#BookReview : Paris on Repeat (Wish & Wander #1) by Amy Bearce #ParisOnRepeat #MiddleGrade @JollyFishPress

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Paris on Repeat (Wish & Wander #1) by Amy Bearce
Publication Date : July 14th 2020
Publisher : Jolly Fish Press
Genre : Middle Grade / Magical realism

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

GROUNDHOG DAY gets a hilarious French twist in this delightful upper middle grade novel about first crushes and friendship when an eighth-grade class trip to Paris goes horribly wrong and the worst day of one girl’s life keeps happening over and over.

Fourteen-year-old Eve Hollis is ready to push through her fears and finally let her crush know how she feels. And what better place to tell him than on top of the Eiffel Tower in the City of Love? But things don’t go as planned, and Eve is sure she’s had the worst day of her life— until she wakes up the next morning to realize the whole disaster of a day is happening again. She’s trapped in a time loop.

Desperate to make it stop, Eve will have to take some big risks and learn from her mistakes or she’s destined to live the most awkwardly painful day of her life over and over again, forever.

*** Note: I received e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to publisher. ***

Paris on Repeat was interesting spin on Groundhog Day that revolved around Eve and her attempts to break the time loop in Paris. It was about friendship, anxiety, finding courage to talk about your feelings, understanding relationships and real meaning of love.

I haven’t watched Groundhog Day movie but now I want to. Writing was easy to follow, gripping and emotive. It was told in first person narrative from Eve’s POV. I loved the setting of Paris, it was heart of the book and author described places, food and little facts here and wonderfully.

I loved the concept and theme. It started with Eve standing in front of Eiffel tower on the last day of the school trip giving herself pep talk, putting bad start of the day with a bump on head aside, preparing herself to finally come out with her feeling for Jace which give her hope that love lasts forever. But things started to go from bad to worst that brought out buried emotions, and she did something horrible at the end of the day. But next day instead of teacher announcing to pack bags it started the same as yesterday. At first, she couldn’t believe it but then she felt lucky for getting another chance and again it went from bad to horrible, soon she realised she was stuck in time loop and had to relive the horrible last day until she did something to break it.

I was curious to find out what she will do to break the loop and how she was stuck in it in first place, if it was about her being brave, revealing her feeling to Jace or being better friend letting her friend be happy with Jace, or something else.

At first I thought I wouldn’t like this as much as I was expecting with weird first line for middle grade but as I read more I enjoyed it. All loop repetition was written cleverly. Though places and events were the same, author changed things as the character developed with element of surprise. Text never felt repetitive in each time loop.

Eve was 14 years old introvert and nerd. She had a set of rule being military kid so it wouldn’t be hard for her when she had to move to another country or place and start again. She tried her best to be invisible and keeping her true feeling hidden. But when she was stuck in time loop she had to break her rules to break the it and in doing so she discovered many things about herself, her friends, friendship and love.

Eve’s development was the best part of the book. Her feelings were raw and honest. I felt for her. What she was feeling with her parent’s divorce and unrequited love and what she did was genuine and realistic. I liked how with each time loop she realised what she did wrong both with her parents and friends.

Reggie was amazing character. When she knew what was happening after third loop, I loved how she helped Eve and even admitted she should have asked about her feelings and listened to Eve rather than talking herself all the time. I enjoyed reading their conversations and the way they made things right between each other.

I liked the message about love, friendship, and relationship, about- what real love is, it’s never just about relationship between girl and boy, there’s all kind of love and even friendship has a love; divorce is sad thing and hard to accept but one cannot force love and even after trying lot of things to save relationships, love definitely doesn’t last forever for everyone; not everything happens in life the way you wish, it might end terribly but every ending is new beginning if you have courage.

Sixth loop, the last one, was amazing. Eve tried all different things, lived free, broke all her rules, revealed all hidden feelings to her friends and told about her parents’ divorce. With help of Reggie, Sophia, Jace and mysterious palm reader she broke the loop at the end.

