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VBT# Review - The Personal Trainer - Rebecca Collomosse

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Review: The Personal Trainer - Rebecca Collomosse - April 2026 Going into The Personal Trainer, I was expecting a twisty psychological thriller with a slightly obsessive edge and while it definitely delivered on the tension, it also gave me a story that kept me constantly second-guessing what I thought I knew. At its heart, this is a story about grief, second chances, and the fragile hope of starting over. Our narrator is preparing for her wedding to Seb, a man who has helped her believe in love again after the tragic loss of her first husband. There’s something quite tender and relatable in that desire to rebuild your life, to feel like yourself again and I really felt that emotional undercurrent throughout the novel. Wanting to look and feel her best for the big day, she hires Claudia, a personal trainer who initially seems like the perfect fit. Claudia is everything you’d expect - bright, polished, endlessly positive, and completely committed. But as the story unfolds, that helpful ...
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Review: Winter Untold - Amy Sparling

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Review: Winter Untold - Book #3 Summer Unplugged - Amy Sparling - December 2013 You know those mornings where nothing quite clicks? I started my reading day with a thriller that turned out to be a firm DNF, so I did what any self-respecting bookworm does, I scrolled my Kindle looking for a rescue read. That's when I landed on Winter Untold by Amy Sparling, a book that had been sitting in my library for a while. I knew going in it would be one of those cutesy YA romances ,light, a little fluffy, probably not a lot of substance and honestly? Sometimes that's exactly what you need. The story follows Bayleigh, a teenager navigating the trials of a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Jace, who's making waves in the world of Motocross. Enter Chase, the adorable new neighbour who's just moved in next door and, naturally, has taken a bit of a shine to her. It's classic YA setup territory, and Sparling leans into it fully. Here's where I'll be honest thou...
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Review: Out on a Limb - Hannah Bonam-Young

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Review: Out on a Limb - Book #1 Out Series - Hannah Bonam-Young - July 2023 Okay, so here's the thing  I went into Out on a Limb already a little bit in love with Hannah Bonam-Young, because Out of the Woods absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way and cemented her as a firm favourite on my shelves. So the pressure was on. Did Book #1 in the series live up to that? Honestly? Yes and no, and I think that's perfectly okay. Winnifred "Win" McNulty is the kind of character I wanted to be best friends with from the first page. Fiercely independent, a little stubborn, and absolutely not here for anyone's pity, Win has spent her whole life navigating the world on her own terms, limb difference and all. She's not looking for a hero, she's not looking for a relationship, and she is definitely not looking for a baby. And yet! One night with the outrageously charming Bo later, and here we are. Life, as always, has other plans. What I loved most here was Win...
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Review: Actually I'm a Murderer - Terry Deary

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Review: Actually I'm a Murderer - Terry Deary - June 2025 Picture this: you're scrolling through BookHero with a birthday voucher burning a hole in your pocket and you spot a new Terry Deary title. If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s devouring Horrible Histories, there was absolutely no way I was leaving that page without clicking "add to cart." Terry Deary shaped a huge chunk of my tween/teenage reading life  Horrible Science, Foul Football, Murderous Maths , I inhaled the lot of them, so when I saw he'd written an adult mystery novel, I was intrigued to say the least. The story opens in 2023 with Tony, an older man quietly preparing to meet his end. Back in 1973, he struck a deal with a professional assassin , fifty years of life in exchange for something, and now that half-century is finally up. He's made his peace with it. But as the clock ticks down, a figure from that same murky past emerges with a potential loophole. The premise alone is gloriou...
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Review: Three Days Missing - Kimberly Belle

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Review: Three Days Missing - Kimberly Belle - June 2018 Going through a divorce is hard enough, but navigating it as a parent? That's a whole other level of difficult. Kat knows this all too well. Still raw from her split with ex-husband Andrew, she's now facing another first letting her son Ethan go on an overnight school camping trip to the Mines without either of his parents by his side. It's a small thing in the grand scheme of parenthood, but for Kat, it's enormous. She psyches herself up, plans a little self-care, and tries to embrace the quiet. That quiet doesn't last long. A knock at the door. The police on her doorstep. And every parent's worst nightmare delivered in a handful of words - Ethan is missing from the campsite. What follows is an absolutely gripping race against the clock as Kat rushes to the camp and discovers this was no accident. Someone deliberately set a fire as a distraction and used the chaos to take her son. But why Ethan? That q...
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Review: Because the Night - Kylie Scott

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Review: Because the Night - Kylie Scott - March 2025 Okay, let me be real with you all , I have been in a serious reading slump lately. You know the kind. You pick up book after book, read a few chapters, and just... nothing. No spark. No that pull that makes you want to cancel all your plans and stay up until 2am. It has been frustrating, and honestly a little heartbreaking for someone who lives and breathes books. So I did what any self-respecting book lover does in a crisis  I went back to a sure thing. I reached up to my trusty bookshelf and pulled down Because the Night by Kylie Scott. I have never once been let down by a Kylie Scott book, and after a recent rewatch of Vampires Suck had me deep in my Twilight feelings, the timing felt absolutely perfect. And you know what? It worked. Slump: shattered. In Because the Night , we meet Skye Carter, a property manager who makes the very unfortunate and very life-altering mistake of accidentally waking a sleeping vampire named Lu...
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VBT #Review: All Her Lies - Matt McGregor

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Review: All Her Lies - Matt McGregor - April 2026 For readers who love a twisty psychological thriller with a touch of domestic drama, All Her Lies by Matt McGregor is one that will feel both familiar and addictive in equal measure. We meet Brie (yes, “Brie-like-the-cheese”), a woman on the cusp of reinvention. Freshly single after leaving her boyfriend Neil and newly thirty, she’s determined to take control of her life and embrace her independence. So when a job opportunity pops up at a university campus working at a house called Pine Ridge with free accommodation included Brie jumps at the chance. No questions asked. And if you’re anything like me and a seasoned thriller reader, you’ll already be sensing those early warning bells ringing. From the outset, this novel gave me strong vibes of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, blended with the dark, tangled relationships found in Verity by Colleen Hoover. It’s that delicious mix of unease, secrets, and morally grey characters that keeps ...
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