Book Review / Her Frozen Heart by Lulu Taylor

Caitlyn, there’s something I have to tell you. About Sara.
 
Caitlyn thinks her marriage to Patrick is a success. For one thing, he is one of the few people not to fall head over heels for her beautiful friend, Sara. Life is lived on his terms, but they are happy.

Aren’t they?

When a devastating accident turns her existence upside down, Caitlyn is forced to reassess everything she thought about her marriage, what she truly knows about Patrick, and his real feelings for her best friend. In the refuge of an old manor house, she begins to discover the truth.

In 1947, the worst winter in decades hits England, cutting off entirely the inhabitants of Kings Harcourt Manor. For Tommy Carter, widowed at the start of war, it is particularly hard: the burden of the family falls on her. She has the solace of her children, and the interesting presence of her brother’s friend, Fred. But there is also Barbara, a mysterious figure from her past who appears to want a piece of Tommy’s future as well.

Her Frozen Heart is a thrilling mystery from Lulu Taylor, top ten bestselling author of The Snow Rose.




Published:     30th November 2017
Publisher:  Pan
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

This author just keeps getting better and better.  I just can't stop reading her books!  I've only got, I believe, two more to go and then I am up to date!

What seems to be a usual plot for this author is the duel time line, which I love.

With this story, we follow Caitlyn in the present day who leans a truly devastating secret in the same day that she suffers a devastating accident.  There's a secret that her husband has been keeping from her and she has to figure out what that is.   You would think that Caitlyn's best friend, Sara, would be there to help her but it seems that she has other plans.  In the past day time line, we follow Tommy who lives at Kings Harcourt Manor with her children, mother and brother.  Her brother has inherited the house but it is Tommy who is left to look after it as her brother is either not interested or not able to deal with it.  Things go downhill for Tommy when she agrees to have a friend and her child come to stay at the Manor.  It seems that this friend has other plans for the Manor.

Both time lines were equally enjoyable for me.  Both had edge of the seat action and drama and I just had to find out what would happen next.   I have to say that out of the two it was the present day story line that really surprised me.  I had thought the story was going to go a certain way but then there's a twist that turns it around to be something else I wasn't expecting.  Loved that.

I can't wait to pick up the next book by this author, which I know will probably be very soon!!!

Book Review / The Winter Children by Luly Taylor

Behind a selfless act of kindness lies dark intentions . . .
Olivia and Dan Felbeck are blissfully happy when their longed-for twins arrive after years of IVF. At the same time, they make the move to Renniston Hall, a huge, Elizabethan house that belongs to absent friends. Living rent-free in a small part of the unmodernised house, once a boarding school, they can begin to enjoy the family life they've always wanted. But there is a secret at the heart of their family, one that Olivia does not yet know. And the house, too, holds its darkness deep within it . . .










Published:     3rd December 2015
Publisher:  Pan
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned Copy

MY REVIEW

I am slowly making my way through all the novels written by Lulu Taylor, in chronological order, and they just keep getting better and better!

In this story we follow mainly Olivia as she and her husband Dan struggle to conceive.  Their relationship is obviously affected by this.  The idea of IVF comes up and they decide to go for it.  Luckily, it works and they become parents of twins but, as always, there are secrets.  Secrets that someone is keeping from the other that would most certainly break their relationship apart.  They are currently living at Renniston Hall, which is owned by a friend and used to be a school, but that favour could cost them more than they realise.

There is a duel timeline also in this book where we follow two teenage school girls who attend school at Renniston Hall.  At that time, in the past, there are also building works going on.  The girls are forbidden to make contact with any of the men working on the building site but teenage girls don't always do what they are told.  Maybe they should have done this time!

I have to be honest and say that I enjoyed the story of Olivia in the present day a lot more than the past day timeline only because there was so much more happening in the present day than the past, for me.  But that doesn't mean the story wasn't suspenseful, it certainly was.  I just could not wait to turn the page and find out what happens next.

