Good morning everyone and happy Tuesday! Well this seems like a great book for a slightly stressed mum of three to read in the week before Christmas. The kids are super excited and very hyper, plus I still have lots of presents to buy and arguments to break up apparently 😂 I thought this would help take my mind if things and provide me with a few much needed laughs.

What are you currently reading? Have you read this?

Book Synopsis:

One month to go. One stressed mum. Can she pull off the perfect family Christmas?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Like every mum, Tara wants a perfect Christmas for her family – but no-one else is lifting a finger and she’s losing her elf-ing mind.

From a vaping teen, explosive potty training and a disastrous Nativity, to a distracted husband acting very out of character, the final straw is Tara’s glamorous, feckless mother moving herself back in for the holidays.

Can Tara pull off the holly jolly Christmas of her dreams? Will she deck the halls and not her family? Or is this a Christmas catastrophe waiting to happen…

Hilarious, heartwarming and festive as f*ck – the new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Mammy Banter: The Secret Life of an Uncool Mum.

About The Author:

Up and coming comedy content creator, writer, actress and public speaker, Serena Terry, known as Mammy Banter, has taken the social media world by storm after her hilarious videos started going viral across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Serena’s down-to-earth, ‘tell it like it is’ realness has resonated with fans around the world. She now has over 650,000 followers on TikTok, 135,000 on Instagram and 100k on Facebook, with more than 20 million views across all platforms.

She lives in Derry with her husband (@daddy_banter) and two kids. She’d love a nap, too.

You can follow Serena as Mammy Banter on TikTok here https://www.tiktok.com/@mammybanter Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/mammybanter/ and on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/mammybanterfb

Book Synopsis:

Yaga lives deep in the Russian forest, tending to any that call upon her for her healing potions and vast wisdom.

She has been alone for centuries, with only her beloved animals for company. But, when Tsaritsa Anastasia, wife of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, shows up at Yaga’s cottage on the brink of death, Yaga is compelled to travel with her to Moscow to keep her safe.

However, the Russia Yaga sees as she makes her journey to the heart of the country is one on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan – soon to become Ivan the Terrible – grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

Set in sixteenth-century Russia, The Witch and the Tsar upends the stories we know of Baba Yaga as the bony-legged witch of Slavic fairy tales and the stuff of nightmares. For beyond the rumours of her iron nose, fangs for teeth, and house on chicken legs, is the story of a woman so wise and strong that she has to be cloaked in lies to hide her true power.

My Review:

The Witch And The Tsar is a perfect blend of fantasy and historical fiction that I really loved. It’s definitely a book that has stayed with me long after reading it.

Firstly I’ve always loved Russian history so I found all the little details in this book fascinating. I’d heard of Ivar The Terrible before so it was interesting to learn more about him and the events in this book that might have had an effect on his later rule. I enjoyed finding out more about life in court and the fashion of the time. It was particularly intriguing to learn more about the women at the court and how many rules applied to them – even the Tsarista.

The fantasy side of the story was beautifully imagined and described. I especially liked the wonderful description of Little Hen and the way Yaga can communicate with the animals so they become her friends. The descriptions of The Land Of The Dead were very chilling and helped provide an air of mystery and uncertainty as I wondered what would happen next.

Yaga was a great character and one whose strength I greatly admired. I loved the way she stood up for herself despite people’s suspicion and how loyal she was to people who needed her. It was interesting to learn more about herbal medicine at that time too.

Overall I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more from this author. The story took a little while to get going but I was soon thoroughly absorbed. The mystery side of the story kept me on my toes and I loved watching the story unravel as I never really knew where the story would go next.

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

About The Author:

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore was born in Moscow, Russia, raised in the U.S., and graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in English/political science, and from Northwestern School of Law with a JD. She practiced litigation at a large law firm for several years before pursuing her dream of becoming an author. She is most happy writing historical fiction and fantasy inspired by Eastern European folklore. She lives in a wooded, lakeside suburb of Chicago with her husband and daughter. THE WITCH AND THE TSAR is her debut novel.

5 Books That I Wish I Could Read For The First Time Again!

We’ve all got those amazing books that capture our imagination and stay with us. These 5 books were all brilliant 5 Star reads for me and ones that I’ve continued to think about and that I thoroughly recommend if you haven’t read them already.

What books do you wish you could read again? Have you read these?

The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson

An absorbing, gripping read describing real life events in WW2 where an entire community lived underground during the worst of the blitz. The community consisted of a library, a day care centre and even a theatre!

