Sunday 10 November 2024
NetGalley November 2024
Wednesday 30 October 2024
When the World Tips Over - Review and Inspired Playlist
Saturday 26 October 2024
DNFing Juliette Willoughby
Why, I hear you ask? Because of two reasons.
Wednesday 16 October 2024
Mixing It Up
Wednesday 9 October 2024
Library Audiobooks On Hold List
Sunday 6 October 2024
*slowly edges back onto the blog*
Mainly because I was cooking up plans. I wanted to do a nice Halloween reading month (focusing on fantasy or really creepy crime!), a NetGalley reading month in November (I would like to get some of my audiobooks under control) and I wanted to just get back into fun, no worries blogging.
And then the slump hit and my plans came to a grinding halt.
I would quit everything I started, feel really underwhelmed over blogging and the idea of calling the blog and all social media a day was very tempting (I came really close to closing my Twitter account! One more strike and it's gone!). So, I took a break (feels like I've taken so many breaks this year! I don't know if my blogging has recovered from COVID burnout, if I am being honest with you [or maybe I'm too old to continue comparing self to the whipper-snappers of BookTok and Booksagram).
I've always said that I wanted this bookish blog to be like a friend you meet up in a coffee shop and have a bookish chat over. And I still want that, but maybe I should change it to a bookish friend you meet you every now and then for a coffee and a chat.
Or maybe I should, dare I say it, embrace Instagram/Goodreads/StoryGraph more. I do use these (mainly Stories on Instagram and I do like sharing songs, as I want to have some fun with you guys! Silly fun with a positive spin, I hope!) but maybe I should try and do more with them...
And use the blog to pop in and take a little of a chinwag with you (or to gush over a book or two).
So, I'm going to take it easy on here. Have fun, maybe write odd little posts here & there and, dare I say, try and put self out there more... So, if any podcasts/instragram lives want me...
And, the books I chatted about back in July as my "Here's what I am going to attempt by end of the year?". Well, one I quit, two I have put on the backburner, one I am determinded to start this year and the other three... their time will come...
But going to take it easy on self and lurk on instagram/goodreads & storygraph for a while. HUNT ME DOWN AND SAY HI!
Wednesday 21 August 2024
Bloodtide & Bloodsong Extract
i have an extract for you guys!!! Two blog tours in two weeks - I know how to spoil you, yes? And yes, even when I am meant to be on a blog break!
We have the complete duology of Bloodtide & Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess, a dark dystopian inspired by Norse mythology, where London is a gated wasteland, cut off from the country and run by two warring families: the Volsons and the Conors.
Thursday 15 August 2024
Sunderworld’s Spotlight
Tuesday 30 July 2024
Summer Blog Break
So, going to take a month off blogging and not worry about reading. Hopefully this reset will do wonders as I am finding it a struggle to blog at the moment as it feels a bit pointless of late. Which I know it isn't, but every now and then, I can't help but notice how much time and effort I put into my blog and my bookish socials, only to get very little back (hence why I no longer look at the blog posts's statics).
Sunday 28 July 2024
The Extract Trap Is Set
Tuesday 16 July 2024
Audiobook Review - The Man In Black
Tuesday 2 July 2024
Library Audiobook WatchList - The Crime Edition
Thursday 27 June 2024
Tansy Bloom: Monster Hunter Press Release
AUDIBLE RELEASES NEW ORIGINAL, TANSY BLOOM, MONSTER HUNTER, BY DEBUT AUTHOR L.J. WELLER
NARRATED BY TANYA REYNOLDS
Launching exclusively on Audible 27th June 2024
27 June 2024, London. Audible, a leading provider of spoken word entertainment, has announced Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds will narrate a new and exciting Audible Original title from debut novelist L.J. Weller.
Three months ago, twenty-eight-year-old Tansy Bloom quit monster hunting. Since then, she’s been trying to live a normal life (whatever that means), but ending up single, unemployed, and living on a boat outside her godfather’s pub definitely wasn’t part of the plan. So, when Tansy’s ex-husband – fellow monster hunter Rex Barclay – turns up like a bad penny and asks for her help with his latest investigation, Tansy reluctantly agrees.
At first, the job appears to be a straightforward monster hunt – following a spate of large creature sightings, Rex believes a werewolf is on the loose in Norfolk, and he intends to capture it. But Tansy’s not convinced. For one thing, the mysterious black dog Rex is hunting is able to vanish into thin air. For another, everyone who’s encountered the black dog is dying in a series of freak accidents.
Bad news for Tansy, who’s just come face-to-face with the creature herself.
L.J. Weller, author of Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter, said: “I’m thrilled to be working with Audible to bring my debut novel to life. From day one, Audible has championed this book with enthusiasm and excitement, and collaborating with the team has been a wonderful experience. I hope everyone enjoys listening to Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter as much as I enjoyed writing it!”
Tanya Reynolds, narrator and actor, said: “Recording audiobooks can be quite challenging, but when you can totally lose yourself in the world that you're reading, it is such a joy, and this was indeed a joy. All the characters were so vibrant on the page and so fun to read, and the story itself is a joyful journey into mythical folklore with a wicked sense of humour. I had so much fun recording this.”
Tanya Reynolds landed her first major role as a series regular on the Sky 1 comedy-drama Delicious. She is also well known for playing Lily Iglehart in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education where she was a part of the main cast in the first three seasons. Other credits include Outlanders, Death in Paradise, Emma, Dodger, The Baby, I Hate You and The Decameron.
Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter will be available exclusively on Audible from 27th June and out now from Audible at http://www.audible.co.uk.
Alongside Tansy Bloom: Monster Hunter, Audible has released an array of incredible titles this year including The Shouts Beneath by Paige Cowan-Hall, The River Man by R.B. Croft and Iris is More than Okay by Natalie Cooper. Audible Original list has spawned several bestsellers in the fantasy genre recently, including Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch and Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson.
