Category Archives: Books

SUNDAY SCENE: LAURA R LEESON ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM THE VALENTINE RETREAT

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Twenty years ago, I spent time in California. As a naïve Brit, it was equal parts amazing and terrifying, and I remain fascinated by the diverse and nature of a society surprisingly different to our own. When it came to choosing a setting for my debut novel, Los Angeles seemed a natural choice – because rather like me, I wanted ex-pat Megan to find herself struggling to discover her place in an unfamiliar, challenging world.

Added to which, Megan is a survivor of a controlling relationship – what began as a fairy tale marriage to a high-profile, successful businessman has already disintegrated, so when she meets Jim on a weekend away at The Valentine Retreat, the last thing she thinks she’s looking for is romance.

The setting for a pivotal scene – where Megan tentatively looks to the future and begins to believe she might want it to include Jim – takes place in the hotel bar:

 

The pianist was in full flow as Megan entered the bar. His fingers moved across the keys with the kind of confidence only a seasoned professional possessed. The music he produced was quiet and understated, which was more than could be said for his shirt. The vibrant duck-egg blue and plum check of the fabric was highly visible under his beige linen suit, open at the neck and unapologetic.

Megan smiled. For the first time in such a long time, she felt a spike of anticipation about this evening.

The room was less populated this evening, the weekend buzz replaced by mellow groups seated at some of the low tables, visible through the waving fronds of the potted plants as she took a seat at the bar.

‘Hi.’
There was no need to turn, she recognised the voice. ‘Hi, Jim,’ she said as he shrugged his way out of his leather jacket. She looked more closely at his face. ‘What did you do?’
Jim’s hand travelled up, his fingers tracing over a small patch of damaged skin. ‘Would you believe me if I told you there were five of them and I took them all down single-handed?’
‘Um, no. Not really.’ Trying to appear serious, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement.
‘Damn.’ He grinned. ‘Cut myself shaving.’
‘Does it hurt?’
‘It didn’t, until I put aftershave on without thinking.’ He pulled a face then shrugged. ‘A bit of pain reminds me I’m still alive.’
‘Do you need reminding?’ She kept her tone light, but it was a genuine question. She had spent months wondering if she was still alive.”

 

After living a lie for far too long, and desperate for honesty from others, this is the moment when Megan begins to believe in Jim. However, Megan’s past hasn’t finished with her, the hotel is not all it seems, and Jim is harbouring more than his fair share of secrets. Secrets which may cost them both a great deal more than their happiness.

In the time-honoured tradition of romantic suspense, The Valentine Retreat is a fast-paced and twisty novel, but at its heart lies the story of two people who just want to find someone to rely on, and trust with their deepest emotions.

 

For more information – please visit my website www.laurarleeson.com or search for me on social media @laura_R_Leeson

Fantastic Books For International Women’s Day

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The Natural Menopause Method by Karen Newby (1st September 2022)

Women’s Health

Everything you need to know about achieving nutritional balance to support flagging vitality and celebrate the potential of your midlife.

Femlandia by Christina Dalcher (15th September 2022)

Dystopia

‘A compelling, fast paced read.’   Guardian

‘The queen of dystopia’          Nina Pottell, Prima

The Happy Vagina by Mika Simmons (4th August 2022 – Pavilion)

Women’s Health

‘Mika Simmons’s book is fun, relevant, and extremely accessible. Every home should have a Happy Vagina!’              Dita von Teese

Confident and Killing It by Tiwa Ogunlesi (7th July 2022 – HQ)

Self-Help

Confident and Killing It will help you master your mind, overcome fear and live life to the fullest.

You Are Not A Before Picture by Alex Light (9th June 2022 – HQ)

Self-Help

An urgent, enlightening and empowering guide.

Second Spring by Kate Codrington (17th February 2022 – HQ)

Women’s Health

‘A wealth of guidance to navigate and celebrate the mind body and spirit aspects of the menopausal journey.’                                     Tami Lynn Kent, author of Wild Feminine

Roaring Girls by Holly Kyte (3rd March 2022 – HQ)

Feminism

‘An extraordinary, vivacious account of eight remarkable invisible women whose stories were crying out to be heard.’ Paula Byrne

Menopausing by Davina McCall (26th May 2022 – HQ)

Women’s Health

Menopausing is more than just a book, it’s a movement. An uprising

Good Grief by Catherine Mayer and Anne Mayer Bird (3rd February 2022 – HQ)

Biography

‘One of the saddest things I’ve ever read but also the most powerful. It’s made me want to cling tight to the people I love while acknowledging their mortality and mine too.’     Marian Keyes

Make It Happen by Amika George (20th January 2022 – HQ)

Activism

‘A personal, powerful, passionate, pragmatic, punchy book from one of Britain’s most exciting Gen Z activists. A great guide to moving and shaking with joy, spirit and real-world results.’       Deborah Frances-White from The Guilty Feminist

Black Skin by Dija Ayodele (25th November 2021 – HQ)

Skincare

‘Timely and game-changing, Ayodele’s comprehensive guide to skincare for Black women busts beauty myths at the same time as dispensing invaluable advice.’                         Waterstones

CARIADS’ CHOICE: FEBRUARY 2022 BOOK REVIEWS

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Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things reviewed by Georgia Hill

Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things appealed straightaway. Xanthe and her mother escape a troubled past to open an antiques shop. Xanthe is able to ‘read’ objects and a silver chatelaine reaches out to her with its story. She is compelled to travel back in time to 1605 in order to solve a cruel injustice. Paula throws a lot into the book: time travel, psychometry, antiques knowledge, ley lines, some gentle romance and a truly terrifying ghost. The depiction of the turbulent early seventeenth century is gritty and unflinching in all its misogynistic, violent glory and some parts of the book aren’t for the faint-hearted. The historical detail is superb, and the writing is richly detailed. I galloped through it. Recommended, especially if you are interested in early seventeenth century history.

 

Amanda James’ A Secret Gift reviewed by Jane Cable

Now who can resist a bit of Cornish magic? I certainly can’t but when Amanda James’ heroine, Joy, is first given the secret gift she really thinks she can. But meeting a young homeless man on the verge of suicide changes that, and begins to change Joy too.

This is a colourful book with an engaging cast of characters and a Cornwall I recognise. And as a resident of the county, that is a rare thing to find. It’s a place where real people live, and for me that gave the story a fantastic grounding, an effective counterpoint to the mystical, magical elements. But hey, this is Cornwall after all, so they could very well be real too. Read it and find out.

 

Emily Blaine’s The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams reviewed by Angela Petch

Like eating whole bars of chocolate with whipped cream, I read this book as a kind of guilty pleasure. But how ridiculous is that attitude?

We all need love stories brimming with frisson and impossibility. And as an author, having a heroine who “thought about books every minute of the day… and talked about them just as much…”, who owns a quirky bookshop in a little town in France, and is a feisty heroine, … what’s not to like? She wraps books up as little mysteries and sells them as little temptations. I want to go to her town and buy several.

Enter the dastardly hero – a man who is a film idol, a heart throb, “the mad dog of the movies…” unstable with a fiery temper – is masterful – but a bit too much… and who is exiled to Sarah’s town by legal requirement.  Will 1 + 1 = 2??? Highly unlikely. Sarah thinks of men as “a little bit like heights. I knew they existed, and they fascinated me, but as soon as I got anywhere near them, vertigo would throw me so off balance…”.

It’s a steamy book – oo la la! I had to fan my heaving bosom several times and it’s very enjoyable. A glorious escape.

 

Georgia Hill’s On a Falling Tide reviewed by Natalie Normann

This is my first book by Georgia Hill, and it won’t be the last. I absolutely loved this book, and couldn’t put it down. It’s a dual time line story, following Lydia in 1863 and Charity in the present. The changes between the two time periods works seamlessly. The story kept surprising me. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, there was another twist, and I did not see the last one coming at all. That’s some seriously good writing. Highly recommend this book.

 

 

 

 

The Girl With No Soul by Morgan Owen Book Review

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I always remember how much I loved YA books when I was growing up. They meant so much to me and made me the woman I am today. On the note I can confirm that Morgan Owen is a new outstanding YA talent. The Girl With No Soul is an exciting book. It takes an original and exciting concept, a glorious love story, and amazing world building all in once exciting novel.

The writing is flowing and engaging in that way that is so hard to write but makes reading it so compulsive. I may be older than the market for this book, but I will definitely recommend it to any teens that I know. You cannot beat this book for sheer imagination, passion and excitement. I loved it. Pre-order now, it’s out in March.

