Titan Books UK

Weekly Wrap-Up (August 25)

~ noveldeelights ~ 31 Comments

Summer is back with a vengeance and I’m loving it! Meanwhile in Italy, they’re on their second week of continuous thunderstorms and it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. Fingers crossed Mother Nature gets her act together and my holiday won’t be a complete wash-out. Eek.

Other than that, it’s been a bit of a frustrating week. I’ve had people on my case trying to force me to do this, and that, and go there and wherever, not comprehending that it’s just not possible with a doggie that isn’t 100% and most definitely not in 33C degrees heat. I kind of accept (but not really) this behaviour from people who’ve never had a pet but not from the other half, who should bloody know better. Anyway, he’s off for the day and doggie and I have the house all to ourselves. I’d say we’re partying like there’s no tomorrow but she prefers to nap and as much as I’d like to think I’m the boss, I’m really not 😂

Reading-wise, it’s been a good week. Helped enormously by fun buddy reads with Janel. Some more successful than others as apparently fantasy and moi don’t seem to mix very well. Oops. Today’s buddy read is non-fiction. I’ve not had much luck with those in the past either but so far so good. Somewhere in England, a certain someone is walking around with a smug smile on her face 😉

So, what have I read this week?

| BOOKS I READ THIS WEEK |

Two review copies, four just because. Obviously these days I read faster when I decide not to review a book. I almost forgot how much fun that is but now that I have been reminded, I am determined to remain as commitment free as I can possibly be.

For those who enjoy the guessing game, there is one 5 star read in that lot.

| BOOKS I BOUGHT THIS WEEK |

I haven’t read a Philippa Gregory book in years but I liked the blurb of this one. Also, the cover is really pretty. So there’s that.

| ARC’s RECEIVED VIA NETGALLEY |

I haven’t read on Kindle in ages but I’ve been waiting for this final instalment in the 4MK Thriller trilogy and the hardback is insanely expensive. So as it was a “read now”, I just couldn’t resist.

| ON THE BLOG THIS PAST WEEK |

Monday : Joined the blog tour for Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Tuesday : Reviewed Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Wednesday : This Week in Books

Thursday : Nothing to see here

Friday : Planned post moved to Saturday

Saturday : Shared my thoughts on The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Sunday : Weekly Wrap-Up

Thank you for sharing my posts on social media! Always immensely appreciated! ❤️

| NEXT WEEK ON NOVEL DEELIGHTS |

Monday : Blog tour | Review | Dead Inside by Noelle Holten

Tuesday : Review | The Retreat by Sherri Smith

Wednesday : This Week in Books

Thursday : Review | Rewind by Catherine Ryan Howard

Friday : Review | My 20th book of summer, title to be determined 😂

Saturday : Taking the day off

Sunday : Weekly Wrap-Up

My last relatively busy week, if I can help it. I really look forward to taking things a lot slower, to read when I want, to review when I want or not to when I don’t want, to *gasp* maybe do something other than reading.

So, one more book to go for the 20 Books of Summer challenge. Still. I obviously could have reviewed one of the books I read this week but I didn’t feel like it. What’s a girl to do?

I’ve also spent more time this week staring at the bookshelves in an attempt to decide what to take with me on holiday. The pile has risen to …… 3. 🙄
I don’t know why this is so hard. The other half says it’s because I have too many options. I say it’s because I don’t have enough of them 🤣

Please feel free to recommend something to me! I obviously need help here! 😂

And that’s a wrap! Wishing you all a glorious week and lots of happy reading! Until next time! xx

Invisible Blood : 17 stories of murder and mystery edited by Maxim Jakubowski | @TitanBooks @Sarah_Mather_15

~ noveldeelights ~ 6 Comments

Author : Various, edited by Maxim Jakubowski
Title : Invisible Blood
Pages : 400
Publisher : Titan Books
Publication date : July 23, 2019

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

Open the files on seventeen new crime stories to probe the brutal and complex hearts of criminals. Watch as a secretive group of intelligence community officers traces Jack Reacher’s steps through Heathrow airport in Lee Child’s “Smile”. In Mary Hoffman’s “Fallen Woman”, a journalist on the trail of a secretive drug lord gets caught up in the violent suicide of a young woman in Siena. And in Jeffrey Deaver’s “Connecting the Dots”, detectives follow the trail of clues in the brutal killing of a homeless man, wherever it may lead… Invisible Blood is a gripping collection of the compulsions of the criminal mind. 

| MY THOUGHTS |

I must admit that I’m not normally a fan of short stories because well, they’re short, and just when I feel I’m about to really sink my teeth into the story, they’re over and done with and we move on to the next one. But when Titan offered me Invisible Blood for review, I gladly accepted. I’m always looking for new crime authors and a short story collection like this one is the perfect way to discover some I’m not familiar with, or whose work I’ve never read.

So, 17 short crime stories in one go. I never know how to tackle these. Do I pick and choose? Do I start with an author I know? Or one who’s not known to me at all? Do I read from beginning to end? Never knew I could be this indecisive. As it is, I decided to just start from the beginning and a good choice that was too.

The first story is by Denise Mina, an author I’ve seen mentioned numerous times but I’ve never read any of her books. Lo and behold, her short story was one of my favourites and I’ll definitely be reading more by her in future. Lee Child pops up with a new Jack Reacher story and we also get one by one my favourite Orenda Books authors, Johana Gustawsson, that chilled me to the bone.

Short these stories may be. Some are a mere 20 pages long. But boy, do they pack a punch. My favourites were by Denise Mina, Lee Child, Johana Gustawsson and Jeffrey Deaver. The reader travels to Spain, where washing lines play an important part; to Italy on the trail of a drugs dealer; to America where a homeless man is found murdered and to the UK, where airport security is apparently flawed.

Murder, mystery and blood from seventeen fantastic crime writers all combined into one book makes Invisible Blood the perfect collection for any crime fiction fan. Or for someone like me, who’s on the look-out for new authors.

My thanks to Titan for the review copy!

Invisible Blood is available to buy!

Affiliate link : Bookdepository
Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Waterstones | Wordery

Contributing authors : Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver, Stella Duffy, Lavie Tidhar, R. J. Ellory, Christopher Fowler, Lauren Henderson, Jason Starr, Stella Duffy, James Grady, Johana Gustawsson, Denise Mina, Bill Beverly, Ken Bruen, Cathi Unsworth, John Harvey, and A. K. Benedict.

Edited by Maxim Jakubowski

Weekly Wrap-Up (July 14)

~ noveldeelights ~ 16 Comments

Hello, Sunday. Is it it me or are you coming around faster and faster?

Not much to report this week. The socialising last Sunday went a tad overboard and I felt it on Monday, so that was a waste of a day 😳. The rest of the week was full of wonderful tennis. Today is the men’s final. Guess what I’m doing? If your answer is : “watch it”, you’d be wrong because the in-laws invited themselves and scuppered my plans. FFS. 🙄

Have I managed to squeeze in any books? Why, yes, I have. But erm … well, let’s see.

| BOOKS I READ THIS WEEK |

My reading is obviously as hormonal as I am 🤣. Still, three is better than nothing and I’m still ahead of my blog tour schedule and have even managed to read 12 (that’s right, twelve!) books from my 20 Books of Summer list. Feels like I’m winning, doesn’t it? 😉

In case anyone wants to guess : there was only one of those three I really enjoyed. Dun, dun, duuuuuun.

| BOOKS I BOUGHT THIS WEEK |

This was a preorder that arrived on Friday. Of course, I’ve bought a few more in the meantime but since they’re not here yet, they don’t count. Do they?

| BOOK POST THAT LANDED ON MY DOORSTEP THIS WEEK |

With thanks to Transworld and Titan Books. One for a blog tour and one for review. Really looking forward to both!

| ON THE BLOG THIS PAST WEEK |

Monday : Kicked off the blog tour for The Sleepwalker by Joseph Knox

Tuesday : Hosted a stop on the blog tour for The Divorce by Victoria Jenkins

Wednesday : This Week in Books

Thursday : Joined the blog tour for A Fatal Game by Nicholas Searle

Friday : Hosted a stop on the blog tour for I Looked Away by Jane Corry

Saturday : Shared my review for Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Sunday : Weekly Wrap-Up

| NEXT WEEK ON NOVEL DEELIGHTS |

Monday : Review | Stop At Nothing by Tammy Cohen

Tuesday : Blog tour | Review | Child’s Play by Angela Marsons

Wednesday : This Week in Books

Thursday : Guest Post | Author Andrew Joyce

Friday : Blog tour | Review | The Last Stage by Louise Voss

Saturday : Taking the day off because everyone and their dog will be at Harrogate 😂

Sunday : Weekly Wrap-Up

That’s not too bad. This is the quiet before the storm. I may need an oxygen tank to survive the week that comes after this one.

Question of the week : Dust jackets! I saw this topic on twitter a while ago and had no idea it was so controversial. So I’m putting the question to you, dear blog readers. Do you remove the dust jacket from a hardback when you’re reading it? I do. Because I don’t want to ruin the jacket, as that is what you see when the book is on a shelf. As soon as I put the book down or finish it, obviously, the jacket goes back on. Over to you!

That’s it for this week. Hope you all have a great one! Until next time. Happy reading! xx