UNCOVERED PICKS: Five June Releases

June's here, and with it comes new books! Here's a selection of this month's new releases, including novels from Lilly Bartlett and Rosie Nixon, and well-known beauty vlogger Louise Pentland.

The Second Chance Cafe in Carlton Square by Lilly Bartlett
Everyone expects great things from Emma Billings, but when her future gets derailed by an unexpected turn of events, she realizes that getting back on track means traveling in a different direction.

She finds that new path in the closed-down pub on Carlton Square. Summoning every ounce of ingenuity, and with the help of her friends and family, she opens the Second Chance Café. The charity training business is meant to keep vulnerable kids off the streets and (hopefully) away from the Metropolitan Police, and her new employees are full of ideas, enthusiasm … and trouble. They'll need as much TLC as the customers they’re serving.

This ragtag group of chancers have to make a go of a business they know nothing about, and they do get some expert help from an Italian who's in love with the espresso machine and a professional sandwich whisperer who reads auras, but not everyone is happy to see the café open. Their milk keeps disappearing and someone is canceling the cake orders, but it's when someone commits bloomicide on all their window boxes that Emma realizes things are serious. Can the café survive when NIMBY neighbors and the rival café owner join forces to close them down? Or will Emma’s dreams fall as flat as the cakes they’re serving?

Party Girls Die in Pearls by Plum Sykes
Pimm's, punting and ball gowns are de rigeur. Ursula Flowerbutton, a studious country girl, arrives for her first term anticipating nothing more sinister than days spent poring over history books - and, perhaps, an invitation to a ball. But when she discovers a ghastly crime, she is catapulted into a murder investigation.

Determined to unravel the case - and bag her first scoop for the famous student newspaper Cherwell - Ursula enlists the help of her fellow Fresher, the glamorous American Nancy Feingold. While navigating a whirl of black-tie parties and secret dining societies, the girls discover a surfeit of suspects. From broken-hearted boyfriends to snobby Sloanes, lovelorn librarians to dishy dons, none can be presumed innocent.

Clueless meets Agatha Christie in this wickedly funny tale of high society, low morals and a middle-class girl, the first book in Plum Sykes's irresistible new series.

Amber Green Takes Manhattan by Rosie Nixon
Novice stylist Amber Green is taking on the glittering celebrity world of Manhattan one fashion disaster and wardrobe malfunction at a time!

When her TV producer boyfriend Rob announces that he’s been offered a job in New York, filming with the infamous Angel Wear lingerie models, Amber knows its her perfect chance to take the New York fashion world by storm.

But Amber wasn’t counting on unruly toddler photo shoots, clandestine designer handbag scams and a Hollywood star who is determined to wear as little as possible on the red carpet. Until she meets a disgraced former designer who could turn her career around…or leave it all in tatters.

The Brazilian by Rosie Millard
Following a sensational scandal at one of London's most desired postcodes, Jane and Patrick decide to escape the gossip with a family holiday to Ibiza, their eight-year-old son George in tow.

Also on the island that week is a TV reality show involving an eccentric artist, a horny It Girl, a Brazilian footballer and a famous magician.

As hapless celebrities are picked off one by one, Jane is desperate to be on the programme, leaving childcare in the not so capable hands of a teenager.

One lesbian escapade and an explosive row over hair removal later, the contestants of Ibiza or Bust leave the island with more than sand in places they never knew existed...

Wilde Like Me by Louise Pentland
Single mum Robin Wilde adores her six-year-old daughter and loves her job as a make up artist's assistant. She has a wonderful best friend and an auntie who is bonkers, yes, but loves her to the moon and back. 

But Robin has a secret. Behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things just feel ... grey. And lonely. She struggles to fit in with the school mum crew. Online dating is totally despair-inducing, and she worries every day about raising her little girl with self-confidence, courage and joy.

What Robin longs for is someone (over the age of six) to share with - someone who's always on her team. 

After 4 years (2 months, and 15 days!) of single-mum-dom, it's time for Robin Wilde to Change. Her. Life. 

Exciting new opportunities are about to come Robin's way ... Perhaps a man, perhaps the chance of a lifetime...

What will Robin do with the possibilities she creates for herself? And what potential will she unlock if she takes the leap?

NEW RELEASES: The Big Lead by Libby Kirsch

Mystery fans are very likely to enjoy the new novel by Libby Kirsch! The Big Lead follows Montana TV reporter Stella Reynolds as she uncovers a story that could lead to a lot of potential trouble...

