I know. I know! I’m 63. The Boy The Witch & The Queen of Scots is a children’s book. But if, like me, you’ve read Barbara Henderson’s children’s books before, you’ll know what an amazing talent she is. I could not be more thrilled than to be closing the blog tour for her latest story. My post is a little out of synch as I was on holiday and then involved (albeit remotely as I caught Covid on holiday) in a literary festival, but I was determined to participate!

I’ve read many of Barbara’s books and you’ll find all my reviews here.

Published by Luath Press on 11th April, The Boy The Witch & The Queen of Scots is available for purchase in all the usual places but with classroom resources from the publisher here.

The Boy The Witch & The Queen of Scots

No.

Not the Palace.

Anywhere but the Palace.

12-year-old Alexander Buchan was once content, training as a falconer at Strathbogie Castle in Huntly. But when his Earl sends him to Edinburgh to the court of the newly arrived Mary, Queen of Scots, the boy finds himself lured into a world of intrigue, terror and treachery. Alexander knows right from wrong, but how can he hope to outwit his master’s murderous messenger? Surely no one can defy an Earl – especially one whose wife is rumoured to be a witch!

Soon, more than the boy’s own life is at stake: his friend Lizzie is arrested and the angry clouds of Reformation Scotland gather around the young Queen.

My Review of The Boy The Witch & The Queen of Scots

Alexander Buchan has a dilemma.

I have said it many times, but I struggle to find a children’s author who writes better than Barbara Henderson. I always have absurdly high expectations of her books and, as usual, The Boy, The Witch & The Queen of Scots exceeded them all. I thought it was fantastic. 

Jam packed with drama, danger, espionage, and the workings of a royal household, the story is totally gripping. There are villains and heroes, courtiers and minions and a fascinating smattering of falconry all blended into an historical narrative that is authoritative and compelling. Barbara Henderson mixes real and imagined characters with such dexterity that her story reverberates with genuine authenticity.

Given that Alexander is only twelve at the start of the story, he has a true relatability for young readers so that this story draws them in to appreciating history. I loved the feistiness of Lizzie too because she has a strength that children and adults alike can admire. Mary Queen of Scots is so well drawn that she brings the history of the era alive and this book provides a different facet to her personality than just that of the imprisoned and ultimately beheaded, historical figure. 

And that era is magnificently presented. Facts and people are incorporated so effortlessly through the smooth writing that Barbara Henderson must have conducted assiduous research in order to present such a flowing, exciting and appealing story. The Boy, The Witch & The Queen of Scots is education and entertainment in a perfect blend.

The Boy, The Witch & The Queen of Scots is a fast paced narrative filled with peril that youngsters will love. However, it is also fantastic for classroom use too. The historical aspect is self-evident and enhanced by a timeline of Mary Queen of Scots’ life at the end of the story. Add in a glossary of unfamiliar words to support literacy and a list of people and places that could be used for all manner of research projects and this is a book that provides huge scope for school use. There are also discussion questions that ensure The Boy, The Witch and The Queen of Scots will be an enduring and valuable class reader. I can envisage drama performances of the story as well as the excellent illustrations at the start of chapters being a prompt for art work.

The educational aspects of The Boy, The Witch and The Queen of Scots are a bonus, but the real strength in this fabulous story is the exciting way it brings history alive. With themes of loyalty, family, friendship, society, witchcraft and religion, there’s an aspect to engage any reader so that even the most demanding or reluctant readers will be entranced by the narrative. The book captivates the minds of young readers and illustrates for them that history isn’t just about the very famous, but is also about the Alexanders and Lizzies of the world – just like the young readers themselves. What could be better?

About Barbara Henderson

Barbara Henderson has lived in Scotland since 1991, somehow acquiring an MA in English Language and Literature, a husband, three children and a shaggy dog along the way. Having tried her hand at working as a puppeteer, relief librarian and receptionist, she now teaches Drama part-time at secondary school.

Writing predominantly for children, Barbara won the Nairn Festival Short Story Competition in 2012, the Creative Scotland Easter Monologue Competition in 2013 and was one of three writers shortlisted for the Kelpies Prize 2013. In 2015, wins include the US-based Pockets Magazine Fiction Contest and the Ballantrae Smuggler’s Story Competition.

Follow Barbara on Twitter @scattyscribbler or Instagram for more information, and read her blog. You’ll also find her author page on Facebook.

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I’ll let you into a secret. I have an ambition to complete a Ph.D. My husband has one, but I only have a BA in Literature and a Master of Arts in Education and so, consequently, when Gaby Monteiro at Canbury Press asked if I’d like to read the anonymously written The Secret Lecturer: What Really Goes on at University, I was intrigued. This might reveal more! My thanks to Gaby for sending me a copy in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Published by Canbury on 28th March 2024, and distributed by Simon and Schuster, The Secret Lecturer: What Really Goes on at University is available for purchase through the links here.

The Secret Lecturer: What Really Goes on at University

Odd students, racist colleagues and inept administrators.

Rising business influence and crumbling academic freedom.

Absurdly wasteful corporate schemes and broken toilets.

Low student welfare, an unwillingness to fail anyone and an A+ explosion in cheating… 

For a decade, students and academics have been painfully aware of the deteriorating state of UK universities. But the public has only been able to glean anecdotal accounts about poor value for money, underwhelming lecturers, falling standards and creaking facilities.

Now, after a decade of frozen tuition fees, an anonymous academic presents a no-holds-barred account of life on campus.

My Review of The Secret Lecturer: What Really Goes on at University

A year in the life of an anonymous academic.

Goodness. I’m not sure if I loved or loathed this book. And that is not a criticism, but rather is a reflection of the narrative’s absolute strength because the frustration of working in HE is replicated in the reading of The Secret Lecturer: What Really Goes on at University. 

The author makes the reader think, forcing them to contemplate unpalatable truths, such as the impact of the nefarious financial sources underpinning today’s higher education (HE), and is perhaps as complicit as those he berates and accuses. I say this because The Secret Lecturer is predicated on the premise that no-one stands up to corruption, complacency and duplicity in HE. The evidence for this is presented with complete authenticity and a compelling argument, and yet the author remains anonymous – which feels rather akin to the very practice of refusing to accept responsibility that is so despaired of within the text. And yet, the reasons why the author has remained anonymous are valid and honourable – what’s the point of trying to change things from within the system if identifying yourself means you’ll be thrown out of that very system rendering yourself impotent? 

There’s incredible impact in this book because the nonsensical administration, the casual acceptance of corrupt or lazy practice, and the sheer frustration of those doing their best to counteract such things all feel sadly all too familiar. Reading The Secret Lecturer reinforces the feeling that we have lost our integrity in order to retain wealth and our own status and self-importance. 

But if this sounds unremittingly negative, then don’t be misled. The Secret Lecturer (both book and author) conveys a dry, ironic and often self-deprecating humour and considerable humanity, particularly through consideration of mental health, sexism and racism. There’s a real feeling that we ordinary folk are all in this together and if we support one another in subverting the ineffective status quo within institutions, not just HE, we can, and will, make a difference. I found the book enraged me, but it made me feel heard. The scenarios depicted are similar to those any of us might encounter. The Secret Lecturer speaks out on our behalf. So, whilst being enraged I was also inspired. As a result of this book I feel galvanised to do something, to speak up and to be proactive. 

As an aside, I loved the way the text has an index and references replicating scholarly research that the author so misses in many of his students’ and colleagues’ papers. It also made me wonder if I still hold my ambition to complete a Ph.D, but you’ll need to read the book to see why I might be doubting that concept now!

I found The Secret Lecturer fascinating. It’s pithy, political and revealing. It’s a book that will astonish some and feel all too familiar to others. I still don’t know if I enjoyed reading it, but I’m mightily glad I have. I urge you to read it too. At the very least The Secret Lecturer will entertain you, and in addition it may well surprise you, and it might just change your life! 

About The Secret Lecturer

The Secret Lecturer works in higher education at an undisclosed university in the UK. They’ve written this account to paint an accurate picture of university life and to question whether the status quo is in the long-term interests of students, staff, and the country.

I’m beginning to think Sue Moorcroft appears more often on Linda’s Book Bag than I do, but when she writes such brilliant books, I simply have to read them! My enormous thanks to Becky Hunter for sending me a copy of Sue’s latest novel Under a Summer Skye in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

Under a Summer Skye is published by Avon on 9th May and is available for pre-order through the links here.

If you’d like to read my reviews of other books by Sue Moorcroft or my interviews with her, please click here.

Under a Summer Skye

A Scottish island. A stranger from the mainland. A summer of possibilities…

Escape to the Isle of Skye this summer with the Sunday Times bestselling author, and lose yourself in the first book of the Skye Sisters Trilogy.

A chance encounter is about to change everything for Thea Wynter.

The moment she arrived on the Isle of Skye, life changed for Thea. Running from a succession of wrong turns, she comes to the island in search of blue sea, endless skies, and mountains that make the heart soar. Here, she feels at peace.

As head gardener at Rothach Hall, life is exactly how she wants it, with her days spent working in the glorious clifftop garden and her evenings in the cosy village pub.

But an encounter with a stranger from the mainland brings with it an unexpected turn – and she is left wondering whether he is friend or foe.

It seems that even on Skye, life can catch up with you, and Thea is soon faced with the past she left behind – and with it, the family she’s never met…

From old lives to new beginnings, lose yourself on the beautiful Isle of Skye with Thea as she discovers how many possibilities life can truly hold if you look hard enough.

My Review of Under a Summer Skye

Thea has made a new life for herself.

What a totally gorgeous read. I’m used to Sue Moorcroft writing interesting, entertaining and emotionally charged stories, but in Under a Summer Skye she has surpassed herself. I think it’s possibly my favourite of her books to date.

The setting is simply glorious. There’s such a painterly, poetic but not pretentious, use of language that meant I didn’t feel as if I were reading about Rothach Hall and its environs, but rather that I had been placed there physically. I thought this was a wonderful aspect of the narrative. Skye has long been on my wish list of places to visit, but through Under a Summer Skye I feel as if I’ve already been there. Add in the concept of nature and gardening as healing and restorative themes, and with them so well depicted, reading Under a Summer Skye felt as if I’d been given a breathing space from the trials of the world. It’s glorious.

As well as setting, the plot too is exceptionally entertaining. There are surprises along the way, as well as a simmering attraction between Thea and Dev, that make Under a Summer Skye truly compelling and deliciously romantic. With Thea’s sisters Ezzie and Valentina part of the story, what Sue Moorcroft does is make this book a wonderfully satisfying read, but equally she makes her readers desperate to hear more about the Skye Sisters. I can’t say much more about the storyline for fear of spoilers, but it has a sinuous quality that had me mesmerised.

I loved meeting Thea. Indeed, I loved meeting all the characters, not least because they felt so convincing. There’s a real understanding of nature and nurture making them who they are, and because they all have nuanced elements in their characters, and negative aspects in their past lives or their current situations, it makes them all the more relatable. I confess that I generally do not like dogs at all, but here even Daisy was appealing, realistic and loveable. 

The themes of Under a Summer Skye are mature, complex and handled with remarkable sensitivity. Trust is at the heart of the narrative, but Sue Moorcroft skilfully explores the nature of family and how we become who, and what, we become. I think what appeals so strongly is the thought that any of us could find ourselves in similar situations to Thea and Dev, forced to face the consequences of our actions regardless of the nature of our intentions. 

Under a Summer Skye is a fantastic story written by a brilliant story-teller. It held me entranced throughout and I absolutely loved it. 

About Sue Moorcroft

Award-winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. She’s won a Readers’ Best Romantic Read Award and been nominated for others, including a ‘RoNA’ (Romantic Novel Award). Sue’s a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and editor of its two anthologies.

She also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor.

The daughter of two soldiers, Sue was born in Germany and went on to spend much of her childhood in Malta and Cyprus. She likes reading, Zumba, FitStep, yoga, and watching Formula 1.

For more information, follow Sue on Twitter/X @SueMoorcroft, or find her on Instagram and Facebook and visit her website.

It’s such a pleasure today to share my review of Cressida McLaughlin’s new book The Happy Hour as I love her writing. My huge thanks to Susanna Peden at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of The Happy Hour in return for an honest review.

You can also find my review of Cressida’s The Staycation here and of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop, which was one of my books of the year in 2022, here.

Published by Harper Collins on 9th May 2024, The Happy Hour is available for purchase through the links here.

The Happy Hour

Jess is happy working in Greenwich market selling trinkets to well-heeled locals and excitable tourists.

Then one Sunday, Jess is thrown together with handsome, funny Ash, as they chase a pickpocket through the market, and before long they are making a habit of running into each other at the same time each week.

Jess starts to realize that their hour together is the brightest part of her life. But Ash isn’t telling her everything – can she discover the truth before it’s too late?

My Review of The Happy Hour

Jess and Ash have just met.

