The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

 

A SECRET BEACH.

A HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME.

WISH YOU WERE HERE?

THINK AGAIN…

It should be like any other holiday.

Beautiful beaches.

Golden sunsets.

Nothing for miles.

You’ll never want to leave.

Until you can’t…

I love Lucy Clarke's novels but it has been 2 years since we were last able to lose ourselves in her last release so I was desperate to read her new release The Castaways.

Sisters Erin and Lori take a holiday of a lifetime together to Fiji but after an argument between the pair Erin doesn't take their morning flight with Lori. When devastation strikes and the plane disappears Erin spends the next 2 years desperately trying to find answers and locate the plane to know if her sister is missing or dead.

You can always count on Lucy Clarke to deliver an unpredictable storyline surrounded by the danger of water and once again the author has managed to pull the wool over my eyes with a shock revelation which I didn't see coming at any point. Although I have to say that this time there was also one part that I had already predicted but that didn't effect my enjoyment of the novel I just had a little fist bump to myself when it was revealed to congratulate myself

The chapters were short and sharp alternating between Lori's point of view which was written in the past and Erin's point of view which was told in the current day and I  was equally invested in both of the sisters. I love a good castaway story after reading On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves, I love to watch how the characters discover survival skills to stay alive and also to watch as time goes by the personalities of castaways begin to change as hunger and survival instincts kick in and they have to work out who to trust and who is a threat.

I love how the author also explores the incredibly strong bond that the sisters have but that she also shows the importance of not becoming suffocated by that bond and living a life through each other but to take your own path and live your own life knowing that they are always there for love and support.

This was another great tension building adventure by Lucy Clarke which kept me intrigued the whole way through. The authors impeccable writing style provides pure escapism and the dual narrative worked perfectly around this storyline.

I definitely recommend this book and I hope the author doesn't make us wait quite as long for her next novel.

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You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for this absolute corker of a read, You Let Me In.

Those of you who follow my reviews will know what a big fan of Lucy Clarke I am so you can imagine my delight when her latest release landed on my door mat.

I have brought every one of Lucy Clarke’s novel time and time again for friends because they deserved to be read far and wide and I fail to see how any one would not love them as they are always full of suspense. Lucy Clarke’s new release is You Let Me In has a different look to her previous novels, gone are the sea scenes that seem to have been her signature style and in place is a white and grey chilling cover.

Bestselling author Elle returns home from a writing retreat but as soon as she walks in she knows that something isn’t right. She had rented her home out for the first time on air bnb but she had locked her writing room wanting to keep her privacy but on return the room is unlocked.

As the days follow and the deadline for her next book is looming but the words won’t flow, numerous unexplainable and creepy things begin to happen to her as if there is a constant presence in the house.

Wow wow wow! How does Lucy Clarke do this to me every time? Some books you read and they have that warm cosy inviting feeling, well not Lucy’s books her books chill me to the bone and have me so tense, I am talking shoulders permanently up by my ears from start to finish!

This book was so cleverly plotted keeping me guessing and having me suspicious of each and every character me meet, including our main character Elle! When the revelation came I was in complete and utter shock I had not seen this coming.

I don’t usually like to use the typical page turner quote in my reviews but this book has to be an exception as each time I went to put the book down instantly picked it back up again flying through the pages intrigued to see what was going to happen in the house next, I was so relieved when my Saturday night plans fell through so I could continue on this creepy chilling discovery!

This is an absolute corker of a book and to make it even better our main character Elle is an author so it was great to have a little insight into the authors pressures when a deadline is due. What I have always loved about this authors writing is how beautifully she describes everything from the surroundings to the feeling and emotions she just makes everything feel so heightened which puts us on edge even more as she pulls us in ready to take us by complete surprise.

I will be recommending this book to every bookworm I talk to and any of you who have read Luc Clarke’s previous novels will be blown away by this, her best book yet.

If you are eager to get your hands on a copy then you will be thrilled to know that the generous

team at Harper Collins have kindly offered a copy that is up for grabs in a UK Only giveaway.

Good Luck!

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Last Seen by Lucy Clarke

I am kicking off the blog tour for this fabulous read by a much loved author of mine Lucy Clarke.

