Posts

Posted on

Book Review: Murder in First Class (Miss Underhay #8) by Helena Dixon @NellDixon  @Bookouture

Murder in First Class
(Miss Underhay #8)
by Helena Dixon

All aboard a train bound for… murder.

Kitty Underhay is looking forward to a week of long lunches and wedding planning with her husband-to-be, Captain Matthew Bryant. But the plan is derailed when he is called on to collect a former comrade-in-arms, arriving on the 15:50 from Bakerloo. As the train bearing Simon Travers pulls up to the platform, a piercing scream rises over the screech of its brakes. Travers is dead in his seat, a dagger in his heart.

Who gave this defenseless man a one-way ticket to the next life? And why? And could Matt’s close connection put him at risk? Only a few individuals had access to Travers’s compartment, and Kitty must find out which of these seemingly benign passengers is in fact a cross-country killer.

But when Kitty’s prime suspect, the traveling salesman with no merchandise, is found murdered, she is stumped. Until she makes the connection between the two victims and realizes that this murderer has an even more deadly destination in mind. Can she stop them before they strike again? Or will Kitty’s own next stop be the graveyard?

A pitch-perfect and totally gripping Golden Age historical cozy mystery! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Her friend was bearing a tray of tea and toast, with a side dish of gossip.

 

My Review:

 

I have vastly enjoyed the installments of this series that I’ve been lucky enough to nab. Helena Dixon’s writing style is a joy to read, easy to follow, and scrolls smoothly with each scene brilliantly described and thoroughly composed in both thought and deed. Her work would make an excellent series for the small screen and better than most currently airing. Even the secondary characters are uniquely compelling and so well detailed I feel I could recognize them in a crowd. Kitty Underhay is a plucky gal ahead of her time yet respectful of convention. The storylines are historically accurate, unpredictable, and pleasantly engaging. I am already looking forward to their next caper.

 

About the Author

 

Nell Dixon was born and continues to live in the Black Country. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, a crazy cockapoo, and a tank of tropical fish. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel, and housework. Her addictions of choice are coffee and reality TV. She was the winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 with her book Marrying Max, and winner of Love Story of the Year 2010 with her book, Animal Instincts. She also writes historical 1930’s set cozy crime as Helena Dixon.

 

Posted on

Book Review: Beach Wedding by Michael Ledwidge @_mikeledwidge

 

Beach Wedding
by Michael Ledwidge

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

 

A high-society wedding party stirs up new evidence in an unsolved murder in this thrilling stand-alone from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of James Patterson’s Now You See Her and The Quickie.

Hamptons sand… Hamptons money… Hamptons murder…

When Terry Rourke is invited to the spare-no-expense beach wedding of his hedge fund manager brother, he thinks that his biggest worry will be flubbing the champagne toast. But this isn’t the first time Terry has been to the Hamptons.

As the designer tuxedos are laid out and the flowers arranged along the glittering surf, Terry can’t help but take another look at a decades-old murder trial that rocked the very foundations of the town—and his family. He soon learns that digging up billion-dollar sand can be a very dangerous activity. The kind of danger that can very quickly turn even the most beautiful beach wedding into a wake.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

The running of the bullshitters.

 

My Review:

 

This book tickled my fancy as well as tripped my curiosity and held my rapt attention throughout with unpredictable and entertaining intrigue combined with lashings of amusingly wry and whip-smart wit. I fell right into this well nuanced and engaging tale and was huffing to keep up with the active storylines while my mind was racing with countless theories. Though totally unfamiliar to me, this prolific author has crazy good word voodoo and an impressive backlist. I’ve got some catching up to do.

 

 

About the Author

MICHAEL LEDWIDGE is the writer of seventeen novels, the last dozen being New York Times bestsellers co-written with one of the world’s bestselling authors, James Patterson. With twenty million copies in print, their Michael Bennett series is the highest-selling New York City detective series of all time. One of their novels, Zoo, became a three-season CBS television series. He lives in Connecticut.

