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Showing posts from December, 2021

December 2021 Reading List!

King of Battle and Bone - Scarlett St Clair ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fantasy | Released: 30/11/2021 The Secret - Debbie Howells  ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Thriller | Released: 06/01/2021 You and Me at the End of the World - Brianna Bourne  ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: YA | Released: 20/07/2021 The Rebound - Catherine Walsh  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Romance | Released: 14/02/2022 The Death of Me - Michelle Davies  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Thriller | Released: 11/11/2021 This Way To The Universe -  Michael Dine  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Non-Fiction | Released: 01/02/2022 That Jewish Thing - Amber Crewe  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Romance | Released: 13/01/2022 One Last Secret - Krissy Baccaro  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Mystery | Released: 18/09/2021 Here's To Us - Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: YA Romance | Released: 28/12/2021  The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fiction | Released: 01/06/2021 Violeta - Isabel Allende  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Literary Fiction | Released: 25/01/2022 Am I Allergic To Men? - Kristen Bailey...

Pride and Prejudice - A retelling by Laura Wood

  Genre: Retelling Release Date: Expected 6th January 2022 Publisher: Barrington Stoke Witty, intelligent Elizabeth Bennet has no desire for a marriage of convenience. And when she meets the handsome, wealthy Mr Darcy, her opinion of him is quickly set: he is aloof, selfish and proud - the last man in the world she would ever marry. Until their paths cross again, and again, and the pair begin to realise that first impressions can be flawed... But as Elizabeth and Darcy become entangled in a dance through the strict hierarchies of society, will there be space for true love to bloom? I used to be one of those people who believed everyone had to read the classics. But in reality, books change, language changes, and society changes what they consume. The classics may have been wonderful, but they are simply not compatible with a lot of modern readers. That being said, it's a huge feat to take on a retelling of such a famous story and it was done marvellously. Full of the charm and eleg...

Wahala - Nikki May

Genre: Adult Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 6th January 2022 Publisher: Random House UK Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends. Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be. Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not. When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close frien...

The Woman Who Came Back To Life - Beth Miller

  Genre: Fiction | Adult Fiction | Womens Fiction Release Date: Expected 5th January 2022 Publisher: Bookouture  (CW's at end of post) Pearl hasn't seen her Dad since 1990. Well, that's not strictly true, she hasn't tried to see him since 1990. In the decades since, her life has been regularly scheduled bliss. Living with her husband in a beautiful cottage deep in the woods of the French countryside, she lives by a safe, secluded routine and it works. But her routine is shattered when she receives the news that her Father is dead and has left her one last gift - but she has to return home and attend his funeral to find out what it is.  After saying Goodbye to him all over again, she's given the legacy he left behind for her - including a diary, left just for her. Each page lovingly addressed to her, from a clearly doting father … and she feels his love and devotion for the first time in her life. Now Pearl has to question everything she thought about where she came ...

The Significant Others of Odie May - Claire Dyer

Genre: Literary Fiction | Literary Thriller | Adult Fiction Release Date: 28th June 2021 Publisher: Matador  Odie May has just been stabbed to death by a woman in a green coat. She'd left home to buy her lovers favourite wine to toast him finally leaving his wife, but instead of celebrating she's dying alone under a bridge. And her murderer didn't even have the decency to let them know who they were, and there could be a few people who might be mad at her right now.  As she's dying, she can't help but think this is such a cliché ending … but it's not the end. She finds herself waking up in a beige waiting room where her 'Initial Contact', Carl, is waiting for her. As some type of afterlife therapist, they talk and go back through every bad choice and mistake, every significant other she's met, and she tries to figure out just how her life had gone wrong enough that somebody killed her. But Carl has a choice for Odie - a simple stay or go. But nothing...

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot - Marianne Cronin

Genre: Fiction | Contemporary Fiction Release Date: 1st June 2021 Publisher: Harper Perrenial  Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with. Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years. To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything. As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet. "' Do you know, that the stars we see the clearest are already dead?' 'Well, that's depressing....

Queer Body Power - Essie Dennis

  Genre: Non-Fiction | LGBT+ Release Date: Expected 21st March 2021 Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers As a young, queer, plus-size person, Essie Dennis has spent a lot of time feeling like they weren't enough - not queer enough, not feminine enough, not perfect enough. When they took to social media to share how they felt, they were overwhelmed by how many others felt the same. "I look too masculine to be non-binary I look too feminine to be a lesbian Am I too fat for drag?" Queer Body Power is an invitation to explore the beauty and individuality of our bodies and gives a raw, reflective look on the truths behind how society has viewed the bodies that have been 'othered' - disabled bodies, fat bodies, bodies that don't fit into their ideas of gender. With powerful commentary on not only Queerness and Queer bodies, but how these issues can overlap and seep into other areas of our lives from healthcare, eating habits, relationships and our own mental healt...

Here's To Us - Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli (What If It's Us #2)

  Genre: Young Adult | Romance | LGBT+ Release Date: Expected 28th December 2021 Publisher: Simon & Schuster " This is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything." It's been two years since Ben and Arthur just didn't work out.  Now Ben has Mario - funny, caring, creative Mario who is definitely too hot for him and definitely almost his boyfriend. He's rewriting his fantasy novel, living in New York and life is great. He's almost forgotten about Arthur, really. But when Ben and his friend stumble across an oddly familiar couple getting married in the park, he can't help but think about Arthur again. Who, as it turns out, is just about to start his dream internship at a theatre in New York. It feels like the universe is pushing them together again and again, but they really have to ask themselves - is this a happy ending, or a new beginning? " But I was sixteen. That's just what falling in love at sixteen feels like...

BOOK TOUR STOP x Random Things Tours - King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St Clair

  Their union is his revenge.   Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day to be her death day. To end a   years-long war, she is to marry vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him.   But her assassination attempt is thwarted, and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court.   Except it isn't the court she fears most―it's Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king―fierce, savage, merciless―chose her as consort. . .   The answer will shatter her world. King of Battle and Blood is a vivid, dark fantasy full of gore, sex and mystery. A sexy, steamy tale full of bloody action and rich world building - a terrifying world with its own rules, its own Gods and its own problems that are ready to explode into chaos.  From the blurb, I definitely exp...

The Girl Upstairs - Georgina Lees

  Genre: Thriller | Mystery | Crime Fiction Release Date: Expected 9th December 2021 Publisher: Harper Collins UK Suzie heard Emily before she met her. The sound of her high heels, the gentle buzz of her phone ringing, the sound of angry voices and loud music. She knew her before they met too - saw the junkmail spilling from her letterbox, the discarded rubbish in the halls, the same takeaway deliveries like clockwork, the men in her bedroom.  To someone else, Emily might just be the girl that lives upstairs. But not to Suzie. So she's the first person to realise something is wrong, and Emily is gone. She's missing, and Suzie might be the only person who knows her well enough to find her.  " How well do you know your neighbour? Would you trust them with your life?" The Girl Upstairs is a slow-burning mystery full of unease and tension. Georgina Lees crafted her main character in a very unique way - her observations of her neighbour could almost be obsessive, predatory...

Stay Another Day - Juno Dawson

  Genre: Christmas Story | Fiction | Romance |  LGBTQ+ Release Date: Expected 14th October 2021 Publisher: Hachette Childrens | Quercus Childrens Books CW: Eating disorders, biphobia, References to self-harm, sexual content, alcohol.  The McAllister house on Arboretum Road has seen 120 Christmases since it's completion. There's four sleeps till Christmas, and the McAllister siblings are all heading home for the holidays. Fern is bringing her new boyfriend, Thom, and escaping her exhausting life in London for a few days. Her twin, Rowan , with their friend Syd in tow, are more excited about partying and sex with new strangers than eating turkey … and they're sure they've seen Ferns hot new boyfriend before. Willow is still living at home and fighting a dangerous eating disorder … and she's dreading Christmas.  With everyone back at home, this could be the perfect family Christmas - but every single person in the house has a secret that could explode their p...

Twelve Days To Save Christmas - Elizabeth Neep

Genre: Christmas | Romance | Romantic Comedy Release Date: Expected 19th October 2021 Publisher: Bookouture Poppy loves Christmas. It's her favourite time of the year, but this year George doesn't quite seem to be into it. He doesn't want to wear the adorable matching christmas jumper with her, he doesn't want to talk about their Christmas plans ... and he doesn't want to be together anymore.  Ever since she was made redundant and started freelancing, he said she's too needy, too clingy, just too much. So now, she is loveless, almost homeless, and the owner of a cute matching jumper set with nobody to wear them with. She works out they have about twelve days left together before they move out of the flat they'd spent the last two years in together and her life officially falls apart. She's not going to give up that easy though, so she sets to work on a miracle to save their relationship - but as she sets to work, she might just find the Christmas Miracl...

Ed & Lily - Sofia Due

Genre: Christmas | Romance | Adult Fiction Release Date: Expected 28th August 2021 Publisher: The Book Guild In just thirty-six hours, Ed and Lily are flying to Iceland for the snowy Christmas break they've been dreaming of. It's Christmas Eve Eve and while they should be sipping champagne in their hotel getting ready, their relationship is on thin ice.  Ever since Lily moved away for her dream job, she's had a feeling it's not only the distance that's been coming between them. Is there enough time to fix their relationship, or will the plane and their relationship move on without them? Ed & Lily straddles two timelines, so we watch as their fledgling relationship starts out - Lily turning up to a party, just a friend of his brothers girlfriend - to the present day when everything has gone wrong. Starting out, it seems Ed very much lived in monochrome and Lily was the full rainbow and we peice together how their worlds managed to mix together.  I adored Lily...

BOOK TOUR x Random Things Tours - Fall by West Camel

  Aaron and Clive might be twins, but that's where their similarities start and end. In the four decades since they last spoke, their lives have taken very different directions. Aaron is the lone remaining resident in the broken and derelict tower block they grew up in, the one their own mother designed. While Clive has gone on to be a success - wealthy and prosperous, and now a well-known property developer set on ripping down his childhood home.  The first time they'll see each other again is when Aaron tries to stop the development - but it's not just about the flats. It's about something deeper. Somewhere deep in the past, there was one beautiful summer that ended up being the brightest and darkest time of their lives, one where they first met another set of mysterious twins and one they've tried to forget but has been following them their whole lives … Fall is an evocative and mesmerising exploration into family and history, into the monuments and the moments t...