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Book Reviews

Book Review: Lust: Lavinia Urban’s Seven Deadly Sins Series by Lavinia Urban (Goodreads Author), Rene Folsom

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Throughout December I am going to try to post a review each day to catch up on some of the books I have read this year!

Plentiful. Enjoyable. Disposable.

Women were like toys to me, and I wasn’t at all ashamed to say so. I worked hard and deserved to enjoy my possessions. Those who discredited me for my attitude didn’t know a thing about life or how to live it.

Money. Motorcycles. Women.

They were all possessions in my eyes, and I had no shame in taking what I wanted when I wanted it. Even though I wasn’t stupid, I usually spat caution in the wind when it came to sweeties. It wasn’t like anything would ever go beyond the first night.

Of course, leave it to Alexina to derail everything I thought I knew.

***

ATTENTION: Lavinia Urban had a vision to write this series, yet her life was taken from her all too soon after a heart-wrenching battle with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Aside from her family’s welfare, her last wish was for her friends to continue these stories about The Seven Deadly Sins. With her husband’s well wishes, seven authors banded together to bring Lavinia Urban’s Seven Deadly Sins Series to her fans and readers everywhere. All proceeds will go to Lavinia’s loving husband and adorable children. May she rest in peace with the knowledge we will never forget her.

I put my hands up before I start, reading these books was one of the hardest things I have ever done, Lavinia was a friend and an author I respected, I had to suppress any emotions I may have had regarding the fact she did not get to write these stories herself.

Rene Folsom was a new author to me but I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am looking forward to reading more from her. The characters are well written, and it is easy to identify with two people not looking for love but meeting a person who should be all wrong for them but ends up being so right. These books are more along the lines of short stories/novellas, so I consider it natural for the story to be a little faster paced than you might wish for but that is in part down to the amazing effort made by these amazing authors to honour Lavinia’s wishes and finish this series for her.

Most of the authors seem to have used characters from their own series, spun off into this collection, so not only does that make these stories worth reading in their own right, but also as an introduction to a whole new series of books if you enjoy the writer’s style.

I would have been absolutely devasted if I had not been about to give this full marks but I have no qualms hitting 5 out of five stars for this first book in the series.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars
Book Reviews · Monday Musings

Book Review – The Runaway And The Russian By Helen Bright

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When her best friend goes missing after being targeted by child groomers, Tess Robertson feels she has no choice but to run away.

Fearing for her life, Tess leaves the children’s home where she’s resided for the past eighteen months, and boards a train bound for the capital.

While wandering the streets of London, Tess realises she’s being followed, causing her to run once again, straight into the path of a bullet meant for arms dealer, Kolya Barinov.

While Tess recovers, Kolya vows to keep her safe: to give her a good life in return for saving his.

But is this simply swapping one danger for another? Or could the path to true happiness begin with blood and bullets?

I actually thought I had already reviewed this book but apparently not so let me remedy that situation.

I love this book, first, let me set aside I know the author and hugely respect her, for both her writing and as a person, so I would never insult her by being less than honest. The characters are interesting and each individual in terms of personality and back story. The initial chapters dealing with Tess being targetted by child groomers sadly resonate all too well given I live in an area that has just seen over twenty men and two women prosecuted in very similar circumstances to that in this plot.  I would also suggest anyone wanting to learn more about the inspiration for the start of this series watch the BBC series Three Girls which is available on i-Player and Netflix.

As the story progresses you watch as Tess learns to trust and rebuild a new life despite the constant fear that her past will catch up with her.

This is the first part of a trilogy and I am not going to lie you will want the second part ready for when you finish this.

I have reread this book twice waiting for the next part, I give this a resounding 5 out of five stars.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars

If you want to find out more about the author you can find her on

Facebook 

Goodreads

Or her website

 

Book Reviews · Monday Musings

Book Review – In Your Defence By Sarah Langford

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Here is the good reads blurb…

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A thoughtful, elegant book. … often as thrilling as a detective novel. ‘ – Thomas Grant, QC The Times.
____________________

Sarah Langford is a barrister. Her job is to stand in court representing the mad and the bad, the vulnerable, the heartbroken and the hopeful. She must become their voice: weave their story around the black and white of the law and tell it to the courtroom. These stories may not make headlines but they will change the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary ways. They are stories which, but for a twist of luck, might have been yours.

