Tag: contemporary fiction

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Unravelled – Briony Marshall*

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“For crying out loud! I can’t even cast on now.“

Claire has never unravelled anything before, being a confident knitter. But now, to her dismay, everything she creates is a disaster, riddled with dropped stitches and glaring holes. It’s almost as if her hands have a mind of their own. Maybe it’s because her longest relationship to date has just ended, or perhaps it has something to do with the fact her career is on the ropes.

“Don’t get frustrated with your needles! The problem lies with the knitter, not the knitting,” said Adrian, owner of Oddballs wool shop. Following his advice, in the desperate hope it will cure her woolly woes, Claire begins to turn her life around. Her grand plan involves FishTank, the online dating site. She convinces Adrian that if they sign up and find love, their problems will be solved (and she’ll have at least one area of her life sorted!). The trouble starts when he has far more luck in the romance department than she does.

But it’s little wonder Claire can’t throw herself into dating. She’s already found her perfect match.

A must-read for avid knitters and those with a passion for crafting, this comical yarn will melt any reader’s heart.

Will they? Won’t they? Romance enthusiasts will be rooting for the pair to be knitted together, forever!

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Briony Marshall is an author from the West Midlands in the UK. She is a graduate of the University of Wolverhampton with a degree in ‘Creative and Professional Writing with English’. Briony currently lives at home with her mum, dad, fiancé and fur brother: Bob the Dog. When Briony is not writing, she’s crafting, and when she’s not crafting, she’s drinking coffee.

My thoughts:

A rom-com with needles and yarn!

I can’t knit to save my life but it brings Claire and Adrian together, and introduces her to the Stitch & Bitches too.

This is the story of what to do when The One turns out to be a zero and everything seems to be falling apart. Including your knitting.

A really fun, enjoyable read with a happy ending, something I really need sometimes.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: We Just Clicked- Anna Bell*

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Izzy’s always played by the rules. But now, it’s time to break them…

Izzy Brown has always dreamed of making it big on Instagram, but her followers just aren’t growing. So when her colleague and fellow ‘influencer’ Luke suggests they fake date to boost their profiles, Izzy says yes – against her better judgement. Now Izzy’s profile shows a confident, glamorous thirty-something with the perfect boyfriend, and her followers are shooting up by the thousands.

So what if behind the scenes, things are a little different? Izzy can’t stop bickering with Luke, his habit of checking his quiff in EVERY SINGLE mirror is driving her insane, and she’s hiding a secret heartache. But everyone tells a few fibs on social media, right?

Then Izzy runs into Aidan, the mysterious stranger who saved her the day her world fell apart two years ago – and major sparks start to fly. Izzy’s sure she can have the online success she’s always dreamed of, whilst falling in love in real life. After all, Aidan doesn’t use social media… what could possibly go wrong?

My thoughts:

A fun, entertaining rom com of a novel about falling in love, the perils of social media and why you really should stick to the truth.

This was a lovely, enjoyable read, perfect for when you want something light and pleasurable to read before bed, in the bath, or slumped on the sofa needing distraction from post-lockdown worries. *I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

books, reviews

Book Review: Even If We Break – Marieke Nijkamp

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I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley with no requirement to review.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp comes a shocking new thriller about a group of friends tied together by a game and the deadly weekend that tears them apart.

FIVE friends go to a cabin.
FOUR of them are hiding secrets.
THREE years of history bind them.
TWO are doomed from the start.
ONE person wants to end this.
NO ONE IS SAFE.

Are you ready to play?

My thoughts:

I don’t really know what to say about this book except it was so powerful and moving that I sat after reading it in stunned silence.
It had such a massive impact on me that I find it hard to articulate. As someone who has recently come out as non-binary, and who is disabled and autistic, seeing facets of myself on the page was profound.

The story of broken and breaking friendships resonated as well, we’ve all lost friends that once meant everything to us, my best friend of 20 years told me she never wanted to hear from me again and that was genuinely heartbreaking.

There is also new love fluttering in the pages of this book, like the butterfly at the bottom of Pandora’s Box. The hope and opportunity for renewal it brings is ultimately redemptive and a reason for the characters to fight on.

This book was genuinely the most incredibly powerful and moving that I’ve read in quite some time.

blog tour, books, reviews

Read Along: The Last Charm – Ella Allbright*

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Something a little different, this week I will be taking part in a read along of The Last Charm by Ella Allbright.

The read along will be taking place across social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) using the hashtag #OMCReadalong and #OneLastCharm

It’s running from the 21st to the 28th, with fun activities including book club questions, bookish challenges, competitions, live interviews and lots of exclusive content.

The book is published on the 21st, so please do grab a copy and join in at the links above and by following the hashtags.


A moving and heartwarming love story perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day in December.

Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope.

This is the story of her… and the story of Jake.

When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.

So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, LGBTQ+, reviews

Blog Tour: Fin & Rye & Fireflies – Harry Cook*

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Fin Whittle is sixteen and he likes guys. A fact which seems to be complicating his life.

One minute Fin’s kissing the godlike Jesse; the next he s been cruelly outed. His family’s response? To up sticks in search of a ‘fresh start’.

A fresh start won’t change the truth of who Fin is. Obviously. But it does introduce him to the best squad in town: kick-ass Poppy, her on-off girlfriend June and the super cute, super irresistible Rye.

Fin soon has a serious crush. And Rye might just feel the same way. But Fin’s parents aren’t happy. If their son won’t change his ‘lifestyle’, they ll force him onto the straight and narrow . . . by way of ‘conversion therapy’. An outrageous plan is needed to face down the haters and to give Fin and Rye (and their fireflies) a chance at the happy-ever-after their story deserves . . .

From moonlit meet-ups to vintage diners, pride parades to a passion for old vinyl, Fin & Rye & Fireflies is a gloriously upbeat tale of being true to yourself no matter what.

Amazon

Born in the UK, Harry Cook is an Australian actor and international LGBTQI+ activist. He has starred in major film, TV and theatre productions, including the lead opposite Geena Davis in Accidents Happen. In 2013, at age 22, Harry came out to his fans on YouTube. The video went viral and Harry became front-page news in Australia, the UK and the US. Harry lives in Sydney with his rescued English Bulldog Poppy.

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My thoughts:

This is a sweet, lovely story of first loves, fireflies, being true to yourself, and the importance of friendship.

It’s also got a dark side, and I would be remiss to say it’s not something every reader will feel comfortable with. Conversion therapy is horrible and cruel and harmful.

There is light in the darkness too, from fireflies and knowing that people can change, that parents make mistakes too.

As Mrs Potts sings in Beauty & the Beast “bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong” – I think Fin’s family would agree.

Find your tribe, the people who will always have your back, like Fin does, and you’ll be OK.

This is powerful, moving story telling and I hope it finds its audience, because we need stories like this to counteract the sadder ones.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Growing Season – Seni Glaister*

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After a life-saving operation leaves Sam unable to have children, could a rural cottage be the fresh start she needs? Or is she running away from her problems?

For her husband Danny, this was never part of the plan. He likes predictability. The countryside is just a bit, well – wild. But he wants Sam to be happy, even if he isn’t.

If only Danny could tell Sam what is going on in his head. If only he knew what was really going on in hers. If only they knew that they’re equally afraid of what happens next.

Can the couple find a way to face the future together, or have they already grown too far apart?

Growing Season is a poignant and uplifting novel about how love and nature sometimes need a helping hand.

My thoughts:

A mediation on growth, fear, letting go of the past and nature, this novel features two women, Sam and Diana, both wrestling with letting go of who they were and embracing who they are now.

As well as their growth, there is literal growth as Sam turns her neat lawn into a wild flower meadow and Diana, who lives in the woods, records in her notebooks the growth of the woodland plants and her own planting.

Sam has had a difficult time dealing with cancer and the loss of her ability to have children, moving house to leave some things behind her, her husband Danny, who struggles with a number of phobias and fictional allergies, also needs to change and grow.

All three characters find that their proximity to nature alters them and helps them move forward. *I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Boy Queen – George Lester*

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Fall wig first into a world of big hair, high heels and even higher stakes in George Lester’s debut novel Boy Queen.

Life’s a drag until you try . . .

Robin Cooper’s life is falling apart.

While his friends prepare to head off to University, Robin is looking at a pile of rejection letters from drama schools up and down the country, and facing a future without the people he loves the most. Everything seems like it’s ending, and Robin is scrabbling to find his feet.

Unsure about what to do next and whether he has the talent to follow his dreams, he and his best friends go and drown their sorrows at a local drag show, where Robin realizes there might be a different, more sequinned path for him . . .

With a mother who won’t stop talking, a boyfriend who won’t acknowledge him and a best friend who is dying to cover him in glitter make up, there’s only one thing for Robin to do: bring it to the runway.

My thoughts:

Oh my wigs and lashes, this was such a fun read, I loved it. Written by a real life drag queen, aka That Gurrrl, this is such a delight.

Robin is out and surrounded by fantastic friends and a loving mum, a committed Drag Race fan, a birthday night out at a local drag night lights a spark in him and off he goes to discover his inner diva and drag up his life.

As a lifelong theatre kid and glitter aficionado who gets make up tips from drag queens at Pride, this book made my queer little heart sing. It’s so much fun and real and I just loved it.

My inner drag queen had her heels on and was dancing a boogie when Robin finally took the stage and it just ticked so many boxes for me.

Drag has become more and more mainstream over the last few years and the more positive stories about LGBTQ+ lives that get published the better.


*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: F.O.X.E.S – M.A. Bennett*

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Greer has just recovered from her terrifying experience during the STAGS play. Was she really put on trial by the sinister Dark Order of the Grand Stag? Or was it purely her overheated imagination? The imprint of an ‘M’ for murderer that has appeared on her thumb, though, is puzzling but incomplete evidence . . .

