Review: Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

January 11, 2020

by J. K. Rowling
Published by Pottermore Publishing Genres: Action & Adventure, Boarding School & Prep School, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, General, School & Education, Wizards & Witches, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Format: Paperback

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone -- or something -- starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects . . . Harry Potter himself?

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is the second instalment in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise. The book opens up during the summer break, therefore, Harry is back with his mother’s sister, Petunia and his uncle Vernon and their disgusting son, Dudley. The abuse of Harry is still very much apparent, and he is longing for summer break to be over, so that he can be back with his friends. The friends that haven’t bothered to write to him all summer. No communication. Nothing. He needs to be back with his own people not with family that don’t treat him like family at all, but, how will he get there?

Harry’s first year brought shocks and anguish after discovering that the wizard that killed his parents and tried to kill him is still alive, although in more of a half-life. He has been using others to drain the energy from – finding a way to regain his power. The man who must not be named – Lord Voldemort. This book really opens the door into Voldemort. Harry discovers an enchanted diary that gives him an unadulterated view into the memories of Voldemort. What happened in his school years to turn him into the monster he is now? What kind of power does he have over people? Is he just as smooth as it is believed he was?

Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, becomes entranced by him. He reaches out to her through the diary. Ginny is his perfect target. She pours her heart out to the diary and he is an understanding, attentive ear. She tells him her deepest secrets and fears, including, for her wish to have Harry Potter notice her. This goes on months and all the while Voldemort uses her as a vessel to get stronger. He’s becoming stronger and as a result of this manages to get Ginny to unleash a monster that petrifies the victim. This runs alongside Harry hearing a voice that apparently only he can hear – it is discovered that this is because he is a parselmouth – the ability to talk to snakes. This is an extremely worrying development as the founder of Slytherin was also one.

Ominous messages appear in the school threatening that non-full-blood student will die. This seriously concerns Harry and Ron as their best friend, Hermione is one such student. It also signals the point when the Chamber of Secrets has been reopened. The last time was fifty years ago. The trio investigate and discover that Hagrid was expelled during that time for harbouring a dangerous, man-eating spider. Will they find out who opened the chamber before the monster kills someone?

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was one of real intrigue. The writing was captivating, and I read it all within one sitting. Rowling incorporates themes of child naivety and the teenage horror, therefore, discovering that the adults can’t always protect you. I would have enjoyed reading more about Lord Voldemort and his past. I’m looking forward to getting immersed into the next book. The strength of the main character base is still hugely enjoyable with some new characters adding complexity and human emotions into the mix.

Check out my review to book one Here

ARC Book Review: Inside by D.M. Siciliano

December 24, 2019

Inside by D.M. Siciliano
Published by The Parliament House via PublishDrive on October 15, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Thrillers, Supernatural, Suspense, Psychological
Pages: 350
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

“Inside is a gripping, page-turning novel from a promising new horror writer.” -April A Taylor, award-winning author of The Haunting of Cabin Green and Sinkhole

1987 “Does it burn in the dark?”Reid is a bully, but he’s still Alex’s best friend. When Reid pushes Alex and their friends into invading a historically haunted Massachusetts house, Alex knows it’s a terrible idea, but indulges his friend. What could go wrong?Inside, a mysterious Shadow looms in the darkness. The door to the house vanishes, leaving them trapped. The group flees through the tiny, one-roomed house that defies logic, constantly shifting, presenting them with new doors, hallways, and rooms that seem to be plucked from their memories and fears. One by one, the Shadow hunts them, intent on burning them all from within.Is there any way to escape? Or will they be burned from the inside out?

I hope you are all ready to sit in the corner and rock your way through this review. Inside, looked like the poster for the latest horror movie – this apt title hides the deeper meaning to the story. Huge revelations, relationships pulled so taut that they threaten to snap. This book has you standing on the precipice of hell, the flames threatening to lick at your heels, the heat seducing you within. A house is just bricks and mortar, right? Ha! the house was built with the devils’ hands, each brick more evil than the last. The house embodies a threatening shadow using your fears to destroy and weaken you. Don’t rely on your Nike’ because you can’t outrun hell.

Reid one of our five protagonists has the bright idea of breaking into a haunted house. He bullies his friends into joining him. The whole town know the house is evil, they don’t know what haunts it or why – they just know its hell personified. The premise of the house emitting an extreme heat – like hells own personal gateway. The awful truth of what lies within had me scared right from the start. The reader doesn’t have time to ponder the what’s before it all goes sideways. The evil and the fear instantly make itself known like being thrown into the eye of the storm. Can they weather it?

Not one of the protagonists wants to back out. They want to prove their worth, their courage and Reid uses all the bully-boy tactics in the book. It becomes very clear that they aren’t going to get out of this easily. They are faced with shifting walls and windows and the main exit disappearing. Interesting premise, right? The house becomes a living and breathing entity. Fear and loathing become king. These initial scenes gave me such a palpable sense of dread, the words came to life and threatened to choke the life out of me.

The Protagonists have no clue to what lurks in the dark but boy oh boy does the author know! This made me check my shoulder and windows whilst I was reading. My chest felt like it had been pumped full of icy cold dread and I was completely here for it. The story encapsulates teenager’s innocence and stamping all over it.

How long can five friends stay strong for one another? The evil picks apart their psyche, taps into their biggest fears and it plays them off against each other. Its creeping presence hunts the characters one by one and breaks them down so that their mind is broken, but also with the intention of breaking their physical form too. Would anyone survive the ordeal?

The narrative was explosive. The book, from the very first page was pulse pounding – to the point I thought my skin was going to tear and blood spurting from within. Childhood was forever destroyed but the author also brought to the forefront the dark and deep nature of traumatised upbringings. The storytelling was irresistible to the horror lovers. The author has brought together two frightening narratives spanning the evil within the house and deep nature of childhood. This is a book that runs parallel with the essence of childhood – some don’t make it out alive.

The moment I closed this book it has been haunting me…it reminds so much of Stephen King’s earlier work. It was so gripping; the tension was ratcheted up with a cold dread that had me questioning whether I needed to turn the heating up. If this is a debut…well the author is going to have a very successful career ahead of her.

Book Review: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanders on @orionbooks

December 21, 2019

Steelheart

Author: Brandon Sanderson

ISBN: 9780575104044

Publisher: Orion

Imprint: Gollancz

Publication Date: 25 September 2014

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blackwells

synopsis coycaterpillar - Book Review: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanders on @orionbooks

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics…nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart – the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning – and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

review coy caterpillar - Book Review: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanders on @orionbooks

The Lunatics are running the asylum.

It’s been a while since a Fantasy novel has truly engrossed me, but Brandon Sanderson is a magician amongst mere mortals. It’s usually within pages that I will be able to determine whether a novel is going to submerge me within its world, whether I mould between its pages…I was a goner by page two. Brandon Sanderson had my heart beating at a staccato rhythm and my imagination on red alert. He is the master of foreshadowing, a breaker of wills and the puppet master of emotion. This book was all kinds of awesome. Why on earth has it taken me so long to read Brandon Sanderson’s work?

Calamity has visited the earth and brought with its cataclysmic effects. It has in its wake created Epics, an evolved human if you will. They have superpowers, there is no rhyme or reason to the who or the why, but these epics are not the heroes the world is expecting. They use their powers for bad…they use it to control and manipulate. Their rule is absolute, and it’s done with an iron fist. Life is drastically altered for the average human being. They no longer have the luxuries and things they took for granted is no long gone. Things will never be the same again. The rule and policing from the United States Government has collapsed like a deck of cards. In its wake we have super epics making the rules and controlling the fractured states, some doing a better job of it than others. One such fractured state is the destroyed city of Chicago, now known as Newcago, ruled by an extremely powerful Epic, called Steelheart. This Epic has a mysterious past with non-epic human, David who will spend years plotting his revenge…

I have seen Steelheart bleed.

David has witnessed Steelheart at his most destructive and soul-less. The death of his father was at his monstrous hands. Killing him was nothing, no guilt, no remorse. It was necessary. After all, his father was the only one to make Steelheart bleed. David has dedicated ten years of his life researching the Epics powers and what can kill them. His research is the only thing that he cares about. He dreams that one day he will be the one responsible for ending Steelhearts vicious rule. He acquaints himself with a vigilante group, known simply as the reckoners – they have one job – to kill every Epic they can get their hands on, to provide hope, and faith to humankind that this rule can end. The group is made up of five members – Prof, Tia, Cody, Abraham and Megan. An intriguing group made up of the very existence of the human condition. They are fuelled by emotion, strength, an iron will and a badass attitude.

Just how do you kill an all-powerful being seem to defy physics and time. Epics than can create illusions to confuse their enemies. Epics that can power entire cities with the raw power they can harness. Epics that can harness the darkness to kill its prey. One thing that David continues to prove time and time again though, is that they all have a weakness. That one thing that can be used to kill them. But, how do they discover what that is?

David’s dogged determination is what gets him taken into The Reckoners fold. He has lived for nothing else but to take down Steelheart. The fact that he has seen him bleed has their immediate attention, no one has known why Steelheart got that scar, not even his right-hand men. Not everyone is enamoured with the new member but what is the reasoning behind it?

“Sometimes, son,” my father said, prying my fingers free, “you have to help the heroes along.”

