Fairytale Nerd

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor My review Wow - what a fabulously well written book! I can't believe this is a debut novel, it's so slick and accomplished, with a way with words which makes the story slide through your mind like treacle. Move over Stephen King, there's a new kid on the block, she's English and I love her mind. Being a child of the 80's shows in her writing. Gliding effortlessly back and forth in time spanning an era of 30 years we follow the life of Eddie and his little gang of mates, fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo and Nicky when they are young adolescents and in the present time when Ed has grown into a solitary 43 year old who has been shaped by events this fateful year when he was a 13 year old. That summer of 1986 there is a lot going on, there is a terrible accident, a dismembered body, a new teacher, friendship, bullying, parents behaving unpredictably, as parents often do, and a game the lads play with a bucket of coloured chalks sending messages v...

As everyones doing it at this time of year I may as well join in by listing my favourite reads of 2017. I'm quite disappointed with myself, at how few books I actually managed to read right to the end this year, perhaps because I did end up with quite a few duds which just didn't float my boat enough to finish them but I struggled on trying to get into them and losing time which could have been spent reading something I loved. Here are a few of the books which did float my boat and kept me joyously entertained throughout. Starting with possibly the most enjoyable read this year for me, the perfectly stunning Sealskin by Su Bristow  an absolutely enchanting and captivating, tear at your heart, love story with the twist that it’s based on a legend yet is completely believable. Before the Rains is a great historical romantic read by one of my go to authors for escapism Dinah Jefferies The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull is yet another historical book that stayed with me, a coming of...

Sal by Mick Kitson My review Firstly, I loved reading this book, secondly I am aware that it could be a bit of a marmite book - for the survival purists it is a big leap of faith to accept the premise of the story which is that a 13 year old schoolgirl and her little sister can survive in the wild armed only with some bear grylls outdoor equipment and knowledge gleaned from youtube videos! It's about not just survival in the outdoors but surviving abuse and ill treatment too. But as a Bear Grylls fanatic and would-be wild camper myself, I put aside any preconceptions and just rolled with it and found myself enchanted by the voice of Sal and entranced by the characters she meets especially the wonderful Ingrid. Sal wants to escape the clutches of her alcoholic Mums abusive boyfriend Robert before he turns his attentions to her beloved little sister Pepper. So it follows that she needs to plan this very carefully using any means at her disposal which are mainly a thirst for knowledge...

Tall Chimneys by Allie Cresswell Once in a while a book comes along whose description ticks all my boxes and Tall Chimneys is one such novel, so I was delighted to be offered the chance to take part in the blog tour organized by Rachels Random Resources Read on to read my review and an extract. Please join me by reading an enticing extract and please visit some of my fellow bloggers on this tour too. My Review Tall Chimneys is an engaging literary historical novel set in a rambling tumbledown old country house set in a remote dip in a brooding moorland setting which sets the perfect bucolic scene for this nostalgic tale with a dual time twist. With plenty of characters to dislike and the antiquity of the location it sets out to draw us into the baleful world of Tall Chimneys, a book about a house and the people who lived there. Almost as soon as I began reading this book I was reminded of The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. It has the same sombre, brooding, feel of time passing by beh...

My Review: Firstly I must confess I’ve been having a bit of a struggle recently to concentrate on my reading and find books which grab and hold my attention well enough to ensure I can’t put them down.  Three things about Elsie has been the exception to the rule and has renewed my faith in my ability to devour and drown in and adore a book. It also quite broke my heart – Joanna Cannon how could you put me through this?  By the end I was sobbing those great big ugly gut wrenching Waah’s that you just can’t do quietly – Thank goodness I was reading it in bed and not on the bus! Like her debut novel “The Trouble with goats and sheep” which I also read and loved, this author peoples her writing with wonderful characters to believe in and peppers it with wry observations and astoundingly astute and beautiful prose. We are introduced to the narrator Florence as she lies prone on the floor of her sheltered accommodation waiting for someone to find her following a fall. She spends her...