Book Synopsis:

Award-winning food writer Sumayya Usmani’s stunning memoir conjures a story of what it was like growing up in Pakistan and how the women in her life inspired her to trust her instincts in the kitchen.

From a young age, food was Sumayya’s portal to nurturing, love and self-expression. She spent the first eight years of her life at sea, with a father who captained merchant ships and a mother who preferred to cook for the family herself on a tiny electric stove in their cabin rather than eat in the officer’s mess.

When the family moved to Karachi, Sumayya grew up torn between the social expectations of life as a young girl in Pakistan, and the inspiration she felt in the kitchen, watching her mother, and her Nani Mummy (maternal grandmother) and Dadi’s (paternal grandmother) confidence, intuition and effortless ability to build complex, layered flavours in their cooking.

This evocative and moving food memoir – which includes the most meaningful recipes of Sumayya’s childhood – tells the story of how Sumayya’s self-belief grew throughout her young life, allowing her to trust her instincts and find her own path between the expectations of following in her father’s footsteps as a lawyer and the pressures of a Pakistani woman’s presumed place in the household. Gradually, through the warmth of her family life, the meaning of ‘andaza’ comes to her: that the flavour and meaning of a recipe is not a list of measured ingredients, but a feeling in your hands, as you let the elements of a meal come together through instinct and experience.

My Review:

Abdaza is a beautiful, interesting read which is part memoir and part cookbook.

Firstly I love books like this. It’s so lovely getting to know the author through the recipes that are important to them. This author has definitely had a fascinating life and I loved learning more about her childhood in Pakistan as well as the time she spent at sea . There are some lovely stories included here, which reflect the author’s personality and makes the reader feel that they actually get to know the person behind the book.

As you can probably guess food has played an important part in the author’s life. For each story mentioned the author has included a recipe that reminds her of that period. All of the recipes are easy to follow and I enjoyed discovering a few different recipes to the ones I normally hear about. Highlights for me was the Wedding Korma and the delicious potatoes with curry leaves. We have made them several times since discovering them and plan to make them for the next time we have friends round. There are also some amazing puddings which I hadn’t tried before and I really enjoyed sampling those!

Overall I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves cooking or trying new foods. It would make a great gift for a foodie and I will definitely be buying a few copies as presents.

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:

Well-connected and beloved in the food world, Sumayya Usmani went from practising law for twelve years to pursuing food writing and teaching. Her first book, Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and Memories from Pakistan (Frances Lincoln, 2016) was the first Pakistani cookbook in Britain. Her mentor and friend Madhur Jaffrey, who wrote the main blurb, calls the book ‘a treasure’. It won the Best First Cookbook category in the Gourmand Cookbook Awards in 2016. It was also shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award. Her second cookbook, Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspirations from the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea (Frances Lincoln, 2017) was shortlisted in the Best Cookbook of the Year category at the Food & Travel Magazine Awards. Sumayya won The Scottish Book Trust’s Next Chapter Award in 2021 for Andaza as a work in progress.Sumayya is an experienced cookery teacher having taught in many UK-based cookery schools, including Divertimenti and the School of Artisan Food and her style of teaching is based on inspiring people to trust their senses and intuition with flavours. She has been featured as a resident food writer for four weeks in the Guardian COOK supplement (now known as Feast), and has also featured in the Telegraph, New York Times, Independent, Saveur, Delicious, Olive, BBC Good Food and Food 52. She was called ‘the go-to expert in Pakistani cuisine’ by BBC Good Food Magazine.

Sumayya is a BBC broadcaster and has been a presenter on BBC Radio Scotland’s Kitchen Cafe as well as being a regular panellist on Jay Rayner’s The Kitchen Cabinet on BBC Radio 4. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. On television, she has appeared on Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation on Good Food Channel, and various times on STV and London Live. Sumayya mentors other writers online as well as hosting her podcast, A Savoured Life.

Book Synopsis:

From the author of THE HENNA ARTIST. The final chapter in Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.