Meanwhile Ty is staying on at Longcross Manor and Greer, Nel and Shafeen are increasingly worried for her safety. When Ty sends a cryptic message directing them to Cumberland Place, the de Warlencourts’ palatial home in London, they decide to risk a visit. There they meet Henry’s grieving parents, Rollo and Caro. Rollo is arrogant, entitled and not overly grieving. Caro, however, while superficially charming, is clearly pushed to the brink of madness by Henry’s death, insisting that Henry is still alive. Which is clearly impossible . . . but Greer has her own troubling doubts about Henry’s death which make it hard to dismiss Caro completely . . .

Can Greer, Shafeen and Nel work out what Rollo de Warlencourt is planning for his deadly Boxing Day Hunt at Longcross in time to save Ty – who has now gone silent? Or will history horribly repeat itself?

A thrilling, richly complex instalment in the STAGS series.

Goodreads

Amazon

M. A. BENNETT is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialised in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as a historical source. Her first YA novel, S.T.A.G.S., was published in 2017 and was shortlisted for the YA BOOK PRIZE 2018, winning various awards such as the Warwickshire Secondary Book Award 2019 and the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book Award 2019, both voted by students, and won the Great Reads ‘Most Read’ 2018 Senior Award.

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My thoughts:

You really should read S.T.A.G.S and D.O.G.S first to get you up to speed on what Greer, Nel and Shafeen are dealing with in F.O.X.E.S but it isn’t essential.

After almost dying several times at the hands of some of their classmates and the nasty Order of the Stag, you’d think these three would have transferred to somewhere less murderous and called in the police, social services and OFSTED, but no, they’re going to try to bring down the Order with the help of Ty, and a few other new acquaintances along the way.

Honestly, I found myself veering between horror and wondering exactly how dumb Greer actually is. She thinks mostly in terrible films, seems to forget the modern world exists, which I know is the point of the awful school they’re at, and wander around with her head in the clouds.

Thankfully Nel and Shafeen are a bit more with it, Nel is easily my favourite character.

The book left me with more questions than answers, no doubt some will be explained in the next book. I read Ben Jonson at uni, but he didn’t seem nearly as interesting as in these books, so I’m off to research his connections to the Gunpowder Plot…

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Stray Cats of Homs – Eva Nour*

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Sami’s childhood is much like any other – an innocent blend of family and school, of friends and relations and pets (including stray cats and dogs, and the turtle he keeps on the roof).

But growing up in one of the largest cities in Syria, with his country at war with itself, means that nothing is really normal. And Sami’s hopes for a better future are ripped away when he is conscripted into the military and forced to train as a map maker. Sami may be shielded from the worst horrors of the war, but it will still be impossible to avoid his own nightmare…

Inspired by extraordinary true events, The Stray Cats of Homs is the story of a young man who will do anything to keep the dream of home alive, even in the face of unimaginable devastation. Tender, wild and unbearably raw, it is a novel which will stay with you for ever.

My thoughts:

This book was beautiful, sad, moving and tender. Sami and his friends find ways to live despite the war in the streets and the constant terror of rocket attacks around them.

A gentle person, Sami is conscripted and forced to work for a military he does not believe in, waging war on their own people. He becomes a journalist, trying to share the reality of life under fire.

His escape and journey to the safety of Paris, where he meets the author, had my heart in my mouth at times.

Written under a nom de plume to protect the real “Sami”, the author is now his partner, and there is a sense of that affection throughout. As well as that of Sami’s for animals – he never loses his tender heart.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Dear Emmie Blue – Lia Louis

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In this charming and poignant novel, teenager Emmie Blue releases a balloon with her email address and a big secret into the sky, only to fall head-over-heels for the boy who finds it; now, fourteen years later, the one thing Emmie has been counting on is gone for good, and everything she planned is up in the air.

At sixteen, Emmie Blue stood in the fields of her school and released a red balloon into the sky. Attached was her name, her email address…and a secret she desperately wanted to be free of. Weeks later, on a beach in France, Lucas Moreau discovered the balloon and immediately emailed the attached addressed, sparking an intense friendship between the two teens.

Now, fourteen years later, Emmie is hiding the fact that she’s desperately in love with Lucas. She has pinned all her hopes on him and waits patiently for him to finally admit that she’s the one for him. So dedicated to her love for Lucas, Emmie has all but neglected her life outside of this relationship—she’s given up the search for her absentee father, no longer tries to build bridges with her distant mother, and lives as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows after being laid off from her job. And when Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask her, she’s convinced this is the moment he’ll reveal his feelings for her. But nothing in life ever quite goes as planned, does it?

Emmie Blue is about to learn everything she thinks she knows about life (and love) is just that: what she thinks she knows. Is there such thing as meant to be? Or is it true when they say that life is what happens when you are busy making other plans? A story filled with heart and humor, Dear Emmie Blue is perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Evvie Drake Starts Over.

My thoughts:

This book made me cry. In a good way. It’s sweet, lovely, funny and charming. I loved Emmie, my heart broke for her, all the shit she’d overcome. I loved Rosie and Fox, they’re hilarious. Lucas was kind of an arse, Eliot was not.

Just a really, really lovely book.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.