📚Book Chain Challenge!
Good morning everyone I was tagged by the lovely @book_lover_kent to take part in this fun looking challenge! It was great fun looking through my books and trying to find books that I could make a chain with.
❤️ Eleven LIARS
🧡 The Good LIARS
💛 GOOD Bad Girl
💚 The GIRL With The Red Hair
💙 RED, White & Royal Blue
💜 The WHITE Lie
I have tagged a few people on Instagram who might want to take part (apologies if you’ve already been tagged) but as always no pressure!
It was the day that changed everything. When the Nazis broke into our home, destroying everything, taking our home and our security. I thought it couldn’t get worse. But then they also took my sister.
After that day nothing was the same. I thought I’d never see her again. I thought she was lost to me forever. I joined the Resistance, vowing to fight against the evil German army with every last spark of fire in my body. Nothing and nobody can stop me.
Until I catch a glimpse of a woman who looks just like my sister. Alive. But this is not the sweet darling girl I once knew. This is a platinum blonde happily conversing with a terrifying Gestapo officer. No longer my sister. But a traitor.
And I know what I must now do…
Could you choose your country – and what is right – over the person you once loved more than anyone in the world?
Sister’s At War is a gripping, emotional read that I highly recommend.
Firstly I thought the author did a great job of setting the scene in this story and I felt like I had been transported to war time Berlin watching everything unfold. I felt like I could feel the fear of Nazi occupied Paris and see the devastation of war.
The story is told from the point of view of both sisters which I found very interesting as I liked seeing both sides of the war. It was especially interesting to be given a glimpse behind the scenes of the Nazi operations. I really felt for the sisters and the difficult situation they find themselves in. It must have been hard for many families to be on different sides like that.
Overall I really enjoyed this fast paced story, which I found very hard to put down. The author slowly increases the tension in the book until it is almost palpable and I felt like my heart was in my mouth at times as I watched everything unfold. It’s an incredibly emotional story and I found myself tearing up as I read, wondering how everything was going to turn out. I’m excited to read more from this author in the future.
Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
When I was a little girl, my nose was always in a book, taking me to faraway places. French châteaux, English Gothic mansions. Portraits of ladies in stiff, ivory-colored crinolines and worn satin slippers. I wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new. I wanted to find out so I traveled far and wide, visiting countless museums, palaces, historical landmarks, soaking up the past so I could create that world of long ago but make it fresh and new, as if you were there now.
I write historicals filled with adventure, glamour, and romance. And most of all, family. My heroines love adventure, but they know there’s nothing more important than to have someone to come home to.
I love writing about strong, powerful women who defy the standard of their time and fight for justice and equality and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, especially when it comes to saving those they love.
I hope you’ll join me on my journey.
Good afternoon everyone I was lucky enough to get a copy of this fabulous sounding book through the post recently.
To Cage A God by Elizabeth May is the first in the Monstrous God’s duology. It’s inspired by Slavic fantasy and explores a fantastic world of Gods and magic which sounds right up my street.
Thanks so much to Blackcrow Pr and Daphne Press for my copy of this book.
Out 20th February 2024.
Join the rebellion to burn down a cruel tyrant in this heartracing new fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone and The Wolf and the Woodsman.
To cage a god is divine. To be divine is to rule. To rule is to destroy.
Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living weapons. Raised to overthrow an empire―no matter the cost.With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.
While Sera reunites with her estranged lover who now leads the rebellion, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empire―or bring it all down.
Elizabeth May is the Sunday Times bestselling author of To Cage a God, the Seven Devils duology (co-written with Laura Lam), The Falconer series, and romance novels under the pseudonym Katrina Kendrick. She is Californian by birth and Scottish by choice, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of St Andrews. She currently resides on an 18th-century farm in the Scottish countryside with her husband, three cats, and a lively hive of honeybees that live inside the wall of her old farmhouse.
For more information, follow her on Instagram @_ElizabethMay or visit her website http://www.elizabethmaywrites.com
Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring the two books I’m currently reading.
The Turnglass is a book I’ve been very intrigued by since I received a copy through work. I’m currently half way through the first story and it’s getting very interesting. I’m reading Upon A Frosted Star with the lovely Sarah from A Cottage Full Of Books. I’m very excited to read it as I love magical retellings. I was a big fan of Midnight In Everwood and I’m enjoying this book so far too.
What are you currently reading?
Stuart Turton meets The Magpie Murders in this immersive and unique story for fans of clever crime fiction.
