I’m a huge fan of Jo Thomas so when I was asked if I’d like to review Jo’s latest book, Keeping A Christmas Promise, for My Weekly online, I jumped at the chance. It’s a year since I reviewed Jo’s Celebrations at the Chateau on the My Weekly website here.

My other features that include Jo on Linda’s Book Bag are:

Coming Home to Winter Island here

A Winter Beneath The Stars here

Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard here,

The Olive Branch here

Late Summer in the Vineyard here.

I also have a smashing post about Jo’s top 5 holiday destinations that you can read here.

Published by Penguin on 13th October 2022, Keeping A Christmas Promise is available for purchase through the links here.

Keeping A Christmas Promise

One Icelandic Christmas holiday. One snowstorm. An adventure they’ll never forget!

Twenty-five years ago, Freya and her three best friends created a bucket list. The future seemed bright and full of hope . . . But now they are travelling to Iceland in memory of the friend they’ve lost, determined to fulfil her dream of seeing the Northern Lights at Christmas.

They didn’t count on an avalanche leaving them stranded! Handsome local, Pétur, comes to the rescue, showing them how the community survives the hard winter. With Christmas approaching, Freya and her friends throw themselves into the festivities, decorating and cooking for the villagers using delicious local ingredients.

But will they manage to see the Northern Lights? And can Freya’s own dreams come true, this Christmas?

My Review of Keeping A Christmas Promise

My full review of Keeping A Christmas Promise can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, what I can say here is that Keeping A Christmas Promise is stuffed full of love, friendship, travel, food and community wrapped in a perfect book-shaped parcel and I loved it!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Jo Thomas

Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, first for BBC Radio 5, before moving on to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show. In 2013 Jo won the RNA Katie Fforde Bursary. Her debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller in ebook and was awarded the 2014 RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the 2014 Festival of Romance Best Ebook Award. Jo lives in Pembrokeshire with her husband and three children, where cooking and gathering around the kitchen table are a hugely important and fun part of their family life.

You can visit Jo’s website, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @jo_thomas01. Jo’s also on Instagram.

My huge thanks to Katrina Power for inviting me to participate in this festive blog tour for Snowfall Over Halesmere House by Suzanne Snow. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

Published by Canelo, Snowfall Over Halesmere House is available for purchase through the links here.

Snowfall Over Halesmere House

Welcome to Halesmere House, where romance might be just around the corner…

After years of living in the past, Ella is ready to start building a future. The perfect opportunity presents itself when she is offered a short-term role at Halesmere House in the Lake District, and tasked with kick-starting its artists’ residence. She can’t wait to start and explore a new career in an inspiring location.

But when Ella arrives at Halesmere, she wonders if she’s made a huge mistake after she clashes with Max, the new owner. Max has his own reasons to be unsettled by her presence, but despite his misgivings it seems everyone else loves having Ella around. As a single dad, it’s his children’s attachment to her that bothers him most. Who will pick up the pieces when Ella leaves?

What Max doesn’t know is that Ella is falling for more than just the Lake District and the community around her. Can her temporary job lead to a permanent happy ending?

A tender and uplifting Christmas romance for fans of Heidi Swain, Karen Swan and Sue Moorcroft.

My Review of Snowfall Over Halesmere House

Ella is starting a new job.

What a lovely, heartwarming story! Snowfall Over Halesmere House is utterly charming, and thoroughly enjoyable because it’s a sensitive exploration of home, family and belonging that seeps into the reader’s consciousness so that they begin to feel part of the local community every bit as much as Ella and Max.

I loved the Lakes setting which acts as a well defined, but not overpowering, backdrop to the plot and the reader discivers it alongside Ella. Suzanne Snow had me wanting to book a stay at Halesmere as soon as possible. There’s a real sense of community in Snowfall Over Halesmere House that is much needed in today’s world. I felt as if I wanted to move to the Lakes too because Susanne Snow made the area feel real and compelling.

Ella is a layered and complex character as she comes to terms with what has happened in her family and learns to trust her instincts and gives herself permission to be herself. There’s an underpinning sadness that makes her vulnerable even whilst she is professionally highly competent. What I found worked so beautifully in the developing relationship between Max and Ella was that there wasn’t an over dependence on their physical attributes in the writing, but rather a subtle uncovering of who they are as people that really brought them alive and made me care about them. Noelle too is a triumph, being a perfect blend of razor sharp manipulation and slight artistic battiness that gave her depth and made her a catalyst for much of the action. Although Max is the lead male, I have to confess to being a little in love with Stan because his rough exterior conceals a man who cares about others, and who is both skilled and hard working.