I have been desperate to share my review for Last Seen for weeks so I am thrilled that I can finally now shout about it from the roof tops!

Seven years ago, two boys went missing at sea – and only one was brought to shore. The Sandbank, a remote stretch of coast dotted with beach huts, was scarred forever.

Sarah’s son survived, but on the anniversary of the accident, he disappears without trace. As new secrets begin to surface, The Sandbank hums with tension and unanswered questions. Sarah’s search grows more desperate and she starts to mistrust everyone she knows – and she’s right to.

Someone saw everything on that fateful day seven years ago. And they’ll do anything to keep the truth buried

My Review

The Queen of the sea is back with her new novel Last Seen which is just as gripping and twisty as her previous books but has a slightly darker feel to the storyline.

Seven years ago two little boys Jacob and Marley swam out to sea but only one is brought back, the events of that day has had a big impact on the friendship between the boys mothers Sarah and Isla.
On the 7th anniversary of the accident, Jacob disappears and Sarah is desperate to find her son but trying to find him will mean many secrets will need to be revealed.

I was captivated the whole way through this book. The characters were all so well developed but strangely for me I didn't warm to any of them because this storyline has you questioning each and every character and their motives so because you are too suspicious of everyone you don't allow yourself to trust and warm to any of them. Usually if there is not a character I love it really puts me off a book but I didn't feel this way with this novel and I think that is because the plot was so strong with so much uncertainty and mystery that I was desperate to get to the bottom of the events all those years ago as well as the present day.

I can honestly say at no point could I have predicted what was revealed in this twisty book, I had my suspicions that a certain character definitely had a lot to hide but then I suspected everyone! If you love an unpredictable storyline that constantly leads you down the wrong path then you will love this book.

What I have always loved about Lucy Clarke's writing is her connection and descriptive writing she has when writing about the sea, this woman must have been a mermaid in a previous life! This book again is set around the sea with a tragic accident occurring in the waters and the author brings out the mystery of the sea which holds many secrets never to be told.

At different points in the book I found I was shocked, disturbed, angry, suspicious and I also questioned how far I would go to protect a love one so this book will take you on a real journey of emotions.

This is another must read by Lucy Clarke so be sure to grab a copy next time your in town.

The Blue by Lucy Clarke

They had found paradise. 
What would they do to keep it? 
With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines. 
There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht, with a wandering crew. 

They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home. 
But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.

A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t let paradise go…whatever the price.

In Lucy Clarke’s new book she whisks us away to sail the sea on a yacht called The Blue. Best Friends Lana and Kitty join the crew when they meet them in the Philippines and they soon fit in with the routine on board and enjoy the carefree life. Things take a turn when one of the crew goes missing and tensions are running high as secrets are being hidden. Things are not what they seem and things are about to be revealed.

What another absolute corker by Lucy Clarke. I loved her debut Sea Sisters and she then topped her debut with her second release A Single Breath and now The Blue which is the authors third book is easily another 5 star read.

I loved each of the characters even though I was also suspicious of them all too! Lana and Kitty have a believable strong friendship and each of the girls although they have different characteristics they were both a joy to share their adventure with.

The book is told in two different time frames Then and Now which worked really well for this book and it helped to  bring more suspense and tension to the storyline as clues were revealed in the Then parts which are like parts of the jigsaw fitting into place to then work out how the events in Now have come to place.

The book is about friendships, lies and deceit, secrets and a splash of romance which were all weaved together to create an explosive captivating read. There are many twists and turns in this book that are completely unpredictable which made this book so gripping I was always on edge. I felt like just as I felt like I got to know each of the crew members I would then find out something about their past and then it was as though I was seeing them in a different light and my opinions of them all began to change.

What I have loved about this authors writing style in her past books as well as this one is the way she manages to describe the setting and especially the ripple and tranquility of the sea, it feels calm and yet eerie at the same time. There really is no reason to use your imagination as the author paints the scene perfectly.

I am so excited by this author her books are just flawless and with each book being set around the sea Lucy Clarke sets herself apart from other authors and brings us something completely different and yet so addictive and tense with each book she delivers. This book gets another big thumbs up from me I just don’t know how we will cope with the wait for her next book.

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A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke Review and Interview

Today on the blog I am joined by the talented Lucy Clarke.

