I know the summer holidays are almost at an end. For some of us it has already ended *cries forever*, but there’s always time to jump into the world of books and imagination!
I heard about the brilliant Summer Reading Guide that Toppsta have developed to help encourage more children to read over the summer and wanted to share this with everyone!
#ToppstaSummerReadingGuide
Toppsta, the UK’s largest online community reviewing children’s books, has just launched a FREE Summer Reading Guide packed with book reviews from children aged 5 to 12!
There’s also a reading diary to fill in over the summer holidays and a book review template too!
Whether it’s picture books, unicorns or glittery slime. Or maybe a funny book or a spot of new fiction it’s a must-have resource for children to enjoy at home and at school!
A huge thanks to Liz at Toppsta for introducing me to this and asking me to host this piece.
Please note that this post was not sponsored by Toppsta
Have you been reading over the summer? What has been your favourite read? What are you looking forward to reading? Why not leave a comment using the reply button at the top of the page or tweet me on twitter using @chelleytoy !
I’ve spent most of this weekend chilling out following YALC and it’s been blissful. I’m not sure about anyone else, but it always takes me a good while to recover after a pretty full on YALC. I’m always so exhausted afterwards so I am hoping this coming week I will have a little spring back in my step and less bags under my eyes.
I love YALC so much. I love the books, the atmosphere, chatting to like minded people from the community and meeting up with authors that are new and familiar to me, bloggers and publishers and of course hanging out with amazing friends and people. It always just makes me smile so much.
Before YALC this year I was feeling in a bit of limbo with my blog, my reading and even my writing. I’ve had a lot going on recently and I’ve found it hard to find the time to fit things in. I’ve been so exhausted that I’ve lacked the motivation to do anything remotely creative. (Although I did manage to binge watch a lot of Netflix!). I even wondered if it was worth carrying on blogging!
Cue YALC!
I didn’t realise how much I needed something to make me open up my eyes again and as silly as it sounds give me that little boost that I realised I needed in one sense, but maybe not in others. I was SO excited for YALC, but I didn’t realise how much I actually needed YALC to snap me out of my spell of whatever was going on in my brain.
And boy did YALC do that!
I had such a wonderful time!
Some highlights for me personally were –
Staying in the same hotel as a couple of my friends which meant that we could meet up for breakfast every morning and then walk to YALC together and generally just chat along the way.
Chatting to so many other bloggers, some new to me and some I’ve met before, but seeing everyone’s happiness and enthusiasm was completely infectious.
Spending a lot of my time in panels or getting books signed this year rather than the workshops and whilst I had a rough plan on my highlighted YALC schedule of what I wanted to do everyday I found that I ended up just going with the flow and this was just what I needed. It was amazing to hear and see so many wonderful authors and I left everyday feeling inspired by every single one of them.
Meeting lots of fab authors, but the highlight for me was sitting front row for the Tom and Giovanna Fletcher talk. I even got to ask them a question and then got my book signed! I have been a huge fan of them both for quite some time, but I’ve never met them so this was a dream come true!
All of the book stands! OMG how fab were they! I could have walked away with far more books than I did. YALC is seriously dangerous for the wallet! As well as all of the books though it was fab to talk to some of the publishers, people that I’ve met before and people that I’ve only chatted to over email. It’s always nice to put a face to a name.
Meeting up with my personal publishing hero Anne Finnis and spending time with her, Kim Curran and my friend Amy. For those of you who don’t know I am a huge fan of Point Horror and Anne was responsible for publishing them back in the 90’s. We met up at YALC a few years ago now and every time I see her I turn into a fan girl (sounds silly I know, but as I said to Anne…Point Horror was my childhood and if she hadn’t published them I may not be the person I am today!). It was just lovely to take some time out to chat about books and writing amongst other things and the whole conversation was hugely inspiring.
An evening out with my friends Amy, Olivia and Laura and our families. What a laugh we had over burgers and milkshakes. We have to make this a YALC tradition!
And with thanks to wonderful family and friends I even pushed myself out of my comfort zone….
I normally just stay up on the YALC floor and don’t venture down to LFCC, but this year my son was determined to get me down there and with my pop vinyl obsession how could I not go down? For those of you who don’t know, I am partially sighted and therefore I find it very stressful and hard in crowded spaces to navigate around without constantly bumping into people. But I did it! And I loved it!
With thanks to my friend Amy for pushing me a little I pitched my story idea to an agent with a view to gaining some feedback on the idea. It was a nerve-wracking but a great experience and it was great to hear feedback which has given my some fresh ideas to put into my writing
I had my picture taken with a celebrity, Arthur Darvill. That meant me pushing myself out of my comfort zone again. I was super nervous and terrified of the queuing process down in LFCC, but I did it and as you can tell from my super happy smiling face it was amazing!
These things I would never have done before, but I always say to my son when he is going some where new to always try one thing out of his comfort zone each time, so I thought I would take my own advice!
I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you to everyone who I spoke to, hugged, laughed with and hung out with. I have left YALC feeling motivated and inspired by every single one of you.
If ever I feel like giving up I will simply read back this blog post, think of all of the amazing and wonderful things above and the memories we created and maybe think to myself that I shouldn’t give up. Think about how inspired every single one of you has made me feel, always so welcoming and warm and energetic. That alone is enough. That alone makes me beam with happiness whilst I am writing this.
It’s finally April and we have lighter nights and spring is setting in! There has even been some sun! I just feel like April is going to be a fab month!
