Published By: How2Become Ltd
Publication Date: 26th February 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 9781912370115
Price: £9.99
Continue reading “Review: ‘How to write & publish a bestselling book’, by Richard McMunn”
Tag Archives: Book review
Review: ‘I Know Where You Live’, By Pat Young
Published By: Bloodhound
Publication Date: 1st March 2018
Format: ebook
Price: $2.99
I.S.B.N.: 9781912604012
Blurb
Penny seizes the chance of a new life for her family when her husband is offered a job in Europe.
Penny believes she’s being watched. Yet no one should know where she lives.At the airport they meet charming Sophie, fluent in French and looking for work as an au pair.
Penny, struggling to cope in France, offers Sophie a job and she soon becomes an important part of the family’s life. But Sophie is hiding something.
Then Penny’s toddler son, Ethan, is abducted and an international hunt for the child begins.
The police beg Penny and her husband to take part in a television appeal but the couple refuse. Unknown to the police, Penny and Seth have new identities and are determined to lay low and protect them. But it may be too late for that.Who has taken Ethan and why?
Are the couple’s true identities linked to the abduction?
And who has been watching them?
To save her son Penny may have to put her own life on the line.
Continue reading “Review: ‘I Know Where You Live’, By Pat Young”
Review: ‘An Unquiet Ghost’, by Linda Stratmann
Published By: Sapere Books
Publication Date: 1st March 2018
Price: 99p
Blurb
Brighton, 1871
Mina Scarletti, writer of horror stories but supernatural sceptic at heart, is becoming well known for unmasking those who fraudulently claim to be able to communicate with the dead. So it is no surprise to her when a young couple write to her seeking her advice.
They are George Fernwood and Mary Clifton, betrothed distant cousins with a family secret that is preventing them from getting married. Twenty years ago their alcoholic grandfather died in his bed. Though the official verdict was accidental poisoning rumours have been circulating that someone in the family murdered him.
If the murderer is one of their relations George and Mary are afraid they might pass on the ‘corrupted’ gene to their children. Desperate to find out the truth, they have decided to seek out a medium to communicate with their dead relation on their behalf, and they want Mina to help them find one who is genuine.
Though she is not a believer in ghosts, Mina is intrigued by the family mystery and decides to help them in any way she can. Could one of the new mediums advertising in Brighton really be genuine? Will they help George and Mary find the answers they are looking for?
Soon Mina finds herself caught up in a web of deception and intrigue that leads to one of her most fascinating discoveries yet …
Continue reading “Review: ‘An Unquiet Ghost’, by Linda Stratmann”
Review: ‘So I Might Be A Vampire’, by Rodney V. Smith
Published By: Lost Bajan Publishing
Publication Date: 13th February 2018
I.S.B.N.: 9781775007210
Format: Paperback
Price: £13.99
Blurb
Nobody expects to get turned into a vampire, especially a guy like Bob. Everybody hopes that if they somehow get transformed into a vampire, they will instantly become some kind of superhero vampire out of the movies. Bad news guys: not gonna happen. More likely than not, you’re gonna be one of the poor clueless bastards hanging out on Thursday nights with Bob in his vampire support group.
You may think you know what being a vampire is supposed to be like, but Bob is here to set you straight. He’s made it his personal mission to get answers about the reality of being a vampire. He’s been shot, stabbed, thrown off rooftops, survived bad coffee and endured crippling boredom – all in the name of answering the eternal question of what it means to be a vampire.
If you think you might be a vampire, this is the book for you.
Continue reading “Review: ‘So I Might Be A Vampire’, by Rodney V. Smith”
Bonus Review #4: ‘A Georgian Heroine’, by Joanne Major & Sarah Murden
Published By: Pen & Sword History
Publication Date: 27th November 2017
I.S.B.N.: 9781473863460
Format: Hardback
Price: £19.99
Blurb
Rachel Charlotte Williams Biggs lived an incredible life, one which proved that fact is often much stranger than fiction. As a young woman she endured a tortured existence at the hands of a male tormentor, but emerged from that to reinvent herself as a playwright and author; a political pamphleteer and a spy, working for the British Government and later singlehandedly organising George III’s jubilee celebrations. Trapped in France during the revolutionary years of 1792-95, she published an anonymous account of her adventures. However, was everything as it seemed? The extraordinary Mrs Biggs lived life upon her own terms in an age when it was a man’s world, using politicians as her mouthpiece in the Houses of Parliament and corresponding with the greatest men of the day. Throughout it all though, she held on to the ideal of her one youthful true love, a man who abandoned her to her fate and spent his entire adult life in India. Who was this amazing lady?
