Book Review - The Art of Christmas by Jane Lovering

Amazon UK

Title: The Art of Christmas

Author: Jane Lovering

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Choc Lit

Publication Date: 13th November 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

What if the memories of Christmas past were getting in the way of Christmas future? 
It’s been nearly two years since Harriet lost Jonno, but she’s finally decided that it’s time to celebrate Christmas again. 

Then she finds a stash of graphic novels belonging to her comic book-loving husband in the attic, and suddenly her world is turned upside down once more. 

With the help of eccentric comic book dealer Kell Foxton, she discovers that the comics collected by Jonno are not only extremely valuable, but also hold the key to his secret life – a life that throws Harriet’s entire marriage and every memory she has of her husband into question. 

As Harriet grows closer to Kell, she begins to feel like she could learn to love Christmas again – but first, she needs to know the truth. 

If it not often that I will come away from a novella utterly speechless, but yet that is the position I'm finding myself in after reading The Art of Christmas. 

It is a very well crafted, very short story, but yet it felt like so much more. I was hooked from the first to the last page, and devoured it in under an hour. It's an incredibly well written book, and a heart warming story, that I don't really want to say much about, for fear of giving away anything key. 

For there are a few shocks and surprises for Harriet to overcome during this book, and she is such a lovely characters, and Kell is clearly lonely and has Frodo the dog for company, and their is a kinship between Kell and Harriet that grows as the novella progresses. 

I can't believe how much information is packed into this book, and its short, sweet but perfectly formed. I had been excited about this title since it had been announced, and I was definitely not disappointed. A heartwarming, fantastic novella, about the coming together of two people who clearly meet at the right times in their lives.  There is more depth to the story than you generally get in books this short, and for that I can only proclaim Jane Lovering very talented, and very good at selecting the relevant words she needed to craft this book. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Choc Lit for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Jules Wake's Christmas Q&A - Blog Tour - #HarperXmas

I am delighted to be part of the From Paris With Love This Christmas blog tour, and would like to thank Jules Wake for joining me on Rachel's Random Reads to answer this bunch of festive questions. 

What is your favourite Christmas film?

My absolute favourite Christmas film is Serendipity, it combines all the classic elements of the festive season in New York, the shops on Fifth Avenue, ice skating in Central Park and snow falling on the divine John Cusack.  What I really love, and what sets it aside from other Christmas films, is that it has that extra touch of sparkle when the hero and heroine are brought together through the magic of fate.  It’s a fairy tale story which contains all the classic elements of Christmas. 

If you could only listen to one Christmas song for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I never tire of hearing Wizard’s I wish it Could be Christmas Every Day. It brings back memories of Top of The Pops and its such a lovely,  shouty, celebratory track announcing that it’s time to have fun. 

What is your most treasured Christmas tradition?

Without a doubt, decorating the tree.  Wherever I’ve lived, at home with my parents, abroad or with my own family now, this is the one time that we batten down the hatches and all get together and devote time to being a family and doing something together.  

As a child, the whole family and my mum’s best friend had to be present before the tree could be decorated and now with my own children we’ve continued this tradition.  Everyone has to be at home. The lights go on first and then we unwrap all the decorations which have been brought down from the loft in readiness, and then we all decorate the tree together, after arguing about which sequence is best for the lights on the tree.

If you were one of Santa’s reindeer, which one would you be?

Prancer – there would be no point being a reindeer if you didn’t get to do some prancing. 

What is the best Christmas gift you have ever received?

I really shouldn’t be mercenary about this, but a couple of years ago my husband bought me tickets to see Journey, my all time favourite, favourite rock band.  It was a complete surprise and as they are American (and knocking on a bit)  I never thought I’d get to see them. I have to admit … I cried!

What is your opinion on mistletoe?
Come on! I write romantic fiction, what do you think? 

What is the best Christmassy beverage?

Champagne cocktails. My husband makes a really mean one, Angoustura Bitters, Brandy, a sugar cube and Champagne.  

When is the appropriate time to start listening to Christmas music?

We have a lovely Christmas CD which was produced by the local performing arts school and every year this comes out about a week before Christmas and we listen to it in the early evening with a glass of wine in front of the fire.  

How long after Christmas Day do your decorations stay up?

They always come down before twelfth night, usually in time for everyone to go back to school and it always feels rather sad.  However we do go through all the Christmas Cards when we take them down, reading them all and then cutting them up to make tags for next year’s Christmas presents. 


If you could ask Santa for one thing bigger than a dog but smaller than an elephant, what would it be?
A big dog.  For the last couple of years we’ve been talking about getting a dog but the timing wasn’t right because of our day time commitments but that’s gradually changing, so who knows, maybe this year will be the year of the dog.  

About Jules Wake

Despite early ambitions, my path to being a published novelist took a diversion when after reading English at the University of East Anglia, I ended up in the glamorous and deeply shallow world of PR, and I spent a number of years honing my fictional writing skills on press releases.


In my head I’m a winning contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, a competitive skydiver and a domestic goddess. Unfortunately in reality I can’t dance, or sky dive and dust bunnies gather in every corner of my house but in my fun, romantic comedy, my heroines can be anything they want.

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From Italy With Love
From Paris With Love This Christmas

Book Review - Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas by Michelle Betham

Amazon UK

Title: Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas

Author: Michelle Betham

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 10th September 2015

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Shirley Valentine meets Sons of Anarchy in this raunchy, red-hot read!

Lana Saunders is on a mission find the ‘new Lana’, the real Lana. After twenty years spent as a prim and proper businessman’s wife, she’s finally swapped beige cotton for black leather, and cardigans for tattoo sleeves! With the ink only just dry on her divorce papers, she’s ready to live it up in Vegas.

What she doesn’t expect is to meet wickedly sexy biker, Eddie and is shocked when he asks her out. Not only does he send her sex-starved libido into overdrive, but the connection between them is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. So when Eddies asks her to stay with him in Vegas, the desire to fall into this gorgeous man’s bed and stay there forever is too tempting to ignore!

Living with Eddie in Las Vegas is the most fun Lana’s had in years—especially when he shows her that there’s more than one way to ride on a Harley!—but soon she realises she can’t ignore her old life forever, particularly when her ex, Adam shows up determined to win her back!

This to me felt like a book of two halves. I loved the first half and then felt it lost its way a bit in the second half of it. I think this is because I loved Eddie, and how Lana was when she was with Eddie, and when her ex husband Adam came back into the picture, I started to lose respect for Lana, and I didn't really take to him either. 

I think I fell a bit in love with Eddie, and the sex between him and Lana, is red-hot, raunch, sizzling and really hits all the right spots. Eddie is a biker, living in Las Vegas and sweeps Lana off her feet with promises of life on the open road on the back of a Harley, and of the biker culture, and freedom. Which is just what Lana needs after a year in which she got divorced after 20 years of marriage to man who she no longer loves. 

However when Lana decides to stay in Vegas with Eddie, Finn, her brother isn't happy and gets her ex-husband involved. You then have your typical lust triangle, with at times all three of the characters being driven by their libidos more than rational thoughts. 

I loved the setting of Vegas, and getting to see parts of Las Vegas that aren't just the main strip with all the casinos. And the writing was typical Michelle Betham, as I said addictive sex scenes, and a great deal of story as well. 

Unfortunately for me, Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas, just didn't hit all the notes I would have liked it to. Its a raunchy story, with little depth, and I feel the wrong ending. I would recommend Michelle's Striker series as an introduction to what she is about, if you haven't read her before. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this review copy. This was my honest review. 

