The latest New York Times bestseller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a “wonderful story of love and growth” (Stephen King).
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.
As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?
From “the reigning queen of magical realism” (Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author), this is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.
My Review
I have been a massive fan of Alice Hoffman for many years, with The Museum of Extraordinary Things being one of my favourite books of all time. However, the jury is still out on this one. The writing is sublime, the characterisations are amazing, every word, every turn of phrase as magical and beautiful as you would expect from this author. I listened to it as an audiobook from Borrowbox, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment.
But I am not sure about the time slip element. And looking at other reviews, it appears that I am not the only one.
Pregnant and alone, Mia’s mother Ivy ran away from home when she was sixteen. She joined a cult known as the Community, led by the charismatic Joel Davies, but things were not as she imagined. He took her as his wife and became a surrogate father to daughter Mia. Children, however, were looked after by everyone – mothers were not allowed to favour their own. But Ivy cannot let go, loving Mia so fiercely, that she is often punished for her ‘misdemeanors’.
Books are banned in the Community. Joel knows that once you have read a book, your life is changed forever. That doesn’t stop Mia from visiting the library, where one day she discovers a new future, and a book called The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne that will save her life.
In Part Two, Mia slips into Nathaniel’s life in the 1800s, where they fall in love, and this is where it all became a bit too fantastical for me. I love magical realism, but I am not always a fan of time slip novels, where it is really more like time travel, as it is in this case. I could have coped with Mia going back. but not some of the other things that happened.
However, even though I have only given it 4 stars instead of my usual 5 stars for Hoffman, I still really enjoyed it. She will always be my favourite author and in reality can do no wrong.
About the Author
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew; The Marriage of Opposites; The Red Garden; The Museum of Extraordinary Things; The Dovekeepers; Here on Earth, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and the Practical Magic series, including Practical Magic; Magic Lessons; The Rules of Magic, a selection of Reese’s Book Club; and The Book of Magic. She lives near Boston.
+ family, fiction, grief, kidnapping, legal drama, lies, loss, love, motherhood, murder, mystery, obsession, review, secrets, thriller
Finding Sophie by Imran Mahmood
A brilliantly compelling domestic suspense from a rising star of the crime fiction world, and the man behind BBC/Netflix smash hit, You Don’t Know Me
Sophie King is missing.
Her parents, Harry and Zara, are distraught; for the last seventeen years, they’ve done everything for their beloved only daughter and now she’s gone.
#FindingSophie @imranmahmood777 @BloomsburyRaven @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour
The police have no leads, and Harry and Zara are growing increasingly frantic, although they are both dealing with it in very different ways. Increasingly obsessed with their highly suspicious neighbour who won’t open the door or answer any questions, they are both coming to the same conclusion. If they want answers, they’re going to have to take the matter into their own hands.
But just how far are they both prepared to go for the love of their daughter?
My Review
How far would you go to find the person you love most of all in the whole world? Especially when that person is your own daughter? Seventeen-year-old Sophie King has gone missing. Has she been abducted or is she already dead?
The book is written alternatively from the point of view of Harry King, Sophie’s father, and from her mother Zara. Both are desperate to discover the truth, but the way they go about it is driving a wedge between them. Neither of them will talk to the other, and their relationship is on rocky ground.
Then we have the court case – at first we are not even sure who is in court and what they are being charged with. As the story progresses, we learn there is far more to it than we could have imagined. The court scenes are written by someone who either has huge experience of criminal trials or has done some major research. We know of course that the author is a practising criminal barrister, so it’s obviously the former.
I did guess a tiny part of the outcome, though I think you were probably meant to. Everything else is a surprise. There are some very unusual twists. And some brilliant characters. The man at number 210, Herman, is about as vile as you can get.
The writing is so good, the use of language and metaphors, the build up and suspense. It’s very clever and brilliantly plotted.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour
About the Author
Imran Mahmood is a practising criminal barrister in England and Wales. His debut novel You Don’t Know Me was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, the CWA Gold Dagger Award, and the Glass Bell Award and was made into a hugely successful BBC1 adaptation in association with Netflix, reaching no.3 in the World and in the UK received a BAFTA nomination for best actor. His second novel I Know What I Saw was chosen as a Sunday Times crime novel of the month and reached no. 2 on the Audible charts. It was also long-listed for both the CWA Gold Dagger Award and Theakstons Crime Novel of the year. His third novel All I Said Was True was also long-listed for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023
His fourth novel Finding Sophie is to be released in the UK and in the USA in March 2024.
Imran was born and raised in Liverpool but now lives in London with his wife and 2 daughters.
Kiki grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of one day going to Glastonbury Festival.
Now, mourning the loss of her beloved Yaya – the woman who raised her – she travels to the UK to follow that dream. It is only when she leaves home that she realises just how sheltered her life has been up until now.
Ned lives an active and exciting life. Well, he did until the accident. Now, he’s woken from his coma, except no one knows. He can hear everything happening around him but can’t make his body respond.
#SmallActsOfKindness #CarolineDay @Snoopytodd @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour
Still grieving for her best friend, the one person who’d known how difficult her marriage was, Mrs Malley, finds herself lonely and isolated with only her dog, Wordsworth, to keep her company.
These three strangers are each in need of a little kindness in their lives, and this beautifully poignant and uplifting novel shows us the world through their eyes whilst highlighting the power of human connection.
My Review
When I started reading, I thought ‘what is this?’ A kooky girl from New Zealand called Kiki, who is so naive she appears to have no idea what’s going on. Then there’s Ned, whose active life was cut short by an accident which has left him with locked-in syndrome. Except he’s awake in his head but can’t tell anyone. Then we have Mrs Malley, a crotchety 84-year-old who never minces her words. Not many people like her, apart from her dog Wordsworth, who is always escaping and causing trouble.
How on earth are these characters going to form the basis of any kind of novel? I’ll admit it took me a while to get into it, but when I did, it was a revelation. Not all books need a beautiful heroine, with flowing locks and a size eight figure. Or a ruggedly handsome Mr Darcy, emerging from the water in a soaking wet shirt. Or even a kind old granny who would die for her offspring. Mrs Malley doesn’t have any.
Kiki wears frog wellies and dungaree shorts like a ten-year-old and Ned is – well – locked in, so he can’t fight his corner and win the girl. Mrs M is a cantankerous old bat, except no-one knows what she had to endure in her marriage of 60 plus years to the insufferable Roger. He made her give up work, even though she was runner-up in the Pitman typing competition in Cheltenham in 1952 (I remember this albeit 20 years later – I can even picture the building round the corner from where I live. In fact I think it’s still there).
Mrs M had a friend called Harriet who died shortly after Roger. He never approved of her. She wrote a poem about their bucket list (except she called it something that rhymes with ‘bucket’ but that would never pass Amazon’s rules). It included riding in an open top Jaguar, dying their hair pink and sunbathing in the nude. I’ll pass on the latter thank you.
Poor Kiki. After her Yaya died she came to England to go to Glastonbury and to search for the person who supposedly poisoned her mother. Except she can’t even work out how to use her phone let alone surf the internet. Poor Ned. His life is permanently on hold. Is there any hope that he might recover? His stepfather Maxwell thinks so and he used to be a doctor. And poor Mrs M. All she has left is Wordsworth. But now she has Kiki, who exploded into her life and is probably more trouble than a mad dog. But she reminds Mrs M a little of Harriet, eccentric, and no filter.
By the last few chapters, I didn’t want it to end. And I cried. I admit I cried on and off for about the last two hours. Not sobbing, just a few tears trickling down my face. Just peeling onions darling, nothing to see here. I shall miss them all.
Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.
About the Author
Caroline Day is an author, journalist and consultant editor from Crouch End, North London, where she lives with her husband and two beagle-cross rescue dogs, Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Her debut novel, Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life, was a Sunday Times bestseller, Goldsboro Books’ Book Of The Month, and was awarded the Joan Hessayon Prize for new writers by the Romantic Novelists Association of which she is a member. Her second novel Small Acts of Kindness is published in Spring 2024.
+ Gaza, photographs, photography, war
Ten Days In Gaza – Photographs by Giuseppe Aquili, Anthony Dawton and Jim McFarlane Manipulations by Dia al-Azzawi
The photographs in this book were taken in February 2010, a year after the Israeli action ‘Operation Cast Lead’.
