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#Blog Tour #Book review of Between You and Me by Carol Mason @rararesources

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Between You and Me, a new novel from Carol Mason.

Between You and Me

Is her new husband really who she thinks he is?

When young doctor Lauren Matheson meets Joe, an older divorced businessman, at a glittering poolside in California, it’s a chance encounter that seems life-changing for them both. Back home in London, their feelings only strengthen. But Lauren soon discovers that building a happy future with Joe is going to be an uphill struggle…

She’s determined to be a good stepmother to his children, four-year-old Toby and complicated teen Grace. But under the watchful eye of Meredith, Joe’s intimidating ex-wife, Lauren can’t seem to do a thing right. Why won’t Joe ever take her side against Grace? And what really happened between him and Meredith?
As her husband retreats into a cold, secretive version of the dashing man she met in California, Lauren starts to wonder if she’s made a costly mistake. Was Joe ever the man she thought she married?

Purchase Link

My thoughts:

This was the first book I’ve read by Carol Mason and I can see now why she has such a great reputation for being an excellent storyteller. I expected the book to be a domestic thriller, but despite a few twists, it turned out to be a solid, well-written family drama exploring what it’s like to be a second wife and a stepmother.

Lauren Matheson is in her final year of Medical School when she meets fascinating Joe. There is immediate attraction, but Joe is married and has a 13year old daughter Gracy and 3year old son Toby, so there can never be anything between Lauren and him. A year later things have changed – Joe got divorced and is free to date again. After a whirlwind romance Lauren, who is now a junior doctor, and Joe get married and Lauren is sure nothing can come between them. After all, Joe made it clear there’s nothing that matters more to him than Lauren’s happiness. That is apart from his children.

Was Lauren really aware of how difficult it is to be a stepmother to a stroppy teenager and a sweet, but not without his challenges, four-year-old boy?Let’s not forget she also has a challenging career which often leaves her emotionally drained. Joe and Meredith (the ex-wife) have joint custody and understandably Joe tries to spend as much time as possible with his children, while Lauren is trying very hard to find her own place in this family. Still, whatever she does, she can’t gain Grace’s respect, the ex-wife Meredith accuses her of being negligent and irresponsible…and Joe isn’t supportive at all. Can Lauren and Joe’s realtionship survive these changes or is it something Lauren should have thought more carefully about before falling in love with and agreeing to marry an older man with an ex-wife and two children?

I found the book absolutely gripping -it kept me up reading until the small hours. The plot is quite straightforward (ok,there are a few twists that test Lauren’s moral principles), but mostly it is about Lauren’s marriage. The book is toldfrom her point of view and it is impossible not to sympathise with her, although the reader is aware that there’s always the other side of the story. Would it have been better to have other POVs? I am happy with the author’s decision- in real life, do we really know what other people think and how they interpret our words and actions? we can only guess and make suppositions, observe and ask. Joe appears quite elusive, or rather it’s Lauren’s idea of Joe that keeps changingThe number of secondary characters is quite small and they all serve to move the story forward or make Lauren realise some things, which just shows how well-structured this book is.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about family relationships, second marriages, life changes, setting boundaries and working out what makes you happy (or not). I’m gladto have discovered this fantastic author and I can’t wait to read Carol Mason’s next book.

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources, the author and the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author Bio

Carol Mason is the Amazon Charts and Kindle #1 bestselling author After You Left (more than 300,000 copies sold), The Secrets of Married Women, The Last Time We Met, The Shadow Between Us, Send Me A Lover and Little White Secrets which hit the Bookstat digital bestsellers list top 3 in the week of its launch. She was born in the North East of England where most of her novels are set. She now lives in Canada with her Canadian husband, a rescue dog from Kuwait and a three-legged cat. When not writing, Carol loves to read, cook and binge watch Netflix.

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/CarolMasonAuthor
https://twitter.com/CarolMasonBooks
https://www.instagram.com/carolmasonauthor/

Thank you for reading the post! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

#Book Blitz #Code Red by N.R.Walker @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:
Code Red
by N.R. Walker
Publication date: June 24th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
Synopsis:

The brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.

Maddox Kershaw is the main vocalist of the world’s biggest boy band. He’s at the top of every music chart, every award show, every social media platform, and every sexiest-man-alive list. He’s the bad boy, the enigma, the man everyone on the planet wants a piece of.

