Review: Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams

What if you almost missed the love of your life? Nadia gets the 7:30am train every morning without fail. Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine. Daniel really does get the 7:30am train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died. One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper: To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime? So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word. Review: A bit of fluffy romance which was quite perfect for my mood. It has a bit of a You’ve Got Mail vibe about it, secret messages, admiration from afar and wrong choices. Just imagine reading the personal ads in a newspaper and realizing that one is about you! I loved it. 

Review: The Retreat by Mark Edwards

A missing child. A desperate mother. And a house full of secrets.

Two years ago, Julia lost her family in a tragic accident. Her husband drowned trying to save their daughter, Lily, in the river near their rural home. But the little girl’s body was never found—and Julia believes Lily is somehow still alive. Alone and broke, Julia opens her house as a writers’ retreat. One of the first guests is Lucas, a horror novelist, who becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lily. But within days of his arrival, the peace of the retreat is shattered by a series of eerie events.

When Lucas’s investigation leads him and Julia into the woods, they discover a dark secret—a secret that someone will do anything to protect… What really happened that day by the river? Why was Lily never found? And who, or what, is haunting the retreat? Review:

I have to admit that I originally picked this audiobook because I absolutely loved the idea of a writers’ retreat tucked away in a small town with a mysterious past. And it certainly delivered.

Losing a child tears at my heartstrings and I could totally empathise with Julia’s grief and refusal to believe that her little girl was gone. Keeping her house by converting it into a writers’ retreat seemed like the perfect solution to her money woes, staying close to where her daughter disappeared, and her husband died.

The diverse range of characters were a little cliched on occasion, but their individual backstories supported that element to their lives.

I loved the mystery surrounding the Red Witch and the disappearance of a child every 35 years. As the story unfolded and clues were revealed I was sucked in by red herrings until the ultimate reveal.

This is a great story which kept me enthralled until the final page. 

Review: The Meadows by London Clarke

A decades-old murder. A blood-thirsty cult. A house full of spirits. Scarlett DeHaven leaves Nashville behind for a new beginning in the Shenandoah Valley without memories of drug addiction and rehab. But after purchasing an abandoned house with a disturbing past in the hopes of transforming it into a luxury bed and breakfast, she experiences visions and voices.  Strangers appear, bearing cryptic warnings. And a tunnel is discovered underneath the house—one historically used for a local cult’s rituals.  It doesn’t take long for Scarlett to realize she is being targeted by violent spirits. Driven to the edge of despair, she vows to fight back, but she has no idea what she’s really battling. And her nightmare is just beginning… From the author of Wildfell comes a gripping supernatural thriller in which the monsters may be vampires, demons, or flesh and blood. It is a nightmare that will make you believe it could easily happen to you.   Review: A fantastic thrill ride through the pages of vampires, demons and mystery. London Clarke has a voice reminiscent of the gothic tales of old. Although the main character was flawed and ever so slightly unlikable, she felt real and her efforts at cleansing her new home kept me reading into the small hours.