The Assistant by Marni Mann @MarniMann #BookReview #TheAssistant

Hello book friends,

While the world is going mad, to us introverts it’s business as usual, self isolation is a regular thing for me Lol

Wherever you are, stay safe, and read.

My Review

Who likes a Romance thriller with a little twist??

And when I say twist, I mean TWISTTTTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYY *insert gasp face here*

I am so excited for you guys that haven’t read this one yet and might pick it up, go in blind, don’t go reading loads of reviews (except this one obviously) otherwise you are probably going to stumble into a spoiler and that will ruin the whole effect.

This story, jumps from ‘before’ to ‘after’ but your job is trying to guess what went on in the middle part.

Jesse is a CEO of a very successful company, she is married to Emery and they have two beautiful children. After a family tragedy Jess decides to become a Stay at home Mom, and Emery hits the big time in his career, so much so, that he needs to hire an assistant.

And so along comes Charlotte!!!

That’s it folks, that’s all I’m going to give you Mwahahahaha

🎧🎧

If you can get your hands on the audiobook I would highly recommend it, narrated by Therese Plummer, Erin Mallon & Jacob Morgan, you will be chewing your nails and reaching for a Kleenex all at the same time!!

Enjoy
Vicci 📚💛✨

Synopsis

From USA Today best-selling author, Marni Mann, comes a haunting new psychological thriller.

At 42, I’m married to my best friend, and we have two beautiful children. Everything about my life is perfect until my father gets sick.

Before: I owned and operated a massively successful women’s shapewear company. After: I stay home with my family because I’ve learned the importance of time.

Before: My husband could rely on me to take care of everything. After: I hire him the perfect assistant.

My entire life can be summed up in before and afters, but something happens in the middle.
A meeting.
And it changes the course of everyone’s lives forever.

Purchase Links:
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The Liar by Nora Roberts #NoraRoberts @justjanuary @audible_com #AudiobookReview #Mystery #Romance

Another day, another Nora Roberts, where has she been all of my life!

Why did I pick it up? – I’m not sure why I didn’t ever pick up anything by Nora Roberts, I think I’ve mentioned before that The Witness is one of my favourite reads, but for some reason I had the idea that Roberts was a bit like Danielle Steele or Mills & Boon (I have no idea why)
So her books didn’t even pass my radar.

Silly me, i’m currently making my way through a few of them, and I’ve loved them all so far!

This one had me gasping, swooning, and wishing I was part of the family. To me, it felt a little like one of the Rock Chick books by Kristen Ashley with all of the family dynamics, and I loved it!

My Thoughts

This story is about Shelby Foxworth, she comes from a “hick” town in Tennessee, and was swept off of her feet by a rich businessman. They were married very quickly and soon became pregnant.

A boating holiday was to be the downfall of their marriage, unfortunately due to her daughter being ill, Shelby stayed behind, but her husband nevertheless went alone, there was an accident, and he died.

When Shelby starts to deal with the aftermath, bills etc. she comes to find that her husband wasn’t the man she thought she married at all, in fact, alongside the millions of dollars in debt that he left her in, it also seems that he was a cheater and a liar, in fact he didn’t even really exist at all!

Moving back to her family home she tries to start living her life again, but trouble has a way of catching up with you!

🎧🎧 – Narrated by my #VoiceCrush January LaVoy, who was awesome as always, this one was a fantastic read.

About the book

The extraordinary new novel by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Collector.

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions …

The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.

Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning …

Have a fantastic day!

Vicci

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Shelter In Place by Nora Roberts #NoraRoberts @justjanuary #Mystery #Thriller #Romance @audible_com #AudiobookReview

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Deputy Barney Stars

The Blurb

Sometimes, there is nowhere safe to hide.

It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at the video-game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.

The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies’ room, hopelessly clutching her cell phone–until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.

But one person wasn’t satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait–and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.

My Thoughts

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Deputy Barney Stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Deputy Barney Stars

After listening to one of Nora Roberts books the other week, a few more came up in the U.S Audible sale, so I may….or may not have bought a few more to listen to …ummm 4 more!!

I’ve decided that I really like her writing style, and the fact that January LaVoy was narrating it made it even more of a one click for me, Ms LaVoy has been bumped up to my one-click narrator list!

On a normal evening in Portland Maine, Simone is waiting with her two friends to watch a movie in the DownEast Mall, while her mother and her sister do a little bit of retail therapy while waiting for the movie to finish.

That evening will be one that they will ALL never forget.

While waiting for the movie to start Simone decides to visit the bathroom.

Thinking that the movie is really loud as she already hears the gunshots, the moment she opens the bathroom door, she realises that this is not a movie!

For 8 minutes the lives of the people in that Mall was pure terror, the death toll that day was pure heartbreak.

The story then jumps forward years later and we find out what happened to a select few of the people who were there that fateful day.

I absolutely loved this story, Roberts captured the characters so well, Simone and her grandmother CiCi were just fab (I wish that I had a grandmother like that)

I love Reed and the way that he took such a sad tragedy and made a future for himself as a cop, and I love the fact that the person that helped him do that was Essie.

And then we get to the meat of the story, someone isn’t happy about the way that the shooting went down, there were survivors after all, and that should have never happened, perhaps they should finish the job!

An absolute page turner (even though I listened to it) that I couldn’t put down, and I’m going to slowly make my way through Ms Roberts back-catalogue!

🎧🎧 – Narrated by January LaVoy, who I mentioned before is firm becoming a favourite narrator of mine, I picked this up because of her, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. Fantastic narration, and a great story.

