Eek so excited to receive a copy of this today. I was such a huge fan of The Fair Botanist by this author and often recommend it at the bookshop that I work in. 

The story has definitely stayed with me so much so that I bought a diary from the Botanical Gardens that where featured on the book as it now holds a special place in my heart. You can therefore imagine my excitement when I was invited onto the blog tour for her next book The Secret Of Blythswood Square. 

Huge thanks to Alainna from Hodder Books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

Out 8th February 2024.

What setting in a book has a special place in your heart?

Book Synopsis:

You wouldn’t suspect it, but scandalous secrets are being kept on Blythswood Square…

1846. Glasgow is a city on the cusp of great social change, but behind the curtains, neighbours are watching, and rumours of improper behaviour spread like wildfire on the respectable Blythswood Square.

When Charlotte Nicholl discovers that the fortune she has been bequeathed by her father is tied up in a secret collection of erotic art, she is faced with a terrible dilemma: sell it and risk shaming her family’s good name or lose her home.

An encounter with Ellory McHale, a talented working-class photographer newly arrived in Glasgow, leads Charlotte to hope she has found not only someone who might help her, but also a friend. Yet Ellory is hiding secrets of her own – secrets that become harder to conceal as she finds herself drawn into Charlotte’s world.

As the truth begins to catch up with both women, will it destroy everything they’ve fought to build – or set them both free?

About The Author:

“History is a treasure chest of stories. I love them.”

Sara Sheridan works in a wide range of media and genres but mostly historical and especially the stories of women. She loves exploring where our culture comes from. In 2018 she remapped Scotland according to women’s history. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she was nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has received a Scottish Library Award and has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize and the Wilbur Smith Prize. Her work was included in the David Hume Institute’s Summer Reading list 2019. She has sat on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of ’26’ the campaign for the importance of words. She took part in 3 ’26 Treasures’ exhibitions at the V&A, London, The National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. She occasionally blogs for the Guardian about her writing life, the Huffington Post about her activism as a writer and a feminist and puts her hand up to being a ‘twitter evangelist’. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. Sara is a member of the Society of Authors and the Historical Writers Association. A self-confessed ‘word nerd’ her favourite book is ‘Water Music’ by TC Boyle. In 2016 she cofounded feminist perfume brand, REEK: artefacts from the project are now held at the National Museums of Scotland and the Glasgow Women’s Library.

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday. It’s the weekend yay! I realised yesterday I hadn’t done a Spell The Month post yet so wanted to post before the month has ended 🤣

J- JAMES by Percival Everett
A- A Quiet Contagion by Jane Jesmond
N- NINETEEN Steps by Millie Bobby Brown
U- UNLADYLIKE Lessons In Love by Anita Murray
A- ASSISTANT To The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
R- RED Queen by Juan Gomez -Jurado
Y- Every Breath YOU Take by C. L. Taylor

I had fun trying to do this stack, especially as I tried to use books I hadn’t used in previous challenges. I couldn’t find a book that started with Y so had to use the one featured. I haven’t read any of these yet but hope to get to them soon.

We’ve got a busy day today with lots of playdates and a birthday party. I’m hoping to fit in a few more pages of my current read The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen which I’m really enjoying so far.

What are your weekend plans?

Book Synopsis:

What does it mean to remember?
Joined at birth, then pulled apart, Selina and Zora’s relationship is marked by a pattern of closeness and separation. Growing up in 50s’ and 60s’ London under the shadow of Enoch Powell, they are instinctively dependent on each other, and yet Zora yearns for her own identity. But in the eyes of the people around them, the twins are interchangeable.
 
They come as a pair.
They are Selzora.
 
Now in her seventies and living with the early stages of dementia, Selina is tracing shards of memory. She is intent on untangling the traumatic events of the past that changed the twins’ lives. Perhaps Lydia, who has reintroduced herself to Selina with sharp, cool charisma, will help her find answers. But even as Selina struggles to make sense of her memories, it’s all too clear that Lydia is hiding something.
 
