed contentedly. Job well done, CoHo. I bought this on release day and had finished it by the evening –� it completely held my attention as I pretty much lost a whole day to this story.

In a Colleen Hoover novel there’s always a ‘thing�. In Confess the 'thing' is art and our hero is Owen Mason Gentry (OMG) and he’s an artist whose work is inspired by confessions that are posted through his studio door.


Every day I’m grateful that my husband and his brother look exactly alike. It means there’s less of a chance that my husband will find out that our son isn’t his.

The confessions were brilliant � sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometime shocking but it’s a truly original idea for a novel.


I haven’t spoken to my children in four months. They’ll call on holidays and my birthday, but never in between. I don’t blame them. I was a horrible father.

Auburn replies to his ‘Help Wanted� sign on the door and this is how they meet although it’s obvious to us and Owen that he knows who she is but Auburn is oblivious to this. I found myself instantly intrigued and dying to know what had happened in those intervening years between the prologue and now to bring us to the mysterious yet completely random meeting. By this point in the story, I was completely on board, totally hooked. As the story continues, there’s such a stark contrast between the innocence of the young love of the prologue and the desperate situations both Auburn and Owen find themselves in, all due to the actions of others. These two find themselves falling desperately in love and also realise that their being together would be the best yet worst thing that could happen to them. They REALLY can’t be together � I am aware that that’s a highly common dilemma in new adult romance but the author works her magic here and puts a truly original spin on this and it’s completely believable and engrossing.

There’s a lot of secrets here, possibly truths as yet untold, and plenty of confessions will be required to get us towards the end of the story. There appeared to be one glaring omission, one little fact not yet explained as we near the end of the book and I fretted, just a little, but I needn’t have worried � you can have faith in CoHo because she really does bring you full circle and everything is explained by the end of the book. Hence the aforementioned contented sigh!

The pace of the story is gentle rather than slow which gives lots of time for the expansion of the growing affection of the two central characters and for us to become fully involved in this story which appears to hurtle from one disaster to the next although Colleen keeps everything grounded with strong character development and profound emotional depth. I felt every emotion with the characters, experiencing every high and low with them and was completely engrossed. It’s a story that captured my interest from the very first page, kept me involved the whole way through and I found myself 100% emotionally invested. The book had an almost magnetic pull on it - whenever I put it down, I soon found myself back, dying to continue. Absolutely gripping stuff!

Reading a Colleen Hoover novel, to me, is rather like sinking into your favourite arm-chair after a hellish day at the office, kicking off those heels that have pinched all day and indulging in a glass of very expensive wine. It’s exquisitely comforting and it feels like coming home. I know I’m going to get a hero I will adore and a heroine I can identify with and that’s exactly what we found here. Heartbreakingly beautiful and achingly real, Confess is a wholly engrossing tale of two young people with many hurdles to overcome finding a love that is truly worth fighting for.

4.5 OMG stars

Owen’s paintings is based on a real artist � check out his beautiful work

]]> 4.14 2015 Confess
author: Colleen Hoover
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/03/11
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: contemporary-romance, new-adult, shower-smexin
review:
photo confess love you forever_zps7xsudzpm.jpg

A new release from CoHo always attracts a HUGE amount of interest and deservedly so. She’s a quality author with a large following, she’s very adept at social media (possibly the best), she’s funny and engaging and as such garners many auto 5 star reviews especially from the pre-release reviewers with ARCs which gush like crazy and extoll the book’s virtues and, having noticed this before, I raised a cynical eyebrow and vowed to read Confess with a highly critical eye and truly assess it on its merits before reviewing. In truth, I’m looking for fault. So, as soon as the book downloaded to my Kindle I decided to adopt a total immersion technique, avoiding ŷ and those stellar reviews like the plague, and plunged in head first without even reading the blurb to form my own opinions.

So, having decided to look for fault, I have to confess (get it????) that I actually found very little. Possibly the story dragged a little at around the 60% mark and maybe the H and h didn’t get quite enough page time together as I would have liked but that was pretty much it and I think the conclusion to my experiment would be that she really does deserve all those rave reviews. She’s right at the top of the new adult contemporary romance category, the undefeated champion of the genre and, even though there are plenty of pretenders for her crown, she ain’t going nowhere!

And so I began. By 3% I was bawling my eyes out (rather like watching Pixar’s Up), by 15% I had the warm and fuzzies and was grinning like a loon into my Kindle, by 55% I was in the depths of despair and at 100% I sighed contentedly. Job well done, CoHo. I bought this on release day and had finished it by the evening –� it completely held my attention as I pretty much lost a whole day to this story.

In a Colleen Hoover novel there’s always a ‘thing�. In Confess the 'thing' is art and our hero is Owen Mason Gentry (OMG) and he’s an artist whose work is inspired by confessions that are posted through his studio door.


Every day I’m grateful that my husband and his brother look exactly alike. It means there’s less of a chance that my husband will find out that our son isn’t his.

The confessions were brilliant � sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometime shocking but it’s a truly original idea for a novel.


I haven’t spoken to my children in four months. They’ll call on holidays and my birthday, but never in between. I don’t blame them. I was a horrible father.

Auburn replies to his ‘Help Wanted� sign on the door and this is how they meet although it’s obvious to us and Owen that he knows who she is but Auburn is oblivious to this. I found myself instantly intrigued and dying to know what had happened in those intervening years between the prologue and now to bring us to the mysterious yet completely random meeting. By this point in the story, I was completely on board, totally hooked. As the story continues, there’s such a stark contrast between the innocence of the young love of the prologue and the desperate situations both Auburn and Owen find themselves in, all due to the actions of others. These two find themselves falling desperately in love and also realise that their being together would be the best yet worst thing that could happen to them. They REALLY can’t be together � I am aware that that’s a highly common dilemma in new adult romance but the author works her magic here and puts a truly original spin on this and it’s completely believable and engrossing.

There’s a lot of secrets here, possibly truths as yet untold, and plenty of confessions will be required to get us towards the end of the story. There appeared to be one glaring omission, one little fact not yet explained as we near the end of the book and I fretted, just a little, but I needn’t have worried � you can have faith in CoHo because she really does bring you full circle and everything is explained by the end of the book. Hence the aforementioned contented sigh!

The pace of the story is gentle rather than slow which gives lots of time for the expansion of the growing affection of the two central characters and for us to become fully involved in this story which appears to hurtle from one disaster to the next although Colleen keeps everything grounded with strong character development and profound emotional depth. I felt every emotion with the characters, experiencing every high and low with them and was completely engrossed. It’s a story that captured my interest from the very first page, kept me involved the whole way through and I found myself 100% emotionally invested. The book had an almost magnetic pull on it - whenever I put it down, I soon found myself back, dying to continue. Absolutely gripping stuff!

Reading a Colleen Hoover novel, to me, is rather like sinking into your favourite arm-chair after a hellish day at the office, kicking off those heels that have pinched all day and indulging in a glass of very expensive wine. It’s exquisitely comforting and it feels like coming home. I know I’m going to get a hero I will adore and a heroine I can identify with and that’s exactly what we found here. Heartbreakingly beautiful and achingly real, Confess is a wholly engrossing tale of two young people with many hurdles to overcome finding a love that is truly worth fighting for.

4.5 OMG stars

Owen’s paintings is based on a real artist � check out his beautiful work


]]> <![CDATA[The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2)]]> 3002788
There's no lack of suspects: his wife, whose dagger served as the weapon; his embittered son, who would have killed for independence; and his mistress, who refused to be ignored - and each felt deserving of the dead man's fortune. The police think they've found the culprit. But Poirot has his doubts. Why is the dead man wearing an overcoat that is too big for him? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse...]]> 220 Agatha Christie 0330102419 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.69 1923 The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2)
author: Agatha Christie
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1923
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/06
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: country-house-murder, crime, hercule-poirot, murder, mystery, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> The House on the Strand 50246
Alternate cover is available here.]]> 329 Daphne du Maurier ~ Becs ~ 5 3.85 1969 The House on the Strand
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)]]> 16333
When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she's looking for at Bertram's: traditional décor and impeccable service. But she senses an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric hotel guest makes his way to the airport one day late!

Librarian's note: this entry is for the novel, "At Bertram's Hotel." Collections and other Miss Marple stories are located elsewhere on ŷ. The series includes 12 novels and 20 short stories. Entries for the short stories can be found by searching ŷ for: "a Miss Marple Short Story."]]> 223 Agatha Christie ~ Becs ~ 4 3.72 1965 At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple, #10)
author: Agatha Christie
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Those People 42041520 From the author of the international bestseller Our House, a new novel of twisty domestic suspense asks, "Could you hate your neighbor enough to plot to kill him?"

Lowland Way is the suburban dream. The houses are beautiful, the neighbors get along, and the kids play together on weekends.

But when Darren and Jodie move into the house on the corner, they donʼt follow the rules. They blast music at all hours, begin an unsightly renovation, and run a used-car business from their yard. It doesn't take long for an all-out war to start brewing.

Then, early one Saturday, a horrific death shocks the street. As police search for witnesses, accusations start flying--and everyone has something to hide.]]> 368 Louise Candlish 0451489144 ~ Becs ~ 3 crime, domestic-noir, mystery 3.26 2019 Those People
author: Louise Candlish
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/06/30
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: crime, domestic-noir, mystery
review:

]]> The Marsh King's Daughter 500290 408 Elizabeth Chadwick 0751524107 ~ Becs ~ 5 3.97 1999 The Marsh King's Daughter
author: Elizabeth Chadwick
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/10/13
shelves:
review:

]]> The Space Between Us 18919804
Caught in Meredith's sensual, irresistible orbit, inexpressibly flattered by the siren's attention, Tesla shares long-buried chapters of her life, holding nothing back. Nothing Meredith proposes seems impossible—not even Tesla sleeping with Meredith's husband, Charlie, while she looks on. After all, it's all in fun, isn't it?

In a heartbeat, vulnerable Tesla is swept into a spectacular love triangle. Together, gentle, grounded Charlie and sparkling, maddening Meredith are everything Tesla has ever needed, wanted, or dreamed of, even if no one else on earth understands. They're three against the world.

But soon one of the vertices begins pulling away until only two points remain—and the space between them gapes with confusion, with grief and with possibility�.]]> 381 Megan Hart 1459241185 ~ Becs ~ 4
We have Tesla coasting along in life working as a barista. She doesn’t appear to have any ambitions and is happy just to keep bumping along the way she is. This makes her sound humdrum but she is anything but � she definitely marches to an entirely different beat than everybody else. She’s had a highly unconventional childhood being raised by two hippies spending long summers in communes and has a totally different perspective on sex than the rest of us. She’s uninhibited and totally unrestricted by the mores of society.

She is heteroflexible and, at the beginning of the novel, she is crushing on one of her customers at the coffee shop, Meredith. Meredith comes in almost daily and seems to charm all the staff and customers into giving up their most intimate secrets. Everyone has a story to tell, she says and she collects them with relish. She and Tesla get to know each other better until one day Meredith asks her to fuck her husband so she can watch and Tesla agrees to meet him, to see if it would work and so they begin their ménage relationship � just the three of them!

Meredith � how I hated her. She’s a social butterfly, flitting from her latest interest to the next, bored quickly by everyone and everything, totally capricious and a complete BIATCH!! She’s like an F5 tornado, tearing through everyone, destroying everything she touches and leaving a trail of devastation in her wake and she can scarcely manage a backward glance.

Tesla, on the other hand, I loved. She’s a little different from most heroines, is unapologetic for who she is but is capable of deep love for those around her. Charlie, Meredith’s husband, I loved too and felt very sorry for him. I feel that he’s been blinded by Meredith for a long time and will do anything to appease her, including fucking another woman in front of her. I was just waiting for the scales to fall from his eyes.

There’s also a whole bunch of supporting characters whose lives are fairly miserable � they have ongoing issues that are not resolved in this story. They just appear to add to the general air of misery that pervades this book. But, I’m selling it short. Yes, there’s not a lot of joy here but it does kinda get under your skin, take root and flourish � I thought about this book a lot when I was away from it, wondering where it would go.

I’m undecided how to describe the ending � not conventionally happy, for sure, and it’s certainly doesn't end in a neat little package all tied up in a bow but it’s a progression from how the book begins so it satisfies me. It’s refreshingly different from a lot of erotic fiction and deeply thoughtful. Yes, I enjoyed this.

4 stars thoughtful erotic fiction

ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley

For more of my reviews, please visit my ]]> 3.88 2012 The Space Between Us
author: Megan Hart
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/07
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: net-galley-for-review, contemporary-romance, erotic-romance, review-copy, menage, smuttastic
review:
Is Megan Hart the Thomas Hardy of erotic fiction? I think she may be � she’s busy heaping more misery on miserable people with miserable lives. I do quite like it though � I really enjoy some angst in the books I read and I especially like the characters to suffer and suffer they truly do.

We have Tesla coasting along in life working as a barista. She doesn’t appear to have any ambitions and is happy just to keep bumping along the way she is. This makes her sound humdrum but she is anything but � she definitely marches to an entirely different beat than everybody else. She’s had a highly unconventional childhood being raised by two hippies spending long summers in communes and has a totally different perspective on sex than the rest of us. She’s uninhibited and totally unrestricted by the mores of society.

She is heteroflexible and, at the beginning of the novel, she is crushing on one of her customers at the coffee shop, Meredith. Meredith comes in almost daily and seems to charm all the staff and customers into giving up their most intimate secrets. Everyone has a story to tell, she says and she collects them with relish. She and Tesla get to know each other better until one day Meredith asks her to fuck her husband so she can watch and Tesla agrees to meet him, to see if it would work and so they begin their ménage relationship � just the three of them!

Meredith � how I hated her. She’s a social butterfly, flitting from her latest interest to the next, bored quickly by everyone and everything, totally capricious and a complete BIATCH!! She’s like an F5 tornado, tearing through everyone, destroying everything she touches and leaving a trail of devastation in her wake and she can scarcely manage a backward glance.

Tesla, on the other hand, I loved. She’s a little different from most heroines, is unapologetic for who she is but is capable of deep love for those around her. Charlie, Meredith’s husband, I loved too and felt very sorry for him. I feel that he’s been blinded by Meredith for a long time and will do anything to appease her, including fucking another woman in front of her. I was just waiting for the scales to fall from his eyes.

There’s also a whole bunch of supporting characters whose lives are fairly miserable � they have ongoing issues that are not resolved in this story. They just appear to add to the general air of misery that pervades this book. But, I’m selling it short. Yes, there’s not a lot of joy here but it does kinda get under your skin, take root and flourish � I thought about this book a lot when I was away from it, wondering where it would go.

I’m undecided how to describe the ending � not conventionally happy, for sure, and it’s certainly doesn't end in a neat little package all tied up in a bow but it’s a progression from how the book begins so it satisfies me. It’s refreshingly different from a lot of erotic fiction and deeply thoughtful. Yes, I enjoyed this.

