BOOKSIMO

I'm pleased to be on the blog tour for this book today.  Blurb The intrepid librarian Shona McMonagle, erstwhile Marcia Blaine Academy prefect and an accomplished linguist and martial artist, finds herself in an isolated French mountain village, Sans-Soleil, which has no sunlight because of its topography. It’s reeling from a spate of unexplained deaths, and Shona has once again travelled back in time to help out. Forging an uneasy alliance with newly widowed Madeleine, Shona is soon drawn into a full-blown vampire hunt, involving several notable villagers, the world-renowned soprano Mary Garden – and even Count Dracula himself. Will Shona solve the mystery, secure justice for the murder victims and make it through a deathly denouement in the hall of mirrors to return to present-day Morningside Library? Review The book begins with Shona McMonagle finding herself in the past not knowing when or where in the world she is, but finds a note saying "Remember y

Description Every adult paid a living wage. No strings attached. Universal basic income is a very old idea that is fast becoming  the  radical idea of the twenty-first century. It could eradicate poverty and avoid a much-predicted dystopian future of automation and high unemployment – but it could also have an unexpected effect: an explosion of mass creativity. Phil Teer draws insights from the creative and entrepreneurial effects of basic income experiments and weaves them into stories of how the Romantic poets invented consumerism; artists regenerated cities like New York, Glasgow and Berlin; and creative geniuses like David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami and many others liberated their creative spirits and transformed their lives. The Coming Age of Imagination  is a creative manifesto for universal basic income. When we no longer have to worry about money, we have the opportunity to be creative on a mass scale. Simply put, basic income changes everythin

Description How far would someone go to replace you? A new mother on maternity leave grows increasingly paranoid about her ambitious young temp in this Hitchcockian debut from the fashion editor at  The Times  (UK)   . Margot is the object of every woman's envy: as an editor at Haute, she has a glamorous job, a beautiful new baby girl, a seemingly perfect life. But when Margot's lifelong friend, Winnie, loses her own newborn boy, their shared dream of pushing strollers together turns to ash. And then there is the matter of Margot's maternity temp: bright, plucky, ambitious Maggie--the young woman Margot chose, but who now seems to be trying to eclipse her in every possible way. When a cyber-stalker emerges, mocking Margot's façade of perfection and threatening to expose a dark secret she's spent years repressing, Margot feels attacked from all sides. Soon, the innocent preoccupations of motherhood spiral quickly--and perhaps lethally--into a frightening and irret

Description You never forget the one that got away. But what if ‘what could have been’ is still to come? Daniel was the first boy to make Alison a mix tape. But that was years ago and Ali hasn’t thought about him in a very long time. Even if she had, she might not have called him ‘the one that got away’; she’d been the one to run away, after all. Then Dan’s name pops up on her phone, with a link to a song from their shared past. For two blissful minutes, Alison is no longer an adult in Adelaide with temperamental daughters; she is sixteen in Sheffield, dancing in her too-tight jeans. She cannot help but respond in kind. And so begins a new mix tape. Ali and Dan exchange songs – some new, some old – across oceans and time zones, across a lifetime of different experiences, until one of them breaks the rules and sends a message that will change everything… Because what if ‘what could have been’ is still to come? Review I chose to read this book as the title w

Description 'The fact that this novel is so witty is incidental to how good it is - it has characters you care about deeply and a heart as big as a cathedral' Miles Jupp 'The finest love story I have read in years. Perfect I'd say.' Phyllida Shrimpton, author of  Sunflowers in February Mr Baxter is ninety-four years old when he falls down his staircase and finds himself resident at Melrose Gardens Retirement Home. Baxter is many things - raconteur, retired music teacher, rabble-rouser,  bon viveur ; but 'good patient' he is not. Indeed, Melrose Gardens is his worst nightmare. Then he meets Gregory. Greg is just nineteen years old, but he has already suffered a loss so heavy that he is in danger of giving up on life before he even gets going. Seeing the boy's pain, Baxter decides to take him under his wing. Together they embark on a spirited journey to the war graves of Northern France, for Baxter to pay tribute to the love of his life; the

Description 'A masterpiece'  Guardian A compelling speculative mystery by one of Japan's greatest writers. Hat, ribbon, bird, rose. To the people on the island, a disappeared thing no longer has any meaning. It can be burned in the garden, thrown in the river or handed over to the Memory Police. Soon enough, the island forgets it ever existed. When a young novelist discovers that her editor is in danger of being taken away by the Memory Police, she desperately wants to save him. For some reason, he doesn’t forget, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for him to hide his memories. Who knows what will vanish next? The Memory Police is a beautiful, haunting and provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, from one of Japan’s greatest writers. 'One of Japan’s most acclaimed authors explores truth, state surveillance and individual autonomy. Echoes 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and 100 Years of Solitude, but it has a voice and power all its o

Description 'Absorbing and beautiful - a great achievement' Bridget Collins, bestselling author of  The Binding There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of sisters Grimm on Earth. You may well be one of them, though you might never know it. This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire. They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again. In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die. You’ll have to read on to find out who and why . .  Review I've previously read and reviewed two of the author's other books, and for me this book whilst an epic mas