What I enjoyed so much, however, was how the themes were presented. In Snowfall over Halesmere House Suzanne Snow gently teaches her reader not to live in the past and not to live a half life. Instead she illustrates how fulfilling grasping opportunities can be and shows us how we can be happy if only we allow ourselves to be so. I found this element of the story very affecting. The explorations of grief, trust, self-belief, family and friendship feel mature, sensitive and striking. Equally entrancing is Suzanne Snow’s consideration of love. Whilst there is conventional romance at the heart of the story, there are other forms of love from enjoying what a person does for a living to the unconditional love between a parent and child as well as the preservation of love for those who are no longer with us. I found this element of the narrative very emotional.

As the plot moves towards the festive season, Snowfall over Halesmere House is the perfect book to enjoy on a dark, winter’s afternoon when it will give the reader a warm internal glow. I thought it was lovely.

About Suzanne Snow

Suzanne Snow writes contemporary and uplifting fiction, with a vibrant sense of setting and community connecting the lives of her characters. A horticulturist who lives with her family in Lancashire, her books are inspired by a love of landscape, romance and rural life.

The Cottage of New Beginnings, Suzanne’s first novel in the popular Thorndale series, was a contender for the 2021 RNA Joan Hessayon Award, and she is currently writing the Love in the Lakes series for Canelo. Snowfall Over Halesmere House is her fifth novel.

Suzanne is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors.

For further information, visit Suzanne’s website, follow her on Twitter @SnowProse and find her on Instagram and Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It’s a real pleasure to celebrate Phillipa Ashley’s latest book The Christmas Holiday. My thanks to Maddie Dunne Kirby at Avon books for inviting providing me with a lovely extract for you. I’ll be reviewing The Christmas Holiday later for My Weekly‘s online magazine for whom I recently reviewed Phillipa’s A Golden Cornish Summer in a post you’ll find here.

Published by Harper Collins’ imprint Avon on 10th November 2022, The Christmas Holiday is available for purchase through the links here.

The Christmas Holiday

She’s planned the perfect Christmas. But fate might have other ideas…

Krystle didn’t have a normal childhood and longed for warm family Christmases with presents under the tree. Now she makes sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas she never had, bringing beautiful decorations to cheer as many people as possible.

With her festive business booming, she decides to celebrate by renting a secluded house in the Lakes, with a plan to make this the ultimate yuletide getaway.

But fate immediately throws a spanner in the works in the form of a broken-down car, a flooded river and Max; a man who despises Christmas.

Krystle becomes determined to show Max the joys of the holiday. She won’t take no for an answer.

Can she melt Max’s Grinch-like heart? And can he show her that life doesn’t need to go to plan to take you somewhere magical…

Let Sunday Times bestseller Phillipa Ashley whisk you away to the Lakes this Christmas, with a story full of unexpected romance, second chances, snowflakes and starlight! Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Karen Swan and Heidi Swain.

An Extract from The Christmas Holiday

The Prologue

It was the biggest Christmas tree Krystle had ever seen: twice as tall as her, and topped by a glittering star that almost touched the ceiling. You could barely see the branches for the shiny baubles, stripy candy canes, strings of beads and wooden toys.

It was swathed with tinsel in the colours of a peacock’s feathers, shimmering in the light of the fire. Underneath there were presents in every shape and size, wrapped in shiny paper and tied with ribbon and bows.

The room reminded Krystle of a Christmas card that her Auntie Linda had sent her and her mum the previous year. The card showed a family gathered around a tree in a huge room, opening the gifts by the light of a fire.

Standing on tiptoes, she peered through the old-fashioned window. Her feet sank into the soil and water squelched into her trainers. Auntie Linda had loaned Mum the money to buy them but they hadn’t lasted long in the rocky muddy places she’d been to in the Lake District over the past few days.

The instructors at the Outdoor Centre spoke in soft Northern accents and smiled a lot. They’d made jokes about the pink trainers and lent her ‘proper footwear’ for some of the activities. Krystle knew they meant to be kind, but she hated the stiff boots, shaped by someone else’s feet. She’d rather have wet socks.

Actually, she’d rather be inside full stop. . . It was already almost dark even though they hadn’t had their lunchtime sandwiches so very long ago. Some of the stars were already twinkling and lights peeped out from the tiny cottages in the Thorndale valley.

Krystle was supposed to be waiting at the edge of the village for the bus. All the kids were tired and cold after another long walk, eating crisps and chattering about what might be for dinner at the Outdoor Centre where they all had to sleep in bunk beds.

No one had noticed her slip away from the others towards the grand house with stone pillars. She had been drawn to its glowing windows like she was to the big stores in London that she loved to visit with Auntie Linda. A quick look wouldn’t do any harm, would it? Better than standing in the cold, while the rain fell and being told to ‘keep their chins up’ by the teachers, whatever that meant.

She pulled off her mitten and spread her palm over the pane, hoping to feel the warmth of the fire. The glass was cold but she could hear the faint crackle and hiss as the flames leapt. She’d never been in front of a fire inside a house. Auntie Linda had told her they were ‘very nice to look at but a lot of trouble’ and Mum had said they were too dangerous to have in a flat.

Here in this huge house, the fire looked safe and inviting. Where were the people who owned it? Why weren’t they enjoying their beautiful room like the family in the card? If it were Krystle’s house, her mum would be curled up on the sofa with a magazine and a glass of wine. Auntie Linda would be in the armchair, her feet on the footstool, a sherry in her hand. Krystle would lie on the rug, reading a book, toasting by the fire, wondering what the presents contained.

It was such a contrast to her real life, which was like a ride on the Southend rollercoaster that Auntie Linda had treated her to. Krystle loved rollercoasters but she didn’t want to be on one all time.

Linda said that Mum was ‘doing her best’, and Krystle did believe it. She loved her mother but she was often cross and impatient, always short of money and very unhappy. As long as Krystle could remember, they’d moved from flat to flat or ‘B&B’s’ with peeling walls and the smell of other people’s cooking.

As for school, she’d had to change so many times, she’d lost count. Just as she’d made friends, she was uprooted to another place because her mum had fallen out with her boss – and Krystle didn’t blame her as they sounded horrible – or refused to ‘keep her daughter in this skanky hole any longer’.

Yet things were about to change again. Just not for the better.

Her mother had a new boyfriend, Gus, and they were moving in with him by Christmas. It filled her with dread. He wasn’t violent – in fact he largely ignored her – but she felt he’d cast a giant shadow over her life that having a permanent home didn’t make up for. Gus made jokes about old people, reeked of aftershave and often had food stuck in his beard.

He also had two twin daughters a year older than Krystle, who laughed at her clothes and called her a ‘chav’. The Terrible Twins shared a room so Krys would have to sleep on the sofa bed in Gus’s ‘office’, and have to tidy it away every night so that no trace of her was left in his ‘workspace’.

The girls had made it clear they hated the idea of sharing their house as much as much she did, especially since she’d pushed one of them in a puddle for teasing her for having free school meals.

If only they could live with Linda. . . but her mum was mad on Gus and told Krys she’d have to make the best of it.

Krystle was tired of making the best of it. She didn’t want to wear someone else’s boots and she didn’t want to go back to London. If only they could move here to the Lake District and live in this house, her mum and Auntie Linda, maybe a dog and a cat too.

She pressed her face to the glass, squashing her nose to the pane, willing herself to be magicked inside the fairy tale world of the Christmas card.

‘Krystle Jones, what on earth are you doing?’

The booming voice startled her and she fell backwards into the border with a squelch. She wasn’t hurt – didn’t think she was – but the shock had made her heart thump hard and made her out of breath.

Above her, a woman towered over her, hands on hips.

‘Come away from there! This is someone’s private property!’

Miss Braithwaite’s bushy eyebrows faced off like two warring caterpillars. She looked taller and wider than ever from ground level. The rain had turned icy and sharp, like tiny needles against Krystle’s face.

‘S-sorry, Miss Braithwaite.’ Krystle pushed herself up on her elbows, feeling the damp seep through her coat to her jumper.

‘The minibus is here. We almost went back to the centre without you!’

Krystle let out a squeak of alarm. ‘No!’

Miss Braithwaite’s frown melted into a kinder smile. She reached down and took Krystle’s hand, pulling her to her feet.

‘Come on, madam. Of course, we wouldn’t leave you behind but a lot of people have gone to a lot of trouble to organise this trip. It’s not fair to keep them waiting, is it?’

‘No, Miss.’ She tried to brush the mud from her jeans but ended up smearing it into the denim.

Miss Braithwaite rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t worry about your clothes. We can pop them in the machine at the centre.’ She pursed her lips. ‘But those silly trainers are soaked. I’ll put them in the drying room for a few days. Don’t worry, you can wear your boots for the rest of the week.’ She clapped her gloves together. ‘Now, chop chop! The driver’s not too pleased at being kept waiting, I can tell you.’

With a silent sigh, she squelched behind Miss Braithwaite towards the minibus which was parked at the end of the drive to the house. She glanced back, imagining she could see shadows at the windows; the family returning from a walk to enjoy hot chocolate with squirty cream and little pink marshmallows. Maybe the children would be allowed to open a present early, even though it wasn’t Christmas for a few weeks yet. If Krystle was their mum, that’s what she would do: let them have one little gift now, just one. . .

‘Hallelujah! The wanderer returns!’ Miss Braithwaite announced as Krystle climbed into the bus. Some of the boys jeered but a few kids slid admiring glances at her for having escaped, even temporarily.

