Dangerous Times on Dressmakers' Alley by Rosie Clarke - #bookreview #blogtour

 

"I have a task for you," Mary Winston announced to her young friend, Winnie, that springlike morning in March 1923. "It is something that should suit you because you like making clothes and you're good at it..."

***

Welcome to Dressmakers' Alley, a twisted place filled with dark and deadly secrets 

London’s East End 1923

In the heart of Dressmakers' Alley Madame Pauline’s sweatshop is rumoured to be a particularly unpleasant place to work. Filled with seamstresses paid a pittance who turn a blind eye to what darker activities are hidden behind locked doors.

Young Winnie Brown is keen to prove her value to the Women Movements and secures a job as a seamstress to investigate the whispers of some unsavoury goings on. Her concerns are soon justifiedwhen she discovers that there are terrible things afoot, as she hears a desperate cry for help.

Meanwhile, happily married, Lady Diane Cooper is the darling of London’s high-society. Beautiful and talented, she seemingly has it all. But the strict constraints society assigns her leaves her frustrated, she craves more freedom. With the help of her devoted dresser Susie can she realise her dream?

What is the connection between Lady Diane's world and the poor exploited young women of Dressmakers' Alley?

Can the two worlds come together for the good of all? 

***

This is the first book that I have read by Rosie Clarke, although I have had The Girls of Mulberry Lane on my TBR pile for a while now. She is an author that I have wanted to try so when this first in a new series came up I jumped at the opportunity to read it, and I was not disappointed.

The book had everything that you would expect to find in a book of this genre; strong characters, drama and ultimately a feel-good factor. 

Set in 1923 in London's East End we meet Winnie Brown who is the main character in this book. She is a compelling character who has committed a minor criminal act in her past. We meet her when this is behind her and she is working for The Women's Movement. She has had a difficult life growing up with a mother who blamed her for everything and is now estranged. She is taken under the wing of Mary, and her policeman husband, who help her to see her true worth. I loved Winnie as a  character, and watching her develop was a pleasure to read.

My only criticism of this book is that it ended quite abruptly, and I did not feel that all my questions were answered. However, I suspect that this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the author because it has left me wanting more. I can hardly wait for another book in the series to be published. In the meantime, I should find a copy of The Girls of Mulberry Lane to tide me over until then.

Having grown up in the East End myself, I love books which are set there. Obviously, I wasn't around at the time in which the book was set (even my mother had not been born then) but I recognise something of the place in this book. Stories my mother told me of my grandmother growing up during that time period caused the book to resonate with me and make this even more of a gripping story for me. Of course, it is not necessary to have this background in order to enjoy this story. I think anyone who enjoys reading sagas will lap this book up. I enjoyed it very much and I wholeheartedly recommend it to lovers of the genre.

ISBN: 978 1785131394

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  328 (paperback)

About the Author:

Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most recent books include The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in Cambridgeshire.

(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Wise Up! Wise Down! Poems by John Agard and JonArno Lawson - Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura - #bookreview

 

Two sharp-fanged fawn-coloured 

messengers stand ready

at the bars of my back gate.

What news have you brought me, wily duo?

***

Funny, thought-provoking and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally renowned poets, illustrated by treasured artist Satoshi Kitamura.

How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, internationally acclaimed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious and wonderous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is a forever and ever adventure.

***

This is a fun collection of poetry aimed at a middle grade audience.

Each of the poems have been illustrated in black and white, free hand style drawings and are every bit as fun and quirky as the poems.

Many of the poems are thought provoking causing the reader to ask questions such as:

"Do do-gooders do what's truly good?"

"How very bad is it to slouch at the dining room table?"

"What would a bald man want with a comb?"

Additionally, there are poems which encourage the reader to think about themselves, such as in the poem titled Don't Forget Yourself.

This is a lovely collection of poetry that children around the ages of seven to twelve years will enjoy.

***

ISBN: 978 1529501520

Publisher: Walker Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  144 (paperback)

About the Authors:

John Agard was brought up in Guyana, moving to Britain in 1977. He writes with his partner Grace Nichols, and both are well known as writers and performers of poetry for children and adults. They live in Sussex.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, and raised in neighboring Dundas, children’s poet JonArno Lawson earned a BA from McGill University. He is the author of more than ten books of poetry for children and adults, including Think Again (2010), Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box (2012), Enjoy It While It Hurts (2013), and Sidewalk Flowers (2015), a wordless picture book. As a nonsense poet, Lawson’s poems feature clever rhymes, whimsical images, and wordplay.

Lawson is a four-time winner of the Lion and Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Children’s Poetry. His books have received an Alcuin Award, a Prix Libbylit Award, and a Governor General’s Literary Award for Illustrated Children’s Books, among other distinctions. He has taught children’s poetry in the Children’s Literature Program at Simmons College and regularly facilitates workshops for children and adults. Lawson lives in Toronto with his family.

About the Illustrator:

Satoshi Kitamura is both an author and illustrator. He was born in 1956 in Tokyo. He says that when he was young he read comics and admits that these have had a great influence on his style. He says he was also influenced by anything visual from a tin of sardines to the fine art of the East and the West. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work. He moved to London in 1979 and worked mainly designing greeting cards. He started illustrating for Andersen Press in 1981. At this time he had an exhibition of his work at the Neal Street Gallery in Covent Garden, which Klaus Flugge visited and showed him the text of Angry Arthur.

Angry Arthur, written by Hiawyn Oram, was published in 1982 to great acclaim, winning the Mother Goose Award in 1983 and the Japanese Picture Book Award. In 1989, UFO diary was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, an award he later went on to win for Me and My Cat, which was also shortlisted for the Kurt Mashler Award. In 2006, Satoshi’s collaboration with Colin McNaughton, Once Upon an Ordinary School Day, won The Japan Picture Book Award for best translated book. Satoshi’s book, Millie’s Marvellous Hat, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award in 2010.

(book and author media courtesy of Walker Books)

(author media courtesy The Poetry Foundation)

(illustrator media courtesy of Book Trust)

(all opinions are my own)

Floored by Chrissie Harrison - #blogtour #excerpt #giveaway

 

Hello. Today I have an excerpt for you of the lovely romantic comedy, Floored by Chrissie Harrison. 

There is also a giveaway of one hardback copy of this book so don't forget to scroll to the bottom of the page for your chance to win a copy for yourself.

This looks like a fun read. Let me tell you a little about the book...

The Blurb

FLOORED is a charming romantic comedy guaranteed to give you a lift.

Hannah and Drew work in the same office.

Hannah and Drew use the same elevator.

Hannah and Drew aren’t looking for love.

They haven’t even met.

Yet something is happening

...

Amiable TV production accountant Drew has turned his back on love after the death of his fiancée, an incident which cemented his longstanding elevatophobia. When Drew moves towns and jobs for a fresh start, he hears a voice in the office lift telling him to “be careful”.

Is it his fevered imagination, the ghost of his fiancée, or someone playing a cruel prank? Quickly, he becomes desperate, foolish... and unexpectedly smitten.

Sweet and sassy Hannah wouldn’t mind finding love, but keeps choosing the wrong boy friends. Her innate social anxiety, deepened by bad experiences with a preying boss, is a huge barrier to dating anyone new.

Yet, to expose her boss’ antics, she needs to be lucky as well as smart. However, talking to a sweet but hapless co-worker isn’t the answer... is it? After all, she could never imagine meeting him in person.

When Drew discovers the adorable girl behind the voice, a relationship blossoms alongside a shared determination to bring justice to their workplace, risking everything.

Will their daring plan succeed or will it jeopardize the happiness they’ve found with each other?

***

The Excerpt

Our delightful, sparky but shy MC, Hannah, is considering meeting Drew, who she’s been talking to in the office lift. However, she’s massively resistant to meeting men, and very out of practice with dating.

Her best friend and neighbour Amy, a ballsy Welsh firefighter, agrees to an evening out to celebrate Hannah’s tentative steps towards romantic involvement. Cue a very odd “fake dating”…

Amy refilled her glass, drank, and then bit her lip, thinking. ‘You know what you need? Practice.’

‘Eh?’

‘Date practice. Now, here, with me.’

Hannah laughed. ‘Ames, we’re mates. We’re not on a date.’

Amy coughed, shuffled her shoulders, and put on a deeper voice. ‘The name’s Drew.’

Hannah darted glances around the sparsely populated Italian restaurant. ‘Stop it,’ she hissed. ‘You’re embarrassing me.’

‘Oh,’ Amy continued, contralto. ‘I thought you wanted to come on a date with me, Elle.’ She pushed her seat back, preparing to stand.

Hannah tugged Amy’s hand. ‘Shhh. Sit down.’

The strapping firefighter—unusually feminine in a low-cut maroon blouse and long navy skirt—smiled contentedly and sat.

‘Anyway, it’s Hannah, not Elle,’ Hannah snipped.

‘You’ll have told him your real name?’

