The Bird that Sang in Color by @grace_mattioli #LiteraryFiction #FamilySaga #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary, Drama, Family Saga, Literary Fiction by Cathy

Author: Grace Mattioli

Kindle Edition

Category: Family Saga, Drama, Literary Fiction, Book Review

Part family drama and part self-actualization story, this is about Donna Greco, who in her teens, subscribes to a conventional view of success in life—and pushes her freewheeling, artistic brother, Vincent to do the same. However, he remains single, childless, and subsists in cramped apartments. She harbors guilt for her supposed failure until she discovers a sketch-book he’d made of his life, which prompts her own journey to live authentically.

The Bird that Sang in Color is a generational family saga told from the first person perspective, beginning with teenage Donna, one of six siblings, and ranging from 1970 up to 2012.

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20Sep2021

#SpotlightFeature ~ The Sound of Violet by Allen Wolf #Extract @theallenwolf

Posted in Contemporary Fiction, Drama, Extract, Humour, Romance by Cathy

The Sound of Violet, a romantic comedy/drama, will be published on the 21st September by Morning Star Publishing. The book has also been made into a movie.

From the author’s website… ‘The Sound of Violet is a feature-length romantic dramedy based on the award-winning novel. The movie takes place in Seattle rather than New York City, where the novel is based. Audiences will see autism and human trafficking through a new lens through this compelling story.’

Today I have an extract to share…enjoy!

Shawn didn’t feel like an adult because adults were married, and he struggled to get through a date. He was twenty-four years old and looked like a man, with his powder-blue eyes, a trim physique, and a handsome face on a well-shaped head crowned with light brown hair. But he had never quite gotten used to his long arms and legs. When he walked, it looked like Shawn was carefully stepping between raindrops, especially when he started noticing all the colors around him.

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3Jun2021

#ThrowbackThursday ~ The Lewis Man by Peter May ~ #Mystery and #Drama in the Outer Hebrides

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Crime, Drama, Murder, Mystery, Uncategorized by Cathy

The Lewis Man is the second book in the fabulous Lewis Trilogy by Peter May. I listened to the audiobooks (this one relaesed in 2012), performed brilliantly by Peter Forbes.

My Thoughts

On the Isle of Lewis peat cutting is considered a social activity, with families, friends and neighbours all joining in and working together. Trenches are dug and the peat cut and stacked as it has been for centuries. Only this time the peat cutters uncover more than they bargained for when an almost perfectly preserved body is discovered. Initially the police surgeon thinks the body could have been there for hundreds of years, it was only when a tattoo becomes visible they realise the young man had been murdered much more recently.

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14Jan2021

#ThrowbackThursday ~ My Grandfather’s Eyes by B.A. Spicer #Psychological #Drama

Posted in Book Review, Drama, Psychological, Throwback Thursday by Cathy

The kindle edition of My Grandfather’s Eyes, a dark psychological drama, was published in 2013.

My Thoughts

Alex’s story is told, in the first person and present tense and draws the reader into her world of extremely well drawn and distinct, albeit not always likeable, characters that surround her. The narrative begins with the death of Alex’s grandfather, his funeral and the first signs that maybe something about this family is slightly skewed. The heated words Alex overhears exchanged between her mother and father later that night unnerve her although she’s not sure why.

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4Jun2020

#ThrowbackThursday ~ The Devil You Know by @TerryTyler4 #Psychological Thriller #Drama #Suspense #BookReview

Posted in Book Review, Drama, Psychological, Suspense, Thriller, Throwback Thursday by Cathy

Throwback Thursday this week features The Devil You Know, reviewed in 2016. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited and also available in paperback.

My Thoughts

Dora had been promised a job in England but her brother knew better. He pleaded with Dora not to trust the man who made the promises but she laughed off his concerns, believing she was in control of the situation and not in any danger. Dora found out to her cost her brother had been right. She paid the ultimate price for her naiveté.

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5May2020

Wasteland (Operation Galton #2) by Terry Tyler ~ A #Dystopian future for the UK @TerryTyler4 #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Drama, Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, Psychological by Cathy

Author: Terry Tyler

Kindle Edition

Category: Dystopian, Futuristic, Psychological, Book Review

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The year is 2061, and in the new UK megacities, the government watches every move you make. Speech is no longer free—an ‘offensive’ word reaching the wrong ear means a social demerit and a hefty fine. One too many demerits? Job loss and eviction, with free transport to your nearest community for the homeless: the Hope Villages.

The United Kingdom in the year 2061 is dominated by megacities, which are controlled by the Prime Minister and the Nutricorp organisation. They include hospitals, schools and medical centres and have been touted as offering equality for everyone, except there are always those who have more and better. The majority of people live in the stacks which comprise of fully kitted out and compact apartments. The inhabitants are monitored and their security depends on a healthy lifestyle, good behaviour and keeping their jobs, otherwise it’s more than likely they could end up in a Hope Village.

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21Apr2020

The Mountain In My Shoe by Louise Beech ~ Suspenseful #Psychological #Drama @LouiseWriter #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Drama, Psychological, Suspense by Cathy

Author: Louise Beech

Published: September 2016 by Orenda Books

Category: Drama, Family, Psycological, Book Review

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A missing boy. A missing book. A missing husband. A woman who must find them all to find herself. On the night Bernadette finally has the courage to tell her domineering husband that she’s leaving, he doesn’t come home. Neither does Conor, the little boy she’s befriended for the past five years. Also missing is his lifebook, the only thing that holds the answers. With the help of Conor’s foster mum, Bernadette must face her own past, her husband’s secrets and a future she never dared imagine in order to find them all.

After several years of moving from one foster home to another, ten year old Conor has been settled with his latest foster mother, Anne, for five years. Both are very happy with the arrangement. His birth mother is unable to care for him but won’t agree to an adoption hence the foster care. Despite what he has been through in his short life, Conor has proved to be quite adaptable although he does understandably have issues. One of his passions is art, at which he excels. The other is Mohammed Ali, whom he hero-worships.

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15Apr2020

The Memories We Bury by H.A. Leuschel ~ How Far Would You Go To Get What You Want? #Psychological #BookReview @HALeuschel

Posted in Book Review, Drama, Psychological by Cathy

Author: H.A. Leuschel

Due to be published 17th April

Category: Psychological, Drama, Book Review

Lizzie Thomson has landed her first job as a music teacher, and after a whirlwind romance with Markus, the newlywed couple move into a beautiful new home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Lizzie quickly befriends their neighbour Morag, an elderly, resourceful yet lonely widow, who’s own children rarely visit her. Everything seems perfect in Lizzie’s life until she finds out she is pregnant and her relationship with both Morag and Markus change beyond her control.

The Memories We Bury is told from two alternating points of view—Lizzie, a young mother and Morag, widowed and a retired nurse, who live next door to each other—giving a good, but confusing, insight into each character. I say confusing because for the longest time I wasn’t sure how the story was going to develop.

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25Feb2020

The Other People by C.J. Tudor ~ Creepy, Atmospheric, Intriguing #AudiobookReview @cjtudor #RichardArmitage #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Contemporary, Drama, Mystery, Psychological by Cathy

Author: C.J. Tudor

Performed by Richard Armitage

Published: January 2020 by Penguin Audio

Category: Contemporary, Psycological, Suspense, Audiobook, Review

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She sleeps, a pale girl in a white room . . .

Three years ago, Gabe saw his daughter taken. In the back of a rusty old car, covered in bumper stickers. He was driving behind the car. He watched her disappear. But no one believes him. Most people believe that his daughter, and wife, are dead. For a while, people believed that Gabe was responsible.