Tag Archives: Rachel’s Random Resources

Blog tour calendar: ‘Mrs Bates of Highbury’, by Allie Cresswell

Mrs Bates of Highbury Ful Tour Banner

I’ll be reviewing this novel on the 25th, and I shall be happy to share my thoughts with you about this ‘Emma’ prequel.

Blurb

The new novel from Readers’ Favourite silver medalist Allie Cresswell.

Thirty years before the beginning of ‘Emma’ Mrs Bates is entirely different from the elderly, silent figure familiar to fans of Jane Austen’s fourth novel. She is comparatively young and beautiful, widowed – but ready to love again. She is the lynch-pin of Highbury society until the appalling Mrs Winwood arrives, very determined to hold sway over that ordered little town.

Miss Bates is as talkative aged twenty nine as she is in her later iteration, with a ghoulish fancy, seeing disaster in every cloud. When young Mr Woodhouse arrives looking for a plot for his new house, the two strike up a relationship characterised by their shared hypochondria, personal chariness and horror of draughts.

Jane, the other Miss Bates, is just seventeen and eager to leave the parochialism of Highbury behind her until handsome Lieutenant Weston comes home on furlough from the militia and sweeps her – quite literally – off her feet.

Mrs Bates of Highbury is the first of three novels by the Amazon #1 best-selling Allie Cresswell, which trace the pre-history of Emma and then run in parallel to it.

Purchase from Amazon UK –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Bates-Highbury-prequel-inspired-ebook/dp/B07GJM2K4W

Mrs Bates Author PictAuthor Bio –

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.

She did a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.

She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.

She has two grown-up children, two granddaughters and two grandsons, is married to Tim and lives in Cumbria, NW England.

You can contact her via her website at www.allie-cresswell.com or find her on Facebook

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/alliescribbler/

@alliescribbler

For the duration of the blog tour, Allie Cresswell has five hard copies of Game Show and five hard copies of Tiger in a Cage, all signed, available for £5 plus p & p to UK addresses. If you are interested then please get in touch and I’ll give you her contact email.

Cover Reveal! ‘The Stepsister’, by Jenny O’Brien

Today I’m pleased to bring you a cover reveal for a new thriller by Jenny O’Brien. It looks like a good one, so I’ve included a bit of blurb, and the links for the book and author.

Continue reading “Cover Reveal! ‘The Stepsister’, by Jenny O’Brien”

September to December 2018 Review Schedule

Hello, now that the dissertation is all but done, I have some time for reading and reviewing again. September has been cleared until after hand in on the 19th and now October’s four slots are full too. November only has one scheduled review so far, and December is empty, but that’s limited to two slots anyway. I don’t really do Christmas books and an awful lot of the tours in November and December are for just that. I might actually have time to read and review some of the books Pen & Sword sent me last year! I’m pleased to be taking part in blog tours organised by Rachel’s Random Resources. The lovely ladies that run these tours are always helpful.

This is the schedule so far; any further scheduled reviews will be added as they come in and the schedule updated. It’s not all crime fiction, I’ve thrown in some memoir, historical and sci-fi for a bit of variety this time round.

September

25th

  • Mrs Bates of Highbury, by Allie Cresswell
    • Historical fiction
    • Billed as ‘A prequel to Jane Austen’s ‘Emma”
    • Rachel’s Random Resources blog tour

28th

  • Survive, by Stephen Llewelyn
    • Sci-fi adventure
    • Authoright tour

 

October

4th

  • The Pawlife Guide: Dog Care at Home,  by Gina Harding
    • Non-fiction
    • Rachel’s Random Resources

10th

  • Redneck’s Revenge, by Joan Livingston
    • Crime fiction
    • Rachel’s Random Resources

18th

  • Sex Drive, by Stephanie Theobald
    • Memoir
    • Random Thing’s Blog Tours

25th

  • Reprobation, by Catherine Fearns
    • Crime Fiction
    • Rachel’s Random Resources

 

November

15th

  • Homicide in Herne Hill, By Alice Castle
    • Cosy crime
    • Rachel’s Random Resources

20th

  • The Forth Victim, by John Mead
    • Crime fiction – Police Pricedural
    • Rachel’s Random Resources

 

December

2nd

  • The Darling Dead, by Graham Smith
    • Crime
    • Bookouture

‘The Bespokist Guide to London’ Blog Tour Q&A

Here we are on the last day of the tour and I’m going to share with you a Q&A sent to me by the author. Presumably the interview comes from his efforts to collect information for the book…

Continue reading “‘The Bespokist Guide to London’ Blog Tour Q&A”

Review: ‘Duck Egg Blues’, by Martin Ungless

Duck Egg Blues CoverPublished By: Independently Published

Publication Date: 25th May 2017

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 978-1521495919

Price: £8.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

This perfect slice of ‘cozy crime’ is narrated in the voice of a pre-war English butler and concerns a rich and powerful businesswoman whose daughter goes missing from their country house estate. That the story- teller is a robot belonging to an impoverished detective brings a fresh and original take on ‘cozy’, and as for ‘crime’… well, it does begin to escalate, what with MI6, criminal gangs, corrupt police, and that’s not to mention international cybercrime!

​As the plot strands weave together, we discover that behind one mystery lurks a greater threat. No one is safe, not even PArdew…

​This is without doubt the robot-butler-detective thriller you have been waiting for!

Continue reading “Review: ‘Duck Egg Blues’, by Martin Ungless”

Blog Tour Calendar: ‘The Bespokest Guide To London’, organised by #rararesources

I’ll be doing a ‘Q&A’ post for this tour, because I didn’t think I’d have time to review – I only have a MONTH to finish my dissertation. Reading the ‘Q&A’ I’ve been sent, I wish I did have the time to read the book. It’s too funny! But you’ll see on my tour stop what I mean. I’m posting on the last day of the tour, so feel free to have a gander at some of the earlier posts.

