Sphere 18 March 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book |
Friday 30 April 2021
π Book Review ~ A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky
Thursday 29 April 2021
π Publication Day Book Review ~ The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter
π Happy Publication Day π
Penguin 29 April 2021 DI Adam Fawley #5 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book |
Wednesday 28 April 2021
π Book Review ~ Lucia's War by Susan Lanigan
Idee Fixe Press 2020 My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
London, 1917. Lucia, a young Jamaican exile, hopes to make it as a musician. But she is haunted by a tragic separation that is still fresh in her memory – and when she meets Lilian, an old woman damaged by a similar wartime loss, she agrees to a pact that could destroy everything she has fought so hard to achieve.
From the Western Front and the mean streets of Glasgow, to black society in London, Lucia’s story tells a tale of music, motherhood, loss and redemption.
π Book Review ~ Unfortunate Stars by Susan Lanigan
Idee Fixe Press February 2021 (45 pages) Available as an ebook and audio book My thanks to the author for my copy of the ebook |
Tuesday 27 April 2021
π Publication Day Book Review ~ Gone by Michael Blencowe
Leaping Hare Press 27 April 2021 My thanks to the publishers and Alison Menzies PR for my copy of this book |
Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species, Michael Blencowe takes us around the globe from the forests of New Zealand to the ferries of Finland, from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton’s Widewater lagoon.
Spanning five centuries from the last sighting of New Zealand’s Upland Moa to the death of Lonesome George, the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise in 2012, his memoir is peppered with the accounts of the hunters and naturalists of the past as well as revealing conversations with the custodians of these totemic animals today. With charm and insight he reveals what made these species unique; what their habits and habitats were; who discovered (or killed) them; what remains of them; and where we can view what survives of them today.
Tortoise |
He inspects the only known remains of a Huia egg at Te Papa, New Zealand; views hundreds of specimens of deceased Galapagos tortoises and Xerces Blue Butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences; and pays his respects to the only soft tissue remains of the Dodo in the world.
Xerces Blue Butterfly |
π My Thoughts..
Whenever I read about creatures who are no longer with us I realise just how transitory is our time on earth when whole species can be wiped out, especially as our surviving knowledge comes largely from those who hunted them to extinction in the first place. I'm thinking of those who travelled the globe discovering such rarities as giant tortoises in the GalΓ‘pagos, the majestic Dodo bird in Mauritius or in the midst of the American gold rush, the stunning Xerces Blue butterflies of San Francisco.
Dodo bird |
The book is divided into easy to enjoy sections, not filled with interminable references that you need a reference book to look up, but more about the homely nature of each creature, the places they made their home, the people who found them, the reasons for their extinction, and also about the custodians who look after, so carefully, the little pieces of them which remain.
Here are the creatures you will find in Gone :
The Great Auk. Majestic flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the ‘original penguin’.The Spectacled Cormorant. The ‘ludicrous bird’ from the remote islands of the Bering Sea.
Steller’s Sea Cow. An incredible ten tonne dugong with skin as furrowed as oak bark.
Upland Moa. The improbable birds and the one time rulers of New Zealand.
Huia. The unique bird with two beaks and twelve precious tail feathers.
South Island KΕkako. The ‘orange-wattled crow’, New Zealand’s elusive Grey Ghost
Xerces Blue. The gossamer-winged butterfly of the San Francisco sand dunes.The Pinta Island Tortoise. The slow-moving, long-lived giant of the GalΓ‘pagos Islands.
Dodo. The superstar of extinction.
Schomburgk’s Deer. A mysterious deer from the wide floodplains of central Thailand.
Ivell’s Sea Anemone. A see-through sea creature known only from southern England.
About the Author
Monday 26 April 2021
π Book Review ~ Rescued by Her Highland Soldier by Sarah Mallory
Mills & Boon Ebook 15 April 2021 Paperback 27 April 2021 Lairds of Ardvarrick #2 My thanks to the author for my copy of this book |
π My thoughts..
Madeleine d’Evremont and Grant Rathmore have their own particular reasons for fleeing Scotland in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. With red coated troops patrolling the area and with the British soldiers' penchant for violence no-one is safe, especially a woman travelling alone. With some trepidation Madeleine hires Rathmore to escort her to a place of safety and whilst their journey is difficult and fraught with danger, it also allows them time to get to know each other in a more meaningful way. This adventurous paring of a feisty young woman and a damaged Highlander is a beautiful combination as each of them bring their own particular secrets into the story.
Whilst the author is more known for her Regency romances, I do find this current foray into Scottish history to be a lovely alternative. Combining complicated history with a lively romance is never easy but this talented author never lets one get in the way of the other. It was equally enjoyable to watch a burgeoning relationship unfold between Madeleine d’Evremont and Grant Rathmore as it was to worry about the difficulties of them travelling in the Scottish highlands when tempers flared easily and the English viewed all Scots as traitors to the crown.
Rescued by Her Highland Soldier combines a strong sense of time and place with a thoroughly enjoyable romantic adventure all of which is written with this author's skilful flair for bringing to the page historical accuracy, and lively passion. Whilst it is the second book in the Laird's of Advarrick series it works completely as a stand-alone story.
About the Author
Sunday 25 April 2021
π΄Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Claire Dyer
Arrow 2010 |
Two Rivers Press 2021 |
Saturday 24 April 2021
π Hist Fic Saturday ~ Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lees
On Hist Fic Saturday
Let's go back to...1620
Windmill Books 22 April 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book |
Friday 23 April 2021
π Book Review ~ The Orphan of Ironbridge by Mollie Walton
Zaffre 15 April 2021 #3 The Ironbridge Saga My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book |
Thursday 22 April 2021
π Summer's Out at Hope Hall by Pam Rhodes
π Thrilled to host a stop on this blog tour today π
Lion Hudson 23 April 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and the invitation to be part of the blog tour |
Wednesday 21 April 2021
π Blog tour ~ The Wife Who Got A Life by Tracy Bloom
π Excited to host today's stop on this blog tour π
Harper Fiction 15 April 2021 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and to Random T Tours for the invitation to be part of the blog tour |
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Author Guest Post ~ Leigh Russell
I am delighted to welcome Leigh Russell to the blog to share her guest post
about writing her latest novel, Rachel's Story
Bloodhound Books 6 April 2021 |