Stella Reynolds is new to the job, new to the state, and new to making mistakes in front of thousands of people, but that’s exactly what she signs up for when she takes a job as a TV reporter in the mountains of Bozeman, Montana. Being on live TV in a small town has never been so funny, until Stella covers the town’s first murders in years. 

When the prime suspect’s girlfriend enlists Stella to help clear his name, she uncovers another shocking crime that could expose a handful of powerful insiders. 

Who is honest, who can’t be trusted, and who committed the murders? Stella is on a tight deadline to find out. Can she help free an innocent man, or will the real culprit get away with murder? 

BOOK NEWS: Robin Lockslay by Lana Pecherczyk

Australian author Lana Pecherczyk has just released the first episode of her new action-packed, romantic comedy Robin Lockslay. The novel will be released in bite-sized parts, which will be available every week until 23rd September. Personally, I love the idea of weekly bite-sized episodes and a modern-day Robin Hood? Definitely. Read on for more info...

After Richard Lionhart catches Robin Lockslay, a thief with a heart of gold, stealing his family heirlooms, he hires her to ferret out corporate espionage at his charitable foundation. When two years later Richard goes missing, Robin must revisit her street urchin ways and join forces with some light fingered friends: Scarlett Wilson, Allana Dale, Jonina Little and the gallant Marius Day. Will she solve the mystery in time to save the man with whom she owes her life?

In Robin’s own words ...

Nominative determinism. It’s a real thing, I kid you not. It’s the theory that a person’s name has inevitable power over the choices they make in life. So, when you hear my name is Robin Lockslay and I break locks, well, you can make up your own mind. It’s not like the first moment I understood what slay and lock meant, I gravitated toward a hairpin and shoved it in a padlock. Ha! No. There were a series of unfortunate events that led to the most complicated moment of my year. A moment where I ran for my life down the tarmac toward a private jet with the son of a billionaire and a case of stolen diamonds.

BOOK REVIEW: His Other Life by Beth Thomas

I had been looking forward to His Other Life by Beth Thomas for some time, especially as I had heard good reviews about Beth's other novel, Carry You. Other reasons? The cover is spellbinding, and I love a good mystery, so the synopsis really pulled me in.

Grace’s new husband Adam seems like the perfect package. Good looking, great job, completely charming – almost too good to be true... 

So when Adam suddenly disappears from Grace’s life, she is left bewildered and heartbroken. And with a lot of unanswered questions.

As she tries desperately to find him, Grace opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets and lies – and starts to learn that Adam wasn’t so perfect after all.

Grace is leading a seemingly happy life with new husband Adam. In fact, she still can't believe how lucky she is. With his great job as an estate agent and his charming demeanor, Grace is looking forward to a cosy life with her lovely husband. That is, until he receives a mysterious text - and a strange voice message from a man called Leon. Just what is Adam hiding?

But before she can question him about it, Adam disappears. When he doesn't return from picking up a takeaway, Grace begins to worry, because Adam is gone. Completely. With no clues as to why her husband has vanished (besides the mysterious Leon), Grace is determined to solve the mystery. With the help of her best friend Ginger and  Ginger's police officer brother Matt, Grace begins her search, with a key found in Adam's belongings leading her to a safe. A safe that is about to uncover her 'perfect' husband's big secret...

I had high hopes for this book, especially at the beginning. The first chapter begins with Grace seeing a text on Adam's phone, and I was instantly intrigued. However, I found that the story became quite slow after Adam's initial disappearance, and often throughout the book. Another odd thing I found is that after the anger at the start of the book, Grace didn't seem too bothered about Adam shortly afterwards, which seemed a bit out of character given that her love for her apparent Mr Right was implied since the start of the book. It didn't take long for Grace to turn her attentions to Matt, and even though people deal with grief in various ways (and Adam's faults were becoming clearer throughout the story), there was just something strange about Grace's behaviour.

In addition, Adam's big secret was a bit of a let-down. I won't elaborate due to the obvious risk of spoilers, but even though it was unpredictable, it was just a bit disappointing.

His Other Life did convey elements of a crime novel, and I really enjoyed this, no doubt because I am a fan of both crime fiction and chick-lit, and sometimes this mixture works extremely well. And it did here, somewhat. I just found that it had more potential.

That said, I enjoy Beth's writing style, and definitely would not hesitate to read her future novels.

Rating: 3/5

BOOK REVIEW: Good Sam by Dete Meserve

What would you do if you found $100,000 in cash on your doorstep? And what if you had no idea where it came from? Dete Meserve explores this concept in her novel Good Sam, in which a Los Angeles TV reporter becomes involved in a story which is about to change her life in an unexpected way...

