“Genie has everything – a BRIT award, a singing career, the attention of the press and Oliver Fox, a pretty boy who looks good on her arm.

Until he dies.

His death brings Genie’s long buried feelings bubbling to the surface. Her grief over the death of her lover Wendi who introduced her to this world. Her self doubt and fear that she will be exposed as a fraud.

How far is she prepared to go to fix things? 

The afterlife isn’t the most comfortable of places for anyone who’s still alive, but Genie’s not going to take any crap from the dead – she’s got years of experience in the music business.

Sometimes going to Hell and back takes a lifetime…”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. I’m handing the blog over to my guest reviewer, Ryan, today who is sharing his review of Comeback by Chris Limb as part of the blog tour. Comeback was published by Unbound on 21st January 2021 and is available in digital and paperback formats. Ryan chose to read and review a free digital copy of Comeback but that has in no way influenced his review.

There are some blurbs that are easy to forget but this blurb caught my attention and intrigued me, and I am so glad it did.  Comeback charts the story of Genie from her introduction into the world of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll to a commercially successful peak and then personal freefall after her partner, Oliver Fox, dies. For most authors that would be enough, but not for Chris Limb! For here in Comeback death is not the end of the story, just the start of the next chapter.

The story is not told linearly, with the reader learning more about Genie and Ollie’s past as the story progresses. Comeback will pull the reader into its plot and leave you fascinated as to where the story will go next. I loved the energy of the settings, the characters and the honesty about the seediness of the music world. The flashbacks to Genie’s unexpected journey to pop stardom acted as a perfect counterweight to the incredible situations she was finding herself in in the afterlife, and meant that the book strangely kept some form of realism amongst the fantastical elements.

Genie is a fascinating central character and we see her grow from a shy retiring wallflower to staring out from the front cover of a music magazine. But rather than letting commercial success seem the pinnacle, Limb shows that the personal changes around Genie are not happening at the same time. Commercial success does not always equal happiness, and sometimes it takes an event or adventure to put this in perspective. And what an adventure Genie goes on!

By reading Comeback you will be taken to places you didn’t think possible. The story contains genuine wit, characters that evolve and change in front of you and wonderful classical mythological references. I wish I could say more but I don’t want to spoil the surprises for you!

I don’t think many authors could bring together the disparate references of BRIT award winners and mythology and create something this good!  Genie’s tortured choices of whether to do what was expected of her for success, versus what she wanted to do for herself, were a common element throughout the story and we watch as her self-confidence grows and crumbles at different times.

Would I recommend Comeback?  I would! If you are after something different to read, a book that will take you to Hell and Back but leave you with a smile, then Comeback is the book for you. Chris Limb has written something so out of this world that it may just be the tonic we all need for today’s reality!

Comeback by Chris Limb was published in the UK by Unbound on 21st January 2021 and is available in paperback and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Blackwells | Barnes & Noble | Hive.co.uk | bookshop.org | Foyles | Book Depository | the damppebbles bookshop.org shop | Goodreads |

Chris is a writer based in UK, who has had a number of short stories published over the past few years, blogs on a regular basis and occasionally reviews books and audios for the British Fantasy Society.

Chris wrote a short pop memoir which was published in 2011 and went down well with its core-audience. It continues to sell at a steady rate to this day.

Chris also plays bass guitar and performs random acts of web and graphic design for a diverse selection of clients.