From the Book Elf

  The Art of Life  by S.L. Russell   My Thanks to Sue Russell and Literally PR for sending me The Art of Life  to review and inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis Fen Bailey has a comfortable life - but it's stifling her. She has her husband and family and everything she needs, except a sense of who she is. When she discovers an unconventional art school deep within the Yorkshire Dales, she hopes it may be the key to freeing the artist she used to be and longs to revive. But as she seeks to live and create, disastrous news from home threatens all she has achieved. Torn between her old life and the new, can she fulfil her obligations and still be true to herself? Or will the price of freedom be too high? My Review Where to start ?????? I loved every word in this beautifully written and , at times , extremely emotive narrative as we follow Fen’s life over a couple of years. This is the type of story that grasps you from the very first paragraph , taking you with Fen as s...

Whatever It Takes  by Rachel Abbott Whatever It Takes by Rachel Abbott was published on 11th March 2025 by Black Dot Publishing. My thanks to Rachel and the publisher for sending me copy to review and also to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me on to the tour. Synopsis Recovering from a gunshot wound that nearly cost him his life, DCI Tom Douglas isn’t focused on himself – his concern is for his brother Jack, who seems to have vanished without a trace. Jack’s past is as dangerous as it is complicated. Years ago, he faked his own death to escape an organised crime group, and ever since, he’s been living in the shadows, always one step ahead of those who want to hunt him down. Now, Tom’s worst fears are coming true. Has Jack’s past finally caught up with him? And what does that mean for his family? Tom has to find them, but the answers he seeks are hidden in a brutal underworld - one more threatening than anything Tom has faced before. With time running out and ...

The Secretary  by Deborah Lawrenson The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson was published by The Book Guild. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part on the book tour. Synopsis Moscow, 1958. At the height of the Cold War, MI6 secretary Lois Vale is on a deep cover mission to identify a diplomatic traitor. She can trust only one man: Johann, a German journalist also working covertly for the British secret service. As the trail leads to Vienna and the Black Sea, Lois and Johann begin an affair but as love grows, so does the danger to Lois. A tense Cold War spy story told from the perspective of a bright young working class woman recruited to MI6 at a time when men were in charge of making history and women were expendable. Authentic and historical details are provided by the 1958 diary kept in Moscow by the author’s own mother, who worked for British intelligence.  My Thoughts Set at ...

  Madame Matisse  by Sophie Haydock Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock was published on 6th March by Doubleday/Transworld. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour Synopsis This is the story of three women - one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her mother and a father she adores. Amelie is first drawn to Henri Matisse as a way of escaping the conventional life expected of her. A free spirit, she sees in this budding young artist a glorious future for them both. Ambitious and driven, she gives everything for her husband's art, ploughing her own desires, her time, her money into sustaining them both, even through years of struggle and disappointment. Lydia Delectorskaya is a young Russi...

🌟The Grapevine 🌟  by Kate Kemp  This is a Spotlight Post for The Grapevine by Katie Kemp Follow the tour and find out what all these amazing bloggers think about this  Absolutely Brilliant Debut Novel  Blurb and 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Comments   Australia, 1979. It's the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it's 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered. As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti's death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets be...

 Love & Misdirection  by Mari Jane Law  This is the third in the Love & Mishaps series by Mari Jane Law. My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me onto the Book Tour Two people. Two personal tragedies.  Can an outrageous lie bring them together? Harmony Payne is at breaking point. She’s survived being dumped, losing her musical career and a lifesaving operation that rendered her childless. But when she discovers an abandoned newborn, the door to her agonising past re-opens. Hope and longing for motherhood grow—but can she keep the baby? Being engaged might increase her chances of adopting the foundling, but the only eligible man she knows is her judgemental new neighbour… James Traffurth is still grieving for his wife and younger child. Moving into a cottage opposite the children’s home where Harmony lives and works, the fresh start he wishes for with his wayward older son becomes complicated. The last thing James needs is a fake engagement. Y...