He’s also burned out and exhausted, isolated and lonely. Not in a good headspace at the start of a tour.

Roscoe Hall is Maddox’s personal manager. His job is high-flying, high-demand, high-profile, and he loves it. Maddox has consumed his entire life for the past four years. Roscoe knows him. He sees the real Maddox no one else gets to see.

He’s also in love with him.

When the tour and stress become too much, when the world begins to close in, Roscoe becomes Maddox’s lifeline. But as Maddox knows already, and as Roscoe is about to learn, the brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.

Goodreads / Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.

She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub

GIVEAWAYBlitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$40 Amazon gift card

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It’s Monday! What are you reading? June 28th, 2021

It’s Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, a place to share and discuss what we’ve read in the past week and what we’re in the middle of or are planning to read this week.

What I read / listened to last week

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

A Cut for A Cut by Carol Wyer

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

What I am reading/listening to now:

Between You and Me by Carol Mason

Is her new husband really who she thinks he is?

When young doctor Lauren Matheson meets Joe, an older divorced businessman, at a glittering poolside in California, it’s a chance encounter that seems life-changing for them both. Back home in London, their feelings only strengthen. But Lauren soon discovers that building a happy future with Joe is going to be an uphill struggle…

She’s determined to be a good stepmother to his children, four-year-old Toby and complicated teen Grace. But under the watchful eye of Meredith, Joe’s intimidating ex-wife, Lauren can’t seem to do a thing right. Why won’t Joe ever take her side against Grace? And what really happened between him and Meredith?

As her husband retreats into a cold, secretive version of the dashing man she met in California, Lauren starts to wonder if she’s made a costly mistake. Was Joe ever the man she thought she married?

What I’m reading /listening to next:

A Thin Disguise by Catherine Bybee

A former gun for hire and a federal agent find themselves on the right side of love but the wrong end of a bullet in this Richter installment from New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee.

On a fateful night in Las Vegas, FBI agent Leo Grant is working on a critical detail in a high-profile child prostitution trial when a beautiful woman jumps into the path of a bullet meant for him. Little does Leo know that the woman is Olivia, an ex-assassin who is seeking redemption one good deed at a time.

One minute, Olivia is lunging in front of Leo on the Vegas Strip. The next, she’s waking up in the hospital in a haze of pain with no memory of her past, her enemies, or even her own name.

With Olivia suffering from memory loss and completely unaware of the danger she is in, it’s up to Leo and Neil MacBain’s team of operatives to keep her safe. With Olivia and Leo both unaware of her past crimes, the two have little reason to avoid their growing attraction. Slowly her past seeps in through the cracks as she struggles to find the answers of who she is. When the veil is lifted and her dark past is staring her down, Olivia must turn her back on Leo and the love she can never allow herself to have, and race to find her would-be killer.

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Set in a rich, high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome, Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES told the story of Laia, a slave fighting for her family, and Elias, a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

Now, in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT, Elias and Laia are running for their lives.

How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?

#Book Blitz #The 7th Lie (Chronicles of Ithical) by Tamara Grantham #Science Fiction @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:
The 7th Lie
by Tamara Grantham
(Chronicles of Ithical, #1)
Publication date: June 15th 2021
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction

Synopsis:

Agent Sabine Harper is thrilled to receive her first mission—until she learns what it is. Turns out, all she has to do is save the world from certain destruction. And she has two weeks to do it.

Sabine survives her grueling training by the Vortech Agency, but now she must protect the world from a devastating solar flare by finding seven energy stones—cerecite. If she refuses, they’ll terminate her father’s life-sustaining cancer treatments.

Sabine is transported to an isolated civilization hidden beneath a dome. She assumes the identity of the invalid prince’s caretaker and finds herself strangely attracted to the prince. But she’s perplexed by this strange island’s many mysteries. The air smells mechanical. Every blade of grass is identical. The island’s dimensions are bigger than they should be. What Vortech told her may not be true. She may not even know where she really is. And someone doesn’t want her to leave—at least not alive.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

AUTHOR BIO:

Tamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, the Shine novellas, and the Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 200 five-star reviews.
Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. She has been a featured speaker at multiple writing conferences, and she has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.

Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks–which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds–and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGrantham.com.
Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAYBlitz-wide giveaway (INT)

$25 Amazon gift card

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#Blog Tour #Book Review of The Island by Mary Grand #Domestic thriller @rararesources @Boldwood Books

Thank you to Rachel fromrachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Islan, a new gripping psychological thriller by Mary Grand.

