Fairytale Nerd

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: My thoughts. This is a book which has been clamouring for me to read it since it first appeared in bookshops over a year ago. The cover drew me in initially, it's beautiful. Many of my peers recommended it and I love historical fiction with a literary feel. But the first 2 or 3 times I tried to read it, it just didn't engage with me so I put it aside and finally last week picked it up again and kept going. I enjoyed it, with a few reservations. It's very much a character-driven story. Set in Victorian England, in London and the South coast it is the story of Cora, recently widowed, her marriage never happy, she views widowhood as a kind of freedom, she has a son with whom she cannot bond and he is clearly on the autistic spectrum. She has a dour companion Martha who has been her rock, the 2 women act more like equals than mistress and servant and there is a deep connection which binds them. Then there is Doctor Luke, short of stature, big ...

The Tissue Veil by Brenda Bannister: Welcome to my blog today where I am taking part in the Blog Tour for the new book by Brenda Bannister called The Tissue Veil. My Review It's an intriguing and heartwarming dual time story set in 1901 and 2001 and features two teenage girls aeons apart but whose lives become as close as though they were divided by a thin sheet of tissue paper, the tissue veil. Both girls are teenagers with all the angst of young adulthood, facing decisions which could shape their entire futures, so this would make an ideal young adult read, as a coming of age novel, nevertheless I feel it will appeal to any age, I adored it and loved meeting Aysha and Emily. Aysha lives in the 21st century, in a house in London with her large Asian family, her beloved father moved here from Pakistan when he was a young man, now an ageing invalid he oversees his family from an armchair as he recuperates. Aysha is heading towards her A-levels, trying to reconcile the strict fa...

Today is publication day for the new historical novel by Deborah Carr - The Poppy Field and just look at that delectable cover! As my contribution to the blog tour to help celebrate todays launch of this exciting new title I have a question and answer session with the author for you. Q&A with Deborah J: Hi Deborah and Welcome to Beadyjans books. D: Thanks very much for hosting me and my new book, The Poppy Field published by HarperImpulse. Deborah Carr. J: Q1: Firstly can you tell me a bit about The Poppy Field and what inspired you to write it? D: The Poppy Field is a novel about two nurses, one a contemporary trauma unit nurse, Gemma Kingston, who is suffering from burn-out after a personal tragedy. She’s desperate to find a way to forget what’s happened and travels to a rundown farmhouse outside the town of Doullens to renovate it for her father. The other nurse, Alice Le Breton is a VAD working at a casualty clearing station near Doullens in the First World War. She is esc...

The Lighthousekeepers Daughter by Hazel Gaynor - my review Can I give it six out of ten please? The minute I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. Not only have I read and loved work by this delightful author before, including The Cottingley Secret. Not only is it a dual time frame historical novel with BOTH timelines set in the past (joy) but the subject is very dear to my heart ..... (tells a little story of own) "When I was about 7 years old I remember my (now late) Aunt, tracing our family tree on my Mums side. I was told she had traced it back to the 1800s where she had found a strong family link to Grace Darling. I went to school and told my teacher who incorporated Grace Darling into a lesson. Tragically, my Aunt died and the family tree research she had done has never surfaced. I dabbled with genealogy myself but didn't manage to go into as much depth as she must have and couldn't verify the link but anything connected with this heroine of the North East i...

Street cat Blues by Alison O'Leary - BLOG TOUR and review Today I am thrilled to join in the Blog Tour to launch the new title from Crooked Cat Books - Street cat Blues by Alison O'Leary. My Review You had me at cat! Honestly, who can resist a book with a cat as the lead character? The main protagonist is a big tabby cat called Aubrey, he’s been around a bit and is pretty streetwise. He was locked up in the Stray cats home for a while, after his shopkeeper owner is killed. But now he has found his forever home with young couple Molly and Jeremy. He’s loveable but a tad aloof, as most streetwise cats are. He is quirky and lively and pretty realistic, even if he’s telling the story, he can’t talk to humans or anything daft like that. The story is told as it runs through his mind as he observes what’s going on. He can, of course, communicate with other cats and there are plenty of them in the book and the cat narrative is fun and lively. He still hangs around with all his feline...

The Winter that made us by Kate Field: I am pleased to help introduce you to this new novel, in the genre of contemporary women's fiction. As part of the Blog Tour for this new book by Kate Field I am delighted to share with you the beautiful cover: Here's the blurb so you can discover what it's about: When Tess finds herself unexpectedly alone and back in Ribblemill, the childhood village she thought she’d escaped, she’s sure she can survive a temporary stay. She’s spent a lifetime making the best of things, hasn’t she? Determined to throw herself into village life, Tess starts a choir and gathers a team of volunteers to restore the walled garden at Ramblings, the local stately home. Everything could be perfect, if she weren’t sharing a cottage and a cat with a man whose manner is more prickly than the nettles she’s removing… As winter approaches, Tess finds herself putting down her own roots as fast as she’s pulling them up in the garden. But the ghosts of the past hover...

The Winter That Made Us - Kate Field - Spotlight post for BLOG TOUR Today I'm pleased to be part of the Blog Tour for the new book by Kate Field - The Winter That Made Us. Isn't that cover beautiful? So wintry and serene. The book is contemporary romantic fiction: Description When Tess finds herself unexpectedly alone and back in Ribblemill, the childhood village she thought she’d escaped, she’s sure she can survive a temporary stay. She’s spent a lifetime making the best of things, hasn’t she? Determined to throw herself into village life, Tess starts a choir and gathers a team of volunteers to restore the walled garden at Ramblings, the local stately home. Everything could be perfect, if she weren’t sharing a cottage and a cat with a man whose manner is more prickly than the nettles she’s removing… As winter approaches, Tess finds herself putting down her own roots as fast as she’s pulling them up in the garden. But the ghosts of the past hover close by, and Tess must face th...