25,000 views giveaway

When I started Little Northern Soul I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. I loved the idea of having my little space on the internet to talk about books, writing and authors, but I had no idea if anyone would read it. During the spring the blog started picking up momentum and I was pleased to see people were reading my posts and connecting with my reviews. 

One of the biggest surprises, in the nicest possible way, has been how genuine and lovely fellow book bloggers, authors and publishers are. I still have to pinch myself when one of my favourite authors said they read, and liked, a review. Eek! Most authors I've interacted with genuinely care about bloggers, appreciate reviews and are happy to chat. It's brilliant. I'm loving being involved in this new community and it makes what could be deemed as a 'hobby' so much more. 

At the weekend I hit a pretty memorable number of readers - my blog had 25,000 views! I'm not sure how that compares to others and, frankly, I don't really want to. For me, that is a huge number and made me so happy!  A huge thank you to readers old, new, regular or one-off for visiting Little Northern Soul! 

As a thank you, I'm running a giveaway to celebrate. I'm giving away a copy of Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley (a truly gorgeous story with an equally gorgeous cover), I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson (the first book I ever reviewed) and some stationary. To enter, just use the rafflecopter below. 

Good luck! 

L x  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover reveal: Return to Bluebell Hill by Rebecca Pugh

Well today my wonderful readers, I have a huge treat in store for you. Rebecca Pugh's debut novel 'Return to Bluebell Hill' will be published by Carina on June 18th. Becca has become a firm blogger friend of mine since I began Little Northern Soul, so I'm so excited to get to join in the celebrations with her in the form of cover reveals and blog tours! 

Later this month I'll be posting an author Q&A with Becca as part of the blog tour, so keep an eye out for that, but in the meantime, it's time to reveal the cover for her book! 

So ta-daaaa! here it is in all it's glory: 

Isn't it beautiful? I love the colour scheme and it makes me even more eager to read it! 

Blurb:

As sweet and satisfying as strawberries and cream! This British summertime, get out in the garden with Rebecca Pugh’s sparkling debut novel.

Home is where the heart is…

Jessica McAdams has never belonged anywhere; never truly felt at home. Of course, what did she expect from parents who never made her feel welcome in her own house? Leaving her life in London to return home to the charming country village of Bluebell Hill is harder than she thought. Especially as she never considered she’d be returning under such heart wrenching circumstances…

Clearing out the stunning and imposing Bluebell House after her parents’ death is difficult for Jessica—they never had the best relationship and now it’s too late. Yet spending time in the house that was never a home, having afternoon tea with dear old friend Esme—and sharing hot, sizzling kisses with delectable gardener Rueben!—opens Jessica’s eyes to the potential of Bluebell House… Could this big old, beautiful manor really be her forever home? Is Bluebell Hill where her heart is, has always been?

Jessica soon dares to dream of her very own home with delicious Rueben by her side. But when a deep, dark secret of Bluebell House is unearthed, Jessica’s world is turned upside down…

Will Jessica ever find where her heart truly lies?

An emotional tale of self-discovery, taking chances and romance! Rebecca’s unique British voice feels like coming home again and again.

Author Biography

Rebecca Pugh grew up in the green county of Shropshire, with a mind full of fairy-tales and happy endings. Enchanted by true love and Disney Princesses, she decided that no matter what life threw her way, she’d continue to see the world through a child’s eyes. Through the pages of countless books, her adoration of reading blossomed, and it didn’t take long for her to fall under the spell of hundreds of authors’ words. 

Now, Rebecca’s own story has taken a fairy-tale like turn, and at 22, her dream has come true. With her faithful companions: Bonnie the dog, her partner, and her gigantic family by her side, Rebecca is ready to share her stories with readers who enjoy falling in love and losing themselves within beautiful, fictional worlds.

Rebecca Pugh is the author of women’s fiction and romance, her all-time favourite genres. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good swoon?

Her debut novel, Return to Bluebell Hill, is due to be published June 18^th 2015 by Carina UK. 

Links

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Monthly round-up: May

Hello there!

At the moment everything's a bit manic and rushed, so I haven't had the time to film and edit a monthly round-up vlog this month (boo!) but hopefully a good old written post will do the trick this time. Do keep an eye out for a few more vlogs on the site soon though :) 

So, May was a jam-packed month filled with great reads. I took part in the brilliant Harper Impulse Fortnight as well as quite a few blog tours and was lucky to get stuck into some new releases. 

