The Only Way Out is Death by Varun Gwalani - #blogtour #bookreview

 

I'm falling and my arms are waving wildly, an impotent struggle against forces far beyond my control. The wind tears at my skin and I'm hurtling towards the ground faster than I can imagine, and yet it seems impossibly far. I want the pain to end, I want to stop falling, I want to just crash and finish this...

***

Twelve powerful people are kidnapped and imprisoned in an empty hotel.

Each one of them has three choices:

Live out the rest of their days peacefully in the hotel,

Die by suicide so the rest of their companions can go free,

Or murder one of their companions so they alone can go free.

The Only Way Out is Death follows the story of these twelve people from the perspective of a young lawyer, Kiriaki, told as the events unfold. She has to forge messy alliances, navigate complex relationships and feuds, and, above all, try to stay alive. Meanwhile, the mastermind of this death game is lurking just out of view, watching them closely, making sure they are primed for murder.

Will Kiriaki find the mastermind before it's too late for her?

Will she outmaneouvre the cutthroats before they cut her throat?

There are twelve selfish lives in the hotel.

Will it end in twelve selfish deaths?

***

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. I was one of the panellists last year and I was delighted to read this book. It isn't my usual reading fare but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It is a real page-turner of a book, with a fast pace and lots of twists and turns. It kept me gripped from the beginning, and I was very keen to get to the bottom of what was going on.

Told from the perspective of Kiriaki, she gradually reveals the personalities behind her fellow captives. Throughout the book the characters held captive alongside her, reveal their reasons for being there, including Kiriaki herself. Based during the time immediately following the pandemic, each were in someway responsible for it's taking hold and killing millions of people. The malevalent mind behind the capture of the twelve captives has put them all in a position that if they leave the hotel in which they are held, they will initiate another, more devastating pandemic on the world.

The author demonstrates a collection of moral dilemmas which each character faces; to kill or be killed, to take their own life or to live forever within the walls of the hotel. It was such an interesting and different plot to the books which I normally read that I was gripped by it. As a reader it was impossible not to ask myself the question - what would I do in such circumstances? The book is a fascinating and thought provoking read, which I enjoyed very much.

This was an exciting novel from this author which I recommend to readers.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

***

ISBN: 978 9392279676

Publisher:  Saga Publications

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  295 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Varun Gwalani is the author of six novels: Believe, The First Storyteller, The Story Circle, The Novel Year, Who Saves the Hero? and The Only Way Out is Death. Each book is a different genre, with his latest book "The Only Way Out is Death" being a murder mystery thriller.

In addition to being an author, Varun has been a teacher of creative writing and English for several years now. He's an advocate for mental health awareness, having given a TEDx talk and written several articles on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Varun also loves reading, board games and video games, and he can often be find blending these interests by playing a visual novel. He would also like to tell you about the thing he hates the most: writing in third-person.

(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

10 Ten Exciting New Releases in June 2024

 

In the run up to June I have been looking at all the fabulous books which are being published. It is time for a cool drink in a comfy garden chair, with a new book.

Here are just ten new releases for June.

The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel

A woman’s ambitions clash with familial expectations in a captivating novel about generational secrets and self-discovery by the bestselling author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.

Raised by her mother and grandmother and tutored in the healing wonders of spices, Tulsi Gupta is expected to carry on the ancestral tradition from her family’s Salem spice shop. Restless and reluctant, Tulsi yearns to follow her own path―destiny has other plans.

 Tulsi finds a letter written by her grandmother, addressed and never sent, that speaks of a long-ago betrayal, she decides to unravel the mystery as a distraction. But Tulsi stumbles into much more than she bargained for. With each new discovery, she learns there’s much more to her mother and grandmother than their expertise in the remedial aromas of coriander and cloves. When an attractive neighbor begins renovating the shuttered deli next door, Tulsi finds the courage to break her routine and chase the unexpected.

As Tulsi digs into the past and secrets come to light, she’s determined to heal old family wounds and find her true purpose―and maybe even love―every step of the way.

