Emma's Review: When I Come Home Again by Caroline Scott

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

They need him to remember. He wants to forget.

1918. In the last week of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. When questioned, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. 

The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home. His doctor James is determined to recover who this man once was. But Adam doesn’t want to remember. Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has locked his memory away, seemingly for good. 

When a newspaper publishes a feature about Adam, three women come forward, each claiming that he is someone she lost in the war. But does he believe any of these women? Or is there another family out there waiting for him to come home?

Amazon Links: Kindle or Hardcover

Shaz's Book Blog is 9 today 📚

I can't believe that it's that time of the year again especially when this year has been such a strange one but I couldn't let my blog anniversary go by without doing a giveaway to say thank you for all your support over the last 9 years. 

As you may have noticed I have been struggling with reading and blogging over the last year or so but thankfully the blogging and book community are always on hand for moral support, both in good times and the bad. And on that note I want to give a massive shout out to my blog sidekick Emma to thank her for her friendship over the years and for her fab reviews... she has single-handedly carried the blog over the last few months whilst my reading and blogging mojo has gone AWOL... if anyone knows where it is, can you send it back my way!  

In previous years I have run a number of giveaways between the anniversary date until Halloween but sadly this year I can't afford the cost of postage for multiple parcels so instead there will just be one combined giveaway for this bundle below. 

Author Interview: J.E. Rowney

Today I welcome author J.E. Rowney to the blog to join in the publication day celebrations of her latest book I Can't Sleep, welcome Jayne. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how your writing journey started? 

I grew up in the North of England, reading everything I could get my hands on and writing short stories from as early as I can remember. I had a vague idea that I would like to be a journalist, but somehow I ended up being a midwife and then a project manager. I carried on writing in my spare time. When I started working in London, commuting from Yorkshire, I spent a lot of time travelling on trains and writing on my little laptop to pass the time. 

My writing journey actually really got into motion on those actual journeys! I self-published and my debut, “Charcoal” went viral and made it to the bestseller list. I’d like to say that ‘the rest is history’ but writing really took a back seat until last year when I released my second book. Now the time is right for me to commit to writing, and I’m not looking back!

If you had to give an elevator pitch for your latest book I Can't Sleep, what would it be?

You know that time, when you’re not quite asleep and you’re not quite awake? You’re not quite sure where you are, or whether what you just heard was part of your dream, or if it is real. Now imagine living your life in that in-between haze…that’s the life that Becky lives. Written from Becky’s point of view, I Can’t Sleep keep you awake at night searching for the truth. 

“I can’t sleep. Not since June 16th, 2018. Not since what happened…”

Traumatised by the events of her past, exhausted by insomnia, Becky Braithwaite believes that a new start will help her to recover. She leaves home to fulfil her brother’s dreams, and honour the life he never had but she soon finds that escaping from the past is not as easy as she imagined.

Is her fatigued mind playing tricks on her, or is danger really lurking in the shadows?

I Can’t Sleep is a switch of genre for you, what attracted you to writing a psychological thriller especially one with Insomnia as the central theme?   

I love reading psychological thrillers but I have noticed a lot of the same themes and plots being recycled. I wanted to do something different. There’s a famous quote that says something along the lines of ‘if the book you want to read hasn’t been written yet then you should write it’. That’s how “I Cant’t Sleep” began. 

I actually suffered with insomnia myself in the past and although I didn’t suffer quite as much as Becky does I did have some experiences that made me question my own mind. 

Emma's Review: Under a Sky on Fire by Suzanne Kelman

 Reviewed by Emma Crowley

September 1940, London

As the German Luftwaffe begin a terrifying bombing campaign that will come to be known as the Blitz, thousands are evacuated to safety. But Lizzie Mackenzie finds herself heading towards London.

She knows she must help in the war effort. But she has another reason for leaving the security of her Scottish village: the illegitimate child she gave up for adoption nearly five years before is somewhere in the city. And – as the bombs rain down – she will stop at nothing to find her and make sure her little girl is safe.

Then she finds herself trapped in a dark theatre during a bombing raid, where she meets Pilot Officer Jack Henson. Against all her instincts, she falls in love. But what chance is there for that love to flourish? Because if he discovers the secret shame of her past, he may never forgive her. And with Jack facing the enemy every day in the sky, and Lizzie’s job guiding pilots into battle – life and love has never felt so fragile.

Until a chance encounter with a little orphaned girl changes everything, forcing Lizzie to ask herself what truly matters. Because, in the darkest days of war, every life counts. And – when tragedy strikes – saving one child’s life might just give Lizzie a reason to survive…

Amazon Links: Kindle or Paperback

Giveaway: Win a copy of I Know What I Saw eBook by S. K. Sharp

Today it's my stop on the blog tour for I Know What I Saw by S. K. Sharp (pseudonym of author Stephen Deas) but sadly I am not in a position to bring you my review for this intriguing book as planned as life continues to throw me curveballs and my reading mojo has disappeared again. For some readers lockdown has been a great opportunity to catch up on reading but for me it seems to have had the opposite effect. 

However to honour my blog tour commitment I have decided to host a giveaway using the gift an eBook option on Amazon UK, see below for synopsis and details of how to enter.  

She remembers everything.

She understands nothing.

Only a handful of people in the world have a truly perfect memory. Nicola is one of them. It's more of a curse than a blessing - every moment of sadness, embarrassment and unhappiness is burned into her mind forever - so she plays it down, and tries to live a quiet life.

But a body has been found, a discovery that threatens to tear her community apart - and reopen old wounds from decades ago.