Category Archives: review

The Wind Weeps by @Anneli33 pic.twitter.com/d2V5UDsn3A smarturl.it/WindWeeps #Canadian #suspense

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I’m using my blog today to proclaim the new cover for an excellent novel The Wind Weeps by Anneli Purchase. I reviewed this story when it was first published. It is a dramatic read with a sexually sophisticated ambiance. To my eyes, the repackage is fantastic.

A novel as emotionally charged as this one needs a cover to reflect its contrasts and nuances. When fear and desperation threaten to sweep aside all gentleness and consideration the cover has a job of work to do. The new design conveys every element of this beautifully written story and for sure proclaims its worth.

The brutal truth of Nature displays itself along the lonely coast as much as it does through the lives of handsome men and beautiful women. Set in the commercial  fishing world of British Columbia, the depth of the story offers a range of choice for a cover. Anneli’s designer, Anita B. Carroll of http://race-point.com created a design that embodies the passion and emotion that simmer even within the cruel unforgiving sea.

Remember the terror Julia Roberts felt in the movie Sleeping with the Enemy? That’s the kind of terror Andrea feels about her husband, Robert. But, in her case it isn’t so easy to escape him. He has taken her to live in a remote cabin on the coast, cut off from all communication.

Andrea once loved orchids, but Robert has transmuted them into a symbol of his control over her. The orchid on the cover seems to be weeping. The blood red sky, the bleak churning sea add their abstract shadows. And yet Andrea is determined to survive and get back to the man she wishes she had married, the one who has never stopped loving her.

For more than just a romance, why not click on the link to download The Wind Weeps. You won’t sleep until you finish it….


For those with e-readers other than Kindle, go to Smashwords.com

My Review of The Wind Weeps:

FIVE STARS: A really good story! We don’t always make the right choices. We always think we can change people but human nature is very complex. Set in an unforgiving landscape of fittest survival, the human is a fragile and troubled creature. This is a book where the writer clearly knows that small mistakes can hook you in the mouth like a salmon on a merciless steel line. The water is cold for any warm blooded stranger who falls in the struggle. Yet this is the true life for these characters on the fishing grounds of the North. No ice can freeze the heat of desire and no innocence of springtime can un-cry the tears of youthful regret. Set in an awesome savage beauty, the human spirit goes on through real and imagined kisses and wine to find a wider perspective. We are free because love imprisons us. I adored this book for its exploration of this dilemma set in the real lives of real folk. No highfalutin literati posturing but a hand on the winch, a knife in the hand and a pulse in the flesh mix in this story. The style is straightforward without gratuitous flourishes – a bit like ice and a loving kiss. A sexually sophisticated and tension packed story. A good good read!

AUTHOR BIO

Anneli Purchase is an author and freelance copy-editor. She writes for the Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine, which she also helps to edit. Anneli lives on her little acre of paradise on Vancouver Island with her husband and two spaniels. She has published three novels and is working on her fourth.

Child Labour – digging it out to write for kids with @Maryannwrites – The inspiration behind Alf The Workshop Dog.

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French flag wine, It's not all Gravy image, Emma Calin

Stop #6 on my Children’s Fiction Book Tour is back on ‘It’s Not All Gravy’ – this time for a chat and a lovely glass of wine with Maryann, tlaking about the about inspiration behind Alf The Workshop Dog.

Here’s the REAL Alf who spends his days in an busy inner-city bus garage.

Alf The workshop dog, Alf, Dog, Children's fiction, paperback book, kid's books

Find out how I worked backwards from meeting this little mutt to the mythical ancient kingdom of Zanubia, an evil king and a kind time-travelling prince – visit Maryann’s blog here.

Father and son duo @grabthisbook #review pic.twitter.com/oq0OciiXPE ALF THE WORKSHOP DOG

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Grab this book blog, book review, blog tour, Once Upon a NOW, kid's fiction, children's book, Alf The Workshop Dog, review

Stop number four on my Book Tour for the Once Upon a NOW series is at the wonderfully named review site “GRAB THIS BOOK”.

It’s great to get a dad’s perspective on my children’s books.  As a mother of sons whose father was frequently away and busy when they were small, I always felt it was a shame they never got to share special reading time with him.  

Alf, Alf the Workshop Dog, children's fiction, book cover sketch, colouring picture, Once Upon a NOW

It’s wonderful to be allowed in to this father and son’s story time and share an 8year old’s perspective on Alf The Workshop Dog.  What a perceptive young man – and what  a lovely review.  Thanks to the little chap for telling us how the book made him feel.  Thanks to Dad for  hosting us on his blog.

Interesting too that the lad is now demanding to be a regular guest on his dad’s blog.  The next generation of reviewers is here!

