prettylittlewriter

 Synopsis
'All Danni Keller wanted to do was go to a bar and drown her sorrows in some alcohol, but she managed to get attacked by an incubus. Now she's being guarded by a hunky but oh so irritating vampire (who bit her too) while the incubus stalks her.

Being guarded by the sexy vampire probably wouldn't be that bad if not for the fact her perfect boss has finally noticed her. Try dating while a vampire guards you way too closely and an incubus tracks your every move, waiting to pounce.

Then there's some creepy hunter guy who also wants to kill Danni.

The sun wants to kill her. 
Human food wants to kill her.
Don't even get her started on her family.

Life sucks after you die.’

 
Now this is a novel I really sank my teeth into (pun intended!).

Crystal-Rain grabbed my attention straight away with the gorgeous and charming character of Rider, a man that I wish existed in real life. I normally like a bit of a bad boy in my books, however, Rider truly was a gentleman towards every single woman he met (unless they betrayed him), and he was a badass when it came to protected our main character.

Danni is a difficult character to grasp. Sometimes, she can seem like a spoilt and selfish person, but then you meet her family, and you understand why she might act this way, since her family treat her like absolute shit and make her feel small and incomparable to them.

She also acts incredibly ungrateful, as although she was turned into a Vampire by Rider without her full consent (she had no idea what he meant when he asked if she wanted to die or to live), he did save her life, and gave her a second chance, which she never really thanked him for.

Danni is also extremely self-conscious and self-deprecating. She constantly belittles herself and doesn’t see why anyone, especially someone as handsome as Rider or Selander Ryan, would be interested in her. It was frustrating to me that every single time Rider complimented her or said how much he cared for her, she batted it off with an insult.

The character of Selander Ryan was interesting. I could picture both him and Rider incredibly well (definitely fancied Rider more as I prefer dark haired men) and their rivalry led to some very intriguing and clever scenes.

The only issue I really had with this novel is that the final few chapters, where the ‘epic battle’ and resolutions happened, were a little anti-climactic.

I felt like it ended way too easily.

Overall, it’s a brilliant take on Vampires, and incorporating Succubus/Incubus was something I have yet to read elsewhere.

I would highly recommend this book, and I’m super excited to continue reading the series!

(The series is free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited, which you can currently get a 3 month free trial of).

4.5 out of 5 stars

 I was kindly gifted this ARC by Raven Books.

'Josephine Morrow is Girl One; The first of nine miracle babies conceived without male DNA. When the commune they were raised on is burned down in a suspicious fire, taking the life of their creator Dr. Bellanger and the youngest miracle daughter, the remaining Mothers and Girls scatter across the country in an attempt to build new lives for themselves. Years later, Josie’s Mom disappears, so she sets off on a trip across America, tracking down her estranged sisters in a desperate search for her mother, making friends, and enemies, along the way.'

This novel was incredibly thought-provoking and unique. How incredible would it be if there was a way for women to have children without a sperm donor? So many single women (and lesbian couples) would probably jump at the chance to create a child all on their own.

Josie is a brilliant protagonist, giving us insight into life on the homestead as a child; she is brave, charming and relatable.

We follow her journey of discovery through her own eyes, learning things about her past, and the present, as she does.

I also absolutely adored the character of Cate, another of the miracle babies that Josie recoups with along the way.

There were some difficult and heart wrenching moments; Sara really knows how to pull on the readers heartstrings.

As we all know, I don’t like to give spoilers,  but I will say that there are so many twists in this novel, that you are kept on your toes throughout, and I certainly didn’t expect some of them!

I did feel a little cheated after one of the big surprises surrounding the character of Tom, mainly because it was revealed to us, and then just fell on the back burner with everything else that was going on. I do think there could have been a few more chapters to delve into it, but I understand why Sara didn’t, as the book is fairly fleshy as it is!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would highly recommend to anyone that likes a thriller, combined with a bit of sci-fi!

The novel will be published in the UK on August 5^th in hardback.