With remarkable candour, Sarah describes eleven cases which reveal what goes on in our criminal and family courts: these are tales of domestic fall out, everyday burglary, sexual indiscretion, and children caught up in the law. They are sometimes shocking and they are often heart-stopping. She examines how she feels as she defends the person standing in the dock. She also shows us how our attitudes and actions can shape not only the outcome of a case, but the legal system itself.

This is a strange book, it is fascinating and does provide an insight into the world of the defence system but in some ways, it is lacking. you do begin to understand that the barrister generally has very little direct contact with their clients until the day of court. They do not always know the full backstories or the details of their clients day to day existence, and I think this is part of my issue with the book.

I am a lover of true crime, I am used to being told every detail leading up to the crimes, to knowing what happened next what happens after the trial and sentencing, I am used to seeing the full story. In this book, you only see a glimpse into this world. While the stories are each different and explore numerous aspects of the defence system in the different types of court you find yourself wanting more. Yes, in one aspect that certainly demonstrates the quality of the writing and the well-selected range of cases but it also means at the end of the book you are left feeling slightly unfulfilled.

I would still recommend the book for those who are interested in the law process and getting a better understanding of how the defence system works, it would be a good book to read on the beach or on a commute as the stories are easy to put down and pick up again, but if you are expecting a true-crime style detail-packed book you will be disappointed.

I give this 3.5 stars out of 5 and as usual, will round up on Goodreads as they do not allow for half marks.

 

Book Reviews

Strip Back: Eric’s Story (Naked nights 0.5) By Ava Manello

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As usual, let’s start with the Goodreads blurb…

Not all male strippers are the same.

Eric despised his manager’s seedy approach to stripping but he guessed it was better than no job at all. How wrong he was.

With no job, no restrictions and no girlfriend – thanks to finding her on her knees in front of someone else; Eric finally pursues his dream of setting up his own stripper troupe which would be all about the tease rather than the sleaze.

With nothing left to lose, Eric throws himself into creating the Naked Nights. It wasn’t always fun, and it definitely wasn’t easy but somehow he made it happen.

When you immerse yourself into the book world you meet some amazing authors, you also meet some fabulous people you love to bits but their books don’t do anything for you. Let me be perfectly honest, deciding to read a book by an Indie author I admire and respect is not something I do lightly but, having read one of her previous books, and enjoying it before I met her, I decided to give this one a go while it was free over the weekend.
The first thing I have to say is that I became aware very quickly that this was more of a prequel to her Naked Nights series and was a little concerned that the lack of prior knowledge of the characters would detract from my enjoyment but I needn’t have worried.
While the plot does develop at a fast pace, you still find yourself being engaged by the primary characters. You find yourself rooting for this seemingly doomed perfect romance while completely understanding the motivation behind both Eric and Christy’s reluctance to face the fact they are falling in love.
The secondary characters are well written and although we only see a brief glimpse into their lives there is just enough to leave you wanting more. Each character is well thought out, from the polar opposite dynamics of Tiny’s relationship to the dance past of Alex, and the rest of the newly formed troupe, you know that there will be plenty to engage within the following books if they are as well written as this.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fact this was a story with some red hot sex scenes thrown in, not some sex scenes with a rough plot holding it together. I found myself laughing at some of my own experiences in pubs and clubs during ‘Ladies Nights’ knowing exactly the types of sleazy strip routines to which the author was alluding.
If I had a criticism it would be that I wanted more, however, I accept that not having read book 1 I am not in a position to know what had already been revealed, well not yet anyway as I am pretty certain the next book will be making its way onto my new kindle.
I have no qualms about giving this a 5 out of 5-star review, I read it in one afternoon, once I started reading I didn’t want to put it down. If you would like to find out more about the author you can find here here
3d rendering of 5 gold stars