So if your new here – The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
I have created a #BritishBooksChallenge18 summary page here which will also keep track of my own progress in the challenge too.
If you have not signed up yet there’s still plenty of time – find out more about the challenge here
Please note you can sign up to the challenge at any time throughout the year but only sign up entries made on or before the 31st December 2017 will be entered to win the sign up prize.
This is the second time I am hosting this particular challenge and I have lots of things planned for us all to discover some amazing British Authors!
I have been in touch with lots of publishers who have kindly donated lots of lovely prize packs for us throughout the year for the challenge!
Right lets get started!
March’s prize pack was kindly donated by the lovelies at Harper Collins and contained the following 3 books!
There was a fantastic 49 reviews by British Authors linked up on the March linky here!
That makes a total of 202 books by British Authors read and linking up to the #BritishBooksChallenge18 so far!
Amazing!
And thank you for embracing our Author and Debut Of The Month – an amazing 9 of you reviewed The Exact Opposite Of Okay by Laura Steven our debut of the month and/or books by our Author Of The Month Eve Ainsworth and earned double entries into the prize draw!
That is totally amazing! Thank you to everyone who has taken part!
I’ve picked a winner at random….
And the winner is…….
Clair Bossonswith her review of The Ravenmaster’s Boy by Mary Hoffman
Congratulations!
These 3 fab books are all yours!
Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be sent out to you!
*****
Please bear with me as I am currently still arranged the prize pack – an announcement will be made shortly.
*****
One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month’s review link up post. The winner will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning and don’t forget you gain extra entries for any reviews by Debut or Author of the Month for April! It doesn’t matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you’ll still be entered for each review you do write.
Please Remember…..
Only participants with a valid sign up page that has been linked here are eligible for entry to the monthly prize packs mentioned on this monthly link up page – you can still sign up here
When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog/vlog (invalid links will be deleted)
Books must have been read and reviewed in April 2018 to count towards the challenge , however I am happy that if you read the book in January/February/March but reviewed in April to link those up as basically you are putting the review up in April – I am hoping that makes sense!
Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors – they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don’t fit into one of those categories then they don’t count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won’t get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I’m afraid authors from Southern Ireland don’t count.
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
And lastly feel free to share your reviews on social media using the #BritishBooksChallenge18hashtag – it’s not compulsory but it would be fun to share any great British Books you have loved with others!
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
For more information about the #BritishBooksChallenge18 click here
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
And the #BritishBooksChallenge18 Author Of The Month for April is…….
DAVE SHELTON!
Dave Shelton was born and raised in Leicester (more or less) and educated at Loughborough, Cambridge and Brighton. He now lives and works in Cambridge. He has been drawing and colouring in professionally since 1990 and, as yet, has not starved to death as a result. Dave believes that there is no time of the day or night when it is inappropriate to take a bath or to eat breakfast. He likes crosswords, comics and cricket and has never owned a dog. Do not, under any circumstances, allow him to talk to you about pens.
Daphne is off to St Rita’s, an exclusive girls’ boarding school. It sounds awfully respectable and Daphne herself is awfully respectable too. She loves to read, and is delighted to be offered the chance to interview for Librarian’s assistant’s assistant immediately upon arrival. But it turns out nothing is quite what you’d expect at St Rita’s – you can’t trust a padlock if the fourth graders are around, the floor has holes from cannonballs, the smell in the dining room is disgustingly foul, and Daphne discovers the librarian doesn’t really exist. But there is a librarian’s assistant, Emily Lime. And she’s really a crime-solving genius, who’s looking for a new assistant of her own. And booksmart Daphne is just the girl for the job, because mystery and intrigue are about to strike St Rita’s and Emily Lime is going to need all the help she can get…
Or check out the rest of Dave’s fab books and graphic novels!
Don’t Forget…..
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
There are so many good debuts coming out this month that it was really hard to decide which to pick…..
So the our #BritishBooksChallenge18 Debut Of The Month for April is…….
The Goose Road by Rowena House
France 1916. Angélique Lacroix is haymaking when the postman delivers the news: her father is dead, killed on a distant battlefield. She makes herself a promise: the farm will remain exactly the same until her beloved older brother comes home from the Front. “I think of it like a magical spell. If I can stop time, if nothing ever changes, then maybe he won t change either.” But a storm ruins the harvest, her mother falls ill and then the requisition appears… In a last-ditch attempt to save the farm from bankruptcy, Angélique embarks on a journey across France with her brother’s flock of magnificent Toulouse geese.
ROWENA HOUSE spent years as a foreign correspondent in France, Africa and then again in Europe before turning to fiction. She visited the WW1 battlefields of the Western Front repeatedly to research her prize-winning First World War short story, The Marshalling of Angelique’s Geese (WAR GIRLS, 2014) and again for her debut novel, THE GOOSE ROAD (Walker 2018). Her fascination with the Great War, the trenches, and the appalling artillery battles of the Somme and Verdun began at school when studying the war poets, Wilfred Owen in particular. As an adult, she experienced war first-hand as a Reuter’s reporter in Ethiopia, and saw its terrible impact on civilians. Now settled in the English countryside with her husband and son, Rowena holds a Master’s degree in rural economics and another in creative writing, and mentors fiction writers alongside her journalism and storytelling.
Or why not follow Rowena on Twitter – @HouseRowena
Don’t Forget…..
If you read, review and link up a review of The Goose Road by Rowena House (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
Look out for a special post sometime in April and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2018!
Thanks for signing up for the British Books Challenge 2018! Happy Reading!
Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won’t count and will be deleted from the list.
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your British Books Challenge sign up post here
And despite all of the snow it is actually March! Spring is almost upon us and I simply cannot wait!
So if your new here – The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
I have created a #BritishBooksChallenge18 summary page here which will also keep track of my own progress in the challenge too.
If you have not signed up yet there’s still plenty of time – find out more about the challenge here
Please note you can sign up to the challenge at any time throughout the year but only sign up entries made on or before the 31st December 2017 will be entered to win the sign up prize.
This is the second time I am hosting this particular challenge and I have lots of things planned for us all to discover some amazing British Authors!
I have been in touch with lots of publishers who have kindly donated lots of lovely prize packs for us throughout the year for the challenge!
Right lets get started!
February’s prize pack was kindly donated by the lovelies at Stripes Publishing and Little Tiger and contained the following 3 books!
There was a fantastic 57 reviews by British Authors linked up on the February linky here!
That makes a total of 153 books by British Authors read and linking up to the #BritishBooksChallenge18 so far!
And thank you for embracing our Author and Debut Of The Month – an amazing 13 of you reviewed Sunflowers In February by Phyllida Shrimpton our debut of the month and/or books by our Author Of The Month Robin Stevens and earned double entries into the prize draw!
That is totally amazing! Thank you to everyone who has taken part!
I’ve picked a winner at random….
And the winner is…….
Donna @ The Untitled Book Blog with her review of Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton
Congratulations!
These 3 fab books are all yours!
Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be sent out to you!
*****
Marc’s prize pack has kindly been donated by the lovelies at Harper Collins and you could win these 3 fab books!
A huge thank you to Harper Collins for donating these fab books!
*****
One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month’s review link up post. The winner will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning and don’t forget you gain extra entries for any reviews by Debut or Author of the Month for March! It doesn’t matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you’ll still be entered for each review you do write.
Please Remember…..
Only participants with a valid sign up page that has been linked here are eligible for entry to the monthly prize packs mentioned on this monthly link up page – you can still sign up here
When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog/vlog (invalid links will be deleted)
Books must have been read and reviewed in March 2018 to count towards the challenge , however I am happy that if you read the book in January/February but reviewed in March to link those up as basically you are putting the review up in March – I am hoping that makes sense!
Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors – they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don’t fit into one of those categories then they don’t count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won’t get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I’m afraid authors from Southern Ireland don’t count.
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
And lastly feel free to share your reviews on social media using the #BritishBooksChallenge18hashtag – it’s not compulsory but it would be fun to share any great British Books you have loved with others!
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
For more information about the #BritishBooksChallenge18 click here
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
And the #BritishBooksChallenge18 Author Of The Month for March is…….
EVE AINSWORTH!
Eve is an award-winning teen author, experienced school speaker and creative workshop co-ordinator. She has appeared at several festivals as a speaker, including Hay-on-Wye (2016), Oxford (2016), Highgate & Hampstead (2015) and Chichester.
Eve is experienced in supporting young people within a school environment and is particularly interested in working with beginner writers as well as being an experienced school speaker.
Touching on mental health, family, friendship and the pressures that teenage carers face, as author Cat Clarke says, TENDER is “a compassionate, compelling and unflinching novel”. Marty and Daisy spend their lives pretending. Marty pretends his mum’s grip on reality isn’t slipping by the day. Daisy pretends her parents aren’t exhausting themselves while they look after her incurably ill brother. They both pretend they’re fine. But the thing about pretending is, at some point, it has to stop. And then what?
Or check out the rest of Eve’s fab books!
Also check out guest posts from Eve on Tales and reviews of Eve’s books…..
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
Look out for a special post from the lady herself sometime in March and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
There are so many good debuts coming out this month that it was really hard to decide which to pick…..
So the our #BritishBooksChallenge18 Debut Of The Month for March is…….
The Exact Opposite Of Okay by Laura Steven
A hilarious, groundbreaking young adult novel for anyone who’s ever called themselves a feminist . . . and anyone who hasn’t. For fans of Louise O’Neill, Holly Bourne and Amy Schumer.
Izzy O’Neill here! Impoverished orphan, aspiring comedian and Slut Extraordinaire, if the gossip sites are anything to go by . . .
Izzy never expected to be eighteen and internationally reviled. But when explicit photos involving her, a politician’s son and a garden bench are published online, the trolls set out to take her apart. Armed with best friend Ajita and a metric ton of nachos, she tries to laugh it off – but as the daily slut-shaming intensifies, she soon learns the way the world treats teenage girls is not okay. It’s the Exact Opposite of Okay.
Bitingly funny and shockingly relevant, The Exact Opposite of Okay is a bold, brave and necessary read. For readers of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Doing It by Hannah Witton and Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo.
Laura Steven is an author, journalist and screenwriter from the northernmost town in England. She has an MA in Creative Writing and works at a non-profit organisation supporting women in the creative arts. Her TV pilot, Clickbait, was a finalist in British Comedy’s 2016 Sitcom Mission. The Exact Opposite of Okay is her first book for young adults.
You can find out more about Laura on her website – www.laura-steven.com
If you read, review and link up a review of The Exact Opposite Of Okay by Laura Steven (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
Look out for a special post sometime in March and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2018!
Thanks for signing up for the British Books Challenge 2018! Happy Reading!
Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won’t count and will be deleted from the list.
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your British Books Challenge sign up post here
And it’s February already!! I know January feels like the longest month ever, but I felt that it went super fast! Just me?!
So if your new here – The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
I have created a #BritishBooksChallenge18 summary page here which will also keep track of my own progress in the challenge too.
If you have not signed up yet there’s still plenty of time – find out more about the challenge here
Please note you can sign up to the challenge at any time throughout the year but only sign up entries made on or before the 31st December 2017 will be entered to win the sign up prize.
This is the second time I am hosting this particular challenge and I have lots of things planned for us all to discover some amazing British Authors!
I have been in touch with lots of publishers who have kindly donated lots of lovely prize packs for us throughout the year for the challenge!
Right lets get started!
January’s prize pack was kindly donated by the lovelies at Electric Monkey and Egmont and contained the following 5 books!
There was a fantastic 96 reviews by British Authors linked up on the January linky here!
And thank you for embracing our Author and Debut Of The Month – an amazing 12 of you reviewed with The Sacrifice Box by Martin Stewart and/or The Fandom by Anna Day and earned double entries into the prize draw!
That is totally amazing! Thank you to everyone who has taken part!
I’ve picked a winner at random….
And the winner is…….
Liam @ BookWormHole with his review of The Fandom by Anna Day
Congratulations!
These 5 fab books are all yours!
Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be sent out to you!
*****
February’s prize pack has been kindly donated by the lovelies at Little Tiger and Stripes and contains the following 3 books!
A huge thank you to Little Tiger and Stripes for donating these brilliant books to kick off our February!
*****
One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month’s review link up post. The winner will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning and don’t forget you gain extra entries for any reviews by Debut or Author of the Month for February! It doesn’t matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you’ll still be entered for each review you do write.
Please Remember…..
Only participants with a valid sign up page that has been linked here are eligible for entry to the monthly prize packs mentioned on this monthly link up page – you can still sign up here
When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog/vlog (invalid links will be deleted)
Books must have been read and reviewed in February 2018 to count towards the challenge , however I am happy that if you read the book in January and reviewed in February to link those up as basically you are putting the review up in February – I am hoping that makes sense!
Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors – they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don’t fit into one of those categories then they don’t count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won’t get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I’m afraid authors from Southern Ireland don’t count.
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
And lastly feel free to share your reviews on social media using the #BritishBooksChallenge18hashtag – it’s not compulsory but it would be fun to share any great British Books you have loved with others!
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
For more information about the #BritishBooksChallenge18 click here
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
And the #BritishBooksChallenge18 Author Of The Month for February is…….
ROBIN STEVENS!
Here are ten absolutely true things about me:
1. I am a woman. I really am! I do get a lot of letters addressed to ‘Mr Stevens’, though.
2. I have a pet bearded dragon named Watson, and she is a girl too.
3. I was born in California, and I moved to England when I was three. This means that I have two passports (like a spy), and that I could be the President of the USA and the Prime Minister at the same time if I wanted to be. If this writing thing doesn’t work out, I might consider it.
4. I grew up in Oxford, across the road from Alice in Wonderland. If she hadn’t been Victorian and fictional, I think we could have been friends.
5. When I was little, I wanted to own a zoo and write books about it. I also wanted to be married to Gerald Durrell. I dreamed big.
6. Colin Dexter once sent me a fan letter. I met him when I was twelve and told him that when I grew up I was going to write murder mysteries. I must have been really insistent, because he believed me.
7. I really did go to an English boarding school, Cheltenham Ladies College. And I really did sleep in a dorm, and learn Latin, and have school on Saturday mornings. I never detected a murder, though, which was a bit of a disappointment.
8. I’ve been on University Challenge! I was the Captain of the Warwick University team. We didn’t win, unfortunately, but I did get to meet Jeremy Paxman.
9. When I was at university, I did my MA on crime fiction. So I really do have a degree in murder.
10. I used to work as an editor, helping other authors get their books published, but today I’m lucky enough to be a full-time author!
When Hazel Wong’s beloved grandfather passes away, Daisy Wells is all too happy to accompany her friend (and Detective Society Vice President) to Hazel’s family estate in beautiful, bustling Hong Kong.
But when they arrive they discover something they didn’t expect: there’s a new member of the Wong family. Daisy and Hazel think baby Teddy is enough to deal with, but as always the girls are never far from a mystery. Tragedy strikes very close to home, and this time Hazel isn’t just the detective. She’s been framed for murder!
The girls must work together like never before, confronting dangerous gangs, mysterious suspects and sinister private detectives to solve the murder and clear Hazel’s name – before it’s too late . . .
Or check out the rest of the A Murder Most Unladylike Series or Robin’s standalone book The Guggenheim Mystery!
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
Look out for a special post from the lady herself sometime in February and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
There are so many good debuts coming out this month that it was really hard to decide which to pick…..
So the our #BritishBooksChallenge18 Debut Of The Month for February is…….
Sunflowers In February by Phyllida Shrimpton
Lily has died in a car accident. The trouble is, Lily’s really not at all sure she wants to ‘move on’ . . . This funny, heartbreaking novel is perfect if you loved John Green or The Lovely Bones.
Lily wakes up one crisp Sunday morning on the side of the road.
She has no idea how she got there. It is all very peaceful. And very beautiful. It is only when the police car, and then the ambulance, arrive and she sees her own body that she realises that she is in fact . . . dead.
But what is she supposed do now?
Lily has no option but to follow her body and sees her family – her parents and her twin brother – start falling apart. And then her twin brother Ben gives her a once in a deathtime opportunity – to use his own body for a while. But will Lily give Ben his body back? She is beginning to have a rather good time . . .
A moving, startlingly funny and yet achingly sad debut novel from a stunning new talent.
Disastrous cook, chaotic parent, disorganised wife, terrible giggler, and survivor of writing a book from underneath a 60kg Newfoundland lap-dog.
If you read, review and link up a review of Sunflowers In February by Phyllida Shrimpton (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
Look out for a special post sometime in February and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2018!
Thanks for signing up for the British Books Challenge 2018! Happy Reading!
Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won’t count and will be deleted from the list.
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your British Books Challenge sign up post here
I’m so excited that so many of you have signed up for the #BritishBooksChallenge18! It’s nice seeing some new faces and of course some British Book Challenge regulars.
Thank you all! We are all going to have so much fun!
The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
I have created a #BritishBooksChallenge18 summary page here which will also keep track of my own progress in the challenge too.
If you have not signed up yet there’s still plenty of time – find out more about the challenge here
Please note you can sign up to the challenge at any time throughout the year but only sign up entries made on or before the 31st December 2017 will be entered to win the sign up prize.
This is the second time I am hosting this particular challenge and I have lots of things planned for us all to discover some amazing British Authors!
I have been in touch with lots of publishers who have kindly donated lots of lovely prize packs for us throughout the year for the challenge!
Right lets get started!
I am treating one lucky sign up winner to start off their New Year in the best bookish way possible with a Waterstones gift card of £15! If you were signed up for the British Books Challenge 2018 on or before the 31st December 2017 then you were entered into the prize draw!
22 people have signed up to the challenge before the 31st December (24 participants in total so far). These 22 people were all entered into the prize draw.
I’ve picked a winner at random….
And the winner is…….
Dana @ Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Congratulations!
What a lovely New Year Treat!
Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be sent out to you!
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January’s prize pack has been kindly donated by the lovelies at Electric Monkey and Egmont and contains 5 the following 5 books!
A huge thank you to Electric Monkey and Egmont for donating these brilliant books to kick off our New Year in style!
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.One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month’s review link up post. The winner will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning and don’t forget you gain extra entries for any reviews by Debut or Author of the Month for January! It doesn’t matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you’ll still be entered for each review you do write.
Please Remember…..
Only participants with a valid sign up page that has been linked here are eligible for entry to the monthly prize packs mentioned on this monthly link up page – you can still sign up here
When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog/vlog (invalid links will be deleted)
Books must have been read and reviewed in January 2018 to count towards the challenge so those books you read in December but reviewed in January don’t count!
Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors – they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don’t fit into one of those categories then they don’t count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won’t get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I’m afraid authors from Southern Ireland don’t count.
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
And lastly feel free to share your reviews on social media using the #BritishBooksChallenge18hashtag – it’s not compulsory but it would be fun to share any great British Books you have loved with others!
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
For more information about the #BritishBooksChallenge18 click here
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
And the #BritishBooksChallenge18 Author Of The Month for January is…….
MARTIN STEWART!
Before I was a writer, I was a caddie, barman, recycling technician, wine advisor, university lecturer, and English teacher. My time in the classroom inspired me to turn my pen towards writing for younger readers, and now I love visiting schools to help students develop their own writing, and to encourage them to pursue their creative ambitions. As a writer, I’m interested in the stories that take place in the shadows, and exploring the tension between laughter and fear. I love the work of John Steinbeck and Philip Pullman. More than anything else, I love to edit, because that’s where the real writing gets done. You can read about how I became a writer here. As a human being, I’m interested in spending time with my partner and daughter, running on the beach with the dog, trying to make the perfect Old Fashioned, cooking with eggs, re-watching my favourite films as often as possible, and listening to podcasts whenever I can.
An atmospheric, chilling page turner from rising star Martin Stewart, reminiscent of Stand by Me and Stranger Things.
Sep, Arkle, Mack, Lamb and Hadley: five friends thrown together one hot, sultry summer. When they discover an ancient stone box hidden in the forest, they decide to each make a sacrifice: something special to them, committed to the box for ever. And they make a pact: they will never return to the box at night; they’ll never visit it alone; and they’ll never take back their offerings.
Four years later, a series of strange and terrifying events take place. Someone broke the rules, and now everyone has to pay.
But how much are they willing to sacrifice?
Fifteen-year-old Wulliam is dreading taking up his family’s mantle of Riverkeep, tending the river and fishing corpses from its treacherous waters. But then everything changes. One night his father is possessed by a dark spirit, and Wull hears that a cure lurks deep within the great sea-beast known as the mormorach. He realizes he must go on an epic journey downriver to find it – or lose Pappa forever.
Also check out guest posts from Martin on Tales…..
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
Look out for a special post from the man himself sometime in January and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
There are so many good debuts coming out this month that it was really hard to decide which to pick…..
So the our #BritishBooksChallenge18 Debut Of The Month for January is…….
The Fandom by Anna Day
‘THE FANDOM is an absolute thrill to read … Highly recommended!’ JAMES DASHNER, AUTHOR OF THE MAZE RUNNER Violet and her friends love being part of the fandom for The Gallows Dance. But at Comic-Con, they’re somehow catapulted into the story itself – for real. Trapped in a twisted world where they’ve accidentally killed the original hero, Rose, there’s only one way to survive: Violet must fill Rose’s shoes and put the plot back on track. No story is worth dying for … is it?
I’m an Author/single mum/Clinical psychologist/Geordie/ lover of stories, music and floaty things.
