Fairytale Nerd

The Forgotten Village by Lorna Cook: It's the second stage of the Blog Tour for the new book from Avon Books The Forgotten Village by Lorna Cook. It's a dual timeline romance perfect for your holidays. My Review: The Forgotten Village is a dual-time romance, light and easy to read it is the perfect holiday read to while away the time on your sun lounger with. It tells two womens’ stories, one in 1943 and the other in the present day. Both women have managed to lumber themselves with unbearable men who have turned out to be complete swine, both women have been bullied mercilessly by their male counterparts and been trampled underfoot by their domineering other halves. Fortunately, both women begin to realise this and make an attempt to break free but is it too late? The Forgotten Village will let us find out. In modern-day Cornwall, we meet Melissa who for some reason which is pretty hard to comprehend has come on holiday with a total boor, Liam, who treats her worse than a door...

The Gates of Eden by Nadene LeCheminant (Not so much a Review as an Homage to pioneering women and this exceptional story). I love being a bookblogger, it brings wonderful novels into my life that otherwise I’d probably never even come across, let alone read. One such book is the absolutely amazing, The Gates of Eden, a book based on true events and inspired by the Authors own family history. A book I devoured. I lost myself in the pages, the non-existent word “unputdownable” is the only way to describe this awesome book.  What really made this special for me is the ease with which the author creates a credible world which is so easy to slide into and so utterly believable. I make no secret of the fact that my VERY favourite books are about the everyday lives of pioneering women in the past. I am in awe of women who in times when women were totally oppressed by men, did everything they were able to do to make the best of their lot, often taking on the most utterly daunting tasks, ...

Baxters Requiem by Matthew Crow Follow the Blog Tour here on Beadyjans Books for the heartwarming new book by Matthew Crow entitled Baxters Requiem which I have read, loved and reviewed. If you're looking for a genuinely uplifting, sweet and captivating book, please consider Baxters Requiem - it's just adorable. My Review Baxters Requiem is a gentle and heartwarming tale of thwarted love and dealing with loss. Perfect for fans of Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon , it’s about an elderly man, the eponymous Baxter who in his twilight years decides he must have one last attempt to say goodbye to the one true love of his life. In doing so he forges new friendships, and helps a young man come to terms with his own grief. I found it a quick and easy read, which I galloped through, enjoying every word. Simple yet meaningful, hauntingly beautiful and a real testament to companionship and self-forgiveness. Baxter himself is a delight, irascible, humorous and forthright at the ag...

Legends of Persia - Jennifer Macaire - Guest Post for Blog Tour I'm welcoming Jennifer Macaire to Beadyjans Books today with her sensual new historical time travel romance Legends of Persia. I was thrilled when Jennifer offered to take some time out of her hectic schedule to write me an article for my blog as part of the tour to launch her novel, organised by Rachels Random Resources tours. About the book in Jennifers own words Legends of Persia When Ashley Riveraine jumped at the chance to travel back in time to meet her hero Alexander the Great, she never thought she would end up staying there… Following Alexander the Great’s army on its journey across Persia, Ashley is walking the knife edge of history. As a presumed goddess, Ashley is expected to bless crops, make sure battles are won and somehow keep herself out of the history books. Can Ashley avoid the wrath of the Time Institute while keeping the man she loves alive? She told me about the steamier side of her writing. Rom...

Sleep by C.L. Taylor I'm happy to have been invited along as part of the Blog Tour to promote the cleverly twisty conundrum of a thriller by C.L. Taylor that is Sleep. You'll see it's quite a huge tour featuring many bloggers throughout April and I'm betting most of them adored this super book that kept me awake half the night. My Review: Sleep is a tense who-dunnit set in a remote hotel on the Scottish Isle of Rum. The book reminded me a little of a recent title I read and reviewed, An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena, although I found Sleep just a touch more relatable as the lead character Anna really felt like someone I could socialise with. Both these books are tense thrillers set in remote hotels cut off during a storm, where the guests are a disparate bunch and you don’t know who you can trust. Sleep is written with the usual panache of the author C L Taylor who excels at the twisty, the scary and the psychological punch of narrators you aren’t completely sure can b...

Call Me Star Girl Louise Beech This week sees the launch of a new title by Louise Beech whose previous books have been fab and this one is too. I'm delighted to be part of the blog tour for this super thriller and my review follows. My Review: Call me Star Girl is a slightly new direction for Author Louise Beech whose wonderful books are full of heart and emotional punch. Star Girl is not lacking in these elements but it is much more of a psychological who-dunnit thriller. Stella McKeever is the Star Girl of the title, even her name Stella means star and stars have played a big part in her life, from the star emblazoned vintage perfume bottle she has carried around all her life as a memento of her Mother who left 12 years ago when Stella was a child, to her job as a radio presenter and it's even her nickname used by her boyfriend Tom. Most of the book takes place one evening at the radio station where Stella works. She is presenting her very last programme as she prepares to le...

A Dangerous Act of Kindness by L P Fergusson My Review A thought provoking and harrowing Wartime Romance which packs quite a punch. Set during the Second World War in the UK I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading it. The lead character Millie is a young widow left alone to manage her husbands farm and battle daily with guilt and shame over the manner of his death. Aided mainly by a helpful landgirl whom she also regards as a friend, her loyal dog Gyp and occasionally by the young farmer Hugh, a friend of her late husband who secretly carries a torch for Millie. Life is hard on this rural farm and her working days are long, but when she hears about a nearby German plane crashing she never imagines she will find an injured German Luftwaffe pilot on her own farm, hiding in a barn which already holds horrific memories for Millie. She is drawn to this enigmatic and strangely gentle fighter pilot and a moments decision to help him will lead to repercussions she could never have forecast. It’s not ...

The Peacock Bottle by Angela Rigley Today join me on the Blog tour for a lovely dual time story which is the Peacock bottle. My thanks go to Rachels Random Reads for inviting me along. My Review: This is a historical novel with a slight difference, both timelines are historical, instead of as is often the case a modern day thread combined with a parallel story from the past. It introduces us to two young women who live in a house in Cumbria, close to the lake district, which (rather confusingly to me, at first) is named Alice Howe - I thought this was a character at first and spent a few puzzling minutes trying to work out who she was! Maybe this is intentional as the house does play a large part in the story. In 1840 sisters Daisy and Mary Jane reside there, living a privileged rather wealthy life, they come across as two very real young ladies being brought up genteelly yet with real teenage hopes and ambitions that any young woman of today should be able to relate to. They a...

Today I'm part of the Mini Blog Tour for the wonderful historical novel - When Winter Comes by V. A. Shannon. Please welcome her to my blog and support her by buying the book if you like the sound of it and maybe follow her website. I must confess I'm already a HUGE fan of this author having already read and reviewed this book some months ago. Its one of those books that stayed with me, haunted me you could say. I'd like to revisit my original review and draw it to your attention if you missed it first time around. Please note this same review is already posted on this blog dated July 2018. My Review Wonderful, epic, historical fiction, I loved it and couldn't put it down. I consider myself very fortunate to have been chosen as one of the recipients of a copy in advance of publication. My advance review copy is now well creased, as I read this remarkable novel in bed, on the bus and crammed it in my handbag to take to work, I was so engrossed in the story. Quite recentl...