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Short Book and Scribes

Tag: humour

ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – My Name is MacKenzie Bly by Lissa Evans

Posted on 25th August 2026 By Nicola

My Name is MacKenzie Bly by Lissa Evans will be published by Doubleday on 27th August 2026. My thanks to the author for sending me […]

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Reviews

Phoebe Smith’s Private Blog by Lynda Renham

Posted on 20th November 2016 By Nicola

Meet Phoebe Smith. Her boyfriend has just dumped her for Essex Earring (Riyana to her friends) and she needs a date for the works do […]

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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.

Ad/PR product. Book review: My Name is MacKenzie B

Ad/PR product. Book review: My Name is MacKenzie Bly by @lissakevans. To be published on 27th August by @doubledayukbooks.
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Our protagonist is MacKenzie Bly. Except it’s not, it’s 14 year old Philip Stephens. He just liked the sound of the name and thought his own to be pretty run of the mill. In his own words, he’s built like a vending machine which means that he can sometimes be a bit clumsy. He lives with his two mums, mum A and mum B, and sees his feckless and unreliable father on occasion.
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This book takes the form of a series of accounts of Philip’s life as told to the author, Lissa Evans. I’ve read Evans’ books before and love her dry humour but I’m not sure I would have naturally gravitated towards this book and that would have been a massive shame because I absolutely loved it. It was originally planned to be a young adult book but it’s turned into one that will appeal to everyone. There are inevitable comparisons to be made to Adrian Mole (whose diary I also loved) but the only real similarities are Philip’s age, his hapless behaviour and his chaotic family life.
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Philip is a bit of a bumbling sort but so likeable and so (unintentionally) funny. I sniggered a lot. He’s the sort of person who finds himself in awkward situations, but who isn’t often the cause of them. He’s just a bit unfortunate in many ways, but also rather sweet. I raced through this book which is very easy to read with short, punchy chapters that made it hard to put the book down.
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The upshot of all this is that I had a rip-roaring time reading about Philip’s life, his friends, his classmates and his family. I’d love to read another volume (please, Lissa Evans!).
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Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy.
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#BookReview #MyNameIsMacKenzieBly #funnybooks #humour #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. Book review: An Ocean and a Day by

Ad/PR product. Book review: An Ocean and a Day by Hannah Richell. To be published by @bedfordsq.publishers on 27th August.
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In July 2014, Hannah Richell’s husband Matt died in a surfing accident in Australia. Devastated and with two small children to take care for, she started to write down her feelings and experiences and An Ocean and a Day is Hannah’s memoir, not only of the years that followed and how she dealt with her overwhelming grief, but also of how she and Matt met and their life together before the accident.
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An Ocean and a Day is an exquisitely written, honest and incredibly moving memoir. It’s a love story, the story of a marriage to a soulmate, of moving halfway across the world, having children and making a life there. From page 1 I was stunned by the beauty of the writing. I’ve read some of her fiction so I know how good a writer she is, but in this book Hannah Richell is so very eloquent on love and loss. The tears sprang to my eyes often as she tried to learn how to manage the effects of the sudden of shocking news, not only on herself but on her children too, whilst somehow navigating her way into a new and unwanted life without Matt.
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This book is unflinching in its portrayal of the rawness of grief but it’s also inspirational in many ways, the bravery and strength of the author shining through from every page. I thought it was beautiful and profound.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#BookReview #AnOceanAndADay #memoir #5starreads #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. Book review: The Airline Girl by @l

Ad/PR product. Book review: The Airline Girl by @lizziepagewriter. Published by @bookouture and out now.
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The Airline Girl is the first in a trilogy of books by one of my favourite authors, Lizzie Page. Each book will follow one of three girls: Audrey, Lola and Cheryl. This book is Audrey Wright’s story. Audrey is nineteen and her future is mapped out for her. She will marry Martin and join his wonderful and nurturing family. She will continue to look after her mobility-impaired mother, stay out of the way of her dodgy father and settle down (whilst settling generally). When she loses her job and applies to be ground crew at Southend Airport, she’s shocked to realise that they’re actually recruiting for air stewardesses, a quite daring role in 1947 when commercial flights were still pretty new.
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This book was simply superb, a soaring success. I enjoyed all the airport and airline details, the seeming glamour of the life of a stewardess against the reality of it and all the training that they undergo. Audrey goes on a journey from a rather meek and feeble young woman to somebody who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to say so. She also goes on actual journeys and realises that flight is not something to fear but something to enjoy.
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Lizzie Page’s writing is something special and her dry wit and wry observations always make me giggle, which I did a lot whilst reading The Airline Girl. Her books sit somewhere in the middle of the historical fiction/saga genres and often teach me things whilst also entertaining me. There are some really interesting parts about the marriage bar and the difficulties Audrey has with Martin’s expectations of his future wife.
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Lola and Cheryl play a big part in Audrey’s story but I’m looking forward to reading the next two books to see what their backgrounds are and what led them to Southend Airport and lives as air stewardesses. This first instalment has really piqued my interest – I really couldn’t put it down. It’s heart-warming and joyful with a delicious tingle of romance – everything I want in a book.
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Thank you Lizzie for the review copy.
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#BookReview #TheAirlineGirl #histf

Book review: Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca

Book review: Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal. Published by @vintagebooks and out now.
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When Welcome to Glorious Tuga was first published and everyone was saying how good it was it still didn’t quite make it onto my radar, but then I got this weird urge to read it and how glad I am that I did as I enjoyed it so much and found it to be an ideal summer read.
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Tuga de Oro is the world’s most remote (fictional) inhabited island, forming part of the British overseas territory. So remote, in fact, that there’s no way off for six months of the year, between Island Open and Island Close. It’s to Tuga that Dr Charlotte Walker sails (after a terrible journey of endless seasickness) to study an endangered species of tortoise. She has another reason for being there too, a tiny nugget of belief that the answer to a family mystery can be found there.
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I thought this was a delightful read, so gentle and evocative of the languid feel of island life. Charlotte’s voyage is also the homecoming of Dr Dan Zekri, the nephew of the island’s only doctor, returning to his homeland to become the new doctor. Their stories are mingled with those of the island’s residents to create a full picture of what life on Tuga is like. Charlotte is a FFA (folk from away) and so she has a bit of an uphill struggle to fit in, but Dan didn’t expect to feel quite so much the FFA and taking over from his uncle means he has to build the trust of the islanders.
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The end of the story leaves lots of unfinished business so the sequel (book two of a trilogy), Island Crossing, will be very welcome. Welcome to Glorious Tuga is utterly charming. Tuga felt like a place from a bygone age and the characters were fabulously well-drawn and quirky. Just lovely in every way!
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#BookReview #WelcomeToGloriousTuga #islandbooks #fictionlover #shortbookandscribes

Book review: The Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas. P

Book review: The Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas. Published by Penguin and out now.
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Embarking on a new Maisie Thomas series – what a treat! The Railway Girls begins in February 1940 with a group of women joining the railways to do their wartime duty. Although we get to know all the women, there are three whose stories take centre stage. Mabel is still struggling with grief over a terrible event that she believes herself responsible for. Her parents aren’t keen on her being a railway girl but she manages to persuade them. Joan lives in the shadow of the sister whom her gran quite obviously prefers and her gran’s censure in general puts a dampener on pretty much everything. Then there’s Dot, one of the older ‘girls’ who becomes a guiding influence to the younger ones but who is put upon at home, so being out on the railways gives her life the purpose it was lacking.
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I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a joy to read and has it all. It’s emotional in places and, as expected in wartime, there are sadnesses as well as happy times. It also made me smile as there are some deliciously romantic moments and I laughed too, particularly when some of the girls attend a first aid course and they have to undertake a practical as if it was a real bombing and they had lives to save. Even though it was a serious test it turned out to be extremely humorous.
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I didn’t want to put The Railway Girls down and as I raced towards the end I was consoled by knowing I have the rest of the series ahead of me, one of the benefits of coming to it late. I can’t wait to see what happens next for the lovely characters. There have already been heartbreaks and no doubt there will be more to come, but what is clear is that the Railway Girls are brave and united, with adventures aplenty ahead of them.
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#BookReview #TheRailwayGirls #sagabooks #historicalfiction #shortbookandscribes

📚July 2026 - Book Post - Books Bought📚 📖Summer at

📚July 2026 - Book Post - Books Bought📚

📖Summer at Flora’s House by Freya North
📖The Museum of Second Chances by Jo Leevers
📖Clear by Carys Davies
📖Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham (this was a birthday present)
📖Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman

Have you read any of these or do you like the sound of them?
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#BookPost #contemporaryfiction #historicalfiction #nonfictionbooks #shortbookandscribes

📚And with gorgeous sprayed edges📚

📖The Scandalous Ladies Football Club by Frances Quinn

📖Mr Sidhu’s Post Office by Amman Brar
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#sprayededges #stencillededges #spredges #hardbackbooks #shortbookandscribes

Pretties 😍

📚July 2026 Book Post - Review Books Received📚

📖The Break In by Katherine Faulkner
📖The Winter Guest by Sarah Moss
📖Family friends by Chloe Ashby (giveaway prize sent by Laura Pearson)
📖Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger
📖A Cottage in the Country by Katie Fforde
📖The Falling by Carole Hailey
📖Black Earth by Kate London
📖The Wythenshawe Dandy by S.J. Galbraith

Ad/PR products with thanks to the tagged publishers and author.

Do you like the sound of any of these?
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#BookPost #reviewbooks #reviewer #fictionbooks #shortbookandscribes

📚July 2026 Reads📚 It Could Have Been Her by Lisa

📚July 2026 Reads📚

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell - A great read about a dysfunctional family, some dodgy stuff that went on in their house and Jane Trevally, the one that got away.

Can You Solve the Murder Book 2: The Forest of Death by Antony Johnston - I would make a lousy detective but it's still good fun choosing your own path of detection (or non-detection in my case).

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth - I absolutely loved this story about Elsie Fitzpatrick who is actually Mad Mabel Waller and was convicted of murder as a child. Both funny and sad and easily one of my favourites of the year.

The Glass Key by Amanda Geard - Set in Ireland in 2005 and Norway during the occupation of the country and its surrounding islands during WWII which makes for an interesting and lesser-known backdrop.

We Search the Island for Grace by Bonnie Burke-Patel - I always enjoy this author’s books. This one has a nod to Agatha Christie with its ‘locked-room’ remote island setting. It’s very atmospheric with lots of secrets coming to the forefront.

The Wythenshawe Dandy by S.J. Galbraith - An excellent crime thriller debut, a twisty and dark story set mostly in Sheffield. A dead girl is found laid on the bed of James Flynn but is he capable of murder? His (very new) sort of girlfriend, DI Cassie May, investigates.

The Dancing Years by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Book 33 of the Morland Dynasty series and the younger generation want to forget the horrors of WWI by dancing themselves silly.

The Winding Road by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Book 34 and the dancing years give way to the General Strike and the Wall Street Crash. I loved the outcome of this book as there’s new hope for Morland Place and its residents. Sob…only two more books in the series to go now.
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#monthlywrapup #monthlyroundup #crimebooks #historicalfiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Wythenshawe Dandy b

Ad/PR product. New review: The Wythenshawe Dandy by @sjgalbraithauthor. Published by @saltpublishing and out now
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The body of a young woman is found laid on the bed in a Sheffield flat belonging to James Flynn. DI Cassie May attends the scene, both as investigating officer but also as Flynn’s potential new love interest. They had barely got started and now Cassie has to consider whether Flynn played any part in the girl’s death. Instinct tells her he’s not capable of it but why does it feel as though he’s hiding something?
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The Wythenshawe Dandy is so much more than a police procedural. Cassie’s investigations lead her into a murky world of gangs, abuse, corruption and the secret services, whilst taking her from Sheffield to Edinburgh and back again. Most of the book is set in Sheffield which, as a Sheffielder, pleased me no end, but it also takes us to the Pennines and the often impassable Snake Pass (very atmospheric), and to Manchester as we learn more about Flynn’s background.
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I enjoyed this book very much. It’s twisty and dark, with a deliciously complex and unexpected series of events, stretching back years, which eventually lead Cassie to the truth. The main characters are well-developed and memorable: Flynn is a sort of gentle giant with hidden depths and Cassie is a tenacious cop and a prickly sort who needs someone like Flynn to break down her barriers. I also really liked DS Meg Harper who works incredibly well with Cassie, and Angus, Flynn’s friend, was most intriguing! I don’t know whether there’s any more mileage in the characters but I’d love to see them return in another book. Either way, this is an excellent crime thriller debut from S..J. Galbraith. Oh and if you’re wondering about the title, well it’s all explained in the book and I thought it was a clever piece of metafiction.
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Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.
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#BookReview #TheWythenshaweDandy #crimebooks #crimedebutnovel #shortbookandscribes

#DeadHeat by @sabinedurrant It’s paperback public

#DeadHeat by @sabinedurrant

It’s paperback publication day for one of my favourite books of the year – happy #publicationday Sabine! I thought this was a spellbinding and quietly menacing read, a masterclass in plotting. You can read my full review on the next caption

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First of all, here’s what the book is about:
Former journalist Matt Grimshaw's life is at a low ebb. He's been 'let go' by the paper where he's worked for years, and his relationship with his long-term girlfriend has come unstuck.

So when an invitation arrives from his two closest friends, Celia and Adam Murphy, to join them at their house in Greece, he jumps at it.

It may be harsh and unwelcoming on the Mani Peninsula but Matt determines to stay there for the whole summer and to write his much put-off screen-play.

But then the Murphys plus children arrive, and a wealthy newcomer to the area starts throwing loud and lavish parties in his big house across the bay.

As the nights become hotter and the parties wilder, everyone's motivations darken. Envy rises, resentments grow - until a terrible accident stops the summer in its tracks.

At least, it looks like an accident…

Set over one blazing Mediterranean summer, Sabine Durrant's new thriller is tense, claustrophobic and utterly gripping.
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Thank you to the publishers, @penguinukbooks and @thebookdealer for this paperback copy (pictured).
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#greekfiction #5starreads #grippingreads

My review
(originally posted in March 2026 - photo of proof copy):
🇬🇷
Dead Heat is narrated by Matt Grimshaw. Down on his luck after both his relationship and his work as a journalist ended, he goes to Greece to stay with his best friend, Adam Murphy and his wife Celia. Adam is everything Matt is not. He’s a successful TV presenter, he is charming and congenial, a generous host and a fun person to be around, but tensions rise when somebody else arrives in the area who threatens to derail the summer and seriously muddy the waters.

To say any more about the story itself would be to risk spoilers and I think it’s better to just let it all unfold, just as it would have done for Matt. I read Dead Heat fairly slowly because I wanted to savour every de

Ad/PR product. Book review: We Search the Island f

Ad/PR product. Book review: We Search the Island for Grace by @bonnieburkepatel. Will be oubl6by @bedfordsq.publishers on 30th July.
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We Search the Island for Grace is Bonnie Burke-Patel’s third book and it’s the third that I have read and enjoyed.
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The island in question is a remote one with only one house on it: Saint’s Climb. Just before Christmas five men travel there to stay with the owners, father and son George and Xavier Starvely. The only woman, housekeeper Marianne, takes the group to eight people. The island provides the location to a locked-room style mystery when a body is found and that’s only the start of it.
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Burke-Patel has a beautiful way of story-telling, adeptly bringing the threads together and expertly burrowing into the heart of the characters, drawing out their feelings, memories and their inner turmoil. I think this book was inspired by Agatha Christie’s books and indeed they are mentioned more than once. When I start one of this author’s books I immediately feel like I could have been transported one hundred years back in time and so it’s a slight revelation when the modern day setting manifests itself, although it is only very slight as it’s done so well.
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This book is an enjoyable and cryptic murder mystery novel. Secrets from the past come back to haunt the characters and I honestly had no clue as to the denouement. I loved the island setting and the house that was built on the site of a former abbey with a labyrinth preserved in the ground. All very atmospheric and the coming storm only adds to that feeling. We Search the Island for Grace is an extremely well-plotted gothic crime novel that harks back to the Golden Age of crime fiction.
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Thank you @emma.dowson.94 @ed.pr for the proof copy.
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#BookReview #WeSearchTheIslandForGrace #gothiccrime #murdermystery #shortbookandscribes

#CoverReveal 🎉🎉 #WetInk by @abigailavisauthor ✨ T

#CoverReveal 🎉🎉 #WetInk by @abigailavisauthor
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This book has been on my radar since I first heard about it. There's a little bit of a wait as it's not published by @hodderbooks until February 2027 but in the meantime look at the fabulous cover in this jaunty campaign reel. I love it!
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Synopsis:
When housewife Mitzy Barlow starts hosting Tupperware parties one grey afternoon in 1969, she has no idea of the power it has to transform lives.

It is necessity that has led her here: when her husband's carpentry hours drop, so too does their family income, forcing Mitzy to take matters into her own hands to support their young children.

But if it is necessity that drives her to start, it is freedom that keeps her going.

Because Mitzy has a talent for something else: writing scandalous stories. And when she starts selling those stories alongside her Tupperware containers - slipping them inside her products to protect them from prying eyes - her parties suddenly become known for more than just plastic: now, they are about liberation.

She was once just Mitzy, trapped in a loveless marriage - now she is Queen B, leader of a covert revolution.

That is until rumours of her actions start to put her family at risk. Is Mitzy naïve to think she could ever change her fortunes? Or can she rewrite the ending of her own story, before it's too late?

Ad/PR product. Book review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hep

Ad/PR product. Book review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Published by @panmacmillan and out now.
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From the tagline of Mad Mabel I was sort of expecting some granny goes on the rampage sort of story but it’s really not that at all. This is a beautifully portrayed story of an elderly lady whose childhood traumas have had long-reaching effects.
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Elsie Fitzpatrick has lived on Kenny Lane for over sixty years. She’s rather cantankerous but nobody ever suspected she had a secret. It’s only when one of her neighbours is found dead that rumours start to spread and Elsie’s secret is about to be revealed: that she is actually Mad Mabel Waller and she was convicted of murder when she was just a child.
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The story is told in chapters from ‘then’ and ‘now’. The chapters set in the past tell of Mabel’s childhood, the difficulties she faced and what led up to her incarceration. The chapters in the present follow Elsie as she navigates her life as it changes from a quiet and anonymous one to one in which everyone knows who she really is.
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Mad Mabel has everything I want in a book: a strong and crotchety protagonist in Elsie/Mabel whose barbs made me laugh out loud, but who underneath it all is vulnerable and made my heart break for her many times; Persephone, a child on Elsie’s road who burrows her way into Elsie’s reluctant heart; a moving and well-plotted storyline that I didn’t want to stop reading; and some twists in the tale which, whilst I did mostly see them coming, I loved for their enrichment of the overall plot. This will be one of my favourite books of the year and although it’s my first Sally Hepworth book, I’m glad to see she has written plenty of others for me to enjoy.
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Thank you @bookbreakuk for the review copy.
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#BookReview #MadMabel #5starreads #fortheloveofbooks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. Book review: It Could Have Been Her

Ad/PR product. Book review: It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell. Published by @centurybooksuk and out now.
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I think you can’t go wrong with a Lisa Jewell novel. It Could Have Been Her is her twenty-fourth book and it had me gripped.
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Jane Trevally lives alone in her crumbling Georgian family home, unsure if she can manage to hang onto it. A dog running loose on her land proves a welcome distraction, even more so when she discovers where the dog came from, a house that over two decades ago she unwisely went back to with a man, fleeing when she got a sense that there was something sinister going on there. When the dog is linked to a missing girl Jane turns amateur private detective and what a brilliant one she turned out to be.
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Jane’s current day investigations are intertwined with memories of people from the house and it makes for a really twisted and dark tale. I will say that I didn’t concentrate quite as hard as I should have in the first half or so and I regretted it because I had to turn back quite a few times to remind myself of earlier events, but by the second half I couldn’t wait to pick it up and didn’t want to put it down, feeling rather sad when I finished it.
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There is such an interesting plot. On the one hand you have a (very) dysfunctional family and what happened at their house unfolds slowly (although it’s clear from the off that some bad things have happened there) and then you have Jane, whose own life is just as much a part of the story as those she is investigating. I think it’s the characters that truly make this book: Jane, of course, but also her stepson Dexter and the dog that started it all, Hugo. As a whole it’s fascinating and compelling and I enjoyed it so much.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #ItCouldHaveBeenHer #psychologicalthriller #grippingreads #shortbookandscribes

New Books with Splendid Edges 😍 I've said this be

New Books with Splendid Edges 😍

I've said this before but I do find a sprayed or stencilled edge hard to resist, although they can have the most beautiful edges in the world but if it's not a book I'm interested in then I won't buy it. Here are two that came out this week that I was interested in and did buy from the lovely folk at @fox_lane_books who always wrap their books so beautifully (I would have shown you if I hadn't been so eager to get my hands on the books).

#TheScandalousLadiesFootballClub by @franquinn21
and
#MrSidhusPostOffice by @ammanbrar

Both sound brilliant. Are these books on your radar? Do you love a sprayed edge?

Swipe to see the pretty edges👉🏻
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#sprayededges #sprayededgesbooks #shortbookandscribes

PRETTIES 😍😍
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#historicalfiction #contemporaryfiction #bookpurchases #fortheloveofbooks #shortbookandscribes

Life Out of Order ⏳ Can you believe it's 23 years

Life Out of Order
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Can you believe it's 23 years since The Time Traveler's Wife was published? I absolutely adored Henry and Clare's love story (I'm always here for a 'love against the odds' book) so it's absolutely thrilling for me to have my hands on the sequel which tells the story of their daughter, Alba.

I cannot wait to read it but I've just got time to sneak in a reread of TTTW. Thank you so much @tri.northern and @vintagebooks for sending me a proof copy of #LifeOutOfOrder by @aaniffenegger, which is resplendent in its yellow sprayed edge glory.
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#BookPost #TheTimeTravelersWife #timetravelbooks #shortbookandscribes

📚June 2026 Book Post - Books Bought📚 📖The Invitat

📚June 2026 Book Post - Books Bought📚

📖The Invitation by Veronica Henry
📖Secrets of the Royal Maid by Annie Seymour
📖The Queen's Coronation by Jennifer Ryan
📖By Your Side by Ruth Jones
📖Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal
📖At the Table by Claire Powell
📖Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
📖The Butler by Clare Mackintosh

Have you read any of these or do you like the sound of them?
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#BookPost #crimefiction #historicalfiction #contemporaryfiction #shortbookandscribes

📚June 2026 Book Post - Review Books Received 📚

📖What Happened That Night by Nicci French
📖My Name is MacKenzie Bly by Lissa Evans
📖The Glass Key by Amanda Geard
📖The Death Row Club by V.A. Vazquez
📖Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson
📖The Weight of Angels by John Boyne
📖Can You Solve the Murder: The Forest of Death by Antony Johnston
📖Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
📖The Treasures by Harriet Evans

Ad/PR products with thanks to the tagged publishers and author.

Do you like the sound of any of these?
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#BookPost #reviewbooks #fictionbooks #booklover #shortbookandscribes

📚June 2026 Reads📚 🥖Summer at the French Bakery by

📚June 2026 Reads📚

🥖Summer at the French Bakery by Jo Thomas
I cannot go wrong with Jo’s books and their perfect blend of food and place. This one is set in a tiny French village with Juliet hoping to breathe new life into the bakery.

📝The Last Marriage of Dot Brightmore by Laura Pearson
I loved this book, the follow up to The Last List of Mabel Beaumont. Mabel knows that Dot is hiding something so out comes the list with the hope of achieving a happy ever after for them both.

✍🏻Mrs Dickens by Emily Howes
This is the story of Kate, Charles Dickens’ wife and it really doesn’t portray the author in the best light at all – a real eye-opener but whilst I thought it was beautifully written and researched, I found it quite hard to read.

🎙️Unknown by Heather Critchlow
Book 4 in the series that I so enjoy featuring true crime podcaster, Cal Lovett. He is investigating ‘Hillside Jane’, a woman who was found in a remote walking area and never identified.

👑Entitled by Andrew Lownie
Bio/exposé about the Duke and Duchess of York. Very well-researched but not quite the thrilling read I was expecting. I think part of the problem is that their misdemeanours are all over the news so it’s nothing new. Shocking pair of grifters though (and I’m a royalist!).

🌊The Sea Stone Sisters by Eleanor Buchanan
This is a lovely story of Lily Blackmore in 1931 who travels from Skara in Scotland to Ceylon to try and save her family’s fortunes. In the current day, Roz is trying to work out her family history and how she’s linked to the Blackmores. I really enjoyed this beguiling read.

♥️The Foreign Field by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
1917 and the war continues. Will it ever end? It continues to take its toll on the Morlands and there is the most exquisite chapter featuring Bertie and Jessie (two of my favourites) which made me cry.

✨The Fallen Kings by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
1918 and the end of the war is in sight. The anguish of war, both for those in the midst of it and those waiting at home, is beautifully portrayed.
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#JuneReads #June2026Reads #JuneReads2026 #monthlywrapup #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. #BookReview: #TheSeaStoneSisters by

Ad/PR product. #BookReview: #TheSeaStoneSisters by @eleanorbuchananbooks. Published by @headlinebooks
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The Sea Stone Sisters is book one in what I presume will be a quartet, focusing on the four Blackmore sisters who once lived with their parents on Skara, a remote peninsula in Scotland. Legend has it that if the four standing stones are ever laid flat then a curse will fall upon the family. For a while it doesn’t seem to Iris, the eldest of the sisters, that the curse has come true but as time passes she has to revise her opinion. With the aim of saving her sisters and the family estate from ruin, she travels to Ceylon to try to locate their Uncle Ralph in the hope that he will be able to help them.
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Intertwined with Iris’s story in the early 1930s is the current day narrative of Roz, an Australian who, after a family tragedy, travels to London and stumbles across a painting of four standing stones. Why does this painting bewitch her so and why does it feel as though her opal ring pulsates when she’s near it?
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This is a beguiling story of family and sacrifice. Iris is a lovely character, refined, determined and brave and I very much enjoyed following her on her journey to Ceylon and beyond, quite a trek for a young lady who has only ever known the windswept sights of Skara. Then there is Roz, rather a closed-up person, but what I liked most about her story was how she discovered her family history, things that she had no idea about, through letters and research.
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I’m really looking forward to book 2 now, which follows the second sister, Lily. I feel I have a sense of each sister from this book but I’m excited to know where Lily ended up and the effect of the curse on her. The Sea Stone Sisters was easy to read but full of depth, portraying the few options available to young ladies a century ago. I loved the details of Skara and its wild and ethereal beauty, along with the legend which originated thousands of years earlier. This story is magical in more ways than one, delightful and well-rounded in its own right but setting the scene for what is to come. I loved it.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#short

Book Review: Unknown by @heather.critchlow. Publis

Book Review: Unknown by @heather.critchlow. Published by @canelo_co and out now.
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Unknown is the fourth in the Cal Lovett series by Heather Critchlow. Cal is a podcaster, focusing on cold crimes. After the events of book three, when the trial of Jason Barr, the man believed to have killed Cal’s sister, didn’t mete out the justice Cal hoped for, he’s not looking for a new crime to investigate but one falls into his lap and he finds himself delving into the case of ‘Hillside Jane’, a woman whose remains were found twenty years earlier in a remote walking area but never identified. Surely somebody must have missed her.
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The case itself is intriguing and we get to see some of what happened to Jane and why through flashback chapters. Cal’s got a lot on his mind but it doesn’t stop him giving his all to the case, determined to find out who she was.
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This is an excellent addition to the series (which sadly will end with book five). I think Cal is an immensely likeable character and I enjoyed his relationships with Shona, a forensic anthropologist (so used to human remains!) and his daughter, Chrissie. His complex dealings with Jason Barr’s wife add another absorbing element to the complications of Cal’s life.
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I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a cold case storyline. It’s dark, tense, emotional and well-plotted and the author does a great job of keeping up the pace and the mystery throughout.
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#bookreview #Unknown #crimeseries #crimebooks #shortbookandscribes

Last • Now • Next Happy Sunday! I've been quiet o

Last • Now • Next

Happy Sunday! I've been quiet over the last week as I've had a mini reading slump. I started two books that I couldn't get into and read another that, whilst beautifully written, took me an age to read. So I picked up a book I had been looking forward to for ages (Unknown) and I enjoyed it so hopefully the slump is over.

Last
Unknown by @heather.critchlow was my last read. I always enjoy the books in this series which feature Cal Lovett, a true crime podcaster with his own demons to deal with.

Now
I've picked up The Sea Stone Sisters by @eleanorbuchananbooks. I've seen some cracking reviews of this one and fellow bloggers tell me I will love it. I only started it last night but I'm looking forward to reading more.

Next
It Could Have Been Her by @lisajewelluk. Let's face it, you can't go wrong with a Lisa Jewell, can you? This one's out on 2nd July.
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#lastnownext #Unknown #TheSeaStoneSisters #ItCouldHaveBeenHer #shortbookandscribes

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