Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers

Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 300

Publisher - Cranachan Publishing

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

FOURTH YEAR. TWO PALS. ONE MURDER. WELCOME TO BATTLEFIELD HIGH…

‘Whoever said yer school days are the best days ae yer life was at the absolute wind up. I hink maist adults dinnae mind whit it was really like. Wait til yeese hear whit Sonny and me got detention for…’

Daughter and Sonny are two best friends just trying to get through fourth year at high school. But when their favourite teacher leaves unexpectedly, and no one will say why, the boys decide to start their own investigation.

As they dig deeper into the staff at Battlefield High, they discover a dark secret which one person will kill to protect… Will they uncover the truth without being expelled? Can their friendship survive when personal secrets are revealed? And will they manage to skive off double English?


My Review

Daughter and Sonny are two Scottish teens trying to make it through fourth year and life in general. They have all the struggles teen face, family issues, fancying folk, school, local yobs and then one of their favourite teachers abruptly leaves. No one wants to answer their questions and the boys know something is right but digging will get them into trouble and some people will do anything to protect their secrets.

Aw guys I loved the amount of memories this wee book conjured up for me. The dialect is thick Scottish so if you aren't familiar with our slang, terms and local terminology you may struggle a wee bit. Sonny and Daughter have a tight friendship and that is pretty apparent from the get go, Sonny is a bit of a wee soul which brings out the protective side in Daughter. Daughters relationship with his family and sister mirror quite a few of our own but instead of being rivals they have a nice relationship.

There is a lot of humour laced into the book and I found myself laughing out loud a few times, this will always get you some looks when in public! The way Sayers writes absolutely transports you back to your own school days, the teacher you liked, the daft antics you found yourself getting caught up in.

There are some serious tones in the book but nothing to make it dark or unsettling, just makes it a good all rounder. Young adult isn't a genre I normally go to but I am so glad I read this, funny, sentimental, some good strong bonds of loyalty and family with a healthy dose of hilarious. This isn't my first book by this author and it won't be my last. Actively watching out for what Sayers will bring to the table next, 4.5/5 for me!

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Sonny and Me - Ross Sayers Book Launch

Today was the perfect day for my wee Cranachan totebag. I was meeting the girls for food then we headed to Waterstones for the book launch "Sonny and Me" by Ross Sayers, out to buy now, treebook and ebook format - Amazon link!




Blurb for the book

FOURTH YEAR. TWO PALS. ONE MURDER.WELCOME TO BATTLEFIELD HIGH...‘Whoever said yer school days are the best days ae yer life was at the absolute wind up. I hink maist adults dinnae mind whit it was really like. Wait til yeese hear whit Sonny and me got detention for...’Daughter and Sonny are two best friends just trying to get through fourth year at high school. But when their favourite teacher leaves unexpectedly, and no one will say why, the boys decide to start their own investigation. As they dig deeper into the staff at Battlefield High, they discover a dark secret which one person will kill to protect...Will they uncover the truth without being expelled? Can their friendship survive when personal secrets are revealed? And will they manage to skive off double English?"A unique blend of crime and comedy with an inclusive cast of characters, SONNY AND ME is brilliant: intriguing, heart-warming, and very funny." Sophie Cameron




The place was packed, every seat taken and folk standing.




Ross was interviewed by fellow author Caroline Logan whose book is coming out, by Cranachan, in October this year "The Stone of Destiny".




Ross read the first chapter of the book and we all laughed, I love Scottish humour/banter so I will be bumping the book up my TBRM.


His mum made wee biscuits with the book cover on it, I love this and just think it is such a lovely wee touch!








You can find Ross on Twitter and Facebook

Mary's The Name by Ross Sayers - Blog Tour

Welcoming Ross Sayers to So Many Books, So Little Time and today is my turn on the blog tour, apologises the post isn't as early as I had hoped, we ran into some internet gremlins but we are cooking with gas now. You can find my review for this lovely wee book HERE.






Ross very kindly took some time out to answer some questions about his new debut novel, Mary's The Name.

What made you pick Mary specifically as the protagonist, her age, being a girl etc?

I had been experimenting a lot with child narrators, working out what makes them believable. I wrote a lot of stories about young boys, so to get out my comfort zone, I chose a girl for the story I had in my mind at the time. Turned out the story had legs! I was quite nervous to show my early drafts to female readers, but thankfully, I seem to have picked a winner in Mary. Making her eight years old is helpful from a story point of view; she understands a good amount but isn’t quite clever enough to work out what’s really happening in some situations.

Why Scotland?

The more Scottish stories the better! They say write what you know, so I started the book in my hometown of Stirling. When it came to finding a more remote location for the rest of the book, I knew I wanted one of the islands. It really was a bit of a random pick, but I loved visiting Portree and hope to get back very soon.

How did the idea come about?

