Good evening everyone I hope you’ve had a good Sunday. I was very excited to receive a copy of The House Of Fever by Polly Crosby last week.

I’m particularly interested by this one as it’s based on real historical events and because it features tuberculosis which is a disease I have always been intrigued by.

Huge thanks to Indie Thinking for sending me a copy of this book. I’ve been such a huge fan of her previous books so I can’t wait to read this one.

Out 15th August 2024.

Find out more about the book below ⬇️

What have you been up to this Sunday?

Book Synopsis:

Can she unlock the secrets of The House of Fever?

1935, Hedoné House, a luxurious sanatorium for the creative elite dedicated to the groundbreaking treatment of tuberculosis. As the doctor’s new wife, Agnes Templeton has pledged her life to a house of fever.

But Hedoné is no ordinary hospital. High society rubs shoulders with artists, poets and musicians. No expense is spared on the comfort of the guests, and champagne flows freely. It’s a world away from everything Agnes knows.

Her husband’s methods are unusual. There are whisperings about past patients and even a cure. Hedoné’s secrets draw Agnes in, revealing truths she could never anticipate, and soon she is caught between a past she is desperate to escape and a future she may forever regret.

About The Author:

Polly Crosby grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives with her husband and son in the heart of Norfolk.

Polly writes gothic historical mysteries for adults. Her first novel for young adults – This Tale is Forbidden – a dystopian fractured fairytale with hints of the Brother’s Grimm and The Handmaid’s Tale, came out in January with Scholastic.

In 2018, Polly won Curtis Brown Creative’s Yesterday Scholarship, which enabled her to finish her debut novel, The Illustrated Child.

Later the same year, she was awarded runner-up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel. Polly received the Annabel Abbs Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of East Anglia.

Polly can be found on Twitter, Instagram & Tiktok as @WriterPolly

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday. I was tagged by the lovely @mrs_hs_favourite_books to take part in the Three Current Things Challenge. I sadly have passed a few of my favourite books on so couldn’t include them in the picture.

Three Favourite Books Of The Year

• The Wartime Bookclub by Kate Thompson
• The Last Murder At The End Of The World by Stuart Turton
• The Night In Question by Susan Fletcher
  

Three Random Facts About Me

• I met my husband in a game of Spin The Bottle (classy I know)
• I don’t watch a lot of TV, though I’ve just discovered Scrubs on Disney Plus and I’ve been binge watching it.
• My favourite place to be is by the sea and I’m looking forward to being there in a week

Top Three Books On My Tbr

• When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker
• Puzzlewood by Rosie Andrews
• The Lifeline by Libby Page

Three Current Favourite Songs

• Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
• Flowers by Miley Cyrus
• Smooth by Santana

I’ve tagged a few people on Instagram who might want to join in but, as always, no pressure!

I’m hoping for a quiet morning as my youngest two are going out to clubs so I’m hoping to read a bit more of The Silence Factory which I’m really enjoying. I’m then taking my daughter to a birthday party before going to my mum’s for food which is always lovely!

What are your Saturday plans?

Good evening everyone I hope you’ve had a good Friday. I was very excited to receive a copy of Swift River by Essie Chambers this week. I always enjoy books that involve family history so this sounds very interesting.

Huge thanks to Millie from Dialogue Books for sending me a copy of this book.

Out 4th July 2024.

Book Synopsis:

What if the price of moving forward is losing the only family you’ve ever known?

Summer, 1987. On the sweltering streets of the dying New England mill town of Swift River, sixteen-year-old Diamond Newbury is desperately lonely. It’s been seven years since her father disappeared, and while her mother is determined to move on, Diamond can’t distance herself from his memory. When Diamond receives a letter from a relative she has never met, she unearths long-buried secrets of her family’s past and discovers a legacy she never knew she was missing. The more she learns, however, the harder it becomes to reconcile her old life with the one she wants to lead.

So begins an epic story spanning the twentieth century that reveals a much larger picture of prejudice and love, of devotion and abandonment – and will change Diamond’s life forever.

