Blog Tour: The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn (includes giveaway)

If you were to ask me what my husband's retirement dream would be, it would be to buy a boat and sail around Australia for as long as it takes. I am not sure how long I would last on such a trip, but if you could combine it with doing something with books, I could make the distance.

I said yes to this simply based on the fact that I have really enjoyed the book I have previously read from her, and that will also be my practice going forward. This is the first time I have read one of her books set wholly in Croatia but I do have The Dubrovnik Book Club on my Kindle to read at some point.

When Ana Meštrović recieves an inheritance from her grandfather, she uses it to buy a catamaran which she has been using to run a charter business. She needs to diversify if she is going to keep her business running successfully enough to not need to take her boat and return to be part of the family business. She loves the sea and her independence.

When an opportunity comes up to run a pilot for a library project, Ana is determined to make it work. The idea is that she will sail through the Croatian islands. At each stop, there will be a library set up where hopefully the local population will come and borrow all the books and then return them the following week. If this pilot program is a success then Ana might be able to secure the contract, and her livelihood and independence, for the next few years.

In order to run the operation effectively, Ana employs a young woman named Natali as a general deckhand/boat mechanic/Girl Friday and former teacher Lloyd as the librarian. Also along for the ride is Natali's dog Obi. Ana isn't sure that she is equipped to be the leader of these people, and it can get complicated when you not only work with these people but you also share a very confined living space.

Natali is pretty quiet, only talking to her dog most of the time. She loves working on boats but she is self taught with no qualifications and limited schooling. She works low pay jobs to make ends meet and usually it is hard to get a job on a boat because of Obi. She is therefore super keen to please, going above and beyond. However, she does find it difficult to engage with her co-workers, always believing that she isn't as clever as them, a message that has been reinforced over and over again over the years by her mother. 

 Lloyd is a widower who is trying to get on with life following the death of his wife. He has been encouraged by his daughter to make a new start and go on and adventure. He has had to leave his job as a teacher but he is loving feeling useful again. 

Things start off slowly, but they are slowly beginning to build when one of the crew's past catches up with him.  Lloyd hadn't told Ana that he had even been to the country before. When he was a young man he had worked for a time on an island where he had met and fallen madly in love with a young woman. But it was 1991, and the Croatian war was on the verge of beginning and so Lloyd had to leave in a hurry, leaving behind his love. 

I said yes to this simply based on the fact that I really enjoyed the book I have previously read from her, and that will also be my practice going forward, which was The Santorini Writing Retreat (my review). This is the first time I have read one of her books set wholly in Croatia but I do have The Dubrovnik Book Club on my Kindle to read at some point.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the way that the three crew members gradually opened up to each other, becoming almost like family. I really enjoyed how each of them were able to take control of their own lives, making decisions about what their future would look like, regardless of what people around them might think. And I loved seeing Natali fall in love with books and also realise that she could do more with her life and have more security if she was happy to take some chances. 

I haven't even mentioned the islands yet. I read this book in the plane on the way to Perth over the weekend and I was transported from inside a very crowded plane to the waters of the islands in Croatia with their history, culture, food, and yes, with the added bonus of books! There were some interesting characters who impacted our main characters in sometimes very touching ways.

If you are looking for a bookish books that takes you to new parts of the world through the pages, then consider reading this one!

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and with the Bookish Books Challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books. Thanks to the publisher, Rachel's Random Resources and Netgalley for the review copy. Check out the other stops on the blog tour as well!

Rating 4/5

About the book

The Croatian Island Library

Where books are borrowed, and friendships are forged…

When her beloved grandfather dies, Ana Meštrović buys a catamaran in his memory, which she names Dida Krila – Grandad’s Wings.

For the summer months, it will be transformed into a travelling library, delivering books to children living across the Croatian islands.

Joined by crew members Natali, a young mechanic afraid of her own shadow, and Lloyd, an older widower who needs a fresh start, the newly-formed trio all have their own reasons for needing the floating library to be a success.

Embarking on an adventure that will change them for good, they each discover that a new chapter is only a boat ride away…

Purchase - https://mybook.to/CroatianIslandLibrary

About the Author

Eva Glyn writes escapist relationship-driven fiction with a kernel of truth at its heart. She loves to travel and finds inspiration in beautiful places and the stories they hide.

Set mainly in Croatia, her contemporary stories are more about friendship than romance, the coming together of people through shared interests, and the opportunity to make fresh starts in their lives. A love of books is a common theme too, so her publisher, One More Chapter, has christened them the Bookish Escapes collection which currently includes The Dubrovnik Book Club, and The Santorini Writing Retreat, with The Croatian Island Library to be published in January 2026.

In addition Eva has written two Second World War dual timeline romances, An Island of Secrets and The Collaborator’s Daughter, and a new beginnings novel entitled The Olive Grove. All are set in Croatian, a country she loves.

Although she considers herself Welsh, Eva lives in Cornwall with the man she met and fell in love with more than thirty years ago. She also writes as Jane Cable.



Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvaGlynAuthor

Twitter: @JaneCable

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evaglynauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eva-glyn



Giveaway To Win a paperback copy of The Croatian Island Library (Open to UK & Ireland Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK & Ireland entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Win a paperback copy of The Croatian Island Library (Open to UK & Ireland Only)

Blog Tour: The Santorini Writing Retreat by Eva Glyn (includes international giveaway)

 

And above all, don't forget there needs to be a terrible secret at the heart of the story.

Successful author Jessica Rose has been hired to run a writing retreat on the gorgeous Greek island of Santorini. Jessica's book Only. Ever. You. was a runaway hit, even being made into a film. At the retreat Jessica, whose real name is Jo, is expected to share her writing wisdom to a group of eager wannabe authors. But Jo has a terrible secret at the heart of her story, and she doesn't know how to fix it for herself, let alone guide others! What she does know is that the retreat should provide her with some time away from her controlling and most likely unfaithful husband Rees.

One of those students is Karmela. She is a professor who escaped from Sarajevo as a refugee as a child. Over the years she has closed herself off from being close to people for years. After spending some time in Dubrovnik last year doing research, this year she is at the retreat, determined to write the book of her heart, not only for herself but also to prove to her distant mother that she can. Other guests include Sophie and Diana, two friends who want to write a romance together, Ellen and Susan and Iain with his retired greyhound dog Sybil.

For the owner of The Retreat House, Zina, the success of the retreat is crucial. She and her husband, Lambros, have returned to Santorini from Athens where she worked in marketing. They live on the family farm with her widowed mother. Lambros is happy working the farm which includes growing pistachios and raising troublesome goats with all the manual labour that farming requires but the couple get little privacy. This is such a change for Zina that there are times where she struggles with what her life has become. There are times that her own traits, like being very competitive, don't help matters.

Gradually Jo, Zina and Karmela become closer and soon each of their secrets and desires are being revealed, and they are able to help each other. As well as being a book about the strength of female friendship, even new ones, it is also about mothers and daughters, and about the bravery it takes to take charge of your own life. 

One of the strengths of this book is the location. From the descriptions of Santorini to the food, Eva Glyn brings the island and culture to life! I would love to take a dip in the sea about now but it's a bit cold here in wintery Melbourne! Thanks goodness we can travel to other places, like Santorini, through the pages of books. 

Oh, and as for the books that are mentioned in the story Only. Ever. You. sounds fabulous and I would love to read the book that Karmela is writing which is historical fiction set in Croatia. If only they were real books!

Eva Glyn has been on my reading radar for a little while. I own her last book, The Dubrovnik Book Club, but I still haven't read it. After reading this book, I am definitely going to have to fix that oversight, especially seeing as I want to see where Karmela's story started.

How does a trip to Santorini sound to you?

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews and the Bookish Books Reading Challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.

Don't forget to enter the international giveaway below.

Rating 4/5

About the book

The Santorini Writing Retreat

Secrets make the best stories…

Three women, one writing retreat, endless possibilities…

Bestselling author Jessica Rose needs to escape from a terrible secret that’s robbed her of her creativity. Could leading a retreat on a gorgeous Greek island be just what she needs?

Coming home to Santorini was never in Zina’s plans, but now she’s determined to make her new business a success.

And then there’s Karmela, who just wants to write her book and make her mother proud.

In the heat of their Greek island paradise, these new friends find the courage to shape their own stories, and write endings they can all be proud of…

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/SantoriniRetreat

About the Author 

Eva Glyn writes escapist relationship-driven fiction with a kernel of truth at its heart. She loves to travel and finds inspiration in beautiful places and the stories they hide.

Set mainly in Croatia, her contemporary stories are more about friendship than romance, the coming together of people through shared interests, and the opportunity to make fresh starts in their lives. Her latest book, The Santorini Writing Retreat, is her first set in Greece.

In addition Eva has written two Second World War dual timeline romances, An Island of Secrets and The Collaborator’s Daughter. All her books are published by One More Chapter, a division of Harper Collins.