A True David vs. Goliath story. The story encapsulates pedal to the metal. This is exactly how Young Adult should be written. The ending ensured I was in this for the long haul.

Blog Tour: Gone by Leona Deakin @annecater @LeonaDeakin1 @TransworldBooks

December 19, 2019

Gone

Author: Leona Deakin

ISBN: 9781784164089

Publisher: Transworld

Imprint: Black Swan

Publication Date: 12 December 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Format: e-arc

Blackwells

synopsis coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Gone by Leona Deakin @annecater @LeonaDeakin1 @TransworldBooks

Four strangers are missing. Left at their last-known locations are birthday cards that read:

YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME.
DARE TO PLAY?

The police aren’t worried – it’s just a game. But the families are frantic. As psychologist and private detective Dr Augusta Bloom delves into the lives of the missing people, she finds something that binds them all.

And that something makes them very dangerous indeed.

As more disappearances are reported and new birthday cards uncovered, Dr Bloom races to unravel the mystery and find the missing people.

But what if, this time, they are the ones she should fear?

review coy caterpillar - Blog Tour: Gone by Leona Deakin @annecater @LeonaDeakin1 @TransworldBooks

Thanks to Anne Cater @Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.

You know a book leaves you feeling satisfied when you contemplate just how you are going to write the review. It felt like I needed to throw the red herrings back into the sea. I needed to ignore and not pay them any attention, but their voices were screaming for attention. Whose voice was louder? You think that missing person cases are usually straightforward with the usual rational explanation…this book tears up the rule book and fights dirty. The formula for the story is original, brain frying and like nothing you ever expected. The author did a number for sure on me.

Missing persons. Unreliable narrative or sinister goings on.

Gone was my first Leonie Deakin novel and holy crap! Why on earth has it taken me this long to become addicted and to seamlessly fall between the lines. Her flowing narrative enabled me to develop long lasting relationships with the characters. She gripped me by the throat and her penmanship kept me entranced until I had read the very last word. The pure unbridled power that her words held brought raw complexity to the story.

The book focuses on the POV’s of the missing persons. Take what you know about missing persons and forget about it. Nothing you think you know is inaccurate. These people were not taken against their will, quite the opposite in fact. These people went off their own back. The curiosity was killing me…just why would you? What does this group of people have in common? Why leave their lives behind? They seem to have been asked to play a game…if you are anything like me you would have instantly thought about SAW. What a sinister omen. This is what Augusta Bloom, highly intelligent psychologist and ex MI6 operative, Marcus James intend to decipher. Both characters are multi-layered with their own demons to fight. I loved the interactions between these characters and their intellectual approach to linking up the clues.

This is a novel that tackles the social conversation about social media and the influence of the internet. If this story does one thing, it’s that we should be wary of what information we allow to travel through the world wide web. It’s frightening that our personal information can end up in the wrong hands and what they chose to do with that information is terrifying. What seems like harmless fun can quickly swivel on its axis and snap your neck. The book is fast paced and as sharp as a knife. The story is character driven and its insight into how too easily we could be drawn into dangerous situations. It’s a catacomb of blurred edges. The novel is creeping and constantly stalking with doubt and unreliable narratives.

A story that wound me up tighter than a drum. The book abducted me, tortured me and left me reeling at the side of the road. A narrative that jumped off the page and danced around my psyche.

about the author coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Gone by Leona Deakin @annecater @LeonaDeakin1 @TransworldBooks

71g497tfixl. us230 - Blog Tour: Gone by Leona Deakin @annecater @LeonaDeakin1 @TransworldBooks

Leona Deakin started her career as a psychologist with the West Yorkshire Police. She is now an occupational psychologist and lives with her family in Leeds. This is her debut thriller.

Chapter Spotlight: The Devil’s Apprentice by Kenneth B. Andersen @The_WriteReads

December 11, 2019

The Devil’s Apprentice

Author: Kenneth B. Andersen

Publication Date: October 8th 2018

Publisher: Indie

Chapter 1

Phillip heard him. His steps sounded like whispers in the silent basement, his fingers cracking in anticipation. Phillip even thought he heard the smile spreading across Sam’s lips. Scrunching up behind the large metal cabinet where the janitor kept all his tolls, Phillip glanced cautiously around the corner. His heart leaped into his throat when the shadow on the wall suddenly reared its head. It seemed unnaturally huge. Demon-like. Maybe it was only the strange light playing tricks, but didn’t it seem as though the shadow had horns?

“Where are youuuuu?” crooned the shadow cheerfully. “Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Phillip made himself as small as possible. He felt the sweat dribbling down his back. It was hot as an oven in here. Or perhaps it just felt that way because he was trapped in the school’s basement with Sam.

They called him Devil Sam. You could write thick volumes about the cruel, spine-chilling things he’d done. If the devil was a boy, he would be Sam. His victims weren’t just random students he got hold of on the playground, or whom he’d met in the empty hallways whenever he skipped class, No, Devil Sam- a ninth grader, two classes ahead of Philip-was far more refined than that.

Each week he chose a new victim, fresh meat, whom he terrorized until the final bell on Friday. If you had the dubious distinction of being the condemned of the Week, then all you could do was try to blend into the wallpaper and hope that you survived. Eventually Sam’s dragon eyes would turn toward some other kid, and you’d be okay. For a while, anyway.

This week Philip had been the chosen one. Up until now he’d gotten off relatively lightly. Sam had forced him to eat a few mouthfuls of sand, he’d tied him to one of the showerheads in the girl’s locker room, and he’d forced him to go hungry for an entire day by stealing his lunch and snack money. Oh, and Sam had also peed in his pencil case. Twice.

Still, these were minor things compared to what Sam had done to some of the other kids.

But it wasn’t the weekend yet. There was still an hour of Friday left, Philip was still the condemned of the week, and right now he sat scrunched up behind the cabinet in the basement staring at the enormous shadow on the wall. It almost seemed as though the shadow had been painted on. He could see it sniffing and listening like a wild animal on the prowl, and Philip thought that if the smell of his cold sweat didn’t give him away, then his thumping heart would. It roared like a steam engine.

He should be sitting in math class right now, his hand raised, ready to tell Mr. Johnson, their math teacher, that he had already completed some exercises that hadn’t been assigned yet, and that he hoped that was okay.

So how did he wind up down here? In the company of a boy who would have made even the lions in the old colosseum flee for their lives with a whimper?

It was Mike’s fault.

Mike had forgotten his gym clothes in the locker room, and he’d asked Mr. Johnson if he could go retrieve them. And could Philip tag along with him? It would only take a minute.

At that point there had been a lot of confusion in the classroom, because a couple of the students had fought during recess, and one had gotten hurt; four complained that they’d forgotten to do their homework, which caused three others to bark that they had done theirs. With an irritated wave of his hand, Mr. Johnson gave Mike and Philip permission to leave the classroom.

“Son of a…!” Mike shouted when they entered the boy’s locker room. Someone had rummaged in his gym bag, and his clothes had been scattered across the floor. “Why can’t people keep their hands to themselves?”

They gathered Mike’s clothes, but when Mike checked his things, he discovered that his towel was missing.

“Do you mind seeing if the idiots threw it down the stairwell?” he’d asked, pointing at the door beside the gym. It led down to the boiler room, and it stood ajar.

Philip had gone ten steps down the stairwell when the door suddenly slammed shut. The hollow thud was followed by the sound of a lock clicking.

“Mike?” Philip clutched the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t budge an inch. “Mike, this isn’t funny!”

“I’m sorry, Philip.” Mike said. “But he told me to do it. Otherwise it would be my turn next week.” This was followed by the sound of footsteps quickly fading in the distance.

“Mike! Mike, come back!”

His cries curled down the stairwell, like desperate prayers from another world. Philip turned toward the grey shadows.

The entrance to the schoolyard was all the way at the far end of the basement, but if he could find the courage to get moving instead of standing here like some wuss, he might be able to reach it before Sam found him.

He plunged down the long stairwell at a crazy pace and sped across the basement. The entire time he expected Sam to come leaping out of the shadows, grinning his diabolic grin. But nothing happened, and a little farther on he saw the exit. He’d made it!

Almost…

Because when Philip tried to open the doors, they didn’t budge an inch, either. Something was blocking them on the other side. That left only the broad staircase, the one that led up to the ninth-grade classrooms.

Behind him-a creaking sound. Followed by footfalls. Then a familiar voice sang: “Where are youuuu? Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Now he sat here. Trapped. Boxed into a corner. There was nothing for him to do but hope for the best. Which-when Devil Sam was involved-was bad enough.

“You’re so quiet!” Sam chirped before shifting his voice into a darker growl: “I’ll see to that real fast.”

And suddenly, like a demon rising from the darkest depths of Hell, Sam stood before Philip.

Find out what happens next. Buy a copy here

Review: I Confess by Alex Barclay @alexbarcs @fictionpubteam

December 10, 2019

I Confess

Author: Alex Barclay

Publication Date: April 2nd 2020

Publisher: Harper Collins UK

Genre: Psychological Thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Buy A Copy

synopsis coycaterpillar - Review: I Confess by Alex Barclay @alexbarcs @fictionpubteam

Seven friends. One killer. No escape…

A group of childhood friends are reunited at a luxury inn on a remote west coast peninsula in Ireland. But as a storm builds outside, the dark events that marred their childhoods threaten to resurface.

And when a body is discovered, the group faces a shocking realisation: a killer is among them, and not everyone will escape with their lives

review coy caterpillar - Review: I Confess by Alex Barclay @alexbarcs @fictionpubteam

Thank you to the publisher for a e-copy of the book. All thoughts are my own and unbiased.

When I started I confess, it felt like reading someone’s diary. It felt sneaky, it felt private and most of all it gave me a first-class ticket on someone’s personal ride to hell. There was a deep undercurrent of evil fizzling through the story, threatening to snap up to the surface, making its presence known, jolting everyone back to the past. You just knew that something sinister was going to invade everyone’s space. The cover sent a chill down my spine.

A reunion, seven friends…what could go wrong?

Seven friends reunite, and recount stories of days gone by. They are marred by past events, what happened? For many of the seven characters childhood was a battleground. They drink, become merry, have a laugh, a jibe and reminisce. It was all supposed to be fun, the lines weren’t supposed to become blurred. Just how wrong do things need to become for the group to leave and never be the same again? We all develop and become products of our childhood and adolescence but not allowing it to determine the rest of your life is what is important

Edie and Johnny. They have renovated a site of remarkable childhood importance and have transformed it into a luxury Inn. It’s impressive. Situated in Beara in West Cork they both decided to invest, but not before getting a good friend to give it the once over for them, Patrick. Great financial strain and paperwork don’t stand in their way and they develop it fantastically. Where else would be the perfect backdrop for their reunion for her best friend, Helen’s birthday. Edie is such a kind and caring soul who in my estimation puts incredible amounts of pressure on herself to be the perfect hostess to their friends. She wants them to love the place, but she also wants her friends to be happy. Johnny, Edie’s husband is a strange one for me. He constantly seems on edge and nervy, keeps disappearing into the basement. He also seems to have a bit of a problem with Patrick. Just what has gone on between them? What will transpire as the night goes on? I went into the novel with an open mind, I let it lead me blind even though I could feel the spirits of days gone past all around me.

The friends, Helen, Laura, Claire, Murphy and Patrick arrive, and you get a sense of pride in their friend. Each character has complex layers and as the night develops we get to see them stripped bare. Motives and behaviours being unleashed under stress and panic. Murphy was by far my favourite character and his uncanny sense of humour which could be devilishly dark and self-deprecating kept the group alive. Even during the scenes when everyone else was lashing out and becoming more and more defensive, Murphy just couldn’t stop making hilarious comments, probably due to his nerves. As the night continues on, we get POV’s of all the characters when they were young. It’s a foreshadowing, its intricate and it just leaves the reader with more questions than it answers. Things get complicated when the power goes out, the tension is fraught and sizzling with electricity and then they discover a body…

The body is the catalyst for the group to basically implode. Home truths are thrown around, doubts start creeping into their minds and the fear is palpating around them. This discovery feels like a ten-tonne weight that seven individuals are trying carry. It’s heavy, it’s a burden and it threatens to destroy them all. The past has come back to haunt them. You can’t outrun your past. The luxury Inn is where the past becomes the present. The novel had me guessing until the very end, no-one was safe, everyone was potentially a threat. Alex Barclay writes with a honed skill that leaves devastation in her path. She writes every-day normal people with such an authentic sense of foreboding. I had my suspicions, but I was entirely proven wrong, I liked that the author dropped the mic on me. I felt the fear, how vivid scenes became, dancing in my vision.

I Confess, is dripping in eerie rawness. You can feel the clock ticking and your heart racing and the dread creeping up your spine. A book that will give you papercuts with the speed of the page turning.

Blog Tour: Silent Winter by Maggie James @BOTBSPublicity @mjamesfiction

December 6, 2019

Silent Winter

Author: Maggie James

Publication Date: December 5th 2019

Publisher: Orelia Publishing

Genre: Psychological Thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐

BUY A COPY

synopsis coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Silent Winter by Maggie James @BOTBSPublicity @mjamesfiction

On an icy November night, Drew Blackmore is beaten unconscious, then abducted. He awakes to find himself in total darkness, naked and chained to the floor. Fed just enough to keep him alive, Drew is unable to identify his captor, or the reason for his incarceration. As reality fades, hallucinations take over. Can Drew escape his prison before madness claims him?

Meanwhile Drew’s wife, Holly, despairing of ever seeing him again, turns to his brother for comfort. As the worst winter in decades sweeps the UK, she learns of Drew’s tragic past. Could his disappearance be connected with that of a prostitute years before?

A story of how the mind responds to solitary confinement, ‘Silent Winter’ examines one man’s desperate attempt to survive the unthinkable.

review coy caterpillar - Blog Tour: Silent Winter by Maggie James @BOTBSPublicity @mjamesfiction

Thank you to Sarah @ Book On The Brightside book tours for my spot on the blog tour.

Usually reviewers find it extremely hard to review a book that they truly love…This is especially true for Silent Winter. This book in essence is summed up by the phrase the sins of the father. Silence is dangerous, silence is deadly, and silence can be a weapon.

The first chapter ensured that I kept reading. As far as a bookworm is concerned it was crack. I was addicted, I was focussed, and I knew I was in for the long haul. Maggie James kept me searching for that next hit. I was weak, and I wanted more. My head was buzzing with all the possibilities. The storyline was threatening, dangerous with more than a subtle hint evil running at its epicentre. The author had weaved a compulsive tale of survival in a bleak world…who can we trust? The images that Maggie James left her poor reader to conjure in their head was hell. My imagination was red hot, overused and turned to scrambled eggs. This is the type of novel that has you looking over your shoulder twice, three times in the dark to ensure you aren’t in danger. I loved the POV of the perpetrator. Seeing the ruined and disturbed mind of a psychopath was a threatening shadow just in the corner of your mind. Maggie James blindfolded you and threw you into the boot of her car…don’t expect to escape unscathed!

The strongest protagonist in this story was for sure Drew’s wife, Holly. What a woman she is! She initially fears her husband has been unfaithful. Soon that anger turns to panic when her husband fails to turn up for work the next day. Is he lying in a ditch somewhere inebriated? Has he had a car accident? The worst thought of all doesn’t fail to creep into her mind…he couldn’t be dead, could he? I warmed to her immediately. Regret at their last words thrown in anger. His reluctance to start a family and her deep-seated need to become a mother. She seeks reassurance in Todd, Drew’s older brother. Both agree to go to police and report him missing and pray in the mean time he might just turn up with a good story to tell. They swim troubled waters together, taking comfort in each other’s misery. Maggie James has the correct balance in her narrative. Holly becomes lost in her fear not quite knowing which way to move forward, money troubles without Drew , blasts from the past and the fear and loathing emitting from Drew’s captivity. Holly kept it all relatively together whilst also harbouring a secret of her own.

I read this book in two sittings (it would have been one but parenting and life prevented me from inhaling it) from the first page to the last I could feel myself being sucked into the story, like a fly on the wall watching it in real time. It was fast paced, a real page turner. I would love to see this as a film – listen up Netflix! Can you imagine being kept in pure darkness for an unsurmountable amount of time? Can you only imagine being dehumanised for someone’s amusement? Can you imagine the mental toll that would have on the brain? Maggie James examines one man’s struggle to survive, walking on the tight rope of sanity and she does it with such raw intensity. It was compulsive.

Silent Winter just drips with superior prose. This is a heartbreakingly perfect thriller. Addictively compulsive. Add this to your TBR immediately.

about the author coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Silent Winter by Maggie James @BOTBSPublicity @mjamesfiction

75258473 2454238288194128 5200942990134083584 n - Blog Tour: Silent Winter by Maggie James @BOTBSPublicity @mjamesfiction

Maggie James is a British author who lives near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She writes psychological suspense novels.

Before turning her hand to writing, Maggie worked mainly as an accountant, with a diversion into practising as a nutritional therapist. Diet and health remain high on her list of interests, along with travel. Accountancy does not, but then it never did. The urge to pack a bag and go off travelling is always lurking in the background! When not writing, going to the gym, practising yoga or travelling, Maggie can be found seeking new four-legged friends to pet; animals are a lifelong love!

Blog Tour: Stay Mad, Sweetheart by Heleen Kist @hkist @RedDogTweets

November 25, 2019

Stay Mad, Sweetheart

Author: Heleen Kist

Publish Date: November 19th 2019

Publisher: Red Dog Press

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

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Red Dog Press| Waterstones| Amazon UK|

synopsis coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Stay Mad, Sweetheart by Heleen Kist @hkist @RedDogTweets

THERE’S A FINE LINE BETWEEN INNOCENCE AND GUILT. AN EVEN FINER LINE BETWEEN JUSTICE AND REVENGE.

Data scientist Laura prefers the company of her books to the real world – let alone that cesspit online. But when her best friend Emily becomes the victim of horrific cyberbullying, she makes it her all-engulfing mission to track down the worst culprits.

Petite corporate financier Suki is about to outshine the stupid boys at her firm: she’s leading the acquisition of Edinburgh’s most exciting start-up. If only she could get its brilliant, but distracted, co-founder Laura to engage.

Event planner Claire is left to salvage the start-up’s annual conference after her colleague Emily fails to return to work. She’s determined to get a promotion out of it, but her boss isn’t playing ball.

As the women’s paths intertwine, the insidious discrimination they each face comes to light. Emboldened by Emily’s tragic experience, they join forces to plot the downfall of all those who’ve wronged them.

