Vickie Cox

Why, why, why did I keep this on my TBR for so long! It is an absolute gem.of a book, and I devoured it in a day! From the day Rowena was born she was cursed. Death follows her every move, including the death of her Dad who dies in front of her. Her mum says the only way to save Rowena is to send her to her grandmother who is a known healer, and rid her of the curse before her 18th birthday, after that, the curse will stick for life. Her mum enlists the help of the farm hand, Halim, to take Rowena across the country to be healed. A surly young man with no time for the rebellious girl, who seems to be going out of her way to cause chaos. Hakim has issues of his own, and Rowena's lack of sympathy for anyone but herself is infuriating. As their journey progresses, Rowena's dreams and visions become increasingly disturbing. She finds warnings and death everywhere and the curse tightening its grip. A wonderful mix of folklore and gothic imagery. This book needs to be read!!!!

The story follows Lesley Hamlyn, wife to Robert as she begrudgingly opens her home to Robert’s best friend and hugely successful writer, Willie Somerset Maugham. The two tolerate each other with very little pretence of warmth, each disapproving of each other’s life choices and lifestyles. Facing financial ruin, Willie is readying himself to return home to break the news to his hysterical wife, a troubling prospect, when he finds himself confiding in Lesley. To his surprise, his confidence is met with no judgement, and in turn, Lesley reveals her past. Secrets she has kept from those closest to her. Can the shocking revelations of the past help the floundering writer out of his troubles, while helping Lesley fulfil her wish of living long after she has gone, in in the form of her story written in the pages of a book. Beautifully written, the story flows so well. I could not put this down. The imagery, the depth of the characters and the poignancy of the setting combine into a gorgeous story.

Wow, what a fantastic read! I started off really empathetic with Reagan, the main character. Strong willed and fiercely independent after what she had been through. Througout the story she became really frustrating, I wanted to reach into the book and scream at her, but that's the sign of good writing! Her character development was extremely well done. The sprinkling of various shady characters mentioned were all written well enough to keep you guessing. Lots of twists and turns, fast paced and highly addictive. I can definitely recommend this!

This story is set on a remote island in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Its a gentle introduction to begin with, getting to know the main characters, thier roles and their connections to each other. I say gentle introduction as it i definitely not what I would class as a slow burn, it had my full attention from the start, with a very subtle drip feed of the horror that was about to unfold. Once the peace and quiet on the island is fully shattered, you understand the importance of the introduction. All those pages on the different islanders fully comes into play, and makes the horror and tragedy even more tangible. There are some genuinely scary moments, and towards the end I felt like i was holding my breath. A really well written captivating read. A good selection of characters with real depth (no pun intended!) to them. It flows really well and some really beautiful imagery mixed up with some very unnerving scenes. Fans of light fantasy, thrillers and mysteries, this one is for you.

'I love you because you came to hide and when it mattered you didn't ' As Jake's marriage breaks down, he finds himself the sole benefactor of his eccentric uncle's estate. A big old house, set in the remote corner of a quiet little village, a chance to walk away from the turmoil and live a quiet life. To rediscover what matters. Jake meets Livia, the local vet, who invites him to be in her team for the annual tradition of "St Aethelmere's bones" and Jake gets to meet the villagers, the quirky, the bad and the slightly less quirky! After the finding of the bag of bones, all head for the gathering afterwards, where a curious Jake, ever the detective, looks into the bag and makes a fairly surprising discovery. I was hooked from the very start. So much more than your standard mystery, it's a story of love, finding happiness and the exploring the morally grey areas of human nature. Please check trigger warnings. A really well written, beautifully addictive mystery.

Just wow! I honest don't know where to start with this one. The world building, magic systems and characters are all so well done. There are some moments of real trauma which have been made so.much more harrowing by the delicacy of the writing. It took, what I thought was a very unexpected turn down a road I wasn't sure I was going to like, however it was a very brief detour and ended up being a very clever little narrative tool. The themes and messages in this book are so relevant to the times we live in today. I genuinely could not get enough of this book, it's the first time I've ever listened to an audiobook in the car instead of my music! Beautiful writing, really strong characters and the concept is very powerful. I can't wait for the rest in this series!

I really enjoyed this book, I read it in a day so that says a lot. The story is a dystopian thriller, set in a world which has been “developed” to the extreme, especially for Mandalyn. Her father works for HAI, the group overseeing the developed world. Through the constant monitoring from her life pod, her every move is monitored to ensure she stays on track to perfection, to follow the plan for her to join her father at HAI. Everything is restricted and monitored, from sleep, water usage and food as well as heart rate, blood pressure and, of course, location! One day at “Learning station” (the new term for school!) herself thrown into a confusing situation with her chief rival, her crush and a girl from her station that she has actually never noticed. All 4 suddenly become aware of each other and are alerted to the apparent dangerous potential they all have. As they struggle to find out what is going on and why they are being targeted, they find themselves working with another similar group in the same position. Both groups find themselves working together through some pretty traumatic events, gradually finding out that each member of the group have different gifts, could you his be the reason they are being hunted? This book has some very well developed characters, including Mandalyn’s Arial pod (car) ChaWanda, who is extremely sassy and has some great one liners! This book focuses a lot on trust and friendship as well as focusing on accepting people for who they are at their core rather than being divided by differences. I absolutely love the fact that even in the dystopian setting of 2175, they still have 80s themed night clubs! I’m glad to see that something never change! This has set up the second book “Shadows of Fire and Death” amazingly, and I cannot wait to read it.

Yup, I judged a book by its cover, and I'm definitely glad I did! This is the story of Cael and Wynn, two teens being taken to an academy to train in their magical abilities. They have decided to make the journey with Landon who can get them there safely, rather than the seekers, sent by the academy to get them to attend, whatever the cost. The question is, have they put their trust in the right person? This is such a beautiful book. The world building and the magic system are brilliant. From what I can tell, it's not specifically for a younger audience, but with its lack of bad language and spice, I'd say it's probably something that would be suitable for teens (I don't have a child so wouldn't know, but personally don't think there is anything in here which isn't in Harry Potter!!) The writing is gorgeous. Lots of mythology and different gods, also a lot of points for reflection. I'd say this would be ideal for anyone looking to get into the fantasy genre, maybe fans of cosy fantasy/lighter fantasy or anyone who needs a break from trigger warnings! 🤣