*NEW BOOK REVIEW* Maestra by L.S.Hilton

Judith Rashleigh works as an assistant in a prestigious London auction house, but her dreams of breaking into the art world have been gradually dulled by the blunt forces of snobbery and corruption. To make ends meet she moonlights as a hostess in one of the West End's less salubrious bars - although her work there pales against her activities on nights off.

When Judith stumbles across a conspiracy at her auction house, she is fired before she can expose the fraud. In desperation, she accepts an offer from one of the bar's clients to accompany him to the French Riviera. But when an ill-advised attempt to slip him sedatives has momentous consequences, Judith finds herself fleeing for her life. 

Now alone and in danger, all Judith has to rely on is her consummate ability to fake it amongst the rich and famous - and the inside track on the hugely lucrative art fraud that triggered her dismissal...

Where do you go when you've gone too far?

I'm a bit funny about books that come with a lot of hype surrounding them. Not in a snobbish way. More in a I read them and feel let down kinda way (I think I may be one of the only people not to have enjoyed Girl on The Train...)

So when Maestra landed on my desk with its 'the most shocking thriller you'll read this year' claims and movie rights already being signed up, I have to admit I put it to one side and marked it as 'not one for me.' 

But then I started reading reviews and began to get FOMO. And I felt that if I was really going to be able to say 'it wasn't for me' then I had to least read a few pages. 

So I took it home - and five hours later I'd finished it. Yep. I went from not thinking I'd enjoy it to not wanting to put it down. Gripped from the very first 'c' bomb dropped on page two.  

Packed full of action I think i gave myself RSI from turning the pages so quickly. 

I had been warned it was slightly filthy - and it was (I won't be passing it on to my mum that's for sure.) But it's not filth in a 'we have to put a sex scene on every single page' way that some books (which shall not be named) do, which becomes incredibly tedious, very quickly. 

Judith is a sassy, smart and very dangerous heroine and I couldn't help but really like her. 

So read it before everyone else does because I do think it will be the most talked abut book this year - and with reason. 

My only complaint? That the second instalment isn't coming quick enough…

Try it for yourself 

A PERFECT bank holiday read…

The Queen of romantic fiction herself!

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello 

Lauren Scott lives in 'The most romantic place in Britain', but her love life is about as successful as her mountain climbing skills. The man she's obsessed over for two years has proposed to someone else - and her only solution is to save up for six months to go travelling, so she never has to set eyes on him again. 

But when her friends sign her up for a dance class - in the same historic hotel where her beloved dad worked and her most precious childhood memories were formed - Lauren makes a horrifying discovery. It's been sold to a faceless budget chain, which has depressing plans in store. Worse, the entrepreneur behind it all turns out to be among a group of guys her friend Cate roped in to join the very same salsa class they've signed up for.... 

 

Jane Costello is the QUEEN of the romance novel – and this is her best book yet. 

Funny and full of charm with super likeable characters, the moment you pick up Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel you'll want to cancel all your plans and turn off your phone so you can finish it in one sitting. 

I learnt two things when reading Jane's latest novel - 

1) That I REALLY need to go to the Lake District ASAP 

2) I absolutely won't be signing up for salsa lessons… 

But what did Jane learn while writing Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel? She reveals her six things below…

1. Salsa dancing is a lot harder than it looks

Salsa is for everyone, right? Wrong, as I discovered when I dragged my husband to a class with me for ten weeks to research the dance scenes in the book. In fairness, our enthusiasm was hopelessly ill-matched; I had dreams of us as the next Baby and Johnny, burning up every dance floor we’d grace forever more. And he . . . well he didn’t. We quickly discovered that salsa far from easy, that dislocating both knees once a week doesn’t look especially pretty – and that if you don’t take any of it seriously it’s extremely good fun.

2. The Lake District is heaven on earth.

I kind of knew this already if I’m honest. I bought a little holiday home between Bowness and Ambleside a few years ago, which means I’m now lucky enough to visit at least 10 times a year. But the book only served to underline just how much I adore the place. It was the perfect setting to write a novel – sweeping mountains, sparkling lakes and lots of men in climbing gear.

3. Writing doesn’t always have to be hard.

Contrary to popular belief that the authors of popular fiction ‘churn them out’, the reality is that most authors, including very successful ones, find writing a novel extremely difficult. As Dorothy Parker said, ‘I hate writing. I love having written.’ That’s me all over – there are times, especially when I’m completing a first draft, when I’m an anxious, perfectionist wreck of a human being who’ll have sleepless nights because I just can’t find a decent resolution to one of my story lines. Well, writing Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel wasn’t like that AT ALL. It was a revelation, a joy from start to finish, and possibly the most enjoyable writing experiences I’ve ever had. I think it’s wishful thinking to hope they’ll all be like that from now on.

4. Good friends are wondrous things.

I reflected a lot on friendship when I was writing the book. I love my friends and just can’t imagine life without the handful of women I’ve been closest to in my adult life. They’ve been just as brilliant partying on a Saturday night during the good times as they have been when things have got tough. I won’t say too much, but there’s a dilemma in the book in which one of our heroine’s friendships is really is tested to the limit. It really made me wonder what decision I would make in that position (and I like to think it’d be the right one!)

5. Outdoor pursuits are not for the faint-hearted.

The Lake District is famous for lots of things – beautiful old inns, Beatrix Potter,  rambling towns with limewashed cottages and breath-taking views. But I just couldn’t write a book set in a place best known for its lakes and mountains without getting up close and personal with nature.  Like many people who live within the national park, a number of my characters either have jobs that involve regularly being up on the fells, or simply spend a lot of time exploring them  because there’s nothing like the feeling of being up at the top of a mountain, breathing in the clean air.  I did a fair bit of exploring while I was writing this book – and even had a go at something called ‘ghyll scrambling’, which involves climbing a mountain, then scrambling and sliding down via a waterfall, sometimes ending up fully submerged in freezing water. My kids had a whale of a time. I, on the other hand, have only just regained the feeling in my toes.

6. You can write a sex scene that’s also funny.

Writers love a challenge, and I did wonder whether this one could ever hope to work. Could you really have a heroine getting it on with someone she’s been crazy about for years . . . and still make it hilarious? I’ll await my readers’ verdict on this one, but I really do hope I managed it in what turned out to be my favourite scene in the book.  Of course, it helps if you throw in a pair of Marigolds, a urine sample and a cartwheeling dog in the background on Britain’s Got Talent . . .

So if you have some downtime this rainy bank holiday weekend, grab yourself a copy and lock yourself away with an Easter egg or two. 

And I can confirm the sex scene is LOL… 

Music to write a brilliant book to…

The Night That Changed Everything by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice 

Rebecca is the only girl she knows who didn't cry at the end of Titanic. Ben is the only man he knows who did. Rebecca’s untidy but Ben doesn’t mind picking up her pieces. Ben is laid back by Rebecca keeps him on his toes. They're a perfect match.

Nothing can come between them. Or so they think.

When a throwaway comment reveals a secret from the past, their love story is rewritten.

Can they recover from the night that changed everything? And how do you forgive when you can’t forget?

You know those rare books that you simply can't put down - but at the same time you really don't want to finish either because it's just TOO GOOD and it's giving you ALL THE FEELS? The Night That Changed Everything is one of those books. 

Told in alternate chapters by the brilliant Laura and Jimmy, they have taken your average, sweet chick-lit plot and put it on a roller coaster with lots of loops the loops. They have turned a rom-com on its head creating an anti-fairytale where you witness a break-up, warts and all. 

The Night That Changed Everything is funny. No it's hilarious. But it's also incredibly sad and will most certainly make you shout: 'NO, THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN' more than once. And the ending? Yeah. You won't see that coming… 

It's firmly on my 'Brilliant Books of 2016' list and I really can't stop raving about it to anyone who needs a book recomendation. 

And what would be on the playlist for writing such a brilliant book? Laura and Jimmy have kindly shared the six must-have songs. Over to them… 

We’re both pretty into our music, and always have the radio on in the background when we get together to plan stories, so choosing just six songs for this has been tough. We spent more time on this than we did writing our latest book. Almost.

JIMMY

Enjoy The Silence – Depeche Mode
The second question anyone asks us (after Are you a couple? – to which we simultaneously answer No with screwed up faces) is exactly how we write together. The truth is that we never do – we write separately, but only after several days of hardcore planning at Laura’s house in south-east London. And the soundtrack to these sessions is always Absolute 80s or 90s. This song reminds me of staying up into the early hours discussing plots and characters, fuelled by tea (me) and Malbec (Laura). 

Disco 2000 – Pulp
Okay, I lie a little bit when I say these sessions are hardcore. At least 81 per cent of our time is spent discussing what would be on the soundtrack if our books were ever made into films. Our first book was about meeting up with your childhood sweetheart years down the line and so this song would be perfect for the reunion scene. We both love Pulp and they’re usually on in the car when Laura drives me back to the station, so I also associate this song with several near-death experiences and the words WATCH THE FRIGGING ROAD, LAURA! 

There is a Light That Never Goes Out – The Smiths
If anyone ever asks why I started writing I admit that it was out of boredom and a bit of loneliness. At the time I was living in Liverpool, where I’d moved for work and didn’t really have any mates. It was a real low point in my life and writing helped fill a hole. It didn’t matter that I was staying in on my own on a Saturday night because now I was writing a blog, and then a book. This song was the soundtrack to that period.   

LAURA

Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie – Belle & Sebastian
I heart Belle & Sebastian, hard. I listen to them a lot while I write – the tunes are catchy and the lyrics are playful, funny, evocative and surprising - often small, character-led stories within themselves. Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie centres around a timid, insecure girl who loses herself in books, and is probably the only song in the world to reference both Catcher in the Rye and Judy Bloom.  

