Monday 20 December 2021
End of 2021
Wednesday 15 December 2021
eBook review - Where The Drowned Girls Go
Publisher: Tor
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction
Monday 13 December 2021
DNFing GILDED
Friday 10 December 2021
Audiobook Review - Marvellous Light
Title And Author: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Publisher: Tor UK
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof and Audiobook gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction
Tuesday 30 November 2021
Book Review - Terciel and Elinor
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Copy gifted by UK publisher in exchange of honest review/reaction. I, also, preordered the Forbidden Planet special edition
Now, before I go further and explain the book, we get most of the information about Sabriel's parents in the prologue of Sabriel so we know where their story ends. But we don't know how they met and how the relationship evolved and that's what this book is about: her parents meeting.
Ok, I need to talk the story, don't I? In the Old Kingdom, where Charter Magic and Free Magic exists, 18 year old Terciel is the Abhorsen-In-Waiting. A necromancer to bind the Dead down and lay them to rest. Soon, he will be the Abhorsen and soon, he will have to face the Dead and, maybe, Greater Dead. But when he is sent south into the Ancelstierre, he doesn't realise the ploy he's walking into...
In Ancelstierre, where magic usually doesn't work (unless close to the Old Kingdom or the winds blowing from the north), 19 year old Elinor lives a seduced life. Her closest friends are her governess and a former circus performer. Her mother lies in bed, close to death. But in a space of a night, everything she knows is burnt, killed or ripped away from her as a ploy from an ancient enemy brings Terciel into her life and the truth of her connection to the Old Kingdom is revealed.
And still, the enemy is waiting, buying their time...
Thursday 25 November 2021
November Mini-Reviews
Anyway, I warned you in my November And December Reading Plan that my reading was going to be a bit different. I might not read as much as I normally would and some of my reading choices might not be my normal, but I wanted to mix my reading/blogging up a little bit before I go on my winter break (I might go on my blog break a tad longer than I normally do)...
And yet, this is me we're talking about so, of course, I do this book blogging reading the wrong way round.
Friday 5 November 2021
SpoOOoky Mini-Reviews
Tuesday 2 November 2021
November and December Reading Plan
Monday 1 November 2021
Macaw!
Friday 29 October 2021
HOSTILE TAKEOVER - Blog Tour Review
Title And Author: Hostile Takeover by Lucy Lennox
Publisher: Self-Published [?]
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by PR company, Social Butterfly, for blog tour in exchange for honest review/reaction.
Friday 22 October 2021
The Last Roman Excerpt
So, when he awakens three days later, clawing his way from a shallow grave, Marcus must face the reality of his new existence. He cannot be killed - but that won't stop him from dying time and again over the next 2,000 years to try. But while he's doing that, others like Marcus plan to bring the world crashing to its knees...
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Quickie SpoOOoky Halloween 2021 Reviews
Thursday 14 October 2021
Plotting The Harm Tree
Monday 11 October 2021
Shocktember - The Man Who Died Twice
Title And Author: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Publisher: Penguin
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction while Audiobook’s bought via Audible.
Of course, this is a case for the Thursday Murder Club - aka four seventy year olds known as herself, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim - and friends of the club (Bogdan, Donna and Chris). But when one of their members is violently assaulted and the attacker looks like they're going to get away with it, the club go to lengths to make sure that doesn't happen...
Saturday 9 October 2021
Cheltenham Literature Festival 2021 - Mystery Review Time!
Friday 8 October 2021
Breaking Your TBR Rules Is Ok
Wednesday 6 October 2021
Love Is The Answer... Right?
Monday 4 October 2021
SpoOOoky Halloween 2021 - Redemptor
Title And Author: Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction while audiobook was borrowed from local library via BorrowBox app.
Friday 1 October 2021
SpoOOoky Halloween 2021
Thursday 30 September 2021
HOSTILE TAKEOVER - Sneak Peek!
One hot moment in a hidden storage closet. One kiss. No consequences.
Wednesday 29 September 2021
Shocktember 2021 - The Three Dog Problem
Publisher: Zaffre
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction.
Saturday 25 September 2021
Quick Reads 2022 Announcement
THE READING AGENCY ANNOUNCES QUICK READS 2022 AUTHORS WRITING BITESIZE BOOKS FOR THE LIFE-CHANGING LITERACY PROGRAMME
- Authors revealed at Evening Standard Stories Festival featuring Mosse & Wheatle
- ‘Buy one gift one’ 10th anniversary campaign sees 35,507 books donated to new readers
- Quick Reads 2022 titles set to form part of World Book Night booklist
Publishing on 14 April 2022 | www.readingagency.org.uk | #QuickReads | @readingagency
Friday, 24 September 2021: The Reading Agency has announced the eight best-selling authors writing Quick Reads for 2022, the life-changing programme tackling the UK’s adult literacy crisis by helping less confident readers get reading: MW Craven, Paula Hawkins, Ayisha Malik, Santa Montefiore, Kate Mosse, Graham Norton, Lemn Sissay and Alex Wheatle.
The line-up was revealed by Karen Napier, CEO of The Reading Agency, during Kate Mosse and Alex Wheatle’s event at the Evening Standard Stories Festival at Picturehouse Central on Friday evening, where the two renowned authors discussed the power of reading.