Books I read during May: 

Just The Way You Are, Lynsey James

The Life You Left, Carmel Harrington

The Broken, Tamar Cohen

Truly Madly Greekly, Mandy Baggot

Always the Bridesmaid, Lindsey KelkCastaway in the Caribbean, Janice Horton
 Evil Games, Angela Marsons

The Lost Child,Ann Troup 

A Way From Heart to Heart, Helena Fairfax

Coming up Roses, Rachael Lucas

Life's a Beach and Then... Julia Roberts

I've reviewed most of these books during may- just click on the titles above to see the reviews. 

As always, I found picking a 'book of the month' really difficult. Special shout-outs needs to go to Ann Troup as The Lost Child was intriguing and unusual, Lindsey Kelk as she lived up to her usual brilliance with Always the Bridesmaid and Mandy Baggot for making me crave the sunshine and a holiday! 

But, my book of the month just had to be Evil Games by Angela Marsons.

 This book surpassed all expectations and is just as brilliant as the first in the DCI Kim Stone series, Silent Scream. I was hooked from the very first page and still find myself thinking about it now. Thank you Angie for yet another fantastic, creepy and gripping novel. I cannot WAIT for book 3!

Now I'm getting stuck into my June reads, kicking off with 'The Dish' which I am really enjoying. It's also the start of paperback summer so I will be reading as many paperbacks as I can for the next few months. 

What are you guys reading? 

Harper Impulse Fortnight summary

Today marks the end of Harper Impulse fortnight. It's been a fantastic two weeks and I've loved being apart of it, as well as seeing plenty of other bloggers engaging with a whole host of brilliant authors and reviewing some great books. I want to say a big thank you to the team at Harper Impulse for such a brilliant few weeks and also a special thanks to Katy at Books with Bunny who has done some fantastic organising for the event. 

Below is a summary of the Harper Impulse Fortnight posts that have been on Little Northern Soul this past fortnight: 

Reviews 

The Life You Left 

The Temp

 Author Interviews

Emily Benet

Carmel Harrington

I hope you enjoyed my Harper Impulse posts as much as I did writing them! 

Book review: Just The Way You Are by Lynsey James

"Dear Ava,

How do you start writing a letter to someone, six years after breaking their heart?

Ava is unlucky in love as well as in life. The new office bitch has landed the dating column Ava wanted, and she can't remember the last time she had a second date. It's a good thing she has best friends Max and Gwen to pick up the pieces. Deep down, Ava knows the reason why one date never turns into two – she's in love with someone else. Someone she's never even met.

It all started six years ago, with a letter from a secret admirer, Mr Writer... but then they suddenly stopped and Ava was heartbroken.

Now the letters have started again and Ava knows it could mean winning back the dating column at work. This time she's determined to unmask Mr Writer... and find out once and for all if he's Mr Right or Mr Very Definitely Wrong!"

My Review: 

 First of all a big thank you to UK Carina for approving me for a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

What. a. treat. 

This is the first book I've read by Lynsey and I know for sure that it won't be my last. This is an absolute corker of a story and one I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I must admit, I was sucked in to this book from the BEAUTIFUL cover. Can we all just take some time to step back and admire, please?! But then I read what the story was about and I was taken aback - it is a brilliantly unique and intriguing premise that hooked me in straight away. 

The story follows Ava who started receiving love letters from a secret admirer back at university. She fell in love with the person behind the notes (Mr Writer) and so when they arranged to finally meet only for him to stand her up, she was devastated. After a six year silence another letter lands on her doorstep, and Ava decides she needs to find out who the mystery man is once and for all. 

Ava is a journalist for a women's magazine, and I thought that her career added a great addition to the story line and I loved following Ava on her latest work escapades. Despite her not getting the dating column, I thought her job was still pretty interesting and I loved the scenes that involved her work, it was one of my favourite parts of the story. 

I really enjoyed following her on her journey to discover her secret admirer. Along the way we meet her best friends and I love the strong bond they all share. Max has been her best friend since they were kids and is always supportive and protective over her. I liked seeing their friendship unfold and I think he is a great character - handsome, caring and thoughtful. The only slight difficulty I had with Max was his nickname for Ava which, although reflecting his sweet personality, is used too often and so grated after a while. Ava's flat mate and other best friend Gwen plays a big part in the story, helping her find Mr Writer while also trying to find her own Mr Right. I wasn't sure how I felt about Gwen. At times she is a supportive best friend, eager to help with the search for Ava's mystery admirer but then at other times, she was snide and mean about it. It was quite hard to keep up with and so I didn't fall for her the same way I did Max .

I don't want you to think my gripe with Gwen is a negative as actually, to me, it showed the depth of the story. ALL the characters in Just They Way You Are provoke a reaction and a response - something that for me is quite unusual and shows what an engaging story it is. At times I felt like grabbing Ava and giving her a good shake because of the way she was reacting to a certain situation (I don't want to ruin anything here which is why I'm being rather vague!) and at others I wanted to give her a hug and say all would be well. This, to me, showed what a great book Just The Way You Are is - it drags you into their world with full force. 

The latter half of the novel in particular is really gripping and I couldn't put down, I just HAD To know who the mystery man was and I think you'd feel the same. Just The Way You Are is a light-hearted, engrossing novel about love and friendships and I really, really enjoyed it. I'm wishing Lynsey a very happy publication day for today (8th May) - I have a feeling this is going to do SO well! 

Links: 

Buy the book 
blog
twitter
Goodreads

April round-up

Hi Everyone! 

I wanted to do something a bit different for this month's round up, so below you will see the first ever VIDEO for Little Northern Soul - I really hope you enjoy :) 

I'd love to hear any feedback in the comments below. 

Links to reviews for books mentioned: 

The Temp 

The Vintage Guide to Love & Romance

Don't Turn Around

The Lie 

Game of Scones

Ivy Lane 

You're The One That I Want

A Seaside Affair

Blog Tour: Learn to Love Again, Ellen Faith

"Living in a small seaside village can have its perks, but after the death of her husband, Lillie Gilbert finds the people she grew up with turning against her faster than the tide rolls out.As she grieves for the life they planned, the life they’ll never live, she leans on her best friend for support and tries to come to terms with the fact that one day, she may have to open up her heart to a new life and new love.

After losing her childhood sweetheart, can Lillie really learn to love again?"

First of all I want to say a big thank you to Tay at Chicks That Read for organising the blog tour for this wonderful book! 

My review 

I really, really enjoyed this novel. Ellen Faith is a brilliant writer- it’s an engaging and all-encompassing story that sucks you in to their world.

Learn to Love again is an emotional story that goes through all the different stages of grief. Lillie is grieving after the sudden death of her husband, Nick. She lives in a small seaside town, where everyone knows everyone - including what she is going through. Some even blame her for his death. Her and Nick's best Friend Sam returns to the town from America, to look after her and help her through the grief. 

The detail Ellen goes to describe Lillie's heartbreak is intricate and very personal. I really felt for her throughout as you follow her on a journey of loss, grief and acceptance and you can really see how much pain she is in. There are some lovely flashbacks throughout which give you a glimpse into the past and their marriage, and show just how happy they were. It also shows you the history of Nick and Sams friendship, which really explains why he would be so determined to make her feel better and support her through such a difficult time. The story builds you up to really see why the loss of Nick would be so devisating, he is a wonderful character that was a big part of both their lives. 

The description of the location throughout Learn to Love Again is fantastic. Straightaway I was transported to the small seaside town and immersed in the small village that is such a big part of Lillie's life.

There are a wide range of different characters in the story which keeps it really interesting. My favourite characters in the story were Lillie's parents, they are both so different from each other – her dad is quiet, yet supportive and protective of her and her mum is slightly overbearing with a constant need to be in charge, which is her way of dealing with her daughter’s heartbreak and her own grief. They both do all they can to support her through a difficult time and are just a genuinely lovely couple.  Sam is also a wonderful character, he genuinely cares for Lillie and is a fantastic beacon of support to her at a moment in need. 

The book is quite short and I was surprised when I reached the end so quickly.  It isn't rushed at all, but it just seems shorter than your standard novel. It didn't need to be any longer as it’s a solid, engaging story – I was just sad when I got to the end! (but I would have been no matter what the page length!)

This is a great book that I would recommend highly. It explores friendship, loss and grief in an engaging and beautiful way that I really enjoyed. Ellen Faith is now firmly on my radar, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the future. 

About The Author

Ellen lives in the wonderful county of Yorkshire, England where she spends most of her time baking, eating, baking, and eating. Occasionally she does leave the house to go to the cinema or do some food shopping though. 

After spending years with an overactive imagination, she decided to put all the magic in her head to some good use and put finger to laptop where The Story of Us was born and became her debut novel. She loves to travel, her favourite destinations so far have all been in America, hence the love of all things, and all people, American. The food rocks pretty hard too, she ate until her jeans begged her to stop whilst she was there. True fact. Aside from daydreaming and eating, Ellen is a sucker for a lolcat, penguins and monkeys - she has never claimed to be normal. 

Author Links

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

BUY THE BOOK

AMAZON UK 

AMAZON US

TRAILER LINK

Top Ten Tuesday: All Time Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature over at The Broke and the Bookish. I love writing and reading lists so thought I'd give this weeks a go!

This weeks topic is 'Top Ten ALL TIME Favourite Authors', which was a bit of a challenge! There's so many fabulous authors out there it was hard to whittle it down to just ten. I based it on the authors that I buy no matter what they release - as soon as one of their books come out I know I'll buy them (and enjoy them). These aren't listed in a particular order, I enjoy them all equally.

So without further ado, below are my Top Ten Favourite Authors... 

I think this list will become even more difficult as time goes on. Since starting Little Northern Soul I've been introduced to authors who I hadn't read before and also a whole host of debut authors that are absolutely brilliant and I just know will be making it onto the above list. Some of the other authors I love are- Angela Marsons, Lucy Robinson, Caroline Mitchell, Kate Winter, Samantha Tonge & Cathy Bramley (to name a few!) 

Who are your Top 10 favourite authors? 

Why not let me know in the comments below :) 

2015 Reading Challenge

Okay, I know I'm REALLY late to this party, considering it's already (somehow) April. But I'm hoping you'll take pity on me seen as how I only entered the big wide world of blogging recently!

One thing I've seen quite a bit of is reading challenges. There's the Goodreads one, which challenges you on how many books you read in the year, but then I saw the Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge through reading one of my favourite blogs, Jenny in Neverland who regularly posts about the books she's read while doing this challenge.

I liked the sound of this one as it encourages you to come out of your comfort zone and read things that you usually wouldn't. I think it introduce me to new genres and authors that I will hopefully really like!

Seen as it's already a quarter through the year, I am going to backdate BUT no cheating for me - I'm only going to include any books I've read since 1st January 2015. From now on, I'll post any books I read for the challenge too to keep you updated as well as logging my progress.

I've completed the following so far: 

• A book published this year - The Year of Taking Chances, Lucy Diamond 
• A funny book - His Other Life, Beth Thomas 
• A book by a female author - Ivy Lane, Cathy Bramley 
• A mystery or thriller - I Let You Go, Clare Mackintosh 
• A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet - The Time of My Life, Cecila Ahern
• A book based entirely on its cover - A Seaside Affair, Fern Britton 
• A book you can finish in a day- The Lie, C.L Taylor
• A book by an author you've never read before - The Day We Disappeared - Lucy Robinson 

To be honest, these ones were a dream to complete- they didn't take me out of my comfort zone too much and I've enjoyed each and everyone. Most of the ones left are going to be more of a challenge for me - some take me out of my preferred genre, but, it wouldn't be a challenge without those more difficult options, and I'm actually looking forward to trying some new authors, genres and books. I'll keep you posted! 

Have you taken part in a challenge this year? how are you doing with it? 

1000 views giveaway!

Welcome to my first giveaway on Little Northern Soul :) 

I'm pretty chuffed that within just under 6 weeks of blogging I've now had over 1050 views! I'm not sure how that compares to other blogs but to be honest, I'm pretty pleased with it! 

I wanted to do a little giveaway as a way to say thank you to those of you that read Little Northern Soul and have helped me make a start in the blogging world. I know it's not all about page views and followers, but it does mean a lot to me that Little Northern Soul is doing well. When I started, I wasn't really convinced anyone would read it, so anything over than just me is a good start!

Here's what you can win in the giveaway:

His Other Life by Beth Thomas - this is a fabulous book that I absolutely loved. I read it on Kindle, but the paperback version is so pretty! I reviewed the book a few weeks ago if you want to know more about it. 

Patterned notebook & pen set 

Dairy Milk chocolate and a bag of Jelly Tots

(Unfortunately it's only open to UK residents to enter this time)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

March Marvelousness

Since I started my blog towards the end of February, March is the first full month that I've been blogging and I've decided to start a monthly feature which summarises my bookish month.

