Fire and Blood by George R R Martin

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 29 days (from re starting)

Pages - 737

Publisher -

Source - I think I bought it

Blurb from Goodreads

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R. R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.


My Review

You guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuys. I started this in 2022! I knew the dragon badness was coming and I think that is what made me stop back then. I started re reading it for a fundraising charity book challenge, this month, 24.5 pages every day and I have finally finished it.

If you know Game Of Thrones you know what he is like, do not get attached to characters because noone is safe. This covers the history of the Targaryen's, from way before the families we come to know in House of the Dragon (tv show) and after.

Dragons, skullduggery, abuse, poison, murder, betrayal, lust, love, and the longing to rule the iron throne. It isn't an easy read, some of the most ghastly people, behaviours and betrayals ooft. Weans aren't even safe and some of the murders are beyond barbaric. Incest, in house marriages, public consummation of the marriages - war, people rising up, beautiful but deadly dragons.

There are so many characters told over lifetimes, it is really interesting and if you like Game of Thrones you will like reading the back history of the dragons and families but yeah just prepare yourself cos it gets hella dark, body parts cut off and displayed, wars, families wiped out, actual wild madness, 4/5 for me!

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The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager

The Sea Hides its Dead: The claustrophobic deep-sea horror full of dark secrets and dangerous truths by Megan Bontrager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 340

Publisher - Run For It

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The Sea Hides its Dead is a cult aquatic horror about a group of academics trapped in a sea cave who must reckon with unknowable horrors as they are forced to atone for their greatest sins.

Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when an opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn't hesitate.

Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult are said to have dwelt.

But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. Surrounded by strange artefacts and scattered bones, an ancient trial has been set in motion. One by one, the members of the expedition will be tested and forced to atone for their greatest sin. . . or die.

Praise for The Sea Hides its Dead:


My Review

Caro is a teaching assistant underneath Professor Beck, studying the Leviathan Cult oh and Caro is also his secret lover because of course he is an older married guy. Now they with a team head to Seal Harbour to finally test everything the Professor has felt/read/known about the Leviathan Cult and of course it is in a cave where things get dangerous, crazy and supernatural because of course it does!

So I didn't really get the Navy involvement at the start nor the rationale for their reaction to the stones/cave. Even after the I finished the book I still had a question or two and they really aren't anything to the plot but maybe I missed something, I did start it quite late into the night.

So Caro ripped my knitting for a good part of the start of the book and I don't know if that was intentional/genius on the authors part. As the book went on and we had character development, threat and danger I did actually come round to Caro and was rooting for her. I love a loyal person so that may have been why I was a bit ragey at her at the start and cliché of younger female under the spell of the older professor who was married and also a bit of a banger!

Once we got into the depths of the cave, things kicked off quickly, danger looming, creepy supernatural, absolutely yes! I would LOVE to see this as a movie, it was giving the descent vibes with a couple of other horror movies. An ancient cult, who doesn't want to read more on that plus anything Leviathan is ALWAYS going to be creepy and the movies I have seen has been of the monster creature feature variety so this was a different/interesting spin to that.

The action kicks off quickly, second guessing what is coming, you always get people's character/morals challenged/pushed in these types of stories, I really like that and it was good to read of a new scary threat. I couldn't guess where the book was going or what was coming, I did get freaked out which you always want in a book. A solid 3.5/5 for me this time, I haven't read this author before and I would absolutely check her out again!

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Wee mini break

Had a wee break away with o/h, Luna went to the cat hotel and was her usual cheeky/asbo self! She is so expressive and rude, absolutely howling, look at those ears!

For those who like a wee nosey at the hotel room, this was our suite, click here.


So as you know we are fundraising for charity "Teenage Cancer Trust" - they put up for to do a reading challenge in September, you pick your own bookish challenge. I started Fire and Blood in 2022 and never finished it so I restarted it and it works out 24.5 pages every day for the whole month, we have one week left. We have been timelapsing every day, you can see them here on our Tiktok.

It was only a small break, five nights but as a book dragon you know what we are like, these are some of the books I took, I found another two in our suitcases.

I always take a blanket so this time was the Stephen King book covers.

This was the sunsetting at night, how stunning. I couldn't be in the sun for long periods, I mean I can't anyway but with health stuff it has been worse so this was night to stroll and just watch the beautifullness.

The pool was nicely lit at night too.

I took hunners of bookmarks too but only used a couple and nice bright nails .

And this was my spot when I did get outside.

How many books do you think I read from the book pile?

Before The Fall by Juliet West

Before The Fall by Juliet West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 252

Publisher -

Source - it has been on my tbrm for ages I can't remember

Blurb from Goodreads

Guilt laps at me like a rising tide, but I won't let it seep in. Wicked or not, I can't be sorry. How can I be sorry when I feel like this, as if my life has started up brand new, sharp and colourful, a swirl of terror and bliss . . .