Although she considers herself Welsh, Eva lives in Cornwall with the man she met and fell in love with more than thirty years ago. She also writes as Jane Cable.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvaGlynAuthor

Twitter: @JaneCable

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evaglynauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eva-glyn



Giveaway to Win a paperback copy of The Santorini Writing Retreat (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Blog Tour: Under a Summer Skye by Sue Moorcroft (includes UK giveaway)

 

Thea Wynter and her sister Ezzie live a quiet life working at a big house on the Isle of Skye. Thea used to be a bit of a celebrity, appearing on TV in a popular gardening show. Now, she has been very happy to leave that world behind. She loves being a gardener and chooses to not have any social media at all.

Dev Dowie makes his way to Skye to try and find Thea. His business and marriage have both gone bust and he has been reduced to writing tawdry Where Are They Now type articles. He meets Thea when she comes up across him rescuing a puppy. He very quickly decides that he does not want to write the story so does what he can to get out of it.

Thea and her sisters are all adopted and a chance meeting changes everything that she thought she knew about her story. The question is does she want to find the truth now or is it safer to leave sleeping dogs lie. And does she want to take a chance with Dev? And can you really leave the past behind, especially when someone else has a different agenda?

I have read a few Sue Moorcroft books over the last year or so and she is now on my radar for every new release. And when I found out that her latest book was going to be set on the Isle of Skye there was no doubt that I wanted to read it, and not just because we are going to be visiting the island on our Scottish tour in a couple of months time.

I enjoyed the island setting of this book, as well as side trip to Brittany!

This is the first book in a trilogy, which presumably will focus on each of the three sisters. Interestingly, this is the second book about adopted women finding their true identity I have read in a row!

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy. I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Review blog.

Rating 4/5

About the book

Under a Summer Skye

A Scottish island. A stranger from the mainland. A summer of possibilities…

Escape to the Isle of Skye this summer with the Sunday Times bestselling author, and lose yourself in the first book of the Skye Sisters Trilogy.

A chance encounter is about to change everything for Thea Wynter.

The moment she arrived on the Isle of Skye, life changed for Thea. Running from a succession of wrong turns, she comes to the island in search of blue sea, endless skies, and mountains that make the heart soar. Here, she feels at peace.

As head gardener at Rothach Hall, life is exactly how she wants it, with her days spent working in the glorious clifftop garden and her evenings in the cosy village pub.

But an encounter with a stranger from the mainland brings with it an unexpected turn – and she is left wondering whether he is friend or foe.

It seems that even on Skye, life can catch up with you, and Thea is soon faced with the past she left behind – and with it, the family she’s never met…

From old lives to new beginnings, lose yourself on the beautiful Isle of Skye with Thea as she discovers how many possibilities life can truly hold if you look hard enough.

 

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Summer-Skye-glorious-bestseller/dp/0008636818/

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Summer-Skye-million-copy-bestseller-ebook/dp/B0CKSNYRZL

About the Author  –

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and her novels have been #1 on Kindle UK and Top 100 on Kindle US, Canada and Italy. She writes two books a year for publishing giant HarperCollins and has won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Novel of the Year, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award, a HOLT Medallion and the Katie Fforde Bursary. She’s the president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Her novels, short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

 

Social Media Links –

Amazon page: Sue Moorcroft

Audible page: Sue Moorcroft

Website: www.suemoorcroft.com

Facebook author page SueMoorcroftAuthor

Twitter: @SueMoorcroft

Instagram: @SueMoorcroftAuthor

Linked in: Sue Moorcroft

Link Tree: linktr.ee/SueMoorcroft

Bookbub: SueMoorcroft1

About the Giveaway

Giveaway to Win a Signed copy of Under A Summer Skye, plus Sue Moorcroft Pen and Bookmarks (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko (includes international giveaway)

Many, many years ago (because I am older than I look) I read a book called Tanamera by Noel Barber which was all about Singapore from just before the start of WWII to the 1950s encompassing the Japanese invasion in WWII and then through the Malayan war. It is this book I credit with my interest in WWII stories set in the Asian theatre of war. 

Despite the proliferation of WWII books being published now, there are still relatively few stories that are set in Asia, and so, when I was offered this book, which is set in Hong Kong, I jumped at the opportunity.

William Burton and Constance Han meet on board a ship heading to Hong Kong, He is just beginning his career working in the Colonial Service. She is returning home after studying in Britain. Will is excited about his new life in the exotic city, knowing that he has to work hard to learn the language quickly.

Connie is pleased to be going home, although she does know that, as the daughter of a very wealthy and influential Eurasian businessman, her life is all planned out. She will marry a suitable Chinese man, and begin having children, just like her sisters. 

