Book after Book

Welcome to the blog tour for Best Men  by Sidney Karger! More about the book… First comes lust. An hour after meeting a hot stranger at a bar, Max is with him on the rooftop of his Manhattan apartment, making out. Then comes hate. Just five minutes later, Max is bolting back down twelve flights of stairs, hoping never to see him again. Then comes your best friend’s wedding. So the last person Max wants to turn up at his best friend’s wedding – where he is official Gay of Honour to the bride – is that very same hot stranger. Or for him to be a Best Man too – for the groom. Now the co-Best Men are in a fight to the death over who will be the actual best. But although Max wants to keep his friend close, he discovers he wants to keep his enemy even closer... More about the author… Sidney Karger is an award-winning screenwriter for film and television. He is a contributing writer for Saturday Night Live and McSweeney’s, and a former writer/director with Comedy Central and MTV, among other n

My reading recommendation today is... Vita and the Birds  by Polly Crosby! More about the book… 1938:  Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the menacing shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. But when she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney, the two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to be free. 1997:  Following the death of her mother, Eve Blakeney returns to the coast where she spent childhood summers with her beloved grandmother, Dodie. Eve hopes that the visit will help make sense of her grief. The last thing she expects to find is a bundle of letters that hint at the heart-breaking story of Dodie’s relationship with a woman named Vita, and a shattering secret that echoes through the decades. What she discovers will overturn everything she thought she knew about her family – and change her life forever. More about the author… Polly grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives in the heart of Norfolk with her husband and son, and her very loud and much lo

Welcome to the blog tour for Henry VIII: The Heart And The Crown by Alison Weir! More about the book… A second son, not born to rule, becomes a man, and a king... In grand royal palaces, Prince Harry grows up dreaming of knights and chivalry - and the golden age of kings that awaits his older brother. But Arthur's untimely death sees Harry crowned King Henry of England. As his power and influence extends, so commences a lifelong battle between head and heart, love and duty. Henry rules by divine right, yet his prayers for a son go unanswered. The great future of the Tudor dynasty depends on an heir. And the crown weighs heavy on a king with all but his one true desire. HENRY VIII. HIS STORY. Alison Weir's most ambitious Tudor novel yet reveals the captivating story of a man who was by turns brilliant, romantic, and ruthless: the king who changed England forever. More about the author… Alison Weir lives and works in Surrey. Her books include Britain's Royal Families, The Si

Welcome to the blog tour for The Funeral Cryer  by Wenyan Lu! More about the book… The  Funeral Cryer long ago accepted the mundane realities of her life: avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job as a professional mourner and under-appreciated by The Husband, whose fecklessness has pushed the couple close to the brink of break-up. But just when things couldn't be bleaker, The Funeral Cryer takes a leap of faith - and in so doing things start to take a surprising turn for the better… Dark, moving, and wry, The  Funeral Cryer  is both an illuminating depiction of a 'left behind' society - and proof that it's never too late to change your life. More about the author… Originally from Shanghai, China, Wenyan Lu is the winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2020. Wenyan holds a Master of Studies in Creative Writing as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. Her unpublished historical novel T

Welcome to the blog tour for If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude! More about the book… On the morning Avery Byrne plans to end her life, the world discovers there are only nine days left to live: an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery fights her way home - determined to save the girl she has been in love with her whole life. But can Avery also learn to save herself and find hope again in the tomorrows she has left? More about the author… Jen St. Jude is a Lambda Literary Fellow, who holds creative writing degrees from Colby College and Harvard University Extension School. She works in talent acquisition at Boston Consulting Group and serves as an editor at the Chicago Review of Books, Arcturus Magazine, Burning Worlds - Climate Change in Art & Literature, and Just Femme & Dandy Magazine. Jen grew up in New Hampshire apple orchards but now lives in Chicago with her wife and catlike dog.  My impressi

Welcome to the blog tour for Sylvia by Maithreyi Karnoor! More about the book… Longing to connect to his ancestral roots, Cajetan Pereira has taken up residence near one of the rare and mystical Baobab trees in South India. Into his world walks  Sylvia, a young woman in search of a story. They bond over their new-found relationship, until one day consumed by regret, Sylvia disappears. In a rich kaleidoscope of tales, Sylvia is glimpsed in the lives of other characters as a colleague, friend, wife, and lover, until she comes back into focus as she finds herself becoming whole once more – but is it too late? Brimming with exquisite prose,  Sylvia  is a beautifully woven tapestry of the ways in which we leave indelible imprints on each other’s lives. More about the author… Maithreyi Karnoor is a Charles Wallace India Trust Fellow in creative writing and translation at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She has been shortlisted for The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize for A Handful