Book Review - George's Grand Tour by Caroline Vermalle

Amazon UK

Title: George's Grand Tour

Author: Caroline Vermalle

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Gallic Books

Publication Date: 2nd March 2015

Rating: 4.5 Stars

At the age of 83, retired butcher George Nicoleau is about to set off on the greatest adventure of his life. George and his neighbour Charles have long dreamt of a road trip, driving the 3500 kilometres that make up the stages of the Tour de France. And now that George’s over-protective daughter has gone to South America, it's time to seize the moment. But just when he feels free of family ties, George’s granddaughter Adèle starts calling him from London, and he finds himself promising to text her as he travels around France, although he doesn't even know how to use a mobile. George is plagued by doubts, health worries and an indifference to modern technology. And yet – might the journey still prove to be everything he had hoped for?

George's Grand Tour really is a book of two parts, one that is funny, charming, heartwarming and uplifting, and then the rest that becomes more serious, and a a bittersweet. All of it combined makes for a charming story, that I really connected to. 

I've read quite a few books this year, featuring main characters in their eighties, doing rather uncharacteristic things with various outcomes, and I have to say, I believe this is easily my favourite of them all. For most of it I was reading it with a smile on my face, and loved learning about various small villages in France. 

George and his neighbour Charles, decide to do the Tour de France, not on bikes, but by car, while George's over protective daughter is on a trek in Peru for 2 months. They realise that with Francoise abroad, this would be their best ever opportunity to follow the 2008 tour route, and as such great Tour de France fanatics they have always wanted to do this. 

One small fly in the ointment was when his seldom heard from grand daughter Adele, calls him, and when she discovers what the pair are up to she insists on a daily text message. 

The scene where George and Charles are in a restaurant, and are being given lessons in text message language from the waiters is one of  the highlights of the book for me, as is the subsequent text message exchanges with Adele over the next few weeks, as they form a connection to each other. 

There is even a hint of romance in the early stages of the tour, as well as lots of sight seeing, taking lots of breaks in small villages, you get a real feel of Brittany, and its food. 

As the story progresses you discover that both the men have secret ulterior motives for the trip, one of which could possibly be guessed and the other which really did catch me out, but both were admirable. And George and Charles slowly go from neighbours, who sometimes pass the time of day, to real friends. 

I believe there is a message to be taken from this story, which is that old people are more capable than you give them credit for, can still learn new things and can be up for adventure too. And also not to neglect your grandparents, even if they do live a normally boring existence in a small village in France. 

Although most of the book focuses on the road trip, we get occasional chapters set in France, and we see what is going on in Adele's life, and it made quite a good contrast in fortunes. 

George's Grand Tour is an excellent story, that is told with a lot of affection for the characters, and I loved the writing of Caroline Vermalle. who I think really got into the mind set of George and Charles. Inspirational story that I loved reading. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallic Books for this review copy. This is my honest opinion. 

Promo Post - Return of the Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan - Blog Tour

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: 29th Nov 2015

Christmas is just around the corner when Star begins working at Butterburn library, but not everyone is embracing the spirit of the season. 

Sixteen-year-old Arianna’s mock exams are looming and she’s feeling under pressure. With her father living abroad and her mother working three jobs, she doesn’t have much support at home.

The bank is threatening to repossess Evan’s house, and he has no idea how he’s going to get through Christmas with two children who are used to getting everything they want.

Patricia’s cliché of a husband, after 23 years of marriage, has announced he’s moving out of the family home, and moving in with his secretary.

Daniel is doing the work of three people in his sales job, as well as looking after his kids and his wife. Pulled in too many different directions, he’s feeling stressed out.

Can Star, the library’s Good Samaritan, help set them on the path to happiness this Christmas?

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

About Susan Buchanan

Susan Buchanan lives in Central Scotland with her partner, Tony, and their two children. She is the author of three other novels: The Christmas Spirit, The Dating Game, and Sign of the Times. Return of the Christmas Spirit is her fourth book. She is currently working on her fifth book, What If.

Susan is also a proofreader, editor, and translator, and when not working, writing, or caring for her two delightful cherubs, loves reading, the theatre, quiz shows, and eating out - not necessarily in that order!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author

Twitter: susan_buchanan

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4216164.Susan_Buchanan

Website: www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co.uk

GIVEAWAY

There are 2 giveaways associated with this tour

Visit Susan’s blog at www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co.uk, where there will be a Rafflecopter giveaway for a £10/$15 Amazon voucher for the duration of the tour and the launch day itself.

Plus

Enter the tour giveaway to win an ecopy (x2) of Susan’s book THE DATING GAME

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Book Review & Giveaway - The Kiss Before Midnight by Sophie Pembroke - #HarperXmas

Amazon UK

Title: The Kiss Before Midnight

Author: Sophie Pembroke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 13th November 2014

Rating: 5 Stars

Heading home to Liverpool for Christmas, Molly Mackenzie isn’t just looking forward to the mulled wine and mince pies – she’s got high hopes for who she’ll find under the mistletoe this year!

Unable to forget the delicious near miss with her brother’s best friend, Jake, last New Year’s Eve, Molly’s got a new resolution at the top of her list: seduce Jake and get this crazy chemistry out the way before it has serious repercussions on the rest of the Mackenzie family.

Only Molly has underestimated the magic of the holiday season… The more stolen moments in the snow that she shares with Jake, the more determined she is to make it a whole lot more than just a kiss before midnight.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the festive warmth of a heart-meltingly romantic novella from Sophie Pembroke!

The Kiss Before Midnight is a warm, romantic story, full of sexual tension, and the love of a good family around you. 

The previous News Year Eve, Jake and Molly shared a kiss, and it now seems as though it has been on both of their minds for the whole year. The problem is Molly then moved to London to try and be less flaky, and Jake doesn't want to upset Molly's family as they are as close to him as his own were. 

So when they find themselves sharing all sorts of moments this Christmas, it makes them think. Throw in the magic of the festive season, a very cozy family Christmas in the Mackenzie household, and various sibling's opinions on the situation, and you have this fabulous novella. 

I loved the writing in this story, and I really felt like I was a part of the Mackenzie's Christmas celebrations. I certainly want to read Sophie's other Christmas book A Kiss Before Christmas, as I think its the story of Dory's romance, who is Molly's older sister, and I hope there is a third book to focus on Tim's story (Molly's brother). 

If you are looking for a short heart warming Christmas story, then this is definitely worth checking out. 

Giveaway to win a paperback copy of The Kiss Before Midnight (Open Internationally)

Sophie is very kindly offering a copy of The Kiss Before Midnight to be won for #HarperXmas. 

Giveaway open internationally, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 13/12/2015. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

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Book Review - From Paris With Love This Christmas by Jules Wake - #HarperXmas

Amazon UK

Title: From Paris With Love This Christmas

Author: Jules Wake

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 29th October 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Just until Christmas…

That’s what Paris socialite Siena keeps telling herself. She’ll hide away in her sister Laurie’s cottage near London to escape her hot-tempered fiancé.

However, when Jason – gorgeous but a bit of a Grinch – picks her up from the airport, he reveals that Laurie hasn’t lived there for months, complicating Siena’s holiday getaway.

At first, Jason and Siena don’t see eye to eye. But after a weekend in the most romantic city in the world, experiencing all it has to offer – from the magic of a fir-lined Champs-Élysées, lit up by thousands of sparkling fairy lights, to the swoosh of skates on ice at the Eiffel Tower – Siena shows Jason her Paris, and a whole other side to herself. Suddenly Siena’s December deadline seems far too close…

This Christmas, jet off to Paris with Siena and Jason and experience the magic of the holiday season

Another cracker of a book from Jules Wake. I was absorbed in this story right from the beginning, and the second my memory kicked in fully to remind me of the meeting between Laurie and Siena in From Italy with Love, it became even better. As I did remember Siena, I just couldn't fully place her at first. 

Although this does feature small parts by characters featured in From Italy With Love, this is definitely a standalone book, with a whole new cast, and is set predominately in England, but there is a trip to Paris in the run up to Christmas that is brilliant. 

Seeing Siena guide Jason around Paris is superb, and she is full of surprises throughout the book. Siena shows Jason some of the big sights, some excellent views, and also some of the bits of Paris that she knows well. 

