Category: giveaway

Blog Tour: Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich

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I’m delighted to be participating in the blog tour today for Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich.  Port of Return, published in 2015, is the first book in a two book series.   The sequel, Wanderers No More, was published in 2017 and continues the story of the Saforo family, although it can also be read as a standalone.

WinYou can check out the full tour schedule here where, if you scroll right down to the bottom of the page, you can also enter the giveaway (INTL) for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.  Don’t hang about as entries close at 1:59pm EST on 27th April 2018.

I had been hoping to read and review Port of No Return for the tour but that didn’t work out.  Instead, here’s a few highlights from other stops on the tour

‘Such a beautiful and authentic look at war, humanity and the strength of family.’  Pursuing Stacie’s review of Port of No Return  

‘It would seem the desire to write is in my genes. I know it is strong. When I write, I write for hours. It’s hard to stop. When I’m not writing, I’m longing to be back at it.’  Michelle on her inspiration for writing at Dressed to Read

‘In writing these books, it was important to stay true to my father’s family and his journey, while giving the reader a sense of the time and place and the true historic significance of what took place, impacting on the futures of hundreds of thousands of people. I needed to be sensitive to them and their experiences.’  Michelle on what she found challenging about writing Port of No Return and Wanderers No More at Maiden of the Pages

Port of No ReturnAbout the Book

What can you do when you have nowhere left to call home?

Contessa and Ettore Saforo awake to a normal day in war-stricken, occupied Italy. By the end of the day, their house is in ruins and they must seek shelter and protection wherever they can. But the turbulent politics of 1944 refuses to let them be.

As Tito and his Yugoslav Army threaten their German-held town of Fiume, Ettore finds himself running for his life, knowing that neither side is forgiving of those who have assisted the enemy. His wife and children must also flee the meagre life their town can offer, searching for a better life as displaced persons.

Ettore and Contessa’s battle to find each other, and the struggle of their family and friends to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a devastating war, provide a rich and varied account of Italian migration to Australia after World War II.

Format: ebook, paperback (244 pp.) Publisher: Odyssey Books
Published: 31st July 2015                     Genre:  Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops) *links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Port of No Return on Goodreads

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Michelle SaftichAbout the Author

Michelle Saftich is a first time author who resides in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two children. She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). For the past twenty years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations. In 1999, she was named National Winner for Best News Story in the ASNA (Australian Suburban Newspaper Awards). Born and raised in Brisbane, she spent ten years living in Sydney; and two years in Osaka, Japan, where she taught English.

Connect with Michelle

Website  ǀ  Facebook  ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

 

Blog Tour/Review: A Mother’s Sacrifice by Gemma Metcalfe

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I’m delighted to be co-hosting today’s stop on the blog tour for A Mother’s Sacrifice, Gemma Metcalfe’s latest gripping thriller.  You can read my review below.

A Mother's Sacrifice GiveawayPlus, for readers in the United Kingdom, there’s a giveaway with a chance to win a lip gloss set and some A Mother’s Sacrifice chocolates!  To enter click here.

But don’t hang about as entries must be received by 8th April 2018.

A Mother's SacrificeAbout the Book

God ensured she crossed my path. And that is why I chose her.

The day Louisa and James bring their newborn son home from the hospital marks a new beginning for all of them. To hold their child in their arms, makes all the stress and trauma of fertility treatment worth it. Little Cory is theirs and theirs alone. Or so they think… After her mother’s suicide when she was a child, Louisa’s life took an even darker turn. But meeting James changed everything. She can trust him to protect her, and to never leave her. Even if deep down, she worries that she has never told him the full truth about her past, or the truth about their baby. But someone knows all her secrets – and that person is watching and waiting, with a twisted game that will try to take everything Louisa holds dear.

Format: ebook (300 pp.)              Publisher: HQ Digital
Published: 9th March 2018          Genre:  Psychological Thriller, Suspense

Purchase Links*
Publisher ǀ Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find A Mother’s Sacrifice on Goodreads

My Review

I don’t read a lot of psychological thrillers so when I do I’m always taken aback by the pace and sheer ingenuity of the narrative their authors achieve.  A Mother’s Sacrifice is no exception.

‘It really does feel like a fairy tale; the beautiful nursery, the doting husband, the scrumptious little newborn who snores softly in my arms.’

That ‘Happily Ever After’ feeling doesn’t last long though.  Within a couple of sentences, Louisa is experiencing anxiety and self-doubt. Living inside the poor tortured mind of Louisa is at times an uncomfortable experience but this reader’s sympathy was always with her as the traumatic events in her past are revealed.  But is what Louisa is telling us the truth, fantasy, delusion or false memory? Louisa’s joy at finally becoming a mother and her unconditional love for little Cory means the reader is disposed to be on her side as her unknown tormentor preys on her fragile mental state, made more fragile by the normal strains of new motherhood.

The author is adept at dropping in little nuggets of information – are they important clues, clever distractions or just mischievous red herrings? (Answer: maybe, yes and very likely.) As events unfold the reader will suspect just about everyone, and I mean everyone – the passer-by, the postman, the Man in the Moon, the Speaking Clock…  The author had me in such a spin I swear she could almost have convinced me that I was behind it all.  However, alongside the breathless narrative, the book touches on some serious themes including the anguish of infertility, the emotional scars of grief and the question of who we are and where we come from.

A Mother’s Sacrifice is a white knuckle, head-spinning, mile-a-minute, dizzying rollercoaster of a read.  At times, it became a little too frenetic for me and, as the twists come so thick and fast, perhaps the mechanics of the plot take priority over the characterisation.  Because the reader is made to suspect almost all the characters at some point, it does mean thinking the worst of everyone.  Louisa’s husband, James, comes off worst when in truth he should probably be getting as much of the reader’s understanding as Louisa.  Even small kindnesses which are actually just that end up being interrogated for possible ulterior motives.

Fans of twisty, suspenseful, psychological thrillers will not be disappointed by A Mother’s Sacrifice.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley, publishers HQ Digital and Neverland Book Tours  in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Twisty, suspenseful, fast-paced

Try something similar…Her Perfect Life by Sam Hepburn (click here to read my review)

Gemma MetcalfeAbout the Author

Gemma Metcalfe is a Manchester born author who now lives in sunny Tenerife with her husband Danny and two crazy rescue dogs Dora and Diego. By day, Gemma can be found working as a Primary school teacher, but as the sun sets, she ditches the glitter and glue and becomes a writer of psychological thrillers. An established drama queen, she admits to having a rather warped imagination, and loves writing original plots with shocking twists. The plot for her debut novel Trust Me is loosely based on her experiences as a call centre operative, where she was never quite sure who would answer the phone…

Connect with Gemma

Website ǀ  Facebook ǀ Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

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