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The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh #Review

  Today I am featurung the latest psychological thriller by Valerie Keogh . The Bookseller was published by Boldwood Books on March 3rd. A woman with a dark past... Helen Appleby just wants a quiet life. Recently released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner, she's trying to forget her past mistakes – all of them - to rebuild her life and move on. When she decides to open a bookshop, she’s certain this is the perfect new start. Here, amongst the quiet shelves of her shop and between the covers of her books, she can hide away from the real world and begin again. The world of books the perfect place to find happiness - even if it is all lies. But the past can never stay hidden… As she settles into life as an apparently timid bookseller, it seems that someone is determined to sabotage Helen's new life and ruin everything she's built. But Helen has killed once before. And to protect her future, she could be willing to kill again... Don't miss anot...

One Summer by Taylor Cole #Review

 

We are off to Cornwall, to the island of Loor, for Taylor Cole's latest summer read, One Summer. It was published by Aria on 4th July.


Two people. Two pasts. One summer to fall in love.

Caleb is a former professional surfer trying to build his life after a career-ending accident.

Lindy has moved to Loor island to start a new life, combing the shores for sea glass to weave into jewelry.

When the two meet, sparks fly – but not the good kind. Then they discover they’re neighbours, and they’re stuck with each other for one, long summer.

As they slowly learn to trust each other, and find themselves sharing their stories that brought them to Loor, their dislike begins to unravel into friendship, then maybe something more.

But will the weight of their pasts ruin their chance of a future?


 My Thoughts

There is plenty of humour in this story of starting over and finding love. Set on the remote island of Loor, the inhabitants add a liveliness to the writing. The quirky individuals seem to know what is going on on the island almost as soon as it happens. The island setting is stunning and so much of the story takes place on the beach. It is obvious from the first pages that Lindy is dissatisfied with her life and looking for a new direction. In moving to the island, she takes a leap of faith.

     Lindy finds herself petsitting back in her native Cornwall but is also nursing a broken heart. The grumpy next door neighbour has a back story which she find hard to ferret out. An enemies to lovers story, it is Lindy's reactions to life on the island and to her charges which are most amusing. You also find yourself hoping that she can sort her thoughts out and see certain characters in their true light.

In short: amusing enemies to lovers tale.

About the Author

Taylor Cole grew up on a council estate in Devon and is of Armenian heritage, via her maternal grandmother who survived the Armenian genocide as a child refugee. When she was twenty-one, Taylor left university to run away to Cyprus and live in a men's barrack block with her military boyfriend, but returned the next year to finish her BA in English, which she followed with a master's degree in Creative Writing. She lives in Newquay with the military boyfriend-turned-husband, two daughters and an eighty-year-old tortoise called Shelley who was found wandering the streets of Plymouth in 1958.

Purchase link 

Publisher's social media links: Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  TikTok

Thanks to Taylor Cole, Aeia and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

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