In A Georgian Heroine: The Intriguing Life of Rachel Charlotte Williams Biggs, we delve into her life to reveal her accomplishments and lay bare Mrs Biggs’ continued re-invention of herself. This is the bizarre but true story of an astounding woman persevering in a man’s world.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #4: ‘A Georgian Heroine’, by Joanne Major & Sarah Murden”
Review: ‘Comfort Food’, by Julia Bettelheim
Published By: Clink Street Publishing
Publication Date: 13th February 2018
I.S.B.N.: 9781912262632
Format: E-book/Paperback
I’m reviewing this book as part of a Clink Street Publishing blog tour and received an e-book copy of the book in return for an honest review.
Blurb
here’s nothing quite like Comfort Food to put a smile on your face and a feeling of contentment in your stomach.
Chef Julia Bettelheim is passionate about feeding people; from the students in her university kitchen to guests and family at home.
From recipes that are as simple as a sandwich to as technical as a fruit cake, she knows the importance of creating delicious meals that are full of flavour and which always have budget in mind.
Her recipes include easy to make classics and mouth-watering family favourites, using easy to find products that are fresh and economical.
Fun, fast, indulgent and nurturing, there’s a time and a place for Comfort Food in every kitchen.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Comfort Food’, by Julia Bettelheim”
Review: ‘The Mother’s Secret’, by Clare Swatman
Published By: Macmillan
Publication Date: 22nd February 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 97815098248
61
Price: £7.99
Continue reading “Review: ‘The Mother’s Secret’, by Clare Swatman”
Bonus Review #3: ‘The Pug Who Bit Napoleon’, by Mimi Matthews
Published By: Pen & Sword History
Publication Date: 11th December 2017
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 9781526705006
Price: £14.99
Blurb
From elaborate Victorian cat funerals to a Regency era pony who took a ride in a hot air balloon, Mimi Matthews shares some of the quirkiest—and most poignant—animal tales of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Meet Fortune, the Pug who bit Napoleon on his wedding night, and Looty, the Pekingese sleeve dog who was presented to Queen Victoria after the 1860 sacking of the Summer Palace in Peking. The four-legged friends of Lord Byron, Emily Brontë, and Prince Albert also make an appearance, as do the treasured pets of Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, and Charles Dickens.
Less famous, but no less fascinating, are the animals that were the subject of historical lawsuits, scandals, and public curiosity. There’s Tuppy, the purloined pet donkey; Biddy, the regimental chicken; and Barnaby and Burgho, the bloodhounds hired to hunt Jack the Ripper. Wild animals also get a mention in tales that encompass everything from field mice and foxes to alligators and sharks lurking in the Thames.
Using research from eighteenth and nineteenth century books, letters, and newspapers, Mimi Matthews brings each animal’s unique history to vivid life. The details are sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, but the stories are never anything less than fascinating reading for animal lovers of all ages.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #3: ‘The Pug Who Bit Napoleon’, by Mimi Matthews”
Bonus Review number two: ‘The Nature Fix’, by Florence Williams
Published by: W.W. Norton and Company
Publication Date: 7th February 2017
Format: Hardcover
I.S.B.N.: 9780393242713
Price: $26.95
Blurb
For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to groves of eucalyptus in California, Williams investigates the science at the confluence of environment, mood, health, and creativity. Delving into completely new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.
Continue reading “Bonus Review number two: ‘The Nature Fix’, by Florence Williams”
Bonus Review #5: ‘Victorian Policing’, by Gaynor Haliday
Published By: Pen & Sword History
Publication Date: 15th November 2017
I.S.B.N.: 9781526706126
Format: Paperback
Price: £10.50
Alex at Pen and Sword emailed me last November to see if I wanted to review this book. I had a long list of books to review so I’ve finally got round to it.
Blurb
What was life like for the Victorian bobby? Gaynor Haliday became fascinated with the history of the early police forces when researching the life of her great, great grandfather; a well-regarded, long-suffering Victorian police constable in Bradford. Although a citation claimed his style of policing was merely to cuff the offender round the ear and send him home, press reports of the time painted a much grimmer picture of life on the beat in the Victorian streets.
Handwritten Watch Committee minutes, historical newspapers and police records combine to reveal an account of how and why the various police forces were set up; the recruitment, training and expectations of the men, the issues and crimes they had to deal with, and the hostility they encountered from the people whose peace they were trying to keep.
Continue reading “Bonus Review #5: ‘Victorian Policing’, by Gaynor Haliday”
Everything Is Better With Dragons 