Welcome to the blog tour for Straight Expectations by Calum McSwiggan!  More about the book… Seventeen-year-old Max might be out and proud but he's usually too busy checking his nail polish to check his privilege. So when he says he wishes he could have the 'easy' life straight kids enjoy, Max gets more than he bargained for. He wakes up to find his wish has come true - not only have his feelings for boys vanished, so has his lifelong best friend Dean. With his world turned upside down and relationships in tatters, can Max find his way back to the life he took for granted, and maybe even win the heart of the guy he thought could never be his...? More about the author… Calum McSwiggan is an author, presenter and LGBTQ+ advocate. He's worked for  Attitude magazine, written for the Metro, Gay Times and PinkNews, and was recently placed in the Guardian's list of the 50 most influential LGBTQ+ figures. Putting LGBTQ+ stories at the heart of everything he does, he's

Welcome to the blog tour for Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet by Kate Peridot! More about the book… Travel around the world and discover the stories of 20 conservationists and the endangered animals they are helping to save, including the orangutang, blue whale, Indian tiger, rhino, honeybee, Komodo dragon and sea turtle. Positive, uplifting and packed full of information, with 20 fun activities for children to try, this book will show children no one is too small to make a difference.   More about the author… Kate is an author of both fiction and non-fiction children’s books. Originally from London, she now lives with her family in the South of France. She writes wild and adventurous stories about animals, people and STEM that encourages a can-do spirit, a quest for knowledge and a sense of adventure. Caring Conservationists (Walker Books) is her first non-fiction children’s books. A further nine books are in production launching between 2023-2025. Find out more abo

Welcome to the blog tour for The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us If We Let Them by Peter Wohlleben! More about the book… Trees can survive without humans, but we can’t live without  trees. Even if human-caused climate change devastates our planet, trees will return—as they do, always and everywhere, even after ice ages, catastrophic fires, destructive storms, and deforestation. It would just be nice if we were around to see them flourish.  The Power of Trees  is forester Peter Wohlleben’s follow-up to The Hidden Life of Trees , a Sunday Times bestseller that sold millions of copies worldwide. In his latest book, he is dismissive of token gestures in terms of tree planting. Just as he compared forest trees to ‘families’ and urban trees to ‘street urchins’ in his first book, in The  Power of Trees  he uses equally powerful metaphors to compare tree planting to battery farming ('Switching to fast-growing species and breeding trees for desired traits brought results li

Welcome to the blog tour for Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran! More about the book… Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule. But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many. As those who challenge the residents’ existence make their stand against the nursing home with devastating consequences, our characters are forced to reckon with a country divided. Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens  is about family and memory, community and race, but is ultimately a love letter to storytelling and how

Welcome to the blog tour for Atalanta  by Jennifer Saint ! More about the book… Exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside her cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis. Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason’s band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place of legend in a world made for men? More about the author… Thanks to a lifelong fascination with Ancient Greek mythology, Jennifer Saint read Classical Studies at King's College, London. Since September 2022, she has been a Visiting Research Fellow in the Classics Department there. In between, she spent thirteen years as an English teacher, sharing a love of literature and creative writing with her students.  Ariadne  is her first novel,  Elektra  is her second, and  Atalanta  is her latest mesmerising mythological retelling. My impressions… I love ret

Welcome to the blog tour for Small  Joys  by Elvin James Mensah ! More about the book… Harley is a young queer Black man struggling to find his way in mid-noughties Britain. Returning home to Dartford, having just dropped out of an undergraduate course in music journalism, he is wracked by feelings of failure and inadequacy. Standing in the local woods one day, on the verge of doing something drastic and irreversible, his hand is stayed by a stranger: a tall husky guy who emerges from the bushes holding a pair of binoculars. Muddy is an ebullient Mancunian whose lust for his own life makes others feel better by association. A keen birdwatcher, rugby fanatic and Oasis obsessive, he quickly becomes a devoted and loyal friend to Harley who finds his enthusiasm infectious and his dimples irresistible. In no time at all, they become inseparable. Harley starts to think that life may be worth living after all, while Muddy discovers things about himself that the lads down the rugby club may st

