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Author: Nicola

ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – This Motherless Land by Nikki May

Posted on 30th July 2024 By Nicola

This Motherless Land by Nikki May was published by Doubleday on 18th July 2024 in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Message Deleted by K.L. Slater

Posted on 24th July 2024 By Nicola

Message Deleted by K.L. Slater was published by Michael Joseph on 18th July in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for the […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink

Posted on 19th July 2024 By Nicola

Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink was published by Phoenix on 11th July in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to Aoife Datta for the proof […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr

Posted on 15th July 2024 By Nicola

Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr is published by Canelo Crime and is out now in paperback and eBook. My thanks to the publishers for the […]

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ShortBookandScribes #PublicationDay #BookReview – The Last Time I Saw You by Jo Leevers

Posted on 1st July 2024 By Nicola

Happy publication day to Jo Leevers as The Last Time I Saw You is published by Lake Union today in paperback, eBook and audiobook! My […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – I Died on a Tuesday by Jane Corry

Posted on 24th June 2024 By Nicola

I Died on a Tuesday was published by Penguin Viking on 20th June and is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Garden of Her Heart by Zoë Richards

Posted on 17th June 2024 By Nicola

Garden of Her Heart by Zoë Richards will be published on 20th June by UCLan Publishing in paperback and audiobook. My thanks to Karen Stretch […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Love in Provence by Jo Thomas

Posted on 13th June 2024 By Nicola

Love in Provence by Jo Thomas was published on 6th June in paperback by Penguin Transworld. It’s also available in eBook and audiobook. My thanks […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – The King’s Witches by Kate Foster

Posted on 11th June 2024 By Nicola

The King’s Witches is published by Mantle and available now in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to Chloe Davies for the proof copy. The […]

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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – You Are Here by David Nicholls

Posted on 6th June 2024 By Nicola

You Are Here by David Nicholls is published by Sceptre and out now in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for the […]

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Nicola Smith-book blogger. Reviews and other bookish stuff. Just one person trying to read all the books. No eBooks. IG, FB, TT handle-@shortbookandscribes

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19 Dec

ICYMI - #Review - Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

A charming mixture of fact and fiction set around royal Christmases at Sandringham in the 1950s.

@HazelGaynor @msheatherwebb
#ChristmasWithTheQueen
@HarperFiction

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shortbookandscribes

UK book blogger (Sheffield), Bookstagrammer and lover of all things bookish.
Just one person trying to read all the books.
Physical books only.

Christmas Novellas 🎄 In case you are looking fo

Christmas Novellas
🎄
In case you are looking for some last-minute Christmas reading inspiration, these two novellas won't take up too much of your time if you're still frantically buying/wrapping/decorating.
🎄
Christmas at the Keep by Marcia Willett
When I was hunting around for Christmas novellas I was pleased to see Christmas at the Keep by Marcia Willett. I read some of Willett's books many years ago and enjoyed them, and I thought this short read sounded right up my street. I was correct, right from the point when I spotted the comprehensive family tree and then when I followed the Chadwick family from October to December as they navigated new arrivals, annoying so-called friends and the upcoming festive season at the Keep.

I didn't realise that the Chadwicks had appeared in four full-length novels. Had I read them then this book would have been a lovely catch-up but I haven't read them and now I want to! Sadly, Christmas at the Keep was Willett's final book but she's left a wonderful back catalogue to be explored. I thought this novella was a delight.
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The Christmas Guest is a modern day country house murder mystery. Ashley Smith is invited to spend Christmas at her university friend's home. Whilst there, she writes a diary documenting her time there and her feelings for her friend's twin brother. This is quite a dark Christmas read. It doesn't appear it at first but as the story progresses Ashley finds that her festive season may not be so merry and bright after all.