About The Author:

Essie Chambers earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. A former film and television executive, she was a producer on the documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022. Swift River is her debut novel.

Book Synopsis:

THE TENSION-FILLED NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF NUMBER ONE DIGITAL BESTSELLER, AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK, THE PRISONER .

Iris and Gabriel have just got home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their dearest friends, Laure, is in their house – sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris’ clothes, even rearranging the furniture. She has walked out on her husband – and their good friend – Pierre over his confession of an affair.

Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive. But as Laure’s mood becomes more unpredictable, her presence begins to unravel secrets in all their pasts – until things reach breaking point …

My Review:

I really enjoyed this gripping, unsettling read from one of my favourite thriller authors.

Firstly I loved all the characters and enjoyed getting to know them throughout the book. They all had a fascinating back story and all seemed to be hiding secrets which I loved unraveling. The story is told from the point of view of Iris with a few chapters from Gabriel’s point of view. All the characters were pretty unlikeable and quite selfish which made it easier to just sit back and watch everything unfold.

I thought the book had a great pace to it and I found it hard to stop listening to the audiobook once I had started. There always seemed to be something happening to keep me interesting and even when there wasn’t I just enjoyed being a fly on the wall, watching everything unfold. There were a few twists that kept me guessing and some that I did guess often before the characters had caught up.

The ending was absolutely brilliant and took me completely by surprise. I honestly hadn’t guessed the final twist which I always love and I have found myself thinking about the book long after I’ve finished reading it. I listened to this as an audiobook yid highly recommend it as I thought the narrator was fantastic.

Huge thanks to Libro FM for providing me with an arc audiobook. If you’re a thriller fan I highly recommended this book.

About The Author:

B.A. Paris is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of seven novels including the word-of-mouth hit, Behind Closed Doors, and her latest thriller, The Guest.

Over 7 million editions of her work have been sold worldwide and her books have been translated into 41 languages. Three of her novels have been optioned for major screen adaptations with films of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown and The Therapist in development.

Before becoming an author, B.A. Paris, who spent most of her adult life living in France, worked in finance as a trader before retraining as an English teacher. She and her husband then ran a language school together whilst bringing up their five daughters. Today, she writes from her cottage in Hampshire, England.

Follow B.A. on Twitter and Instagram at @baparisauthor. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and BookBub. Sign up to her newsletter for teasers, giveaways and updates.

Good morning everyone! Today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring two books by Casey McQuiston. I absolutely loved Red, White & Royal Blue so I can’t wait to read her next book The Pairing!

Huge thanks to Beth from Pan Macmillan for sending this to me. I’m so excited to read it soon.

6th August 2024

Do you have a favourite book that’s been made into a TV series or movie?

The Pairing

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston comes a delicious romantic comedy The Pairing.

Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes.

It’s not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that they’ve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour – alone. And now they’re stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But it’ll be fine. They’re absolutely over each other.

So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. In fact, why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can’t have.

Red, White & Royal Blue

What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

Alex Claremont-Diaz is handsome, charismatic, a genius – pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House ever since his mother became President of the United States. There’s only one problem. When the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an altercation between Alex and Prince Henry, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family and state devise a plan for damage control: stage a truce. But what begins as a fake, Instagrammable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon they are hurtling into a secret romance that could derail the presidential campaign and upend two nations.

About The Author:

Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Originally from southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City.

Good evening everyone and happy Monday. I hope you all had a good weekend. I thought I’d do a little reading update for you today.

I’m currently reading two books and listening to one more:

📕 Enlightenment by Sarah Perry

I’m just over halfway through this book and really enjoying it so far. I was expecting it to be historical fiction but it’s not, though there is an historical mystery running through the book. I absolutely love the characters and it’s lovely following the same people through the years.

📙The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins

I’ve been so excited to read this book as I’ve loved the author’s previous books. I started reading it yesterday so I’m not far into it but I’m hooked already. I can’t wait to read more later today.

📗🎧The Warm Hands Of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

I’m just over half way through this audiobook and I’m really loving it so far. It’s surprisingly gripping and I love the supernatural side to it which is unlike anything I’ve read before. I walked home from work today so I got to listening to a bit more of it.

