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My favourite books of 2019

I can't quite believe we are at the end of the year again and I'm picking my favourite books again but here we are.

I can't make this a top 10 list and don't particularly want to. This list features all of the books I've rated 5 stars this year. This list very much shows off the type of reader I've become over the past 10 years of fiction focusing particularly on contemporary fiction (both YA and adult) although I am surprised that there isn't more historical fiction on the list as I love that just as much.

Women's fiction

The Cornish Cream Tea Bus by Cressida McLaughlin


I loved this book because the story was lovely and featured all the cakes and I basically want to be Charlie. There's a sequel(ish) coming next year and I'm already beyond excited for it.

Messy wonderful us by Catherine Isaac


One of those books that transport you to the setting and make you desperate to visit. I loved it.

Living my best life by Claire Frost


I loved what this book…
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Blog Tour: Love songs for sceptics by Christina Pishiris

I am delighted today to be part f the blog tour for Christina Pishrirs's brilliant book love songs for sceptics. I was lucky enough to read a copy a while back and found myself hooked to every page as I rooted for the main character from the outset.

I have been asked today to share my favourite sceptical love songs and after lots of deliberating I've picked one song that I think fits the bill from Striking Matches a band I am currently obsessed with after seeing them live in London over half term. The song I've picked is Make a Liar out of me which I really think fits the bill of a sceptical love song and the video I've picked is an acoustic recording of them which shows off how brilliant the duo are.




When she was thirteen, Zoë Frixos fell in love with Simon, her best friend and the boy next door. Though they’ve been friends for over twenty years, she’s never found a way to tell him how she feels. Now Simon is returning to London, newly divorced and as devastatingly ch…
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Snowed in at the practice by Penny Parkes

Welcome to the Larkford Surgery in the Cotswolds, the heart of a tightknit community as well as a hotbed of drama, rivalry, resentment and romance - and that's just the doctors …

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I discovered The Larkford Series about a year ago and read the three book…
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The Christmas Wishlist by Heidi Swain

After being let go from her job in a swanky hotel just weeks before Christmas, Hattie is feeling lost. Even more so when her high-flying boyfriend announces he’s landed his dream job in Abu Dhabi and asks her to move with him. Luckily, Hattie’s long-time friend Dolly is on hand to help and invites Hattie to spend one last holiday in the small, festive town of Wynbridge, determined to give her a Christmas to remember . . .

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As Wynbridge prepares for its most spectacular Christmas yet, will Hattie leave snowy England behi…
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The Photographer of the Dead by Caroline Scott

 Until she knows her husband’s fate, she cannot decide her own...
An epic debut novel of forbidden love, loss, and the shattered hearts left behind in the wake of World War I

1921. Families are desperately trying to piece together the fragments of their broken lives. While many survivors of the Great War have been reunited with their loved ones, Edie’s husband Francis has not come home. He is considered ‘missing in action’, but when Edie receives a mysterious photograph taken by Francis in the post, hope flares. And so she beings to search.

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White Eagles by Elizabeth Wein

Summer 1939. With Europe on the brink of war, eighteen-year-old Kristina Tomiak has been called up to join the White Eagles, Poland's valiant air force. When the Nazis reach the town where she is based, Kristina makes a daring escape, but she doesn't realise that she's carrying a stowaway in her plane. Will Kristina be able to navigate the most challenging flight of her life and reach safety amid the turmoil of war? Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 13+

I love Barrington Stoke's books. They have a huge range of accessible titles written by some awesome YA authors which are always cracking reads. I particularly love their historical fiction range for using at school so I was very excited indeed when I heard this book was coming from them written by Elizabeth Wein.

White Eagles is the story of Kristina as she escapes the Nazis as they reach the town in which she is based during their invasion into Poland flying her own plane. What I l…
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Talking about books on BBC Radio Norfolk with Jack Jay

At some point in the middle of the summer holidays I was contacted on twitter by a producer at BBC Radio Norfolk asking if I'd be interested in going on the radio to chat about my book blog and I must admit I was intrigued by the idea and I agreed to go on at the start of September as a guest on The Jack Jay Show.
The first few days of September rolled round and I suddenly found the day was upon me. I booked to go in on a Monday which also happened to be my first day back at school after the six week break and after a busy first day of meetings I drove to Norwich to the Forum where the BBC is based in Norwich ready for the show.
I had no idea really what to expect from being on the radio not having anything to really compare it to but pleased to report I had the loveliest time whilst there. I was met by the series producer who chatted with me about my blog and the books I read as well as what to expect from the experience. Shortly afterwards I was taken into the recording studio. …
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