Categories
Books

My bookshelves: A little tour…

Hi guys,

So I have something a little different on here today. In my quest for changing up my content a little, I’ve been trying to find different types of posts to do. A tour of my bookshelves sounded like a fun way to go!

My shelves have changed DRASTICALLY since I started blogging. Not least because of the sheer volume of books I have acquired/bought in a few short years. Initially, I was only using the built-in shelves that were in the house when we first bought it, but then the overflow began. Here’s a quick idea of what they were like before…

2015

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Around this time, I managed to get my old bookshelves from home, so of course, I had to rearrange ALL of my books for them to fit better. I’m pretty sure it took me an entire day to get everything swapped around but I got there in the end!

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b2

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But then the books started multiplying. Almost overnight I found myself wishing I had more space, but no matter where I looked, every space was taken up by books and I couldn’t squeeze any more in. But try telling that to a bookworm. In the words of Barney Stinson

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And now, my bookshelves are quite possibly my most treasured things in our house. We recently put them into the right genres and alphabetised them too, so its even more organised than it was before! 🙂

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Image may contain: people sitting and indoor

In doing the shelves this way, I’ve lost my “dedicated shelves” though. Before, any first editions were up high, signed books were kept together, and books I’m quoted on/in were also kept together, but alas, not any more! Small price to pay when it looks like this. Still not quite up there with the gorge fairy-lit, Funko-filled beauties you see on #bookstagram, but I still love them!

I, of course, have some favourites among my shelves. And now that they’re grouped by author, its so much easier to find them. So here’s just a taster of the books that I love…

IMG_E0936 I am a huge Lee Child fan, but because I’m playing catch up with the series, these two are the ones I have to read next. AND, all bar The Midnight Line are signed by the man himself.

IMG_E0925 Another book I was OBSESSED with is Nevernight. It blew me away when I read it, and I now have multiple copies (ebooks and signed included) of both NN and its follow-up, Godsgrave. My husband has even red these, and they are now his benchmark whenever he picks up a fantasy novel. Waiting impatiently for Darkdawn to be released 🙂

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I don’t think either of the above two shelves need an introduction. Harry Potter is one of my all time faves, so it goes without saying that I would have multiples of the books (including US first editions), and whatever other HP books I can get my hands on. I’ve actually started the first book again, my first time ever re-reading a book, and it is a joy!

IMG_E0930 Another obsession for me. The Grishaverse. If you’ve not read these books, I would definitely recommend picking them up. I devoured them, and would happily read them over and over again as they are pure escapism and super fun reads!

IMG_E0931 I loved ACOTAR when I read it, so needless to say I promptly read them all one after another. Oddly enough though,  I still haven’t read ACOFAS. But I may re-read the first three again before I do, if I ever get time!

IMG_E0932 Anyone who reads my blog will know who this is! Ragnar Jónasson is a supremely talented Icelandic author, and I adore his writing. Clearly, because I have all his Dark Iceland books, including signed first editions! And I’m buying up the American editions as well, and I may have to buy the Japanese one because you get Ari Thor on the front cover!!!!

IMG_E0934 Another amazing series here. The DCI Ryan books by LJ Ross have been consistently brilliant, and I’m lucky enough to have them all signed by Louise herself.

IMG_E0935 Last, but by no means least, is Adam Hamdy’s Pendulum series. These are terrifyingly brilliant thrillers, and I have loved reading them. If you’ve not heard of them, I would definitely recommend picking them up if you can!


 

There you have it. A small tour of my bookshelves with a shout out to some faves! I’m off to buy some fairy lights and a ton of candles and Funko figures, haha! 😉

I hope you enjoyed this little departure from reviews! I’ll be back tomorrow with some more Recent Reads Rapid Reviews, so do come back and check those out!

Until next time, happy reading! 🙂

Categories
Books Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap Up August 28th

Hi everyone,

I hope you’ve all had a good week. It’s hard to believe that the kids are back to school next week here and it’s FINALLY back into a routine! I can’t wait! 😊

I’ve had another busy week on here with a couple of reviews and two blog tours as well as the usual Saturday Series post! 

As regards reading, I’m still slow but I managed to read one book, bringing my total books read this year to 114 so far. Not bad when my target was 75!

So anyway, back to this week’s posts!

On Monday, I had the pleasure of author Cat Hogan joining me for a Q&A as part of the blog tour for They All Fall Down:

Blog Tour Q&A with Cat Hogan- They All Fall Down


Tuesday’s post was another blog tour. This time it was Valentina Giambanco with a guest post to coincide with her latest novel, Blood and Bone:

Blog Tour- Blood and Bone by Valentina Giambanco


Next up was a review I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks, a debut from Elizabeth Heathcote called Undertow. I thoroughly enjoyed this one:

Undertow by Elizabeth Heathcote


As usual, I had the Triple S post yesterday. I was joined by Hemmie Martin as she discussed her own series as well as some books she’s read and enjoyed:

Saturday Series Spotlight- Hemmie Martin


Last, but by no means least, I reviewed the superb Pendulum by Adam Hamdy! Definitely one to watch out for!

Pendulum by Adam Hamdy

That’s been my week on the blog! Next week sees another very busy week with blog tours, and I’ll hopefully have a review as well. I’m currently reading The Constant Soldier by William Ryan before I go to meet him on Friday evening in Limerick so that will be a nice break from the norm! 😊

What you’ll see on here next week:

  • Matching the Evidence by Graham Smith blog tour
  • A Death in the Family by Michael Stanley blog tour
  • First Monday Crime spotlight on Jane Corry
  • Blackout by Ragnar Jónasson blog tour
  • August Book Haul post
  • Q&A with Jackie Baldwin 

How has your week been? 😊

Categories
Blog Tour Books

C.J. Carver Spare Me The Truth Blog Tour

Hi everyone,

Today its my stop on the Spare Me The Truth blog tour, C.J. Carver’s new book! I’m thrilled to have a guest post from the author herself further on in the post.

Spare me the Truth (1).jpg

 

About the book (via Goodreads):

Dan Forrester, piecing his life back together after the tragic death of his son, is approached in a supermarket by a woman who tells him everything he remembers about his life – and his son – is a lie.

Grace Reavey, stricken by grief, is accosted at her mother’s funeral. The threat is simple: pay the staggering sum her mother allegedly owed, or lose everything.

Lucy Davies has been forced from the Met by her own maverick behaviour. Desperate to prove herself in her new rural post, she’s on the hunt for a killer – but this is no small town criminal.

Plunged into a conspiracy that will test each of them to their limits, these three strangers are brought together in their hunt for the truth, whatever it costs. And as their respective investigations become further and further entwined, it becomes clear that at the centre of this tangled web is a threat more explosive than any of them could have imagined.

 

About the author:

CJ Carver is a half-English, half-kiwi, author living just outside Bath. She lived in Australia for ten years before taking up long-distance rally driving – she has driven London to Saigon, London to Cape Town, and completed 14,500 miles on the Inca Trail.

Since then she has written seven novels which have been published in the UK, USA and translated throughout Europe. CJ’s first novel Blood Junction, won the CWA Debut Dagger Award.

CJ is a co-founder and one of the first judges for the Women’s World Car of The Year Award.

 

Guest Post from C.J. Carver

Five things I can’t write without:

1) Music

I always have music playing when I write.  Radio, Spotify or a CD, something in the background.  I’m not sure if it’s to keep me company – writing is so solitary – or if it’s the stimulation I need, but one thing I do know is that I have to be careful when I’m writing a particularly tense scene not to let the music have an effect.  I was writing a heated discourse between two adversaries in Spare Me The Truth who were supposed to come to blows but thanks to a run of dreamy music tracks they ended up shaking hands!

  1. Bath (the city, not my tub)

Even if I’m in the middle of writing a book I still need inspiration.  People say I must find the bucolic country view from my office inspiring, but the reverse is true – it sends me to sleep!  So I head into Bath instead, which is always bustling, always busy, and I meander aimlessly for a bit before settling in a favourite café.  Here I people watch, doodle a bit, watch a bit more, and let the energy of the place seep into my consciousness and fire me up for the next few chapters.

  1. My desk

I may be the only person to get excited about this, but this is no normal desk, it’s an electric Sit Stand Desk.  I believe Oscar Wilde, among other authors, used to write at a lectern and stride about while he thought, and although my body loves standing while I write I was somewhat taken aback when a medical friend of mine told me that research has shown that concentration levels fall by 25% when you stand.  Not quite what I wanted to hear.

  1. My kettle

It sounds trite, but it’s incredibly important that I get a break from time to time, not just to re-energise my brain but get my body moving.  Since my office is upstairs, I get to jog all the way to the kitchen, which may not be far but on the way I’ll get distracted by the mail, the fact the bird feeder needs topping up, the front path could do with a sweep.  By the time I’ve made my tea, I’ve usually had a decent 10-15 minute break doing other stuff and I return to my desk with my tea pretty refreshed.