Grab this little page turner and strap yourself in!

Vicci

Verity by Colleen Hoover @colleenhoover #bestof2018 #Dark #Romance #Thriller #Mystery #BookReview #aktbmbookblog

4.5 Crazy WTF Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐·5

Another late addition to my best of 2018 reads.

Well, Colleen Hoover released another book

If you don’t already know it by now CoHo is the queen of romance, her books (if you haven’t read them) always have a romance element to them, even if the story line deals with some heavy (and important) topics, and is one of my absolutely favourite authors.

But then she decides to just move away from the genre that everyone knows and loves, and self publish a psychological thriller, I mean WHO DOES THAT??

COLLEEN FREAKING HOOVER THAT’S WHO!!

This book shouldn’t work, looking at her back catalogue, you would expect to find Love, Despair and happiness, all wrapped with a kind of awkwardly placed bow.

But this book WORKS PEOPLE!!!

I’m not sure whether she popped to Tarryn Fisher’s house and they somehow managed to have some weird Seance-Ouija board party, where their minds were mixed together, but CoHo went to the dark side people!!

I was really worried about reading this book, I love a Psychological Thriller, and have read some great…and not so great ones, so for CoHo to even attempt to do this deserves a high five.

The Blurb

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

My Thoughts

4.5 Crazy WTF Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐·5

Verity follows the story of Lowen Ashleigh, an author who is hired by Jeremy Crawford, to complete the remaining books in a hugely successful series by his wife, the bestselling author Verity Crawford, who, after an accident, is unable to finish them on time.

Although Lowen is struggling financially, she doesn’t feel like she should be the one taking on this monumental task, however when the dollar signs are waved in front of her face, the idea of being able to pay off her debts is too large, and she takes the job.

She is advised to stay at Verity’s house for a few days to sort through the outlines and notes for the new books, considering she has never read any of the books by the author, it is a huge task to take on.

Finding years worth of notes and boxes of files in Verity’s office, Lowen realises what a massive task this will be…..and then she finds the autobiography!

“What you read will taste so bad at times, you’ll want to spit it out, but you’ll swallow these words and they will become part of you, part of your gut, and you will hurt because of them.”

And that my friends is all I am going to tell you about this book, yes you could have gotten all of this from the blurb, but this is one that you need to go in blind!

I haven’t read a book that had me hating every character for a long time, I mean I LOVED them, but Gahh do they have any redeeming qualities…Nope!

You know when you are watching a thriller / horror film, and you start shouting at the TV? The music is taking a turn, and you know something is about to happen, and the BAM, your popcorn goes flying, and your heart starts racing?

THIS is the book that did that to me!

Prepare yourself for a dark, brilliant read.

Vicci

Available on Kindle Unlimited:

Grab your copy here:

Kindle U.S – https://amzn.to/2RsGC1p

Kindle UK – https://amzn.to/2TkJiM0

If I Want You by Rachel Brimble #BlogTour #BookReview @RachelBrimble @rararesources

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday! Excited to be part of the blog tour for this page turning romantic suspense novel💕

You can find both my review and a giveaway below!

If I Want You

When local journalist, Tori Peterson, fails to prevent a child abduction outside her niece’s school, her horror and guilt sparks a vow to do whatever it takes to get little Abby Brady home to her parents.

While Tori battles the vile memories of her own kidnapping as a child, she accepts the help of widowed father, Mark Bolton. As he and Tori join forces with the local police, their attraction and intimacy grows…along with their fears for Abby.

Links are uncovered between Abby’s disappearance and Tori’s kidnapping, and Tori is forced to accept the monster who held her captive is back. But this time, Tori is all grown up, and there is no way she will let him hurt another little girl.

Purchase Links–

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/190CYmx

Amazon US: http://a.co/c5O5R7s

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-want-you-rachel-brimble/1127157672?ean=2940158911118

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/if-i-want-you

Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rachel_Brimble_If_I_Want_You?id=E-g7DwAAQBAJ

Author Bio –

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Jan 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press as well as writing several single titles for the Wild Rose Press.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

Social Media Links –

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Street Team – Rachel’s Readers

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble

Giveaway to win a PDF of any book from Rachel Brimble’s Back List (Open Internationally)

Rachel Brimble has a rather varied and extensive backlist,  and one lucky winner can win a PDF of a book of their choice from it.  Full back list can be viewed here – https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1 

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c6949478/

Review

4 suspenseful Stars with a Touch of Love 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was a true romantic suspense novel…. usually in this genre there is either more romance or more suspense… but this was very well-balanced between the two….

Tori is a reporter who witnesses a young girl being abducted when she is picking her niece up from school…. not only does this cause her reporter instincts to kick in…. but something about this is eerily similar to her own abduction ages ago….. Mark is a widowed single father who is also at the school picking up his own daughter when all this occurs…. Mark and Tori decide to work together to help figure out who took Abby Brady…. can love come from tragedy? where is Abby? And is this related to Tori’s abduction years ago?

Those were the questions that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could in this book… I really liked both Tori and Mark…. and I really wanted things to work out for them… but I think even better than them I really liked Mark’s daughter Olivia, the girl had spunk! Another thing I really loved about this book is there were plenty of suspects…. from the very flirtatious school principal to the overly involved dance dad (really appreciated this as a former dance mom)…. and I have to say the who and the Y was quite a surprise but very plausible….

Absolutely recommend to fans of Romance and suspense… this book brings you the best of both worlds….

*** thank you to Rachel brimble and Rachel at Rachel‘s Random Resources for a copy of this book ***