Review: Queen of Cambridge - Book #6 Queens of the Castle - Shakir Rashaan - February 2022 There are some books that feel like slipping into a favourite chair at home with a cup of tea beside you , familiar, comfortable, and filled with characters you’re always happy to catch up with. Queen of Cambridge by Shakir Rashaan gave me some of that feeling, particularly because of its connection to The Castle universe. Caressa is certainly a woman who knows what she wants. As a billionaire chocolatier and one of the biggest names in the confectionery world, she has built an impressive empire, but she isn’t content to sit back and admire what she has already achieved. She’s looking towards new ventures, new opportunities and, as we soon discover, new complications. Caressa is shrewd, determined and very much a woman who can hold her own. Of course, when business and pleasure become rather too closely intertwined, things start getting messy. Enter Ishmael , an international weapons dealer wit...

Review: Until the Next Letter - Hannah Claire - June 2026 There are some books that don’t just tell a story , they settle around you like a warm blanket on a quiet evening, and Until the Next Letter by Hannah Claire is exactly that kind of read. If you loved Cecelia Ahern’s PS I Love You, then this book will feel like coming home again to those same emotional, letter-driven vibes. It also reminded me of Steena Holmes’ Dear Abby series, where family secrets and emotional journeys are gently unravelled one page at a time. At the heart of this story are sisters Libby and Rachel, whose world is turned upside down when their mother passes away and leaves behind a series of letters. These aren’t just sentimental notes of love and goodbye ,each letter is a carefully crafted breadcrumb leading them into their mother’s hidden past. As they follow her instructions, they begin travelling through the countryside, uncovering truths that were never meant to be spoken aloud while she was alive. What ...

Review: Gone But Not Forgotten - Sabrina Jeffries - January 2008  You know how it is when you're scrolling through your Kindle at midnight, not really looking for anything, and then a title just reaches out and grabs you? That was me with Gone But Not Forgotten by Sabrina Jeffries. Something about it gave me immediate vibes of Nicholas Sparks' Remain wrapped in a M. Night Shyamalan twist - emotional, atmospheric, and quietly unsettling in the best possible way. Reader, I downloaded it immediately. Sunny is dead. Not in a tragic, drawn-out way  she and her husband are simply gone, the victims of an accident, and now she finds herself in that strange limbo between worlds, tethered to the living by one ferocious, unfinished piece of business: her twin babies. A mother's work, it turns out, is never done  not even from beyond the veil. Not while Sunny has a ghost of a chance. Her sister Honey and brother-in-law Bert step up as guardians, good-...

Synopsis: More Than This - Layla Emmerson - March 2026 At that moment, I wished I could be someone else. Someone who wasn’t scared to be touched by desire and feel the flames of passion burning through her. Bound by her past, Harper, a romance author, hides in the novel she now struggles to write. However, when a non-negotiable ultimatum brings Reid into her life, it changes everything. Not only is he a successful author, he’s also the ultimate alpha male. With an impenetrably dark demeanour, he appears emotionally detached... an enigma. Whilst embarking on a research venture of a more intimate nature, the pair become close and soon the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred. They break the rules, and when unexpected feelings develop, Harper becomes the greatest weakness he never saw coming. Reid knows the secret he hides will break her all over again. As Harper struggles to let go of her past, Reid is forced to confront his. When past becomes present, they disco...

Review: When Fire Whispers to the Storm - Gayatri Ram - July 2025 As a book reviewer, my inbox constantly overflows with submissions—books I'd likely never encounter on my own browsing adventures. Some end up abandoned in my DNF pile , but occasionally, I discover a diamond in the rough. Gayatri Ram's When Fire Whispers to the Storm falls firmly into the latter category. Timing couldn't have been more perfect for this read. After being snowed under with work for weeks, barely managing to surface for breaks while drowning in deadlines, I desperately needed something engaging yet manageable. Gayatri Ram's novel delivered exactly that—a swift, satisfying read that didn't demand more time than I could spare. What immediately captured my attention was the New Zealand setting . I'll admit, seeing my own backyard as the backdrop made me smile and kept me turning pages when exhaustion threatened to win.  The story introduces us to Mia and Darius, whose intense conn...

Review: What If? What If? - Suzanne B. Miller - May 2025 Every now and then, a book comes along that feels like it was written just for you. When I was approached to read What If? What If? by Suzanne B. Miller and saw it was set in New Zealand—specifically Hamilton—I knew I had to say yes. What I didn’t expect was how deeply this story would resonate with me, not just as a reader, but as someone who’s lived through many of the same moments. The story follows Jasmine, a council archivist whose life is shaped by her OCD—nicknamed “Medusa.” Her condition is portrayed with such honesty and compassion, and I found myself relating to her work life more than I expected. Before I was made redundant from Tauranga City Council, I held a similar role, scanning and profiling old council documents. Reading about Jasmine’s day-to-day felt like revisiting a chapter of my own life. The setting was another highlight. Having visited Hamilton, I could vividly picture the Garden Square by the Library a...

VBT# Review - Siblings: Emma's Story - Book #1 The Siblings Books - Hilary Coombes - June 2025 Sometimes the best reads come from the most unexpected places. When Zoe at Zooloos Book Tours put out a call for extra bloggers, I found myself raising my hand for Siblings: Emma's Story – definitely not something I would have picked up on my own. But isn't that the beauty of book tours? They push us out of our comfort zones and into stories we never knew we needed. Emma's journey hit me harder than I expected. Here's a woman who, despite not always recognizing it herself, embodies strength and resilience in ways that honestly reminded me of myself. Watching her navigate life's curveballs felt deeply personal, especially as she grappled with the fundamental question of identity after discovering her entire life had been built on lies. The story kicks off with Emma in a messy friendship fallout over a guy – we've all been there, right? When she sides with their n...

52 Weeks a Party of One Bianca Pensy Aba Publication date: April 23rd 2025 Genres: Adult, Contemporary Aisha isn’t known to hold her tongue, but that’s until she finds out her boyfriend and her best friend are having an affair on New Year’s Eve. This sends her packing. She leaves Denver and moves to Dallas to have the time and space to process the betrayal. Spending time alone also spotlights other issues she has been trying to conceal: her broken relationship with her mother, her growing apart from her brother, and the impact of her late absentee father on her life. Aisha is overwhelmed by everything, so instead of using her time away to “do the work,” she spends weeks putting it off and indulging in every possible distraction—until she hits a wall. Aisha will have to either confront the ghosts from her past before the year ends or continue to pretend they aren’t there and let them haunt her until the very end. Add to Goodreads / Pre-order / Request an ARC Author ...

Second Time Charmed Maggie Blake (Rendezvous at Midlife, #2) Publication date: August 28th 2024 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Women’s Fiction Sometimes a second chance is all we need. When Margot Whitley receives devastating news, she keeps it a secret from everyone, determined to maintain her newfound commitment to herself and her career. Having to overcome obstacles as an independent businesswoman, and not wanting to bother anyone else, she feels she can handle it on her own. However, when Margot’s daughter, Callie, and best friend, Susie, sense that something is off and become determined to uncover what Margot is concealing, her secret unravels. Vaughn Jameson, the love of Margot’s life, currently touring with his rock band, also sensing a change in Margot, decides to head to Los Angeles and check on her between concerts. From the moment Vaughn shows up on that fateful day at Margot’s, a story full of sacrifice, loyalty, and newfound destiny unfolds. In life, we encounter...