Reprise Review: Frosty the Snowman by Mimi Barbour

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Novella/Christmas

Description:

“Strangers, Hali and Terry, and a cute but mischievous Samoyed puppy are stranded in the Alaskan bush. Due to a freak snowstorm, Terry is forced him to land his small Cessna on a frozen lake. From the beginning, Hali’s never known a man so independent and rigid in his need to have things done his way. And Terry’s never known a woman so willing to help, stepping on his pride in such a lovable way that he can’t take offense. The frigid temperatures are brutal and when Terry falls through the ice to save a puppy, the stakes for survival become enormous. Can their blossoming mutual attraction withstand their multiple challenges?”

Author:

Mimi Barbour is a “New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon best-selling author who's sold over 500,000 copies of her books world-wide. She says, “My husband is supportive and drags me out to feed me and plans occasional forays into the outside world… Gardening lights my inner fires, and I need no urging to get out into the yard when the weather dictates. I do have many hobbies such as quilting, crocheting, but alas – no time.”

Visit Ms. Barbour’s website to find out about her many books and series or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

This story is book four in Ms. Barbour’s Holiday Heartwarmer Series. When a small Cessna has to make a forced landing during a freak snowstorm in northern Alaska wilderness, Terry Carlton, the pilot, and Hali Gibson, reluctant passenger, have to go into survival mode.

Hali is on a mission to deliver her cousin’s ten week-old Samoyed puppy to his new owner in Juneau, Alaska. Having yearned to visit this area of the country she sees this as the perfect opportunity to spend Christmas closer to Mother Nature in the far north. After getting bumped off the final leg of her trip she is able to find passage on a private aircraft into Juneau.

Terry is a confirmed bachelor and an introvert who purposely lives miles from town to enjoy his privacy. After barely being able to land the plane on a small frozen lake he must now find a way for them to survive the blizzard. Will he be able to count on this red-headed woman from the big city to listen to him and follow his orders? Is this even a challenge he is up to with a raging infected wound on his arm? He is about to find out.

Frosty the Snowman is an adorable story that stole my heart. Not only are Hali and Terry pushed to their limits trying to survive but they have to deal with a bundle of energy covered in white fur. It doesn’t take too long for Hali to whittle away Terry’s macho-man attitude with her can do spirit and fortitude. The surprise twist at the end was priceless and totally caught me off guard. This story will leave a smile in your heart and on your face.

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: This review is from LOVE, CHRISTMAS 1 – Box set of Holiday stories that will put a song in your heart! Original review ran October 17, 2016.  **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.**

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: Magical Princess Harriet by Leiah Moser

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy/Jewish Mysticism/LGBTQ

Description:

“To put it simply, Harris Baumgartner was late to school on the first day of the seventh grade because something he saw in the abandoned lot at the end of his street changed his life forever…”

“Middle school can be tough, especially when you can’t figure out whether you’re supposed to be a boy or a girl. Homework and gym class are hard enough to deal with, but what exactly do you do when a pushy angel shows up insisting you’re a magical princess and that it’s your job to defend your school from the forces of darkness? For Harris Baumgartner, only one thing is certain — life is about to get a lot more complicated!”

Author:

Rabbi, author, teacher, fairy stepmother, and noted headscarf enthusiast Leiah Moser was ordained as a rabbi in the Reconstructionist Movement in 2017. Her first book, Magical Princess Harriet, was published in 2018. When not expanding the boundaries of Jewish fantasy fiction she works as a freelance teacher, endeavoring in her own quirky yet effective way to make the priceless treasures of Talmud and Jewish mysticism available and accessible to students from all walks of life… She lives in Philadelphia with her husband Ross and his amazing kids.

To learn more about Rabbi Moser please visit her website.

Appraisal:

Wow, I had no idea what I was stepping into with this book. I was looking for something different, and I sure found it. Twelve year-old Harris Baumgartner and his mother have recently moved into a smaller more affordable house after Mr. Baumgartner deserted his small family. With no explanation to Harris, whose life is already complicated enough moving up to a new middle-grade school. Francis, his Autistic best friend, has struggled her whole young life in a neurotypical world.  

So, Magical Princess Harriet tackles a lot of serious issues with compassion. I am not even close to this books demographic audience, I am not Jewish, transgender, Middle Grade aged, or Autistic. However, you do not need to be to enjoy this fantasy story that encompasses and explores all of these issues. The Jewish lore and magic is fascinating and endeavors to educate the reader in all its facets. Each chapter is started with statements or truths to Judaism lore.  