‘Of course. I’m not trying to be fucking Banksy.’

Amy tutted. ‘Bit sweary, isn’t it, for a first date?’

‘Fuck off,’ she chided quietly. ‘Besides, what happened to you being Drew?’ She shot a pointed look and sipped her fizz.

Amy put on a serious face. ‘So, Hannah, how many other men have you slept with?’

Hannah sprayed Prosecco across the table. ‘He’d never ask me that!’

Amy wiped droplets from her chest, holding in a laugh. ‘You should tell him the worst stuff up front, not waste more time by having a short relationship that didn’t go anywhere.’

‘You mean scare him off quickly?!’

‘No, but you want marriage and babies and stuff, right? No sense in wasting a ticking clock with the wrong person.’

‘What about having fun? Huh? Or using this as a test to see if I can start dating again?’

Amy pointed. ‘There you go, tell him he’s a dry run for Mr Right.’

‘Ha fucking ha.’

Amy tutted, waggling a finger. ‘Sweary Mary get no pokey-pokey.’

She slapped the hand away playfully. ‘I know you’re a “no fear, run into burning buildings” kind of person, but I might tread a bit more cautiously if that’s okay?’

Amy looked hard, then sighed. ‘I suppose. Sorry.’

Hannah pensively drew circles on the table mat with her fingertip. ‘Besides, it’s not how many men. It’s what they’ve done to me.’

Amy laid her hand on Hannah’s. ‘I know, Han. And that’s what you—and Drew—have to get past.’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

Amy brought the glass to her lips. ‘But, you know, for completeness, how many?’ She drank, raising a single eyebrow.

Hannah scowled and pulled her hand away. ‘I’m not getting into competitive bedpost-notching with you, Ms Jones.’

‘Sorry. But, serious for a moment, what was the worst?’

‘I’ve got a bloody roll-call, Ames.’

‘Would you tell him? You’ve heard his Katie story—and that’s pretty horrendous.’

‘Yeah, I’ll tell him. The Z-list he’s got to avoid appearing on if he wants access to this temple to female wonderment.’ She gesticulated at herself. 

It triggered a thought about the prospect of relations with Drew, and her tummy went a little skippy.

‘Fire away, then. I mean, I know about Stuart.’

Hannah snorted. ‘The straw that broke the camel’s back.’ She gazed at the restaurant’s appalling faux Sistine Chapel ceiling. ‘Ben wanted me to throw out my chick-lit collection. Bad idea. Hugh slept with my best mate at Uni. Peter wanted me to stop speaking to all other men, including my mates. Jon wanted to do it on the first date. Charlie didn’t want to do it on the first date. Or even the tenth date. Shame, because it felt like he was hung like a racehorse.’ She sighed. ‘I think he was gay. What a waste. Anyway.’ She drummed her fingers on the table. ‘I voted Remain, and that was enough for Simon to drop me like a hot EU regulation. Oh, and you met Ollie, remember? You happened to pop over when he was at mine.’

‘Oh, yeah. Great stubble, bad shoes.’

‘After you left—like immediately, he asked about a threesome.’ Hannah gave a humungous eye-roll.

‘And you didn’t think to run that past me?’

Hannah slapped Amy’s hand.

Mercifully, at that point, the server arrived with their dinner.

***

The Giveaway

Giveaway to Win 1 x hardcopy of Floored (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome.

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Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.

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(all media including giveaway courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods - #bookreview

 

When I first arrived at the redbrick Georgian house on Ha'penny Lane that cold, dark evening with rain dripping from my jacket, I hadn't planned on staying. The woman on the phone sounded less than friendly, but I had nowhere else to go and very little money...

***

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

***

This book is charming, delightful and any similar adjective that you can think of. It had me gripped from the very first page and I loved it. Let me tell you why...

It was chosen by somebody at my Book Club for this month's read. In all honesty, I had never heard of it before and thus had no expectations. What I found though was a book that I could not put down. It called to me constantly when I was away from it and I picked it up at every opportunity. 

All three characters, Opaline, Martha and Henry were well portrayed and came alive on the page. The chapters are told from the perspective of each of them, and from their respective time periods. I liked the way that Martha and Henry are set in present time and the blossoming romance between them was all the better by being able to read what they were thinking about the other.

The chapters of Opaline begin in 1921 and the setting moves between England and Paris. She was an astonishinly brave character; at times she suffers heartbreak through loss and her living condiditions but she was a pioneering woman who showed fortitude and self-expression during a time when a woman was not expected to make her own choices as she was considered property of a man. In this case, her older brother Lyndon.

The titular bookshop is almost a character in and of itself and has a huge role to play in the story. It links all three of the characters which the author does marvellously. Coupled with an ending which made me sigh with satisfaction, this is an excellent book to read.

This book will be adored by book lovers everywhere, particularly if you like a bit of mystery and magical realism thrown in. I have read some fabulous fiction this year and this is up there with the others. I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0008609214

Publisher:  One More Chapter

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  442 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Evie Woods is the author of The Lost Bookshop, the #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon Kindle bestseller, which has now sold over half a million copies. She is also the author of The Story Collector, The Heirloom and The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris under her real name, Evie Gaughan.

Living on the West Coast of Ireland, Evie escapes the inclement weather by writing her stories in a converted attic, where she dreams of underfloor heating. Her books tread the intriguing line between the everyday and the otherworldly, revealing the magic that exists in our ordinary lives.

(author media courtesy of Harper Collins)

(all opinions are my own)

The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs - #blogtour #excerpt

 

When I was offered the opportunity to take part in this blog tour I leapt at the chance. Had time permitted, I would have loved to have read this book and brought you a book review.

However, my diary was pretty full at the time but I could not resist being part of the blog tour in some way. So, I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt today of The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs.

First though, a bit about the book...

The Blurb

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven...

Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.

After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.

Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.

After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path...

***

The Excerpt

Chapter Eleven - Mistress of Dartington Hall

Spring 1572

My mouth fell open and I froze on the threshold, letting my eyes drink in the splendour of Dartington Hall. A soaring forest of carved oak beams supported the huge span of the roof high above my head. I slowly let out my breath as I watched the banners fluttering gently from the beams and took in the stone corbels, each with an angel bearing the arms of some great knight on a painted shield. Wispy tendrils of smoke rose from a fire smouldering in a fireplace even larger than the one Papa had at Ducey and long tables stretched the length of the hall, enough space to seat a multitude. I could see why Sir Arthur was so proud of this place. It was as splendid as the queen’s Great Hall at the Palace of Westminster.

Lost in wonder, at first I did not notice Gawen. My husband was well built and tall. He looked over the heads of most men. But he faded to insignificance in the grandeur of that lofty hall. He had almost reached me before I realised he was there, a sharp-featured little man hovering at his elbow.

I thought I caught a momentary flicker of recognition, even of welcome, in Gawen’s steel-grey eyes when he paused in front of me. But if I did it was gone as soon as it came. His fingers felt cold as he took my hand, as courtesy demanded, but he turned quickly away so I could no longer see his eyes.

‘My wife is tired from her journey,’ he announced in a lordly voice. ‘Rist, will you see my lady to her chamber. Father, we must speak. There is news from France.’ Undeterred, I put my hand on his arm.

‘Is there news of my family? I have heard nothing since they left me in London months ago. Did you bring letters from my mother?’ He shook my hand away as a horse shakes to rid itself of a fly and rapped out a short reply.

‘I did not. Go with Rist, if you please. I must speak with my father.’

Such a curt dismissal quenched all my hopes, all the joy I might have taken in my new home, as surely as if he had thrown a pail of water over me. My head dropped and I came within a hair’s breadth of meek obedience before a vision of my mother rose up in my mind; Isabeau, Countess of Montgomery, mistress of her household, imperious and commanding. I’m her daughter. I’m mistress of this household now. I’ll not be told when I’m tired and sent to my room!

I threw back my head, drew myself up in imitation of Maman at her formidable best, forced my lips into a smile and whirled around. ‘How kind and considerate you are, husband,’ I said, honey- sweet, but firm. ‘But I am not at all tired and would see more of this household which is now mine to manage. Master Rist, is it?’ I favoured the rodent-faced servant with a withering stare. ‘If you please, conduct me to the kitchens and the storerooms. I take it they lie beyond the passage?’ I’ll swear I heard Sir Arthur stifle a chuckle, or perhaps it was Bess. Rist looked questioningly at Gawen.

‘As you wish,’ my husband ground the words through clenched teeth, then recovered himself a little. ‘Yes, Rist, off course, you must do as your mistress orders. Bess, will you go with them?’

‘Oh yes, brother, I wouldn’t miss this for anything,’ she chortled as we passed through the opening.

‘Do the gardens lie that way?’ I asked brightly, pointing to a door that stood ajar. Rist grunted in reply. As I stepped forward I felt a rush of wings over my head. A swallow was making a nest high on the wall just within the door lintel. ‘Well, well. I see others are making a new home under this roof,’ I laughed. ‘Be sure not to close this door, Master Rist. Some say birds in a house bring bad luck, but I deem it an honour to share my home with this pretty fellow.’ Bess gave me another encouraging smile, but Rist looked at me as though he thought me mad.