It's a quick read but there's still plenty packed in, with a couple of unexpected curveballs too. I think the novella's length worked well, keeping up the pace and maintaining my interest. I was surprised by a lot of what happened. It's not the most plausible storyline but it is an engaging read.
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#bookreview #ChristmasAtTheKeep #TheChristmasGuest #christmasbooks #novellas #christmasnovellas #festivereads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #booksread #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #bookishcontent #lovereading #shortbookandscribes

New review: Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gayn

New review: Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. Published by Harper Collins and out now.
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How lovely it has been for this royalist to read a Christmas book set around the royals and specifically our late Queen Elizabeth II. The story is told from three points of view: the Queen, Olive and Jack. It's 1952 and the Queen has only just ascended to the throne after the death of her father. Jack is a chef who gets the chance to work in the royal kitchens and finds himself tasked to work at Sandringham over Christmas. Olive works for the BBC trying to make a name for herself as a royal reporter, and when she is sent to Sandringham to report on the Queen's first Christmas she runs into Jack, a man she knew at the very end of World War II.
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I really enjoyed how the stories of Olive and Jack were entwined with Christmases at Sandringham and the annual Queen's speech. Although the Queen's sections are short, they set up each year's events perfectly, before we return to Olive and Jack, their home lives, their work and their hopes for the future. There's a deliciously frustrating will they/won't they storyline running through the whole book and some added complexities from both sides that make their reunion run far from smoothly.
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Christmas with the Queen is a delightful, heart-warming, festive story that anyone who loves royal or historical fiction will enjoy. Behind the scenes at Sandringham makes for a wonderful setting, as does London in the 1950s with austerity still biting. I found it to be a charming mixture of fact and fiction, and an enthralling story with interesting, well-formed characters.
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#bookreview #ChristmasWithTheQueen #historicalfiction #royalfiction #christmasbooks #christmasreads #festivebooks #festivereads #fortheloveofbooks #lovestory #ilovebooks #booklover #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #bookishcontent #bookphotography #shortbookandscribes

New review: Close to Home by Cara Hunter ✨ Cara

New review: Close to Home by Cara Hunter
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Cara Hunter's Adam Fawley series is a crime and thriller highlight for me and I know I'm going to love each book. I came to the series on book three and whilst I always intended to read books one and two, I never felt I had missed out. However, book seven is on the way in February 2025 and as it returns to the case in book one I felt the time was right to read the book that started it all.
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Eight year old Daisy Mason has gone missing from a party at her family home. DI Adam Fawley and his team are called in to investigate and right from the start there are strong suspicions as to what might have happened to Daisy. It was nice to see how the series started and the roles of each member of the police team. I recognised them all from later books and there were also some characters who have developed more fully throughout the progression of the series.
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The use of emails, transcripts, newspaper reports, forums etc is a common device in Hunter's books and I do love to see this mixture of formats. The lack of chapters may dismay some readers but trust me when I say that this book is very fast-paced and there are plenty of stopping points. In fact, I think defined chapters would have actually slowed the pace for me.
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This is an excellent crime/police procedural novel and the start of what has become an auto-read series for me. I didn't see the clever ending coming and I'm really looking forward to reading Making a Killing to see how Hunter brings Daisy's case back to life.
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#bookreview #CloseToHome #crimeseries
#crimebooks #policeprocedural #policefiction #ilovebooks #fortheloveofbooks #reviewer #reader #crimebooksofinstagram #bookblogger #lovereading #booklover #shortbookandscribes

December Book Haul 📚 I've ended up with quite a

December Book Haul
📚
I've ended up with quite a few new books from last week so I thought I'd share them with you.

I went out for the afternoon with my mum last Thursday to Dobbies Garden Centre. After a festive lunch we had a mooch about and it's far too easy to spend a fortune in that place. I said no more Christmas decorations as we've got so many but I couldn't resist this book bauble and this gaudy but totally joyous rainbow wreath.