 1) Hi Lucy thank you for coming over to Rea Book Reviews today to answer some questions for me. Firstly your debut novel The Sea Sisters received amazing reviews and was one of the hottest books of 2013, did this make you feel added pressure for book two?
Luckily there were eighteen months between finishing The Sea Sisters and it actually landing on the shelves over here in the UK, so in that time I wrote A Single Breath. I had no idea whether The Sea Sisters would take off or not, so I just got my head down and focused on my second novel. That removed a huge amount of pressure because, yes, I think it would have been very hard otherwise. Also, to avoid that sort of ‘slump’ when you’ve finished writing a book, I try to make sure that I have my next idea in mind a few months before completing a novel. That way, there’s no time to fret about writer’s block as the next idea is already fizzing and popping!

 2) For me A Single Breath was even better than The Sea Sisters and I think this is because of the suspense that you created, do you plan how you are going to include the twists before you start writing the book or do they come to you naturally as you progress with the book?
Thank you – it’s lovely to hear this. I do a lot of planning before I begin writing. I know the key events that will happen, and how the novel will end – but inevitably, as you write, things change. Many of my favourite twists in A Single Breath presented themselves as I started to inhabit the world of my characters. 

 3) Your descriptive writing style is breathtaking and sets the scene beautifully, did you spend time in Tasmania for research for this book? What other research did you do for this book?
I spent two winters in Tasmania researching. Very good friends of ours emigrated there, so my husband and I flew out to visit them in 2011. The place got under my skin and I loved the wild, frontier feel of the land, so decided to set a novel there. I went back the following winter on a research trip and had an incredible month doing a recce of the island, working out where specific events in the novel would take place, as well interviewing locals, including two fascinating marine biologists. I also learnt to scuba dive in Tasmania, which gave me a beautiful insight into the underwater world, and helped me write the freediving scenes within the novel.

4) Are you currently working on book three and is there anything you can tease us with? Will it be following the sea theme?
Yes, I’m currently writing my third novel – and loving every moment of it! The working title is The Blue, and the novel is set on a yacht sailing towards the South Pacific, crewed by a group of travellers. Best friends, Lana and Kitty, join the yacht in the Philippines and sail through crystal clear lagoons, and remote, uninhabited islands. But, on a 10-day ocean crossing, the crew wake to discover one of their friends is missing – and no one claims to have seen anything. Disturbed by the disappearance, relationships between the crew begin to fracture, and Lana and Kitty’s friendship is stretched to breaking point. It’s a story of friendship, hedonism, and the delicate balance between truth and lies. 

 5) Where do you usually write?
My favourite place to write, where I have my clearest thought, has always been by the sea. I’ve grown up on the south coast of England, so the sea has always been part of my life. Cities are wonderful and exciting places to be, but after a few days I feel an almost gravitational pull towards the coast. Our family has a beach hut where I tuck myself away to write. The hut is quiet, sits right on the sand, and has views stretching for miles. In the summer this is where I go to write, even on rainy, blustery days. Sometimes they’re the best! Plus it means I can take lovely breaks and go for beach strolls, swims, or a paddleboard. Winter is a bit more challenging. I have a ‘writing room’ at home and luckily my husband works from home too, otherwise I think I’d find the quiet a bit much. I generally don’t like to be confined to my desk, so I’ll often move around the house, using the lounge or bedroom to write in, too. And I absolutely have to get outside every day. We also travel for part of every winter, so when we’re away my writing space can be anywhere: a beach, a cafe, a hostel, an airport lounge. Sometimes a roaming office can be the best type of creative space there is.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. I am sure you all want to know more about A Single Breath now so check out my review below.

The deeper the water, the darker the secrets.

There were so many times I thought about telling you the truth, Eva. What stopped me was always the same thing… When Eva’s husband Jackson tragically drowns, she longs to meet his estranged family. The journey takes her to Jackson’s brother’s doorstep on a remote Tasmanian island. As strange details about her husband’s past begin to emerge, memories of the man she married start slipping through her fingers like sand, as everything she ever knew and loved about him is thrown into question. Now she’s no longer sure whether it was Jackson she fell in love with – or someone else entirely… The truth is, it was all a lie . . .

