A few years ago, I searched for a nice edition of The Box of Delights to read in the run up to Christmas. I was thrilled to discover this beautiful hardcover edition from Egmont Heritage Classics: a beautifully bound hardcover with quality pages and binding. As is wont to happen during the Christmas festivities, I forgot to search for other editions in this collection until now. A little research suggested that Egmont books had ceased to publish titles in this collection; some titles are still available to purchase new, while others are available through second-hand booksellers.  In tot ..read more

  If you Google "Apps for Book Lovers" or read through the many list articles on the subject, you'll quickly notice the same apps mentioned again and again.  While Goodreads, Libby, Amazon Kindle, Blinkist, Serial Reader et al. are all incredibly useful, much used and highly rated, most book lovers already have these apps installed. With this in mind, I wanted to create a list of the more unusual apps which might appeal to lovers of literature: some of which I use myself on a regular basis, and a couple which I've discovered while researching for this article. These apps may n ..read more

  I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to participate in the blog tour for Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton, especially after reading the buzz from other readers who had been entranced on it's initial release. As suggested by the novel's title, the story progresses over three hours of real time, from the moment the first gunshot rings through the halls of an innovative school set in woodland surroundings close to the Somerset coast. Cliff Heights is a co-ed, progressive school for students from infants through to senior school ages. and through the reflections of the characte ..read more

Reading Call Me Mummy was like looking at the aftermath of a car crash: a visceral, intrusive glimpse into the motherhood experiences of two very different women through which I felt I should turn away but was compelled to continue. The plot shifts between the point of view of "Mummy": an unnamed woman who steals a little girl named Tonya away from her "undeserving" mother at a shopping precinct, and Kim: Tonya's pregnant mother. Several interludes present Tonya's internal monologue and social media updates from the public watching the case unfold over the course of several months. From the ..read more

Having read all of Purcell's previous Gothic novels, I was very excited for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of her latest offering via NetGalley. The Shape of Darkness is Purcell's fourth novel, and I will state from the outset that it's the scariest yet! The plot revolves mostly around Agnes Darken: an older spinster, who crafts by hand the art of silhouettes, an art on the cusp of extinction as the more popular daguerreotypes are increasingly preferred. Agnes begins to realise that her patrons (sadly few and far between) are seemingly murdered after sitting for her portraiture. In pa ..read more

I was really excited to be given the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Lamplighters via Netgalley. This book has generated a lot of excitement, and while I hadn't previously learned much about the story behind this novel, I was intrigued by the blurb and cover to learn more. First I should admit that I'd expected The Lamplighters to have a supernatural element to the story. In fact, there is something supernatural about this novel, a light element if you will (which I won't give away in this review) though it is not what you'd expect. Instead, this novel is more closely focused on the ..read more

  Back when I first began book blogging, I designed this set of planner printables to sell in my Etsy shop. Since 2020 has been a tough year for us all, I've decided to release these for free for anyone who would like to use them. The Book Lover's Compendium is a complete set of printable inserts for those who love literature, or simply want to keep track of their reading habits. These planner printables were designed for the Personal Size Filofax, though may be suitable for other brands of a similar size.  I designed this set with the theme of antiquarian bookstores in m ..read more

  October is the best month for spooky stories and ghostly goings-on! As BBC Sounds has a great selection of seasonal audio-drama for Halloween, I thought it would be timely to showcase my favourites for your aural pleasure. All of these audio dramas are available to listen online from the BBC Sounds website (I've linked the titles to their appropriate page), or you can listen/download to your digital device using the BBC Sounds App. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James I'm currently listening to this serialised drama of James' gothic classic in preparation for the release of The Haunt ..read more

  Magic Lessons is a prequel to her other books chronicling the Owen's witches in the vein of an origin story.  Having previously read and loved Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, I was keen to learn more and was not disappointed.  Hoffman's style of writing reads to me like a warm hug. That's not to say there is no peril in these novels, there certainly is, but these stories make me feel as though they are being read to me by someone friendly and familiar, in front of a warm fire on an autumn evening.  Familiarity with the history of witchcraft in both Europe and Am ..read more

  Dinsdale's previous novel, The Toymakers, is a particular favourite of mine, which I read in the lead up to Christmas as the magic contained within is of that particular type. His new novel, Paris by Starlight, is written in the same vein. No particular time in history is offered for the setting, though I would suspect it's before the advent of smartphones and portable technology.  There are two main protagonists: a young woman who finds herself drawn to Paris in search of her father, and a young man:  refugee from an unnamed country which no longer exists. The couple find e ..read more