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper

The Lighthouse Bookshop by Sharon Gosling

A lovely a story about a community built up around a bookstore with a hidden history and their fight to save it from being knocked down by developers.

The Winter Gardens by Nicola Cornick

A fantastic dual timeline story depicting events leading up to the gunpowder plot. Absolutely fascinating and I learnt lots of new things about this period.

The Reason by Catherine Bennetto

A gorgeous story about a mum and daughter trying to spread a little love and happiness to everyone. Plus one of the best, quirky family I’ve read about.

Book Synopsis:

Is the Diamond reign over?

Head of the Diamond family, Patsy is determined to make a success of husband Nick’s gangland empire – whatever the cost. Nick was ruthless and cold-blooded, but he built a legacy that Patsy wants to protect.

So when a mysterious woman from Nick’s past turns up claiming to be Patsy’s new business partner, she senses trouble. Karen Duret demands Patsy’s help, but it comes with a catch. If Patsy refuses, Karen threatens to expose the Diamond family’s darkest secrets…

Patsy needs the help of her trusted allies more than ever, but when a rival gang start a turf war, the stakes suddenly become deadly.

Torn between loyalties, Patsy knows that blood will be spilled. And as battle commences, the question on everyone’s lips is – who will be crowned the queen of diamonds?

My Review:

The Queen Of Diamonds was another gripping read from one of my favourite authors of this genre. Gangland books are fast becoming my guilty pleasure and are often the genre I fall back on when I’m in a reading slump as I know they’ll be a gripping, easy read.

I was immediately drawn into the story and into the lives of the characters. It’s a period of change for the diamond family with lots of new drama and rivals on the scene. As always there were some characters I loved like the lovely Freddie but others I loved to hate and wouldn’t have minded if they met a sticky end. Patsy was an interesting main character on one hand she was a very hard women when it came to the gang but on the other she definitely had vulnerabilities, particularly in the fact I didn’t feel she had any real allies. She also seemed very spontaneous at times, jumping into situations without thinking them through which didn’t always lead to the best results.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in this series. The tension in the book never really lets up which makes the book very hard to put down and ensured I lost lots of sleep as I was desperate to find out what happened next. There are multiple story lines running through the book which I enjoyed following and seeing how they all came together at the end was very interesting.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Gillian Godden is a brilliantly reviewed writer of gangland fiction as well as a full-time NHS Key Worker in Hull. She lived in London for over thirty years, where she sets her thrillers, and during this time worked in various stripper pubs and venues which have inspired her stories.

Good morning everyone I have a book Spotlight for you today for a book I’m really looking forward to.

Juno Loves Legs sounds just my type of book! It’s the story of two misfits bound together by hard Dublin childhoods which develops into a beautiful, one-in-a-lifetime friendship.

“An unforgettable portrait of two young misfits bound together by hard Dublin childhoods. It’s a ode to love, to salvation of friendship, and to the families we build when our own families fail us. The characters are so real, so desperate to be loved that the reader will want to reach through the pages and hold them”.

Out 09th March 2023.

Book Synopsis:

Juno loves Legs. She’s loved him since their first encounter at school in Dublin, the time she fought the playground bullies for him. Her bright spirit makes his courage flare; his tenderness makes her safe. Together, they feel invincible, even if the world has other ideas. This is their story.

About The Author:

Karl Geary was born in Dublin. His widely acclaimed debut Montpelier Parade was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and for Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Karl lives in Glasgow with his wife and daughter.

Book Synopsis:

A sparkling new historical novel set in the 1920s, inspired by the notorious all-female crime syndicate known as the Forty Thieves who operated out of the slums of south London.

Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful – and one of the Forty Thieves’ most talented members.

Harriet Littlemore writes the women’s section in a local newspaper. She’s from a ‘good’ London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament – but she wants a successful career of her own.

After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society’s rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet’s stories become increasingly intertwined.

Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.

My Review:

I was a huge fan of this author’s Lizzie Hardwicke series so I was very excited to read this book, especially as I’d heard lots of great things from my fellow blogger’s.

Firstly I loved the setting of this book which takes us into the slightly seedier, grimey side of the 1920’s then the carefree one we normally read about. This book describes a London still feeling the effects of the war and people struggling to make ends meet. I found it fascinating to walk throughout the slums and experience everything alongside the characters.