1916. Across the channel, the Great War rages; in London's East End, with her husband away fighting, Hannah Loxwood struggles to hold everything together. But when Hannah takes a job in a cafe, she discovers a glimpse of freedom away from her needy young children, her spiteful sister and desperately ill father.

While the conflict drags on, Hannah battles with the overwhelming burden of 'duty'. She has sacrificed so much for a husband who left her behind, a husband who may never come home. Then, when she meets Daniel - thoughtful, intelligent, quietly captivating - Hannah finds herself faced with the most dangerous of temptations.

As the war grips tighter and bombs fall down upon the streets, the stakes for the couple are raised ever higher. Soon Hannah and Daniel will realize just how precarious their happiness is, as their destiny rushes towards them . . .

Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a twist that will leave you breathless, Before The Fall, inspired by a true story, hurls you into a London torn apart by the First World War and paints a vivid and haunting portrait of one woman's struggle.


My Review

London, war torn, world war one, 1916, we have two povs Hannah and Daniel. Hannah is a mum to two young kids, her husband is away fighting in the war, she is sharing with her family, it is cramped, money is tight. She gets a job, doing what she can to keep everything going whilst keeping out the way of her sisters watchful creepiness and her dad isn't well. When she meets Daniel he is different from everyone else, he is well read, into poetry and in a time when everything is at risk, death is everywhere would you pass up on the chance for true love even if it would cost you everything?

This book was absolutely different from what I was expecting. Hannah is trying to get by, her o/h is away to the war, her sisters husband is a creepy leech. When Hannah gets a job in a wee cafe she meets Daniel, Daniel is everything her husband is not. Present, educated, loves poetry, and the attraction between them is a once in a lifetime type of love. However Hannah is married, her hubby is off putting his life on the line for his country and hello it is the early 1900's so we all know how women are expected to behave.

Apparently this is based on a true story and so many people absolutely loved it, I liked it but didn't love it. I found the effects of the war really focused upon, the little things, getting through day to day, relationships, friendships, hardships, the threats of danger, the judgements like men exempt from war had people judging them and thrusting white feathers upon them. Even how they got Hannah's husband and others to sign up, the method used was an eye opener.

Then the affair, the cost it brought for "true happiness", navigating their new reality and the challenges that brought with it. I also thing there was a few things I wasn't expecting that especially pulled the rug from under me so to speak. I just wasn't expecting the book to be what it was nor the turns it took. I think this would be a great book for a book group and discussion as I imagine there would be a lot of mixed opinions on the choices and actions of the characters and plenty of food for thought, 3.5/5 for me and I think I will ponder over it for a while.

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Harry the Polis: even the lies are true by Harry Morris

Harry the Polis: Even the Lies Are True by Harry Morris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 224

Publisher -

Source - it has been on the shelves for ages, I don't remember

Blurb from Goodreads

This work presents funny, strange and possibly true tales from Harry the Polis. Harry Morris is out to show a side of our industrious police force that we don't often see - the lighter side. His time with the Glasgow and Strathclyde constabulary, or 'polis' for short, hasn't robbed Harry of his sense of humour, and every wily witness, cocky con, and sarcastic sergeant he ever rubbed up against is here in page after page of humorous stories. Full of hilarious anecdotes, oddball characters, quick comebacks and unlikely excuses, "Even the Lies are True" shows true Glaswegian humour at its finest. Every funny tale - tall and true - of Harry's twenty-nine years police career is either here, or yet to come in future Harry the Polis books like "Even More Lies" and "Nothing Like the Truth" - and there's no shortage of laughs in these hilarious stories from the rank and file. Already described by Alex Dickson of Radio Clyde as 'classics of our time' and by Bob Shields of the Daily Record as 'a must read for anyone who likes to walk about with a grin on their face', "Even the Lies are True" is sure to arrest you with its irrepressible mirth.


My Review

This is a thin wee book and I will say this guys, it is very Weegie lingo so if you don't know Scottish banter/humour/terminology I think you will absolutely struggle to understand a lot of it and get the banter.

The book is split into sometimes even just a paragraph, sometimes a page or two. Basically it is stories from the polis guy from his time serving. Nicknames and how they came about, interactions, situations, excuses and all infused banter from their time on the job.

It won't be for everyone but if you don't mind some unpc humour, swearing, cheek, nonsense and Scottish bantz then I think you will enjoy it for what it is, 4/5 from us.

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Buried by Graham Masterton

Buried by Graham Masterton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Pages - 431

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Beside the old woollen mill in Blarney, Cork, a worker's cottage guards its secrets. In 1921, a mother, father and their two young children disappeared from this house. And now, ninety years later, their mummified bodies have been discovered under the floorboards.

The gunshot wounds in each skull look like the mark of the IRA. But as Katie Maguire investigates, the flames of old rivalries flare up once more - putting yet more families in danger. Because in this part of Ireland, where people neither forget nor forgive, the past won't stay buried…


My Review

An old cottage is being renovated when they find the bodies of a family, mum, dad, 2 kids and even the family pets, executed. The bodies are mummified and this didn't just happen (approx 90 years ago) but murder is murder and Katie Maguire is investigating. It is Ireland, times are dangerous, rivalries and revenge run deep and slights must be addressed.

We have bad guy Bobbie Quilty who is head of all things local, bad and dasterdly. They care not a jot for police and it is a time when racism, sectarianism, misogynism is an all time high so it makes for some harrowing and uncomfortable reading. Corruption runs deep, Katie is up against it all trying to stay professional but when people you care about is threatened and in jeopardy sometimes you do what you need to do.

There is a lot of hard hitting graphic scenes, sa, dv, sv, murder, child death, execution, horrific lack of respect for humanity. All that whilst trying to solve a decades old case, catch current day bad guys who are slippery than a bag of snakes and sometime, just sometimes you need to get down amongst the bad guys to catch them at their own game. 3/5 for me this time, this is book 6, normally I would go back and read them all, I felt so uncomfortable by a lot of it and whilst some books do indeed make you feel like that when there are such horrible people, there wasn't enough I liked or felt compelled to read more of it.

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September giveaway

Happy September! I think this month will be spooky themed so the winner can have the prize for October. So what is up for grabs?

As shown, x1 book protector, creepy vibes!

Hand shown to show size, it fits paperbacks and it might take a hardback depending on book size. v

And then the winner can choose ONE bookmark of the three shown.

Option 1 is Michael Myers

Option 2 is Jason Vorhees

Or option 3, Chucky

They are quite lightweight so I will open this up worldwide. We will leave the competition oprn got about 4 weeks. As with all our competitions we look for the prize to be claimed within 48 hours but always allow for a week or two to claim as not everyone is online every day. We ask for up to 4-6 weeks to allow for the items to be posted. It is rare we take that long, it is usually a week or two. Use the Gleam below to enter, good luck guys xxx

Spooky themed comp as pictured

Inside Job: The Life of a Prison Psychologist by Dr Rebecca Myers

Inside Job: Treating Murderers and Sex Offenders. The Life of a Prison Psychologist. by Dr Rebecca Myers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages -

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

And here I am. Totally alone in a cell with a convicted sex offender who is free to do what he wants. There is no officer. No handcuffs. No radio. Only the man across the desk and me. He looks more petrified than I do.

HMP Graymoor. One of the UK’s most notorious prisons. Home to nearly 800 murderers, rapists and child molesters.

Reporting for her first shift inside is Rebecca: twenty-two, newly graduated – and about to sit down with some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.

In this gripping, hard-hitting memoir, forensic psychologist Dr Rebecca Myers revisits her time in the ‘Hot Seat’ with Graymoor’s infamous inmates – who might not be as different to us as we think.

This is as close as we can get to knowing what really goes on inside the damaged minds behinds bars.


My Review

Guys this is absolutely not for those who struggle with triggers and the author is documenting her life experiences working within one of the most infamous prisons. Inmates are chosen to partake in a program to treat, face and the goal is helping them to not reoffend. They have committed horrendous crimes, SA, SV and murder, the treatment program is very graphic and leads them through exactly what they did to their victims. Facing their crimes, going through it from the victims point of view. I have never read anything like that before and you are hearing from the offenders. Some are remorseful and some are vile and have no remorse be go into it with open eyes and be prepared.

Dr Rebecca is pretty much going in blind, this is her first shift and we follow her through her time in the prison, relationships *side eye* and gaining her confidence. It isn't just her time in the facility and interactions with staff and prisoners. We see some of her personal life and some questionable decisions whilst she is trying to establish herself and make an important change to these individuals. If successful stopping further acts of harm towards others and getting the inmates to acknowledge, process and rehab so they won't commit offences in the future.

It would be interesting to see how much research and stats there are (it is touched on briefly) over the years and how many offenders of this nature are followed up. It seems in this day and age there is even more and more crimes of sexual violence, deviancy and murders or maybe we just hear more because of how much coverage there is now we don't just rely on papers and news outlets. It is a had read due to the content but really eye opening and I am sure would spark much debates, 3/5.

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The Maternal Element by Kate Nicholls Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for book "The Maternal Element" by Kate Nicholls, this is a Random Things Tour. The Book is available to buy now on kindle or paperback versions from Amazon.


Book Blurb read outloud HERE on our Booktok, we always include the book blurb text in our review post, below. The book is available to buy in Kindle and paperback format, from Amazon.

About the author




Kate Nicholls is an author and former actor who traded the stage to study evoluti onary biology. She raised and homeschooled fi ve children while researching lions in the Okavango Delta. She now lives and writes in Rome

The Maternal Element by Kate Nicholls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out as able, 5 days

Pages - 400

Publisher - SALT

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Siberia 1833.

