I’ll keep it a teeny bit subdued, as when I get excited about something at the start, things have a tendency to nosedive…
It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? We end with awful atrocities still happening in Ukraine, the awful war between Hamas and Israel, tearing Gaza apart, and poverty on the increase in so many places as the cost of living has soared.
We had the new King’s coronation here in the UK in May, too. Another historic event.
Personally, things have been up and down. I had the release of my second book, Straight As A Jalebi, which was wonderful. I visited the London Book Fair for the first time, and to be surrounded by so many like-minded folks was unreal. I got to meet my publishers, face to face, for the first time, too!
My brother visited with my Finndian family and we had such fun! My best friend finally came to stay with her daughter, too, which was a long overdue visit.
Lil Man passed his A-Levels with fantastic grades and started his new job and apprenticeship.
But, along with lots of fun, we had dark patches. Some lasting longer than others. It’s not something I will go into here, but I will say that I would never wish that kind of time on any parent, ever. Thankfully, things are looking brighter, and hopefully, they will continue increasing.
As a result of the hardships, I barely wrote. Reading and books were my solace for a long time, as we battled through.
Now, as you are aware, I have chosen a word to accompany that year over the last few years, as I haven’t set resolutions.
2019 – it was SELF. And I am happy to say I have been pretty good at keeping that self-care up since then, too!
2020 – BELIEVE. Well, let’s all agree that 2020 was a kinda unbelievable year, all in all, with the pandemic and BLM… However, I did believe. And my beliefs meant that 2020 was the year I finally became a published author!
2021 – I chose the word HOPE. I think we all needed hope to pull us through what I found to be a tougher year than 2020 in many ways. I travelled through it, exhausted and worried about everyone and everything around me. But I did keep that hope alive, within.
2022 – my choice was CREATE. I’d like to think that I managed a bit of all that I had hoped to achieve!
2023 – I chose the word STRENGTH. I started with a different thought in my mind, regarding the meaning of that word. Reaching the end of this year, I know I have gained strength, but in ways I never thought I would be tested.
So, last year I centred my Word Of The Year aspirations on these five things.
Build my strength up physically, as I know that will help me as I enter that middle-aged time of life.
I started off so well… I trained for a short while, daily, with a plan created by (not so) Lil Man, so I could build my core strength up. Then, I got ill and never quite got back to it. Oops!
Have the strength to face all the ups and downs that will come because that is life.
I think I get the crown for this one. I am not sure I have ever lived the rollercoaster of emotions that we faced as a family, this year… But I am still standing, and currently, we are in a good place!
Be strong for my family and have the strength to fight for what is right for them, not the rest of the world.
This one, I 100% did, and will continue to do. I have to be there for my children and the best decisions for them. And I have pushed for everything to make things right for them.
Build my community around me, be it my physical friends and family or my online ones, as there is strength in numbers.
I think this one has worked too, as even though my blogging calmed down considerably after August due to circumstances out of my control, the blogily I have around me kept in touch with me and helped me through a tough time. And building numbers? Well, yes, that happened too, as SM changed, and Twitter went to X, we got Threads and Blue Sky… plus I made more and more firm friends through my publisher and groups on Facebook.
Ensure I keep the strength in myself so that I never lose myself under the demands of my life.
This is a big one. We faced some awful situations as a family, this year, and one of the reasons I stepped back from regular blogging was to ensure I didn’t lose myself. Because if I did that, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the needs of others, and I wouldn’t have been strong enough to cope with everything
So, which word do I add to my list for 2024?
I thought long and hard and came up with this:
Balance
Create balance within our home life
Balance my work/home life to leave time for my writing
Balance time for myself along with time for others
And with this post, off I go to start that new year, filled with Self, Belief, Hope, creation, strength and BALANCE!
2023… I read many, many books, which were wonderful, but I am glad to see the end of you, as a year. It’s not been my best… Goodreads I completed 157 books this year, and that isn’t counting some I proof read or read as an alpha reader! When they send me my update, I’ll be sure to share!
I’m starting the month with no arcs… You know it won’t last. It never does! (Okay, so there were at least 7 by the end of the month that were arcs!)
