New Years Eve 2020 Giveaway

As we're heading towards the 20s (I love being able to say that), I'm offering you the chance to win a £15/$15 Amazon gift card to start the year buying a book of your choice.

Open International

To enter: 

Fill out the rafflecopter using as many or few of the options below as you like (I've used different options to give you have a more of a chance of finding a way to enter): 

Free entry if you follow/add the blog on: Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter (and tweet the message), visit the blog on Facebook or follow the blog (on either Google+, BlogLovin', email or GFC - you must be signed into Google+ to do so)...

**NB** If you have issues with commenting on the blog - right click and 'open in a new tab' or 'open in a new window' and the pop up will open without refreshing and you can comment (hopefully) :)

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Please Note: I am not responsible for these Giveaways and cannot be held accountable for winners, prizes etc. I am not responsible for missing prizes & if lost in transit prizes will not be replaced (but proof of postage is gotten). Unless the giveaway is specifically run by me (this will be stated next to giveaway) & not be author, publisher or PR agency I have no control over giveaway entries or options (i.e. how you can enter).

Please make sure you check the T&C's before entering - It's up to you to check which country the winner needs to be in (but I do try to advise on restrictions)!!

Happy New Year,

Zx

Blood of Elves - Am Reading

Before Henry C went all blonde for the TV series and even before the game, there was...

Blood of Elves - The Witcher #1

by Andrzej Sapkowski

What they say: The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher.

For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.

The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.

More info at GR

To Read and Play with the Family - Where's the Elf?

I purchased this one to play with my Where's Wally obsessed little cousin...

Where's the Elf?: A Christmas Search-and-Find Adventure 

by Chuck Whelon

What they say: FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF THE BESTSELLING WHERE'S THE UNICORN? COMES A CHRISTMAS SEARCH AND FIND ADVENTURE!

Santa’s elves are hard at work. Aren’t they? With just days to go before Christmas, ten of the naughty elves have gone missing. The workshop is in chaos, and there are still presents to make. Santa must launch a worldwide search to find his pesky elves and save Christmas before it’s too late. Can you help find the ten elves, and Santa Claus himself, on each of the fun, action-packed pages?

Test your spotting skills with this wintry search-and-find title. Each colourful page is filled with fun illustrations, hard-to-find elves, Santa Claus himself, as well as extra bonus items.

Where’s the Elf? is the perfect search-and-find challenge for children of all ages.

More info

Derek Hyde Knows Spooky When He Sees It - Release Blitz

Derek Hyde Knows Spooky When He Sees It 
by E. Michael Lunsford

Derek Hyde Series #1

Middle-Grade Paranormal

Twelve-year-old Derek Hyde isn’t thrilled that the spookiest old mansion in town is about to become the Hyde Funeral Home & Used Coffin Outlet. Especially since he has to live there with his mortician parents, Jack and Formalda.

Of course, being driven in the family hearse to his first day at middle school doesn’t exactly add whipped cream to his broccoli.

As if things couldn't get more horrific, an evil classmate named Nussbaum attacks him in the cafeteria with a plate of beef stroganoff. Seems this kid used to love living in the old mansion himself, but got yanked out after accidentally blowing up his own mom and dad. With his chemistry set. Now his dead parents are stuck as ghosts and Nussbaum is a foster kid stuck on revenge, vowing to get even with Derek’s family for taking over his haunted home.

Derek desperately craves a nice place to live, but a couple of minor details stand in his way—just some blood-curdling apparitions that scare the pants off him and a classmate bent on landing him in his parents’ embalming room. As a client.

Purchase Links

Publisher * Amazon

Author Spotlight:

E. Michael Lunsford is the author of an award-winning play, Scary, Scary Night, and a book of wacky kid’s poems, Sometimes I Get My Shoes on Backwards, winner of the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award. His debut novel is the first of the funny Derek Hyde series of spooky middle grade books published by INtense Publications. Michael is also a musician, composer, inventor, entrepreneur and chief cook & bottle washer who works and lives with his wife and love of his life in San Carlos, California.