For me, there were no surprises in this book but that didn't spoil the story one bit.  The enjoyment in this story for me was the journey of the characters and watching them as they find out secrets they wish they never had to know. 

Book Review / Hands Up by Stephen Clark

Officer Ryan Quinn, a rookie raised in a family of cops, is on the fast track to detective until he shoots an unarmed black male. Now, with his career, reputation and freedom on the line, he embarks on a quest for redemption that forces him to confront his fears and biases and choose between conscience or silence.

Jade Wakefield is an emotionally damaged college student living in one of Philadelphia’s worst neighborhoods. She knows the chances of getting an indictment against the cop who killed her brother are slim. When she learns there’s more to the story than the official police account, Jade is determined, even desperate, to find out what really happened. She plans to get revenge by any means necessary.

Kelly Randolph, who returns to Philadelphia broke and broken after abandoning his family ten years earlier, seeks forgiveness while mourning the death of his son. But after he’s thrust into the spotlight as the face of the protest movement, his disavowed criminal past resurfaces and threatens to derail the family’s pursuit of justice.

Ryan, Jade, and Kelly--three people from different worlds—are on a collision course after the shooting, as their lives interconnect and then spiral into chaos.

Published:     28th September 2019
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Review Copy Provided by the Author

MY REVIEW

Now, this was a great read!  I had not really expected this to go as deep into moral and social issues,  than it did, which took me my surprise. 

We follow Officer Ryan Quinn who unfortunately gets into an 'incident' when pulling down someone driving with his partner.  One thing leads to another and he ends up shooting an unarmed black male.  The story he is telling to everyone may not be the story of what actually happened.  We follow Ryan as he learns to live with what he has done and comes to terms with what really happened and whether he should come clean with the true story of what happened that time. 

For me, the best part was the characters and how they interacted with each other - some good and some bad.  You have the officers involved, including Officer Ryan Quinn, you have the family of the unfortunate person who was shot and then you have the family and friends around Officer Ryan Quinn. 

This kept me at the edge of my seat not only for what was going to happen next but to see how each of the characters would react to what was put in front of them.  

The author's writing style was also easy to read and set the right pace for how the story should flow as you read it.  I would not hesitate in recommending this book to everyone!

Blog Tour Book Review / All the Rage by Cara Hunter

A teenage girl is found wandering the outskirts of Oxford, dazed and distressed. The story she tells is terrifying. Grabbed off the street, a plastic bag pulled over her face, then driven to an isolated location where she was subjected to what sounds like an assault. Yet she refuses to press charges.

DI Fawley investigates, but there's little he can do without the girl's co-operation. Is she hiding something, and if so, what? And why does Fawley keep getting the feeling he's seen a case like this before?

And then another girl disappears, and Adam no longer has a choice: he has to face up to his past. Because unless he does, this victim may not be coming back . . .






Published:     23rd January 2020
Publisher:  Penguin
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 4, DI Adam Fawley
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Check out the Author's Newsletter here - https://www.penguin.co.uk/newsletters/carahunter/

MY REVIEW

This book could not have come to me at a better time.  I am right in the middle of my thriller and mystery reading binge at the moment and this is exactly what I wanted and was looking for.  This is a police investigation crime mystery that follows DI Adam Fawley as he heads up an investigation into the abduction and assault of a teenage girl.  But, as always, there is more to the story than what meets the eye, of course!

What I liked the most is the police work in this.  I don't know much about police work having not worked in that sector but I found it very interesting to see DI Fawley and his colleagues follow all sorts of investigation and forensic procedures to try and figure out what has happened.

I have not yet any of the previous books in this series and you don't really need to to pick up this book, but I am intrigued to find out what has happened before this novel.  Maybe there are some things that I have missed that I would have picked up if I had. I'm not sure about that but will have to find out!

Book Review / The Snow Angel by Luly Taylor

A forbidden passion. A lifetime of consequences.


