Seven Perfect Days by Francesca Vespa - #bookpromo

 

It was my cousin who did it.

Well, kind of...

***

Sometimes your friends break your heart the most.

Maggie missed the most horrific moment of her life, but her eccentric best friend Alex is a constant reminder of it. High school is over, and she would give anything to clean up the mess left behind: lie… cheat… betray… kill… although… maybe not kill… That's a bit dramatic.

Things look grim, until she meets Adam Moon, a handsome foreign student and sweet, kind soul, who is just as messed up as her. Only now, he is missing, and nobody knows what happened to him. A strange offer from an old high school acquaintance to go abroad might just be what she needs. New sights and sounds may help get her mind off it, but the past has a way of catching up with her, and so does Alex.

She might get her man, but it might be at the worst possible time for both of them.

***

ISBN: 978 1923133006

Publisher:  Bronte-Arges

Formats: e-book, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages: 383 (hardback)

***

About the Author:

Francesca is based in South Australia, and she works in heavy industry. She lives away from the major centres, so gets to enjoy the great outdoors and go hiking when she has time. She has not studied creative writing but studied linguistics for a year at university. She is a bookworm, and enjoys writing books so much she wants to make it a full time job. She would also love to live somewhere where she could swim every day. She is currently working on her first proper romance called “My Stars in the Night Sky”. It’s set partly in Kosovo and she has never been more happy with one of my novels.

Before the Swallows Come Back by Fiona Curnow - #bookreview

A knock on the door. 'On you go, sweetheart. It's for you.' His words, slow, breathy, like they had been pushed from somewhere very deep, very narrow. Charlotte grinned at her father, tip-toed to the door, let out a deep sigh, and pulled it open. The delivery man stood there with her birthday present. There was only one thing it could be. The size of it. The shape of it...

***

The Blurb

Tommy struggles with people, with communicating, preferring solitude, drifting off with nature. He is protected by his Tinker family who keep to the old ways. A life of quiet seclusion under canvas is all he knows.

Charlotte cares for her sickly father. She meets Tommy by the riverside and an unexpected friendship develops. Over the years it becomes something more, something crucial to both of them. But when tragedy strikes each family they are torn apart.

Charlotte is sent far away.

Tommy might have done something very bad.

Before the Swallows Come Back is a story of love, found family, and redemption that will break your heart and have it soaring time and time again as you sit on the edge of your seat desperately hoping.

My Review

I can hardly put into words how beautiful this book is. In all honesty, I had never heard of it until one of the members of my Book Group mentioned it. She was gifted a copy for Christmas and suggested that we all read it. I am so very glad that she did as it was a five shiny star read for me.

It is set in Scotland and the vivid descriptions made reading this visceral. In fact, I think the environment in this book is every bit as important as the characters. This is a book to get lost in. The natural world is so beautifully depicted I was completely immersed.

The main characters are Charlotte, a young girl who cares for her ill father, and Tommy, a Tinker who, with his family, set up camp every summer in the woods and fields a bike ride away from Charlotte's house. Every summer they meet and become the unlikeliest of friends. However, this bond strengthens as the years progress and it was a sheer delight to follow. Their friendship represents the coming together of two alternative lifestyles. 

One of the things which I loved about this book was the gentle pace at which it moved along. However, about half way through there are a couple of dramatic events which I definitely did not anticipate. From there, the book becomes more people centric with the dialogue and prose being every bit as engaging as its leisurely the first half.

The book is a love letter to the natural world and the environs of Scotland. The writing is exceptional and beautiful to read. I was mesmerised by it. It is one to be savoured. At times I slowed down my reading to take in its beauty, and I can well imagine reading this book again as there is something very special contained within it's covers.

This is a fabulous book and is an independent publication. If Ms. Curnow's other books are anything as gorgeous as this one, then I want to read them all. I highly encourage you to read it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 0995531499

Publisher:  Curnow

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  414 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Blackwell's

About the Author:

Fiona was the winner of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) short story competition, 2023. 

Her writing has been described as, "Human experience impacted upon by political situation, interwoven with a love of nature."

She dropped out of school aged fifteen, because being the consummate rebel, she hated it! After becoming a single parent she decided to return to education, graduating in 1996 with an honours degree in primary education. Ah, the irony! 

As soon as she graduated she packed everything she owned into her Renault 11, including her daughter, two dogs and a cat, and headed off to Estonia to become an international school teacher. 

After travelling the world teaching for fifteen glorious years she returned home to pursue a long held ambition of committing herself to full time writing.

She lives on the east coast of Scotland where her days are spent dog-walking and writing.

She has written four books under the name F J Curlew. She now also writes under her given name of Fiona Curnow.

You can also find Fiona at:

Facebook

Instagram

Author Website

(author media courtesy of https://fjcurlew.wixsite.com/author/bio)

(book and all opinions are my own)

Miracle Number Four by Paul Marriner - #BookReview #BlogTour

 

In the autumn of 1974 my mother stopped going to work at the bakery. I passed there often, and the ladies in their blue tabards still smiled but stopped speaking. It didn't bother me. It wasn't until the following spring, when out with my sister, that I realised they were offering sympathy. Susan knew. We had been walking to the chemist to collect Mum's prescription - Susan on half-day from the salon and me just home from school - when the smiles and silence at the bakery's open doors stopped her. More accurately, it was the whispering when we'd passed that she noticed. Turning sharply, she spoke slowly and clearly.

'April will bloom again.'

***

A song of the suburbs: a story of family, friends, first love, tragedy, hope and rock and roll

It's 1976 and with dreams of a career in rock, a crush on the prettiest girl in town, and a mother in remission from cancer, Mike’s future looks bright.

Music brings excitement and a chance to shine, but life off-stage is complicated.

Together with family, friends and band-mates, Mike finds joy, sadness and loss. Troubling secrets surface while a new friend brings both fresh perspectives and a cruel reality. The radios and pubs blast rock into the suburban nights and the band prepare for their big break. Is Mike ready?

A warm, thoughtful, questioning novel; a reminder of simpler days, complex emotions and music of a generation.

***

Publishing in paperback today, this is a lovely coming of age story set in 1970's London suburbia.

Having grown up in London during the 1970's I was instantly attracted to this book and it's period and setting provided me with a wonderful trip down memory lane.  Music is a big feature of this book and plays as important a role as any of the characters.

This is a dialogue led book and propels this story along very nicely. The narrative is well written, but it is largely the conversations between the characters which make for an easy read and which makes the characters so easy to engage with.

The main character, Mike, aka JB, is delightful. The author presents him as a fully formed adolescent, and we observe him as he learns about love, life and music. He is a multi-layered character, and I enjoyed watching him make sense of the world.

There is also a wonderful cast of secondary characters, and I enjoyed reading about each of them. Mike's family and friends interacted perfectly and were all very believable.

There are many themes running throughout the book; love, loss, friendship and growing up, all written with both humour and poignancy. I enjoyed this book very much and can forsee it being one I pop back to read now and then.

I was thrilled to realise in the end pages of the book that the author has previously written a book about one of the characters, Richard. Just as I was sorry to be leaving Mike and the other characters I now realise I do not have to and can read more about Richard in the book, Three Weeks in Summer.

I loved Miracle Number Four, and I highly recommend it.

ISBN:  978 1999620066

Publisher:  Bluescale Publishing

Formats:  e-book, hardback and paperback - available on Kindle Unlimited

About the Author:

Paul grew up in a west London suburb (not unlike the suburbs in which his latest book – Miracle Number Four – is based) and now lives in Berkshire with his wife and two children. He is passionate about music, sport and, most of all,  writing, on which he now concentrates full-time. Paul has written five novels and his primary literary ambition is that you enjoy reading them while he is hard at work on the next one (but still finding time to play drums).

(book and author photo courtesy of Love Book Tours)

(author bio courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Like Sapphire Blue by Marisa Billions - #blogtour #book #excerpt

 

Isn't this a gorgeous cover? Today I am bringing you an excerpt, along with some information about the book, Like Sapphire Blue by Marisa Billions. Enjoy!

The Blurb

“Your eyes are amazing. I’ve never seen a blue like that.”

Emma Landry is tough, independent, beautiful, and smart. Being an outcast unable to identify with her classmates, she was willing to do whatever it takes to climb her way out of poverty.

“What color would you say they are?”

Like Sapphire Blue

Having never known a mother’s love, her father “Bear”, raised her on the wrong side of the tracks in a wealthy town.

When success beckons, the woman she’s been in love with is, finally, within her grasp. Life is now worth living and loving.

That is, until a dark family secret is revealed. A secret tied into the very fabric of who she is, and what she spent a lifetime working to overcome.

Faced with a foundation shattering treachery, Emma finds herself at the crossroads. Can she overcome a destiny stronger than death, destitution, and murder, to prove she is more than just her father’s daughter? Or will this new knowledge lead her to destroy the world she’s spent a lifetime building?

Winner of the 2023 Reader Views Reviewers Choice Fiction Book of the Year.

About the Author:

Marisa Billions is a high school English teacher in Southern California. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Criminology. She is the author of the fiction novels, This Too Shall Pass, Like Sapphire Blue, and Into the Blue Again. 

She is working on her upcoming fourth novel. Like Sapphire Blue was the Reader Views Reviewers Choice Fiction Book of the Year. She lives in Southern California with her wife, Stephanie, and son, Alexander, and two Boxer dogs, Max and Ruby.

The Excerpt

~ 1 ~ 

Humble Beginnings 

The Present...

Discord, meaning a lack of harmony or unity by the definition. In a relationship it is that moment when the realization hits that there is no turning back and the damage is done. It’s irreparable. 

Why won’t she look at me? Emma looked about the room. The table was set with the good china. Their favorite bottle of wine sat corked in the center, and across from her, was her beautiful wife. This was the woman that she spent the last two decades of her life with, and she won’t even look up? There was no way I was ever going to really fall in love with anyone else, you made sure of that. Whenever I thought you were out of my life, you miraculously reappeared every time. With narrowed eyes, gripping the ends of the table she looked around in the dimly lit room. 

The dining room was immaculate, crown molding lines the ceiling, and a tapestry of a French courtyard hangs on the back wall. A china cabinet delicately displaying the unused settings on the opposite wall. The dimmer switch was set to low and candles flicker in silver holders (inherited from her wife’s grandmother, who inherited them from her grandmother and so forth and so on). Her wife was sitting, with her thick strawberry blonde hair in delicate waves down her back. Her favorite dress clung to her curves. She has a beautiful body, and not a lot of things look bad on her. Her chin was down, and her beautiful blue eyes are downcast, refusing to look at Emma. She is leaning back against the chair with her head down. She’s there, but she’s not. 

Emma sat back, still staring across the table at her wife. One hand rested on the table, the other on the back of her chair. She worked so hard on this dinner. She made their favorite meal – eggplant parmigiana, pasta, home-made garlic bread. Not even an acknowledgement of the fact that the bottle of wine costs what Bear used to make in two weeks working at Jessie’s shop.

Her wife just sat there unmoved. Unimpressed. Not looking. Not speaking. This was her schtick though. The cold shoulder. The silent treatment. It wasn’t the first time she did this to Emma. But still, it was frustrating to her. And to think, this woman has a PhD. You would think she has better coping mechanisms than the silent treatment. 

The dinner itself and the beautiful and impressive dining room it was served in, could not be a further cry from Emma’s meager beginnings. To keep from looking at her silent wife, Emma looked around at the room. 

“You had everything growing up. This dinner, and what I did to prepare it, probably don’t mean much to you. But to make this, to have this, this is the world to me. What we built together, has meant the world to me.” Emma’s voice was quiet. Tears had welled up in her eyes. 

The Past (1976-1991)

Emma Landry never knew her mother. She didn’t even know she had one until she was in kindergarten. She thought she only came to be because of one parent, her dad Frank, who she called Bear, short for Papa Bear. 

She lived with her dad in a small trailer near the town. It was behind the auto shop that her dad worked at, which was owned by his brother, her uncle Jessie. The trailer was rundown, and there was a hole in the corner of the floor in the living room where she could see the ground beneath. In the winter time, she would stick a towel in the hole to keep the cold out, but sometimes the mice beneath the trailer would take it. Bear’s room was located at one end of the narrow trailer, and hers was at the other. There was a small living room with a tv that had bootlegged cable running to it. The walls were lined with a dark, faux wood paneling. An old card table with folding chairs was where they ate from dull plastic plates with mismatched silverware and chipped ceramic mugs. The couch was old, cream colored with brown and orange flower print, sagged in the middle and smelled faintly of mildew. 

Their trailer and the shop were located on a small, wooded plot of land. They didn’t have neighbors, and she didn’t have friends. Her friends were two plush animals, Teddy (a floppy eared dog) and Brownie (a threadbare cotton tailed bunny).

Book available from:

Amazon US

Never Say Never by Justine Manzano - #BBNYA #spotlight # semifinals

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is Never Say Never by Justine Manzano.