There was a nice selection of fiction too at 2 for £6 and so I got these four (I couldn't only get two, could I?!).
Bucket List by Russell Jones
Night Climbing by Sarah Day
The Tower by Kate London
Close to the Edge by Anna Britton

My pre-order of Ten Seconds by Robert Gold also arrived and I also couldn't resist buying a copy of A Novel Solution by Sue Clark at a bargain price of £2.13 for the hardback on Amazon.
📚
Do you like the look of any of these books?
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#newbooks #bookhaul #crimeseries
#crimefiction #policeprocedural #policefiction #historicalfiction #feelgoodfiction #bookpurchases #ilovebooks #fortheloveofbooks #bookishcontent #booklover #BucketList #NightClimbing #TheTower #CloseToTheEdge #TenSeconds #ANovelSolution #shortbookandscribes

#CoverReveal 🎉🎉 - I’m thrilled to be shari

#CoverReveal 🎉🎉 - I’m thrilled to be sharing the cover of THE DEATH OF US by Abigail Dean!

It's the story everyone wants to hear...

This is a story you'll never forget

From the bestselling author of GIRL A and DAY ONE, this is a breathtaking new novel about love, tragedy and forgiveness.

You can pre-order #TheDeathOfUs at @waterstones.

Ad/PR product. New review: Christmas for the Home

Ad/PR product. New review: Christmas for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin. Published by @bookouture and out now.
🕯️
Christmas for the Home Front Girls is the third book in what has become one of my favourite book series. This instalment picks up where the previous book left off: Sally is the manager of the salvage depot, Betty is newly in love with Samuel, the gentle bookseller, and Lorna is throwing herself into her work at the depot after the trauma of her failed engagement to George.
🕯️
It's December 1940 and the Christmas blitz in Manchester is just around the corner but the girls always manage to stay upbeat no matter what life throws at them. I love all three of the main characters, quite different personalities but they complement each other perfectly. In this book I particularly enjoyed the trajectory that Lorna's life took and how it threw her back into the path of handsome and debonair George.
🕯️
As you might expect for the time, there's quite a bit of make do and mend. The salvage depot collects all kinds of things that are then recycled for a new purpose. As always, I thought it was a fascinating setting and it really sums up the feel of 'doing one's bit for the war effort'. The Christmas blitz is distressing for the characters and must have been a horrifying time to live through, with death and destruction never far away. The author describes the terrifying events well, but also gives light to the shade with tales of how people worked together in rescue operations, with everyone playing an important role.
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I found this book completely heart-warming to read. The characters and the settings work so well together and the story ended on a truly wonderful note. I'm now eagerly awaiting the next book in the series and to see what happens next.
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Thank you to the author for the review copy.
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#bookreview #ChristmasForTheHomeFrontGirls #homefront #warfiction #sagafiction #sagas #sagabooks #wwiifiction #fortheloveofbooks #reviewbooks #booksread #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #bookseries #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Sleeping Dogs by @thevo

Ad/PR product. New review: Sleeping Dogs by @thevoiceofruss. Published by @simonschusteruk and out now.
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Sleeping Dogs is book four in the DS Adam Tyler series by Russ Thomas and it's a series that I love catching up with. In this book, we return to Sheffield and to settings and landmarks that I know, but the storyline is a bit different this time. It's told in the very recent past and the present, with Adam investigating an anonymous tip-off without involving his colleagues (standard Adam), and then DC Mina Rabbani investigating what happens to Adam when he gets a bit too involved.
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Whilst I missed Adam's character in the parts when he was out of action, I really enjoyed seeing Mina step forward and take on a bigger role. She's such an interesting and promising character and I'll be interested to see what happens to her next (given the ending).
🚓
The unfolding of the two strands worked really well, with all the pieces being slotted in place as it went along. The plotting is tight and I found I didn't want to put this book down. This is a police procedural but that's not all it is. It's got heart and emotion, it has a touch of police corruption, interesting characters, an intricate dual time narrative storyline, and an in-depth investigation that kept me absolutely gripped. I loved Sleeping Dogs and I really hope there is more to come from DS Adam Tyler.
🚓
Thank you @bookpublicist for the review copy.
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#bookreview #SleepingDogs #crimeseries #crimebooks #policeprocedural #policefiction #sheffieldbooks #fortheloveofbooks #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #bookish #ilovebooks #shortbookandscribes

November 2024 Reads 🔥Fire by John Boyne I thou

November 2024 Reads

🔥Fire by John Boyne
I thought this was the most powerful of the Elements quartet so far. It's disturbing with blurred lines about consent and the effects of childhood trauma.

