Book Review: The Accidental Gatekeeper by Carla Rehse

The Story:

Everly Poppa is a 45 year old woman with a sassy teen daughter and a husband in jail. With no one else to turn to, she heads home to her Mom, despite having left her home town, years before, vowing never to return. Home is a small town in America that happens to be one of the Gates to Hell. Angels and demons govern the town which is in a state of flux. The old Gatekeeper has died and their successor has disappeared. A hellhound bites Everly. The town is locked down. Everly must find her daughter and the new Gatekeeper, battle the demons, support the angels and find a snarky witch. Oh – and deal with her old high school boyfriend just for good measure. Then perhaps she can deal with her real world issues: the FBI wanting her to testify against her husband and his drug-dealing friends who don’t.

This is a delight of a book. Everly Poppa is the the new premenopausal heroine of women everywhere. Anyone who is a daughter or a mother will love it.

Review

The Accidental Gatekeeper by Carla Rehse

The Accidental Gatekeeper is a joy of a story that keeps you reading right to the end. Everly is very relatable and the relationship with her daughter and her mother very real. The fact is that we never grow up and humans can keep making the same mistakes over and over again. The paranormal element is well-drawn: the demons are annoying until things get messy and the angels are grand and judgemental until the chips are down. There are also shapeshifters, werewolves, ghosts and poltergeists and witches. Carla Rehse has painted an enjoyable world.  I would recommend this story for people who enjoy paranormal stories. There will be two more books about Everly coming in the future and I am looking forward to reading more about her adventures.

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Book Review: Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

Thanks to Netgalley for proof copy

The book cover has been changed since publication.

This book is a rollercoaster of dark emotions, young romance, abuse and fierce ambition which makes for a gripping read.

Horse Book

I was drawn to this book because I loved horse books as a child but this is not a book for young children. The central character, Roan Montgomery, is a grown-up 15 year old who is strong and fierce and who does not back down. Roan is training for the Olympics as a three day eventer in the disciplines of eventing, dressage and show jumping. She has to balance this tough life with the pressures of school and a less than harmonious home life. Added to the mix: her coach is her father, a former Olympic competitor and strong disciplinarian with the stirrings of first love and you have an amazing concoction of a book that keeps you engrossed from start to finish.

Strong Female Character

Roan, herself, is a strong female character: she has to be in order to keep winning but there is more to her life than outsiders see and the way she is able to deal with it is impressive in one so young.

There are some strong scenes in this book which might be triggering for some. Characters are well-drawn and believable. Will and Roan’s romance is tender and provides some counterbalance to the strong forces that rule her life. The novel is very dark in places and there are points where it is very tense. The reader definitely understands what pressure there might be for people who wish to succeed in their chosen sport.

I would recommend Dark Horses with the caveat that if you have had some trauma in your life that you might want to approach with care.

Sarah Charmley.

If you have a book blog, you might like to join Netgalley.co.uk that has proof copies available for reading and reviewing. You can sign up on the website.

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Country Cat Blues Book Cover Reveal

With thanks to Red Dog Press and author Alison O’Leary

This week on the blog, I am excited to bring you the cover reveal of a book that is released next week. Country Cat Blues by Alison O’Leary will be available to buy on 23rd February 2021. It is the second book in the series, but the story will stand on its own. You do not need to have read the first book to enjoy it.

Ta Daa!

Cartoon-tree-with-cat-sitting-on-branch-and-another-underneath
Country Cat Blues Cover Reveal

 

On Saturday 27th February, this blog will be taking part in the book tour for the book. You will be able to read my review of the book. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

If you would like to catch up with the first adventures of Aubrey, the book is called Street Cat Blues by the same author and it can be found on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.

Here is a synopsis of the book:

Country Cat Blues

When former rescue cat Aubrey moves to the picturesque village of Fallowfield with his owners and their foster son Carlos, he is keen to explore the delights of the English countryside.

However, all is not as it seems among the villagers. The idyllic peace is shattered when a gruesome murder takes place at the village fete.

Tensions run high as spectres from the past begin to emerge, and Aubrey is particularly upset when suspicion falls on Morris, who may be almost permanently drunk, but is also a good friend to the local cat population…

Can Aubrey restore the peace in the village and help clear Morris’s name?

 Buying Information:

 Red Dog Shop: https://www.reddogpress.co.uk/product-page/country-cat-blues

 Amazon: mybook.to/CountryCat

Publication Date: 23rd February 2021

Author Bio – Alison O’Leary

I was born in London and spent my teenage years in Hertfordshire where I spent large amounts of time reading novels, watching daytime television and avoiding school. Failing to gain any qualifications in science whatsoever, the dream of being a forensic scientist collided with reality when a careers teacher suggested that I might like to work in a shop. I don’t think she meant Harrods. Later studying law, I decided to teach rather than go into practice and have spent many years teaching mainly criminal law and criminology to young people and adults.

I enjoy reading crime novels, doing crosswords, and drinking wine. Not necessarily in that order.

Disclaimer: Although I have received an advance copy of the book for review purposes, all opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way. I have also not been paid to take part in the book tour.

Book Cover Reveal
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30 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 9 Book Review: Writer Time Management Book by Kathleen McGurl

I interviewed author Kathleen McGurl on my website last year. She has written hundreds of short stories and moved into writing full novels in the past few years. Her website is interesting and talks about her writing life, and among the books she has written, there is a time management book called, Give up Ironing – a Writer’s Guide to Time Management.

The number 1 reason people give for not writing is that they don’t have time. Kathleen has taken note of this and written a short time management book, so that excuse does not get in the way of reading this book. Her aim is to show would-be writers that if writing is important enough to them then it is possible to find time to write. Her first section talks about freeing up time to write and encourages the reader to look at what they do with their time and decide their priorities.

The second section deals with making the most of your writing time, encouraging good preparation and ensuring that when you find time to write, you are able to do so. There is nothing worse than finding that you have half an hour to write, then finding that you are unable to decide what you want to write. These days, you can find yourself turning to social media or constantly checking emails rather than settling down to write. Personally, if I’m trying to get things done, then I find it best to turn off the notifications. Kathleen suggests ways to maintain your discipline to ensure that your writing time is used just for writing rather than other things.

Her final section talks about motivating yourself to write. She suggests ways to help yourself make the most of each writing session and ways to treat yourself when you have achieved what you have set out to achieve. She covers finding time to exercise which is essential as writing is such a sedentary activity and the importance of finding time for your family as well as reading which is so important for a writer. As you may be able to gather from the title of the book, however, Kathleen does not consider ironing as a vital activity that she should be doing instead of writing, in fact she is quite happy to give it up and makes here opinions quite clear. Finally she does emphasise that not all her tips will work for everybody.

Give up Ironing is a very readable self-help book for writers. It is full of good advice, short and to the point and written by someone who has a full-time job and a family but who is managing to write as a career. I would recommend it for people who want to find more time to write and who may feel that they need a push to get their fledgling author career off the ground. Kathleen herself is very approachable and down-to-earth and her website is well worth checking out too.

Note: The image above is an affiliate link.

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