As I say Siena is surprising, not only was she continually making Jason rethink his initial opinion of her, but I was becoming more and more impressed by her, by ever passing chapter. The development of Siena's character reminds me a lot of Rachel from Friends, over the 10 series, going from reasonably clueless about the world outside the privilege she grew up in, to becoming a well rounded determined young woman.

I loved how Jason slowly changed too, and as a reader you are probably a few steps ahead of either of  them, with their feelings for each other. You can see the connection deepening and the changes in Jason towards Siena are lovely. 

Wonderful story set in the run up to Christmas, with some great festive touches including glittery pine cone Christmas decorations, and Siena's ability to keep cool in a crisis, once she has found a job she can do is inspiring,.  We slowly learn the reason for Siena's appearance in England, at short notice, and I can't say I blame her.

I think I preferred From Italy With Love, but this comes a very close second to me, in the books I  have read by Jules Wake. It may have been missing the cross-Europe road-trip but it features Christmas, and so much more, that I didn't mind. 

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.

Book Review - The Heart of Winter by Emma Hannigan

Amazon UK

Title: The Heart of Winter

Author: Emma Hannigan

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 22nd October 2015

Rating: 4 Stars

With the promise of December in the air and the hedgerows laced with frost, Huntersbrook House has never looked more beautiful.

Once the Craig family's beloved home, the house has been transformed into a magnificent countryside venue. And its first booking couldn't be more perfect - the Christmas wedding of a well-known film actress.

Yet, behind the scenes, the Craig children are feeling the chill. Pippa is skating on thin ice with her reckless personal life; Joey, preoccupied with the business, is blind to his fiancé's struggles. And Lainey's future is dealt a cruel blow.

As the wedding approaches, everyone hopes the house will weave its magic. But can the Craigs put their differences aside and pull together as a family once more?

The Heart of Winter sees us return to Huntersbrook House, setting of Driving Home for Christmas, and a return to the Craig family. Once again Huntersbrook House is the key to the book, but this time as a an events venue, and the book is set in the run up to Christmas. 

Although this is a sequel, that is set around 3 years after the original, it can definitely be read as a standalone. Enough relevant information is provided, but due to the huge range of character development between the two books, it may be recommended to read Driving Home For Christmas first, purely to really get a feel for the family.  

Almost everyone from the first book is back, with a couple of exceptions, 1 a lot more notable than the other (which isn't even referenced). My favourite character is still Pippa, the youngest sibling. She is unpredictable, fun loving and has a large amount of growing up to do. And this time she really does get herself into some sticky situations, which are tough for her to get out of. But at the bottom of it all she has a heart of gold, and even if she does need a bit of a wake up call, has her family's best interests at heart. 

Joey, who felt rather vulnerable and a bit of a fitness fanatic, has had what feels like a complete personality transplant and is more focused on his job and trying to become partner, and the growing of the Huntersbrook House business to pay attention to his girlfriend. It felt like a complete 180 degree turnaround and I felt I liked him less than I did as a result. 

Lainey is the oldest sibling and life has possibly changed more for her, than the others. She still has a rock relationship with her mother, Holly, but is now a mother of her own. However then a tragedy strikes Lainey and she has to learn to cope with a whole new reality. And its while Lainey is dealing with this, that leads to major changes in all manner of the relationships between Craig family members. 

Then there is Holly, the family matriarch, who just wants to spend more time with her grandson, and is as always excited about decorating for Christmas.

The perspective jumps around between Holly, Joey, Lainey and Pippa and occasionally some of the other characters but its always easy to know who we are focused on, as its the section heading. This allowed us to get up, close and personal with all of the Craig clan, and I love getting to know my characters really well, as it allows you to feel emotionally attached to them .

The Heart of Winter, was an excellent story and was highly enjoyable, I loved the setting in Ireland of Wicklow, and also Dublin, and Emma Hannigan is moving her way up my list of Irish Fiction writers that I love.  I am really hoping that this isn't the last we see of this fabulous family, or their handsome house. 

