The Night Lawyer by Alex Churchill (Review)

Phew. I can’t believe we are so far through the year already… I don’t know if the dreaded COVID has made it go faster or slower.. It’s sure given me more time for books though. Although I didn’t feel much like reading early on in the pandemic. What about you? Did it effect your desire to read?

Today I’m reviewing The Night Lawyer by Alex Churchill. Red Door kindly gifted me a copy of the book which you can pick up now in Paperback or Kindle format.

The Night Lawyer is a compelling and authentic feeling legal thriller. This makes sense as the author has a background in law and it really lends to how convincing of a character of Sophie Angel, the main protagonist is.

Sophie is assigned a case but upon visiting the ..not so gentle man in custody, she realises that she has represented him in the past. He made her feel uncomfortable and she decided she couldn’t be on his case. This man was delusional and she unwillingly and unknowingly fed that delusion which has serious repercussions later. Instead she is takes on the case of a young male accused of rape. This opens a whole can of worms in to Sophie exploring her own personal history and facing the chaos of the justice system.

I was really surprised by some things in this book; however sharing them with you would be spoilers, so you’ll have to find out for yourself. 😉 The story took a direction I wasn’t expecting and threw some curveballs at me. I was really pleasantly surprised. The second half of the book got pretty intense and a lot went on. The events from the first half all started to pull together and make sense.

All in all, it lead to a satisfying conclusion. It wasn’t too open ended, didn’t leave me with a million questions. I would absolutely recommend giving this one a read. It’s well written, well paced, the plot is solid and the later half of the book will consume you.

About the Book

Once a week, she’s the one who decides what the papers can and can’t say. During the day, she’s a barrister. She struggles for justice in a system that’s close to collapse, where she confronts the most dangerous aspects of humanity. Her life changes when a wealthy Russian offers her the biggest case of her career, a rape trial with a seemingly innocent client.

But is someone manipulating Sophie from the shadows? And is it someone from her childhood in Soviet Russia or is the danger much closer to home?

With her marriage under strain and haunted by nightmares from the past, Sophie must find the answer to these questions before it’s too late. This is a story about betrayal, trust, guilt and innocence, played out from the courtrooms of London to the darkest corners of Soviet era Moscow.

Shelf Life by Livia Franchini (Review)

I hope you are all having a wonderful bank holiday monday! Today I am on the tour for Shelf Life by Livia Franchini which comes out tomorrow and I have a review for you guys. I received a copy of this book for free as part of the tour.

Ruth’s fiance has called it quits on their relationship after many years together, something I feel really was a good thing. It’s easy to be blinded by love, but our first introduction to Neil – her now-ex, throws up some red flags. He feels manipulative and like he is gaslighting Ruth. Later on, these red flags become more apparent, so I feel she had a lucky escape!

But going it alone means Ruth needs to figure herself and her life out. Using their final shopping list, she tells her story. It’s a concept I found to be really intriguing, though I honestly thought it fell a little flat and I wonder if I’d have picked up on it had I not already know that was what the situation was, but that’s just fine for me, it was interesting to see how this concept evolved.

Shelf Life is a pretty candid look at Ruth’s life in both the present, and in the past, as she learns about herself and gets through her break-up. The author has written her really well and my heart hurts for the poor woman. She’s such a sad character and seems so fragile. She needs help but she seems so alone. I really felt for her, she felt incredibly authentic and I was so hoping things would work out well for her. I’ve read books that are sad, but this one really felt like a punch in the gut. I honestly feel really mixed about it but it’s a refreshing change of pace for me to read something that doesn’t just wrap up in a neat little bow because life isn’t like that.

About the Book

Ruth is thirty years old. She works as a nurse in a care home and her fiancé has just broken up with her. The only thing she has left of him is their shopping list for the upcoming week.

And so she uses that list to tell her story. Starting with six eggs, and working through spaghetti and strawberries, and apples and tea bags, Ruth discovers that her identity has been crafted from the people she serves; her patients, her friends, and, most of all, her partner of ten years. Without him, she needs to find out – with conditioner and single cream and a lot of sugar – who she is when she stands alone.

Turbulent Wake by Paul E. Hardisty (Review)

Happy Sunday! Today I am on a Random Things tour for Turbulent Wake by Paul E. Hardisty and have a review for you. Please take a gander at the other tour stops if you’re interested too! I received a copy of this book for free as part of the tour.

Ethan has returned to his place of birth; his old man has passed away and his life is in disarray. While sorting out his fathers belongings, he discovers some manuscripts, but feels conflicted about them. In between his own life falling apart, he commits to reading them, seeking answers for questions he’s been wondering about for many years. It feels a bit weird outlining the book as it feels like I’m re-hashing the blurb. It’s a very good blurb.

This book takes you to many areas of the world. Some of the events seem crazy but not unauthentic. The author draws upon his own experiences and expertise to write a really great character and rich environments. I really felt for both Ethan and his father in this book and the people in their lives. Nothing ever seemed simple for them, for any of them. The title is incredibly apt.

I enjoyed this journey with Ethan, as he starts to find closure to things in his life. Why his father was the way he was? What happened to his little brother? Why did his mother leave? It feels like the book comes full circle and the ending I found to be satisfying. This is a wonderful piece of literary fiction that captivated me all the way through. I would highly recommend that you pick this one up.

About the Book

Ethan Scofield returns to the place of his birth to bury his father. Hidden in one of the upstairs rooms of the old man’s house he finds a strange manuscript, a collection of stories that seems to cover the whole of his father’s turbulent life.

As his own life starts to unravel, Ethan works his way through the manuscript, trying to find answers to the mysteries that have plagued him since he was a child. What happened to his little brother? Why was his mother taken from him?