If you read, review and link up a review of The Fandom by Anna Day (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
Look out for a special The Fandom post sometime in January and there may also be a giveaway!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2018!
Thanks for signing up for the British Books Challenge 2018! Happy Reading!
Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won’t count and will be deleted from the list.
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your British Books Challenge sign up post here
So this year,2018, I thought I would cut back on all of the bookish challenges I normally set myself and do things a little differently by setting myself some blogging, reading, writing and personal goals.
I want to be able to look back on this post at the end of 2018 and think do you know what I achieved all of what I set out to do.
I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself but these are the things I really want to focus on for 2018.
Reading
So I considered not setting myself a Goodreads Challenge this year, but after some thought I decided to set it at 30 books and see how I go. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself and want to enjoy reading more in 2018 to try some different genres. In other words I’m not going to worry too much about my “number” on Goodreads and enjoy what I do read.
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Make a pile of the books I’ve been lucky enough to receive from publishers and authors into the relevant months they are due for release and read what I fancy from that pile. If I don’t get to all of them then that’s fine. I can the re-assess the pile at the end of the month.
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I would like to read more classics. I seem to say this every year and I really want to say I will read one once a month, but I feel the pressure of that will make me not do it. So I am leaving this open to reading at least a couple of classics this year.
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Something that I really want to get back into monthly is reading a Point Horror Book for #PointHorrorBookClub. The nostalgia alone will make this goal easy to maintain.
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I feel sometimes I get wrapped up in all the new releases of the year and neglect some of the older books that came before them so I want to at least read one non 2018 book a month from my TBR pile or library.
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Carry on buddy reading with the lovely Amy – @YAUndermyskin
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Blogging
Continue to support as many authors, bloggers and publishers on my blog as possible. I really do love it.
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Review a book after reading it!
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Continue to share as many fab tweets, reviews, blog posts of fab books and more by fab bloggers.
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Comment on as many peoples fab blog posts as possible.
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Put the British Books Challenge up every month on time! And host our author and debut of the month on the blog.
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Don’t be afraid to write some more personal posts that may or may not be book related.
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Use Instagram and Instagram Stories more for hauls and pictures of books I have received/reading/excited for etc.
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Reignite #PointHorrorBookClub monthly and on the 13th of every month. I enjoy doing it and have missed it so I really can’t wait.
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Join in with fab chats like #UKYAChat and #SundayYA as much as possible
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Writing
Continue with my current WIP
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Write something (not blogging wise) at least 2 – 3 times a week and remember that even 20 minutes is better than nothing.
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Work on something exciting with Amy @YAUndermyskin
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Show people I trust my writing – be brave!
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Personal Goals
In 2017 I lost 7 Stone 2lb and believe me when I say I am still quite over weight. I find it hard talking about loosing weight as its such a personal and sensitive subject to me, but I want to maintain being healthy and lose some more weight. Ideally I would like to reach a 10 Stone total weight loss and then reassess where I am at.
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Continue walking as much as possible or exercise 2 – 3 times a week.
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Be brave and start going swimming.
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Do another charity walk
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Continue to remember to “be a little kinder than you have to” – life is to short not to be
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Try not to dwell too much on things I have no control over and remember to put myself first sometimes.
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Remember to be proud of myself. I do not do this often enough!
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Spend more time with my gorgeous family and enjoy more family time – life is too short!
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There you have it….my goals written down in actual writing…here to reflecting back at the end of 2018 and I may pop back every month to refocus and remind myself.
I have really struggled this year not to just read, but to actually finish books! You can read about it here
Now again this was not because there were no brilliant books to read, it was all down to me. I feel I have been so busy with work, fitness, family and blogging that my mind and body just wouldn’t take anymore. Anyway, needless to say that I have failed any challenges I set myself, but I’m trying not to dwell on that too much.
Whilst I only appear to have read 11 books this year this does not include the 20 – 30 plus books that I started and did not complete *rolls eyes at self*.
Anyway, even out of the books I have read I still had an amazing reading year and have picked some of my favourites below (you can see all of the books I have read here )
These will be listed in no particular order.
Before I start I would like to thank everyone for their support yet again in 2017! The brilliant book community, all the friends I have made, fab authors for writing fab books and being generally awesome, all the publishers who have sent me books and everyone who has supported me through my third full year of book blogging.
Thank You All x
Here we go…..
(remember these are in no particular order…. )
I started the New Year off with such enthusiasm and excitement for all the bookish delights that were awaiting me and the book I decided to start with has ended up being one of my favourite books of 2017! Caraval by Stephanie Garber captivated me from the very first page. I don’t normally read a lot of fantasy, but the premise of this book with a circus theme, mysterious feel and set in a magical fantasy world really appealed to me. I followed Scarlett as she left her tiny isle of Trisda after receiving an invitation from the mysterious Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show. I was mesmerised by the bright and vivid imaginary of Caraval. I fell in love with characters who made my heartache and turned pages as fast as I could to pull myself further into its magical world. And yes… I did fall in love with a mysterious, caped man called Legend even though it should have been forbidden and soon realised that I have a problem “thing” for men in capes! Caraval was a marvel from start to finish and I literally cannot wait for the next book, Legendary, to be released….and yes maybe that is partly because of its namesake *swishes cape* , but mainly because this book was fantastic!