I Can’t Read You - Daniel Bedingfield
NOW we’re getting rock’n’roll. I still love this tune, and the reason it’s on this list is it relates so much to our books. It’s about liking someone and feeling frustrated that you don’t know how they feel, but at the same time not being the best versions of yourself because our emotions turn us into idiots. The hook of our books is the fact the protagonists can’t read each other, but the reader can read both sides. The lyrics 'Your heart's protecting, I get left behind' could be written about Rebecca by Ben in The Night That Changed Everything, as could 'I wish that you could see a better part of me' in the moment they meet. 

Especially For You – Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue
Initially, I was determined to pick three achingly cool songs that would in turn illustrate how cool I am, but I fear I lost you at Bedingfield, so I might as well go here too. Jason and Kylie – through Scott and Charlene in Neighbours – provided the first love story I remember having a real impact on me, back when an author was just something I wanted to be when I grew up. As far as lyrics go, 'If dreams were wings, you know I would have flown to you' is, admittedly, up there with the worst, but I harbour a real sentimental affection for this song.

Thanks guys! Right I'm off to watch some vintage Neigbours…. 

Grab The Night That Changed Everything here...

Book review: Missing Rose by Linda Newbery

It was the day when everything stopped…

At quarter past two on a hot summer afternoon, Anna’s beautiful, headstrong older sister Rose disappears. And Anna was the last person to see her.

Their parents, Rose’s friends, the police – no-one can find where Rose has gone or who might have taken her.

Twenty years later, Rose is still missing. Anna is the only one who still believes she might be alive, and unable to take control of her own life while her sister’s disappearance remains unsolved, she begins to hunt for the truth herself. But the search for Rose will uncover secrets she is not prepared for…

With compelling characters revealing their stories and secrets in a series of flashbacks, Missing Rose is certainly a page turner. There is never a hint of what happened to Rose so as Anna starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together you can't help but try and guess yourself what might have happened. But as the jigsaw completes it won't be the picture you imagine… 

I love surprise endings, books that make you gasp: 'No WAY' out loud regardless of your surroundings. If you're the same, pop this on your TBR pile. 

Buy it here 

*NEW BOOK REVIEW* Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Sarah's husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded. 

But upon arriving in Penny Gate, facts about Julia's accident begin to surface and Sarah realizes that nothing about this family is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack's past. But the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for… 

This is a gem of a read from New York Times bestselling author, Heather Gudenkauf. 

Dark with lots of tension, you'll think you've figured out 'whodunnit' but then there will be another twist and you'll find yourself not trusting any of the characters at all… And you'll be guessing right up to the last chapter. 

A really chilling page-turner that will engage you from the first page. 

Grab your copy here 

Lover

Home is where the heart is, and Kate thinks a lot about making people feel at home. She works for a global hotel corporation. She has two young children, and a husband of ten years.

Now, both Kate's home and her heart are about to implode: she has discovered a series of emails from her husband Adam to another woman. Probing for answers, she realizes this not the worst possible discovery - in fact, it is only the beginning.

As her family unravels, Kate's job becomes increasingly demanding - but how can she provide the perfect guest experience when her own foundations have been knocked away? She tries to hold things together for her daughters, but doesn't know what to tell them when they ask when Adam is coming home. Who was the man with whom Kate built a life? And what is he to her now?

 I couldn’t have been more excited when a copy of Lover landed on my desk. I’d read so manygood reviews and I wanted in on the action.

However, the only problem that surrounds a book with much hype is I often find they don’t deliver – but that wasn’t the case at all with Lover.

From page one I was completely hooked as the story unfolds of a very normal couple  whose marriage begins to break down after Kate discovers her husband Adam is having an affair.

The writing is style is brilliant and so very real. This isn’t a fairy tale and it certainly isn’t dressed up that way either.

In fact, as Kate struggles to deal with the information she discovers and battles with whether she should take her husband back or not, the whole account is deeply moving and very unsettling in places but that just adds to it’s brilliance.

Believe the hype and get this book immediately – I can’t recommend it enough.
Buy it here

The Glittering Art of Falling Apart...

1980s Soho is electric. For Eliza, the heady pull of its nightclubs and free-spirited people leads her into the life she has craved - all glamour, late nights and excitement. But it comes at a heavy cost.

Cassie is fascinated by her family's history and the abandoned Beaufont Hall. Why won't her mother talk about it? Offered the chance to restore Beaufont to its former glory, Cassie jumps at the opportunity to learn more about her past.

Separated by a generation, but linked by a forgotten diary, these two women have more in common than they know . . .

Every now and again you read a book that you really struggle to get into. Maybe you don’t like the characters or you just don’t like the plot and you decide to give up.

I almost did that with Ilana Fox's The Glittering Art of Falling Apart. I found it a little slow to start and it just wasn’t grabbing my attention. But not one to give up I decided to plough on – and I am so glad I did.

From not wanting to read it to suddenly not wanting to put it down – this book is brilliant. The characters are great and the ending? Yeah, you won’t see it coming at all.

A beautiful, romantic, enchanting story - it’s 100% worth persevering with.