Cheekypee reads and reviews: Ruby

BLOG TOUR

Heather Burnside – Ruby

About the book

The stronger sex.

Ruby has always been strong. Growing up with a feeble mother and an absent father, she is forced to fight the battles of her younger siblings. And when a childhood experience leaves her traumatised, her distrust of men turns to hatred.

On the streets.

With no safe place to call home, Ruby is desperate to fit in with the tough crowd. She spends her teenage years sleeping around and drinking in the park, and by the time she is sixteen, prostitution has become a way of life. But Ruby has ambitions, and she soon moves up the ladder to become the madam of her own brothel.

The brothel.

But being in charge of a brothel has its down sides, Ruby faces her worst nightmare when an enemy from the past comes back into her life, and gang intimidation threatens to ruin everything. Can she find a way to beat her tormentors? And will she be strong enough to see it through?

Heather Burnside is back with this breath-taking, heart-racing series, perfect for all fans of Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole.

EXTRACT

‘I’ll rot in hell first!’ shouted Daisy, waving the hoover at him till he dashed from the house.

Trina knew what was coming next. It was time for one of her mother’s rants. Mr Dodds had got Daisy’s hackles up, and it would be a while before she calmed down. She switched the hoover back on, sweeping it angrily along the carpets as she let out a stream of invective.

‘How dare he! What does he think I am? Damn him and all men like him. He should go to hell for saying such a thing. Him and all his kind. And look how he’s got me cursing… Damn you, Isaac, for leaving me in this state. Shaming me good name, and hardly a penny to spare. Dirty, good-for-nothing man. I should have known better than to marry you. Me mother warned me, but I wouldn’t listen.’

She clicked her tongue in that familiar way of hers when she was displeased or angry about something. ‘Young and foolish, that’s what I was. But I’m paying the price now.’

On and on went her diatribe. Trina had known that it would inevitably lead back to her father. It always did. It was rare that Daisy had a good word to say about him. Trina wasn’t surprised; her recollections of her father weren’t good ones, but it didn’t help to be constantly reminded of his failings. Still, she knew better than to say anything while her mother was in full flow.

Trina was glad when she’d finished her chores. She managed to get out of the house on the pretext of looking after Tyler, knowing that her mother didn’t fully trust her other two brothers to take care of him. She quickly slipped out of the front door and found her youngest brother alone, running one of two wrecked toy cars up and down a dirt pile on the unadopted path at the end of their street. Her other two brothers were nowhere to be seen.

‘Come on, Tyler,’ she said, holding out her hand to him. ‘You can’t play there.’ Tyler paused in his play and looked up at her. His bottom lip stuck out and Trina could tell he was about to cry but she stopped him. ‘Look, your cars are getting dirty. You can play up there on the pavement.’

Then she took him by the hand, picked up his cars and headed towards a group of girls who she had seen at the other end of the dirt path. Tyler began to whine.

‘You can have them in a bit, once we’re off the path,’ said Trina, squeezing his hand to make sure he’d got the message.

She pulled him forcefully along, ignoring his squeals till they reached the other end of the path. Then she set the cars down on the pavement. ‘Now play there, and shut it!’ she ordered, drawing the attention of the girls who were huddled in a group.

Tyler went quiet, staring at her with big, sad eyes before he knelt down on the pavement and carried on playing. Trina looked across at the girls; her so-called friends. They had been deep in conversation until Trina came along, but now they were silent.

Jessica and Laura were a similar age to Trina but Trina was a head taller. Holly was also shorter than Trina and was a year younger. Out of the three girls, Jessica was the most outspoken and, as Trina approached them, she greeted her obsequiously.

‘Hi, Trina,’ she said, but Trina wasn’t fooled. She knew the greeting was disingenuous. The other two girls followed Jessica’s lead, competing to see who could be the most ingratiating.

Trina responded with characteristic hostility. ‘How come you didn’t call for me?’ she asked, with a sneer on her face.

Jessica and Laura both answered at once, eager not to upset Trina, but their answers differed. ‘Ellis and Jarrell said you were busy,’ offered Jessica, while Laura said, ‘We were just coming.’

‘Liars!’ said Trina, scowling at the girls. ‘No way were you coming to my house, Laura, and I’m gonna ask my brothers about you, Jessica.’ She switched her glare from Laura to Jessica. ‘If they say they haven’t told you owt, then you’ll be for it.’

About the author

Heather Burnside spent her teenage years on one of the toughest estates in Manchester and she draws heavily on this background as the setting for many of her novels.

After taking a career break to raise two children Heather enrolled on a creative writing course. Heather now works full-time on her novels from her home in Manchester, which she shares with her two grown-up children.

Follow Heather:

Facebook: @HeatherBurnsideAuthor

Twitter: @heatherbwriter

Website: https://heatherburnside.com/

Pre-order links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Nd4O3g

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2Sgd6sg

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2T65ahm

iBooks: https://apple.co/2pMSz6b

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction