Pleasure Island by Anna-Lou Weatherley

Secrets. Scandal. Betrayal. In Paradise, pleasure comes at a dangerously high price.

Three couples each receive an exclusive invitation to the fantasy holiday destination of a lifetime.

The Host: Martin McKenzie, a global billionaire and media mogul. Charismatic, powerful and always gets what he wants.

The Location: A breathtakingly beautiful undiscovered island, nestled in the Aegean Sea. Private, secluded and not quite as it seems.

The Details: seven days of pure hedonism, five star luxury tailored to every desire, also included secrets, lies and infidelity.

As the guest begin to enjoy everything the luxury island has to offer, cracks begin to surface between the three couples. But that is not all. Someone is watching them.

When they discover the truth - it will be explosive in more way than they can ever imagine.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Pleasure Island is no doubt the perfect beach read!

I was drawn to this book firstly by its gorgeously inviting cover, but the blurb had me intrigued.

Pleasure Island is based on three couples; Journalist Angelika and her lawyer husband Rupert, Singing Sensation Mia and her toy boy and rock star fling Joshua, and retired footballer Nate and his attention seeking, money grabbing wife Billie-Jo.

Each of the three couples are invited to Pleasure Island by billionaire tycoon Martin, a man known widely in the public eye.

I don't want to give too much away about the book, but each of the six guests are in for a rocky ride, having been invited they are wondering why and want answers when their luxurious holiday doesn't get off to the best start.

With communications down, the couples have no choice but to get on with it, and fairly early on we see cracks and faults in them all.... 

Pleasure Island doesn't seem quite as idyllic as it's made out to be and suspicions...

Anna-Lou Weatherly has written the book brilliantly. There are chapters from the island based on the couples and then there are chapters from Martin and the super eight.... I think the best way to describe   this book is to think Big Brother. Martin and the eight members of his elite club are watching the couples every moves and it was fascinating to read on and find out why they are doing this... Some are for psychology reason, some are purely their to get a kick out of watching people unaware.

Martin however, has his own reasons and as the story unfolds we discover why he picked the couples chosen for Pleasure Island and the consequences it has.

Pleasure Island had everything from lies, drama queen tantrums, scandal, secrets, drug use, to the odd racy scene.

A thoroughly gripping page turner of a read! 

I would like to thank Anna-Lou and the team at Bookouture for the NetGalley copy of Pleasure Island. This is my honest review. 

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

It was always going to end in tears, but how did it end in murder?

Single mum Jane has just moved to town. She's got her little boy in tow - plus the secret she's been carrying for five years.

On the first day of the school run she meets Madeline - a force to be reckoned with, who remembers everything and forgives no one - and Celeste, the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare, but is inexplicably I'll at ease. They both take Jane under their wing - while careful to keep their own secrets under wraps.

But a minor incident involving the children of all three women rapidly escalates; playground whispers become spiteful rumours until no one can tell the truth from the lies.

Which is when the secrets come out - and now someone is going to pay with their life...

"A brilliantly plotted story with characters to care for who kept me reading, utterly gripped" ~ Women & Home.

"Brilliant, stand - out, superbly clever" ~ Sunday Express.

I'm not really sure what drew me to purchasing this book as it's not from my usual genre... That said I don't think I would categorise this into crime and thriller either as its in no way bloody or had me hiding behind a pillow!

Ultimately for me, Big Little Lies is a story of secrets and friendships which focuses on three main characters, Madeline, Jane and Celeste.

Each of the three ladies become friends yet each is hiding a secret and the story starts with the schools trivia night. The details for this are quite vague but from the outset of the book we know there is a murder. We don't know who, why or how exactly.

Once this has been outlined, the books takes us back to 5 months before trivia night and we get to see how the characters met and what the initial incident was, which has caused nothing but grief between the 3 girls, their children and their friends In the playground!

As the book takes us closer to trivia night we can see friendships blooming and others falling out, there are playground arguments between parents and at the end of each chapter there are short bullet point statements from other Parents and teachers which leads us to believe they are statements given to the police after the murder.

Liane Moriarty has written Big Little Lies simply brilliantly. I don't want to give too much away as they book is written with a mystery of element due to us not knowing anything about the murder right up until the end, and I think that is partly what makes the book.

With storylines of bullying and abuse, ex husbands walking out, teenage daughters auctioning their virginity and parents thinking their children are better than the next, the murder suspect and victim could be literally any one of the characters the book mentions.... Who they were though, even caught be my surprise!

This book was such a gripping read, it covered sensitive subjects with care and consideration yet at times had elements of humour, and the descriptions were spot on... I felt like I was part of the book and the journey Jane, Celeste and Madeline shared.

If you've not read Big Little Lies I suggest you go grab a copy now! 

Scandalous Lies by Nigel May

Lovers and liars, divas and sinners, welcome to the world of scandal, where one woman will pay the ultimate price.

SUSPENCE: Georgia's best friend, ballroom dancing sensation Mitzi, has vanished with boyfriend Forster while on holiday in California. Can Georgia get to the thruth of their disappearance before it's too late?

SECRETS: Reality TV star Nova could give the Kardashians a run for their money. But while she allows millions of viewers into her fabulous home, she's unaware what her husband, celebrity mogul Jacob, is up to behind closed doors...

SEX: Tanya is filthy rich, married to a man who adores her but she is restless. And her sexual appetite is about to get her in a whole lot of trouble.

SCANDAL: Victoria once a trophy wife, has lost her mojo. Determined to get her life back on track, she's desperate to inject some excitement in to her life - but at what cost?

From the glitz of Hollywood to the glamour of Milan and the exotic luxury of India, Scandalous Lies is a deliciously unputdownable read.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Wowzers!! Scandalous Lies had more twist and turns than a rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach!

Ive not read any of Nigel May books previously, but I have read other 'BonkBusters' since the 50 Shades hype, and can honestly say this, was by far, the most gripping... 

I was hooked right from the prologue in which tells a brief story of the life of Mitzi Bidgood. A former Zumba teacher that got her break as a backing dancer for a popular Saturday night TV dance show, who successfully made her way to become one of the lead female dancers, and her surfing, garden maintenance turned turned reality star boyfriend Forster Hampton - both equally successful in their own rights, both blissfully in love and on holiday, unaware of their fate. After discovering something horrific, they run for their lives only this doesn't quite work out as planned and both are reported missing.

Now, Scandalous Lies, has a lot of characters in, and I'm going to try and do my upmost to not give out too many spoilers, but what I adored about the book is how the characters are linked... Some obvious links, some not so... Which, along with the twist and turns of the plot, made this one heck of a page turner....

Georgia is a weather girl for breakfast TV, dating the dashing Charlie Cooper. Her best friend is missing Mitzi and she is distraught with worry, taking time off work she set off to Hollywood in search of clues on the disappearance.

Nova, has her own reality TV show and is quite literally the biggest, in more ways than one, Showbiz queen. She also just so happens to be the mother of Charlie boy! Dispite her diva ways, one thing is clear, Nova would move heaven and earth for her son, she's very protective of both him and his girlfriend, and although she didn't know Mitzi, she has known grief and a sense of loss which brings her closer to Georgia.

See where the links are going?

Tanya is, as the blurb states... Rich beyond rich! Married to Devon Bellamy, Georgia's father, she has an incredibly high, and explicit, sex drive. Particularly when it comes to their gardener Aaron Rose - another  surfing gardener who was set to be the next parter of Mitzi on the dance show.

And then there's Victoria, who was happily married to Scott Palmer -Robers, but since birth of their twins six years ago, Victoria's life is spiralling out of control. She's lost all confidence in her self and is taking anti depressants in secret. The final blow comes when she discovers her hubby has been having a fling with the kids nanny, Chloe.

Victoria confides in her friend Evie - a successful film actress, the pair of them where part of Mitzi's Zumba gamg along with Georgia.

There are other characters too... Ones that took me a while longer to work out the clues and links with, but generally the theme of the book is based around their ties to each other and of course to Mitzi, and all the characters come together at a very eventful charity event.

At this point, I thought I had the story nailed.... How wrong was I? 

There were, as I've said, twist and turns but I was NOT expecting that one!!! 

I can't praise Nigel May enough for how brilliantly this was written. 

Yes there was the occasional smuty scene but above that there was lies, deceit, family secrets, heart break, scandals,  passion, addiction, sparkle, glamour and fizz.... Not forgetting one serious plot game changer!

Despite having so much crammed in to one book, it flowed perfectly without losing the reader or getting confusing.

I don't usually give out ratings or stars on my blog, but if I were too, without a shadow of a doubt this would easily get 5/5! 

A thoroughly enjoyable, gripping and exciting summer read. 

I would like to thank both Nigel May and Bookouture for a preview copy of Scandalous Lies from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.