Far from being annoyed, the driver didn’t even look up from his newspaper when Krystle slunk past him. She wrinkled her nose. The bus smelled of wet clothes and fishpaste sandwiches.

Her new friend, Harriet, moved aside she could take the window seat. ‘You’re wet,’ she whispered.

‘Sorry. Better keep away from me.’

Harriet smirked. ‘I bet Miss Braithwaite was pissed off.’

‘A bit.’ Krystle nodded and they both stifled giggles.

The engine rumbled and the bus lurched forward.

Wiping away the condensation on the window, Krystle watched the glow of the house fading away into the dusk. Soon, it was only a memory, lost amid the white flakes falling on the stone walls and fields.

Harriet offered Krystle a Haribo. Her tongue was lime green. ‘Where did you go?’ she whispered.

‘The Christmas card house,’ she said, delving into the packet. ‘And one day, I’m going to live in a place just like it.’

****

Isn’t that just perfect to entice readers in? I love finding an Auntie Linda – I might just be one of those myself! I’m so looking forward to reviewing The Christmas Holiday for My Weekly very soon.

About Phillipa Ashley

Phillipa Ashley writes warm, funny romantic fiction for a variety of international publishers. The first two books in her best-selling Cornish Café series made the Amazon Top 20 and Top 10 chart in 2016.

Phillipa lives in a Staffordshire village with her husband and has a grown-up daughter.

For more information about Phillipa, visit her website or find her on Instagram or Facebook. You can also follow her on Twitter @PhillipaAshley.

Tomorrow, 9th November, marks the sixth year since my lovely Dad died with me and my sister by his side, and I miss him just as much now as I did then. In tribute to him, I am reviewing I Miss You by Gioia Guerzoni and illustrated by Rosie Leech which was sent to me as surprise book post from lovely Lefki at Cicada Books.

Published on 21st April 2022 by Cicada, I Miss You is available from all good bookshops and online including here.

I Miss You

With a gentle and considerate style, this evocative little gift book proposes a series of conceptual activities to help the reader work through the sense of loss that arises when someone or something is missing from their lives. For example;

Spend one minute writing a list of all the things you can remember doing with the person that you miss. Simple everyday events can make as many memories as big adventures. Write as fast as you can. When one minute is up, stick the list to a window pane so that it can be seen from outside.

With beautiful, stripped back illustration and elegant packaging, this book is a striking and affordable gift for a friend or for yourself.

My Review of I Miss You

A slim volume of exercises to heal sadness.

I Miss You may only have around 40 pages with more than half of them given over to illustrations but it certainly packs a punch. I loved the way the introduction acknowledges that it isn’t just a person we can miss, but a place, feeling or object too. It is as if I Miss You is giving the reader important permission to be themselves. And that reader can be of any age. Whilst the publisher specialises in children’s books, I Miss You works for any age group.

There are activities and suggestions in I Miss You that mean there is something here for everyone to help them in their grieving process. I especially connected with Words it’s one of the ways I remember my Dad. He always used the word ‘mulfrey’ to describe warm, humid weather and it seemed to sum it up perfectly. Other suggestions of ways to deal with missing someone or something are more contemplative and some very active. The way they are written is accessible and as the author uses the pronoun you throughout it makes the reader feel they are being given attention and that someone understands how they might be feeling. I think for those who can’t articulate their feelings to those around them I Miss You could be incredibly cathartic.

However, for me it is the illustrations that turn a lovely little book into a work of art. There’s an ephemeral looseness to their style that matches the words and themes of I Miss You so beautifully. I loved I Miss You. I think it would make a wonderful gift –  especially for those to whom you don’t know how to offer support but what to show you care. It’s a charming, helpful, beautiful little book.

About Gioia Guerzoni

Gioia Guerzoni was born in Milan but currently lives in Greece. She has worked as a translator for thirty years, mostly from English to English, as well as being a freelance consultant to several Italian publishing houses, reading manuscripts and writing reports.

For further information, visit Gioia’s website, or find her on Twitter @GioiaGuerzoni and Instagram.

About Rosie Leech

Rosie Leech is an illustrator, designer and ceramicist currently living in the UK. Her work is created using both digital and analogue processes, including traditional printmaking, hand building with porcelain and drawing.

For more information, visit Rosie’s website, or find her on Instagram.

I’m lucky to be offered all kinds of books from all kinds of authors and sadly I simply cannot accept them all for the blog, much as I’d like to. However, when Alejandro Mañon got in touch I realised I had a star in the making and although I wasn’t able to review, I was able to invite Ale onto Linda’s Book Bag to stay in with me.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Alejandro Mañon

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Alejandro and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for having me. It’s such an honour to be with you this evening.

It’s a pleasure to host you. Tell me, which of your books have you brought and why have you chosen it?