The Island

The Island – where everyone knows everyone, and secrets are impossible to keep…

‘Be careful, you don’t know them as well as you think. Remember – anyone can kill.’

Juliet has returned to the Isle of Wight from years abroad to visit her sick father and to be reunited with her three sisters – Cassie, a professional musician who seems to have lost her way in life, Mira, who is profoundly deaf, is married to the local vicar but their relationship is falling apart, and Rosalind, glamorous and charming but now deeply unhappy and secretive about her life.
As Juliet’s father lies dying, he issues her with a warning. There is a killer on the loose, and they may be closer than she can ever imagine. He anxiously tells Juliet that he confided a family secret in son-in-law Rhys, and now regrets ever saying a word.
Days later, as the clock strikes one in the morning, a man comes out of Rhys’s church, walks along the path and is run down by a car driven by an unidentified person. When the finger of suspicion points to Juliet, she realises the only way to clear her name is to uncover the secrets her family has been keeping from her for years. But with a killer on the loose, danger is getting closer all the time…

The Island is set on the Isle of Wight – insular, claustrophobic, and where secrets are hard to keep. Mary Grand’s heart-stopping who-dunnits are perfect for fans of Louise Candlish. Agatha Christie and Lucy Foley.

Purchase Link

My thoughts:

The Island by Mary Grand is a kind of book that grows on you as you keep on turning pages. Set on the beautiful Isle of Wight, it is atmospheric (almost gothic in some parts), twisty, and impossible to put down.

Thirty-one-year-old Juliet has been teaching English in China for two years, when she receives a call from her mother teling herabout a serious car accident that put her father in hospital. Juliet takes the first flight home and gets to the hospital just in time to have one last conversation with her dying father, who hints at various secrets that must not be revealed. especially since anyone with a motive can become a murderer on a small island like this. He also seems to regret having confided in Rhys, the local vicar and his son-in-law. At the funeral, Rhys makes a strange eulogy talking about sins, punishment and the duty of doing the right thing. Back home, Juliet sees more and more secrets and strange, conspiratory looks.

All four sisters in this close-knit family are well-written characters with distinct personalities. The eldest one Cassie is a talented musician who used to be distant and uninvolved in the family, but is about to become a partner in a new business venture. Kind and selfless Mira, married to Rhys, appears to have some disagreements with her husband. The baby of the family Rosalind, the most spoilt and impatient of all of them, has grown a hard edge. Juliet keeps remembering the day Cassie and her mother came home with the newborn Rosalind, when their neighbours’ son Harry was killed. The police have never found the murderer. When Rhys’s body is found outside the vicarage in what appears a hit-and-run accident, everyone becomes a suspect, and you can’t help thinking that these two cases might be connected.

I really liked the way the author kept adding layers and layers, secrets, hints and suppostitions in a slow and steady manner in this compelling domestic thriller. Mary Grand doesn’t tell you, she shows a detail and lets you make your own conclusions. Sometimes they will misdirect you, other times they will lead straight to the crux of the matter. You just have to be patient and pay attention to the clues that will allow you to solve the mysteries and secrets that abound in this family and this part of the island.

I particularly appreciated the portrayal of Mira who is profoundly Deaf and the details that made this character so realistic.

My first thriller by this talented author and I was pleasantly surprised by how good the book is. I was thoroughly entertained and will be looking forward to reading Mary Grand’s next book!

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author Bio:

Mary Grand is the author of five novels and writes gripping, page-turning suspense, with a dark and often murderous underside. She grew up in Wales, was for many years a teacher of deaf children and now lives on the Isle of Wight where her new novel, The House Party, which was published by Boldwood in August 2020, is set.

Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarygrand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormaryg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryandpepper/
Newsletter Sign Up Link: https://bit.ly/MaryGrandNewsletter
Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-grand

Thankyou for reading the post! Have a wonderful Sunday!

#Book Blitz #Distracting the Deputy by Shanna Hatfield #Romance #Western @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:
Distracting the Deputy
by Shanna Hatfield
(Summer Creek, #4)
Publication date: June 22nd 2021
Genres: Adult, Romance, Western

Synopsis:

Trouble is coming, but for whom?