Oh my word. The Happy Hour is absolutely lovely. With an initial touch of mystery about where Ash has to be each Sunday, Cressida McLaughlin draws in the reader to this wonderfully romantic story from the very first page in a story that I found totally captivating. 

I loved the market setting with its cast of quirky people who feel like a microcosm of society. There’s a real sense of community and Cressida McLaughlin’s descriptions of the stalls, the aromas, the items for sale, all make for a very vivid picture. My only complaint is that the descriptions of the muffins made me ravenous the whole time I was reading! 

Those market characters are so warmly created. Even the ones like Roger who play relatively minor roles feel true to life and realistic. I adored Felicity as, through her own vulnerabilities and strengths, she illuminates the other characters, bringing them into sharp focus. She also exemplifies how appearances can be deceptive and that we never quite know what is happening in another person’s life or behind their front door. I’d love there to be future books following on from The Happy Hour, developing the stories of the people at the market. 

It is, of course, Jess and Ash who steal the show, partly because they are both equally stubborn and misguided as well as equally vivacious, friendly, caring and attractive so that they are well rounded and convincing. I cared so much about them, feeling their emotions with them and I admit to shedding a tear or two over them as well as laughing with them. In Jess and Ash, Cressida McLaughlin has created something very special indeed because, as they work through their own demons, they are hugely relatable. They show how we are affected by our past and our upbringing, but that we cannot allow it to dominate our future. They also show how, whilst we might not be able to control what happens in our present life, we can decide how to respond. The Happy Hour is a wise and uplifting book as well as being entertaining and absorbing to read.

Indeed, whilst Cressida McLaughlin creates a gorgeous romance, The Happy Hour is steeped in psychological understanding. Grief and loneliness, self-preservation, identity and independence, are threads of the story that make it so wonderful as well as gloriously escapist. 

I truly adored The Happy Hour. Not only is it emotional and beguiling, it’s warm and encouraging too. Reading The Happy Hour took me away from the cares of the real world and left me feeling uplifted and content – feelings we could all do with from time to time…

About Cressida McLaughlin

Cressida McLaughlin is a bestselling author of contemporary romance who has sold over a million copies of her books. Her feel-good, escapist fiction, featuring unforgettable characters who find their happy place, has established her as a firm favourite among readers and fellow authors alike. She is most well known for her eight book Cornish Cream Tea series, and The Happy Hour is her fifteenth novel. Cressida lives in Norwich with her husband David and when not writing her bestsellers, spends her spare time reading, returning to London or exploring the beautiful Norfolk coastline.

You can find out more information on Cressy’s website or you can follow her on Twitter/X @cressmclaughlin, Instagram and Facebook.

I was delighted to meet author Heidi Amsinck at a bookish event a few months ago as I love her books. Consequently, when I realised book three in her Jensen thriller series, Back From The Dead, was about to be released I simply had to be part of the tour. My thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part and to Muswell Press for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

You will find my review of Heidi’s My Name is Jensen here, and of The Girl in the Photo here.

Published by Muswell Press on 18th April 2024, Back From The Dead is available for purchase here.

Back From The Dead

A Missing person … a headless corpse … Jensen is on the case.

June, and as Copenhagen swelters under record temperatures, a headless corpse surfaces in the murky harbour, landing a new case on the desk of DI Henrik Jungersen, just as his holiday is about to start.

Elsewhere in the city, Syrian refugee Aziz Almasi, driver to Esben Nørregaard MP has vanished. Fearing a link to shady contacts from his past, Nørregaard appeals to crime reporter Jensen to investigate.

Could the body in the harbour be Aziz? Jensen turns to former lover Henrik for help. As events spiral dangerously out of control, they are thrown together once more in the pursuit of evil, in a case more twisted and, more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.

My Review of Back From The Dead

Jensen is about to become embroiled in another case.

My goodness, Back From The Dead is an exciting and fast paced novel and I thought it was excellent. Whilst I appreciated having read the first two excellent books in the series better to appreciate the nuances here, Heidi Amsinck ensures readers are not disadvantaged if they are new to the series and haven’t encountered the characters before. I found the subtle weaving of back story very skilled indeed.