I have chosen to share the book I self-published last year titled Black Star because it’s the novel with which I identify the most so far.

This is because I have gone through some of the same struggles as my characters, especially James.

That sounds interesting. Tell me more.

In Black Star, you get introduced to the Quinns, who just recently moved from New York to Vermont. James soon goes through a thrilling adventure to uncover the secrets of his family while keeping his own to himself… Or at least tries to. Avoiding to face the truth and unmasking his deeper self is more complicated than he ever thought, especially when he’s living with the enemy.

I think looking inside ourselves is always challenging Ale.

I came up with the idea for this book because of the heartbreaking story of some of my loved ones who are severely addicted to drugs. I’ve always been curious as to why drug addicts behave the way they do. Still, I have always chickened out when drugs are in the same room, so thankfully, I’ve never been able to experience this for myself. Some of the events are based on my personal life and experiences when dating as a gay man who struggles with homophobia and stigmas in a developing country such as Mexico.

I know it’s often said that authors should write what they know but you seem to have had quite a few challenges yourself. I think staying away from the drugs is absolutely right. Far too easy to become addicted I think, and I’m sure being gay in a country like Mexico must be hard enough without further challenges.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I love to read while listening to music, so I decided to bring a playlist with which you can enjoy the book better this evening.

I think that’s where youth is on your side Ale! I can’t do that listen to music and read. I like quiet to read. What sort of songs have you selected?

The songs I chose are pretty unsettling, and most are instrumental. Thus building up the tension in the series of events throughout the book. It immerses you in the book and can make you feel as if you were experiencing the story in person. You can find the playlist on Spotify with this link. Or if you’re an Apple Music user, you can use this one.

You’re making me feel old Ale! I didn’t know any of those pieces before we stayed in together!

Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about Black Star. I think it sounds fascinating. Now, you turn up the music and I’ll give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details about Black Star.

Black Star

Every family has their own set of rules, their own ways of communicating and some of them have an obscure secret that they desperately try to hide from others as if it came to light, all hope would be lost.

Meet the Quinns. They have the darkest secret of them all, and if they wanted their secret to remain as what it is, they would have to follow a list of simple rules:

Number one: You must not trust anyone (Not even your own family).

Number two: You must not speak out loud as someone could be listening to you.

Number three: You must get rid of all the evidence.

Number four: You must keep your friends close but your enemies even closer.

Number five: You must not rest until your darkest secret is buried six-feet below the ground.

Black Star is available for purchase here.

About Alejandro Mañon

Alejandro Mañon lives in Mexico City and is studying International Business at Anáhuac University. He works at his father’s company and does social service in college. Ale lives with his two siblings and his father because his parents got divorced when he was three.

Ale has been writing poems, short stories, and novels since he was thirteen. Writing has been a passion ever since. However, Ale faces difficulties since he’s dyslexic, and must triple-check his spelling every time. Many people have encouraged him to give up his dream, but he refuses to stop pursuing his dream of becoming a well-known author.

For further information, find Ale on Instagram.

It gives me great pleasure, thanks to Grace Pilkington, to welcome JM Briscoe to stay in with me today to chat about her latest book and to commence the blog tour. Let’s dive straight in.

Staying in with JM Briscoe

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Jenny and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

And thank you very much for having me!

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

The Child Left in the Dark, book two of my soft sci-fi trilogy Take Her Back. It is officially published on November 5 (and it’s actually my favourite of the three novels, but don’t tell the others!).

Ha! I think book one, The Girl with the Green Eyes might have something to say about that!

What can we expect from an evening in with The Child Left in the Dark?

The Child Left in the Dark is the second part of a soft sci-fi trilogy, Take Her Back. The first novel, The Girl with the Green Eyes, was long-listed for The Bridport Prize in 2020 and became an Amazon bestseller upon its release in 2021.

That’s very impressive. Congratulations.

The story follows a young woman, Bella D’accourt, a ‘designer baby’ who has been genetically engineered for extreme beauty. When, as a child, her parents discover some more sinister traits in the young Bella, her mother takes her back to the scientists behind the designer baby programme and claims she is ‘defective’. Thus begins a dark and twisty tale taking place both in the past and present-day following Bella, her teenage daughter Ariana and some ‘skin-crawling bad guys’ as one reviewer put it!

Wow. That sounds a fantastic premise for a narrative. Would you call it sci-fi?

One of my favourite reader quotes about The Girl with the Green Eyes is ‘it’s sci-fi which doesn’t feel like sci-fi’. While there are plenty of sci-fi elements to the series (human/animal genetic experimentation, people whose humanity has been removed, a little girl who can fly, etc) at its core it’s almost more of a thriller with a strong mother/daughter theme. So I’d advise even those who don’t feel like sci-fi is their thing to give it a go… For a few people, it has changed their minds about the entire genre.