Published by Hood Hood Books
Format: Hardcover
Retail price: 40 GBP
Buy Link
www.amazon.co.uk
PR contact
gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com
Forward by Mr Khaled Dawas
Chairman, Al Quds Foundation for Medical Schools in Palestine
Director of GI Surgery, Honorary Associate Professor,
University College London Hospitals
“Ten Days in Gaza is a timeless project, a beautiful album of photographs taken in 2010 by Giuseppe Aquili, Anthony Dawton and Jim McFarlane, reflecting the harshness of contemporary Gazan reality. It mirrors recurrent displacements and bombardments and decades of silence and neglect. Destruction is all around, and sadness is etched on the faces of many. Yet, beauty and hope are everywhere. Read beyond those anguished expressions and you will sense the resourcefulness, determination and resilience of the Palestinian people. Gaza’s wealth of history and culture is often forgotten. The strip of land that straddles the Afro-Eurasian crossroads has long been a melting pot as numerous conquerors and civilisations walked through its fertile land and anchored at its shores. It is a 4000-year-old city on the shore of the Mediterranean, created by the Canaanites and once part of Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Ancient Greece and the Persian and Roman Empires. Alexander the Great besieged it; Amr ibn al-’As conquered it for the Muslim Arabs; Napoleon overran it; the Ottomans relinquished it to the rising British tide in the First World War.
“There are historic places of worship for Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, who have prayed at the Omari Mosque, the Church of St Porphyrius and the ancient synagogue in Gaza over the centuries. These striking photos of children’s faces reveal genes from the Levant, Africa, Europe and the tribes of Arabia. Today, Gazan children, the heirs of these civilisations and empires, are tragically trapped by concrete and water under a sky that, time and time again, rains explosives.
“Gaza’s history is not that of poverty and grey concrete breeze blocks but that of a thriving coastal city in a fertile plain which grew olives, citrus fruits and flowers, to match the best. The stunning city panels in the beautiful large Byzantine mosaic floor, discovered in Umm al-Rasas in Jordan and dated to 785, show Gaza amongst the celebrated cities in the region including Alexandria, Jerusalem, Neapolis (Nablus), Caesarea and Philadelphia (Amman). The streams at the foothills of Al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank and the springs in the Naqab (Negev) Hills are the tributaries of the Wadi Gaza river.
“In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinian families displaced by the creation of Israel walked south along the coast and took refuge in the Gaza Strip. Families of the farmers (fallaheen), landowners, fisherman (sayyadeen), civil administrators (idariyeen) and other professionals, suddenly made destitute during the Nakba, walked from Yafa, Al-Majdal and Asqalan and many other towns and villages. The locals embraced them just north of Gaza City: suddenly another ingredient was added to Gaza’s demographic mix.
“Today, the Wadi Gaza river flows no more, diverted by Israel. But today’s Gazans – including descendants of those 1948 refugees from historic Palestine – are capable engineers, teachers, nurses and doctors aspiring to compete as self-made professionals. As proud as they are ambitious, they have already spread across the world, plying their trades. The healthcare workers who returned to stay in Gaza have become globally famous in recent months for their remarkable resourcefulness, steadfastness, and extraordinary courage in the face of unfathomable adversity.
“I am delighted to be Chairman of FQMS, Al Quds Foundation for Medical Schools in Palestine, which is a British-based charity furthering medical education for Palestine. FQMS was established in 1997 to support the then fledgling medical school at Al-Quds University on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and later extended its work to the medical schools in Gaza and Nablus. The most talented school leavers want to become healers and serve their people. It is the mission of FQMS to help make that possible and it makes us proud that medical graduates of all Palestinian medical schools have shown their calibre against international standards.
“We at FQMS are proud of being part of this inspiring project. It is but a small part of the story of an ancient land, short-changed by its contemporary fate. We wish to cultivate the pride and ambition that the photographers have so skilfully and compassionately captured in this album, against a merciless setting.
“Ten days in Gaza is hardly long enough but cherish your stay.”
My Thoughts
I loved NotLondon and Edge Of Hope. The photos are so powerful and Ten Days in Gaza is no different. The photographers manage to capture the soul of the place, mostly through the eyes of the children. My favourite is probably the one seen through the rear window of a car, with a piece of fabric hanging down that resembles a noose.
The photographs “mirror recurrent displacements and bombardments and decades of silence and neglect. Destruction is all around, and sadness is etched on the faces of many. Yet, beauty and hope are everywhere.” They show how the children can rise above adversity.
But fourteen years later and nothing has changed. ‘As of 29 February, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 30,000 Palestinians (including over 10,000 minors) have been killed, over 70,000 injured, and 10,000 are missing under rubble, totaling over 110,000 casualties since the war began, which is about 5% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.’
As ever, children are the innocent victims of a war which they don’t understand. But then, neither do I, or millions like me. There’s no excuse.
Many thanks to Grace Pilkington Publicity @GracePublicity for inviting me to give an unbiased review of Ten Days in Gaza.
About the people involved in the project
Dia Al-Azzawi
Dia al-Azzawi was born in 1939 and achieved a degree in archaeology at Baghdad University (1958–62), at the same time as a diploma from the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad (1959–64). Azzawi worked as an archaeologist and museum curator, and also exhibited his work publicly from 1964 onwards, becoming a central figure in the development of modernist art in the Arab world. He was a member of several art movements and wrote the iconic Towards a New Vision manifesto in 1969; as secretary of the Iraqi Artists’ Society, he established the pioneering al-Wasiti Festival in 1972.
In 1976, Azzawi moved to London and continued to forge ties with artists across the Arab world, curating numerous exhibitions at the Iraqi Cultural Centre that travelled to the region. His work became deeply influenced by world politics and especially injustice in the Arab World, publicising and supporting the Palestinian cause and that of the Iraqi people. Long influenced by storytelling, particularly from Iraq, Azzawi uses Ancient Mesopotamian and ethnographic imagery, often intertwined with text from modern Arabic literature. Since 1991, he has predominantly painted Iraq in black-and-white, as opposed to his usual bright colours, in a series called Land of Darkness.
Although primarily known as a painter and draughtsman, Azzawi works in a huge variety of media, ranging from graphic design to monumental sculpture and both two and three dimensional printing. Approximately a quarter of his artist’s books were the focus of Painting Poetry, a recent solo exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (December 2022–June 2023).
Giuseppe Aquili
Giuseppe Aquili was born in 1974 in Ancona, Italy. He studied photography at the Experimental Design Centre in Ancona where he was influenced by the Marché photographer Mario Giacomelli and Pep Bonet as well as the artists Egon Schiele and Alberto Giacometti. He worked in Italy for several years before coming to England in 1999 where he has involved in photographic projects in Oman, Awwlbania and Nigeria as well as in the UK. Photographs from a UNICEF and Al Madad Foundation project in Niger were selected to show at the 2009 Sony World Photographic Awards, in Cannes, as well as on a UN calendar later that year.
In 2010 Aquili went to Gaza for Save the Children to photograph children who had been affected by conflict. Images from the project formed part of The Children of Gaza Exhibition in 2011 and now appear in this book. Since then, Aquili has returned to his home country to pursue a career outside photography.
Anthony Dawton and Jim McFarlane
Anthony Dawton is an award winning commercial photographer. His work has been published in The Guardian, The Independent and he was the house photographer for the iconic arts magazine Funoon Arabia. Dawton was one of six photographers to be featured in the Australian CCP exhibition that toured South East Asia in 2010. He has been a contributing photographer to the Silent Witnesses book series: Kashmir’s Children, The Silent Witnesses of the Earthquake and Desert Faces, The Silent Witnesses of the Niger Children.
In September 2021 his book, NotLondon was published (click on link for more information), the result of nearly two years spent talking to and photographing the homeless on the streets of London. Dawton has also lectured in London on photography.
Jim McFarlane is an Australian based photographer who has worked commercially for over 25 years. His expertise covers advertising and a wide range of subjects including food, dance and people. The Australian Ballet has used McFarlane extensively and he has been awarded by The Melbourne Art Director’s Club and has received the Oriental Fine Print award. McFarlane’s work is also included in the collection of the Australian National Library. McFarlane has taught photography at Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne and Deakin University, Geelong.
Dawton and McFarlane have worked together for many years, often collaborating on projects highlighting humanitarian crises arising from conflict or natural disaster. In 2008 they (along with Guiseppe Aquili) were invited to Niger by the Al Madad Foundation and UNICEF to document the effects of severe drought.
Photographs from this project were selected to show at the 2009 Sony World Photographic Awards in Cannes. In 2010, the three photographers visited Gaza for Save the Children and photographs from that project formed part of a touring exhibition in 2011 and which are now the subject of this book.
In 2013, Dawton and McFarlane entered what was then the largest refugee camp in the world: the camp in Zaatari, Jordan. The resulting photographs and film, the Hotel Zaatari Project, toured the Middle East and UK. In October 2014 the TMCP V.VC. Vorovsky factory in Tikhoretsk, Russia, invited Dawton and McFarlane to photograph their workers. An exhibition of the images opened at the TMCP factory in February 2015 and later transferred to Moscow.
More recent projects have included the photographing and filming of the Syrian refugee camps in the Bekka Valley, Lebanon and the Palestinian camps in Beirut.