4.5/5 stars

 Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the eARC.

'Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life.

Introducing himself as Mark Conway, he exuded confidence, and to her surprise, Carolyn quickly became captivated by this mysterious man. A rich Swiss banker (who later confessed to being a spy), he offered Carolyn companionship and introduced her to an exciting, glamorous world.

In fact, some things were so astonishing she began to question her new lover. Was all as it seemed?

The truth was even harder to believe. For a start, his real name was Mark Acklom, he was wanted by Interpol, and he was rich but for one reason only....'

This is an unbelievable true story that shook me to the core. I honestly couldn't understand how this poor woman was taken in so easily by Mark, who's real name is Mark Acklom (honestly, google him, he's despicable).

When I first requested this novel via Netgalley, I actually didn't realise that it was a true story. So going into it, and hearing Carolyn telling us that she slept with this man after a day of knowing him, and fell madly in love, giving him all her money and trusting him blindly, I was outraged and genuinely thought she was an absolute idiot.

When I realised that she had actually been through all of this in real life, I was shocked and heartbroken for her. In some ways, I still can't actually believe she was taking in by him (he's an arrogant and disgusting racist, and personally I would have wanted NOTHING to do with him), however, the amount of people throughout the book that we learn he has convinced with his lies, makes you wonder just how good he must be to have all these people doing his bidding.

I also felt like the 'character' of Carolyn throughout the book, specifically during her relationship with Mark, was quite an arrogant, vain and snobbish woman. I struggled to feel any sympathy for her during this part of the novel, and it was only when she finally realised what had been happening to her, and she decided to go to the police, that I actually felt sorry for her and what she had been put through.

It must have been incredibly hard for her, especially with how shockingly rubbish the authorities were and how little help she received to start with. The justice system really did fail her.

The novel itself has been written well, especially the first half where it sounds more fictional with her telling the story of their relationship and the ridiculously wild things they did; the second half felt much more like an autobiography rather than a novel, as it was very factual and to the point with the court cases and police proceedings. 

I didn't enjoy the read as much as I thought I would from the synopsis, but it's worth reading to understand Carolyn's side of the story.

3/5 stars

'Una knows she is struggling to deal with her father's sudden, tragic suicide. She spends her nights drinking alone in Reykjavik, stricken with thoughts that she might one day follow in his footsteps.

 I was lucky enough to receive We Are Broken by independent author Paul Coffey after winning a giveaway he held on Instagram.

He is such a lovely man, and I was thrilled to receive my signed copy a couple of months back! 

My partner decided to read it first, as he's a big war era fan, he loves to watch all the movies but has never read any books with reference to it.

Synopsis

'Charlie Hobbs survived the Great War, but not without a price. Severely wounded, he's left with a terrible facial disfigurement, which makes him feel embarrassed to go out. Hobbs has a tin mask created as a replica of his previous face, to wear to hide his disfigurement, so he can go through life without feeling like a sideshow. 
But he soon finds out that it isn't just the war that creates monsters, there are some that were already that way; those that can't escape their demons.'

My partner devoured this book in a couple of days at the beginning of this month, and now I have also squeezed it in as my very last book of June!

Paul has a brilliant way with words. The description of the wounds these men have, along with some terrifying dreams that the character of Freddy suffers from, really create a sense of fragility and torment.  

Hobbs is a very likable character, you feel so incredibly sorry for him and what he has suffered through, and the trauma that he ends up dealing with throughout this book due to other characters, it really pulls on your heartstrings. 
I also loved the characters of Thirza, Mary and Solomon, and was very surprised with THAT twist. 

Being someone that doesn't really enjoy war films that much, or documentaries about it as they are very harrowing to watch, I was very happy with just how much I enjoyed this novel.

Without giving anything else away as you would just have to read the book, I would highly recommend, and it was a heart-breaking, lovely novel about friendship, family and getting through trauma. 

4/5 stars

(Thank you again Paul for sending me a copy!)