I think you’ve just summed me up completely Jenny. I’ll definitely have to try your series! Do I need to read the books in order?

I’ve had readers enjoy The Child Left in the Dark without first reading The Girl with the Green Eyes, but most strongly advise reading the latter first to fully enjoy the next instalment (and I would tend to agree!)

I’ll take that advice. What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I’ve brought along a nice bottle of red wine (Bella’s drink of choice), a bag of Kettle Chips and my writing/editing playlist (which has everything from Radiohead to Alexis Ffrench). I’ve also brought the large oak tree from outside my office window, which is what I look at when I’m pondering. It’s resplendent in all its autumnal glory at the moment, which is how I like it best (until the leaves drop and I have to rake them all up, of course!). Oh, and a couple of cats, in case one of them deigns to struggle through their general indifference and sit on my lap.

Cats are always welcome in this house! Whilst I won’t share your wine as it tends to make me ill, I will have a few of those Kettle Chips please! Thank you so much for staying in with me to tell me about The Child Left in the Dark. I think it sounds both brilliant and demanding. I’ll give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details and leave you to try to persuade the cats to co-operate…

The Child Left in the Dark

PART TWO OF TAKE HER BACK TRILOGY – The Child Left in the Dark is the follow-up to the stunning, The Girl with the Green Eyes.

There’s something growing in her that’s going beyond us. Some sort of darkness, a confidence… the more it emerges, the more she seems to just… disappear.

It has been six months since Bella and her daughter Ariana were driven into a desperate flight across the country. Six months since the explosive events at the Futura Laboratory changed their lives forever. Bella must live with the impossible decision she made back in the autumn, even if the consequences are monstrous. She will do whatever it takes to keep Ariana safe, even from herself. Especially from herself.

Ariana, meanwhile, cannot escape the nightmares of the terrifying creatures she saw at the lab. Struggling with the reality of a life out of the shadows, Ariana cannot help but feel more alone than ever. Except for the voices, of course. The whispers of a creeping, dark blankness growing within her. Everyone tells her she is normal. Everyone is lying.

Published by Bad Ink Press, The Child Left in the Dark is available for purchase here.

About J M Briscoe

J M Briscoe is a sci-fi author, journalist, SEO editor and mum-of-three based in Berkshire, UK. She writes a strong female lead, bakes a mean birthday cake and has been known to do both simultaneously. Her debut novel, The Girl with the Green Eyes, reached the top 20 of nearly 1600 entrants to The Bridport Prize: Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award in 2020.

Jenny currently works as a freelance SEO editor and also writes a light-hearted parenting blog called Fearless Worrier.

For further information, visit J M Briscoe’s website, find her on Facebook and Instagram and follow her on Twitter @jm_briscoe.

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The lovely folk at Cicada frequently send me surprise children’s books in return for honest reviews and I’m ashamed to sat that Tell Tail by C.K Smouha and illustrated by Katie Brosnan is one such book that has been languishing on my TBR for some months. Today, however, I’m finally sharing my review.

Tell Tail was published by Cicada in November 2020 and is available for purchase here.

Tell Tail

Dex is a Staffie with an unruly tail. All the other members of Dex’s family are tough as nails, but Dex is cut from a different cloth. He likes to chat and play, and when he does, his tail wags wildly. When he’s sad, his tail tucks under. Everyone can see exactly how he’s feeling. The rest of Dex’s family find it very embarrassing, so Dex tries to rein his tail in – to no avail.

One day at the park, Dex is doing his best to control his tail when a big red dog called Bailey bounds up to him. Bailey has the waggiest, most ridiculous tail Dex has ever seen. They have a marvellous time playing, until Dex catches sight of his dad’s disapproving face.

Dex runs and runs and runs, until he stops caring – about his tail – about anything. When Dad finds him, his tail is completely still. It doesn’t wag, it doesn’t tuck under. It’s just there. After a couple weeks, Dad starts to feel uncomfortable. What could be wrong with Dex? Dad and Dex go back to the park, where with the help of Bailey, they rediscover the joys of self expression.

My Review of Tell Tail

Dex’s tail gets him into trouble.

The physical qualities of Tell Tail are as good as I’ve come to expect with books from this publisher. The hard cover is robust and durable and the book itself of a perfect size for sharing with groups of children as well as individuals. I liked the naïve, slightly sketchy quality of the illustrations by Katie Brosnan too as she conveys the emotions and attitudes of Dex and his family as well as Bailey’s exuberance so effectively with just a few brush strokes.

The story in Tell Tail is well designed with a really good balance of text to illustration and sufficient length to make it quick enough to read and retain a child’s attention, but with enough depth and variety to make it a story that can be returned to on several occasions. The dogs digging, running and fighting are all concept that are familiar to children so that they can identify with canine behaviour as well as, perhaps, their own experiences.