Why 4.5 stars-

“I never realised how much the Eiffel Tower looked like a giant middle finger. Standing before it now, I wanted to return the salute.” This first line was not really impressive for middle grade book. Apart from this line there was nothing wrong in the book and nothing like this have said in the book.

Overall,

Paris on Repeat was interesting, fast paced, both fun and sad magical realism fiction about friendship and courage. I recommend this to upper middle grade/teen readers.

Book Links : Goodreads | Amazon.com | Amazon.in

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I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know in comments what you think about this book and my review, if you have read this already. Which is your favourite magical realism book?

Happy Reading!

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#BookReview : Cometh the Hour (The Clifton Chronicles #6) by Jeffrey Archer #ComethTheHour #HistoricalFiction #StMartinsPress

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Cometh the Hour (The Clifton Chronicles #6) by Jeffrey Archer
Publication Date : February 16th 2016
Publisher : St. Martin’s Press
Genre : Historical Fiction
Pages : 404

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of a suicide note, which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia.

Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves, from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him, or is she a spy?

Lady Virginia is facing bankruptcy, and can see no way out of her financial problems, until she is introduced to the hapless Cyrus T. Grant III from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who’s in England to see his horse run at Royal Ascot.

Sebastian Clifton is now the Chief Executive of Farthings Bank and a workaholic, whose personal life is thrown into disarray when he falls for Priya, a beautiful Indian girl. But her parents have already chosen the man she is going to marry. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s rivals Adrian Sloane and Desmond Mellor are still plotting to bring him and his chairman Hakim Bishara down, so they can take over Farthings.

Harry Clifton remains determined to get Anatoly Babakov released from a gulag in Siberia, following the international success of his acclaimed book, Uncle Joe. But then something unexpected happens that none of them could have anticipated.

Cometh the Hour is the penultimate book in the Clifton Chronicles and, like the five previous novels – which were all New York Times bestsellers – showcases Jeffrey Archer’s extraordinary storytelling with his trademark twists. 

Previous books I read in Series:

Book 1 Only Time Will Tell
Book 2 The Sins of the Father
Book 3 Best Kept Secret 
Book 4 Be Careful What You Wish For
Book 5 Mightier Than the Sword

Cometh the Hour, 6th in The Clifton Chronicles series was interesting mix of historical fiction, politics and family drama that revolved around Cliftons and Barringtons’ life. Like all previous book this too was about good vs bad, morals and principles, good things happen to good people and enemies gets their comeuppance, family, love and drama.

First there was nothing wrong in the book but because of my mood or my itch to just finish the series asap made and other books taking priority over this and it took me way way long to finish this. That taught me to read last book when I’m ready to read it.

Writing was easy to read, addictive and flawless. It was told in third person narrative from Emma, Harry, Giles, Seb, Bishra, and Virginia’s perspective; started in 1970 from where the previous book ended with result of court case against Emma and ended in 1978. Being second last book of the series, lot of things were happening.

After long time we hear about Maisie in this book. She was old lady now and her days were coming close. I loved letter she wrote for Harry, Emma and Seb that gave them new inspiration.

Giles got break from politics for a while, rescued his love behind the Iron curtain and brought Karin to London but she really turned out spy for Russians. I was curious to see what Karin would do, if she would destroy Giles and British government or would fall in love with Giles. (pretty predictable but yet interesting to see the results) I have to admit he was hopeless romantic, and I liked how his career path diverted a little by being appointed as leader of lords and also supporting labour party. Things were okay with him in this book, in fact, smooth and he looked happy but I have feeling next book would be tough for him.

After the case Emma once again came back as chairman of Barrington shipping. Now, after Maisie’s death, she was not just chairman but had became governor of NHS hospital handling nursing department and had joined Tories backing Margret Thatcher as their manager. Phew, she was juggling many things at once and I liked how that didn’t affect her relationship with her family or with Giles. Author keep surprising me by making Emma’s character stronger with each book.

