Hi all,

Welcome back guys, thanks for stopping by. Here is my review of Only We Know by Karen Perry.

This was a surprisingly intense story, it had just the right amount of intrigue aswell as connecting characters in a way that had me believing in what I was reading.

This wonderful story comes from the combined imaginations of authors, Karen Gillece and Paul Perry. A couple of authors who have worked on some wonderful titles over the years. ‘A Girl Unknown’, ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’, and ‘Your Closest Friend’, to name but a few.

---

About the Author

Karen Perry is the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece.

Paul Perry is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. A winner of The Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award, he is a writer and course director in poetry at the Faber Academy in Dublin.

Karen Gillece is the author of four critically acclaimed novels. In 2009 she won the European Union Prize for Literature (Ireland).

---

About the Book

In 1982, an idyllic summer is shattered when three children play a game that ends in tragedy.

Now, thirty years later, Nick, Luke and Katie remain bound together by the truth of what happened that day.

But some secrets won’t stay buried.

And when Luke vanishes and the threatening messages begin, it becomes clear someone else knows the truth – and is intent on justice, no matter what the cost…

---

My Review

I started reading this book and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the characters. Luke was annoying in that ‘Rich Guy’ kind of way and I didn’t feel any connection to Katie, who felt needy and damaged. The only person I felt any type of feelings towards was Nick…at first.

You see this book takes all the judgements you had from the start and turns them on there head. What we have here is a wonderful suspenseful thriller that twists and turns from viewpoint to viewpoint. We see from Nick’s point of view as he struggles with his demons and then we see from Katie’s point of view as she drinks away hers. The story is taunting from the start, never giving too much away, always leaving you hanging on until the last few chapters. I love the fact that the story jumps back and forth 30 years so that we can read first hand what happened in the past. But with each step back into the past, we are still left wanting to know more…never quite knowing what happened on that fateful day until we get to the end….and then everything you thought you knew is changed.

I read through this book and loved the character interactions between the characters. I felt the brotherly love between Nick and Luke and understood the protectiveness Luke had for his younger brother. I felt the anger that they both had towards each other at the same time and I read with sadness when there family dynamic is ripped apart. Katie and Nick were bonded through childhood memories, both good and bad and I enjoyed reading more into their relationship.

The entire story was very well written and I felt myself easily drawn into it, not wanting to put it down until I had turned the very last page.

---

Conclusion

A fantastic read, which had me hooked with its suspenseful story.

Worth a read!

Rating – 4 out of 5 

I am 37 years old and I must admit that I am probably one of the most ficklest people when it comes to deciding on what I want to do with my life! I mean a lot of people have already figured it out around about now, right?

Especially at the age that I am at; just shy of 40. I think what it comes down to with me is confidence…I am never confident enough that I can do what I want to do. I have never believed much in myself and I have always let that ‘nagging’ negative voice at the back of my head rule what I do with my life.

But now? Now I want to embrace what I have always enjoyed doing…and that is write. I have ummmed and ahhhed about dream jobs for so long that I was starting to drive myself insane.

Did I want to be a early years teacher? I mean the hours would fit wonderfully around my boys and I would have all of the holidays off with them. This job was a safe option.

Did I want to train to be a midwife? I have always envied the work that people in the NHS do and I often envisioned myself in a little medical uniform helping a lady to push a baby out of her ‘lady area’. And although I would have put my heart and soul into this role, there was a part of me that still didn’t feel like this was my DREAM job. It didn’t feel like it called to me…not like how writing does.

I remember the very first time I entered a writing competition. I was 5 years old and I was at school and I had written a small piece about noise. The teachers had loved it, and I was asked to read it out in front of the entire school. I was a bag of nerves reading it as all of the other children’s faces looked up at me from the hall floor, but I was so proud of myself. And my reward was a wonderful Sylvanian Families activity pack with colouring book and notepad. From an early age I had a passion for writing stories and reading them. I used to peruse my Nan’s reading library, always picking up my favourite, Anne Franks Diary, and reading for hours on end.

Over the years my love of stories has got stronger and my nose can always be found in a good book or I can be seen scribbling notes down for potential new stories and characters. One thing that has remained constant throughout my life is this; I love to write. Whether it be a fictional story or a review of a recent book, I love to let my mind wander and my fingers tap away on the keyboard. Even now, as I write this, I sit with a smile on my face. Its amazing how much I feel at peace when I am doing the one thing that I enjoy.