 

Posted on

Book Review: The Wedding Dress by Dani Atkins  @AtkinsDani @Aria_Fiction

The Wedding Dress
by Dani Atkins 

Amazon  

.

From bestselling author Dani Atkins, a new collection of three irresistible love stories, all linked by one very special dress.

Suzanne is engaged to be married to the man of her dreams – except the lead-up to her wedding is beginning to feel more like a nightmare. Can Suzanne uncover the truth about her fiancé ahead of her big day?

Bella’s life was on track until the day of the hen party when everything changed. Now she must find the strength to rebuild her future – and decide who she wants to spend it with.

Mandy’s grandmother has fallen in love but her family doesn’t approve. For her grandmother’s dreams to come true, Mandy has a secret wedding to plan, and a very special dress to find.

These are the three strangers whose stories are about to be woven together by one perfect wedding dress.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Tall and as thin as a crochet hook, she was dressed from head to toe in black. Even her hair was ebony, the kind of shade that nature doesn’t do on Caucasian women. It was pulled back into the sort of topknot that surely had to hurt, and was neat enough to look as though it had been superglued into place. Absolutely no hairpins required.

 

…my mother would have been far easier to win over if I wasn’t forcing her to play happy families with the man she once claimed she never wanted to see again– well, at least not until Hell had begun offering ice-skating sessions.

 

Sasha smelled of sunshine and Tresemmé shampoo, mixed with an indefinable sweet aroma, which I swear exuded from her pores like a pheromone.

 

He believes your gran is delusional. Weirdly, he’d rather accept she has Alzheimer’s than consider she’s fallen in love with someone.’

 

A shiver ran through me. It was the same every time a Sunnymede resident passed away. It felt like death was a predator on the Serengeti, picking off the weakest of the elderly one by one. And every time it happened I felt as though I was one dreadful step closer to losing my grandmother.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a trifecta of tales, each one skillfully crafted while equally heart-squeezing and an amusing delight. The storylines were crisply written with endearing characters, witty exchanges, and sneakily observant and emotive insights with an eye-stinging poignancy.   The main characters were lovely people I’d enjoy knowing and spending time with, who all stumbled upon the perfect bridal gown in a time of need.   The mystical wedding dress was cleverly slipped into each story as if by magic, I suspect it may have contained a bit of fairy dust sewn into the hem. This was my initial exposure to Dani Atkin’s agile word skills and I believe I may have become her most avid acolyte somewhere around page two.

About the Author

Dani Atkins is an award-winning novelist. Her 2013 debut Fractured (published as Then and Always in North America) has been translated into 18 languages and has sold more than half a million copies since its first publication in the UK. Dani is the author of four other bestselling novels, one of which, This Love, won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2018. Dani lives in a small village in Hertfordshire with her husband, one Siamese cat, and a very soppy Border Collie.

 

Posted on

Book Review: The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson @sariahwilson

The Paid Bridesmaid
by Sariah Wilson

Amazon  / B&N /  BB

From Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of Roommaid, comes a captivating romantic comedy about what happens when a wedding party mixes business with romance.

Rachel Vinson is a bridesmaid for hire: part confidante, part wedding planner, and one hundred percent pretend BFF. Discretion guaranteed. Her next gig is a destination wedding—live-streamed and sponsored—for an Instagram influencer. That means a paradise of new contacts, which could be a boon to her already booming business. If Rachel can keep the very handsome and slightly too interested best man at bay, that is.

High-tech entrepreneur Camden Lewis must know: Who is this gorgeous, intelligent, and mysterious woman? Too good to be real. Convinced she’s a corporate spy out to tank his company, Camden’s not letting her out of his sight. But the constant surveillance is also opening his eyes to things about Rachel that he likes. If she’s a spy, she’s certainly the cutest one he’s ever seen.

