#BlogTour -Welcome to the Heady Heights by David F. Ross @OrendaBooks

I’m delighted to have been invited to take part in my first blog tour for Orenda Books.

Today is my stop on the tour for the fabulously funny and moving Welcome to the Heady Heights by David F. Ross. Thank you to Anne Cater for the invitation and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

About the book:

Archie Blunt is a man with big ideas. He just needs a break for them to be realized. In a bizarre brush with the light-entertainment business, Archie unwittingly saves the life of the UK’s top showbiz star, Hank “Heady” Hendricks, and now dreams of hitting the big-time as a Popular Music Impresario. Seizing the initiative, he creates a new singing group with five unruly working-class kids from Glasgow’s East End. Together, they make the finals of a televised Saturday-night talent show, and before they know it, fame and fortune beckon for Archie and The High Five.

But there’s a complication; a trail of irate Glaswegian bookies, corrupt politicians and a determined Scottish WPC known as The Tank are all on his tail. A hilarious, poignant nod to the elusivity of stardom, in an age when “making it” was “having it all,”

Welcome to the Heady Heights is also a dark, laugh-out-loud comedy, a heartwarming tribute to the 1970s and a delicious drama about desperate men, connected by secrets and lies, by accidents of time and, most of all, the city they live in.

About the author:

My Review:

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started Welcome to the Heady Heights and, to be honest, at first glance it isn’t a book I would necessarily have chosen for myself from the blurb alone. That being said, it just goes to show that reading outside of your usual comfort zone can really pay off, as I absolutely adored this wonderful gem of a book!

It’s set in the Glasgow of the 1970s and is the hilarious, sometimes dark, but often surprisingly touching story of Archie Blunt, a man of a certain age who’s beginning to feel that his dream of hitting the big time may have already passed him by. It touches on a bygone era of fame, when becoming a “star” actually meant something and wasn’t as easily achieved as it sometimes is today.

But then a chance encounter with the UK’s top showbiz star Hank “Heady” Hendricks changes everything and catapults Archie into a world he could never have expected it to. With fame and fortune fast approaching Archie thinks his time has finally arrived, but soon realises that nothing could ever be quite so simple…

What follows is a fast paced, funny and heartwarming story that’s filled with larger than life characters, including corrupt politicians and tough, angry Glaswegian bookies. Throw into the mix a WPC known as “The Tank” and we have quite the tale on our hands. It is at times laugh out loud funny, but is also moving, poignant and full of surprises.

1970s Glasgow is very much a character in its own right, and the strong Glaswegian accents come through loud and clear and are an integral part of the story. I found myself liking Archie from the outset. He is a loveable rogue that you can’t help but root for, even when some of his actions are distinctly questionable.

A fantastically funny book with a fascinating and memorable cast of characters, this is a story that will have you laughing out loud one moment then feeling indescribably moved the next. Beautifully written, Welcome to the Heady Heights is a delight from beginning to end. An unexpected treat that I highly recommend.

This is the first book I’ve read by David F. Ross, but definitely won’t be my last. An author to look out for.

Welcome to the Heady Heights is available to buy now: Amazon UK

Check out what these other fantastic bloggers have to say as part of the blog tour: