Out of Time by Loretta Livingstone

Out of Time

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

Awarded Editor's Choice and shortlisted for the 2016 Historical Novel Society Indie Award

1191: Giles de Soutenay has never liked or trusted John, Count of Mortain, but when John is taken seriously ill, it falls to Giles to ensure his survival.

2006: Marion Hart, visiting the ruined Abbey of Sparnstow, could never have imagined she would be called upon to help save one of the most dangerous men of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Falling through a gap in time, she finds herself administering first aid to John, inadvertently endangering both herself and Giles.

Book #1 of the Out of Time series - a time travel story, set in medieval England.

'Ms Livingstone has proved her worth as a creditable, skilled, and entertaining writer.'
Mary Chapple, Discovering Diamonds Blogspot.
https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/out-of-time-by-loretta-livingstone.html



Genre:  Medieval Fiction/Time Travel

Approx pages:  208

Out of Time was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

Out of Time 

is also a

sponsored by Avalon Graphics

Two In The Bush by John Manuel

Two In The Bush

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

Adrian Dando has a good marriage, and a steady, if somewhat pedestrian life in the West of England. Without warning it all goes horribly wrong and he is left alone and bereft.

Having two friends who have already moved out to Greece, he decides, with their encouragement, to do likewise. After all, a new start, a new life, new experiences, all of these should enable him to kick-start his life again, maybe even bring him some degree of happiness.

A 'chance' discovery of a woman's body in a quiet location not far from his home starts a chain of events that just may turn his idyll into a nightmare.

But is everything as it seems? With a plot that twists like series of old olive branches, "Two in the Bush" carries enough surprises to keep you wondering to the last page.


Genre:  Murder / Thrillers / Contemporary Fiction
Approx pages:  376

Two In The Bush was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

sponsored by Avalon Graphics

No Room For Regret by Janeen Anne O'Connell

No Room For Regret

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

"Historical fiction at its best."

February 1811
Consumed with loathing, 18-year-old James Tedder regretted trusting the 70-year-old diamond merchant. Chained below deck he listened to the sobs and wails of fellow prisoners. Putting his hand over his nose to filter the vile smells of sea sickness and bodily excrement, James wondered how his life on the other side of the world could ever be worth living.
Will he survive?

Paralysed with regret, James Blay rued his decision to try to sell the stolen boots. It was almost fatal. His death sentence, commuted to life in a place no one knew anything about, was little comfort. His wife and sons were left in London to fend for themselves.
Will he ever see them again?

May 1812
Sarah Blay watched the convict ship "Indefatigable" as it began its voyage to the other side of the world. Her shoemaker husband James and his friend James Tedder were on board. One year later Sarah bundled up her three small sons and said a final goodbye to her mother. She boarded the HMS Kangaroo, and followed her husband to Van Diemen’s Land.
Will Sarah regret her decision?

Genre:  Australian & Oceanian
Approx pages:  324

No Room For Regret was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

sponsored by Avalon Graphics

The Journal by R D Stevens

The Journal

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

What do you do when you lose the only thing that you truly care for?

Ethan Willis is a confused 18 year old who struggles with the uncertainties of life and has just embarked on a quest to find his elder sister, Charlotte, who disappeared whilst travelling in South East Asia. Ethan admires and idolises his sister for her spontaneity, individualism and worldly understanding. His quest to locate her throws him into the backpacking world and, following what could be his sister’s ghost, he is taken on a journey through the countryside of Cambodia, into the remotest parts of Laos and finally to the party islands of Thailand.

When Ethan finds his sister’s journal by chance, he traces her footsteps. The travel journal, along with flashbacks to their childhood, reveals Charlotte’s nature and her relationship with Ethan, taking the young man on an existential journey as he is led to address many of his questions about meaning, truth and beauty.

With the help of a Elodie, a fragile and complex girl with whom he has developed a meaningful relationship, and his own growing sense of self-esteem, Ethan begins to question his relationship with his sister and why she disappeared. When he finally learns of a place in which he might be able to locate his sister, will he be ready to find her?


Genre:  Coming of Age / Family Life / Fiction
Approx pages:  253

The Journal was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

sponsored by Avalon Graphics

Sleeping Through War by Jackie Carreira

Sleeping Through War

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

Set against the backdrop of real, world-changing events, these are the stories that are forgotten in the history books.


The year is 1968 and the world is changing forever. During the month of May, students are rioting and workers are striking across the globe, civil rights are being fought and died for, nuclear bombs are being tested, there are major conflicts on every continent, and war is raging in Vietnam. Against this volatile background, three women strive to keep everything together.

Rose must keep her dignity and compassion as a West Indian nurse in East London. Amalia must keep hoping that her son can escape their seedy life in Lisbon. And Mrs Johnson in Washington DC must keep writing to her son in Vietnam. She has no-one else to talk to. Three different women, three different countries, but all striving to survive - a courageous attitude that everybody can relate to.

Although Sleeping Through War is a work of fiction, this somewhat hidden history attempts to humanise a few weeks in time that were so stuffed with monumental events that it’s easy to forget the people involved. The author was a child in 1968 and lived in London and Lisbon during the 1960s. She met women like these and didn’t want their voices to go unheard into the future. Readers of both history and literary fiction will enjoy this emotionally-vivid work that weaves fiction into fact.


Genre:  Literary Fiction / Contemporary Fiction
Approx pages:  233

Sleeping Through War was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

sponsored by Avalon Graphics

The Mrs MacKinnons by Jayne Davis

The Mrs MacKinnons

has RECEIVED a

Chill with a Book READERS’ Award

England, 1799

Major Matthew Southam returns from India, hoping to put the trauma of war behind him and forget his past. Instead, he finds a derelict estate and a family who wish he'd died abroad.


Charlotte MacKinnon married without love to avoid her father’s unpleasant choice of husband. Now a widow with a young son, she lives in a small Cotswold village with only the money she earns by her writing.


Matthew is haunted by his past, and Charlotte is fearful of her father’s renewed meddling in her future. After a disastrous first meeting, can they help each other find happiness?


Genre:  Regency / Historical Romance
Approx pages:  564

The Mrs MacKinnons was read and evaluated by Chill's readers against the following...

Were the characters strong and engaging?
 Was the book well written?
Did the story / plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
Was the ending satisfying?

Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Amazon co uk

Amazon com

sponsored by Avalon Graphics