The plot of Back From The Dead is complex, brilliantly plotted and breath-taking. With timed and dated chapters that are short, snappy and exciting, there’s a fabulous sense of pace. It is hard to say too much for fear of spoiling the story for others, but there are twists and turns, with surprising events and reveals that make the story totally compelling and engaging. I loved it. As I read I kept thinking of stones dropping into a barrel of water (or in this case bodies dropping into water) with all the ripples intersecting in a plot that is quite masterful.

I loved too the seething, simmering heat of Copenhagen with that sense of over-heating tempers, bodies and minds that so perfectly reflected the febrile tension between Jensen and Henrik. Their toxic attraction for one another is one of the best relationships in crime fiction around. What I found so interesting in Back From The Dead was the increased vulnerability displayed by Jensen. She is developing so realistically and convincingly. Gustav too feels as if he is maturing so that the potential for him in future books is massive.

The challenges facing the police in Henrik’s investigation not only heighten the tension of the story, but add an understanding of how the police are often unrealistically expected to produce near miraculous results in very short time scales. Heidi Amsinck has a mature and compassionate skill in incorporating societal attitudes, immigration, the way marriages work, and the bonds and frustrations of intimate and frequently challenging professional relationships, so that they become layers of interest beyond the already compelling thriller.

I so enjoyed Back From The Dead. It’s everything I want in a police procedural thriller and a real triumph as the plot is gripping and the characters multi-layered and believable. I can’t wait for book four!

About Heidi Amsinck

Heidi Amsinck won the Danish Criminal Academy’s Debut Award for My Name is Jensen (2021), the first book in a new series featuring Copenhagen reporter sleuth Jensen and her motley crew of helpers. She published her second Jensen novel, The Girl in Photo, in July 2022, with the third Back From The Dead out now. A journalist by background, Heidi spent many years covering Britain for the Danish press, including a spell as London Correspondent for the broadsheet daily Jyllands-Posten. She has written numerous short stories for BBC Radio 4, such as the three-story sets Danish Noir, Copenhagen Confidential and Copenhagen Curios, all produced by Sweet Talk and featuring in her collection Last Train to Helsingør (2018). Heidi’s work has been translated from the original English into Danish, German and Czech.

For more information, follow Heidi on Twitter/X @HeidiAmsinck1. You can also find Heidi on Instagram and Facebook.

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I really haven’t featured the writing of Helen Fields enough here on Linda’s Book Bag, so it gives me enormous pleasure that my latest online review for My Weekly magazine is of Helen’s brand new Profile K. My apologies to Helen and My Weekly for not sharing this sooner as it went out on 25th April, but I was away on holiday!

Published by Harper Collins’ imprint Avon Books on 25th April 2024, Profile K is available for purchase through the links here.

Profile K

He’s going to kill you. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Midnight Jones is an analyst trained to understand the human mind. But everything changes when, in the course of her work, she discovers Profile K’s file – because K stands for killer, and she knows that someone more dangerous than she could have ever imagined walks among them.

Midnight knows what Profile K is capable of before he even commits his first crime. But as the news rolls with the brutal murder of a local woman, no one believes what she tells them: that he is capable of so much worse.

Profile K will kill again – and, terrifyingly, Midnight realises that the moment she found his file was the moment she became his next target. Because Profile K is coming for Midnight – and the only way to escape with her life is to find him before he finds her…

The million-copy bestseller is back with a dark, terrifying journey into the mind of a psychopath that will keep you riveted until the very last page.

My Review of Profile K

My full review of Profile K can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Profile K is a disturbing, brilliantly crafted insight into the mind of a killer – and into big business. It is terrifying, prescient and convincing. I thought it was brilliant.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Helen Fields

Helen Fields’ first love was drama and music. From a very young age she spent all her free time acting and singing until law captured her attention as a career path. She studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of Court School of Law in London.

After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years. Undertaking cases that ranged from Children Act proceedings and domestic violence injunctions, to large scale drug importation and murder, Helen spent years working with the police, CPS, Social Services, expert witnesses and in Courts Martials.

After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar. Together with her husband David, she went on to run Wailing Banshee Ltd, a film production company, acting as script writer and producer.

Helen self-published two fantasy books as a way of testing herself and her writing abilities. She enjoyed the creative process so much that she began writing in a much more disciplined way, and decided to move into the traditional publishing arena through an agent.

Perfect Remains is set in Scotland, where Helen feels most at one with the world. Edinburgh and San Francisco are her two favourite cities, and she travels whenever she can.