Forty-one-year-old Maria Mendeleeva is enduring her seventeenth pregnancy. Her husband Ivan has lost his sight, and her brother Vasily has left their grandfather’s glass factory in ruins. The factory Maria hungered for as a child. On the brink of poverty and her family’s only remaining hope, Maria must find a way to make the factory viable. She must find the power to bring her grandfather's dreams back to life. She must make the glass sing.

The Maternal Element is a sweeping, gripping epic with an extraordinary woman at its heart. Maria Mendeleeva – mother of Dmitri Mendeleev, who devised the Periodic Table of the Elements – is a heroine like no other. A woman who refuses to be quashed by circumstance, Maria fights against the strictures of her time to gain an education for herself and for her children as she traverses the Urals of Russia seeking opportunity and safety for her family. A vivid and visceral portrait of a woman history has long since forgotten, The Maternal Element is a manifesto for truth, female empowerment and defying societal expectations.


My Review

So I don't know much at all of Dmitri Mendeleeve but know absolutely zero about his family, up bring and indeed his mother. I do enjoy reading people's history especially going back to the 1800's because it is such a different time. This one takes us back to when Maria is just a bairn, what life is like for her desperately wanting everything offered so freely to her brother. Girls are meant to prepare for being married and keeping a home. Maria is like a wee sponge, so inquisitive, wanting to know and learn everything, science in particular, how things work, following her dad about. Her brother is a bit bitter, he hates being forced to go to school and learn. We follow Maria across country, Russia, fighting for her families survival, education, having a voice and actually being listened to in a time where women just weren't, especially back then!

Across a lifetime, navigate grief, love, loss, hardship, survival against so many odds ooft. This is a fictionalised retelling of a true story through letters, vivid imagery and some really emotive, challenging and heart tugging interactions and scenes. The family dynamics, how they love, dislike, push against each other and change and react to the curveballs life throws at them. How love, determination and the force and dedication of one woman who will stop at nothing and for no one to ensure the absolute best for her loved ones. She seemed like an absolute force of nature! In books sometimes when you have timelines that jump about and go back and forth it can be distracting and off putting, add into that letters, however it flows and works effortlessly, 4/5. I really liked this and think I need to look more into this family and their history, this book has definitely peeked my interest and I may well actually learn something!

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Any way you want me by Lucy Diamond

Any Way You Want Me by Lucy Diamond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Pan

Source - Secondhand

Blurb from Amazon

On paper, Sadie's got it all - the partner, the children, the house. But in real life, that doesn't feel quite enough. Sadie can't help harking back to the time when she was a career woman by day and a party animal by night. And what happened to feeling like a sex kitten, anyway? The only sleepless nights she's getting now are due to the baby. Maybe a little reinvention is the answer . . .

Sadie can't resist creating a fictitious online identity for herself as a hot TV producer. It's only a bit of harmless fun . . . until truth and fantasy become dangerously tangled. It isn't long before she's wondering if the exciting alter ego she has dreamed up really is the kind of person she wants to be after all . . .

Wry, funny and with a wonderful twist in the tale, Lucy Diamond's debut novel Any Way You Want Me is an enchanting story of infidelity, motherhood and friends reunited.


My Review

So this was pegged and wry, funny wonderful twist in the tale *insert eyes emoji* - I actually found it to be quite heavy to be honest. Not all of it but certainly some spice and shade. Sadie is our main character, she has two young kids, the youngest she is still getting her body back from the youngest and her days is filled with domesticity. She is bored, missing work and being the sexy mchottie she was pre birth. She applies to jobs that are from her old work life, she lies on the old school updates website after checking out her ex AND then she really plays with fire. Her other half gets her to go to a business meet where her bosses husband catches her eye. Before long they have a chance encounter, sparks fly and Sadie cannot help herself. An affair, lies galore and soon trouble comes a knocking at Sadie's door!

Yeah Sadie, I found it hard to feel anything other than mad at her. Mark is her moth to a flame, I mean your partners bosses wife my God girl talk about playing with fire. Sadie's partner seems to be a decent guy. Sadie is restless and I get it, she has leaky boobs, running about after the weans, she wants to feel desired. It does well to show you just how easy things can run a mock, little lies, little flirting and you can lose yourself down a hole quickly. Graphic, grubby passionate affair, some real life consequences - I felt like I needed a shower after reading this one. It does have some topics and situations that may make some readers uncomfortable, affairs, betrayal and others I can't name without spoilers and we don't do that here. I would read others by this author but I defo didn't love this one, 3/5 for me!

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The Guest by B A Paris

The Guest: A Novel by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 560

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Iris and Gabriel have just got home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their dearest friends, Laure, is in their house - sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture. She has walked out on her husband - and their good friend - Pierre over his confession of an affair.

Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive. But as Laure's mood becomes more unpredictable, her presence begins to unravel secrets in all their pasts - until things reach breaking point ...


My Review

Oh the scandal! So Iris and Gabriel have been married for evaaaaa, they have a grown kid away doing her thing and for them they have just had a make or break holiday. Things have been rough, there is a wall between them, Gabriel doesn't want to talk, Iris doesn't know how to reach him but she knows they can't keep going like this. When they get home, the house should be alone but someone is in the house. Don't worry it isn't a dodgy burglar it is their pal Laure who has taken refuge at their home after a fall out with her husband Pierre. The couples have been pals for years and often stay at each others homes (they live in different countries) although they normally give each other a heads up. Slowly they get the details of what has happened, Laure doesn't seem in any rush to go home and when you are having your own issues your patience and hospitality run thin. As tensions rise, things get uncomfortable quickly and then dangerous.

So I think this one has a few sides to it, Iris and Gabriel and their issues in their marriage whilst dealing with an uninvited guest who is a close friend and also going through it in her own relationship. Close quarters, Gabriel off work sick and processing some grief/health issues and shutting Iris out. However the meat of it is the growing presence of Laure, her overstaying her welcome, things because tense, prickly and as with Paris books DAAAAANGER.

Affairs, secrets, lies, boundaries (lack of them, pushing them, testing them), friendships of years being tested, marriage under strain and danger, missing person. The book has a bit of everything and you feel the anguish of Iris because you want to support your pal but you weren't expecting her and you are kinda dealing with your own crap with your husband. The one time you really need your own space and time but you can't tell her to bolt. Then her presence becomes more irritating and almost like she is taking over and it is having a negative impact on you and yours but she is also going through a horrific time herself. It is a catch 22 and you totally empathise with her, 4/5 for us this time.

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The Post Office Girls by

The Post Office Girls by Poppy Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 353

Publisher - Hodder

Source - Review copy

Blurb From Goodreads

With the Great War raging, can they keep Britain going?1915. On Beth Healey's eighteenth birthday, she hopes that she will be able to forget the ghastly war and celebrate. But that evening, her twin brother Ned announces that he has signed up to fight.No longer able to stand working in her parents' village shop while others are doing their bit, Beth applies to join the Army Post Office's new Home Depot on the Regent's Park, and is astounded to be accepted. She will be responsible for making sure that letters and parcels get through to the troops on the front line.Beth is thrilled to be a crucial part of the war effort and soon makes friends with fellow post girls Milly and Nora, and meets the handsome James. But just as she begins to feel that her life has finally begun, everything starts falling apart, with devastating consequences for Beth and perhaps even the outcome of the war itself. Can Beth and her new friends keep it all together and find happiness at last?


My Review

So this one is different from the other type of books I have read and I am the first to admit I haven't read a whole lot in or around world war one. It seems more world war two so far but there is another book in this series so I will get that. Set in 1915 and everyone is doing their bit for the war, fighting, signing up and Beth wants to do her bit. As you know women in that time period has certain expectations, how to behave, act, family values and expectations. Beth helps out her parents in the family shop, her twin is away to fight in the war and they have just had their eighteenth birthday. Beth wants to do more, she wants to go work in the post office, helping process mail for the soldiers from their families. To do this she needs to disobey her family, lie, be brave and stand on her own two feet. Actions have consequences and with war on everyone is feeling it and emotional already.

So this is sedate paced, story building as we get to know Beth's life, routine, relationships so we can appreciate the personal growth and sacrifice to go against her parent's wishes. To put herself forward, something Beth has never done and in the location where bombs and war are very evident. Facing the disappointment of her family, confusion over her own feelings, drawn to another, learning about those against the war, suffragettes, campaigning, friendship it is a lot for this small town girl.

I really liked this, very centric on the people, their feelings, loved ones, love, loss, bravery, despair and doing what you feel is right when it puts you in a hard place and judgement and negativity from those closest to you. This is my first by this author and it was a debut, I checked Fantastic fiction and the second book is set at Christmas so I may get it and read in December, I do love a them, 4/5 for me for this one.

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The Way Home by Amanda Prowse

The Way Home by Amanda Prowse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 361

Publisher - Lake Union Publishing

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

From the multimillion-copy bestselling author of Waiting to Begin and Ever After comes an evocative, tender story about belonging, community, and the relationships that hold us together.

What if a stranger threatened to take away a lifetime of cherished memories?

Lilly-Bob loves her home by the River Thames in the heart of London. Throughout her childhood, it echoed with music and her father’s love, and for seventy years it’s been her sanctuary through a life well lived. These days, the familiar walls and treasured memories keep loneliness at bay.

But for months she’s been ignoring letters from a building developer, and now a compulsory purchase scheme threatens to take her home by force. Seventeen-year-old Lilly-Bob didn’t fear change, but present-day Lilly refuses to let go.

As the pressure builds, Lilly feels increasingly alone. But as her neighbours rally together, she finds herself drawn into the fold—making new friends, finding purpose, and glimpsing the possibility of something new.

Torn between the comfort of the past and the call of progress, Lilly-Bob must is home made of bricks and mortar, or is it a place inside ourselves?


My Review

Lilly-Bob is in her seventies, she has been through a lot in her life and she is in the family home in London overlooking the Thames, once her dads, now hers. A big company is forcing her out of her home, the house she grew up in is now under a compulsory buy order. As Lilly fights against it we flip back and forth in time to when she was a wean, growing up, adulthood and everything that shaped who she is today, back to present day. We see her relationship with her neighbour and the neighbours wee boy, Lilly doesn't have kids, her fight with the building developers.

The past as with Prowse's previous books, tackles some hard hitting emotive topics, love, loss, relationships, dynamics, coercion, lies, manipulation. Things that many of us have endured, survived and of course shapes us into the adults we are today. Her relationship with her mother is very strained, she adores her father, idolises him so when her mother makes choices that impact on him and the young Lilly-Bob it changes and shapes their relationship, or lack of, going forward.

For me, what Lilly-Bob endured with her relationships/friendships you can tell marked and shaped who she became but in the present day we get to see how those experiences left their mark and impact upon future relationships. The other main thread is the big company trying to get Lilly-Bob to agree to selling up and then when she isn't for negotiating, forcing the sale, we feel the rage and fury she feels and the attachment to the house and memories.

I think the thing with Prowse is she creates characters that you can identify with, sympathise or empathise with. It makes the characters real, vivid and you invest in them and their lives pretty much from the get go or early bells, 4/5 from us for this one. She has quite a back catalogue and we have a fair few on the tbrm and a few more I need to buy. Her characters tend to stay with you long after you have put the book down!

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Wild Love by Elsie Silver

Wild Love by Elsie Silver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 4 days

Pages - 455

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

She's been driving him wild for years.

The good kind of wild. The bad kind of wild.

But mostly, the kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend's little sister and knowing you can't have her.

Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World's Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he's her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend's sister, Rosie Belmont.

After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm's length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat.

Ford knows damn well he shouldn't cross this line. But shouldn't and can't are two very different things.

And the only thing he truly can't do is resist her.


My Review

Ford is minted and the worlds hottest billionaire I think they said, I don't even remember but he isn't into that at all. He only ever loved one woman and that was his bestie's wee sister who used to hang around with them growing up, Rosalie. Due to being sexually harassed at work and losing her job she heads back to their small town trying to get herself together and reevaluating everything in her life. She ends up bagging a job with Ford who is also dealing with a pre teen appearing in his life saying she is his daughter. It is all happening and of course tensions and feelings ramp up between Ford and Rosalie.

Firstly, Ford's wean, twelve years old, I actually really liked her, she is sharp, sarky, hard exterior and just trying to adjust to this new situation but she absolutely doesn't come across as twelve. She is really sharp, adulty and sure some pre teens can be but she just reads and vocalises far older. Her relationship with Rosalie was adorable and it was good she had someone she idolised and could lean on whilst Ford tried to figure out his place, role and how he should act.

Roselie and Ford, we get glimpses through Rosealie via her diary in the past so it was good to have those snippets, I do like a diary entry. I know some people will find the key thing cringe but I really liked that, I am a bit romantic potato though. The spicey stuff was a bit cringe and I did thing considering how the last job ended and the first contact like that with her and Ford was a bit oh, really, I mean I get it but I still gave it a side eye. Silver does do spicey scenes and body fluids so if you get embarrassed or a tad squeamish just an fyi. Did I like their relationship? Aye and she defo brought out a much more fun and playful side to him which was fun to read, overall 3.5/5 for us.

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Medea by Rosie Hewlett

Medea by Rosie Hewlett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 432

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Shunned by her mother. Beaten by her father. Separated from her sister. Medea has never fit in because she possesses a unique and dangerous power - witchcraft.

When the dashing young hero and leader on the famed Argonauts, Jason, arrives to claim the Golden Fleece that her father fiercely protects, Medea takes her opportunity to escape.

Her offer to help Jason overcome the trials set by her father sets in motion a journey that will test see her battle monsters, dethrone kings, fall in love and reclaim her power.

But when faced with the ultimate betrayal, just what will Medea be prepared to do for love?


My Review

Holding my hands up guys I do not know a lot about the Greek mythology but have found myself picking up and enjoying these retellings. I do feel I should probably get some of the originals but when I come upon these I will be picking them up. This one focuses on Medea and Jason of the Argonaughts. Medea first, her upbringing, how poorly she is treated and how her father uses her for her magic. So when Jason comes and is kind, attractive and promising all sorts Medea takes her chance to try and get some freedom, something for herself and of course love. In doing so she embraces her power for which she has always been judged, shunned, used and of course betrays her loved ones which is a huge no no in any civilisation.