I am a huge slasher horror film lover so this book immediately appealed to me. The story of a girl who survived a massacre that killed all of her friends and was the Final Girl who managed to escape. I enjoyed the premise of this book and how being a Final Girl has affected our main character Quincy. You also got glimpses into the past with flashbacks to the fatal night with the lead up to how the events unravelled right up to the climatic ending which had me on the edge of my seat. The flashbacks for me had more pull and appealed to the slasher horror lover in me and Sager does not hold back on the shock factor when the events start to unravel. I can’t wait to see what Sager does next as I will definitely be picking it up!
This book immediately intrigued me as I heard a lot of people talking about it on twitter and as the book is based in a cult it peaked my interest. I immediately became drawn into the book and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out all about Moonbeam’s story. And what a story indeed. The about of compassion I felt for Moonbeam made be root for her all the way. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.
A am a huge fan of Rhian’s already and when I heard about her new book Hope I just couldn’t wait. From the tag line “Sometimes the end is just the beginning” to the way Rhian deals with subjects like organ donation, PMDD, friendship, family and love. But most of all this book is about hope event in the darkest and most testing of times when you feel that all is lost. There is a touching scene in this book that had me in tears which involves a group called Singing Medicine who are based on a real life group that work at Birmingham Children’s Hospital who I had the pleasure to meet when I chaired Rhian’s launch for Hope this year. They bring so much joy by singing to children who are in need of a smile or indeed some hope and even just to watch them myself bought me some comfort and complete joy. This is expressed completely in Hope and is just wonderful to read.
This gorgeous book has the makings of an instant classic that will be read to children Christmas after Christmas. It’s heart warming and full of joy. One Christmas Wish tells the story of Theo and what happens one Christmas Eve when his Christmas decorations spring to life. The gorgeous illustrations by Emily Sutton reminded me of Raymond Brigg’s Snowman and bought Katherine’s wonderful, delightful words to life on the page. This is like the best Christmas present all wrapped into one. Just wonderful.
I adore Holly Bourne and I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. I loved everything about it. I loved Audrey and her project about how love is not as it is portrayed in the movies. I loved Harry the loveable, funny love interest and I loved the cinema setting especially as I have been spending a lot of time in the cinema myself this year. There were references to movies some of which I had heard of and some of which I am now going to seek out and discover, but most of all Holly’s writing is an absolute delight and this book made me smile from ear to ear.
So there you have it! My best books read in 2017! I highly recommend all of these books!
2018 looks set to be a fab year and I simply can’t wait to get back on track and read all of the fab books!
I would love to hear what your favourite books read in 2017 were? Are any of them the same as mine? Why not leave a comment or tweet me on twitter using @ChelleyToy
I’m so very excited to announce that in 2018 I will be continuing to host the British Books Challenge!
*gives a big fan fare and dances in excitement*
#BritishBooksChallenge18
I have participated in this particular reading challenge for the past three years and I’m so excited to now be hosting it again for a second year running. I am hugely passionate about reading and supporting British authors and I really do hope that you will join me in this very special reading challenge starting in the new year.
And also my year in Books and Challenges 2017 here
I was super excited to be have been asked to host again and I have to say a massive thank you first to Becky for originally creating the challenge, to Sarah for hosting from 2013-2014, Michelle for hosting in 2015 and getting me signed up to my first ever bookish challenge and to Kirsty for hosting it firstly in 2012 and then in 2016 . All four of these amazing women have put in an incredible amount of work towards promoting British authors and I hope to continue their good work. Special thanks to Michelle for letting me pretty much cut and paste most of her sign up pages!
And as always a massive thank you to Rhys from Thirst For Fiction for designing the British Books Challenge blog button!
I have some exciting plans for the challenge throughout the year all of which are detailed below…..
Including a special prize draw prize for signing up to the challenge!
So what is the British Books Challenge?
The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
This challenge is available for all bloggers and/or booktubers who review books on their blogs, YouTube channels or readers who review on other websites such as Goodreads.
If you sign up for the challenge you will be aiming to read at least 12 books by British authors (which works out to one a month).
For every book you review each month you will get an entry into the draw to win a monthly prize pack (assuming that you’ve left all appropriate links on the monthly link page!). Therefore the more you review the more chances you have at winning that month’s prize(s).
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
Please note that entries must have been read and reviewed in the month that you are entering your link/entry.
There may also be some kind of special prize draw at the end of the year for those challenge participants who have gone to the most effort over the year and reviewing 50 or more books by British authors.
As prize packs are mainly being sponsored by British publishers I’m afraid that some of the prizes will only be available for UK participants but I hope that international bloggers will still take part. Please be aware that you will need to provide me with an address which may sometimes be passed on to a publicist in order for your prize to be sent out.
In terms of what books would count towards the challenge – the books can be in print or out. Old or new titles. They can be from any genre and for any age range. In previous years Becky, Michelle and Kirsty focused mostly on young adult books on their respective blogs, and Sarah’s reviews for the challenge spanned many genres and age ranges. The primary focus on Tales Of Yesterday will be on YA and MG with a few adult books in the mix too, however feel free to read any books by British authors and have those books count towards the challenge: children’s books, middle grade, young adult, new adult, or adult fiction or non-fiction – whatever you feel like reading by any British Authors.
If you are looking for any suggestions of UKYA or MG Authors/books then check out the below with thanks to Jim Dean, Debbie, Cora, Caroni Clarke and Kirsty….
I am absolutely delighted to tell you I have had a huge amount of support and encouragement in the planning of this challenge from UK publishers and authors.
These wonderful publishers / authors have agreed to provide British bookish goodies for prize packs which can be won by the challenge entrants.
