Ramblings about books and life
I regularly share my top reads from this blog over at The Riviera Woman.
The Riviera Woman, run by Anna Fill, helps women living or working on the Riviera live life to the full with it’s inspirational people and interesting articles.
For December, I have chosen None So Blind by Alis Hawkins. You can read my review here.
I am thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for None So Blind by Alis Hawkins. Thank you to Emily Glenister and The Dome Press for asking me to be involved and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
In this tour, I have my review to share with you and a giveaway where you can win a copy of the book. Scroll down to find out what I thought of the book and to enter the giveaway.
West Wales, 1850.
When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery.
He knows exactly whose bones they are.
Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is determined to expose the guilty, but the investigation turns up more questions than answers.
The search for the truth will prove costly. Will Harry and John be the ones to pay the highest price?
None So Blind is the first book in The Teifi Valley Coroner series by Alis Hawkins. Set in Wales in 1850, seven years after the Rebecca Riots, it is a story full of secrets, deceit, disguise, lies, love, revolt and so much more. I loved it!
Cleverly plotted with absorbing characters, None So Blind is told in six parts, from Discovery through to Afterwards, each section alternating between the points of view of Harry Probert-Lloyd and John Davies. Harry is an extremely interesting and well-crafted main character. Rapidly losing his sight, he is forced back home to the Teifi Valley from his work as a barrister in London. When human remains are found under an uprooted tree, he knows who they belong to and, with the assistance of his clerk, John Davies, is determined to find out how they got there. Harry and John make a great detective duo and I am excited to follow their stories through the series.
I enjoy reading both crime fiction and historical fiction but I think that this might be the first time I have read an historical crime fiction novel, and it has started something! Enter into a world without DNA to support crime solving, where horses or walking are the only modes of transport to visit suspects and witnesses, letter writing is the only way to contact people and share news. Ooh, it was fun living in this Victorian world and I didn’t want it to end. It was so easy to pick up None So Blind and think I would just read a couple of chapters but then it was impossible to put down. It was so captivating! Alis Hawkins has a subtle way of slowly drawing in the reader to this dark world and it was a page turner from the beginning.
I am really looking forward to finding out what Alis Hawkins conjures up for the next book in the series.
None So Bind was published in November 2018 by The Dome Press and can be found at the following links:
For your chance to win a paperback copy of None So Blind , click on the button below. The giveaway is open until 12am on 29 November 2018. A winner will be announced shortly afterwards. UK and Ireland entries only please. Good luck!! Full terms and conditions are below the entry button.
*Terms and Conditions –UK and Ireland entries only. Please enter using the button above. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Sarah’s Vignettes will delete the data. Sarah’s Vignettes is not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Alis Hawkins grew up on a dairy farm in Cardiganshire. She left to read English at Oxford and has done various things with her life, including bringing up two amazing sons, selling burgers, working with homeless people and helping families to understand their autistic children. And writing, always.
Radio plays (unloved by anybody but her), nonfiction (autism related), plays (commissioned by heritage projects) and of course, novels.
Her current historical crime series featuring blind investigator Harry Probert-Lloyd and his chippy assistant John Davies, is set in her childhood home, the Teifi Valley. As a side effect, instead of making research trips to sunny climes, like some of her writer friends, she just drives up the M4 to see her folks.
Alis speaks Welsh, collects rucksacks and can’t resist an interesting fact.
Find out more at www.alishawkins.co.uk and follow Alis on Twitter at @Alis_Hawkins.
Be sure to drop by the other stops on the tour!
I am delighted to welcome back Claire Cock-Starkey to Sarah’s Vignettes with her latest book The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms and sneak peek at one of the eponyms featured in the book.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Claire for inviting me to be part of the tour and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
Scroll on to read my thoughts about the book and to discover the origins of the eponym ‘Wisteria’.
The English language is rich with eponyms – words that are named after an individual – some better known than others. This book features 150 of the most interesting and enlightening specimens, delving into the origins of the words and describing the fascinating people after whom they were named.
Eponyms are derived from numerous sources. Some are named in honour of a style icon, inventor or explorer, such as pompadour, Kalashnikov and Cadillac. Others have their roots in Greek or Roman mythology, such as panic and tantalise. A number of eponyms, however, are far from celebratory and were created to indicate a rather less positive association – into this category can be filed boycott, Molotov cocktail and sadist.
Encompassing eponyms from medicine, botany, invention, science, fashion, food and literature this book uncovers the intriguing tales of discovery, mythology, innovation and infamy behind the eponyms we use every day. The Real McCoy is the perfect addition to any wordsmith’s bookshelf.
I was really pleased when Claire Cock-Starkey invited me to take part in this blog tour. I had previously enjoyed both The Book Lovers’ Miscellany and A Library Miscellany (read my review here) and was intrigued to see what The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms had to offer.
As the title suggests, the book is full of fascinating facts about the origins of 150 eponyms in the English Language (an eponym is a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc. is named or thought to be named). Arranged alphabetically, it can be read in order or dipped in and out of. It is perfect for enriching general knowledge, in particular for crosswords and quizzes. There is a handy index arranged by topic, e.g. botanical/zoological, fashionable/artistic, gastronomic, etc. and one for names, should the reader want to find something specific.
One thing I have been amazed at through all 3 books of Claire’s I have read is how rich the detail is. It is clear that they are all extensively researched and I wonder how Claire manages to condense it all into only 131 pages!
Like the Miscellany books, The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms is a pocket-sized gem of a book and would be a great Christmas gift.