Perfect for fans of Alice Broadway and Leigh Bardugo

How can you find your soul mate, when you don’t have a soul?

Iris lives in a world ruled by The Order. Inspectors police the population by keeping careful watch over people’s souls. If they shine their lanterns on you, your soul is projected for the world to see… and judge.

But Iris has a deadly secret … she is a hollow, a person with no soul. She must hide from the Order at all costs, scraping a living in the shadows.

When she’s sent to steal a ring said to hold the memory of a soul’s destruction, she is reunited with her Spark – one of the five parts that make up her own missing soul.

Now she must rely on the help of a young scholar named Evander Mountebank to track down the other four missing pieces of her soul, all the while evading The Order.

Will she be able to protect her heart as well as find her soul?

 

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka Book Review

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The cultural obsession with serial killer’s, and the glamorisation of them has always sat uneasily with me. Add on the objectification of the victims and I start to feel angry. Women deserve better.

When I read the press release for Danya Kukafka’s book Notes on an Execution I was bowled over. A novel about a serial killer, told through the women left behind. It is a smart idea and the way she has written it is just superb. I was left in complete awe. I am not sure exactly how Danya Kukafka managed to write such a perfect book, but I will be reading it again to try and find out.

The subject is met with feminist delicacy and outstanding talent. What a combination. This is the book that women deserve. There is so much compassion in this book, and once you have read it you will not forget it. A completely triumph.

Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours.

He knows what he’s done, and now awaits the same fate he forced on those girls, years ago. Ansel doesn’t want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood.

But this is not his story.

As the clock ticks down, three women uncover the history of a tragedy and the long shadow it casts. Lavender, Ansel’s mother, is a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation. Hazel, twin sister to his wife, is forced to watch helplessly as the relationship threatens to devour them all. And Saffy, the detective hot on his trail, is devoted to bringing bad men to justice but struggling to see her own life clearly.

This is the story of the women left behind.

Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes On An Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, interrogating our cultural obsession with crime stories, and asking readers to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the minds of violent men.

 

Hive by April Doyle Book Review

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hive April Doyle

Every now and then a book comes along that feels timely, Hive is such a book. The bees are dying and the world is struggling. Food is scarce and people are desperate. Commercial bee farmer Victor Martin and research entomologist Dr Annie Abrams team up to stop people starving.

April Doyle takes a subject that is worthy and turns it into a brilliant book that is entertaining and riveting. I hated putting this book down to return to real life. I would have read it in one sitting if I could have. I want Hive to be turned into a film because what a film it would be. I did not see the ending coming, and how clever that twist is. I really loved this book. Hive is destined for classic status.

Near-future Britain.
Climate change has led to food shortages and civil unrest.
Pollinating insects are in steep decline.

Commercial bee farmer Victor Martin travels around the farms of Kent with his hives to pollinate fruit trees and crops.

Local research entomologist Dr Annie Abrams is devastated when she’s ordered to give up her captive bee colonies – her life’s work – to join forces with Victor and ensure a harvest.

But the bees are dying.

Their only hope seems to be an experimental alternative to insect pollination: robot pollinators called nanodrones. But why does the drone designer seem so familiar? And who is behind the shadowy organisation intent on sabotaging their vital work?

Can Annie and Victor win their battle to save the bees… or is it too late?

SUNDAY SCENE: KENDRA SMITH ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

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I enjoyed writing one of my latest protagonists, Victoria, in my fourth book, Everything Has Changed. She’s been in a car accident and ‘lost’ six years of her life due to amnesia. When she wakes up in hospital, she remembers her children as adorable 10-year-old twins. They’re not. They are 16 and sulky. And her marriage is dangling by a thread.

Last thing she remembers is that she was a fun-loving mum. As she says, ‘where had the chaotic, popcorn-in-her-bra mum gone?’ Some parts of the book poke fun at who she’s become, other sections are more reflective.  I posed the question: what would it be like to be catapulted into ‘your’ future with no warning. Especially if you didn’t like how the ‘future’ was looking – and moreover, what if you didn’t like your new self very much? And (let’s turn up the heat) what if your husband didn’t like you. This is a scene just before a family gathering. Victoria is remembering a holiday in Greece and how her husband James used to feel about her. Will he ever feel like this again?

