The Memories We Bury by H.A. Leuschel ~ My Thoughts #TheMemoriesWeBury

The Memories We Bury by H. A. Leuschel
Kindle e-book, 314 pages
Published April 17th 2020 by EKT Selection Ltd

An emotionally charged and captivating novel about the complexities of female friendship and motherhood.

Lizzie Thomson has landed her first job as a music teacher, and after a whirlwind romance with Markus, the newlywed couple move into a beautiful new home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Lizzie quickly befriends their neighbour Morag, an elderly, resourceful yet lonely widow, who’s own children rarely visit her. Everything seems perfect in Lizzie’s life until she finds out she is pregnant and her relationship with both Morag and Markus change beyond her control.

Can Lizzie really trust Morag and why is Markus keeping secrets from her?

In The Memories We Bury the author explores the dangerous bonds we can create with strangers and how past memories can cast long shadows over the present. 

   

My thoughts about The Memories We Bury ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"I am standing on shaking legs, my arms wrapped around my chest, shivers running down my spine."

Oh, you just know there are going to be secrets in a story with the title The Memories We Bury. Bury the memories and make up a new reality, how could that hurt anyone? Well, just wait until you read this book—you'll see how harmful that new reality can be. And everyone has secrets. 

This story is a compelling read and definitely a page turner. I found myself constantly trying to figure out the characters and what their agendas were. Was Morag really as helpful as she appeared to be or did she have other plans for the family next door? Why wasn't Markus more of a husband to Lizzie and father to Jamie? Is Lizzie as unstable as the other two think? 

As the story progresses and memories and secrets are revealed, what will be the outcome for this group of people—who will get hurt and who will be saved? 

There were a lot of great lines about memories throughout the story—about wanting to forget them, bury them, and wondering if it's even possible to escape them. Here are two I especially liked.  

"The harder I try to bury part of my memories, the fiercer is the tremble they create below the surface when I as much as take a glimpse into their direction."

"Wouldn't it be a blessing to forget some of our memories forever, erased from the mind as if they'd never happened?" I don't know, would it? 

The Memories We Bury is such a riveting story and you will find yourself drawn into Lizzie, Morag and Markus' lives as you try to figure out how it's all going to end. I definitely recommend it! 

I received a copy of The Memories We Bury from the author and this is my honest opinion. 

About the author

Helene grew up in Belgium where she gained a Master in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh.

She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Helene

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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Release Day! The Memories We Bury by H. A. Leuschel #TheMemoriesWeBury

Happy Release Day!!

Congrats Helene

on the release today of

The Memories We Bury!

The Memories We Bury by H. A. Leuschel
Kindle e-book, 314 pages
Published April 17th 2020 by EKT Selection Ltd

An emotionally charged and captivating novel about the complexities of female friendship and motherhood.

Lizzie Thomson has landed her first job as a music teacher, and after a whirlwind romance with Markus, the newlywed couple move into a beautiful new home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Lizzie quickly befriends their neighbour Morag, an elderly, resourceful yet lonely widow, who’s own children rarely visit her. Everything seems perfect in Lizzie’s life until she finds out she is pregnant and her relationship with both Morag and Markus change beyond her control.

Can Lizzie really trust Morag and why is Markus keeping secrets from her?

In The Memories We Bury the author explores the dangerous bonds we can create with strangers and how past memories can cast long shadows over the present. 

   

This was such a compelling story. It definitely kept me turning the pages. Come back on Monday to read more of my thoughts on this great book!

About the author

Helene grew up in Belgium where she gained a Master in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh.

She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Helene

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

*********************

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Blog Blitz and #Giveaway! Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel ~ My Thoughts

Manipulated Lives

Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel
Kindle Edition, 273 pages
Published June 8th 2016 by Helene Leuschel

Five stories – Five Lives.

Have you ever felt confused or at a loss for words in front of a spouse, colleague or parent, to the extent that you have felt inadequate or, worse, a failure? Do you ever wonder why someone close to you seems to endure humiliation without resistance?

