From the Book Elf

Four Seasons in Japan  by Nick Bradley  Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley was published on 13th June in paperback by Penguin. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis A despondent American translator living in Tokyo finds a lost book on the subway and embarks on a year-long journey translating it into English... Flo is sick of Tokyo. She is stuck in a rut, her translation work has dried up, and she's in a relationship that's run its course. That's until she stumbles upon a mysterious book left by a drunken passenger on the Tokyo Subway. From the very first page, Flo is transformed and immediately feels compelled to translate this forgotten novel, a decision which sets her on a path that will change her life... It is a story about Ayako, a fierce and strict old woman who runs a coffee shop in the small town of Onomichi, where she has just taken guardianship of h...

Zero Risk  by Simon Hayes What a pleasure it has been to be asked to review Zero Risk by Simon Hayes. Thank you so much Literally PR and Rubriqs Pres s for sending me an ARC copy to read, I couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it , It is an absolute privilege to be opening the book tour for Zero Risk. The issue here is where to start with the review. To say I was absolutely blown away by this debut novel from Simon is an understatement and doesn’t do it justice. From the outset the clear, descriptive, narrative captures your imagination as well as fires up, in my case , your feelings about the world we find ourselves in    which basically is governed by the seven deadly sins. I found myself thinking time and time again as the book progressed about how this could become a reality and how it highlighted the way we have developed within society. I actually found that this the book was really well timed considering the upcoming General Election and the dog eat ...

Dorothy  by Neil Rathmell Dorothy by Neil Rathmell  was published on 18th May 2024 by Valley Press.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me on the tour. My Review This is such a moving poetic biography written by a son that takes you through a whole gamut of emotions as you read about Dorothy’s life and the feeling of failure she endured for the vast majority of it. The insight with which Neil talks about his mother in this verse like setting shows an understanding and compassion , along with the ability to see her life through her eyes and not through his. It is a book that will not take you long to read , I sat down with it on a wet May afternoon, but it will leave you with a sense of having had the privilege of almost being a part of Dorothy’s life due to the way in which the narrative unfurls. The chapters on India, where Dorothy actually experiences joy for the first time, and a change in h...

  The Ghost Ship  by Kate Mosse The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse is published in paperback  on 20th June 2024 by Pan Macmillan. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to open the tour. Synopsis The third volume in the number one Sunday Times bestselling Joubert Family Chronicles series. A sweeping and epic love story of concealed identity, piracy and revenge, ranging from Paris and La Rochelle in 1610, to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the 1620s, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling and heart-breaking novel of adventure and buccaneering, love and revenge, stolen fortunes and hidden secrets on the high seas. The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as The Ghost Ship . For months it has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved during the course of their merciless raids, manned by a courageous crew of mariners from Italy and France, Holland and the Can...

  The Sun Over The Mountains  by Suzie Fletcher  The Sun Over The Mountains by Suzie Fletcher was published on 8th June 2024 by Radar/Octopus Books. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis A memoir of hope, healing and restoration, from star of TV's The Repair Shop, Suzie Fletcher. Suzie Fletcher is the warm and friendly face on TV's The Repair Shop that viewers look forward to watching every week as the resident leather expert - a craft she has honed over four decades and was born out of her love of horses. But while she tends to be the one repairing and offering a gentle kindness to others, Suzie has also been in a process of change, reflection, and healing. In her first book Suzie looks back over her life - which moves from England to Colorado and back again - and the places, people and experiences that have shaped the person she is today. We'll hear for the first time,...

Meli &Mac by  Elena Joannides  and illustrated by Margherita Ende Meli & Mac by Elena Joannides and illustrated by Margherita Ende is published by Mythiko Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Literally PR for inviting me to take part on the tour. My Review This eye catching children’s book sells itself straight away with cover appeal thanks to Margherita . The gorgeous pink flamingo and the two children parachuting down through a beautiful sky capture a child from the outset. The story is told from the perspective of Meli and Mac and as well as telling the story in English there many pages that incorporate French , with English translations to amuse children as they are reading, or being read to. We had so much fun speaking in French, exchanging our names for Meli and Mac for hours with this book and it is now a go to book on little one’s bookshelf when I visit. The size of the book is perfect for little ones and the f...

The Code of the Vavasors  by Jonathan Pinnock The Code of the Vavasors by Jonathan Pinnock was printed on 25th April 2024 by Farrago Books. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me on the tour. Synopsis Tom Winscombe and his ex-girlfriend Dorothy Chan are on a mission to crack a code – a code embedded in a chip inside two alpacas that used to belong to the famed dead mathematical geniuses, the Vavasor twins. Their search leads them to a secretive mathematical retreat at a country house. While there, various members of the party succumb to a succession of bizarre fatal accidents. Will Tom and Dorothy succeed in their mission – and get out alive? Join Tom and a cast of disreputable and downright dangerous characters in this witty thriller set in a murky world of murder, mystery and complex equations My Review This is one of those funny , farcical, mystery stories that is so tongue in cheek it will ...