William and Connie are immediately attracted to each other, but Connie knows it will be foolhardy to begin a romance with a man who will definitely be unacceptable to her family who have strong Chinese traditions. They agree to be friends and she will help him learn the language. But when the attraction is strong, it's easy to forget that there's no future as they dance the night away on board and spend time together.

Once they arrive in Hong Kong, they go their separate ways, but they agree to meet regularly beneath the flame trees so that they can continue their lessons, but it has to be a secret.

However, war is imminent and everyone is worried about a possible Japanese invasion, and the very traditions that Connie knows will dictate her future are also under threat. She manages to convince her father that it is a good idea for her to have a job and ends up working for a Chinese general who has some very interesting connections. In the meantime Will goes into training as part of a secret military group whose job it is to stop the Japanese invasion by any means necessary..

As the Japanese invasion comes, both Connie and Will find themselves in danger and doing things that would otherwise never have been something they would have contemplated. Can they both survive and find each other?

I really enjoyed this book, in particular the details in relation to the Japanese invasion and the aftermath. The island was woefully under defended for the invasion, unprepared to face the might and experience of the Japanese army. The details of the work that both Will and Connie undertook at that time were really interesting, and all the more so as it was based on a true story.

I hadn't even finished reading this book before I bought the previous book by this author, The Orchid Tree, which is also set in Hong Kong. Then maybe I will look at her books set in Italy!

Rating 4/5

About the book:

The Flame Tree

Based on a little-known true story, from award-winning author Siobhan Daiko comes a tale of love and survival against all the odds set in Hong Kong at the start of the Pacific War.

In the spring of 1939, dashing young William Burton and the beautiful Constance Han set sail from London on the same ocean liner to Hong Kong.

Romance blossoms while they enjoy games of deck quoits and spend sultry tropical evenings dancing under the stars. Connie is intrigued by Will’s talent for writing poetry, and she offers to give him Cantonese lessons to help him with his new job— a cadet in the colonial service.

But once in Hong Kong, Connie is constrained by filial duty towards her Eurasian parents, and their wish for her to marry someone from her own background. She can't forget Will however and arranges to meet him in secret under the magnificent canopy of a flame of the forest tree—where she fulfils her promise to teach him to speak Chinese.

Before too long, trouble looms as Japanese forces gather on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China. Will joins a commando group tasked with operating behind enemy lines, and Connie becomes involved in the fight against local fifth columnists.

When war breaks out, they find themselves drawn into a wider conflict than their battle against prejudice. Can they survive and achieve a future together? Or do forces beyond their control keep them forever apart?

Perfect for readers of Dinah Jefferies, Ann Bennett and Victoria Hislop.

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/TFTHK

About the Author  –

Siobhan Daiko is a British historical fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese dog and a rescued cat. Siobhan was born of English parents in Hong Kong, attended boarding school in Australia, and then moved to the UK—where she taught modern foreign languages in a Welsh comprehensive school. She now spends her time writing page-turners and enjoying her life near Venice. Her novels are compelling, poignant, and deeply moving, with strong characters and evocative settings, but always with romance at their heart.

Social Media Links –

Website: https://siobhandaiko.org

Twitter: https://twitter.com/siobhandaiko

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsolandoBooks

https://www.facebook.com/siobhan.daiko

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-daiko-74993651/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siobhandaiko_asolandobooks/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.it/SiobhanDaiko/_saved/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/siobhan-daiko

Amazon Author Page: author.to/SiobhanDaiko

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7091256.Siobhan_Daiko

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@siobhandaiko_asolo

 

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Flame Tree (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Strangers on a Train blog tour

Today I am really excited to welcome author Donna Cummings here as part of the Strangers on a Train blog tour! Haven't heard of Strangers on a Train? Five romance authors have put together a series  which feature different couples and different trains, but with one big element that is the same in each - love!

And, don't forget to enter the contest to win a copy of Donna's book, Back on Track. Read to the end of the post to find out how to win.

Welcome Donna!

Donna Cummings

I'm a big fan of serendipity.

The Strangers on a Train series started with a random conversation on Twitter, when Ruthie and Samantha were chatting about a pic of a hot guy riding a train. Serena and Meg and I joined in -- and it was probably one of those times when I was thinking, "I really should be writing, not chatting on Twitter". But that's how serendipity works, if you're open to it. I added my thoughts, and next thing I knew, there was a "we should write some books!" comment thrown out there, and well, here we are. The series is going to be released in just a few days!

My story, Back on Track, had a few more instances of serendipity. I had originally started with a slightly different story, on a completely different train, but I was struggling a bit. For some reason the Napa Wine Train popped into my brain one morning. I still don't know how or why, since I hadn't seen anything about it. In fact, I thought for a moment I'd made it up! So I looked online and found that it really did exist. Then I thought, "One of the other authors must be using it", so I checked the email conversation where we'd all said which train we were going to write about -- and there was nothing. So it became mine, all mine.

The title was another bit of Twitter inspiration. I was chatting with Samantha about how our writing was going, and she tweeted something about getting back on track, and I said, "That's my new title!"

My heroine, Allie, is trying to get the hero, baseball superstar Matt, to pose for her beefcake celebrity calendar. It's to benefit greyhounds that have been rescued once they are no longer able to race. I stumbled across an article about the dogs, and it struck a chord with me, and in that out-of-the-blue way that things were happening, I knew it would be a perfect fit for Allie's project. It was also something Matt would find a worthy cause, since he can sympathize with what life might be like after he's unable to compete.

So, after the way this story--and series--came together, if I wasn't a fan of serendipity before, I certainly am now!

Has serendipity worked for you? I'd love to hear your stories! 

One random commenter will win an e-book of Back on Track. Contest closes on 7 April. Don't forget to leave your email address in the comments so that we can let you know if you are the lucky winner!

Preorder/order links – releasing April 2

Strangers on a Train at Amazon
Strangers on a Train at Barnes & Noble
Strangers on a Train at Samhain

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/series/92319-strangers-on-a-train


About Strangers on a Train

Romancing the rails…

Tight Quarters by Samantha Hunter

Reid isn’t happy about the mix-up that saddles him with a claustrophobic roommate on his New York train tour. Then his weekend with Brenna progresses to a weekend fling, and so much more.

Ticket Home by Serena Bell

Encountering her workaholic ex on her commuter train is the surprise of Amy’s life. Especially since Jeff seems hell-bent on winning her back.

Thank You for Riding by Meg Maguire

At the end of Caitlin’s commute, her extended flirtation with a handsome stranger finds them facing a frigid winter night locked in an unheated subway station.

Back on Track by Donna Cummings

A wine tour isn’t enough to take Matt’s mind off his baseball slump—until sexy, funny Allie plops into the adjacent seat and tells him three things about herself. One of them, she says, is a lie. Then Allie lets slip one truth too many…

Big Boy by Ruthie Knox

Mandy doesn’t want romance, but monthly role-playing dates with her stranger on a train—each to a different time period—become the erotic escape she desperately needs. And a soul connection she never expected.

About the Authors

Serena Bell - Website  Twitter  Facebook   Goodreads
Ruthie Knox -Website  Twitter  Facebook   Goodreads
Samantha Hunter - Website  Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads
Donna Cummings - Website Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads
Meg Maguire - Website Twitter Goodreads

Winner of the Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop

Thank you to every one who entered the Australia Day Book Blog Giveaway Hop! There was a huge number of entries.

I used random.org to help me to choose a winner who gets to choose a book of their choice from any Australian author.

Congratulations to the winner:

Alissa Callen

I will be in contact to find out which book you would like to read!

Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop

We get to celebrate Australia Day this weekend! Normally it is a day for relaxing but this weekend I have barbecues (there may even be prawns on the barbie!) and booze, maybe going to the fireworks nearby, watching the tennis, oh, and getting ready for back to school but I don't want to think too hard about that!

I am pleased though to be sharing some Australia Day celebrations with you! Today, I am participating in my first ever blog hop giveaway, the Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop being hosted by Book'd Out and Confessions from Romaholics! I am pleased to be giving away one book to the value of $30 (excluding postage). Because this is an Australia Day celebration, I am going to insist that the author be an Aussie!

As the giveaway is open internationally, it may give some of my international readers a chance to try some of the fantastic books we have that are only easily available here.

Need some ideas for books to choose from. Here are a few suggestions

Rural Lit - very popular here and kind of uniquely Australian. I certainly haven't read much like them set in other countries. All three of these books include outback settings, in very male dominated environments and all of them are great reads.

Historical Fiction - settings from WWII in Perth to ancient Etruscan civilisation to 19th century England

Contemporary Fiction  -Set in Melbourne or Sydney both of these books made laugh, and one of them nearly made me cry!

Speculative Fiction - I am a big fan of the entire Twelve Planets series from Twelfth Planet Press

That's probably enough in terms of suggestions, despite the fact I haven't even gotten to some of my favourite authors or the authors I know I should have read but haven't yet or to romance as a genre or literary fiction! So many fab choices!


How to Enter

The Australia Day Book Giveaway Blog Hop is open for entries until Midnight January 28. Open internationally! Winners will be announced before the following Friday.

Complete the form below

Entry Form

Be sure to visit Book'd Out to see all the other great Aussie blogs that are hosting giveaways this weekend too!


In the comments

I am sure that there are lots of favourite Aussie authors that I haven't mentioned. Share your favourite Aussie authors, or the books that you wish you could read by an Aussie author!

Winner of Vanity Fare giveaway

Mmmm..... donuts!

Before I announce the winner of the giveaway I was running for Vanity Fare by Megan Caldwell, I thought I would share the entries I got to my competition question. In case you don't recall, I asked entrants to come up with a marketing blurb for donuts. Not everyone did this, but it didn't matter because it wasn't a condition of entry. I did mention that I would be sharing the results here, so here they are:

Meg from A Bookish Affair started us off with a Donut Haiku

Sprinkled frosted love:

The food gods loving offer

You must eat one now!!!"

Twisty J from Twisting the Lens ode to the Long John (which I think we call eclairs here although we have both the ones made with donut mix and choux pastry)

Jam-filled, cream-filled or twisted, the long john donut can find happiness in the belly of anyone!  

Samstillreading isn't a fan

 "Fat, sugar, cream...short cut your way to a heart attack! 

 (You might guess that I don't like donuts!)"

Michelle from Peaceful Reader

 "Donuts are just squishy bagels with sprinkles, can we get some, please?" said my son to me.

And finally Stephanie from Read in a Single Sitting

Sweet, curvy and with a heart of jam: what more could you ask for?

I can tell you I gave myself a donut craving looking for all these images!

Anyway, enough of that!

I used random.org to pick the winner from the entrants, and the winner is

Twisty J from Twisting the Lens

I will be emailing the winner for their postal details. Thanks to everyone for participating, especially those who joined in on the donut fun!

Vanity Fair by Megan Caldwell (includes international giveaway)

When Molly Hagan's husband leaves her for another woman she is devastated, but she thanks to a generous divorce deal she know that she will be okay eventually. That is until her husband gives her the news that his business has gone bust and that he has lost all of his money. Her health insurance will expire at the end of the month and she has to find a way to support both herself and her six year old son, Aidan.  Molly has a degree in English but has spent the last six years at home with her child. With very little experience to offer a prospective employer, Molly is feeling the pressure.

Bowing to that pressure, she begrudgingly asks her mother for some money only to find that her mother has made some bad investment choices and so is on the verge of losing her own home. Suddenly she has to put food on the table for both herself and her son as well as her mother who comes to live with her. They have what would possibly be described as a difficult relationship so having to share a confined space is an added challenge that Molly could do without.

Thankfully Molly's friend John has a freelance copy writing gig for her. He has recently been hired to come up with a direction for a new bakery that is opening up in New York. Located right near the New York public library and run by an up and coming pastry chef. John needs to ensure that the design concepts really capture the public's imagination and make the place a success! Molly will need to work closely with the British chef, Simon, who is hoping for a step up in terms of profile, maybe even onto the TV food channels. Simon is drop dead gorgeous and with that British accent he has Molly going weak at the knees pretty much straight away. The nuts and bolts man of the operation is Nick - stern, a bit disdainful and also good looking but in a much less obvious way.

Molly has to juggle a lot in her life. Her therapy sessions (with a very understanding therapist it has to be said), making sure that she is free when Aidan gets out from school, meetings, presentations, starting to date again and more and I thought that the way that the author portrayed Molly's insecurities felt very real. Even once she comes up with a fantastic concept that both Nick and Simon like, she needs a bit of positive reinforcement, and I loved the way that her friends both were able to provide that support to her. We also got glimpses into the friends lives, which helped provide some different elements to the book. I did also think that the author nailed the issues about being a single mum to a small child pretty well. The alternation between independence and insecurity of the child, the concept of not being able to afford to buy the latest PowerRanger toy even though all the other kids have it, trying to juggle life etc.

The reasons I was attracted to this book in the first place include the cover (which is very nice) and also the idea of incorporating classic literature with food. This part of the book really worked for me. I would love to go to a bakery where you could sit down and read your book while eating something like  Tart of Darkness which is described as "Obscure, faintly dangerous ingredients - Belgian chocolate, white rum, African groundnuts - combine in a swirl of flavor, topped off with a heady adventure of whipped cream. Delicious, delectable, and almost completely inscrutable, this tart reveals your most secret desires. And if Kurtz had been able to savor this, who knows how the story would have ended?" At first, I also really liked that Molly was unashamedly a romance reader but after a while that felt a little overplayed in the storyline, especially when she was then pushing more high brow books as reading options to her friends a lot of the time.

When I look at the reviews of other participants in the tour, it is obvious that they all loved this book, so far anyway. I, however, was not quite as convinced. This book evoked a very personal response for me, and I can't quite decide if that is because of the book itself not working for me, or if it is my own personal experiences that have coloured my reading. I am tempted to say I just read it at the wrong time, but as I think back on it I don't know that there would be a better time.

As I said previously, my reactions are very personal and relate to my own experiences as a single mother. The first relates to the timing. Now I know that I have been EXTREMELY slow at meeting someone new, but it seemed to me that Molly had only been by herself for six months or so. She talks about feeling frumpy and inadequate compared to some of the other New York women but suddenly she has not one but two gorgeous men on the line. (Yes, the love triangle has escaped into this book!) And as for the two men, there wasn't a lot of nuance - it was pretty obvious to me from very early on exactly where she was going to end up, even when there is a big reveal at the end in relation to her chosen man. And let's not talk about the ex-husband.

Now, I don't begrudge someone moving on, but I have quite a few single parent friends and not many of them find it so easy to meet numerous men, let alone numerous men who are wealthy and good looking plus love kids and tick every other box on the prospective partner checklist, and with everything else just falling into place too. Maybe I am just a tiny bit jealous of how easy a fictional character finds it to move onwards and upwards while I sit here feeling lonely and just scraping by financially, doing the best I can but not seeing how things are going to change any time soon.

I suspect I have probably committed a cardinal sin of book reviewers by making this last part of the review all about me, but these factors really affected my enjoyment of the book, so no apologies here.

As I said, if you follow the blog tour you will get to see some really enthusiastic and positive reviews. Hopefully, if you get a chance to read this book, you will like it a whole lot more than I did. I suspect I am going to always be very much in the minority on this one.

Rating 2.5/5 stretching to a 3/5 because of the fun food descriptions and recipes in the back of the book

Tour Details

Tour schedule
Megan's website
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Synopsis

Molly Hagan is overwhelmed.

Her husband left her for a younger, blonder woman; her six-year-old son is questioning her authority, and now so is she. In order to pay her Brooklyn rent and keep her son supplied with Pokémon and Legos, not to mention food and clothing, she has to get a job—fast.

So when an old friend offers Molly a freelance position copywriting for a new bakery, finding romance is just about the last thing on her mind. But the sexy British pastry chef who’s heading up the bakery has other thoughts. And then so does Molly, when she meets the chef’s intimidating business partner—who also happens to have a secret that might prevent Molly from getting her own happily ever after.

Giveaway

Thanks to TLC book tours and the publisher, I have a copy of the book to giveaway and the giveaway is international!

I thought I would set a little challenge for you though. You don't have to do this but I thought it would be fun if as part of your entry you tried come up with a marketing blurb for the humble donut. It doesn't matter what kind of donut - jam filled, chocolate, strawberry, covered in sprinkles or not - any kind really!

Don't worry, this isn't compulsory but just a bit of fun. When I announce the winners, I will share the entries so that everyone else will be able to see what fun ideas you all came up with, assuming there are some!

Enter the giveaway by completing the form below

Giveaway form

The giveaway will close on 20 January.

A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead (includes international giveaway)

The whole title of this book is A Train in Winter: A Story of Resistance, Friendship and Survival in Auschwitz. I don't read a lot of non-fiction but I knew I wanted to read this one as soon as it came out. I think part of the reason I was so interested is that I do find reading about people's experiences in big conflicts like WWI and WWII fascinating. I am aware that I could probably read non-fiction about WWII exclusively as there is a lot out there but I need a hook to catch my attention. In this case, the hook was the fact that the book was about a group of women who were active in the French Resistance and ended up being captured and then sent to the death camps like Auschwitz and Birkenau, among other places. The book follows a group of 230 women, all French political prisoners, from their activities in the Resistance to their capture and initial captivity in the French prisons and their eventual secret deportment to Auschwitz on Le Convoi des 31000, one of the only trains to contain female resistance prisoners. Of these 230 women, only 49 returned.

Broken into two parts, the first part provides the reader with background to life in France during the early days of the German invasion, the formation of the Vichy government, and then the initial resistance activity. We meet communist intellectuals who put out anti-Nazi newspapers, the couriers who deliver messages and copies of the newspapers, women who helped host people fleeing from the Nazis including other activists as well as Jewish people. While a lot of the people we meet lived and worked in Paris, there were also groups of people who were working in cities and towns in rural France. There were young women who were still in their teens, and older women with grown children, mothers with young children and so many more.