Website * Twitter * Goodreads * Author Amazon Page

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Too Cute - There's an Elf in Your Book

There's an Elf in Your Book

by Tom Fletcher

What they say: Ho, ho, ho! There's an elf in this Christmas picture book by bestselling children's author, YouTube star, and musician Tom Fletcher!

Do you have what it takes to make Santa's Nice List? An elf is here to test you in Tom Fletcher's newest participatory read-aloud. Don't let the elf trick you into being naughty! Just follow his instructions to sing a Christmas carol, clap, burp... Hey, wait a second! Children will be delighted to participate in this satisfying holiday tale.

Tom Fletcher has again paired up with illustrator Greg Abbott to create a creature that readers will want to keep playing with! He's one of Britain's bestselling children's authors and the creator of the successful West End theatrical show The Christmasaurus, and his videos have been viewed tens of millions of times all over the world. 

More info over at GR!

Whatcha Reading Wednesday Christmas Day Edition - Christmas Comes to Moominvalley

Christmas Comes to Moominvalley

by Alex Haridi,  Cecilia Davidsson, and Tove Jansson

What they say: Everyone is welcome in Moominvalley - especially at Christmas. A beautiful, collectible and classic picture book, lavishly embossed and foiled, Christmas Comes to Moominvalley is the perfect gift for Moomin fans of all ages.

This is an exquisitely illustrated re-telling of Tove Jansson's classic story The Fir Tree, in which the kindly Moomins are woken up from their winter sleep to be told that 'Christmas' is coming. The only trouble is, the puzzled Moomins have no idea who, or what 'Christmas' is . . .

A new generation of readers will enjoy meeting the loveable Moomintroll, his parents Moominmamma and Moominpapa, and all their friends in this beautifully illustrated story, in which the Moomin family demonstrate their special values of tolerance, kindness and integrity, as they prepare for their first Christmas - helping us understand what the festive season is really all about.

More info

Am Reading - The Christmas Eve Tree

The Christmas Eve Tree

by Delia Huddy and illustrated by Emily Sutton

What they say: When the ugly little fir tree is taken to the city, no one wants to buy him; they prefer the big tall trees. But a homeless boy asks the shopkeeper if he can take the tree, and down by the river in a cardboard box, decorated with a few candles, the tree finds itself at the centre of a magical Christmas Eve it will never forget. A Christmas tale with a classic feel but a modern theme at its heart.

More info

The Thirteenth Guardian Book Blitz

The Thirteenth Guardian
by K.M. Lewis

Sci-Fi/Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian

DA VINCI'S SECRET PALES. Michelangelo concealed an explosive truth in his famous Creation of Adam fresco in the Sistine Chapel. Eve did not cause the fall of man. She carried a far more devastating secret for millennia—one that will change the world forever.

As the modern-day world suffers the cataclysmic effects of the “Plagues of Egypt,” Avery Fitzgerald, a statuesque Astrophysics major at Stanford, discovers that she is mysteriously bound to five strangers by an extremely rare condition that foremost medical experts cannot explain. Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, they race against time to stay alive as they are pursued by an age-old adversary and the world around them collapses into annihilation.

Under sacred oath, The Guardians—a far more archaic and enigmatic secret society than the Freemasons, Templars, and the Priory—protect Avery as she embarks on a daring quest that only legends of old have been on before. Avery must come to terms with the shocking realization that the blood of an ancient queen flows through her veins and that the fate of the world now rests on her shoulders.

Purchase:

Amazon

Listen to the Free Audio Chapters

iTunes * Spotify

Author Spotlight:

K.M. Lewis has lived in multiple countries around the world and speaks several languages. Lewis holds a graduate degree from one of the Universities featured in his book. When he is not writing, Lewis doubles as a management consultant, with clients in just about every continent. He does much of his writing while on long flights and at far-flung airports around the globe. He currently resides on the East Coast of the United States with his family.

Website * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram

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Am Reading - Kensuke's Kingdom

Kensuke's Kingdom

by Michael Morpurgo

What they say: When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parent's yacht, the Peggy Sue, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death after being stung by a poisonous jelly fish, the mysterious someone--Kensuke--allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.

Morpurgo here spins a yarn which gently captures the adventurous elements one would expect from a desert-island tale, but the real strength lies in the poignant and subtle observations of friendship, trust and, ultimately, humanity. 

Beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman, Kensuke's Kingdom is a stylish, deceptively simple and magical book that will effortlessly capture the heart and imagination of anyone who reads it, ensuring that Morpurgo continues to stand tall amid the ranks of classic children's authors.

More info

New release - Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things

by Jacqueline Firkins 

What they say: In this charming debut about first love and second chances, a young girl gets caught between the boy next door and a playboy. Perfect for fans of To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

Mansfield, Massachusetts is the last place seventeen-year-old Edie Price wants to spend her final summer before college. It’s the home of wealthy suburbanites and prima donnas like Edie’s cousins, who are determined to distract her from her mother’s death with cute boys and Cinderella-style makeovers. Edie has her own plans, and they don’t include a prince charming.

But as Edie dives into schoolwork and applying for college scholarships, she finds herself drawn to two Mansfield boys who start vying for her attention. First there's Sebastian, Edie’s childhood friend and first love. He’s sweet and smart and . . . already has a girlfriend. Then there's Henry, the local bad boy and all-around player. He’s totally off limits, even if his kisses are chemically addictive.

Both boys are trouble. Edie can’t help but get caught between them. Someone's heart is going to break. Now she just has to make sure it isn't hers.

More info over at GR!

Cute Pre-Christmas Read - Coming Home

Coming Home

by Michael Morpurgo

What they say: A plucky little robin sets out on an epic journey. Through dark forests, driving rain, clapping thunder and flashing lightning. Across frozen wastes, huge mountains and stormy seas he flies. And all the while he's dreaming of home. Of her. But will he ever get there? Find out in this wonderfully lyrical Christmas story from the brilliant Michael Morpurgo, with stunning illustrations by Kerry Hyndman. 

More info

The Wicked King - Reread

Next book in the series re-read time!!

The Wicked King - The Folk of Air #2

by Holly Black

What they say: You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

Add to Goodreads

New Adult Drama - Enemies

Enemies

by Tijan

What they say: Stone Reeves was my neighbor, and I've hated him since sixth grade.

Gorgeous and charismatic, he became the town's football god, while I became the town's invisible girl.

He went to a Division 1 school for football, while my father was fired by his father.

His team won the National Championship, while my mother died the same day.

He was a first round pick for the NFL ...

... while I made the worst decision of my life.

Now I'm in Texas trying to pick up the pieces of my life.

But, Stone is here.

Stone is everywhere.

It doesn't matter that disaster has struck my life again.

It doesn't matter that he's the one trying to console me.

It doesn't matter that he's the nation's newest football obsession.

Because for me, he always has been and always will be my enemy.

** Enemies is a 100k enemies-to-lovers football romance standalone!

Add to Goodreads

Released 1st Dec 2019

The Light of All That Falls - New Release

The Light of All That Falls - The Licanius Trilogy #3

by James Islington

What they say: The Light of All that Falls concludes the epic adventure that began in The Shadow of What Was Lost, the acclaimed fantasy blockbuster from James Islington. 

The Boundary is whole once again, but it may be too late.

Banes now stalk Andarra, while in Ilin Illan, the political machinations of a generation come to a head as Wirr's newfound ability forces his family's old enemies into action. 

Imprisoned and alone in a strange land, Davian is pitted against the remaining Venerate as they work tirelessly to undo Asha's sacrifice - even as he struggles with what he has learned about the friend he chose to set free.

Finally, Caeden is confronted with the reality of the plan he laid centuries ago - heartbroken at how it began, and devastated by how it must end. 

More info

All I Want for Christmas - 3 Books on my wish list

Gimme Gimme Gimme!!

The Creature Choir

by David Walliams

Sing your heart out this Christmas with a whole choir of characters, in the showstopping new picture book from number one bestselling author David Walliams, illustrated by the artistic genius, Tony Ross!

There’s more than one star of the show this Christmas… In fact, there’s a whole choir of them!

Warble the walrus LOVES to sing.

Unfortunately, she is not very good at it! And when her atrocious warbling causes an avalanche, the other walruses leave her all alone.

But when you SING like no-one is listening, SOMETIMES, they start to hear you…

The perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loves to laugh or sing, this brand-new story from David Walliams is a delightfully wonderful warble about doing what makes you HAPPY, and being LOUD about it!

Harry Potter Crochet Kits

by Lucy Collin

Too cute!! Create your own magic and conjure up these adorable figures of "the boy who lived" and his friends. All the spells you need to make amigurumi dolls of Harry Potter and Dobby are included: yarn, stuffing, needle and thread, safety eye beads, and the special magic wand crochet hook! A 76-page instruction book gives step-by-step directions to make ten more magical models, and the full-color photos will ensure your projects turn out completely enchanting.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay

by J.K. Rowling and Minalima

At the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

This second original screenplay from J.K. Rowling, illustrated with stunning line art from MinaLima, expands on earlier events that helped shaped the wizarding world, with some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of both the books and films.

New Release - Dangerous Alliance

Dangerous Alliance: An Austentacious Romance

by Jennieke Cohen

What they say: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Jane Austen in this witty, winking historical romance with a dash of mystery!

Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home.

But now Vicky must marry—or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society’s treacherous season.

Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky’s exactcircumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility.

Most unfortunately of all, Vicky’s books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.

More info

Whatcha Reading Wednesday - The Cruel Prince

Re-read time baby!!

The Cruel Prince - The Folk of Air #1

by Holly Black

What they say: Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. 

Add to Goodreads

Coming Soon - Love from the Crayons

Another cute crayons book!

Love from the Crayons

by Drew Daywalt & illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

What they say: Ring in Valentine's Day--and love--with the New York TimesBest-Selling Crayons! This charming new title featuring everyone's favorite coloring crew is the perfect gift for that special someone on Valentine's Day--or any day of the year.

Love is yellow and orange. Because love is sunny and warm. 

Love is purple. Because it's okay to love outside the lines. 

This special gift book, featuring all the The Crayons from The Day the Crayons Quit, explores the bright colors and subtle shades of love. This is a must-have for fans of The Crayons, and the perfect gift for that special someone.

Add to Goodreads

Spotlight - Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words

Coming soon

Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words

by Tara Sivec 

What they say: Cowritten by USA Today best-selling author Tara Sivec and award-winning narrator Andi Arndt, a hysterically funny, heartfelt romance about starting over and taking chances.

Nothing good ever comes from drinking a box of wine alone. So when I decided to entertain my drunken self by setting up some hand-me-down podcasting equipment and reading the steamy parts from romance novels, I never thought anyone would actually listen. The fact that I admitted my huge crush on my sexy next door neighbor made the whole thing even more mortifying. But sometimes life surprises you, and that’s how my podcast, Heidi’s Discount Erotica, was born.

Now I, Heidi Larsen, a sweet former kindergarten teacher in Waconia, Minnesota, lead a scandalous double life reading erotic novels to the listening world. And with each episode, I find myself embracing my new alter ego more and more. Now I’m starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin and do things I never would have dreamed of - like kissing my neighbor.

Look out, Waconia, because Heidi’s on the loose! She’s in your ears, in your hearts, and down your pants...wait, that didn’t sound as good as it did in my head. Well, you get the picture, don’tcha know! 

Add to Goodreads

Cute Romance - Would Like to Meet

Would Like to Meet

by Rachel Winters

What they say: In this charming, feel-good debut novel, a cynical assistant at a screenwriting agency must reenact the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedy movies in order to help her #1 client get his scriptwriting mojo back--but can a real-life meet-cute be in store for someone who doesn't believe in happily ever after?

After seven years as an assistant, 29-year-old Evie Summers is ready to finally get the promotion she deserves. But now the TV and film agency she's been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency's biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy.

The catch? Ezra is suffering from writer's block--and he'll only put pen to paper if singleton Evie can prove to him that you can fall in love like they do in the movies. With the future of the agency in jeopardy, Evie embarks on a mission to meet a man the way Sally met Harry or Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts.

But in the course of testing out the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedies IRL, not only will Evie encounter one humiliating situation after another, but she'll have to confront the romantic past that soured her on love. In a novel as hilarious as it is heartwarming, debut author Rachel Winters proves that sometimes real life is better than the movies--and that the best kind of meet-cutes happen when you least expect them. 

More info!