When he’s not evading grabby-handed octogenarians, mentoring troubled teens, or rescuing rascally youngsters from disaster, Deputy Knox Strickland can be found upholding the law in the eastern Oregon region he patrols. He avoids making plans for tomorrow, focusing instead on doing his best today. Then one chance encounter with a beautiful woman in a wheat field turns his world upside down. Knox is left questioning what secrets she’s hiding, and how hard he’ll have to work to scale the fortress she’s built around her heart.

Zadie Redmond isn’t like most women. A life spent looking over her shoulder has destroyed the promising future she’d once envisioned. Her days are spent leading hunting and fishing adventures or teaching tiny ballerinas the proper way to plié. She fills her evenings with do-it-yourself projects while worrying about the day her past catches up with her. In an unexpected moment, the local deputy swoops into her world like a storybook hero and she knows nothing will ever be the same. Zadie will do anything to keep Knox safe from the danger lurking in the shadows, even if it destroys her chance at love.

Will Knox convince Zadie she can trust him with her secrets and her heart?

A sweet romance full of quirky small-town fun, Distracting the Deputy is a story of hope, help, and hanging on to what matters most.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

AUTHOR BIO:

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Pinterest / Bookbub

For a chance to win, fill out this form. The prize includes autographed copies of the Summer Creek series, Dilettante peppermint truffle crémes (these are SO good!), a cute notebook, a bottle of You’re the One lotion, a Hopeless Romantic dish towel and potholder set, and a swag bag to carry it all! (Value $100+)

One entry per person. Entries must be received by June 30, 2021. Winners will be notified by July 15 and will be given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics. The giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

#Book Blitz #Keeper of Souls by Harper Ray #New Adult #Paranormal @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:
Keeper of Souls
by Harper Ray
(The Revenant Trilogy, #1)
Publication date: June 29th 2021
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal
Synopsis:

“What would you do if Death gave you a second chance?”

Most people who escaped death were relieved, happy to be granted that second chance at life. In my case, it was more of a curse than a blessing.

Everyday I woke, I was tortured with another soul. They all wanted something from me, but I couldn’t give it to them. Instead, I ignored them. I neglected the pain they had laced beneath their hollow eyes. I dismissed the screams that shattered my eardrums every time my head hit the pillow.

The souls took pleasure in patronizing me. They were a constant reminder of why I shouldn’t have been granted a second chance.

I had managed to escape Death twice, but the third time was my undoing. He came back with a heavy vengeance. Suddenly, I was thrown into a battle between two brothers. Heaven and Hell. Light versus Dark.

They both needed me on their side, but after facing Death for the third time, I wasn’t sure I would survive the cruel fate he had planned.

Add to Goodreads

Purchase:Will be found here after the release day

Author Bio:

As an author of young and new adult romances, Harper has a passion for writing stories that readers enjoy reading over and over again. Her imagination is the creative tool that helps her come up with several intriguing story lines that she hopes to share with the world. Her fans call her the “page turner author” because with each story she sucks the readers in, instantly hooking them from page one.

If Harper’s not busy writing her next book, she’s either digging into a sappy romance novel, binge watching Harry Potter or going to school full time.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

eBook copy of Keeper of Souls

$15 Amazon gift card

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#Book Review #For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino @Lake Union Publishing

A sharp and hilariously relatable novel about the business of weddings, the toll they can take, and the lengths one exasperated bridesmaid will go to for the love of friends.

Lily Weiss is her mother’s worst nightmare: thirty-two and single—the horror! She’s also a talented writer but hides behind a boring job at a science foundation. To her friends, she’s reliable and selfless, which is how she winds up a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks. Anything for her three best friends and two (younger) siblings, right? Even if her own love life is…well, she’d rather not talk about it. To keep her sanity, Lily needs a safe place to vent.
And so her anonymous blog, Bridesmania, is born. The posts start pouring out of her: all the feels about mom-zillas, her vanishing bank balance, the wicked bridesmaids of the west, high-strung brides-to-be, body-shaming dress clerks, bachelorette parties, and Spanx for days, not to mention being deemed guardian of eighty-eight-year-old Granny (who enjoys morning mimosas in the nude) for her brother’s destination wedding.
So far the blog has stayed anonymous. But as everyone knows, few things online remain secret forever…
When all is said and done, can Lily help all five couples make it to happily ever after? And will her own happy ending be close behind?

