Tag Archives: Contemporary Fiction

The Charity of Strangers by Alison Burke ~ Blog Tour #BookReview @rararesources #ContemporaryFiction #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contemporary Fiction by

Today I’m pleased to be sharing my review for The Charity of Strangers, part of the final date of the blog tour, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources

My Thoughts

Nineteen year old Zaffron had been on her own for years after shocking events caused her to run away into a life of homelessness and drugs. After overcoming substance abuse and mental health issues, she was living in a squat, trying to get her life into some sort of order. She kept her room clean and made it as nice as possible amid the chaos of the rest of the building. Desperate for something warm and smart to wear at the interview she was hoping to get, she went into a charity shop with the intention of stealing a coat.

Continue reading →

Songwriter Night: A Musical Romance by D.G. Driver #ContemporaryFiction #RBRT @DGDriverAuthor #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Novella by

Author: D.G. Driver

Published: January 2021

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this sweet romantic novella, Lyle and Trish are two aspiring Country music songwriters that meet at a Nashville coffee house. With Trish being new in town, Lyle invites her to his monthly gathering of songwriters to get to know her better. The evening of quirky characters and light-hearted singing is interrupted by the arrival of Aiden Bronson.

Nashville, Tennessee is still the Country music capital of the world for those who want to do things the old fashioned way, while soaking up the atmosphere of the city.

Continue reading →

#GuestPost from TS Krupa ~ author of Big City Dreams @TS_Krupa #ContemporaryFiction #Romance

Posted in Contemporary Fiction, Guest Post, Romantic by

It’s a pleasure today to welcome T.S. Krupa with a guest post and  her latest book info.

Recipe and a Book

I remember smelling the sugary sweetness of paczki (traditional Polish doughnut) before seeing them on my babcia’s kitchen table. They were always freshly fried and coated in powered sugar. It would take her a full 4 hours to make several trays of this sweet goodness from scratch and the family only minutes to eat them all up. I regret not ever having stood with her in the kitchen to learn how to make these and I don’t have her actual recipe anymore. By the time I came around the recipe had long been memorized and wasn’t actually written down anywhere. Fear not, I found a really good equivalent to my babcia’s paczki. Make Your Pączki at Home With This Traditional Polish recipe has a step by step process that is very close. I wish I had the original recipe. Do you have any family recipes that have been passed down? What is your favorite?

Continue reading →

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor @cjtudor #AudiobookReview #Thriller #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Thriller by

Author: C. J. Tudor

Published: January 2021 by Michael Joseph

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Thriller, Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

500 years ago: eight martyrs were burnt to death

30 years ago: two teenagers vanished without trace

Two months ago: the vicar committed suicide

Welcome to Chapel Croft.

Single parent Rev. Jack Brooks and her teenage daughter Flo, moved to Chapel Croft ostensibly for a new start, and for Jack a chance to perhaps find some peace. An ‘unfortunate situation’, as described by the residing bishop in her Nottingham parish, resulted in a move neither Jack or Flo wanted to a much smaller parish in rural Sussex. It was an interim position until a full time replacement could be found. However, no-one had seen fit to mention that the last vicar had committed suicide.

Continue reading →

#ThrowbackThursday ~ In The Blue Hour by Elizabeth Hall #ContemporaryFiction #NativeAmerican Culture

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Native American, Supernatural, Uncategorized by

Throwback Thursday this week features In The Blue Hour, an audiobook that was released in 2016 and narrated by Joyce Bean.

My Thoughts

Elise is depressed and in mourning since the death of her husband. She’d dreamed of a car accident involving her husband months earlier, which she believed to have been more of a prophecy. Guilt and blame for failing to interpret the dream are added to the swirling mix of emotions as Elise struggles to make sense of her loss. Michael, Elise’s husband, was a Native American wood carver whose work was in high demand, more especially since his death. His last piece was a beautifully detailed carving of a raven.

Continue reading →

Grace & Serenity by @AnnalisaCrawf #ContemporaryFiction #Manipulation #Psychological #RBRT

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological by

I reviewed Grace & Serenity back in July for the blog tour run by Rachel’s Random Resources and am reposting for Rosie Amber’s book review team. 

My Thoughts

This was quite a dark, although sensitively addressed story, and one that emphasises how easily someone can get sucked in to situations they feel unable to control. Grace was just sixteen when she met Neil, and not much older when she became pregnant. Neil had charmed Grace from the beginning but she saw another side of him when she told him she was expecting their child. He didn’t want to know and made his feelings plain. This was the first sign of his true character and a precursor of what was to come.

Continue reading →

The Searcher by Tana French ~ Set in Ireland ~ Character Driven #LiteraryFiction #Audiobook #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Contemporary, Crime, Literary Fiction, Murder/Mystery by

Author: Tana French

Performed by Roger Clark

Released: November 2020 by Penguin Audio

Category: Murder, Mystery, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a remote Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force, and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens.

But then a local kid comes looking for his help. His brother has gone missing, and no one, least of all the police, seems to care. Cal wants nothing to do with any kind of investigation, but somehow he can’t make himself walk away.

Cal Hooper, retired from the Chicago PD after 25 years, relocated to the rural west coast of Ireland after the break up of his marriage and having become disenchanted with the way things were going in America.

Continue reading →

One Winter’s Night by @KileyDunbar ~ Contemporary #Fiction #Romance #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Romance by

Author: Kiley Dunbar

Published: September 2020 by Hera

Category: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s autumn in beautiful Stratford-Upon-Avon and Kelsey Anderson is enjoying her new life in her adopted town. Her Shakespearean tour guide days behind her, she’s now opened her own photography studio and loved up with boyfriend Jonathan – even if a long-distance relationship is sometimes lonely.

When best friend Mirren Imrie moves down from Scotland, Kelsey is delighted to have her friend at her side – and as the nights turn colder, Mirren throws herself into dating, until she finds herself growing closer to sexy journalist, Adrian Armadale.

This book follows on from One Summer’s Night, which I hadn’t read, but One Winter’s Night can definitely be read and enjoyed as a standalone, particularly as the author gives a short recap of the previous book at the start.

Continue reading →

#Extract from 337 by @MJonathanLee Published by @HideawayFall #337LEE #ContemporaryFiction #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Contemporary Fiction, Extract, New Release, Spotlight by

I’m delighted to feature an extract from a new release by M Jonathan Lee, who says of the book…

“The initial challenge to myself was whether I could write a novel where the entire story hinges on the last word, which changes your view about many of the characters you’ve travelled through the story with. Following that, I wanted to focus on how nothing is really ever as it seems. My own Nanna, Frances Joan died whilst I was writing the story and I remember feeling very panicked in her last few days that knowledge would disappear with her. This gave me the idea for a character disappearing without a trace, in just the same way as the knowledge. The human condition and what leads people to do the things they do to one another is of constant fascination to me – which means that my stories with mysterious twists should never dry up.”

Continue reading →

#Extract from Mine by @Alison_Knight59 ‘What’s Mine I Keep’ @rararesources Contemporary #CrimeFiction

Posted in Blog Tour, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Extract by

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Mine, courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources

Today I have an extract from the book…the beginning of Chapter Three, where we first meet Lily’s boss, Leonard. He’s a respectable, married man, yet he’s been attracted to Lily since the moment he saw her. 

Continue reading →