Today, I had a clear out of the house and got rid of some much needed clutter. In doing so, I found an old notepad in which I had scrapbooked entertainment magazine articles and features posts. These were from a few years ago now, but I remember doing it as a way to review how the pieces were put together. Another love of mine, is anything to do with celebrities. I cant hide the fact that I love a bit of gossip and the celebrities provide us with this ALL of the time and I love reading about it. One of my goals when I scrapbooked some of the pages out of my favourite gossip magazines at the time was to one day write for one of those magazines myself. I am not sure my goals are the same now entirely, but there on the pages is still the pouring’s from a girl who dreamed to write professionally.

I tell my sons everyday that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up and I will back them up every step of the way. I want them to know no dream is ever out their reach….so, I feel it is kind of my duty to set a good example.

I have quite recently contacted the local college about their NCTJ Journalism Course and I have an assessment booked for a months time. In the meantime, I am going to continue to create short stories; I am going to look into how to create a screenplay (as I have an idea I want to put together) and I am going to continue writing my book. One way or another, I will write professionally….preferably before I am 60!

 

In case you are curious, here are a few pictures of the scrap book I kept.

Hi all,

I have been reading away behind the scenes to bring you some Blogtour posts that you will love to read about. I have come across some fantastic reads and have enjoyed getting to know seemingly unknown authors along my ‘book-blogger’ travels.

The wonderful Rachel of Rachels Random Resources(www.rachelsrandomresources.com/) always has the best books to promote and I am always astounded at how brilliant the content is that she shares. 

Here is one example of a brilliant, well written story that made my heart soar as I read through it. 

Big thanks as always must go to both Rachel and the author, Victoria Cooke for allowing me read and review Melissa’s story. 

This story had me captured from the very start, Melissa (or Lissa – exactly the way I call my own sister of the same name) was enchanting and I fell in love with her character. She was flawed as we all are in some way and she was at times unable to see her own worth but she was such a good character to get to know. 

Before I tell you more about this book, let me tell you a bit more about the author. 

---

About the Author

Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaCookeAuthor
https://twitter.com/victoriacooke10
https://www.instagram.com/victoriacookewriter

---

About the Book

Lifestyle journalist and thirty-something singleton Melissa hashtags, insta’s and snapchats her supposedly fabulous life on every social media platform there is.
That is until she wakes up on her birthday, another year older and still alone, wondering if for all her internet dates, love really can be found online? The challenge: go technology free for a whole month!

Forced to confront the reality of her life without its perfect filters, Melissa knows she needs to make some changes. But when she bumps into not one, but two gorgeous men, without the use of an app, she believes there could be hope for love offline.

If only there was a way to choose the right guy for her…

Purchase Link – getBook.at/TheSecrettoFallinginLove

---

My Review

This story was quirky, loveable, fun and very easy to read. These are just some of the words I would use to describe this book.

I fell in love with Melissa’s character from the very start. Sure, she had some anxieties about herself as we all do, but she never failed to let that bring her down. She was strong-willed and I loved how bubbly and fun her character could be. 

The story was easy to get into and I enjoyed the character interactions, which were  believable because the dialogue was so well written. There was a definite chemistry between Melissa and her ‘love interests’ and I read with eagerness to see who won her heart. I was not disappointed in the least. This story wasn’t predictable; just when you thought you had figured out the story, then you bowled over by a twist that you didn’t see coming. I enjoyed reading this book and was pleasantly surprised with how it was concluded. 

---

Conclusion

I was expecting to like this book just from reading the description.  I love reading a romance book that is simple and easy to get into and I flowed quickly through this book and I enjoyed reading about the characters. I would have loved to have read more about the love interests and delved deeper into who they were, but this story was so well written, that it didn’t subtract away from the drama of it all.

One thing I did love about this book is how thought provoking it was. It seriously had me thinking about how much of my own life is controlled by technology and social media. It was interesting to read how obstacles could be overcome if those things were taken away. We as a society get so caught up in what is on our screens in front of us, that we fail to properly look and listen to what is going on around us. I feel like this story opened my eyes up a little and made me realise that I need to start putting my phone done more and see about living my life away from my phone. 

I would recommend anyone who loves this type of genre to give this book a try. Great first book by Victora, I look forward to reading more from her in the future. 

Rating – 4 out of 5

S x

Giveaway – Win an ARC of The Secret to Falling in Love and a box of Belgian Truffles (UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494196/

Today has been productive to say the least.
I have been in touch the local college about there Journalism Course. The tutor I spoke with advised what the course entailed and offered to book me in for an assessment.

I have also been looking more into how I can earn from my writing. My blog has been changed to the Premium plan and I have turned on Wordads, although I need more tutoring on this if anyone can help? 😀

I am researching and I am ahead with my blog scheduling and I am feeling better than I have in months. For once I actually know without a doubt what I want to do. So I am taking a step forward everyday and I will hopefully see my goals and dreams realised. I just have to put the work in and hopefully belong I can be my own boss. 🙂

Wish me luck on this journey! 😀

 

S x