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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Rumour in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
The Rumour
The Rumour
Lesley Kara | 2018 | Crime, Thriller
8
7.5 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
A great debut
What a great debut and yet another author to keep my eyes on and a British one too ?

As the blurb says, Joanna hears a rumour and ends up passing it on even though she knows it's probably not the best decision she has ever made however, she feels the need to fit in and make friends since moving to a small seaside town from London ... what harm can it do? Well as most of us know, rumours can be extremely damaging and this book is a pretty good example of that.

Well written with great characters and setting, a gripping and relevant story line written at a good pace and with excellent twists, this book is definitely one for lovers of books that draw you in, spin you around and spit you out leaving you feeling like you're on a rollercoaster but not wanting it to end and when it does, you want to go back and have another go.

I wish to express my thanks to Random House UK/Transworld Publishers for my copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review and for, once again, introducing me to another new author to follow.

Having just clicked on the publisher website, it appears Lesley Kara has a new book coming out called "Who Did You Tell?"; the blurb sounds great and I am so looking forward to reading it especially if it's as well written as "The Rumour".

Blurb taken from the publisher website:

"It’s been 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes since her last drink. Now Astrid is trying to turn her life around.

Having reluctantly moved back in with her mother, in a quiet seaside town away from the temptations and painful memories of her life before, Astrid is focusing on her recovery She's going to meetings. Confessing her misdeeds. Making amends to those she's wronged.

But someone knows exactly what Astrid is running from. And they won't stop until she learns that some mistakes can't be corrected.

Some mistakes, you have to pay for..."

BUT it's not out until December 2019!! Guess I'll just have to wait then ?
  
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Charley (64 KP) Jan 30, 2019

I saw this in Asda today for £5 and had to get it after seeing your review. Now in my pile of books to read. ?

Tails from the Deep
Tails from the Deep
Diane Vallere | 2019 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Zoe is the middle of three sisters, the daughters of Mother, the leader of the merfolk settlement Sirenia somewhere under the sea. Unlike her other sisters, Zoe loves to explore. One of her favorite places is a shipwreck beyond the edges of her merfolk village. She sneaks out there quite frequently, so when things seem off one day, she is quick to notice. When she returns the next day, she finds a human diver trapped on the bottom next to a dead body. She frees the diver, but her actions lead to questions that might impact her settlement. Can she figure out who to trust and what is really going on?

Mermaid mysteries are definitely something different, but I couldn’t resist when Diane announced she was going to write these. After all, I love the water, so the idea of living under the sea, at least for a few pages, was too irresistible. I’m glad I did because I enjoyed this story. This reads very much like a cozy murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns. The end was a little abrupt, but that’s a minor issue. As we read, we also get a feel for mermaid culture, which was a delight. Many of the slight twists on our world and expectations made me smile. It was definitely well thought out. We also get to know Zoe very well over the course of the story since is many ways these stories are coming of age stories in addition to mysteries. Since it is a 100 page novella, there isn’t tons of character development for the rest of the characters, but they still come across as real. The other two stories focus on Zoe’s sisters, and I can’t wait to see how they are developed and how that fits with Zoe’s take on her sisters. If you are looking for a slight fantasy edge to your cozy, I definitely recommend this novella for something different.

NOTE: This story, along with the stories of Zoe’s sisters, are included in the Mermaid Mysteries anthology. Buy them individually or as a set, but there is no need to buy both.
  
Mine to Keep (Mine, #2)
Mine to Keep (Mine, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This follows the events of the last one with Skye and Trace on an island as Trace tries to help Skye get over the terrible ordeal she suffered at the hands of her ex. Soon after they arrive back in Chicago, they are met by an old colleague of Trace’s who warns them that someone is coming after them. Then the intrigue begins…

This one focuses more on Trace and things that happened in his past that he wishes he could forget. I was intrigued to find out what he’d done that was so bad that someone was trying to get to him and Skye. To get to him through Skye. And I’ll tell you now I wasn’t quite expecting it to be that.

We see bits from the POV of the person after Trace and it’s slightly creepy how cold the person is at the thought of killing anyone who stood in his way.

Once again the books feature some really intense sex scenes between the two main characters and shows how they struggle to keep their relationship afloat as lies come out of the woodwork that have been buried for years.

I’m lucky that the author goes over a lot of the things that happened in the previous book because I will admit I read a lot of books and it’s sometimes hard to remember what happened in certain ones.

It all came back to me within the first 15% or so and then I could get on with my detective work of trying to figure out who was behind it all. It kept me guessing throughout, just like in the first one and I found myself going “Ooooooh!” as new information was uncovered. I was most definitely intrigued by this. Well done to the author for such brilliant writing!

I really enjoyed this, believe it or not it got better the more I read. That last 15% or so made it 5 star worthy for me!

If you plan on reading this, then read Mine to Take first as this is a continuation. If you enjoyed the first then you should definitely read this one too.
  
In Debt to the Enemy Lord
In Debt to the Enemy Lord
Nicole Locke | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.62 out of 5 stars

Genre: Historical

Page Count: 288 pages

Anwen, bastard of Brynmor, has fought hard to find her place in the world. But she’s forced to rethink everything when she’s saved from death by her enemy Teague, Lord of Gwalchdu. Instead of releasing her, he holds her captive.

Teague trusts no one. So, which ominous messages threatening his life, he must keep Anwen under his watch, no matter how much her presence drives him wild.

And when passionate arguments turn to passionate encounters, Teague must believe that the strength of their bond will conquer all!

Anwen, the main character, was really cool. She was very strong, sarcastic, and always pushes Teague for answers about why he’s keeping her captive. She also keeps trying to escape so she can go back home and protect her sister from her abusive father.

However, after she falls in love with Teague, her reservations about him were a little frustrating. Even after finding out that he wasn’t the Great Traitor everyone thought he was, she still didn’t want him to be part of her life. Her only reason was that she didn’t want take orders from a domineering tyrant, but Teague was never tyrannical to her. He only held her captive to make sure she wasn’t the person attacking his home. After that, the only demands he ever made of her were for her own protection. She grew up under a tyrant, so it’s understandable that she would be a little wary, but he was never the villain she kept making him out to be.

Teague was pretty cool overall. He definitely has issues, but they’re understandable considering his rough childhood, including having his mother dying at an early age and having everyone think he’s the devil because he has an epileptic aunt. He has a lot of trust issues and really doesn’t trust anyone except his brother.

As much as I liked both Anwen and Teague, I didn’t like them together. They had a little actual sexual tension at first, but their love story is really forced. Teague is complete anti-love at the beginning and then falls head over ass for Anwen for no real reason. And sure, she still has some baggage holding her back, so they’re not both completely hypnotized but for fuck’s sake did he drink a love potion?

I was so disappointed by the two of them together. It’s Harlequin, so I wasn’t expecting an epic love story or anything, but I was expecting a love story.

On top of that, the sex scenes were pretty weird. I kept getting pulled out of the story because I couldn’t figure out the logistics of the positions or even picture what was happening. The dialogue during the sex scenes was delightfully cringy, like a romance novel parody.

I liked Teague’s brother, Rain, more than Teague. He had a lot less baggage and I would have found it much more believable if he was the one who fell in love with Anwen instead of Teague because Rain trusts people.

This book wasn’t horrible, and it’s certainly not the worst romance I’ve ever read, but it wasn’t great. However, I really didn’t see the ending coming, so I give Nicole Locke huge props for that.