As the week’s worth of wedding events march along, Rachel and Camden are learning almost everything there is to know about each other. Rachel’s made a career out of always a bridesmaid…but perhaps there’s a chance for her own trip down the aisle?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… there had never been such helicopter parenting as I had growing up. They thought every fever meant I had meningitis and every bruise must mean internal organ failure. I was pretty sure they were the reason my pediatrician had been able to buy a second home in Aspen.

 

I’m sure what he lacks in youth and appearance she more than makes up for by not having a personality…

 

I think I liked it better in the olden days when phones were dumb and people were smart.

 

It’s good to see you laughing, though. For a bit there you were looking like the before picture for Prozac.

 

My dating karma hasn’t been great. I figure in a previous life I caused a lot of damage that I’m paying for now. Like I must have been like a CrossFit instructor or Mussolini or something.

 

My Review:

 

This was my first exposure to Sariah Wilson’s clever wordcraft and I feasted on her enticing characters, amusing and evocative descriptions, and immersive writing style. I marveled at her clever humor and crisp wit while she simultaneously dropped perceptive insights and cunning observations. Her snark was well-honed, whip-smart, and top-shelf, as were her characters’ snappy banter and pithy wordplay. The writing brought sharp and colorful visuals to mind that kept me smirking and pleasurably entertained. The rest of her published listing is now calling my name and has gleefully added to my TBR.

 

USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with her cats, Pixel, Callie, and Belle, who do not get along. (The cats, not the children. Although the children sometimes have their issues, too.)

 

Posted on

Book Review: Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins @flococo16

 

Nanny Dearest
by Flora Collins

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

In this compulsively readable novel of domestic suspense, a young woman takes comfort in reconnecting with her childhood nanny after her father’s death, until she starts to uncover secrets the nanny has been holding for twenty years.

Sue Keller is lost. When her father dies suddenly, she’s orphaned in her mid-twenties, her mother already long gone. Then Sue meets Annie. It’s been twenty years, but Annie could never forget that face. She was Sue’s live-in nanny at their big house upstate, and she loved Sue like she was her own.

Craving connection and mothering, Sue is only too eager to welcome Annie back into her life; but as they become inseparable once again, Sue starts to uncover the truth about Annie’s unsettling time in the Keller house all those years ago, particularly the manner of her departure—or dismissal. At the same time, she begins to grow increasingly alarmed for the safety of the two new charges currently in Annie’s care.

Told in alternating points of view—Annie in the mid-’90s and Sue in the present day—this taut novel of suspense will keep readers turning the pages right up to the shocking end.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It is a microcosm of motherhood here, women huddled in clusters around the edge of the playground, shaking out Goldfish, handing over juice boxes, wiping away dirt from little hands… Men are so absent, you would forget they existed at all.

 

But there’s something wrong with me, Suzy. Something very, very wrong.

 

My Review:

 

This was a disturbingly realistic and disquieting piece packed with warped and fractured characters who were all rather lacking in the areas of mental health and likable personalities. The writing was insightful and perceptive with a constant thrum of apprehension and risk of discovery, but the discovery of exactly what was always in question. I was deeply curious and invested in their tale and had developed multiple theories as I read, and all of them were wrong. How I love it when that happens!

The tale unraveled slowly while ratcheting up the tension, which was present and tautly held from the first page to the last word. I was impatient at times when the storylines appeared to falter or veer in other directions although I later realized the author was weaving in additional threads as the characters became increasingly unhinged.   But that ending has left me tapping my little foot while I contemplate my feelings, I’m quite unsettled and bordering on distressed. I have a feeling I will be ruminating on this one for some time.

 

 

About the Author
Flora Collins was born and raised in New York City and has never left, except for a four-year stint at Vassar College. When she’s not writing, she can be found watching reality shows that were canceled after one season or attempting to eat soft-serve ice cream in bed (sometimes simultaneously). Nanny Dearest is her first novel and draws upon personal experiences from her own family history.
Posted on

Book Review: Love & Saffron by Kim Fay @kimkfay

Love & Saffron
by Kim Fay

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

.