The Cry of the Silkworm by Shi Naseer

Growing up in 1990s China, in a village where failure to observe the rigidly enforced one-child policy is deemed tantamount to a crime, Chen Di must fight to get the education she craves in a world in which boys are prioritized. Following her mother's untimely death, 16-year-old Chen Di's thirst for vengeance against those she holds responsible brings about her transformation from a gutsy, marginalized child into an aikido-practising young woman who braves Shanghai. 

A startling illumination of the ripple effect of the authoritarian regime's policies still being felt today, this moving debut is perfect for readers of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The Butterfly Garden by Rachel Burton

A gripping and beautiful tale of love, loss and secrets. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore, Lorna Cook and Kathryn Hughes.

1963: When Clara Samuels buys Butterfly Cottage, she knows the scandal she’ll cause. A single woman buying property is not the ‘done thing’, especially not in a village like Carybrook. But Clara has been in love with Butterfly Cottage, and its garden, since she used to play there before the War. And when she reconnects with her childhood friend James, her decision feels serendipitous. But the true scandal is yet to come, because within six months, Clara will leave England under mysterious circumstances, and Butterfly Cottage will stand empty for more than 50 years.

2018: No one is more surprised than Meredith when she’s bequeathed a cottage by a great aunt she’d never heard of. She hopes, briefly, that the inheritance could be the answer to her financial problems. But when she arrives in Suffolk, she is shocked to discover a man is already living there. A young gardener, who claims he was also bequeathed half of Butterfly Cottage.

As the pair try to unravel their complicated situation, they unearth a decades old mystery involving Clara, the garden, and a stack of letters left unread for over 50 years…

Husbands by Mo Fanning

In Hollywood, every pavement star tells a story. Not all of them shine.

Wannabe actor Kyle Macdonald is down on his luck. Working as a supply teacher in an inner-city Birmingham school, he's single again at 28, and sleeping in his childhood bedroom beneath a 'Hard Candy' Madonna poster.

He gets a call claiming he drunkenly married top Hollywood director Aaron Biedermeier in Vegas six years ago. Rather than panic, he sees a golden ticket to fame and the life he's always fantasised about.

But the glamorous veneer of Los Angeles - non-stop sunshine, celebrity actors and exclusive hotel suites - starts to crack, revealing a darker, corrupt underbelly to La-La Land. Kyle digs deeper into his so-called husband's past, unearthing disturbing allegations of abuse and underage sex parties.

With the help of Biedermeier's fiancé, actor Noah Winters, he embarks on a cross-country race to unravel the mystery and expose the truth - finding love along the way.

Lucky Day by Beth Morrey

CAN SHE SAY F*CK IT, JUST FOR ONE DAY?

After a morning that starts with a terrible migraine, an accidentally strong concoction of painkillers, and a bump on the head, Clover Hendry is not quite herself.

And as she walks out of work at 9.47am, for once Clover isn't worrying about anything. She is taking some much-deserved me-time, and everyone else had better get out of her way.

As she crashes from once incident (a deliciously illicit swim) to the next (art theft), Clover is on a one-woman mission to do exactly as she pleases – consequences are for tomorrow!

It's a day of joyful recklessness, but behind the chaos, a plan is afoot. Will her new-found freedom uncover long-buried secrets?

A euphoric, raging, galvanizing story about putting life on pause, pleasing yourself, and getting your own back – whatever it takes.

What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

An enchanting tale of the complex and fascinating life of Luisa Abrego of Seville, an emancipated woman who forges a new future for herself in colonial Mexico and gets caught in the Spanish Inquisition.

Luisa Abrego, an enslaved woman in Seville, is impregnated by her master, then set free upon his death. With limited options for her future, Luisa agrees to marry a white man who wants to take her with him to Mexico, even though it means leaving her infant son behind in the care of nuns. The couple set off on a dangerous sea voyage and a perilous trek across unconquered territory, and when the settlers’ caravan is attacked by Indigenous warriors, Luisa is forced to kill a man in self-defence. Years later, still wracked with guilt and convinced she must atone for her sin, Luisa confesses to having made a promise of marriage to another man long before, in Spain. By the laws of the church this makes her a bigamist, a criminal who must be tried by the fearsome Inquisition.