About L.J. Weller
L. J. Weller is an author of quirky, contemporary fantasy fiction. Originally from London, she now lives in Norfolk with her family and an ever-growing collection of books and jigsaw puzzles. When she’s not busy writing, she can be found attending pub quizzes or feeding the local wildlife (including a cheeky grey heron named Herbert).
Her debut novel, Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter, is a Norfolk-set supernatural mystery inspired by her lifelong interest in folktales, ghost stories and urban legends. An Audible Original, it will be released exclusively on Audible and Amazon from 27th June 2024. Find out more at www.ljweller.com.
Thursday 20 June 2024
The Last Thing You’ll Hear Blog Tour - Guest Post
Friday 14 June 2024
Audiobook Review - The Last Murder at the End of the World
Publisher: Raven Books & Bloomsbury
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org
Thursday 13 June 2024
eBook Review - My Sister’s Keeper
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughtin
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org
Thursday 30 May 2024
Audiobook Reread - A Discovery of Witches
Monday 20 May 2024
eProof Review - Missing White Woman
Which I was (hooray!) and once I finished Kate Atkinson’s Normal Rules Don’t Apply, I jumped straight into this.
Thursday 16 May 2024
Audiobook Review - The Familiar
Note to self: if I do this again, MAKE NOTES while you reading using Goodreads and StoryGraph.
But we’re not here to talk about that, are we? We’re here to talk about The Familiar.
Set in Spanish Golden Age, we follow Luzia, a scullion. She tries not to be seen, but she uses scraps of magic to make life a little easier. But when her mistress discovers that Luzia can perform little miracles, she demands that Luzia uses them to better the family’s social position. But what begins as simple amusements for the bored nobility takes a dark turn when disgraced secretary of the Spanish King, Antonio Pérez, and his familiar, Guillén Santángel, sees her and takes a dark interest in her.
Luzia seizes the chance to better her self, but as her notoriety grows, the danger of her Jewish blood grows as, if she gets found out, the Inquisition’s wrath will be unspeakable. She has to stay several steps ahead. But the rules are always changing in the Spanish court and not everyone gets out alive.
Friday 10 May 2024
Who Watches This Extract…
Thursday 25 April 2024
eProof Review - When Among Crows
Tuesday 23 April 2024
Audiobook Review - Queen Macbeth
And, maybe even, tackle the books and ebooks that lovely publishers send me for review.
So when this little novella of an audiobook came to my attention on NetGalley, I thought “Maybe something short will help me get out of my head and out of my funk.” (Plus, the cover looks awesome, doesn’t it?)
A thousand years ago in the Scottish landscape, a woman with her three female companions - a healer, a weaver and a seer - are on the run. Men are hunting her down, as she is the only one who stands in the way between them and the violent ambition for power. She is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king named Macbeth.
History might have written her as a murderer conspirator to her husbands, but here, she is a woman who has loved and lost, and this might cost her everything…
Friday 19 April 2024
Neverending Reread List
But I love a good reread. And I discovered that I didn’t do any last year as I had too much to read and review. So, this year, I want to allow myself the chance to reread stories that itch at me and beg for the chance.
Now, I have several on my radar and I have openly chatted about and I am making plans to attack them (or at least start) over the course of the Spring and Summer months. Plus, there are a few others that are sitting patiently on my kindle and I know that holding them off to next year isn’t going to be an opinion. I sense I might have to allow myself a month of hardcore rereading pleasure.
Now, before I chat about some of the titles, I will be putting affiliate links to bookshop.org to some titles (not all as I do ramble) so if any titles tickle your fancy and you want more details, you can click there and research. But if you want to use Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles or any other bookseller (indie or otherwise), please do so. Let’s share the bookish love!
Wednesday 17 April 2024
Golden Age of Crime TBR
Thursday 21 March 2024
eProof Review - Rough Justice
Friday 15 March 2024
The Glutton - Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize
Sunday 10 March 2024
Let’s Lie and Play Mafia
Friday 8 March 2024
Mini Catch-Up
Am I going to do another Christie this month? Yes, I think I am. I am leaning over between 3 titles (maybe a poll is needed on my socials?) and i am eyeing my British Library Crime Classics (I have one I am desperate to read but saving that for nearer the General Election as the murder is set at the Houses of Parliament). Would you guys like to know the British Library Crime Classics on my TBR? I am very tempted to blog them as they are a weird little mix…
Because I was having a bit of a DNFing blitz, I wanted to read something comforting but I wasn’t in the mood to reread (something I do want to do this year as I did NO REREADING last year. At ALL! I have three books I want to try and reread this year so hopefully, will attack them before the year is out). So, I dived into Mary Norton’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (affiliate link to bookshop.org is here). This is a bind up of two stories (The Magic Bedknob and Bonfires and Broomsticks), which acts as the inspiration to the Disney movie, starring Angela Lansbury (I adore this movie. Yes, it’s trying too hard to be catch the success of Mary Poppins). And it was a delightfully cosy read but oh my, SO DIFFERENT from the movie. Yes, I knew going into this that the books were inspiration for the movie so there will be huge changes, but I was shocked on how different the two medias were and how dark the book got compared to the movie (yes, the movie is set during the Second World War, but we saw no one die. In the book, we saw someone get nearly burnt at the stake for being a witch).
But it was a nice read. Something I desperately needed as I go into reading some non-fiction (Rough Justice by Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC) and some literary/historical fiction (The Glutton by A…). Don’t worry, normal reading (and I use the term “normal” loosely) will return as I suspect that once these are done, I will be attacking my NetGalley backlog of audiobooks and eProofs (sorry in advance).