#Blogtour The Daughter-in-Law by Fanny Blake

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Daughter-in-Law by Fanny Blake.

About the Author

Fanny Blake was a publisher for many years, editing both fiction and non-fiction before becoming a freelance journalist and writer. She has written various non-fiction titles, as well as acting as ghostwriter for a number of celebrities.

She regularly reviews fiction in the Daily Mail and has been a judge for the Costa Novel Award, the British Book Awards and the Comedy Women in ~Print Award among others. She was the commissioning editor for Quick Reads, a series of short books by well-known authors. She has written ten novels, including An Italian Summer and A Summer Reunion. Follow her on Twitter @fannyblake1 and @fannyblake1 on Instagram

About the book

When Hope's only son Paul met and married Edie, Hope was delighted that he had found love and was settling down to make his own family. Hope loved being a mother and is happy to help out now and again as a grandmother but she worries about overstepping the line.

Edie thought that having children with Paul would fulfil her as much as her busy job as a barrister has. But the reality is far from her dream. And with her mother-in-law Hope constantly interfering she finds herself frustrated and alone.

Both women could be each other's greatest ally, but both have secrets that could ruin their relationship. Secrets neither wants Paul to uncover...

Review

I enjoyed the way the author captures a life lesson of sorts - one that tends to lend itself to relationships between sons and mothers more so. It's slightly different when mothers and daughters navigate difficult boundaries of the next generation. In the constellation of a son creating a new family with another woman the priorities change.

It can be difficult for the mother who becomes the second most important woman instead of number one. Relationships can become strained when grandchildren come along, because respecting boundaries isn't always a given.

I think respecting boundaries is the most important element of the story - learning to take a step back to let your grown children make their own choices and mistakes. Respecting and supporting instead of taking over, especially when it comes to grandchildren.

The other poignant theme is motherhood versus career and the way society still thinks women have to make a choice, and if they do they are condemned for doing so. Stay at home mothers are considered lazy ( dumbest take ever ) and the career woman is considered cold, heartless and unable to fulfil their role. Those points of view meet for a duel at dawn in this book, which is an emotional battlefield of modern family life.

It's the kind of read that will make you nod and shake your head in equal measures. It hits the core of reality frequently enough to leave a lasting impression.

Buy The Daughter-in-Law at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Simon & Schuster UK, pub date 16 Feb. 2023. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Simon & Schuster Uk.

#Blogtour No More Fairy Tales: Stories To Save Our Planet edited by D.A. Baden

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour No More Fairy Tales: Stories To Save Our Planet edited by D.A. Baden.

About the Author/s

Author/Editor Bio – D.A. Baden is Professor of Sustainability at the University of Southampton and has published numerous book chapters and articles in the academic realm, and a eco-themed rom-com Habitat Man. She wrote the script for a musical, performed in Southampton and London in 2016, and has written three other screenplays. 

Denise set up the series of free Green Stories writing competitions in 2018 to inspire writers to integrate green solutions into their writing (www.greenstories.org.uk). Denise has written three stories for this anthology, and co-written two others. The Pitch is adapted from her novel Habitat Man. Follow on dabaden.com and @DABadenauthor

Authors: Brian Adams, Paolo Bacigalupi, Rasha Barrage, Brian Burt, Jenni Clarke, Lyndsey Croal, Sara Foster, Howard Gaukrodger, Matthew Hanson-Kahn, Martin Hastie, Andrew Dana Hudson, Elizabeth Kurucz, Nancy Lord, Kim Stanley Robinson and Steve Willis.

About the book

A collection of inspiring, funny, dark, mysterious, tragic, romantic, dramatic, upbeat and fantastical short stories. These 24 stories are written by a variety of authors, with the aim to inspire readers with positive visions of what a sustainable society might look like and how we might get there.

The stories are diverse in style, ranging from whodunnits to sci-fi, romance to family drama, comedy to tragedy, and cover a range of solution types from high-tech to nature-based solutions, to more systemic aspects relating to our culture and political economy.

Review

Anthologies with a theme based in realism, especially when the core topic is climate change, saving the environment and preserving the future of our planet and our species, can tip the audience one way or the other. The balance between fiction and reality or in this case speculative futuristic scenarios versus natural resources and a return to a less wasteful lifestyles, will either draw the reader or they will lose interest.

I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised by the stories, the variety of scenarios, and perhaps most importantly the viability of many of the suggestions. It's the kind of climate fiction that will resonate and inspire, and even leave the reader with an element of hope.

A way forward through the systemic learned behaviours and abuse of the planet we live on. Much more likely to rally than the concept of superglue and obstruction. Often written with the keen eye of climate specialists the stories are a fascinating view into what our world, lifestyles and strategies could be going forward - solution focused strategies.

As I was reading the book I was already thinking about who I was going to recommend this to and buy the book for. It's a bold adventure, a compelling read that wanders the border of speculative futuristic fiction, realism, energy and action we need in the right here and now.

Kudos to the author of Efficiency by the way for capturing the absolute farce and gaslighting of the consumer by the energy companies that is currently going on and for incorporating it into the story. It's a memorable and remarkable read.

Buy No More Fairy Tales at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Habitat Press, pub date 2 Nov. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Habitat Press.

#BookTrailer The Chase by Ava Glass

 

A treat for you today - it's the book trailer for The Chase by Ava Glass! 'James Bond for the 21st century Ava Glass’s feisty female led spy novel is fast, furious, and totally addictive - it’s the perfect gripping read for those cold wet February nights.'

About Ava Glass

Ava Glass is a former civil servient with the highest security clearance bar one.  She has seen just enough of the inner workings of espionage to ensure that she will always be fascinated by spies. This is the first novel in the Alias Emma series.

Already optioned for TV by the production company behind the smash hit The Night Manager (starring Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Coleman), and with the UK’s leading thriller writers from James Patterson to Anthony Horowitz giving it the thumbs up, The Chase by Ava Glass is set to be 2023’s most addictive read when it is released on 16th February 2023.

The Chase by Ava Glass is published by Penguin on 16th February, £9.99, available here 

About The Chase

In this breakneck, race-against-the-clock thriller, a female British spy has twelve hours to deliver her asset across London while being pursued through the streets of London by Russian intelligence. Can she make it without being spotted . . . or killed?

A freshly-minted secret agent, Emma Makepeace has barely graduated from basic training when she gets the call for her first major assignment. Eager to serve her country and prove her worth, she dives in head first.

Emma must covertly travel across the world’s most watched city to bring the reluctant adult son of Russian dissidents into protective custody, so long as the assassins from the tracking him down don’t get to him first. With London’s famous Ring of Steel hacked by the Russian government, the two must cross the city without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras that document every inch of the city’s streets, alleys, and gutters.

The underground, buses, trains and cars, are completely out of the question. Traveling on foot, with no phone or bank cards, Emma and her charge have twelve hours to make it to safety. This will take all of Emma’s skills of disguise and subterfuge. But when Emma’s handler goes dark, there’s no one left to trust. Just one wrong move could get them both killed and the clock is ticking…

Pre-order The Chase via Penguin - Publisher: Penguin |16th February 2022 | £8.99| Paperback Original.

#Blogtour A Reservoir Man by LJ Ambrosio

It's my turn on the Blogtour A Reservoir Man by LJ Ambrosio.

About the Author

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career. 

Follow @authorlambrosio on Twitter, @ljambrosioauthor on Instagram. More about the author via linktree

About the book

A Reservoir Man, critics have hailed this explosive and timely work as “a must-read coming-of-age story of 2022.” Twists and turns further pull the reader into Michael’s action-packed tale, with powerful themes, from betrayal and family to secrets and identity. “Be sure not to blink because you just might miss a pivotal moment in Michael’s rousing, larger-than-life story.” -- R.C. Gibson, Indiestoday.com. “This book is a dream, a gamble, a utopia, even.” -- Kalyan Panja, Bookmarkks.

Buy A Reservoir Man at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Film Valor; pub date 6 July 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Black Foam by Haji Jabir

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Black Foam by Haji Jabir - translated by Sawad Hussain and Marica Lynx Qualey.

About the Author

Haji Jabir is an Eritrean novelist who was born in the city of Massawa on the Red Sea Coast in 1976. He currently lives in Doha, Qatar, where he works as an Al Jazeera journalist. Jabir’s creative aim is to shed light on Eritrea’s past and present and to extricate his homeland from its cultural isolation. He is one of the most important Arabic-language authors of his time. 

He has published four novels: Samrawit (2012), winner of the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in 2012, Fatma’s Harbour (2013), The Game of the Spindle (2015), which was longlisted for the 2016 Sheikh Zayed Book Award, and Black Foam (2018). Follow @7aji on Twitter

About the Translators

Marcia Lynx Qualey is the founding editor of ArabLit, an online magazine and resource that won the 2017 "Literary Translation Initiative" award at the London Book Fair. She writes, edits, and translates for a variety of newspapers and magazines, teaches writing in Morocco, and also works with a number of Arabic literature projects, including Kitab Sawti and the Library of Arabic Literature.

Sawad Hussain is a translator from the Arabic whose work has been recognized by English PEN, the Anglo-Omani Society, and the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, among others. She is a judge for the Palestine Book Awards. Her recent translations include Passage to the Plaza by Sahar Khalifeh and A Bed for the King's Daughter by Shahla Ujayli. She has run workshops introducing translation to students and adults under the auspices of Shadow Heroes, the British Library, the Yiddish Book Center, the National Centre for Writing, Africa Writes, and the Shubbak Festival. She is the 2022 translator in residence at the British Centre for Literary Translation. 

About the book

From award-winning Eritrean author Haji Jabir comes a profoundly intimate novel about one man’s tireless attempt to find his place in the world.

A chameleon, Dawoud―or David, Adal, or Dawit, depending on where and when you meet him―is not lost in this whirl of identities. In fact, he is defined by it. Black Foam follows a group of Ethiopian Jews, the “Falash Mura”, who driven by poverty and desperation, emigrate to Israel in search of a better life. Amongst the group is “Dawoud”. 

Dawoud is on the run from his murky past, aiming to discover where he belongs. He tries to assimilate into different groups along his journey through North Africa and Israel, changing his clothes, his religious affiliations, and even his name to fit in, but the safety and peace he seeks remain elusive. It seems prejudice is everywhere, holding him back, when all he really wants is to create a simple life he can call his own. Dawoud’s journey is circuitous and specific, but the desire to belong is universal. 

Spellbinding to the final page, Black Foam is both intimate and grand in scale, much like the experiences of the millions of people migrating to find peace and safety in the twenty-first century.

Review

A journey to belong, to be part of community, to be accepted by a new home and country. Sounds so simple, and yet it is at the core of this story. The essence of a man, woman, child - human being - to try and resettle your roots after they have been ripped out.

I think it's hard, perhaps even impossible, for people who have been rooted solidly to one place or country their entire life, to fathom what it might be like to be torn from such security. Having to assimilate and integrate into new cultures, whilst being confronted daily by systemic racism and the negative preconceptions of other people.

Dawoud becomes something of a ever evolving chameleon when it comes to moving from place to place. He becomes the person he needs to be in order to be safe, to be accepted and in a way to remain nearly invisible. There is always the constant threat sitting on his shoulder and of course the hard truth is that staying low and inconspicuous won't necessarily from becoming a target.

Reality speaks to truth in the last few chapters. No matter what you do there are some things that will always make refugees the target of those who are unable to deal with diversity, are unable to comprehend the destruction of home countries and the normal wish to keep families and self safe. The wish and a basic human right.

It's a poignant read - an unforgettable one. A complex web of politics, religion, identity and the many facets of racism and bigotry.

Buy Black Foam at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Amazon Crossing, pub date 7th February 2023 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Seahaven by Ruth Enright

 It's my turn on the Blogtour Seahaven by Ruth Enright.

About the Author

Ruth Enright is from Halifax, West Yorkshire.  She enjoys holidays in Whitby, Scarborough and the surrounding area; with  Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby being the inspiration for her debut novel ‘Seahaven.’  Her second book, ‘Button Box’ is for children and young adults. A young girl finds herself living in two worlds – the modern day and a dangerous Victorian past in 1850s London.

Ruth studied English Language and Literature at Reading University and has always had the ambition to write herself. She lives in Manchester with her family and works for local government, where she has held a number of posts. She  is now an Information Governance Officer. Ruth came to Manchester as a graduate trainee in Librarianship with Manchester Polytechnic before changing career paths and training for a certificate in teaching lipreading to adults with acquired deafness in Adult Education. Ruth then had her daughter and later became a local government officer.

Ruth has always kept on writing and started a blog a few years ago for her poems, stories and other items.  Encouraged by readers, she has recently succeeded in having five short stories published by ‘Yours Fiction’ special short story quarterly magazine.

Ruth loves to read and enjoys writing in both historic and modern settings, experimenting with different genres. Ideas for her writing come from many sources, for instance the name of Robin’s uncle Jorfant in ‘Seahaven’ came from researching her partner’s family tree!

Ruth lives with her partner Jack, and a cat called Margot. Ruth is delighted to be a published author and is looking forward very much to writing more novels. Follow Ruth Enright on Twitter, Visit r-enright58.co.uk

About the book

England, 1700’s. Seahaven is a lawless fishing village on the wild East Coast of Yorkshire. When a sailing ship is wrecked, three young people from very different backgrounds are caught up in a race against time. 

Solomon must escape his bondage as an American slave and his two friends, Robin and Sophie, are desperate to help him. However, this is a time of smuggling, slavery, robbery and betrayal. The whole community, whether rich or poor, is involved in outlawed activity. 

Robin’s strange and feared Uncle Jorfant leads the underground smuggling ring. Soldiers, the militia and excise men are always on patrol and the Press Gang is a constant fear to the men of the village. It is a volatile, complex world, one in which past and present collide mysteriously.

Solomon, Robin and Sophie all have their own personal reasons for wishing to escape. 

During their adventures, both alone and together, they meet many people along the way; some become allies, others a threat, and the three friends also face new dangers. Hampered by their circumstances and those with power, who control and surround them, escape is never a certainty.

Will Solomon find freedom at last and what will become of Robin and Sophie? An exciting and gripping adventure, portraying the harsh realities of life from a very different era! 

Review

When you sit along the Yorkshire coast and enjoy the beauty and the peace, it's easy to forget some of the shenanigans that went on in the majority of coastal areas. Of course it's also important to note that a lot of them were linked to criminal activities and often the misery of other people. A lot of history there.

Robin and his friends, including the newly found one, want to a life beyond the close and strict boundaries of the life they are used to. It makes them seek adventure in places they perhaps shouldn't - like snooping around Jorfan and his secret business.

Jorfan sometimes appears, okay a lot, to be cruel and lacks empathy for those around him. Never more evident than when he is able to just walk past those fighting for their lives. It's important to remember that later on in the story, especially when it comes to Robin.

Although the story certainly has a certain feeling of hope and reaching for better times and a parcel of joy, it doesn't shy away from the truth and the hardships.

It's an adventure, a story of coming-of-age and of friendships, and equally one about family and loyalty. About accepting the fact the reality of life is a disappointment, that people and their lack of ability to accept others will always be a constant. Yeh, the lightness gets deep at times, but the story also maintains an element of the reader being along for the ride in the lives of the characters.

Buy Seahaven at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Blossom Spring Publishing; pub date 28 Sept. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

It's my turn on the Blogtour Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao. The first in the Song of the Last Kingdom

About the Author

Amélie (yes, like the movie!) has adored putting pen to paper since she was in kindergarten. Born in Paris and raised in a multicultural community in Beijing, Amélie has a bone-deep love for traveling and immersing herself in new worlds and cultures. She lives in New York City, working as a full-time financial professional by day, and writer at night.

She hopes to empower young readers with messages of acceptance, strength, and courage through her works, and to continue to push the boundaries of young adult literature by exploring new, cross-cultural themes. Follow @ameliewenzhao on Twitter, Visit ameliezhao.com 

About the book

Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and spends her days scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother, in her last act before she died.

No one can see the mysterious mark, an untranslatable Hin character, except Lan. Until the night a boy appears at the teahouse and saves her life. Zen is a practitioner – one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumoured to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world

Review

This is the first book in the Song of the Last Kingdom series and it's a humdinger of a read. Nuanced, intricate and if read with enough context that has seeped into the fabric of the story and the characters it becomes an extravaganza.

The theme of colonisation is ingrained in this story of magic and demons. The way cultures, societies and people lose their entire identity when they are consumed whole by oppressors. Lan knows what it's like to hide in plain sight, whilst the power of the oppressors squeezes the life and soul out of everyone and everything that doesn't conform. It's poignant, beautifully plotted and written.

Personally I don't think Lan needs a romance to be character she was intended to be. Lan can grow, evolve and lead without the necessity of what some may consider a core must when the majority of readers will lean towards YA. Deliver Lan as the strong character they are and will continue to be going forward with a bit of Zen on the side. Taking this a slight step away from the constraints of YA and deeper into higher fantasy will probably take this series and the author up a notch.

I do think it's important to step away from fantasy aspect for a second, then re-enter the worldbuilding of this story from a historical and mythological angle, and envelop yourself with the fantasy weaving the elements together. It's a way to give the complex worldbuilding the justice it deserves - aside from that the author is cracking writer. I loved it and can't wait for the next in the series.

Buy Song of Silver, Flame Like Night at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Voyager: pub date 2 February 2023│HB│EB│EA. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Harper Collins.