(From the blurb)

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: August 1, 2021

No of pages: 364

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Chicklit, Contemporary Romance

My thoughts:

For the Love of Friends is a typical summer read- everybody knows that summer the best season for weddings and everybody knows it’s impossible to survive being a bridesmaid in five weddings over two months without some major damage to one’s sanity. Here is a story that will make you think even more fondly of your friends who never (occasionally/ sometimes/ quite a lot ) lost their good old common sense and good nature and started asking impossible things from you.

Lily Weiss, our protagonist, is a friend/sibling and bridesmaid to 5 manic brides. She adores her dad and has quite a complicated relationship with her mother (nothing Lily does is going to be good enough, starting from being thirty two years old and single) and her younger sister. Lily is bored with what she has to do at work. Still, she is lacking courage to leave her secure job and become a writer. Compromise? a wedding blog where she can put down on paper (sorry, screen) her observations and tell her jokes without hurting anyone’s feelings. Yes, some of the stories are incredibly entertaining (¡Hola abuela!) or shocking esp. her involvement with not one, but two of the best men from her best friend’s wedding party.

To be perfectly honest, my feelings towards Lily were all over the place. First, I liked the way she refused to beat herself up about her one night stand and feel obliged to start another dead-end/ short-term relationship… unfortunately, things weren’t that straightforward and she came very close to sabotaging herself. Perhaps, I was a bit too harsh on Lily- I expected a thirty two year old to be more mature and more self-aware, but some things you see only when you are ready to see them.

Lily’s blogging journey sounded interesting- a lot of people relish in the anonymity of the Internet and give vent to their feelings (perhaps, even slightly exaggerating things to make the content more striking). We know it will all blow in her face and there will be consequences…Perhaps, Lily needed a push, a disaster to force her into changing. I liked the fact that she grows as a person, a friend, and a family member, and clears a lot of issues in the end.

The writing was almost addictive with a lot of funny moments and sarky comments. I haven’t mentioned it so far, but there’s also romance- I just don’t want to give the story away. Some time in the middle, I wondered if five weddings were really too many (I know, that’s the whole point!) and the book could have been as good or even better with fewer plotlines. Then again, not all our relationships in life are equally deep or equally important at all points of our lives, but they all benefit from kindness, attention, and communication, and this book really drives it home.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

#Fantasy Friday #An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes Book 1) by Sabaa Tahir #YA Fantasy #20booksofsummer21

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

( From the book blurb)

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date:February 9th, 2016

Other Titles in the Series (tetralogy):

Book 2 A Torch Against the Night
Book3 A Reaper at the gates
Book 4 A Sky Beond the Storm

My thoughts:

As usual, I completely missed all the hype and just got to reading this series. To be honest, I didn’t have any expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how easy to read and how engaging the book is. Earlier this year I reviewed another YA release compared to An Ember in the Ashes, which I did struggle with, but this one kept my attention all way through, despite being on the lengthy side (446pages!).

The best things about the book:

-the world-building;
-the characters;
-the sense of adventure;
-the pace;

…and some things I wasn’t particularly sure about…
-first person present tense narrative – it does create a sense of immediacy of the events and action, but not everybody is a fan of this type of writing;

-I would have prefered a bit more depth to the villain characters.

What is it all about:

Laia and Darin’s family are Scholars, an oppressed group of people conquered by the Martial Empire (inspired by Ancient Rome). Scholars are free, but there are countless restrictions on what they can and cannot do, one of them being forbidden to read. A slightest misdimeanor or disobedience leads to death, enslavement or being sent to the Kauf prison, where the inmates are subjected to all kinds of horrible torture. Laia’s parents, members of the Resistance movement, were captured and killed together with Laia’s older sister. Laia and Darin live with grandfather-Healer and grandmother. One look at Darin’s sketchbook filled with all sorts of secret drawings and Laia knows they are in trouble. The Martial Patrol kills their grandparents and takes away Darin who is to be interrogated, tortured and executed. Laia manages to escape, but her only hope is to find the Resistance and beg for their help. In exchange for this, she agrees to infiltrate Blackcliff, the military school where the Empire’s elite soldiers -Masks- are trained. Laia is asked to pretend to be a slave and spy on the the School Commandant in order to glean any information she can about the upcoming Trials for the future Emperor, who is to be chosen among the most recent graduates.

