Book after Book

Welcome to the blog tour for One Of The Good Guys  by Araminta Hall! More about the book… Cole is  the perfect husband: a romantic, supportive of his wife, Mel’s career, keen to be a hands-on dad, not a big drinker. A good guy. So when Mel leaves him, he's floored. She was lucky to be with a man like him. Craving solitude, he accepts a job on the coast and quickly settles into his new life where he meets reclusive artist Lennie. Lennie has made the same move for similar reasons. She is living in a crumbling cottage on the edge of a nearby cliff. It’s an undeniably scary location, but sometimes you have to face your fears to get past them. As their relationship develops, two young women go missing while on a walk protesting gendered violence, right by where Cole and Lennie live. Finding themselves at the heart of a...

I am in a pickle! I enjoyed so much writing ' My top 5 books in 2017 ' post last year that I thought I'd do that again. I didn't read a lot in 2017, though, and picking my top 5 books was a breeze. If you've come across 'My 2018 in books' post last week, however, you know that I had a stellar 2018 when it comes to reading. There is no way I can do a Top 5 list. I tried. I failed. I refuse to try again. As I don't think anybody would survive a 'My top 70 books in 2018' post, I have therefore settled for a Top 10 instead. Just as hard but more doable. What I am NOT attempting is ranking these books in order of merit, enjoyment or any other classification. The numbers purely help me tidy up the page. In my heart, they are all in first place! So here it goes… And please do let me know in the comments below or on Twitter whether you also have loved some or all of these! 1) The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech If you haven't experienc...

Society has tried to silence women for as far back as history goes. Female attributes, skills, emotions and desires have always been seen as lesser. Traditionally, bringing up children, caring for relatives and making a home have all been considered of little worth and importance. ‘Caring’ professions are badly paid and doors have been constantly shut in the faces of the female work force. As a result, our experience, opinions and abilities have not been listened to or taken seriously. We’ve only been able to vote for a hundred years and sexual discrimination and harassment have been an accepted part of life. Women who complain are prudish, frigid, prick-tease; whilst women who have a healthy sexual appetite are often called promiscuous, whore, tart. The double standards we have lived with for so long are why millions of women across the world are now standing together to say Times Up. I wanted to address all these issues in my new novel, Our Kind of Cruelty . I have written about ...

B y Araminta Hall Punlished by Arrow Publishing Synopsis: Most of us spend our whole lives searching for the person who’ll make us feel complete. But Mike and Verity know they’re different. They’ve found their soulmate, and nothing can tear them apart. Not even the man Verity is marrying. Because they play a secret game, one they call 'the Crave', to demonstrate what they both know: that Verity needs Mike, and Mike alone. But Mike knows that Verity's impending marriage will raise the stakes of their game higher than ever before. Because this time, for Mike and Verity to stay together, someone has to die... How did this book end up in my hands? When I found out that Araminta Hall was soon going to publish her third novel, I requested a review copy and my wish was granted, much to my happiness. Was it a page-turner? If I hadn’t had to keep functioning as a normal, working human being at the same time, I would have finished this book in one sitting. ...

Today is an awesome publication day as you can now find all these gorgeous books both in shops and online... Congratulations to authors Araminta Hall , Sanjida Kay , Eithne Shortall , Rutendo Tavengerwei and Christina Patterson , whose books hit the shelves today: Our Kind Of Cruelty , My Mother’s Secret , Grace after Henry , Hope is our Only Wing and The Art of not Falling Apart . I would also like to thank Corvus Books , Arrow Publishing , Hot Key Books and Atlantic Books for making this all happen. There will soon be a lot of grateful and satisfied readers around! Whether you were lucky to read an advance copy or you are planning on buying one or all of these thrilling books, I’d like to hear from you in the comments below or on Twitter !

In parts of Italy, December 13th - or Saint Lucia’s day - is a very special day. Forget about Santa Claus and Christmas day, this is when you get your presents! I haven’t celebrated Saint Lucia’s day since I was a little girl… until this year, when the people who organised The Big Book Group event at Brighton’s Pavilion Theatre brought the magic back into an otherwise uncelebrated day! As the name suggests, this was an occasion for book groups to come together and enjoy an evening of bookish delights. “Unattached” book lovers, however, were also welcome, which was good for me as I haven’t yet taken the plunge into the world of book groups. The stars of the evening were authors Carol Birch and Araminta Hall , who both experienced a very successful 2011. Carol Birch’s latest novel, Jamrach's Menagerie , was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, while Araminta Hall’s debut novel, Everything and Nothing , made it to Richard and Judy’s Autumn Reads. The two writers took it in turns to...

Hello Araminta! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of your first novel, Everything and Nothing . Can you tell us what it is about? A: It is the story of a couple run ragged by work and children – one of whom doesn’t eat and one who doesn’t sleep. Into the chaos comes Aggie, a seemingly perfect but very flawed nanny. My initial idea was to write a story about modern marriage and parenthood, but after a while I wondered if it would be engaging enough and so I introduced the character of Aggie. She was meant to shine a light on to Ruth and Christian, but ended up becoming a main character herself. I tried to explore themes of madness and responsibility and your past catching up with you. It is basically about a family imploding and trying to understand what they want out of life. How does it feel to be a published author? And not just a published author: you were also selected for Richard and Judy's Autumn Reads 2011! A: It feels really great and Richard...

By Araminta Hall Published by HarperPress A family employs a live-in nanny to look after their two children and she turns out to be a bit of a psycho. Don’t you think that this plot might have been used just a little too often? I did. For this reason, I approached Everything and Nothing with caution. The next thing I remember is a happy and satisfied smile on my lips as I finished the book not too long afterwards. In Everything and Nothing , readers are thrown into the life of the Donaldsons at a difficult time. Ruth and Christian have two little children, a nanny who’s just left them and a career to think of. While they try (and don’t really succeed) to juggle family and work commitments, Aggie arrives. With impeccable references and full of enthusiasm, she moves in with the family and, little by little, she becomes indispensable to the smooth running of the household. Smooth is, however, an adjective that can be only applied to what goes on on the surface. Deep down, the situation i...