The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser - [Review]

The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser 
[Review]

Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Faber & Faber

Publication date: 6 August 2020

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis 

Where does the adventure end . . .
and the nightmare begin?

Frank owns a service station on a little-used highway. His granddaughter, Allie, is sent to stay with him for the summer, but they don't talk a lot.

Simon is a dreamer and an idealist, in thrall to the romance of the open road and desperately in search of something.

Maggie is the woman who will bring them together, someone whose own personal journey will visit unimaginable terror on them all. . .

Review

A horror packed action book meets The Hills Have Eyes

If you are looking for nightmare fuel, then Gabriel Bergmoser has you supplied. The Hunted is a fast-paced action horror that is impossible to put down. 

The book is divided into two time lines, simply 'now' which focuses on Frank's story and 'then' which focuses on Charlie's story but when Frank and Charlie are forced to meet, this whole story explodes into something deliciously barbaric. 

Frank is a middle-aged man who wishes for a simple and quiet life which is why he runs a quiet little service station in the middle of nowhere. Frank is clearly haunted by some memories of the past and this often presents itself in his dreams. Frank receives a call from his estranged son who pleads with Frank to care for his disruptive teenage granddaughter Allie in the hopes to give her a new perspective of life. 

Allie is feeling isolated far away from home, in a place which she considers nothing more than a dump, with a grandfather who barely speaks two words to her and shouts out in his dreams. This bond however changes when a woman hauls herself out of her car at Frank's service station who looks like she has been beaten to within an inch of her life and Frank must take drastic measures to keep his granddaughter safe. 

The story flips to 'then' which focuses on a young woman Maggie who is running away from her past but unbeknownst to her, she runs into something far more sinister than her past. This part of the story is explosive, Maggie and her newly made friend Simon run into a small town, Simon clearly feels like there is something more sinister at play and begs Maggie to leave but Maggie doesn't want to go back home, she wants to keep moving forward and sadly she is faced with the horrific consequences of her actions when she finds a barn full of human body parts hung from hooks. Maggie knows she is in serious danger and is forced to try to fight for her life.

Frank is confronted by a man who is demanding to know where the injured woman was, Frank being concerned for the girl's safety denies knowledge of the woman's existence which suddenly puts him smack bang in the middle of danger. Soon Frank's service station and home are surrounded by the town's people, eager to find the injured woman by any means possible. The last part of the story is nail-bitingly tense as are confronted by a situation of fight till you die. 

There is so much more I could say about this book but I don't want to ruin it for anyone, if you are a horror lover like me, then this will tick all your boxes. 

About the author

Gabriel Bergmoser is an award-winning Melbourne-based author and playwright. He won the prestigious Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award in 2015, was nominated for the 2017 Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing and went on to win several awards at the 2017 VDL One Act Play Festival circuit. In 2016 his first young adult novel, Boone Shepard, was shortlisted for the Readings Young Adult Prize. His first novel for adults, The Hunted (HarperCollins, Faber, 2020) is a bestseller and a film adaptation of The Hunted is currently being developed in a joint production between Stampede Ventures and Vertigo entertainment in Los Angeles.

Follow Gabriel Bergmoser on Twitter: @gobergmoser

Learn more about Gabriel Bergmoser here

Hands by Lauren Brown - [Review]

Hands by Lauren Brown
[Review]

Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: HarperNorth

Publication date: 20 January, 2022

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

I didn’t give my hands much thought before they turned against me. They’ve not attempted to snatch away my life in any literal sense – thankfully my unwell brain and its troubled, dexterous agents have never veered in that direction – but at the time I’m, we’re, writing this, it would not be untrue to say that they have been chipping away at my life, slowly, slowly, in a way I could never have predicted.


When an unexpected, life-altering mental disorder upended writer Lauren Brown’s life, she knew the only way to get to the root would be to find the thread – wound, red, around trees, tangled and frayed in places – and start following it with her hands, hands that had betrayed her, back to the root. What emerges is not only an attempt to redirect the anxiety that’s pooled in her fingertips for as long as she can remember, released in odd bursts in caravan parks, on the north-east coast, in school assembly but a journey towards forgiveness, acceptance, and a love-song to the north.

Review

Hands is a memoir of Lauren's life and journey with her struggle with dermotillomania, a form of OCD. This story really took me back to my own childhood as Lauren talks about her music taste, the good old days of MSN and of course DJ Smally! Whilst this book is absolutely hilarious, it really delves deep into important topics of mental health which other people shy away from. Lauren tries to discover the root of her anxiety and I found it interesting to see how her anxiety was present even as a child and how it became more apparent as she got older. This book isn't a self-help manual but is instead a true and raw depiction of how dealing with mental health affects everyday life. Personally, I found Lauren's honesty very inspiring and as someone who also suffers with their mental health, I know that articulating how you feel and putting your past on paper is far from easy. 

Hands explores Lauren's life and how her anxiety affects all parts of it such as school, relationships, her home life and her hopes. Hands deserves a big audience, it's relatable and funny but also takes a realistic approach in regards to dealing with mental health. 

This is the best book I have read which deals with a tough topic that will relate to many people, it's realistic, funny and heartbreaking all at once. I wish Lauren the very best for her future and that all her strength and courage is rewarded.

                              Pre-order Hands now

Amazon Link: Hands: An Anxious Mind Unpicked: Amazon.co.uk: Brown, Lauren: 9780008465766: Books

Foyles Link: Hands: An Anxious Mind Unpicked - Lauren Brown; | Foyles Bookstore

About The Author

Lauren Brown is a 26 year old woman who is from Billingham, Teesside in the North East of England. Lauren now lives and works as a writer in London. Hands is Lauren's debut novel which is to be released on January 20, 2022. 

Follow Lauren on Twitter: @Laurenrbrown95

Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly - [Review]

 Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly 
[Review]

Print length: 400 pages
Publisher: Usbourne Publishing Ltd
Publication date: 1 March 2016

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

Welcome to a ‘perfect’ world.

Where war is illegal, where harmony rules.

And where your date of birth marks your destiny.

But nothing is perfect.

And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

From the bestselling author of the Angel trilogy comes Broken Sky – an exhilarating epic set in a daring and distorted echo of 1940s America and first in a new trilogy.

My Review

"We'll make them harmonious even if it destroys them"

This is the first book of L.A Weatherly that I have read and I'm not going to beat around the bush, I loved it! Over the years I have read many YA fantasy books and I am happy to say that this was was like a fresh breath of air. This book is so stunningly original that I fell in love with it before I was even thrown around by all the twists that are packed in this book.

Amity is a peacefighter, just like her dad. Growing up Amity had always admired her father for his job but when he sadly died, she knew she wanted to follow in her beloved father's footsteps and become a peacefighter. In this world, war no longer existed, they fought all their battles by having the opposing countries enter a plane fight and whichever plane is the first to be downed wins whichever rights and privileges they were fighting for, it's a safer alternative to war as the pilots have parachutes and safety methods but it is still a risky business. Amity adores being a peacefighter despite the dangers and she is proud to be preventing war and keeping the harmony between countries whilst winning rights for her country, however, this all changes when Amity realises that the fight that she lost wasn't what it appeared to be and Amity is thrown into a whole new world where her very beliefs are corrupted to the core and she can trust no one.

To my delight, there is no instalove which I find absolutely abhorrent and all the characters in this story are well thought out characters with skills and flaws making them feel all the more real. When Amity's childhood friend Collie enters the scene it is clear that they have a whole lot of history, most of it good but some bad. Amity is reluctant to trust her old friend as she felt betrayed by his previous actions but over time her hardness towards him thaws and they become more than just childhood friends but lovers. The entire time I was reading this book I felt uneasy about Collie, it feels almost too good to be true and I may just be right? Maybe the second book in the series will reveal whether my thoughts on him are right or wrong. 

