The Writing Garnet turns 5! Happy birthday TWG! #blogger #blogbirthday #TWGTurns5 #Awardwinningblogger

The Writing Garnet is officially 5 years old TODAY! When I started my blog back in 2016, I never envisioned it turning out the way that it has. It never even crossed my mind that my blog could turn into a multi award winning blog (yes, multi), nor did it cross my mind that my review quotes would make their way into physical copies of books or even on the cover of some. Without blowing my own trumpet, I am unbelievably proud of all of that. At the very beginning, my blog was created as my way of saying thank you to authors for writing their books which has allowed me to escape via their words, when things in my personal life have been difficult. It wasn’t created as a popularity tool (because clearly I wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes had that have been the case), nor was it created merely to get free things because, in all honesty, I had no idea that that was even a thing when I first started.

Over the last 5 years I have met a wide variety of authors, met fellow bloggers, other like minded bookish folk, and found myself involved in a world that went beyond just loving books. I had never really had that before. I had never been able to sit and discuss books with people who had read the same book as I, nor would I have ever found the confidence to cart myself off to events such as Edinburgh Book Festival, Aye Write in Glasgow, or even more intimate events such as meeting the Orenda gang in Edinburgh (to name a few), if it wasn’t for a select few of people who, after ‘meeting’ through the online book world, have gone on to becoming real life friends (Jen, Mandie, Kelly, Joanne, Lainy, DC to name a few). Not only that, despite not having met them in real life yet, I have come to know even more people who I consider to be friends now, who one day I would love to be able to give them a hug (COVID permitting, obvs – special shout out to Liz B for being as true as they come). If I named each and every one of the people who I called friends and who I would do anything for, I would be here a while and would no doubt miss someone off so, to put it simply, if we talk, I adore you. Simple as, and I thank you for your kindness and support over the last 5 years.

For me, the highlight so far has got to be meeting Sue Perkins and Tom Fletcher as those were the times where I unintentionally embarrassed my little girl with my high pitched squealing and trampoline bounces. I think I was fair excited……. Would I have been able to meet them had it not been for my blog? Honestly? Probably not as I never knew events like that existed until I became a blogger. I have so many other authors, bloggers, publicists etc, that I would love to meet and I have everything crossed that that will become a reality.

I know blogging isn’t all about stats, but for the first time in ages I had a quick nose at the stats of TWG. In the last 5 years TWG has had:

160,424 views.
84,689 visitors.
1837 blog posts have been posted.

Also, I even worked out roughly how many books I have read over that time…..1270!!! Ermmmmmmmm, say what?

As I may have mentioned previously, 2020 for TWG wasn’t the greatest as, putting it quite bluntly, I was treated like dirt via the bookish community (not all of you, just to clarify), and it hurt me so much that I ended up retreating because I didn’t know what else to do because, as I have also said many times, I’m not the most popular of people and I don’t fit into the tight knit groups. I suppose my face doesn’t fit, so I knew that regardless of what I said and what I did, I wouldn’t have been believed which is unfair and incredibly hurtful. Because of that, my posts within the last year have been few and far between, however I still have been ‘here’ from afar and still able to keep my feet in the door so to speak. Again, I want to thank those who have stood by me, supported me, and been true friends during that time and continue to do so. I see you.

I am super shocked that my little, multi award winning blog turns 5 today. Yes there have been some ups and downs and confidence knocks along the way, and yes, at times I bit off more than I can chew and left myself over stretched. However the joys of anything in life is that you can learn from your mistakes and realise where you went wrong or what needs to change. There is only me running this blog and, even though I like to think that I can do everything, I physically can’t….I just wish it hadn’t taken me 5 years to realise that! Well, in all fairness it’s probably taken me over 20 years to realise that as I recently turned 31 but y’know, semantics.