And why, in the end, when there was no one else left, did his own father push him away?

Swinging from the coral cays of the Caribbean to the dangerous deserts of Yemen and the wild rivers of Africa, Turbulent Wake is a bewitching, powerful and deeply moving story of love and loss … of the indelible damage we do to those closest to us and, ultimately, of the power of redemption in a time of change.

Times Tide by Adrian Harvey (Review)

Happy Monday! Today, I am on the Love Books Group’s Tour for Times Tide by Adrian Harvey and bringing you a review! It is available now in both Kindle and Paperback editions and is available on Kindle Unlimited

Times Tide is a moving tale about the bonds between father and son, healing a rift from time and the connections they have with their home.

The author really pulls the reader in to this book with a lot of descriptive… descriptions(?) that really invoke a feeling of “place.” Now, I discovered I’m one of those people that struggles to visualise things from text – aphantasia, so I feel like if that wasn’t the case, I’d have gotten more from this book, but despite that, I could feel the beauty of their home, but it also felt lonely too. The sense of place was very strong and significant through the book and the author did a really good job at conveying it.

The book switches from one period of time to another, initially opening in 1958, on a boat. While I can’t visualise things from text, I did really enjoy the authors description of “chuckling water”, I’m not sure why, but I really liked that. They return to their old home which they had left years before, along with a cow who no longer produced milk.

The family appear loving but sombre. This is where the family, Einar and Jona lost a son, Eirikur, a brother, named Olafur and it really has an affect on the family. However, returning to their former home, resulted in the cow to produce milk once again (as she had stopped when they left) and the family found joy in this moment and I found myself happy too.

..I realise I’m writing a lot about the start of the book but the background and relationships it lays out are incredibly important for the rest of the book. You get a good idea about the family and how they think and feel about their lives.

It later introduces another generation of family and more bereavement, more strained relationships. But will they be able to ease the strain, make amends, find joy and find closure for their grief? You’ll have to give this incredibly moving book a go yourself and find out, but be prepared to be sucked straight in to Iceland and getting emotional because this tale is an immersive one.

About the Book

The new novel from the bestselling author of Being Someone and The Cursing Stone. 

A father and son struggle to overcome the distance between them. Each is drawn irresistibly to an unforgiving landscape, one that has been the scene of tragedy and loss.

The son’s return to the northern shore he abandoned as a young man promises the chance to heal the rift. But is it too late?

Arni left his remote corner of Iceland as soon as he could, seeking opportunities beyond winter and fishing. Married to an English woman, he builds a life as a successful scientist but can never quite escape the pull of the West Fjords and bleak landscape of his birth, nor shake the guilt he feels towards his distant father.

When Eirikur goes missing, he sets off to find him on a windswept spit of land lost in an angry ocean.

Time’s Tide is a compelling and beautifully written story of loss, belonging and the silence between fathers and sons.

Nowhere Girls by Teuta Metra (Review)

Today, I am on the blog tour for Nowhere Girls by Teuta Metra, out now on Kindle and coming soon in Hardback Edition on 8th March 2019 for International Womens Day!

Nowhere Girls is a dramatic, gripping tale of a woman named Sara, who just wants a better life, even if it means leaving everything she’s ever known behind her, and her friend Alba, who took a much different path. It’s an intense read and I’d highly recommend it.

Sara lives in Albania, poverty is rife, sexism is the norm, and corruption is inescapable. She has two best friends, Alba, who seems to glide through life by greasing palms, and Ina, a tragic soul with a life in disarray. Working as a journalist, she is mocked, underpaid and generally treated like rubbish, when all the while, it strains her family relationships with her husband and son. Meanwhile, Alba is working her way in to the upper classes, a taste for the “finer things” and everyone else is a means to and end.

This book really pulled at my heart with the way the author wrote about the struggles and hardships endured. I was constantly rooting for Sarah, hoping things would work out, that she would get a break and the respect she deserved. This book is no fairy-tale. It feels incredibly realistic in the sense that things aren’t magically okay. The characters have to work for their lives and for some, things turn out better than others.

Fed up, Sara decides that the family should to go to her cousin in Antwerp. Scared, but convinced this would be better for her and her family. Her cousin assures her that it can be her home. Having applied for a visa, the plan was set in motion, but her son was denied travel and needed to stay being in Albania. What Sara didn’t realise, was that she would have to endure the lengthy process of seeking asylum and whether she would be granted residency, whether she would see her son again, whether things would work out, or not.

I felt so many emotions while reading this tale, and Sara’s tension radiated through the pages. I shared her anxiety, her grief, her joy. It felt incredibly fast paced at times and a lot of things occurred. Admittedly, I know very little about Albania, but my heart aches for anyone who has to endure such hardship, but I also commend any woman who works so hard to deal best with the cards she’s been dealt. It also makes me extraordinarily grateful that I don’t have to deal with these levels of such toxicity, and I hope one day, no woman will have to endure what these women have had to go through.

About The Book

Friends Alba and Sara could not be more different. While Alba is forcing her way into the upper echelons of Albanian’s richest and most powerful, Sara is working more than one job as a struggling journalist. Both desperate to escape their corrupt country, they’re quickly dragged into a sordid world of politics and lies. 

When tragedy strikes their friend Ina, the two women must come together to save her little boy. Can they put away their troubles and secure a better future for the child? Or will their past catch up with them?

NOWHERE GIRLS is a thrilling tale of love, lies and the lengths a woman will go to for freedom.

About The Author

Now a fiction writer, Teuta Metra’s experience as an Albanian journalist has made her an expert on the struggles of women from her country.

Author, journalist and teacher, Teuta now lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two sons.