In May 2022 Dawton and McFarlane photographed the flood-prone char islands in Bogra, Bangladesh and the Rohingya camp at Cox’s Bazar. An exhibition of their photographs from the Rohingya camp is currently touring and a book, Edge of Hope: The Rohingya Refugee Camp at Cox’s Bazar, has just been published. (Click on link for more information.)
Acknowledgements
We must acknowledge and thank those who inspired, helped, supported and made possible the The Ten Days in Gaza project from the start fourteen years ago. Ahmed Muhanna, our guide and Ziad, our driver. Saleh Judellea, the English student, photographer and unofficial guide. Sharif Sirhan, photographer and artist. Ousama, Save the Children’s point man in Gaza and Jochen Sokoly of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. Closer to home we are very grateful for the professional advice from Louisa Macmillan and Liz Holmes. Above all, we wish to thank Dia al Azzawi and Faiza Alireza Mayassar, whose support and kindness made this project possible in the first place.
The publisher wishes to warmly thank As’ad AbuKhalil, Lina Al-Nashef, Sawsan Asfari, Alexandra Breton, Khaled Dawas, Sami El-Haddad, Elvira Guttierrez, Tara Kelly, Grace Pilkington and Ian Watts.
I’m a huge fan of warming wax burners so I jumped at the chance to try out and review the new Wax Collection from Scentsy.
First of all I’d just like to say that I have tried a lot of different waxes but none compare with Scentsy. The range of scents, the strength and the longevity are what make them stand out. There are others out there that are cheaper but you know what they say – you get what you pay for.
Now anyone who comes to my house will know that I am obsessed with Go-Go Mango which has been discontinued for now, so I need to find a replacement. I’m hoping that one of my six samples will do the trick. So I’m looking for something that is probably orange in colour and is fairly sweet and strong.
Here goes:
SUNCASTLES: Sunny coconut brightens up tropical pistachio and sweet almond evoking memories of the beach. I adore pistachio, but this could be a bit stronger. Very nice though. I’m warming it in the living room.
PINKBERRY SANDALWOOD: Pinkberry and fresh cherry add a sweet pop tonka bean and sandalwood. This is also in the living room but at the other end. Lovely scent but again not strong enough.
COASTAL SUN FRUIT: Golden sun fruit, bright tropical berries and coastal amber bring a sense of sunshine. Now we’re talking! I can smell this over the top of the other two. I love it best so far. I’m warming this in the hall. Could be my new favourite. I need this in my life!
EVENING SKY: Light up the night with soft bergamot and rich Madagascar vanilla paving the way for midnight lily. This one I really love. The blue ones are not usually my favourite, but I love bergamot and vanilla. This is my second favourite. I’m warming it in the living room.
PINEAPPLE & PALM: Escape to the islands, where sweet citrus and palm leaf float on the breeze over pineapple driftwood. Not my favourite. I can see there are mixed reviews on this one.
BAMBOO & RAINFALL: An exhilarating rainfall pours down over fresh bamboo and bright melon water in a tranquil moment. Again not strong enough for me. I can barely smell it or maybe that’s just me.
I’ve loved trying these out and I hope you will enjoy my review and think about trying them for yourselves. Coastal Sun Fruit is definitely my favourite, with Evening Sky coming second.
Love Scentsy! Click on the link to go to Sarah Dean’s Scentsy page on Facebook.
+ fiction, folklore, gothic, grief, poetry, review, Scotland, superstition, thriller, witchcraft, witches
Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed…
Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire.
Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back…
#CrowMoon @writer_suzy @OrendaBooks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour #debut #MarthaStrangewaysInvestigation #Scotland
When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows.
As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe, including Martha…
My Review
More crows. It’s not that I have a thing about corvids, but they seem to feature in quite a few of the books I read. Poor birds, they do get a bad rap. But then I think back to ‘the crow and the duckling incident’ on a visit to Hever Castle, and maybe they deserve it.
When I first read the synopsis, I did wonder how I would manage to read this, knowing that Martha’s three-year-old twins had died in a fire. I don’t know how she manages to carry on. Maybe it’s because she has her older son Dougie to stop her from giving up.
The story begins with Dougie’s best friend Fraser going missing. At first they think he might have just stayed out all night, but after a few days the community knows there is something more sinister and search parties are out looking for him.
Martha Strangeways (love the name) is in the woods, walking her two dogs Skye and BJ. She trips and falls, knocking herself out. But just before, she sees a body and instantly she knows it’s Fraser. And someone is watching.
Martha wakes up in hospital, (the dogs are fine – just thought I’d mention that in case anyone is worried) but she soon discovers from DI Derek Summers that Fraser had a verse of poetry inscribed on his back. It’s the second verse of a four verse poem called Feannag Dhubh, a strange legend from folklore, that ‘originated in the seventeenth century during the time of the Scottish witch trials’. And it seems one of the witches was tried and executed near the house where the twins died. Martha doesn’t believe in any of this stuff, but someone obviously does. And there are references to crows and the soon to be rising Crow Moon.
Then another teenager goes missing, and Martha is drawn into the investigation. She overhears conversations involving her son, and knows that he could be next. What did Dougie, Fraser and Christie get up to at the moondial, exactly one year ago that so terrifies them now, particularly Christie.
The whole story is creepy and atmospheric, with a modern gothic feel, set in the village of Strathbran (the name means Glen of Ravens), in a remote part of Scotland. It’s just my kind of book.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Originally from the north-east of England, former journalist Suzy Aspley has lived in Scotland for almost thirty years. She writes crime and short stories, often inspired by the strange things she sees in the landscape around her. She won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect in 2019 with the original idea for her debut novel and was shortlisted for the Capital Crime New Voices Award. In 2020, she was mentored by Jo Dickinson as part of the Hachette future bookshelf initiative. Crow Moon was also longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award. She’s currently working on the second book in the series, and when she’s not writing, she’s either got her nose buried in a book, or is outside with her dogs
dreaming up more dark stories. She lives in Stirlingshire with her family.
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
Vengeance Born releases on wide distribution channels, including Amazon, Apple, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, and more starting March 15, 2024.
Two Dark Tales. One deliciously haunting book.
Enter the Netherworld and dive into the dark with Grim and Reaper. The resident lords of Purgia may govern the deathly dealings of the day, but faced with the matters of their heart, their worlds get turned upside down.
When an enigmatic woman begs Thelios Mirth to save her and her sister from the clutches of Hades, the Grim Lord finds himself gambling with the unexpected. His heart.
Lord Roark wants for nothing but to reap the strays and vagabonds roaming the city of Purgia, but when a ward of the High Prince seeks his help against rebel forces, he forsakes his better judgment with hopes to reap something forbidden. Love.
Vengeance Born: A Grim & Reaper Netherworld Tale is a two-act novel filled with dark fantasy, broody, ruggedly handsome mythical men, and strong love interests. Both tales are steamy, dark, no cheating, with touches of mafia and barbarian-ish charm.
Many thanks to Bookworm Book Tours for including me in the wide release blitz of Vengeance Born.
Links:
Universal: https://books2read.com/u/3k9noW
Direct Buy: https://bit.ly/3PNR9BD (includes bonus story)
Instagram: @author_l_c_son
“Not only elven kings carry secrets – ancient artefacts do too.”
Fifteen-year-old storm rider Haydan has never wanted the mask of the gods or the responsibilities that accompany it, but whether he likes it or not it’s his destiny. Now he’s discovering that unless he plays to his strengths and quickly he stands no chance as the threats to him and his soul family are growing.
Genre: Fantasy YA/Adult
Rumours have always circulated about the dangerous dark gods, but now they’re showing interest in Haydan. As King Tallin’s masquerade ball approaches, excitement builds and Haydan finds himself trapped between Tallin’s magical games, a mysterious hidden adversary in the elven king’s court and feuding dark gods who want him and the mask at any cost.
The only way Haydan will survive is if he places his trust in his feisty chosen one and misbehaving warrior and works with them to capture the realms connected to the mask. Can he figure out the clues and start claiming realms to protect everyone he cares about before it’s too late? Or will the dark gods take him prisoner?
Find out in Mask of Deception, the second instalment in the Mask Chronicles
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Joy’s world is turned upside down when she discovers she was given away as a newborn.
She runs away from her home in Australia to go in search of her birth family in Northumberland.
Genre: Saga | Romance
Coming face-to-face with the Kelly family ignites Joy’s envy of her sister, Rose, and she plunges into a tailspin of mistakes and heartache.
Joy’s trouble-strewn journey is set in the sixties, a time of freedom and promise. She sees that popular culture and attitudes are changing, yet she still hides the shame of being the giveaway girl.
What will it take for her to accept the events of the past, come to understand the meaning of love and discover her true worth?
About the Author
Chrissie Bradshaw, 2016 winner of the Romantic Novelist’s Association Elizabeth Goudge writing trophy, has written five family sagas and a Christmas novella. Her most recent novel, THE GIVEAWAY GIRL, published in March 2023, is a spin-off of ROSE’S CHOICE and ROSE’S EVER AFTER, her heart-wrenching family saga set in the north of England.
Her work has been compared to the late, great northern writer Catherine Cookson. “She gives this historical read a Catherine Cookson vibe, but perhaps with more of a modern attitude.”
Chrissie lives beside the coast in a beautiful part of the country near to the Scottish/ English border and all of her novels are set in this area yet the characters have a universal appeal. Any reader who enjoys reading about families, love and relationships will enjoy her heartwarming stories of sisters who struggle with work, love and family.
“ I have always loved match-making a book to a reader. Writing the kind of book I love to read takes this a step further.” When Chrissie is not writing or reading, you will find her walking her dog on the beach, travelling or spending time with her family and friends. She would love to hear from readers.
Author’s Website: http://www.chrissiebradshaw.com
Buy Links: www.amazon.co.uk
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+ assisted dying, dark humour, dementia, euthanasia, fiction, friendship, humour fiction, loneliness, memory, politics, review
Shaking Hands With Elvis by Paul Carroll
An uncaring government has legalised assisted dying, but it’s not only the terminally ill they loosen the rules for.
Anybody considered to have nothing to contribute, a drain on resources, or simply past it, is encouraged to do the decent thing and opt for an early check out.
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Entrepreneur Callan Clay is quick to fill the market gap through Go Gently, his business offering inventive ways, including an Elvis Presley themed demise, for customers to lawfully shuffle off their mortal coils. Assisted dying is the latest must-have lifestyle choice.
But when Geraldine, Dawn, Jeffrey and Woody, each having a different reason for giving up the ghost, book appointments for their final journeys, they discover not everything at Go Gently’s state- of-the-art Charon House clinic lives up to the brochure. As the clock ticks down to their appointed hour, is it really the end of the line for the gang of four, or is there life in the old dogs yet?
My Review
I’m so stunned by this that I don’t really know where to begin. I’ve never been sure about assisted dying, but then I listen to someone like Dame Esther Rantzen talking about joining Dignitas. “The 83-year-old, who has stage four lung cancer, is campaigning for people who have physical illnesses, and a life expectancy of six months or less, to have the right to choose when they die.
“Assisted dying is illegal in England, Northern Ireland and Wales – and anyone who travels abroad with a person who ends their life could be prosecuted when they return.” – Sky News
Fair enough. It’s very sad, but I get it. Dame Esther Rantzen was a huge influence on my early life and I shall hate to see her go. However, in Shaking Hands With Elvis, we have gone way beyond that. The NHS has been disbanded (let’s hope that’s not going to happen any time soon or ever) and ‘assisted dying’ looks like a good option for anyone who is past their sell by date. But now we have the age-old questions – are they being pushed before they can jump? Does money/inheritance come into it? And is it a way to bring the population down (good for the environment is a selling point), by culling those who don’t want to be here anyway?
Put like that – the last part only – it sounds like a good idea. But it is so open to abuse, that I refer to my initial comment about being on the fence. Because in the words of Hotel California, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” Once you’ve bought your ticket, it’s a one-way trip, Hit The Road Jack, Goodnight Irene, and other cliched songs.
But back to the book. It revolves around our intrepid gang of four. Geraldine is lonely, Dawn is in constant pain, Jeffery has dementia, and Woody is on a totally different path. But Callan Clay doesn’t care. He’s an entrepreneur and he just sees a business opportunity and a way to make more money. And vile secretary of state for ‘wellbeing’ (ha!) Lawrence Pestel is looking for a fast track route to Number 10. And between them, they dress it up as being given a choice blah blah.
I’m not sure how many times I gasped at some of the things that happened, or were suggested by Clay and Pestel. It’s dark humour at its best. Yes it is really funny even though it shouldn’t be.
There are so many ethical questions, which only get worse as the story progresses. And I was devastated by the ending, but I can’t say anymore. Anyone who is unsure about assisted dying should read this, though it probably won’t help you make up your mind!
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Writing that puts the ‘stab’ into establishment.
Paul’s novels consistently let fly at the latest social trends in an entertaining mix of cutting observation, human drama, dark humour and compassion. Before turning to writing Paul worked in the field of PR for many years, including campaigns for well-known brands such as Boddingtons, Heineken, Thorntons Chocolate, Chicago Town Pizza, Big D peanuts, Co-op Funerals and Manchester Airport.
Selling things to people they didn’t realise they needed is at the heart of many of Paul’s books, often with unanticipated consequences for the latest get-rich-quick merchant eager to turn a quick buck at somebody else’s expense.
