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ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas

Posted on 4th October 2023 By Nicola

Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas is available now in eBook and from 12th October in paperback and audiobook. My thanks to Chloë Rose at […]

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Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: Ghost Story b

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato. Published by @manilla_press and out now.
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I don't think there's any setting more likely to draw me into wanting to pick up a book than a remote island, especially a Scottish island. The combination of the beauty of the landscape and the often bleak sense that comes with being so cut off sparks something in my imagination.
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Ghost Story is set mainly on the fictional island of Finish in the Outer Hebrides where writer Seren goes to try and gather enough inspiration to write a new novel. The book begins in Edinburgh where Seren is struggling to cope with a tragedy in her life. She then moves to Finish and settles in there but the island's macabre history proves unsettling, even more so as Seren is the only inhabitant of the island and so she is mostly left alone with her own thoughts.
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Seren's time on the island is told in journal entries which I found really upped the pace and made this a book that I found very hard to put down. The writing is full of empathy and feeling, and the history of the island and what occurred there is beautifully woven into Seren's own experiences. There were times when I wondered if she might prove to be an unreliable narrator but in the end I believed her story and the ghostly elements were executed so well that I believed in them too (and I don't always).
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I thought Ghost Story was a brilliant book. It's eerie and tense, it has a fascinating historical back story running through it, the setting is perfectly drawn to be both stunning and sinister, and I loved the characterisations of both the good people and the not so good.
✨
Thank you to @thebookdealer for the tour place and the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #GhostStory #Scottishislandbooks #scottishbooks #ghoststories #grippingreads #5starreads #fortheloveofbooks #ilovereading #booklover #readersofinstagram #reviewbooks #reader #reviewer #booksread #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

September 2024 Reads 🔹The Home Front Girls by

September 2024 Reads

🔹The Home Front Girls by Susanna Bavin - the start of a new series following Sally and Betty who work in a salvage yard in WWII. Their pluck really jumps off the page.

🔹A Child Far from Home by Lizzie Page - this is the first in a new trilogy from one of my favourite authors. It's about Valerie who is evacuated from London during WWII and her mother, Jean who stays behind. It covers the war that both of them experienced and the trauma of being separated.

🔹The Negotiator by Brooke Robinson - gripping story of a siege in a museum and the fallout from it. Emotive and thought-provoking.

🔹Small Bomb at Dimperley - an ode to the country house and the struggle to keep them going after the wars. It's so humorous one minute and then the next the moving observations are like a punch to the gut. Superb.

🔹The Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford - a fictionalisation of Daphne du Maurier's life with a particular focus on her family's links with J.M. Barrie. This book completely and utterly mesmerised me.

🔹Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato - blog tour review to follow on 3rd October.

🔹I Died at Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel - a modern day gothic country house murder mystery. Simmering tension, bones in the cottage garden, and small village mentality, together with interesting characters, made this a great debut.

🔹Isolation Island by Louise Minchin - ten celebrities on a remote Scottish island for a reality TV survival show. What can possibly go wrong? How about a dead body and a terrible storm? A well-plotted and fast-paced debut.

🔹Because She Looked Away by Alison Bruce - a great premise about a detective who ends up being questioned about how a series of unsolved crimes might link to her late sister. A complex and twisty first book in a new series.
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What was your favourite September read? Let me know in the comments.
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#SeptemberReads #September2024Reads #SeptemberReads2024 #TheHomeFrontGirls
#AChildFarFromHome #IsolationIsland #TheNegotiator #SmallBombAtDimperley #TheMischiefMakers #BecauseSheLookedAway #GhostStory #IDiedAtFallowHall #crimefiction #historicalfiction #warfiction #monthlywrapup
#shortbookandscribes

Two for Tuesday 2️⃣ It's been a while since I'

Two for Tuesday
2️⃣
It's been a while since I've done one of these but it struck me yesterday that both my current read and my next read are set on remote Scottish islands. I can never resist this setting in books.
2️⃣
Ghost Story by Elisa Lodato is my current read and it's beautifully written.

Synopsis:
THE ISLAND IS ABANDONED. BUT SHE IS NOT ALONE . . .

Off the windswept coast of Scotland lies Finish Island, rugged and remote. Once a home, it now stands abandoned, a place of dark history and deep memory, a place that holds its stories close. Unable to write since her daughter's death, it's here that Seren comes to work, hoping that the solitude and silence will inspire her next novel.

But the island holds memories of its own, restless and unwilling to stay buried. As unsettling occurrences become even more bizarre and frightening, Seren starts seeing uncanny resonances between her past and the island's history. There is something on this island, something ancient and unforgiving. Will Seren discover its secrets, before it's too late?
2️⃣
Then I'll be picking up The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins.

Synopsis:
WELCOME TO ERIS - A SCOTTISH TIDAL ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE HOUSE, ONE INHABITANT,
ONE WAY OUT. . .

A place that is unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. Once the hideaway of Vanessa, a famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago.

Now home to Grace. A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation.

But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, Grace receives an unexpected visitor.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .
2️⃣
What's your favourite setting in books?
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#TwoForTuesday #GhostStory #TheBlueHour #Scottishislandbooks #Scottishfiction #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookishcontent #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Because She Looked Away

Ad/PR product. New review: A Child Far from Home b

Ad/PR product. New review: A Child Far from Home by @lizziepagewriter. Published by @bookouture and out now.
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Lizzie Page is one of my favourite authors and A Child Far from Home is a gorgeous start to a new trilogy of linked stories about evacuees in WWII. At the beginning of the book there is a paragraph about a study undertaken in 1941 which concluded that separation from their parents was a worse shock for children than a bombing. It must have been a terrible decision to make, especially for those living in large cities like London.
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It is London that houses the two main characters in this book, Jean and Valerie, mother and daughter. Jean makes the decision to send Valerie, aged 10, away to the Somerset countryside. Some children had a wonderful evacuation and others didn't fare so well. The book is told in chapters from both characters' points of view and so we see the highs and lows from both sides. I loved Jean and Valerie, and how this book follows them through the war and out the other side. This is a chunky book but I'd have been happy to carry on reading for longer. I suppose you'd call it a slice of life story, with the main focus being on the dramatic and long-lasting effects of the evacuation on both Jean and Valerie.
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My heart broke for them but there are good times. Valerie finds solace in radio and I particularly enjoyed how it ended up being prominent in her life. Jean has a war that many women had, being needed and stepping into the breach, only to be cast aside when the men came home. It's hard to put myself in the place of either of them but with the help of Lizzie Page's empathetic writing I can at least understand it a lot better.
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I really loved A Child Far from Home. Even the most minor characters stand out and are perfectly described, and the role of a woman in a man's world is explored to great effect. It's ideal for anyone who likes books about life on the home front. I'm very much looking forward to book two now.
✨
Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy 💙
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#bookreview #AChildFarFromHome #warfiction #sagafiction #historicalfiction #worldwar2 #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #ilovefiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: I Died at Fallow Hall b

Ad/PR product. New review: I Died at Fallow Hall by @bonnieburkepatel. Published by @bedfordsq.publishers and out now.
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I Died at Fallow Hall is a modern day country house murder mystery and I am always here for one of those. I love a country house book and the blurb for this one had me hooked pretty much immediately.
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Fallow Hall is clinging on to its heyday. Like many others, it now opens to the public although I definitely got the sense it's one of the smaller houses of its kind. Anna Deerin lives in an attached cottage, working as a gardener. As a former ballerina she's used to being in control and so when she digs up the bones of a woman in the garden it brings an element of chaos to her life and makes her quiet existence more open to invasion.
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The story is told in the present day from the points of view of Anna and Hitesh, the local DI tasked to the case, interspersed with sections from 1967 following the then daughter of Fallow Hall. There are no chapters, but there are plenty of section breaks, and the narrative flows really well. It sometimes took me a moment to work out whose perspective I was reading in the present day but I very quickly gelled with it.
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It's an engaging read. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the hall and gardens, and Anna's quiet life tending to the land and selling her wares at the local market. It offers an enticing look at country life whilst also providing a mystery to be solved. The author does a really good job at keeping the solution just out of reach, with a sense of knowing the answer but not how to get to it. Also depicted well is the small village mentality and how it copes with an isolated young woman and an Asian detective, both portrayed as something of a novelty to the local residents.
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Interesting characters and a fascinating setting meant I very much enjoyed this contemplative novel from Bonnie Burke-Patel, with its underlying tension simmering away until the identity of the woman was revealed. A great debut!
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Thank you to the author for the review copy.
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#bookreview #IDiedAtFallowHall #murdermystery #countryhousebooks #gothicnovels #crimefiction #literaryfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. Happy All Creatures Great and Smal

Ad/PR product.
Happy All Creatures Great and Small day to all those who celebrate. Yes, one of my favourite series is back on the television this evening and I’m so looking forward to getting back to Darrowby, to James and Helen, Mrs Hall, Tristan and my favourite loveable curmudgeon, Siegfried Farnon.
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Celebrating All Creatures Great & Small – For the Love of the Yorkshire Dales will be published by @omarabooks on 26th September. Thank you Alison Menzies and the publishers for sending it.
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This companion book to the popular television series is a joy to behold. What’s really nice about it is that it looks in depth at the show and the characters, and it also celebrates the splendour of the Yorkshire Dales setting. There are some beautiful photos of the area (photo 2).
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The book has lots of background information, not just about the show but about the settings and the people the characters are based on. There are also details about the cast and snippets from episodes. It’s the sort of book that works well if you dip into it, but the way it’s constructed makes it just as good, if not better, to read from front to back.
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It’s a delightful book that reminded me of everything I love about All Creatures Great and Small: the camaraderie, the support, the laughter, the love, the friendship, and let’s not forget the all-important animals. Highly recommended for fans of the series.
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The pages shown on photo 3 remind me of my favourite episode of all, the one where James leaves to take up his post in the Royal Air Force during WWII. He gets on the bus, gets out a photo of himself and Helen on their wedding day and we hear him recite My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose. Well, I mostly heard him over the sound of my sobbing😭. It was such a beautiful scene that I watched it more than once.
🐾
Are you looking forward to the new series of #ACGAS?
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#AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall #companionbook #YorkshireDales #nonfiction #nonfictionbooks #tvtiein #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #reviewbooks #reviewer #reader #ilovereading #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Home Front Girls by

Ad/PR product. New review: Isolation Island by @lo

Ad/PR product. New review: Isolation Island by @louiseminchin. Published by @headlinebooks and out now.
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I think most of us will have watched a reality TV show at some point. They're everywhere these days. Imagine a survival show, ten celebrities on a remote Scottish island that houses a derelict monastery. It's going to be gripping viewing isn't it? Isolation Island takes it a bit further with a storm and a dead body making this a very dangerous reality show.
✨
Lauren is the main character, the story being told from her perspective as she joins the other contestants. She has her journalist's eye mainly on Hollywood superstar, Nate Stirling, and makes friends with some of the others, including ex-sportsmen and Olympians, a former reality show runner-up, a business woman, and two up and coming social media darlings.
✨
This is a very good debut novel from Louise Minchin. I enjoyed the build-up most of all as the contestants reach the island and find out just how difficult the next two weeks are going to be for them. It felt like I was watching them myself and the dynamics between all the strong personalities came across so well. Lauren never knows who she can trust and it was a surprise to me when all was revealed.
✨
I really enjoyed Isolation Island. It's fast-paced and well-plotted. The characters were a mixed bag of the unlikeable, the big-headed and the annoying…very similar to most reality shows. I particularly liked the inhospitable setting of the island in the middle of a storm which added an extra unsettling element. Recommended for thriller fans.
✨
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #IsolationIsland #crimethriller #islandbooks #grippingthrillerbook #fortheloveofbooks #ilovebooks #ilovethrillers #booklover #reviewbooks #booksread #bookish #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

Showing off some new books! I don't buy a huge a

Showing off some new books!

I don't buy a huge amount of hardbacks. I often find them quite cumbersome and awkward, unless it's one of the more compact kind. However, sometimes I just can't resist the delights of a pretty hardback, usually if it's a favourite author or a book I particularly like the sound of (I'm not a complete magpie!).

These three new releases proved rather irresistible to me. I'm sure many people have already seen them on social media but I thought I'd show them off anyway (swipe 👈 to reveal the titles).

I'd class all of these authors as favorites, ones whose books I always want to read. The Glassmaker and Shy Creatures also have lovely endpapers 👈.

So what about you? Do you get seduced by pretty books? Let me know in the comments.
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#spredges #sprayededges #historicalfiction #crimeseries #crimebooks #ShyCreatures #DeathAtTheSignOfTheRook #TheGlassmaker #ClareChambers #KateAtkinson #TracyChevalier #prettybooks #hardbacks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: The Negotiato

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: The Negotiator by @brooke_robinson_author. Published by @harvillsecker and out now.
📢
I've been looking forward to reading The Negotiator since I read Brooke Robinson's first novel, The Interpreter, and I really enjoyed it. The Negotiator is the story of then and now - then, when Tia was caught in the middle of a siege in a museum that Asher was involved with, and now, when Asher has just been released from prison and Tia is asked to look into threats against some of the hostages.
📢
The day of the siege was particularly hard for Tia because she really wanted to become a police negotiator and had failed her exams, and this underpins the entire story with a focus on what went wrong that day and everything that led up to it.
📢
I liked how this novel unfolded quite gradually across the two timelines. The plotting is executed particularly well, giving just enough to move the story on without giving too much away. The characters are sympathetic and I felt I got to know them really well. Tia's reasons for wanting to become a negotiator and Asher's motivation behind his part in the siege, plus his difficulties on release and trying to integrate back into a society that he doesn't feel aligned with, make for an absorbing storyline. Whilst not a massively fast-paced thriller, it is such a gripping read, one which I really got stuck into every time I picked it up. I loved the ending too - hopeful and heartbreaking all at the same time, with a brilliant last line.
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The Negotiator is another excellent book from Robinson. I hope she will write more of this sort of emotive and thought-provoking read.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy and to @thebookdealer for the place on the tour.
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#bookreview #TheNegotiator #crimethriller #grippingreads #fortheloveofbooks #ilovefiction #crimebooksofinstagram #bookish #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Small Bomb at Dimperley

Ad/PR product. New review: Small Bomb at Dimperley by @lissakevans and out now from @doubledayukbooks.
✨
Small Bomb at Dimperley is set in 1945 as the war ends and Valentine Vere-Thissett is returning home to Dimperley Manor. Like other aristocratic returning war heroes, he didn't expect to be the one taking up the title but the loss of his older brother means that he must now step up to the mark. Unfortunately, Dimperley is rather dilapidated and death duties might mean the loss of the estate.
✨
This book is simply superb. First of all there's Dimperley itself, its faded grandeur and bizarre taxidermy providing the perfect backdrop to Valentine's return. Whilst it's clearly rundown, the reader is invited to see it through the eyes of both those who genuinely love it and those who love the importance that the title and estate give them. The book is populated by characters who just leap right off the page. I thought Valentine was a dream, down to earth and new to such responsibility, but determined to do his best. I loved Zena Baxter too, a young woman who came to Dimperley when it was a maternity home and stayed on as secretary to Valentine's uncle. Valentine's mother, Irene (Lady Vere-Thissett if you please), is a little harder to like, but a wonderfully drawn character nevertheless. I had the softest spot for Miss Hersey too, a lady's maid who now finds herself doing everything.
✨
Ultimately, Small Bomb at Dimperley is an ode to the country house, to the loss of so many of them, and to the resourceful cohort who found new ways to live and ensure that some of the estates could endure (one of my local country estates at Chatsworth has achieved this so well). What I love about Evans' writing is that the humour makes me laugh out loud one minute and the next minute the moving observations are like a punch to the gut. I thought this was a magnificent book with a fascinating setting, wonderful characters, and a lovely story with a charming ending.
✨
Thank you to the publishers for the proof.
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#bookreview #SmallBombAtDimperley #countryhousebooks #fortheloveofbooks #5starreads #ilovereading #fictionlover #reader #reviewbooks #booksread #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Mischief Makers by

Ad/PR product. New review: The Mischief Makers by @therealelisabethgifford. Published by #CorvusBooks today! 🎉
📝
The Mischief Makers appealed to me as soon as I read the blurb and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I love a book that fictionalises a real person's life…as long as it is done well, and this book most definitely is.
📝
It focuses on Daphne du Maurier and covers much of her life from childhood through to her sixties. We witness her move to, and fascination with, Cornwall, her marriage, children and of course, the creation of her collection of enduring books: Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, Jamaica Inn et al. However, this is not just Daphne's tale. Her family has always been indelibly linked with J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan. Her five boy cousins, the Llewelyn Davies, were the original lost boys, adopted by Barrie when their parents died. Throughout her life, Daphne considers the effect of Barrie's influence on them all.
📝
The Mischief Makers does focus mainly on Daphne with the Barrie thread running all the way through as well, and the way Elisabeth Gifford has written this book works so well. To be honest, I was completely and utterly mesmerised by the whole thing, drinking in the lives of two authors who I didn't really know very much about at all. There's so much charm in the characters and their families and yet somewhere just beneath the surface something unsettling lurks. Barrie's influence?
📝
The writing is incredibly appealing and absorbing. Gifford has done a wonderful job at bringing Daphne du Maurier to life and telling her story in this way. The Mischief Makers is exactly my kind of read - the life of a prolific writer, with beautifully described settings, researched and depicted perfectly. I completely adored this book and it's easily one of my favourites of the year.
📝
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy. @atlanticbooks.
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#bookreview #TheMischiefMakers #daphnedumaurier #jmbarrie #5starreads #grippingreads #fortheloveofbooks #ilovebooks #historicalfiction #truelifefiction #booklover #bookish #reader #reviewbooks #booksread #reviewer #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Fledging by Rose Diell.

Ad/PR product. New review: Fledging by Rose Diell. Published by Renard Press and out now.
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What a premise. 'When Lia lays an egg she doesn't know what to do.' In all honesty, I wasn't sure if this book might be a little bit out of my comfort zone but I thought it was a brilliant read.
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Lia is at that age when the pressure is on to decide whether she wants to have children. Her internal clock is ticking away but when the time comes for the alarm to sound she doesn't know if she will spring into action or simply turn over and go back to sleep, carrying on as she always has. It doesn't help that her friends, her mother, her partner, all keep asking her what she wants.
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Fledging begins with Lia birthing an egg and from the very first page this is a compelling and honest look at the big question that women face. She's also dealing with her mother's terminal illness and her partner, David, is working away for months so she's on her own with this existential crisis whilst trying to launch a career in songwriting.
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Rose Diell writes beautifully of Lia's relationships with both her mother and the contents of the egg. The themes explored truly consider choice, the weight of expectation, and motherhood and whether it is simply a woman's role in life to procreate, in a thoroughly convincing way. This unusual and original novella of 172 pages packs a mighty punch, serving up a surreal event within the confines of a normal life. I'll be looking out for more by this talented author.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy of the book.
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#bookreview #Fledging #motherhood #novella #greatreads #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #ilovereading #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #bookblogger #bookreader #loverofreading #booksread #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Lights Out by @louise_b

Ad/PR product. New review: Lights Out by @louise_beech_swanson. To be published by @hodderbooks on 5th September.
🔦
To preserve energy the government declares a state of emergency. From 8pm to 7am every night, the electricity will be shut down. No lights, no heat: people are going to suffer.
🔦
Grace is already afraid of the dark. Her childhood trauma has lasted through to adulthood. When she's working nights at the care home she's fine because they've been allowed to keep power, but on nights when she's at home she is completely and utterly terrified, and that's before somebody comes into her house at night and leaves strange items and cryptic notes.
🔦
It's quite a chilling premise and it comes across initially as a thriller, but as I might have expected with Louise Swanson's writing, it's much more of an emotional read, focusing on feelings, reactions, childhood fears, and the effect of loss of control on a human being. I loved how much of the story seemed to be one thing and then it was something completely opposite, how Swanson's skills as an author gently steered me from feeling ill at ease to being reassured, albeit with a menace on the loose and a hint of the malevolent to keep me on my toes.
🔦
What makes Lights Out even more gripping is that the scenario of the shut down is wholly believable. It's only a couple of years ago that the idea was mooted for the UK, and of course there were the blackouts in the 1970s. Swanson weaves a tale around the shut down of a woman for whom darkness is genuinely the stuff of nightmares. It's inspired and beautifully told, a story of forgiveness, understanding and salvation.
🔦
I really enjoyed Lights Out. I hope there will be more of Swanson's adept and compelling high-concept storytelling.
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#bookreview #LightsOut #grippingreads #fortheloveofbooks #reader #reviewbooks #booksread #ilovebooks #booklover #bookish #readmorebooks #readersofinstagram #bookreader #shortbookandscribes

August Reads 📚 I've had a wonderful reading mon

August Reads
📚
I've had a wonderful reading month. 11 books, all 4* or 5* including a few non-review books.
📚
Home Truths by Charity Norman
An immensely gripping drama about the effects of a man's descent into the world of conspiracy theories.

Time's Prisoner by Linda Gillard
An unusual bequest and a centuries-old mystery change Jane's life forever. A great read and an enthralling setting.

After the Fire by Charlotte Rixon
A moving story of a couple whose relationship can never quite get off the ground. Lots of One Day vibes.

The Day Shelley Woodhouse Woke Up by Laura Pearson
A woman comes round from a coma convinced her husband put her there. The story unfolds beautifully and was a true joy to read.

One Day to Fall in Love by Molly James
Desperate to find love, Rena signs up for a dating app that promises she will find love in 24 hours. What she doesn't realise is that it's the same 24 hours over and over. I smiled or laughed all the way through.

Fledging by Rose Diell
An intriguing and thought-provoking story about a woman who lays an egg. This book considers choice, the weight of expectation and motherhood.

The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page
A beautifully layered story about Emma, trying to navigate her grief. She becomes intrigued by who arranged the flowers on the Titanic. A gentle and moving story.

Five by Five by Claire Wilson
This is a gritty story set in a Scottish prison. Kennedy's job is to monitor the prisoners and the prison officers, but somebody is out to get her. This felt really authentic.

We Are Family by Louise Walters
A character-driven story of Jennifer and Alison, their lifelong friendship and a shock event that threatens it. Warm and uplifting, astute and realistic.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
A gorgeous story of Erin and James who have a shared past but end up making an unexpected connection through books. A brilliant debut and a total triumph.

Lights Out by Louise Swanson (review to come)
The government shuts down the electricity every night due to a shortage and Grace is scared of the dark. A chilling premise, but a compelling emotional story about fears and loss of control.
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What was your favourite August read?

Ad/PR product. New review: The Book Swap by Tessa

Ad/PR product. New review: The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers. To be published on 5th September by Hodder & Stoughton.
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I always find books about books pretty hard to resist and as soon as I clocked The Book Swap I was drawn to it. Reader, I loved it.
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The story is told in alternate chapters by Erin and James. They're both having a bit of a tough time with jobs and family life for one reason or another. Having a major clearout, Erin is horrified to realise that she has donated her precious copy of To Kill a Mockingbird to the local community library, one of those little bookshelves that you find out and about, where folks can swap books. Full of her notes on the text and containing a keepsake from her late best friend, Bonnie, Erin desperately wants to get it back. James finds the book and makes his own notes, leaving a new book and a message for the mysterious 'Margins Girl'. So begins a lovely bookish communication between them.
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In classic romance novel style, things don't go to plan and a few convenient, but lovely, twists of fate lead to a rocky road for the pair, especially given their shared past. This is not a light and fluffy romcom as it covers some really serious issues like terminal illness, mental health, bullying and the effects of childhood traumas, but when I say it's a true joy to read I mean it. It's utterly heart-warming and moving, but also an uplifting depiction of the depth of real friendship.
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I really loved the back and forth of the book swaps and how Erin and James got to know each other again through their annotations and questions for each other. All the way through I was rooting for them and I liked both characters very much. They're complicated and flawed as we all are, but ultimately likeable. I must admit to rather a soft spot for James!
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I thought this was a brilliant debut novel by Tessa Bickers. It's plotted beautifully, the writing is emotive and authentic, and the characters are all perfectly drawn and slot together very well. When I got to the end I could really imagine this being dramatised for film or TV. It's a total triumph!
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Thank you to the author for sending me a proof copy. @tessabickerswrites

New review: We Are Family by Louise Walters. Out n

New review: We Are Family by Louise Walters. Out now.
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Jennifer and Alison have been lifelong friends since Jennifer came to Alison's rescue at school. Since then they've had times when they haven't been in as close contact but their friendship has always endured. Alison has a husband and an 18 year old son, and Jennifer has her dog, and both are happy with their individual situations. The book begins with Jennifer learning she is pregnant, rather a shock at almost 49 years old! For Alison, the real shock is still to come and it tests their longstanding connection.
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I really enjoyed the characterisations in this book. It's very much a character-driven story - there aren't many of them and all are well-drawn. I felt I could imagine them in my minds-eye incredibly well: Jennifer, a rather glamorous and attractive late 40-something and Alison more frumpy and staid - opposites attract, they say! I particularly liked Malcolm, Alison's husband, who progressed from being a bit boring to coming out of his shell and standing up for himself.
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We Are Family takes us on a journey through the trials and tribulations of life. In a firm friendship like Jennifer and Alison's, it's often the case that when one is up, the other is down. Most of the time they are able to support each other, but Alison has more of a mountain to climb in this instance. The storyline is inspired, with a thorny moral dilemma at its heart. Whilst I understood Alison's feelings, she's really quite an annoying character compared to the seemingly more blasé Jennifer, but then all is not always what it seems. This book really made me think about how I'd feel in the two women's shoes.
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Ultimately, it's a warm and uplifting read. There's a fair amount of dialogue which keeps up the pace, the inner musings are astute and realistic, and the whole thing is well-written. All in all, We Are Family is a very enjoyable read.
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#bookreview #WeAreFamily #characterdrivenbooks #familynovels #familydramabooks #fortheloveofbooks #bookish #reader #reviewer #bookblogger #ilovereading #booksread #readmorebooks #booksofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Secrets of Flowers

Ad/PR product. New review: The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page. Publishing 29th August by Harper Collins. My thanks to the publisher for the proof and to Sally for the beautiful painting of chocolate cosmos which is shown in the second photo along with its chapter heading.
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The Secrets of Flowers is Emma's story. Her husband died a year ago and she's, understandably, struggling to cope. She takes a role as a florist in a local garden centre run by Betty and Les, and when Les gives a history talk about the Titanic, Emma finds herself drawn to wondering who arranged the flowers on the 'unsinkable' ship. Surely a liner of that size and reputation must have had its own florist.
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The story is told alternately in chapters from Emma's point of view and also that of a young girl named Violet. Emma becomes almost obsessed with finding out more about the flowers on the ship and she can't put a photograph of a (perhaps) familiar face out of her mind. Violet's sections are short and I would have quite liked to know more about her, but what there was worked really well and added enough to make Violet an interesting character in her own right, whilst adding to Emma's research.
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This is a beautifully layered story. It's as much about Emma and how she deals with the traumas in her life as anything else. I loved Betty and Les and how they took Emma under their wing. I also really enjoyed Emma's research and the wealth of knowledge provided by the interesting characters she meets whilst carrying it out. In addition, the author's love of flowers shines through and gives a really nice feel to the storyline, especially as each chapter is named after a flower that has some relevance to the chapter's contents.
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The Secrets of Flowers is a really lovely read and it's constructed incredibly well. It's contemporary but with a historical thread, it has wonderfully warm characters and I found the plot to be gentle and moving. It's a delightful tale of loss and grief, friendship and healing, and flowers.
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#bookreview #TheSecretsOfFlowers #lovelyreads #Titanic #flowers #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #bookphotography #reviewbooks #booksread #reader #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Five by Five by Claire

Ad/PR product. New review: Five by Five by Claire Wilson. To be published by Michael Joseph on 29th August.
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When a novel is billed as being anything like Line of Duty I'm in, and Five by Five piqued my interest even further because it's set in a Scottish prison. Kennedy Allardyce works at HMP Forth Valley as an Intelligence Analyst. This means she monitors not only the prisoners for dodgy activities, but also the prison officers. Unfortunately, in the course of her work she has made a dangerous enemy of someone nicknamed Scout and she's also falling for the beautiful but inscrutable officer Molly. Kennedy doesn't know who she can trust.
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I found Five by Five to be thoroughly gripping throughout. It was refreshing to read a crime thriller based in a prison and from the view of somebody whose role it is to try and prevent corruption - Kennedy may be fighting a losing battle there but she does her best. I thought the tug-of-war between her feelings for Molly and her growing distrust of her came across really well. Some of the prison scenes genuinely chilled me to the bone. They felt authentic, as did all of prison life, both for those incarcerated and those working there. The plot is incredibly tense and fast-paced and I flew through the whole book.
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I did feel a bit let down by the ending though. I'm hoping there's a sequel on the way but even so, I do think the finale was too abrupt and open-ended, and I found it confusing as I don't know if I'd missed something or if it just wasn't there. Other than that, I thought this was a fantastic debut and I'll definitely read another book by Claire Wilson (sequel or not).
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy of the book.
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#bookreview #prisonfiction #crimebooks #crimebooksofinstagram #crimethriller #fortheloveofbooks #booklover #ilovefiction #grittyreads #grippingreads #bookish #review #reviewbooks #reviewer #booksread #reader #bookblogger #shortbookandscribes

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