Book Review – The Consuming: A Short Story by Rhonda Hopkins

Five Stars
The Consuming is a short story that will leave you wanting more. The main characters are appealing and bright enough to know that ghosts don’t exist, but are they correct? The descriptions of the old house are detailed and realistic and the build up of suspense is tangible. I’ve read another short story by this author and I like her style.

This short story cost £0.99 on Amazon’s Kindle and is free on Kindle Unlimited and you can buy it here.

It is $1.31 to buy from Amazon.com and the link is here.

Other books by Rhonda Hopkins are:
The Gift
Survival: Survival Series Prequel
Tales From The Mist by Rhonda Hopkins and Catie Rhodes

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Book Review – Three Against the World: A Waif, a Stray and the Search for Romance – Sarah Stuart

Five Star Review
Richard is unlucky in love. Although good looking and intelligent, he seems to attract women, who only want him for money or to use him. Ben, a Jack Russell, is a stray that Richard rescues. He is an appealling and loyal dog, who has learnt to trust Richard and even goes to work with him. Then one day Naomi, Richard’s ex-wife turns up on his doorstep, with Maria, the daughter he never knew he had, but is she actually his daughter? It doesn’t matter to Richard. He takes her in and does everything he can to build her confidence. This is a character led story and the characters of Richard, Maria and especially Ben, are likeable and well written. Most, but not all, of Richard’s love interests are really dispicable women, each with their own selfish need. As Richard and Maria negotiate their way through these sometimes traumatic encounters, will Richard eventually find love? If you like well-written romance, you’ll love this book.

Three Against The World is available from Amazon for £6.50 in paperback, £1.99 on Kindle and is free on Kindle Unlimited here.

Book Review: The Drowned Phoenician Sailor by Lesley Hayes

Five Stars.
This is an enjoyable read about Fynn, who finds life quite challenging. She finds it hard to fit in, but has a steady job, a caring relationship with her mother and a quirky cat. During her adult life she sees the ghost of her dead twin, which makes her wonder if she is insane. Going to find the answers from her psycotherapist, Paul, doesn’t provide the answers, but she develops a trusting relationship with him until one day, he also turns up dead.

Fynn now finds herself with two ghosts, and she examines if they are just in her mind, or if they have messages for her. What do they want from her? At times she finds their presence intrusive and irritating, especially when she meets a love interest, Jack.

This is a well written book, character driven and a compelling read. Highly recommended. Enjoy.

It is available here from Amazon in paper back for £9.75 and on Kindle for £2.50

Book Review: Yoga Fox by Sylva Fae

This is a beautifully illustrated book about a fox, known as Scaredy Fox, who wants a new name. He sees a group in the park doing yoga and decides to try it. For all of the yoga moves he makes up new names and tells them to his animal friends. Will his friends be impressed and rename him? What is lovely about this book is that children can try out the yoga moves. I would recommend this book for younger readers. I’m sure they’d love it.

This book is available from Amazon in paperback for £5. or on Amazon’s Kindle for £1.99 here

Book Review: Betrayal: The Consequences by Sharon Brownlie

Five Stars
This is a sequel to the first book called, Betrayal and although it could be read on its own, I would recommend that you read Betrayal first.
In this book, Helen King, a serial killer, is sentenced for her crimes, but she writes a letter to the chief investigating officer to explain why she committed the murders. Can there ever be a justification for murder? You might think not, but you might change your mind.
Betrayal: The Consequences will keep you gripped throughout. You will meet the members of the police team that were responsible for arresting Helen King. They are powerful characters, that make up a strong team. Perhaps they will go on to solve more crimes. I’ve enjoyed both books and hope there will be more in the future.

Betrayal: The Consequences is available on Amazon’s Kindle for £0.99 here.

Book Review: Curious Things: Stories of a Black Cat, Superstition and Strange Events by Joanne Van Leerdam

This is a book of short stories about Friday, a black cat, who lives with Trixie. Each chapter contains another episode in Friday’s life. He has a strong sense of justice and where he goes, justice follows, although I have to say some of the consequences are rather extreme. Kathleen, Trixie’s cousin, comes to stay with her rabbit and later moves into a cottage nearby, with her brother Tom. Friday’s protection extends to include them as well.
This is a lovely book, well written and very entertaining. If you like cats and the paranormal this is the book for you.

On Amazon the paperback is £9.99 and the Kindle version is £2.23. You can visit Amazon here.

Book Review: Never A Hero To Me by Tracy Black

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a moving real story that is well written. Having said that it was difficult to read because of the content. You wanted to reach into the book and rescue the child from the dreadful father, rather unpleasant mother and not very nice brother. What made it worse was when the father betrayed his daughter to his friends.
For anyone needing to understand about child abuse, this is the book to read, as it shows that outsiders had no idea of what was going on. It also shows us the importance that children should be listened to and believed, which was not the case with the social worker.
But this is also the story of an abused child who turned into a strong young woman, who learned to stand up for herself and from what the book says is now a happy mother and grandmother. I am glad it had a happy ending.

Never A Hero To Me is available on Amazon Kindle as an ebook for £3.99 here.

Book Review: Darkly Wood 11 by Max Power

Darkly Wood 11 draws the reader back to the terrifying wood with old characters and new ones. Holly and Charlie are skirting the wood, when Holly decides they will go in and explore. It all seems harmless enough to start with and that is the skill of this writer. He builds suspense expertly. There are lots of side stories, which help the reader build up what has happened in Darkly Wood in the past and why it is, as it is, now.
The significance of Holly is that she is Daisy May’s granddaughter, so Daisy May and her daughter decide that they must go and rescue Holly.
Daisy May has been told that what she thinks happened in the wood all those years ago was just a bad dream, and although Daisy May knows the truth in her heart, she has always wondered. Back in the woods again, she meets Woody and a new monster, but there is also Wormhold to deal with and he is far more threatening.
This is the second part of a trilogy, written with such skill that the story will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book. Highly recommended.

Darkly Wood 11 is FREE on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited and £2.40 on Amazon’s Kindle. You can find a link here.

Book Review: A Crazy Act in Uganda by John M.W. Smith

This is written as a story told by Dr Callum MacKenzie about his time in Uganda. He has been paid a lot of money to eradicate a smallpox epidemic, but all is not as it seems. There are plots and counterplots. It is not a safe place to be and more than one person has a love of killing.

The book is written in a compelling way so that you don’t want to put it down.
I highly recommend this book. Enjoy.

A Crazy Act in Uganda costs £7.33 in paperback from Amazon or in Kindle format 99p. The link is here.

Book Review:The Very Worst Riding School in the World by Lucinda E Clarke

This is my five star review on Amazon.

This is a short autobiographical book about the author who has a passion for riding. Her then husband buys her two horses and she acquires two others to look after. When one of her daughter’s friend’s mother offers to pay for a riding lesson, the idea for a riding school is born. This is the first book in a series and I can see it will appeal to children and young adults who are horse lovers.