Blog Anniversary & Big Book Giveaway!

It's hard to believe but the blog is three years young and has also recently passed the 250,000 views mark, so I'm having a giveaway to celebrate both of these things! 

An enormous, heartfelt thank you to all the authors who have so generously and kindly offered a prize to be won in the giveaway, there are so many absolutely lovely books on offer so do have a look below, many of them are signed and being offered by the authors, a few are contributed by myself. Just leave a comment to enter.

Blogging has had to take a back seat a bit recently, in particular for health reasons. I still post something new when I can, especially sharing author guest posts and spreading the word about books. I don't know if i'll get back up to my previous amount of reading and review writing one day or not. I still want to have more of a go at writing fiction myself, but confidence is still an issue. It's nice to see so many other book blogs that I've followed for a few years still going, the community is always growing at the moment with lots of variety and I read about more books than ever, even though my to be read pile is already crazy, it's hard not to add more to it, or at least to the wishlist. 

Anyway, thank you very much to everyone who has supported the blog in any way, and please celebrate with me with a slice of cake and a cuppa.

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Books on offer in the big book giveaway...

First prize - the first winner drawn from the hat will win 10 books, selected at random 

Runner-up prizes - three runner-up prizes of 5 books each, selected at random

Late addition - a copy of House of Silence by Linda Gillard also to be won!


A-Z by author, the prize books are:

Beautiful Day by Kate Anthony, signed by the author!

The Secrets Women Keep by Fanny Blake, signed by the author!

The Mistress's Revenge by Tammy Cohen, signed by the author!

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly, signed by the author!

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan, signed by the author plus a poster designed by the author!

Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve, signed by the author!

The Cornish House, and A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick, signed by the author!

Kept by Elle Field, signed by the author!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a brand new copy of the recent film tie-in edition.

House of Silence by Linda Gillard, signed by the author!

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, signed and personalised by the author!

Goodness Grace and Me by Julie Houston, signed by the author!

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr, a preloved copy in nice condition.

Don't Stand So Close by Luana Lewis, signed by the author!

The Visitors by Rebecca Mascull, signed by the author!

Casting the Net by Julie McDowall, signed by the author!

Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat, signed by the author!

Secrets of the Tides and The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell, signed by the author!

Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley, signed by the author!

Brighton Belle by Sara Sheridan, signed by the author!

A Woman's Choice by Annie Thomas, Kindle copy!

Black Roses and The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne, both signed by the author!

The Pimlico Kid by Barry Walsh, signed by the author!

Into the Trees by Robert Williams, signed by the author, with a dedication if preferred!

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, a preloved copy in nice condition.
This is one of my all-time favourite novels so it's one I'd love to share the love of!

One Apple Tasted by Josa Young, signed by the author!

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How to enter:

Please leave a comment below to enter. 

A HUGE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE ENTRIES. THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN AND CONTACTED ASAP.

UPDATE - CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNERS TERESA M, VICKY T, SAM B and TRACY T!


If you'd like to, please mention which book you'd most like to win. If you are drawn as a winner, although the books will be selected for each winner at random, I will try and allocate you your favourite if possible!

Please note, where an author has offered two books, they are counted as one book for the prize, so if you do win, you could end up with more than 5 or more than 10 books! 

(No need to leave contact details if I already have a way of contacting you - whether twitter, facebook, email, via your blog. Otherwise please let me know a way of contacting you.)

The giveaway ends on Wednesday 2nd April 2014. Winners will be picked at random and contacted, if they don't reply within 48 hours with their choice of prize, a new winner or winners may be selected. The giveaway is open to entrants based in the UK.

Thanks and good luck!

Signed Copies to be won! The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn

Win a signed copy of The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn!

I am very pleased to be able to offer two lucky readers of my blog a signed paperback copy of The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn.

Excerpt from my review of this book:

I didn't know this story would take such a strong hold on my heart.

I genuinely loved this book. It is an absolutely wonderful romantic novel. It gripped me completely from start to finish, it wrung my heart out. Clarissa is a wonderful first-person narrative voice, we are with her as she grows up and close by her side as she makes her way through life, making mistakes, gaining experience, learning about herself, and Tom is a marvellous romantic leading man, who finds, after the horrors of war, that a changing society offers new advantages to someone like him, but will he ever be good enough to be accepted by Clarissa's Mama? 

I thought about the characters. I became wrapped up in the love story of Clarissa and Tom. Theirs is an all-consuming love. Neither of them could ever love anyone else. For them, in their hearts and souls, there is only each other. They implore each other, 'don't let me go. Never let me go.'But they seem destined never to be together. The time and place is wrong, or the circumstances. I had to know how this would end. The passion and the pain of separation of these two people seemed to live beyond the words on the page, to have jumped from the page and become real to me; I cared deeply as to the outcome.  

I loved this novel. It is one of my favourite books of the year 2012 so far, and you can read my full review here. 

Synopsis from the publisher, Headline:

A sweeping debut, perfect for reading groups and fans of Kate Morton and Downton Abbey

A sweepingly epic and gloriously intimate commercial debut - a beautiful and haunting story of lost innocence and a powerful, enduring love.

Clarissa is almost seventeen when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa.

As Tom and Clarissa's friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and another story unfolds: they are not the only people in love. Soon the world - and all that they know - is rocked by a war that changes their lives for ever.

Giveaway guidelines:

Please use the form below to enter.

UK entrants only please on this one.

The competition closes on 31st August 2012.

Two winners will be chosen at random. Each winner will receive one signed paperback copy of the book.

Winners will be contacted by email and need to reply within 48 hours, otherwise another winner or winners will be chosen.

A very special thank you to the author for providing these prizes, and good luck!

You can visit the author's website to find out more about her and this novel.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Thief - Fuminori Nakamura

Translated by Satoko Izumo and Stephen Coates

The Thief works his way through the crowds in Tokyo, skillfully picking pockets as he goes. His techniques are described, and we observe him as he mixes with the throng of people in the city and identifies his targets, smoothly taking their wallets or other possessions, with them oblivious to his actions. He sometimes finds a wallet in his pocket that he himself doesn't even recall taking. He seems a very lonely man, with nothing to deter him from this life of crime, no loved ones. As the story progresses, we learn of a job he was involved in, with a gang of others, including his first partner in the art of thieving, Ishikawa. Having taken part in this job, the thief discovers afterwards that the man they robbed was in fact killed afterwards, and the man who organised this job isn't going to leave the thief alone, hence he is on the alert, always trying to be aware of potential danger.

We know little about the thief's life prior to the present time dealt with in the story; we learn he stole even as a child, and there is the symbol of a tower that dominated his recollections back then. He moves stealthily through the city, stealing from the rich, seemingly unscrupulous, but the thief is human after all; he makes a connection with a poor young boy on the streets, and can't help but try and improve his life in some way. This is a weakness, and he then realises his own life does actually mean something to him. When the thief is given three specific tasks to undertake, in the second half of the novel, I felt this really added to the tension and made me read on with interest and some nervousness. 

This is a short novel compared to most other crime novels I read, at only just over 200 pages. The author won the OE, a prize for Japanese literary novels, in 2010 for this book. I felt this was a very good translation, it reads well. It's a fascinating crime novel, dark in tone, and it offers a sharp observation of an artful pickpocket, a portrait of a man detached from most of society, working alone, rich in monetary terms but leading an empty, shallow existence. I was intrigued enough to want to read on and discover the outcome for the thief, and where his growing bond with the young boy would lead. Ideally I would have liked to know more about the thief's origins, his original motivations perhaps. Was there every anything more to his life than what he has now? Reading groups could discuss the style of the writing, compare this novel to other crime writing, and also debate the morality of the characters and their actions.

Published by Corsair on 16th August 2012.


Reviewed for NewBooks magazine.

The Littlereader Library 100 Follower Giveaway!

Finally it's here - my first giveaway!

I am thrilled to have reached 100 followers and so happy that people enjoy visiting.

Prizes:

There will be 1 winner, and the prize is 1 book chosen by the winner from the three listed below:

The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons


Everything and Nothing by Araminta Hall


A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French

  



I have read and reviewed these books, find my reviews of them on my blog by clicking on the 'Review Directory' tab.

Rules:

Please enter using the form below.

Open to UK and International followers ( in countries which The Book Depository website delivers free to).

Please follow my blog if you'd like to.

The winners will be selected at random.

The winner will be contacted after the close of the giveaway, and if no response is received within two days, a new winner will be chosen.

Entries close on Wednesday 30th November.

Thank you and good luck!