Paris, 1974. Radha is now thirty-two and living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion–the treasure trove of scents.

When her friend’s grandfather offered her a job at his parfumerie, she quickly discovered she had a talent–she could find the perfect fragrance for any customer who walked in the door. Now, ten years later, she’s working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her.

Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra–women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her–upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.

My Review:

The Perfumist Of Paris is a beautifully written, absorbing and inspiring read from a new author for me.

Firstly Radha was an amazing main character who I enjoyed following throughout the book. She’s such a strong lady who I sympathised with as I know the struggle with juggling family and work. She seemed stuck between two cultures at times having to fight her husband’s expectations to fulfil her dreams. Her experiences were quite emotional to read about and I really felt for her especially when it seems like her past was going to affect everything she’s worked for.

The author does a great job of setting the scene so that the reader feels they are actually there watching everything unfold alongside the characters. I’ve always loved books set in Paris so I enjoyed following Radha as she goes about the city. Radha’s job as a Perfumist was fascinating as I didn’t know anything about it before. The author’s descriptions of the perfume shop were really vivid and I sometimes felt I could actually smell some of the scents she was describing.

Overall I loved this book and look forward to reading more from this series in the future. I felt like I went on a real journey with Radha and, although it was tough to see her go through it I liked seeing where she ended up at the end . I think this book could be read as a standalone like I have done but I think it might be beneficial to read the books in order as you might understand the characters better.

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:

Alka Joshi was born in the desert state of Rajasthan in India. In 1967, her family immigrated to America. She earned a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts in San Francisco. Prior to writing The Henna Artist, Alka ran an advertising and marketing agency for 30 years. She has spent time in France and Italy and currently lives with her husband on the Northern California Coast.

Good morning everyone! As I might have mentioned once or twice (ok a lot) I’m a huge of Greek Mythology re-tellings so when I heard of this fantastic sounding book I knew I had to get a copy of it. My picture doesn’t do it justice as the cover is really beautiful with lots of gold foil on it which contrasts so well with the dark blue spredges. I’m hoping to read this really soon.

What was the last special edition you bought?

Book Synopsis:

In the cursed kingdom of Ithaca, each spring brings the hanging of twelve maidens, a gift to the vengeful Poseidon. But when Leto awakens from her death on the shore of a long-forgotten island, its enigmatic keeper Melantho tells her that there’s only one way the curse can be broken. Leto must kill the last prince of Ithaca . . .

In Lies We Sing to the Sea, debut author Sarah Underwood delivers a thrilling and breathtaking tale that will enthral readers from the very first page as they are transported to the cursed shores of Ithaca.

A reclamation of a story from thousands of years ago, Lies We Sing to the Sea is about love and fate, grief and sacrifice, and, ultimately, the power we must find within.

About The Author:

Sarah Underwood grew up in Devon, England. She obtained her MEng in Computational Bioengineering at Imperial College, London, and recently graduated with her MPhil in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Sarah’s first novel, Lies we Sing to the Sea, will be published by HarperTeen and Farshore Books in March 2023.

Book Synopsis:

What if your routine could make you happier every single day? So often our routine is based on what everyone else needs. Our work and family life fill our days up to the brim and we squeeze in what we can for ourselves in between. And, if we’re totally honest, in the dim hours when the truth seeps out between the cracks, we realise we might have lost ourselves a little along the way. In The Happiness Habits Transformation, former life coach Michelle Reeves urges us to take a time-out (without feeling guilty about it) to rebuild our daily routine into one that serves us – one habit at a time. Through her personal experience of depression and how she rebuilt her life through a combination of 8 simple happiness habits, you’ll discover how you can create a simple routine with time to focus on YOU, release yourself from the habit of negativity, boost your self-esteem and dream and plan out your biggest, scariest and most exciting goals. New for the second edition: Michelle explains how these habits continue to support her as she navigates a new season of her life through perimenopause and beyond, and shares success stories from others who have woven the habits into their own routines.