The narrative switches between Laia and Elias, one of the Mask cadets, who abhors the brutality and violence of the Martial army. All he seeks is to be free from this horrendous lifestyle, but the Augurs prophesize his way to real freedom of body and soul lies through participating in the Trials. The plot is action-packed and there’s never a dull moment in this steady-paced story. Once you find out about the Augurs’ abilities and realise the creatures Laia sees in her moments of despair aren’t hallucinations, you understand that there’s a lot more to this world and this story and it is indeed a fantasy book.

Both of our protagonists are extemely compelling. Laia keeps seeing herself as somebody weak, not deserving the legacy of her fearless parents. She is smart and determined to do anything to save her brother, despite her fear and ‘lack of strength’. Elias …is loyal, kind, honest with himself and the others, he is a kind of person who isn’t afraid to stand up for those who are weaker or less privileged. His family background adds to the complexity of his feelings and his desires. There’s a large cast of well-written and well-defined secondary characters, including Helene Aquilla, Elias’s best friend and the only female Mask cadet in Blackcliff. I would have prefered to know more about the main villain’s history and motivations- I guess it will all become clearer in the next book.

I hope the rest of the series is going to be as enjoyable as this first book which was both original and gripping. Looking forward to reading the second part, A Torch in the Night!

An Ember in the Ashes was book#5 from my Twenty Books of Summer list.

#Book Blitz #Other People’s Butterflies by Cora Ruskin #YA @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:
Other People’s Butterflies
Cora Ruskin
Publication date: June 22nd 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Synopsis:

Gwen Foster has never been kissed. But when she gets the chance to finally see what all the hype is about, it’s with her best friend’s crush. Embroiled in relationship drama she doesn’t understand, and ostracized from her friend group, Gwen escapes the angst by using her favorite femme fatale as a role model… and makes snooping on her classmates her new pastime.

Gwen’s detective work appears to be going well, until an unknown social media account starts spilling all the scandalous personal details she’s uncovered. Now this wannabe spy must stop whoever is behind it before everyone’s dirty laundry is aired, and Gwen is forced to finish high school without any friends.

Other People’s Butterflies is a coming-of-age contemporary mystery about not needing to find your first love – but yourself – and how to mend the relationships that matter to you.

Goodreads / Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:

Cora Ruskin is a part-time MSc student of Science Communication, and works for a charity that helps victims of crime. Writing gets squeezed in between the two. She lives in Bristol, England, with five housemates and a very messy kitchen. “Other People’s Butterflies” is her debut novel.

Website / Amazon / Twitter

EXCERPT:

Two hours later, I have a new favorite movie. I also have a new favorite character and her name is Lana Barrington. She’s a badass double agent (or possibly a triple agent or a double reverse quadruple agent – the plot of Dead Tulips is pretty confusing) who’s so devious that her own dad nicknames her “Poison Candy”. She’s very femme fatale-ish, with black hair and blood-red lips. She wears this pearl necklace, and one of the pearls is full of cyanide in case she ever finds herself in a jam. In the movie she gets into, like, seventeen jams, but she never bites down on the cyanide pearl because she always finds a way to wiggle out of it. She also has a little black book, which looks empty because she writes in invisible ink, and she keeps information about everyone she meets in it.

I didn’t get the point of the little black book at first, because she wasn’t writing down state secrets or anything – it was all stuff like which cocktail waitress a married man flirts with at a bar, or who’s been pawning their grandmother’s jewelry. Gossipy stuff. But then there’s a scene where a guy asks her about it and she says “Information is currency. And I mean to be very rich.”

By the time I leave the cinema, it’s dark and the air is biting cold. My breath swirls around my face like smoke. On my way to the bus stop I nip into Superdrug and buy a packet of black hair dye and a deep red lipstick called “Kiss of Death”.

On Monday morning, I color my lips with the Kiss of Death lipstick and examine my reflection in my bedroom mirror. I think I look pretty good with black hair, though Mum says it washes me out. I’m hoping the red lipstick doesn’t get any stink eye from teachers like Mrs. Clearwater, who are overzealous when it comes to enforcing the school’s dress code. Sixth form girls are allowed to wear make-up, but it has to be “workplace appropriate” make-up. No glitter, no goth stuff, no crazy color combinations. It doesn’t make sense to me. Supposedly they’re getting us used to workplace dress codes, but what if we end up working as children’s entertainers or bar staff in a goth nightclub?

I feel different. I feel like a snake that’s shed its skin – all new and shiny and venomous.