Based on sixteenth-century trial records of the real Luisa, this novel is not just one woman’s life in fragments but a carefully researched imagining, told in the vivid, distinct voices of the Europeans who came into contact with her.

The Mother by Valerie Keogh

A terrible wife...

Sarah Westfield is unhappily married to perfect husband Nick. Handsome, devoted and kind, he should be the ideal man for her, but Sarah knows their marriage is the biggest mistake she’s ever made…and she wants out.

But then Nick offers her one last chance to make their marriage work – a baby.

Sarah is horrified – a baby would tie herself to this man forever…wouldn’t it? Or could it be exactly what she needs?

So Sarah agrees.

A terrible mother?

When the baby arrives, Sarah struggles with motherhood and her resentment towards Nick only grows. Sarah feels more trapped than ever, but she loves her precious daughter...doesn’t she?

And then baby Kaya goes missing...

And everything Sarah has ever believed in comes crashing down around her...

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki

The only thing to fear about the past is it may destroy the future…

2005: While researching her Japanese ancestors, Isla travels from Scotland to Kagoshima. There, a vicious typhoon hurls her through a strange white gate and back to 1877, amid the dawn of the Satsuma Rebellion – the conflict that ended the samurai.

When she meets Keiichiro Maeda, a samurai who introduces her to a way of life only previously encountered in books, Isla begins to wonder if she has found her true home. But as the samurai fight a losing battle, she is increasingly distraught. Should she forewarn Keiichiro and save the man she loves or let him die the glorious death he so believes in, proud to the end that he remained a faithful warrior?

And what will become of Isla? Is she willing to leave the past behind, knowing her future will forever be changed? 

Gorgeously Me! by Jonathan Van Ness

A celebration of all the things that make you extraordinary, unique and gorgeously YOU by Jonathan Van Ness, New York Times bestselling author and star of the Netflix hit show Queer Eye.

"I won't be afraid to stand out or show the world what I'm all about.

I am exactly who I'm meant to be. Perfectly, happily, gorgeously me!

Being true to yourself and showing the world who you are isn't always easy."

Gorgeously Me! assures young readers that they are loved and cherished, exactly as they are. A joyful story of pride, self-acceptance, community and all the things that make us exceptional.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

From the author of The Change, comes a novel about book banning and those brave enough to stand up against this censorship.

In Troy, Georgia, Lula Dean has decided to cleanse the town’s reading habits. All banned books have been removed from public spaces, and the townspeople are only allowed to read books Lula has deemed ‘appropriate’.

But a small group refuse to be told what they can and can’t read.

The revolution is coming …

(clip art courtesy of clipart.com)

The Quality of Love by Ariane Bankes - #blogtour #bookreview

What elusive quality is it that propels people into the centre of things? My mother, Celia Paget, and her identical twin sister Mamaine seemed to possess that quality, to gravitate towards the very heart of the era in which they lived... their lives became entangled with some of the most remarkable figures of the twentieth century, whether as friend or lovers, muses or wives.

***

When her mother Celia Paget died, Ariane Bankes inherited a battered trunk stuffed with photographs and letters belonging to Celia and her twin sister Mamaine. This correspondence charted the remarkable lives of the Paget girls and their friends and lovers, including Arthur Koestler, Albert Camus, Sartre

and de Beauvoir, and George Orwell.

Out of this rich unseen archive, The Quality of Love weaves the story of these captivatingly beautiful – all the more so for being identical – twins who overcame a meagre education to take 1930s London society by storm and then move among Europe’s foremost intellectuals during the century’s most

dramatic decades. Above all, it is a sparkling portrait of the deep connection between two spirited sisters.