🐧Gone with the Penguins by Hazel Prior
I loved this third book to feature the formidable Veronica McCreedy. This time she pledges to save the penguins at her local sea life centre.

🏠Courage for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin
This is the second book in the series about Sally and Betty and their work at a Manchester salvage yard in WWII. I love the characters and reading about life on the home front.

🍾The Party by Tessa Hadley
This is a novella about two sisters who meet two more worldly-wise men in a pub. They're later invited to a party by the two men and what happens there is life-changing for both sisters.

🍫A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas
The latest book by one of my favourite authors. Clara moves to Switzerland with her new boyfriend and enrols in a chocolate-making course. This book will make you crave a hot chocolate and made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

🏔️The Ice Retreat by Ruth Kelly
Reporter, Hollie, investigates the eponymous retreat which promises rebirth through extreme ice therapy. Thrilling and chilling with a side order of killing.

📷The Secret Photographs by Jacquie Bloese
I really loved this story of Ellen Harper and her brother, Raynald, with their respectable daytime photography business turning to erotica in the evenings. A beautiful work of historical fiction.

🚓Sleeping Dogs by Russ Thomas
Book four of a police series I love, set in Sheffield. In dual time narratives, DS Adam Tyler is investigating a cold case and when he has an accident, DC Mina Rabbani investigates what happened to him and how it's linked to a mysterious letter he received.

What was your favourite read in November? Did we read any of the same books?
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#NovemberReads2024 #NovemberReads #November2024Reads #monthlyroundup #monthlywrapup #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #ilovebooks #fortheloveofbooks #bookishphotography #bookishcontent #crimeseries #historicalfiction #feelgoodfiction #novellas #shortbookandscribes

#CoverReveal ⏳🎉 #59Minutes by @hollyseddonau

#CoverReveal ⏳🎉

#59Minutes by @hollyseddonauthor will be published by @orionbooks on 25th September 2025 and it sounds AMAZING!

Synopsis:
If you knew you had fifty-nine minutes until everything and everyone you love would be lost forever, what would you do with that time?

It's an ordinary evening. People are coming home from work, cooking dinner for their children, cuddling on sofas with their lovers. And then the message arrives, shattering everyone's worlds:

Missiles are set to destroy England in fifty-nine minutes. Everyone should seek immediate shelter.

59 minutes follows the journey of three women trying to make it home to and protect their families. The journeys should be simple, but with a lost schoolchild seeking help, a teenage daughter suddenly going missing, and dangerous criminals on the prowl, there is peril at every corner.

59 Minutes is a gripping, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching thriller perfect for fans of WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME, THE CHAIN and Lisa Jewell.
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#thrillerreads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #bookreveal #bookishreels #reader #bookblogger #bookreader #thrillerbooks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: The Ice Retre

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: The Ice Retreat by @ruthywriter. Published by @panmacmillan and out now.
🏔️
I'd already read Ruth Kelly's previous books, The Villa and The Escape, so I knew I would be in for a rollercoaster ride of a destination thriller with The Ice Retreat. The story follows Hollie, a Netflix investigative reporter as she looks into the eponymous retreat which promises rebirth through extreme ice therapy. Brrr!
🏔️
Hollie manages to wangle a visit to the mysterious retreat, both to investigate a man who went missing after going there for treatment, and for other reasons that become clear throughout the book, and what also becomes apparent is that this is no innocent spa type of set-up.
🏔️
The setting is king in this story. The cold and the isolation are palpable as Hollie narrates her own, possibly unreliable, view of all that is going on. I found Hollie rather prickly and there aren't really any likeable characters but then I wouldn't necessarily expect to find them in a psychological thriller. There are some clever curveballs along the way and some unexpected events, and this is certainly a fast-paced read. My visit to the Ice Retreat was thrilling and chilling with a side order of killing!
🏔️
Thank you @libraryofchlo for the review copy and the place on the tour.
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#bookreview #TheIceRetreat #psychologicalthriller #destinationthriller #fortheloveofbooks #thrillerfiction #thrillerbooks #thrillersofinstagram #ilovebooks #booklover #bookloversofinstagram #bookish #reader #readcrimefiction #reviewer #bookblogger #reviewbooks #booksread #shortbookandscribes

New #BlogTour review of The Secret Photographs by

New #BlogTour review of The Secret Photographs by @jb_writer. Published by @hodderbooks and out now. I also have a fabulous Q&A with Jacquie on my blog today - link in my bio and I'll post a link to the post on my stories.
📷
It's very rare indeed that I start a new book, especially one by an author unknown to me, and feel really confident that I will love it, but that's what happened for me within two pages (comprising the prologue) of The Secret Photographs. I could only hope that the splendour and richness of the prose would continue throughout the rest of the book and I was not at all disappointed. This is a very special book indeed.
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Set in Brighton in 1895, this is the story of Ellen Harper and her twin brother, Reynald who is striving to be a respectable photographer with Ellen as his able assistant. But there's a darker side to their business and when the golden hour comes their enterprise takes on a clandestine air as the siblings take erotic photos of women to make extra, much-needed, money. Before I started reading, I wasn't sure whether I was going to find Ellen a sympathetic character and how dark the story would be, but I liked her and the way her character developed throughout. It's a bid for respectability and the meeting of Ellen's world with that of Clementine, a wealthy and newly married woman, that makes Ellen realise what is really possible and what she's capable of achieving, but there's always a sense that implosion of Ellen's ordered life is just around the corner.
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If the books of Elizabeth Macneal and Sarah Waters had a love child then The Secret Photographs would be the result. The depth of emotion, the vivid descriptions and the luscious characterisations made it such an immersive read, one I wanted to savour. I found myself longing to pick it up and longing for it never to end. It's heady and intoxicating, full of atmosphere which transported me to late Victorian England, beautifully written and researched, and quite frankly magnificent. One of my favourite books of the year.
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Thank you @graywilliamsbooks for asking me to be a part of the tour and the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #TheSecretPhotographs

#CoverReveal 🎉 #SweetFury by @sash.bischoff wi

#CoverReveal 🎉

#SweetFury by @sash.bischoff will be published by @bantambooksuk on 3rd April 2025. It sounds fabulous.

Synopsis:
The Silent Patient meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this elegant and twisty debut thriller.

When does the acting stop - and the deception begin?

Famous film star Lila Crayne is America's Sweetheart: she's generous and kind, gorgeous and magnetic. A golden girl. She and her fiancé, visionary filmmaker Kurt Royall, have settled into a stunning New York apartment, and are embarking on a new movie: a modern feminist adaptation of a classic twentieth-century novel.

To prepare for the leading role, Lila begins work with charming and accomplished therapist Jonah Gabriel to dig into the trauma of her past. Soon, Lila's impeccably manicured life begins to unravel on the therapy couch - and Jonah is just the man to pick up the pieces. But everyone has a secret, no one is quite who they seem, and before long, careers, reputations and lives are in danger of being irrevocably destroyed . . .