Virginia, after losing case, was facing bankruptcy. She needed to find a way to get money or say good-bye to posh extravagant life and clearly she didn’t intend to let go her life. Soon she saw opportunity when Cyrus T Grant, 28th richest man in America, visited London. Poor guy! This time Virginia was playing big and I was even surprised how far she went and how well planned every step was. I couldn’t believe she got away with all she did. But if you are familiar with author’s style, you must know in all books bad people get their comeuppance, so did Virginia.

Seb fell in love with Priya. He didn’t mind marrying a Hindu but it was different for Priya. She was sure her parents wouldn’t approve Seb being Christian, they were looking for a rightful Indian Hindu man whom she should marry. Her father was influential headstrong businessman who on knowing about her affair took her back to India. I liked the way author portrayed Hindu traditions, Indian ways and mentality during those times. Seb’s journey to India and his plan was impressive. The way it ended was shocking. I didn’t know what would happen next or if he would meet Sam and Jessica again. I enjoyed these chapters every chapters about him and part he played, be it as father, an executive director of bank, friend, son, and nephew.

Adrian Sloan and Desmond Muller had planned something big which would clear Bishra from their path that added tension in the book and soon Bishra got arrested.  It was interesting to read how Seb and Andrew would save him and image of bank, and stop Sloan and Desmond from ruining Bishra’s life. I liked Bishra’s attitude and nature during all these ordeals.

Harry published Anatoly Babakov’s book, Uncle Joe, with his publisher and friend Guinzberg that became international success and formed pressure on Russians to release Babakov. I doubted they would ever release him but that announcement of award heated things up.

I enjoyed conversations between characters. It felt natural and realistic. My favourite scene was court room session and testing of recordings with a little historical fact about Nixon president impeachment.

There were many twists and turns. Whenever I thought now nothing wrong would happen, something popped out of nowhere. Enemies were formidable but main characters were smart and fate backed them at right time.

Climax was shocking, tense and exciting all at same time. Harry’s speech was awesome, I even felt triumphant reading what happened to Virginia, Sloan, and Desmond, and Karin was in such complex situation. End was perfect and so was Epilogue.

Why 4 Stars-

Jessica never felt like 10 years old. She sounded like grown up 20 years old young lady. I even forgot she was just child until it was mentioned. It was a bit unrealistic. And that whole Virginia’s plan and Cyrus agreeing to deal was a little too much.

Overall,

Cometh The Hour was entertaining, dramatic and engaging historical fiction. Not best in series but I liked it.

I hope you enjoyed this post and my review. Let me know in comments if you have read this book or any book by the same author. DO you ever feel impatient when you about to finish the long series and because of that you enjoyed last books in series a little less?

Happy Reading!

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Dark Waters (Monica Kennedy #2) by G.R. Halliday #DarkWatersBook @HarvillSecker @GR_Halliday

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Dark Waters (Monica Kennedy #2) by G.R. Halliday
Publication Date : July 16th 2020
Publisher : Harvill Secker
Genre : Scottish Noir / crime fiction
Pages : 384

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The haunting new novel from G. R. Halliday, author of FROM THE SHADOWS, shortlisted for THE MCILVANNEY DEBUT PRIZE

THREE MISTAKES. TWO MURDERS. ONE MORE VICTIM TO GO . . .

Annabelle loves to drive. It helps her escape her world, her past. Speeding on a mountain road in the Scottish Highlands, she sees a little girl step out in front of her. She swerves to avoid her. The next thing Annabelle remembers is waking up in a dark, damp room. A voice from the corner of the room says ‘The Doctor will see you now’.

Scott is camping in the woodlands in the Scottish Highlands – but in the middle of the night, he hears something outside his tent. When he goes out to have a look, a little girl is standing among the trees, staring right at him. Scott is never seen again.

When a dismembered body is discovered, DI Monica Kennedy gets called to the scene immediately. After six months away from the Serious Crimes team, they need her back on board.

As Monica searches for the murderer, another body is found. Monica knows the signs . . . She’s on the hunt for a serial killer.

