23 Sunday Sep 2018
It’s always interesting to do a Meet the Author Q&A with an author you’ve already met and thought you knew…
So, it was a bit of a surprise to discover that Graeme Cumming, author of the genre-busting Ravens Gathering, reviewed here on Book Lovers Booklist in March, has walked on hot coals and likes to eat poached egg and mashed potato.
Find out what else rocks his boat… Continue reading
23 Sunday Sep 2018
Posted in Reviews
David Bowie certainly knew what he was talking about when he penned the line: ‘Put on your red shoes and dance…’
Because as beleaguered ex-pat Brits Belinda, Julia, Laura and Georgina discover in Isabella May’s sunny third novel Costa del Churros, it really is possible to dance your troubles away.
Or, at least, in the case of the four friends, confidence on the dance floor translates into an ability to face head on the issues that are making their lives a misery.
And, boy, despite the happy faces they try and present to the world, all four women are seriously unhappy. Continue reading
09 Sunday Sep 2018
Posted in Reviews
It is a truth NEVER universally acknowledged but women are ALWAYS in the frontline of war.
Whether it’s a war on terror or poverty or internal or external wars against those with differing political, ideological or religious beliefs, women are always dodging bullets fired by men.
And Sleeping Through War is a moving tribute by author Jackie Carreira to the women’s stories that are forgotten in the history books.
It is 1968 and three women are fighting to survive their own personal battleground. Continue reading
27 Monday Aug 2018
Posted in Reviews
Author Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer.
But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give up design.
Instead, she took up writing.
Her love of satire, combined with a fondness for double entendres, means her novels – earthy chick lit and romantic comedy – are a tad Monty Pythonesque.
‘But,’ says Houseman, whose Ruth Roth series features a humourless schoolmarm with Continue reading
22 Wednesday Aug 2018
There are some things that can’t be left unsaid. If you’re still looking for a last-minute summer holiday read, get yourself a copy of Megan Mayfair’s romance The Things We Leave Unsaid.
On one level, it’s a light, sparky read, peppered with wry asides.
Take this example: Clare, one of the two women at the heart of the story, was a virgin when she married her husband Pete.
Her boss, and new best friend, Tessa, who’s had lots of boyfriends but never been in love, prefers ‘to try before she buys, but then again, she didn’t think she would ever buy – so, sort of try before she leased? Illegal sub-let?’
Okay, not laugh-out-loud funny but it tickled my funny-bone. Continue reading
17 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in Reviews
Do you ever sit down to write a review and find yourself staring at a blank page for what seems forever?
Because there is so much to say, you don’t know where to begin?
So, I’ll start by listing, in no particular order, the things I love about Butterfly Blood, Rebecca Carpenter’s stunning YA follow-up to her 2016 Metamorphosis series debut Butterfly Bones.
1. It’s a YA-cum sci-fi-cum magical realism-cum-mystery novel that, like The Hunger Games and the Harry Potter stories, also works for adult readers. Continue reading
09 Thursday Aug 2018
Posted in Reviews
And now for something completely different: The Bespokist Society Guide to…London
“sparse… some glaring omissions” FoodPorn London
“only page 23 is of mild interest” http://www.londonpetlover.com
“Wow!!! A genuinely bespoke city guide!!!” Tommy Sponge, chairman, The Bespokist Society
You have in your hands one of the most curated city guides ever created. As the first travel book produced by Continue reading
30 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in Reviews
If you’ve already read the first two parts in the wickedly funny Hattie Hastings trilogy by Audrey Davis, you don’t need me to tell you The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part Three is an equal delight.
And, if you haven’t read the series openers, why not?
You’re missing a treat.
Because, despite what can only be described as an ever so slightly bonkers plot – Hattie’s dead husband, Gary keeps popping back from the after-life to ensure his Continue reading
24 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in Reviews
Who knew Peter Mayle wrote deft, very enjoyable thrillers?
Not me.
Until now my knowledge of Mayle’s writing was confined to the highly successful, semi-autobiographical A Year in Provence, which my husband liked a lot…and me, not so much.
Accordingly, Murder in the Med was a delightful surprise.
Mayle, a former advertising executive, is an economical writer who doesn’t waste a word. Continue reading
23 Monday Jul 2018
Every reader knows never to judge a book by its cover.
So true – because the pretty, canary yellow, sunshine cover of Forgive Me Not doesn’t even begin to hint at some of the difficult themes explored by author Samantha Tonge.
It’s a bit of a departure for Tonge, who’s better known as a best-selling romance novelist.
But her own battles with alcohol and addiction and her journey towards well-being provided the inspiration for Emma, the recovering alcoholic heroine of Forgive Me Not.
But this is not just the story of Emma’s struggle for sobriety, as well as sibling rivalry, Continue reading
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