Victoria clasped the brooch tightly in her fist. The pin at the edge pierced her skin and she flinched. She was setting the table in the kitchen. James had given her the brooch when they were on holiday in Greece. Since she’d found those photos and that list, more had come back to her. ‘It’s beautiful like you’. It was a white pebble polished till it gleamed and there were tiny pearls surrounding it. She remembered the beach, Izzy and Jake had run into the waves and then come out and rolled in the sand. They must have been about five. And then James, holding a squealing twin under each arm, armbands bulging out the sides as he plunged into the water. She’d watched, her sarong gently flapping across her legs. There were flashes of vivid memory.

Life had been uncomplicated, hadn’t it? They loved each other. James was trying for a promotion and they were trying for another baby – or were they? It was a bit fuzzy. And then what? Had all the wet towels on the floor, the unanswered text messages, the late hours at the office, the headache of bringing up twins with two sets of everything from homework to nits – had that all seeped into the fibre of their marriage like rain soaking through a faulty roof, until the rot had set in?

Not us, she’d thought. The twins will never tell a counsellor, ‘Mummy and Daddy have fallen out of love.’ Or will they?

Victoria moved round the table and mechanically placed knives and forks opposite one another. The napkins, the salt and pepper, it was all new to her. Household items were a surprise every time she opened the cupboard.

‘You’re wearing the brooch?’

She abruptly turned round as James walked towards her carrying a dish of salad.  ‘Yes.’

He glanced at it and she stared at his jaw, at his shirt collar and tried to remember how many times she might have lain against the crook of his neck, crying sometimes, laughing perhaps, sharing a secret? Where had his passion for her gone? The spark? She could feel it, she couldn’t miss it, fizzing up inside her. What about him? She studied his mouth. It was moving. ‘Where do you want these?’ He stared at her.

 

Find out more about Kendra and her other books on Facebook at Kendra Smith Author and on Twitter @KendraAuthor

 

 

 

Matt Bell’s March craft book, REFUSE TO BE DONE: an accessible, practical guide to writing and revising a novel—for writers of any genre and level

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“I can’t imagine anyone setting pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, who won’t want to keep this book permanently close at hand.”
—Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English
 We all need help to be the best writer we can be. This brilliant book from Matt Bell not only does that, but it also teaches you have to be efficient, something that is a must as writing becomes a career. I loved this book and I cannot recommend it enough. I will definitely keep it close to hand. — Frost editor, Catherine Balavage.
Acclaimed author Matt Bell draws from years of writing and teaching experience to deliver an accessible, direct, and concise guide to novel-writing full of concrete tips meant to guide writers of any genre, at any stage of their career, from first to final draft.
Matt Bell | Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts | Trade Paperback Original | $15.95 US/$21.95 CAN |
ISBN: 9781641293419 | ON SALE: March 8, 2022 | Soho Press
Refuse to Be Done is intensely practical, focusing always on specific tasks, techniques, and activities for writing a novel, from the first draft all the way through final revisions. Divided into three main sections—each containing numerous subheadings and detailed items—the book is easy to use at any and every stage of the writing process, whether one is starting from scratch or already has a full draft to revise. Concrete examples from published fiction and media, as well as Matt Bell’s personal experiences, bring further meaning to the tips included, showing how they were developed and how they come to fruition in existing works.

In the first section, Bell shares a bounty of tactics to get through perhaps the most daunting stage of novel-writing: actually writing the book. Intended to push writers through the initial conception and get words on the page, this section includes strategies for process (such as how to regiment one’s writing and track progress), the writing itself (e.g. how to develop characters and determine which scenes to write next), and overcoming writer’s block.

Next, with a complete draft in hand, the second section focuses on reworking the narrative through outlining, modeling, and rewriting. This includes such tasks as fleshing out characters, scrutinizing the plot, and reshaping a manuscript into a more polished form.

The final stage captures Bell’s philosophy to “refuse to be done,” encouraging writers to stay in their novel for as long as they’re able by working through a checklist of revisions. In this layered approach, writers fully work through the text multiple times, focusing on a specific, achievable task through each pass. Whether it’s revising the prose or scrutinizing the structure of each scene, every pass brings the manuscript closer to accomplishing the writer’s ambitions and becoming the greatest it can possibly be.

Written for novices and veteran writers alike, Matt Bell’s accessible, practical guide to novel-writing offers an abundance of strategies to motivate writers and invigorate the revision process, empowering novelists of all genres to approach their work with fresh eyes and sharp new tools to produce their best work yet.