***

 This book provides an interesting and engaging insight into the lives of identical twins Celia and Mamaine Paget. 

The author, who is Celia's daughter, discovered a chest full of letters, diaries and journals following her mother's death in 2002. Through these the author permits the reader to observe and understand, not only the life of her mother and the aunt that she never knew, but also into the intellectual and cultural period in which they lived.

Born in 1916 and orphaned at a young age, the twins were largely raised by an aunt. Catapulted into the glamorous society of coming out balls, they were presented at court as debutantes in 1935. However, neither of them were interested in the marriage market, and instead were more drawn to the company of intellectuals such as George Orwell, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus.

The text is littered with photographs demonstrating not only the beauty and elegance of the sisters, but also of those in the circle in which they moved. They were obviously spirited women, who the author portrays with the love and respect which she clearly feels. She has pieced together the lives of two extraordinary women through her inheritance of the letters and diaries. I so enjoyed being able to not only hear from Celia and Mamaine, but to hear the words written by Orwell and his peers.

This is a fascinating account, not only of the twins, but also of the time period and the world which they inhabited. It is well written, and delightful to read, and I recommend it for anyone interested in this era.

***

ISBN: 978 0715654989

Publisher:  Duckworth Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages:  304 (hardback)

***

About the Author:

Ariane Bankes had a long career in publishing, including at John Murray and V&A Publishing, before becoming a writer, critic and curator. Her writing has appeared in the Spectator, TLS, Financial Times, Country Life and Slightly Foxed. She sits on the boards of Koestler Arts, the Leche Trust and the Biographers’ Club, where she runs the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize and the Tony Lothian Prize.

(book & media courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(all opinions are my own)

Guest Post with Carolyn Clarke - And Now There's Zelda...

 

I am so excited to welcome Carolyn Clarke to the blog today. Carolyn is the author of And Then There's Margaret... Her latest book, And Now There's Zelda... is a fantastic follow up novel. You can read my reviews by clicking on the respective titles below.

And Then There's Margaret...

And Now There's Zelda...

Today, Carolyn is going to be talking about the sandwich generation; something that many of us can identify with. Welcome to the blog Carolyn.

Caught between the responsibilities of aging parents and adult children lies the sandwich generation, where the strain of caregiving can weigh heavily—both emotionally and financially. Navigating these complexities is no small feat. As someone knee deep in the sandwich generation, helping to care for my 90-year-old mother, I understand firsthand the heartache of witnessing her decline. I mourn the loss of her vitality and her once vibrant presence in our lives. And then there are my two mid-twenty daughters. There are moments of uncertainty and even nostalgia as I grapple with the shifting dynamics of our relationship. Gone are the days of bedtime stories and scraped knees; now it's conversations about career choices and boyfriends. I find myself straddling the line between offering advice and stepping back to let them find their own way.

Surprisingly, this demographic comprises almost half, roughly 47%, of individuals in their 40s and 50s. In my second novel And Now There’s Zelda (Sequel to And Then There’s Margaret), our protagonist, Allie, is also “sandwiched” between her aging mother (and mother-in-law, Margaret) and her adult children, Samantha and Camerson who still very much depend on her for advice and of course for financial support. Meanwhile, Allie’s just trying to keep her own sanity sandwiched somewhere in between. It's a comedy of errors, really. One minute she's doling out advice to her kids, and the next she’s explaining to her mom how to use emojis on her smartphone.

All kidding aside, expert Carol Abaya delves deeper, categorizing three distinct roles within the sandwich generation:

1. The Traditional Sandwich Generation: Individuals typically in their 40s or early 50s find themselves sandwiched between elderly parents requiring care and their own adult children in need of support, be it financial or otherwise.

2. The Club Sandwich Generation: Older adults in their 50s or 60s are wedged between the needs of aging parents, adult children, and potentially grandchildren. This term can also apply to younger adults in their 30s or 40s juggling the demands of younger children, elderly parents, and aging grandparents.

