Book after Book

Welcome to the blog tour for The Rose Code by Kate Quinn . Bletchley Park and the work that was carried out there has always fascinated me so it’s with pleasure that I share the following interview with the author with you all… Hi Kate! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Rose Code ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: A beautiful blue-blooded debutante, a tart-tongued London shop-girl, and a shy crossword-solving spinster join the war against Nazi Germany as codebreakers of Bletchley Park, only to find that the real puzzle lies inside the Park itself as a traitor sets them against each other in a betrayal reaching past the end of the war. Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: I knew what was going to happen during the war years, but I was less certain how things would unfold in the post-war timeline. Normally when I write...

Welcome to the blog tour for The Shadow In the Glass by JJA Harwood . More about the book… Once upon a time Ella had wished for more than her life as a lowly maid. Now forced to work hard under the unforgiving, lecherous gaze of the man she once called stepfather, Ella’s only refuge is in the books she reads by candlelight, secreted away in the library she isn’t permitted to enter. One night, while among her beloved books, a fairy godmother makes her an offer that will change her life: seven wishes, hers to make as she pleases. But each wish comes at a price and Ella must decide whether it’s one she’s willing to pay... More about the author… JJA Harwood is an author, editor and blogger. She grew up in Norfolk, read History at the University of Warwick and eventually found her way to London, which is still something of a shock for somebody used to so many fields. When not writing, she can be found learning languages, cooking with more enthusiasm than skill, wandering off into clearly ...

Welcome to the Understanding Kids blog tour, which includes three books thar I had the privilege to review. Keep scrolling to find out more about each book... More on the books… The Fri endship Maze Friendship battles among children have existed since the words ‘you can’t play with us’ were first uttered in the playground. But the concern today is that unkind and excluding behaviour appears to be starting sooner than ever – even in nursery school. By bringing together the latest social science on friendship for the first time for a UK audience, parenting author Tanith Carey peels back the mystery of children’s relationships so parents can guide their children better. What’s My Child Thinking? For this unique new book, Tanith and Angharad have pulled together the most important aspects of research and advances made in child development, which up to now, hasn’t been available to parents. Designed for time-pressed parents, it allows mums, dads and carers to quickly and accurately interpr...

Welcome to the blog tour for Raindrops: How Meditation Changed the Course of My Life by Shirish Patel ! About the book… Amongst the varied settings of what most would say has been anything but an ordinary life, Shirish Patel reflects on his lifetime quest for spiritual stability. With seeds of religion and ritual first planted by his mother, Patel finds his life path watered by raindrops of wisdom gathered from everyday experience, gurus, scriptures, and meditation. From the beauty of the Ugandan landscapes of his childhood to studying medicine in India to his professional development in Zambia, the UK, and the US, Patel speaks to readers across cultures and traditions as he shares anecdotes about his experiences of fears, failure, and loss, and how he overcame them. Raindrops encourage us: if we let the rains fall on fertile ground, we can find our path to change, fulfilment, enlightenment, and service to others. In doing so, we find our true selves. About the author… Born in Uganda ...

Welcome to the blog tour for Space Taxis by Adam and Harriet Frosh. Today I have an extract from the book to share. But first, here’s more info for you… About the book… In 1977 a New York Cab driver Mike Redolfo is abducted by aliens after being mistaken for a renegade scientist. Meanwhile, back in 1944 a mysterious man and his Jewish fiancée are fleeing across Nazi-occupied Europe. Redolfo tries to keep a low profile on his new world whilst earning his fare home, but unwittingly gets involved with a shady gang of alien criminals, inadvertently bringing the planet to the brink of catastrophe. As the link between the timelines becomes clear, Redolfo must discover secrets from the past that may hold the key to saving the planet. About the authors… Adam wasted much of his youth watching Star Trek on the TV and films like Planet of the Apes and Alien on the big screen. He redeemed himself by becoming a surgeon but has since graduated from writing articles for science journals into wr...

