The Overflowing Library

2022 has been a rollercoaster for me. A lot of the year was fairly awful due to my old job being consistently horrible and a family member being ill for most of the summer and it taking a while to work out what it was to be able to get them on the mend. Fortunately things did turn around. I finally quit teaching, I learnt to paddleboard, started a brilliant new job at Norfolk Children's Book Centre and got my reading mojo back. In 2022 I read 305 books the majority of those being 5 or 4 star reads as I am serial DNFer and will abandon books I am not enjoying very quickly because life is too short. I am pleased to say this year I have read a lot more YA than last year which pleases me no end as I love YA fiction and can't get enough UKYA. A good chunk of what I read in 2022 were picture books which I am picking up at work and reading in my breaks or mid shelving or order packing when something intriguing appears in my hand. I have always been a picture book fan and loving gettin...

  When Paige turns up unannounced at Wynthorpe Hall, she discovers the place she knew when she was growing up has changed beyond all recognition. She’s only planning to stay for a short time, but is quickly pulled into local life.   One night while driving home after delivering library books and shopping to residents she stumbles across an isolated cottage and meets Albert, its elderly and rather grumpy owner. She quickly realises there’s more to Albert than meets the eye and the same can be said for the other man she can’t seem to help running into, handsome but brooding Brodie.   All three of them have a secret and a desire to hide away from the world, but with Christmas on the horizon, is that really the best way to celebrate the season? I am delighted to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for Heidi Swain's newest book A Christmas Celebration. I love Heidi's books and I know I am always in for a treat when a new one appears and A Christmas Celebration was definitely th...

 So it's been a while. As aside from a few blog tours I haven't been blogging properly for a good long while. Over the past few years my teaching job started to take up more and more of my free time and head space and that took its toll on both the time I had available to read and my inclination to want to sit and write out blog posts especially in the dark days of lockdown when I was spending my days glued to a screen trying to teach remotely. This summer I left my teaching job and I started work at the very lovely Norfolk Children's Book Centre where I get to spend my days surrounded by all the books which is brilliant. Over the last few years I've never stopped reading but the rate in which I was getting through books slowed way down but now I'm out of teaching and with the books all day my reading mojo is definitely back so hoping to return to here more frequently to cover some of my favourite reads each month in addition to all my usual activities on twitter, i...

  Solve the house's puzzle. Claim the Bellingham inheritance . . . Uncover the truth behind the mysterious legacy of Halesham Hall in this page-turning dual-time novel from the author The Secrets of Hawthorn Place, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton. A love that seems lost, may still yet be found, for real love always endures. 1890. One summer evening changes everything for Sidney and Leonard Bellingham when their beloved mother disappears from the family home, Halesham Hall. Left with their bitter father, they are taught to trust no one but themselves, with brother pitted against brother to see who is worthy of inheriting the Bellingham Board Games company. But the series of twisted games they are forced to play will have far reaching consequences. 1920. Phoebe Bellingham arrives at Halesham Hall determined to solve the puzzles that will allow her to claim back the Bellingham inheritance. But this legacy involves more than one secret, and soon Phoebe realises that t...

  Rosie is ready for her life to begin, because nothing says new life like going to university. After years of waiting and working hard, she's finally on the road that will secure her future. Except university turns out to be not what she hoped or imagined, and although she's not exactly  unhappy  – really! – she might be a little bit worried that she doesn't really like her course much. Or her flatmates. Or really... anything? But it's normal to be homesick (right?) and everything will have settled in a month or two, and it's totally fine that her friends seem so much happier than she is, and that the doctors don’t seem to know what’s wrong with her mother. But then she meets Jade, and everything starts to look a little brighter. At least, it does if she’s  only  looking at Jade. But is first love enough when everything else is falling apart? I am delighted to be sharing my review for Something Certain, Maybe as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of...

  Accept it, he is dead. No, it’s not true. It is. Everyone thinks so except you. Forced to leave their family home in London after it is bombed, Maddie and her two young daughters take refuge at Knyghton, the beautiful country house in Norfolk where Maddie’s husband Philip spent the summers of his childhood. But Philip is gone, believed to have been killed in action in northern France. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Maddie refuses to give up hope that she and Philip will some day be reunited.   Arriving at Knyghton, Maddie feels closer to her missing husband, but she soon realises that there’s a reason Philip has never spoken to her about his past. Something happened at Knyghton one summer years before. Something that involved Philip, his cousin Lyle and a mysterious young woman named Flora.   Maddie’s curiosity turns to desperation as she tries to discover the truth, but no one will speak about what happened all those years ago, and no one will reassure ...

I am delighted to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for Holly Hepburn' newest book. I love Holly's books and was so very excited to receive an early copy of this to read. In short, as I fully expected, I loved this book and enjoyed every single page. I loved the setting and it has definitely added York onto my list of destinations to visit at some point in the not too distant future (fingers crossed). I really loved the main character and getting behind her as she started to find her feet again and carve out a new life for herself. I also loved both of the love interests. I mean seriously picking between a hot Indiana Jones or a gorgeous and lovely jeweller who is sensitive and great with his hands. That's the kind of problem we all want.  I loved the history mystery thread to the story. I was as intrigued as Hope was and as fascinated as she was the more she found out about it. I love unravelling the story with her and was desperate to know more. I definitely have to give...