Sunday Connection – What we’ve been reviewing this week, plus blogosphere links #SundayBlogShare

Here’s what we’ve been reviewing this week

Monday – Judith B reviewed WW2 thriller The Circumstantial Enemy by John R Bell

Tuesday – I reviewed conscious storytelling Trusting The Currents by Lynnda Pollio

Wednesday – Judith B reviewed short stories Donkey Boy and Other Stories by Mary Smith

Thursday – Cathy reviewed paranormal thriller Marked by B.E. Balfinny

Friday – Jenny R reviewed horror Ghosts Of Manor House by Matt Powers

Saturday Noelle reviewed action thriller Ryan Kaine On The Defensive by Kerry J Donovan

Fun posts

10 Romance books for a Valentine read

WWW Wednesday – books I’m currently reading

Fab News

The Rosie Amber Book Blog has been recognised as a Top UK book blog by Feedspot (We currently rank number 36)

Posts from around the blogosphere

This week London Book Fair announced plans for awards to Book Bloggers, Book Tubers and Bookstagrammers to celebrate social media influencers and their important contribution to the UK book industry.

http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/UKBookBlogAwards

Goodreads ratings, the maths behind it all

https://vickywhoreads.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/a-math-lesson-why-5-stars-does-not-negate-a-1-star-on-goodreads-vice-versa/

Do you need a twitter usage refresher?

https://bookmachine.org/2017/12/10/twitter-guide-will-make-see-youre-wrong-make-right-authors/?utm_content=buffer8aa18&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

WWW Wednesday What Am I Reading? February 14th @SamAnnElizabeth #amreading

WWW Wednesday is a meme from Sam at Taking On A World Of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

The Friendship Cure by Kate Leaver (Currently reading – non-fction) Book due out March 19th

A compelling, fresh and thought-provoking exploration of friendship – what it is, how to keep it, and why we need it more than ever before.

Friendship is like water. We need it to survive, we crave it when it’s scarce, it runs through our veins and yet we forget its value simply because it’s always available. The basic compulsion to make friends is in our DNA; we’ve evolved, chimp-like, to seek out connection with other human beings. We move through life in packs and friendship circles and yet we are stuck in the greatest loneliness epidemic of our time. It’s killing us, making us miserable and causing a public health crisis. But what if friendship is the solution, not the distraction?

Journalist Kate Leaver believes that friendship is the essential cure for the modern malaise of solitude, ignorance, ill health and angst. If we only treated camaraderie as a social priority, it could affect everything from our physical health and emotional well-being to our capacity to find a home, keep a job, get married, stay married, succeed, feed and understand ourselves.

In this witty, smart book – an appealing blend of science, pop culture and memoir – she meets scientists, speaks to old friends, finds extraordinary stories and uncovers research to look at what friendship is, how it feels, where it can survive, why we need it and what we can do to get the most from it – and how we might change the world if we value it properly. AmazonUK | AmazonUS

Let Me Be Like Water by S.K. Perry – contemporary (Just finished book due out May 2018)

Holly moved to Brighton to escape her grief over the death of her boyfriend, Sam. But now she is here, sitting on a bench, listening to the sea sway… what is supposed to happen next?

She had thought she d want to be on her own. Wrecked. Stranded. But after she meets Frank, the tide begins to shift. Frank, a retired magician who has experienced his own loss but manages to be there for everyone else. Gradually, as he introduces Holly to a circle of new friends, young and old, all with their own stories of love and grief to share, she begins to learn to live again.

A moving and powerful debut which combines the emotional pull of Maggie O’Farrell with the lyrical beauty of Sarah Perry, Let Me Be Like Water is a book simultaneously about nothing and everything: about the humdrum yet extraordinariness of everyday life; of lost and new connections; of loneliness and friendship. AmazonUK | AmazonUS

Crushing On Love by Melissa Foster – Romance (Reading Next)

In CRUSHING ON LOVE…
Steve Johnson is living his life’s passion watching over the Colorado Mountains as a ranger and wildlife consultant. But his peaceful life is upended when overzealous and insanely beautiful Shannon Braden flits back into his life after returning from a brief trip home to Maryland. He thought his attraction to her was under control–after all, she’s only in Colorado temporarily, and he doesn’t do casual affairs.

Shannon’s return to Colorado has as much to do with the game of cat and mouse she and Steve have been playing as it does the data she’s been hired to collect. But despite her efforts to explore the undeniable heat simmering between them, Steve’s intent on keeping his distance.