My Review:

I’ve been feeling a bit down since Christmas so when I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. I found this a very informative, helpful guide which I will definitely be recommending to others.

Michelle used to be a life coach and in this book gives advice about how to change your daily lives to improve your happiness. This was set out in an easy to follow format which I found very easy to read. The changes were easy to implement into your life and the author gives great advice about how to break down the goals so that you can achieve them which I thought was very clever.

As well as the advice the author tells a bit about her own story, giving the reader inspiration from her life and encouragement to make the changes to find happiness. I liked this personal touch as it was nice to see how the author made these changes in her life and how they benefited her.

I read this on ebook but would like to purchase a paperback copy so that it’s easier to highlight and find certain sections of the book as it was hard to flick back to revisit sections on ebook.

Huge thanks to the lovely Kelly from Love Book Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

In 2008 Michelle Reeves left behind corporate life in the UK and moved to China for four years where her life fell apart. A traumatic birth and treatment for post-natal depression left her broken and searching for a way back to her former self. Over time and through the combination of 8 Happiness Habits she went from functioning to flourishing, including running her own life coaching practice for over six years.

“Sharing my journey in The Happiness Habits Transformation is such a privilege. I hope that the lessons I’ve learned will benefit any woman who is looking for a simple daily routine to release them from the habit of negativity, boost their self-esteem and help them finally plan out and live their biggest, most exciting dreams.

Yes I was a life and mindset coach by profession and now an author, but like most women, I also have many other roles; wife, daughter, sister, friend and of course Mum to my two amazing children. I wrestle most days into submission like everyone else!

So often we feel guilty for taking time out for us, but I believe it’s vital. If we don’t build time for ourselves into our daily routine, we end up trying to fill the many roles we play in our lives from an empty ‘cup’. We keep going back to dig deeper and deeper until there’s nothing left. Having a simple daily routine of Happiness Habits helps me to find that nourishing space in the day for me, and I hope this book will help others to do the same.”

*NEW* for 2023: The Happiness Habits Transformation: 2nd Edition includes a new chapter where Michelle explains how these habits continue to support her as she navigates a new season of her life through perimenopause and beyond, and shares success stories from others who have woven the habits into their own routines.

Michelle lives in the East of England, UK, with her husband, two children, and two crazy rescue cats: Bella and Ziggy.

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

⭐ Last: The Spoon by Lesley Crewe

⭐ Now – The Perfumist Of Paris by Alka Joshi

⭐ Next – Go As A River by Shelley Read

⭐Next – Preloved by Lauren Bravo

It’s been the Easter holidays so I’ve not got much reading done these last few weeks. I absolutely loved The Spoon Stealer and highly recommend it. I’ll hopefully be sharing my review later today – kids permitting. I have a few more pages of The Perfumist to finish today and then I’m excited to read Go As A River or Preloved as I’ve heard great things about both of them.

Today is the last day of the holidays and the kids want a quiet morning which is fine with me as I might be able to sneak in some reading. My daughter has been wanting to do baking all holiday so I’ve promised we’ll make cakes later and my youngest wants to go get more books out of the library which I’m excited about as he’s my reluctant reader so fingers crossed that’s changing!

What are you currently reading?

Good morning everyone I’ve managed to break my book buying ban and buy a few books this week!

⭐ Homecoming by Kate Morton
⭐ Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
⭐ In Memoriam by Alice Winn
⭐ Begars Abbey by V. L. Valentine
⭐ The Book-Lover’s Retreat by Heidi Swain

I’m a huge Kate Morton fan and have her to thank for getting me out of a few reading slumps. Ive had Homecoming on pre-order since I heard about it and can’t wait to read it.

Romantic Comedy & In Memoriam are books I’ve been hearing lots about on here so decided to use my birthday vouchers on them. Begars Abbey I’ve wanted to read for ages. It sounds just my kind of book and I’m excited to finally get a copy.