Welcome to the blog tour for Keepers   by Cheryl Burman! More about the book… In 1950 Australia, Raine believes her unplanned marriage to the volatile Teddy is working out fine. They have their own place, humble though it is. Their baby thrives. But when Teddy abandons his young family, a grieving and furious Raine faces hard choices – made harder when she discovers she’s bearing their second child. Are the words of the telegram the real reason behind Teddy’s desertion? Was there ever a future for them, or had his harridan mother been right all along? And what about the faithful, devoted Alf? He’s always looked out for Raine. He’d love to do so forever. With her baby nearly due, Raine sets out on a punishing journey to face the truth. And make the most important decision of her life. More about the author… When Cheryl Burman moved to the Forest of Dean in SW England she, like Tolkien and Rowling, was inspired to write. She started with middle grade fantasy, discovered a taste for histo

Welcome to the blog tour for The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi! More about the book… Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion—the treasure trove of scents. She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her. Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about

Welcome to the blog tour for Thanks For Sharing by Eleanor Tucker ! More about the book… What is the Sharing Economy? How can it help us live more affordable, more sustainable, and ultimately more fulfilling lives?  What would happen if for one year a family pledged to share as much as they possibly can? Instead of owning more and more stuff, what it’s like to stop owning things and borrow, lend, rent and swap instead? These are big questions, but features writer Eleanor Tucker sets out to answer them in this thoroughly absorbing and entertaining guide to sustainable sharing, or as it is also known, 'collaborative consumption'. In this engrossing study, Eleanor straps us into on her year-long experiment along with her somewhat reluctant family. Over the course of the year, with the aid of various sharing apps, they will pledge to buy as few new things as possible, instead relying on the power of sharing, lending, renting and borrowing to supply their needs. Each chapter introd

Welcome to the blog tour for The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything by Kara Gnodde! More about the book… Like circles of a Venn diagram, Mimi and Art Brotherton have always come as a pair. Devoted siblings, they're bound together in their childhood home by the tragic death of their parents. Art believes that people - including his sister - are incapable of making sensible decisions when it comes to love. That’s what algorithms are for. Mimi knows that her brother is a mathematical genius. But she believes that maths isn’t the answer to everything. Not quite. Especially when it comes to love. Still, when Mimi begins her search for a soulmate, Art's insistence that she follow a strict mathematical plan seems reasonable. The arrival of Frank, however - a romantic stargazer who is definitely not algorithm-approved - challenges the siblings' relationship to breaking point. As their equilibrium falters, Art's mistrust of Frank grows, but so do Mimi's feelings. Something ab

Welcome to the blog tour for The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin! More about the book… When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey. Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past. Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs? More about the author… Rebecca Raisin writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week. The only downfall about writing about gorgeous heroes who have brains as well as brawn, is falling in love with them – just as wel

Welcome to the blog tour for The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy! More about the book… It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred - those who fought and those left behind. Alice Rayne is married to Stephen, heir to crumbling Oakbourne Hall. Once a sweet, gentle man, he has returned a bitter and angry stranger, destroyed by what he has seen and done, tormented by secrets Alice can only guess at. Lonely and increasingly afraid of the man her husband has become, Alice must try to pick up the pieces of her marriage and save Oakbourne Hall from total collapse. She begins with the walled garden and, as it starts to bear fruit, she finds herself drawn into a new, forbidden love. More about the author… Sarah Hardy has lived for the last 10 years on the Suffolk coast which is where her novel is set. Before that she lived in London, Dublin and the Hebrides. She has worked on nationa

Welcome to the blog tour for Forgotten Women by Zing Tsjeng! More about the book…  A compendium of women who shaped and were erased from our history. Forgotten Women  reaches around the world and its history to rediscover, retell and reinstate the lives of over 190 important and significant women. From Neolithic times to modernity, Zing Tsjeng has traced the women who have shaped their age and revolutionised society. In this book lies the strength, lives and sacrifices of women who have refused to accept the hand they’ve been dealt and have changed the course of our futures accordingly. More about the author… Zing Tsjeng is the editor in chief of VICE UK and the author of the Forgotten Women book series. She specialises in women’s and LGBTQ rights, politics, culture and lifestyle. She is also a documentary host and podcaster, her recent podcast for the BBC was entitled Forgotten Zingdom and she interviews for publications such as Vogue, Dazed, and The Guardian. My impressions… What a

