#BookReviewGift: Three Sisters of Stone by Stephanie Hutton

Before this year I’d not heard of the concept of novella in flash so this was the first one I’d read. I know Stephanie via Twitter where she often links to her other excellent flash fiction pieces and shares her time and comments generously on other people’s writing. For the uninitiated, a novella in flash… Continue reading #BookReviewGift: Three Sisters of Stone by Stephanie Hutton

A childhood in books

As promised, I wanted to write about a childhood in books with a few featured. I have also decided to commit to blogging and reviewing every day in December and tagging authors to give them a boost about how much we appreciate them. (You can find out more about this here on Twitter – do… Continue reading A childhood in books

Review: Take Nothing With You by Patrick Gale

A new Patrick Gale is always something to celebrate but in recent years his books seem to have taken on an extra quality. I do feel he’s one of the country’s best writers – portraying empathy, love and the human experience with deftness, wit and a sure touch. We must celebrate him more. Perhaps a… Continue reading Review: Take Nothing With You by Patrick Gale

Review: The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen

What a lovely premise this book has. As soon as I heard it, I wanted to read it. William Woolf works for the Royal Mail at the Dead Letters Depot. Woolf is a Letter Detective,  sorting through all the letters that never get delivered. He tries to deliver or return them, seeking out the stories… Continue reading Review: The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen

Review: Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano

Phew! What a title! Your Second Life is a French phenomenon. Published three years ago, word spread and it’s now a bestseller, staying in the French top ten for over a year, despite its terrible title. Now it’s coming to England. It’s rather cute to look at, a small hardback with a Tiffany blue cover and… Continue reading Review: Your Second Life Begins When You Realise You Only Have One by Raphaelle Giordano

The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session

Today I’m really pleased to be joined by Fiona Mitchell, whose novel The Maid’s Room, has just come out in paperback. The story of two sisters, Dolly and Tala, Filipino maids to the privileged community in Singapore, The Maid’s Room is a sometimes shocking, sometimes funny account of the hidden lives of others and how… Continue reading The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session

Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Sebastian Bell wakes in a wood, yells “Anna!” and swears he saw a woman shot before his eyes. Waiting, chasing, he hears a stranger approach behind him, slip a compass in his pocket and say “east.” Bell, who can remember nothing of his life before this moment, finds himself in Blackheath, a house isolated in… Continue reading Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Review: We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt

Warning. This is a dreadfully sad book. Unless you have a void where your heart should be, you will need tissues and possibly, some consoling biscuits. On the face of it, it’s a bog standard boy meets girl story. Rob meets Anna at university where she is wowing people with her accountancy skills and he… Continue reading Review: We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt

Review: Two Cousins of Azov by Andrea Bennett

What a treat to read something as fresh and nicely eccentric as this. A book that’s full of stories, without being a book about stories, if that makes any sense. Two Cousins of Azov or You can’t pickle love (it has a subtitle) ostensibly tells the story of Gor and Tolya, the two cousins of… Continue reading Review: Two Cousins of Azov by Andrea Bennett