Published by:  Headline Review (7th April 2016)

ISBN: 9781472229328

Source:  Publisher provided egalley, via NetGalley

Rating: 3*

Synopsis:

In the small Cornish town of Talting, everyone is known for something.

Up to the age of twenty-four, artist Rose Walker was known for lots of things: her infectious positivity; her unique artistic talent; her second-to-none cookery skills; and, of course, her devotion to childhood sweetheart and husband Lucas.

But, two years ago, all of that changed in one, unthinkable moment. Now, Rose is known for being a young woman who became a widow aged just twenty-four.

Rose knows that life must - should - go on. But the prospect of trying to carve out a future for herself is one she can still barely entertain. Until a newcomer, Robert Green, arrives in Talting for the summer...

Can Rose allow herself the chance to love again?

Review:

As soon as I saw the gorgeous cover of Victoria Walters' debut novel, I wanted to read it. The lovely bright colours and eye catching image stood out among rows of other cover images.

The setting of Talting really struck a chord with me, being from a small town in the Westcountry myself, but the close knit community in the book brought to mind a smaller place than a town, perhaps a village or hamlet. The descriptions of the environment are good and I could picture most of the scenery without much difficulty.

Rose is a likeable, believable character, if a little naive, and seems fairly typical of a lead female in a romance novel. The minor characters gave good support, but I found Robert a bit hard hard work. I get that he is meant to be mysterious, but I just didn't find him very believable, unfortunately.

The Second Love of my Life is an easy to read romance that has elements of sombreness. It is rather predictable, but that's not out of the ordinary for the genre and doesn't detract from the story.

Thanks to Headline Review and NetGalley for providing me with a copy, in return for my honest review.

Publication Date: 1st January 2015

Publisher: Headline Review

ISBN: 978-1472205988

Source: Bookbridgr, NetGalley

Rating: 4*

Synopsis:

Five years ago Melody Pieterson was attacked and left for dead.

She coped by burying the person she was, locking away her memories and creating a new life for herself. Her attacker is behind bars. In four weeks' time she will get married. She's almost normal.

Then the body of another woman is found, close to where Melody was discovered. Like her she has blond hair and green eyes. Like Melody police find a gold bird cage necklace at the scene. And Melody realises her attacker has been out there all along.

The woman's name is Eve Elliot. Melody sets out to discover everything she can about Eve to work out why they were targeted. But the more she gets to know her the more she realises what's wrong with her own life. Eve may be dead but she's the only person who can teach Melody how to live again.

Review:

This book has been languishing on my TBR shelf, alongside McBeth's debut Precious Thing, for a good few months, hidden behind another row of books. To be honest, I had forgotten all about it, but as soon as I discovered it again and re-read the exciting synopsis, I had to read it straight away.

Melody's story is told alongside Eve's, both utterly compelling and hypnotic. The horrific nature of their attacks is told in violent detail, as Melody tries to piece together the events that she has blocked in order to survive.

There are heartbreaking truths and shocking twists as Melody gets nearer to the truth and learns the identity of her attacker and Eve's killer.

The plot is outlined in glorious detail, with McBeth's considerable talent as a storyteller building the layers as there book races towards its conclusion. It's a real page-turner that I begrudgingly put down only when my eyes were stinging with tiredness.

I can't wait to read Precious Thing now!