28.2.13

Book Review: Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer

'The dead can't speak to us.' Professor Madoc had said.
This was a lie.
Because the body Patrick Fort is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things.
Life is already strange enough for the obsessive Patrick without having to solve a possible murder. Especially when no one believes that a crime has even taken place. Now he must stay out of danger long enough to unravel the mystery- while he dissects his own evidence.
But as Patrick learns one truth from a dead man, he discovers there have been many other lies rather closer to home. 
This is the second book by Belinda Bauer that I have read and I thought it was brilliant and completely different from other books in the crime genre.
Rubbernecker revolves around Patrick Fort, he has Aspergers so looks at the world in a totally different way to most people. He wants to know what happens when people die. He saw his father die in front of him and he needs to know what happens afterwards. So Patrick enrols on an anatomy course at a medical school in Wales. The story is then joined by other plots and characters. We have cadaver number 19 who Patrick and his fellow students are dissecting; Patrick is sure that this man was murdered by no one will believe him. Part of the book is also told on the neurological ward where cadaver number 19 came from; the reader is given the story from one of the terrified patient's perspectives and one of the ward nurses who is less interested in patient care and more interested in bagging one of her patient's husbands. These plot lines gradually come together as Patrick's actions become more and more drastic in order to prove that cadaver number 19 did not have a peaceful end.
Rubbernecker is extremely dark and macabre but hugely entertaining. Patrick is a fascinating character and it was so interesting to see the world through his eyes. Most of the characters in this book have secrets and the consequences are mixed as they are revealed. All Patrick wants to do is reveal the truth; I was left questioning whether this was due to his Aspergers or just the need in him to do the right thing.
Rubbernecker is a crime novel but it is so much more than your standard thriller. Belinda Bauer gives the reader so much to think about without losing humour and also providing a gripping plot. I highly recommend this book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

This book is published by Transworld is available now.


24.2.13

Book Review: The Trouble With Valentines by Kelly Hunter

Hallie Bennett loves flirting with danger, so when a man with trouble written all over him walks into her shoe shop, she finds him impossible to refuse.
Nick needs a 'wife' for a week to seal a Hong Kong business deal, Hallie needs £5,000. It might not be the most traditional Valentines Day proposal, but she's hardly a traditional girl...
Two beautiful (and borrowed) Tiffany rings later, and Hallie's on her way to live the high life. but the trip comes with a deadly twist. Will Hallie survive the week with her body- and her heart intact?
This is the first Mills and Boon book that I have read but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Hallie is working in a shoe shop when she meets Nick Cooper, he's buying shoes with his mother and they get talking. He has a big business deal to seal in Hong Kong and he needs someone to play the part of his wife for a week. He is instantly drawn to Hallie and thinks she could fulfil the role perfectly. Nick offers Hallie £5,000 to spend the week with him in Hong Kong, no strings attached and certainly no funny business. Hallie needs the money so she can finish her university studies, she does have reservations but she agrees to the proposal.
Hallie and Nick's relationship is mirrored by that of Jasmine and Kai's in Hong Kong. Jasmine is the daughter of the business man that Nick is dealing with and Kai is her bodyguard. Jasmine has been sheltered her whole life but she cannot ignore her feelings for Kai any longer, she believes he feels the same but why won't he return her affections?
The Trouble With Valentines is a really fun read. Hallie and Nick find themselves in many difficult situations during their time in Hong Kong. Kelly Hunter builds the relationship between the two gradually until their attraction is palpable.
I really enjoyed the friendship that develops between Hallie and Jasmine too. Jasmine desperately needs a friend and Hallie gives her the confidence to go after what she really wants and to step out of her father's shadow.
The Trouble With Valentines is a sexy, humorous, romantic read and one I highly recommend.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to Mills and Boon for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is available now.