Creating The Writing Garnet was probably one of the best, on the spur decisions I have ever made and I just want to thank every single author, publisher and publicist who have sent me countless books over the years and trusted me to review your books. I want to thank the organisers of book events of their hard work and dedication in bringing likeminded bookish folk together. I also want to thank each and every person I have come to know and admire for being true to themselves and becoming good friends of mine. I have your backs – you are all awesome. Major shout out to my fellow bloggers, and anyone who is thinking about starting a blog – you’ve got this! Just remember it’s okay to say no….

On that note, happy birthday to TWG! Heres to another year full of weird and wonderful books, intriguing debuts, and a truck load of reviews.

TWG x

#BlogTour! #Review – Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (@PeterSwanson3) @FaberBooks

I am delighted to be hosting Peter Swanson and ‘Before She Knew Him’ today as part of the blog tour. Huge thank to Faber for the blog tour invite and ARC. Here is my review:

‘They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.’

When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Mass., they’re relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door. 

When they’re invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew’s study. Could this charming, mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn’t seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger?

What does TWG think?

My mind is still reeling from this book!! ‘Before She Knew Him’ is a slow burner where the characters personalities don’t come into their own until the story becomes stronger the further it progressed. That’s not a bad thing at all, in fact it was a wise move from the author because we got to know more about the characters on an intimate basis, one by one, highlighting their flaws alongside the wonders of their personalities.

I will admit that I wasn’t too taken on the overall storyline to begin with as there seemed to be a lot of bouts of ‘nothing’ with limited amounts of ‘something’, and I struggled to see just what the hook was. However, due to my sheer nosiness, my intrigue overtook everything else and I persevered. Boy I’m glad I did! Once I stopped looking for the big thing in the book, I was able to relax and just go with the flow which meant that I was able to enjoy the cleverly written psychological elements of the book.

Mental health is the main theme of the book, but the way in which the author incorporated the theme into his storyline caught me completely off guard. Before I knew it, there were shocking situations and jaw dropping admissions shooting off from all angles – it’s safe to say that I raced through the final part of the book!

Peter Swanson is such a clever author who has written a blinder of a novel which kept on surprising me until the very last page. I am so glad that I persevered with ‘Before She Knew Him’ – i highly recommend this gritfest!!

Buy now!

#BlogTour! #Review – The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin (@FaberBooks)

Today I am on the blog tour for the late, Celia Fremlin’s novel, ‘The Long Shadow’. Many thank to Joanna Lee from Faber Books for the blog tour invite and ARC. Here is my review:

From the Edgar Award-winning author of The Hours Before Dawn

Jolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can’t quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can’t honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago.

As the nights draw in, Imogen finds her home filling up with unexpected Christmas guests, who may be looking for more than simple festive cheer. Has someone been rifling through Ivor’s papers? Who left the half-drunk whiskey bottle beside his favourite chair? And why won’t that man stop phoning, insisting he can prove Imogen’s guilt?

What does TWG think?

You will have to excuse my ignorance, but up until receiving a copy of the book, I was unaware of Celia Fremlin and just how impressive her literary back catalogue was. As bad as this sounds, I didn’t even realise the author had passed away until I read the biographical piece at the end, and I found myself googling her history. It’s safe to say that, books aside, Celia Fremlin had a rather heartbreaking personal life having been pre-deceased by all three children and her husband. I know that this is meant to be a review about her book, but I couldn’t ignore the late author’s life. I hope that wherever she is, she is incredibly proud of the legacy she has left behind.

‘The Long Shadow’ was certainly an ‘out of comfort zone’ read for me personally. I do like unique reads, but I hold my hands up and say that I did spend a lot of time frowning whilst I read it. Why? Because the storyline was very intense psychologically. I don’t mean that in a bad way, nor do I mean it in a ‘omg head funk’ type of way, just to clarify. I mean it in a rollercoaster, suspenseful sort of way with a hint of confusion. I guess the fact the storyline didn’t seem to have a path that was set in stone, ensured my mind worked overtime to keep up with all of the characters and their individual situations.

