Nicki's book blog

Devon and Hell : Four Seasons By The Sea by Karen Wheeler-Biography/Memoir Karen  has bought a house in Devon and has been staying in a holiday let until contracts can be exchanged. She then finds a worrying sign that there may be rats- one of her major phobias and does everything she can to get out of the transaction but it is too late and the house is hers. She refuses to stay in the house and whilst looking around for an alternative, bearing in mind this is the few days before Christmas, luck strikes in the form of a phone call from her brother who is flying back as he lives abroad. The news is that their mother has been sectioned. A mother that never loved them and made their lives rather difficult to say the least. I loved the line “ she is a black belt in verbal abuse” and sympathised with many of the things Karen had experienced as a child. Despite this Karen still wanted to right by her mother- something I admired. Meanwhile the house needs...

Desperate Ground - LJ Morris- Cover reveal  Book Description: When the secrecy of a nuclear weapon agreement is thrown into doubt, a disgraced intelligence operative is recruited to find out if the deal is still safe… Ali Sinclair, wrongly convicted and on the run from a Mexican prison, is enlisted to infiltrate her old friend’s inner circle and find the evidence. The only people on her side are an ex-Cold War spook and the former Royal Marine that was sent to find her. Together they discover that the stakes are much higher than anyone knew, and the fate of the world is at risk… But when you live in the shadows who can you trust?    Author Bio: L J Morris is an author with a lifelong love of books and storytelling that he developed as a child. He spent most of the 80s and 90s serving in the Royal Navy as a Weapons Engineer and now lives in Cumbria, with his family. He currently works within the defence industry and continues to write at ever...

Christmas at Wynter house- Emily Harvale-Holiday Fiction **GIVEAWAY **** Neva is spending Christmas with her family having left her flat and her best friend. She is intending on starting her own business. The family of her parents, sister and husband and daughter have taken a cottage in Wynstersleap. On her way down Neva literally bumps into Adam Wynter who she takes an instant liking to. when she later meets his brother Rafe her temper flies and she even blames him for the bad weather! When the weather goes from bad to worse, the family have to decide whether to stay or go and staying is the most likely and safest option until the only place to go is Wynter house- the home of Adam and Rafe. Christmas spent in a Dowton abbey setting is rather more than an education. Especially for an eight year old who is fascinated with ghosts and zombies! I really enjoyed this but did think that at time Neva was pushing things rather with her brusqueness. An easy, upl...

BAD SEED by Jessica Eam es -psychological thriller Nicola was married to Charlie. When he died she had to move having found their finances were not as healthy as she might have thought. She now lives in the annex of the house of Charlie’s stepbrother Ben and his wife Fiona. Nicola has a daughter- Sarah. When Nicola starts to get odd messages and it appears that someone has been in her home she is rather spooked, even more so that they might know her secret- something she has never told anyone but is to do with Charlie. As this progresses she leaves a message for Sarah to come and see her as she feels at least that her daughter ought to know the truth. She has been suffering from what she thought was the beginning of the menopause and so when she appears pale and withdrawn the others put it down to this until she collapses. Who knows the secret and can Sarah find out the truth? A book that kept me turning and the grey matter active. I thought I knew wh...

The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes- Anna McPartlin-Literary fiction Ok so I am late to the party for this one. So late I almost want to apologise to the host and bring flowers. The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes is one of those titles that any bibliophile knows and has probably read. My curiosity got the better of me and I bought the book. I eased myself into the pages and was very soon inveigled into the life of the Hayes family and their situation. I’m not giving a synopsis as a. most of you have read it and b. there are enough reviews with it out there so this is just my thoughts on an iconic read. I loved Rabbit and Molly and Davey and the rest. Each with their own strengths and each with their own weaknesses which came out through Rabbit being where she was. Oh to have had a mother like Molly! A strong determined woman with such a sense of humour (even if she did say inappropriate things at times). A true classic, a book to smile and shed a tear at. Not...

Christmas Secrets at Villa Limoncello by Daisy James- womens fiction Izzy works as a designer however a short while ago she took a trip to Italy and fell in love not only with the country. She loves Luca and is helping him run courses at Villa Limoncello whilst he and some friends are renovating it. Luca seems a little distant so she is not sure what is going on and he wopn;t be drawn on the matter. The course gets underway for a choir who each morning are either cooking or crafting. Their leader Nick is rather a bully and Izzy catches him having a go at several of the members of the choir. When a plant pot falls rather close to Nick’s head she wonders if someone has a different agenda. I learnt something from this book -apart from having to keep looking up the wonderful baking goodies mentioned. There are recipes at the back including how to make Lemoncello. Yum! I learnt  that I am a locavore- someone who eats locally sourced food as much as poss...

The Wife’s Revenge by Deirdre Palmer-suspense Thriller  Fran works at a veterinary practice as  receptionist. Her husband Hector is self employed and they have three children. She is receiving gifts from an unknown person- a cake with a lot of chilli in and a huge basket of flowers along with a mystery caller. There is no indication of whom they are from and Fran is mystified. Tessa is married to Ben whom Fran had a very short fling with around two years ago. Fran ended the relationship and regrets the whole thing. Ben was more enamoured and said he was in love with Fran. They occasionally bump into each other and Fran does her best to avoid Ben and any interaction. The chapters are told mainly between the two women Fran and Tessa.Some of their children go to school together and so their paths inevitably cross. This is one of those reads that can put a chill through you. You know something is going to happen and even may already have happened b...