However, it’s the messages underpinning the action in Tell Tail that make it such a success. This is a story about being true to yourself as Dex comes to terms with his unruly tail, about realising that difference is not a negative thing and about being aware how your attitude to another person – in the way Dad makes Dex control his tail – can affect their happiness and well-being. There’s so much here to discuss with children and gently teach them about their place in the world. I’m sure Tell Tail will enhance the confidence of children who feel distanced from others and help them accept their own attributes.

Tell Tail is a lovely story. Tell Tail is perfect for adults and children alike, not least because it reminds us all of the joy we once knew as children and reminds us to embrace life and our physical attributes in order to have fun and enjoy ourselves.

About C.K. Smouha

C K Smouha is a television writer and author living in London. Her writing credits include Clique (BBC2) and Dates (Channel 4). She is also a children’s author whose previous books include Born Bad, Sock Story and Iced Out.

About Katie Brosnan

Katie Brosnan is a British author and illustrator who lives in Northamptonshire. She earned an MA with distinction in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art, and also studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University. She was a UK winner of the International Picture This! award in 2018, and highly commended in the Macmillan Prize for Illustration in the same year.

Keith Among the Pigeons was her debut picturebook, published by Childs Play International in 2019. It was longlisted for the 2020 Klaus Flugge prize and selected for the UK Library Summer Reading Challenge. Her second book Gut Garden, a non fiction illustrated book was published by Cicada Books in 2019. It has been nominated for several awards including being shortlisted for The Royal Society’s Young People’s Book Prize 2020.

When she isn’t drawing or working on books, Katie helps to run workshops for children, gets involved in local wildlife projects and makes one-off ceramic characters.

For further information, follow Katie on Twitter @katiebdrawing or visit her website. You’ll also find her on Instagram and Facebook.

My enormous thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue for inviting me onto the blog tour for Three’s a Crowd by S. R. Booker and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Three’s a Crowd was published by Simon and Schuster on 27th October 2022 and is available for purchase through the links here.

Three’s A Crowd

Out-of-work actor Harriet is recuperating from a crash-and-burn affair with Damian – aka ‘Cockweasel’ – and making ends meet as a barista when she meets two rather lovely men. Tom is a regular at the café, and seems like such a nice guy. Smooth-talking DJ Richard is older, but in great shape – a real silver fox.

Deciding to take a chance on both of them, Harriet doesn’t realise at first that she is actually dating father and son. Tom and Richard aren’t on speaking terms, and don’t share a last name – so how was she to know? By the time everyone finds out, both Tom and Richard are truly madly deeply in love with Harriet, and she’s faced with an impossible choice.

But as the battle for her affections intensifies, ‘Cockweasel’ makes an unexpected reappearance and begs her to give him another chance…

My Review of Three’s A Crowd

Harriet’s love life is about to get complicated.

What an absolute treat of a book. You know, occasionally the right book comes along just at the right moment for a reader and S.R. Booker’s Three’s A Crowd was exactly that for me. It’s one of those narratives where you realise your face feels odd and that’s because you’ve been grinning with pleasure from the very beginning. Three’s A Crowd brought back my sense of humour and made me happy.

In Three’s A Crowd there’s a wonderful conversational tone that makes the reader feel the characters are speaking directly to them, ensnaring them completely. I loved the way that character comments directed at the reader gave compelling hooks at the end of chapters as it made me excited to read what might be coming next and made me feel involved in the narrative.

And for anyone who thinks rom-com style fiction is simply formulaic boy meets girl, they break up and then get back together again, S.R. Booker makes them look a fool. Aside from the fact Harriet finds herself embroiled with an estranged father and son, the plot is fabulous as it twists and turns with so many elements that I simply didn’t see coming but that held me captivated. I genuinely had no idea how Three’s A Crowd would be resolved. There’s a fast pace that romps along and strands that are most unexpected that add to the sheer enjoyment of the story.

With a relatively small cast of central characters there’s the opportunity to get to know Harriet, Richard and Tom intimately so that the reader cares for them completely. I’m not usually a fan of multiple viewpoints, but here the individual voices are so clear that I absolutely loved them all. I think it illustrates the quality of S. R Booker’s writing that I simply couldn’t decide how I wanted Three’s A Crowd to end. And what I got wasn’t what I expected, but you’ll have to read the book for yourself to see what I mean! I also loved meeting those, like Nan, who don’t have such major roles. Whilst I wasn’t sure I’ll enjoy the same films in my 80s, I think Nan has several traits and habits that I might just adopt! Again, I’m not telling you which! You really do need to read this fabulous book for yourself to discover all its delights.