The #1 Indie Next Pick, in the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road and Meet Me at the Museum, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.

When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter–as well as a gift of saffron–to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she’s never tasted fresh garlic–exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.

Food and a good life—they can’t be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen’s decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen’s friendship—a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.

A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I have simply always had an interest in people from other countries. I like the way their kitchens smell.

 

I have no idea what to do with Sex and the Single Girl. The girls at the paper are chirping with excitement about it. I find it embarrassing. I do not like the presumption that there is only one way for me to be an unmarried, twenty-seven-year-old female. Apparently, I should aspire to something called a “sexth sense,” and places where I should make an effort to meet eligible men include Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. As if I have any interest in spending my life drinking Chablis alone.

 

 The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!

 

That is the first time I have written his name in my own hand. It makes my heart feel as vulnerable as a dandelion in a windstorm.

 

I felt thoroughly uncultured as we walked through the Huntington galleries. She knows so much about art. And I didn’t dare open my mouth when she played her opera records. Don’t tell her, but it sounded to me like a box of howling cats.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a quick, gentle, slow and easy, relaxing, thoughtfully written, delightfully amusing, and engaging read that tapped all the feels in the best way possible. The writing was easy to fall into while poignant, historically accurate, and heart-squeezing. The writing was honest and truly moving while a supportive relationship was developing between two women through their pen and paper correspondence over food that spanned several years and only one face-to-face meeting. The women easily established a bond that allowed them to freely expose their innermost fears and bare themselves on paper as they could to no one else in their lives. Their words plumbed all the feels and put hot rocks in my throat and stung my eyes as well as lifted my spirits. Kim Fay has gifted us with a tasty treat and a delicious tale for all the senses.

 

 

Former indie bookseller (Seattle), teacher and travel writer (Saigon), and jill-of-all-trades (Los Angeles). Author of the novels LOVE & SAFFRON (#1 Indie Next pick) and THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIES (Edgar Award Finalist), and COMMUNION: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH VIETNAM. Also the creator/​editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series, passionate reader, tea drinker, bread baker, nephew wrangler, puppy Mabel mom, and lifelong writer. #blessed
Posted on

Book Review: The Night She Went Missing by Kristen Bird @kbirdwrites

The Night She Went Missing
by Kristen Bird 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be.Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking.Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie, and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.

Each mother is sure she knows who is responsible, but they all have their own secrets to keep and reputations to protect. And the lies they tell themselves and each other may just have the potential to be lethal in this riveting debut.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… they also looked literally hungry. They all had that fresh scrub of a facial and the sallow cheeks of the carb-less.

 

I think that’s everything, ladies. The truth as we know it. Now, we must decide how much to tell everyone else.

 

My Review:

 

This was cleverly written, maddeningly paced, shrewdly plotted, and brilliantly laced together with an original cast of characters who were fatally flawed and varying degrees of abhorrent, yet also compelling and authentic. I was loath to put my beloved Kindle down as I was itching to discover the culprit and unearth the chain of events. I developed, modified, morphed, and cast off multiple theories but was only partially correct in my conclusions – what guile! Kristen Bird is a sly and devious trickster and I was stunned when I noticed this was her debut publication. She is definitely one to watch and going on my list of favorites.

 

About the Author
Kristen Bird lives outside of Houston, Texas with her husband and three daughters. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music and mass media before completing a master’s in literature. She teaches high school English and writes with a cup of coffee in hand. In her free time, she likes to visit parks with her three daughters, watch quirky films with her husband and attempt to keep pace with her rescue lab-mixes. THE NIGHT SHE WENT MISSING is her debut novel.
Posted on

Book Review: Under One Roof by Samantha Tonge   @SamTongeWriter

 

Under One Roof
by Samantha Tonge

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP/ BB


One forgotten discovery will change three women’s lives forever…
.

Robin hasn’t been home for decades. After running away to London, she never expected to see her cantankerous mother, Faye, again. But when Faye has a fall, the two women are thrown together once more.

