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A slightly different post from me today, one where I say a big THANK YOU to all the publishers, authors and everyone involved in book marketing and publicity for providing light and fun in what has been a dark and stressful year!

Below are just some of the graphics related to activities I’ve been involved in this year:

These activities remain some of my best memories of home entertainment this year. I have craved intellectual stimulation (especially as I spent the first 7 months on maternity leave!), adult conversation, escapism from the ‘real world’ and light entertainment that I can fit around my children’s usual schedule. Despite the challenges, these publishers and organisers have continued to provide entertaining and stimulating content and activities that not only promotes books but has also drastically improved my mental health from where I fear I would have been without the book community!

As someone who is a consistent advocate of the benefits and necessity of reading as both a skill and a hobby, I am glad to see that so many publishers and authors have been able to adapt from their usual promotional activities (book signings, book festivals etc) and that many continue to thrive despite the massive difficulties faced by this country this year. For example, I have just attended the One More Chapter Christmas Quiz Facebook Live, which was so much fun and had some incredible prizes!

I urge you to support publishers of new authors, publishers who have worked hard to ensure books were still released and shared with the world in 2020, and indie authors who have shown courage in not giving up on their dream. Please support them in any way you can, but especially by buying their books and giving a book as a gift for Christmas (even if it is a gift for yourself!)

Huge respect and lots of love to the book community.

Merry Christmas! 🌲

Ceri xxx

I was drawn to this one by the gorgeous, crisp cover and I have to be honest the idea of a waffle shack had me dreaming of food and reminiscing about simpler, pre-covid times when I would regularly visit my favourite ice cream parlour which also sold the best waffles…❤

I had high expectations of this book as a form of romantic escapism and it did not disappoint, but there is much more to this book.

The developing relationship between Daniel and Lucy is a joy to follow, but it is wrought with tension as Daniel is only recently back in Heritage Cove and he has a lot of making up to do…

This is a delightful festive read about romance, forgiveness and the complexities of village life. Not to mention the beautiful foodie descriptions, which I loved! It is the 2nd in the series but was fully enjoyable as a standalone read.

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I was drawn to this one as this is a series and author that has been recommended to me many times, and has been on my TBR for far too long.

I love the fact that though it is part of a series, it was so easy to read and follow as a standalone book. (I am terrible at reading series books and have never read them one after the other, or in the right order…🙈)

This instalment focuses on Hannah and her developing relationship with her new work partner, the gorgeous and mysterious Noah. Hannah is such a likeable character; ethical, honest, self deprecating and like me, a self confessed foodie! I was rooting for her throughout.

I was also really happy to see so many of the scenes focused around food. Sometimes when reading a book it can feel like an episode of Eastenders, when they never eat or wash unless they’re about to make a dramatic announcement or get brutally murdered! The fact that the author centres much of the action and dialogue around food and meal times really reflects the reality of what a social tool food can be. It also, of course, made me very hungry and crave a cream tea!

The book just becomes more and more romantic and heart warming as you read on, and I have loved following these characters in the build up to Christmas.

Reading this book has definitely placed this author as a firm favourite and made me want to read the first two books in the series!

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I was drawn to this one for a number of reasons. Firstly, I have read a book by this author before and I found it to be original, suspenseful and well researched. Also, the title sounds mysterious and the striking cover completely pulls you in and makes you ask questions about who is visiting and why.

Hannah and Daniel’s life looks perfect from the outside. They are a well off family, Daniel has a good job and Hannah manages family life perfectly well, though she sometimes has to go it alone due to Daniel’s frequent trips to work away in London. Therefore, she can’t help feeling a little lonely and inadequate at times. She decides to throw herself into a barn conversion which she is going to turn into a holiday let. However, she gets far more than she bargained for with her first visitors…

The characters in this book are mostly realistic and definitely flawed. Hannah is easily influenced and manipulated, Daniel is an ignorant workaholic, and the guests are rude and selfish. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed disliking these characters and shouting at them in my head!

One of the main things I love about Miranda’s books is that the suspense and tension is so subtle. It takes form as a very quiet and eerie sense of foreboding, as things go from bad to worse and inexplicable or unexpected things happen…

The tension builds very slowly and then there is a brilliant, shocking twist as we discover why Mike and Nadia are really there…

Overall, this has been a book which has completely pulled me in and gripped me in and one I would recommend to fans of psychological thrillers.

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I would like to thank Tandem Collective, PanMacmillan and the author for my gifted copy of this absolutely glorious Christmas read. The cover of this one is simple, beautiful, elegant…

I have been hooked on this one from the beginning. I absolutely love the premise of it – Kate has invested in a ‘professionally organised’ dating experience of 12 different dates with 12 different (supposedly well matched!) men. Will she find her soul mate? Or will she find that her soul mate was closer to home than she realised in the first place?