Thanks so much to Headline and Netgalley for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Book Review - A Very Country Christmas by Zara Stoneley - #HarperXmas

Amazon UK

Title: A Very Country Christmas

Author: Zara Stoneley

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Harper Impulse

Publication Date: 29th October 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

A short Christmas story of three courses.

Love is in the air in Tippermere as Lottie dreams of a white Christmas with no trimmings – other than her hot and hunky eventer, Rory. But things are never quite that simple on the Tipping House Estate.

Festive fervour takes over and it isn’t all seasonal peace and goodwill as expectations rise and it soon escalates from cosy dinner for two, to all the trimmings for ten!

With missing turkeys, loose horses, troublesome terriers and randy huntsmen, Lottie is hard pushed to find time for a kiss under the mistletoe, let alone find the opportunity to woo Rory with her sexy Santa costume.

But there is only one thing Lottie really wants for Christmas, and only one man can deliver it…

A Very Country Christmas is a look at Christmas in Tippermere. All your favourite characters (apart from Mick) are present, in this celebration of Christmas, set a few months after Country Affairs finished. 

Lottie is intending to have a cozy Christmas for two with Rory this year, until the season of goodwill over takes her, and she ends up with a crowded house. Highlights include anything to do with the turkey (named Terrence), and the exploits of the slightly disgraced huntmaster. 

As always at the start of this there is a guide to the characters you will see featured in Tippermere, so that even if you haven't read either of Zara's previous books, you still get a good idea of who is who and how they are related. 

It is split into three sections, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and Christmas Eve was possibly the weakest in terms of overall enjoyment, but was all vital set up so that the rest of the story would make lots of sense, and be even more entertaining. 

I felt so at home reading this, I didn't even mind that it was a short story. Sometimes short stories really bug me, but this one was just like an extra few chapters to a normal book, but with a standalone story that was highly enjoyable. 

Book Review - Follow Me by Angela Clarke - Blog Tour

Amazon UK

Title: Follow Me

Author: Angela Clarke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 3rd December 

Rating: 4.5 Stars

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …

Follow Me is a very cleverly crafted, intelligent thriller, that raises very valid contemporary points about social media. Would you follow someone who appears to be the #Murderer just to see what they are up to? Would you ignore them, and what happens if that user follows you?

Freddie is a wannabe journalist desperate for her big break so she can stop working in a coffee shop on the night shift, and to be paid for her writing. When she spots her former good friend in a station, she reacquaints herself with Nasreen. She knows Nasreen is now a police officer, and so she follows, and ends up at a crime scene, and then later attempting to help the police since she understands social media. 

Not only does Freddie understand social media, but seems able to notice and solve the cryptic clues being posted by the twitter account, that she is positive is the murder. But how can she get the police force to start believing her, or taking her seriously. 

Follow Me shows just how powerful twitter can be, and also gives hints at various ways you can make your virtual footprint a bit less traceable. As a bit of a geek I found the technical talk very interesting, and could follow it all, as it made sense. 

It is very believable and scary that a user could be conducting murders and taunting the police on twitter, and the amount of people who initially doesn't take it seriously and thinks its highly amusing, until the death count rises. At which point the expected public outrage may occur. 

With regards the murders themselves, I had no clue who was hiding behind the twitter account, and up until the last second I still didn't have a clue. The final reveal did make sense though, it just wasn't an outcome I had thought of. 

There is quite a bit of police station action in Follow Me, especially as the police are struggling with this case, and I love seeing how police theories pan out.

I found that for the most part this book didn't get under my skin the way I was hoping it would do, I wasn't overly scared and oddly I wasn't put off from using twitter, which I had thought may have been an outcome before reading it. I thought it took a while to get going but all the time it was building suspense, and I was always curious to see what would happen next. By the last quarter I couldn't put it down. 

I believe this is Angela Clarke's debut thriller and its a brilliant story, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Definitely an author with a promising future if Follow Me is anything to go by. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.