When a ranch abutting the national park goes up for sale, Steve will do whatever it takes to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. And when all his attempts fail, he’s left with no alternative but to follow Shannon’s guidance into the online world he abhors in order to raise the funds. The more time they spend together, the deeper their attraction becomes, and a game of cat and mouse turns into an unstoppable connection. But when Shannon’s assignment comes to an end, will it mean an end to them, too? AmazonUk | AmazonUS

WWW Wednesday What Am I Reading? January 24th @SamAnnElizabeth #AmReading

WWW Wednesday is a meme from Sam at Taking On A World Of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Baker’s Dozen by Amey Zeigler (Romantic Suspense) currently reading

Twenty-three year-old investigative journalist, Andy Miller is armed with her many disguises and creativity to take down the riff-raff of Saint Louis. When her stepbrother is murdered by the mob, Andy soon discovers she’s out of her depth.
Enter Hugh Donaldson who has reasons of his own for discovering the murderer. He’ll use everything in his power to achieve that, including lying to Andy about his past. Dangerous as he is attractive, his martial arts skills and his quirky ways raise Andy’s suspicions.
Although Andy balks at his lies, Hugh’s charms, twenty-inch biceps, and electrifying blue eyes are difficult to resist. Striking out on their own, Hugh and Andy try to outwit each other as they traverse North America tracking down people connected to the case.
As clues disappear and the body count climbs, Andy and Hugh must trust each other and use their combined skills to bring the murderer to justice.

AmazonUk | AmazonUS

 

The Green Unknown: Travels In The Khasi Hills by Patrick Rogers (memoir) just finished

The Green Unknown is about walking, without a map or a plan, across the Khasi Hills in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya—a place of jungle canyons and thousand-foot waterfalls, where it rains more than any other inhabited place in the world, where each village has its own dialect or even its own language, and where the people grow living bridges from the roots of trees. The book is an attempt to express what it’s like trying to explore, mile by mile, village by village, valley by valley, a place that’s beautiful, complex, and fascinating, but most of all, unique. AmazonUk | AmazonUS

 

The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett (YA HistFic) up next

In the year 1841, on the eve of her departure from London, Bridie’s mother demands she forget her dead father and prepare for a sensible adult life in Port Phillip. Desperate to save her childhood, fifteen-year-old Bridie is determined to smuggle a notebook filled with her father’s fairy tales to the far side of the world.

When Rhys Bevan, a soft-voiced young storyteller and fellow traveller realises Bridie is hiding something, a magical friendship is born. But Rhys has his own secrets and the words written in Bridie’s notebook carry a dark double meaning.

As they inch towards their destination, Rhys’s past returns to haunt him. Bridie grapples with the implications of her dad’s final message. The pair take refuge in fairy tales, little expecting the trouble it will cause. AmazonUK | AmazonUS

WWW Wednesday January 10th What Am I reading? @SamAnnElizabeth #AmReading

WWW Wednesday is a meme from Sam at Taking On A World Of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Whales And Strange Stars by Kathy Sharp (currently reading) Historical fiction

A world beyond her own.

A sea captain passes through the forgotten port of Wych Ferry, and whiles away an hour relating his traveller’s tales to young Rosamund Euden. He tells her that the stars are different, if you sail far enough, that the horizon isn’t quite real, not when you get there; he speaks of sea serpents and whales, and mysterious islands.

To an impressionable girl who has never left her home, the whales and strange stars of his stories come to symbolise the great outside world she longs to see. The sea captain moves on, unaware of the dramatic events he has set in action as Rosamund’s search for adventure leads her into a world of dangerous secrets in the marshlands of eighteenth century Kent.

Torn between loyalty to her uncles, and her desire to discover what lies beyond the marshes, Rosamund seeks help from an unexpected source. But who can she really trust? AmazonUk | AmazonUS

Broken by Ivy Logan (recently finished) A Young Adult Fantasy
BROKEN BUT NOT LOST

The dark shadow cast by an ancient prophecy shatters an innocent family, but all that is broken is not lost.
Unaware of her supernatural legacy, half blood sorceress Talia has a unique childhood. Although protected by the love of her parents, Talia is instructed in the art of combat by her mother, Caitlin, a powerful sorceress of the Heichi clan.

When Talia’s family’s worst nightmare comes to pass, her protected life spins out of control. Everything she believes in and everyone she loves is cruelly snatched away and Talia is forced to flee the attentions of a mad king.

Choosing a path of retribution devoid of love and friendship, Talia comes to learn that love can be received even if it is not sought.

‘Broken’ is a tale of Talia’s coming of age, reuniting with her family, and seeking vengeance. Most of all, it chronicles, Talia’s rise from the ashes and how she finds herself again.