The book is organised into chapters that each focus on the 12 different dates. This provides an easy to follow and effective structure. Each of the dates provide an element of humour, drama, or romance and there have been times when I’ve laughed out loud and others when my eyes have welled up as the characters and their feelings appear so authentic.

The ending of this one was totally predictable from quite early on. People often view this as a criticism. It is not a criticism – it is a comfort. It is the route the author takes to get there that matters, and in this case it was executed perfectly, full of drama and heart felt scenes. The ending had me almost sobbing with joy and the fact that it is set against a totally gorgeous Christmas back drop just adds another layer of perfection.

This has been an absolutely incredible readalong to end 2020. This has to be my favourite festive read of the season so far and one that I would highly recommend to all chick lit/romance fiction fans. This book is fully deserving of the highest rating available!

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I was drawn to this book by the absolutely glorious, crisp cover and the fact that this is another installment in the beautiful Little Duck Pond Cafe series, which I am thoroughly enjoying dipping in and out of.

This instalment focuses on the wonderful, down to earth, selfless Carrie. Her world is turned upside down when the man she is falling for confesses he is smitten with her twin sister…

She decides to escape for the festive period, seeking peace and space to get her head together about the whole situation. The break is way more eventful than she imagined, with the arrival of an unexpected guest and the town rife with gossip about a possible domestic murder. Will Carrie get the peaceful, happy Christmas she so desperately wants and deserves?

This has been a fantastic winter read. The opening of the book was very dramatic and pulled me straight into Carrie’s world, causing me to feel sorry for her and to be rooting for her happiness from the beginning!

The move to Silver Bells provided much more drama than I was expecting. Also, many of the scenes were very heart warming, romantic and original. The ending was unpredictable and with 5% left to go I wasn’t sure who Carrie would choose. I knew who I was rooting for, so I thought the ending was perfect.

Overall, this has been a feel good wintery read which I have thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to any chick lit or romantic fiction fans.

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Thea doesn’t sleeep. Initially, we aren’t given much background as to why but it is clear from the dramatic opening that it is having a significant impact on her life.

She is invited to a futuristic, almost science fiction in style, sleep clinic for 6 weeks to see if they can work with her to get her to have longer and better quality sleep (she is averaging around 1 hour a night). Will the sleep clinic be all it claims or be? Or will it cause more problems than it solves?

There is a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book. It is a hybrid book – a little bit of science fiction, a little bit dystopian, and quite a lot gruesome thriller! This makes it totally original and unlike most things I have ever read before.

Due to this, it is also totally creepy and dark. It was just about the right level of dark for me, and the author handled the plot well in order to get that balance right.

It was also completely addictive. I found myself reading it whenever I got a chance, and sometimes missing out on sleep myself to reach the end of a particularly dramatic and climactic section!

This is a fast paced, gripping and original debut by an author who is definitely one to watch!

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I was drawn to this one by the cover and blurb. I enjoy a gangland thriller style novel, and was looking forward to reading one set in Glasgow.

The female characters in this book are probably my favourite aspect. Jackie, who is the mum of the main character, Jamie, is just brilliant. She is witty, clever, loyal, sensible and she is a character which I have absolutely loved getting to know.

There are layers of tension within the book. You have the tension within the main group; Jamie and his friends and family, as we discover that secrets and lies threaten to tear them apart. Then you have the tension between them and the notorious Lawson family. Finally, you have the sexual tension between Jamie and the vibrant, brave and unique character of Allegra!

The ending of the book was shocking and nail-biting. It was completely unpredictable, and I loved it!

All in all, this makes for a fast paced and exciting read which I have thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to fans of gangland crime fiction. I look forward to checking out Heather’s other books.

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I was drawn to this one by the title. The pun suggests that this book will be about newspaper journalists and/or grizzly murders – two of my favourite fictional topics! 🤣

The opening of the book is amazing. It’s completely engaging, shocking and dramatic, pulling you straight into the action. I wasn’t really surprised to read in the author’s note that this was part of the story which had stayed with him for many years before the finished draft, as I think it would be a difficult image to forget!

This is a book you absolutely have to stick with. There is a wealth of interesting characters and gruesome scenes. The writer creates some of the best villainous characters I have ever read about.

There are shocking twists leaving certain characters at a loss and questioning their loyalties and morals. The ending was like being at the last big drop of a rollercoaster, leaving you feel excited, stunned and a little bit sick.

A thrilling and fast paced read, recommended for all crime thriller fans.

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I was drawn to this book by the gorgeous cover. I wished more than anything to be that gorgeous girl in the cover, staring at that beautiful horizon without a care in the world…

I was really looking forward to being transported far and away from reality and this book did not let me down. In the past, I have struggled with books that take me away from familiar surroundings of the UK, but this year I have found I need the escapism of it.

I have heard this author’s name linker to high praise on many occasions and now I understand why. This is a beautiful story about love, discovery and sacrifice. What are Seren (gorgeous name) and Reid willing to give up in order to keep each other?

A great, heart warming, escapist read from a best selling author! I loved it!

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