No catches, no fine print just unadulterated book loving, with your favourite books saved to your own digital bookshelf.
New members get entered into our monthly draw to win £100 to spend in your local bookshop Plus lots lots more…
Find out moreNot all great books come through big publishers. Check out some of our favourite indie books on the market.
Winner of the Book Excellence Award 2016 for Romance. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is a beautiful book the author has created such a detailed account of relationships and beautiful Sardinia. Children of the Mists is a beautiful story consisting of an interesting plot with lovely characters in love in 19th Century Sardinia. I think that this book would be a great sunbed read or, like today, sitting by the fire warmed by some hot chocolate. I cannot believe I have never come across this author before and I am now seeking her out. Jane Brown, A LoveReading Ambassador
Ashmole Foxe is a bookseller in 18th century Norwich. He also does a bit of amateur sleuthing as a side hustle, and if he has any spare time left after those two pursuits, he is also something of a womaniser. When Foxe finds himself trying to solve three murders at once, one of them apparently linked to a book he has been asked to source for a client, there is little time for his other interests, and he is led through a tangled web of privilege, poverty, deceit and crime. A very readable and enjoyable book which successfully highlighted the vast differences in living standards, expectations, rights and morals of the different classes in 1760s society. Foxe himself comes across as a charming and likeable man who does his best to straddle the “uncrossable” class boundaries making him popular with men and women, rich and poor. The book ends with his love life about to enter a very unconventional (for the era) phase, which already threatens to have added complications, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see how he handles it. Jane Willis, A LoveReading Ambassador
Lauren Patterson, an American PhD student, makes a remarkable discovery and accidently finds the diaries of Leonardo da Vinci's assistant. Paulo del Rossi's diaries then lead us through love stories, drama, blackmail, murder and the aftermath of monumental deception. The modern day quest to uncover the historical truths are fantastically interesting. Immersive and intriguing, Paulo del Rossi and Lauren guide us through the Renaissance in Florence to Nazi Germany and into the local Costa coffee shop with ease. We even discover the secret of Mona Lisa's smile and follow a tender love story that spans across the years. A fantastic read.
Berlin in 1960 is a city that is very much still trying to cope with the after-effects of World War II and the subsequent division between East and West. Among those trying to pick up the pieces are Angelika and Christian, a brother and sister whose childhood was torn apart by Russian soldiers, and Max, Bastian and Ottilie, police officers who are investigating a series of brutal murders. I found this book to be really gripping and moving on many levels. The murder scenes were very gruesome, which is not always to my taste, but as the story unfolds and the reason behind the vicious way the victims are treated becomes clear, I began to understand why the murderers felt it important for the victims to die that way. Although it was clear from the outset who the murderers were, this didn’t detract from the enjoyment at all – the story was a great interplay between hunter and hunted and brought to light the fact that there is both good and bad in everyone and that sometimes very good people do very bad things that they perceive to be fully justified. The characters were well developed; people who I came to like and to want to know more about, so I hope there will be more books in this series. Issues such as the everyday sexism faced by Ottilie, the ethics of co-workers forming relationships, vagrancy, and the moral issues involved when a crime is committed but even the prosecution sympathises with the actions of the criminal are all sensitively dealt with. Finally, one small touch that I really liked was the technique of giving each chapter a title that was a brief but relevant quotation from Shakespeare. Jane Willis, A LoveReading Ambassador
Having read about this period in the war and admiring pilots such as Geoffrey Wellum. I was keen to read this. Well researched and based on six days during the famous Battle of Britain where the airmen's life expectancy was actually something in the region of 4 weeks. At that time Europe was crushed by the Nazi and it could have been our turn next but the Battle of Britain played such a pivotal role in this. But as the novel shows this was not just about the airmen themselves women - working in the ops and maps rooms knowing what was happening but struggling to be recognised in their roles. We have Johnnie the pilot and Eleanor in this story and the book alternates around these two main characters. The author portrays this time well and those who have studied this time know, Britain was at the brink and history could have taken a very different turn. Whether the reader is familiar with this period in history or not it makes a good read and highly recommended for those interested in this part of history. The author's notes were fascinating and the reader can learn so much, I look forward to reading more from John Rhodes. Jane Brown, A LoveReading Ambassador
A well-crafted story, beautiful language, a mystery and a wild cat with a sense of humour. What's not to like about this book? It grabs the reader's attention from the start and holds on to it throughout the story. I also love the information about Wild Cat conservation which appears before the story starts: hopefully this will encourage readers of all ages to take an interest in the conservation of this beautiful animal. I normally clear my downloads after reviewing a book, but I will be keeping this one to reread and I can't wait to read about Catastrophe's next adventure Pauline Braisher, A LoveReading Ambassador
This book is a collection of five short stories, each very different but with central theme of all of them desire and how it manifests itself in different ways. Each story is set in a different location and range in time from pre-second World War to the present day. Although I enjoyed all of the stories, there were a couple that stood out to me and I would have liked these to continue, so I could find out more about the characters and what they did next. Overall, this is a really enjoyable book and is nice and easy to dip in and out of, by reading a story at a time. I would really recommend this book. Nicola Coen, A LoveReading Ambassador
I wanted to read his book because I am a sci-fi fan and the concept sounded really interesting. Audra was blinded as a child in a car accident that killed her mother. Her father, Jenson, has spent his life since devoted to finding a cure from Audra's specific type of blindness, with very little success. The latest experiment seems incredibly promising, but after the trials, everything takes a sinister turn. The prologue had me intrigued from the start and I read as fast as I could to find out what happened and how everything with Audra and her father was going to be resolved. I also like the family drama element of the story throughout, the strained relationship between Audra and Jenson and the references back to the accident that made Audra lose her site. This background story helped drive the main action on while making sure the reader didn't forget the main reason Jenson was working on the cure. I liked Audra, she was my favourite character throughout and her reckless but overall good nature kept me interested in the outcome of the story through all of the twists and turns. Some of the plot twists were predictable, but I didn't find that detracted from the story, I read on to work out how they would come to fruition. Darksight has obviously been very well researched. The scientific aspects of the plot were explained in enough detail to seem plausible but didn't take up too much space and overwhelm the rest of the plot. As a sighted person, the descriptions and experiences of being blind also seem very well researched and provided an insight into how the other senses can become heightened to compensate, incorporating with the sci-fi darksight element really well. The early descriptions from Audra as she cycled through the rain were brilliant. The chapters were short and easily digestible, I read this in one day and really enjoyed it throughout. Every time I put my e-reader down I was eager to get back to the story. Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
'Death of a Lie' by Peter Harper is an exciting and thought-provoking story of a young woman's quest to find the truth about her family's history. The story begins during WW2, when a Lend-Lease B-25 crashes in a Romanian field and two young children find a battered folder containing encoded pages in the wreckage. Fast forward 50 years and the children have grown up, married and adopted a Romanian boy, Lucian, and a West African girl, Zinsa, the sole survivor of the ruling Dangbo family after a bloody coup in Seroule. These two also grow up, marry and are expecting twins. Lucian rediscovers the folder, forgotten all this time, and, along with his old school friend, Serghei, takes it to their mutual friend, Mario, to see if he can crack the code. Thus begins a tale of murder, intrigue and conspiracy, as we are brought up to the present day when Lucian and Zinsa's daughter, Shani, returns to Romania to meet Serghei and Mario and find out about the parents she never knew. This is a well-crafted thriller, chillingly plausible, putting forward the idea of a worldwide mafia, 'Deep State' operating the most basic of strategies...divide and rule at every level, until a 'New World Order' can be established. I guarantee this book will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish! Drena Irish, A LoveReading Ambassador
This is one of the best books that I have read in a long long time! At first, I was a little unsure about what to expect, but I was not disappointed with this book. The author takes the reader on a journey across the vast expanse of Russia but in the form of 'short stories' about what is met whilst travelling. Each story is completely different and yet relevant to form the story as a whole and as such makes for delightful enjoyable reading. The book itself covers many genres and would delight anyone who picks it up. It is a very descriptive book with the author allowing the reader to feel as if they are actually travelling on the journey. A tourist guide it most definitely is not, but a book full of so many emotions, excitement, comedy, fear, loneliness and so forth and by the time the reader has read to the destination of the line, they will be quite impressed with what they have just read. I won't give detailed or short descriptions of the stories within the story of the book as this is a book that the reader needs to read for her/himself in order to appreciate the whole story and also the authors' style of writing which I may add is excellent. All in all an excellent fictional book which guarantees the reader an excellent read. Catherine Bryce, A LoveReading Ambassador
First Rhyme Mum is an entertaining journey through pregnancy and early motherhood - it made me laugh and reminisce. There are 40 poems in the book - all are fun, relatable and (mainly) humorous, covering wide-ranging topics that you wouldn’t usually expect to find in poetic form, such as needing a wee, a mother’s ‘baby brain’, the job description of motherhood, night shifts and ‘to-do lists’. The poems contain acute observations of everyday life and are varied and very well written, combining simple words to create powerful imagery. I could sense the emotion behind each poem - the excitement yet worry of the 40 weeks of pregnancy and the exhaustion and elation once baby arrives, all bound together by a mother’s love. I was particularly impressed by how the author fits so much descriptive language into each poem while still ensuring that each one manages to give a sense of rhythm and rhyme (even if this doesn’t always match exactly). It reminded me of some of Pam Ayres’s poems, with its sense of humour and laugh-out-loud moments. The book is easy to dip in and out of - each poem is short enough to slot into a few minutes during a busy day. It’s a lovely gift for new parents to remind them that they’re not alone and that others are going through the same emotional ups and downs. It also has wider-ranging appeal, as it reminded me of my own pregnancy experiences and made me chuckle as I recalled stories of early parenthood (my children are now in their mid to late teens). My only regret is that the book ended too soon, but fortunately there are more books on their way.
Wow! For the Love of Alison had me hooked from the very first chapter on and it just kept giving. The main character, David, a journalist, gets an unexpected phone call one day to meet his university friend Alison after not having seen her for about 30 years. He jumps at the chance as he used to be obsessed with her in the past to the extent that he had to be hospitalized in a mental institution for a while. The meeting will change his life forever and get him accused of a crime for which there is apparently only one possible perpetrator - himself. Has he gone insane or is there another explanation for the events that occurred? I absolutely loved the depiction of David's character: he clearly struggles with mental issues, but that doesn't stop him - he never gives up, taking anything in his stride that life throws at him. There are twists and turns wherever you look in this book and as I reader I was really rooting for David. The feel of it reminded me a bit of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. It felt life-affirming, sweet and made me feel good. A wonderful read! You know you are onto something fantastic when you feel sad upon reaching the last page! Alexandra Williams, A LoveReading Ambassador
Such a great read oh my goodness this authors first trip and to climb Kilimanjaro was certainly not for the faint hearted most of us would have packed up and gone home but not this determined author and all in the name of charity. Then years later the author and this time with his wife walking with lions, in search of Rhinos, beautiful scenery and the dreaded mountain to climb! and will they climb this? It is an interesting read, fascinating accounts of Africa (I've never been but just loved the descriptions, the wildlife and culture) I take my hat off to him not sure if I would follow in his footsteps but has given me a great read on my holiday. This author writes a good story and keeps the reader on their toes. This author has written a number of books of his adventures and I will certainly be following him and catching up on what I have been missing. Jane Brown, A LoveReading Ambassador