Welcome to the blog tour for Saving Missy by Beth Morrey ! I can’t wait for you all to meet Missy so, without further ado, follow me behind the scenes with the author… Hi Beth! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Saving Missy ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you! Saving Missy is about a very prickly, diffident and desperately lonely old woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when she has a panic attack in her local park. Two women and a dog help her build a better life full of friendship and opportunity – but only if she can put her past behind her. It’s a story about love in all its flawed, rich and diverse forms – friendship, motherhood, marriage, falling in love and self-acceptance. Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: I had a few crucial things worked out - two initial scenes: the opening chapter in the par...

Welcome to the blog tour for The Favour by Laura Vaughan. Set between Italy and the U.K., this novel took me to all the places I love in the company of a fascinating group of characters. I can’t wait for you to learn more about it so do keep reading and enjoy this conversation with the author herself… Hi Laura! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Favour ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you! It’s an exciting but nerve-wracking time! My protagonist, Ada, feels she is destined for a life of privilege, and when her wealthy godmother gifts her an expensive gap-year Art History course in Italy she seizes the chance to ingratiate herself with her charming and entitled fellow students. When tragedy strikes, Ada is determined to use the secrets she uncovers to her own advantage … but is she in over her head? It’s a story about falling dangerously in love with art and beauty, and the corrosive effect of playing a part so well you ev...

Welcome to the blog tour for Pixeldust by T. K. Arispe . Today I have a gift for you: an extract from the book! Can’t wait? Scroll right down… More about the book… Maria Elena thought she’d sworn off gaming forever. But she hates her new internship, so her brother Balt convinces her to play Heroes of Avonell, a cutting-edge virtual-reality video game with such complex programming that it’s like the non-player characters are self-aware. Disappointed with the usual cliché job class offerings, Maria Elena’s character Quinny stumbles through a glitch in the game and ends up in Caed Dhraos, a strange city populated with friendly monsters. Quinny decides to work for the resident dark lord as part of his magic personnel, but she can’t tell anybody she’s playing in off-limits areas of the game—not even Balt. Soon Quinny finds herself getting to the bottom of a mystery surrounding an ancient demon and why Caed Dhraos is suffering from the Blight. But the artificial intelligences in the game re...

Welcome to the blog tour for Can You See Me Now? by Trisha Sakhlecha . More about the book… Fifteen years ago, three sixteen-year-old girls meet at Wescott, an exclusive private school in India.   Two, Sabah and Noor, are the most popular girls in their year. One, Alia, is a new arrival from England, who feels her happiness depends on their acceptance. Before she knows it, Sabah and Noor’s intoxicating world of privilege and intimacy opens up to Alia and, for the first time, after years of neglect from her parents, she feels she is exactly where, and with whom, she belongs. But with intimacy comes jealousy, and with privilege, resentment, and Alia finds that it only takes one night for her bright new world to shatter around her. Now Alia, a cabinet minister in the Indian government, is about to find her secrets have no intention of staying buried... More about the author… Trisha Sakhlecha grew up in New Delhi and now lives in London.   For her new novel she draws upon a true...

Welcome to the blog tour for Orange City by Lee Matthew Goldberg, who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions for my date on the tour! Hi Lee! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Orange City ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thanks! Imagine a secret, hidden City that gives a second chance at life for those selected to come: felons, deformed outcasts, those on the fringe of the Outside World. Everyone gets a job, a place to live; but you are bound to the City forever. You can never leave.   Its citizens are ruled by a monstrous figure called the "Man" who resembles a giant demented spider from the lifelike robotic limbs attached to his body. Everyone follows the Man blindly, working hard to make their Promised Land stronger, too scared to defy him and be discarded to the Empty Zones.    After ten years as an advertising executive, Graham Weatherend receives an order to test a new client, Pow! Sodas. After one s...

Welcome to the blog tour for A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore ! If like me, you’ve been captured by the idea of this beautiful woman with a double life, do read on to find out what secrets the author can reveal… Hi Rachel! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of A Beautiful Spy ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A:  Thank you.   Briefly, it follows the story of Minnie Gray, a young typist who is recruited as a spy in 1931 and finds herself living two very separate existences. Not even her close family are allowed to know of her undercover work spying on dangerous British Communists, and this puts her under terrible personal pressure.   But if she puts a foot wrong in her intelligence work her very life may be forfeit. Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A:  The novel is based on the real-life spy Olga Gray, who spi...