I have seen an increasing number of posts on twitter for the last few months of our local bookshops struggling to ends meet. People are just not buying from their local bookshops anymore, which I feel is a real shame. The people that run these bookshops are putting so much effort and time into running the bookshop and completing online orders. YES online orders, if you didn’t know most of them have a website where you can purchase the books online. But I don’t know about you, but there is always something so lovely about going into the bookshop and perusing the shelves yourself. It is a cosy environment and the smell is amazing. Every bookshop owner will help you choose the book you are after or leave you be, but they are always the friendliest of people and cannot help enough. They are very knowledgeable and you can be having a natter about books which has certainly helped my mental health at times.

Why you should support your local bookshop:

cosy atmosphere

knowledgeable and friendly staff

You will be helping to support a local business

If you go in, you are more likely to pick a book that you would of never picked before.

Local bookshops also run events. Which could be author signings or author readings.

Great way to meet new people.

Here are two small business bookshops that I think your going to love:

https://www.foxlanebooks.co.uk

This is a great website and very easy to navigate, there is also a sale on at the moment so grab your bargains whilst you can. If you are after a gift for a book lover I recommend checking out their gifts section, there is literally something for everyone in there. I have placed my first order with them and the process was so easy. I treated myself to a few books and a really nice tote bag, will post a picture once they arrive. Very excited.

https://www.book-ish.co.uk/shop

This is another great website which offers something a little different. On here not only can you purchase books but there are different subscriptions to choose from, here is an example:

choose a type of book, ie: fiction, non fiction, crime etc

pick how long for a subscription, 1 month up to 12 months.

You will get sent the book every month and they may even thrown in some goodies too. This is a great idea for yourself but also for the book lover in your life.

Another cool idea that they do is blind date with a book, you pick which description you like the sound of and they will send you a book you know nothing about straight to your door. I love the sound of this and it must be exciting not knowing what book you will receive. They also do lots of lovely gifts for book lovers. If you decide to visit Book-ish they have a lovely café which serves delicious cakes and other food. I think it is a win win, food and books and great chat. If you go, you must leave me a comment and let me know what it is like.

If you like what you see, need a present for a book lover or just want to treat yourself, please remember these two small businesses as every little help and they would be made up to receive an order for whatever you would like.

Just remember Support your local Bookshops. Happy Reading

Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who left the country because he thought he was making Valdin sad. Greta is in love with fellow English tutor Holly, who only seems to be using her for admin support. But perhaps all is not lost. Valdin is coming to realize that he might not be so unlovable, and Greta, that she might be worth more than the papers she can mark.

Helping the siblings navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and the tendency of their love interests to either leave the country or not love them back, is the whole Vladisavljevic family: Maori-Russian-Catalonian, and as passionate and loving as they are eccentric and over-emotional.

My Thoughts:

This is a story of love and family. Greta and Valdin are siblings who each have their own personal lives. They have a big family and to help navigate the big wide world, their family is on hand to show them the way. I think everyone is going to love both of these siblings and I just loved the whole family as one. It was heart warming to see what the family do in the situations that Greta and Valdin get themselves up to. It was a great story to encounter and I look forward to more of Rebecca’s books

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

For Geeta, life as a widow is more peaceful than life as a wife…

Until the other women in her village decide they want to be widows, too.

Geeta is believed to have killed her vanished husband – a rumour she hasn’t bothered trying to correct, because a reputation like that can keep a single woman safe in rural India. But when she’s approached for help in ridding another wife of her abusive drunk of a husband, her reluctant agreement sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of all the women in the village….

My Thoughts:

When Geeta is accused of a terrible crime, but she is not about to correct these people as her reputation can keep her safe in India. When she is asked to do the unspeakable, will she agree to it, will she be able to help the other women in her village? It was a great read full of unexpected twists, I laughed out loud so many times. It was a thrilling and adventurous story that really made me chuckle. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here:

On a small private Greek island, former movie star Lana Farrar – an old friend – invites a select group of us to stay.

It’ll be hot, sunny, perfect. A chance to relax and reconnect – and maybe for a few hidden truths to come out.

Because nothing on this island is quite what it seems.

Not Lana. Not her guests.

Certainly not the murderer – furiously plotting their crime . . .

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

My Thoughts:

A select bunch of friends are invited to stay on a private Island, this is going to be a chance to relax and enjoy themselves but the island has other ideas for them and when something dreadful happens, who is to blame? the story is narrated by Elliot who is one of the select bunch and we hear it from his perspective what went on. But there is more to Elliot than meets the eye, it was intriguing reading it from Elliot’s point of view but it also confused me a little. They are all intriguing in their own rights. But who is the murderer? It was a good read but I find that this kind of story with an island and a murderer same to previous books I have read. They feel a little overdone now.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here: