Book after Book

Welcome to the blog tour for If She Wakes by Erik Therme! More about the book… My name is Tess Parker. Two days ago, I was in a car accident with my sister-in-law, Torrie. Before she slipped into a coma, she asked my husband and me to care for her four-month-old son, Levi. Yesterday, a woman claiming to be Torrie’s estranged sister knocked on our door. But Torrie has no siblings… or so she said. She and my brother were only together a short time before he left, and Torrie has clearly been keeping secrets. Today, another of Torrie’s “sisters” has come to town. Both say the other is lying about who they are. Neither of them is telling the truth. Both of them want Levi. More about the author… Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harboured runaways, and met Darth Vader . He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature. My impressions… Was it a pa...

Welcome to the blog tour for Fear Less, Live More by Aimee Fuller! More about the book… As someone who has lived outside her comfort zone, Aimee Fuller has a lot to say about fear. A former professional snowboarder who spent years riding on the fine edge of progression at the top of her sport, Aimee made history as the first woman to land a double backflip in competition and competed in two Winter Olympics. In 2019, she fronted the documentary Running in North Korea, which shows her running her first-ever marathon in one of the most isolated countries in the world. Through testing her own resilience, she has discovered that while it is scary to step outside your comfort zone, it can also be a prerequisite for growth. In this bright and insightful book, Aimee gives an honest account of her experiences with fear and how, when the worst happens, she manages to pick herself back up again with purpose and an even greater thirst for life. Encouraging you to get up close and personal with yo...

Welcome to the blog tour for Off Target by Eve Smith! More about the book… In an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect - altering genes that may cause illness, and more… Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out … including the unthinkable. She believes her secret is safe. For now. But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common, and people are starting to ask questions… More about the author… Eve Smith writes speculative fiction - mainly about the things that scare her – which she attributes t...

Welcome to the blog tour for The Go-Between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different Worlds by Osman Yousefzada! More about the book… The Go-Between provides a window into the Pakistani/Afghan Pashtun community living in Britain: a closed world in which women can’t leave their homes, where girls can’t be educated after the point of puberty (Osman’s own sisters were taken out of school at the age of eleven), where alternative masculinities are suppressed and where the pursuit of self-expression is forbidden. In this coming-of-age story set in Birmingham in the 1980s and 1990s, British-born artist and renowned fashion designer, Osman Yousefzada, tells us about his own family living in a red-light district on the wrong side of the tracks. The adult world is seen through Osman's eyes as a child: the divide between the world of men and women, living cheek-by-jowl with other migrant communities. Children have to balance Western school teachings with cultural traditions and female er...

Welcome to the blog tour for The Lost Chapter by Caroline Bishop! More about the book… 1957, France. Florence and Lilli meet at finishing school in Lyon. Despite some differences, they forge a firm friendship that promises to last a lifetime. But a terrible betrayal prematurely tears them apart. Years later in England, Florence has become the woman her friend knew she could be – creative, bold, and independent. The exact opposite of Alice, a young woman troubled by a recent trauma, whom Florence is determined to help bring out of her shell. Just as Lilli once did for her. When Florence discovers that the novel she’s reading is written by Lilli and is based on their time at school, the two stories begin to unfold together. Past events illuminate the future, and it becomes clear that long-held secrets can't stay buried forever. More about the author… Caroline Bishop began her journalism career at a small arts magazine in London, after a brief spell in educational publishing. She soo...

Welcome to the blog tour for The Love That Dares: Letters of LGBTQ+ Love & Friendship Through History by Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey! More about the book… A good love letter can speak across centuries and reassure us that the agony and the ecstasy one might feel in the 21st century have been shared by lovers long gone. This is all the truer of LGBTQ+ love letters: love affairs and relationships that, until very recently, had to survive within sealed envelopes and behind closed doors. In The Love That Dares , queer love speaks its name through the words of lovers from years gone by. Alongside the more famous names coexist beautifully written letters by lesser-known lovers, giving us an insight into queer love outside of the spotlight of fame or fortune. Compiled by Bishopsgate archivists Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey, these letters give us a glimpse into the passion and courage it took to continue a gay relationship in times when it was at best improper, and at worst illegal. En...

Welcome to the blog tour for A Letter a Day by Cata Ree! More about the book… Seven days. Seven letters. One heart-warming love story. Fourteen years ago, Trevor Kermt wrote his first love letter to Bridget Montgomery. Twelve years ago, he wrote the second and she thanked him with a kiss. Ten years ago, he wrote the third and begged her not to go. She followed her aspirations and enlisted in the army. Three years ago, he wrote to tell her he would always love her. She retired her post and returned to civilian life. February 2023, Trevor has one final letter for Bridget. One that could change both their lives in the most beautiful way. However, before he can give it to her, he has to find a way to help heal her mind from the anxiety and guilt that haunts her. Can Bridgette let go of the past and embrace their future? Or will the bond between them fade like letters on a page? My impressions… Did the book meet my expectations? The author might have changed her pen name but I knew I coul...