21.2.13

Blow Tour: Book Review of Grace Grows by Shelle Sumners PLUS author interview

Like many young women, Grace Barnum's life is a precarious mix of sensible choices and uncomfortable compromises. She dutifully edits children's textbooks that she fears amy be more harmful than helpful. She is engaged to a patent attorney with whom she has a reliable relationship. She's wary of her fascinating father, a renowned New York painter, and she prefers her mother slightly drunk.
Always organised, always a planner, Grace carries her life around in a handbag- that is until the responsibility challenged Tyler Wilkie shows up, with his warm eyes and a smile that makes Grace drop things. Worst of all, her he writes tender, loving, devastating songs- about her. Tyler reaches something in Grace, something she needs, but can't admit to. Something she wants but won't succumb to. Falling in love with him would ruin everything. And yet..
Wow! I loved this book! Grace Grows is a love story about Grace Barnum and Taylor Wilkie. After watching her parents divorce, Grace wants nothing more than a reliable, dependable man who will give her a safe and surprise free relationship. That is until she meets Tyler Wilkie; he's a musician and about as unreliable as you can get. But Grace cannot ignore him, she finds him intriguing and it seems that she really opens up when she spends time with him. They start off as friends but it soon becomes obvious that they could have more than that. However, this goes against everything that Grace has ever wanted, she has to face up to the person she is and the person she could be or she could risk losing the one man who can truly love her.
The book is written from Grace's perspective so it feels very personal and as the title suggests, Grace Grows, she changes so much throughout the book. Tyler loves her as she is as he can see the true Grace, she just needs to see this for herself.
Tyler Wilkie is a fantastic character who I completely fell in love with! I loved the songs he writes for Grace which are included throughout. He has nothing to hide and no agenda; he loves Grace and has never hidden that fact. He cannot understand why Grace puts up so many barriers but he will not give up on her.
Shelle Sumners has a fantastic writing style, I found her characters entirely believable and at the end of every chapter I wanted to know more. The intensity of Grace and Tyler's relationship makes for a great story, it is romantic without being cliched which I think is very difficult to achieve.
I highly recommend Grace Grows, the story will capture you and you may just fall in love with Tyler too!

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of the book, Grace Grows is published on 1st March.

As part of the Grace Grows blog tour, I was invited to ask the lovely Shelle Sumners some questions so here you go!


1.     I completely fell in love with Tyler Wilkie, where did your inspiration for this character come from?

Tyler Wilkie first popped up in my subconscious in an early morning dream. I didn’t know his name yet, but I did know that he was a musician. He was with a woman at a waterfall. They were in love, and something important was going to happen to them there.

A few months prior to this dream, I’d gone with my husband, Lee Morgan, to a few New York City clubs. He’s an actor and musician and had been writing a lot of songs and was just starting to play them in public. Also, we and our daughter had visited waterfalls as tourists in the Pocono Mountains. Obviously, all of these things—music, water, the Poconos, New York, love--converged in my psyche and demanded an outlet!

2.     Grace changes so much throughout the book, did you have it all planned or did some things develop during the writing process?

Early on, I had a good sense of Grace’s challenges and how she needed to grow and change. I had about three-quarters of the story outlined, but many new ideas and realizations came to me as the writing progressed.

3.     I loved the musical aspect of the book and I have listened to all of the songs listed at the end of the book whilst reading! Does music play an important role for you when you are actively writing?

I don’t usually listen to music when sitting at the computer writing. I need silence in order to think! However, while I was writing Grace Grows, I listened to music nonstop during my 30-minute daily drives to and from work. Many, many ideas for the story and snippets of dialogue occurred to me then. I kept a notepad and pen on the passenger seat so that I could pull over and write them down immediately.

Music has been hugely important to me all my life, though I never learned to read music or play an instrument. I sometimes wonder if music might have become my creative outlet, if I’d developed those abilities.

4.     As I am a little bit nosy, can you describe a typical writing day?

Over the years I’ve done much of my writing while also working full-time. I wrote Grace Grows whenever I could fit it in, usually on the weekends and for a few hours after work each day. My husband helped by making dinner a lot of the time, so I could sit at my desk and focus and be productive.

5. Grace Grows is a great book and I really enjoyed your writing style. Are you working on anything at the moment that you can tell us about?

Thank you so much! I am currently revising another novel, very different than Grace Grows. It’s a love story, too, but set in south Louisiana, in an antebellum house with ghosts and other kinds of history and mystery. And I also have started writing a sort of “spin-off” of Grace Grows, a novel about Tyler Wilkie’s beautiful, wild twin sister, Beck.

