#BlogTour ~ Toletis by Rafa Ruiz @NeemTreePress #Toletis #RafaRuiz

A big welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Toletis by Rafa Ruiz.

Toletis was originally published on 19th October 2017 by Neem Tree Press.

The trees are disappearing and the adults don’t care. Toletis, his dog Amenophis and friends Claudia and Tutan are on a mission to turn their little valley town, set deep in the mountains, lusciously green again.

The odds are stacked against them. Can they succeed …with some very unusual help?

A deep appreciation for nature, art, language, music, friendship, family, the passing of time, old age, loneliness, and the importance of sitting still and reflecting on life, pervade this exquisite story.

A must read for 7 to 107 year olds!

* * * * * * * *

A big thank you to Anne Cater and the publisher for my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour.

Toletis was a beautiful book to receive and read due to the fantastic illustrations that are throughout the wonderful story.

Each chapter is a new season as we follow Toletis and his two friends, Claudia and Tutan as they try to save the world, one apple tree at a time! Toletis is a wonderful character to have narrating his adventures as he explores the nature world around him. Told through the eyes of a young child there are underlying themes that affect everyone but sound so simple told through the eyes of Toletis.

The chapter where Toletis tries to protect the trees and plants from the incoming frost by covering them with scarves and jumpers is tender and heartwarming and also brought a smile to my face – it’s the simple things that you sometimes forget about as you get older!

Throughout the book there is almost an old fashioned theme running, just natural life with no technology or mobile phones mentioned which is a refreshing change as it reminded me of a life I had as a child, just playing outside with friends. Social media wasn’t a thing and this book reminded me of this!

Although not a very long book to read, I really enjoyed being taken back to an innocent child like life.

Beautifully translated with some amazing illustrations that just add to the tender storytelling the author has brought us.

To follow the rest of the blog tour…

About the Author

Rafa Ruiz is a journalist and author who believes the light at the end of the tunnel can only be seen through progressive eyes. He has a staunch commitment to culture, art and the environment, and the majority of his career has been focused on these three areas.

He spent 10 years at Spanish newspaper El Pais and 15 years at their weekly supplement, he has written numerous children’s books, and he codirects the Mad is Mad art gallery in Madrid which gives space to up-and-coming artists.

He is also one of the partner-founders of the Press Association for Environmental Information (APIA).

Advertisements

#BlogTour ~ Dead Inside by Noelle Holten @nholten40 @BOTBSPublicity @KillerReads @OneMoreChapter_

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Dead Inside by Noelle Holten.

Dead Inside was published in eBook on 31 May 2019, following in paperback on 22 August 2019.

The killer is just getting started…

When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered.

And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?

* * * * * * *

A big thank you to Sarah Hardy and the publisher for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour.

Wow – what an absolute belter of a debut novel. I’m still reeling from the ending! As this is the first in the series featuring DI Maggie Jamieson, I’m genuinely excited to read more (I’m pretty sure that I’ve read that Noelle has already finished book 3…..)

With Noelle herself being a former probation officer, her experience has clearly added a genuine authenticity to the story which is brilliantly interwoven but not overwhelming.

We follow a police investigation into a murder, who we later learn is a domestic abuser and are introduced to DI Maggie Jamieson. New to the area she is thrown straight into the investigation when more bodies are discovered and discovers they have all been released recently from prison – is there a vigilante on the loose? Or has one of their victims had enough and decided to take matters into their own hands? Although not an easy subject to tackle, Noelle does brilliantly in keeping you completely absorbed with the investigation.

To add another aspect to the investigation, we also follow Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood. Although Lucy appears to have it together in her career, she regularly deals with the most hardened of criminals, when she returns home on a night it is a completely different story. Lucy herself is a victim of regular domestic abuse from her husband Gary and she struggles to keep her lives separate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to find out how things would end. It’s safe to say that I didn’t guess how it would really end! Noelle Holten completely kept me on the toes as I tried to second guess every action through her meticulate planning. I’m really excited to read more, if this book is anything to go by, and to learn more about Maggie Jamieson, a character that you come to be very fond of.

Highly recommended if you like a pacy, twisty thriller!