The Real McCoy and 149 Other Eponyms was published in October 2018 by Bodleian Library Publishing and can be found at the following links:
Claire Cock-Starkey is a writer and editor based in Cambridge. is Claire’s eleventh book. Her other titles include A Library Miscellany (2018), The Book Lovers’ Miscellany (2017), The Golden Age of the Garden (2017) and Penguins, Pineapples and Pangolins (2016), which was named one of Q. I.’s ten most interesting books of 2016.
Be sure to drop by the other blogs on the tour!!
I regularly share my top reads from this blog over at The Riviera Woman.
The Riviera Woman, run by Anna Fill, helps women living or working on the Riviera live life to the full with it’s inspirational people and interesting articles.
For November, I have chosen Lies Between Us by Ronnie Turner. You can read my review here.
I am thrilled to be part of the blog tour for Lies Between Us by fellow book blogger, Ronnie Turner. Thank you to Ronnie for inviting me and to HQ Digital for sending me a copy of the book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Before I share my thoughts with you, here is what Lies Between Us is about.
The past is always watching . . .
Three people, leading very different lives, are about to be brought together – with devastating consequences . . .
John has a perfect life, until the day his daughter goes missing.
Maisie cares for her patients, but hides her own traumatic past.
Miller should be an innocent child, but is obsessed with something he can’t have.
They all have something in common, though none of them know it – and the truth won’t stay hidden for long . . .
A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Clare Mackintosh, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell.
It is always a pleasure to see a fellow book blogger follow their dream and when Ronnie Turner announced that she had signed with HQ, Harper Collins, I was fighting for a chance to read her debut psychological thriller Lies Between Us – and what a debut it is!
Lies Between Us is a chilling, tense and calculated story of extreme obsession that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. Ronnie Turner’s insightful reading as a blogger is evident here as the thriller is extremely well written and cleverly crafted. The plot is very ambitious for a debut author: told from 3 characters points of view at varying points in time with so many twists, turns, shocks and lies along the way. I did find the jumps between dates a bit confusing at first but it’s worth sticking with it as the story is superb.
The characterisation is accomplished, especially in Miller, the first character we meet. He is highly disturbing and really got under my skin. Some of the horrible activities he gets up to are unbearable to read and at one point, I wondered how far Ronnie Turner would go with his story. I even had to stop reading part way through and go back later, such was Miller’s effect. It was as though his every word jumped off of the page and played with my mind. He certainly had me looking over my shoulder. Even so, I found him the most intriguing character. His creepiness sets the tone for the entire book.
The second character we are introduced to is John. Married to Jules and a writer, we live with them through the hardest time of their lives when their daughter Bonnie goes missing. I wasn’t sure what to think of John and I even wondered if he was responsible for Bonnie’s disappearance. But that’s the skill in Ronnie Turner’s writing. She plays with your head. Just as you think you’ve worked it out, she takes you on a completely different path.
The third character is Maisie, a nurse in an ICU Department who has a few secrets of her own. It is interesting to see how she fits into the story.
All three character’s voices are so unique that I didn’t need to know who’s story I was reading when it was introduced, as I already knew. I am not sure I’ve read a book where the voices are that distinct.
Lies Between Us is compelling, fast paced, and highly emotional from the beginning. The story’s denouement is one that I certainly didn’t see coming and it fitted perfectly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant debut and I would highly recommend it. I am so looking forward to seeing what Ronnie Turner comes up with next.
Lies Between Us was published as an e-book and audiobook by HQ Digital, Harper Collins on 1 October 2018 and is due to be published in paperback on 13 December 2018. It is available via the following links:
Ronnie Turner grew up in Cornwall, the youngest in a large family.
At an early age, she discovered a love of literature and dreamed of being a published author. Ronnie now lives in Dorset with her family and three dogs. In her spare time, she reviews books on her blog and enjoys long walks on the coast. She is currently working on her second novel.
Find out more:
Twitter: @Ronnie_ _Turner
Facebook: @RonnieTurnerAuthor
Instagram: @ronnieturner8702
Website: www.ronnieturner.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RonnieTurner
Be sure to drop by the other blogs on the tour!!
I regularly share my top reads from this blog over at The Riviera Woman.
The Riviera Woman, run by Anna Fill, helps women living or working on the Riviera live life to the full with it’s inspirational people and interesting articles.
For October, I have chosen The Memory Collector by Fiona Harper. You can read my review here.
I’m delighted to have Rosie Green back on my blog with another gorgeous cover from her novella series. Today, it’s for: Snowed in at The Little Duck Pond Café, which is due to be published on 15th November 2018.
Thank you to Rachel Gilbey from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part.
The biggest snowfall in years has blanketed Sunnybrook, cutting the village off from the outside world. For Fen, who finds herself snowed in at The Little Duck Pond Cafe, it’s little more than a minor inconvenience. Her love life is finally running smoothly; it looks as if she’s found the perfect man for her.
But then a shocking secret threatens to destroy Fen’s new-found happiness.
Will being snowed in be the final straw? Or will Fen find a way through the snowdrifts to the perfect love?
Now it’s time for the big reveal….
What a fab cover!!! It’s so magical and those ducklings!!
This novella can be pre-ordered on Amazon UK.
Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-
roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.
Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centred on life in a village café. The first two stories in the series are: Spring at The Little Duck Pond Café and Summer at The Little Duck Pond Café.
You can follow Rosie on her twitter page: @Rosie_Green1988