It was a case of the story coming to me bit by bit. Once I had Mary, I wanted a unique relationship for her, so her Granpa came into the story. Then I wanted an unlikely place for her to go, so I chose to have Granpa work at a bookies, where she goes to help. Once I decided on a robbery happening at the bookies, the rest of the story came from there…(no spoilers here!)

It was very well constructed, is this the first novel you have written?

That’s very kind, thank you! It is indeed. I have a story structure I like to use, to ensure the story is complete and satisfying. However, if an idea comes to me which disrupts the structure a little bit, I’m happy to go off-track and wing it!

Tinder, we have to talk about that, what made you come up with that idea?

So, having used Tinder before, I knew just how many people are on it, and how easily you can have your profile pop up on their phone. I hadn’t heard of anyone doing it before, so I set up my profile as the book’s cover, as well as a bio about how I would only talk about Mary’s the Name if I matched with them! Most girls thought it was funny and I had lots of fun chatting to them. I was a bit embarrassed, to be fair, but knowing I would get a good story and blog post out of it made it easier. There was a great reaction online, thankfully!

What is next for Ross?

I’m currently planning out novel number two! It’s looking likely it’ll be set around where I live, more specifically in the Bannockburn area of Stirling. It’ll feature some high school pupils getting into trouble with the law when they should be in class!

What is your favourite book of all time?

I don’t know if I have a definite number one? It’s too hard to choose! But given how much I love humour in books, I’ll give a special mention to two which made me genuinely laugh out loud: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, and True Grit by Charles Portis.

What are you reading?

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. I’m really enjoying it so far, and the little girls in the story remind me of Mary!

Where can fans contact you?

You can find me on Twitter (@Sayers33), Instagram (Sayers33), and I have a Facebook author page too. There’s also rosssayers.co.uk, where I blog about my experiences as a writer, and you can find the Tinder blog there!

Anything else you would like to add?

Just to say thank you so much for having me, Lainy! I’m really glad you enjoyed Mary’s the Name, and I hope your readers will too! 



And if all of this wasn't enough for you lucky lucky people, I have one paperback copy to giveaway, as always use the Rafflecopter below to enter.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mary's The Name by Ross Sayers

Mary's the Name by Ross Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 314

Publisher - Cranachan

Blurb from Goodreads

An eight-year-old girl and her granpa are on the run…

“When me and Granpa watched James Bond films, he told me not to be scared because people didn’t have guns like that in Scotland. That must’ve been why the robbers used hammers.”

Orphaned Mary lives with her granpa, but after he is mixed up in a robbery at the bookies where he works, they flee to the Isle of Skye. Gradually, Mary realises that her granpa is involved. And the robbers are coming after him–and their money.

Mary’s quirky outlook on life, loss, and her love of all things Elvis, will capture your heart. Full of witty Scots banter, Mary’s the Name will have you reaching for the hankies, first with laughter, then with tears.



My Review


An eight-year-old girl and her granpa are on the run…

“When me and Granpa watched James Bond films, he told me not to be scared because people didn’t have guns like that in Scotland. That must’ve been why the robbers used hammers.”

Orphaned Mary lives with her granpa, but after he is mixed up in a robbery at the bookies where he works, they flee to the Isle of Skye. Gradually, Mary realises that her granpa is involved. And the robbers are coming after him–and their money.

Mary’s quirky outlook on life, loss, and her love of all things Elvis, will capture your heart. Full of witty Scots banter, Mary’s the Name will have you reaching for the hankies, first with laughter, then with tears.



My Review

Meet eight year old Mary Sutherland and her Granpa, a dynamic duo against the world, Mary loves Elvis and Granpa is her whole world. When the betting shop, where Granpa works, gets held up, everything changes for Mary and the two have to up sticks and head to Granpa's pals house for a wee visit to the Isle of Skye. It isn't too long before Mary catches on that everything isn't as it seems and the robbers are coming too!

This lovely wee book arrived with a wee bookies slip, a bag of sweets and best of all an Elvis face mask. As a debut novel you are never too sure what to expect however a book set in Scotland, heart warming and laced with Scottish banter, who could say no! An eight year old's out look on life is always unique, kids are amazing and their view is so pure Mary is no different and hilarious in some of her quips.

A wee book about family, friendships, love, honor and the age old actions and consequences, laced with adventure, humor and sadness this wee book will take you on an emotive roller coaster. You would never guess this is a debut, very well written and I just loved the card trick Iain showed Mary, I have always loved cards so this was just the cherry on top.

A lovely setting, beautiful location and whilst the pace isn't a fast packed action race, it is a beautiful tale that sweeps the reader along. 4/5 for me this time, thanks to Sayer and Cranachan for sending me a copy of this book. I will certainly be watching out for more from this author and may take another visit along to the bookies, I nipped in after reading this to my nearest Labrokes.

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