3. The Open Faced Sandwich Generation: This category encompasses individuals who, at some point in their lives, find themselves providing non-professional care for elders, accounting for an estimated 25% of the population.

For Allie and many others of the sandwich generation, we are finding ourselves grappling with a myriad of challenges. We often battle feelings of burnout (not a great mix with the big ‘hormonal’ changes), depression, and isolation, compounded by the guilt and frustration of trying to fulfill roles as a spouse, parent, and child simultaneously. Juggling work, hobbies, relationships, and personal time becomes increasingly difficult, leaving us feeling completely overwhelmed. As we’re pulled in multiple directions, we experience a sense of losing control, struggling to manage the demands of caregiving and our own lives - such as writing this blog and promoting And Now There’s Zelda!

If you’re interested in hearing more on my take of being part of this generation, here’s my interview with Cameron Cowan.

The Cameron Journal Podcast - The Sandwich of Middle Age

Thank you Carolyn for being on the blog today. It has been a delight to host you.

Sleepers and Ties by Gail Kirkpatrick - #bookreview

 

Yellow wallflowers and purple thistle cover the former Plover railway line, and I wonder why it hasn't been turned into a walking trail. That way at least, a century old route carved from the land would have been preserved...

***

Grieving museum curator Margaret returns to her childhood home to leave behind her sister Shirley’s ashes and attend the final reading of her will. Unbeknownst to Margaret, Shirley has left her eight million dollars and a letter asking Margaret to return to its former glory an abandoned railway line—a fanciful notion, everyone tells her, with no real legal binding. Embarking on an adventure that will test more than just an executor’s duty and loyalty to her sister’s legacy, Margaret is forced to make decisions now and for the future that will challenge and forever change a landscape, her career, her marriage, her friendships, and her very own legacy.

***

Set in Canada, Sleepers and Ties is a beautiful story about loyalty and self-discovery.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been gifted a copy of this book. You know how there are times when the right book comes along at the perfect time? This was one such book for me.

Life has been a little stressful lately and this book was the perfect antidote. Reading it was like wallowing in a warm bath, and feeling the stresses float away. In fact, as I get older, I find that I enjoy books with the gentle pace of this one more and more.

It was beautifully written and a joy to read. It has a poetic lyricism that deserved the time devoted to it in reading. Each line was to be relished and appreciated. It is tranquil and serene and exactly what I needed to be reading.

The main character, Margaret, was an interesting woman. Finding herself back in her home town following her sister's death, her intention is to scatter her ashes and return home. But when a letter is presented to her at the final reading of her sister's will, Margaret is faced with some difficult decisions to make. Through this we see her embark on a personal journey which will test her loyalty to her late-sister, her husband and her long-standing friend, and I enjoyed accompanying her on this passage of self-discovery.

The railway is a theme running throughout the novel and each chapter title refers to something connected with this. Some of these terms were new to me, but there is a useful glossary at the back of the book to help.

It is a warm, thought-provoking read which I highly recommend.

***

ISBN: 978 1989689462

Publisher:  Now or Never Publishing

Formats:  e-book and paperback 

No. of Pages:  220 (paperback)

About the Author:

After receiving her undergrad at the University of Victoria, Gail Kirkpatrick completed her MA in writing at Lancaster University where she explored the parallel and converging lines of memory, shared history, and landscape. Her writing has been published in various literary and trade magazines in Canada and the UK, and Sleepers and Ties is her first novel. She currently resides in Victoria, BC.

(book & media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

And Now There's Zelda... by Carolyn Clarke - #bookreview

 

***

Dealing with a controlling, manipulative, and self-absorbed mother-in-law can be a challenge. But when your child brings home a fiancé who's completely unworthy, and the shoe is suddenly on the other foot, do you take the high road, or get down and dirty?

It's been five years since Allison Montgomery's beloved father-in-law, George, passed away and her cantankerous mother-in-law, Margaret, moved in. After nearly killing each other during their initial adjustment period, Allie and Margaret have finally buried the hatchet and have even launched a thriving home staging business together.