Beyond writing, she has a passion for theatre and cinema, often boring friends and family with lengthy reviews and critiques. Taking her cue from her children, she has recently taken up karate and indoor sky diving. Helen and her husband now live in Hampshire with their three children and two dogs.

Visit Helen’s website for further information and find her on Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow Helen on Twitter/X @Helen_Fields.

I’m a huge fan of Marian Keyes and yet, since I began blogging, I really haven’t read her enough. I’m delighted to rectify that error by sharing details of my latest My Weekly magazine online review which is Marian’s latest book My Favourite Mistake.

Published by Penguin’s imprint Michael Joseph on 11th April 2024 My Favourite Mistake is available for purchase through the links here.

My Favourite Mistake

Anna has just lost her taste for the Big Apple…

She has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that?

Anna, it turns out.

Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.

Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats – and violence.

Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over.

There’s just one fly in the ointment – old flame Joey Armstrong.

He’s going to be her wingman.

Never mind their chequered history. Never mind what might have been.

Because no matter how far you go, your mistakes will still be waiting for you . . .

My Review of My Favourite Mistake

My full review of My Favourite Mistake can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that My Favourite Mistake is Marian Keyes at the top of her game, being filled with warmth, wit and a wise insight into humanity that made me laugh and cry – often at the same time. I absolutely loved it. It might be my favourite Marian Keyes book. As Marian herself might say, it’s fabliss!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. The multimillion copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years – including Rachel’s Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups– has millions of devoted readers around the world.

In addition to her fifteen previous novels, Marian has also written three collections of journalism, upon which hit BBC Radio 4 show Between Ourselves was based. Marian co-hosts the popular show Now You’re Asking with actress Tara Flynn for BBC Radio 4. In 2022, she was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year.

Marian lives in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin. My Favourite Mistake is her sixteenth novel.

You can find Marian on Facebook and Instagram and follow her on Twitter/X @MarianKeyes. Marian Keyes also has a wonderful website.

Having adored One Moment, the debut novel by Becky Hunter that I reviewed here, I simply couldn’t resist being part of the blog tour for Becky’s latest book, Meet Me When My Heart Stops. My huge thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops was published by Atlantic imprint Corvus on 21st March 2024 and is available for purchase through the links here.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife?

The first time Emery’s heart stops, she is only five years old…

Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do – if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery’s heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead.

Each time Emery’s heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once – but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her.

As Emery’s life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop – so that she can see Nick again.

This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.

My Review of Meet Me When My Heart Stops

Emery has a rare heart condition.

Goodness. What can I say about Meet Me When My Heart Stops? Achingly gorgeous, this is romantic writing of the most perfect kind and I absolutely loved it.

Becky Hunter’s premise of a heart condition that means Emery dies multiple times, feels innovative and completely convincing. Whilst it sets the scene for Emery and Nick’s emotional love story to unfold, it also adds layers of maturity and sophistication to the story because themes of guilt, choice, responsibility and family swirl beneath the surface. Emery’s Mum’s reaction to Emery’s illness, and the rift that occurs in the family, shows real insight into how not just one person is affected when they have a life-affecting or limiting condition. There’s such understanding here that Meet Me When My Heart Stops feels thoughtful, sensitive and compassionate.

The story of Emery’s life and multiple deaths is enthralling and I loved the structure of the plot with the dates as Emery ages and found the memories woven into the death scenes created both depth and character. Meet Me When My Heart Stops explores exactly what makes for a fulfilling life. It might be an existence without risk, such as the one Emery’s Dad tries to impose to keep her safe, or it might be one of Carpe Diem like Emery’s reckless thrill seeking to counterbalance the careful approach of those around her. However, what is so impactful here is the way Becky Hunter illustrates that a life well lived can easily be filled with quiet, ordinary moments that any of us might experience. Such a theme makes Meet Me When My Heart Stops uplifting, affecting and compelling.

All that said, what is so entrancing about Meet Me When My Heart Stops is the beautiful love story between Emery and Nick. It develops organically, is frequently frustrated by events and feels so convincing that I experienced every one of Emery’s emotions with her. Becky Hunter writes with such a natural style that it feels perfectly plausible that Emery is falling in love with a man who died before she was born.

And Emery herself is a wonderful creation. She develops throughout the story and although her heart condition could, with less skilled writers, make her a saccharine protagonist, instead she is a vivid, flawed and believable creation. She is, on occasion, selfish or foolhardy, discontented and unhappy as well as brave, selfless and filled with joy. She is, quite simply, human. 

It feels rather a privilege to have read Meet Me When My Heart Stops. It’s touching, captivating and poignant and a book that reverberates in the reader’s mind long after the final page is turned. I thought it was totally wonderful. 

About Becky Hunter

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.

For more information, follow Becky on Twitter/X @Bookish_Becky or find her on Instagram.

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I’m privileged to call the brilliant author Louise Jensen a friend and would like to thank Louise for a copy of her latest thriller The Intruders. Even better, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to review The Intruders for My Weekly magazine online.

I’d also like to thank Louise for popping over for lunch recently to cheer me up following a foot op!

Published by Harper Collins imprint Avon today, 11th April 2024, The Intruders is available for purchase through the links here.

The Intruders

They were told to leave. They should have listened.

The perfect opportunity…

A manor house available rent-free to house-sitters is an offer too good to miss for Cass and James, who have been saving for a deposit on their own home for so long.

Although it had been abandoned for almost thirty years, after a home invasion left almost all the inhabitants dead, it is an amazing chance for them to build their future.

But is it worth the price?

Shortly after moving in things take a sinister turn. Objects disappear and turn up in odd places, the clock always stops at the same time, the house is strangely oppressive and sometimes it feels like Cass and James are not alone.

Newington House may have bad energy, and a dark reputation. But surely there’s no reason for history to repeat itself, is there?

My Review of The Intruders

My full review of The Intruders can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that The Intruders is utterly terrifying and completely compelling. It’s so exciting I couldn’t put it down and think it might be Louise Jensen’s best thriller yet. Don’t miss this one – you’ll be taken by surprise!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Louise Jensen

Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate, The Date, The Family, The Stolen Sisters and All For You. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Her next thriller publishes in Spring 2023.

Louise has been nominated for multiple awards including Goodreads Debut Author Of The Year, The Guardians ‘Not The Booker Prize’, best polish thriller of 2018 and she has also been listed for two CWA Dagger awards. All of Louise’s thrillers are currently under option for TV & film. She has also written short stories for various publications including ‘My Weekly’, ‘Hello’, ‘Best’ and ‘The Sun’, as well as having stories featured in multiple anthologies.

Louise also has a penchant for exploring the intricacies of relationships through writing heart-breaking and uplifting stories under the pen name Amelia Henley. The Life We Almost Had and The Art of Loving You were international best sellers. From Now On published in autumn 2022.

Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. She loves to hear from readers and writers.

You can find out more by visiting Louise’s website, finding her on Facebook or Instagram and following her on Twitter @Fab_fiction.

I love Harriet Tyce’s writing, so I’m thrilled that the latest of my My Weekly magazine online reviews is Harriet’s A Lesson in Cruelty.

I previously reviewed Harriet’s Blood Orange here, The Lies You Told here and It Ends at Midnight here.

Published by Headline Imprint Wildfire on 11th April 2024, A Lesson in Cruelty is available for purchase here.

A Lesson in Cruelty

They say you can’t always get what you want. But you can take it.

Anna wants a fresh start. She doesn’t believe she deserves it, but after three years behind bars she has finally paid her dues. Most of them, anyway.

Lucy craves the attention of the only man she can’t have, her alluring Oxford professor. He’s married – not for the first time. Maybe she should be next in line?

Marie the recluse has been locked up for too long. She’s not ready to be free, but some rules are meant to be broken.

Everyone wants a perfect life. But not everyone is prepared to take it.

Unless someone decides to teach them a lesson.

My Review of A Lesson in Cruelty

My full review of A Lesson in Cruelty can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that A Lesson in Cruelty is an amazing narrative of twists and turns, despicable and damaged characters and thrilling events. I loved it.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Harriet Tyce

Harriet Tyce was born and grew up in Edinburgh. She graduated from Oxford in 1994 with a degree in English Literature before gaining legal qualifications. She worked as a criminal barrister for ten years, leaving after having children. She completed an MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at UEA where she wrote Blood Orange, the Sunday Times bestselling novel, winner of a gold Nielsen Bestseller Award in 2021. It was followed by The Lies You Told and It Ends At Midnight, both also Sunday Times bestsellers. She lives in north London with her family and two dogs.

You can follow Harriet on Twitter/X @harriet_tyce and visit her website for more details. You’ll also find her on Instagram and Facebook.