Welcome to the blog tour for The Ugly Truth by L.C. North! More about the book… Melanie Lange has disappeared. Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private mental health clinic. Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped. The media will say whichever gets them the most views. But whose side are  you  on? #SaveMelanie #HelpPeter Told via interviews, transcripts and diary entries, The Ugly Truth is a shocking and addictive thriller about fame, power and the truth behind the headlines. More about the author… L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her first book club thriller - The Ugly Truth - combines her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. L.C. North is currently working on her second novel, and when she’s not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. L.C. North lives on the Suffolk borders w

Welcome to the blog tour for Murder at  Waldenmere Lake by Michelle Salter! More about the book… Walden, 1921. Local reporter Iris Woodmore is determined to save her beloved lake, Waldenmere, from destruction. After a bloody and expensive war, the British Army can’t afford to keep the lake and build a convalescent home on its shores yet they still battle with Walden Council and a railway company for ownership. But an old mansion used as an officer training academy stands where the railway company plans to build a lakeside hotel. It belongs to General Cheverton – and he won’t leave his home. When the General is found murdered, it appears someone will stop at nothing to win the fight for Waldenmere. Iris thinks she can take on the might of the railway company and find the killer. But nothing prepares her for the devastation that’s to come… More about the author… Michelle Salter is a historical crime fiction writer based in northeast Hampshire. Many local locations appear in her mystery

W elcome to the blog tour for The Venice Secret by Anita Chapman! More about the book… In 2019, Rachel is stuck in a rut when she discovers what appears to be a Canaletto painting in her grandmother's loft along with a note addressed to Philippa in 1782. With help from Jake at the local art gallery, Rachel endeavours to find out if the painting is an original and uncovers a  secret from the past. In 1780, governess at Chipford Hall, Philippa is offered the role of mistress by Earl Rupert. She escapes to Venice as companion to bluestocking, Lady Cordelia who reveals a secret that changes both their lives. They do their best to keep the secret from Lady Cordelia's social circle, but their nemesis is determined to reveal all and ruin them. More about the author… Anita Chapman enjoyed writing stories from a young age, and won a local writing competition when she was nine years old. Encouraged by this, she typed up a series of stories about a mouse on her mum’s typewriter and sent

Welcome to the blog tour for All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow! More about the book… Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of Sicilian folklore. The one thing very much out of her control is Dolly - her clever, headstrong daughter, now on the cusp of leaving home. Into this carefully ordered world step Vita and Rollo, a couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in Sunday's book. Soon they are in and out of each other’s homes, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo's polish lies something else, something darker. For Sunday has precisely what Vita has always wanted for herself: a daught

Welcome to the blog tour for Mother’s Day by Abigail Burdess! More about the book… The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family. But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes - because the same day, she learns she's going to be a mother too. Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna's living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else's? Now she will have to decide what she's willing to sacrifice for a real family - her future, her freedom, even her unborn child. More about the author… Abigail Burdess is a writer-performer from London. Abigail has written for TV comedies including the Emmy-nominated Tracey Ullman’s Show (BBC1), Watson and Oliver (BBC2), and the BAFTA-winning That Mitchell and Webb Look (BBC2). She’s appeared in TV and radio comedies including Fresh Meat (C4), Cuckoo (BBC3) and Lobbyland(Radio 4). Abi

Welcome to the blog tour for Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab! More about the book… Russia 1917: Beautiful, educated Svetlana Petrova defied her stifling aristocratic family to join a revolution promising freedom. Now, released after years of imprisonment, she discovers her socialist party vying for power against the dictatorial Bolsheviks and her beloved uncle, a champion of her cause, was murdered by a mysterious assassin named Orlova. Her signature? Blinding her victims before she kills them. Svetlana resolves to avenge his death by destroying this vicious opponent, even as she longs to reunite with the daughter she has not seen in years. USSR 1941: Now living in obscurity in a remote village, Svetlana opens her home to Mila Rozovskaya, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter from Leningrad she has never met. She hopes to protect Mila from the oncoming Nazi invasion, but when the enemy occupies the village, Svetlana sees the young woman fall under the spell of the resistance—echo

Welcome to the blog tour for One Moment by Becky Hunter! More about the book… The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most. Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on. If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again? More about the author… Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several