4 stars thoughtful erotic fiction

ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley

For more of my reviews, please visit my
]]> Wicked (Whispering Cove, #3) 18989385 He’s sailed the seas for adventure…and found the sexiest one back at home.

Whispering Cove, Book 3

Danica Kent, MD, has settled into her new role as a small-town doctor. She caters to her Whispering Cove patients, especially the rum-drinking, poker-playing, town grandfathers who have their hands in a bit of everything. But when one of those patients brings her face-to-face with her high school crush, the work she’s done to reinvent herself falters.

Braydon Mitchell sails around the world writing freelance magazine articles. With no desire to settle down, he’s successfully avoided his grandfather’s pleas to come home...until now. Returning out of worry for the old man’s health, Braydon finds old friends in town for their high school reunion. And something he hadn’t expected. Danica, the awkward teenage geek who’s all grown up—and filled out in all the right places.

From their first touch, erotic sparks make Braydon want everything he isn’t built for—small-town stability, a strong woman’s love, family. And Danica wonders if Braydon has dropped anchor for good…or if her lover will be gone with the next tide.

This book has been previously published.

Warning: Sweet, stunning, single doctor seeks strong, sexy sailor for sailing, snuggles and plenty of batten-down-the-hatches and hold-on-tight lovin�. Meddling grandfathers can please butt the hell out.

]]> 85 Nikki Duncan 1619211688 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.09 2011 Wicked (Whispering Cove, #3)
author: Nikki Duncan
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All He Wants (All Or Nothing, #1)]]> 18165746 Dominic Knight is a man who is always in control. A self-made billionaire by the age of twenty-three, a genius of innovation, and CEO of a global tech empire, Knight always gets what he wants. And he wants Kate Hart. . .

A rising star of cyber forensics, Kate Hart is well aware of Knight's reputation as a master manipulator, uncompromising leader, and demanding lover. But she's determined to stay cool and professional-no matter how hot and bothered her new boss makes her feel.

First he appears in her dreams. Then he comes to her in the night. And so begins a journey of erotic awakening and discovery as rich and powerful as Knight himself. In locales from the sultry red-light district of Amsterdam to the private sexual playgrounds of Hong Kong, Kate will shed every inhibition and surrender every part of herself-body, mind, and soul-to give her lover all he craves, all he needs, and all he demands . . .]]> 376 C.C. Gibbs 1455528315 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.00 2012 All He Wants (All Or Nothing, #1)
author: C.C. Gibbs
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Auction 17185729 Naked, bound and in chains, at the mercy of the man who purchased her—body and soul—for the next 30 days.

Carly Abrams, at a financial dead-end, has gathered her courage, exaggerated her experience and signed on as a submissive sex slave at an exclusive BDSM auction house.

Adam Wise is gorgeous, filthy rich, sexually dominant and used to getting exactly what he wants. He has a fully-equipped dungeon and water bondage chamber in his home, all of it waiting for the woman who will submit to his darkest sadistic fantasies. With no interest in the emotional complications of romance, bidding on a highly trained sex slave strikes him as the perfect solution.

From the moment they sign the contract, Adam subjects Carly to sexual torture and BDSM scenes that push every boundary—physical, mental and emotional—leaving her at once terrified and longing for more. Neither counts on the emotional impact and deep sense of connection such a relationship entails, even if Carly is just a sub for hire. Each day takes the pair deeper into a dark and sensual journey. In the struggle of wills and the tangling of hearts that ensues, both Adam and Carly must find the strength to face their secret fears and the courage to seize that most elusive and dangerous of dreams—love.]]> 242 Claire Thompson 1937337391 ~ Becs ~ 4
Carly, down on her luck, has signed up to be auctioned off as a sex-slave for a high fee at an exclusive BDSM Auction House. Despite being deeply submissive and masochistic, she has lied about her experience in the BDSM lifestyle to get the position. She catches the eye of Adam who buys her for a one month contract. Adam is an independently wealthy man and a sadist dom who is tired of women who only want him for his money and position and decides to make it more formal by buying what amounts to not much more than a very expensive but kinky whore.

What follows is erotic BDSM power exchange, no strings attached sex � a formal contract between two people. Adam is quite the sadist and lays out a rigid timetable and strict code of conduct for Carly to abide by. She does her very best but her lack of experience is very telling and she fails, constantly, to control her orgasms and Adam is able to revel in his sadist delight in punishing her for this. If you enjoy reading strong scenes of sadomasochism � you’ll definitely enjoy this.

This is the first time Adam has taken out such a contract and is unaccustomed to complete emotional detachment in his D/s scenes and finds himself becoming more and more emotionally invested and, as such, is beginning to lose his control and detachment. He starts to see Carly’s value not only as a submissive, but as a woman and a person. Subs often fall hard for their doms due to the deep trust required in this kind of relationship and Carly is no exception � she is developing a strong attachment to Adam and there doesn’t seem to be anything she can do to stop it.

I enjoyed watching the developing relationship between them and, as Adam attempts to reassert his control, he pushes Carly too far and their contract reaches crisis point. There’s not huge character development in this one, nor really a very dynamic plot but there are plenty of deeply erotic and very hot scenes of consensual BDSM action which is exactly what I want and expect from this kind of novel. So, this is a sweet BDSM romance which very much pushed all my buttons � it pays to remember that this contains strong scenes of consensual BDSM and is intended for a mature audience.

3.5 stars BDSM romance

ARC courtesy of the lovely Claire Thompson

For more reviews, please visit
]]> 3.69 2012 The Auction
author: Claire Thompson
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/19
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: bdsm-kink, contemporary-romance, erotic-romance, master-slave-tpe, review-copy, smuttastic, super-rich-hero, arc
review:
This is a harcore BDSM romance with some fairly strong edgeplay including water bondage � that is giving over complete control of your ability to breathe to another person. It’s not for the faint-hearted that’s for sure but it’s important to remember that the action in this book is completely consensual.

Carly, down on her luck, has signed up to be auctioned off as a sex-slave for a high fee at an exclusive BDSM Auction House. Despite being deeply submissive and masochistic, she has lied about her experience in the BDSM lifestyle to get the position. She catches the eye of Adam who buys her for a one month contract. Adam is an independently wealthy man and a sadist dom who is tired of women who only want him for his money and position and decides to make it more formal by buying what amounts to not much more than a very expensive but kinky whore.

What follows is erotic BDSM power exchange, no strings attached sex � a formal contract between two people. Adam is quite the sadist and lays out a rigid timetable and strict code of conduct for Carly to abide by. She does her very best but her lack of experience is very telling and she fails, constantly, to control her orgasms and Adam is able to revel in his sadist delight in punishing her for this. If you enjoy reading strong scenes of sadomasochism � you’ll definitely enjoy this.

This is the first time Adam has taken out such a contract and is unaccustomed to complete emotional detachment in his D/s scenes and finds himself becoming more and more emotionally invested and, as such, is beginning to lose his control and detachment. He starts to see Carly’s value not only as a submissive, but as a woman and a person. Subs often fall hard for their doms due to the deep trust required in this kind of relationship and Carly is no exception � she is developing a strong attachment to Adam and there doesn’t seem to be anything she can do to stop it.

I enjoyed watching the developing relationship between them and, as Adam attempts to reassert his control, he pushes Carly too far and their contract reaches crisis point. There’s not huge character development in this one, nor really a very dynamic plot but there are plenty of deeply erotic and very hot scenes of consensual BDSM action which is exactly what I want and expect from this kind of novel. So, this is a sweet BDSM romance which very much pushed all my buttons � it pays to remember that this contains strong scenes of consensual BDSM and is intended for a mature audience.

3.5 stars BDSM romance

ARC courtesy of the lovely Claire Thompson

For more reviews, please visit

]]> Unforgiven (Walkers Ford, #1) 17656452
Raised by a single mother, Adam Collins resolved to take no chances with a girl’s future—or his own. That’s why, as hard as it was, he resisted everything he felt for Marissa Brooks. Then one night a reckless challenge left a fellow student dead and changed both their lives forever. As penance, Adam took the boy’s place in the Marines, where he could disappear into discipline and duty, and left Marissa behind to struggle with her dreams.

Twelve years later, Adam is back in Walkers Ford to serve as the best man in his friend’s wedding. The years haven’t diminished the electric connection he has with Marissa. But Adam’s mistake continues to haunt him, and Marissa is stumbling under the weight of her family’s legacy. Together they wrestle with demons and dreams, but if there’s any hope for a future together Adam has to not only find a way to forgive himself, but also ask others for forgiveness—especially from the woman whose heart he broke.(less)]]> 304 Anne Calhoun 1101609540 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.84 2013 Unforgiven (Walkers Ford, #1)
author: Anne Calhoun
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wet (Whispering Cove, #2) 18893908
Whispering Cove, Book 2

Celebrity chef Kathleen Wilson has returned to Whispering Cove for her high school reunion. Tired of big-city life, she’s looking forward to relaxing in the quaint fishing village. The one thing she’s not looking forward to is facing the boy from her past. The boy she turned her back on ten years ago. The same boy she has never gotten over.

Firefighter Trent Parker has never given up on reuniting with his Katy. When he hears she’s back in town, he figures the quickest way to show her where she really belongs is to launch an all-out, blatant campaign of seduction. An accident with a fire hose leaves her soaked—and ignites a firestorm of need in them both, with only one way to extinguish the flames.

Soon they’re burning up the sheets, but when morning comes and the smoke clears, Katy faces a choice she never thought she’d have to make again. To leave for another ten years…or admit that the heat between her and Trent isn’t about to burn out.

This book has been previously published.

Product Warnings
A dash of chocolate, a celebrity chef and a sexy firefighter who knows as much about starting a fire as how to put one out.]]> 97 Cathryn Fox 1619211661 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.96 2017 Wet (Whispering Cove, #2)
author: Cathryn Fox
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Enslaved 16176693
Caught red-handed with her fingers in the company cash, Rae Johansen must choose between near-certain jail time or a much shorter sentence locked away in a BDSM Dungeon. Acceptance means placing her free will, her body and possibly her soul in the hands of a dominant man who demands complete submission. Whips, chains, ropes, floggers and the sensual wrath of a spurned lover are just some of what await the hapless slave girl, should she accept the terms he offers.

Choose right, Rae, and choose wisely. This may be the last choice you ever make.]]> 234 Claire Thompson 1937337332 ~ Becs ~ 0
Really not for me.

Merged review:

I'm not going to give this book a rating and I couldn't finish it. I accept that some people will enjoy this but it's non-consensual forced slavery, sadism and the hero is nasty and vindictive.

Really not for me.]]> 3.52 2011 Enslaved
author: Claire Thompson
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2012/05/04
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: abused-heroine, bdsm-kink, master-slave-tpe, dark-angsty, dark-erotica, non-con, mind-f-ckery
review:
I'm not going to give this book a rating and I couldn't finish it. I accept that some people will enjoy this but it's non-consensual forced slavery, sadism and the hero is nasty and vindictive.

Really not for me.

Merged review:

I'm not going to give this book a rating and I couldn't finish it. I accept that some people will enjoy this but it's non-consensual forced slavery, sadism and the hero is nasty and vindictive.

Really not for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Whispers Under Ground (Rivers of London, #3)]]> 10814687
We found one.

And that was that, I thought come Monday. First case of the day: Person Unknown has been stabbed to death on the tracks at Baker Street Underground. Magic may have been involved. Sure enough, the weapon turns out to be saturated in the tell-tale traces left by magic.

But Person Unknown turns out to be the son of a US senator, so before you can say "international incident", FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds and her firmly held religious beliefs are on my case.

And down in the dark, in the Tube tunnels of London, along with the buried rivers and remnants of Victorian sewer systems, I'm hearing some really strange things...]]> 418 Ben Aaronovitch 0575097647 ~ Becs ~ 0 currently-reading 4.12 2012 Whispers Under Ground (Rivers of London, #3)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Domestic (Rivers of London #2.5)]]> 50793368 Tales of the Folly

(Set between Moon Over Soho and Whispers Under Ground)]]> Ben Aaronovitch ~ Becs ~ 3 ghosts 3.76 2012 The Domestic (Rivers of London #2.5)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: ghosts
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London, #2)]]> 10381195 Body and Soul. The song. That's what London constable and sorcerer's apprentice Peter Grant first notices when he examines the corpse of Cyrus Wilkins, part-time jazz drummer and full-time accountant, who dropped dead of a heart attack while playing a gig at Soho's 606 Club. The notes of the old jazz standard are rising from the body - a sure sign that something about the man's death was not at all natural but instead supernatural.

Body and soul - they're also what Peter will risk as he investigates a pattern of similar deaths in and around Soho. With the help of his superior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, and the assistance of beautiful jazz aficionado Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter will uncover a deadly magical menace - one that leads right to his own doorstep and to the squandered promise of a young jazz musician: a talented trumpet player named Richard "Lord" Grant - otherwise known as Peter's dear old dad.]]> 375 Ben Aaronovitch 0575097604 ~ Becs ~ 4 4.05 2011 Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London, #2)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: cop-hero, crime, fantasy, magical-realism, murder, mystery, supernatural, suspense, vampires, wizards, magicia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Willing Victim (Flynn and Laurel, #1)]]> 8812286 281 Cara McKenna 1419928481 ~ Becs ~ 3
Not sure why I didn't love this as much as everyone else did.]]> 3.74 2010 Willing Victim (Flynn and Laurel, #1)
author: Cara McKenna
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2012/06/04
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: erotic-romance, contemporary-romance, cover-nearly-put-me-off, smuttastic
review:
3 stars erotic romance

Not sure why I didn't love this as much as everyone else did.
]]> SEAL of My Dreams 12255481
Honor, duty, courage, passion . . . the men of the Navy SEALs are a special breed of hero, and in these stories by eighteen top romance authors the SEALs are celebrated not only as symbols of devoted service to their country but as the kind of man every woman wants to love. They'll rescue a damsel in distress and her lap dog, too. They'll battle hometown dramas and international bad guys. When it comes to giving away their hearts, they'll risk everything.

All proceeds from sales of SEAL of My Dreams goes to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit fundraiser for veterans' medical research.

Among them, the authors of SEAL of My Dreams have won dozens of writing awards including multiple RITAs from Romance Writers of America. Their nearly 600 published novels have sold at least 25 million copies worldwide. The SEAL of My Dreams roster includes many of the best-known authors in modern romance fiction. In addition, many have strong family connections to the servicemen and women of our nation's military, and many specialize in novels featuring heroes and heroines from all branches of service.

Visit the authors at .

