My review:????

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis is a mystery book with the Brontë sisters as the investigators.  Mrs Elizabeth Chester’s bedroom is found to be covered in blood, and as Emily, Anne and Charlotte know the young lady who found the room in this state, they hear a first hand account, and so become involved in the mystery of where Mrs Chester is, and if she’s alive or dead!

I found this to be a really interesting read as it puts you at the heart of the Brontë family, and is set both in 1851 and in 1845, with Charlotte looking back to their adventures together.  The sisters are quite separate characters, and it made me want to learn more about them, and re-read each of their books!

The Vanished Bride was published on 7th November 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Bella Ellis on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Hodder Books.

My review:????

The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter is book 9 in the Will Trent series, and I realised that when I worked out that I’ve already read and reviewed book 10.  No, I’m not sure how I’ve managed that either!

Anyway, this is a thriller, where white supremacist have concocted a terror plot, and Sara and Will get dragged into the middle of it.  We swap between Sara and Will’s perspectives, and I do feel these being labelled the Will Trent series is misleading.

This really is a rollercoaster ride, where you gasp in terror one moment, and then next you’re excited and pleased!  I really enjoyed this book, and need to read the early books some time… *eyes TBR pile* but not soon!

The Last Widow was published on 13th June 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Karin Slaughter on Twitter, Instagram and her website.

You can read my review of The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter here. which is book 10 in the Will Trent series.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley, and to  HarperCollins .

My review:?????

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (Invisible Library 1) is a fantasy novel where books from different dimensions are gathered together by librarians in a library.  Irene is an experienced librarian, who has just been given an apprentice called Kai, and is being sent off to a different version of London, where there are vampires, werewolves, and a dangerous book to recover.

I really enjoyed the story line, and the characters.  The concept for different worlds was one that I really enjoyed as it wasn’t just the people, but also the time period and inventions that changes!

This is the first book in a series, and yes, I’m reading them all, so expect more reviews soon!

The Invisible Library was published on 15th January 2015 and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Genevieve Cogman on Twitter, Facebook and her website.

My review:?????

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher is full of short stories from the Dresden storyline, giving you more background for some of the main storylines, or introducing completely new characters, like Bigfoot!

I really enjoyed these, and found that for the most part, they were really enjoyable.  Jim Butcher gives a brief explanation for each story as to why he was writing it, and in some cases, the headspace he was in.  There was only one story that I didn’t feel bring anything.

Side Jobs was published on 26th October 2010, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Jim Butcher on his websiteTwitter and Facebook.

My reviews for previous Dresden Files books are below:

Storm Front (book 1)

Fool Moon (book 2)

Grave Peril (book 3)

Summer Knight (book 4)

Death Masks (book 5)

Blood Rites (book 6)

Dead Beat (book 7)

Proven Guilty (book 8)

White Night (book 9)

Small Favor (book 10)

Turn Coat (book 11)

Changes (book 12)

My review:????

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is a thriller, translated from German, and so set in modern day Germany.

Lena is trapped in a shack in the forest, with two children whom she is told she has to look after.  Their days are strictly regulated, until one day Lena manages to escape, and this is where our story starts!  We meet Lena in the hospital, where she slowly tells her story to the police.

This is a tense thriller, where the truth changes often.  It’s a haunting tale, well told, and makes you want to keep turning the page!

Dear Child was published on 14th May 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Romy Hausmann on Facebook and Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quercus Books.

My review:????

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton has Agatha and James about to marry.  Except she hasn’t told James that she’s already married, but she’s sure he’s dead by now.  So, you know that something dramatic is going to happen at the wedding!

This has lots of comedy and moments of sadness.  I do enjoy these books, and love to see how Agatha is going to solve the mystery.  I listen to the audio books, which I really enjoy as Penelope Keith does them!

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage was published on 1st December 1996, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

My review of the previous book in the Agatha Raisin series are below:

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (book 1)

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet (book 2)

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (book 3)

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley (book 4)

My review:???

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka is a manga comic book, in black and white.  It’s a romance story, with 2 friends, Yuna and Akari, who are complete opposites.  This is a story aimed at teenage girls, so YA.

As it is YA in genre, this means there’s lots of strong emotions and is sweet.

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 was published on 10th April 2020 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find where you could follow Io Sakisaka.

I was given access to this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Viz.

My review:????

Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn looks at all the different types of love, through interviews with people who have been thinking about that particular type, including female friendship, romantic love, desire to have children, mourning the loss of a loved one.

It is a touching book, full of interesting thoughts and feelings, and throughout it all, Natasha Lunn talks about her own types of love, and her struggles to get pregnant. 

This is a lovely book, and one that covers so much more than you think it’s going to.

Conversations on Love was published on 15th July 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Natasha Lunn on Instagram and Twitter.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

My review:????

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear has DC Cat Kinsella and her partner Luigi Parnell looking into the death of a young Australian woman after a party at the home of her boss, Kirstie.

There’s evidence pointing to Joseph, who is married to the sister of Kirstie’s husband, but there’s something more going on.

Cat is also in a relationship with the brother of the murdered girl from the first book, and Cat’s father is somehow involved there, which makes it awkward for Cat all round.  

I haven’t read the first book in this series, which made it harder for me to understand some of what was going on, but it was an enjoyable read, with secrets and twists I didn’t see coming.

Stone Cold Heart was published on 27th June 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Caz Frear on Twitter and Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bonnier Books.

My review:????

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan starts in 1692, when Bridget Bishop is killed for being a witch, and her two daughters inherit powers from her.  One daughter is about helping other people, and the other daughter is about helping herself.  Their children follow in these footsteps, and 200 years later, Annis is a descendant of the helping sister, and her step mother, Frances, is a descendant of the other sister.  And Frances has a plan to use Annis to establish her social standing in New York.

Harriet, Annis’s great aunt, and also descended from the good sister, sees what is happening, and helps Annis. 

This is an enjoyable historic fantasy read, set in 1890s New York and England.  The character motivations ring true, and I was interested in what was going to happen next!

The Age of Witches was published on 23rd April 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Louisa Morgan on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown.