Thoughts...

Manchester Terror Attack, May 2017

Today has been a mix of sadness and shock. Waking up this morning to the news that we, as a country, have been expecting but praying to avoid. The senseless terrorist attack on the Manchester Arena is being described as the worst to hit the UK since 2005.

My heart truly goes out to the families of those affected. Such a tragic loss of precious life. These mindless acts of terrorism are not only devastating to our country but also to others, particularly those of Muslim majority. I have heard too many racist comments over the past few years and it pains me that innocent people are being persecuted for their faith.

I do not pretend to understand Islam or the Muslim faith. Aside from learning the basics in high school during our Religious Education classes I have had very little exposure to them. Over the past few months I have found myself actively seeking out novels to read based around Islamic culture. I have grown to despise the tiny part of my brainwashed psyche that screams 'possible terrorist' every time a young Asian man with a backpack passes me by. 

Anyone that knows me well knows that I take mainstream media with a pinch of salt. My personality forces me to constantly question what we are shown. My hope is that by widening my reading to include literature from parts of society that I am unfamiliar with, I can develop a deeper understanding and have more empathy for those that are vilified by fellow members of my country. Being a mother of three I hope to pass on my empathy and my attitude towards others and to raise open-minded and tolerant young men and women.

#prayformanchester #endhatred #nomoreviolence 

Book Review: Western Fringes by Amer Anwar

Western Fringes: Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger by Amer Anwar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deserves every one of those stars! This is the Punjabi answer to Guy Ritchie's hit movie Snatch. Fast paced, violently thrilling with hints of humour throughout; a cracking read and more than worthy of its Dagger Award.

View all my reviews

Amazon's 'Start a new book series for 99p'

As a Kindle user, Amazon features pretty heavily in my book life. My inbox pings every morning with the deals for the day, and I click to see what possibilities await!

One of the lesser known deals that Amazon feature regularly is the 'Start a new book series for 99p'. I check this out frequently but it tends to feature mostly genres that I don't read, or series that I am already reading.

Today I felt it was worth a mention for three reasons. 1) Jeffery Deaver. 2) Stieg Larsson and 3) MJ Arlidge.

I will confess that I am yet to dive in to Arlidge's DI Helen Grace series, despite owning several of them. (I am a stickler for reading them in order and I am yet to buy the first one!) Deaver and Larsson however are two of my favourites, especially the Lincoln Rhyme collection. Rhyme is actually a firm family favourite of ours with my parents and grandparents all avid fans.

Check them out for yourselves below.

Rachael xo

Book Review: Friend Request by Laura Marshall

Today's review is a thriller set to be released in the UK on 27th July this year. Firstly, as always, thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. Friend Request by Laura Marshall is described as "a pulse-pounding psychological thriller for fans of The Girl on the Train, I See You and The Darkest Secret" (Amazon) and 'A read-it-in-one-sitting thriller... Twisty and gripping but always relatable, Friend Request is the ultimate it-could-happen-to-you read' (Erin Kelly).

I was hooked from the moment I saw the blurb...

Maria wants to be friends.

But Maria is dead.

Isn't she?

When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past, her heart nearly stops.

Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.

Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty-five years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life with a terrible secret.

As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress. Trying to piece together exactly what happened that night, she soon discovers there's much she didn't know. The only certainty is that Maria Weston disappeared that night, never to be heard from again - until now. . .

Friend Request is a true 'read in one sitting' novel. Totally unputdownable! I love thrillers of this nature, especially ones that are as unpredictable as this. Guessing the ending of a thriller always disappoints me, but there was not a chance of that happening here. Told through the narrative of the main protagonist Louise, through her current situation and her past, we go on a journey back to high school to try to unpick the events that have lead to that unexpected friend request.

The novel is fresh and current, and as a thirty-something myself, I experienced profound bouts of nostalgia about my own friendship groups in high school. Louise's character really resonated with me, so much so that I often found myself nodding along in agreement with her throughout. It is well written, has great character depth and fantastic structure. The plot is brilliant and kept me guessing until the end.

I am very much looking forward to reading more from Laura Marshall, and I hope that Friend Request goes on to be one of the bestsellers of the summer.

Rachael xo

You can pre-order Friend Request here

Review Requests

Since starting this blog I have received some wonderful novels for review and I hope to continue to do so.

Please note that I am currently not accepting new requests for review. If you have emailed me before today with a review request and I have not yet responded, I will be undertaking your review as soon as possible. I hope to be able to accept new requests again soon.

Thank you!