Contents:
Foreword by Robyn Carr
Coming Home by Jami Alden
Baby I'm Back by Stephanie Bond -- Southern Roads #3.5
SEALed Fates by Kylie Brant
Going Dark by Helen Brenna
Finding Home by HelenKay Dimon
SEALed With a Kiss by Cindy Gerard -- Black Ops #6.5
Panama Jack by Tara Janzen
Wrapped and SEALed by Leslie Kelly
Worth the Risk by Elle Kennedy
Twenty-one Hours by Alison Kent -- The Dalton Gang #0.5
Not Waving But Drowning by Jo Leigh
Her Secret Pirate by Gennita Low -- Crossfire #4
SEALed by Fate by Marliss Melton
Signed, SEALed, Delivered...I'm Yours by Christie Ridgway
Dog Heart by Barbara Samuel
Whirlwind by Roxanne St. Claire
Holding On by Stephanie Tyler -- Hold Trilogy #3.5
Letters to Ellie by Loreth Anne White]]> 430 Jami Alden 1611940664 ~ Becs ~ 3
Merged review:

Cute short military romance stories and all in a worthy cause. Great for downloading to your phone and reading when you have a few spare minutes during the day when you're out and about.]]> 3.98 2011 SEAL of My Dreams
author: Jami Alden
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2011/11/15
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: alpha-hero, anthology, kindle, military-romance, romantic-suspense, cover-lust-i-has-it
review:
Cute short military romance stories and all in a worthy cause. Great for downloading to your phone and reading when you have a few spare minutes during the day when you're out and about.

Merged review:

Cute short military romance stories and all in a worthy cause. Great for downloading to your phone and reading when you have a few spare minutes during the day when you're out and about.
]]> Mansfield Park 1830506 572 3150500230 ~ Becs ~ 2 3.60 1814 Mansfield Park
author: jane [ introduction by austin dobson] austin
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1814
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tobias Winter - Meckenheim 2012 (Rivers of London, #1.6)]]> 37555627
Set in 2012. The Chief of the Abteilung KDA is disturbed to learn that the Nightingale has taken on an apprentice.

Moments is a term used by Ben Aaronovitch for very short works of fiction, that he doesn't like to call short stories. He adds that they are not likely to be incorporated into any longer work.]]> 4 Ben Aaronovitch ~ Becs ~ 3 3.52 2017 Tobias Winter - Meckenheim 2012 (Rivers of London, #1.6)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Home Crowd Advantage (Rivers of London, #1.5)]]> 23471484 Rivers of London. It takes place during the Olympic Games in London, 2012.]]> 25 Ben Aaronovitch ~ Becs ~ 3 3.81 2014 The Home Crowd Advantage (Rivers of London, #1.5)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/10
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Dedicated Follower of Fashion (Rivers of London #0.6)]]> 154304183
Set in Earlsfield in 1967, where a drug dealer (and luxury cloth smuggler) and his helpers hide in a squat right beside the river Wandle. The river floods his stash and miracles ensue.]]> 30 Ben Aaronovitch ~ Becs ~ 4 3.57 A Dedicated Follower of Fashion (Rivers of London #0.6)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.57
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/09
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rivers of London (Rivers of London, #1)]]> 9317452 392 Ben Aaronovitch 0575097566 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.83 2011 Rivers of London (Rivers of London, #1)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/09
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves: cop-hero, crime, fantasy, ghosts, magical-realism, murder, mystery, supernatural, suspense, winter-wonderland
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nightingale: London 1966 (Rivers of London, #0.5)]]> 37555454
Set in 1966. Nightingale and Hugh Oswald meet up in London, during one of Oswald's rare trips to the city.

Moments is a term used by Ben Aaronovitch for very short works of fiction, that he doesn't like to call short stories. He adds that they are not likely to be incorporated into any longer work.]]> 2 Ben Aaronovitch ~ Becs ~ 0 3.51 2016 Nightingale: London 1966 (Rivers of London, #0.5)
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Unforgiven (Unbreakable, #3) 19540434 Gemma Falls never expected to use her game theory expertise to outrun a killer. But for years, that skill is all that kept her one step ahead of a deadly stalker. When Gemma gets the chance to teach at D.C. University, she hopes she and her young daughter have found a safe harbor. The only flaw is the arrogant philosophy professor who’s always underfoot giving unwanted advice—in his sexy British accent . . .

Hide:
Jethro Hanson has blood on his hands. He’s working within ivy-covered university halls now, but he knows that his work with the Deep Ops team and the deadly acts he once committed for the sake of Queen and country place him beyond forgiveness—until he meets Gemma . . .

Seek:
Soon, the passion between them stuns them both. But when Jethro discovers a threat is fast overtaking her, he must choose between the redemption he seeks—and releasing the ever-present killer inside . . .]]> 286 Rebecca Shea ~ Becs ~ 4 Unforgiven is marked up as the final book in the Unbreakable series and a companion novel to Unbreakable and Undone starring Lindsay, Landon, hero of book 2’s sister and Matt, Landon’s former cop partner. We got some pretty hefty hints about these two being a possible couple during Undone and I was very much looking forward to reading this one.

Well, I’m so happy to say that Becca Shea has done it again � this is yet another heart-wrenching, emotional story to round out the series and I positively galloped through Unforgiven. It’s very compelling � harrowing, yet compelling.

The story pans out rather like a love story in reverse. Matt and Lindsay start the book idyllically happy. They’ve discovered the kind of love that everyone envies, the kind of love the soothes all hurts from the past and heals all their emotional wounds. They’re besotted with one another and the beginning feels like a happy ending but Rebecca Shea is about to rip all that apart and send us, the readers, down a painful and difficult path as we watch their happiness just disintegrate into misery and despair. It’s a cautionary tale, that’s for sure.

Lindsay is a TV reporter for a local station and she gets offered a job right across the country � it’s a fantastic opportunity and one she finds hard to turn down but, to Matt’s horror, she makes a snap decision and chooses to go further her dreams. He can’t believe she can choose so quickly, that he means so little to her and is desperately hurt and they part on bad terms. I understood her need to go � she needed to get out into the big bad world and stake her claim on it, to really stand on her own two feet after a lifetime of being protected by her brother and then Matt but I just don’t think she really took the time to think about this carefully and only heartbreak awaits.

Lindsay discovers that the grass isn’t always greener and that she may just have left her one chance at happiness behind. Lindsay, as we know from previous books, has not had an easy childhood and her loneliness in her new life manifests itself in a destructive spiral of addiction and despair. It’s painful to watch � it’s almost like a car crash. You can see it about to happen but there’s nothing you can do about it. You can see her descending, destroying herself and know that she will eventually hurtle down into rock bottom, even as you’re screaming at her to stop.

All the while, as we’re watching Lindsay self-destruct, Matt’s heartbreak was doing a number on me too. He was desperately hurt by her decision, her very hasty decision, to go and his misery, his strong sense of rejection was a powerful theme throughout the story. Possibly, at least to me, even more painful than Lindsay’s descent into darkness and his overwhelming sadness was positively palpable. The way he felt, especially when he discovers just how far gone she is made me think of this beautiful song by � it’s called Still and is from the album A Different Kind of Fix and there’s a moment in Unforgiven when Matt makes a discovery that shatters his heart completely and the lyrics just seem to fit that moment in time. Oh, and they make me cry!

It’s a powerful storyline, sensitively handled by Rebecca Shea and this book is very much Lindsay’s journey and I came to see her a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz tapping those ruby shoes together and chanting ‘there’s no place like home�. She really made my heart hurt � despite the love that people around her have for her, she’s very hard on herself and this is very much an exploration of addiction and compulsive behaviour and heartbreak. It’s an uncomfortable, if ultimately satisfying, read � poignant, thought-provoking and very sad.

I powered through this, even though it’s quite a painful read, it certainly packs an powerful emotional punch and it’s hard to look away. A great way to round out the series with plenty of Jess and Gabe and Landon and Reagan to keep fans of the previous books happy.


4.5 heartbreaking stars

]]> 4.14 2014 Unforgiven (Unbreakable, #3)
author: Rebecca Shea
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/13
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: abused-heroine, alpha-hero, arc, contemporary-romance, dark-angsty, cop-hero, made-me-cry, review-copy, second-chance-romance
review:

Unforgiven is marked up as the final book in the Unbreakable series and a companion novel to Unbreakable and Undone starring Lindsay, Landon, hero of book 2’s sister and Matt, Landon’s former cop partner. We got some pretty hefty hints about these two being a possible couple during Undone and I was very much looking forward to reading this one.

Well, I’m so happy to say that Becca Shea has done it again � this is yet another heart-wrenching, emotional story to round out the series and I positively galloped through Unforgiven. It’s very compelling � harrowing, yet compelling.

The story pans out rather like a love story in reverse. Matt and Lindsay start the book idyllically happy. They’ve discovered the kind of love that everyone envies, the kind of love the soothes all hurts from the past and heals all their emotional wounds. They’re besotted with one another and the beginning feels like a happy ending but Rebecca Shea is about to rip all that apart and send us, the readers, down a painful and difficult path as we watch their happiness just disintegrate into misery and despair. It’s a cautionary tale, that’s for sure.

Lindsay is a TV reporter for a local station and she gets offered a job right across the country � it’s a fantastic opportunity and one she finds hard to turn down but, to Matt’s horror, she makes a snap decision and chooses to go further her dreams. He can’t believe she can choose so quickly, that he means so little to her and is desperately hurt and they part on bad terms. I understood her need to go � she needed to get out into the big bad world and stake her claim on it, to really stand on her own two feet after a lifetime of being protected by her brother and then Matt but I just don’t think she really took the time to think about this carefully and only heartbreak awaits.

Lindsay discovers that the grass isn’t always greener and that she may just have left her one chance at happiness behind. Lindsay, as we know from previous books, has not had an easy childhood and her loneliness in her new life manifests itself in a destructive spiral of addiction and despair. It’s painful to watch � it’s almost like a car crash. You can see it about to happen but there’s nothing you can do about it. You can see her descending, destroying herself and know that she will eventually hurtle down into rock bottom, even as you’re screaming at her to stop.

All the while, as we’re watching Lindsay self-destruct, Matt’s heartbreak was doing a number on me too. He was desperately hurt by her decision, her very hasty decision, to go and his misery, his strong sense of rejection was a powerful theme throughout the story. Possibly, at least to me, even more painful than Lindsay’s descent into darkness and his overwhelming sadness was positively palpable. The way he felt, especially when he discovers just how far gone she is made me think of this beautiful song by � it’s called Still and is from the album A Different Kind of Fix and there’s a moment in Unforgiven when Matt makes a discovery that shatters his heart completely and the lyrics just seem to fit that moment in time. Oh, and they make me cry!

It’s a powerful storyline, sensitively handled by Rebecca Shea and this book is very much Lindsay’s journey and I came to see her a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz tapping those ruby shoes together and chanting ‘there’s no place like home�. She really made my heart hurt � despite the love that people around her have for her, she’s very hard on herself and this is very much an exploration of addiction and compulsive behaviour and heartbreak. It’s an uncomfortable, if ultimately satisfying, read � poignant, thought-provoking and very sad.

I powered through this, even though it’s quite a painful read, it certainly packs an powerful emotional punch and it’s hard to look away. A great way to round out the series with plenty of Jess and Gabe and Landon and Reagan to keep fans of the previous books happy.


4.5 heartbreaking stars


]]> <![CDATA[A Highland Knight's Desire (Highland Dynasty, #2)]]> 25039756
Sir Duncan focuses on returning Lady Meg to her family and collecting his bounty before the lass can further sink her wiles into his heart. Lady Meg’s kidnapper, Northumberland, is plotting his revenge and is out to ruin them both. If Northumberland’s ruse is not exposed, Meg may end up becoming a nun, and Duncan a pawn in a deadly game. Join us on this passionate adventure as Lady Meg discovers herself � and her desires. Book two in the Highland Dynasty Series; stay tuned for book three!]]> 378 Amy Jarecki 1508477736 ~ Becs ~ 4

I am on such a MASSIVE Highlander jag right now thanks to Outlander - that show has totally rekindled my love for this genre but it's been difficult to find authors that work for me but, at last, I think in Amy Jarecki, I have found a winner. This is the second book of hers I have read and I've very much enjoyed both of them.

A Highland Knight's Desire has just about everything you could possibly want in a historical romance - a big burly protective as hell hero, a feisty kickass heroine, kidnap, murder, wrongful imprisonment, torture, daring rescue and wonderfully lusty 'chamber' scenes. The story romps along at a rate of knots with never a dull moment and I loved every second.

This time, our hero is Sir Duncan - eldest son and heir of 'Black' Colin, the hero of the previous book in this series. Duncan is part of the Scottish King's 'Highland Enforcers' - the author's version of Highlander Special Forces and fairly reminiscent of Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series. He's been tasked to rescue Lady Meg who has been kidnapped by an English Lord and return her to the safety of her brother's castle. Of course, it doesn't all go to plan and Sir Duncan ends up taking Meg back to his own keep for her safety before returning her to her brother. And, inevitably, he gets injured during the rescue, she tends to his wounds and one things lead to another and before they know it, they're falling in love - a forbidden love as Meg's brother is unlikely to approve the match.

We go on such a spectacular journey with these two - all over Scotland as they lurch from one disaster to the next. It's just SO much fun with plenty of humour as well as action and romance. Duncan is just a fabulous bear of a Highlander - gruff, totally hench, protective, possessive and 100% alpha male. What's not to love?? He does manage to get things very wrong where Meg is concerned many times which adds wonderfully to the angst but he does, eventually, more than make up for it. He ends up in really dire situations and I found it really hard to put the book down, even when I should have been sleeping, as the action and shocks come thick and fast. A very thrilling ride.

Meg was a fantastic heroine - she's absolutely no doormat. She's a strong, plucky Scottish lass, ferociously loyal and fiercely determined. She was an absolute tour de force and her determination to rush in where others fear to tread left me breathless and Duncan's big strong warriors pretty much in awe of her. It would be a foolish man that threatens this fiery redhead and those she loves.

Meg considers herself to be a poor candidate for a wife though as she has been born with a deformed left hand - just a thumb and forefinger and herein lay my only problem with the book. I wasn't bothered that she had this deformity but her insistence on referring to it as 'The Claw' constantly conjured Jim Carey in Liar Liar and I found it hard to get over that every time it was mentioned.

photo claw_zpskns4suw7.jpg

Other than that, this was a fabulous read. One thing I'm finding it hard to get used to when reading historical romance is the timescale that authors have to play with. It's vast and I sometimes find it hard when reading a series that the hero I have loved in a book, possibly only days before, is now an old man or, worse, dying! Also the last time I saw Duncan he was a young boy running around the keep and suddenly he's a HUGE warrior and more than just a little preoccupied in what is going on beneath his kilt. I think this is a problem peculiar to the contemporary romance reader venturing back into the midsts of time!

Another fabulous read from Amy Jarecki - can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

4.5 stars ❤️]]> 4.03 A Highland Knight's Desire (Highland Dynasty, #2)
author: Amy Jarecki
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/10
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: alpha-hero, highlanders, historical-romance, kidnapped, tortured-abused-hero, warriors
review:
photo highland knights desire_zps14h4mfpj.jpg

I am on such a MASSIVE Highlander jag right now thanks to Outlander - that show has totally rekindled my love for this genre but it's been difficult to find authors that work for me but, at last, I think in Amy Jarecki, I have found a winner. This is the second book of hers I have read and I've very much enjoyed both of them.