New review: A Recipe for Christmas by @jothomasaut

New review: A Recipe for Christmas by @jothomasauthor. Published by @bantambooksuk and out now.
🍫
Clara takes a great leap into the unknown. She leaves everything she's ever known and moves to Switzerland with her (very) new boyfriend, Daniel. Not knowing what she will do with herself there, she signs up for what she thinks is a beginner's chocolate course but it turns out that it's much more serious than that. Her classmates are already pretty good at chocolate making and the tutors practically laugh her out of the room. Thankfully this just makes Clara more determined and the presence of Gabriel, master chocolatier, might be a factor in her desire to succeed.
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Jo Thomas is a favourite author of mine, one I can trust to deliver a truly lovely read that will make me hungry. Clara does quite a bit of practising and so I got lots of delicious descriptions of creamy and flavoursome chocolates. This book was just right for my sweet tooth!
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I always enjoy the journeys that this author takes her characters on, both physically and emotionally. Switzerland's beauty is described to perfection and I got a yearning to be sitting outside in the fresh, cold air, imbibing a hot chocolate from the stall. By the conclusion of the story Clara had realised exactly what she wanted from her life and I closed the book feeling, despite the snowy setting, all warm and fuzzy.
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A Recipe for Christmas is a delight from start to finish. I loved the characters, the setting, the festive story and, of course, the abundance of chocolate. Gorgeous.
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#bookreview #ARecipeForChristmas #travelfiction #foodfiction #chocolate #switzerland #lovelyreads #bookreviewer #reviewer #bookblogger #reader #5starreads #Christmasbooks #fortheloveofbooks #bookphotography #booksread #ilovebooks #booksofinstagram #bookish #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Courage for the Home Fr

Ad/PR product. New review: Courage for the Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin. Published by @bookouture and out now.
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Courage for the Home Front Girls is the second in Susanna Bavin's series and it's most definitely courage that the girls need in this outing, with Sally and Betty from the first book being joined by a new girl, Lorna. In Manchester in 1940, bombs are raining down and the girls are kept busy at the salvage yard and with their voluntary duties with the WVS or firewatching.
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Sally's home suffers in the bombing raids, and Betty's lovely, but rather gullible, nature means she gets tricked again. Lorna's story of how she ends up working in salvage was really interesting to read and I'm looking forward to seeing how things pan out for her in the next book.
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I particularly liked the new character of Samuel, a gentle bookseller who turns out to be capable of being steely and determined when he needs to be. All the characters are well-drawn and I found myself feeling really pleased to be back with them for the next chapter in their stories. The story has a good pace to it and despite the difficulties the characters have living through the devastation of war, it's easy to read and I looked forward to picking it up and reading a bit more.
✨
Susanna Bavin is a favourite author of mine. With this series she's portrayed life on the home front so well, and as with all good sagas I felt like I wanted to step right in and be part of the characters' lives, although I'd prefer to steer clear of the bombastic Mrs Lockwood!
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I'm eager now to read the next book, Christmas for the Home Front Girls, which will be just the ticket for the festive season.
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Thank you to the author for the review copy.
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#bookreview #CourageForTheHomeFrontGirls #sagafiction #sagas #sagabooks #sagaseries #historicalfiction #warfiction #wwiifiction #fortheloveofbooks #bookseries #reviewbooks #booksread #ilovereading #homefront #booklover #booksofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Gone with the Penguins

Ad/PR product. New review: Gone with the Penguins by @hazelpriorbooks. Published by @bantambooksuk and out now.
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I couldn't have been more pleased when I heard that Hazel Prior had written a third book in the penguin trilogy. I loved reading Away with the Penguins and Call of the Penguins.
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This book sees the return of all my favourite characters. Veronica McCreedy is a brilliant creation, she's determined and feisty, and her attitude to people and life always makes me smile. She's about to become the first Penguin Ambassador and alongside her hard-working helper, Eileen, and young Daisy, they pledge to try and save penguins at the local sea life centre. This takes them on their own march of the penguins, from the Galapagos Islands to the Falklands to Antarctica.
🐧
Gone with the Penguins was an absolute joy to read from start to finish. The characters are perfect, loveable but flawed, and the penguins are just gorgeous. I loved the journey that Veronica went on, not only her physical trek but also the developments in her personal life (which I cheered at and which made for a perfect finale).
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I particularly enjoyed the settings and how the characters adapted to heat and extreme cold, how they all pulled together and supported each other, and Veronica's willingness to do whatever it took to save those Scottish penguins. It's such an uplifting read with lots of friendship and humour, and I enjoyed it very much indeed.
🐧
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #GoneWithThePenguins #upliftingreads #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #booksofinstagram #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #reviewbooks #booksread #bookish #reading #readersofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