After she walks in on her mom doing the horizontal mambo with a man that’s decidedly not her dad, Brynn Stark swears off love. One of her friends,Val, is determined to change her mind, no matter the consequences. Prickly and cynical, Brynn tries to avoid Val’s attempts at setting her up, until Val reveals her true identity – Aphrodite, goddess of love, who promises to show Brynn why she shouldn’t lose faith.

Brynn’s job, school, and the various love connections Val tries to make keep her busy enough, but in her spare time, she struggles to navigate her own role in her parents’ divorce. With her other best friend recovering from a breakup of her own, and Val dead set on playing matchmaker, Brynn’s forced to rely on the fourth member of their friend group, Adam, for moral support. Adam, Val’s boyfriend.

Realizing she’s beginning to fall for Adam, Brynn throws herself full-force into dating Val’s picks, hoping one can lure her away from the bad situation she’s hurtling towards, but even when she finds one with a spark, she can’t stop thinking about Adam. Brynn’s forced to decide if she’ll choose her goddess-given fate, or risk it all for the wrong-but-right guy. One thing’s for sure. Love sucks. And it’s all about to blow up in their faces.

Publisher: Sword and Silk, LLC

Length: 320 Pages 

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Age Category: Young Adult

Date Published: 15 June 2021 

About the Author:

Justine Manzano is the geeky author of the geeky YA series Keys & Guardians, and geeky YA novel Never Say Never. Her fiction is tough on the outside and sweet on the inside, like an M&M or a hard candy with a gooey center, delivered with sass and snark. 

A freelance editor, she also serves as an Editor-in-Residence at WriteHive. She lives in Bronx, NY with her husband, son, and a cacophony of cats and can usually be found at her website, www.justinemanzano.com or all the usual social media haunts. If you’ve looked in all these places and can’t find her, she’s probably off reading fanfiction. She’ll be back soon.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

The Blue Hour by MJ Greenwood - #BBNYA #spotlight #semifinals

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is The Blue Hour by MJ Greenwood

Damaged by a toxic relationship, Ava Westmorland flees the ruins of her life in London for a carer’s job in a Cornish village. She hopes a combination of countryside and coast will heal her shattered heart. But she has yet to face tyrannical Tilly Barwise; the 89-year-old she will be looking after. Sharp, cantankerous and with an acid tongue, Tilly is the polar opposite of a sweet old lady. She has lived a thrillingly full life of romance and intrigue – and is determined shy Ava will follow in her doddering footsteps.

Through Tilly’s outrageous antics and bittersweet reminiscences, she shows Ava what it is to embrace life. As the pair form an unlikely bond, Tilly reveals the details of a wartime love affair with an American that ended in tragedy – but not quite in the way Tilly always believed.

Publisher: BAD PRESS iNK

Length: 260 Pages

Genre: Literary Fiction

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: 19 May 2021 

About the Author

Journalist turned gardener, weary mother-of-four with true story she couldn’t let go of, no matter how hard she tried.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Untouched by Jayme Bean - #BBNYA #2022 #spotlight #semifinals

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is Untouched by Jayme Bean.

Dr. Julia Morrow and her graduate students, David and Marisol, embark on a research trip to explore a remote section of the Amazon rainforest. When their trails seem to change direction at will and they find themselves lost and without communication, the trio worry they may be in for more than just the latest scientific discovery. 

After strange circumstances divide the group, they're left deciding which is more important - finding out why the rainforest seems like it's alive or getting back home in one piece. The deeper they travel into the jungle in search of answers, the more they realize that some places are meant to remain untouched.

Content Warning: This book contains strong depictions of panic and anxiety.

Publisher: Self-Published

Length: 412 Pages

Genre: Adventure, LBGTQ+, Suspense

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: 17 May 2021 

About the Author:

 Jayme Bean is an independent author who enjoys writing stories that speak both to the wonders of the world and the highs and lows of the human condition. Inspired by her travels around the world and her career as a zookeeper, she writes using her experiences, which lend a unique viewpoint to her stories. Jayme calls the sunny state of Florida home and shares her life with her husband, son, and four cats.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

The Vicar Man by Amelia Crowley - #BBNYA2022 #spotlight #semifinalist

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is The Vicar Man by Amelia Crowley.

Dora is a barmaid.