A Highland Knight's Desire has just about everything you could possibly want in a historical romance - a big burly protective as hell hero, a feisty kickass heroine, kidnap, murder, wrongful imprisonment, torture, daring rescue and wonderfully lusty 'chamber' scenes. The story romps along at a rate of knots with never a dull moment and I loved every second.

This time, our hero is Sir Duncan - eldest son and heir of 'Black' Colin, the hero of the previous book in this series. Duncan is part of the Scottish King's 'Highland Enforcers' - the author's version of Highlander Special Forces and fairly reminiscent of Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series. He's been tasked to rescue Lady Meg who has been kidnapped by an English Lord and return her to the safety of her brother's castle. Of course, it doesn't all go to plan and Sir Duncan ends up taking Meg back to his own keep for her safety before returning her to her brother. And, inevitably, he gets injured during the rescue, she tends to his wounds and one things lead to another and before they know it, they're falling in love - a forbidden love as Meg's brother is unlikely to approve the match.

We go on such a spectacular journey with these two - all over Scotland as they lurch from one disaster to the next. It's just SO much fun with plenty of humour as well as action and romance. Duncan is just a fabulous bear of a Highlander - gruff, totally hench, protective, possessive and 100% alpha male. What's not to love?? He does manage to get things very wrong where Meg is concerned many times which adds wonderfully to the angst but he does, eventually, more than make up for it. He ends up in really dire situations and I found it really hard to put the book down, even when I should have been sleeping, as the action and shocks come thick and fast. A very thrilling ride.

Meg was a fantastic heroine - she's absolutely no doormat. She's a strong, plucky Scottish lass, ferociously loyal and fiercely determined. She was an absolute tour de force and her determination to rush in where others fear to tread left me breathless and Duncan's big strong warriors pretty much in awe of her. It would be a foolish man that threatens this fiery redhead and those she loves.

Meg considers herself to be a poor candidate for a wife though as she has been born with a deformed left hand - just a thumb and forefinger and herein lay my only problem with the book. I wasn't bothered that she had this deformity but her insistence on referring to it as 'The Claw' constantly conjured Jim Carey in Liar Liar and I found it hard to get over that every time it was mentioned.

photo claw_zpskns4suw7.jpg

Other than that, this was a fabulous read. One thing I'm finding it hard to get used to when reading historical romance is the timescale that authors have to play with. It's vast and I sometimes find it hard when reading a series that the hero I have loved in a book, possibly only days before, is now an old man or, worse, dying! Also the last time I saw Duncan he was a young boy running around the keep and suddenly he's a HUGE warrior and more than just a little preoccupied in what is going on beneath his kilt. I think this is a problem peculiar to the contemporary romance reader venturing back into the midsts of time!

Another fabulous read from Amy Jarecki - can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

4.5 stars ❤️
]]> Forgotten Treasures 23545867 (Characters and other events are a work of fiction)

When you blink you expect to see the world as it was a fraction of a second ago. Maybe a slight shift in reality from a light breeze, but you are still in the same place, unmoving and unchanged. You don’t expect to be somewhere else where the faces are unfamiliar. Where you are unfamiliar.

With one blink I had no family, no home, no name, and no past. I was alone, until I met the Reilly brothers. They gave me purpose again. A reason to trust. A reason to love. A reason to rebuild a life full of forgotten memories. Together, they would try to rewrite my history.

PRAISE
“Forgotten Treasures is beautifully layered with twists and revelations you will never see coming! Dani Hart keeps the pages turning in this sweet romance sprinkled with the hope of undying love. I found myself engrossed, demanding to know what happens next. Each revelation is another key to the puzzle. Perfectly complex! Mesmerizing.� Addison Moore, New York Times Bestselling Author

"I have read some great books so far in 2015 but this one is definitely in the top 3 for me. I could not recommend this book any more- you should not let this one pass you by." Kellie, Eye Candy Bookstore

“If you're looking for a heartfelt love story, which will consume your heart and mind, with characters so lovable that you can't but feel for and with them, a story with a deserved HEA then this book is for you! This book will make you think, reflect about life, loss, and love. Dani created a memorable love story that will stay with you for a very long time!� Nadine, Hook Me Up Book Blog

Music Lyrics by Brogan Kelby]]> Dani Hart ~ Becs ~ 4

While at times it’s hard to remember,
It’s more painful to forget.

photo forgotten treasures quote_zps1ho0wmlr.jpg

This is one of those novels that opens with a mystery, steeped in complexity and revelations are slowly drip-fed to the reader as the story progresses leaving you guessing and speculating and possibly dreading the truth the whole way through. At first, it really gave me a Burying Water by K A Tucker vibe - an amnesiac heroine who has suffered a severe trauma and is taken in by the kindness of apparent strangers in the aftermath. Knowing what had happened to that heroine and why she was in the situation she was made me fearful for Freckles, our unnamed heroine, and a little distrustful of those around her. Just a quick observation � the synopsis actually gives the heroine’s name and I really didn’t like that. This is one of the things we don’t know for a long time and I hate that it’s given away in the blurb.

I confess that I a hard time pinpointing the location of the story at first � based on the original description, I kind of had her in the European Alps. followed by the Eastern Coast of the US and finally, and correctly, put her on the West Coast. I think I was as confused as the heroine! That’s my own over-active imagination conjuring up scenes and backdrops from the narrative and nothing to do with the author � I’m a very visual reader and the scenes often spring to life vividly in my mind as I read.

Forgotten Treasures pans out rather like a Shakespearean tragedy as one traumatic event is compounded by yet another. I find it hard to believe that an author can heap that much that pain and sorrow on her characters but it states that this is all based on real life events so I guess it just goes to prove that bad things can happen to good people and just keep on happening. And there is so much tragedy here � I wept quietly into my Kindle often during the second half of the book.

The book does really divide itself neatly into two halves describing, at first, Freckles in her amnesiac fog desperate to know what has happened and then after everything comes flooding back to her all of a sudden, the story leading up to that moment is retold and it’s a shocker. So much tragedy and so much pain. I kind of defy anyone not to be moved by it. Freckles has survived something very terrible but survival is relative and whether she’s now living or just existing is up for speculation.


‘Forget me not.�

I replied aloud, “Never.�

photo tearful forgotten treasures_zps3n7q66tx.jpg

This was an intriguing story, layered in complexity, very well told. I felt satisfied by the end but there were moments when I was deeply frustrated by the heroine’s self-absorption and insular way of thinking. Other people were in exactly the same emotional place as she was and I felt she was adding to their pain and not considering just how much they were hurting too.

Overall this is very much a poignant story of one man’s deep and eternal love for a woman in the most desperate of circumstances and just how far he will go to keep her and how that love can transcend even the darkest moments one person is ever likely to endure. Our hero, the man who stood by his woman through absolutely everything, is an absolute rock and I adored him so, so much even thought I felt his agonising pain constantly. Thankfully, after the trauma of the story, there is a truly lovely epilogue to help ease that pain and you definitely need it by the end. The tragedy is all still there but our survivors are moving on together and that’s really the best that you can hope for after a story like this.


4 painful, tearful stars


ARC courtesy of Patchwork Press - Cooperative via NetGalley]]> 4.25 Forgotten Treasures
author: Dani Hart
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2015/02/22
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: contemporary-romance, made-me-cry, net-galley-for-review, second-chance-romance
review:

While at times it’s hard to remember,
It’s more painful to forget.

photo forgotten treasures quote_zps1ho0wmlr.jpg

This is one of those novels that opens with a mystery, steeped in complexity and revelations are slowly drip-fed to the reader as the story progresses leaving you guessing and speculating and possibly dreading the truth the whole way through. At first, it really gave me a Burying Water by K A Tucker vibe - an amnesiac heroine who has suffered a severe trauma and is taken in by the kindness of apparent strangers in the aftermath. Knowing what had happened to that heroine and why she was in the situation she was made me fearful for Freckles, our unnamed heroine, and a little distrustful of those around her. Just a quick observation � the synopsis actually gives the heroine’s name and I really didn’t like that. This is one of the things we don’t know for a long time and I hate that it’s given away in the blurb.

I confess that I a hard time pinpointing the location of the story at first � based on the original description, I kind of had her in the European Alps. followed by the Eastern Coast of the US and finally, and correctly, put her on the West Coast. I think I was as confused as the heroine! That’s my own over-active imagination conjuring up scenes and backdrops from the narrative and nothing to do with the author � I’m a very visual reader and the scenes often spring to life vividly in my mind as I read.

Forgotten Treasures pans out rather like a Shakespearean tragedy as one traumatic event is compounded by yet another. I find it hard to believe that an author can heap that much that pain and sorrow on her characters but it states that this is all based on real life events so I guess it just goes to prove that bad things can happen to good people and just keep on happening. And there is so much tragedy here � I wept quietly into my Kindle often during the second half of the book.

The book does really divide itself neatly into two halves describing, at first, Freckles in her amnesiac fog desperate to know what has happened and then after everything comes flooding back to her all of a sudden, the story leading up to that moment is retold and it’s a shocker. So much tragedy and so much pain. I kind of defy anyone not to be moved by it. Freckles has survived something very terrible but survival is relative and whether she’s now living or just existing is up for speculation.


‘Forget me not.�

I replied aloud, “Never.�

photo tearful forgotten treasures_zps3n7q66tx.jpg

This was an intriguing story, layered in complexity, very well told. I felt satisfied by the end but there were moments when I was deeply frustrated by the heroine’s self-absorption and insular way of thinking. Other people were in exactly the same emotional place as she was and I felt she was adding to their pain and not considering just how much they were hurting too.

Overall this is very much a poignant story of one man’s deep and eternal love for a woman in the most desperate of circumstances and just how far he will go to keep her and how that love can transcend even the darkest moments one person is ever likely to endure. Our hero, the man who stood by his woman through absolutely everything, is an absolute rock and I adored him so, so much even thought I felt his agonising pain constantly. Thankfully, after the trauma of the story, there is a truly lovely epilogue to help ease that pain and you definitely need it by the end. The tragedy is all still there but our survivors are moving on together and that’s really the best that you can hope for after a story like this.


4 painful, tearful stars


ARC courtesy of Patchwork Press - Cooperative via NetGalley
]]> <![CDATA[Burn (Songs of Submission, #5)]]> 17909617
Until you surrender yourself to me fully, I will not touch you.

Until the world can know you belong to me, I will not kiss you.

I'm going to be inches away, at your side. I'm going to whisper in your ear and put my breath on your neck, but the heat of my skin will not feel the shudder of yours until you commit yourself to me completely and without reservation.]]> 197 C.D. Reiss ~ Becs ~ 4


I told my love, I told my love,

I told her all my heart,

Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears�

Ah, she doth depart.


I really enjoyed this one. To date, I think this is my favourite ‘episode� from the Songs of Submission. We have got to know Monica and Jonathan so well by now and the series is fully in its stride. There’s so much emotional pain going on in Burn, a mutual heartrending longing for one other that pleases me greatly, There’s a part of me that is never happier when book characters are suffering, it makes the ultimate happy ending all the sweeter and Jonathan and Monica are both in the depths of despair in Burn.

We re-join them as we left them in Control � Monica has walked away from Jonathan. She believes firmly that their kink, joyfully indulged in private, now has far reaching ramifications for both of them in their professional lives. Every time she meets with someone in a professional capacity she is convinced they are imagining her bound and spread and waiting to be dominated. She has written song lyrics that she feels everyone will know are about Jonathan. She’s convinced that the world has thrown them together and shown them how perfect that can be and then spitefully shown them they can’t comfortably be a couple without being the puppets of other people’s imaginations.

Their separation is painful to say the least. Monica’s mind and body is a dry, arid desert without him � she can’t seem to have a normal physical response to anything, her body is so very well trained to react to Jonathan. Jonathan also firmly believes that they belong together but Monica has made the decision to walk away and he insists that she must make the decision to come back to him, fully prepared to fully commit.

I felt their pain so keenly due to the beautiful ,hauntingly atmospheric quality of the narrative. I love CD Reiss’s style so much � she completely sucks me in. My attention is always held right from the first word right through to wherever she chooses to leave us dangling and this time we’re left with a major cliffy. At least we know we don’t have too long to wait, the next episode will be along in a month or so but be prepared.

Of course, they were never going to be able keep that painful physical distance for very long as they both ache so badly for the other’s touch and you can expect a hot and sexy scene that we really have come to expect and crave.

“When this ice cube melts, I’m going to make love to you so slow, everyone in this hotel is going to know my name. It won’t be play. It’s going to be dead serious.�


As I mentioned previously, there’s a huge cliffhanger and there are a couple of serious Uh-Oh moments in this one when you know something is going to come roaring back to hurt them in a later episode. Really excellent erotic romance.

4.5 beautifully atmospheric stars

For more reviews, please visit or visit us on .]]> 4.25 Burn (Songs of Submission, #5)
author: C.D. Reiss
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2013/06/02
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: alpha-hero, arc, bdsm-kink, cover-lust-i-has-it, e-serial, erotic-romance, novella, review-copy, smuttastic, super-rich-hero
review:
photo drazenquotey_zps11fa2540.jpg


I told my love, I told my love,

I told her all my heart,

Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears�

Ah, she doth depart.


I really enjoyed this one. To date, I think this is my favourite ‘episode� from the Songs of Submission. We have got to know Monica and Jonathan so well by now and the series is fully in its stride. There’s so much emotional pain going on in Burn, a mutual heartrending longing for one other that pleases me greatly, There’s a part of me that is never happier when book characters are suffering, it makes the ultimate happy ending all the sweeter and Jonathan and Monica are both in the depths of despair in Burn.

We re-join them as we left them in Control � Monica has walked away from Jonathan. She believes firmly that their kink, joyfully indulged in private, now has far reaching ramifications for both of them in their professional lives. Every time she meets with someone in a professional capacity she is convinced they are imagining her bound and spread and waiting to be dominated. She has written song lyrics that she feels everyone will know are about Jonathan. She’s convinced that the world has thrown them together and shown them how perfect that can be and then spitefully shown them they can’t comfortably be a couple without being the puppets of other people’s imaginations.

Their separation is painful to say the least. Monica’s mind and body is a dry, arid desert without him � she can’t seem to have a normal physical response to anything, her body is so very well trained to react to Jonathan. Jonathan also firmly believes that they belong together but Monica has made the decision to walk away and he insists that she must make the decision to come back to him, fully prepared to fully commit.

I felt their pain so keenly due to the beautiful ,hauntingly atmospheric quality of the narrative. I love CD Reiss’s style so much � she completely sucks me in. My attention is always held right from the first word right through to wherever she chooses to leave us dangling and this time we’re left with a major cliffy. At least we know we don’t have too long to wait, the next episode will be along in a month or so but be prepared.

Of course, they were never going to be able keep that painful physical distance for very long as they both ache so badly for the other’s touch and you can expect a hot and sexy scene that we really have come to expect and crave.

“When this ice cube melts, I’m going to make love to you so slow, everyone in this hotel is going to know my name. It won’t be play. It’s going to be dead serious.�


As I mentioned previously, there’s a huge cliffhanger and there are a couple of serious Uh-Oh moments in this one when you know something is going to come roaring back to hurt them in a later episode. Really excellent erotic romance.

4.5 beautifully atmospheric stars

For more reviews, please visit or visit us on .
]]> <![CDATA[Wild in Whispering Cove (Whispering Cove, #1)]]> 17314806
Whispering Cove, Book 1

Ten years ago, a tragic accident drove Andie Adair away from her family, friends and fiancé in Whispering Cove. A dark secret has kept her away from the sleepy seaport village, until she receives an ambiguous telephone call from her grandfather. He’s in the hospital. Desperate to cling to her only living relative, she races home—and straight into the arms of the one man she can’t bear to face.

Sheriff Brody McGrath built a life without the woman of his dreams, but when the prowler he catches turns out to be Andie, he isn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions—grief, regret, heartache, and love. There is no denying the old spark between them still burns brightly, but love may not be enough to defeat Andie’s demons and allow her to live again.

This book has been previously published.

Warning: Add one part high school reunion, one part poker bet, mix with three meddling, matchmaking grandfathers. Result, one long-overdue romance with enough heat and sparks to burn up the pages.]]> 96 Mackenzie McKade 161921167X ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.52 2010 Wild in Whispering Cove (Whispering Cove, #1)
author: Mackenzie McKade
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> At the Stroke of Midnight 201925682
Her father claims not to have any prior association with Highcliffe House, but upon arrival, it is apparent that he has a shared history with several of the guests, although he won’t admit it. Belatedly discovering that her father was blackmailed into attending, Pearl’s worries are compounded when their host fails to arrive…�

Intimidated by everyone at the party, she escapes to the nearby cove and stumbles upon a mysterious mercury clock hidden in a cave. This strange encounter sets in motion a series of events that will culminate in an horrific house fire, claiming the lives of all the guests, including Pearl herself.

But then Pearl wakes up back in the cave, seemingly destined never to live past midnight. She can repeat the day. But can she change its outcome?]]> Jenni Keer 178513972X ~ Becs ~ 4 4.21 At the Stroke of Midnight
author: Jenni Keer
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.21
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/04
date added: 2024/05/04
shelves: country-house-murder, crime, gothic, historical-romance, locked-room-mystery, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> The Lost Apothecary 53288434 A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders� that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.]]> 301 Sarah Penner 0778311015 ~ Becs ~ 3 3.72 2021 The Lost Apothecary
author: Sarah Penner
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/20
date added: 2024/04/20
shelves: crime, historical, long-kept-secrets, multiple-timelines, murder, mystery, poison
review:

]]> Weyward 127280850
2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.]]> 392 Emilia Hart 1250842727 ~ Becs ~ 5 4.02 2023 Weyward
author: Emilia Hart
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/29
date added: 2024/03/31
shelves: abused-heroine, historical, long-kept-secrets, witches, multiple-timelines, magical-realism
review:

]]> The Sirens 208734016 A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.]]> 352 Emilia Hart 0008499152 ~ Becs ~ 0 3.98 2025 The Sirens
author: Emilia Hart
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/31
shelves: to-read, cant-wait-cant-wait-cant-wait, just-release-it-already
review:

]]> The Cloisters 61054804 On the wheel of fortune, who will emerge on top... and who will die?

When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she hopes to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art.

There she is drawn into a small circle of charismatic but enigmatic researchers, including Patrick Roland, the museum's mercurial curator who specializes in the history of tarot; Rachel Mondray, Patrick's beautiful curatorial associate and sometime muse; and Leo Bitburg, the gardener who nurtures the museum's precious collection of medicinal and poison plants.

Relieved to have left her troubled past in rural Washington behind her, Ann longs for the approbation of her colleagues and peers and is happy to indulge their more outlandish theories, only to find that their fascination with fortune-telling runs deeper than academic obsession. Patrick is determined to prove that ancient divination holds the key to the foretelling of the future. And when Ann stumbles across a breakthrough in the form of a mysterious and previously-believed lost deck of 15th-century Italian tarot cards, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game of power, toxic friendship and ambition.

Then there is an unexpected and devastating death, and suddenly everyone becomes a suspect. As the game being played within the Cloisters spirals out of control, Ann must decide if the tarot cards can not only teach her about the past, but also about her future.]]> 312 Katy Hays 1668004402 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.35 2022 The Cloisters
author: Katy Hays
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Bookshop 65137920 The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

‘T thing about books,� she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.�

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found�

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder� where nothing is as it seems.]]> 432 Evie Woods 0008609209 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.04 2023 The Lost Bookshop
author: Evie Woods
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Night She Disappeared 56125938 'The Night She Disappeared is by far her best thriller yet.' HARLAN COBEN'Insane suspense. I loved it.' LEE CHILD'A gothic, multi-layered tale, deeply satisfying. We both loved it.' RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUBThe Night She Disappeared is UNBELIEVABLY good. I was utterly utterly agog.' MARIAN KEYES___________________________A cold case. An abandoned mansion. A family hiding a terrible secret. Prepare to be hooked. Lisa Jewell's latest thriller is her best yet.Midsummer 2017: teenage mum Tallulah heads out on a date, leaving her baby son at home with her mother, Kim.At 11 p.m. she sends her mum a text message. At 4.30 a.m. Kim awakens to discover that Tallulah has not come home.Friends tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a pool party at a house in the woods nearby called Dark Place.Tallulah never returns.2018: walking in the woods behind the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started as a head teacher, Sophie sees a sign nailed to a fence.A sign that DIG HERE . . .___________________________'No one thickens a plot like Lisa Jewell. I couldn't put this book down. Jewell just keeps getting better. It's SO GOOD!' SHARI LAPENA'Absolutely loved this one by Lisa Jewell - compelling, deep, surprising, tense, modern. Most thrillers are in black and white to me in terms of character and Lisa is blazing saturated technicolour.' GILLIAN MCALLISTER'Masterly. Gripping from start to finish.' JOANNE HARRIS'I'm calling it early. This is Lisa's best book yet, and she always sets that bar high! Stayed up so late because I couldn't put it down.' ADELE PARKS'Oh my God, so good. A head-scratching, heart-racing, page-turning triumph - I think this might be my favourite Lisa Jewell yet.' LOUISE CANDLISH'I swear her books are masterclasses for authors. Every time I read one, I'm in awe. I loved this one so much - clever, slick and so intriguing. Lots of emotion and I love how all the sub-plots come together. #bowdowntoLisa' MEL SHERRATT'Another first-class mystery . . . Totally enthralling.' HARRIET TYCE'I predict another number one.' ERIN KELLY'Once again Lisa Jewell has knocked it out of the park. Another masterclass in thriller writing from one of the world's most consistently brilliant authors. I was superglued to the pages.' MARK EDWARDS'Totally absorbing. I felt as though I'd slipped into the book and lived there for a few days, heart pounding. So so so amazing!' KATHERINE HEINY'Intriguing and wonderfully dark' THE SUN'I'm passionately attached to Lisa Jewell, whose novels somehow manage to be]]> 476 Lisa Jewell ~ Becs ~ 0 unfinished-symphony 4.40 2021 The Night She Disappeared
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: unfinished-symphony
review:

]]> How to Kill Your Family 56379219 Grazia’s best books of 2021

‘Funny and furious and strangely uplifting. Grace is a bitter and beguiling anti-hero with a keen eye for social analysis � even in her most grisly deeds, you never stop rooting for her� PANDORA SYKES

I have killed several people (some brutally, others calmly) and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit.

When I think about what I actually did, I feel somewhat sad that nobody will ever know about the complex operation that I undertook. Getting away with it is highly preferable, of course, but perhaps when I’m long gone, someone will open an old safe and find this confession. The public would reel. After all, almost nobody else in the world can possibly understand how someone, by the tender age of 28, can have calmly killed six members of her family. And then happily got on with the rest of her life, never to regret a thing.

When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one � and the result is as and gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love� and murder.

But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit.

Outrageously funny, compulsive and subversive, perfect for fans of Killing Eve and My Sister, the Serial Killer.]]> 361 Bella Mackie ~ Becs ~ 0 unfinished-symphony 3.95 2021 How to Kill Your Family
author: Bella Mackie
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: unfinished-symphony
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida]]> 57224204
Ten years after his prize-winning novel Chinaman established him as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors, Shehan Karunatilaka is back with a “thrilling satire� (Economist) and rip-roaring state-of-the-nation epic that offers equal parts mordant wit and disturbing, profound truths.]]> 386 Shehan Karunatilaka 1908745908 ~ Becs ~ 0 unfinished-symphony 3.89 2022 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
author: Shehan Karunatilaka
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: unfinished-symphony
review:

]]> Nightwatching 150246179 The Fallon Spring Reads Book Club Pick

A mother is forced to the breaking point when her life and the lives of her children are threatened by an intruder

Home alone with her young children during a blizzard, a mother tucks her son back into bed in the middle of the night. She hears a noise—old houses are always making some kind of noise. But this sound is disturbingly familiar: it’s the tread of footsteps, unusually heavy and slow, coming up the stairs.

She sees the figure of a man appear down the hallway, shrouded in the shadows. Terrified, she quietly wakes her children and hustles them into the oldest part of the house, a tiny, secret room concealed behind a wall. There they hide as the man searches for them, trying to tempt the children out with promises and scare the mother into surrender.

In the suffocating darkness, the mother struggles to remain calm, to plan. Should she search for a weapon or attempt escape? But then she catches another glimpse of him. That face. That voice. And at once she knows her situation is even more dire than she’d feared, because she knows exactly who he is—and what he wants.]]> 368 Tracy Sierra 0593654765 ~ Becs ~ 3 3.79 2024 Nightwatching
author: Tracy Sierra
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/24
date added: 2024/03/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Let Me In 62710734 What You Did comes the story of a young couple who are about to discover that in a house full of secrets, there’s nowhere to hide�

For Helen and George, the remote fixer-upper in Cornwall was supposed to be a dream home, and a way to leave behind the problems they’re both running from. But something about the place feels wrong from day one. And why does Helen have a creeping feeling she’s seen this house before?

Her unease only deepens after renovations begin, when the builders find sinister dolls hidden in the walls. As Helen digs into the house’s past, she discovers that the previous owner was not only rumoured to be a witch; she was also imprisoned for a brutal triple murder thirty years earlier.

When a horrific accident almost ends in tragedy, Helen worries that the house’s secrets are to blame, and as events spiral out of control she discovers George has been lying to her. As the past returns to haunt them, the couple realise they are in terrible danger, and they can’t trust anyone—not even each other. Because Helen hasn’t been entirely honest with him either…]]> 310 Claire McGowan ~ Becs ~ 3 4.10 2023 Let Me In
author: Claire McGowan
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/17
date added: 2024/03/17
shelves:
review:

]]> The Midnight Feast 199743738 Secrets. Lies. Murder. Let the festivities begin...

It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests� healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule� cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. Just outside the Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, an ancient forest bristles with secrets. And the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. Something’s not right with the guests. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered.

THE FOUNDER * THE HUSBAND * THE MYSTERY GUEST * THE KITCHEN HELP

It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at� The Midnight Feast.]]> 354 Lucy Foley 0063003104 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.55 2024 The Midnight Feast
author: Lucy Foley
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Twyford Code 58451313
Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children's book, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. He took it to his remedial English teacher, Miss Isles, who became convinced it was the key to solving a puzzle. That a message in secret code ran through all Edith Twyford's novels. Then Miss Isles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven's memory won't allow him to remember what happened. Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Isles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today? Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Isles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn't just a writer of forgotten children's stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn't the only one trying to solve it...]]> 384 Janice Hallett 1788165322 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.57 2022 The Twyford Code
author: Janice Hallett
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/13
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)]]> 62226126
An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.

With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?]]> 421 Richard Osman 0241512441 ~ Becs ~ 5 4.44 2023 The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)
author: Richard Osman
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)]]> 58957615
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.

While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series.]]> 413 Richard Osman 0241512425 ~ Becs ~ 4 4.32 2022 The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)
author: Richard Osman
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/02/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Tyrant 196000114
I was done for. Profoundly screwed.
The issue, of course, was my assistant, Devereux.
She was slowly but surely driving me crazy.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Hiring her was supposed to bring order to my life.
Instead, she’d brought disorder.
Chaos. Irritation. Malaise.
Comfort. Exuberance. Delight.
I was obsessed with her.
Truly, irrevocably obsessed.
She was stubborn. Standoffish. Painfully honest.
Take no prisoners efficient.
In summary, a termagant -- much too young for me.
And even I, oblivious bastard extraordinaire, was aware in some corner of my mind, of every well-laid plan I’d ever had slowly crashing down and exploding into dust.
I was simply no match for Devereux Laurent.]]> 313 R.K. Lilley 1628780568 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.04 2023 Tyrant
author: R.K. Lilley
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Convicted (Consequences, #3) 16150996 Book #3 of the bestselling Consequences series:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes the shocking third book of the Consequences series and the long-awaited, action-packed conclusion of Claire and Tony’s tumultuous relationship.

Stick to your convictions.

Against all odds, Claire and Tony have found their way back to one another, but it doesn’t mean a happy ever after. Not even close. Just when they seemed to have it all—love, respect, and the promise of a family—the game master exposes the truth and Claire’s world once again unravels. With old convictions wavering and past transgressions coming to light, the cards have changed and luck is not in the deck for Claire and Tony.

Abandon all assumptions.

Lost in a constant nightmare, who will save Claire from her past? From herself? Everyone has a hand to play, and now they’re playing for keeps. Everything known to be true is questioned. Motives are explained. The past is once again unearthed, and this time, secrets lurk between dreams and reality, between the past and the present.

The clock is ticking.

Time is running out on Claire…on Tony…on their happy ever after. When the final cards are played, will their unconventional love trump the opposition?

In the end, some will discover their bets were too high, and all will learn the most crucial lesson—there are always consequences for the truth.

You must stick to your conviction, but be ready to abandon your assumptions. –Denis Waitley]]> 400 Aleatha Romig ~ Becs ~ 4
I have to that this whole trilogy is meticulously well told � the attention to detail is second to none. Convicted is not a book that you can skip or skim, there’s so much information passing before you that you’ll need to pay attention. It’s got one of the most complicated and convoluted plotlines I think you’re ever likely to read in the romance genre.

We start Convicted a few years after the final pages of Truth and the rest of the book tells the story either in the future or in the past leading up to how they got there. I wasn’t expecting it so even just the title of the first chapter was a gasp out loud moment. It leaves you with a sense of foreboding � how did it happen, what happened to everyone and how on earth is this all going to end? I can honestly say that I had absolutely no idea which way Aleatha was going to take this one � I read with no small amount of trepidation.

Creating the character of Tony has been a masterpiece of mindfuckery � I have both loved and hated him as he’s been both hero and villain to me. I don’t think many authors can pull that off. Right back at the beginning of Consequences, he is absolutely a villain � he’s a gorgeous, handsome smiling Adonis that masks the abuser beneath. I think it pays to read back to remind yourself just how awful Tony was and yet I came to think about the man with considerable affection. He was controlling, dominant, sadistic but, turns out, he can also be chivalrous and romantic.and he pulls off an amazing transformation over the three books that make up this trilogy and it is the love of Clare that does this to him but still he has done untold wrongs. He’s abused Clare, robbed her of her liberty and free will and ruled her life with tyranny and fear. You might ask yourself how she could ever forgive him and put all of this behind her and move on with Tony and actually respect and love rather than fear him but she does. And, as a reader, manipulated by a clever author, I also turned myself around and started to will for these two to find a Happy Ever After despite how unlikely and impossible that seems.

Tony’s not the only one who pulls off an amazing transformation either � Clare goes from meek, abused victim to a woman with cojones of steel, a woman who knows what she wants and take matters into her own hands and take incredible chances to ensure she gets what wants.

I’m trying very hard not to give the plot away here � there’s so much I could say but that would only spoil the story for anyone reading and I so want for you all to experience this exactly the way the author intends. Convicted plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy is a weighty tome with massive amounts of plot and backstory explained as everything is finally all pulled together and explained as we draw towards that final, pulsating, dramatic finish. Right up until the very end, I had no idea how the story would eventually conclude. I think Convicted probably has less shocks and surprises than Consequences and Truth but there’s still some plot twists in store for you that I feel sure you won’t have seen coming.

This trilogy really does offer something very different in the romance genre and, in that, I think it stands unique. It’s dark, twisted, captivating, tense � a wholly engrossing read. I think you’d probably get the most out of reading all three books in a row and, at the very least, I’d recommend a quick reread of Consequences and Truth before embarking on Convicted.

So I think I give this one 4.5 stars and I wonder what on earth Aleatha Romig will do next!!

For more reviews, please visit or visit us on .]]> 4.35 2013 Convicted (Consequences, #3)
author: Aleatha Romig
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2013/10/06
date added: 2023/10/23
shelves: abused-heroine, arc, contemporary-romance, dark-angsty, gamma-hero, review-copy, super-rich-hero
review:
Well, if you think you had it all worked out after reading Truth, I really have only one thing to say to you � GUESS AGAIN!! There’s more shocks and surprises to come as Aleatha Romig finally puts all the missing pieces into the mix and brings it all together beautifully.

I have to that this whole trilogy is meticulously well told � the attention to detail is second to none. Convicted is not a book that you can skip or skim, there’s so much information passing before you that you’ll need to pay attention. It’s got one of the most complicated and convoluted plotlines I think you’re ever likely to read in the romance genre.

We start Convicted a few years after the final pages of Truth and the rest of the book tells the story either in the future or in the past leading up to how they got there. I wasn’t expecting it so even just the title of the first chapter was a gasp out loud moment. It leaves you with a sense of foreboding � how did it happen, what happened to everyone and how on earth is this all going to end? I can honestly say that I had absolutely no idea which way Aleatha was going to take this one � I read with no small amount of trepidation.

Creating the character of Tony has been a masterpiece of mindfuckery � I have both loved and hated him as he’s been both hero and villain to me. I don’t think many authors can pull that off. Right back at the beginning of Consequences, he is absolutely a villain � he’s a gorgeous, handsome smiling Adonis that masks the abuser beneath. I think it pays to read back to remind yourself just how awful Tony was and yet I came to think about the man with considerable affection. He was controlling, dominant, sadistic but, turns out, he can also be chivalrous and romantic.and he pulls off an amazing transformation over the three books that make up this trilogy and it is the love of Clare that does this to him but still he has done untold wrongs. He’s abused Clare, robbed her of her liberty and free will and ruled her life with tyranny and fear. You might ask yourself how she could ever forgive him and put all of this behind her and move on with Tony and actually respect and love rather than fear him but she does. And, as a reader, manipulated by a clever author, I also turned myself around and started to will for these two to find a Happy Ever After despite how unlikely and impossible that seems.

Tony’s not the only one who pulls off an amazing transformation either � Clare goes from meek, abused victim to a woman with cojones of steel, a woman who knows what she wants and take matters into her own hands and take incredible chances to ensure she gets what wants.

I’m trying very hard not to give the plot away here � there’s so much I could say but that would only spoil the story for anyone reading and I so want for you all to experience this exactly the way the author intends. Convicted plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy is a weighty tome with massive amounts of plot and backstory explained as everything is finally all pulled together and explained as we draw towards that final, pulsating, dramatic finish. Right up until the very end, I had no idea how the story would eventually conclude. I think Convicted probably has less shocks and surprises than Consequences and Truth but there’s still some plot twists in store for you that I feel sure you won’t have seen coming.

This trilogy really does offer something very different in the romance genre and, in that, I think it stands unique. It’s dark, twisted, captivating, tense � a wholly engrossing read. I think you’d probably get the most out of reading all three books in a row and, at the very least, I’d recommend a quick reread of Consequences and Truth before embarking on Convicted.

So I think I give this one 4.5 stars and I wonder what on earth Aleatha Romig will do next!!

For more reviews, please visit or visit us on .
]]> Year of Wonders 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 ~ Becs ~ 5 4.00 2001 Year of Wonders
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jane's Adventures In a Balloon]]> 3218095 224 Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy 0575019379 ~ Becs ~ 0 3.00 1975 Jane's Adventures In a Balloon
author: Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/20
shelves:
review:

]]> A Hollow Crown (Saxon #2) 1958776 504 Helen Hollick 0099272342 ~ Becs ~ 4 4.01 2004 A Hollow Crown (Saxon #2)
author: Helen Hollick
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/26
shelves:
review:

]]> The Paris Apartment 58468990 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide�

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up � to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? � he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite � The nice guy � The alcoholic � The girl on the verge � The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.]]> 360 Lucy Foley 0063003058 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.63 2022 The Paris Apartment
author: Lucy Foley
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/05/02
shelves: crime, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)]]> 55457493
Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He's made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn't that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn't bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?]]> 422 Richard Osman ~ Becs ~ 4 4.36 2021 The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)
author: Richard Osman
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/10
date added: 2022/04/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Close to Home (DI Adam Fawley, #1)]]> 37791042 Librarian note: Alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780241283097

Someone took Daisy Mason. Someone YOU KNOW.

Last night, 8-year-old Daisy Mason disappeared from her parents' summer party. No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything - or at least that's what they're saying. DI Adam Fawley is trying to keep an open mind. But he knows that nine times out of ten, it's someone the victim knew. That means someone is lying. And that Daisy's time is running out...

Introducing DI Fawley and his team of Oxford detectives, Close to Home is a pulse-pounding race against time and a penetrating examination of what happens to a community when a shocking crime is committed by one of its own.]]> 380 Cara Hunter ~ Becs ~ 5
This is the first in a new series of detective novels and opens right in the thick of the action. A child has gone missing from a family barbecue and the story gallops right out of the blocks from here and never lets up until the final furlong.

This is fast paced, twisty and thrilling and the story meanders along a path littered with red herrings to keep us all guessing at what is actually going on. I did at one point speculate the correct solution to this story but, to be honest, I thought of several others too so it was a lucky guess in which I had no real confidence.

The missing child’s parents are really quite odious and I had an obnoxious work colleague playing the staring role of the mother in my head as the story played out graphically in my imagination. Added to my pleasure in hating that particular character immensely!

This brought to mind a couple of very high profile missing child cases here in the UK which I won’t actually mention for fear of being insensitive but I don’t think they are difficult to spot, intentional or otherwise.

I also think the author had the balance of the cops, their personal background and the actually mystery spot on. Often the investigating characters overshadow the story (I read one just before this which did just that) but Cara Hunter let’s her mystery take centre stage, just like it should. The police are a likeable bunch and there’s a few asides to their personal lives, enough to give them some depth but not too much to steal the limelight.

The author also almost apologised at the end of the book for setting yet another detective series in Oxford but it actually made little difference to me. Really it could have been any British provincial town or city and it really wouldn’t have made any difference.

So for me, I pick up a book like this because I want to be intrigued and I want to be kept guessing throughout. I don’t want the story to lag and I need just enough character depth to make the protagonists believable and Close To Home ticked all of those boxes.

Book 2 is due out in the summer. Canna wait!!

I could see this on prime time TV. I really hope I do!

5 stars Ms Hunter and keep up the good work!

]]> 4.07 2017 Close to Home (DI Adam Fawley, #1)
author: Cara Hunter
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/03/27
date added: 2022/02/22
shelves: crime, missing-child, mystery, suspense, police-procedural, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:
Wow! This was one heck of a pacy, thrilling ride.

This is the first in a new series of detective novels and opens right in the thick of the action. A child has gone missing from a family barbecue and the story gallops right out of the blocks from here and never lets up until the final furlong.

This is fast paced, twisty and thrilling and the story meanders along a path littered with red herrings to keep us all guessing at what is actually going on. I did at one point speculate the correct solution to this story but, to be honest, I thought of several others too so it was a lucky guess in which I had no real confidence.

The missing child’s parents are really quite odious and I had an obnoxious work colleague playing the staring role of the mother in my head as the story played out graphically in my imagination. Added to my pleasure in hating that particular character immensely!

This brought to mind a couple of very high profile missing child cases here in the UK which I won’t actually mention for fear of being insensitive but I don’t think they are difficult to spot, intentional or otherwise.

I also think the author had the balance of the cops, their personal background and the actually mystery spot on. Often the investigating characters overshadow the story (I read one just before this which did just that) but Cara Hunter let’s her mystery take centre stage, just like it should. The police are a likeable bunch and there’s a few asides to their personal lives, enough to give them some depth but not too much to steal the limelight.

The author also almost apologised at the end of the book for setting yet another detective series in Oxford but it actually made little difference to me. Really it could have been any British provincial town or city and it really wouldn’t have made any difference.

So for me, I pick up a book like this because I want to be intrigued and I want to be kept guessing throughout. I don’t want the story to lag and I need just enough character depth to make the protagonists believable and Close To Home ticked all of those boxes.

Book 2 is due out in the summer. Canna wait!!

I could see this on prime time TV. I really hope I do!

5 stars Ms Hunter and keep up the good work!


]]> The Cottage 56754286 An isolated cottage�
After losing her job and boyfriend, Jan Hamlin is in desperate need of a fresh start. So she jumps at the chance to rent a secluded cottage on the edge of Coleshaw Woods.

A tap at the window�
Very quickly though, things take a dark turn. At night, Jan hears strange noises, and faint taps at the window. Something, or someone, is out there.

A forest that hides many secrets�
Jan refuses to be scared off. But whoever is outside isn’t going away, and it soon becomes clear that the nightmare is only just beginning…]]> 329 Lisa Stone 0008445974 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.62 2021 The Cottage
author: Lisa Stone
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Child in the Photo 58053277
Trembling with shock, I know I have to confront my mother. My parents got me through a horrific accident, helped me find a job I love teaching art, and even with buying my own house. But was it all built on lies?

She tells me the day I was born was the best day of her life, and I’m flooded with guilt for questioning her � but why do I catch her burning papers in the garden the next day?

Then I come home to find a woman sitting on my doorstep, covered in bruises and claiming she knows who abducted me. I don’t know if I can trust her � or if I’ll be the next to get hurt.

Because all the while, I’ve been hiding my own secret. Does whoever sent the article know what really happened the day of my accident? Desperate for the truth, I break into the house of my supposed kidnapper. Inside, I find a handwritten list of names. A shiver goes down my spine as I realise wasn’t the only child to be stolen.

Then I hear a key in the lock, and I know my life is in terrible danger…]]> 318 Kerry Wilkinson 1800195036 ~ Becs ~ 3 3.93 2021 The Child in the Photo
author: Kerry Wilkinson
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/08/01
date added: 2021/08/01
shelves: crime, kidnapped, long-kept-secrets, missing-child, mystery, the-great-shelf-of-meh
review:

]]> The Girls 25320617
You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.

You think your children are safe.

But are they really?

Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?]]> 432 Lisa Jewell ~ Becs ~ 4 3.95 2015 The Girls
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/18
date added: 2021/07/18
shelves: crime, long-kept-secrets, mystery, psychological-thriller, suspense, thriller
review:

]]> Anatomy of a Scandal 34466492
Sophie’s husband James is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart.

Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes.

Who is right about James? Sophie or Kate? And is either of them informed by anything more than instinct and personal experience? Despite her privileged upbringing, Sophie is well aware that her beautiful life is not inviolable. She has known it since she and James were first lovers, at Oxford, and she witnessed how easily pleasure could tip into tragedy.

Most people would prefer not to try to understand what passes between a man and a woman when they are alone: alone in bed, alone in an embrace, alone in an elevator� Or alone in the moonlit courtyard of an Oxford college, where a girl once stood before a boy, heart pounding with excitement, then fear. Sophie never understood why her tutorial partner Holly left Oxford so abruptly. What would she think, if she knew the truth?]]> 392 Sarah Vaughan 1501172166 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.57 2018 Anatomy of a Scandal
author: Sarah Vaughan
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/11
date added: 2021/07/11
shelves: crime, long-kept-secrets, oxford, twist-in-the-tale, courtroom-drama
review:

]]> The Other Guest 58248430
Laila and her husband arrive for a week's holiday in Greece in desperate need of a reset.

As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort.

Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently.

Five days later their worlds will be blown apart by a horrifying event.

Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear.

And what if she's got it wrong?]]> 416 Heidi Perks 1529135605 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.35 2023 The Other Guest
author: Heidi Perks
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Dinner Guest 55773354
Matthew: the perfect husband.

Titus: the perfect son.

Charlie: the perfect illusion.

Rachel: the perfect stranger.

Charlie didn’t want her at the book club. Matthew wouldn’t listen.

And that’s how Charlie finds himself slumped beside his husband’s body, their son sitting silently at the dinner table, while Rachel calls 999, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand.

Agatha Christie meets Donna Tartt in this nerve-shredding domestic noir thriller that weaves a sprawling web of secrets around an opulent West London world and the dinner that ends in death.]]> 400 B.P. Walter ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.57 2021 The Dinner Guest
author: B.P. Walter
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hostage 56628286 Or the one that matters most...

The atmosphere on board the inaugural non-stop flight from London to Sydney is electric. Numerous celebrities are rumoured to be among the passengers in business class and journalists will be waiting on the ground to greet the plane.

Mina is one of a hand-picked team of flight attendants chosen for the landmark journey. She's trying to focus on the task in hand, and not worry about her troubled five-year-old daughter back at home with her husband. Or the cataclysmic problems in her marriage.

But the plane has barely taken off when Mina receives a chilling note from an anonymous passenger, someone intent on ensuring the plane never reaches its destination. Someone who needs Mina's assistance and who knows exactly how to make her comply.

