So Pretty by Ronnie Turner #Review #Giveaway

On Publication Day,  we have a modern gothic thriller from Orenda Books. So Pretty is by Ronnie Wood. I also have a great giveaway with the chance to win a print copy. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.

Fear blisters through this town like a fever…

When Teddy Colne arrives in the small town of Rye, he believes he will be able to settle down and leave his past behind him. Little does he know that fear blisters through the streets like a fever. The locals tell him to stay away from an establishment known only as Berry & Vincent, that those who rub too closely to its proprietor risk a bad end. 

Despite their warnings, Teddy is desperate to understand why Rye has come to fear this one man, and to see what really hides behind the doors of his shop.

Ada moved to Rye with her young son to escape a damaged childhood and years of never fitting in, but she’s lonely, and ostracised by the community. Ada is ripe for affection and friendship, and everyone knows it.

As old secrets bleed out into this town, so too will a mystery about a family who vanished fifty years earlier, and a community living on a knife edge.

Teddy looks for answers, thinking he is safe, but some truths are better left undisturbed, and his past will find him here, just as it has always found him before. And before long, it will find Ada too.

My Thoughts

This is a chilling read which envelops you as you read with a feeling of both dread and slowly rising panic. You realise that all the people at the centre of the story have been damaged in some way in their childhood and there is a terrible feeling of foreboding which lingers. It is as if trauma in childhood allows evil to enter and once there, it contaminates everything.

    The shop is a powerful image, a physical representation of past deeds which are there as trophies but also as silent reproaches. This is a dark tale with strongly gothic features. The shop seems cloying and claustrophobic. You feel you can smell the mustiness which hangs over everything and permeates even the walls. Ada and Teddy are both lonely and damaged people. The writing brings out the obsession which lies behind events. It really is one of those books where you have to tell yourself to breathe as you read it. Ronnie Turner is an impressive young talent and you can’t help but wonder what she will write next! 

In short: dark, unrelenting and distinctive writing

 

About the Author

Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family. At an early age, she discovered a love of literature and dreamed of being a published author.

Ronnie now lives in the South West with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she reviews books on her blog and enjoys long walks on the coast. Ronnie is a Waterstones Senior Bookseller and a barista, and her youth belies her exceptional, highly unusual talent.

You can follow Ronnie here: Facebook  |  Twitter   |  Instagram

Book link: Amazon UK 

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

 

Check out the rest of the tour!

 

Giveaway (UK only)

To win a print copy of So Pretty, just Follow and Retweet the pinned tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

Closing date is 25th January 2023 and there is one winner.    

 

*Terms and Conditions –  UK only.  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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