Fairytale Nerd

Dear Edward - Ann Napolitano - Review for Blog Tour Today I have been invited to post my review of Dear Edward as part of the Blog tour. Dear Edward is a coming of age with a difference. Imagine if your nearest and dearest were all wiped out in one tragic event – one which you miraculously survived, if this happened when you were just 12 years old how would YOU cope? Unimaginable? Yes, thank God, but the author has managed to put herself in this position and tell the story of survivor Edward and allow us as reader to walk in his shoes. It is done very well too. In a series of flashbacks to just before the terrible tragic plane crash at the heart of this novel, we come to know Eddie as he was, when he had a loving Mother and Father and his older brother Jordan who was his hero, whilst we join Edward as he now prefers to be known as he emerges alone from injuries and trauma he sustained. As would be expected the main after effects are deeply psychological and Edward finds it rea...

The Home - Sarah Stovell - Blog Tour and Review  I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for the latest psychological chiller by Sarah Stovell. I loved this twisty psychological masterpiece brimming with terrible secrets and desperate lies. My Review The Home is a compelling story of 3 teenage girls, Hope, Annie and Lara, living in a care home for deeply traumatized youngsters from difficult backgrounds, in the Lake District. They are the forgotten girls, the unwanted girls, the tragic product of families broken beyond repair. We learn right at the beginning of the storytelling that one of them is dead. Pregnant and Dead - a tragic shame.  In a series of flashbacks, and sometimes in the dead girls own voice, heard from beyond the grave as if there is something or someone she just can't let go, we learn the terrible tragedies which have befallen them.  The main two characters the story focusses on are Hope and Annie, they are in an intense and passionate relationship wi...

Update about me, a personal Blog Post. Unlike my usual posts which are almost always book reviews or book related, this is a brief update on whats going on in my life (and as such, probably nobody will read it, or care) It's also an apology if I'm not posting reviews as frequently as usual and taking part in fewer blog tours and book promotions. It's because I have somewhat less time and energy for both reading and writing lengthy reviews. So if you follow my blog and enjoy my book recommendations, fear not, I still intend to review every single book I have enjoyed. But there may be fewer books as I now have a little less time to read and they also may be a little shorter, but I hope they will still help you decide if you might like a book and find a few new ones to read. Like many others I'm one of the Waspi women. I should have retired gracefully when I reached 60 (now 3 years ago) I've worked hard all my life and I was ready to retire, wanted to stop working and ...

Beast - Six Stories #4 by Matt Wesolowski Six stories is a darkly different and daring contemporary thriller series. Beast is part of the six stories series, published by Orenda Books. (They could almost be called Sick stories as they are all dark and devious and pretty much a very modren take on the gothic horror genre) The previous 3 books are, in order, Six Stories #1, Hydra #2, Changeling #3 and Beast is number 4.  It can be read as a stand alone book, but to be honest once you've read it and loved it, you're going to be desperate to read the other 3, so you may as well read them in order. If you're new to this authors work, I envy you, because I had to wait patiently after reading each Six stories novel, for him to write another - You're going to be able to binge read all 4 if you choose to - go for it - enjoy! Six stories is a Podcast series created by online journalist Scott King, who deliberately keeps as low a profile as possible whilst investigating for his po...

The Unforgetting by Rose Black - Book Review and Blog Tour I'm inviting you to join me and my fellow book bloggers on the Blog Tour for the new historical novel #TheUnforgetting by #RoseBlack published by @orionbooks. I'm rounding up this tour today with my review of this fabulous new book set in Victorian England. Literary, clever and riddled with secrets its an engaging and enjoyable read with a gorgeous cover. Thank you Random Things Tours for inviting me along. In the mid 19th century, there is little opportunity for a woman to carve out a career in acting, but that is what Lily Bell dreams of, the bright lights and magic of entertaining folk from a stage. She thinks her dreams have come true when Erasmus Salt offers her the chance to be part of his spectacular stage show. She sets off to join him and his sister Faye, only to discover that she is not to appear live on stage but is to take the part of a ghost, in a daring illusion Erasmus is desperate to perfect. Aided by h...

Dreamland - Nancy Bilyeau - REVIEW and Blog Tour I've been itching to post my review for the wonderful historical extravaganza which is Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau, as I'm longing to shout about how wonderful it is. My Thanks go to the Publisher Endeavour Press for inviting me along to Dreamland. My Review Stunning to look at with the beautiful midnight blue and lavish gold cover and enchanting to read, Dreamland is a feast for the senses in every aspect. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Dreamland, one of Coney Islands massive fairground and fun palaces. Through this book I stepped back in time to 1911 wearing the expensive and stylish shoes of Peggy Batternburg, daughter of one of America’s wealthiest families. The early part of the 20th century isn’t perhaps the best time to be a young woman who longs to carve a life for herself, and at the beginning of the story she has a job in a bookshop, a touch of independence which she had to battle for and lean on family influence to ob...

Beyond the Moon by Catherine Taylor my Review My last book of the year and one of the best! This book was an absolute JOY to read. I must confess I enjoyed it so much more than I'd even hoped to. I was perhaps a little uncertain at first glance, as (apologies to all concerned) the cover reminds me of Mills and Boon books (which I have never liked) but the minute I received my copy, instead of adding it to my tbr pile as is usual, I opened it just to read a few pages to see if it would interest me and hours later I emerged, breathless and spellbound from the pages, wiping a tear from my eye. This is one superbly written, time-slip romance to rival (eclipse?) Outlander, and for anyone who enjoys a dual time narrative which is vividly descriptive, completely immersive and painstakingly researched this ticks all the boxes. In the present day we have Louise, grieving deeply for the recent passing of her grandma, with whom she was brought up. All alone in the world, her chosen medical st...