I thought that Imogen was a very crafty character as I didn’t know whether to trust the things that came out of her mouth. She had a sort of questionable vibe to her personality and, whilst it irked me at times, it added to the quirky ness of the overall storyline. Don’t get me started Robin though! Eeeesh!!!!

‘The Long Shadow’ was a very, very different type of novel, one which I enjoyed and also one which I found myself sitting on the fence for. Either way, the overall premise kept me enthralled and entertained in an addictive way.

Buy now!

#BlogTour! #MiniReview – The Shrouded Path by Sarah Ward (@sarahrward1) @FaberBooks

Delighted to be on the blog tour for Sarah Ward’s, ‘The Shrouded Path’. Big thanks to Faber & Faber for the blog tour invite and the ARC. Here is my mini review of the book:

The past won’t stay buried forever.

November, 1957: Six teenage girls walk in the churning Derbyshire mists, the first chills of winter in the air. Their voices carrying across the fields, they follow the old train tracks into the dark tunnel of the Cutting. Only five appear on the other side.

October, 2014: a dying mother, feverishly fixated on a friend from her childhood, makes a plea: ‘Find Valerie.’ Mina’s elderly mother had never discussed her childhood with her daughter before. So who was Valerie? Where does her obsession spring from?

DC Connie Childs, off balance after her last big case, is partnered up with new arrival to Bampton, Peter Dahl. Following up on what seems like a simple natural death, DC Childs’ old instincts kick in, pointing her right back to one cold evening in 1957. As Connie starts to broaden her enquiries, the investigation begins to spiral increasingly close to home.

What does TWG think?

If you fancy on picking up a Sarah Ward novel for the first time, perhaps it might even be this one, please do bear in mind that ‘The Shrouded Path’ is the fourth book in the ‘DC Childs’ series. I have a habit of starting series right in the middle but, seeing as I had hoped that I could read this book and dive straight into it without reading the others, I now wish that I had researched a bit more beforehand and read the previous books first. Why? Because I feel that you would benefit a lot more if you read the books in order. Unfortunately my error meant that I felt as though I was reading a book with several puzzle pieces missing.

However, I must say that I was thoroughly enthralled by Sarah Ward’s writing as each individual word seemed to be the beholder of deep suspense. Okay, the pace was slightly slow to start with but by golly, once I got into the swing of things, I ended up becoming highly invested in Connie Child’s actions, as well as Mina’s life. There is a lot more to ‘The Shrouded Path’ that meets the eye and, whilst I am a bit disappointed that I couldn’t read the book as a plain sailing standalone, I thought that the barrage of questions surrounding the identity of ‘Valerie’ and the natural, unsuspicious deaths, made for excellent reading.

I definitely will be reading more from Sarah Ward as I will certainly be starting with book one in this series! Highly intriguing!

Buy now!

#TWGDiscusses – Please STOP saying that e-books aren’t REAL books – it’s offensive! #authors #publishers #ebooks #paperbacks #lovebooks

I feel like I’m stuck on repeat where this topic is concerned, yet STILL people continue to offend hundreds of authors, and readers, out there with comments such as ‘e-books aren’t real books’. How aren’t they real? An author spends the same amount if time writing a book whether it’s published in e-book, paperback, hardback or on a slate -eye roll-, so why do people continue to say that other formats of books aren’t real?

Let me ask you this….

You know those ‘friends’ you’ve made online yet haven’t currently met offline, would you say that they weren’t ‘real friends’ because they were made online? Probably not, so why is it okay to say that a book, published in a digital format, isn’t as real as those friends you have made using technology?

Think about it.

Authors can spend anything from a few months to a few years, perfecting their manuscript ready for publication, going through various steps such as multiple edits, restructures and so forth – it’s not like they wake up one morning, sit at their computer for an hour and produce a book. It takes time and a lot of patience. Once that manuscript is given to their publisher, it’s then digitalised and printed. Yes, contrary to popular belief, the same manuscript is used for a digital book AND a print book. Who would have thought it?! Obviously with a paperback/hardback you are physically turning the pages and holding the book with two hands, yet with a kindle you’re holding it differently and using one finger to change a page. BUT, have you thought about the different types of readers that are out there in the world? No?

Well you should.

Some readers can’t hold paperbacks/hardbacks due to illnesses.
Some readers can’t read books full stop because they’re blind and rely on audio.
Some readers are chronically ill and they require various different options, depending on their pain on that particular day.
Some readers have various different reasons as to why they would choose one format over another.

All of the above have one thing in common – they all want to read!!

I’ll be honest with you here. Several years ago I would have given you a filthy look if you had said about reading an e-book, but after realising that I was missing out on such fabulous books, I decided to give it a go. Not only that, several years ago I became a lot more ill and holding things for a long period of time was becoming impossible. E-books helped me to feel ‘normal’ and read books just like everyone else, on days where I felt like I couldn’t do anything like everyone else.

I appreciate that not everyone likes e-books and that they prefer paperbacks/hardbacks – that is totally fine! But what isn’t okay is when people say that they prefer ‘real’ books which is insinuating that a digital version of an authors book, is in fact fake. Can’t you see how offensive that is to the author? Just because a book is digitalised instead of being printed on paper, it doesn’t make it any less of a book!

Those ‘real book’ comments are not only offensive to the author who has written them, it’s also offensive to a reader reading them as if the 100 kindle books read last year shouldn’t be included in their Goodreads challenge because they’re ‘not real’. And yes, someone has said that before. If you don’t like e-books, fine! If you don’t like paperbacks, that’s also fine!

But please, please, please STOP saying that e-books aren’t real when they’re as real as the money you paid for them.

Oh, and as those comments are being made on a DIGITAL website, I can’t help but think ‘well isn’t that ironic’. Put your nose where it belongs, remove your snobbery and let people read the books they choose, in the format that they choose without offending a truck load of people in the process.

ALL books are real.
Instead of bashing people with the stupid ‘they aren’t real books’ comments, be happy that people are actually reading and supporting authors in any way they can. Surely that is more important than your snobbery?

#BlogTour! #Review – The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer (@Kate_hamer) @FaberBooks

Thank you to Faber&Faber for the blog tour invite and a proof copy of the book. Here is my review:

My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They’re not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say. I’m supposed to say that the bruises on my arms and the black eye came from falling down the stairs.

But there are things I won’t say. I won’t tell them I’m going to hunt for my real parents. I don’t say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw on the way to bed.

I did tell Mick that I saw the woman in the buttercup dress, hanging upside down from her seat belt deep in the forest at the back of our house. I told him I saw death crawl out of her. He said he’d give me a medal for lying.

I wasn’t lying. I’m a hunter for lost souls and I’m going to be with my real family. And I’m not going to let Mick stop me.

What does TWG think?

Good golly!!! Where do I even begin?!

You’ve got to agree with me that the title of this book is extremely intriguing, right?! As soon as I received the e-mail alerting me to this book, I knew straight away that with a title like ‘The Doll Funeral’, the storyline wasn’t going to be all unicorns and rainbows. Well, not that it took much to work that out but you know what I mean.

As a new author for me to read, I was looking forward to seeing how Kate Hamer executed her words – especially seeing as this was the very first time I had heard of her!

Within the first couple of pages, it soon became clear that ‘The Doll Funeral’ was exceptionally dark and twisted. Ruby has been living a lie for so long and, seeing as she now knows the ‘truth’, Ruby decides enough is enough and attempts to find the light in her life.

Unfortunately for Ruby though, things aren’t quite that simple – especially given the fact that Ruby can see a lot more than she lets on. No, really…

I have to say that Kate Hamer certainly knows how to reel her readers in! Even when I found myself reading parts of the book through my fingers, it was the authors execution of the storyline which became an addiction. Being totally truthful, I found a lot of the story quite difficult to read in terms of its theme and overall presence. However, I fully appreciated the authors literary talent throughout the entire novel.