To follow the rest of the blog tour…

 

About the Author

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, author-stalking and sharing the #booklove via her blog.

Dead Inside is her debut novel with Killer Reads/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

Connect with Noelle on Social Media here:

Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noelleholtenauthor/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noelle-Holten/e/B07HZ685TL

Blog FB page: https://www.facebook.com/crimebookjunkie/

Instagram: @crimebookjunkie

#BlogTour ~ The Beekeeper’s Cottage by Emma Davies @EmDaviesAuthor @Bookouture

A big welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Beekeeper’s Cottage by Emma Davies.

The Beekeeper’s Cottage was published in eBook on 6^th August 2019 by Bookouture.

Comforted by the gentle hum of the beehives at the bottom of the garden, Grace drains the last of her tea and walks slowly back towards the little hillside house she adores. Her marriage is over, but is it too late to start her life again?

Beekeeper Grace thought throwing out her cheating husband would be the hardest thing she ever did. But when she opens the door to a property developer one morning, it’s clear that keeping her beautiful home and garden – her only sanctuary throughout her miserable marriage – will be the greatest challenge of all…

Fleeing to her best friend at the farm next door, Grace blurts out all her problems, only to be overheard by Amos, a handsome, free-spirited visitor with a twinkle in his eye. Fascinated by Grace and her bees, Amos offers to stay in the village of Hope Corner, to help turn her home into a guest house in return for lessons on beekeeping.

As Grace shows Amos how to nurture a hive and harvest honeycomb without getting stung, he is charming but secretive. He never stays long in the same place after an incident in his past involving a mysterious woman named Maria. But as their eyes lock over a jar of homemade honey, Grace can’t help feeling that she’d really like him to stay…

Determined to dispel her growing suspicion that Amos is running from something serious, Grace goes in search of the truth about Maria. But when she finds it, will she still want Amos to put down roots in Hope Corner, and will they still have a house to return to? 

No matter how far they travel, bees will always find their way home…

* * * * * * *

A big thank you to Noelle Holten and Bookouture for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for inviting me to participate on the blog tour.

The Beekeeper’s Cottage not only has a beautiful cover but is also a beautifully written book that I was genuinely sad to finish. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I wanted to read as soon as possible and I certainly did. It was the perfect company to a long car journey home from Cornwall (I wasn’t driving!).

The characters for me are what make this book so special. They are people you would genuinely like to meet and be life long friends with. The first character we meet is the mysterious Amos. Although just passing through, he decides to stay in Hope Corner and immediately makes an impression on Grace who is dealing with her own issues involving her husband and the horrible possibility of losing her beloved home.

With help from her best friend Flora (from The House on Hope Corner) who runs the local farm with her family they all band together to help to turn the cottage into a Bed and Breakfast.

This is the beauty of this book. The friendships and hope that each character brings gave me a tear to my eye. Also reading about the blossoming friendship between Grace and Amos had me wanting them to realise what everyone else can see. I will leave it a secret as to how things turn out…….

I can’t recommend this book enough along with the authors entire back catalogue!

To follow the rest of the tour…

 

About the Author

After a varied career, Emma Davies once worked for a design studio where she was asked to provide a fun and humorous (and not necessarily true) anecdote for their website. She wrote the following: ‘I am a bestselling novelist currently masquerading as a thirty something mother of three.’ Well the job in the design studio didn’t work out but she’s now a forty something mother of three and is happy to report the rest of her dream came true.

After many years as a finance manager she now writes full time and is far happier playing with words than numbers. She lives with her husband, three children, and two guinea pigs in rural Shropshire where she writes in all the gaps in between real life. It’s a county she adores, her love of its beautiful people and landscapes providing endless inspiration for her books, and in fact the only thing that would make Shropshire more idyllic is if it were by the sea. 

Author Social Media Links:

Pop over to her website www.emmadaviesauthor.com where, amongst other things, you can read about her passion for Pringles and singing loudly in the car. You can also wave to her on twitter @EmDaviesAuthor / https://twitter.com/EmDaviesAuthor or find her on Facebook (a little too often than is good for her!

https://www.facebook.com/emmadaviesauthor/