Friday 15 March 2024

The Glutton - Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize


To celebrate the longlist for this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize (and the shortlist to be announced on Thursday 21st March), a bunch of book bloggers were asked very kindly if they fancied read one of the books on the longlist. One of them was me and it was a mystery which book I was going to get to read as I wanted it to be a surprise. 

The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is an award gifted annually and is opened to published writers in the English language under the age of forty. Let me put the link to Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize here so you can read more details at your leisure. 

Now, like I said earlier, it was surprise which book from the longlist I was going to get for review and, I will be honest, the title that was sent to me was one of titles I didn’t want. But, I knew whatever title I was going to receive, I was going to start reading that very day as I do always like a challenge and to try something new. 

The book in question: The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore. 

Title and Author:
The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore
Publisher: Granta Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by PR company, Midas Campaigns, in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

Inspired by the French showman and solider Tarare (sometimes spelt Tarar) who lived from 1772 to 1798, we start the book with Sister Perpetue who is caring for a frail, dying man. A man who is once famed for having a ferocious appetite, the man who was once called the Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon. A man rumoured to have eaten a child. 

As this man tells his story, we see him from his humble beginnings and, as unrest slowly begins to grip France, a violent act leaves Tarare left for dead and his hunger awaken…

Sunday 10 March 2024

Let’s Lie and Play Mafia


You guys know I am a huge fans of the BBC show The Traitors, right? Same with the movies Knives Out and Glass Onion? So, the idea of these two being mashed together in a book excites me hugely. You can see where this is going, right? When the lovely people at Firefly Press asked if I wanted to be involved in a blog tour to celebrate the release of Lie Or Die by A.J. Clack, I knew I had to jump on it. 

Before I go any further, let me tell you about Lie Or Die. Kass is tricked by her best mate to get involved in a new TV reality show. Imagine Big Brother meets The Traitors and you get the idea. Ten contestants, one studio, forty four remote cameras. But when contestants start dying (for real), Kass and her fellow contestants are no longer fighting to win the game, but gifting for survival. 

I am thrilled that A.J. Clack has written a small guest post for this tour (and for this tiny little blog) about the game that inspired their debut: Mafia (sometimes is called Werewolf). I have never heard of this so quick Google/Wiki search for me, but I bet you guys know the game. If not, am going to pop a YouTube video below so you can watch…



Now we are all on the same page, I can hand over to A.J. Clack and their tips on playing Mafia/Werewolf. But before I do, I want to say a huge thank you to A.J. for writing this guest post and to Graeme at Firefly for emailing me and chatting about Lie Or Die. And if you’re curious over the book, you can check out either Firefly Press’s website or via Bookshop.org (Affiliate Link)

With that out of the way, let’s lie, cheat and murder… 

Friday 8 March 2024

Mini Catch-Up

Oh, the joy of blogger’s guilt. Been blogging for over 14 years (flipping heck, feeling old in book blogosphere! Hey Siri, play something young as I AM YOUNG, DAMNIT!) and, after a period of time, if you’re not blogging, you feel guilty for not blogging and chat about reads past, present and future. 

Plus, been going through a bit of a blogging/real life slowdown. Nothing wrong with that, but let me touch base with you as you guys know I haven’t vanished off the face of the earth with me blogging and reading (though if you follow me on my socials, you know I am very active). 

The main audiobook I listened to since we last chatted was Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (affiliate link to bookshop.org is here). It seems that I might be considering doing an Agatha Christie a month or an Golden Age Mystery a month as I seem to have a load of these on my To Be Read lists (either on my physical shelves, my e-reader shelves or on my radar to investigate at a later date). Now, this seems to be one of the faves of the Poirot fans as it ticks all the boxes: a closed circle mystery of suspect on an holiday island off the coast, a messy love triangle (of sorts) and Poirot at his finest. I can see why fans of Agatha Christie rate this so highly. There is elements that are stuck in its time (the sexism at the end of the book where a successful businesswoman is told to quit her business so she can marry and be a good little wife left a sour taste in the mouth) and the case hinging on a lot of chance/luck…

Am I going to do another Christie this month? Yes, I think I am. I am leaning over between 3 titles (maybe a poll is needed on my socials?) and i am eyeing my British Library Crime Classics (I have one I am desperate to read but saving that for nearer the General Election as the murder is set at the Houses of Parliament). Would you guys like to know the British Library Crime Classics on my TBR? I am very tempted to blog them as they are a weird little mix…

Because I was having a bit of a DNFing blitz, I wanted to read something comforting but I wasn’t in the mood to reread (something I do want to do this year as I did NO REREADING last year. At ALL! I have three books I want to try and reread this year so hopefully, will attack them before the year is out). So, I dived into Mary Norton’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks 
(affiliate link to bookshop.org is here). This is a bind up of two stories (The Magic Bedknob and Bonfires and Broomsticks), which acts as the inspiration to the Disney movie, starring Angela Lansbury (I adore this movie. Yes, it’s trying too hard to be catch the success of Mary Poppins). And it was a delightfully cosy read but oh my, SO DIFFERENT from the movie. Yes, I knew going into this that the books were inspiration for the movie so there will be huge changes, but I was shocked on how different the two medias were and how dark the book got compared to the movie (yes, the movie is set during the Second World War, but we saw no one die. In the book, we saw someone get nearly burnt at the stake for being a witch).

But it was a nice read. Something I desperately needed as I go into reading some non-fiction (Rough Justice by Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC) and some literary/historical fiction (The Glutton by A…). Don’t worry, normal reading (and I use the term “normal” loosely) will return as I suspect that once these are done, I will be attacking my NetGalley backlog of audiobooks and eProofs (sorry in advance).

Wednesday 21 February 2024

eProof Review - The Mystery Guest

Oh boy, where do I start with The Mystery Guest? I liked the first outing with Molly, The Maid, but when I discovered that there was going to be a sequel, I was very hesitant over the announcement. To me, The Maid felt really good and fairly solid as a stand-alone and, because of this, I couldn’t see how the sequel would work.

Title and Author: The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Publisher: HarperCollins
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

Set around four years after the events of The Maid, Molly is now Head Maid at the Regency Hotel and the hotel is about to open its new Tearoom with a reclusive author doing a press conference. But when the author falls dead before he could announce his news, Molly finds her trying to figure out what is happening at the hotel.

Thursday 15 February 2024

Book Review - The Fury

Like I said in my previous post this week (The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen), I bought this after a job interview as a treat to self. I thought I did really well in the interview (I get really nervous in interviews) and went into Foyles and got a signed copy. Now, I wouldn’t have picked this up if it wasn’t for an interview did on a podcast I listen to call All About Agatha, and I was so intrigued by one or two of the details, I knew I would have to buy it. 

I, sadly, didn’t the job, in case you were wondering. 

Title and Author: The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

Seven guests go to a private Greek island. One of them being the former movie star, Lana Ferrar. Here, she hopes that she and her guests can unwind and enjoy themselves. 

But when the island gets suddenly cut off by violent winds, something awful happens. One of them is murdered and one of them is the killer… 

Tuesday 13 February 2024

Audiobook Review - The Spy Coast

Normally, I usually like a post up on here once a week. Otherwise, the blogger anxiety kicks in and I feel like I have failed as a book blogger (even though, compared to other cooler blogosphere [on booksagram, booktube or booktok and other places], my little corner of the Internet is tiny!) and I know I shouldn’t worry so much, but I do. I should practice what I preach over doing this your way and no one else. 

Anyway, no blog posts last week and two this week. One audiobook that I preordered and one physical that I treated self to after I did a job interview that I thought I did really well (I didn’t get the job so can’t of gone that well). Now, getting sidetracked so let me get the details of this preordered audiobook up and then we can have a chat. 

Title and Author: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Penguin
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

The first in the Martini Club series, The Spy Coast follows Maggie Bird in Purity, Maine. She’s a nice neighbour, loves her chickens and is a good shot with a gun. She, also, doesn’t talk about her past. 

So, when an unidentified body is dumped on her drive while she was at “book club”, Maggie realises that the past is coming for her. 

She and her fellow book club members (former spies for US government) must find out what is going on and why quickly is Maggie wants to keep her new, peaceful life. But the past is a tricky thing and Maggie’s past might get her killed…

Friday 2 February 2024

One Last Song Extract

I have an extract for you, with thanks for the lovely people at Inkandescent, that should get the weekend off on the right foot! 

One Last Song by Nathan Evan is a queer novella about Jim and Joan, two gentlemen in a care home and what happens when Joan arrives, a whirlwind that triggers Jim. The battle is on, but under both their armour plating, both are hiding sides of themselves…

I’m not going to go too in-depth over this as I have plans to read this myself and I want to know as little as possible. It sounds like something that will tickle me pink (no pun intend) and I might plan someone on Instagram when I do start reading it. 

Before I go any further, I want to thank Justin at Inkandescent for emailing me and asking if I wanted to share this book (and sorry for not being able to come to the book launch yesterday! Oh, the joys of being unemployed!). And, if you want to know more info about the book, you can go and check out either Inkandescent.co.uk or uk.bookshop.org (this is an affiliate link, FYI). 

Are we ready? LET’S GO!!!

Wednesday 31 January 2024

Book Review - Goddess Crown

You know that feeling when you randomly discover a book and you go “I need to read this as soon as I can”? It’s almost a physical reaction. Well, that was me when I first heard of Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite. It just ticked all the boxes for me: a standalone fantasy with deep inspiration of Nigerian mythology. And as soon as I got an Advance Reader Proof copy front the publisher, I practically dropped what I was reading and started this. 

Title and Author: Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite
Publisher: Walker Books
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

Kalothia has grown up in the shadow of the her kingdom, hidden away after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. But when assassins attack her home and kill her guardians on her sixteenth birthday, Kalothia is forced to flee and finds herself in the king’s court.

But the king’s court is no safer. Men think they are entitled and someone is plotting against her. How far will Kalothia be willing to go to keep herself and the kingdom safe?