.

The years apart have not made their hearts grow fonder and the ground between them is unsteady. Then Robin finds an unopened scroll – the last of the treasure hunts her much-missed father used to take them on every Sunday. A hunt he believed might change everything.

.

Yet, not even this gift from her beloved father can smooth the way until Robin’s daughter, Amber, arrives to meet her grandmother for the first time. Amber is determined that the decades-old mystery be solved.

.

Can a 30-year-old treasure hunt really ‘change everything’?

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

‘I’m determined not to give everything up just because of this flippin’ arthritis.’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘I might even go dating, on that Tinker, it’s such an appropriate name. I’m sure there’d be an adventurous modern man out there who’d be happy to fiddle around and get my old engine running again.’

 

My Review:

 

This was excellent and although rife with family tension, I fell right into the tale and was fully invested in these authentic characters. The writing was engaging, entertaining, poignant, heart-squeezing, and thoughtfully insightful. The nibble storylines were cleverly crafted with witty treasure hunt clues and riddles, well nuanced with pensive secrets lurking just out of reach, and shrewdly paced to keep me curious and reading until my eyes closed against my will.

The cast of characters was a unique collection of flawed personalities from engaging and likable to abrasive and obnoxious. I was itching to see how their issues would be tackled and possibly resolved. Poor Robin, I adored her but she couldn’t seem to please anyone. She had a failed marriage behind her, recently lost her job, a snarky teenage snot for a daughter, and a snide and cruel battleax for a mother. I would have wanted to run away and join the circus for some peace!

 

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Twitter
BookBub

 

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has traveled widely. When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking, and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines. She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins, and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award.

 

Posted on

Book Review: Am I Allergic to Men? (The Callaghan Sisters #5) by Kristen Bailey  @Bookouture @mrsbaileywrites

Am I Allergic to Men?
(The Callaghan Sisters #5)
by Kristen Bailey 

You think you’ve got it bad? I lost my memory, I’m so single I’ve basically got an allergy to men, and my own cat despises me.

‘Lucy! If you can hear me, squeeze my hand!’

That’s the first thing I hear when I wake up in hospital. Then my sister drops a bombshell: I’ve been in a coma.

It gets worse. In my head, it’s 2009 and I’m seventeen. Somehow, I need to remember the last decade…

Plan A: Track down my exes. Highlights include a one-night stand with someone in a Batman costume, and balcony sex that gave the neighbors a nervous breakdown.

Plan B: Get flirty. Lowlights include a fling with someone hairier than a yeti.

Plan C: Figure out why I have more exes than underwear. Am I allergic to men?

As I piece together my past, I find a mysterious note: Oscar, 9th February. Determined to work out what it means, I uncover a secret I’ve been hiding from everyone.

When the truth comes out, will my memory return? Will I get my life back? And will I ever find the cure to my singledom?

You’ll laugh so much your abs ache! The perfect page-turner for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk, and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She’s still looking for that happy ending where someone will pick her up, pledge undying love and whisk her away to a new-build semi in Surrey. The sort of world Hayley and I inhabit, the semis and happy endings normally end on our faces.

 

I know what my sisters are like and this could possibly still be a very elaborate joke. Those cows told me for years that my real father was Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that he had to leave the actual country to be a Watcher because he was so ashamed of me.

 

‘We’re just going to get you into a deep state of relaxation…’ All I can think is that when I’m that relaxed I will most likely break wind. I hope the lotus and white musk will be able to mask that.

  

My Review:

 

This was a fun, dynamic, and energetic read that kept me wildly amused and gleefully giggle-snorting with abandon. The writing was crisp, breezy, sweary, and delightfully snarky while the sharp visuals conjured were diabolically humorous and colorful in every sense of the word.