Usually her life is fairly simple: she gets up, cleans the inn, feeds the chickens, argues with the increasingly obstreperous cockerel, listens to the woes of her fellow barmaid, avoids doing the laundry, and serves drinks to the motley crew of islanders who lurk about the taproom every night.

The same old routine, day in, day out.

Tonight, though, is different.

Tonight, just one week before the vernal equinox, after a catastrophically bad harvest the year before, a stranger has walked into the bar…

Publisher: Self-Published

Length: 196 Pages 

Genre: Historical Fantasy, Comedy, Satire

Age Category: New Adult, Adult

Date Published: 20 August 2021 

About the Author:

Amelia lives in Yorkshire with her family.

At least she definitely had a family around here somewhere, but to be honest she's spent so much of the last year staring into a word processor she thinks they may have wandered off.

Her writing is fuelled by mugs of terrible, over-sugared coffee, much better chocolate, and the occasional macaron, and is punctuated by her soulless whimpers and the sound of her head hitting the keyboard. 

She posts updates on her books and writing at https://www.ameliacrowley.com/ When she remembers.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Strangest Day So Far by GV Pearce - #Spotlight #BBNYA2022 #Semi-finalist

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is Strangest Day So Far by G.V. Pearce.

Life-changing injuries, a shared hospital room, a monster at the door - can you think of a better way to fall in love?

Ronan Cox sets aside his peculiar past to pursue his military career. Then he's shot down over an Iraq desert, meets an eldritch being, and wakes up in an American hospital.

Byron Slain, aka Benjamin Williams, aka the tattooed, pierced pretty boy in the bed beside Ronan's, has his own strange story, but no time to tell it when a clawed cryptid comes scratching at their hospital door. 

And then things start getting really strange.

Publisher: Improbable Press

Length: 186 Pages

Genre: Supernatural, M/M Romance

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: 31 January 2021 

About the Author:

GV Pearce - Gen is the author of the queer supernatural romance novels Ghost Story and Strangest Day So Far. Several years spent working in animal welfare have left them with an endless supply of tales too ridiculous to be fiction. Perhaps one day they’ll put those stories into a book. In the meantime, Gen can usually be found wandering the Yorkshire Moors in search of cool rocks, inspiration, and a decent cup of coffee. 

To find out more visit - https://gvpearce.co.uk/ 

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks for Hire by G.M. Nair -#BBNYA 2022 - #Semi-finalist #Spotlight

 

This year, the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 55 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. 

 I have had the honour of being one of the judging panel and I am delighted to be spotlighting some of these books.

Today in the spotlight is Duckett & Dyer: Dicks for Hire by G.M. Nair

Michael Duckett is fed up with his life. His job is a drag, and his roommate and best friend of fifteen years, Stephanie Dyer, is only making him more anxious with her lazy irresponsibility. Things continue to escalate when they face the threat of imminent eviction from their palatial 5th floor walk-up and find that someone has been plastering ads all over the city for their Detective Agency.

The only problem is: Michael and Stephanie don’t have one of those.

Despite their baffling levels of incompetence, Stephanie eagerly pursues this crazy scheme and drags Michael, kicking and screaming, into the fray. Stumbling upon a web of missing people curiously linked by a sexually audacious theoretical physicist and his experiments with the fabric of space-time, the two of them find that they are way out of their depth. But unless Michael and Stephanie can put their personal issues aside and patch up the hole they tore in the multi-verse, the concept of existence itself may, ironically, cease to exist.

Publisher: dSdF 

Length: 300 Pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Comedy

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: 1 April 2019

About the Author:

G.M. Nair is a crazy person who should never be taken seriously. Despite possessing both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, he has written comedy for the stage and screen, and is the author of the highly unlucrative Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire, which has received the 2022 Indie Fantasy Fund Award and is a Finalist in the 1st ever Self-Published Science-Fiction Competition. 

The third book in the series - The Mystery of the Murdered Guy - was released this year and continues to lose money. 

G.M. Nair lives in New York City, if you can call it living. Am I right? 

Twitter: @GaneshNair

Instagram: @NairForceOne

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Belle Nash and the Bath Souffle by William Keeling - #BookReview

 

Packing away a dead man's clothes is never a joyous task, the worse when the man concerned was the husband whom you loved. But a year had passed since Hercules Champion had died and his widow Gaia felt in her heart that the time had come to recognise the past tense and say goodbye if not to the memory of the man then to his garments.

