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Love Song at the Music Festival by Margaret Amatt #Review #GlenbriarBook 19

  I love returning to the beautiful Scottish Highlands for Margaret Amatt's nineteenth in her Glenbriar  Series: Love Song at the Music Festival . This latest novel was published on 17th August by Leannan Press. From Heartbreak to Harmony   After young music teacher Mirren Elphinstone’s entitled boyfriend dumps her and walks out on local band Tavrach, Mirren has a score to settle. Despite her usually sunny, helpful nature, she decides auditioning for the vacant lead singer role is the perfect way to get payback.  Tavrach’s enigmatic frontman, Adam Cormac, is desperate. With the Autumn Gold Festival fast approaching, the band needs a new lead singer – and fast. When only one hopeful turns up – a golden-haired beauty with the voice of an angel – Adam takes a chance.  He soon discovers Mirren is the ex of the sneaky band member who not only abandoned them but stole some of Adam’s compositions. Tempers flare, until the tension between Adam and Mirren turns elect...
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Little Friends by Jane Shemilt #Review

Jane Shemilt's Little Friends was published on February 20th by Penguin and I am delighted to be taking part in the celebrations for its publication. You can read my review of her novel, How Far We Fall  here.

Their children are friends first. They hit it off immediately, as kids do. 

So the parents are forced to get to know each other. But as they get closer, they start to take their eyes off their children. 

And while they have been looking the other way, evil has crept in.

Every parent's biggest nightmare is about to come true...

My Thoughts

This is one of those immersive novels which draws you in. You are given the story from the perspectives of the three mothers in the group, Eve, Grace and Melissa. They are all such different personalities but have been put together because of their children who are being tutored by Eve. As the three couples meet and socialize, they are so self- obsessed that they do not notice how their children are running wild. You know from the beginning that something terrible has happened and the little insights into the children's lives are unsettling as you realise how unaware the parents are.

    The  horror that is going on within the setting of domesticity seems to add to the tension. You realise early on that there is unhappiness in all the couples' lives and a lot of covering over the cracks going on at all levels. From the beginning you are told to look beneath the surface to the darkness below. Truth is in short measure. This is a great read to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even the title seems to hold a hidden meaning. Glance at it and it can quickly turn to fiends.

In short: Cruelty lies just beneath the surface.
About the Author

 While working as a GP, Jane Shemilt completed a postgraduate diploma in Creative Writing at Bristol University and went on to study for the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa, gaining both with distinction. Her first novel, Daughter, was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and went on to become the bestselling debut novel of 2014.

She and her husband, a professor of neurosurgery, have five children and live in Bristol. 


You can follow Jane here: Twitter   |  Website 

Book links: Amazon UK

Thanks to Jane Shemilt and Sriya Varadharajan from Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.


                                     Be sure to check out the rest of the tour!

 
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