A Single Breath is Lucy Clarke’s second novel and one I have been eagerly awaiting after reading her stunning debut Sea Sisters last year.

After Eva’s husband Jackson drowns she is left heartbroken and feeling the need to be with his family over in Tasmania. There is one problem, Jackson’s family have never met Eva, so when she arrives she doesn’t receive the welcome she was hoping for and as her time on the Island increases more secrets are being discovered.

This was yet another masterpiece by Lucy Clarke. I was unsure if this author was going to be able to bring us another book like Sea Sisters but this was fantastic and in my honest opinion this book blows Sea Sisters out of the water.

The book quickly grabs your attention from the first chapter and manages to hold it all the way through. The best thing though for me about this book is the suspense. I cannot tell you the last time I read a book where I had absolutely no idea as to what secrets were going to be uncovered, this book had me clueless right until about 50 pages before the end so it was well and truly a compelling read. The author has a clever writing style where although she leaves a trail of crumbs of clues along the way it isn’t until you know the secrets that you look back and see the clues.

The book covers a variation of topics from secrets, lies and deceit to tragic events to heartbreak and romance so there really is a lot packed into this book for everyone to enjoy.

Eva was a very plain, ordinary character but this actually worked well with this book, I think because she seemed so normal it made the storyline feel more realistic which then helped with the shocking discoveries. My favourite character though has to be the deliciously gorgeous Saul, he was a very guarded distant character when we first met him but underneath it all he is actually a very caring and loving man who you can’t help but drool over!

I am very excited about this author I think she is going to be one to watch, I cannot wait for her next release. If you are looking for a compelling page turner that is full of suspense then make A Single Breath your next read.

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The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke

Two sisters, one life-changing journey… There are some currents in the relationship between sisters that run so dark and so deep, it’s better for the people swimming on the surface never to know what’s beneath . . . Katie’s carefully structured world is shattered by the news that her headstrong younger sister, Mia, has been found dead in Bali – and the police claim it was suicide. With only the entries of Mia’s travel journal as her guide, Katie retraces the last few months of her sister’s life, and – page by page, country by country – begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her death. What she discovers changes everything. But will her search for the truth push their sisterly bond – and Katie – to breaking point? The Sea Sisters is a compelling story of the enduring connection between sisters.

The synopsis to The Sea Sisters did an excellent job at sparking my interest, before I even started to read this book I was intrigued by this storyline. The story follows two sisters, Katie and Mia who have a very troubled relationship. After the loss of their mum Katie has taken the role of protector but this is not something Mia is thankful for she feels inadequate compared to her sister. Much to Katie’s surprise Mia returns from work one day and declares out of the blue she is going travelling with best friend Finn. It is during Mia’s travels that Katie is woken to a rap on the door only to find the police at her door with some very unwelcome news Mia has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Bali. Katie is heartbroken but she has many questions she needs answering and there is only one way to find the answers and so she embarks on her journey.

The story is written in alternate narrative which allows us to follow both of the girls journey and to get to know each of the characters separately. I really enjoyed both of the girls journeys but with me being a younger sister I felt like I sympathised more with Mia. Some of the things Mia tells us especially the relationship between her sister and her mum I could relate to.

We follow Katie as she retraces her sisters steps through Mia’s journal so we see her begin to unravel some truths, many of which are a shock to Katie as well as us the reader. It was great to hear  from Mia as her emotions are portrayed through her actions and it soon becomes clear that she is a flawed character and feels that she is living in her sisters shadow, she doesn’t feel as if she belongs. The relationship between the two sisters have very realistic characteristics such as jealousy, competition and the love/hate relationship.

The authors writing was very descriptive and managed to set the scene perfectly, I assume the author is very well traveled as this shows in her writing. The suspense that she creates was perfect it managed to keep my interest meaning I devoured the book in no time at all. I was so hooked I found it an inconvenience when my clients were turning up early, did they not know I had an important mystery to solve! I found the book to be unpredictable which is something I love in a book. The book has an air of mystery to it and is also a very touching and unpredictable read.

This is definitely one to read if you are looking for a compelling mystery. The Sea Sisters is due for release on the 9th of May and is definitely one not to be missed.

check out this link to the video trailer for this book

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