Take a visit and hear their thoughts on Grab This Book.

Everyone needs a ferret godfather pic.twitter.com/6Cgub60Fzh #kidlit #review by @JossRadillo

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Chapter 5 Blog, book reviews, blogger, book blogger, Joss Rodillo


Today the Once Upon a NOW! series visits the Chapter 5 Book Review hosted by Kindergarten teacher and book blogger Joss Rodillo. 

Frankie Ferret, ISabella's Pink Bicycle, Once Upon a NOW, children's books, kids literature, Emma Calin, review



Which book in the series is her favourite?  The clue is in the title of the blog….. yes she fell in love with Frankie Ferret the sidekick and adventure-buddy of Isabella in ‘ISABELLA’S PINK BICYCLE‘.

I was delighted that she gave the whole series a whopping 5***** and can’t wait to share the stories with her little charges.

Find out what else she had to say about ‘ALF THE WORKSHOP DOG‘ and ‘KOOL KID KRUNCHA AND THE HIGH TRAPEZE‘ on her blog here. 

Introducing the next generation of #bookbloggers on @BestChickLit #KidLitChat for my Children’s Fiction Blog Tour.

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Today I am pleased to share with you the content from BestChickLit.com .  They recently featured my ‘Once Upon a NOW’ series of children’s books and introduced the world to super-reviewers Ellie and Eden (aged 11 and 9).

Both girls read the books and between them created 5 wonderful reviews for ‘Alf The Workshop Dog’, ‘Isabella’s Pink Bicycle’ and ‘Kool Kid Kruncha and The High Trapeze’.


Coming up with one review is hard enough against a deadline, but these sisters have really got the reading bug.  They are destined, I am certain, to become great literary star-reviewers of the future. The pair managed to read all three stories and came up with synopses of the plots as well as explaining the things they particularly enjoyed in each book.

A big thank you from me to them for all their effort and fantastic result!
(particularly as they liked the stories 😉 ).

Visit the blog and see all their thoughts and reviews on BestChickLit.com.

Kindle version of ‘Kool Kid Kruncha and the High Trapeze’ is FREE on Amazon Worldwide today & tomorrow (27/28 Jan 2015) http://www.smarturl.it/Kruncha.


Next stop on the tour is Tales of Yesterday readable from the 28th January. 








Review of #thriller The Edge Of Sanity by @SherylBrowne #tense #drama

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Looking back, I don’t say much about writing. Maybe deep down I don’t think I am a writer. Maybe I’m a lasagna guru or a laundry operative with delusions of poverty. Maybe I’m a French maid or an audio book producer. Maybe I’m a vacuum cleaner analyst, a taxi driver or school homework consultant. Time is running short. With more than fifty years and a power point presentation of kids in the CV it’s about time to wise up and get a foothold in something. I’ll start once I’ve peeled all the carrots and sorted out a book cover. You see, I can focus.

photo courtesy http://treelifecoaching.com/



I do know I’m a reader. In the whole rickety house of publishing, the reader is what matters. They are the walls and the footings. All the rest is huff puff and show biz.  The true talent of the reader is to suspend disbelief and follow the trail. My latest read has been The Edge of Sanity by Sheryl Browne. I had read a couple of her other books before and count myself as a fan. This book was like nothing she has done before. It is a tense psychological thriller with elements of drug abuse, teenage rebellion, violence and crime. All of this is set against a backdrop of personal tragedy and a dysfunctional relationship. Wow! 

Here is my Amazon review:

This is a page turner where you never know where you are going next. From the outset, Daniel Conner drew my sympathy. You kinda know that things are going out of control in a life that has already known tragedy. This is a dark story yet among it all there is a thread of hope and almost humour in places. Few authors would risk a chase involving police on bikes and a canal boat in the middle of a terrifying drama. The writer has obviously studied or experienced teenage psychologies and the haphazard life style of detectives. As I was reading I identified so much with the characters that I kept asking myself what I would do in their place. At times I felt quite anxious and had to assure myself I was just reading. The ending is not a cut off but rather a jagged tear or rip. Life is uncertain – an edge may fray or not. This is a tight tense read that is never quite finished with you.

Book Links



Emma Thinx: A good book sets you free by keeping you pinned down






FALLEN FOR #ROCK – get a BUZZ on the #Beach this #summer with Nicky Wells new #Romance plus #Giveaway #SWAG

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Today I would like to introduce you to a guest author and her brand new racy romance, please give a big hand to the charismatic writer and radio star…. 


Uber-Rock-Chick Nicky Wells.

Born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993 and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys. Nicky loves listening to rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, she’s a wife, mother, occasional knitter, and regular contributor at Siren 107.3 FM with her own monthly show. Rock on!