Perfect for fans of James Oswald, Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid.

*** Note: I received e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Mia @vintagebooks for tour invite and providing review copy. ***

Dark Waters was dark and disturbing crime thriller, second novel in Monica Kennedy series that revolved around another serial killer case. It was about juggling work and family life, haunting and unsettled past and history, unsolved and mysterious murders, and real demons of the world-humans.

This first line was chilling and it should have prepared for what’s going to come in the book- “When she still had all arms and legs, Anabelle liked to drive.”

Writing like previous book was engaging and vivid that took me to dark mountains and of Highlands that were both beautiful and menacing. I’m really glad to read in author’s note Glen Turrit and Little Arklow doesn’t exist outside this book but place were based on Glen Strathfarrar and it doesn’t look as dreadful from pictures as it sound in book. This book was even darker than first one. This is not for squeamish readers or those who feel claustrophobic by reading tunnels and caves under mountains. Let me give a little warning, there’s cannibalism. Plot was brilliant. It was told in third person narrative from Annabelle and Monica’s perspective and occasionally we also see other victim’s perspective.

Annabelle travelled from London to Highlands for thrill ride on single track road- beautiful but secluded- from one gate of Glen Turrit across the hydro dam to another gate near Strathcarron. But on this route, where she wasn’t expecting anyone, she saw a girl that made her swerved the car that collided to a tree. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in damp and dark room, injured and kidnapped! Just within few chapters Scott, Canadian traveler was abducted after seeing a girl. Simultaneously, we see what was going on in Monica’s life after previous case that ended horribly, working in traffic department, and giving Lucy lot of time. But then she got call from her boss Hately who needed her in new case. They found dismembered body near dam, at bank of river Beauly. Within 2 days another body, same condition, close to another hydro power station. I was curious to find out who was the killer, whose bodies they found, was it Scott or someone else, who was that girl and why she was working with a killer, if Monica could find killer before he kills Scott or Anabelle, or if Anabelle can find a way to escape.

Monica was once again was great. I liked the way mother’s concerns and guilt were portrayed through her and Lucy’s relationship. Monica’s strength and vulnerability, how stress of new changes in Lucy and her nightmares were affecting her and the case, was realistic to read. Her intuitions related to case was brilliant. What I liked most was a glimpse in her past that showed her relationship with her father. I feel there is more about her to be revealed in next books. I had complain about her too frequent height reference in previous book but in this one it was better, not too often and didn’t appear unexpectedly.

I like Crawford in this book. We don’t know his full story yet but that was balanced by Fisher’s story. We know a bit about Fisher and his real life. It was surprising to know how that connected him to this murder case. Annabelle was caring and clever. She had parents issue and it was sad to see how her parents behaved and treated her and how deeply it affected her. Even after what she was enduring in killer’s den, she felt empathy towards Marcus and even in worst condition she was selfless. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. Villain was worst nightmare imaginable. The story he shared and what was revealed everything related to him was terrifying.

I enjoyed description of all Highland locations, a bit about hydro dam, its history and stories related to it, intermittent chapters’ from victims that cleared the mystery behind what exactly happened to them and why, and lastly that maze of underground tunnels and those chapters about it and Annabelle’s experience in there. Author did amazing job with tension, suspense, and twist and turns. Suspects were few but yet I couldn’t guess who the killer was until around 40% of the book and yet I couldn’t connect the dots and figure out why these particular victims until Monica’s last interview with suspect.

Climax was tense, blood chilling and adrenaline inducing. I was literally yelling at characters at this point thinking why it was taking so much time. I almost lost hope for Anabelle and it was not clear if she will live or not till the end. It felt so unfair what happened at the end but at the same time it felt realistic.

Why 4.5-

There are still more to characters and not all their stories were told in this book but I hope to read that in  next books in series.

Overall,

Dark Waters was clever, horrifying, fast paced and well written sequel with vivid and gruesome description and beautiful yet dangerous setting.