When an anonymous donor dubbed 'Good Sam' by the media starts leaving bags of banknotes on the doorsteps of needy people, the city is desperate to find out who is behind the good deeds. One person in particular is TV news reporter Kate Bradley. After covering local murders and police stories for most of her career, Kate is sure that unmasking Good Sam will get her the story of her career.

However, discovering the identity of Good Sam proves tough for Kate. With so many people claiming to be Good Sam just to get a taste of the spotlight, locating the person who is truly behind the bout of donations is going to take a lot of digging. Digging that's made slightly more difficult with Kate's ex-fiance Jack intent on getting back together, and handsome Eric, who Kate meets whilst reporting on the Good Sam story. Ambitious reporter Kate won't stop until Good Sam is found, even if it begins to take over her personal life as well...

Good Sam is a wonderfully-written novel. It's intriguing and full of suspense, with great characters (Kate especially) and numerous twists throughout the book which will keep you guessing until the very end. I had no idea who Good Sam could be until I reached the final chapters, which made the novel even more fantastic. Admittedly it's quite hard to fully review the novel without dropping spoilers, so if you have a penchant for mystery and romance, I highly suggest that you check out Good Sam for yourselves! Dete Meserve is a very promising author and I look forward to reading any future novels.

Rating: 5/5

BOOK REVIEW: Prime Deception by Carys Jones

I was intrigued when I received a review copy of Prime Deception, the recently-released novel by Carys Jones. Published by Carina in the crime/thriller genre, Prime Deception focuses on Deputy Prime Minister Charles Lloyd, whose affair with an intern is about to be made headline news...

Investigative journalist John Quinn has spent years waiting and working to get a story that will shock the nation. Working for a notorious British tabloid, he finds himself extremely close to the story of his dreams - a kiss-and-tell with the young intern mistress of the Deputy Prime Minister. However, just before the story is printed, John receives a call that quickly puts an end to his dream. The intern, Lorna Thomas, is dead.

Charles Lloyd is devastated when he hears of Lorna's death. However, with his job as the Deputy PM, his feelings have to be kept strictly under wraps. Charles is regretful about the affair with Lorna - mainly because he was never able to admit his true feelings for her. And now it's too late. Having to put on a brave face for his wife, for his colleagues, and for the nation, is a difficult feat, because Lorna won't ever be coming back.

Meanwhile, convinced that her twin's death was uncharacteristic, Laurie Thomas leaves her quiet life behind for a while and heads to London with a mission in mind: to finally find out the truth about her sister.

Successfully getting into the Downing Street internship programme, Laurie puts herself in her sister's shoes in a bid to find out what truly happened. Ambitious, confident and lively Lorna would never have killed herself - so why did it happen?

Knowing about the affair, Laurie gets close to Charles to try and work out her twin sister's motives. Yet it becomes difficult for Charles when, after the initial shock of realising his lover had a twin, he begins to fall for Laurie.

Just what - or who - made Lorna Thomas drive to her death?

When I first started reading Prime Deception, I couldn't put it down. The book begins with reporter John, finding out that the story he's worked so hard on has fallen through. Lorna has been killed, and Charles has no idea why - and no way to find out without being caught out about the affair - a secret that'd make news across the nation if it was ever to be found out...

However, I couldn't help but find that a lot of the book focused more on the feelings of the characters, and less on the mystery of Lorna's disappearance. Throughout the book, the reader is given an insight into the feelings of Charles - his guilt, his love for Lorna, the thoughts that do not seem to go away. And there's Laurie, now an outsider in her family home now that her perfect sister has gone, and unable to let Lorna go until she unearths the truth. Even though I enjoyed reading about these characters and their obvious struggles at the start, I felt that it continued for too many chapters, and that information that could have made Prime Deception an even more addictive read, was left out. I wanted to read even more about John, for example, and more into the life of Faye, secretary to Charles.

I noticed quite early in this book that Prime Deception seemed to be a mix of the crime and romance genres, which I thought would work very well, though about halfway through I found that it was more confusing; there was no real romance besides that of Charles and Lorna. The ending of Prime Deception was surprising and great, although I felt cheated in some way by one of the minor characters turning up right at the end, and having not known that much about him, I was unsure about his motives. (I don't want to say too much as I do not want to spoil this book!) The book ended well, though a lot of the suspense happened mainly towards the end.

I enjoyed reading Prime Deception, and I will definitely read any future novels by this author as I feel that she is a very good writer with a great writing style. As someone who enjoys both the crime genre and romance, this was an interesting read. However, I did get the feeling that it might disappoint those who are looking for a fast-paced crime novel.

Rating: 4/5