It's twenty hours to landing.
A lot can happen in twenty hours...]]> 357 Clare Mackintosh 1728245524 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.83 2021 Hostage
author: Clare Mackintosh
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/02
date added: 2021/07/02
shelves: crime, hijack, suspense, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Serial Killer’s Wife (The Serial Killer's Family, #1)]]> 54697845 They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.

Beth and Tom Hardcastle are the envy of their neighbourhood � they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family.

When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now � what if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst.

But the worst is beyond imagining.

As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she believed about her husband.

They’re husband and wife � till death do them part�]]> 384 Alice Hunter 0008414076 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.79 2021 The Serial Killer’s Wife (The Serial Killer's Family, #1)
author: Alice Hunter
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Skylight 55468194 Louise Candlish 1398502782 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.69 2021 The Skylight
author: Louise Candlish
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/29
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: crime, domestic-noir, novella, psychological-thriller
review:

]]> How to Stop Time 45152372 "She smiled a soft, troubled smile and I felt the whole world slipping away, and I wanted to slip with it, to go wherever she was going... I had existed whole years without her, but that was all it had been. An existence. A book with no words."

Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history--performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

Unfortunately for Tom, the Albatross Society, the secretive group which protects people like Tom, has one rule: Never fall in love. As painful memories of his past and the erratic behavior of the Society's watchful leader threaten to derail his new life and romance, the one thing he can't have just happens to be the one thing that might save him. Tom will have to decide once and for all whether to remain stuck in the past, or finally begin living in the present.

How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages--and for the ages--about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Benedict Cumberbatch.]]> 339 Matt Haig 0525522891 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.78 2018 How to Stop Time
author: Matt Haig
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)]]> 57639422 The Family Upstairs has gripped audiences around the world, becoming a smash hit with readers everywhere. In 2022 #1 bestselling author Lisa Jewell will publish a sequel.

**Pre-order now to be one of the first to read it.**

'Enthralling' RUTH WARE
'Gripping' OLIVIA COLMAN
'Engrossing' IAN RANKIN
'Twisty' CLARE MACKINTOSH
'Excellent' GUARDIAN
'Stupendous' RUTH JONES
'Brilliant' SARAH PINBOROUGH
'Unputdownable' C.L. TAYLOR]]> 349 Lisa Jewell 1473583640 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.86 2022 The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I Found You 30753651 'I got here yesterday.'
'Where did you come from?'
'I have no idea.'

East Yorkshire: Single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.

Surrey: Twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

Two women, twenty years of secrets and a man who can't remember lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell's brilliant new novel.]]> 352 Lisa Jewell 1501154591 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.89 2016 I Found You
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Watching You 38355282
As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father.

One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam…]]> 320 Lisa Jewell 1501190075 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.83 2018 Watching You
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1)]]> 43264734
In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note.

They’ve been dead for several days.

Who has been looking after the baby?

And where did they go?

Two entangled families.
A house with the darkest of secrets.]]> 442 Lisa Jewell ~ Becs ~ 5 4.25 2019 The Family Upstairs (The Family Upstairs, #1)
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/29
date added: 2021/06/29
shelves: crime, dark-angsty, domestic-noir, long-kept-secrets, missing-child, mystery, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> Invisible Girl 50542147
In his thirties, a virgin, and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a geography teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct, which he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel—involuntary celibate—forums, where he meets the charismatic, mysterious, and sinister Bryn.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre Maddox disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.
]]> 404 Lisa Jewell 1982137339 ~ Becs ~ 4 3.74 2020 Invisible Girl
author: Lisa Jewell
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/21
date added: 2021/06/21
shelves: crime, long-kept-secrets, missing-child, mystery, psychological-thriller, stalker, suspense, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> The Lamplighters 52291199 They say we'll never know what happened to those men.

They say the sea keeps its secrets...

Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week.

What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?

Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy, but instead it drove them apart. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface . . .

The Lamplighters is a heart-stopping mystery rich with the salty air of the Cornish coast, and an unforgettable story of love and grief that explores the way our fears blur the line between the real and the imagined. ]]> 368 Emma Stonex 1529047315 ~ Becs ~ 4 locked-room-mystery, mystery 3.59 2021 The Lamplighters
author: Emma Stonex
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/13
date added: 2021/06/13
shelves: locked-room-mystery, mystery
review:

]]> The House by the Sea 49344865 Suspecting Anna is meddling from beyond the grave to try to reunite her and her ex-husband Joe, Edie is determined to leave Italy as soon as possible. But before she can, the villa starts to shed its mysterious secrets.

Who are the girls beside Anna in her childhood photos, and why has one of them been scratched out? Why does someone, or something, want them to leave the past untouched? The villa is a place where old ghosts feel at home, but does their legacy need to be laid to rest before Edie and Joe can move on�

Bestselling author Louise Douglas returns with a captivating, chilling and unforgettable tale of betrayal, jealousy and the mysteries hidden in every family history.

Praise for Louise Douglas:

‘Kept me guessing until the last few pages and the explosive ending took my breath away.' C.L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Your Beautiful Lies

‘Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lakeis Louise Douglas at her brilliant best� Tammy Cohen, authorof The Broken

‘A master of her craft, Louise Douglas ratchets up the tension in this haunting and exquisitely written tale of buried secrets and past tragedy.� Amanda Jennings, author of Sworn Secret

‘A clammy, atmospheric and suspenseful novel, it builds in tension all the way through to the startling final 貹.� Sunday Express, S Magazine

]]> 340 Louise Douglas 1838898433 ~ Becs ~ 0 on-hiatus 4.07 2020 The House by the Sea
author: Louise Douglas
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: on-hiatus
review:

]]> Wakenhyrst 49944117 An Alternate cover edition of this ASIN can be found here.

"Something has been let loose..."

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen � and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry.]]> 315 Michelle Paver ~ Becs ~ 4
It’s definitely atmospheric and the world around an unspoiled fen beautifully created but this is not scary or supernatural at all.

It’s still a good read.]]> 4.04 2019 Wakenhyrst
author: Michelle Paver
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/29
date added: 2021/05/30
shelves: historical, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery
review:
Well this was not at all what I had anticipated it was going to be but it had merit all the same. I had expected a spooky supernatural story but this is a historical novel about superstitious country folk in the early 20th century.

It’s definitely atmospheric and the world around an unspoiled fen beautifully created but this is not scary or supernatural at all.

It’s still a good read.
]]> Project Hail Mary 54493401
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?]]> 476 Andy Weir 0593135202 ~ Becs ~ 0 maybe-baby 4.49 2021 Project Hail Mary
author: Andy Weir
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: maybe-baby
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Postscript Murders (Harbinder Kaur #2)]]> 49012512 The ultimate gripping murder mystery for winter nights, from the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries'Witty and charming' The Times 'This super-readable thriller will have you hooked' SunThe death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should absolutely not be suspicious. DS Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing to concern her in carer Natalka's account of Peggy Smith's death. But when Natalka reveals that Peggy lied about her heart condition and that she had been sure someone was following her...And that Peggy Smith had been a 'murder consultant' who plotted deaths for authors, and knew more about murder than anyone has any right to...And when clearing out Peggy's flat ends in Natalka being held at gunpoint by a masked figure...Well then DS Harbinder Kaur thinks that maybe there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.From the sleepy seaside town of Shoreham to the granite streets of Aberdeen, The Postscript Murders is a literary mystery for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Agatha Christie and anyone who's ever wondered just how authors think up such realistic crimes...*Discover what readers are saying about The Postscript Murders'Great story, wonderful characters' 5* Reader Review'Brilliant reading, great fun' 5* Reader Review'Kept you guessing right to the end' 5* Reader Review'A joy to read' 5* Reader Review'A really enjoyable and entertaining novel' 5* Reader Review]]> 368 Elly Griffiths 1787477665 ~ Becs ~ 4
Fabulous characters and deeply engaging.]]> 4.15 2020 The Postscript Murders (Harbinder Kaur #2)
author: Elly Griffiths
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/15
date added: 2021/05/15
shelves: crime, murder, mystery, suspense, thriller
review:
4.5 stars actually - thoroughly enjoyable crime caper very much in a Christiesque style.

Fabulous characters and deeply engaging.
]]> The Road Trip 51405046
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, Dylan, who she's avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.

Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they've totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with three hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship...

Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly... is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?]]> 414 Beth O'Leary 1529409055 ~ Becs ~ 3 3.57 2021 The Road Trip
author: Beth O'Leary
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/08
date added: 2021/05/08
shelves: chick-lit, contemporary-romance
review:

]]> The Therapist 54860390 A gripping psychological suspense and a powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive�

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…]]> 298 B.A. Paris 1250274125 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.72 2021 The Therapist
author: B.A. Paris
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/07
shelves: to-read
review:
Honestly thought this said The Rapist when I first saw it and not the Therapist
]]> The Heights 55773519 But he’ll never be safe from you.

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Shad Thames, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there � a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.

Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.

You know this for a fact.

Because you’re the one who killed him.]]> 400 Louise Candlish 1471183491 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.88 2021 The Heights
author: Louise Candlish
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Greenwich Park 57587292
But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways. When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.]]> 383 Katherine Faulkner 152662625X ~ Becs ~ 4 4.14 2021 Greenwich Park
author: Katherine Faulkner
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/01
date added: 2021/05/01
shelves: crime, domestic-noir, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery, psychological-thriller, stalker, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner, #1)]]> 55067264 EVERYONE'S IN DANGER. ANYONE COULD BE NEXT.

An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother's recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it's beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous - as does her brother, Isaac.

And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin's unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they're all in . . .]]> 391 Sarah Pearse ~ Becs ~ 3
It’s not without merit but the motivations for the crime seem to come out of left field and having invested many hours of my time reading my way through this, I expected to have had some inkling towards them, some lightbulb moment when they are revealed but sadly there were none.

It is well written and atmospheric but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me and I found myself actively disliking the main protagonist and then the epilogue seemed like a cheap trick to ensure a thirst for a sequel.

It all left me feeling vaguely disappointed.]]> 3.52 2020 The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner, #1)
author: Sarah Pearse
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/15
date added: 2021/04/26
shelves: crime, dark-angsty, kidnapped, locked-room-mystery, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery, serial-killer, suspense, thriller, winter-wonderland
review:
I think if I were forced to find just one word to describe The Sanatorium, that word would be preposterous.

It’s not without merit but the motivations for the crime seem to come out of left field and having invested many hours of my time reading my way through this, I expected to have had some inkling towards them, some lightbulb moment when they are revealed but sadly there were none.

It is well written and atmospheric but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me and I found myself actively disliking the main protagonist and then the epilogue seemed like a cheap trick to ensure a thirst for a sequel.

It all left me feeling vaguely disappointed.
]]> The Shadow Friend 51026324 If it had happened to you, you would have run away too.

Twenty-five years ago, Paul's friend Charlie Crabtree brutally killed their classmate - and then vanished without a trace.

Paul's never forgiven himself for his part in what happened. He's never gone back home.

Until his elderly mother has a fall. It's finally time to stop running.

It's not long before things start to go wrong. His mother claims there's someone in the house. Paul realises someone is following him. And, in a town many miles away, a copycat killer has struck.

Which makes him wonder - what really happened to Charlie the day of the murder?

And can anyone stop it happening again?

]]> 359 Alex North ~ Becs ~ 5
As with the Whisper Man, I felt suitably creeped out when reading this, never sure whether something supernatural was afoot or just plain straight crime. This is SUPER creepy with just enough information on the pages for my imagination to attempt to fill out the grisly details and then some!

There’s a pervading air of desolation throughout the narrative which is something I often feel when reading Stephen King. Beautifully told, perfectly paced with plenty of smoke and mirrors which I fell for hook, line and sinker.

Fantastic stuff - can’t wait to see what this author brings us next.]]> 3.97 2020 The Shadow Friend
author: Alex North
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/20
date added: 2021/04/20
shelves: crime, dark-angsty, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery, suspense, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:
Well if this wasn’t a mind melding mash up of Slender Man meets Inception and I was captivated the whole time I was reading this. Alex North is a master of misdirection and end of the chapter cliffhangers which make you gallop on with a desperate need to know what is coming next.

As with the Whisper Man, I felt suitably creeped out when reading this, never sure whether something supernatural was afoot or just plain straight crime. This is SUPER creepy with just enough information on the pages for my imagination to attempt to fill out the grisly details and then some!

There’s a pervading air of desolation throughout the narrative which is something I often feel when reading Stephen King. Beautifully told, perfectly paced with plenty of smoke and mirrors which I fell for hook, line and sinker.

Fantastic stuff - can’t wait to see what this author brings us next.
]]> The Midnight Library 51955934 304 Matt Haig ~ Becs ~ 5
Several novels later, this one still stands vividly in my imagination, seemingly unforgettable. I’ve recommended it to so many people.

A hard act to follow, I suspect.]]> 4.22 2020 The Midnight Library
author: Matt Haig
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/03
date added: 2021/04/17
shelves:
review:
This is quite simply a stand out novel - for once, really do believe the hype. It’s clear to see why this novel is winning so many accolades.

Several novels later, this one still stands vividly in my imagination, seemingly unforgettable. I’ve recommended it to so many people.

A hard act to follow, I suspect.
]]> Ghosts 50042494
A new relationship couldn't have come at a better time - her thirties have not been the liberating, uncomplicated experience she was sold. Everywhere she turns, she is reminded of time passing and opportunities dwindling. Friendships are fading, ex-boyfriends are moving on and, worse, everyone's moving to the suburbs. There's no solace to be found in her family, with a mum who's caught in a baffling mid-life makeover and a beloved dad who is vanishing in slow-motion into dementia.

Dolly Alderton's debut novel is funny and tender, filled with whip-smart observations about relationships, family, memory, and how we live now.]]> 352 Dolly Alderton 0241434548 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.86 2020 Ghosts
author: Dolly Alderton
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Away with the Penguins 56242163 Veronica McCreedy is about to have the journey of a lifetime...

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot�), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them�) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!�).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

But today... today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.]]> 346 Hazel Prior ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.03 2020 Away with the Penguins
author: Hazel Prior
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Grown Ups 43779862
Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together - birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie - who has the most money - insists on it.

Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . .

Everything stays under control until Ed's wife Cara, gets concussion and can't keep her thoughts to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, starts Cara spilling out all their secrets.

In the subsequent unravelling, every one of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's time - finally - to grow up?]]> 636 Marian Keyes 0718179749 ~ Becs ~ 0 on-hiatus 3.89 2020 Grown Ups
author: Marian Keyes
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/05
shelves: on-hiatus
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets]]> 875092 432 Eva Rice 0755325508 ~ Becs ~ 0 3.96 2005 The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
author: Eva Rice
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> The Recovery of Rose Gold 56155318 PRE-ORDER THE CHILLING EXPLORATION INTO OBSESSION, RECONCILIATION AND REVENGE IN THIS YEAR'S MUST-READ THRILLER

'With a genuine menace seeping from every twist and turn. . . worthy of Patricia Highsmith at her finest' DAILY MAIL

'A spine-chilling thriller . . . Perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train' STYLIST
_________

Rose Gold Watts believed she was sick for eighteen years.