18.2.13

Book Review: The Love Child by Amanda Brookfield

When Janine and Dougie fell in love they thought it would be forever. Fifteen years later their relationship is well and truly over, with their daughter Stevie the one remaining connection, Stevie is on the cusp of adulthood and sixteen is a dangerous age. But it's only during a birthday celebration in Spain, when Stevie gets too close to one of Dougie's best friends, that her parents realise just how dangerous.
Friendships are shattered and trusts are betrayed.Janine and Dougie are brought together in this time of crisis, but can a relationship with so many complications ever stand a chance?
The Love Child is the first book that I have ever read by Amanda Brookfield and I thought it was really interesting. It is very much an exploration of love, friendship and innocence. Dougie is tested in all three areas during the book, his relationships are tested to their very limits and it is unclear which will survive. When his sixteen-year-old daughter has an encounter with his bestfriend, his world is turned upside down. Can you ever forgive a friend for something like that? Stevie is his only child but is she completely innocent in all of this?
The Love Child gave me a lot to think about, I have a daughter and I don't know how I would handle the situation if she were to behave as Stevie did. When do you stop protecting them or excusing their behaviour because in your eyes they are still a child?
Dougie is an interesting central character; he has many faults and these seem to get in the way. In the beginning he seems to have no confidence as he has failed in the past but he has to realise that he can't keep apologising for his mistakes, he just needs to show people how much he has changed.
There were times at the beginning of the book where I found some of the characters a little stilted, I think this was because I couldn't really work out where they fitted in; however, Amanda Brookfield gradually draws everything together for the reader. The Love Child is an extremely thought-provoking read and I shall look out for other books by this author.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to Penguin for sending me a copy of the book to review, The Love Child is out now. You can also follow Amanda on Twitter where she is @ABrookfield1

16.2.13

Blog Tour of Grace Grows by Shelle Sumners

This is just a little post to let you know about a fab blog tour that is taking place this week for Grace Grows by Shelle Sumners! I have the banner up on the right but due to me being useless at resizing images, it is a little big but if I make it any small then you wouldn't be able to read it. I shall be taking part on Thursday 21st where I shall have my review of the book plus a little interview with the lovely author. Check out the other blogs taking part though and definitely get a copy of the book as it's great!

12.2.13

Book Review: Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Jill Mansell

Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London-life, but everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he going to cope leaving his hedonistic life behind for a new start in the Cotswolds?
Comic strip artist Molly Hayes lives in Briarwood, the village that Dexter moves to. She's not had a great history with men even though there's a connection between them it looks as though this isn't going to change.
But lots of the village residents have secrets to discover and it soon becomes clear that Dexter sin't the only one who is going to have to adapt once these are revealed. 
I am a big Jill Mansell fan. I think Don't Want to Miss a Thing is her best book yet. Dexter Yates is a seriously likeable character; the book begins with tragedy when his beloved sister Laura dies, leaving him the sole guardian of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. Dexter loves Delphi but he also loves his life, working crazy hours, drinking, staying out late and bringing home random women. At first, Dexter doesn't think he can give that up but ultimately he knows that he can't let Laura down and he would never abandon his beautiful niece.
To avoid any distractions, Dexter moves to a Cotswold village to begin his new life with Delphi. Molly is his new neighbour, he instantly likes her and she is very supportive of him and Delphi. Molly has been single for a while, she likes Dexter but as usual things don't go to plan and they begin doing everything they can to avoid each other.
Briarwood is full of interesting characters. Frankie runs the local cafe and has just learnt some terribly shocking news about her husband. Their daughter Amber has secrets of her own, secrets that could lead her to a lot of trouble. There is also Lois, the village barmaid who is a lot more conservative than she looks and her father Stefan who lives in a caravan. Stefan has never got over his first love from many years ago and he has no idea that the lady in question has thought about him every single day.
Don't Want to Miss a Thing is such an enjoyable read. I loved watching Dexter and Molly's relationship develop. He soon realises that he can't live without his niece; giving up his old life is actually the best thing that Dexter has ever done. Molly is a genuinely nice character too; she wants to help Dexter without any complications so why does she feel so jealous when he sees other women?
There was so much packed into this book but Jill Mansell ties it all together perfectly.
Don't Want to Miss a Thing is my favourite read of all Jill Mansell's books and I highly recommend it.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Headline for sending me a review copy, Don't Want to Miss a Thing is out now!

7.2.13

Book Review: Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe

Charles and Laura are a young, happily married couple inhabiting the privileged world of Cambridge academia. Brimming with excitement, Charles sets off with his daughter Naomi on a Christmas Eve shopping trip in London. But, by the end of the day, all Charles and his wife have left are cups of tea and police sympathy. For Naomi, their beautiful, angelic only child, has disappeared. Days later her murdered body is discovered.
But is she dead?
In a howling, bumping story of past and present day hell, Jonathan Aycliffe's haunting psychological masterpiece is guaranteed to make you sink to untold depths of teeth-shaking terror.
This book is absolutely terrifying! It caught my eye on Amazon as there were several references to M.R. James who I am a big fan of.  I decided to give it a go, it is only 158 pages long and I would say that I had finished it in about three and a half hours. The story was one of the most chilling that I have ever read but I just couldn't put it down.
Naomi's Room did remind me of M.R. James's ghost stories. You can imagine the narrator retelling the story round a roaring fire in a desolated house somewhere.
The story is told by Charles, he took his young daughter Naomi shopping on Christmas Eve, he loses her when he turns his back and then her body is discovered on Christmas Day. But if she is dead then how can Charles and his wife see her in their house? How is she appearing in photographs taken after her death and who are the other people standing with her?
Naomi's Room makes for uncomfortable reading in many parts. I read a few reviews which said that they felt that the gruesome details were unnecessary . I've not made my mind up about it but I do think that the book would lose a lot of it's shock appeal if those details were missing. I didn't feel that the author only used shock tactics though. Jonathan Aycliffe creates a sincerely sinister atmosphere from the very beginning. I felt aware that awful events were going to take place but I still wasn't prepared for the final few chapters.
If you like a good ghost story then I highly recommend Naomi's Room.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

5.2.13

Darcey has her first birthday!!

Darcey celebrated her first birthday on Sunday and it was just perfect! We had a lovely little afternoon tea party at the shop complete with a cake that my sister and I made plus a chocolate brownie tower covered in pink glitter and fairies!!
I have found the weeks leading up to Darcey's birthday really emotional, I think because of the dreaded post natal depression that I experienced, I had never imagined celebrating her first birthday and being truly happy. But I was and I am, I love being Darcey's mummy and am so incredibly proud of everything she does!
 I haven't updated you lovely people for a while as to how she is doing, she has her two top and bottom teeth which makes her look pretty cute; we are very close to walking, she is pulling herself up on everything so I don't think that it will be long until she toddles off! She can say two words, Dada and Lola (my sister's dog) she sometimes says them to the right people but we're working on it! She loves books (thank god) she has a big box of them in our lounge and she likes to get them out, every single one and look through them. I try and read to her every day, sometimes she is happy to sit and listen and sometimes she just wants to chew the corner of the book! Everyone says to us how very content and chilled out she is and this always makes me smile inside as I hope it means that we are doing an okay job as she seems to be pretty happy and that is all that matters!



















1.2.13

Book Review: Food of Ghosts by Marianne Wheelaghan

Nothing ever happens on Tarawa, a coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific. Then a mutilated body is found in a children's nursery hut. Detective Sergeant Louisa Townsend from Edinburgh is on the island helping train local police officers in basic detecting skills. She is asked to find the killerand jumps at the chance to be in charge of her first murder investigation. She marvels at the simplicity of the task ahead- after all, how difficult can it be to find the murderer on a desert island the size of a postage stamp and with only one road? But nothing on Tarawa is what it seems. There is a rumour that the victims eyes were eaten as part of a macabre, cannibalistic ritual and a second body is found and third death looks suspicious. With no forensics on Tarawa  and no one telling the truth, Louisa begins to worry she's out of her depth- not to mention the voices in her head have started up again. DS Townsend is an engaging, new female detective from Edinburgh, who is impetuous as she is ambitious, with an innate sense of justice at her core. Her determination is matched only by her struggle to overcome and obsessive compulsive disorder, which threatens to consume her. 
Food of Ghosts is the first in a series of books about DS Townsend. I haven't read anything by this author before but I really enjoyed this book.
The book is set on the tiny island of Tarawa, Louisa is originally from the island but she is visiting from Edinburgh where she now lives and works. Her job is to teach local police basic detecting skills but when a man is found dead with his eyes gouged out, she is put in charge of a full blown murder investigation. However, this is  not Edinburgy; Louisa really has her work cut out, there is no forensic unit and her colleagues don't have a clue how to investigate anything. As more bodies begin piling up, Louisa is majorly under pressure.
I found this book really interesting, the island setting adds a totally different element to the standard detective story; it adds a lot of humour due to Louisa finding herself in so many bizarre situations. Her OCD makes her job even harder but makes her character more interesting, her problem is quite individual, it was a breath of fresh air compared to the drink problem or recent divorce that most fictional detectives are experiencing.
Food of Ghosts reminded me a little of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. As with those books, the case being investigated is interesting but it is the setting and the characters which make the book.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to Marianne Wheelaghan for sending me a copy of the book, it is out now!

All change here!

I have made the decision to stop doing written reviews on here for a little while. I shall keep this page open but for the time being I sha...