Books Links:

Goodreads | Pre-order | AmazonUK | Waterstones

Affiliate Link : Book Depository

I hope you enjoyed this review. Let me know what do you think about the book, if you have read this already or previous book in series, and Which is your favorite book set in Scotland.

Happy Reading!

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Rewritten cover

#GuestPost: Where Do Good Story Ideas Come From? by Tara Gilboy #Rewritten #MiddleGrade #Fantasy @JollyFishPress

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Hello Readers! Today I’m pleased to share guest post from Tara Gilboy, as a part of blog tour for Rewritten. Rewritten is Middle Grade Fantasy, second book in Unwritten series. If you missed my review on this book, check it out➡ HERE ⬅.

Guest Post: Where Do Good Story Ideas Come From?

One of the most common questions writers get asked is “where do you get your ideas from?” Often when I hear this question I freeze, because I’m not sure I have a good answer to it. I get ideas for stories all the time; I believe one of the requirements of being an author is to remain forever curious about the world.  Or perhaps writers are all a bit prone to anxiety. One of my professors in graduate school remarked that she thought ideas often come from a writer’s neuroticism. We are always imagining the worst that could happen in any given situation, and then rather than letting our worries develop into severe phobias, we write stories about them.

Recently, I was hiking on a mountain trail near my house, and as the sun started to set, I began imagining all the things that might jump out of the trees just beyond the next ridge. Axe murderers? A bigfoot creature? (Local legends call this creature a ‘zoobie.’) Ghosts? My mind started wandering about what would happen if something did leap out from behind a rock, and suddenly I was making up a story in my head about campers who stumble on a cell phone while hiking a trail, and on the phone is video footage of what happened to its owner…

So ideas are all around us all the time. Getting good ideas for stories is another thing entirely.  Most of the ideas I come up with are terrible, as my writing friends can attest. (Well, who wouldn’t want to read a story about a mountain-dwelling zoobie?)

The idea for Rewritten evolved from a variety of factors. When I finished Unwritten (for those of you unfamiliar with it, it’s a middle grade fantasy about a girl named Gracie who is a character from an unpublished fairy tale, whose parents took her out of the story, and into the real world, as a baby, to save her life), I knew if I wrote a sequel, Gracie would need to go into another story world, but I wasn’t sure what this story world would be. Would she go back to Bondoff, the fairy tale land of her birth? Somewhere else?

As I was struggling with these ideas and working on some other writing projects, I was also performing improv and taking classes at a San Diego comedy theater. A couple of the classes I took were on longform improv. One of the things we talked about was how to perform an improvised full-length play in a particular genre. It could be science fiction, Shakespeare, horror, film noire, musical…. You get the idea. As an exercise in class, we sat down and listed “tropes” for every genre, things that are common to each. For example, in Shakespeare, there are a lot of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, metaphors, love stories, etc. In film noire, there is usually rampant sexism, chain-smoking detectives, and dialogue that uses words like “dame” and “ace.” These lists got me thinking a lot about what genre might provide the highest stakes for Gracie, and it wasn’t long before I zeroed in on gothic horror, which also happens to be one of my favorite genres to read.

I spent a lot of time reading classics like Dracula and Frankenstein and making lists of tropes and clichés. I knew I needed a setting that was very contained, claustrophobic even. I imagined an old manor house, which I named Blackwood Hall. I wanted a creature that haunted the night. I listed spooky imagery like cemeteries, dark woods, shadowy hallways. Even then, though, the book hadn’t taken shape: I was stuck. I kept starting and stopping: even though I knew where Gracie’s journey would take her, I hadn’t figured out yet what that journey meant for her. In other words, I hadn’t figured out what Gracie’s goal was.

It wasn’t until I started delving deep into Gracie’s character, figuring out what her emotional wounds were that she needed to resolve, and thinking carefully about what she wanted (which ended up being about grappling with the events of Unwritten and who she was) that I was able to complete the novel. It was only then that I understood what impact traveling into the world of Blackwood Hall would have on Gracie.