I stepped outside and found myself in a second courtyard to the rear of the hall. Mellow grey stone walls enclosed a pretty knot garden with beds planted with flowers. The far range of buildings looked neglected, but the effect was rather charming. To the left of the door an area had been left unplanted, save for an apple tree. Away to the right, past the hall, I could just see a church tower rising up in the shadow of an enormous yew tree.

I walked a few paces enjoying the sweet, lemon-tinged fragrance of early apple blossom. Out of nowhere, two boys came hurtling along the path, giggling and laughing, egging each other on to run faster. They veered sharply into the doorway and nearly knocked Rist off his feet.

‘Scurvy little imps!’ he growled, as they ducked under his flailing arm. 

‘Now, Rist,’ said Sir Arthur, who had ignored Gawen and come to stand beside us. He watched the boys’ retreating figures as they burst out through the other door and raced across the courtyard. ‘Let ’em be. Boys will be boys! They’re the cook’s lads, aren’t they? As likely a pair as you’ll ever find! Good for them to let off steam a bit. They already practise at the butts every Sunday. Soon they’ll be put to work or to fighting for the queen.’

Rist grunted and Sir Arthur gave me a searching look.

‘It would do my heart good to see another Champernowne youngster running through these gardens,’ he said with a sigh. I felt my cheeks flaming and suddenly found the flagstone path beneath my feet fascinating.

***

ISBN:  978 1805142997

Publisher:  Troubador Publishing

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  288 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country and loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history – the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.

Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places.Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.

Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology and social justice.

(all media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)

Murder on the Dance Floor by Katie Marsh - #bookreview #blogtour

 

Even before she tripped over a dead body, Jeanie's hen weekend hadn't exactly been going according to plan.

***

They DID promise her a killer hen weekend...

Jeanie’s getting married, and – despite her completely impossible four sisters – her best friends Clio and Amber are determined to give her a bachelorette weekend to remember. They’re in matching pink T-shirts and the drinks are flowing...

But the night turns out to be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons when a girl turns up dead on the dancefloor. And – even though she’s a stranger – she is wearing one of Jeanie’s hen T-shirts.

Who is she? And why are the police convinced that the hens are involved? Can the newly-formed Bad Girls Detective Agency solve the murder? And in time to get Jeanie up the aisle?

Unputdownable mystery set on the English coast.

***

This book is the second in the Bad Girls Detective Agency series. I enjoyed the first book, How Not to Murder Your Ex, and you can read my review here.

It was nice to be reacquainted with the three main characters, Jeanie, Clio and Amber. In this book we are introduced to Jeanie's sisters and their mum, brought together for her hen night. I enjoyed reading about the siblings and their inevitable rivalries and this added a little something extra to the book.

Despite this being the night before Jeanie's wedding, when they discover a dead body in the nightclub the three women decide to investigate. As an ex-police officer, Amber is determined they solve the crime and find the killer before the police do.

There are some nice twists and turns during the book, which made for a fun, and entertaining read. Although the plot is centered around a murder, what I like about this novel is it does not take itself too seriously. It is an amusing, enjoyable and quick read.

Overall, the book is about the friendship between these three strong women and I liked watching this bond strengthen. Anyone who likes a cosy mystery centred around middle aged women will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978 1785139192

Publisher: Boldwood Books

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

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

About the Author:

Katie wrote romantic fiction before turning to crime. Her debut novel was a World Book Night pick and her books are published in ten languages.

She lives in the English countryside and loves strong coffee and pretending to be in charge of her children. How Not to Murder your Ex,  the first in her Bad Girls Detective Agency series is out now, published by Boldwood Books. The next instalment, Murder on the Dancefloor, follows in March 2024.

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

10 Ten Books I Want to Read in April 2024

 

As I sit to write this post, the sun is shining brightly outside. Nothing cheers me quite as much as the spring sunshine.... except perhaps a good book to read.

What are your reading plans for April? Here are just ten books that I would like to read.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters

George Eliot by Jenny Uglow

Jane Eyre: Abridged for Young Readers by Charlotte Bronte and Patrice Lawrence

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

Hello, Goodbye by Kate Stollenwerk

Future Hopes: Hopeful Stories in a Time of Climate Change by Lauren James

To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

Widows on the Wine Path by Julia Jarman

I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons