Well here I am for my second wrap up.  I wasn’t sure if I would make this one as for the last week I’ve been feeling pretty grotty – only with a cold but life has been busy and resting has been difficult and I also developed a cold sore that felt like it covered my whole face!  I feel a bit better today though so thought I’d update you on my busy month!

Bookish Events

November has been crazy with lots of great events, all of which have taken part in London, so I’ve managed to squeeze in a little Christmas shopping too.

On 6th November I went to the fantastically named Dead Dolls House to celebrate The Familiars, a new book set during the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 by debut author Stacey Halls.  Due to be released in February 2019, we were treated to a real life renactment of part of the book by characters Fleetwood Shuttleworth and Alice Gray as well as the chance to chat to Stacey, take some great photos and even make our own tinctures!  Goody bags included a copy of the proof (which is stunning), some biscuits and stick on tattoos.

On 12th November I was invited by the lovely Kerrie at Ilovedreadingthis to the HQ Crime evening at the News Building near London Bridge.  Housed on the 17th floor, with amazing views over London, we mingled with 23 authors (including Phoebe Morgan, Christina McDonald, Lisa Hall, Melanie Golding, Linwood Barclay and C J Skuse) who all have new crime thrillers coming out in the next few months.  There were lots of proofs available but we all a bit polite and by the time we realised they were up for grabs, they had all gone!  But I have plenty of books on my wish list now and the authors were all really interesting and friendly.  And I also got to meet the lovely Janel from Keeper of Pages for the first time, as well as some other great bloggers so it was lots of fun.

On the 29th November I went to the Transworld Crime Evening at The Soho Hotel to hear from 3 crime fiction authors, all who have new books coming out in the next couple of months: The Suspect by Fiona Barton, The Secretary by Renee Knight and The Rumour by Lesley Kara.  We went downstairs to the fabulous screening room to hear all 3 authors in conversation with Patricia Nicol and they all managed to sell their books to me so now I don’t know which one I should read first!  Then we went back upstairs to the Library for canapes and drinks and the chance to chat to the authors and some fabulous publishing people from Transworld.  A great evening!

Book Haul

This bit always makes me a bit nervous!  And now I look at this photo, I realise I’ve missed a couple off this stack.  Almost all of these are proof copies or books for upcoming blog tours I am doing.  I did win a couple of books this month too over on Twitter and I was really lucky to win £25 worth of books from the lovely Sonya over at A Lover of Books – I chose the graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s Diary and Jodi Picoult’s latest book, A Spark of Light.

Wrap Up

Thank goodness for Goodreads for helping me to remember what I’ve read this month!  I’ve read a total of 8 books this month which I’m pretty happy with!

 The Lines We Leave Behind by Eliza Graham

England, 1947: A young woman finds herself under close observation in an insane asylum, charged with a violent crime she has no memory of committing. As she tries to make sense of her recent past, she recalls very little.
But she still remembers wartime in Yugoslavia. There she and her lover risked everything to carry out dangerous work resisting the Germans—a heroic campaign in which many brave comrades were lost. After that, the trail disappears into confusion. How did she come to be trapped in a living nightmare.
As she struggles to piece together the missing years of her life, she will have to confront the harrowing experiences of her special-operations work and peacetime marriage. Only then can she hope to regain the vital memories that will uncover the truth: is she really a violent criminal…or was she betrayed?
How did I get it? Received a copy from ed public relations for a blog tour.

Good Samaritans by Will Carver

Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.
But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home…
And someone is watching…
Dark, sexy, dangerous and wildly readable, Good Samaritans marks the scorching return of one of crime fiction’s most exceptional voices.
How did I get it? A copy was sent by Orenda for a blog tour

Christmas at the Palace by Jeevani Charika

Campaigner, feminist, doctor, humanitarian – all words that Kumari would use to describe herself. Potential princess? Not even in the vocabulary.
But when Kumari’s charity work catapults her into the limelight and brings her to the attention of Prince Benedict – playboy prince and sixth in line to the British throne – all bets are off.
Royal party boy, charming rogue, England’s most eligible bachelor – Prince Benedict is all those things. Or at least he was. These days he’s taking life more seriously, following in his dear mother’s footsteps and focusing on charitable causes.
When he meets Kumari the attraction between them is instant. But, according to the press, Prince Benedict might just have found the most unsuitable bride.
Will love win the day?
How did I get it? A copy was sent by Bonnier Zaffre for a blog tour