  1. The train

I haven’t found anywhere better for coming up with ideas, whether it’s for a new book or the next chapter of the book I’m writing.  I make sure I’m at the window and gaze outside, notepad at the ready, and the rush of countryside flashing past triggers the right side of my brain – the creative side – and my notepad is invariably full of really good ideas at the journey’s end.

Driving can also have a good effect – it’s the movement against the eye that I find does the trick – so I could have made my car my fifth choice but I’d much rather go on a train.

© CJ Carver 2016


Fab post from C.J Carver! You can follow the blog tour and/or catch up with the brilliant blogs that are also on the tour!

Spare Me The Truth Blog Banner

My thanks to C.J. Carver for taking the time to write a post for my blog, and to Emily at Zaffre for all her hard work! 🙂

Spare Me The Truth is out TODAY! You can purchase a copy from Amazon by clicking the link below!

Spare Me The Truth by C.J. Carver

Happy reading! 🙂

 

 

Categories
Blog Tour Books

The Teacher Blog Tour Short Story Exclusive

Hi everyone,

Today it’s my stop on the blog tour for Katerina Diamond’s new release, The Teacher. I posted my review this week for publication day and you can catch up with that post by clicking the link below:

The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

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About the book (via Goodreads):

You think you know who to trust? You think you know the difference between good and evil?

You’re wrong …

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.

This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.

You can purchase a copy HERE.

 

If you’ve been following the tour, you will know that the first ten bloggers are each hosting a part of an exclusive short story written by the author in conjunction with The Teacher. If you’ve missed the first three days, you can catch up by clicking the relevant links below:

Part 1- Linda’s Book Bag

Part 2- Brook Cottage Books

Part 3- La Chouett

I am hosting PART FOUR so without further ado…

 

STALKERS – Part 4

The lights in the hall had stopped working, the corridor was washed out and depressing which made the whole encounter feel a little creepy. But not as creepy as this woman made Imogen feel. In her brief time working with Adrian Miles, Imogen had learned two main things about him. The first was that he drove like an octogenarian and the second was that he had absolutely no instincts when it came to women.

Lucy pushed on the door and they all went inside. She pulled out her phone and pulled up a photo of the room they were standing in, the lounge. It was the same. Lucy took a deep breath and sighed, Miles put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly and she turned and smiled. Imogen watched as Lucy kept checking where Miles was in proximity to her, she definitely seemed agitated.  They walked into the kitchen.

“Did you leave your mug in the sink this morning?” Adrian asked as they all walked slowly towards the sink.

“Yes. Look.” She showed them a photo of her sink, the mug was there.

When they arrived at the sink it was empty, Lucy’s hand went up to her mouth and her eyes began to water. Miles rubbed her shoulder. Imogen shook her head.

“Who is doing this?” Lucy sobbed.

Imogen saw Miles move in towards Lucy and so quickly put her arm around her, before Adrian had a chance to. Lucy turned to Imogen with her face crinkled in confusion, as if she had completely forgotten Grey was there.

“We’ll get someone to come and take a statement from you in the morning, OK?”

“You believe me now, don’t you?” Lucy looked at Miles, mascara streaked down her face.

Imogen waited to get Miles’s attention then signalled to the front door with her eyes. He looked puzzled but that was not unusual. They hadn’t quite had time to fine tune to each-other’s facial expressions just yet, so she would have to settle for crude eye signals until they did. Imogen steered them all toward the door and looked at the handle until Miles got the hint and opened it.

Imogen waited until Miles was out before letting go of Lucy then following him, deliberately standing in the way.

“Someone will be in touch.” She smiled and pulled the door closed before looking at Miles.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

“You need to step off. Get someone else on this. She’s all over you.”

“What are you talking about? She’s upset because some creep has been in her house! Nothing’s going on!”

“Well someone needs to tell her that. Trust me Miley. Keep your distance. She’s lying about someone breaking into her house.”

It’s true that wherever they went the women went a little weird around Miles, to the point where he didn’t even really notice it. But if there was one thing Imogen had the drop on, it was mentally unstable women. Some people had Gaydar – Imogen had this; this wasn’t the last they would hear from Lucy.

 


 

So, there you have it! Make sure to follow the tour to read more from Stalkers by Katerina Diamond!

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Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading! 🙂

 

 
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