However, much as Three’s A Crowd is frothy, witty and fun, it has at its heart some profound themes such as identity, responsibility, mental health and family that give it really satisfying depth too. I thought the balance was perfect. Harriet’s ‘Thoughts’, although extreme, are eminently relatable and the family dynamics between Tom and Richard are central to humour and poignancy making Three’s A Crowd surprisingly emotional as well as funny.

I loved Three’s a Crowd because it’s fun, fresh and fabulous. I could not have enjoyed it more and really recommend it.

About S.R. Booker

Author and screenwriter Simon Booker writes crime novels and prime time TV drama for the BBC, ITV and US TV. He is also Writer in Residence at HMP Grendon.  His TV credits include BBC1’s Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Holby City and The Mrs Bradley Mysteries; ITV thrillers The Stepfather and The Blind Date; and Perfect Strangers, the CBS romantic comedy starring Rob Lowe and Anna Friel.  Simon lives in London and Deal. His partner is fellow crime writer and Killer Women co-founder Mel McGrath. They often discuss murder methods over breakfast. Three’s a Crowd is his first contemporary fiction novel.

For further information, follow Simon on Twitter @simonbooker and find him on Facebook and Instagram.

My huge thanks to Mikka at Everything With Words for sending me a copy of This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny by Laura Clark in return for an honest review and for waiting so patiently as I became inundated with requests for blog space. I’m delighted finally to share my review today.

Published on 22nd September 2022 by Everything With Words, This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny is available for purchase here.

This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny

Dr Molly Beaujolais (Lecturer in Performing Arts and Applied Theatre) and Jonathan Nylon (Lecturer in History) both keep diaries and have offices next door to each other. Two unlikely lovers, particularly since much of Molly’s time is taken up internet dating while Jonathan Nylon obsesses about his presentation of the battle of Narvik, his course on medieval disease and punishment and his impossible lodger, but life likes to play around with the impossible. Wickedly funny, clever and daring. And touching because it’s all about being human in a very lonely world.

My Review of This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny

Molly and Jonny are looking for love.

It’s a long time since I’ve laughed aloud so frequently reading a book but This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny made me snort with laughter time and again. It’s quirky, witty and steeped in both convention and, ironically, pretention (as in Molly’s ongoing conversations about Nathaniel) in a unique, intelligent and vibrant manner that makes it such fun to read. I confess that not every allusion was within my frame of reference, but that only added to my enjoyment and to the academic setting for the story. I looked up some elements and had memories sparked by others.

In many ways the characters in This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny reminded me of a modern day cast of Commedia dell’Arte with their quirks and roles in highlighting Molly and Jonny, especially as student theatrical performance is one of the themes of the narrative. I thought the role of Beacon lighting the way to true love for Molly (that she initially misses) was inspired and I have no idea if I’m reading more into my interpretation than was intended, but Vincent’s narcissistic photographic behaviour made me think of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portraits. Honestly, This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny might be more a novella in length, but I think it could be read and re-read many many times and even more interpretations and allusions could be found and enjoyed. It’s a rich tapestry of life past and present that offers so much more than just a diverting narrative.

Set against this fascinating background the two central characters of Molly and Jonny are brilliantly prosaic, concerned with all the things we all worry about. Have we said and done the right things? Have we made fools of ourselves? Will we find true love? Their lives swirl around one another in an entertaining and believable courtship dance that never quite synchronises so that the reader begins to despair that they will ever truly be happy. What Laura Clark does so brilliantly is to explore the human condition, and the need we all have for connection and intimacy in a world gone mad with political intrigue and global concerns. Molly and Jonny are the very microcosm of humanity. Whilst This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny is set just before Covid, it is just as relevant now and has a universality that will endure.

I thought This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny was a super read and I devoured it in one sitting because I found it so engaging. Maybe, in the spirit of Molly and Jonny I should sum up my review in a diary entry of my own:

21st October Linda Hill- Read This Diary (World) Belongs to Molly and Jonny. Laughed frequently. Fell in love with Molly and Jonny. Loved spotting cultural, historical, geographical and literary allusions. Shed a small tear at the human need for intimacy and connection so brilliantly displayed. Thoroughly enjoyed the book!

About Laura Clark

Laura Clark grew up in Gloucestershire and studied music at the University of Birmingham. Highlights of her musical career include singing at St Peter’s Basilica and getting a fork for Gareth Malone’s couscous, before he was really famous. She has written for: Musical Opinion, San Francisco Classical Voice, New Humanist, BBC Music Magazine’s news feed, Jazz Journal, Warships International Fleet Review, Drama and Theatre, CBeebies magazine, The Wotton Times, Good on Paper and others. Her children’s story book A Conker for a Pearl was made into a stop-motion animation by Sasha Langford and screened at InMotion Festival in Aberdeen.

For more information, follow Laura on Instagram.