Set against a background of time travel and supernatural forces, read Talia’s epic saga of love, sacrifice, and discovering the hero within. AmazonUK | AmazonUS

The Call Of The Canyon by Zane Grey (my next read) Western. This book was mention in another book I recently read and caught my interest.

1924. From the master of the western comes a novel full of romance and adventure. The story begins: What subtle strange message had come to her out of the West? Carley Burch laid the letter in her lap and gazed dreamily through the window. It was a day typical of early April in New York, rather cold and gray, with steely sunlight. Spring breathed in the air, but the women passing along Fifty-seventh Street wore furs and wraps. She heard the distant clatter of an L train and then the hum of a motor car. A hurdy-gurdy jarred into the interval of quiet. Free Download AmazonUK | AmazonUS

WWW Wednesday January 3rd What Am I reading? #AmReading @SamAnnELizabeth

WWW Wednesday is a meme from Sam at Taking On A World Of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Trusting The Currents by Lynnda Pollio (currently reading)

Some moments change everything you become.

Author Lynnda Pollio’s life as a busy New Yorker abruptly changes when she unexpectedly hears the mystical, elderly voice of Addie Mae Aubrey, a Southern, African American woman. Her first words, “It’s not what happened to me that matters,” begin a spirited remembering of Addie Mae’s teenage years in the late 1930s rural south and the hard learned wisdom Addie Mae asks Lynnda to share. As women from different times and places, together they embark on an uncommon journey. #Spirituality AmazonUK | AmazonUS

 

 

A Warriner To Tempt Her by Virginia Heath (Just finished reading)

A shy innocent…wary of all men…

After a shocking incident, shy Lady Isabella Beaumont is perfectly happy to stay in the background and let her sister get all the attention from handsome suitors! However, working with Dr. Joseph Warriner to help the sick and needy pushes her closer to a man than she’s ever been before. Is this man worth trusting with her deepest of desires…? #Regency #Romance due out January 16th AmazonUK | AmazonUS

 

 

The Little Cafe In Copenhagen by Julie Caplin (reading next)

Welcome to the little cafe in Copenhagen where the smell of cinnamon fills the air and the hot chocolate is as smooth as silk.

Publicist Kate Sinclair’s life in London is everything she thought she wanted: success, glamour and a charming boyfriend. Until that boyfriend goes behind her back and snatches a much sought-after promotion from her.Heartbroken and questioning everything, Kate needs to escape.

Leaving behind rush hour and late nights in the office for a city break in beautiful Copenhagen, Kate discovers how to live life ‘the Danish way’. From candles and cosy nights in to the easy smiles of tall, gorgeous Vikings and eating your body weight in pastries (ok, that’s just her), the city offers her a new perspective.

Can the secrets of hygge and happiness lead her to her own happily-ever-after?  #Humour Due out Feb 1st AmazonUk | AmazonUS

My 3 Books for WWW Wednesday #Amreading @SamAnnElizabeth

This week I’m joining in with the three Ws Wednesday book meme currently hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

The Emissary by Marcia Meara I love Marcia’s Riverbend series, so this spin-off is intriguing

Was Gabe Angelino, the mysterious truck driver in Finding Hunter: Riverbend Book 2, really an angel, as Willow Green believes? Or was he simply a good man, determined to help a stranger in need? Find out, as author Marcia Meara reveals the truth in the first Riverbend spinoff novella, The Emissary.

An angel’s work is never done—that’s part of the gig. But angels hadn’t been created to deal with such a vastly over-populated planet, rife with misery, suffering, and general chaos. Helping souls in peril has become a nearly impossible job, and even angelic tempers are frayed.

The archangel Azrael has had enough. He believes he’s found a way to ease their burden while saving jeopardized humans, too—hired help.

AmazonUk | AmazonUS

 

 

 

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman – I’m actually still reading this one,

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.

One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic… AmazonUk | AmazonUS

 

 

 

The Obsession by Nora Roberts – I’m a big Nora Roberts fan and enjoy books in several of the genres she writes in.

Naomi Carson is a survivor. As a child, her family was torn apart by a shocking crime. It could have destroyed her, but Naomi has grown up strong, with a passion for photography that has taken her all around the world.

Now, at last, she has decided to put down roots. The beautiful old house on Point Bluff needs work, but Naomi has new friends in town who are willing to help, including Xander Keaton – gorgeous, infuriating and determined to win her heart.

But as Naomi plans for the future, her past is catching up with her. Someone in town knows her terrifying secret – and won’t let her forget it. As her new home is rocked by violence, Naomi must discover her persecutor’s identity, before it’s too late. AmazonUk | AmazonUS