It’s always a thrill to receive an early reading copy of a book. It’s especially thrilling when it is written by an author that never fails to excite, interest and … Continue reading I Am Dust by Louise Beech
Today I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for The Body Lies by Jo Baker. When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote countryside, … Continue reading The Body Lies by Jo Baker
Emma is one of the best authors in historical fiction for children. Her first novel, Frost Hollow Hall, was published in 2013 and she has been inspiring children (and adults) … Continue reading Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll
There is a line where mist becomes fog and during the early days of December it is crossed. But it’s not during fog that what has been growing in the … Continue reading Help the Witch by Tom Cox
The brilliant new novel from the author of Hold Back The Stars
Thea and Isaac were close, but they’ve grown apart.
Thea world tirelessly, convinced that she can prove everyone around her wrong – convinced she can prove that time travel is possible. But when her latest attempts goes awry, she finds herself picking up the phone and calling her old friend.
Issac is in New York – it’s the middle of the night, but when he sees who’s calling him, he cannot ignore his phone. At Thea’s request, he travels home, determined to help her in her hour of need.
But neither of them are prepared for what they will discover when he gets there.
The Light Between Usis a story of second chances and time travel. It begs the dangerous question that we all ask ourselves – what could have been? “
Katie’s novels are completely unique. They are love stories that are complex with plots that are smart, thought-provoking and brave. She makes us question the reality that surrounds us and just how far love can take us.
The Light Between Us is a story about love, yes, but it is also about the choices and actions we take and the effect they have on the world around us. There is also a very powerful message about mis-understanding, lack of communication and jumping to conclusions.
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the story as I wouldn’t want to give anything away. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering as I read and I urge you to do the same. This is science fiction slap bang in the here and now, totally relatable and current. The writing as always is brilliantly sharp. Setting, character and place are brought to life wonderfully; there is also adventure, danger and of course a love story.
She feels the thrill of excitement – her skin tingles with the power of the laser, magnified by the glass house; the hairs on her arms stand up and she can’t help but smile.
Is it working? There’s the smell of electricity in the room, and a sound of crackling, underpinned by a thrumming hum. It must be working – she knew it would. She was right all along.
She hopes Rosy’s all right in the glass house, and that it’s not too warm. She should check on her.
Thea shields her eyes with her arm, peering towards the glass house where, inside, Rosy should be standing – is she there. It’s too bright to see. Thea moves gingerly towards the cubicle, protecting herself from the light, when –
‘Fuck!’
A blinding colourless brightness, then the power goes out with a womp as the lab falls into total darkness.
‘Oh, hell.’
They stand at the centre of it all, surrounded by the black.
‘I think we did something bad.’
The Light Between Us by Katie Khan
I love a novel that leaves my mind full of images at the end. This story has certainly stayed with me and the vividness, light and emotion along with it. Katie has the ability to capture the magic, wonder and fragility that encompasses love. As always there is an element of heartbreak, light and darkness but I absolutely love the way Katie ends her novels. This one was particularly memorable and as with Hold Back The Stars, I can see The Light Between Us coming to film or tv.
Katie is an exciting, intelligent author and I have loved both of her novels so far. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Thank you so much to Hannah Bright for sending me a copy of The Light Between Us,it was an absolute joy to read.
Also by Katie Khan…
Hold Back The Stars
Ninety minutes.
A few years from now, not too far in the future, two people meet.
It is a classic story of boy meets girl.
Except that it’s not.
When we find them, they have an hour and a half left.
Unless they can save themselves, they won’t survive.
The clock is ticking.
Bittersweet and life-affirming, Hold Back the Stars is the love story of the year.
Beautifully written, this stunning, unusual debut weaves its way through an intense, all-encompassing first love. A love forbidden by the times in which they live and yet one that they’ll risk everything not to lose.
Hold Back the Starsis set in a future where the world has been ravaged by war and a new society introduced. The earth is now peaceful but this comes at a price. There are rules and one of the rules is that you don’t fall in love until you reach the appropriate age. Yet the heart rarely follows rules and when Carys and Max meet its ten years before either should be thinking of settling down. They are young, rebellious and maybe the system no longer works for their generation.
Throughout the novel Carys and Max are desperately trying to find a way to survive after their ship is damaged and they are stranded in space and rapidly running out of both air and options. I loved discovering their relationship as Khan dips in and out of their past moving us towards the moment that brought them to be being in space and the catastrophic situation they find themselves in. It is intense and Khan conjures up the sheer vastness of space and their desperation as they watch the minute’s tick away taking them closer to death. Yes this is a novel about survival but ultimately it is a unique love story about how true love can turn our world upside down and also, maybe it can be the very thing that saves us too.
Katie Khan
I write books about light and space.”
To find out more about Katie you can visit her website here.
The Vigilantes behind him are nothing compared to the enemy within.
Having forfeited his youth to the state prison system, Michael moved back to the still vacant house of his parents in a town with one stoplight. A town that hated him. Had always hated him. And was ready to pick up where the prison system had left off.
Now he’s on the run from men who’ve tried to kill him once; but Michael is more than an ex-con. A powerful, sinister force skulks within him, threatening and destructive. What – and who – it will destroy next is the only real question.
From the bold voice that brought readers down with ‘Purgatory Road’ comes a new pulse-pounding, spine-rattling tale of vengeance and justice.
There is something rather delicious about a good thriller. The kind of thriller that sweeps you up in the story, pushing you on to the next chapter, making you turn page after thrilling page. With Coldwater Samuel Parker has created such a story. From the first page this was absolutely gripping. I was completely enthralled.
THE DAY WAS BORN IN DARKNESS
Michael opened his eyes and saw nothing.
Blackness.
The motes in his eyes drifted across the void.
His mouth was sealed with what felt like tape. Michael tried to lift himself and felt the hard knock of wood against his forehead. A light sprinkle of sand fell on his face, but he was blind to its source, he could only feel it as it dusted his lashes, scratching at his pupils. He raised his head slowly again until he felt the board press against his skin. He lay back down. His shoulders ached, his back. He tried to move his hands up to his eyes to rub the grit out of them but found they were bound together. He stated breathing faster, nostrils flaring in the dark.
He was as a newborn cast out into the vacuum of space. He could feel his heart beat faster as his mind raced to keep up with this discovery of himself. Michael could feel his nerves begin to fire in all his limbs as electric panic coursed through his body. He lifted his head again and hit the boards, a few inches above him.
And so it begins…
There is a sinister force running throughout this novel and there were many times that I questioned who was actually the monster. The level of hate towards Michael, a man who had served his time in prison, a prison in which he had been sent to as child and emerged a man. Yet we would be led to believe that he is evil, damaged and a danger to all those he comes in contact with. Even Michael himself who longs only to be accepted, to be left alone, knows that he will never be able to live a normal life. And yet he wants to live. He still has hope. So he runs from his pursuers, the vigilantes who have taken it upon themselves to rid their small town of this man who they believe does not deserve a second chance. Yet their very actions bring them closer to becoming the monster they are trying to destroy.
Michael is an incredibly complex character. He has so much going against him and although his crime was heinous, I did begin to feel a certain amount of empathy towards him. This novel is a wonderful metaphor for the effects of crime on those who commit it, their victims and anyone who has to deal with the aftermath. Once Michael committed the fateful act, the evil awoke within him and infiltrated everyone and everything he came into contact with.
It gave me much to think about but in essence this is a wonderful novel that was thrilling to read. I’m so delighted to have discovered Samuel Parker and I look forward to reading more from this exciting author.
Thank you so much to Rhoda Hardie for the review copy – you said I would love it and I absolutely did!
You can purchase a copy of Coldwater from Amazon. or any good bookshop. The ISBN number for the paperback edition is: 978-0800727345 but it is also available in Hardback and on eBook.
Coldwater was published by Revell part of the Baker Publishing Group.
If you’d like to read more about Samuel Parker then please do visit his website here.
Tales Before Bedtime 