Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book.  OK, I read this last year but never got around to reviewing it and as I'm trying to be really good and decrease my Netgally percentage, I thought it was a good time to put it up. I have no idea why I didn't review it at the time, because it was one of my favourite books last year.  I love any book that deals with immortality and this provides such a twist to the topic. Set in France in 1714, Addie is so desperate not to marry the man her parents have chosen for her that she makes a Faustian pact with a ..read more

Today I'm absolutely thrilled to be on the be on the blog tour for Liz Kessler's latest novel, When The World Was Ours. Set during the Second World War, the novel follows the lives of three childhood friends, whose lives are closely intertwined, even though their lives take very different paths. Inspired by the true story of the author's father as he escaped Nazi occupied Europe. This book is already receiving outstanding reviews and will without doubt be on award lists by the end of the year. I have an exclusive excerpt from the book, just for you today from Elsa's point of view.  ..read more

Never ever underestimate the mature generation, because they have tricks up their sleeves, that you wouldn't believe.  Set in a luxurious retirement home, four septuagenarians head full steam into solving not just one murder but three, way ahead of the police.  I was a bit skeptical about reading a book by a celebrity as I have been caught out before by the quality of the plot, however this book was utterly brilliant. The best celebrity book I've ever read. It was extremely funny and sad at the same time as well as being an unputdownable thriller. There were red herrings all ove ..read more

I was gifted this book by Tandem Collective as part of a read along.  A year after the mass shooting in Riversend, journalist Martin Scarsden visits the town to find out how the residents are coping after their beloved priest shot down five innocent people, before being killed by his friend.  Set in Australia, this book makes you feel the unbearable heat. There's a drought and the town in dying. Throw in a rather nasty bush fire and you find yourself reaching for water.  If that isn't enough, there is an oppressive tension in the town which makes you feel uncomfortable ..read more

Patsy always dreamed of leaving the poor town of Pennyfield and joining her friend in America. So when she finally gets her visa to leave, she can't get on the plane soon enough. She doesn't even give her ageing mother and her five year old daughter a second thought. However, life in America doesn't match the dreams she had of it and she quickly discovers how hard life can be.  I read this as part of the Tandem Collective Voices initiative.The book is told from dual perspectives in third person, so we get to understand how Patsy and her daughter Tru felt throughout the book.  At ..read more

If you knew a member of your family was a serial killer would you protect them? Is blood actually thicker than water? Can you even answer that question? I'm not sure I can.  Set in Nigeria, the book launches straight into the action, when Korede is disturbed at dinner in order to clean up after another murder by her sister. She takes it in her stride, until it looks like Ayoola might kill the man Korede has been in love with for a long time. Only then does she really start to doubt her sister, who always seems to make excuses for  why she had to kill someone. Her excuses appear p ..read more

I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of a group of amazing bookstagrammers to read this book as part of a read along. This book was sent to me to review by Headline via Tandem Collective.  In 1941, Nazi forces occupied Greece, causing a huge divide between the community and bringing it to complete destruction. Themis is fifteen years old when it happens and has already spent years stuck between her brother's strong opposing views on the situation. This book follows the family's life throughout the occupation and then through the civil war that followed and haunted Themis for years.&n ..read more

This audio book was gifted to me via Tandem Collective by Bonnier Books for the Phone Box read along.  After losing her mum and daughter in the tsunami of 2011, Yui wonders how she will continue  to live without them.  Only after listening to a guest on her radio show, does she hear about the disused telephone box at the end of a garden, where mourners trek for miles to speak to their lost loved ones. Yoi decides to visit the telephone box for herself and this is where she meets Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose young daughter hasn't spoked since her passing. Their chance me ..read more

This book was gifted to me by Harper Collins Children's Books for an honest review.  This book follows the story of Nick and Charlie set two years after the Heartstopper graphic novels 1 to 3. If you haven't read them, I urge you too as they are brilliant, but you honestly don't need to before reading this book.  There are a couple of things I didn't know about this book.  It was originally released as an e-book in 2015. It was written as a companion novella for the book Solitaire, which is about Tori, Charlie's sister.  After reading this and the first novel of the ..read more

As part of the blog tour for The Siege of Caerlaverock, I am  pleased to welcome author,  Barbara Henderson who has written a piece about why she  chose to write about a female  characters in her latest Middle Grade book.  When I approached writing my medieval Middle Grade adventure, The Siege of Caerlaverock, I came across a few things which surprised me. 1.       There were not many children’s books set in the Middle Ages 2.       There are very few medieval books set in Scotland, the so-call ..read more