The author has clearly done her research and I loved all the historical details she included. I loved learning more about the Forties gang in particular as I hadn’t heard anything about them before so it was interesting following them as they went on raids. The differences between the classes were quite stark at times, as emphasised by the different lives Ruby and Harriet led. It was quite emotional to read about one group struggling while the other drank champagne near by. The treatment of women at the time made my blood boil and made me feel sorry for Harriet as she tries to do her own thing only to be thwarted by her parents.

The story is fairly fast paced and I quickly became absorbed into the story and the lives of the two very different characters. There always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading and even in quieter moments I was so absorbed in the story that I found the book hard to put down. I felt very sad when the book ended and I had to leave behind Ruby and the Forties. I’d really love there to be a sequel as I’d love to read more about them. If you’re a fan of historical fiction you need to read this book!

About The Author:

Georgina Clarke has always been passionate about stories and history. The Lizzie Hardwicke novels give her the opportunity to bring to life her love of the eighteenth century and her determination that a strong, intelligent and unconventional woman should get to solve the crimes – rather than be cast in the role of the side-kick.

Georgina was born in Wolverhampton, has degrees from Oxford, Cambridge and London, but now lives in Worcester with her husband and son and two lively cats.

Her first two novels, Death and the Harlot and The Corpse Played Dead, are published by Canelo. She is currently cooking up plots for the next novels in the series.

She is represented by Laura Macdougall, at United Agents.

If you would like to visit her website, you can find her at:

http://www.georginaclarkeauthor.com

She is also to be found tweeting (probably far too often than is good for her) at:

@clarkegeorgina1

Good morning everyone and happy Monday! I’m participating in the 12 Challenge from Instagram where I read 12 books recommended by friends next year. I’m really excited about this as, like most bookworms, I love discovering new books and authors.

Below are some of the books already on my list but I need 8 more! I read most genres the only thing I don’t tend to read is books where children get hurt as having three kids myself I find it too hard to read.

Do you have any recommendations I can add to my list?

Good morning everyone I hope you’re staying warm in this cold weather. Here are 5 books that I think are perfect for reading this winter!

⭐ Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan
⭐ Outside by Ragnar Jónasson
⭐The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop by Cressida McLaughlin
⭐aThe Winter Garden by Alexander Bell
⭐A Christmas Celebration by Heidi Swain

I’m really excited to read these as I’ve heard great things about Snowed In For Christmas and The Winter Garden which both sound like magical reads. I’m a huge fan of Jónasson’s books as I love books set in cold countries and Heidi and Cressida’s books are always amazing!

What’s your favourite winter read? Have you read any of these?

I’m trying to be so good this month and not buy any books for myself but I couldn’t resist these three fabulous sounding books!

⭐The Christmas Murder Game by Alexander Benedict
⭐They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
⭐The Secrets Of Rochester Place by Iris Costello

I’ve been following the read along to the sequel of The Christmas Murder Game and was so intrigued I had to get a copy as I like reading series in order. They Both Die At The End is a book I’ve been hearing lots about and when I went to buy it for a Christmas present they were on a 2 for £7 deal so naturally had to get a copy for me too 🤣. The Secrets Of Rochester Place is another book I’ve seen my blogger friends enjoy and the cover is so pretty I can’t wait to read this soon!

What books have you bought recently? Have you read any of these?

Good morning everyone I’m very excited to reveal the cover of the wonderful sounding The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer. I love historical fiction, especially if they are about witches or have a supernatural element to them. I can’t wait to read it soon.

You can find out more about the book below or you can pre-order it using the links!

Book Synopsis:

THERE IS POWER IN SILENCE

East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer and servant, has lived peacefully for more than four decades in her beloved Cleftwater. Everyone in the village knows Martha, but no one has ever heard her speak.

One bright morning, Martha becomes a silent witness to a witch hunt, led by sinister new arrival Silas Makepeace. As a trusted member of the community, she is enlisted to search the bodies of the accused women for evidence. But whilst she wants to help her friends, she also harbours a dark secret that could cost her own freedom.

In desperation, Martha revives a wax witching doll that she inherited from her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, the tide is turning, and time is running out . . .

A spellbinding and intoxicating novel inspired by true events, The Witching Tide is a magnificent debut from a writer to watch.

Out 6th July 2023, pre-order your copy using the links below!

About The Author:

Margaret Meyer was born in Canada, grew up in New Zealand and now lives in Norwich, England. She worked in publishing and literature promotion before retraining in a second career as a mental health therapist. In 2020 she completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. The Witching Tide is her first novel.