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Short Book and Scribes

Tag: Top reads

ShortBookandScribes 20 Very Special Reads of 2020

Posted on 1st January 2021 By Nicola

It’s that time again. I do sometimes wonder whether I should do these lists as I inevitably end up with more on them than I […]

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Articles

ShortBookandScribes Very Special Reads of 2019

Posted on 31st December 2019 By Nicola

It’s that time of the year again when I start to wrangle with my list of books read to try and narrow it down to […]

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Misc

ShortBookandScribes Very Special Reads of 2018

Posted on 31st December 2018 By Nicola

I’m delighted to be able to share with you my Very Special Reads of 2018 today. I am not stingy with my five stars and […]

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Misc

Top Reads of 2016

Posted on 30th December 2016 By Nicola

This was supposed to be a top ten reads of the year post but it’s turned into a slightly longer list of books that stand […]

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Articles

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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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20 Nov

Thank you @likely_suspects @simonschusterUK for selecting me to be part of your crime team and for the first proof: #AnEthicalGuideToMurder by @Dr_Jenny_Morris. 'Would you kill a bad person to save a good one?' Love this premise!

#BookPost out 16th January.

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New review: A Recipe for Christmas by @jothomasaut

New review: A Recipe for Christmas by @jothomasauthor. Published by @bantambooksuk and out now.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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

Ad/PR product. New review: The Palace Dressmaker b

Ad/PR product. New review: The Palace Dressmaker by @jadebeerbrides. To be published by @hodderbooks on 5th November.
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Give me a book with a royal theme and I will read it. The Palace Dressmaker definitely fits the bill and I particularly liked the focus on Diana, Princess of Wales' dresses, those designed by one of her favourite designers, Catherine Walker. The story is centred around Meredith, who worked on the dresses in the 1980s and '90s, and Jayne, Meredith's neighbour. The two women live in flats within a beautiful Bath townhouse but have never really met until fate intervenes. Jayne realises Meredith needs help and that she has a really interesting back story, evidenced by the stunning dress Jayne spots in Meredith's bedroom. Eighty of Diana's dresses were put up for auction but only seventy-nine sold. Is this the missing dress?
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I thought this was an intriguing and well thought out storyline. There wasn't quite as much of a royal theme as I expected but I was fascinated by the talk of the dresses (incidentally, I would have loved to see images alongside the descriptions). It's very much a story of friendship and of finding the confidence to live your life the way you want to, but also in the way that enriches you most of all. Through her desire to help Meredith, Jayne makes new friends and forges a future for herself that she didn't know she could have. It's a book that's both heart-warming and heartbreaking, as Meredith's memories spiral further and further away from her.
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The Palace Dressmaker is full of heart and warmth, with a soupçon of mystery too. It combines the glamour of royal life with the realities of ordinary life, and ultimately I found it uplifting and poignant.
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Thank you to the publishers and the author for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #ThePalaceDressmaker #royalfiction #royaladjacentbooks #dualtimelinenovels #fortheloveofbooks #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #reader #bookblogger #ilovereading #booklover #booksofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

Harper Collins Book Haul 📚 Today I thought I'd

Harper Collins Book Haul
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Today I thought I'd show off the books I purchased using the recent 50% off flash sale offer from Harper Collins. If you aren't signed up for their emails then I'd recommend doing so as they have these sorts of sales quite often, if not 50% then 40% or 30%. If you spend £25 (easy done!) then it's free postage too. This is not an ad for Harper Collins, just a book lover's haul.
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#AVoyageAroundTheQueen by Craig Brown - this is a hefty book at 672 pages but as a royalist I couldn't resist.

#TheStoryCollector by Evie Woods - this sounds like a book that has a bit of everything that I love and the cover is stunning.

#ScandalousWomen by Gill Paul - I love Gill Paul's writing and this book sounds right up my street with the literary focus.

#TheBookshopByTheLoch by Julie Shackman - a bookshop, in Scotland, enemies to lovers....take my money.
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In preparing this post I realise that there's quite a focus on bookish stories here. I love books about books - do you? Which do you recommend? Have you read any of my purchases?
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#bookhaul #newbooks #TBRpile #TBR #fortheloveofbooks #bookishcontent #bookish #ilovereading #reader #bookblogger #reviewer #booklover #booksofinstagram #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Fortunes of Olivia

Ad/PR product. New review: The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by @louisedwriter. Published by @moonflower_books and out now.
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The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond is the perfect read for spooky season. Julia Pearlie takes a role as companion to Olivia Richmond at Mistcoate House in Norfolk. This is the fresh start Julia needs after a tragic end to her previous position. She has her work cut out though: Olivia appears to have supernatural powers, her father is sometimes erratic, and the housekeeper, Mrs Hayes, seems to loathe Julia's presence in the house.
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This is such an atmospheric and truly compelling read. It's set towards the end of the Victorian era and the sense of time and place is depicted perfectly. Mistcoate itself has a faded grandeur and felt like a dark and lonely place for Julia. In the nearby village, she makes friends but often feels out of place and her charge's reputation as the Mistcoate witch doesn't help.
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The Yorkshire Times describes this book as being a cross between Jane Eyre and The Woman in Black, with a hefty dose of Mrs Danvers thrown in. I can't do any better than that and what an endorsement! It feels true to the era, particularly the Victorian fervour for fortune telling and séances. Julia narrates her story and there's always a niggling doubt as to whether she's unreliable or not, but ultimately I loved her personality and she, Olivia and Mrs Hayes proved to be vivid characters who jumped off the page.
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I loved this dark, historical fiction story. It's twisty and eerie, with a huge amount of gothic splendour, and I was engrossed from beginning to end in Miss Pearlie's account of her time with the Richmonds. A fantastic debut.
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Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy.
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#bookreview #TheFortunesOfOliviaRichmond #historicalfiction #fortheloveofbooks #reviewbooks #booksread #spookyreads #SpookySeason #ilovebooks #histfic #bookreader #reviewer #bookblogger #reader #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: A Christmas W

Ad/PR product. New #blogtour review: A Christmas Wish at Woolworths by Elaine Everest. To be published on 24th October by @panmacmillan.
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A Christmas Wish at Woolworths takes us back to Erith, Kent in the run up to Christmas 1953. Once again we meet with the characters that I have come to love. Whilst the men are strong characters in their own right, it's the women who always stand out in Elaine Everest's books, the ones who pull together to work out any problems and save the day.
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Some of the problems in this story are to be faced by Betty Billington, the manager of the town's Woolworths store which faces closure despite still being a popular place for shoppers. Maisie and her family also face opposition from their new neighbours who seem to have taken a real dislike to them. Despite all this, each generation from matriarch Ruby and her husband Bob, to Sarah, Freda and Maisie, and down to the younger members Clemmie, Claudette and Bessie, is determined to join together and get through it.
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I loved this instalment of the popular series. It's easy to read and transported me back to the 1950s. I've always particularly enjoyed the scenes set in Woolworths itself and there's plenty of those, but it was also nice to accompany the characters on a trip to London and to the pantomime, and to see what a thrill it was for them to do something out of the ordinary. As this will sadly now be the last book to carry on the characters' stories (although another Woolworths book will be published next year, it has a different focus) I was pleased that it ended on such a lovely note and I closed the book with a very contented smile on my face.
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This book brings together community spirit and friendship to provide a completely heart-warming and joyful read. I know a book has done its job with me if I wish that I could step into it and spend time with all the characters myself. This book did that for me and I recommend it (and the rest of the series) for all saga lovers.
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Thank you to the publishers for the review copy.
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#bookreview #AChristmasWishAtWoolworths #sagafiction #sagabooks #sagas #booksread #reviewbooks #reader #reviewer #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: Miss Beeton's Murder Ag

Ad/PR product. New review: Miss Beeton's Murder Agency by @josielloydwriter. To be published by @hqstories on 24th October.
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Alice Beeton runs the Good Household Management Agency which provides housekeepers, cleaners and other staff to those in need of them, and a jolly good job she does of it too, with her eye for detail and her two trusty colleagues, Jinx and Helly. I must mention her other trusty sidekick, her gorgeous little dog, Agatha (named after Agatha Christie).
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Trouble comes along when Alice finds a position for Enya, a new person on her books, and very soon afterwards Enya is found dead. Alice turns into an unlikely detective, which rather messes up her orderly life but which also gives her a little thrill, which may be aided by the presence of Detective Rigby in her life.
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I thought this was a delightful read. I don't read a lot of cosy crime but this was an excellent example of the genre, firmly rooted in the modern day and yet with a hint of old-fashioned charm, helped along by the references to the main character's ancestor, the famous Mrs Beeton. Recipes are scattered throughout the text too, a feature which I found so appealing.
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The plot itself is rather clever and Miss Beeton turns out to be a very able and cunning detective. I loved all the characters, many of whom were Alice's friends who stepped into the breach to assist her - there's a real sense of camaraderie between them all. I think Agatha might just be the star of the show though!
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I have a feeling this may turn out to be the start of a series and I'd definitely like to read more books featuring Alice, Jinx and Detective Rigby. I foresee many capers ahead. Although Miss Beeton's Murder Agency is set partly at Christmas and New Year, it's not overly Christmassy so would be a brilliant read for any time of the year.
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Thank you @rachelquinmarketing and the publishers for the gorgeous blogger package.
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#bookreview #MissBeetonsMurderAgency #cosycrime #cosycrimebooks #Christmasbooks #booksread #reviewbooks #reader #lovelyreads #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogger #reviewer #bookreader #booklover #ilovebooks #lovefiction #shortbookandscribes

Huge thanks to @rachelquinmarketing for this fabul

Huge thanks to @rachelquinmarketing for this fabulous #bookpost containing:

📖 #MissBeetonsMurderAgency, the new cosy crime novel from @josielloydwriter, to be published by @hqstories on 24th October.
☕ Earl Grey tea
🧤 A cup sleeve
🧾 Beautiful recipe cards and
🐾 The cutest pair of fluffy socks.

This whole package was such a treat to open and the book sounds absolutely wonderful.

#cosycrime #bookishpost #bookblogger #reader #reviewer #Christmasbooks #murdermysterybooks #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Commuter by @emmacu

Ad/PR product. New review: The Commuter by @emmacurtisauthor. Published by Corvus and out now.
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Rachel Gordon is married to Anthony, an older, very successful businessman. Whilst travelling to work on the tube, she meets a man who she connects with. She loves her husband but this man gives her journeys a frisson of excitement as she waits to see if he will board the same tube as her. When she has an accident and wakes up from a coma to find Anthony has been killed, she can't remember a thing about the past few months or the mysterious man she had been spending her commute with. The police believe she might have been involved with Anthony's death but surely she couldn't have been…..could she?
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The Commuter is a book with as many layers as an onion. Even with just over 400 pages, I'm still amazed at how much was packed into the pages. Just when I thought I knew where the story was headed another curveball was thrown at me by Emma Curtis. Rachel is such a fascinating character and I wondered all the way through whether she was an unreliable narrator, whether what she thought she remembered was true or not, and generally whether she could be trusted. There's an uncomfortable and awkward stepmother/stepdaughter dynamic between her and Anthony's daughter, Caroline, with Rachel's status as the younger second wife adding an extra layer to the story.
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I raced through this incredibly fast-paced and twisty book. The plot is cleverly executed and kept me guessing all the way through. Recommended for all psychological thriller fans. Just be careful who you make eye contact with on your commute!
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Thank you to the publishers for the review copy of the book.
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#bookreview #TheCommuter #psychologicalfiction #psychologicalthriller #grippingreads #fortheloveofbooks #ilovebooks #reader #reviewer #reviewbooks #booksread #booksofinstagram #bookblogger #booklover #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Book of Witching by