Nicky’s brand new ‘Rock Star Romance’ Fallen For Rock has just been published, my review is below and here’s the blurb:

‘A thrilling and delicious story of love and self-discovery woven around a broken romance that will make you turn page after page and cheer to the end.’

Love, life, loyalties. Nothing stays the same when Emily gets drawn into the world of rock.

Glossy and sophisticated professional high-flyer Emily has no time for nonsense such as the rock music her ex-boyfriend Nate adored so much. Yet when she unexpectedly comes into possession of VIP tickets—access all areas—for new rock band phenomenon, MonX, she can’t resist the temptation.

The fateful gig turns into more than one night, and Emily finds herself strangely drawn to this new and unfamiliar glittery world. However, only weeks later, MonX and her own universe fall apart with devastating consequences for all. When MonX lead singer Mike appeals for her help, she reluctantly embraces a new opportunity. But she soon discovers that while she may be a rock chick after all, a groupie she is not… Or is she?

Just exactly where do her loyalties lie? And what direction will her life take now that she’s left behind everything she treasured?

Warning! Fallen For Rock contains some explicit content and strong language that may not be suitable for readers under eighteen years of age.


My Review for Fallen For Rock

This is a sexy book. Putting sex in a story is easy. Making it sexy is talent. When a buttoned up ambitious girl who’s already made it in her own world tumbles into the wild world of rock, her buttons quickly unravel. Without giving away the story, Emily manages to fall for two men and get away with it. In the meantime she indulges in the ultimate fantasy of stepping out of her old stable privileged life. It’s not supposed to be for ever but everything is for ever when the beasts of lust and love break free. There are prices to be paid and choices to be made. She has the most fantastic sex of her life and loses all her previous status. Some would say this was a fair exchange but she doesn’t take it lying down and fights back. This is hard core rock star romance but also an uplifting story of a woman finding her true self through whatever life throws at her.  Another top read from Nicky Wells.


Find a copy here:


Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
 Amazon.de
Amazon.ca
Amazon.au


Fallen for Rock SWAG Giveaway!


To celebrate the launch of Fallen for Rock and to spread some joy, Nicky is kindly giving away the following items:

One Large Signed Poster of “Fallen for Rock”
Three Sets of Signed “Fallen for Rock” Swag (Postcards and Bookmarks)
Three Sets of Signed “Fallen for Rock SWAG SPECIAL” including 2 bookmarks, 2 postcards and 2 guitar picks
Five Sets of Signed “Fallen for Rock” Guitar Picks (two picks per set)
One Set of “The Complete Nicky Wells Swag” (signed): Bookmarks and postcards for Sophie’s Turn, Sophie’s Run, Sophie’s Encore, Spirits of Christmas and Fallen for Rock
One Audio CD: Bon Jovi “Greatest Hits” (2010)

One Amazon Gift Certificate for £5/$7 or equivalent



About Nicky Wells: Romance that Rocks Your World!


Ultimate rock chick author Nicky Wells writes romance with rock stars—because there’s no better romantic hero than a golden-voiced bad boy with a secret soft heart and a magical stage presence!

Nicky’s books offer glitzy, glamorous romance with rock stars—imagine Bridget Jones ROCKS Notting Hill! If you’ve ever had a crush on any kind of celebrity, you’ll connect with Nicky’s heroes and their leading ladies.

Nicky’s other books: Sophie’s Turn | Sophie’s Run | Sophie’s Encore | Spirits of Christmas

Join Nicky:Blog | Twitter| Facebook | Romantic Novelists’ Association | Sapphire Star Publishing | Amazon| Goodreads| Pinterest

Did you know? There’s a single out now by Nicky’s fictional rock band Tuscq come to life! “Love Me Better” is available for download from Amazon, iTunesand many other places. 

Does my rear look big in this? Let’s #review it with @jennymarston_xo

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The first review for Shannon’s Law goes to…. Jenny Marston, a UK uber-blogger and book reviewer.  

I do believe she liked the book…

http://jennyinneverland.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/shannons-law-emma-calin-author-interview/


I like her review A LOT!

Luckily the rear end of my book was bare and still in production so I was able to include an excerpt before the launch-day print run and publication.

She was closely followed by Anneli Purchase from Canada and Petra Rovere from Slovenia.  They enjoyed it too and are also quoted.  Watch this space for their reviews later in my Pinterest Reveal Blog Tour

I can’t thank my early reviewers too much. All feedback is welcome and hard to get. I feel very privileged to have folks out there who have given me their attention above the clamour of this world.

Emma Thinx. A true friend knows your flaws and defends them.