There is also one other character who Harris/Harriet and Francis accept into their tight knit friendship. Aiden is a school outcast who expresses his inability to fit in with his Goth wardrobe. This trio works together to support each other while they fight an evil that threatens not only their school but the town and eventually the downfall of the whole world if not stopped. The characters are diverse, well-developed and likeable. The settings are multiple and described well enough to put you right where the action is.

I did find the whole book a little wordy at times, but it has a lot of good lessons on morality, acceptance, and life. I also enjoyed the humor to lighten the gravity of such heavy subjects. The story ends with harmony and I can see more stories being told with these three friends.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Dark Return: A Leine Basso Thriller by DV Berkom

Genre: Thriller

Description:

“Former assassin and SHEN operative Leine Basso is fresh off an assignment rescuing an American teenager from a terrorist group in Libya when she thwarts the murder of a street kid in Tripoli. Leine agrees to help the girl find her family, but must first visit a refugee camp to uncover the reason behind a rash of mysterious abductions.

Leaving the camp, Leine comes under a surprise attack--but only a handful of people knew her true mission. Who has betrayed her? The more she discovers about the abductions, the more of a target she becomes, forcing her to revisit a dark and violent past she thought she'd left behind. But it's easy--too easy to fall back into her old ways.

And that could get her killed.

Will Leine be able to survive a dark return?”

Author:

“DV Berkom is the USA Today bestselling author of two action-packed thriller series featuring strong female leads: Kate Jones and Leine Basso. Her love of creating resilient, kick-ass women characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.

After years of moving around the country and skipping off to locations that could have been movie sets, she wrote her first novel and was hooked. She now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Mark, and several imaginary characters who like to tell her what to do.”

Appraisal:

Dark Return is the seventh book in the Leine Basso Thriller Series and I’ve read all of them. The aspect that defines Leine’s character for me is the balancing act that she does between good and evil. Her past is shady by any reasonable definition and it sometimes comes back to haunt her in different ways. Her present is entirely on the side of good, although she definitely needs to call on some evil skills in her quest to do good, even now. But that balance, that pull from both the good and bad sides, and the memories of the past when that balance wasn’t there is what drives these stories.

Those same qualities help drive and color the narrative of Dark Return, but as the story and this particular case wind down, Leine is out of balance, feeling too much pull from her dark side. Even though the story of the current case is concluded, so it wouldn’t be fair to describe the situation as a cliffhanger, we do leave Leine in a scary place. It’s disconcerting, but we’ll have to wait for the next installment of the series to see what that means for Leine.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Reprise Review: Let It Snow by Stephanie Queen

Genre: Romance/Suspense/Christmas/Novella

Description:

“Beachcomber Investigations novella

An old friend sends a stranger to visit Dane to help wrestle him from his soul-crushing despair. His life of righting horrific wrongs has cost him a very high price, and worse, it cost someone he loved her life. But how can a stranger help when even Shana, his partner and lover, has failed. Can the stranger use a Christmas Eve snow storm to create the ultimate test for Dane & Shana?”

Author:

Stephanie Queen “A romantic at heart and a writer by nature, Stephanie Queen has the enthusiastic soul of a cheerleader. So of course she loves creating stories where the good guys always win. Although she's lost count of all the jobs she had before she settled on being a Novelist, her favorite was selling cookies as a Keebler Elf. She is a graduate of UConn (go Huskies!) and Harvard U and lives in New Hampshire with her family, her cat, Kitty, and her (real or imagined?) chauffeur, Myren.”

Learn more about Ms. Queen at her website or follow her on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Dane Blaze is fighting a soul-wracking depression he can’t pull himself out of. It’s to the point where he thinks he deserves this misery. Shana, his business partner with benefits, can’t seem to pull him through this funk either. Alternating perspectives through point-of-view shifts gave credence to emotions and rounded out the characters well.

On Christmas Eve, Captain Colin Lynch, a friend and co-worker, shows up with a mysterious stranger in tow. Father Pedro is a friend of a friend, from South America, who says he has come to help Dane. Shana suddenly decides perhaps she and Dane need a break from each other and packs her bags to leave. As she is walking out the door, Father Pedro decides he should go with Shana.

Things get worrisome when a huge snowstorm moves into Martha’s Vineyard and the ferry crossing becomes hazardous because of a sudden squall. Dane abruptly senses ‘his girl’ is in danger and is spurred to find a way to reach her.

This precipitous turn of dangerous events is tension filled as communications become sketchy and neither the sea nor the storm are behaving normally. I was a freaking nervous wreck reading what I thought was going to be a sweet romance, but I couldn’t put the book down until I knew things were going to be okay. And I am here to tell you the author still tried to leave a question at the end. However, I want to think I know the answer to that question. I suggest saving Let It Snow for when you are in the mood for a romantic suspense story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: This review is from LOVE, CHRISTMAS 1 – Box set of Holiday stories that will put a song in your heart! Original review ran October 24, 2016. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.**

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words

Review: The Mighty Chieftain by Lyn Horner

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/World Mythology/Adventure

Description:

“Lara Flewellen, the High Guardian of Danu, faces a lethal test. Can she defeat the vicious Hellhounds or will they force her and the other six Guardians to hand over the prophetic scrolls they and their ancestors have safeguarded since ancient times?

Balor, the Hellhound leader, and his followers have discovered the Guardians’ sanctuary in Canyon de Chelly, heart of the Navajo Nation. Trapped along with their mates and their native protector, the Guardians must run from one hiding place in the canyon to another using their supernatural powers and raw courage to survive. Fear and suffering are their constant companions.

Tearing Lara apart, Balor holds her twin sister prisoner, threatening her life. How can she save her twin and uphold her vow to guard the sacred prophecies at the same time? It seems impossible. A desperate prayer to Danu the Great Mother may bring a miracle . . . or catastrophe.”

Author:

“Lyn Horner is a baby boomer born in San Francisco, California, raised in Minnesota and now residing in Texas with her husband and an ever-changing band of cantankerous, beloved cats. Trained in the visual arts, Lyn first worked as a fashion illustrator in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later as an art instructor for Art Instruction Schools… After quitting work to raise her children, she took up writing to save her sanity. This hobby quickly morphed into an obsession with historical research and plot building.”

Learn more about Ms. Horner by visiting her website or follow her onFacebook.

Appraisal:

The Hellhounds have located the Guardians’ in Canyon de Chelly. It’s just a matter of time before they find their sanctuary. They do their best to defend Leon Tseda’s home when Balor arrives with his Hellhound minions. Despite their guardian powers the small tribe end up on a run for their lives to protect their individual prophetic Druid scrolls, which have been guarded by their ancestors for centuries. They run farther into the Navajo land where their survival skills are tested.

This is an exciting adventure where prayers to The Great Mother Goddess, Danu, may be their only hope. As they head deeper into the canyon complex named Canyon del Muerto, Canyon of the Dead, Lara Spenser is faced with coming to terms with some hard truths and some unexpected twists in the story line.

I have to admit this book left me with a few questions. However, it is a unique and entertaining read with an interesting ending. I also love the striking book cover.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

The Mighty Chieftain is book 8 and the culmination in Lyn Horner’s Romancing the Guardians Series. I do believe it is necessary to read the other books in this series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Reprise Review: Last Christmas by Joan Reeves

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Novella/Christmas

Description:

“A year ago, Annabelle fell in love at first sight with a mysterious stranger. After a week of unforgettable passion, he walked out of her life. A year of heartache, accompanied by the dirty tricks life can serve up, finds Annabelle back in her hometown, determined to forget the man who still haunts her dreams.

Who should walk into her grandmother’s Christmas party? Why the man who seduced her, lied to her, and betrayed her! He has a new name and a new identity, but his effect on her is as old as time.

Rick Lassiter wants to woo Annabelle back to him. Unfortunately, he has two big problems: he can't explain the past and the sweet-tempered, passionate woman he fell in love with has a will as strong as his and a desire to make him pay for breaking her heart.”

Author:

“Joan Reeves is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance. She began her career with New York traditional publishers. When the Amazon Kindle came along, she happily embraced a new career path as an independent author/publisher.

Joan lives her happily ever after with her hero, her husband, in the Lone Star State. They have four kids who think they are adults and a ghost dog--all the ingredients for a life full of love and warmed by laughter. She lives the philosophy that is the premise of all of her romance novels: ‘It's never too late to live happily ever after.’"

For more visit Ms. Reeves' website or Facebook page.

Appraisal:

Last year at a friend’s Christmas party in Houston, Annabelle Cooper thought she had met the love of her life, but then he disappeared without a word. Tired of grieving the lost relationship, she’s decides to move on and never let a man hurt her like that again. Now back home in her grandmother’s house, she has the job she has always wanted since she was a child: managing editor of her grandparent’s newspaper in the Texas panhandle.

During the New Estacado Gazette’s annual Christmas open house, in walks in the man who broke her heart. The mayor introduces him as the town’s new police chief: Rick Lassiter. Not the same name he was using in Houston last year. Annabelle tries to keep her composure and pretends to trip, tossing her champagne in his face, and grinding her four-inch heel into his foot. His gasp of pain is gratifying until he wraps his arms around her, crushing her breasts to his rock-hard chest as he crashes against a wall behind him. Big mistake on Annabelle’s part, because all those feelings from last Christmas come flooding back.

Annabelle quickly devises a plan to get Rick to leave his position and get out of town. It all horribly backfires on her and she falls for him again. The passion between Annabelle and Rick is hot and genuine. All she wants now are answers and he won’t or can’t give them to her. I loved the way the plot moved along. As the town’s residents embrace Rick, Annabelle becomes willing to accept the mystery surrounding Rick as well. The alternating points-of-view helps develop both main characters well. However, Ms. Reeves maintains most of Rick’s mysterious air until the end, which keeps the intrigue level high. When Rick’s past catches up with him, tension rises and all bets are off. Last Christmas is a captivating story I enjoyed all the way through.

I just have one nitpick about a character name, Eddie became Eddy once during the story. Honestly, I see no excuse for that to ever happen. However, Eddie is a minor character brought in to fill out Rick’s backstory and despite this error I am only willing to take away half a star, because I loved the story. Since neither BigAl nor Amazon accepts half stars, I guess we all know that leaves me at a five-star rating.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: This review is from LOVE, CHRISTMAS 1 – Box set of Holiday stories that will put a song in your heart! Original review ran November 21, 2016. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.**

Format/Typo Issues:

Just one significant issue, which I mentioned in the body of my review. My other issue was small, a sentence with extra words.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Review: Karma Walk by Melissa Bowersock

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Paranormal/Ghosts

Description:

“Abe Sydlowski was a cop in Long Beach, California, and had a long, distinguished career—until he died. Now his ghost is appearing at a beach he used to patrol, and his brothers of the shield want to know why. Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud are called in but get one surprise before they even start. Daniel, Sam’s fourteen-year-old son, wants to work with them. When the trio goes to investigate, they find not one ghost, but two. Who is the young girl whose spirit haunts the beach with Abe, and what’s the connection between the two?”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblogIndies Unlimited. She has a tattoo on the inside of her left wrist that says IMAGINE. In her next life, she plans to be an astronaut. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock and her other books on her website or on Facebook. 

Appraisal:

I think this is my favorite book of A LACEY FITZPATRICK and SAM FIRECLOUD MYSTERY SERIES, so far. I had to add that little disclaimer because Ms. Bowersock continues to amaze me with her imagination and storylines. Karma Walk reaches further afield than any of her other books in this series. Also, Daniel, Sam’s fourteen year-old son wants to join Sam on his “walk.”  Sam thinks this case will be a slam-dunk since they already know who the ghost is and allows Daniel to come along. It’s nice to see him accepting his budding mediumistic gift. However this case has a startling twist.

One of the things I enjoy about this series is how realistic each of the characters are. Sam and Lacey have grown individually and as a family unit. I also like the way the Fireclouds include Daniel’s girlfriend, Tori, in their family weekend plans. The secondary characters are as fully formed as the regular cast members. The dialogue is believable as they struggle to come to grips with elements in the story. Lacey and her research adds an element of realism to the stories. Which makes it easy to suspend disbelief.

When the pieces of each spirit’s story start falling into place it shocks Lacey, Sam, and Bernice, Abe’s widow, who immediately becomes a believer. Emotions are intense as this story comes to conclusion. I found it hauntingly beautiful. I love this series!

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Karma Walk is book fifteen in Melissa Bowersock’s A LACEY FITZPATRICK and SAM FIRECLOUD MYSYTERY SERIES.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on a pre-release beta copy and I cannot comment on the completed product.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Review: The Night Before Krampus by Peter Johnson

Genre: Folk Tale/Middle Grade/YA/Fantasy/Christmas

Description:

“It’s two days before Christmas and a quiet Rhode Island town is about to be visited by a number of unexpected guests—including a pair of very different Krampuses. Are they there to protect the innocent, or to exact revenge for a long-forgotten tragedy? Some curses fade over time, while others grow stronger. In this homage to Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, a young boy named Christoph and his friends must find some way to atone for a wrong committed a generation before they were born.”

Author:

“Peter Johnson is the critically acclaimed author of several collections of poetry, short stories, and YA and middle grade novels… Johnson is the recipient of two creative writing awards from Rhode Council on the Arts and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a Professor Emeritus at Providence College where he still teaches, and he lives in Barrington, RI with his family and his black pug, Winnie.”

To learn more please check out his website.

Appraisal:

The Night Before Krampus is a deliciously twisted novella about a curse, which has taken a generation to come to fruition. It takes place in a small Rhode Island town where two wealthy, bigoted, mean-spirited men decide to run a small destitute family out of town. Despite some well-meaning citizens’ compassion, they succeed. All to protect the town’s economic standing.

