It was my absolute privilege to reveal the cover to Eva Jordan’s latest book Time Will Tell back in November and I am thrilled to part of her blog tour thanks to Kelly at Love Books Group today. Both Kelly and Eva are real life friends and I am delighted that Eva will be appearing at The Deepings Literary Festival where I live in May. You can see more here but a special Read Dating brochure will be coming soon.

Eva has appeared on Linda’s Book Bag in the past writing about female friendships to celebrate her novel 183 Times a Year that you can read here and another, that was part of the launch celebrations for All The Colours In Between, about the need for older protagonists here.

Today, I’m doing things slightly differently. As most of you know, I have a TBR that is sky high and one of my attempts this year is to read books that have been languishing on that pile of books far too long. So, whilst featuring Eva’s latest Time Will Tell, I’m actually reviewing 183 Times A Year in a kind of book BOGOF today as this first novel from Eva has been waiting for me to read it since 5th December 2015!

Time Will Tell

Writer, Lizzie Lemalf, and her loving but somewhat dysfunctional family are still grieving over the loss of a much-loved family member. Lizzie is doing her best to keep her family together but why does the recent death of a well-known celebrity have them all in a spin?

The police suspect foul play; Lizzie and other family members suspect one another.

Lizzie begins searching for answers only to find herself being dragged back to the past, to 1960’s London to be exact, and to the former life of her father, that up until now she has never been privy to.

Every family has its secrets but how can the past hold the key to a present day celebrity death? They say the past comes back to haunt you. Surely the truth will out?

Maybe, but only time will tell…

Published by Urbane and out in ebook now and paperback on 25th April 2019, you can find Time Will Tell here.

183 Times A Year

Mothers and daughters alike will never look at each other in quite the same way after reading this book—a brilliantly funny observation of contemporary family life.

Lizzie—exasperated Mother of Cassie, Connor and Stepdaughter Maisy—is the frustrated voice of reason to her daughters’ teenage angst. She gets by with good friends, cheap wine and talking to herself—out loud.

16-year-old Cassie—the Facebook-Tweeting, Selfie-Taking, Music and Mobile Phone obsessed teen—hates everything about her life. She longs for the perfect world of Chelsea Divine and her ‘undivorced’ parents—and Joe, of course.

However, the discovery of a terrible betrayal and a brutal attack throws the whole household into disarray. Lizzie and Cassie are forced to reassess the important things in life as they embark upon separate journeys of self-discovery—accepting some less than flattering home truths along the way.

Although tragic at times this is a delightfully funny exploration of domestic love, hate, strength and ultimately friendship. A poignant, heartfelt look at that complex and diverse relationship between a Mother and daughter set amongst the thorny realities of today’s divided and extended families.

183 Times A Year is available for purchase here.

My Review of 183 Times A year

Lizzie tries to be all things to all people with varying degrees of success!

I thoroughly enjoyed 183 Times A Year. Eva Jordan manages to create genuine and vivid voices for each of her characters so that I totally believed in them, especially Lizzie and Cassie. I’ve never been a mother, but the relationships between Lizzie and her extended family are just perfect. The feelings and emotions conveyed are those anyone can relate to. I laughed aloud, found myself nodding in agreement (particularly at some of Lizzie’s conversations with herself in her head) and shed a few tears too when reading 183 Times A Year.

The plot is a corker. There are so many elements that combine into a hugely satisfying read. Some aspects were really unexpected and I think this reflects Eva Jordan’s skill as a writer. Her narrative very much mirrors the unpredictability of real life which is one of her themes. This is so cleverly done.

Indeed, it is the themes in 183 Times A Year that ensure this is a perfect read for so many. Love, family, betrayal, relationships, race, gender, society, money, health, social media and so on are all part of the fabric of real life as well as this realistic and engaging story. Given that it is set near to where I live too, I found its authenticity so engaging.

I loved the literary and musical references that pepper the text. They add real colour to the writing and help develop character at the same time. I so wish I’d thought to name one of my own cats Romeow! Whilst I found some of Cassie’s vocabulary irritating, particularly the use of ‘sick’ this was also just right. She IS irritating at times. She’s a typical teenage girl. She’s also incredibly funny because of her malapropisms. Along with Lizzie she was the most appealing character for me.

There’s wit, emotion, social commentary and incredible warmth in 183 Times A Year. It both entertains and surprises and I loved it.

About Eva Jordan

Eva Jordan, born in Kent but living most of her life in a small Cambridgeshire town, describes herself as a lover of words, books, travel and chocolate.

Eva is a published writer of several short stories and debut novel 183 Times A Year. Eva has always had a love of books and reading and really got the writing bug when she received a first for her dissertation, which looked at The People’s War during World War II, whilst studying for a degree in English and History.

Eva’s career has been varied, including working in a Women’s Refuge and more recently at the city library. However, storytelling through the art of writing is her true passion. Eva enjoys stories that force the reader to observe the daily interactions of people with one another set against the social complexities of everyday life, be that through crime, love or comedy.

Time Will Tell is Eva’s third novel.

You can find Eva on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @EvaJordanWriter and visit her website.

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