The Overflowing Library

A fast-paced historical mystery adventure for readers aged 9+, with gorgeous Edwardian period detail. Perfect for fans of Chris Riddell's Goth Girl series, Enid Blyton and Robin Stevens's Murder Most Unladylike series. When a priceless painting is stolen, our dauntless heroines Sophie and Lil find themselves faced with forgery, trickery and deceit on all sides! Be amazed as the brave duo pit their wits against this perilous puzzle! Marvel at their cunning plan to unmask the villain and prove themselves detectives to be reckoned with – no matter what dangers lie ahead . . . It’s their most perilous adventure yet! I love this series. Much like it's predcessors this book is a brilliant mystery novel for middle grade readers or those of us who are indulging our inner middle grade reader ... personally my inner Enid Blyton child fangirl. I love the historical elements to this series particularly in this case the references to the suffragette movement who were act...

Rosie and Penn always wanted a daughter. Four sons later, they decide to try one last time - and their beautiful little boy Claude is born. Life continues happily for this big, loving family until the day when Claude says that, when he grows up, he wants to be a girl. As far as Rosie and Penn are concerned, bright, funny and wonderful Claude can be whoever he or she wants. But as problems begin at school and in the community, the family faces a seemingly impossible dilemma: should Claude change, or should they and Claude try to change the world? Warm, touching and bittersweet, THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS is a novel about families, love and how we choose to define ourselves. It will make you laugh and cry - and see the world differently. I really enjoyed this book . The story revolves around a family whose youngest child is struggling with their gender identity. It was thoughtful and insightful seeing how it impacts the whole family and their world. It was particularly int...

In the fantasy version of my life, I have a vast and beautiful library filled with floor to ceiling bookshelves. In real life, space is at a premium and when I moved house last year I had to get rid of A LOT of books. My criteria for holding onto a book is if I answer ‘yes’ to either of the following questions: Do I like it enough to want to read it again at some point? Do I like it enough to lend it to a friend? It it’s a no, then off to the charity shop it has to go.   Although I adore reading I don’t tend to form emotional attachments to physical books. I don’t own physical copies of three of my favourite books of all time: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (borrowed from the library), The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe (read on kindle) and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (lent out and never returned).   I’m also quite impatient and enjoy the immediacy of purchasing an ebook and being able to dive in straightaway. I think this lack of sentimentali...

Lexi Angelo is a Convention Kid - she's got a clipboard and a walkie talkie to prove it. Aidan Green is a messy-haired, annoyingly arrogant author and he's disrupting her perfect planning. In a flurry of awkward encounters, lost schedules and late-night conversations, Lexi discovers that some things can't be planned... Things like falling in love. This book is super cute. I enjoyed it completely and my inner teen is completely in love with Aidan. Unconventional appeals to that geeky side of me. I've never been to a convention but I very much appreciate fandom and those people who would willing spend a huge amount of time and huge going to such events to sit around and geek out together over their favourite shows and actors because I've done it far too many times at book events over authors with my blogger friends .... I am the girl who semi stalked Cassie Clare around Waterstones Piccadilly and managed to get her huge pile of books signed in an almost priva...

From no. 1 Bestselling YA author Lisa Williamson, comes another insightful and unputdownable teen drama - All About Mia. A brilliant look into the mind of a teenager stuck in the middle. My thoughts I was so excited to get this book through the door last month. I finished it in one greedy glup and adored it completely. This book is fab because of Mia. Mia is so real as a character. She's full of heart but also crazy infuriating with the decisions she makes. She's that girl we all know from school. She's loud and brash and seems touchable doing what she wants, when she wants without a care in the world. From the minute you meet her you see her live up to this stereotype perfectly making those around her want to pull their hair out as they try to work out how to deal with her. However as the story progresses you start to see that underneath the surface Mia isn't at all the person she plays up to being and all her acting out is a sign of her hurting and trying t...

I received a very exciting package late last month filled with notecards, notebooks and journals. Like any self respecting blogger I love stationary and these were a little bit special. Some of the ones in the package were Kate Schelter's This & That's series. This & That Journal Filled with Kate Schelter’s paintings of evocatively paired objects, this journal captures the spirit of a spontaneous trip to the beach, a breezy day on your bike and a sunny stroll in your favourite shoes and shades. The deluxe hardcover journal - featuring a cloth cover, ribbon marker and crisply lined pages - is perfect for carrying here and there, and jotting down your thoughts on this and that. This & That Notebooks Featuring Kate Schelter’s loose watercolours of everyday objects, these notebooks capture the sense of an effortlessly chic summer day. The set of three paperback notebooks - which includes two larger notebooks, one lined and the other blank, and a...

Elektra has finally landed a part in a film. It's the dream. Well ...until she works out that Straker is a movie so dystopian that within weeks most of the cast and all of the crew wish that the world had actually ended (preferably in scene one). And while it's obviously great news that she's moved from the friend-zone with Archie to become his almost-girlfriend, it would be better if he hadn't immediately relocated to Transylvania to play a vampire hunter surrounded by 'maidens of peerless beauty'. Full of humour and warmth, this new series is perfect for fans of Geek Girl and The It Girl. My thoughts I really enjoyed Waiting for Callback when I reviewed it last year. Take Two is a lovely sequel to book one and I really enjoyed catching up with Elektra again. I love how real Elektra is as a character and how this doesn't change as she gets her big break as a main lead in a film. It's really sweet and funny throughout. I really enjoyed it. 

I need to confess. I am ruthless about getting rid of books. It’s become a problem. I used to be your ordinary, run-of-the-mill book hoarder but then I started losing my children among piles of books and realizing I might not need the book called ‘noisy neighbours and you’ from 1999. And so I started getting rid of books that I didn’t like, wouldn’t re-read or had never read in the first place. Now I have these weirdly empty shelves. But the things on them are treasures. Above this shelf I have Harry Potters, Narnias and Jane Austens: these books will never leave. They are like magic spell books and if I didn’t have them I think my powers would cease. I don’t have a system. Sorry if that makes you twitchy. This is my shelf of books I’ve read, loved and can’t ever say goodbye to or that I want to read. It’s missing a few beauties that I’ve lent to friends. There are shelves of books below this one, but they were too messy to photograph! The main the...

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all they are world’s most tragic band. In fact she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes in to making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own. But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons. All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt. Imm...

I once worked out I’d lived in as many houses and I had years on earth – maybe it doesn’t quite match up today, but it must very close. When you move around as much as I do, you’ll know the cost of shipping crates of books is extortionate, so over the years I’ve had to trim down and streamline as much as possible. That said, I love my coffee table books – especially if they’re about film, music, architecture and art.   Part of my dream is to write a horror film, so I’ve collected a good few shooting scripts (see: The Shawshank Redemption) as it’s the best way to get a feel for what is a completely different craft.  The great thing about being an Author is the free BOOKS. So many books. Here I have Stephanie Garber’s debut Caraval, my cousin Rachael John’s Aussie romance Outback Blaze, stable mate Alex Wheatle’s Crongton Knights – oh, and that looks like my very own Arc! Doesn’t it fit in so well?    If you follow me on Instag...