Manipulators are everywhere. At first these devious and calculating people can be hard to spot, because that is their way. They are often masters of disguise: witty, disarming, even charming in public – tricks to snare their prey – but then they revert to their true self of being controlling and angry in private. Their main aim: to dominate and use others to satisfy their needs, with a complete lack of compassion and empathy for their victim.

In this collection of short novellas, you meet people like you and me, intent on living happy lives, yet each of them, in one way or another, is caught up and damaged by a manipulative individual. First you meet Tess, whose past is haunted by a wrong decision, then young, successful and well balanced Sophie, who is drawn into the life of a little boy and his troubled father. Next, there is teenage Holly, who is intent on making a better life for herself, followed by a manipulator himself, trying to make sense of his irreversible incarceration. Lastly, there is Lisa, who has to face a parent’s biggest regret. All stories highlight to what extent abusive manipulation can distort lives and threaten our very feeling of self-worth.

Purchase links for Manipulated Lives

My thoughts about Manipulated Lives ~~

Manipulated Lives is a very interesting look at the manipulators who are all around us, as well as giving us some insight into those who are being manipulated. Each of the five stories in this collection deal with a situation the characters find themselves in and how they make it work for them  or how they work to get out of it.

I previously read one of the stories in this set, Tess and Tattoos, and was intrigued by the subject and the writers concept for this collection. I jumped at the chance to read the rest of the stories. You can read my thought about Tess and Tattoos here.

I enjoyed all of the stories and as I finished each one, I couldn't help but think about how there are so many different ways that people manipulate other people. And on the flip side of that, how there are so many ways, and reasons, that people allow themselves to be manipulated.

I love what the author wrote in her acknowledgments and this sums up the book perfectly—the story of five people who, at different stages of their lives have to come to terms with the damage caused by someone's manipulative perversion. 

These stories will make you stop and think about how you act and how the people around you act. Are you being manipulated? Or are you the manipulator?

I received a copy of Manipulated Lives from Rachel's Random Resources in exchange for my honest opinion.

About the author

Helene grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. 

She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches Yoga.

Connect with Helene

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Win a signed copy of Manipulated Lives 

by H.A. Leuschel 

(Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Tess and Tattoos by H.A. Leuschel ~ My Thoughts

Tess and Tattoos

Tess and Tattoos by H.A. Leuschel 
Kindle Edition, 59 pages
Published May 30th 2017 by Helene Leuschel Publishing

A suspenseful and emotional novella exploring whether we can ever be free from our past mistakes.

In this story, the reader is taken on a compelling journey into the human mind where genuine friendship offers the key to inner peace.

Meet Tess, an elderly lady living in a care home apartment in the outskirts of Edinburgh, whose past is haunted by a wrong decision. She meets Nurse Sandra, a warm and bubbly single mother of three, who is instantly intrigued by Tess’s personality and the mystery that surrounds her.

Tess and Tattoos is one of five gripping stories in HA Leuschel’s story collection Manipulated Lives centered around psychological manipulation.

  

Tess and Tattoos is FREE on Amazon! 

My thoughts about Tess and Tattoos~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First lines—"From a distance, it looked like any ordinary big house, the roof tiled dark grey and casting the odd blinding shimmer when the sun shone brightly."

First of all, let me say that this cover is very eye catching. Isn't it beautiful? And then the synopsis intrigued me with words like suspenseful, emotional, friendship, inner peace, and psychological. Wow, those words pack quite a punch! 

It's always amazing to me how much of a story an author can fit into a 'short story'. There are only just so many pages and words to get the tale told. Helene has done it in Tess and Tattoos. She has created likeable characters and a plot that made me think, with a minimal amount of words. 

Tess and Sandra come together as unlikely friends, two people who need each other. And they learn so much about each other in the process. And as we learn, most people and the lives they have lived are not what we think they are. We have assumptions on how someone's life has played out and those assumptions could be wrong. 

Tess and Tattoos is just one of the five stories in Leuschel's collection, Manipulated Lives. I loved this one and plan to check out the rest.  

About the author

Helene grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. 

She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind. When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches Yoga.

Connect with Helene

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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