Do Judge A Book By It's Cover - Week 3

Love is in the air........ Or not as it seems with me reading so much crime. I just don't seem to be drawn to many books that have pink covers.

I've trawled my read shelf & my TBR shelf looking for a pink cover for Gill at The Book Magpie's new meme but it's hard. The covers that are really pink are just bleurgh & would never have made me pick the book up in a bookshop or library. I've ended up with lots of covers that have pink elements on & actually some of those are incredibly beautiful so I am going to have to cheat just a little & pick one of those. 

So my pick for book with a pinkish cover is 


The Perfect Lie by Emily Barr    



I love, love this cover. In fact all of Emily Barr's books always have covers that make you want to pick them up & hug them.

What I love most about this cover is the way that the pink elements pop against the blue back drop of Venice. It makes for a really eye catching cover. And hey the book is set in Venice. Is there a more romantic destination?

If you've not read The Perfect Lie or indeed any others by Emily Barr then I highly recommend them. All of Emily's books are wonderful cross between a  little bit of chick-lit & romance with a lot of suspense & mystery thrown in. 

Review: Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Publication: August 19th, 2014

Genre: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Stars: 4 ****

The Blurb

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of “instant divorce,” Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won’t even tell her his name. She’s determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.
Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can’t turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband’s deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo / Goodreads

My Thoughts

I've read Sandra Brown books before & in turns of romantic suspense novels she is up there with the best so I was really pleased to be part of the Mean Streak Blog Tour being run by Xpresso Book Tours.

As with all suspense novels, Mean Streak is quite difficult to review without giving too much of the plot away so I am going to try & keep it fairly short. Dr Emory Charbonneau is a well respected paediatrician in her small town with her own practice. She is an heiress due to her parents dying when she was in her teens but this doesn't stop her working hard at her practice or the efforts she puts into raising money for charity. She is a very motivated and driven woman and other than her work she uses that drive in her marathon running.

At the start of this book we see Emory heading out to the mountains of North Carolina for a solo marathon training run having just had yet another disagreement with her husband Jeff. The arguments seem to be more frequent & quite honestly their marriage is in rapid decline. Emory can't even remember the last time they slept together. Whilst out on her run Emory is knocked unconscious & discovered by a passing stranger. With the bad weather closing in the stranger who is of course handsome takes Emory back to his cabin in the woods.

Emory is eventually reported by her husband Jeff after a couple of days & it is his delay on raising the alarm that makes him suspect numero uno. However he has an alibi for when Emory went missing, an alibi that comes in the form of his mistress. So begins a massive search for Emory with the local investigators Knight & Grange determined to track down the person responsible. Throw in an FBI agent hot on the trail of our handsome stranger & you have one hell of plot.

Our mysterious stranger is a loner who lives out in the woods. He is a quiet & brooding sort who reveals nothing about himself to Emory not even his name. He looks after Emory though putting her needs first as she recovers from her blow to the head. There is great tension between Emory & the stranger that is both sexual & dangerous. She is deeply drawn to him but knows that he must have done something truly awful to be hiding the way he is. When we find out what he has done it is one heck of a surprise & opens the storyline right up.

The book has lots of little sub-plots that Sandra Brown pulls masterly together & it is these that build the tension & the suspense throughout the novel as we hurtle towards the heated conclusion. There are enough red herrings littered throughout the story for the ultimate OMG moment when the culprit responsible for leaving Emory for dead is revealed.

The storyline starts out slow but picks up pace quite quickly and the wonderful secondary characters of Agent Jack Connell, Knight & Grange and the hillbilly brothers Will & Norman just had to the story & help keep the reader engaged. With a few touches of humour, a handsome hero and a well plotted tale I don't hesitate to recommend this book. Mean Streak kept me totally hooked and was a real page turner that kept me up way past my bedtime.

About The Author

Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including DEADLINE(2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), & HELLO, DARKNESS (2003).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English. Before embarking on her writing career, she worked as a model at the Dallas Apparel Mart, and in television, including weathercasting for WFAA-TV in Dallas, and feature reporting on the nationally syndicated program “PM Magazine.”

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write, Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (US and Canada)

• 5 winners will each get a signed personalized copy of MEAN STREAK in Trade PB and swag (image attached) + a dozen buttercream cookies from Cheryl's.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: When Shadows Fall by Bruce Blake includes excerpt

When Shadows Fall by Bruce Blake
(The Small Gods #1)

Published:October 2013
Genre: Fantasy

The Blurb

A hundred times a hundred seasons have turned since the Goddess banished the Small Gods to the sky, leaving the land to mankind alone.

For Prince Teryk, life behind the castle walls is boring and uneventful until he stumbles upon an arcane scroll in a long-forgotten chamber. The parchment speaks of Small Gods, the fall of man, and the kingdom's savior—the firstborn child of the rightful king. It's his opportunity to prove himself to his father, the king, and assure his place in history. All he needs to do is find the man from across the sea—a man who can't possibly exist—and save mankind.

But ancient magic has been put in motion by a mysterious cult determined to see the Small Gods reborn. Powerful forces clash, uncaring for the lives of mortals in their struggle to prevent the return of the banished ones, or aid in their rebirth.

Named in a prophecy or not, what chance does a cocky prince who barely understands the task laid before him stand in a battle with the gods?

Amazon US / Goodreads / Thunderclap Deal

About The Author

Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.

Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" than he does shovelling (and watch out for those pesky double l's). The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of a burlesque diva.

Bruce's first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon. Another short, "Yardwork," was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod. Bruce's first Icarus Fell novel, "On Unfaithful Wings", was published in Dec., 2011 while the follow up, "All Who Wander Are Lost", came out in July, 2012. The third in the series, "Secrets of the Hanged Man", came out in July, 2013. The first part of his Khirro's Journey epic fantasy trilogy, "Blood of the King", was released Sept., 2012, book 2, "Spirit of the King," in Dec., 2012, and book 3, "Heart of the King," in Feb., 2013.

The two books in the Small Gods series, "When Shadows Fall" and "The Darkness Comes", were released in 2013, after which Bruce took a year out to concentrate on his family and career. Book three in the Small Gods series is Bruce Blake's current project.

Excerpt

Prologue

 It rained fire the day the Small Gods fled.

Balls of flame fell from the sky, shattering homes and skulls alike, burning gardens and turning forests to ash, setting alight both farmers’ fields and farmers’ lives with disregard. Much later, it would be said the Goddess banished them for their wicked ways, but on that day, the Small Gods were naught but men and women afraid for their lives. In the eyes of history and legend, the width of the line between banishment and flight is thin.

***

“Watch out!” the priestess Rak’bana shouted, ducking behind Love—one of the granite Pillars of Life.

A ball of flame hammered into the earth with a spray of dirt and the stench of burnt grass. She covered her head, waiting for the ground to cease shaking before she peeked out from behind her arm to find her twin brother. Ine’vesi peered back at her from around the corner of the next column in the row of nine—Trust.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

The crackle of flames all but kept his voice from her ears, but they were well enough connected she knew what he’d ask without needing to hear. She nodded in response and he crept out from behind the column, the roll of parchment in his hand.

“Time is short, Vesi,” she said. “The Goddess is angry.”

Ine’vesi made no effort to hide the sneer upon his lips as he hurried across the ruined garden to her side. Before he opened his mouth to spill out the blaspheme imprinted on his brow, she raised her hand and gestured with her fingers. A thick stream of water the height of five men rose from the river and flowed across the air. It splashed into the newly lit fire with a hiss of doused flames and white steam billowing toward the sky. Another ball of fire crashed into the top edge of the nearest wall, sending chunks of stone tumbling to the ground. The twin siblings ducked their heads.

“We have to go,” she urged.

“Out of the city.” Ine’vesi brandished the roll of parchment. “Once we have inscribed the scroll, it will not be safe here. The wrong hands will find it.”

A fiery ball crashed into the base of a towering pine, its flames leaping up the trunk, spreading through its branches, jumping to the next tree like a playful squirrel, then skipping to the next. Rak’bana raised her hand again, intending to call the river and extinguish the fire to save her garden, but Ine’vesi caught her by the wrist.

“Let it burn, Bana. Let it be a testament to the unjust wrath of a jealous Goddess.”

The priestess’ eyes widened and she shook her head, unable to comprehend why he’d speak such blasphemous words. She pulled her hand free of his grip and faltered back a step toward the river.

“You are a priest, Vesi. You know as well as I that we have brought this on ourselves. Righteous anger falls from the sky, not jealousy. The Goddess gives what is deserved.”

“The--”

Another ball slammed into the pine. The great tree leaned with a creak of wood, bending slowly at first, then the trunk split with a crack louder than thunder, and the tree that had grown in the courtyard for a dozen hundred seasons toppled, spilling flame across the dry grass. The fire raced toward the siblings, fueled by a swirling fireball, then another. A third pelted the ground, the closest yet, and the impact threw Ine’vesi into his sister, his momentum carrying them both into the river.

Do Judge A Book By It's Cover - Week 2

The lovely Gill over at The Book Magpie started a new blog meme called 'DO Judge A Book By It's Cover last Saturday. Unfortunately I missed week one but as I am reader who tends to pick their books based on the cover a lot of the time I intend to take part every week.

The idea is that every week Gill will give us a theme & we have to blog about our favourite book cover that fits that theme. It doesn't have to be a book that we've even read. Once a month there will be a Free Choice that will allow you to post any cover you like. You can read more about the guidelines & how it works over on Gill's blog

So the theme of week 2 is FANTASY , a genre that I happen to love & one of my favourite fantasy covers belongs to a book that I read back in 2012.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This cover is just so beautiful & really captures what the book is about. I love the simple use of the black & white colour scheme with that little bit of red just thrown in. I love the silhouettes  & all of the little images that are on the lady's dress.

If you haven't read this book yet then please give it a go. It is a truly magical read and a great book for reading groups

Review: The Vault by Karen Long with giveaway

The Vault by Karen Long
(Eleanor Raven #2)

Published: 3rd December 2014
Genre: Crime
Stars: 5*****

Synopsis

VAULT: A large room or chamber used for storage of valuables, especially an underground one…

In the unrelenting heat of the Toronto summer, a fire at a land-fill site uncovers the remains of a local prostitute. But the post-mortem reveals disturbing details – the body has been preserved and is not who or what it seems.

DI Eleanor Raven is back on duty six months after barely surviving being kidnapped and tortured by a depraved serial killer. Work is her sanctuary but she’s carrying deep scars – mental as well as physical. Where do you go when the place you feel safest is also the place where you are most at risk?

As Eleanor battles her own demons, it looks as though a killer in the city is making a gruesome human collection. And Eleanor’s fight to save the last victim of the Collector becomes a battle to save herself.

My Thoughts

I love discovering new crime series especially when they feature strong female detectives so I was really pleased to be invited to take part in Karen Long's blog tour for her latest book The Vault. A big thank you to Lou at Crime Book Club for inviting me to be part of this tour.

In The Vault we join DI Eleanor Raven a few months after her very narrow escape from death in the first book in the series The Safe Word. Eleanor has spent the last 6 months recuperating after her run in with a mad man and this book starts with her returning to work & landing a particularly disturbing homicide case on her first day back. Whilst disturbing the case initially looks to be a fairly straight forward murder with a woman's body being found at the local landfill site after a fire. That is until more bodies are uncovered on the site and the most worrying thing is that all of the bodies looked to have been preserved in some way. It would appear that once again a serial killer is on the loose in Toronto and it is up to DI Raven & her team to catch them. This time it looks very much as though the killer is murdering women in order to add them to his collection hence he earns the name The Collector.

I fell in love with Eleanor Raven in the first book, she's somewhat cold, strong willed with a darkness about her and it was really great watching her character develop in this book. There is a real intensity about her and she finds it very hard to trust and let people in - we much more vulnerability about her in this book as she battles with the emotional & physical scars from the attack that nearly killed her in book 1. She is still struggling to find common ground and make things work with her new partner Detective Whitefoot, the tension between the two of them is fantastic not helped by the fact that Eleanor wrongly accused Whitefoot of something at the end of The Safe Word. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens between these two characters. Is she able to let him in enough to be friends or is it actually going to go even further? Karen Long has written DI Raven so well and I can't think of any characters quite like her, she clearly has issues and is emotionally flawed yet is still a fantastic detective.

The other great thing about this series is the cast of wonderful secondary characters. Detective Whitefoot obviously has a past that we don't fully know about yet & it will be interesting to see what made him change his career path from being a Dr so drastically. Then we have Eleanor's old partner who is back at work but on restricted duties due to his ill health, he is the one person that calls Eleanor, Ellie which proves that she does let people in eventually. Her boss is a great character, a typical chief but DI Raven seems to know just how to wrap him round her finger. She also has a really good relationship with the other officers on her team and it is clear that she is very well respected by them.

As much as I enjoyed The Safe Word this book is so much better. Long has really developed both the main & secondary characters & this book has a much tighter plot that moves it along at a quicker pace. I love the darkness that Karen Long brings to these books, they really add a little something different to other crime fiction novels and the Toronto location is a great setting. The Vault can definitely be read as a stand alone novel but to truly appreciate the characters and Long's writing I recommend starting at the beginning with The Safe Word.

I highly recommend both The Vault & the DI Raven series to all crime fiction lovers who don't mind a bit of darkness in what they read. The Vault is pretty hard hitting & at times had me squirming so not an easy read by any means but a totally addictive one. Karen Long writes a really gritty story and tackles some real seedy issues head on. This series has so much potential and I'll now be eagerly awaiting the third instalment. What are you waiting for, go buy!

Amazon UK / Goodreads

About The Author

Karen Long was born and raised in the English midlands, educated at Bangor University and taught English and Drama for fifteen years. During her teaching years she studied biology and neurology with the Open University and this interest in medicine, forensics and forensic psychology is reflected in her writing. She is an enthusiastic traveller and has spent time in Toronto, which became the backdrop and inspiration for The Safe Word.

She is a keen amateur naturalist with a deep and abiding love for the crow family. She has dedicated time, love and several fingers in an effort to rehabilitate crows, magpies, rooks and ravens.

Karen is happy to correspond with readers and can be contacted through her website KarenLongWriter.com, where she posts regular blogs.

The Safe Word is Karen's first novel and was an Amazon bestseller, soon to be joined by the second in the Eleanor Raven series, The Vault.

Giveaway

• Win a personalised signed copy of The Vault - UK only

Karen is looking for character names for her next book. Suggest a name in the comments section here on the blog or DM me on Twitter @SamiG76 & I will choose my favourite.

Blog Tour: The Vault by Karen Long excerpt

The Vault by Karen Long
(Eleanor Raven #2)

Published: 3rd December 2014
Genre: Crime

The Blurb

VAULT: A large room or chamber used for storage of valuables, especially an underground one…

In the unrelenting heat of the Toronto summer, a fire at a land-fill site uncovers the remains of a local prostitute. But the post-mortem reveals disturbing details – the body has been preserved and is not who or what it seems.

DI Eleanor Raven is back on duty six months after barely surviving being kidnapped and tortured by a depraved serial killer. Work is her sanctuary but she’s carrying deep scars – mental as well as physical. Where do you go when the place you feel safest is also the place where you are most at risk?

As Eleanor battles her own demons, it looks as though a killer in the city is making a gruesome human collection. And Eleanor’s fight to save the last victim of the Collector becomes a battle to save herself.

Excerpt

Eleanor sat in silence and stared at Mackenzie Webber. He was sweating profusely and kept rubbing a grubby index finger across his forehead, as if trying to massage a convincing response to the barrage of questions that were about to come his way. She had elected to interview Mackenzie in his cramped hut, as it would give her time to assess the man before she heard his story. Of the existence of a story there was no doubt in her mind. The hut was filled with an eclectic collection of objects selected from the landfill. Lamps, a scabrous moose head, a small table, two chairs, and a chaise longue crammed into a corner attested to Mackenzie’s commitment to his job. Interestingly, neatly stacked on a small oak table were, what looked like, two dated photograph albums.

She waited, the longer the better in her opinion. But after three minutes Mackenzie crumbled. “I don’t know nuffin’ about no body,” he said, flinging himself back in the seat heavily. The seat groaned ominously. Eleanor raised an eyebrow, conveying her disbelief to Mackenzie. His eyes saccaded to the left and he began to worry a fingernail. “It didn’t look like a body,” he muttered so quietly that she had to strain to hear.

“How did it appear then?” she responded with interest.

“Like a...a dummy you know. A shop dummy,” he replied.

She leaned towards him and smiled, encouraging him to carry on.

“That’s what I thought it was...Until the fire and then...” Suddenly he had an idea. “Perhaps that’s what it is!” he yelped. “A dummy.”

“Mr Webber. What you see out there are the remains of a human being. Perhaps you’d like to explain to me why you thought it was a shop dummy?”

Mackenzie opened his mouth but snapped it tightly closed, as a brisk knock accompanied the hut door being opened.

Eleanor experienced a wave of irritation as she felt the ease of the interrogation pass through her fingers, in no way relieved by seeing that the interruption was due to the arrival of her partner, Detective Laurence Whitefoot. She hadn’t seen him for several months and their parting had been anything but pleasant. She greeted him with a curt nod. With a functional smile, he put out a hand to Mackenzie, whose eyes narrowed with suspicion. “This is my partner Detective Whitefoot, Mr Webber. He’s here to observe only.”

February In Books

I just realised how many wonderful looking & sounding books are due out in February. So here are just a few that I am looking forward to:

• 1st - The Two Of Us by Andy Jones

Falling in love is the easy part. What matters most is what happens next...

Fisher and Ivy have been an item for a whole nineteen days. And they just know they are meant to be together. The fact that they know little else about each other is a minor detail. Over the course of twelve months, in which their lives will change forever, Fisher and Ivy discover that falling in love is one thing, but staying there is an entirely different story.

The Two of Us is a charming, honest and heart-breaking novel about life, love, and the importance of taking neither one for granted.

• 1st -  Can't Find My Way Home by Carlene Thompson

 Brynn Wilder must confront a dark and dangerous walk back into her traumatic past

Eighteen years ago, twelve-year-old Brynn Wilder s life changed forever when her father and a teenage girl were severely injured in a brutal attack in the woods. 

Jonah Wilder died, but fifteen-year-old Tessa Cavanaugh survived to tell the world about her horrific ordeal, and Brynn s devoted father was soon identified as the infamous Genessa Point serial killer. Brynn and her family fled the town, and Brynn swore never to return. 

But the scars of the past won t heal, and when Brynn s tormented brother, Mark, goes back to Genessa Point only to suddenly disappear after telling a friend he has new information about his father s death, Brynn resolves to find him. 

She may not want to confront her traumatic past, but a series of creepy and menacing incidents show that someone is determined Brynn won t escape it. Can she find Mark and uncover the truth about their fathers death

• 3rd - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

GoodReads

• 10th - The Last Good Paradise by Tatjana Soli

From the bestselling author of The Lotus Eaters and The Forgetting Tree comes a novel set on an island resort, where guests attempting to flee their troubles realize they can’t escape who they are.
On a small, unnamed coral atoll in the South Pacific, a group of troubled dreamers must face the possibility that the hopes they’ve labored after so single-mindedly might not lead them to the happiness they feel they were promised. Ann and Richard, an aspiring, Los Angeles power couple, are already sensing the cracks in their version of the American dream when their life unexpectedly implodes, leading them to brashly run away from home to a Robinson Crusoe idyll. Dex Cooper, lead singer of the rock band, Prospero, is facing his own slide from greatness, experimenting with artistic asceticism while accompanied by his sexy, young, and increasingly entrepreneurial muse, Wende. Loren, the French owner of the resort sauvage, has made his own Gauguin-like retreat from the world years before, only to find that the modern world has become impossible to disconnect from. Titi, descendent of Tahitian royalty, worker, and eventual inheritor of the resort, must fashion a vision of the island’s future that includes its indigenous people, while her partner, Cooked, is torn between anarchy and lust. By turns funny and tragic, The Last Good Paradise explores our modern, complex and often, self-contradictory discontents, crafting an exhilirating story about our need to connect in an increasingly networked but isolating world.

• 12th - Second Life by S J Watson

    Julia’s life is comfortable, if unremarkable, until her sister’s brutal murder opens old wounds. She finds solace in her sister’s best friend, Sophie, but when Sophie reveals the extent of her sister’s online life, Julia becomes convinced that the truth about her death lies deep in the dark, sordid world of online chatrooms and internet sex.

What begins as Julia’s search for the truth about her sister quickly turns into an exploration of herself and her own desires. After all, the internet is her playground, and why be just one thing when you can be as many as you like? What could possibly go wrong? After all, it’s only cybersex, isn’t it? No one’s going to get hurt.
But then she meets the dark and mysterious Lukas in an online chat room, and things begin to get very dangerous indeed            

• 20th - Silent Screams by Angela Marsons

Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever…

Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood …

Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.

But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.

As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late?

• 24th - One Wish by Robyn Carr

Grace Dillon was a champion figure skater until she moved to Thunder Point to escape the ruthless world of fame and competition. And though she's proud of the quiet, self-sufficient life she's created running a successful flower shop, she knows something is missing. Her life could use a little excitement.

In a community where there are few eligible singles, high school teacher Troy Headly appoints himself Grace's fun coach. When he suggests a little companionship with no strings attached, Grace is eager to take him up on his offer, and the two enjoy…getting to know each other.

But things get complicated when Grace's past catches up with her, and she knows that's not what Troy signed up for. Faced with losing her, Troy realizes Grace is more than just a friend with benefits. He's determined to help her fight for the life she always wished for but never believed she could have—and maybe they can find real love along the way.

• 26th - Summer At The Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Summer has arrived in the Cornish town of Mount Polbearne and Polly Waterford couldn't be happier. Because Polly is in love: she's in love with the beautiful seaside town she calls home, she's in love with running the bakery on Beach Street, and she's in love with her boyfriend, Huckle.

And yet there's something unsettling about the gentle summer breeze that's floating through town. Selina, recently widowed, hopes that moving to Mount Polbearne will ease her grief, but Polly has a secret that could destroy her friend's fragile recovery. Responsibilities that Huckle thought he'd left behind are back and Polly finds it hard to cope with his increasingly long periods of absence.

Polly sifts flour, kneads dough and bakes bread, but nothing can calm the storm she knows is coming: is Polly about to lose everything she loves?