The main villain in this universe is a charismatic albeit eccentric man called John Gunnison. To me, he sounded very similar to 'Hitler' with the charismatic charm but also the dictatorship, concentration camps and other barbaric activities that he was up to. John Gunnison strongly believes in astrology and has people working for him that tell him who is trustworthy or who is dangerous to his cause based on the star signs and as crazy as it sounds, people believed it and when people were dragged from their homes and their children, they just turned their heads the other way too scared to do or say anything.

This book had me so immersed that as soon as I finished it, I was reaching for the second book in the series. I am not sure what took me so long to read it but don't make the mistake I did, read it now! 

Click here for the Amazon purchase link 

About The Author

L.A Weatherly was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She now lives with her husband and their cat Bernard, in Hampshire, England, where she spends her days -  and nights! - writing. 

L.A Weatherly is the author of over fifty books, including the bestselling Angel trilogy. Her work has been published in over ten different languages. 

Follow L.A Weatherly on Twitter: @LA_Weatherly

Find L.A on Facebook here.

The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid - [Review]

The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid 
[Review]

Print length: 146 pages

Publication date: 16 February 2021

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

"A trio of friends leap into a mystical and dangerous adventure to better their troubled lives in The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid. A coming-of-age story with heavy allegorical elements, this YA novel highlights the power of friendship amidst struggle, and reveals the hidden consequences of chronic trauma, bullying, and abuse in young people. The story may have undertones of “be careful what you wish for,” but the themes Lucid explores are important and timely. Blending fantastical elements with relatable relationships, authentic dialogue, and common struggles too often left undiscussed, this book does what YA literature should always strive for ”" educate, entertain, and inspire." - Self-Publishing Review.

Three Separate Wishes. One Twisted Nightmare!

Just like Hopps Town, their humble home, Jessica Barlow, Jared Duval, and Adrian Cole are fostering dark secrets. Plagued by loss, cruelty, and physical abuse, these friends are kindred spirits, bound by anguish and elusive dreams. They’re soon to find the key to change, but any happy future will demand they face a haunting past and brave a lethal present.

Deep in the forest on the outskirts of town, aging and nearly forgotten, there stands a well from another time. Happening upon this relic, Adrian goads his companions to join him in making a wish. Soon, difficult though it is to admit, their luckless lives do seem to shift. The only problem is, the changes aren’t at all as they’d imagined. Seemingly, they’ve only left the pan to face the fire.

Should they hope to both survive and thrive, they’ll need to pool their wits and draw on mystic inner-power. Solving Hopps Town’s greatest mystery now means life or death.

Review

Be careful about what you wish for

This story is told through the eyes of three teenagers Jared, Adrian and Jessica who are all locals at Hopps Town. The story is dark from the moment you begin it which definitely had me engaged from page one. Jared is from a religious family but his mum is struggling to come to terms with Jared's sexuality as she doesn't view being gay as part of God's plan, however, it is clear from the start that she does love her son. By all accounts, Jared's home life seems like a relatively happy one but at school is tormented by a homophobic bully who is making his life hell, he just wants to escape her grip and find someone with who he can be happy with. One point of concern for me about Jared is that his character seems underdeveloped, the author had a great chance to really dive into the issues surrounding his sexuality but chooses never to really delve into it and it seems like a great lesson that could have been taught was missed, nevertheless, Jared was a likeable character who easily kept me entertained, I just wish there was more depth to his character. A further issue that I had with this character was that the author states that he is a black male which is enough in itself but the author then goes on to make Jared speak completely different to his other friends as if to highlight that Jared is black, it seemed excessive and needless. 

Jessica's home life is in ruins, her mother has completely turned her back on her since Jessica's father disappeared, again I think a more in-depth back story as to why her father left would have been great and why exactly her previous loving mother turned into such an abusive and hateful woman towards her daughter. Jessica's mother seemingly takes a u-turn and become the loving mother Jessica has longed for but there is a much darker reason as to why this has happened. I thought Jessica was an ok character but felt more could have been done to make her character more complex.

Adrian is the guy that all girls swoon over but really he just wants someone beautiful to love. I found Adrian much harder to like, I felt like his whole character was very bland and that he wasn't really necessary for the story.

Overall, the book was very engaging and it's great for a quick spooky read, however, I feel like the author made potentially brilliant characters but didn't develop them enough. I really enjoyed the plot which serves as a warning to be careful about what you wish for. Aidan is clearly talented and I feel with just a few tweaks he could really perfect his work. 

Thank you to Aidan for the copy of "The Scavenger" in return for an honest review. 

About The Author

                                                

Born in July 1981 with a very rare syndrome known as Moebius Syndrome, Aidan has never let that stop him achieving his goals in life. Mr. Lucid began writing back in 2002 after a religious experience. In 2004 after plucking up the courage to send out his material, he was published seven times that year. Over the next decade, Aidan's works appeared in various local and international anthologies, magazines and e-zines. From March to December 2007, Aidan wrote film reviews for the award winning Irish newspaper, "The Kerryman".

In 2019 Aidan's YA epic fantasy novel, "The Lost Son" was published. He hopes to release the sequel in 2020 (Taken from Amazon).

Follow Aidan Lucid on Twitter: @TheZargothian

The Sound of Sirens by Ewan Gault - [Review]

The Sound of Sirens by Ewan Gault 
[Review]

Print length: 286 pages
Publisher: Garrison (Leamington Books)

Publication date: 22 October 2021

My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

In a dead-beat coastal town in North East Scotland, seventeen-year-old Malky Campbell is desperate to help his pregnant and heroin addicted girlfriend. DI Stark, a middle-aged detective, alarmed by the rise of teenage and gang crime in Port Cawdor, uncovers the operations of a county line gang that are flooding the area with drugs and engaging in a vicious turf war with the local crime family. Malky has just started working on his family's trawler with his cousin Johnny, when their boat pulls up Johnny's brother in its nets. The rest of the crew, the tightly-knit community and the police start to suspect that the cousins are responsible for his death. With his brother dead, Johnny inherits the family trawler, which he had planned to use to smuggle drugs into the country for the county line gang, giving him enough money to start a new life. Ewan Gault's debut, The Sound of Sirens is a tough, modern crime novel, presenting the complexities of young life in a town at the end of the line.

Review

A harrowing concoction of crime, violence and heartbreak. A story that will leave a permanent imprint on your heart!

I was absorbed by the plot almost instantly, unlike many other books, Ewan doesn't mess around and the plot begins with Malky's uncle Joe's dead body being fished out of the water. From the moment that Joe's body was discovered, it was clear that something fishy (no pun intended) had happened and here the story begins to unwind. 

The main character is seventeen-year-old Malky Campbell who by all means, appears to have a better academic chance than his other family members and people believe that Malky stood a good chance of being something good but with the influence of his cousins that chance is greatly reduced. The fishing community is a tight-knit bunch who believe Malky is destined to be in charge of his family's trawler. Malky and his family live in Port Cawdor which was previously a successful fishing town but has now succumbed to the drug epidemic, where young people dream of leaving but always somehow end up mixed up within the drug scene. I adored Malky, you could see his kindness shining through and his internal struggles with doing right by his family whilst trying to save his pregnant and heavily addicted friend from the harsh conditions she is living in. As the story continues you can see that Malky is faced with going against his own moral compass to make a decision to help his friends which leaves Malky in a very precarious spot. The entire time I was reading this book I was on edge, wishing Malky to make the harsh but sensible choice but knowing heartbreakingly that he is just a teenage boy who is in love and love is a powerful drug in itself. 

I would argue that in Malky's case, love was his drug of choice and was the core reason why he makes some of the decisions he does, he's desperate to not only love and save his pregnant friend but to also be loved and I think that's what broke my heart the most. 

DI Stark is an experienced officer who is sickened by what Port Cawdor has turned into. He is a hardened police detective who has had to deal with the ongoing drug crisis his town is facing, He fears what this drug rampaged place will do to his daughter Zoe and after seeing the worst of the worst type of drug-related crimes, he really wants out, but first, he has to figure out what exactly is going on within the trawler community. DI Stark is an intelligent and driven character that needs to unearth whatever secrets Malky is holding and he won't stop until he has achieved it but he also had a lot of heart hidden under that grumpy exterior. 

This story whilst absolutely heart-breaking is an incredible read, you see humanity at its lowest, you experience what crippling addiction and poverty looks like, but the saddest thing of all is you see insurmountable amounts of hope that burns within the youth that have all the odds stacked up against them. This is the finest crime novel I have read in a long while, I absolutely recommend to anyone who loves a good authentic crime story to give this book a read, you won't regret it!

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book, I hope to see more of Ewan Gault's fantastic work in the future! 

Waterstones purchase link here

Foyles purchase link here

About The Author

Ewan Gault is an English teacher at a sixth form college in Tottenham. Originally from Scotland, he's lived and worked in Japan, Italy and for the last nine years in England. He loves running long distances and reading short stories: his favourite writers in this form are Denis Johnson, Alice Munro and Raymond Carver. 'The Sound of Sirens' is his first crime novel. The novel grew out of a short story that was published in New Writing Scotland a decade ago and which contained a group of characters whose stories demanded telling. Chapters in the novel have won Aberdeen Uni's Toulmin Prize and The Fish Knife/CWA prize.

Follow Ewan Gault on Twitter: @EwanGault

Exploring the love of reading

                                                                        

                    Many people from all over the world love to read, reading has been a known hobby for many centuries, although in the past it was mostly available to the educated and wealthy members of society but thankfully reading is getting more and more accessible through the help of local charities and libraries, so everyone no matter what their circumstances can fall in love with reading.  

I asked the book community on Twitter why they love to read and the most common factor was escapism. No one can deny that everyday life can be exhausting, and what is a more perfect way to escape your troubles than to dive into a world of your own choosing. Many people on Twitter agreed that reading was a perfect way to deal with stress as @JaneMakar said "It makes me forget the everyday stresses and takes me in to a world of my own choosing, whether it be romance, mystery, horror, I love the escape." whilst @NicholasDAngus said, "It's an escape, and it makes me happy. Simple as that.". There were many more comments supporting this and I must admit, it's partly the reason as to why I love to read too. There is no better escapism than being able to pick your own world, adventures and battles and everybody, especially now during this climate needs a way to escape, even if it's only for a little while.

Another user brought up a wonderfully valid point that I think many people who are disabled or have limited mobility can relate to,

@Adrian66228674

 explained "Being disabled with mobility issues, reading takes me to places I would never would go and allows me to experience things I never could in my own life. It opens vistas that would otherwise remain unknown.". I think this is a beautiful way of summing up why you love to read, it can allow you to experience things that are otherwise impossible to do so.

@OnTheTrail81 made a very important point on this topic by saying "I find that most writers in almost any genre are the ones who ask the really important questions of what we are and why we are. That's why I read. It helps me understand why I am the person I am. Obviously that deserves more detail than a tweet but it's the short of it.". This is a beautiful observation and it's very accurate, reading can help you understand so much about not just your own character but also others, it can take your current understanding and mould it to a much more sophisticating form.

As it is clear from the points made here, reading isn't just great for educational purposes but also extremely helpful in aiding your own mental wellbeing by finding a great medium to healthily release stress.

If you would like to see the full thread about the love of reading, please click here. Why not share some of your own reasons for loving reading in the comments below.

A massive thank you to all those who shared their love for reading and to all the authors for writing such beautiful words that we can escape too for moments of comfort.

Additional information

Credit for image 1: https://unsplash.com/photos/OJZB0VUQKKc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink.

Credit for image 2: https://unsplash.com/photos/rjm78PEyYLc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink

 In the Shadow of Time by Kevin Ansbro 
[Review]

Print length: 388 pages
Publisher: 2QT Limited (Publishing)
Publication date: 30th August 2021

Price: £10.99

My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

"I was in Mexico City for three months, and yet returned to England on the same day that I left..."

Through her time-travel research, physicist Dr Sofia Ustinova has attracted the interest of higher beings from a distant galaxy...

Luna, a porcelain-skinned teenager, lives alone in a Danish forest where she guards an astonishing secret...

Pablo, an optimistic shoeshine boy, struggles to earn a living on the sweltering streets of Mexico City...

Meanwhile, Hugo Wilde, a British secret agent, embarks on a mission to kill a Russian assassin, unaware that his life is about to change in ways he could never have imagined...

Review

This is the first novel that I have read written by Kevin Ansbro and I know it will definitely not be my last. I fear that I will not be able to write a decent review for this extraordinary story as my words alone cannot even begin to articulate the journey this story took me on. 

This book is so beautifully written, I could literally picture Silkeborg Forest in Denmark where you are first introduced to a fair skinned young lady who is not what she appears to be. It's 1970 and she has just become an orphan but thankfully the Gods were looking out for poor little Luna as she is taken in by a man that teaches her how to stay alive and to hide her true self. By 1986 Luna is a sixteen year old girl fending for herself in the forest whilst guarding her heavy secret. 

Throwing time forward to 2020 where physicist Dr Sofia Ustinova is eagerly awaiting her husband's departure, but instead comes face to face with a British MI6 agent who is there to deliver some sweet karma to Sofia's monstrous husband but to both of their surprise, the hardened MI6 agent falls head over heels with Sofia. This is just the beginning of an amazing journey that Kevin takes you on. 

Kevin does an absolutely stellar job in intricately weaving the different time frames and instead of it feeling jarring, it flows smoothly and pleasantly, taking you on a ride of your life. I was concerned at the beginning that following many characters may become confusing but the story was perfectly composed and each character felt like family.

The machine takes Sofia, Hugo and his friend Vincent back to the past. These odd individuals make a humorous bunch but also a heart-warming family which only becomes more unique with the addition of Pablo and Luna. This is a very brief overview of the wonderful story that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface in all reality, you just have to delve straight into it and experience it for yourself.

I cannot thank Kevin Ansbro enough for transporting me to this magical realm where wrongs are put to right, where love can be found even in the darkest of places and lastly for providing me with a positive story that warmed my heart and my soul. 

Amazon purchase link: In the Shadow of Time: Amazon.co.uk: Ansbro, Kevin: 9781914083228: Books

About The Author

I was born of Irish parents, and have also lived in Malaysia and Germany.
My formal education was at Hamond's Grammar School in Swaffham, and at the Norfolk College of Arts and Technology (Stephen Fry being a much more famous former student).
I write in the magical realism genre, meshing otherworldliness into the harshness of our real world. I also like to handcuff humour and tragedy to the same radiator.
Perhaps incongruously for an author, I have a background in karate and kickboxing and travel extensively - particularly in the Far East.
I'm married (to Julie) and currently live in Norwich, England.
Stuff about me: I'm a foodie and an avid reader who values good manners, love and friendship above all else. I am constantly putting my foot in it, am reputed to have a wicked sense of humour and love to laugh, but sometimes do that 'snorty pig' noise when I do.
I'm also easy-going and extremely friendly. Come on over and have a chat - I'll put the kettle on!

(Taken from Goodreads).

Follow Kevin Ansbro on Twitter here: @kevinansbro

Find more info about Kevin Ansbro here: Homepage - Kevin Ansbro