The story is told through an omniscient narrator with multiple points-of-view that centers mostly on a small group of middle schoolers. Christoph, Clarisse, Bullet, a recent new comer, and Studs, the school bully. The town has also attracted some strange new citizens recently. Like the new disabled and kindhearted baker, Mr. Engle, who is delightful. Ms. Bright who is the new drama teacher directing the school Christmas play, The Night Before Krampus. And Adrian Hasty, the creature posing as Bullet’s father.

Mr. Johnson weaves this contemporary tale of old world creatures, ghosts, magic, and humor into a captivating and entertaining Christmas story. Compassion rises in the most unlikely places as the story unfolds. The theme is a classic good struggling to overcome evil, with the possibility of redemption. Which is why no two Krampus stories will ever be the same. I am glad I picked up this novella, it was a frightfully fun read with heart.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some scenes could be distressing to readers.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Reprise Review: White Christmas by Rebecca York

Genre: Romance/Fantasy/Novella/Christmas

Description:

“The snow is coming down so fast, Amelia Parsons doesn't see the speedingcar until it's too late. One moment she's crossing an ice-rutted street in St. Stephens, Maryland. In the next, she's flying into the air, and the world goes black. She wakes, confused, in what appears to be Santa's workshop during the holiday rush. If that's not strange enough, a hunky FBI agent named Daniel is there, demanding to know why she's involved in a plot to ruin Christmas. Can she convince him she's not the villain and then work with him to find the real saboteur?”

Author:

Rebecca York: “A master of paranormal romantic suspense, Rebecca York is the author of over 150 books. A New York Times and USA Today best-seller, she has written paranormal romantic thrillers for Berkley and romantic thrillers for Harlequin Intrigue.”

To learn more about Ms. York please visit her website.

Appraisal:

This story is right up my alley. I dearly love fantasy and this tale includes a mystery with a little magic as well. Under more than the usual Christmas stress, Amelia is distracted while crossing the street and gets hit by an oncoming car. Was it an accident or something more nefarious?

When Amelia awakens, she is in a mountainous snow-covered forest she doesn’t recognize. Making her way towards lights in the distance, she is rescued from a sudden avalanche by a handsome stranger. Daniel suspects she may be a spy, since he is head of security in this remote township where unexplained accidents have been happening.

Nick, Daniel’s boss, and his wife, Wendy, are sure Amelia has shown up for a special reason. No one ever accidentally finds themselves around their humble abode for no reason. I loved being swept away in this charming story where my imagination could run free. I found the characters well-rounded and the plot moves at a nice pace. I loved every minute of White Christmas and appreciated the promise of a budding relationship between Daniel and Amelia.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK        

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: This review is from LOVE, CHRISTMAS 1 – Box set of Holiday stories that will put a song in your heart! Original review ran November 14, 2016. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.**

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 15-20,000 words

Review: When the Storm Ends by Rebecca L Marsh

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Description:

Beth became a child psychologist so she could help abused children. Her latest patient is HerHErin, a fifteen-year-old who has killed her father. There appear to be no extenuating circumstances. If Beth can’t find out why she did it, the girl will spend many years in prison. Erin, however, isn’t talking. “Of course, Beth knows she shouldn’t share her own past with a patient, but there seems no other option. Now the abuse she suffered as a child has returned in terrifying nightmares.” (Amazon)

Author:

This is Rebecca L. Marsh’s first novel, released in October 2018. “[She] is an author of women's fiction and a member of the Paulding County Writer’s Guild. She grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina and now lives in Dallas, Georgia, with her husband and daughter. When not writing or caring for her family (cats and dog included), Rebecca occasionally makes home-made candy and works on her scrapbooks (she is woefully behind).” The book is largely set in W North Carolina.

Appraisal:

This is a good read – and is a considerably edgier book than one might expect to find under the flag of ‘women’s fiction’. I was looking for something different to review – and this is certainly not something that is usually on my ‘to read’ pile. I don’t think it gives anything away to say that a central thread of the book is domestic abuse. The descriptions of the violence put across the pain and terror of the victims vividly. The sense of dread is well-handled. The way abuse attracts its own consequences is well drawn. The whole, however, is dealt with sensitively and with compassion. The book follows well-trodden paths, but does so, for the most part, with drive and elegance. The pages turn themselves. What happens rings true, to the point where I pray Marsh is not drawing on personal experience. She has certainly done her homework. This is an accomplished piece of work. Especially when one learns that this is the author’s first novel.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Be aware that the book deals with domestic abuse..

Format/Typo Issues:

None

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Judi Moore

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words