And that brings me back to my point about what makes a good story idea. In order to have an idea that is sufficient to create a whole story, you have to know what your main character wants. This is the through line that will sustain your novel and hold all the events together, so that it feels like a cohesive story. Every time I’ve started a novel that floundered (I’ve written A LOT of partial novels that I abandoned halfway through), it’s because my protagonist didn’t have a strong enough goal. Ideas are all around us, and if you keep your eyes open and your curiosity sharp, you will find them. Once you’ve found your idea, think carefully about what that idea means for the main character. If you’re writing about time-traveling opera singers from outer space, or a town built of cotton candy, or a family of misunderstood mountain monsters, make sure you know what that journey means for your characters. That’s how you turn a random idea into a story readers won’t be able to put down.

Book Details:

Rewritten (Unwritten #2) by Tara Gilboy
Expected publication Date: April 7th 2020
Publisher: North Star Editions/Jolly Fish Press
Genre: Middle Grade / Fantasy

“After learning the truth about her own fairy tale, twelve-year-old Gracie wants nothing more than to move past the terrible things author Gertrude Winters wrote about her and begin a new chapter in the real world. If only things were going as planned. On the run from the evil Queen Cassandra, the characters from Gracie’s story have all been forced to start over, but some of them cannot forget Gracie’s checkered past.

Even worse, Gracie discovers that as long as Cassandra has her magical book, the Vademecum, Gracie’s story is still being written and none of the characters are safe, including her mom and dad. In a desperate attempt to set things right, Gracie finds herself transported into another one of Gertrude’s stories—but this one is a horror story. Can Gracie face her destiny and the wild beast roaming the night, to rewrite her own story?”

Book Links: Goodreads | Jolly Fish Press

Affiliate Links : Book Depository | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (IN) | Amazon (US)

What do you think about the book and post? Have you read this book already or any book in this series? Are you going to add it to TBR?

Happy Reading!

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No Signal (iMe, #2) by Jem Tugwell @JemTugwell @SerpentineBooks

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Hello Readers! Today I delighted to share my review of No Signal by Jem Tugwell for blog tour. Many thanks to Raquel Elias at Serpentine Books for tour invite and review copy.

No Signal (iMe, #2) by Jem Tugwell
Publications Date :  June 4th 2020 
Publisher : Serpentine Books
Genre : Science-Fictions / Thriller / Dystopia
Pages : 384
Stars : ★★★★★

In a breathtaking follow-up novel to ‘Proximity’, Serge says it’s the ultimate Augmented Reality game. He’s chosen his Ten carefully – the reckless, driven and strong. He tests them. Ten become Four.


DI Clive Lussac wants to fight the system that controls everything, but he’s ill and losing the people closest to him. In the middle of eco-
protests, he’s lost four tourists.


As Clive’s world unravels, he and his partners DC Ava Miller and DS Zoe Jordan race to find the tourists and the true reason behind the game. It may already be too late.

A CONTROLLED POPULATION
The UK has embedded technology – iMe.
It knows where you are… all the time. It controls what you eat.
It has eradicated crime and made everyone healthy.

A DEVASTATED WORLD
The world is on the brink.
The Government talks but doesn’t act.
It thinks it’s safe.

TIME FOR CHANGE
Who will ignite it?
Who has the determination to see it through?
What will be sacrificed for the cause?

*** Note : Many thanks to publisher for providing e-copy of this book as a part of blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. ***

No Signal was another mind blowing book in iMe series. It was about advances and drawbacks of technologies, government control and its impact on common people, political games, eco-socialism, terrorism, greed, fame, and power.

Writing was engaging, easy to follow and captivating. The world, like previous book, was impressive. In this book more pros and cons of iMe were explored which was broadened by inclusion of environmental conditions, terrorism, politics, gaming, and power. No Signal was multiple third person perspective, set in UK.