In the previous installments, Lucy’s character was the most eccentric of the five sisters. Lucy was the fiercely independent, feisty, and predictably unpredictable free spirit/firecracker and youngest of the Callaghan clan. So I was doubly impressed with the insightful observations and emotive underpinnings permeating the unfamiliar sense of vulnerability Lucy was experiencing as she struggled to regain a sense of self during her period of memory loss following a head injury. Having lost twelve years would be quite unsettling for anyone but Lucy had packed a lot of living her best life and unusual adventures and eye-opening experimentation into those years. I was fascinated and deliciously entertained by each new development.

This being the last of the series, I am experiencing a sense of rueful melancholy, I will greatly miss this irreverent, divinely inappropriate, and tightly bonded family unit. They were good fun and their hijinks provided me with not only smirk-worthy entertainment but several unusual entries of British vernacular to my Brit Words and Phrases list. Many of which I cannot add to my reviews for fear of being censored, but this installment has produced the current publishable new addition of gurn, which Mr. Google indicates is to grimace or make an ugly face. I would expect nothing less from the lascivious Lucy.

 

 

To celebrate the publication of the fifth and final Callaghan sisters novel, let’s find out if you are Meg, Emma, Beth, Grace, or Lucy?

Quiz compiled by the author, Kristen Bailey.

About the Author

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love, and family.

 

Posted on

Book Review: Give It Arrest by Laura Barnard @BarnardLaura

Give It Arrest
by Laura Barnard

 

Amazon  / B&N / BB

The high always comes before the fall…

Sadie would do anything not to end up on the streets again.  Even come up with the crazy idea of selling marijuana to cancer patients struggling through chemo.

Before they know it Sadie and her friends are over-run with orders, have a sexy detective on their trail, suspicious neighbours and drug dealers angry they’re working on their patch.

Can Sadie pull them out of this dangerous world they’ve found themselves in, all while ignoring the attraction between her and sexy detective Harry? And can she do it before they end up in prison?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘You think I’m a police lady?’ I ask in disbelief. ‘How dare you! Have you even seen my shoes?’ I throw my leg up onto the counter, years of adult ballet working in my favour. I present my black patent stilettos with a red strap. ‘Do these look like the ugly shoes of a policewoman?’ I ask, my voice rising higher than it should. Damn it, he’s offended my shoes. He might as well have called me fat.

 

I feel a thrill of excitement go through me at the thought of it. I’m like a bond agent. What would I call myself? Pussy Galore’s taken. Maybe Gorgeous Chick. No, that doesn’t sound like a name. Maybe Gigi Paris. Yeah, I like that.

 

My God, my lady bits are so excited I’m worried I’m going to take off any minute, spinning round the room like a let off balloon.

 

My Review:

 

Don’t pick up this book unless you are ready to let your hair down for an irreverently humorous, snarky, sweary, and busy read. The writing was sly, wry, snappy, ironically amusing, and laced together with Ms. Barnard’s signature style of impertinent levity. The storylines were filled with struggling and conflicted characters who were deeply flawed and extremely annoying, yet I was invested in their plight.

The story was written from the first-person POV of Sadie who was recently unemployed and panicked by her inability to find a new job. Sadie was flippant, crass, and brassy, yet she meant well. She was fiercely independent but had a painfully heavy chip on her shoulder, was prone to irrational temper flares and was easily distracted. While trying to make ends meet and help her former co-workers/friends, Sadie found herself on a course of self-destruction.   I alternated between empathizing with her and wanting to pop her in the mouth. Her unusual odyssey was cheekily entertaining, smirk-worthy, and action-packed.

Laura Barnard lives in Hertfordshire, UK, and writes romantic comedy or ‘chick lit’ as it is so often described. In her spare time, she enjoys drinking her body weight in tea, indulging in cupcakes the size of her face, and drooling over hunks like Jamie Dornan, Ryan Gosling, and Leo Dicaprio.

She enjoys wearing yoga pants and reading fitness magazines while sitting on the sofa eating chocolate. She’s a real fan of the power nap and of course READING!

She writes not to get rich or famous, but because she LOVES writing. Even if one person tells her they enjoyed her book it makes the midnight typing worth it!