The Bespokist Society Guide to…London Full Tour Banner

A little about the book

The Bespokist Society Guide to…London

“sparse… some glaring omissions” FoodPorn London

“only page 23 is of mild interest” http://www.londonpetlover.com

“Wow!!! A genuinely bespoke city guide!!!” Tommy Sponge, Chairman, The Bespokist Society

You have in your hands one of the most curated city guides ever created. As the first travel book produced by the hugely influential Bespokist Society, this handy guide takes you to a London you’ve never seen: a London of challenging Etruscan restaurants, edgy branding parlours, emoji hotels and hidden Icelandic communities; a London where 8-ply toilet paper is a thing.

On the way, meet an eclectic band of inspiring Londoners – from scriveners to socialites via urban wordsmiths and coffee preachers – and see why London is now the global epicentre of Bespokist consciousness, community and culture.

Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bespokist-Society-Guide-London/dp/1912615142/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523828780&sr=8-1&keywords=bespokist


And about the author 

The Bespokist Society Guide to London is a work of fiction written by born and bred Londoner, Jeremy Liebster. Somewhat surprisingly, Jeremy is also a city lawyer – formerly at DLA Piper and now a General Counsel within a large private equity group. Jeremy is utterly obsessed with travel books and although he might poke fun at urban fads, hipster fried chicken is his guilty pleasure. He also has an unusual interest in clothes hangers.

 

Social Media Links – @TheBespokist www.bespokistsociety.com

Blog tour calendar: Duck Egg Blues, by #UnglessM, organised by #rararesources

I’m taking part in this blog tour and I rather enjoyed the book so I can’t wait to tell you about it. Anyway, here’s the calendar or the tour. I’m one of the first to review so if you’re interested you can read what others thought of the book too.

Duck Egg Blues Full Tour Banner

Here’s some information about Duck Egg Blues and author Martin Ungless:

Duck Egg Blues Cover

Duck Egg Blues is funny, sad, mysterious and thrilling. “A robot butler detective, what’s not to love?”

Martin Ungless is a WCN Escalator Prize winning author who has twice been shortlisted by the Crime Writers’ Association for their Debut Dagger Award.

What the CWA Judges said about his work:

‘A clever and ambitious story’
‘I was laughing and crying and hugging the sheets to my chest’

This perfect slice of ‘cozy crime’ is narrated in the voice of a pre-war English butler and concerns a rich and powerful businesswoman whose daughter goes missing from their country house estate. That the story- teller is a robot belonging to an impoverished detective brings a fresh and original take on ‘cozy’, and as for ‘crime’… well, it does begin to escalate, what with MI6, criminal gangs, corrupt police, and that’s not to mention international cybercrime!

As the plot strands weave together, we discover that behind one mystery lurks a greater threat. No one is safe, not even PArdew…

This is without doubt the robot-butler-detective thriller you have been waiting for!

Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Duck-Egg-Blues-PArdew-Book-ebook/dp/B071226XSW

For the duration of this blog tour, Duck Egg Blues will be on a Kindle Countdown Deal, so if you are tempted, purchase before the price rises

Author Bio – Following this year’s success, Martin Ungless had now been shortlisted three times by the Crime Writers’ Association for their Debut Dagger. He has won a WCN Escalator Award, and been successful in a number short-story competitions. Martin started life as an architect though now lives in the Norfolk countryside and writes full time. Martin is currently studying for the prestigious MA in Fiction (Crime) at UEA.

Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/UnglessM

Review: ‘When the Waters Recede’, by Graham Smith

When Waters Recede Cover
Published By: Caffeine Nights Publishing
Publication Date: 31st May 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 978-1910720967
Price: £8.49

Blurb

When a car is pulled from raging floodwaters with a dead man in the front and the decapitated body of an evil woman in the boot, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the investigation.

The woman is soon recognised, but the man cannot be identified and this leads the team and their former leader, Harry Evans, into areas none of them want to visit.

Before they know it, they’re dealing with protection scams and looking for answers to questions they didn’t know needed to be asked.

Continue reading “Review: ‘When the Waters Recede’, by Graham Smith”

Blog Tour: ‘When The Waters Recede’

When The Waters Recede Full Banner-new

This month’s first blog tour – there will be three in June. This week we have a crime novel set in the North-West, and there’s a chance to win all six of the author’s books. Just scroll down for details.

When the Waters Recede

When a car is pulled from raging floodwaters with a dead man in the front and the decapitated body of an evil woman in the boot, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the investigation.

The woman is soon recognised, but the man cannot be identified and this leads the team and their former leader, Harry Evans, into areas none of them want to visit.

Before they know it, they’re dealing with protection scams and looking for answers to questions they didn’t know needed to be asked.

 

Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Waters-Recede-Harry-Evans/dp/1910720968/

Graham Smith Author PicAbout Graham Smith

Graham Smith is a time served joiner who has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000, he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.

He is an internationally best-selling Kindle author and has four books featuring DI Harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team, and three novels, featuring Utah doorman, Jake Boulder.

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009

Graham is the founder of Crime and Publishment, a weekend of crime-writing classes which includes the chance for attendees to pitch their novels to agents and publishers. Since the first weekend in 2013, eight attendees have gone on to sign publishing contracts.

Graham can be found at

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor

Twitter
https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972

Website
www.grahamsmithauthor.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of When the Waters Recede, Graham Smith is offering one lucky reader the chance to win all six books in the Harry Evans series.

When Waters Recede - 6 Book Giveaway

To enter, simply sign up for his newsletter via the link provided before the 5th of June 2018 and you’ll be entered into not just this competition, but all competitions that he runs. Entrants from the whole world are welcome.
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