What are you currently reading/listening to?

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you are having a good day. I was super excited to receive a copy of This Motherless Land by Nikki May through the post this week. I was such a huge fan of her last book so I’m incredibly excited to read this book soon.

Huge thanks to the lovely @alison_is_reading for sending me a copy of this book It’s really appreciated!

Out 18th July 2024

Book Synopsis:

When Funke’s mother dies in an accident in Lagos, she’s sent to live with her maternal family in England. Against a backdrop of condescension and mild neglect, sensible Funke strives to fit in, determined to become one of them.

Free-spirited Liv has always wanted to break free of her joyless family, to be nothing like them. Fiercely protective of Funke, she at last has an ally. The two cousins give each other what they need most: love.

But the past casts long shadows and the choices made by their mothers haunt them, shaping the trajectory of their adult lives. Can they escape their legacy?

Witty, warm, hugely entertaining, This Motherless Land bridges three decades and two continents, delving into the thorny territories of race and culture and belonging. At its heart is a story about love and how it can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

About The Author:

Born in Bristol, raised in Lagos, NIKKI MAY is Anglo-Nigerian. Her critically acclaimed debut novel WAHALA won the Comedy Women in Print New Voice Prize, was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Award and the Fingerprint Debut of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award. It’s being turned into a major BBC drama series.

THIS MOTHERLESS LAND is her second novel.

Nikki lives in Dorset with her husband, two standard schnauzers, and way too many books. She should be writing but is probably reading.

You can follow Nikki on Twitter: @NikkiOMay

Or Instagram: @nikkimaywriter

Good evening everyone and happy Saturday. I was tagged by the lovely @lovedreadingthis to share some bookish books.

📕The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein
📖The Lost Book Shop by Evie Wood
📕The Keeper Of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin
📖The Book Of The Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran
📕 Reading Lessons by Carol Atherton
📖The Book Of Beginnings by Sally Page
📕The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
📖The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

All of these are tbr but I’m hoping to read some of them soon as I’ve heard great things about them – though The Book Who Wouldn’t Burn might be too pretty to actually read 😅

I was feeling quite tired today after a fantastic day at the show yesterday. It was really fun and I enjoyed seeing all the great things there. It was also interesting seeing what books sold there compared to the shop. I didn’t get to do many of the signings sadly as it ended up being a bit hectic but I had fun at the shop! I’m had a quiet morning as my youngest two are at clubs this morning so I was able to get some reading time.

I’ve tagged a few people who might want to join in but, as always, no pressure. Also if you’d prefer not to be tagged in these kind of posts do let me know!

What where your Saturday plans?

Good evening everyone I hope you’ve had a good day. I was lucky enough to get a copy of this fantastic looking book last week. I’m a huge fan of books from Orenda as they are always amazing reads. This is a new author for me so I’m excited to read this book soon and find out what it’s like.

Huge thanks to the lovely Karen @orendabooks for sending me a copy of this book.

Out 18th July 2024.
Find out more about the book below ⬇️

What’s your favourite thing to do in summer?

Book Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Frieder’s plans for the summer are shattered when he fails two subjects. To be able to move up to the next year in the Autumn, he needs to resit his exams. So instead of going on holiday with his family, he now faces the daunting and boring prospect of staying at his grandparents’ house, studying with his strict and formal step-grandfather.

On the bright side, he’ll spend time with his grandmother Nana, his sister Alma and his best friend Johann. And he meets Beate, the girl in the beautiful green swimsuit…

The next few weeks will bring friendship, fear and first love – one grand summer that will change and shape his entire life.

A number-one bestseller in Germany and winner of the German Booksellers Prize, One Grand Summer is a moving, beautiful and profound novel about relationships and respect that captures those exquisite and painful moments that make us who we are…

WINNER of the German Booksellers Prize and over two years on the German bestseller list.

About The Author:

Ewald Arenz, born in Nürnberg in 1965, studied English and American literature and history. He is a teacher at a secondary school in Nürnberg. His novels and plays have received many awards. Ewald lives near Fürth with his family.