Turned out her mother was a really good liar.

After five years in prison, Patty Watts is finally free. All she wants is to put old grievances behind her, reconcile with the daughter who testified against her - and care for her new infant grandson.

When Rose Gold agrees to have Patty move in, it seems their relationship is truly on the mend. And she has waited such a long time for her mother to come home.

But has Patty truly forgotten their past?

And is Rose Gold really able to forgive?

A gripping and electrifying tale that will make you question your allegiances until the very end . . .
_________

'A riveting psychological duel' Sunday Times

'Sensationally good - two complex characters power the story like a nuclear reaction, and won't let you forget them. Wrobel is one to watch' Lee Child

'Has it all - a killer premise, twisty plotting, crisp writing and compelling characters. Dazzling, dark and utterly delicious' J. P. Delaney, bestselling author of The Girl Before

'An absolutely brilliant book; funny, dark, authentic and a total page turner. I loved it' Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

'A dark, nerve-jangling read that kept us on the edge of our seats till the very end' Independent

'An intelligent and highly disturbing read' Literary Review]]> 402 Stephanie Wrobel 140594353X ~ Becs ~ 4 3.69 2020 The Recovery of Rose Gold
author: Stephanie Wrobel
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/02
date added: 2021/04/02
shelves: abused-heroine, crime, dark-angsty, kidnapped, missing-child, mystery, psychological-thriller, thriller, twist-in-the-tale, unreliable-narrator
review:

]]> This Might Hurt 57047828 Welcome to Wisewood. Where we keep your secrets, if you keep ours.

Natalie Collins hasn’t heard from her sister in more than half a year.

The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there.

And then she found Wisewood.

On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood’s guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they’re prohibited from contact with the rest of the world—no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it’s a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister’s cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid.

Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she’s about to learn that Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.]]> 400 Stephanie Wrobel 0241416094 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.31 2022 This Might Hurt
author: Stephanie Wrobel
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)]]> 46000520
But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

Alternate cover edition can be found here .]]> 382 Richard Osman ~ Becs ~ 5 3.87 2020 The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/03/28
date added: 2021/03/28
shelves: crime, long-kept-secrets, murder, mystery
review:

]]> The Whispers 54532070 ***THE GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NOW YOU SEE HER***

A MISSING WIFE. FOUR FRIENDS. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?

Anna Robinson hasn't been seen since she went on a night out with her four closest friends.

She has a loving husband and a son she adores. Surely she wouldn't abandon them and her perfect life. . .

But what has happened to her?

At the school gates, it's not long before the rumours start. Anna's oldest friend Grace is beside herself with worry - desperately searching for answers, and certain that someone is hiding the truth.

With each day that passes, Anna's life is under increasing threat. And a the pressure mounts, it won't be long before something cracks. . .]]> 399 Heidi Perks 1473572231 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.69 2021 The Whispers
author: Heidi Perks
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Her Last Holiday 55576877 You come to the retreat to be healed. You don’t expect to die.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.

Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim: Jenna.

Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat � the first since his release � and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?

The master of suspense is back. Prepare yourself for the latest heart-in-mouth rollercoaster ride from the Sunday Times bestseller.]]> 400 C.L. Taylor 0008460930 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 3.54 2021 Her Last Holiday
author: C.L. Taylor
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Untitled 2 43886188 448 Lucy Foley 0008169144 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.23 2019 Untitled 2
author: Lucy Foley
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mitford Scandal (Mitford Murders, #3)]]> 42958879
The year is 1928, and after the death of a maid at a glamorous society party, fortune heir Bryan Guinness seizes life and proposes to eighteen-year-old Diana, most beautiful of the six Mitford sisters. The maid's death is ruled an accident, and the newlyweds put it behind them to begin a whirlwind life zipping between London's Mayfair, chic Paris and romantic Venice. Accompanying Diana as her lady's maid is Louisa Cannon, as well as a coterie of friends, family and hangers on, from Nancy Mitford to Evelyn Waugh.

When a second victim is found in Paris in 1930, Louisa begins to see links with the death of the maid two years previously. Now she must convince the Mitford sisters that a murderer could be within their midst . . . all while shadows darken across Europe, and within the heart of Diana Mitford herself.]]> 400 Jessica Fellowes 0751573949 ~ Becs ~ 0 on-hiatus 3.75 2019 The Mitford Scandal (Mitford Murders, #3)
author: Jessica Fellowes
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/23
shelves: on-hiatus
review:

]]> One by One 50892433
When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.]]> 372 Ruth Ware ~ Becs ~ 3 3.70 2020 One by One
author: Ruth Ware
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/03/23
date added: 2021/03/23
shelves: crime, locked-room-mystery, murder, mystery, psychological-thriller, serial-killer, suspense, thriller, unreliable-narrator, winter-wonderland
review:

]]> Snow (St. John Strafford, #2) 53988430 **THE DROWNED - THE CHILLING NEW STRAFFORD & QUIRKE MURDER MYSTERY - AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Outstanding.' Irish Independent 'Exquisite.' Daily Mail 'Hypnotic.' Financial Times'This is crime fiction for the connoisseur.' The Times'The body is in the library,' Colonel Osborne said. 'Come this way.' Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate a murder at Ballyglass House - the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. Facing obstruction from all angles, Strafford carries on determinedly in his pursuit of the murderer. However, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets.'A typically elegant country house mystery.' Guardian 'A well-crafted story, peopled by superbly well-drawn characters, and put together in the finest prose . . . Masterly.' Irish Independent]]> 323 John Banville ~ Becs ~ 0 on-hiatus 3.85 2020 Snow (St. John Strafford, #2)
author: John Banville
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/22
shelves: on-hiatus
review:

]]> The Perfect Couple 48805505
A devoted wife ...A year ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been perfect. But one evening, Danny doesn't return home.

A missing husband ...Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified by what she discovers--a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees photos of the victims she is even more stunned ... they all look just like Danny.

Who would you believe? But the police are suspicious. Why has no one apart from Gemma heard from Danny in weeks? Why is there barely a trace of him in their flat? Is she telling them the truth, or is this marriage hiding some very dark secrets?

Runtime: 11. 45 hours, 1 MP3 CD]]> 433 Jackie Kabler ~ Becs ~ 3 3.65 2020 The Perfect Couple
author: Jackie Kabler
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/12
date added: 2020/12/05
shelves: crime, domestic-noir, murder, mystery, police-procedural, psychological-thriller, serial-killer, suspense, thriller, twist-in-the-tale
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor]]> 35510008 Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know � and more than a few things you didn't � about life on and off the hospital ward.

As seen on ITV's Zoe Ball Book Club

This edition includes extra diary entries and a new afterword by the author.

]]> 285 Adam Kay ~ Becs ~ 5 favourites, made-me-cry 4.40 2017 This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
author: Adam Kay
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/24
date added: 2020/11/23
shelves: favourites, made-me-cry
review:

]]> No Reservations 21179632
Alicia can't resist Travis's smoldering sensuality--or the opportunity to finally bed the man who starred in so many of her lustful daydreams in college. Unable to avoid the temptation to best Travis one more time, Alicia plans to submit to one night of pure pleasure and then leave Travis empty-handed and craving more.

When Travis wakes up and realizes Alicia's played him, the gloves are off, and the game heats up as they each try to emerge on top--by whatever means necessary...

15,000 words]]> 44 Lilly Cain 1426894562 ~ Becs ~ 2
ARC courtesy of Carina Press]]> 3.09 2012 No Reservations
author: Lilly Cain
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.09
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2012/11/06
date added: 2020/08/20
shelves: net-galley-for-review, arc, contemporary-romance, erotic-romance, novella, review-copy, shower-smexin, smuttastic, sugarkink
review:
I really expected to enjoy this one but, sadly, ended up really not liking the characters at all but it does have some fairly intense erotic scenes.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press
]]> Play of Light 27583794 240 Debra Doxer 1502847132 ~ Becs ~ 0 maybe-baby 3.86 2014 Play of Light
author: Debra Doxer
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/08/20
shelves: maybe-baby
review:

]]> The Other Passenger 48559001 *** PRE-ORDER THE ONLY SUSPECT NOW, THE NEW CAUTIONARY TALE OF OBSESSION, LOVE, JEALOUSY AND DECEPTION FROMTHE SUNDAY TIMESBESTSELLING AUTHOR OFOUR HOUSEANDTHE OTHER PASSENGER ***‘Absolutely brilliant� An exceptionally exciting, mysterious book � we both loved it’� Richard & Judy It all happens so quickly. One day you're living the dream, commuting to work by riverbus with your charismatic neighbour Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn't turned up for the boat and his wife Melia has reported him missing. When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit arguing on the boat home the night before and the police say that you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends - ask Melia, she'll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your lives? No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.Aren't you?Praise forThe Other ‘Nobody writes so incisively about couples� Daily Mail, Books of the Year 2020 ‘Filled with really excellent twists’�Stylist, Best books out in June ‘T queen of the urban thriller returns with her winning blend of whodunit and thoroughly unreliable narrators� Red 'One of the twistiest plots you'll ever read'Cosmopolitan ‘Cleverly captures the envy zeitgeist’�Stylist �Stylish, suspenseful and absorbing� Best �You won’t want to put down this roller coaster read!� Closer �Gripping from start to finish� Bella ‘Not only is Candlish a terrific storyteller, she has the gift of making you care about unlikable characters� Guardian �I’ll be amazed if we don’t see The Other Passenger on screen before long� London Evening Standard ‘T layers of plot astound’�Sunday TimesCrime Club �Another clever tale from the author of Our House� Prima �Brilliantly plotted’�Mail on Sunday ]]> 429 Louise Candlish ~ Becs ~ 5
What a thumping good read from Louise Candlish - more twisty than a twisty-turny thing!

I think this book can be summed up in a timeless quote - radix malorum est cupuditas.

Of course, I guessed the culprit but when you’re suspicious of everyone in a book (as I always am), the actual perp is always in your list of suspects.

I do so love the last 3 books by this author - the evisceration of the middle- class self satisfied veneer. At first all her characters seem highly respectable just as they should be but scratch the surface and there’s a seething mass of entitlement, self-loathing and envy lurking beneath. The total destruction of a perceived respectability. It’s done with subtlety but is no less vicious and brutal for that.

I found myself unable to put this book down and shirked my responsibilities in order to follow the twisty plot right through to the bitter end. The deeply flawed characters were so engrossing and I followed their machinations with fascinated disgust as the inky waters of the River Thames formed an appropriately murky background.

I’ll not delve any further into the plot to avoid spoilers but I devoured this in a little over 24 hours and can highly recommend it.

5 twisted avaricious stars]]> 3.99 2019 The Other Passenger
author: Louise Candlish
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/06/30
date added: 2020/07/09
shelves: crime, domestic-noir, murder, mystery, suspense, thriller, twist-in-the-tale, unreliable-narrator, psychological-thriller
review:
I must getting soft in my dotage - a second 5 star rating in less than a week.

What a thumping good read from Louise Candlish - more twisty than a twisty-turny thing!

I think this book can be summed up in a timeless quote - radix malorum est cupuditas.

Of course, I guessed the culprit but when you’re suspicious of everyone in a book (as I always am), the actual perp is always in your list of suspects.

I do so love the last 3 books by this author - the evisceration of the middle- class self satisfied veneer. At first all her characters seem highly respectable just as they should be but scratch the surface and there’s a seething mass of entitlement, self-loathing and envy lurking beneath. The total destruction of a perceived respectability. It’s done with subtlety but is no less vicious and brutal for that.

I found myself unable to put this book down and shirked my responsibilities in order to follow the twisty plot right through to the bitter end. The deeply flawed characters were so engrossing and I followed their machinations with fascinated disgust as the inky waters of the River Thames formed an appropriately murky background.

I’ll not delve any further into the plot to avoid spoilers but I devoured this in a little over 24 hours and can highly recommend it.

5 twisted avaricious stars
]]> Magpie Lane 51788592
But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why was Felicity silent?

Roaming Oxford's secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane explores the true meaning of family—and what it is to be denied one.]]> 354 Lucy Atkins ~ Becs ~ 5
Set amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford and it’s self-important academia, steeped in tradition and ritual, Lucy Atkins leads us along a twisted path of creaking floorboards, secret passageways, priest holes and hidden cemeteries and at the centre of it all is a traumatised, almost mute child. Who is now missing.

The story is largely told by the nanny to that child and it’s up to the reader to decide whether she’s a truthful narrator and attempt to piece together what actually happened that fateful night.

The novel has a darkly gothic feel to it with the fabulous imagery all adding to a generally spooky and creepy atmosphere - almost like a Daphne du Maurier Classic. The characters were fabulously drawn and the one that lived most vividly in my imagination was that of Linklater, the chaotic yet enigmatic house historian.

I picked this up as a 99p Kindle deal and now I intend to read this author’s previous novels. Lucy Atkins was new to me a few days ago but now she’s right at the top of my auto-buy list. Can’t wait to see what her imaginations brings is next

5 fabulously creepy stars]]> 3.95 2020 Magpie Lane
author: Lucy Atkins
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/05
date added: 2020/07/09
shelves: crime, kidnapped, missing-child, mystery, suspense, thriller, twist-in-the-tale, widow-widower, unreliable-narrator, oxford, gothic
review:
Well, this was just a fabulous, sumptuous, utterly compelling read. Beautifully written and meticulously layered, I found myself unable to put this down, compelled ever onwards to find out what was really happening here.

Set amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford and it’s self-important academia, steeped in tradition and ritual, Lucy Atkins leads us along a twisted path of creaking floorboards, secret passageways, priest holes and hidden cemeteries and at the centre of it all is a traumatised, almost mute child. Who is now missing.

The story is largely told by the nanny to that child and it’s up to the reader to decide whether she’s a truthful narrator and attempt to piece together what actually happened that fateful night.

The novel has a darkly gothic feel to it with the fabulous imagery all adding to a generally spooky and creepy atmosphere - almost like a Daphne du Maurier Classic. The characters were fabulously drawn and the one that lived most vividly in my imagination was that of Linklater, the chaotic yet enigmatic house historian.

I picked this up as a 99p Kindle deal and now I intend to read this author’s previous novels. Lucy Atkins was new to me a few days ago but now she’s right at the top of my auto-buy list. Can’t wait to see what her imaginations brings is next

5 fabulously creepy stars
]]> Home Before Dark 50833559 What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?]]> 389 Riley Sager 1524745170 ~ Becs ~ 0 to-read 4.05 2020 Home Before Dark
author: Riley Sager
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Guest List 52656911
The bride � The plus one � The best man � The wedding planner � The bridesmaid � The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 319 Lucy Foley ~ Becs ~ 4 3.82 2020 The Guest List
author: Lucy Foley
name: ~ Becs ~
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/09
date added: 2020/07/09
shelves: crime, murder, mystery, locked-room-mystery
review:

]]>