Born and brought up in Leeds, Paul has a degree in English Language and English Literature from the University of Manchester. Paul lives in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.
A marketing gamekeeper-turned-poacher, Paul is to be found peering behind the curtains of ‘the next big thing’ when he’s not writing.
Shaking Hands with Elvis (2024) is Paul Carroll’s fifth novel, following Don’t Ask (2021), Trouble Brewing (2017), Written Off (2016) and A Matter of Life.
Oskar Bachmann always imagined that giving his first lecture would be the defining moment of his life.
It was, but not in the way he expected… Growing up a misfit in Nazi Germany, a victim of his father’s beatings, Oskar’s love of books is a constant comfort in a world turned upside-down by violence. As a student, as a pilot in the brutal Luftwaffe during the Second World War, in an unhappy marriage to an English bride, he finds himself returning over and over to the circumstances of his childhood.
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 376
Publisher: Cranthorpe Millner Publishers
What was the source and cause of his father’s abuse? Could there have been more to it than he had once believed? Little did Oskar know that his first lecture at the University of Tübingen would ultimately lead to the end of a lifetime of searching… and finally reveal the figure who had been controlling his life from a distance.
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An emotional and inspiring World War Two time-slip novel of danger and courage. This is a story inspired by true events and stories of Irena Sendler and the women of the Polish Żegota.
It’s the worst time in humanity and yet there is still light in the darkness…
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1942, Warsaw
Young Zofia finds herself leading a double life when she is enlisted to help the fearless Irena Sendler save hundreds of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
Every night, Zofia risks her life to shepherd the children to safety. But when the worst happens, she is forced to make her riskiest journey yet to keep Irena’s mission alive.
Now, Seattle
After yet another miscarriage, heartbroken Lizzie returns to the comfort of her childhood home, where she stumbles upon a hidden photograph of her great-grandmother among a mysterious group of people.
On a quest to discover more, Lizzie uncovers a buried past darker and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined…
A sweeping and heartbreaking story of two remarkable women, generations apart, each finding courage when all hope is gone. Perfect for fans of The Midwife of Auschwitz and The Woman Outside the Walls.
My Review
In 1978 I accompanied my father to Poland to visit his family. He hadn’t returned since 1939, when he joined the Polish infantry at the age of 16 and was captured by the Russians and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp north of Siberia. When we arrived, one of his older half-sisters had died four hours before we got there and another was in nursing home suffering with dementia. No, she didn’t have any good days, unlike Magda in the book. During our visit staying in a small town quite close to Wroclaw (I got very excited when Zofia goes there), my father had a reunion with his nephew and his best friend from school. They reminisced, and laughed and drank a lot of brandy (not vodka), and got very drunk and cried. I mention this, because there is a scene where Lizzie finds a missing relative and they drink vodka and celebrate and I was immediately reminded of that night with my dad in Poland.
In fact so many times during the book I was reminded of my family connections. We did actually visit Warsaw and I kept thinking ‘we went there’, but we didn’t visit the site of the Jewish ghetto, because my father wasn’t Jewish (my mother was – but that’s a whole other story).
I finished reading the book at 1.15 in the morning and it’s now 1.30 am and I am writing this before I forget. I feel such a connection with my heritage and my Polish family, just like Lizzie. She can’t speak Polish, neither can I, because my mother spoke Romanian and they never conversed in any other language than English. I guess that’s what it was like for Lizzie after Magda emigrated to America and was not part of a Polish community. It just dies out. More important to speak the local lingo for school, work etc.
There were tears in my eyes at the end, for those we lost, for the inhumanity of it all, and for those we found again after so many years. Daughters of Warsaw is heartbreakingly sad at times, but there is also so much courage and hope in the face of adversity. Zofia is an inspirational hero, helping her friend Irena Sendler to bring hundreds – maybe thousands – of Jewish children out of the ghetto, where they would either die of disease or starvation, or perish with their parents in Treblinka concentration camp.
This book has had a profound effect on me. It reminded me that I am a daughter of Poland (if not actually Warsaw) and without people like Zofia and Irena, my family would not be free.
Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #DaughtersOfWarsawBlogTour.
About the Author
Maria Frances was born in London and grew up in the UK and Germany. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Durham. She works as a writer and translator and lives with her husband and four children in Berlin. She is the author of five novels which she writes under her real name, Juliet Conlin. Her first German-language novel is also publishing in 2023. Daughters of Warsaw is her first book with Avon.
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