Despite not being a huge fan of paranormal experiences, I couldn’t help but be curious where Ruby was concerned.

‘The Doll Funeral’ is not for the faint hearted at all but, due to the authors incredible writing skills, I was able to engage with the storyline a lot more than I had originally thought. Very cleverly written.

Thanks FaberBooks.

Buy now from Amazon UK

TWG’s #TopBooksof2017! @Bookouture @TeamBATC @Headlinepg @HQDigitalUK @AvonBooksUK @ChoclitUK

It’s that time of year again when most publishers, bloggers, readers, publicists, (you catch my drift) go through their ‘read’ books of the year, ready to compile a list of their most favourite books. A yearly ritual which sees ‘TBR’ piles growing even bigger, lists being compared, and readers finding new books they wouldn’t have dared to pick up until they read that particular list. A ritual where all the fabulous books us readers/bloggers have fallen in love with over the past year, get celebrated once again.

In lament terms, we get to gush. Having read a total of 318 books in 2017, I knew my #TopBooks list wasn’t going to be small. Have you SEEN the books published this year!? 2017 has been an outstanding year for books. So many debut authors have shone with their debut novels, whilst other authors many already love have upped their game with yet another novel. I have managed to get my list down to a Top 40 otherwise we would have been here until next year going through them, but, in all honesty, I could have happily put most of those 318 books on this list!

In absolutely NO particular order, here are TWG’s #TopBooksof2017!

 

1. A Song for Tomorrow by Alice Peterson
(You can read my review here)
2. The Legacy of Lucy Harte by Emma Heatherington
(You can read my review here)
3. Before You Go by Clare Swatman
(You can read my review here)
4. Sister, Sister by Sue Fortin
(You can read my review here)
5. The Quiet Man by James Carol
(You can read my review here)
6. The Second Chance Tea Shop by Fay Kennan
(You can read my review here)
7. The Year of Saying Yes by Hannah Doyle
(I am still due a full review for all parts of this book – watch this space!)
8. Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland
(You can read my review here)
9. The Woman at Number 24 by Juliet Ashton
(You can read my review here)
10. The Wedding Girls by Kate Thompson.
(You can read my review here)

11. Blink by K.L.Slater
(You can read my review here)
12. A Time to Change by Callie Langridge
(You can read my review here)
13. The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan
(You can read my review here)
14. Too Damn Nice by Kathryn Freeman
(You can read my review here)
15. Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul
(You can read my review here)
16. The Law of Attraction by Roxie Cooper
(You can read my review here)
17. I’m Still Standing (previously titled ‘Reach For the Stars) by Colleen Coleman
(You can read my review here)
18. 37 Hours by J.F.Kirwan
(You can read my review here)
19. If You Could See Me Now by Keris Stainton
(You can read my review here)
20. Til The Dust Settles by Pat Young
(You can read my review here)

21. The Betrayed by Casey Kelleher
(You can read my review here)
22. The Detriment by David Videcette
(You can read my review here)
23. The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans
(You can read my review here)
24. Skin Deep by Laura Wilkinson
(You can read my review here)
25. Trust Me by Angela Clarke
(You can read my review here)
26. Summer at the Dog and Duck by Jill Steeples
(You can read my review here)
27. Hot Mess by Lucy Vine
(You can read my review here)
28. It Started With a Tweet by Anna Bell
(You can read my review here)
29. A Little Christmas Faith by Kathryn Freeman
(You can read my review here)
30. A Little Luck, A Lot of Faith by Linn.B.Halton
(You can read my review here)