Today, Allie is enjoying life. That is until her twenty-two-year-old son, Cameron, unexpectedly brings home Zelda, his new fiancé. The problem is, no one has ever met or even heard of her. And when Zelda's first impression raises more than a few red flags, Allie finds herself in unfamiliar territory.

Facing the prospect of becoming a mother-in-law far sooner than expected, and to someone unworthy of her darling baby boy, Allie's protective instinct kicks in. And who better to turn to for guidance and support than Margaret, her former nemesis and master of the mothers-in-law's dark arts.

Allie and Margaret launch Project Zelda, an intervention of sorts designed to show Cameron who Zelda really is and to prevent him from making a catastrophic mistake. However, with Zelda's ingratiating behavior, Margaret's occasional disappearances, and Allie's doubts about turning into her own mother-in-law, will Allie find a way to reconcile her protective instincts or will history repeat itself?

***

Parenting is a funny old business. We devote eighteen years to raising a child to become an independent adult, and when they do, we wish they were little again! Yes, I was that mother who sobbed when each of my four sons left for university, and wished they were eight again and not eighteen.

Consequently, there was much I could identify with in And Now There’s Zelda. The main character is Allie, whose adult son Cameron, has come home with an unexpected fiancee in tow. Allie takes an instant dislike to Zelda, her maternal protective instincts are on full alert and she assumes that Zelda is not good enough for her beloved son.

The book follows on from the author’s previous novel, And Then There’s Margaret, which I really loved. You can read my review of it by clicking here. I should add that this book also works perfectly well as a standalone novel.

I have so enjoyed spending more time with the characters. Allie is in midlife. She lives with her husband and his mother, and both her son and daughter have flown the nest and are making lives of their own. 

The book focuses on a planned family holiday to Florida to celebrate the seventy-fifth birthday of Allies’s mother.  Allie has been looking forward to the four of them having a family holiday, just her, her husband and two children, but as with the best laid plans, it doesn’t go quite the way she had planned.

Allie is a tremendous character. I think most women will be able to identify with her need to keep so many balls in the air. Although it is fairly obvious that she will discover her assumptions regarding Zelda are incorrect, following the journey of how the relationship develops was fun to read.

And this is what Ms Clarke does best. She takes an ordinary situation and imbues it with both humour and plausibility. She also encourages the reader to sympathise with Allie. It was easy to identify and engage with Allie’s fears, and she is an enormously likeable character.

However, the secondary characters are also extremely well portrayed. The author understands people very well and really inhabits her characters, and in doing so has created an engaging and compelling book which was a joy to read.

Personally, I have been very fortunate. My four sons have all married lovely girls, and so, for me, I have definitely gained daughters and not lost sons.

This is a fabulously enjoyable and relatable novel which I highly recommend.

Carolyn will be here on the blog on the 14th May, so please do come back to hear from Carolyn herself about her book.

***

About the Author:

Carolyn Clarke is the founder and curator of HenLit Central, a blog focused on 'life and lit' for women over 40. 

AND NOW THERE'S ZELDA is her second novel after AND THEN THERE'S MARGARET (2022).

She has been an ESL teacher for over sixteen years and has co-authored several articles and resources with Cambridge University Press, MacMillan Education and her award-winning blog ESL Made Easy.

She lives in Toronto, Canada with her partner, Tony, her two daughters and bulldog, Sophie.

(ARC and media courtesy of the author)

(all opinions are my own)

10 Ten Books I Want to Read in May 2024

 

The merry month of May is upon us. I haven't seen any cherry blossom yet but I'm hoping to.

Here are just ten books, selected from so many, that I hope to read this month.

London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall

Under a Summer Skye by Sue Moorcroft

Identity by Nora Roberts

Golden Poppies by Laila Ibrahim

In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear

Mary I: Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir

The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke and Sophie Bass

Earnest Sandpiper's Great Ascent by Timothy Basil Ering

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

Happy Reading!