I've read some fantastic books in March, which I will talk about below. I was also lucky to win a ticket to attend Rebecca Raisin’s blogger party to celebrate the launch of her new book ‘Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm’. It was great to spend an afternoon drinking Prosecco, eating tiny food and chin-wagging with some wonderful other bloggers. I mentioned in my one month of blogging post how brilliant and welcoming I've found the book blogging and author community and this was reiterated at the afternoon tea – it was a fun afternoon spent with a brilliant group of people. 

So, these are the books I've read this month:

The Very Happy Afterlife of Rosie Potter (RIP) – Kate Winter

The Day We Disappeared – Lucy Robinson

Creature Comforts- Trisha Ashley

His Other Life – Beth Thomas

When Girlfriends Chase Dreams – Savannah Page

I Let You Go – Clare Mackintosh

Learn to Love Again – Ellen Faith  

As Good As It Gets? – Fiona Gibson

Silent Scream – Angela Marsons

Part of this feature will be to choose a ‘top pick’ from the books I've read in a month. I thought this would be a relatively straight forward decision, but I’m only in month one and it’s been really tough! I really enjoyed most of the books above, but the ones that I feel deserve a special mention are Silent Scream, I Let You Go and The Day We Disappeared. They were all brilliant- well written, gripping and unique. I spent a while thinking through which of these would be my number 1 (and if I’m honest, I would really strongly recommend all 3!) but my number one would have to be.... drum roll please...

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.

If you haven’t already read it, my review is here. It is a gripping book that makes you lose track of time and want to keep reading (I was very late back from one lunch break as I was so absorbed!)

This pick also surprises me slightly as when I started this blog, I was very much a Chick-lit only kind of reader. Within a few weeks, I’d read two crime thrillers and absolutely LOVED them. This just showed me what a good idea starting Little Northern Soul was – not only can I write about books I've read and enjoyed, but I read other reviews for books I might not usually read but would be missing out on otherwise. 

Which books have you enjoyed this month? 

One month reflections

So today marks my one-month bloggiversary. I know it's not a long time to celebrate, but I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far and I've also been really surprised some elements of blogging. I thought I'd post today about some of the brilliant things I've already discovered, only one month into blogging. 

1) The blogging community is fab

When I first started blogging, I wasn't sure how to promote or get the word out about my page. I reached out to a couple of my favourite book bloggers, who spread the Twitter word! Special shout of to Becca at Becca's books for giving me that initial shoutout - it helped so much.
Fellow bloggers have been so welcoming, friendly and encouraging. They have spurred me on from the very start and made me believe in what I'm doing. Thanks to the wonder that is Twitter, I speak to many other bloggers on a daily basis which makes me smile. It's nice to be able to chat to other bookworms about what I'm reading or a good blog article. 

2) Authors are are really friendly

Don't get me wrong, I never imagined that authors wouldn't be nice. I've just been surprised by just how nice and genuine they are. Every author that I have reviewed so far has tweeted me not only to say they've read my review but also that they enjoyed it! It makes the process so worthwhile and I'm so grateful for the lovely comments I've had from some of my favourite authors. They genuinely appreciate the feedback or reviews you provide and seem to love hearing that their book has brought a smile to your face, but it's great that they interact and tell you it's appreciated! 

3) It's fun 

Now, I can see how blogging can turn from a fun hobby to become overwhelming. I can imagine that the larger the pile of books to read grows, or the closer a deadline for a review approaches it can become stressful and all-encompassing. I know some bloggers have had to take a break as it became too much stress and work, and I can see why. Blogging should be FUN, it should be a way to interact with other people, write about things you love and enjoy what you do. It's early days for me at the moment but so far, it's nothing but fun. I'm reading faster than I used to so that I can post a review, but I'm trying to keep things manageable and fun. Hopefully it stays this way! 

4) Netgalley is awesome

Until I started Little Northern Soul, I had no idea this fantastic site existed. Netgalley is a website used by nearly all publishers to allow professional reviewers to access many books to read, review and provide feedback. For me it's a bookworms dream and I'm lucky to already have been given access to some fantastic books to read and review. 

5) There's more than just reviews 

I've been opened up to just how much you can do on a book blog. Within my first month I've taken part in cover releases, book tours, author Q&A's and I'm looking forward to attending Rebecca Raisin's book blogger party in London next week! 

I'm so pleased I took the step to start Little Northern Soul, I'm enjoying being creative and being able to keep track of the books I read, as well as interact with some lovely people and take part in fun events! 

What's your favourite thing about blogging? 

L xx