Cressida Felbridge is living the high life as a debutante in 1960s London society when she is courted by a friend of her brother's and set to marry. Wishing only the best for his daughter, her father decrees that she must have her portrait painted to mark the occasion. But as soon as she meets the painter Ralph Few, Cressie knows her life will never be the same again. Soon, she is deeply in love with Ralph, but there is one problem: Ralph is still married to Catherine. As Cressie is drawn into a strange, triangular relationship, Catherine's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and Ralph and Cressie escape to Cressie's family home in Cumbria. But Catherine will not give up Ralph that easily . . .

In the present day, Emily Conway has everything she could wish for: a huge house in West London, two beautiful children and a successful husband, Will. But as Emily and Will drive to a party, Will reveals that he has been betrayed by his business partner. Steering the car off the road at high speed, their perfect life is abruptly ended. When she wakes from her injuries, Emily is told of a mysterious legacy: a house in Cumbria on the edge of an estate, left to her by a woman she has never met. Could this house provide the chance to start anew, or does it hold secrets that she must uncover before it can be at peace?

The Snow Angel is a deliciously dark family saga from Lulu Taylor, the bestselling author of The Winter Folly.

Published:     4th December 2014
Publisher:  Pan Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

I just could not resist picking up another book by this author!  Having just read The Winter Folly and loved it, I knew I had to pick up another one!

Similar to her first novel, this story is split into two time lines.  In the past you have Cressida who is set to marry but meets a painter who she discovers is the love of her life.  The only problem is that she is due to be married and he is already married.  In the present day we follow Emily who is happily married with children until the day comes when she discovers a secret that her husband has been keeping from her and her life changes for good.  She then learns that she has been left an estate in a Will.  We follow her as discovers more of her family's history.

Just when I thought it could not get better than The Winter Folly.  You have this big romance in the past and in the present you have someone who is trying to discover what happened in the past.  I just had to know what had gone on!  There is a great twist in this story that I really did not see coming!

A thoroughly enjoyable historical romance/drama/suspense.  I would highly recommend.

Book Review / The Winter Folly by Lulu Taylor

The darker the lie, the deeper the secret . . .

In this house there are many secrets…

It is 1965 and young Alexandra Crewe obediently marries the man her father has selected for her. But very soon both she and her husband Laurence realize that their marriage is a disaster. When real love finds Alexandra, plucking her out of her unhappy existence, she is powerless to resist. Her home becomes Fort Stirling, a beautiful Dorset castle, but Alexandra fears that there will be a price to pay for this wonderful new life. When tragedy strikes, it seems that her punishment has come, and there is only one way she can atone for her sins . . .

In the present day, Delilah Young is the second wife of John Stirling and the new chatelaine of Fort Stirling. The house seems to be a sad one and Delilah hopes to fill it with life and happiness. But when she attempts to heal the heartbreak in John’s life, it seems that the forces of the past might be too strong for her. Why does John have such a hatred for the old folly on the hill, and what happened to his mother when she vanished from his life? As Delilah searches for the truth, she realizes that perhaps some secrets are better left buried . . .


Published:     5th December 2013
Publisher:  Pan Publishing
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

This book was so addicting, I just could not put it down!   This is the first book I have read written by this author and I certainly will be picking up more really soon!

This story is split between two time lines.  In the past, we are following Alexandra who marries because her father tells her to not for love but that all changes when she meets the man of her dreams.  In the present, we follow Delilah who has just married and moved into Fort Sterling but it seems there is more to Fort Stirling than she realised. 


What I loved the most about this book was definitely the suspense.  You have two story lines running alongside each other, each with its own highs and lows.  What kept me reading was wanting to find out what was going to happen next and how the two story lines would somehow connect together.  There is also great character development in this story which just made me route for certain characters all the more and hope that things work out ok for them. 

A great mix of historical fiction and suspense.  I would highly recommend!