It started a year after the end of Proximity with villain dropping parcels in UK and selecting final participants for Forbidden Island, an AR game, but the real motive was sinister. That instantly made me curious to know what was in the parcel and why participants were sent to play in UK. At the same time things were same even worst with Clive. He was back to working at PCU, Zoe joined cybercrime department, health was spiraling down because of excess indulgence of chocolates, and his relationship with Sophia was on verge of breaking. Life was pretty dull and depressive with no real work until four tourist lost their signal. Now these four tourist were final four participant of the game. And so began the chase. I was curious to know how Clive and Ava will capture them, what their purpose was, and if the participant will reach their end destination and what will happen after that.

This was a bit different from first book. In Proximity culprit was unknown and tension was there from beginning till end, we know all moves of culprit and waiting to see when and how Clive and his department will capture the culprit. Here we know the organizer but not the mastermind of the game and we don’t know what they have planned until main twist at 60% of the book. Until then we are introduced to all participants and organizer, selection process, how participants reached UK, got rid of their iTourist band, and how they were doing in their game, Clive and his new partner Ava trying to figure out how to find them and capture them, and get at the bottom of this game.

Clive was amazing throughout the book. I felt for this man. It was really hard survive as anti-iMe in the iMe lover system and his addiction and craving for chocolates and alcohol didn’t help him much. Now his diabetes was back to stop all the cheat food he was having and sent Winter from health and well-being department back to breathing on his neck. I liked the way he tried to change to keep his relationship. I could see why he couldn’t keep trying. Problems at work, views of politicians, and then depression after climax pushed him beyond limits but still I didn’t approve what he did at the end.

Ava was lovely and brilliant. She was just 23, a small package full of strength, energy, and determination. She made Clive proud, solved half the case even before Clive could think. I loved this girl and along with Clive, I started to care for her.

Zoe took back seat in this book, popping here and there when required until that big twist. When the case went to her department she and Clive formed team once again. I loved seeing her back in action.

I loved scenes describing the arguments and views on government control with iMe, New Modelist church and its vision of peace and contentment, eco-socialism and its followers, control rebellions, pros and cons of diversity, cyber threats and terrorism in world. More importantly I liked the way drawbacks of technology and its impact was represented. This world solved most of the problem but couldn’t keep the earth safe, couldn’t treat patients with genetic defect, couldn’t see the impact on mental health and understand emotional conflicts and now all those protests and political game was leading humanity back to where it all started, going back in time of primitives. It was ironical.

Climax was sad and heartbreaking, tense and infuriating. I hated all politicians for using what happened to their advantage, was shocked at hearing their thoughts about change, angry at Clive’s boss, Lance, for messing things, not believing Clive, and then taking all credits. I liked Bhatt in first book but I didn’t in this because she didn’t support Clive enough. No wonder Clive’s depression went beyond his control. End was shocking with what Clive did but also made me smile and say ‘about time’. I want next book in this series. I hope author is not thinking to end it here.

Overall, No signal was brilliant, thought provoking, and impressive sci-fi thriller with realistic characters and intimidating world. For fans of dystopia and sci-fi, just grab this book. But read this in order.

Jem Tugwell Author Profile:

Jem Tugwell is a crime fiction author with a Crime Writing MA from City University. NO SIGNAL is the second book in the iMe series and follows his thrilling debut novel PROXIMITY. 

Jem is inspired by the fascinating possibilities of technology, AI and the law of unintended consequences. In a past life, Jem had a successful career in technology and investment management, and he lives in Surrey with his wife and dog. He has two great children. Outside of his family and writing, Jem’s loves are snowboarding, old cars and bikes.

Please visit Jem’s website (www.jemtugwell.com) to read more.Follow Jem on:Twitter @JemTugwellFacebook & Instagram JemTugwellAuthor

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon Australia | Kobo | Google | B&N | Apple | Goodreads link 

Giveaway:

As part of the blog tour, Serpentine Books is running a Copter competition to give a way 2 signed copies of Proximity (it is open to UK addresses only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think about the book? Have you read this already or any book by the same author? Would you like it if technology can control what you should or shouldn’t eat?

Happy Reading!

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