Weekly Tales – 23/11/2014

Welcome to my first weekly wrap up on Tales Of Yesterday where I share what I have been reading this week, what books I have bought or have been privileged to have received and any general bookish or sometimes not so bookish things I have been up to over the past week.

Currently Reading

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Goodreads you will see I have been reading this wonderful book The Diviners by Libba Bray for a few weeks now.  This is mainly because I have been breaking my read one book at a time rule (naughty me) and because this book is a 592 pages long (it’s huuugggeee).  This book was suggested to me by the wonderful author Keris Stainton who was brave to read as she becomes scared easily (hope she doesn’t mind me saying). I admit I had a bit of a slow rocky start with this book but having got past that I am really enjoying it. As usual my overactive imagination runs wild as there have been some scary moments in this book that have given me the creeps!

You can find out more about this book on Libba Bray’s website or as I am hoping to finish this book in the next few days check out my review which will follow shortly.

Book Post

I have been extremely lucky to win a competition on Girls Heart Books and won this wonderful book that I received in the post this week.  I have and know some children who are very excited to read this including myself so thank you Girls Heart Books.  Reviews to follow soon.

Publisher – Bloomsbury Childrens

Publication Date – 11th September 2014

Anna and Holly have spotted an advert in the paper for a Holy Moly Holiday – the intergalactic vacation of a lifetime. They simply CAN’T not go. But how will they get enough money? Simple: they’ll become royal babysitters for a day. Unfortunately, the girls are in for a shock. Once King Steve and Queen Sheila have left, they discover there isn’t just one prince to look after. There are six. And worse, the country’s arch enemy, King Alaspooryorick of Daneland, has decided to stage an invasion. Will the girls be able to keep their royal charges safe and still go on their dream holiday?

NetGalley

This week I have been extremely lucky to have been approved on NetGalley to read the following books –

Publisher – Full Fathom Five

Publication Date – 26th November 2014

Tara Jenkins and Justin Westcroft used to be childhood BFFs. Now in high school, Justin’s a popular, all-star athlete, and Tara spends her days admiring him from afar. But when Tara saves Justin from nearly drowning in a freak accident, he’s unable to get her out of his mind. In no time at all, Tara and Justin fall deeply in love. And even though it’s only high school, they seem destined for a Happily Ever After.

Until tragedy strikes—and this time, Justin’s not so lucky. Tara passes through her days as a shell of her former self: Justin’s dead, but she can still feel his presence, and she can’t seem to let him go.

But there’s a reason for that, and it’s not just grief: Justin is In Between, and he’s still holding on.

They say that when someone saves you, you’re tied to them for life. But what about in the afterlife?

Publisher – Gemelli Press LLC

Publication Date – 13th March 2014

On a snowy January night, just days after a fire nearly destroyed the school library, Elsie Stewart, daughter of the headmaster and founder of Lakeview Academy, dies when she slips beneath the ice of frozen Clearwater Lake. Unable to right the wrongs she committed before her tragic death, Elsie’s spirit walks the halls of her father’s school, waiting for someone who can.

One hundred years later, while joining her sister’s friend Leigh to help clean out the school’s administration building before the big remodel, Halle stumbles upon Elsie’s hidden journal.

Obsessed with what she finds, Halle searches the school for clues that may lead to solving a century-old mystery. The only problem is that Halle also talks Calum Stewart, Leigh’s worst nightmare, into helping them.

Once Leigh and Calum are forced work together, sparks fly and no one around them, alive or dead, is left unaffected.

Publisher – Simon & Schuster UK Childrens

Release Date – 29th January 2015

I open my eyes. The cell is flooded with sunlight; the window is a slice of pale blue. Dust particles dance in the sparkling light, pirouetting in a golden line from the window to the opposite wall of the cell, where they seem to converge into shapes. It is like looking into a kaleidoscope.

Dad isn’t here. No one is, but me.
Robyn Knollys-Green is an A-list celebrity, famous for being the daughter of one of the world’s most powerful men. But not even the paparazzi can find her now.

Robyn begins to realise that she is trapped in a complicated web of global corruption and deceit – and that the strange, melancholy boy who has been tasked with guarding her might not be an enemy after all . . .

A thrilling, well-crafted, ever-relevant story from a talented new voice in YA fiction.

Publisher – Pan MacMillan

Release Date – 23rd December 2014

While performing the greatest love story of all time, they discovered one of their own . . . Cassie Taylor was just another acting student with big dreams at her prestigious performing arts college . . . then she met Ethan Holt. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy on campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing on stage, Cassie and Ethan’s epic romance seemed destined. Until it ended in tragedy when he shattered her heart. Now they’ve made it to Broadway where they’re reunited as romantic leads once again – and their passionate scenes force them they’re forced to confront the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their intense college affair. For Ethan, losing Cassie was his biggest regret – and he’s determined to redeem himself. But for Cassie, even though Ethan was her first and only great love, he hurt her too much to ever be trusted again. The trouble is, working with him again reminds her that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks. And when it comes to love, sometimes it’s the things that aren’t good for us that are the most irresistible. Don’t miss the intoxicating romance beloved by over two million fans online – a story that’ll captivate you and hold you breathless until the final page.

Publisher – Bookouture

Publication Date – 10th October 2014

A beautiful story about the magic of childhood Christmas memories, the strength of family and falling in love when you least expect it.

Everyone loves Christmas – don’t they?

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.

As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high – the house is amazing, the kids are adorable, and she’s in charge of decorating the tree!

The only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

As Adam’s family arrive for Christmas including his sensitive sister, Sharon, and his fun-loving elderly Grandpa, Walter, Carrie realises that she might just have found the perfect allies in her quest to persuade Adam to loosen up. There’s still time for Carrie to make this the best Christmas ever… after all, Christmas is the time for miracles, isn’t it? Let the festivities begin!

I cannot wait to read these and as I have just brought a kindle paperwhite yesterday so I cannot wait to try it out!  I would like to say a big thank you to Netgalley and all of the publishers for approving me to read these – very excited!  Review to follow soon.

Blog Tours

I have been invited on my first ever blog tours for the following books!  Thanks to Kim Nash,Bookouture and Simon & Fig for inviting me and sending me a copy of these wonderful books!  Reviews will be posted on the book tour dates below.

Publisher – Simon & Fig

Publication Date – 5th November 2014

Cake is often a major part of life’s celebrations, both big and small. From birthdays to wedding days, cake, in all its delectable concoctions, marks joyous occasions with a sweetness that can’t be beat. But even better is the love that is shared when two people connect over a sweet confection. Maybe it’s a cute new guy wreaking havoc on a broken heart, or a beautiful woman testing the limits of love, or an old beau stirring up long lost desires. Whatever the circumstances, cake can always be relied upon to save the day when it comes to affairs of the heart. In this collection of short stories, cake is the delicious center around which each tale unfolds and romance blooms.

When single mom and journalist, Olivia, sets out to find romance in Cindy Arora’s “Cake Therapy,” she gets a little help from her friends and more than a few slices of cake to coax her off the couch and into the arms of a truly great love. Lucie Simone’s “Aprez Vous” finds success-driven Tara in Paris reminiscing of her long lost love, Jean Marc, and her niece bound and determined to reunite them. In “The Heart-Shaped Secret of Raspberry Jam” by Sue Watson, cake enthusiast, Milly, meets her match in the kitchen, and other places, when new owners take over the tea rooms where she works and her talents and her heart are put to the test. And Scott, mayor of a small seaside community, flirts with political suicide in Joel Zlotnik’s “Her Charms” when he falls for new-in-town Nicole, an entrepreneur with a passion for cupcakes, and whose latest venture proves a little too sexy for the sleepy beach town.

From San Francisco to Paris, from small towns to tea rooms, this anthology tempts readers with humor, style, romance, and the powerful aphrodisiac that is cake. Petit Four is four stories, frosted with love.

Tales Of Yesterday Blog Tour Date – 6th December 2014

Publisher – Simon & Fig

Publication Date – 21st November 2014

By and large, Amanda Keane makes pretty good decisions. Okay, she might not have the best taste in men, but she’s got great friends, a good job, and an independent spirit. That is, until her 30th birthday ushers in a whirlwind romance with a sexy Irish musician who leaves her, not at the altar as she imagined, but accidentally pregnant. And when he disappears, she’s downsized out of a job, her apartment is robbed, and lapsed health insurance coverage leaves her with a C-section to pay for, Amanda is launched headfirst into the life of a broke single mom. But her friend and uber successful ob-gyn, Joy, clues her in to an unlikely temp position with one of Chicago’s celebrity elite that just may be the answer to all her woes. Or could it be just the beginning?

It’s with serious trepidation that Amanda embarks on her surprisingly lucrative new career: underground wet nurse to the offspring of Chi-town’s rich and famous. Amanda must quickly understand how to live at the whims and mercy of the one percent as she deals with the irony of nursing – and loving – someone else’s child, while still making ends meet for her own daughter. And then there’s Cute Daycare Dad (aka Dan), who’s obviously interested in her. But can she afford to tell him what she really does for a living? Is her new job (something she thought went out with the 19th century) a shameful thing? Just another way of selling her body? Or does it have something to teach her after all?

A novel of motherhood, its many demands, and all the little triumphs along the way, MILKED is a warm and witty debut about making tough choices and traveling the roundabout road to happiness.

See more about this book on my Debut Spotlight post here

Tales Of Yesterday Blog Tour Date – 20th December 2014

General-ness

I am over the moon to also announce that I have become part of the reading panel at Love Reading and Love Reading 4 Kids which I am super excited about!  A big thank you to Shelley Fallows, Promotion Executive at Love Reading and also author Abi Elphinstone for passing on my details to Shelley – I cannot wait to get started.

As above you may have read that yesterday I succumbed and brought a Kindle.  I have not considered buying a kindle before now as I just love the feel of an actual book and reading a book from a screen seemed strange to me, but I thought I would give it a shot.  I have been using my husband IPad to read digital copies of books but find the screen so harsh on the eyes.  My husband was very happy at this prospect as 1) He gets his IPad back all to himself  and 2) He thinks that my plan of taking over his office with book domination will cease!  I will let him have number one, but I’m sure number 2 will never happen Kindle or no Kindle – I love actual books to much!

Today marks the 1st week anniversary of my website / blog Tales Of Yesterday.co.uk and as it was anti-bullying week I posted a very personal post which you can find here . I would like to thank you all so much for your support, re-tweets on twitter and kind words with regards to Tales Of Yesterday and my anti-bullying post.  It really means a lot – thank you.

Have you read any of the books above or would you like to chat about anything else in this post  I would love to hear from you.  Please feel free to comment using the reply button at the top of this post or why not follow me on twitter and send me a tweet – @chelleytoy

Happy Reading