Month in Review / February 2017

February was a very interesting reading month for me.  February was the month where I had a few review copies of books provided by publishers that I needed to get read (and wanted to read, of course...).  For all of you who have followed me for a while now, you know what book I am going to say was my favourite of the month....   Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks!  I was a little nervous going into this one as it is one that I had not read before and I hoped that I would love it and I did.  Nicholas Sparks never fails to win me over with his writing, every time!!!  

Top marks for the month also have to go to The One, The Breakdown and The Witchfinder's Sister.  The One was really different to what I have read before and I just could not put it down.  The Breakdown was an emotional roller coaster with a lot of twists and turns, definitely kept me on my toes!  Finally there was The Witchfinder's Sister, which is historical fiction but loosely based on an actual real life person from the past.  I found this fascinating both because of what but also from the fact that I have actually visited a lot of the places mentioned in the book!

There were two that I didn't really warm to this month.  Eyes Like Mine took me a while to get into and I just found the whole story a bit confusing.  My Sister's Bones was an only an ok read for me also. 

BOOKS READ   

The One - Review

Eyes Like Mine - Review

The Breakdown - Review

The Witchfinder's Sister - Review

Two by Two - Review

My Sister's Bones - Review

BOOKS PURCHASED/RECEIVED FOR REVIEW

THE BUTCHER'S HOOK (Bought)
Georgian London. Summer 1763.

Anne Jaccob is coming of age, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. When she is taken advantage of by her tutor — a great friend of her father’s — and is set up to marry a squeamish snob named Simeon Onions, she begins to realize just how powerless she is in Georgian society. Anne is watchful, cunning, and bored.

Her saviour appears in the form of Fub, the butcher’s boy. Their romance is both a great spur and an excitement. Anne knows she is doomed to a loveless marriage to Onions and she is determined to escape with Fub and be his mistress. But will Fub ultimately be her salvation or damnation? And how far will she go to get what she wants


THE BOOK OF BERA (Received for Review)
The Book of Bera is a Viking adventure fantasy novel which follows the saga of Bera, a young Viking woman who is struggling to control her invisible twin spirit and develop her inherited gift of Sight.

On a long winter night, Bera is left to defend her stark village alone, and in the ensuing battle, her dear childhood friend, Bjorn, is killed. When soon after her father weds her to the chieftain of a rival clan, Bera realises the unthinkable: his second-in-command is responsible for her friend’s death. Though she must now learn how to be a wife and a stepmother to a hostile boy, Bera vows her revenge and sets off on a path to grow in power and hone her skills in the rough, macho clan into which she has been sold.

As her gifts continue to grow, her visions of looming disaster become more and more ominous until she has to make the ultimate choice: Will she choose revenge? Or will she succeed in leading her people to safety before it’s too late?


ECHOES IN DEATH (Received for Review)
This chilling new suspense novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J.D. Robb is the perfect entry point into the compelling In Death police procedural series featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

As NY Lt. Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke are driving home, a young woman—dazed, naked, and bloody—suddenly stumbles out in front of their car. Roarke slams on the brakes and Eve springs into action.

Daphne Strazza is rushed to the ER, but it’s too late for her husband Dr. Anthony Strazza. A brilliant orthopedic surgeon, he now lies dead amid the wreckage of his obsessively organized town house, his three safes opened and emptied. Daphne would be a valuable witness, but in her terror and shock the only description of the perp she can offer is repeatedly calling him “the devil”...

While it emerges that Dr. Strazza was cold, controlling, and widely disliked, this is one case where the evidence doesn’t point to the spouse. So Eve and her team must get started on the legwork, interviewing everyone from dinner-party guests to professional colleagues to caterers, in a desperate race to answer some crucial questions:

What does the devil look like? And where will he show up next?

BOURBON CREAMS AND TATTERED DREAMS (Received for Review)
Frank Rossi promised Matty the world. The Cockney Canary would become a world famous movie star. As his wife, she would be one half of a power couple, feted and adored by all. But the Wall Street crash puts paid to that and as Frank becomes more violent and unstable, Matty knows she must escape and so she flees at dead of night.

Once home in Bermondsey, she goes into hiding and starts desperately looking for work. But only the hated biscuit factory, Peek Frean's, is hiring. Then, as a secret from her past comes back to hurt her, Matty learns that Frank is on the move, determined to find her and get her back.