So I liked it, I obviously don't know Medea's actual story nor how close to it this author kept, the few Greek mythology I have read the women have been powerful. Yes Medea is powerful, she is a powerful witch but I was so desperate for her to stand up for herself and I don't think she ever really did. Ok maybe once but I mean like really stood up for herself and Carrie White everyone who was bad to her. I don't feel like she really got her redemption although does anyone ever really in these stories.

And I know I know it happens in these stories, animal harm because of the sacrifices and offerings to the Gods but I really wish they wouldn't. It is just horrible and I hate that stuff, it does impact the enjoyment of the stories like come on, can't we offer other stuff.

Poor Medea couldn't catch a break and made so many bad bad decisions, I did feel sorry for her and a wee bit annoyed at times. It was good but not my fave and if you know her story I am not sure if you will love this or not because I don't know just how different it varies. Sometimes you love a retelling when things are changed for what you consider the better but it swings the other way too, overall 3.5/5 for me.

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The Post Office Girls by Poppy Cooper

The Post Office Girls by Poppy Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 353

Publisher - Hodder

Source - Review copy

Blurb From Goodreads

With the Great War raging, can they keep Britain going?1915. On Beth Healey's eighteenth birthday, she hopes that she will be able to forget the ghastly war and celebrate. But that evening, her twin brother Ned announces that he has signed up to fight.No longer able to stand working in her parents' village shop while others are doing their bit, Beth applies to join the Army Post Office's new Home Depot on the Regent's Park, and is astounded to be accepted. She will be responsible for making sure that letters and parcels get through to the troops on the front line.Beth is thrilled to be a crucial part of the war effort and soon makes friends with fellow post girls Milly and Nora, and meets the handsome James. But just as she begins to feel that her life has finally begun, everything starts falling apart, with devastating consequences for Beth and perhaps even the outcome of the war itself. Can Beth and her new friends keep it all together and find happiness at last?


My Review

So this one is different from the other type of books I have read and I am the first to admit I haven't read a whole lot in or around world war one. It seems more world war two so far but there is another book in this series so I will get that. Set in 1915 and everyone is doing their bit for the war, fighting, signing up and Beth wants to do her bit. As you know women in that time period has certain expectations, how to behave, act, family values and expectations. Beth helps out her parents in the family shop, her twin is away to fight in the war and they have just had their eighteenth birthday. Beth wants to do more, she wants to go work in the post office, helping process mail for the soldiers from their families. To do this she needs to disobey her family, lie, be brave and stand on her own two feet. Actions have consequences and with war on everyone is feeling it and emotional already.

So this is sedate paced, story building as we get to know Beth's life, routine, relationships so we can appreciate the personal growth and sacrifice to go against her parent's wishes. To put herself forward, something Beth has never done and in the location where bombs and war are very evident. Facing the disappointment of her family, confusion over her own feelings, drawn to another, learning about those against the war, suffragettes, campaigning, friendship it is a lot for this small town girl.

I really liked this, very centric on the people, their feelings, loved ones, love, loss, bravery, despair and doing what you feel is right when it puts you in a hard place and judgement and negativity from those closest to you. This is my first by this author and it was a debut, I checked Fantastic fiction and the second book is set at Christmas so I may get it and read in December, I do love a them, 4/5 for me for this one.

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On Wings of Love by Briar Boleyn

On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 575

Publisher -

Source - Wishlist rak

Blurb from Goodreads

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 337

Publisher -

Source - Wishlist arc

Blurb from Goodreads

I didn't sign up for this.

A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for torment.

I'm Medra Pendragon—last of the dragon riders, or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.

But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow. Cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Bloodwing isn't just a school—it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak? You're dead.

Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy—it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power.

And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.

They think they can control me. They think they can use me.

But they have no idea what they've awakened.


My Review

Do NOT come for me lol! There is so much I did enjoy about this book but I also was annoyed and eye rolled a fair few times. Medra comes to and she is in a dangerous position, surrounded by dead decaying bodies and a vampire wants a taste of her blood, She then meets Blake and gets took off to the Academy were her fate is sealed. She will behave, she will toe the line, she will obey, perform and fight for her place in there whether she wants to or not! Before long the attraction between the two is evident but obvs they hate each other, aye sure they do and it is a bit of a dance between them of I hate you but cannot deny to the inner self they actually are attracted to each other.

So! I liked it but I didn't love it and have since checked and it is book one of four book series, the fourth coming later this year. So Medra is human but has dragon rider blood which makes her a hot currency despite there being no dragons but the Highbloods (powerful vamps) don't want to believe they are truly gone. Medra is surrounded by vamps and humans, humans are treated like crap, the vamps are entitled, shady and some worse than others. Medra's blood is elite so she has a bigger target on her back not to mention Blake's love interest really doesn't like her and the vamps can be vicious anyway.

