February 2019 – Page 2 – Everything Is Better With Dragons

Bonus Review: ‘A History of Trees’, by Simon Wills

Blurb

Have you ever wondered how trees got their names? What did our ancestors think about trees, and how were they used in the past? This fascinating book will answer many of your questions, but also reveal interesting stories that are not widely known. For example, the nut from which tree was predicted to pay off the UK’s national debt? Or why is Europe’s most popular pear called the ‘conference’? Simon Wills tells the history of twenty-eight common trees in an engaging and entertaining way, and every chapter is illustrated with his photographs.

Find out why the London plane tree is so frequently planted in our cities, and how our forebears were in awe of the magical properties of hawthorn. Where is Britain’s largest conker tree? Which tree was believed to protect you against both lightning and witchcraft?

The use of bay tree leaves as a sign of victory by athletes in ancient Greece led to them being subsequently adopted by many others – from Roman emperors to the Royal Marines. But why were willow trees associated with Alexander Pope, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Samuel Johnson? Why did Queen Anne pay a large sum for a cutting from a walnut tree in Somerset? Discover the answers to these and many other intriguing tales within the pages of this highly engrossing book.

Review: ‘The Migraine Relief Plan’, by Stephanie Weaver

Blurb
The Migraine Relief Plan: An 8-Week Transition to Better Eating, Fewer Headaches, and Optimal Health
In The Migraine Relief Plan, certified health and wellness coach Stephanie Weaver outlines a new, step-by-step lifestyle approach to reducing migraine frequency and severity.

Using the latest research, her own migraine diagnosis, and extensive testing, Weaver has designed an accessible plan to help those living with migraine, headaches, or Meniere’s disease. Over the course of eight weeks, the plan gradually transitions readers into a healthier lifestyle, including key behaviors such as regular sleep, trigger-free eating, gentle exercise, and relaxation techniques. The book also collects resources—shopping lists, meal plans, symptom tracking charts, and kitchen-tested recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner—to provide readers with the tools they need to be successful.

The Migraine Relief Plan encourages readers to eat within the guidelines while still helping them follow personal dietary choices, like vegan or Paleo, and navigate challenges, such as parties, work, and travel. A must-have resource for anyone who lives with head pain, this book will inspire you to rethink your attitude toward health and wellness.

Purchase Link – http://bit.ly/MRPlan

Review: ‘Consuming Fire’, by Catherine Fearns

**Purchase Link –** https://mybook.to/consumingfire

Blurb

What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen…

Liverpool is in the grip of an intense heatwave, and strange things are happening.

A woman dies in an apparent case of Spontaneous Human Combustion; a truck explodes on the dock road; the charred corpses of pets litter the city; forest fires ravage the pinewoods…and there are birds everywhere, silent flocks drawing in ominously.

Detective Inspector Darren Swift thinks there are connections, and his investigation delves into the worlds of football, nightclubs and organised crime. But is he imagining things?

Dr. Helen Hope doesn’t think so. And she believes the key lies in a mysterious seventeenth-century occult book which has gone missing from Liverpool Library.

In the blistering sequel to Reprobation, DI Swift is forced to confront some inconvenient ghosts from his past, as a terrifying shadow lies over his city’s reality….

Cover Reveal: ‘Thread of Hope’, by Rachel J Bonner

Thread Of Hope

Honesty is the best policy. Isn’t it?

What if your secrets are so dangerous they could destroy the one you love?

Prospero is prepared to tell Leonie most of his past – if he can find her – but one of his secrets could send her running again. Another could destroy any future they might have. And one could kill her. Dare he risk it?

Leonie is terrified of the consequences of sharing any of her past with anyone. But not even Leonie knows the secrets that her very existence contains.

Gabriel is starting to discover the secrets inherent in Leonie and they could tear the world apart. Who does he turn to, and who should he share them with? If he tells the wrong person he could seal not just Leonie’s death warrant but those of millions more.

And no one has told Leonie the mystery of her necklace. When she discovers that, will she sacrifice everything and risk all that Gabriel has been working for?

Blog Tour Calendar: ‘Consuming Fire’, by Catherine Fearns

I reviewed Catherine’s first book last year so I’m happy to be part of the blog tour for her second.

Extract: ‘Gap Years’, by Dave Holwill

Gap Years

19 year old Sean hasn’t seen his father since he was twelve. His mother has never really explained why. An argument with her leads to his moving to the other side of the country.

Martin, his father, has his life thrown into turmoil when the son he hasn’t seen in nearly eight years strolls back into his life immediately killing his dog and hospitalising his step-daughter.

The one thing they have in common is the friendship of a girl called Rhiannon.

Over the course of one summer Sean experiences sexual awakenings from all angles, discovers the fleeting nature of friendship and learns to cope with rejection.

Martin, meanwhile, struggles to reconnect with Sean while trying to delicately turn down the increasingly inappropriate advances of a girl he sees as a surrogate daughter and keep a struggling marriage alive.

Gap Years is an exploration of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century seen from two very different perspectives – neatly hidden inside a funny story about bicycles, guitars and unrequited love.

Blog Tour Calendar: Gap Years, by Dave Holwill

I’ll be hosting a content post for this book, which should give you a flavour of what the work is about. But first, the blurb.

Gap Years
19 year old Sean hasn’t seen his father since he was twelve. His mother has never really explained why. An argument with her leads to his moving to the other side of the country.

Martin, his father, has his life thrown into turmoil when the son he hasn’t seen in nearly eight years strolls back into his life immediately killing his dog and hospitalising his step-daughter.

The one thing they have in common is the friendship of a girl called Rhiannon.

Over the course of one summer Sean experiences sexual awakenings from all angles, discovers the fleeting nature of friendship and learns to cope with rejection.

Martin, meanwhile, struggles to reconnect with Sean while trying to delicately turn down the increasingly inappropriate advances of a girl he sees as a surrogate daughter and keep a struggling marriage alive.

Gap Years is an exploration of what it means to be a man in the 21st Century seen from two very different perspectives – neatly hidden inside a funny story about bicycles, guitars and unrequited love.

Review: ‘It’s No Secret: Thriving After Surviving’, by Danielle Down

Published By: Published Independently
Publication Date: 15th November 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 9781730823060
Purchase Link

Blurb
Danielle knew early on that she was not like most children at her school. With a chaotic home life riddled with violence, neglect, abuse and poverty she learned early on how to survive and adapt. Every challenge taught her a valuable lesson about resilience and self-motivation allowing her to develop an unshakeable positive mindset, along with a sense of humour. This book takes the reader on a journey detailing the life-changing events which tested Danielle’s resilience and willpower. She bravely shares the difficult choices she was forced to make in order to safeguard her precious family as long-forgotten secrets are revealed. This uplifting, shocking and empowering book chronicles Danielle’s story and her determination to never let her past define her future. It promises to inspire the reader that change and choice are absolutely possible and that nothing is ever insurmountable.

Blog Tour Calendar: ‘One Last Prayer For The Rays’, by Wes Markin

DCI Michael Yorke faces his most harrowing case yet.

When 12-year-old Paul disappears from school, Yorke’s only clue is a pool of animal blood. Fearing the worst, he turns toward the most obvious suspect, recently released local murderer, Thomas Ray.

But as the snow in Salisbury worsens, Ray’s mutilated body is discovered, and Yorke is left with no choice but to journey into the sinister heart of a demented family that has plagued the community for generations. Can he save the boy? Or will the evil he discovers changes him forever?

One Last Prayer for the Rays introducing DCI Michael Yorke.

Blog Tour Calendar: ‘It’s No Secret’, by Danielle Downey

It’s No Secret: Thriving After Surviving by Danielle Down

I’m reviewing this book for the tour, my review is the first but give the other a view; they will have content posts such as extracts, as well as reviews.

Book Details

Publisher: Independently published

Publication Date: 15th November 2018

I.S.B.N.: 978-1730823060

Format: Paperback

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-No-secret-Thriving-Surviving/dp/1730823068/ref=la_B07KDYTTDD_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547479798&sr=1-1

BLURB

Danielle knew early on that she was not like most children at her school. With a chaotic home life riddled with violence, neglect, abuse and poverty she learned early on how to survive and adapt. Every challenge taught her a valuable lesson about resilience and self-motivation allowing her to develop an unshakeable positive mindset, along with a sense of humour. This book takes the reader on a journey detailing the life-changing events which tested Danielle’s resilience and willpower. She bravely shares the difficult choices she was forced to make in order to safeguard her precious family as long-forgotten secrets are revealed. This uplifting, shocking and empowering book chronicles Danielle’s story and her determination to never let her past define her future. It promises to inspire the reader that change and choice are absolutely possible and that nothing is ever insurmountable.