New review: Solstice by @helensteadmanauthor. ✨

New review: Solstice by @helensteadmanauthor.
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Solstice completes the Widdershins trilogy by Helen Steadman, following on from Widdershins and Sunwise. I've enjoyed all three but I think Solstice is my favourite.
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It's 1673 and a quarter of a century ago, Rose Driver's mother and grandmother suffered a terrible fate at the hands of the witch hunter, John Sharpe. Rose is now grown up and is a skilled shepherdess in her home of Mutton Clog. It's when new vicar, Reverend Leaton and his son and daughter, Earnest and Patience, come to the parish that Rose's life starts to unravel and she must fight for her life.
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The story is narrated by the two young women: Rose and Patience. Two more different characters you could not find. Rose is practical, kind and loved, whereas Patience is pious, fevered and puritanical. From the moment she arrives in Mutton Clog, Patience has an agenda and I found it terrifying how she twisted everything to fit in with her religious fervour.
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I thought Solstice was written to perfection. Helen Steadman has done a wonderful job with this trilogy. Solstice follows the characters over the course of a year and packs so much into its 250 pages. I was completely transported to the 17th century, to the horrors that women had to face and the lack of understanding, and I was truly gripped by this exceptional novel, it's fantastic characters and its compelling story.
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#bookreview #Solstice #witchtrials #historicalfiction #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #ilovehistoricalfiction #booklove #bookishcontent #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #booksread #histfic #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Fire by John Boyne. To

Ad/PR product. New review: Fire by John Boyne. To be published on 7th November by @doubledayukbooks.
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Fire is the third in John Boyne's Elements quartet. Having read Water and Earth already, I was prepared for a hard-hitting read but I thought Fire was probably the most powerful so far.
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Freya Petrus is a brilliant surgeon, working with patients who have been badly burned. She's rich, beautiful and clever, but there's something deep in her past that has affected her so completely that it's coloured her actions throughout her life since.
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Make no mistake about it, this is quite a disturbing novella. It asks questions about nature vs nurture. Are we pre-destined to be the way we are or do events in our life, especially in childhood, shape us? I don't know the answer but this book certainly made me think. At times I understood where Freya's actions were coming from but then was utterly horrified at the outcome. I felt the author intended the lines to be blurred.
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There are themes running through all the novellas and some of the characters from the previous ones are mentioned in or appear in Fire. They're all cleverly weaved together with similar thorny subjects popping up about consent and the effects of childhood trauma. It's impressive that such a short read can invoke so many emotions in the reader, but then, having read many of John Boyne's books, I know that this is what he does so well.
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Boyne is a writer at the top of his game. Fire is a superb novella. I'm now eagerly awaiting Air which focuses on Aaron, Freya's intern.
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#bookreview #Fire #ElementsQuartet #novella #5starreads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #ilovebooks #ilovenovellas #bookishcontent #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #booksread #reviewbooks #shortbookandscribes

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths To be publish

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
To be published 13th February 2025
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As soon as I heard that @ellygriffiths17's next book, #TheFrozenPeople, had a cold case team going back in time to investigate crimes, I knew I had to read it. Thank you SO much @quercusbooks for sending this fabulous proof package with an Old Fashioned cocktail, ice cubes that never melt, a pocket watch engraved with my name (!) and of course the book itself which looks absolutely fantastic.
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Synopsis:
SOME MURDERS CAN'T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.
Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they're frozen - or so their inside joke goes. Most people don't know that they travel back in time to complete their research.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London in order to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of MP Isaac Templeton. Rumour has it that Cain was part of a sinister group called The Collectors; to become a member, you had to kill a woman...