There are games, powers it was very reminiscent of other series with echoes of some of those rolled in. Like it is such a busy book, magic, powers, my fave question I asked over and over was WHERE ARE THE DRAGONS, love interest, enemies, classism, murder, betrayal, friendship, mind control, danger, monsters, some spicey scenes like it has A LOT going on.

I think it was a good foundation book, I am looking forward to seeing where it goes and hoping to see some karma, growth, back bone and DRAGONS PLEASE, 3.5/5 for me on this one.

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Alien Prototype by Tim Waggoner

Alien: Prototype by Tim Waggoner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Titan books

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Dead cargo!

Venture, a direct rival to the Weyland-Yutani corporation, will accept any risk to crush the competition. Thus, when a corporate spy "acquires" a bizarre, leathery egg from a hijacked vessel, she takes it directly to the Venture testing facility on Jericho 3.

Though unaware of the danger it poses, the scientists there recognize their prize's immeasurable value. Early tests reveal little, however, and they come to an inevitable conclusion, they need a human test subject...

Enter Zula Hendricks.

A member of the Jericho 3 security staff, Colonial Marines veteran Zula Hendricks has been tasked with training personnel to deal with anything the treacherous planet can throw their way. Yet nothing can prepare them for the horror that appears - a creature more hideous than any Zula has encountered before.

Unless stopped, it will kill every human being on the planet.


My Review

Ooooh not Weyland-Yutani this time but their rivals who are equally desperate to get their hands on xenomorph, can you imagine. If they can get one of the aliens before Weyland they could finally complete if not take over. Anyone who could get that type of weapon (and actually manage to utilize it) they could rule the world. I LOVE the aliens franchise, even the movies that get panned, how could you not, the ultimate predator, I always thought the avp version was pretty brutal and scary, this takes it to a whole new level.

If you have never read or seen any of the books/movies you can pick this up as a standalone. The opposing company has sent out someone to infiltrate a pirate team, whilst they reveal is space spoils, food etc she is looking for the ultimate find, an alien. Accomplishing her mission they got to another space planet to conduct experiments because like Weyland-Yutani THEY NEVER LEARN. To be fair to these guys they only know of rumours et al. So we start off with an egg and then all chaos breaks loose HOWEVER this alien is different from any we have seen and is the deadliest so far!

I absolutely loved it, you think the alien cannot get anymore deadly, WRONG, it can and they manage to do it in this book. I always enjoy a synthetic, well a good synthetic, David and Ash are the worst and baddies, Bishop is my fave forever, I really like Andy and we get a newbie in this one.

We get the whole package in this one, from acquisition to outbreak and then the fight for life is truly on. We also have some of the human dramas, hang ups, bad behaviours like I always enjoy these books, how can you not but it is rare to have all the boxes ticked and for me, this one does. Some can also be a slow burner and let you get the build up before the chaos, this one we get action from the first few pages, 5/5!

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A Secret Cornish Wish by Ali McNamara

A Secret Cornish Wish by Ali McNamara


Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 362

Publisher - Sphere

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

What if one summer could change your life?

For Frankie and her five best friends growing up on the glorious beaches of Cornwall's St Felix, life couldn't get any better. Late one night, the friends discover an old box washed up on the shores and they learn the tale of the St Felix mermaid who grants wishes to those who find her treasure. Even though they know it's just Cornish folkore, the friends decide to make a wish for what they each want out of life - most importantly, they want to always be together . . .

Over the course of the next few decades, as weddings, funerals, birthdays and more bring the friends back together, lost loves, broken promises and buried secrets just as quickly tear them apart. But when they reunite one last time in St Felix, will it be for good? And will their wishes finally be revealed?


My Review

A group of friends in the 80s, growing up in Cornwall, beaches, teenage dramas and legends of mermaids. Frankie is the main character, we open in 2024 & back in St Felix at the sea. Frankie immediately thinks back to her group of friends and what it was like growing up there, the time and distance apart and now being back home. Leading us nicely back to the past, 1989 & meeting the friends, Eddie, Claire, Suzy, Mandy and Frankie's crush and new boy to the school, Robert. We are introduced to the group dynamics, things that are important to young adults and finding potential treasure, making wishes and is there really such a thing as mermaids or is it just small town lore? We then cross to present day and the group are reunited, now middle aged adults brought back together by life events.

It is a story about friendship, love, wishes, mermaid lore, past and present with duo timeline, young adult themes and angsts. I LOVED the mermaid stuff, I actually wish there had been far more to be honest. The book is very much about Frankie and her younger years then returning back as an adult and everything coming full circle, relationships, coming of age, who they are and who they became and splashes of mermaid magic, 3.5/5.

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