But with emotions running high, will the punishments fit the crimes?

A pacy and suspenseful novel with its feet firmly in the #MeToo era. 9 to 5 meets Suits with a dash of Black Mirror.

review coy caterpillar - Blog Tour: Stay Mad, Sweetheart by Heleen Kist @hkist @RedDogTweets

Happy new week to everyone! Well I am extremely excited to bring to you my review for Stay Mad, Sweetheart by the awesome Heleen Kist. In order for a reader to truly enjoy a book they need to connect with it on some level, be that a previous experience, a love for the story or a topic that you have wanted someone accurately depict for some time. This is the book that we all didn’t know we needed. This book ticks all the boxes. The writing is plain addictive with kaleidoscopic complexity. Now I know that the term – favourite book of the year is thrown around a lot, but this book truly deserves that title, it deserves the awards, hell its importance makes it essential reading.

So, what is there to reel you in, if I haven’t already convinced you to pick this book up now? A locked room of human emotion

Everyday sexism

Online bullying and trolling

A compulsively heart-breaking mystery

Sexual Abuse

Sizzling girl power

Strong female characters

I’m not sure that I give this book the justice it so rightly deserves. Heleen Kist has created a Literary sensation, it’s the book of our time. This book was created to move- it propels forward and doesn’t look back. This book was so in your face and garners your attention immediately from the very first page. The book was almost too hot to touch. You will not be able to put this book down until its done…

Data Scientist, Laura is one hell of a character. She’s the hero we didn’t know we needed. She’s cleverer than the average, she’s a good friend and daughter but she also has her insecurities and she damn near relatable to every woman I know. She’s had the knowledge, the know-how and the balls to build her company from nothing with her partner, Justin. He’s the face, she’s the brains. I wish I had her strength…she may not know it but boy is she the epitome of strength. her dad has died, and her mum is remarrying, and her partner is headed in a different direction. She feels she can’t control any of these things…but she takes derisive action in finding out what happened to her best friend. She has the knowledge and drive to nail whoever is to blame.

Now the main theme within the book is equality or lack thereof. She becomes acutely aware that she has been manipulated by a male colleague. This is all going on during the company’s acquisition. She’s shocked, hurt and betrayed. How in this day and age can such equality be allowed to breed and fester? Luckily her acquaintance with two other wronged woman leaves her feeling empowered and ready to kick some ass! I love the spunk the trio of women have and their desire to change things for the better. Laura is special, it’s the choices she makes, the morals she has instilled within herself and the decision not to take it anymore. Her strength of character is inspiring, and you just can’t help flying through the pages. She has gone from the victim to an independent ass kicking woman. She doesn’t let anything stand in her way, justice will be done, and she will come out on top. Heleen Kist weaves this multi-faceted web, and yet during all this Laura doesn’t lose her humanity, the need for revenge doesn’t change who she is, she just won’t stand for everyday sexism/equality to be lurking in the corners threatening to engulf them whole. The Me-too movement needs someone like Laura and her friends. Those guys are the true superhero’s in our messed-up world.

I just adored the nerdy element to Laura’s character. It just brought her to life all the more. This made her the perfect one to do some technological take downs. I related to her from the very start and loved that she was introverted, was in love with her books. Laura is definitely the character you would want as your best friend. She has built a software programme that can run data through it so that it can detect if an employee is suffering with discontent, depression/anxiety but it can also highlight who are true influencers and who is bad guys. It is truly radical. Their journey to revenge and justice is a harrowing one but it is so worthwhile.

Stay Mad, Sweetheart is as sharp as a knife. An expert at crafting thought provoking content and leaving you feeling empowered. This novel is so patently heartfelt, a necessary read for everyone. Important with imagery that leaves you in the centre of the storm, you feel anguish. Just please go and read this now…it’s that good.

Thank you to Dylan @Red Dog Press for my spot on the blog tour and a copy of the book. All thoughts are unbiased.

about the author coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: Stay Mad, Sweetheart by Heleen Kist @hkist @RedDogTweets

cache 2476745103 - Blog Tour: Stay Mad, Sweetheart by Heleen Kist @hkist @RedDogTweets

I’m Heleen and I love writing novels.

If this sounds like an addiction, that’s because it probably has become one.

I’m Dutch and I live in Glasgow with Scottish husband and our two kids.

My debut crime novel IN SERVITUDE came out in 2018. I’m very proud of its success in various awards + reviews.

STAY MAD, SWEETHEART is my latest novel: a dark yet empowering feminist thriller that’s getting rave reviews already.

Have a look around and stay in touch through Twitter, Facebook or my newsletter.

The BBNYA Reveal!

November 17, 2019

Exciting Times

Blog Tour: The Damned (The Darkest Hand Trilogy #1) by Tarn Richardson @TarnRichardson @reddoorbooks

November 7, 2019

The Damned

Author: Tarn Richardson

Publication Date: Early 2020

Publisher: Red Door Publishing

Genre: Horror

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Book Depository| Waterstones| Amazon UK|

synopsis coycaterpillar - Blog Tour: The Damned (The Darkest Hand Trilogy #1) by Tarn Richardson @TarnRichardson @reddoorbooks

1914. The outbreak of war. In the French city of Arras, a Father is brutally murdered. The Catholic Inquisition – still powerful, but now working in the shadows – sends its most determined and unhinged of Inquisitors, Poldek Tacit to investigate: his mission to protect the Church from those who would seek to undermine it, no matter what the cost.

Yet as Tacit arrives, armed forces led by Britain and Germany confront each other across No Man’s Land. As the Inquisitor strives in vain to establish the truth behind the murder and to uncover the motives of other Vatican servants seeking to undermine him, a beautiful and spirited woman, Sandrine, warns British soldier Henry Frost of a mutual foe even more terrible lurking beneath the killing fields that answers to no human force and wreaks their havoc by the light of the moon. Faced with impossible odds and his own demons, Tacit must battle the forces of evil, and a church determined at all costs to achieve its aims, to reach the heart of a dark conspiracy that seeks to engulf the world, plunging it ever deeper into conflict.

Morally complex and fast paced, this is a gripping work of dark fiction set in an alternative twentieth century, where humanity’s desire for love, compassion and peace face daunting challenges in a world overwhelmed by total war and mysterious dark forces.

review coy caterpillar - Blog Tour: The Damned (The Darkest Hand Trilogy #1) by Tarn Richardson @TarnRichardson @reddoorbooks

Thanks to Anna@Red Door Publishing for my spot on the blog tour and the author for a copy of the book. All my thoughts are unbiased and honest. When I received the email with the synopsis of this book how could I say no? Pegged as gothic horror…it already had me by the scruff of my neck and as I delved further and further into this twisted and deviant tale it had fully sunk its claws into me. Move over Dan Brown, the gothic horror genre has a new poster boy, Tarn Richardson. This is the first book in The Darkest Hand Trilogy and I for one am fully invested in this rollercoaster ride until its completion.

How can I even begin to write a review for a book of this magnitude? In truth it has taken me a few days to actually sit down and try to extract the jumbled mess that is my thoughts. This book certainly got the grey matter pumping. The book cover is all shades of ominous. Don’t stare at the cover for too long because it will suck you in. It’s got a magnetic field all of its own. The cover is serious catnip for a kitten, it’s a booklovers dream.

So, I have made quite the statement by suggesting that this is better than Dan Brown, right? Well let me tell you, it really is. Wow, this was just fresh, more of an original take on historical fiction with that edgy, raw cutthroat emotion that I NEED in a book like this. Do you want to travel at a nice steady pace of 40mph or go hell for leather at the speed of sound? This novel launches a rocket under your behind and doesn’t look back. The book flows stunningly, its effortless and seamlessly so. This author can write, and I mean WRITE. He could write himself out of a sinking ship. Oh, and did I mention that he can snap at your heartstrings? Yeah, he can. I love the trauma that he can put his reader through but them still begging him for more. That’s exactly how I felt. Ugly, ugly ugly tears.

So, the story, we meet our main character, Poldek Tacit. The story is set during the start of World War I with snippets from the late 19^th century. Now, Poldek is the most quietly ominous character I have read about. His quiet deliberation is terrifying. He is an inquisitor with the catholic church. I would not like to meet this guy in a dark alleyway, so I suppose that he is the perfect man for the job. After the brutal murder of a priest in his church, Tacit is sent to Arras with Sister Isabella to investigate the murder. These two were gold together. The relationship dynamics were an equal dose of explosive and comical. A book that is as dark as this needs a little light relief, right? Tacit has been conducting himself recently in a way that has led to the powers that be wondering just how strong his faith is…can Sister Isabella use her wicked ways to see just how deep the faith flows?

The horror element to the story was so clever, so intricate, it weaved a web of malice that a spider would be jealous. The horror/supernatural element of the story was so multi-faceted, a subtle sense of dread, threatening shadows no matter what way you turned. The narrative is quite like nothing you have dared to read before. This is a novel that authors like Dan Brown. Stephen King or Thomas Harris WISH they had wrote. LOVED the ending which did leave me speechless (which is a nearly impossible thing to do, just ask my husband!) I’m completely in awe at Tarn Richardson’s amazing skills at creating a world that just brought all my horror fantasies to life and thank you for creating amazingly deep but relatable characters that I will struggle to leave behind.