Book Synopsis:

Meet Greta.

She’s funny.

She’s flawed.

She’s hiding so much behind her big smile she’s forgotten who she is.

But Greta is about to discover that the key to being happy is…being yourself.

Greta Gale has played the part of the funny fat one her entire life, hiding her insecurities behind a big smile. But size doesn’t matter when you can laugh at yourself, right?
Until Greta realises she’s the only one not laughing. And deep down, she’s not sure if she’ll ever laugh again.

But Greta is about to discover that sometimes the best moments in life come when it’s all gone a bit pear-shaped…

My Pear-Shaped Life is available in ebook now and hardback on the 16th April 2020. The ebook is currently only 99p. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I so enjoyed this funny, heartwarming read which is sadly quite a current book as the subject of body image has become more of an issue recently.

I think what I most liked about this book was how much I could relate to the story. I’m perhaps a little bigger than I should be and have a few confidence issues relating to this. I therefore loved the messages that the author has included especially that your size doesn’t matter and it’s important to love yourself regardless.

Greta was such a funny character who was incredibly relatable. I felt a lot of empathy for her as she tries to put on a brave face and take the jokes about her size on the chin, while actually struggling with a lot of insecurities inside as I’ve often felt the same way. It was very interesting and quite therapeutic to follow her and to experience everything alongside her.

I found this book surprisingly gripping as I quickly grew very fond of Greta and wanted to keep reading to see how things turn out for her. I would love to read more about Greta in the future and really hope there will be a sequel.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you are looking for a warm, funny and thought provoking read then I third recommend this one.

About The Author:

Carmel Harrington is an internationally published novelist from Co. Wexford, where she lives with her family. She has published seven novels and been shortlisted twice (2016 & 2017) for an Irish Book Award. Her books have captured the hearts of readers worldwide and are published in eight languages to date. She is co-founder of The Inspiration Project and was Chair of Wexford Literary Festival from 2015 – 2018.
info@carmelharrington.com | http://www.carmelharrington.com | FB/TW/INST: @HappyMrsH

Book Synopsis:

Six strangers with one universal thing in common: their lives aren’t always what they make them out to be.

What would happen if they told the truth instead?

Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project – a small green notebook containing the truth about his life.

Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Or that she’ll be inspired to write down her own story.

Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.

The Authenticity Project is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was an absolutely wonderful book, with a unique and original storyline which manages to be very thought provoking.

Firstly I loved the idea behind the book so much that I quite fancy trying it out for myself. We are all so keen to have this picture perfect life that we end up stressing ourselves out when things don’t go perfectly. I’ve often wondered how much better life would be if we were just honest about things as it would save a lot of trouble. I therefore found it very interesting to explore this idea through the characters and see how things could be changed.

The story is written from the point of view of six characters, which may sound confusing but they are each so different to each other that it’s easy to keep track of them all. I grew very fond of them throughout the book and so enjoyed going on the journey with them. Each of the characters are dealing with a difficult problem which they were struggling with and trying to work through. I thought this done in a very clever way as the author manages to bring up the subjects in a relatable way which made the characters seem more realistic.

Overall I really enjoyed this book which manages to be both heartwarming and funny but serious at times as there are some quite poignant moments too. The characters felt like old friends by the end and I found myself feeling quite sad when the book finished and I had to leave them behind. I’d love a sequel to this book as it would be great to visit all the characters again.

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

About The Author:

Clare Pooley graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising, where the line between authenticity and fiction is constantly blurred, before becoming a full-time mum. She is the author of the hugely popular blog, Mummy was a Secret Drinker, under the pseudonym Sober Mummy and her memoir, The Sober Diaries was published in 2017 to critical acclaim. Her blog has had over two million hits and her TEDx talk, Making Sober Less Shameful, has had over 110,000 views.

Clare’s debut novel The Authenticity Project is inspired by her decision to expose the rather grubby truth about her seemingly perfect life in her memoir.

Clare writes from her kitchen table in Fulham, London where she lives with her long-suffering husband, three children, dog and an African pygmy hedgehog.

Book Synopsis:

A beautiful and heart-breaking story set in South Africa where two mothers – a century apart – must fight for their sons, unaware their fates are inextricably linked.

Orange Free State, 1901. At the height of the Boer War, Sarah van der Watt and her six-year-old son Fred can only watch as the British burn their farm. The polite invaders cart them off to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp promising you will be safe here.

Johannesburg, 2010. Sixteen-year-old Willem is an outsider who just wants to be left alone with his Harry Potter books and Britney, his beloved pug. Worried he’s turning out soft, his Ma and her new boyfriend send him to New Dawn Safari Camp, where they ‘make men out of boys.’ Guaranteed.

The red earth of the veldt keeps countless secrets whether beaten by the blistering sun or stretching out beneath starlit stillness. But no secret can stay buried forever.

You Will Be Safe is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was a beautifully written, haunting book which will stay with me for a long time.

I didn’t know much about South African history so I found it fascinating to learn more about it now. The realisation that the British created the idea of a concentration camp was a sobering one, especially as you realise the events written about in this book could have actually happened to people. It made me feel quite sick whilst I read about the appalling conditions there and feel the desperation of Sarah as she tries to protect her son.

In the more recent timeline we follow Willem who is struggling with a mother who is trying to change who he is as she thinks he’s too soft. I felt desperately sorry for Willem who seemed such a lovely boy and just wanted to reach into the book and give him a huge cuddle, while also giving his mother a hard talking to. His friendship with Geldenhuys was lovely to read about and helped add some light relief to the story.

The author does a great job of setting the scene in this book with the vivid descriptions making me feel that I was right there experiencing everything alongside the characters. I even felt at times that I could smell things the way they would, particularly in the concentration camp which I think is proof of how well this book is written. The author manages to include the African dialogue and some of their culture into the story which further helps the reader envision the country the story is set in.

Overall I thought this was a fantastically written, compelling story that explores Africa’s rich and dramatic history. It is quite a sad story but it’s also an important one as a lot of the issues and prejudices discussed are sadly still happening in the world. It’s definitely a story that will deeply effect the reader and stay with you for a long time.

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

About The Author:

Damian Barr is an award-winning writer and columnist. Maggie & Me, his memoir about comingof age and coming out in Thatcher’s Britain, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, and wonthe Paddy Power Political Books ‘Satire’ Award and Stonewall Writer of the YearAward. Damian writes columns for the BigIssue and High Life and oftenappears on BBC Radio 4. He is creator and host of his own Literary Salon that premieres work from established and emerging writers. You Will Be Safe Here is his debut novel. Damian Barr lives in Brighton.

@Damian_Barr

Book Synopsis:

A tale of two very different sisters whose 1890s voyage from London into remote outback Australia becomes a journey of self-discovery, set against a landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession. London in 1891: Harriet Cameron is a talented young artist whose mother died when she was barely five. She and her beloved sister Sarah were brought up by their father, radical thinker James Cameron. After adventurer Henry Vincent arrives on the scene, the sisters’ lives are changed forever. Sarah, the beauty of the family, marries Henry and embarks on a voyage to Australia. Harriet, intensely missing Sarah, must decide whether to help her father with his life’s work or to devote herself to painting. When James Cameron dies unexpectedly, Harriet is overwhelmed by grief. Seeking distraction, she follows Sarah to Australia, and afterwards into the outback, where she is alienated by the casual violence and great injustices of outback life. Her rejuvenation begins with her friendship with an Aboriginal stockman and her growing love for the landscape. But this fragile happiness is soon threatened by murders at a nearby cattle station and by a menacing station hand who is seeking revenge.

The Philosopher’s Daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was a beautifully written, immersive piece of historical fiction set in Australia. I’ve always loved books set in Australia, I think maybe because the landscape is so different to what we know in the UK that makes the a story seem so much more wild and unexpected.

The story follows two sisters Sarah and Harriet as they leave England to start a new life in Australia. It was so good to follow them on their journey and to live precariously through them as they start their new life, especially as moving to a new country has always been a bit of a fantasy of mine. There was obviously a stark difference between their old and new life which was interesting to see, especially when their old activities like sewing were done in their new environment as it just seemed wrong somehow.

The author does a great job of setting the scene with the vivid descriptions of the harshly beautiful Australian landscape helping transport the reader into the book. The treatment of the Aboriginal workers made for very hard reading at times as I couldn’t believe that they were treated like that. The sister’s positive attitude towards them was lovely to read about and helped me warm toward them.

This isn’t particularly a fast paced book but the story is still so interesting and the descriptions so vivid that I soon found myself getting lost in the story. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’d definitely like to read more from her in the future.

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

About The Author:

Alison Booth was born in Melbourne, brought up in Sydney and has worked in the UK and in Australia as a professor as well as a novelist. Her most recent novel, A Perfect Marriage, is in the genre of contemporary fiction, while her first three novels (Stillwater Creek, The Indigo Sky, and A Distant Land) are historical fiction spanning the decades 1950s through to the early 1970s. Alison’s work has been translated into French and has also been published by Reader’s Digest Select Editions in both Asia and Europe. Alison, who holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics, is an active public speaker and has participated in many writers’ festivals and literary events. http:// http://www.alisonbooth.net and https:// http://www.facebook.com/AlisonBoothAuthor/

Book Synopsis:

Suspended from duty, Detective Frølich is working as a private investigator, when his girlfriend’s colleague asks for his help with a female asylum seeker, who the authorities are about to deport. She claims to have a sister in Norway, and fears that returning to her home country will mean instant death.

Frølich quickly discovers the whereabouts of the young woman’s sister, but things become increasingly complex when she denies having a sibling, and Frølich is threatened off the case by the police. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that the answers lie in an old investigation, and the mysterious sister, who is now on the run…

A dark, chilling and up-to-the-minute Nordic Noir thriller, Sister is also a tense and well-plotted murder mystery with a moving tragedy at its heart, cementing Kjell Ola Dahl as one of the greatest crime writers of our generation.

Sister is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author’s books so I was incredibly excited to be invited onto the blog tour for this his latest book. Once again the author has written a fabulous, compelling and fast paced book which was hugely enjoyable to read.

One of the things that I most enjoyed about this book was how the reader gets to unravel the mystery alongside Frank as he tries to make sense of the muddle of the case he gets handed. It was great fun to try to unpick everything and to try to work out what was going on. There were lots of twists and false leads which kept me guessing and ensured that the actual solution was a complete surprise to me.

The actual case was a very intriguing one following asylum seekers and ship wrecks which are quite current topics unfortunately. Frank really impressed me with his dogged determination to try and solve the case by going through everything with a fine tooth comb. It’s a complex story and there is always lots going on to keep the reader interested so it’s very difficult to put down. The ending was very clever and I thought it was an interesting, unusual way to end things.

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

About The Author:

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in fourteen countries, and he lives in Oslo.Follow Kjell Ola on Twitter @ko_dahl