Ad/PR product. New review: The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke. Published by Harper Collins and out now.
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The Book of Witching is another well-plotted dual timeline story from C.J. Cooke. In the current day in Glasgow, Clem's daughter Erin is found badly burned on a beach on Orkney. When Erin comes round she doesn’t always seem to be herself, personality changes coming and going as her recovery begins. In the other strand of the story, Alison Balfour is imprisoned, awaiting trial for witchcraft at a time when women were pursued, tortured and killed if they were believed to be witches. Linking both timelines is the Book of Witching, a mysterious and magical book.
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This book is gripping, alarming and moving. The plight and treatment of women like Alison, those who could heal and use concoctions and spells to do so, is well-documented and yet never fails to shock. I was appalled at the tactics used by cruel and powerful men to ensure a confession to witchcraft and I read with a hand over my mouth at times. The current day storyline is interwoven with Alison's narrative really well, as the reasons for Erin being on Orkney and why she has ended up in hospital gradually become clear.
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The author has clearly done a lot of research to make this story authentic. The settings were full of atmosphere and the characters jumped off the page, particularly Alison and her family. I was fascinated by the Book of Witching and the author's notes on where her inspiration had come from. I loved the clever ending too, which brought the story full circle. An excellent read.
✨
Thank you to the publishers for the proof copy of the book.
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#bookreview #TheBookOfWitching #historicalfiction #dualtimelinenovels #witchtrials #fortheloveofbooks #reader #booksread #reviewbooks #reviewer #bookblogger #bookish #ilovereading #lovefiction #shortbookandscribes

Ad/PR product. New review: The Blue Hour by @paula

Ad/PR product. New review: The Blue Hour by @paulahawkins2010. To be published on 10th October by @doubledayukbooks.
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The Blue Hour is Paula Hawkins' much anticipated fourth novel. Having read two of her previous three, in my opinion The Blue Hour absolutely blows them all out of the water.
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Eris Island is now home to Grace and was once home to Vanessa Chapman, a celebrated artist. When Vanessa died she left her collection to be housed at Fairburn House, a country estate and home to other great artworks and sculptures. James Becker is the curator of the collection and a Chapman aficionado, and when an alarming discovery linked to Vanessa is made, he must travel to Eris and seek clarity from Grace, a woman who knew her well.
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There's so much more to this book than first appears. There is such depth to the writing, the emotions and the unfolding of events, and the plot is complex and twisty. It has an almost indefinable something that I love in books: a melting pot of a touch of mystery, a bohemian feel, and an undercurrent of simmering menace and tension. Add in not only a remote Scottish island but a country house too and it makes this book pretty much perfect.
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Eris is an incredibly atmospheric setting. Grace has a lonely existence there, looking across to the houses in the bay, cut off from the mainland for half of every day when the tide rolls in. Becker proves to be both a welcome and unwelcome visitor, with the discovery opening up old wounds. Much of the story is told from the point of view of either Grace or Becker, interspersed with Vanessa's letters and diary entries, and Hawkins brings all the strands together expertly to create an edgy, thrilling and absorbing read.
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I soaked up every bit of this book, savoured every word. I didn't want it to end but when it did, it did so in chilling style. Brilliant!
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Thank you to the publishers for the fab hardback proof with #spredges.
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#bookreview #TheBlueHour #psychologicalfiction #psychologicalthriller #Scottishislandbooks #5starreads #grippingreads #fortheloveofbooks #bookreviewer #reviewer #booksread #reviewbooks #reader #bookblogger #ilovebooks #booklover #shortbookandscribes

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.
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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.
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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

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