Finally I’ve always loved Heidi Swain ‘s books so had to get a copy of her latest book, especially as it features book lovers. Her books are always amazing and I’m looking forward to reading this soon.

Have you read any of these?

Book Synopsis:

Germany, 1938. ‘No,’ she cries out as she falls to the floor, fear clutching desperately at her chest, ‘They can’t have taken him, they can’t have taken my husband.’ As her tear-filled eyes dart wildly around the empty room, she realises she has no one to turn to. She is his only hope. But how can she possibly save him?

When shy, beautiful Edith first met Jewish-born Julius it was love at first sight. Julius swept her off her feet, whisking her from humble beginnings into the sparkling society and glittering ballrooms of Berlin’s powerful elite. It felt like all her dreams had come true.

But her perfect world begins to crack with rumblings of the Nazi party growing in power and influence. Every day there are new laws to strip Jews of their money and their freedom. And there are even more frightening rumours, of horrifying camps, and people disappearing in the night…

Then when Edith’s own brother Joseph enlists as an SS officer, and her whole family turn their backs on them, she knows that it is only a matter of time before they come for her husband. She pleads with Julius that their only chance is to run away and start again. Who cares about worldly possessions if they can still be together, their lives intact? But despite everything, he refuses to believe he is in danger.

Then one terrible night, the sounds of cries and breaking glass ring out across the city as the Nazis wreak their destruction. Edith’s worst fears have been realised— Julius has been taken.

For so long, Edith has led a sheltered life, secluded from the real world. But the only way to save her beloved husband is to defy the Nazis and put herself in grave danger. Can she draw on every bit of strength she has to fight for love and save him… or is she already too late?

A totally devastating, powerful, and ultimately uplifting story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, My Name is Eva and Sold on a Monday.

My Review:

The First Spark Of Fire is an emotional, compelling and gripping read which I really enjoyed.

The story follows Edith and Helga from the early 1920’s to 1938. They are two very different women, from different backgrounds and I enjoyed following them throughout the story. It was very interesting to see how the economic situation and the rise of Hitler affected them differently.

I found it fascinating to learn more about life in Germany between the wars and how Hitler gained popularity. This was a subject that I knew little about before reading so I enjoyed discovering more about this period. It was especially interesting to learn more about the treatment of the Jews and how families could be targeted for having any Jewish connection no matter how small.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this promising series. I felt fully transported to Germany, able to feel the fear and trepidation of the characters as if it was happening to me. Having the benefit of hindsight the reader is able to understand what is going to happen and I think this increases the tension in the book as we learn about the increasingly difficult rules the Jewish population have to follow. I found myself reading faster as the book went on as I cared about the characters and what would happen to them.

Huge thanks to Sarah for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

USA Today Bestselling author of historical fiction.

Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.

Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.

Book Synopsis:

You might be paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they’re not watching you.

Adam lives a picture-perfect life: happy marriage, two young children, and a flourishing career as a doctor. But Adam also lives with a secret. Hospital CCTV, strangers’ mobile phones, city traffic cameras – he is convinced that they are all watching him, recording his every move. All because of something terrible that happened at a drunken party when he was a medical student.

Only two other people knew what happened that night. Two people he’s long left behind. Until one of them, Clio – Adam’s great unrequited love – turns up on his doorstep, and reignites a sinister pact twenty-four years in the making…

No Place to Hide is a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together the dark web, murder, and blackmail…

My Review:

No Place To Hide is a tense, gripping read which is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. It’s going to be a hard book to review as I really don’t want to give anything away.

The story is told in two timelines, one following Dr. Adam who is married with kids in the present day and the other flashing back to Adam as an aspiring actor in his Cambridge University days. The two storylines compliment each other nicely with lots of subtle clues or hints about what might be going on. I especially liked the Cambridge setting in the past timeline as I felt it had a dark academia feeling to it and I loved all the fantastic descriptions of Cambridge which has made me want to go their soon.

I felt immediately drawn into the story and intrigued about why Adam was so paranoid someone was watching him. The story unfolds at a great pace with the tension slowly building up until it becomes almost unbearable. I read this book over a couple of days as I found this book so hard to put down as I desperately wanted to find out what was going on. The twist at the end was utterly brilliant and very unexpected. I had lots of different theories but ultimately wasn’t able to guess which I always love. If you’re a thriller fan I highly recommend this book.

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

About The Author:

Jon Stock, writing under the name J.S.Monroe, is the author of five psychological thrillers, including the international bestseller, Find Me. Under his own name, he has written five spy novels, one of which, Dead Spy Running, was optioned by Warner Bros. He is currently the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford.

I treat myself to a Locked Library Subscription every month and I always look forward to seeing which book I’m going to get. I haven’t read anything by this author before but one of my good friends is a huge fan of his so I’m looking forward to reading this book really soon.

This book is just beautiful inside and out! The end papers are gorgeous and I absolutely love the spredges 🥰.

One of the characters lives in a library, which fictional library would you like to live in?

Book Synopsis:

All books, no matter their binding, will fall to dust. The stories they carry may last longer. They might outlive the paper, the library, even the language in which they were first written.

The greatest story can reach the stars . . .

This is the start of an incredible new journey from the internationally bestselling author of Prince of Thorns, in which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned…

Evar has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

Livira has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never noticed them.

That’s about to change.

As their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time, each will unlock vast secrets about the world and themselves. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another.

About The Author:

Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. His day job is as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say ‘this isn’t rocket science … oh wait, it actually is’.Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.

Book Synopsis:

April 1941.

Almost losing her life in a bomb blast while serving in the Women’s Volunteer Service has made Ann Gilby take stock of what’s really important – her family.

With daughter Sheila back home, and Joy still working munitions at the Cadbury factory and engaged to her soldier sweetheart, home life feels more settled too. Ann has even come to an uneasy truce with her husband, Len, despite her recent discovery of his infidelity and the fact that he has fathered a child with another woman.

But what Ann has not reckoned with is, Marianne, Len’s other woman, turning up on her doorstep – a woman with a mysterious past.

Only Ann has secrets of her own and one day soon she knows she will have to tell her youngest child, Martin, who his father really is . . .

From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of Chocolate Girls, The Bells of Bournville Green and Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, Wartime for the Chocolate Girls is a gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . .

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author so you can imagine my excitement when I was invited onto the blog tour for Wartime For The Chocolate Girls. Once again the author has written an interesting, heartwarming read that I really enjoyed.

Birmingham is only an hour away from where I live and I’ve actually visited Cadbury World on multiple occasions so I found it fascinating to learn more about what the factory was like in wartime. It was interesting to learn more about factory life and the extra problems the workers faced due to it being wartime. The author doesn’t just feature factory life though, the reader also learns a little bit about the local history and what life was like for everyone in England’s second biggest city.

The three main characters were wonderful creations who I enjoyed following throughout the book. I loved that they were all so different to each other and how they all brought something different to the story. I found myself wishing I could be part of their group, able to join in with all the banter. My favourite character was Evie as I thought she was really kind to take David in. It was so lovely watching their relationship grow over the years and seeing how they both helped each other.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from this author in future. I felt immediately drawn into the story and into the lives of the three main characters, as if I was actually there watching everything unfold. The story had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. I especially liked that the story was set over a longer time period so the reader can see what happens to the characters after the war.

This is actually the fourth book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone, like I’ve done, as anything that you need to know is explained. I will definitely be going back and reading the other books in the series.

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:

Annie Murray was born in Berkshire and read English at St John’s College, Oxford. Her first ‘Birmingham’ novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written many other successful novels, including The Bells of Bournville Green, sequel to the bestselling Chocolate Girls, Sisters of Gold and Black Country Orphan. Annie has four children and lives just south of Oxford. She also writes as Abi Oliver.