Just A drop in the Ocean by Grant Leishman

Spring is hotting up here and I hope to get a lot more reading done on the beach. The water is still a little chilly at 17°C but refreshing non the less. This book was quite an epic read spanning a generation and a large part of the Pacific. I gave it 5 stars.

Just a Drop in the Ocean by Grant Leishman on Amazon.co.uk
I’ve wanted to read another book by this author ever since reading ‘The Photograph’, that was a supernatural thriller with a fair bit of tongue in cheek humour. A drop in the ocean is a more serious affair but again a very good read. What I like about Grant Leishman is his ability to create a mature character. They are complex characters formed by their experiences and not without faults. This portrait about two penpals who lose touch but never stop thinking about each other was fascinating. Alternating between New-Zealand and the Philippines it offered us a glimpse into the ordinary lives of two cultures. There was still a bit of wry humour in the form of Nick’s wife Marivic who came into Nick’s life like a tropical cyclone. Excellent read and a nice reminder that romance is sometimes slow burning and ageless.

Whack a Spammer and Mint Condition

This time I reviewed a romance and a personal little rant about all that is wrong with self publishing today. Both got 4 stars from me. Here are the reviews:

Mint Condition (Classic Love Book 1) by Kat Drennan

When Maddie is forced to sell her classic Cadillac it brings Nick Berlin amongst with a whole host of problems into her life. This modern romance is a combination of road adventure, crime caper and classic cars. What I liked about it that the characters were not black and white but were formed by their pasts and all the baggage that comes with it. Maddie, full of self-doubt due to the abandonment by her father, and Nick scarred by the behaviour of his own.  The pace was at times a bit slow, but I liked the fact that this had a more interesting backstory than some other romances that I’ve read. A few surprises on the way and some sizzling romance.              

 

 Whack a Spammer: How to Stop the Spammers Killing the Market for Legitimate Self-Published Works by Charity Grant 

In my case this book pretty much preached to the converted. I hate when I search for a genre on Amazon a whole lot of dubious titles comes up. If a lot of key words are added to the tittle I won’t give the book a second look.

This was a very short book; well more of an essay into what is happening in the book world just now. It took me just 30min. to read it and I would say it was more of a personal crusade than an in depth look at the current trends in publishing. That said it told me a few things I didn’t know and I think anyone could learn something from this essay. Will it change my ways? Probably not as I already hated spam books and recognise the signs. I will also keep doing what I always do and that is to leave an honest review. Will I do anything about spammers? Probably not, where there is a buck to be made there will be spammers and charlatans, it is like always; buyers beware!

 

Vikings: Taken (The Great Heathen Army series Book 1) by Ceri Bladen

Vikings get a bad rap and initially I wasn't happy with how brutish they were made out to be. Some reading was required and I'm shocked to admit that the Vikings probably did deserve their reputation. One of their main incentives was to 'Harvest' slaves and especially women! So the fact that our young Heroine is carted off back to Denmark as a thrall (the Nordic word for slave) was very likely.
If you're interested here is an article on National Geographic about it:
Vikings, slaves, thralls and archaeology

Viking: Taken by Ceri Bladen on Amazon.com

It must have been a terrifying sight to medieval Britons to see the Viking longboats appear on their shores. News of their raids must have spread and the local population could only hope that they would have some property and their lives left at the end of the day. This is what a twelve year old Rosfrith has to endure at the start of this book. These were brutal times for the ancient Britons, when tribes from Scandinavia saw their lands as easy pickings. Ceri Bladen describes this well and we feel the fear and hardship this girl suffers after her father has abandoned her in an attempt to safe his own skin. I always appreciate when a writer does her research and uses the political wrangling of the time to give their story an extra dimension.

Amongst all this chaos, Rosfrith finds an unlikely protector. Ubba, a chieftain in his own right but here on his brothers command, notices the spirited girl and after his clairvoyant brother tells him their destinies are linked he keeps an eye on her. As the spoils are divided, Rosfrith is claimed by Ubba and is taken to their lands as a thrall (a slave). Years pass, but as Rosfrith blossoms into an attractive woman, Ubba’s eye is once again caught. Love can be ignited under the most difficult of circumstances, but will it flourish? Glad there is a second part in the writing so I we can find out.

Crushing on the Enemy by Darcy Doll

It has been a good week. I've had lots of fun setting up and posting to the new FB page: Tomfoolery. Tom the cat has now a decent following.
Tomfoolery on Facebook
The thunderclap campaign is also gathering momentum with half of it's target reached. With 13 days to go things, are on target.
Support my thunderclap
I've also updated the website (long overdue but I had to lean to do it myself!) I still have some work to do but the new book is added and the title changed:
 Webpage
Paradox design has provided the cover to the print copy and that is looking fantastic too.
Amongst all that, I've finished a book too. It is a gentle romance that will appeal to all ages. I gave the wholesome clean read 5 stars.

Crushing on the Enemy by Darci Doll on Amazon

Crushing on the enemy introduces us to a thoroughly modern woman with an old fashioned marshmallow heart. Roselyn Cosi is a hard working woman in charge of opening new 24/7 chain stores. When the chain is planning to open up in a picturesque village, they are met with fierce protests from local business owners. Roselyn is faced with a dilemma when the heart wants what the head forbids her to do.

What I do like about the main character Roselyn is that she faces what many women do in the work place. She has decided to sacrifice romance in the pursuit of a career. Two weeks before her 30^th Birthday she hears her biological clock ticking loudly and she realises she wants a family. Her younger sisters engagement and bliss make her realise a large part of her life is unfulfilled. She meets a man that is the polar opposite to her and she starts to question her love and work life.

I enjoyed this book; it is written in an engaging style and moves at a good pace. This is a book you won’t feel embarrassed to give to either your mother or your daughter as it is a good clean read that will appeal to all age groups.

 

Thunderclap

Gearing up for the big release of Conversations with Tom on the 5th of February. Pre-orders are starting to come in and excitement is building. I've set up a thunderclap campaign to help give the launch a social media blast on the day. You can support it via the following link:
http://thndr.me/blRaSK
Or even better you can pre-order the book via amazon.

Conversations with Tom on Amazon.com

Injury by Val Tobin

As I mentioned previously, Romance is not my favorite genre, but this book turned out to be more than that. It luckily was mostly devoid of the will they wont they, longing looks and yearning hearts. There was also a more gritty story line to keep me entertained. That I read this book in a few days says a lot, so I'm happy to give this a five star. I also like to mention that the cover of this book was designed by Paradox book covers, that recently revamped my Language in the blood covers:)

Injury by Val Tobin on Amazon

Daniella Grayson seems to have it all, a successful career in films, money and good looks. Her reason to seek the limelight been the abandonment by her father when she was five; somewhere out there he might be watching her and proud. I thought this was a very touching and realistic motivation for the character to be into acting. Then they find Daniella’s father’s body and her abusive mother is arrested for his murder. What I liked most about this book is the character of Daniella, she had to cope with a lot in her young life and being from an abusive home, she fell into an abusive relationship, which led her to drugs and alcohol addiction. She managed to walk away from that and turn her life around. She’s not a victim and able to steer her life onto the right path, despite her past conspiring against her. I would say this is a romance, but there is also a tense thriller story line within it. It’s well written and easy to read, it kept my attention from start to finish. The love scenes between her and Cope are quite hot and steamy, but not too explicit. I would recommend this if you like romance with a grittier edge. Very enjoyable read.