1880s England. On the bleak island of Ray, off the Essex coast, an idealistic young doctor, Simeon Lee, is called from London to treat his cousin, Parson Oliver Hawes, who is dying. Parson Hawes, who lives in the only house on the island – Turnglass House – believes he is being poisoned. And he points the finger at his sister-in-law, Florence. Florence was declared insane after killing Oliver’s brother in a jealous rage and is now kept in a glass-walled apartment in Oliver’s library. And the secret to how she came to be there is found in Oliver’s tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.
1930s California. Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the son of the state governor, is found dead in his writing hut off the coast of the family residence, Turnglass House. His friend Ken Kourian doesn’t believe that Oliver would take his own life. His investigations lead him to the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children, and the subsequent secret incarceration of his mother, Florence, in an asylum. But to discover the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel – which is about a young doctor called Simeon Lee . . .
The invitations always arrive the same way – without warning, appearing around the city on the first snowfall of the year, simply inscribed with ‘Tonight.’
When struggling artist, Forster, finds an invitation, he’s bewitched by the magic of the evening, swept up in the glamour of this notorious annual party and intrigued as to who is behind them.
Determined to find out more about the mysterious host, Forster discovers an abandoned manor house silent with secrets and a cursed woman who is desparate to be free…
From the bestselling author of Midnight in Everwood, comes another spellbinding literary fairy tale that’s The Great Gatsby meets Swan Lake.
Good afternoon everyone I’m pleased to be featuring No Reserve by Felix Francis today.
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Dick Francis’s books so I was very excited to be offered a copy of his son Felix’s new book. It sounds really good and I can’t wait to read it soon.
Coincidentally Rossiters in Cheltenham are hosting an event with Felix Francis on the 26th of October. Do visit the website or call into the shop to book tickets.
Huge thanks to Sophie from Ransom PR for my copy of this book.
Theo Jennings is a young auctioneer at the Thoroughbred sales ring in Newmarket. The October yearling sales are where the big money exchanges hands in frenzied auctions: millions of Guineas paid for horses that are as yet unnamed, untested, and have never taken a step on the track. It’s the greatest gamble in all of horseracing, and one that can end in ruin.
Theo has just made the biggest sale of his life, when he overhears a secret conversation between the two bidders – can they really have colluded to fix the price of his big sale? When that same horse is found dead the next morning, he has no choice but to investigate, even against the wishes of his boss. But the more he uncovers, the less he can trust the people around him.
The higher the stakes, the greater the risk. And in the bloodstock game, the ultimate price can be murder . . .
FELIX FRANCIS is Dick Francis’s younger son. Born in 1953, Felix studied Physics and Electronics at London University and then embarked upon a 17-year career teaching Advanced Level physics at three schools, the last seven as head of the science department at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire. After leaving teaching, Felix then became a businessman, spending 13 years as deputy chairman of World Challenge Expeditions Ltd, before starting his third career as an author.
As a child, Felix remembers that conversations around the Francis breakfast table were somewhat unconventional. “The production of a Dick Francis novel has always been a mixture of inspiration, perspiration and teamwork. The first one was published when I was nine, and I grew up in a house where talk would be about the damage a bullet might do to a man’s guts rather than the more mundane topics of everyday life”.
Over the next 40 years, Felix assisted Dick with both the research and the writing of many of his novels. They shared a love of racing and often worked together on plot and character details at Dick’s home in the Cayman Islands. This partnership allowed Dick to draw upon Felix’s knowledge and experience as a physics teacher and marksman in Twice Shy, and as an outdoorsman in Longshot.
With the publication of Under Orders in 2006, Felix took over the writing of the ‘Dick Francis’ novels from his father. This was followed by Dead Heat in 2007, Silks in 2008, and Even Money in 2009. Crossfire was the book Felix was working on when Dick died in February 2010, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in the Dick Francis brand. Since then there have been another twelve ‘Dick Francis’ novels, with Felix’s latest, No Reserve, published in September 2023.
Good morning everyone. I can’t believe it’s Monday again the weekend went way to fast.
I’ve got another match your bag bookstack for you today. All these books are tbr except Hello Beautiful which I started but had to stop for another book but I’m hoping to get back to it soon.
This is another bag my clever mother in law made me and it’s one of my favourites as I absolutely love the fabric. My kids call it my Mary Poppins bag as I can fit so much stuff in it!
Today’s an emotional day for me as my eldest son is off on his Year 6 trip for a whole week. I’m really going to miss him as we always hang out in the evening after the others have gone to bed so it will be weird without him though I know he’ll have a great time.
Have you got anything exciting happening this week?
Good morning everyone I hope you’re having a great weekend so far. These are some of the books I’ve added to my bookshelf this week.
❤️Lucy By The Sea by Elizabeth Stroud
🧡Love In Old Age by Hunter Davies
💛 Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens
💚To Cage A God by Elizabeth May *
💙The White Lie by J.G Kelly *
🩵No Reserve by Felix Francis *
💜God And Monsters by Ana Sampson
🩷The Stargazers by Harriet Evans
The books with stars next to them are proof which were kindly sent to me the rest are from the returns pile at work.
I’ve always said I have an eclectic reading taste and I think this pile really shows that. I loved the look of all of these but I was especially excited to find a copy of God & Monsters as I love mythology so it instantly appealed. Love In Old Age is a memoir about living in the Isle Of Wight, a place I’ve always loved. Finally, Stargazers is a book I’ve been hearing lots about from my fellow book friends so I’m excited to read it soon.
Have you read any of these? What would you read first?
Good morning everyone. Today I thought I’d share six books that I’m hoping to read soon.
❤️The Playground by Michelle Frances
🧡 In The Weeds by B. K. Borison
💛In Bloom by Eve Verde
💚Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
💙 Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown
💜Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
I’ve been hearing lots of great things about all of these so I’m really hoping I can get to them soon. Shark Heart is a book club read so I’ll definitely have to read that one in the next few weeks.
Today my husband is taking two of the kids to activities and I’ll be trying to organise my eldest son for his year 6 trip next week. Then we’re going to my mum’s for food tonight which is always nice. I’m working tomorrow which I’m looking forward to.
What are your weekend plans?
Good afternoon everyone and happy Friday. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this fabulous sounding book this week. I always love books involving family feuds in isolated settings so this book really appeals to me.
Huge thanks to Bloodhound for sending me a copy of this book.
In a remote house in rural Alaska, six potential heirs gather with the promise of inheriting a huge sum of money. But how far will they go to get their hands on a fortune?
It’s going to be a family reunion to die for…
Summoned by letter, Holly Shaw and five of her cousins—virtual strangers to each other—have gathered at a grand house in the rugged wilds of Alaska. Equally unfamiliar to Holly is her great-aunt Lydia, who has called the family together with the promise of a massive inheritance. Her condition: they must remain in the house, with Lydia and her butler and caregiver, until she passes. Anyone not in residence at that time is out of the will, and their share of the money will be split among the others.
That night, everyone settles in. But the following day, the murders begin . . .
From Mustang Award finalist and 2022 Derringer Award nominee Brandon Barrows, this is a twisting, atmospheric mystery and an utterly compelling tale of guilt, greed, and temptation.
Brandon Barrows is the author of several novels, most recently 3rd LAW: Mixed Magical Arts, a YA urban fantasy.
He has published over eighty stories, selected of which are collected in the books THE ALTAR IN THE HILLS and THE CASTLE-TOWN TRAGEDY.
He is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Private Eye Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.
He was a 2021 Mustang Award finalist and is a 2022 Derringer Award nominee.
On Twitter @brandonbarrows and online at http://www.brandonbarrowscomics.com
Good morning everyone I’ve seen this challenge going around Instagram and thought I’d join in.
The idea is to answer a few questions about your reading preferences, so please read on if you’d like to learn more!
I do prefer short chapters to be honest, or at least obvious breaks in longer chapters. As a busy mum my reading time is often limited to short bursts so having small sections to read helps.
Names! I always find it more intriguing as it sometimes gives a hint about what might be about to happen.
I do enjoy multiple pov best as it’s always great to see other people points of view. My favourite is when one pov is historical and it involves a mystery that someone is trying to solve in the present.
If I can I like to stop at the end of the chapter, but sometimes if I’m too tired or the chapter too long I will stop in the middle. I try to stop at an obvious break in the story though so it’s easier to get back into it when I restart.
Yes! I have to know what page the chapter ends on. I’m not entirely sure why but it is something I’ve always done.
I prefer bookmarks, I get a bit upset if pages get dogeared. My eldest does it all the time and it makes me twitch. My kids know I love bookmarks and often make them for me so I always have lots of options!
There you go – that’s a little bit about me. I’ve tagged a few people on Instagram who might like to join in but, as always, no pressure.
Over The Rainbow Blog 