Month: November 2019

Recent Reads: The Hairy Hand by Robin Bennett

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

This is a YA fantasy book, with a young boy of 11 called Septimus as our hero.  He lives with his two horrible parents, who tell him one day that his Uncle has died (whom he has never heard of before), and has left him something which he needs to go and collect.

It’s a long journey, and one he is to do on his own.  That’s the type of parents he has.

I found this book to be quite different.  Instead of telling the story of his journey to his Uncle’s and back again, it tells us about people.

I really liked this as a twist.  His adventure is his family, not the journey he undertakes.

The Hairy Hand was published on 19th January 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

I couldn’t find a website or any social media for Robin Bennett, so I’m afraid no link for that today!

If you’re interested in YA fantasy books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:
We hunt the night by Hafsah Faizal ????
Brotherhood of Shades by Dawn Finch ???


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Monster Books (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Darkdawn is the third, and final book in the Nevernight series, featuring Mia, a orphan who swears vengeance on those that killed her father and had her mother thrown in a jail that would kill her.

At this point, I need to say this book is also grimdark fantasy.  What is grimdark?  It’s dark, disturbing and in a dystopian setting.  Joe Abercrombie writes it, J R R Tolkien did, and according to Wikipedia, so does George R R Martin, and I can see that now.  

If you haven’t read any of the Nevernight series, starting with Nevernight, and the second is Godsgrave, then please stop reading now, because spoilers ahead!

…..

Ah good, now that they’ve gone, we can get down to it!  Darkdawn is obviously another bloody book, after all, grimdark!  Mia assassinated Cardinal Duomo, stabbed Consul Scaeva, grabbed her brother Jonnen, and bolted.  Her vengeance taken, and her brother returned to her, so all is good, right?

Jay Kristoff* has written a great ending to this story, and one that I didn’t feel like there were any loose ends.  I enjoyed the tone of the book, the author’s voice, the characters, the magic and the world.  It was all really good!

And I would be more than happy to visit there again!

I felt like I needed to learn Photoshop in order to take a photo of this book, as I wanted to make the shadows from the book swirl, and creep, and maybe put a cat in there.  Instead I just tried to make the shadow darker.  That’ll have to be enough!

Darkdawn was published on 5th September 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones, complete with signed editions!  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Jay Kristoff on Twitter, or through his website.

If you’re interested in grimdark fantasy, then check out Joe Abercrombie, starting with The Blade Itself, or George R R Martin with A Game of Thrones, or maybe J R R Tolkien with The Fellowship of the Ring!


I borrowed this book from the library, so thanks to the library service for having such great books!
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

*Who loves his footnotes, and makes fun of writing them constantly.

Recent Reads: Rachel’s Pudding Pantry by Caroline Roberts

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Rachel’s Pudding Pantry is about Rachel, her five year old daughter Maisy and Rachel’s mother, Jill, who all live together on a farm which is struggling to pay for itself!

Jill makes delicious bakes, and so they get the idea to sell her puddings and cakes in a local shop.

Tom is their nearest neighbour, and the person who has helped them the most since Jill’s husband and Rachel’s father died two years ago.  

This was a lovely book, with lots of delicious puddings and cakes mentioned throughout, and gives you a feeling of what it would be like to be a farmer.  

It was an enjoyable, sweet read, and Christmas at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry came out in October, so I’m off to read that!

Rachel’s Pudding Pantry was published on 18th April 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Caroline Roberts on Twitter, or through her blog.

If you’re interested in romance books, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams ?????
One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan ????


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to HarperCollins UK (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Perfect Dress by Louisa Leaman

Posted on by Pam

My review: ???

The Perfect Dress is about Fran, who has a wedding dress shop unlike any other.  It’s full of previously worn wedding dresses, and Fran  the experiences and wonderful lives of the previous owners will enhance the newly weds lives.

Fran does a lot of research on her dresses, and doesn’t like a dress from a bad relationship to go on to a new bride.  She wants to match the right dress with the right bride, and wants the dress to bring something out of them that they didn’t know they had.

Fran finds a wedding dress in a house clearance, and feels there is so much about it that she has to have it, even though she’s not convinced it’s a dress with a good history.  She clashes with Rafe, the son of the former bride, but she has to know more about the dress.

This was a romance with a touch of fantasy in that Fran sees visions of what the bride was feeling and going through.  I enjoyed it as a fast paced romp, with flawed characters that brought out the worst in each other.

The Perfect Dress was published on 17th October 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Louisa Leaman on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in romance and family drama, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley ????
The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley ????
One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan ????
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams ?????


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Random House, Transworld (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Tuesday Mooney Wore Black by Kate Racculia

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Tuesday Mooney is unusual.  She does deep dives on personal information on rich people, so that the hospital she works for knows the right approach to take in order to get the largest amount of donations out of them.  Loving this job means she loves a puzzle, and so when someone keels over at a party, and turns out to be a very eccentric very rich man who has left a puzzle for anyone who wants to play, with the chance at a fortune, Tuesday is in!

Dex, her best friend, money manager for a job, karaoke singing for a passion, is also drawn in, and the rich and mysterious Nathanial Arches hires Tuesday to help solve the puzzle.

It was a really enjoyable read, and one that made me want to read more about the characters! I enjoyed the puzzles, and the story was fun and fast paced!

This book is also published under “Tuesday Mooney talks to ghosts”, just in case you run into that name!

Tuesday Mooney Wore Black was published on 1st October 2019  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Kate Racculia on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in mysteries, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

The Case of Miss Elliott: The Teahouse Detective by Baroness Orczy ????
The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett ???
The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley ????
The Furies by Katie Lowe ????


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Collins (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: How to be Famous by Caitlin Moran

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

How to be Famous is about Dolly Wild, who is 18, living in London in her own place, and is a writer for a music magazine in 1994, when BritPop is big!  

Her best friend and man of her dreams, John Kite, has just made it big in music, which means he’s touring all of the time.  In the meantime, Dolly makes friends with Suzy, a woman who knows she is going to be famous.

Dolly has a two night stand with comedian Jerry Sharp, which turns ugly later.  There are many points where this book was great, and how Dolly deals with this situation is one of these.

How to be Famous is the second book about Johanna  Morrigan aka Dolly Wild, with the first being How to Build a Girl.  I’m definitely going to read that!

How to be Famous was published on 28th June 2018,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Caitlin Moran on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in funny journey stories, then I’d suggest The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain, which I gave ????.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!