The second part focuses on their life within the camps, the constant stream of new arrivals and the daily horror that awaited them. Starved, beaten, sick, forced to stand for hours at a time in freezing condition, lice-ridden - the list of terrors go on and on. Forced to work in the infirmaries and to witness some of the medical experiments but it does also give them opportunities to try and save some lives where they can. One of the things that helps those women that do survive is their reliance on each other, their solidarity for want of a better term. It also touches on the difficulties of returning to 'normal' life, to the children who don't know the women who return, the memories, and more. One of the more telling quotes from the book comes from one of the survivors:

Looking at me, one would think that I'm alive....I'm not alive. I died in Auschwitz, but no one knows it.

The author does a good job of sharing just enough information about each woman, but there are a lot of them and there were times that there was just too many women that the reader had to try and keep track of. I am not sure if a couple of more in depth profiles of chosen people might have had just as big an emotional effect as so many smaller details. Even with this criticism, this book did pack an emotional punch. There were times that I cringed as I read about the terrible acts of inhumanity that these women were subjected to, along with millions of others who didn't fit the Nazi ideal of acceptableness, like the Jews but also other groups like gypsies, homosexuals, and so many more. I found the sections that talked about the fate of many of the young children and babies born in the camps to be particularly heartrending.

There are photos liberally spread throughout the book. Some of them included the children that the women left behind, some pictures of the camps and more. I must say one photo that did affect me was one of a group of German guards, mostly female, in the prison camps looking very happy. Given that it was strategically placed in the text in sections where they talked about how vicious some of these women guards were, it was hard to equate these happy, smiling faces with some of the sadistic punishments that were meted out.

One of the things that I found amazing about these women was that while a lot of them were politically active as individuals, there were others who took up roles in the various resistance organisations after their husbands/brothers/lovers/fathers were arrested and taken away by the Germans. They KNEW the risks they were taking, they did their best to avert those risks but they still took up the work of distributing anti-German literature, or helping people cross borders into safer areas or whatever it is that they were doing. Sometimes they were caught thanks to the work of the French police who worked with the Gestapo, other times they were just caught almost by accident. Other women were denounced by their neighbours for listening to the BBC, which was banned, and in a couple of cases there was no evidence that the women were actually involved in any way but they were still rounded up and ended up in the prison camps.

What I wasn't expecting was to find myself contemplating big questions about myself. We are lucky to live a pretty easy life in that there haven't been any major wars in Australia. I did find myself wondering if I would have the strength of conviction to be an active resister if we were invaded. Would I have the fortitude to physically survive the terrible conditions and the mental strength to come back and live my life after seeing the many terrible things that these women were subjected to and witnessed? Having contemplated it for a while, I think that the fact of the matter is that I would probably not be a resister but would be more of the keep your head down and do the best to survive kind of mentality. I most certainly would have struggled physically and mentally! Heck, I struggle now at times.

The other thing that I do find myself pondering is about how a country like France moved on from the effects of the war, particularly when you think about the collaborators, the police who followed the German orders, the judges who enforced German laws. For example, how do you look your neighbour in the eye if you suspect that they were the one who denounced you to the Germans? How long did these after effects impact on life in French society? In the final section, the author talked about the fact that the last of the collaborators were released from prison in the late 1960s, which isn't long before I was born. Is the past fully in the past  and if so how long did it colour daily life for the country as a whole?

I did think that the author drew some interesting conclusions. When looking at the women who survived there was an inference that it was only a certain age of woman who was likely to survive, and that they were most likely to be those with certain beliefs who were strong enough to stand the experiences that they were being subjected to. I am not quite sure why this was the conclusion that was reach, whether it was an agenda at the beginning of the process or if it was a more organic conclusion.

This is a very interesting book about a very important subject. After the war, there were only comparatively few women who were individually recognised for their bravery and their work in the resistance. This book attempts to redress that in some small way. It isn't a book that you can just get lost in or reading in a single sitting. The subject matter is confronting and distressing, and as you can see had me contemplating some pretty big questions in my own mind. I am glad that I took the opportunity to read this book as part of the tour.

Tour details

You can check out what other participants on the tour thought. The tour schedule can be found here.


Giveaway details


Thanks to TLC Booktours and the publisher I have one copy of A Train in Winter to give away, and the contest is open internationally! The giveaway will close on 18 November 2012.

To enter please complete the form by clicking on the link below

Entry form 

Synopsis

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycée; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.

Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

In January 1943, they were sent to their final destination: Auschwitz. Only forty-nine would return to France.

A Train in Winter draws on interviews with these women and their families; German, French, and Polish archives; and documents held by World War II resistance organizations to uncover a dark chapter of history that offers an inspiring portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and survival—and of the remarkable, enduring power of female friendship.