And the Swans Began to Sing by Thora Karitas Arnadottir

Gudbjorg Thorisdottir is born into a happy Icelandic family in 1952, the second child of loving parents and followed by three further siblings. They live upstairs in Mörk, a painted corrugated iron house in Reykjavik that has been in the family for generations. Their home is dominated by Gudgjorg’s grandfather, who lives in the ground-floor apartment with her aunt, uncle and cousins. Next door to Mörk is Little-Farm, the original old stone house with a coal cellar that Gudbjorg calls the Black Hole
Gudbjorg is frightened of the Black Hole because horrible things happen down there. She lives with a secret that she can’t tell anybody, because Grandpa says that her family will lose their home if she does. Grandpa buys her presents and gives her caramels in a lovely white jug, so that makes him a good person, doesn’t it?
How did I get it? From Wild Pressed Books for a blog tour

The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz

Ben Shadeland and Eddie Blaze are the hottest young music composers in Hollywood. Fresh off an Oscar nomination, they’ve just been chosen to score a big-budget horror movie by Lee Stanley, the most demanding director in film. But Ben, the creative half of the duo, hasn’t written a note since his wife divorced him and got custody of their three-year-old son.
Chris Blackwood is the gambling-addicted heir to the Blackwood fortune, which includes the Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California. The island and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925, but Chris needs money, and to get it he allows Ben, Eddie, Claire Harden (an aspiring composer), and Eva Rosales (Lee Stanley’s gorgeous assistant) to stay a month in Castle Blackwood.
Eddie is certain an eerie, isolated setting is just what Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film. But what they find is more horrific than any movie.
How did I get it? A copy was sent by Flame Tree Press for a blog tour

The Thing About Clare by Imogen Clark

A dying wish. A devastating secret. Should the truth really stay buried?
The four Bliss siblings have a loving but complicated bond, but when their mother, Dorothy, dies seemingly without a will, this relationship is put to the test. As the mourning siblings try to make sense of the situation, one of them is caught with a secret: before she died, Dorothy entrusted her favourite daughter with her will and a letter—and told her to destroy them both.
Of course it was Anna their mother turned to for this mission. Miriam, the eldest, is far too sensible; Sebastian, the baby, too sensitive; and Clare, the middle child, has always been too rebellious to rely on, and long ago cut herself out of her siblings’ lives.
But what Anna finds in the documents could change everything. Do the other siblings not deserve to know what it is about them that their mother was so desperate to hide? And if it is revealed, will the Bliss family ever be the same again?
How did I get it? Received a copy from ed public relations for a blog tour.

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman (adapter), Anne Frank (Original text), David Polonsky (Illustrator)

This adaptation of Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl into a graphic version for a young readership, maintains the integrity and power of the original work. With stunning, expressive illustrations and ample direct quotation from the diary, this edition will expand the readership for this important and lasting work of history and literature.
How did I get it? I won it!

Cuckoo by Sophie Draper

There’s a stranger in your house…
When her stepmother dies unexpectedly, Caro returns to her childhood home in Derbyshire. She hadn’t seen Elizabeth in years, but the remote farmhouse offers refuge from a bad relationship, and a chance to start again.
But going through Elizabeth’s belongings unearths memories Caro would rather stay buried. In particular, the story her stepmother would tell her, about two little girls and the terrible thing they do.
As heavy snow traps Caro in the village, where her neighbours stare and whisper, Caro is forced to question why Elizabeth hated her so much, and what she was hiding. But does she really want to uncover the truth?
How did I get it? A copy was provided by Avon Books for an upcoming blog tour.

And that’s about it!  Congratulations if you’ve made it the end.  Let me know what you think in the comments and tell me something bookish you’ve enjoyed in November!