Isaac and the Egg was a brilliant read, making me eager to get into this second novel by Bobby Palmer. Jack is a man who thinks he’s got everything he wants in life until he doesn’t. His job suddenly disappears, and then he gets a call to scare him. His mother has disappeared. Somewhere along the way, he saves a fox, who ends up following him as he goes to help his sister in finding his mother. Once home it becomes apparent how distant his relationship with his father has become. I don’t want to go into it too much, but just, WOW! A delicate, unique way of detailing the complex relationship of a father and son, with the added bonus of a talking fox! Palmer has an intriguing writing style, and the book’s different voices are highlighted in different ways through the prose format. It may not be for everyone, but if it is for you, it is guaranteed to be a hit! Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC.
Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book so much! The scene is set five years ago with a young journalist and the lead singer of an up-and-coming band meeting at an interview and hitting it off in multiple ways. Fast forward to the present. Annie is stuck in a mediocre job for an online website, writing content that is nothing groundbreaking. Then her boss throws her a lifeline, but it means interviewing someone she really doesn’t want to. Will is in a dead-end job, barely existing, and he spends his spare time helping out on an anonymous crisis line. This wasn’t the life he dreamed of. Through twists of fate, Annie and Will end up on the phone, unidentified, and they develop a strong bond despite not knowing anything about one another. But fate has other ideas… I was gripped through the whole story and whizzed through it in a day. As a reader, you know what you want to happen, but you have to see the grizzly bits through first until fate finally delivers! Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC.
What a beautiful book! I love GBBO as much as anyone else, and preparing to read a story based on a similar programme excited me. But the biggest pull was that the main character was a woman in her senior years. Jenny Quinn is seventy-seven years old. She doesn’t feel like she has achieved much in her life, apart from being a brilliant baker, her husband of fifty-nine years, Bernard, would agree. As would her neighbours and family, who are treated to her baking delights regularly. She watches Britan Bakes regularly, and this year, something prompted her to apply. She is probably the most shocked when she is invited to an audition. Keeping that a secret is one of the hardest things for her, as she hides nothing from Bernard. Well, almost nothing. There is one more secret. Something huge that eats away at Jenny. It is revealed in short bursts through the story, as we see Jenny’s journey through the contest, how she has to deal with modern life alongside her traditional way of baking and living, and how she interacts with the different people she meets along the way. I don’t quite know how to praise this book as much as I want to. I loved it. Jenny is a beautiful character, as is Bernard. I already recommended this one to my mum! Many thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for an ARC.
With this eighth instalment in the Hart’s Ridge series, Kay Bratt has done it again! We have each family member beginning to move forward in their disrupted lives, and of course, there is an awful case that Taylor has to help solve, too. Initially, this was meant to be the last in the series, but I am thankful that Bratt has decided to continue for now with another story in the series, and now I can’t wait for that, too!
I’ve not read Val Penny’s books as yet, but I was sent this collection, and I must say that this collection of stories has whetted my appetite for the different series Penny writes. Each of the stories hook you in. Some are slightly longer, involving two of Penny’s famous DIs, and some are shorter, but each story is captivating, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one! It has made me want to add the rest of Penny’s books to my neverending TPR pile!
Out 16th January, 2024. Bettina will be joining me for a Book and a Brew in January, so I will share my review then!
Having read The Familiars, I was intrigued to read another of Stacey Halls’s historical books, and The Household did not disappoint. With a base planted in truth, Halls adds a layer of imagination to the story of Charles Dickens’ home for fallen women, Urania Cottage, backed by Miss Burdett-Coutts and some of its earliest (fictitious) residents. In the 1800s, Dickens had the idea of creating this refuge or home to rehabilitate those known as fallen women, teaching them household jobs and skills, with a view to transporting them to Australia to start new lives. In reality, he had much to do with choosing the women granted access to this opportunity. In the book, we don’t see much of Dickens. The story revolves around the girls who are the first residents and their backstories, as well as the horrific stalking that Angela Burdett-Coutts experienced for a length of time. The historical aspect of the story, peppered with facts but liberally seasoned with fiction leaves readers with a wonderful reading experience. And a mention of Gravesend (my home for 20 years!) at the end made my day! Many thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for an ARC.
Evie meets Joe while she is dressed as the Sugarplum Fairy and he the Nutcracker. Sounds like it was meant to be from the off… however, if that were that, we would be finished within the first couple of chapters. No. Evie is not feeling things at work as an editor or in her personal life. The chance meeting with the fancy-dressed Joe sparks a moment of reprieve until he disappears. Disheartened, she takes extended leave from her job and disappears to Glastonbury, recommended by a work colleague, Milly. There, she meets a host of intriguing characters who take an interest in her life, and she is led to the Keanu Kindness Cafe. I LOVED this concept. Keanu Reeves is one of the most amazing souls out there, and to have a cafe dedicated to him and his philanthropic work was an idea of genius, as was the RAOK jar! Oh, and Joe? He turns up, too! What a coincidence! There is a brilliant ‘will they/won’t they?’ aspect of the story as it builds, and faces Evie would rather not see turn up, too. Great fun, and a wonderful way to get into the Christmas Spirit!
Another beautiful story written by the queen of women’s fiction, Amanda Prowse! This story follows the lives of two individuals, with no real connection, from different walks of life, who somehow meet and enrich the life of the other. Emma is drowning in responsibility, with three children, each with different needs and demands, a husband who does try to help, a best friend with a bombshell of her own, and an ailing mother who requires her support, all while grieving her father. Thurston is an octagenarian, recently bereaved, losing his beloved wife of sixty-two years. He feels life is not worth living without his precious wife. A chance meeting sparks the beginning of an unconventional friendship, where they slowly change each other’s thinking. I loved the main characters Prowse created here. Both are relatable to readers. Emma, the rushed off her feel mother, with so much going on, hit a nerve with me. Thurston is the nail on the head as that man who devoted his life to a woman and feels lost without her beside him. The cast of side characters was brilliant, too, from Roz, Emma’s best friend, to Nancy, Thursston’s niece and the piece in the puzzle that initially connects the two. Grief is the story’s main theme, and how we can overcome it without forgetting. A beautiful read, as always.
This is the first of Victoria Walter’s books I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Firstly, I love a book set in the book world (A library), with literature and writing at the heart, as well as romantic films! Liv is working in her dream place, in a university library, with a colleague turned best friend, Stevie, living with her brother Dan, in London. Her dream of writing a romantic book floats in her mind, but she feels it will never happen, seeing as she can’t even sort her love life out. Enter her brother’s best friend, Aiden. Annoying, and her nemesis for the last ten years. She suddenly finds herself living with and working with him as he changes jobs and needs a place to stay, But, the thing is, they have history. A past event which haunts her, and an annoyingly sexy Irish accent to go with his annoyingly Mr Darcy-esque looks… As Liv battles to control her emotions, inspiration strikes and she begins writing her first ever romantic novel, with, annoyingly, Aiden as the base for her romantic lead. And as she writes, life begins to imitate her art, or is it the other way round? This was a fun, easy read, I loved Liv and her fantastic dress sense! Her confusion at her feelings makes for a great story, and Aiden reads like the perfect romantic hero. A great enemies-to-lovers story with a little bit of a spice alert, too! Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Zoe Rosi’s thrillers so far, and Courier was no different, but unique in its way. Bob is a courier who becomes infatuated with the haunted-looking face of a woman in a house where he makes deliveries. His infatuation leads him to become much more involved in her life than he should, as he begins to dream of a future and becoming her saviour. Something quite easy for a faceless delivery man who no one takes notice of. Courier is a novella written in the first person, filled with twists and turns that keep a reader involved in the story from beginning to end. I have to say I felt quite sorry for Bob and his life, though I wouldn’t recommend the route he decides to take! A well-written story about stalking and obsession and consequences. I will definitely be paying more attention to our couriers in the future, that’s for sure! Many thanks to NetGalley and Lighthouse Press for an ARC.
Releasing 30th January, 2024
So, tell me what you have been reading, and what caught your eye from the above!
Twas the morning of Christmas And all through the house One creature was zooming But not after a mouse Sonu Singh stared at the presents with glee “I wonder which wrapped up box is for me?”
The teens still lay, sleeping, And Daddy, too “Well, kitty,” said Mummy, “it’s just me and you.” She scritched his head, and he settled beside her The only sound audible, his gentle purr
Enjoying the calm before the madness A book and a cuppa, Christmas morn gladness She sat and reflected on Chrismases past When the the kids rose early, Presents unwrapped fast
“They’re growing older, and so are we,” She took a sip from her mug of tea Then, from a bedroom she heard a creak Teen 1 descended, placed a kiss on her cheek.
A gruff Merry Christmas then off for some food The first meal of many, she felt the festive mood Slowly but surely the rest awoke Gathered together, softly, she spoke,
“It’s a time for family, love and giving, Time to remember those gone, and those living. Enjoy your presents, the food, with pleasure And be grateful we’re all sat, together.”
And those wishes extend to all of you reading, too I only wish for the best for you May your stockings be full, wishes granted, I pray Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good day!
“Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.”
Polar Express
I just wanted to take a moment of your time, before the craziness of Christmas Day hits, to wish those of you celebrating a wonderful Christmas, filled with family, friends, food and festivity!
Today, I am on the blog tour for Guy Kennaway’s soon-to-be released, Good Scammer.
The Blurb
Sometimes you must break the rules when your dignity and survival call for it.
With an unlikely partnership at its heart and based on true events, Good Scammer tells the extraordinary story of Clive ‘Bangaz’ Thompson, the local hero who has turned Campbell’s Cove into the scamming capital of the world, and Willy, a broke, middle-aged writer, who needs one more bestselling novel to save him from financial ruin.
Bangaz is an orphan born in West Jamaica, raised with no love, no education and no prospects of decent work. After losing his job within Jamaica’s booming hotel industry, and with a baby daughter to feed, Bangaz is forced to turn elsewhere for money. He devises an ingenious business model. For “a small handling fee”, wealthy Americans can avoid paying taxes on their recent surprise lottery win… His plan will bring millions of dollars to the little villages around the Jamaican coast each year, making Bangaz a very wealthy man – and a hero in his community.
But in building his empire, Bangaz has made some dangerous enemies, from local gangsters, to the FBI – and they’re closing in. Before it’s too late, Bangaz commissions Willy Loxley-Gordon, a washed-up English writer living nearby to write his story. Willy reluctantly agrees, recognising that this could be his last chance for success.
Compulsively readable and delivered with Guy Kennaway’s signature sense of quirky humour, Good Scammer is a transporting hymn of love to West Jamaica, which challenges our assumptions about the morality of crime, in an astute exploration of slavery, colonialism, theft and victimhood.
I love it when a book is written with the language or accent affectations of its setting. Good Scammer is a fantastic book set in Jamaica, sprinkled liberally with Patois. It tells the story of Clive ‘Bangaz’ Thompson, a local of Campbell Cove. He is not educated formally, with little literacy in English and only the minimal support of the aunt who begrudgingly brought him up. However, he has brains, which he uses to create a huge scam operation that brings prosperity to the community he lives in and provides for his family and partner, Pauline and their two daughters. All this is done with no violence or guns. Bangaz feels like he has found a way to gain repayment of generations of debt from slavery and colonialism. Things are never simple, and there are some real fixes he finds himself in, but I loved the way the story was told, with men showing that laidback attitude that is synonymous with the people of Jamaica. Bangaz finds an author whom he wants to tell his story, with the idea of getting it published, and the story goes back and forth from the past to the present with Willy, the writer in question, trying to make sense of this unimaginable life of the gentle gangster in front of him. I enjoyed this book.
Guy is best known for his novels One People, about village life in Jamaica; Bird Brain, about a bunch of optimistic pheasants, and for his memoirs Time To Go about killing his mother (with her permission) and Sunbathing Naked and Other Miracle Cures. His most recent novel, The Accidental Collector, won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2021. His most recent memoir is Foot Notes, a broad comedy about race and nationality which he wrote with his daughter-in-law’s brother Hussein Sharif.
In Jamaica, Guy runs a campaign called Speak Properly: Chat Patwa, encouraging the promotion of patwa as an accepted language.
‘In all my writing my aim is to delight and amuse,’ Kennaway has said. ‘Hopefully I make people laugh out loud. Laughter is our most effective weapon in the battle against the difficulties and struggles of life. If I can transport my reader to a happy, joyful world, my mission is successful.’
But I Smile Anyway... 