Good morning everyone and happy Thursday. I’ve been lucky enough to receive these fabulous books this week.

⭐Voices Of The Dead by Ambrose Parry

⭐The Couple In The Photo by Helen Cooper

⭐There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by David M Bartlett .

I’m a huge fan of all these authors and highly recommend their previous books. I’m excited to read them soon. If you would like to know more about them, check out the synopsis below.

In other news I’m working this morning which I’m looking forward to as I set up the first book club for the Malvern branch of Rossiter Books on Monday and I’m excited to see how my book choice has gone down. I chose The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers and the books have now arrived in store so I might get to meet some of the new members today too.

What book would you set as a book club read?

Voices Of The Dead by Ambrose Parry

EDINBURGH, 1853.
In a city of science, discovery can be deadly . . .

In a time of unprecedented scientific discovery, the public’s appetite for wonder has seen a resurgence of interest in mesmerism, spiritualism and other unexplained phenomena.

Dr Will Raven is wary of the shadowlands that lie between progress and quackery, but Sarah Fisher can’t afford to be so picky. Frustrated in her medical ambitions, she sees opportunity in a new therapeutic field not already closed off to women.

Raven has enough on his hands as it is. Body parts have been found at Surgeons’ Hall, and they’re not anatomy specimens. In a city still haunted by the crimes of Burke and Hare, he is tasked with heading off a scandal.

When further human remains are found, Raven is able to identify a prime suspect, and the hunt is on before he kills again. Unfortunately, the individual he seeks happens to be an accomplished actor, a man of a thousand faces and a renowned master of disguise.

With the lines between science and spectacle dangerously blurred, the stage is set for a grand and deadly illusion . . .

The Couple In The Photo by Helen Cooper

They’re your best friends.

Lucy and her husband do everything with their closest friends Cora and Scott. They’ve even bought a beach house together to enjoy summers with their kids. They’re more than friends: they’re family.

They’re hiding something.

When a colleague passes around photographs from her honeymoon in the Maldives, Lucy is shocked to see Scott in one of the pictures, his arm around another woman.

The truth will change everything.

Then news breaks that the woman from the photograph has mysteriously vanished. Why was Scott there and what is he hiding?

As Lucy looks for answers, her whole life begins to unravel. If the lies start here, where do they end?

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by David M. Barnett

How do you find love . . . when you have the loneliest job in the world?

This is the story of Gayle and Martin, who fall in love over the course of ten years- over a yearly visit to a tiny, isolated island off the Welsh coast.

Gayle is a teacher and each year she brings her class to the island to see the local flora and fauna, from sea birds to playful seals. Martin, the island’s caretaker and only human resident, lives in and maintains the lighthouse, which opens to the public for just this one day a year.

Gayle is effervescent but feels trapped, while Martin is lonely and isolated. As their love slowly builds over time, they both yearn for the annual field trip where they can finally see each other… Until one year Gayle doesn’t come back, and Martin has to leave his island hideaway to find her.

A romantic, tender love story, perfect for fans of Mike Gayle and Rachel Joyce.

Book Synopsis:

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war.

In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for news of her son and daughter’s safe arrival.

But when disaster strikes in the Atlantic, Alice and Lily – one at sea, the other on land – will quickly become one another’s very best hope. The events of one night, and the eight unimaginable days that follow, will bind the two women together in unforgettable ways.

Inspired by a remarkable true story, The Last Lifeboat is a gripping and triumphant tale of love, courage and hope against the odds.

My Review:

The Last Lifeboat is an absorbing, heartbreaking read that will stay with it for a long time.

The story is told from the point of view of two women. Alice who is helping escort evacuees from war torn London and Lily the mother of one of the evacuees who is waiting news in London. I liked both of these woman equally and enjoyed following them throughout the book. Alice was a fantastic character who I loved for her selflessness and the way she obviously cares for her young charges. I think it’s always more scary looking after children who aren’t yours and I admired Alice for how she puts the kids first and tries to keep them safe. As a mother myself I really felt for Lily and felt I understood how she was feeling. It must have been so hard for these mothers trying to do the right think to keep their kids safe but always second guessing themselves about whether they are doing the right thing.

Historical fiction based in the second world war is my favourite genre, especially if I learn something new about the era. I hadn’t heard of the ‘sea vacs’ before and hadn’t realised that children were sent over seas to safety. This book is based on real life events and the author has clearly done her research as I felt fully transported to the lifeboat and into the horrendous situation the children find themselves in. This book really brings home the human cost of the war and how ordinary people were effected.

Overall I loved this book and would happily rate it as one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read. I felt immediately drawn into the story and found the book hard to put down as I desperately wanted to find out what would happen to Alice and the children. It’s been a long time since a book affected me as much as this one do and I found myself sobbing as I read. If you’re a fan of historical fiction I highly recommend this book.

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

About The Author:

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times, USA Today, Globe and Mail and Irish Times bestselling historical novelist. Her debut novel, THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, was awarded the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year, and her novels have since been shortlisted for the 2016 and 2020 Irish Book Awards, the 2019 HWA Gold Crown Award, the 2020 RNA Historical Novel of the Year and the 2021 Grand Prix du Roman Historique. Her latest novel, WHEN WE WERE YOUNG & BRAVE/THE BIRD IN THE BAMBOO CAGE was a national bestseller in the USA. Hazel’s co-written novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim, winning and being shortlisted for several international awards.

Hazel was selected as a 2015 WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and by Library Journal as one of Ten Big Breakout Authors. She is published in twenty-five territories and her books have been translated into eighteen languages. Originally from Yorkshire, England, she now lives in Ireland with her husband and two children and is represented by Michelle Brower of Trellis Literary Management, USA.

Good morning everyone and happy Wednesday. My June Locked Library Subscription has arrived and it’s another beautiful edition that I absolutely love. I can’t wait to read this book as it sounds really good!

Who’s your favourite fantasy author?

Book Synopsis:

A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, epic tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal… or to burn everything in its path.

In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great celestial peacekeeper of the three systems, a terrible secret lies buried.

As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library’s ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique – and dangerous.

When Freida meets Joshua, a mortal boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a Disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to break ranks with the gods and help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future…

With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfil her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives – if he doesn’t destroy her first.

A sparkling, thought-provoking new offering from World Fantasy Award-winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson.

About The Author:

Alaya Dawn Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and the author of seven novels for adults and young adults. Her most recent novel for adults, Trouble the Saints, won the 2021 World Fantasy Award for best novel. Her debut short story collection, Reconstruction, was an Ignyte Award and a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist. Her debut YA novel The Summer Prince was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and the follow-up Love Is the Drug was awarded the Andre Norton Nebula Award. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, most notably the title story in The Memory Librarian, in collaboration with Janelle Monáe. She lives in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Book Synopsis:

It’s the summer of 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV’s impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly-installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower – an event that only occurs once every few decades.

When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband’s aunt Clementina, she’s determined to put her unhappy past in London behind her. As she settles into her new home, she becomes fascinated by the beautiful Botanic Garden which borders the grand house and offers her services as an artist to record the rare plant’s impending bloom. In this pursuit, she meets Belle Brodie, a vivacious young woman with a passion for botany and the lucrative, dark art of perfume creation.

Belle is determined to keep both her real identity and the reason for her interest the Garden secret from her new friend. But as Elizabeth and Belle are about to discover, secrets don’t last long in this Enlightenment city . . .

And when they are revealed, they can carry the greatest of consequences . . .

My Review:

The Fair Botanists is a fascinating, absorbing book which I really enjoyed.

The story is told mainly from the point of view of the two main characters Belle and Elizabeth but occasionally from other secondary characters too. I loved Belle and Elizabeth so really liked following them throughout the book. It was sad to see how precarious a women’s position was at that time and how much they had to rely on men to get by. Out of the two of them my favourite character was Belle who seemed a very strong, clever lady who has managed to come up with an ingenious way to make money. Elizabeth annoyed me a little bit as she seemed quite selfish at times and I didn’t like the way she treats Belle when Belle’s secret is revealed to her.

The author does a great job of bring Edinburgh to life and I loved following the characters around the city, soaking in all the little little details about what life was like back then. The moving of the Botanical gardens was an actual historical event, so it was fascinating to learn more about how it was achieved. The moving of the trees must have been amazing to watch and I enjoyed looking up pictures of this on the internet to see it for myself.

The book has a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. Even in the slower moments I was so absorbed in the story that I loved just hanging out with the characters and seeing what they were getting up to.

The ending was brilliant and I liked how everything ends up for all the characters. I read this for the historical fiction book club I’m part of and I’d highly recommend it as a book club read as I feel there is be lots to discuss.

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. Today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring my two new library books. Yes I was very good and only chose two books for once! I’ve been a huge fan of these author’s previous books so I’m very excited to read these soon.

On Saturday we went to our Library’s Family reading group. It’s on every fortnight and the kids absolutely love it – my little girl in particular as I think it’s a bit too old for my little boy really. They discuss what they’ve been reading and do activities to get them thinking about certain books. This week they had to build a Lego scene that told a story and then tell the group their story. If you’ve got kids I’d definitely recommend seeing if your library has one too. I’ve included a few pictures below!

What was the last book you got out of the library?

Prize Women by Caroline Lea

Toronto, 1926.

A childless millionaire leaves behind an astonishing will: the recipient of his fortune will be decided in a contest known as ‘The Great Stork Derby’. His money will go to the winner: the woman who bears the most children in the ten years after his death.

Lily di Marco is young, pregnant, and terrified of her husband. Fleeing to Toronto, she arrives on the doorstep of glamorous free spirit Mae Thebault. At a time when men hold all the power, Lily and Mae look out for each other. But as their friendship grows, Lily wonders if there’s more to Mae – and her past – than she has been told . . .

And as the Great Depression bites, the Stork Derby contest – with its alluring prize – proves too good to ignore for Lily and Mae, each living hand to mouth.

These best friends are now fierce rivals. But if only one woman can win, what will the contest cost the other?

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner

You want to be one of them. Until you know them.

Ex-journalist Tash has been searching for a story to launch her freelance career. But she has also been searching for something else: new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. The sleek, the sophisticated, the successful mothers. The women she wants to be.

And then one day they welcome her into their circle and Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of; their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills.

They seem to have everything. But they also have their secrets.

And it’s soon clear that not everyone at the playgroup can be trusted.

Book Synopsis:

Three years ago, Detective Saga Bauer received an ominous postcard describing a gun and nine white bullets – one of which was intended for her partner, Detective Joona Linna. The sender alleged that Saga was the only person who could save him. But as time passed, the threat faded.

Until now.

A sack with a decomposing body has been found hanging from a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing turns up at the scene. When the body count begins to rise, the police realise that the killer is sending riddles, offering them the chance to stop the murders before they happen.

But the police always seem to arrive a moment too late. As they begin to close in, the case becomes more and more tangled. Someone is spinning a fiendishly intricate web, pulling Joona ever closer to a trap he may not be able to escape.

My Review:

The Spider is a gritty, intense detective story that’s not for the faint hearted. I’ve been a huge fan of this series from the start and in my opinion it keeps getting better and better.

It was great being back with Joona attempting to solve another mystery with the team. For each victim the police get sent a parcel with clues about their whereabouts and then it’s a race against time to try to find them. The author’s cleverly write the story so I felt involved in the investigation and like I was helping to solve the mystery alongside them.

Some of the descriptions of the murders (especially the first) are a bit graphic which won’t be to everyone’s taste but anyone familiar with this series won’t be surprised by this. The author gradually increases the tension as the story goes on until it becomes almost unbearable. I couldn’t put the book down towards the end and found myself reading far too late into the night as I really wanted to find out what happened next.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. If you’re a fan of gritty crime books I thoroughly recommend this series.

About The Author:

Lars Kepler is a No.1 bestselling international sensation, whose Joona Linna thrillers have sold more than 12 million copies in 40 languages. The first book in the series, The Hypnotist, was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and the most recent, Stalker, went straight to No.1 in Sweden, Norway, Holland and Slovakia.

Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for writing duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. They live with their family in Sweden.

Good morning everyone I received this very intriguing book post this week. As a fan of crime fiction I always enjoy solving mysteries alongside the characters in my book and can often guess who dunnit before the big reveal. I’m therefore very excited to try these puzzles and see if I can work them out.

Huge thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book.

Book Synopsis:

From G. T. Karber, the creator of the popular online daily mystery game at http://www.Murdle.com, comes this fiendishly compulsive and absolutely killer collection of 100 original murder mystery logic puzzles. Join Deductive Logico and pit your wits against a slew of dastardly villains in order to discover:

• Who committed the ghastly deed?
• What weapon was used to dispatch the victim?
• Where did the dreadful demise occur?

These humorous mini-mystery puzzles challenge you to find whodunit, how, where, and why. Examine the clues, interview the witnesses, and use the power of deduction to complete the grid and catch the culprit. Packed with illustrations, codes, and maps, this is the must-have detective casebook for the secret sleuth in everyone.

Are you the next Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot? You’ll soon find out, if you dare to Murdle!

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday! I’ve been trying to not buy any more books but I managed to get tempted by these beautiful books this week.

⭐ This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
⭐ I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons
⭐ Joan by Katherine J Chen
⭐ Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden
⭐ Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber *
⭐ The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende *

Black Narcissus is for the VMC book club on here and the rest are all books that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. The two starred books are ones I found on the damage shelf at work.

What are your Saturday plans?

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

About to turn forty, Alice feels stuck: She works at the school she attended. Her boyfriend isn’t the man of her dreams. And her beloved father Leonard is dying.

But after one too many drinks, she wakes up in her childhood home to find forty-year-old Leonard celebrating her sixteenth birthday.

Now Alice gets to relive this one day in 1996, over and over. When the slightest change will impact the rest of her life.

Can she fix her life and save her father?

Or will her good intentions only cause harm to those she loves most?

I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons

The Mona Lisa has hung in the Louvre for over two-hundred years. She has watched alone in silence as millions of people have admired her behind the glass.

Now, she is finally ready to tell her own story.

Over five centuries, from da Vinci’s bustling Florentine studio to the opulent French court, Mona will be desired, stolen, heartbroken, curious, furious, and above all, she will be heard.

Joan by Katherine J Chen

France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. Yet out of the chaos, an unlikely heroine emerges.

Reckless, steel-willed and brilliant, Joan has survived a childhood steeped in both joy and violence to claim an extraordinary – and fragile – position at the head of the French army. The battlefield and the royal court are full of dangers and Joan finds herself under suspicion from all sides – as well as under threat from her own ambition.

With unforgettably vivid characters and propulsive storytelling, Joan is a thrilling epic, a triumph of historical fiction, and a feminist celebration of one remarkable – and remarkably real – woman who left an indelible mark on history.

Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden

High in the Himalayas, the mountaintop palace shines like a jewel. Built for the General’s harem, laughter and music once floated out over the gorge. Now it sits abandoned, windswept and haunting.

The palace is bestowed to the Sisters of Mary, and what was once known as ‘the House of Women’ becomes the Convent of St Faith. Close to the heavens, the nuns feel inspired, working fervently to establish their school and hospital. But as the isolation and emptiness of the mountain become increasingly unsettling, passions long repressed emerge with tragic consequences . . .

Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

Two sisters. One throne. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to avenge her parents’ murder and usurp the princess, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves.

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility including marriage into a brutal kingdom. Life outside the palace walls is a place to be feared and she is soon to discover that it’s wilder than she ever imagined.

Twin sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better…

An irresistible fantasy romantic comedy from two YA superstars – perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber, Sarah J Maas and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

No, we’re not lost.
The wind knows my name.
And yours too.

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht – the night their family loses everything. As her child’s safety seems ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Diaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Duran, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita’s mother.

Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make, and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers – and never stop dreaming.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! I haven’t done a reading update for a while so thought I’d show you what I was currently reading.

⭐Last – The Moon Gate by Amanda Geard
⭐Now – Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill
⭐Next – Drowning by T. J Newman

I absolutely loved The Moon Gate and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a dual timeline mystery. You can check out my view on my previous post. Our Hideous Progeny is a book I’ve wanted to read for a while and I’m really enjoying it so far. I then have Drowning by T. J Newman to read for the blog tour. I absolutely loved their first book so I’m excited to read this.

What are you currently reading?

Book Synopsis:

1939: On the eve of war, young English heiress Grace Grey travels from London to the wilderness of Tasmania. Coaxed out of her shell by the attentions of her Irish neighbour, Daniel – Grace finally learns to live. But when Australian forces are called to the frontline, and Daniel with them, he leaves behind a devastating secret which will forever bind them together.

1975: Artist Willow Hawkins, and her new husband, Ben, can’t believe their luck when an anonymous benefactor leaves them a house on the remote Tasmanian coast. Confused and delighted, they set out to unmask Towerhurst’s previous owner – unwittingly altering the course of their lives.

2004: Libby Andrews has always been sheltered from the truth behind her father Ben’s death. When she travels to London and discovers a faded photograph, a long-buried memory is unlocked, and she begins to follow an investigation that Ben could never complete. But will she realise that some secrets are best left buried . . .?

My Review:

The Moon Gate is a hugely enjoyable, addictive multiple timeline book from one of my favourite authors.

The story is told from the point of view of three different sets of characters; Libby in 2004 who is trying to discover more about the father she never knew, Libby’s parents Ben & Willow who inherit a house in Tasmania unexpectedly and Grace and Rose who are evacuated to an intriguing house in Tasmania. I loved following all three timelines, though I particularly liked the war time story as it was interesting to learn more about life in Tasmania during the war.

The author does a great job of setting the scene so I really felt like I was there watching everything develop alongside the characters. The descriptions of the wonderful sounding Towerhurst were brilliant and I loved exploring the house and discovering more about its secrets. I was intrigued by the house’s tower with the wonderful waterfall in the grounds and found myself wishing I could explore it in real life.

Overall I absolutely loved this book and found myself quickly absorbed into the story. There are lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing – including one amazing one that I didn’t seem coming. The ending was brilliant and I liked finding out what had really happened. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I have loved both of them so I’m now hugely excited to read more from her.

Huge thanks to Isabelle from Headline for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

I have always loved dual-timeline novels, where stories from the past weave with those of the present day. I want to write books that transport you to another time and place, where secrets lie just beneath the surface if only the characters know where to look.

My new novel, The Moon Gate, is set across three locations I ADORE: Tasmania (my home state), London (where I rented a houseboat for many years) and County Kerry, Ireland (where I now live with my family). Each of these places is special to me and I hope you’ll feel you’re entering the temperate rainforest with Grace, opening the door to Towerhurst with Willow, walking through London’s layered history with Libby and stepping out to the heather-clad hills of County Kerry with … well, with several characters, the names of who I won’t reveal here!

The inspiration for my first novel, The Midnight House, appeared in the rafters of our Irish home, a two-hundred-year-old stone building perched on the edge of the Atlantic. Hidden there was a message, scratched into wood: ‘When this comes down, pray for me. Tim O’Shea 1911’. As I held that piece of timber in my hands, dust clinging to my paint-stained clothes, I was humbled that a person’s fingerprint could, in a thousand ways, transcend time, and I wanted nothing more than to capture that feeling of discovery on the page.

I’m also a geologist who loves to explore the world’s remote places. Luckily for me, writing novels provides a similar sense of wonder and discovery; but the warm office, fresh food and a shower in the evening make the conditions rather more comfortable!

It’s also the perfect excuse to regularly curl up by a fire with a great book (often by the wonderful authors who write in my genre). I treasure my reading time, and I know you do too, so thank you for taking a chance on my books.