31. Dying Breath by Helen Phifer
(You can read my review here)
32. Dying Day by Stephen Edgar
(You can read my review here)
33. Scream Blue Murder by Tony.J.Forder
(You can read my review here)
34. The Little Clock House series (book 1&2) by Eve Devon
(Reviews can be found here and here)
35. Murder Game by Caroline Mitchell
(You can find my review here)
36. The Lost Child by Patricia Gibney
(You can find my review here)
37. The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen
(You can read my review here)
38. How To Be Champion by Sarah Millican
(I still need to write my review for this book – watch this space!)
39. Bad Sister by Sam Carrington
(You can read my review here)
40. The Other Mother by Judith Baker
(You can read my review here)

Phew! I’m knackered now! If any of the above books tickle your fancy, all purchase links can be found on the review link below each title. So many incredible books written by such fantastic authors – it has been an absolute honour to have been given ARC’s of a majority of the above books. I would like to say a huge thank you to:

Simon&Shuster // ChocLitUK // Harper Impulse // PanMacMillan // Bookouture // Aria
Headline // Bombshell Books/Bloodhound Books // HQDigitalUK // Faber Books 
Accent Press // Avon // Orion // Orenda & Bonnier Zaffre

for giving me the opportunity to read all of the above books. I would also like to thank all of the authors above for writing such jaw dropping and emotional reads! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – this year has been a fantastic year for books and I want to extend another thank you to every author and publisher behind each and every one of the 318 books I have read this year. Just like many readers, I use books to escape and without you writing/publishing those books, I truly don’t think that I would be able to cope.

Whilst 2017 has blown me away, 2018 is set to be another brilliant year for books as well – my number one novel to watch out for in 2018 is ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ by Sarah Vaughan which is due to be published on the 11th January 2018. I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this book before publication and you can read my review (as well as pre-order the book) by clicking here.

Did any of YOUR favourites pop up in my #TopBooksof2017? Let me know in the comments if any have, or whether you have decided to nab a few of these books for your own TBR piles!

2017, it has been a bookish pleasure. I cannot WAIT to see what 2018 brings in terms of books!

#BlogTour! #Review – #TheLastPlaceYouLook by Kristen Lepionka @KMLwrites @faberbooks

Sarah Cook, a beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton – black and from the wrong side of the tracks – was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case.

Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah’s vanishing act, especially when she thinks she’s linked Sarah’s disappearance to one of her father’s unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad’s life and her own.

With echoes of Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane and the hit podcast Serial, The Last Place You Look is the gripping debut of both a bold new voice and character.

What does TWG think?

Despite being content knocking back countless shots of whiskey, Roxane Weary knows that her bank balance won’t exactly be jumping for joy. Luckily for Roxane an out of the blue phone call from a lady with a cheque book, seems to be enough to knock her backside into gear. For now.

A missing teenager. Her dead parents. A man on death row. His sister adamant that he’s innocent. Outlandish? Maybe so. Impossible to solve in two months? Who knows…

The story started with a character hangover and a missing person, but it didn’t take long for the storyline to turn incredibly twisted. Whilst PI Roxane Weary is ballsy and determined, I am genuinely surprised that she didn’t land herself in more trouble. She got herself into some scrapes, that’s for sure. But, I could see why she did. She was going with her gut instinct and in my eyes, that made up for the fact she chose not to use her noggin.

Having read multiple storylines which start off with a missing person just like this one, I really hoped that the story was going to be unique and not just be a case of hide and seek. Thankfully, the plot grew darker and darker with every chapter. Just when I thought that the case was nearly solved, something else came out of the woodwork and turned the investigation on its head.

I found it exceptionally easy to get lost in the storyline, mirroring the main characters frustrations in the investigation which resulted in a complete, and utter head funk. I didn’t know whether I was coming or going! There were so many police offers popping up sporadically, I couldn’t keep track! By the way, everything I’ve mentioned so far is all good as I was so invested in the book.

Most of the time I liked Roxane’s uniqueness, and her ‘I don’t give a f…’ attitude to regulations. However, I did find myself disliking the way she refused to take certain things seriously. There’s being laid back and then there’s being uninterested, and I found that Roxane was the latter. Don’t get me wrong, she was determined to get results and I praise her for that, but I felt that something was missing and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what.

Overall, ‘The Last Place You Look’ was a dark, and twisted story which managed to keep me on my toes. I thoroughly enjoyed the intensity of the plot as well as the rollercoaster ride of events. Such a promising debut from author, Kristen Lepionka, I am looking forward to seeing what she produces next.

Thanks Faber and Faber.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#TWGGetsTalking – How to tell the difference between being nasty & being constructive #reviews

You should all know by now that I like to talk, ESPECIALLY when I am passionate about something and believe that it needs to be spoken about.

Once again, opinions have been thrust into the limelight and definitions have been questioned. Before I explain further, I’m just going to paste the Oxford dictionary definitions of two words; nasty, and constructive.

Nasty: very bad, or unpleasant.
(definition of unpleasant is: Causing discomfort, unhappiness, or revulsion; disagreeable.)

Constructive: Having or intended to have a useful or beneficial purpose.

Two completely different word with extremely clear definitions, yet people are still getting confused by the two words.

Why?

As a reviewer, I have always been made aware that authors (or anyone who gets critiqued) tend to appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE reviews as opposed to NASTY reviews. With both types of reviews your opinion is given – that is NOT the issue. After all, every person on this Earth is entitled to their opinion. We are allowed to dislike something. We are allowed to express our dislike of something. We are allowed to jump for joy about something. What the issue is, however, is the WAY those points are put across.

Believe me, I open my trap before my brain connects sometimes, ending up with goodness knows what flying out of my mouth. But when it comes to reviews, I am extremely careful about how I voice my opinion.

For example; ‘Omg I hated that book, it was absolutely shit, the author bored me to tears.’

What’s wrong with that sentence?

Okay, so, the example above is someones opinion. They’re entitled to that. Answer me this; was it constructive, or nasty?

If you said that the example was a constructive comment: seriously? How does saying that a book was ‘shit’, come across as beneficial to the author?
It doesn’t.

It’s rude and it’s nasty. Imagine if you cooked a meal for a group of people and someone came up to you afterwards and said that they thought your cooking was absolutely vile, would you benefit from that?

To turn the above example into a constructive opinion, here’s an example:
‘Personally, this book wasn’t really my cup of tea as I couldn’t quite gel with the storyline. I felt that it came across as quite over the top and unrealistic, which in turn made me switch off.’

The different between the two examples is substantial. The example above still highlights your dislike, yet it also explains WHY you felt that way. It’s also not personally attacking the person who wrote the book, whilst still keeping your opinion entitlement intact.

Whilst authors are painfully aware that their books could end up with negative reviews and their book babies critiqued, it doesn’t mean that just because they have put something in the public eye, that they should expect nasty comments or personal attacks.

YES, they have written something which will get critiqued.
YES, everyones opinion does differ.
YES, readers are entitled to dislike their book.

Just DON’T be nasty about it!

In book clubs, you’re going to have the perfect opportunity to talk about various books whether it’s an online or offline. But, do you think that it’s respectful to openly blast and author and their book, in an online book club which they could be a member of?
Yes or no?

No it’s not!!! Go ahead and state your opinion about a book, but if you’re going to sit there and say that a book is so bad and how you wanted to ‘light a match under it’; that’s not stating your opinion, it’s called being nasty.

As we hear all the time, not everyone will like the same book. Well duh! I fully admit that I have read a book and disliked it. But instead of reviewing it nastily, I gave it a constructive review as there will always be something in a book that you’ll like. I explained what I didn’t like about the book, I also explained WHY I didn’t like those parts, how it made me feel, and so on. I also explained what I DID like about the book. I still managed to express my opinion on the book, without insulting a human being with feelings in the process.

So, if you’re ever in an online book group where the admin have asked you to talk about books in a constructive manner; respectfully do it. They aren’t taking away your freedom of speech. They aren’t banishing you from stating your opinion. They are just asking you to express your opinion respectfully and constructively. Authors have feelings too.

It really isn’t that difficult to do..

#BlogTour! #Review – #TheQuietMan by James Carol (@JamesCarolBooks) @faberbooks

Eeek!!! I am beyond excited to be the second tour stop on James Carol’s blog tour for his new book, The Quiet Man, which is out on the 4th May (paperback, e-book 2nd May). Big, big thank you to FaberBooks (Lauren) for inviting me to be part of this blog tour, here’s to many more! I really do hope you enjoy reading my review!

In Vancouver, the wife of a millionaire is dead following an explosion in her own home.

Everyone thinks her husband is responsible, but former FBI profiler Jefferson Winter isn’t so sure. The method is too perfect; the lack of mistakes, uncanny. He’s seen a series of carefully orchestrated murders – once a year, on exactly the same day, a woman dies in a situation just like this one.

That date is fast approaching and Winter knows another victim has been selected. Can he identify the quiet man before he strikes again?

What does TWG think?

Oh.My.Goodness!!!! Where on Earth do I begin?! I started James’ novel at the weekend, and I also finished it at the weekend! If you follow me on social media you would have noticed how animated another blogger and I were about this book (HI CLAIRE! P.S her tour stop is Friday!). Before now, I had only heard of James Carol’s books and unfortunately never read one; what a fool. What a major, major fool I am. WHY HAVE I NOT READ ANY OF HIS BOOKS BEFORE!?!?! If you know the answer to that please….don’t tell me as I feel utterly ashamed of myself -rocks backwards and forwards-.

Let me just clear one thing up – ‘The Quiet Man’ IS from the ‘Jefferson Winter Thriller’ series, however, you can read this novel as a standalone as it doesn’t require any knowledge of the previous books to enjoy the plot. That said, if you’re anything like me, you’ll read ‘The Quiet Man’ and head straight onto Amazon to binge buy his other novels. Yes, yes, I did do that. Lets just say I have found a new favourite author (& series) thanks to this book. OH, EM, GEE!

Jefferson Winter is AMAZING! Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of him or bump into him down a dark alley, but oh, he really is a phenomenal lead character. Not only does he have a charismatic personality, he also has an authoritative air about him which he adds humour to, A LOT. I don’t mean ‘knock knock, who’s there?’ type funny, I mean dry, sarcastic humour that makes you laugh out loud and think ‘burn!’. Ooops, pardon the pun…

As much as I would love to scream and shout about how amazing and complex the plot is with snippets, I really do not want to land myself in hot water by giving away spoilers. The storyline IS incredibly complex and every piece of information is linked to something else, which increases the suspense level with every turn of the page. Absolutely brilliant. What amazed me the most was the high level of detail throughout the entire storyline as every part of the investigation had been meticulously thought through by the author. I could tell that this storyline was a labour of love instead of a rush against time.

‘The Quiet Man’ is such a gripping, intense, and fast paced read which took me prisoner from the very beginning. Carol’s bold and addictive writing style had me hanging onto every word he wrote and every mood he described, whilst also pulling me into the storyline as though I was seeing things with my very own eyes.

Honestly, I could gush about this book all day, it really was THAT fantastic. I loved the entire book; there was absolutely nothing that I felt could have been done differently. Usually I find books like this to be out of my comfort zone, but with ‘The Quiet Man’, I honestly don’t think that I could have felt MORE in my comfort zone.

If you’re looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, forget how to breathe, and feel as though time is on fast forward; then this book is for you. Without Faber Books alerting me to this phenomenal read, I probably would have missed out on finding my brand new favourite book and series, just like ‘The Quiet Man’ and Jefferson Winter have become.

A truly unputdownable novel, I honestly cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you so much Faber Books.

Buy now from Amazon UK
Buy now from Amazon US