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Once Upon a Thyme by Jane Lovering #Review

  It is a pleasure to feature Jane Lovering's  Once Upon a Thyme which was published by Boldwood Books on June 24th.   All her life, Natalie Fisher has been taught not to ask questions. Why risk uncovering uncomfortable truths, when you can stay in the safety of blissful denial? Since taking over the family herb farm, Natalie has stuck with what she knows, rarely venturing much further than the nearby village where her invalid mother now lives. But then, one day, everything changes with the arrival of unexpected visitors. First comes Zeb, employed by Natalie’s mother to help with the business but soon hinting at other motives. Then comes Simon with the famous band he manages, wanting to film in Natalie’s beautiful garden. The band causes chaos and the attitude of one particular member throws Natalie’s ordered life into confusion. Over one magical summer of revelations and of uncovering secrets, Natalie starts to blossom and by the time autumn arrives she knows n...

The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith #Review #Giveaway

It's time for another wonderful Orenda blog tour for Eve Smith's speculative fiction, The Waiting Rooms. For the chance to win an e-copy of it, follow the details which are at the foot of this post. 


Decades of spiralling drug resistance have unleashed a global antibiotic crisis. Ordinary infections are untreatable, and a scratch from a pet can kill. A sacrifice is required to keep the majority safe: no one over seventy is allowed new antibiotics. The elderly are sent to hospitals nicknamed ‘The Waiting Rooms’ … hospitals where no one ever gets well.

Twenty years after the crisis takes hold, Kate begins a search for her birth mother, armed only with her name and her age. As Kate unearths disturbing facts about her mother’s past, she puts her family in danger and risks losing everything. Because Kate is not the only secret that her mother is hiding. Someone else is looking for her, too.

Sweeping from an all-too-real modern Britain to a pre-crisis South Africa, The Waiting Rooms is epic in scope, richly populated with unforgettable characters, and a tense, haunting vision of a future that is only a few mutations away.

MyThoughts

The Waiting Rooms is an amazing debut novel by Eve Smith which has so many echoes of the world we are living in, that you find yourself nodding in recognition at some of the measures which are described. Following a global antibiotic crisis, we are presented with a transformed world of control and restriction. Alongside this, we follow Kate's story as she searches for her birth mother. Alternating between life in South Africa before 'The Crisis', and life in a changed world, you begin to realise that there might be dark forces at play. 

    In this thriller, the tension is kept up, despite the changing timelines, and you cannot help but feel anxious at the world as described. Reading it at the current time adds a frisson and makes the plighty of the elderly even more chilling. With some well drafted characters and an intriguing plot, this has all the hallmarks of a great read. Be sure to read Eve's description at the end of how she got her inspiration for the story. I found it even more unsettling than the book and there is more information on her Website.  

In short: Chilling and oh so credible! 

About the Author


Eve Smith writes speculative fiction, mainly about the things that scare her. In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, she believes storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues. Set 20 years after an antibiotic crisis, her debut novel The Waiting Rooms was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award. Her flash fiction has been shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award and highly commended for The Brighton Prize. Eve's previous job as COO of an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.

You can follow Eve here: Twitter   |  Website  |  Facebook 
                                       |  Instagram  

Book link: Amazon UK

Thanks to Eve Smith, Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater of Orenda Books for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out the rest of the tour!

 
Giveaway (International)


 
To win an e- copy of The Waiting Rooms, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!





 Closing Date is July1st 2020 and there is one winner.



*Terms and Conditions –  International.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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