In Memory of Us is a profound evocation of memory, and the strategies employed for illusion and survival in the wake of racism. It offers an often-overlooked insight into life as a Black Briton after the Windrush generation.

My Review:

In Memory Of Us is an emotional, absorbing and thought provoking read which has definitely stayed with me. 

The story follows two sisters Zora and Selina, previously co-joined mixed race twins . Zora’s chapters focus on their life in the past as they try to negotiate life in Britain after the war while Selina’s focus on her life in the present as a 70 year old struggling with memory loss. Out of these two timelines I did prefer the one set in the past as it was intriguing and horrifying to follow the two girls through their lives. I was shocked to learn about the casual racism that existed in this period with adult spitting on children and the twins constantly being told to go home when they had actually been born in Britain. 

There are lots of different subjects mentioned in this book which I found very interesting to explore alongside the characters. Along with racism, memory is also explored throughout the book both how everyone’s memories can be different and how important it is to keep them safe as you can lose them as you get older. I really felt for Selina who is suffering from an unnamed condition, which I assumed to be dementia. It was heartbreaking to see how much she had forgotten and how confused she is about certain things.

I thought the story had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. Even when there wasn’t I just enjoyed hanging out with the twins and experiencing life from their point of view. There are lots of unexpected twists that took me by surprise, including one that made me cry as it was truly heartbreaking. The ending was very emotional and I closed the book with a lump in my throat, sad that I had to leave the twins behind. 

Huge thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for inviting me on the tour and Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book.  

About The Author:

Jacqueline Roy was born and raised in London. Her father was Jamaican and her mother was English. She lectured in English at Manchester Metropolitan University for many years, teaching Postcolonial Literatures and Creative Writing. She writes fiction for both adults and children.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! I was asked to compile a list of fantasy recommendations for the Rossiter book section on bookshop.org recently which was very exciting. One of the best parts of my job is when I get to give people recommendations and get books I’ve loved into other people’s hands!

Here are some of the books I added to the list:

❤️Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
🧡Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
💛 Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
💚 Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
💙The Altas Complex by Olivie Blake
🩵 Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
💜Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
💟Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
🩷Once A Monster by Robert Dinsdale
💞The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune
🤍A Witch’s Guide To Fake Dating A Demon by Sarah Hawley

You can find the full list on the Rossiter Books
website under the Bookshop.org section or via the link below.

Are there any other books I should add to my list?

Eek I’m so excited to receive a copy of this fabulous looking book! I absolutely loved The Little Wartime Library and rate it as one of my favourite books ever so I can’t wait to read this one.

The Wartime Bookclub is out on the 15th February 2024 but I’ll be posting my review on the 22nd as part of the @randomthingstours.

If you could go back in time, what period would you go to?

Book Synopsis:

Jersey, 1943. Once a warm and neighbourly community, now German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island.

Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back. So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.

But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .

Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.

About The Author:

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for twenty years on women’s magazines and national newspapers. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons and two rescue dogs. After ghost writing five memoirs, Kate moved into fiction. Kate’s first non-fiction social history documenting the forgotten histories of East End matriarchy, The Stepney Doorstep Society, was published in 2018 by Penguin. She is passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories.

Today Kate works as a journalist, author and library campaigner. Her most recent books, The Little Wartime Library (2022) and The Wartime Book Club (2023) by Hodder & Stoughton focus on two remarkable libraries in wartime. Her 100 libraries project, celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians work and the vital role of libraries in our communities.

Good morning everyone I was tagged by the lovely @mrs_hs_favourite_books to take part in the Dear Reader Challenge!

Did You Complete Your 2023 Reading Challenge?

I did though I was really bad at updating it on Goodreads so it looks like I failed there …😂

What Is Your 2024 Reading Goal?

I’ve put 52 books but I’m hoping to read a few more than that tbh. I’m hoping I can sneak a few more in by listening to audiobooks too.

What Books Do You Want To Read This Year ?

I have a few reading challenges this year that I’m hoping to complete. I’m hoping to read a few books set in different countries for the #24countriesin2024 challenge which I’m really enjoying as it means I’m reading different books than normal. I’m also hoping to catch up on a few books I wanted to read last year.

Any 5 Star predictions?

I’m hoping Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner and The Woman by Kristen Hannah are 5 Star reads. I also have high hopes for Bobby Palmer’s second book Small Hours as I loved his first book.

New Year Resolutions?

I’m hoping to take on less blog tours this year as I’m enjoying just reading what I like. I’m also hoping to listen to more audiobooks as I want to start walking more to help my high blood pressure.

My picture is some of my favourite books from last year. I’ve tagged a few people who might want to take part but, as always, no pressure!

What is your most anticipated read for 2024?

Book Synopsis:

Cole is the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy.

So when Mel leaves him, he’s floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him.

Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie.

Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them.

As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a police investigation and media frenzy, it soon becomes clear that they don’t know each other very well at all.

This is what happens when women have had enough.

My Review:

One Of The Good Guys is a dark, twisty and thought provoking read that I’ve continued to think about long after reading.

The story is told from the point of view of three people Cole, his estranged wife Mel and Lennie. This is very cleverly done as it helps to slowly build the story, and the tension, as we hear from each character individually. I don’t think any of them were particularly likeable, though I did feel sorry for Cole and Mel at times. It definitely made me think about how there are two sides to every story and not to take one person’s version at face value.

I thought the book was a bit of a slow burn but soon got very intriguing, especially when the narrator changes over. There are lots of surprising twists and reveals that seem very real, adding to the feeling that this story could actually happen. I don’t want to given anything away but the issue of female safety was very thought provoking and I enjoyed exploring it more alongside the characters. It’s a very timely issue and one that definitely needs to be discussed more publicly. 

The ending was very surprising and while I thought it was very clever I think it will divide opinions, as it did to the characters in the book. I felt surprising sympathy to all the characters involved when I wasn’t sure that I was meant to. I think this book would make a great book club read as there would be lots to discuss and dissect. I might even choose it as one of the books for the book club I run as I think it would lead to some interesting discussions.

Huge thanks to Laura from Pan Macmillian for the bookseller proof for Rossiter books in Malvern.

About The Author:

Hello, I’m a writer of thrillers and a lover of stories.

My latest book, ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS, was inspired by a groundswell of anger I’ve been feeling myself and amongst the women I know. Because if we don’t feel safe in the world, then it’s still a very unequal world. This is my answer to what happens when women have had enough of being scared.

I hope you enjoy this tense story set in a remote seaside location. I’d love to know if you guess the twist – I’m on instagram and X @aramintahall

And, if you do enjoy this one, I’ve published five other novels, EVERYTHING & NOTHING (2011), DOT (2013), OUR KIND OF CRUELTY (2017), IMPERFECT WOMEN/PERFECT STRANGERS (2019) & HIDDEN DEPTHS (2021)

Happy reading!

Good afternoon everyone I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this intriguing looking book today. It sounds fantastic and has a bit of a cult vibe to it which I always love!

Huge thanks Jen from Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of this book.

Out 21st March 2024

Book Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Cass Sawyer wakes up in the woods with a head injury.
She has no recollection of what happened.

But she recognises where she is. The Haven. The idyllic, off-grid retreat her parents claimed would heal their broken family.

As Cass searches the now deserted buildings, memories begin to trickle through.

Her father’s erratic behaviour. Her mother’s pleas that they go back to town. The Haven’s charismatic, free-spirited leader. The strange girls that hang on his every word.

And a nagging feeling: that Cass has done something terribly wrong.

What happened at The Haven? Where is Cass’s family?
And will they ever escape?

About The Author:

Fiona Neill is an author and journalist who has written five Sunday Times best sellers. Her novels have been translated into twenty-six languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide. Her last novel, The Betrayals, spent six weeks in The Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller list and was a Richard and Judy Book Club selection.

Fiona grew up on a farm in an isolated village in North Norfolk, where she still spends as much time as possible. She graduated with a first class degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies at The University of Bristol in 1989 and went on to do an MA in politics at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London.

After university she went to live in Central America for a year and ended up staying for six. The first two years she worked for an international refugee organisation travelling in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua writing reports on refugees who had fled their homes because of civil war. From 1993 she worked for three years as the correspondent for the news agency Reuters based in Guatemala before returning to the United Kingdom to become features editor at Marie Claire magazine. She then joined The Times Magazine as assistant editor for three years before returning to life as a freelance feature writer. 

The Good Girl was optioned for development by Duchess Productions and The Betrayals by Snowed-In Production. Fiona’s first novel The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, based on her fictional column for The Times, was an international bestseller that was extracted in American Vogue.

Fiona Neill lives in London with her husband and three children.

Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring two books from the Emily Wilde’s series.

I’m a few chapters into The Encyclopedia Of Faeries and really enjoying it so far. It’s one of the books I’ve been wanting to catch up on this year as I’ve been hearing lots of great things about it. When I saw the second book come into shop I couldn’t resist grabbing it and i’m very excited to be able to continue the series soon.

Find out more about the books below!

If anyone has any recommendations of similar books do let me know!

Do you believe in Faeries?

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia Of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Enter the world of the hidden folk – and discover the most whimsical, enchanting and heart-warming tale you’ll read this year, featuring the intrepid Emily Wilde. . .

Emily Wilde is good at many things: she is the foremost expert on the study of faeries; she is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encylopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby

But as Emily gets closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones – the most elusive of all faeries – she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all – her own heart.

Emily Wilde’s Map Of The Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

An intrepid professor must uncover faerie secrets in the delightful and heart-warming second instalment of the Sunday Times bestselling Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore, and has catalogued many secrets of the Hidden Folk in her encyclopaedia with her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar, Wendell Bambleby, by her side.

But Bambleby is more than just a brilliant and unbearably handsome scholar. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, in search of a door back to his realm.

By lucky happenstance, Emily’s new project, a map of the realms of faerie, will take them on an adventure to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new friendships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

About The Author:

Heather Fawcett is the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling Canadian author of books for adults, kids, and teens, including Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Even the Darkest Stars, Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Grace of Wild Things, and more. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and somehow all include dragons in one form or another. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature and a Bachelor’s in Archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island. 

Book Synopsis:

When Domenec – mountain-dweller, father, poet, dreamer – dies suddenly, struck by lightning, he leaves behind two small children, Mia and Hilari, to grow up wild among the looming summits of the Pyrenees and the ghosts of the Spanish civil war.

But then Hilari dies too, and his sister is forced to face life’s struggles and joys alone. As the years tumble by, the inhabitants of the mountain – human, animal and other – come together in a chorus of voices to bear witness to the sorrows of one family, and to the savage beauty of the landscape. This remarkable English-language debut is lyrical, mythical, elemental, and ferociously imaginative.

My Review:

When I sing, Mountains Dance is a beautiful, lyrical and absorbing read that is unlike anything I’ve read before. 

The book tells the story of life on a mountain in Spain told through a huge variety of characters. We hear from everyone who lives on the mountains from living people, animals, plants and even some of the ghosts that haunt the mountainside. I found this very interesting, especially as it was fascinating to see how everyone fits together and how one event can have such an affect on everyone on the mountain.

I enjoyed learning more about the characters and what it was like living in such a remote location. It was lovely to see how close knit the community was with everyone seeming to know and care for each other. I especially like finding out how they had adapted to life on the mountain and how the few shops that existed there sold everything they could possibly want in one place.

Overall I did enjoy this book and felt sad to leave the wonderful mountain community behind. It’s not a fast paced book but instead is one to savour and enjoy the subtle nuances of the story. It has definitely made me think more about nature and how human activity can affect it. The inclusion of ghosts or folk lore was very intriguing and helped give the book a magical feel to it. It’s a book that will stay with me and I’m very glad that one of my colleagues at the bookshop recommended it to me.

About The Author:

Irene Solà is a Catalan writer and artist, winner of the European Union Prize for Literature, the Documenta Prize for first novels, the Llibres Anagrama Prize, and the Amadeu Oller Poetry Prize. Her artwork has been exhibited in the Whitechapel Gallery.