Fearing for her safety in the middle of a freezing Victorian winter, Ali finds herself stuck in time, unable to make her way back to her life, her beloved colleagues, and her son, Finn, who suddenly finds himself in legal trouble in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected?

Set your clocks to February 2025 and get ready for an original, transportive and characterful new crime novel from no. 1 bestselling author Elly Griffiths. Perfect for those missing the Dr Ruth Galloway series and for any crime and historical fiction fans.
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Who else loves time travel novels?
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#bookpost #timetravelfiction #victoriancrimenovels #crimeseries #crimebooks #crimefiction #bookishreels #booklover #reader #reviewer #ilovereading #crimebooksofinstagram #timetravel #shortbookandscribes

October 2024 Reads Goodness me, November is here.

October 2024 Reads

Goodness me, November is here. Soon be Christmas 😬🤭

I started the month as I ended September, with Scottish island books. I ended up with three in a row: Ghost Story and then The Blue Hour and The Book of Witching. As it happens, Scottish islands are one of my most favourite book settings so that's all good with me.

October was also a special month as the 25th was the eighth anniversary of me starting my blog. I've posted 1,830 posts in that time which I think is pretty respectable. I think there was one year when I posted every day and it was exhausting!

So to October's reads - I was hoping for nine and only managed eight but I enjoyed them all.

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins - brilliant!

The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke - mysterious!

The Commuter by Emma Curtis - twisty!

Miss Beeton's Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd - delightful!

A Christmas Wish at Woolworths by Elaine Everest - heartwarming!

The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson - eerie!

The Palace Dressmaker by Jade Beer - glamorous!

Solstice by Helen Steadman - gripping!

What was your favourite read in October? I'd love to know.
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#OctoberReads #OctoberReads2024 #October2024Reads #monthlyroundup #monthlywrapup #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #historicalfiction #thrillerfiction #cosycrime #Christmasbooks #sagafiction #sagabooks #witchyreads #witchybooks #royaladjacentbooks #Scottishislandbooks #shortbookandscribes

Some Recommended Reads for Spooky Season 🎃 Sinc

Some Recommended Reads for Spooky Season
🎃
Since it's Halloween I thought I'd share some books that would make good reads for spooky season. I've read all of these which feature witches, ghosts, or other eerie goings on.

🧙The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke - the mysterious and magical Book of Witching links two timelines.

👻Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato - a remote Scottish island with only one inhabitant gives this book quite a sinister feel.

🧙The King's Witches by Kate Foster - with the witch trials gathering pace, it was a dangerous time to be a 'cunning' woman.

👻The Whistling by Rebecca Netley - an insular and unwelcoming community, the strange sound of whistling, and elements of witchery create a creepy and ominous vibe.

👻The Small Hand by Susan Hill - an antiquarian bookseller feels a cold hand creeping into his own. Creepy!

👻Time's Prisoner by Linda Gillard - a book with a much friendlier ghost, one who resides at Wyngrave Hall. When Jane unexpectedly inherits the hall she finds it comes with a centuries old mystery.

🧙The Trial of Gwen Foley by Jane O'Connor - a historical murder mystery set in 1723 with a witchcraft sub-plot.

🔮The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson - a twisty and eerie story with a once grand but now faded country house and a young woman with a skill for the supernatural.

👻A Good House for Children by Kate Collins - an unnerving story with a sinister house that is a character in its own right.

🧙The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke - Luna's mother and two sisters vanished without trace twenty-three years ago on the island of Lòn Haven. Back in the 1600s, witch hunts took place on the island. There is a creeping sense of unease in this book which is gothic, unsettling and witchy.
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What are you reading this Halloween? Do you like spooky or witchy reads?
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#spookyreads #witchtrials #witchyreads #ghoststories #bookrecommendations #fortheloveofbooks #themedreading #bookblogger #reviewer #booksread #ilovereading #booklove #booksofinstagram #reader #bookishphotography #bookishcontent #lovebooks #bookish #shortbookandscribes

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