YvonneI shall be kicking off the Blog Tour for this book on September 4th, so thanks as ever to the lovely folks at Aria Fiction and Netgalley, for my complimentary copy.
‘THE HOME‘ by KAREN OSMAN
Angela was just a baby when her mum left her for the last time, and a children’s home is no place to grow up.
The home’s manager Ray takes the girls off to his ‘den’ in the garden and the littlies come back crying, and Ray’s wife Kath has special wooden spoons which she saves for beating any of the children who dare to misbehave.
So, when wealthy couple James and Rosemary come to choose a child to adopt, Angela is desperate to escape.
But the scars of her childhood remain, and when Angela’s search for her birth mother Evelyn is successful, their reunion is no fairy tale.
Soon strange and sinister events start to unfold, and Evelyn fears she may not survive her daughter’s return…
Next a lovely joint contact from both Book Publicity Services and the author herself, has led to me receiving a copy of, what is for me, a slightly different storyline to those I would generally read, but interesting and intriguing nonetheless, given Michelle’s background, more about which will be revealed in a Guest Post to be published shortly.
‘GAZELLE IN THE SHADOWS‘ by MICHELLE PEACH
In the mid 90s, Elizabeth Booth is a young British college student studying Arabic at Durham University.
With some travel and work already under her belt, she excels at her studies and is sent to Damascus to immerse herself in the language.
Taken aback by the generosity and kindness of the people there, she easy slips into a life in the ancient city.
She has friends, her studies, and even a handsome boyfriend.
But things aren’t always what they seem.
Soon, in a world where mistrust and disloyalty are commonplace, Elizabeth finds herself navigating a web of lies, betrayals, and even murder involving MI6, deadly terrorist factions, and the shadowy Syrian secret police.
MAILBOX MONDAY
… is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week. Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home, where links may be added each week. So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and don’t forget to leave a comment for our three new joint administrators, after all, we all like to receive them … Your Hosts for ‘Mailbox Monday’
Leslie of ‘Under My Apple Tree’
Serena of ‘Savvy Verse & Wit’
Martha of ‘Reviews By Martha’s Bookshelf’
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… You never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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Oh my, The Home sounds like it could be pretty upsetting. What’s sad is I think life is really like that for some children. I hope you enjoy both of your new books!
I think that more children than we know are placed in situations like Angela’s, only children’s homes and foster parents are not always ‘whiter than white’ and manage to fool the authorities, it would seem, with relative ease.
There seems to be one scandal after another coming to light over here in the UK right now, from children’s homes to hospitals, schools to churches and just about every organisation in between. Events dating back decades, but which are very likely still being allowed to continue to this day!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and Happy Reading this week 🙂
The Home sounds tense and upsetting even though it may be true to life. Very sad.
Have a good week, Yvonne, and thanks for sharing.
I won’t repeat the comments I have made to your fellow commenters who have expressed an interest in this book.
However, another thought has crossed my mind…. It really does sound as though Angel is not looking for her mother so that she can get to know her. She only has bad thoughts on her mind and is out for revenge, to make her mother pay for leaving her at the children’s home, thus allowing her to become the victim of abuse. It sounds as though Evelyn is fearful for her life and Angela has had plenty of time to make plans … I wonder if they work out for her, or not!
Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂
Totally different books, both sound interesting in their own way. I look forward to learning more about them, Yvonne.
I’m captivated by the cover of Gazelle in the Shadows!
Whilst ‘The Home’ is going to feed my habit of psychological thrillers, ‘Gazelle In The Shadows’ is really going to challenge me in just about every way possible and probably question just about every one of my own personal beliefs.
The illustrators of this book are Jeff and Janet Wylie and their amazing work does earn them a mention in the credits on all the major sites. However, I have been unable to find out any more about them other than their names, but I agree that it would be interesting to do so.
I hope that all is well with you and Happy Reading this week 🙂
The Home sounds sad and upsetting.
I am certain that this novel will probably read like so many memoirs of child victims of cruelty and abuse. Fact and fiction will never be far apart, of that I’m sure!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, I always appreciate your visits 🙂
Hi Yvonne – you sure do get some creepy sounding books. Hope you enjoy both of them.
Happy (?) Reading!
It’s not me, Martha!
It’s all the amazing new authors, who are owning the genre and making it their own. I have no idea where some of them get their ideas for storylines from, but they definitely have some vivid imagination!
The worrying thing is, that so many of the fiction premises I read, are written by authors who are specialists in the fields they write about and are mixing a certain amount of fact with fiction – which doesn’t hold out much hope for the current state of society, no matter where in the world you live!
Thanks for visiting this time and enjoy your MM break. See you again in the autumn 🙂
Love the cover of Gazelle!
One of the previous commenters also liked this particular cover and whilst the illustrators are given recognition on the major sites, their names are about the only thing I have been able to discover about them. When I next message the publisher about the book, I will mention it to them and see if they can shed any more light on my investigations 🙂