Book Synopsis:

Uplifting and heartwarming: drama, courage and romance at Marlow’s department store this Christmas

For Lily Collins and her fellow shop girls at Marlow’s Department store, another Christmas with ration books, shortages of goods and staff – not to mention a store coping with war damage – will be a real challenge.

But the girls rally round and put their worries aside to make this, the hardest wartime Christmas yet, one that their families, and their town, will never forget.

Christmas For The Shop Girls is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Christmas With The Shop Girls is another fantastic addition to the series and I so enjoyed being back with the wonderful shop girls and bring involved in all their dramas again. Throughout the series they have started to feel like old friends so I’ve felt like I’ve lived everything they’ve been through alongside them. They are a lovely group of friends and the descriptions of their close friendship have been really heartwarming to read about. I often found myself wishing I was a part of their group too.

As i might have mentioned once or twice I’m a huge fan of books set in department stores, especially around Christmas. There’s something lovely about the descriptions of all the displays and Christmas spirit which brings a lovely feel to the book. Department stores aren’t really around anymore so I drank in all the fabulous descriptions of the things they used to sell and the service they used to offer.

I’ve loved this series from the start and I soon found myself absorbed back into the shop girls world. I thought this was quite a fast paced read and there was always something happening to keep me glued to the page. This story had a bit of everything in it from historical details about rationing, that I found fascinating to learn more about, to romance and of course heartbreak too. I now can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out next year.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Joanna Toye joined the production team of The Archers after reading English at Cambridge University, and became a scriptwriter for the programme for over twenty years. She has also written a number of spin-off books about the long-running radio drama. On television she has written for Crossroads, Family Affairs, Doctors and EastEnders.

Book Synopsis:

If, out of the blue, you were given just two weeks to live, how would you feel? What would you do? How would you prepare for the end? Who would you tell – and how?

This was the terrible position Roland Chesters found himself in in the late summer of 2006. He knew he was seriously ill – but had no idea he had both HIV and AIDS.

Luckily, Roland did not die. Expert medical help and his own determination not to give in saw him through. His life, though, had changed forever…

Ripples From the Edge of Life is Roland’s account of a life-changing diagnosis and its impact on him and those closest to him. More than a memoir, Roland’s story is not unique; ripples spread outwards, and this empowering collection gives voice to fourteen others who have survived similar traumatic diagnoses.

This book contains wisdom, hope, humour and inspiration in equal measure. It is an essential read for anyone living with a life-changing condition, and for those who support them.

Ripples From The Edge Of Life is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Ripples From The Edge Of Life is a well written, interesting book which is written with great honesty and bravery.

This book follows Roland on his journey from diagnosis to treatment through to the present day. Through the book he gives the reader an interesting insight into not only the medical side of things but also information on the emotional side of the condition too. I didn’t know a lot of the information contained in this book before reading so I found it fascinating to find out more I found it especially interesting that someone could lead such an normal life whilst having treatment. I was quite pleased to learn how much more can be done for patients now then there used to be.

The thing that stands out the most about this book is the lovely style it is written it. The author has a very engaging, personal style which felt at times like I was actually in the room with him having a conversation rather than reading a book. The book also describes other people’s experiences as well as the thoughts and feelings of those around Ronald which I found very interesting.

Overall I found this a very informative, engaging read which would be great for everyone wanting to know more about Aids or looking for information on how to support a loved one going through treatment.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Roland Chesters was born in the north of England to an English father and French mother and has lived most of his life in London. He graduated from the Royal Holloway College with a degree in Modern Languages and after a variety of jobs joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a language-testing specialist. Following a diagnosis of HIV and AIDS in 2006, he became a campaigner for disability rights. He is now a self-employed Disability Development Consultant and has his own company, Luminate. Roland lives with his partner, Richard, in London and enjoys opera, classical music, theatre and fashion (his favourite item of clothing being a bright red corduroy suit). He fights boredom and normality with gusto, and says he is at his best when he’s made a positive impact on someone else’s life.

Book Synopsis:

1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.

The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn’t.

The couple should never have let him in. But they did.

An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever . . .

The Mist is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author so was very excited to read another book from him. The Mist was a gripping, atmospheric and tense read that I found hard to put down. This is going to be a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.

The thing that most stands out about this book is the author’s use of the weather as a malevolent character that is very unpredictable and focused on keeping the characters pinned where they are. The weather is a source of great stress to Erla while also helping add to the tension in the book as the reader becomes more aware of how isolated the pair are and how hopeless their situation.

The story starts with detective Hulda in 1988 but soon flashes back to ten years earlier where we follow Hulda who is going through a tough time with her daughter as well as Einar and Erla who have taken a stranger into their house. I enjoyed following both timelines equally, though I did find Hilda’s story line a little frustrating as I worked out quite quickly what was happening there though it was interesting to learn more about Hulda and her past. Einar & Erla’s story was incredibly intriguing with lots of tension that ensured I kept reading. Erla’s feeling of being trapped by the weather and her life in general was quite relatable I felt. I warmed to her quickly, especially as she was a huge bookworm, and found myself wishing her husband would listen to her fears and she’d get out of the dangerous situation she finds herself in.

Overall I really enjoyed this fantastically gripping book which I raced through in a few days. The tension in the book slowly increases as the story goes on with the many twists ensuring that I was completely absorbed into the story. This series is told backwards so if you’ve read the first books in the series you might already be aware of some of the things that happen but I think you could still read it as a standalone as it would just mean more surprises in the story. I’m so excited to read more from this author and am hoping to go back and re-read the other books in the series soon.

One final point I would like to mention is how impressed I was, as always, with the translation of this book which makes it easy to forget that it wasn’t written in English originally. It has a great flow to it, which isn’t always the case in translated books, which makes it an easy book to read too.

Huge thanks to Sriya for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Michael At Joseph for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you like well plotted, gripping crime novels with some great characters then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

Ragnar Jónasson is an international number one bestselling author who has sold over two million books in thirty-two countries worldwide. He was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he also works as an investment banker and teaches copyright law at Reykjavík University.

He has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and, from the age of seventeen, has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie’s novels. His critically acclaimed international bestseller The Darkness is soon to be a major TV series.

Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 25 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the Orðstír honourary translation award for services to Icelandic literature.