Go Home, Afton
by
Brent Jones
This book was given to me by Melissa Robles from Kate Tilton's Author Services for an honest read and review. A massive thanks goes to Melissa for the ARC of this book and also to the author Brent Jones for allowing me to read this before it is published. I have never read a book by Brent Jones before so I went into this with an open mind.
"A dark and twisty tale about revenge and trying to commit the perfect murder"
Blurb:
We all wear masks, and Afton Morrison is no exception.
A small town librarian with a dark side, Afton, twenty six, has supressed violent impulses her entire life. Impulses that demand she commit murder.
Blending her urges with reason, Afton stalks a known sexual predator, intending to kill him. But her plan , inspired by true crimes and hatched with meticulous care, is interrupted by a mysterious figure from her past. A dangerous man that lurks in the shadows, watching, threatening to turn the huntress into the hunted.
Go Home, Afton is the first of four parts in a new serial thriller by Brent Jones. Packed with grit and action, The Afton Morrison series delves into a world of moral ambiguity, delivering audiences an unlikely heroine in the form of a disturbed vigilante murderess.
Review:
Before I even read this book I was excited, I mean who does not want to read about a librarian murderer? The book started off really quick and within the first few pages your mind was racing. It did not take that long for me to start to like the main character Afton. Afton is the person who says things that most people would never dare say out loud and this made me laugh. It kind of reminded me of myself, having been told many a time that I don't seem to have a filter. I really did like the twist of Afton being a librarian but having such dark thoughts. This really helped with speed of the book as you were desperate to find out how her life and the story was going to span out. The story built along nicely and at a fast pace to an ending which left you wanting more.. I read this book in under a week, which is good going for me as I am not the fastest of readers. Overall it was not the longest of books so if you do not read that much or don't have time to read, this book will be perfect for you.
I found this book had a bit of everything. It had the dark side, but it also made you laugh, it showed that people struggle with families and also life itself and what choices you make in life depend of whether you actually enjoy your life or not.
Was there anything I did not like about the book? Well.... Not so much did not like, but I would have loved to read a bit more about a few of the other characters that helped Afton along the way. I mean I may find out more in the next few books, but I liked these characters. It was just their part in the book was a little short.
I really liked this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series. I am also going to look at other books by Brent Jones to read as I found his storytelling very pleasing.
This book is out on 25 June 2018, with the second of the four book series See You Soon, Afton out on 7 August 2018. You can pre-order these at the authors website www.authorbreantjones.com/books
Has anyone else read this book? I would love to know what you think.. Do you agree with me or not? Let me know..
Speak soon,
CBailey31
#BlogTour
Rogue
by
J.B. Turner
Hello and welcome. Today I am hosting and opening the #BlogTour for Rogue by J.B. Turner. Massive thanks goes to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and the author J.B. Turner for a copy of this book to review. This was my very first J.B.Turner book that I have read.
Blurb:
A deep-state US organization has a top-secret kill list - and a popular senator is on it.....
Nathan Stone was killed in action while serving as a covert CIA operative. Or so everyone thought. In reality he's become a ghost, a black-ops asset with a new identity and controlled by a secret government organization. The Commission has one aim: to hunt down and assassinate anti-establishment enemies of the state.
It's number one target is Senator Brad Crichton, an ambitious politician with growing support. Stone is ready to take him out, but his plan is soon compromised when the Commission's kill list is leaked to a journalist - whose own name is on the list too. And when the journalist tries to alert the senator , he I found dead in suspicious circumstances. Stone is closing in on Crichton, but must act swiftly to reach him before the truth does.
He knows that one wrong foot will put him in the firing line. But when national security is at stake, the hunter can quickly become the hunted.
Review:
With this being my first J.B. Turner book that I have read I went into this with an open mind. I had no idea of his writing or story telling. I was really looking forward to reading this though after reading what it was about.
From the very beginning of this book I was hooked. You were straight into the action and the scene was set. I love books like this where you are not having to read a quarter of the book to just get your bearings. It was just boom... He is to be killed, here is our man. The words leapt off the pages at a fast rate that before I knew it I was half way through the book. The story had loads of twists and turns that kept you wanting to read on. The chapters were nice and short which always meant that you could read "just one more chapter" even though you were tired and needed to sleep, and they were all packed full of action. I am not the fastest of readers but even I finished this book in under a week. As the book went on the story built and built leading up to an action packed super ending which I loved.
The characters were brilliantly written. I loved Nathan Stone the lead, a Jason Bourne type killer who had a troubled past and was trained by the US to serve his country as they needed him to. The Commission were a group I also really liked. A small group of ex-government leaders who were in charge of setting up and ordering the deaths of the people on the kill list. There was always a thought as you read on that could one or more of them be trusted, or are they not who they appear to be. There were also lots of smaller characters that kept getting involved and you knew that if they did not drop their interest they could end up on this kill list as well.
This really is a cracking book, which I fully recommend you read if you, like me, love books of this genre. This is a new series of books by the author called the American Ghost series. I am so looking forward to the next book which is out in August and I will definitely be buying this. I will also be checking out previous books by J.B. Turner as if they are anything like this one I will be a very happy reader.
This book is published in paperback on 07 June 2018.
About the Author:
J.B. Turner is the author of the Jon Reznick series of conspiracy action thrillers (Hard Road, Hard Kill, Hard Wired, Hard Way and Hard Fall) as well as the Deborah Jones political thrillers (Miami Requiem and Dark Waters). He loves music, from Beethoven to the Beatles, and watching good films, from Manhattan to The Deer Hunter. He has a keen interest in geopolitics. He lives in Fife, Scotland with his wife and two children.
Check out his website on: - https://jbturnerauthor.com/
Following On
by
Emma John
This book I found on a day trip to Birmingham back in March. My wife and I always have to pop into book shops when we walk past them and this book was in the staff recommendation section. Having been a fan of cricket since the age of 4 or 5 (It's a family thing) I had to pick this up. I don't read non fiction books that often but this one I was really looking forward to reading.
"A cracking memoir that brought back so many memories of summer's watching Test cricket"
Blurb:
Michael Atherton is haunting my dreams. He's been making the occasional cameo for a year now. But this week he's popping up most nights....
It's one thing to be 14 years old and a loser. It's one thing to be the class swot, and hopelessly infatuated with someone who doesn't know you exist. But what kind of teenager is besotted with an entire sports team - when the players are even bigger losers than she is.
In 1993 Emma John was obsessing over the England cricket team. But what followed was one of the worst sporting streaks of all time - a decade of frustration and dismay that made the England cricket team a byword for British failure.
Nearly a quarter of a century on, Emma John wants to know why she spent her teenage years defending such a bunch of no-hopers. She seeks out her childhood heroes with two questions: why did they never win? And why on earth did she love them so much?
Review:
Cricket. You either love it or hate it. The haters will tell you that it is boring, or nothing happens, or it takes too long to play. The lovers though will tell you nothing but love and passion for a sport that has been played well over a hundred years. Whilst today the sport has taken a massive step to increase it's popularity by concentrating on the short game, or one day cricket. T20 games are now so popular that league tournaments around the world bid to get the best players to play and millions of pounds are spent to do this. There are cricket tours and tournaments being played in every month of the year. World Cups of different format's are also played more often. But back in 1993 cricket was played so much less. For us in the UK we had a summer of 5/6 test matches and a few one day internationals and then nothing for months till the England team went on a winter tour. TV was different back then also. The home matches in the summer were on the BBC and you could never watch the winter tours live on TV so you had to listen to them on the radio or check via teletext. nowadays you have live cricket on TV from all around the world all year round. Sky Sports even have there own Sky Sports Cricket channel.
This book took my interest for a few reasons. One, I also like Emma loved watching the England games back then even if we were not that good. And two, Emma is only one year older than me so her memories and stories will be very similar to mine.
This book was brilliant, I loved it. It brought back so many memories for me from watching test cricket in the summer as a child. I may not have obsessed as much as to cut out articles from the press for my wall (although I did have football posters of my favourite Leicester City players) but when I was out playing cricket with my friends we would all pretend to be our favourite players different for batting and bowling. Depending on who we were playing that summer we would sometimes pretend to be them... Well they were better than us. Two of my all time favourite players are Curtly Ambrose the West Indian pace bowler and Shane Warne the Australian leg spinner. I have been very lucky to have seen both of these players play on a few occasions and I have such fond memories of this. Even though they were playing against England they were just so good you had to admire them.
Emma wrote with true honesty about her life as a teenager and her relationships with family and friends. Cricket was her thing and brought her great joy. The stories were funny and sometimes deep. I also love the fact it was a way of bonding with her mother growing up and not her father who loathed the sport. Emma classed herself as a loser, but for me and my cricket obsessed friends we would have classed her as a rock star.
As part of the book, Emma got to meet a lot of her heroes to interview including Mark Ramprakash, Jack Russell, Phil Tufnell and her one true love Michael Atherton. This I found really fascinating, majority of these players now work in the media covering the sport, but it was great to hear stories from them about playing cricket for England in the 90's. Some of the stories about going on winter tours made me laugh out loud but also made me think how on earth did some of these people (Phil Tufnell) play cricket after drinking so much the night before a game.
Test Match Cricket has always been and always will be my favourite form of the game. Don't get me wrong, I do love 50 over cricket and T20 games but for me, the 5 day game is where it's at. The mental strength that players have to give 100% for is incredible, unlike most sports stars who play 2/3 hours at a time. I love the fact that you could be losing a game but with just 1 wicket the tides can turn in your favour as it is a battle till the end.
If you are a fan of cricket you will absolutely love this book, you must give it a go. I even think if cricket is not quite your thing but you love sport and follow a team you will enjoy this memoir of supporting a sports team.
Massive thanks goes to Emma John for the trip down memory lane.
Speak soon,
CBailey31