The decision was made in the knowledge that this is what her husband Hercules - rationalist, lawyer and businessman - would have desired...

***

When Gaia Champion's souffle fails to rise in 1830s Bath, it sets off a chain of events that overthrows the settled order. Centred on the personality of local councillor and bachelor extraordinaire Bellerophon 'Belle' Nash, this first volume of The Gay Street Chronicles engages with social issues that were emerging in the early days of Queen Victoria's reign and still require our close attention today. A recurring cast of whimsical characters brings a gentle humour to the writing and to the strong feminist activism of Bath's first Lady Magistrate.

***

Set in Bath in 1831, this delightful book transported me to visits I have made to the city. There are several historic buildings which are mentioned in the book, and which I have visited, and so it was easy for me to be pulled into the setting of the novel. I could easily imagine the characters going about their business through the streets of Bath, making it very easy to become engrossed by the story.

It is a wonderfully escapist book; full of humour and wry observations and I read it with a smile on my face. In style, it reminded me of P.G. Wodehouse. It was the kind of humour that could be termed 'silly' and I mean that in a positive sense. The fact that the whole story hinges on a souffle which failed to rise demonstrates the point.

The characters were all delightful to read about, each one of them vital to the plot in their own unique way. The author made them come alive on the page, and I was sorry when I read the final page and had to leave them behind.

However, this is the first book in the Gay Street Chronicles series which I am thrilled about. I am informed by the author that the next volume will be published in the spring of 2023 and I can hardly wait.

ISBN: 978 1915023025

Publisher: Envelope Books

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

About the Author:

William Keeling is a former foreign correspondent of the Financial Times who exposed a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal in Nigeria that led to his summary deportation. He eventually left journalism for chocolate, becoming co-owner of the historic chocolate company Prestat, but is still plotting his return to the tru home of jollof rice. Like his late uncle (referred to in this book), he has a creative mind. He lives and writes in Somerset. Belle Nash and the Bath Souffle is the first in his series, The Gay Street Chronicles.

(Thank you to Envelope Books for providing me with a copy of this book.)

Christmas with Hamish by Sophie Penhaligon - #BookReview

 

I walked into the magnificent venue, holding my breath. If there was ever any doubt in my mind that this wedding would be over the top, it vanished the minute I stepped into the grand ballroom. 

***

The Blurb

Christmas has never been the most wonderful time of the year for Verity Robinson. When her younger sister sends her an invite to her Christmas wedding on the other side of the country in Vancouver, she decides to kill two birds with one stone and plans a ski trip to Whistler with some old friends. However, her dreams of a snowy Christmas on skis are thwarted by her sister’s dog sitting crisis.

Instead of spending Christmas enjoying the après ski alcohol, she is instead stuck minding Hamish McDuff for the next week. They say that every cloud has a silver lining and for Verity the silver lining comes in the guise of her sexy new neighbour, Nikau Taylor. Nikau seems determined to help Verity eradicate her ghosts of Christmas past, but what will happen when her time is up and it’s time to go home to Toronto?

My Review

Christmas with Hamish is the perfect reading fare in the run up to the festivities. It is a romance story with dogs thrown into the mix so has great appeal from the outset.

However, there is more to this book than just a simple romance. I enjoyed observing how Verity's character gradually grew in confidence as the story progressed and I was rooting for her the whole way through the book.

It is a quick, light read which I read over the course of a weekend. I probably could have read this in a day if that intrusive thing called life had not interrupted my reading time. It was a comforting book to read, and I enjoyed observing Verity and Nickau fall in love with each other and with Christmas itself.

On the subject of love, I totally adored the dogs in the story. Both Hamish and Chunk added much to this novel and dog lovers will delight in this book.

It has a lovely feel-good factor to it, and I heartily recommend this if you are looking for a good Christmas novel. It has all the qualities of a Christmas film, and I can well envisage it being turned into one.

Book Details

ISBN:  979 8406803639

Publisher:  Independently published

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon CA

About the Author:

Sophie enjoys writing stories with relatable heroines and heroes she can fall in love with because a girl’s got to have some escape in life. She tries to keep her writing light, although she's not afraid to tackle some of the rather painful challenges that many people face. In her spare time she loves to read fun and sexy novels that make her smile as well as eating chocolate, drinking wine and listening to 80's music (sometimes all at the same time).

She currently lives on Vancouver Island and is the author of Ancient History, Weekend Arrangement, Playing the Long Game and Safety in Numbers.

(Author bio information from the author's own website at: https://sophiepenhaligon.com/)

(all opinions are my own)

Guest Post Tomorrow - Tara Lynn Masih

I am very excited to let you all know that the lovely, Tara Lynn Masih, will be a guest on my blog tomorrow. Tara is the author of the amazing novel My Name is Hannah, which is published in the UK this week.

I adored this book when I read it and reviewed it here on the blog. Just click on the book title below to read my review.

My Real Name is Hanna

Jerusalem Stone by Susan Sofayov

On September 15, 2008, Julie Wasserman’s life collapsed. In the morning, she lost her job at Lehman Brothers. That afternoon, she lost her twin brother, Jack, in a car crash. 

A year and a half later, she returns home to Pittsburgh to start a new job and live up to a pledge to visit her brother’s grave every day. With six weeks to wait before the start of the new job, she steps out of character and purchases a plane ticket to Thailand, the one place her brother dreamed of visiting.

She arrives in Thailand, focused on trying to figure out how she is going to live in the world without her twin brother and best friend. But an interruption in the form of a sexy Israeli, Avi, distracts her from this goal. As he tries to make her see that their meeting was beshert, meant to be, she insists that she must return home to live up to her promise to Jack.

Feeling responsible for Jack’s death, Julie believes that he wouldn’t want her to be happy, but would expect her to mourn for the rest of her life. Can Avi find a way to convince her they are bashert and Jack wouldn’t want her to stop living, or is Julie doomed to a life of guilt and unhappiness unless a higher power steps in?

With the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle taking place tomorrow I fancied a bit of romance in my reading. Jerusalem Stone falls perfectly into that category and overall was a good read.

The thing I really liked about this book was the atmospheric descriptions of place. The story takes place in Thailand and Israel, neither places I have been fortunate enough to visit as yet, but I certainly want to now. Ms. Soayov's evocation of the travels of the two characters are extremely well done and she brought the places to life upon the page. The heat, smells and noises were palpable. In fact, the title takes it's name from the type of stone used on the buildings in Jerusalem and her descriptions were so elegantly drawn that I almost felt as though I was there.

If I am honest, it took me a little while to engage with the main characters in this book. Avi seemed too good to be true and Julie was so emotional that I could not imagine than any man would not run a mile when confronted by her tears on virtually every occasion that they met. Of course, she has been through some very difficult times and, therefore, it was not surprising that tears were always just below the surface. However, I think that was exactly the point that the author was trying to make. Avi is not an average man but someone whose understanding of Julie's pain was indeed quite remarkable.

Their relationship was about far more than two like-minded people meeting and falling in love whilst on holiday. Rather, there was something spiritual in their meeting and their love for one another was not confined to earthly reasoning but was determined by a higher power. Whilst the characters in this book are Jewish it is not a religious story. Whether you call it  destiny, fate or God it is about a kind of love that was meant to be.

Without giving anything away I loved the way this story was wrapped up so neatly at the end. I dare not say more as I would hate to spoil your enjoyment of this very satisfying story.

ISBN: 978 16269448556

Publisher: Black Opal Books

About the Author:

Susan Sofayov is a Pittsburgh based writer. She’s married to a wonderful, but completely unsupportive husband who feels she should focus less on writing and more time on her “real job” running the family real estate management company. She has three out-of-the-nest children and an aging small white dog.

She has a BA in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and an MA in Teaching from Chatham University.

Her debut novel Defective chronicles a young woman’s battle to live an ordinary life while struggling with undiagnosed bipolar 2 disorder. Her second novel, The Kiddush Ladies explores friendship, forgiveness and self-destruction. It was released by Black Opal Books in December 2016. Her newest work, Jerusalem Stone was released on January 27, 2018.  It takes the reader from Thailand to Israel while focusing issues such as grief, survivor guilt, love and accepting a higher power.

She loves meeting new people by attending book group meetings. Offer her a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and she’ll be happy to talk about her books with your Pittsburgh area group. If your group is outside of Pittsburgh, she’ll pour her own cup of coffee and meet you via Skype. You can reach her at susan.sofayov@gmail.com

Finally, Susan suffers from an acute fear of commas and is dependent on a cadre of writing friends to help her put them in their proper place. None of those friends previewed this blog—forgive the comma errors.

susan.sofayov@gmail.com

Susan kindly gifted me a proof edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.