A truly lovely book, with a fascinating storyline; a classic style of mystery given a contemporary pop culture twist.  SF Hayes has created some particularly well-layered characters in The Red Concerto, as she explores the depths of human self-worth, innate aspiration and the conflicting challenge of self-actualization.  Although, at its heart, like most such books, it is a romance drama, which whilst may appear something of a spoiler, I don’t think is going to come as any surprise to anyon...

Heartfelt and warm, this is Jan’s variation on the wonderful, well-trodden path of the premise of love across intersecting timelines.  Pure fantasy at its most romantic, but it’s much more than just a trope.  For starters, Jan is a truly gifted author, whose work I have read enough of to know that not only does she glow with creative writing quality, but she knows her specialist genre well, that being wartime Britain.  The war referred to on this occasion, unlike those I’ve read before ...

Having read and enjoyed the first in the War Torn series by Jan Lloyd – an excellent book, I should add – I was looking forward to this, the second, and had high hopes.  It did feel, and forgive the cliché, a little like revisiting old acquaintances to see how they’re getting on.  This offering wasn’t quite up there with its predecessor, but matching it would have been no mean feat.  To be honest, this one didn’t have the same exciting, dramatic story arc; which is not surprising, ...

This is a truly beautiful book, epic and grand in scale.  Alan Lessik writes in melodic and lyrical style, telling a sweeping tale of love between the world wars, how ordinary people’s lives were so disrupted by the collapse of relations between nations, and indeed how a peace-loving man finds himself tested at every turn, by global events and tragic ones in his own life.

This is much more than simple LGBT romance, and it would be tremendously unfair to categorize it exclusively as such.  ...

Although long and very wordy, this book was actually a great deal more enjoyable to read than it might have been.  A very simple tale with a basic, linear premise: two ancient souls separated by different paths, but the forbidden love between them is eternal – even if one of them doesn’t yet know it.  Other than this, there isn’t really much more of a story arc – and, in fact, that’s a good thing.  The author rather prefers to concentrate on the emotions, expertly crafting the two p...

The romance genre covers a range of different styles and sub-genres, such as the sweeping, epic drama style, the steamy suspense thriller style, the pure erotica style and the Hollywood gloss fantasy style.  This is predominantly the latter, although it isn’t located in the superficial setting of Jackie Collins books.  The two primary protagonists are hugely talented and, of course, irresistibly gorgeous artists, at the top of their game, mixing with the very best of the set.  Naturally, ev...

If you like something different, hard to categorize, genre-crossing and interesting, this is definitely one for you, but be advised, it is one for the more broad-minded reader, and despite its high-fantasy elements (goblins, sluagh, shapeshifters, etc.), it definitely falls into the more gritty, adult mould.  I had a few issues getting along with the book myself, and some of it was a touch crude for my tastes, but from a creative point of view I won’t suggest that it doesn’t hit some real...

I commented, in my previous reviews of books in this series, on my assumption that the Pirate books were a trilogy, because the author sent me three.  In fact, Prine appears to be creating something of a whole universe regarding the series.  There is so much ground left, clearly, and indeed in the back matter of Pirate Penance it is revealed there is much more to come from this bickering, bed-hopping band of 80s rock stars.  In fact, a whole third of this particular instalment is actually a s...

Perhaps the best thing about being a book reviewer is that you are fortunate to learn so much, and that is particularly so when reading books set in a specific period of history, and certainly true of this poignant and touching emotional fiction.  Set in a perhaps under-represented time and place in recent events, that of the post-war coalition fight against the brutal communist wannabe regime in Malaya, this lovely book, by the wonderfully named author Apple Gidley, definitely falls into the...

Questions of love and morality feature prominently in this dystopian thriller, in a city where the National Eugenics Centre receives praise for engineering a human with perfect emotional restraint, couples face Reconditioning Therapy for falling in love, and a mysterious terrorist named Zac Zevalon seems hell bent on the destruction of state property. The Liberalists have won power over the Purists, and their agent Mercy is an Enforcer, a genetically modified female working with the State Sec...

Killer Instincts by Anna Lee Rose is the story of Hanna the virgin sex slave and Jake the caring hitman. For the most part, it was a lot of fun. Sex and crime sell books – and I won’t deny that this is what the author is doing here - but she has not lost her essential humanity (at least, I don’t think so). Booze, drugs and a Bacchanalian lifestyle haven’t dampened Hanna’s enthusiasm for sex either, and Jake shows his compassionate side by flashbacks to a lost love and a sister he fi...

An incredibly melancholy, yet ultimately heartwarming tale about death… and about truly living.  The “reveal”, shortly before midway, is of course entirely obvious right from the off, but a twisty tale is not the point of this lovely book; Dallas has created a moody, heartfelt and emotional journey, with something of an air of mystery in the first half.  After this, the book becomes more of a full-blown fantasy for romanticists – by fantasy, think Mills and Book, not Frank Herbert.

T...

William says in the preface to this little gem that he adheres to no particular format or type when he writes, and that is absolutely true of what follows.  Quirky, punchy and interesting, the three very short tales in this book are simply the author’s imagination poured onto the page.  That’s not to say that he isn’t a particularly professional author – he is, and a very good one, to boot – he just chooses not to form his work into the moulds of the usual expectations and conventio...

This extremely long tale starts off with a real air of epic fantasy about it, as we parry back and forth between the Heavenly Kingdom of the angels and northern Spain, at the turn of the 13th century. As the celestial beings come into conflict, and some fall, there is the promise of mighty things to come in this 750-page odyssey. After the opening quarter, however, we find ourselves in modern-day London for the duration of the book, which is perhaps a touch disappointing (no less for me than ...

This untaxing, easy read is a pretty entertaining way to fill a few hours.  The story is a simple one, yet intriguing and engaging right from the outset, the cosy mystery of the scarlet chair keeping me attentive enough to read the book in one sitting.  This is a warm and affectionate paranormal romance for young adults, and whilst the supernatural qualities of the chair are indeed somewhat malevolent, they are generally more mystical and superstitious than particularly dark.  Almost metaphor...

Laura is a wonderful writer, in her own way; you can tell the use of language is of huge importance to her, and is more the point than any other aspect of her writing – she uses interesting prose for its own sake.  Laura is of Eastern European origin, and the English transcription of her work perhaps still needs some work.  Don’t get me wrong – clearly highly educated, she has a hugely proficient, eloquent vocabulary, and her grammar is of the highest standard; only, perhaps, her phrasi...