Publishing on 14 April 2022 in a showcase of the very best contemporary writing, the new raft of Quick Reads titles incudes: a chilling story of revenge by New York Times bestseller Paula Hawkins (Blind Spot, Penguin Random House, Transworld, Doubleday); an intriguing tale of romance and danger from treasured comedian and presenter Graham Norton (The Swimmer, Hodder, Coronet); a gruesome new case for MW Craven’s popular crime-cracking duo Poe and Bradshaw (The Cutting Season, Hachette, Constable); a specially abridged version of Lemn Sissay’s prize-winning memoir (My Name Is Why abridged, (Canongate); a catch up with Ayisha Malik’s 'Muslim Bridget Jones’ Sofia Khan (Sofia Khan: The Baby Blues, Headline, Review); a fable of family dynamics and deception courtesy of the much-loved Santa Montefiore (The Kiss, Simon & Schuster); an historical drama set against the backdrop of Tenerife’s volcanic landscape by the award-winning Kate Mosse (The Black Mountain, Macmillan, Mantle); and a high stakes return to the streets of Alex Wheatle’s North Crongton estate (Witness, Serpent’s Tail).
The Reading Agency have also revealed the impact of this year’s 15th anniversary ‘buy one gift one’ campaign, with 35,507 copies of these transformative books being delivered into the hands of those who struggle with reading or have limited access to books this Autumn. Working with library authorities, prisons, adult learning organisations and community-based charities the books are being distributed through a range of gifting projects and targeted outreach work. This includes work with food banks, ESOL (English as a Second Language) classes, local refugee groups, Basic Skills learners, people in prison and those being supported by homeless shelters or supported living. Thanks to generous support from this year’s six publishers, for every book bought from publication in May through to 31 July 2021, another copy was donated to The Reading Agency.
Following the success of ‘buy one, gift one’ and as part of The Reading Agency’s strategy to reach even more emerging readers through a gifting component of Quick Reads activity, the eight titles announced today will also form part of the World Book Night 2022 Booklist. The full list of World Book Night 2022 titles will be revealed later this year. World Book Night is an annual national celebration of reading which takes place on 23 April.
Quick Reads plays a vital role in addressing the UK’s adult literacy crisis, engaging the one in three adults who do not regularly read for pleasure and the one in six adults who find reading difficult. Since launching in 2006, Quick Reads titles have been loaned out over 6 million times and over 5 million copies have been distributed with the generous support of publishers and donors.
The titles are available for just £1 at bookshops and are free to borrow from libraries. They are used across the country in colleges, prisons, trade unions, hospitals, and adult learning organisations.
Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency, said: “Working closely with our wonderful publisher partners, the success of this year’s innovative 10thanniversary ‘buy one, gift one’ campaign has enabled The Reading Agency to distribute thousands of free books into the hands of those that need them most, who struggle with reading, or have limited access to books.
We are incredibly excited to reveal the extraordinary list of authors working with Quick Reads to publish a bitesize book next year – and thank them for their support to this life-changing programme. We are thrilled that these titles will form part of our World Book Night 2022 booklist, allowing us to explore new ways of engaging a wider audience so that more and more readers will be able to discover the pleasure and benefits that come from reading.”
Thursday 23 September 2021
Shocktember 2021 - The Vanishing Stair
Title And Author: The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Harper360
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eBook bought while Audiobook’s borrowed from local library via BorrowBox app.
Thursday 16 September 2021
It Came From The Monster Belt
Monday 13 September 2021
Shocktember 2021 - The Stalker
Title And Author: The Stalker by Sarah Alderson
Publisher: Avon
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher in exchange for honest review/reaction while Audiobook’s borrowed from local library via BorrowBox app.
Thursday 9 September 2021
DESIBLITZ LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2021 ALERT
DESIBLITZ
LITERATURE
FESTIVAL 2021
THE UK’S LEADING SOUTH ASIAN LITERARY FESTIVAL
18TH SEPTEMBER - 1ST OCTOBER 2021
Wednesday 8 September 2021
The Killing Moon Will Come Too Soon
Tuesday 7 September 2021
eBook Review - Hijacked
Title And Author: Hijacked by Lucy Lennox and May Archer
Publisher: Self-Published (?)
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by PR company, Social Butterfly PR, in exchange for honest review/reaction.
The first book in the Licking Thicket spin-off series - Licking Thicket: Horn of Glory - we follow Dr Carter Rogers as he's about to leave the small towns of Licking Thicket and Great Nuthatch to provide medical care for those in need in Venezuela. But his grandfather decides that Carter needs a bodyguard and hires ex-marine William Riggs who, when they first meet, Cart can't help noticing how attractive Riggs is, nor how Riggs seems to hate him on sight.
Riggs screwed up. The security firm he works for, Champion Security, lost a huge client who create the gaming sensation, Horn of Glory, and it's Riggs's fault. Now, the creator of the game, Buck Nutter has vanished and is planning to sell his "Magic Seed" (aka a backdoor code for the game) to highest bidder. Because of that, he's punished by being bodyguard to Dr Carter Rogers.
As the two spend time together, lines beginning to blur and when a monologuing, hypochondriac drug lord snatches them, things between them get a really blurred and complex.
Friday 3 September 2021
Loki Book Tag
Thursday 2 September 2021
Shocktember 2021 - Truly Devious
Oh shoot, hang on. Let me get the basic info and and tell you about Truly Devious. Then we can dive into this!
Title And Author: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof bought & Audiobook borrowed from local library via BorrowBox app.