Watch out for the link up post on the 1st of each month for details of what you could win.
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
Author Of The Month
Each month I will be featuring an Author Of The Month!
This will normally be an author I am a huge fan of and who’s books I think you would love.
I will announce each author of the month on the monthly sign up posts on the 1st of every month.
I will be aiming to spotlight the author and their books on the post too along with any reviews and a special posts I have featured on my blog by the author themselves.
And that’s not all…..
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
Debut Of The Month
Each month I will also be featuring a Debut Of The Month!
This will normally be a book I will be reading myself throughout that month that I am hugely excited about!
I will announce each debut of the month on the monthly sign up posts on the 1st of every month.
I will be aiming to spotlight the author too along with any reviews and a special posts I have featured on my blog by the author themselves.
And that’s not all…..
If you read, review and link up a review of the book chosen as debut of the month (in the same month that the book is debut of the month) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
#BritishBooksChallenge18
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
About Signing Up
This year I have decided to run another sign up giveaway! So signing up for the challenge will gain you entry into this special prize draw (more details about this prize below).
To sign up for the challenge…..
Write a blog post or page on your blog or upload a video to your YouTube channel linking back to this one.
In that post/page/video compile a list of titles by British authors that you hope to read and review during 2018. If you are not yet sure, just add one or two and update as and when you read titles with hyperlinks to your review. A bit like I’ve done here
Insert the British Books Challenge button onto your blog’s side bar. To do this save the button onto your computer, then go to add gadget on your sidebar to put the picture on your blog adding a hyperlink to it of the url address for this post. For Youtubers, please include the graphic within your video.
Fill out the Mr.Linky form below. Do make sure the link you add goes directly to your sign up post and has your blog/channel name as the title. Links to anything other than sign up posts will be deleted and only people who have created a sign up post will be eligible to win the monthly prize pack each month and be entered for a chance to win the sign up prize. This is very important step!
And finally, as you review the books on your blog/YT channel, update the monthly review pages, which will go live on the 1st of every month, with a link to your review. Every link up you add will be an entry into that month’s prize pack (please note that some of the prizes may be donated by publishers only willing to send to the UK).
Links to any books by Author Of The Month or links to reviews for Debut Of The Month will be eligible for a double entry into the prize draw within the month that they are Author Of The Month / Debut Of The Month only.
#BritishBooksChallenge18
It’s Good To Talk!
Share your reviews on social media using the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2018!
Or keep up to date on my challenge page for 2018 here
FAQ
What books would you suggest that I read for the British Books challenge?
I will be writing many a blog post throughout 2018 to give you any and all recommendations and of course we will have our Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month to get you started.
Here is a link to my own British Books Challenge 2018 page which will detail which books I have been reading and reviewing for the challenge or any books I am hoping to read in 2018 by British authors.
I will also let you know on each monthly sign up page which books I have been reading and enjoying the month before.
I also have various guest posts, Q&A’s, spotlight posts and of course reviews throughout my blog so do check them out through the index here If you’re on Twitter, following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18 – a place where people can also share what they are reading by British Authors.
You can always have a look through other participant’s review links on the monthly link up pages once the challenge gets started. I’ll add links to each month’s post below.
If you love UKYA check out this fab spreadsheet by Debbie and Jim that give you lists of UKYA books – here
These links by no means include the only books that count towards the challenge but hopefully they’ll help you get started.
Don’t forget to post links to your reviews each month for your chance to win prizes:
How did the British Books Challenge come about?
The BBC is a reading challenge that was created by Becky from The Bookette in 2011 as a way to encourage people to read more books by British authors. The challenge was taken over by Kirsty at The Overflowing Library for 2012 and again this year in 2016, was hosted by Sarah at Feeling Fictional between 2013 to 2014, Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies throughout 2015 and was hosted by me, Chelley at Tales Of Yesterday in 2017 and again this year in 2018.
I post reviews on more than one blog. Can they count towards my challenge total?
Yes.
I am an international entrant and sometimes I do not have time to write my reviews in English. Can I write them in my native language?
Of course. It would be helpful if there was a little summary in English so that I can comment but as long as you make sure the book’s title is translated somewhere on your post then it is fine. I’m delighted that international bloggers are going to help promote British authors.
Do you need to read the book and review the book in the same month?
Yes. The idea of the British Books Challenge is to read 12 books by British Authors throughout the year (this is only 1 per month but please feel free to read and review more) so reading a book and reviewing in the same month gains you a valid entry into the prize draw.
It doesn’t matter if it is a re-read of a book you haven’t reviewed before as long as the review is created and posted within the same month you are linking up for.
Any archive reviews from previous years / months will not be eligible for the monthly prize draw.
Can I count books that I have already counted on other challenges in 2018?
I don’t see why not.
I’ve read and reviewed a book by the Author Of The Month or the Debut Of The Month how do I gain my extra entry?
You still link up your review as normal on the monthly link up page and I will do the rest. Any linked reviews to either author of the month or debut of the month will gain an extra entry into the prize draw at the end of the month.
Do Irish authors count towards my challenge total?
No. Ireland is not part of the UK. The UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Authors who live in any of these four locations can count towards the challenge.
How about authors who were say born in America (insert any other country here) but are currently living in the UK?
Yes, we are using the following criteria to decide whether an author can count towards the challenge:
Authors who were born in the UK, live in the UK and are published in the UK
Authors who were born overseas but are CURRENTLY living in the UK and his/her books were/are being published in the UK first
Authors who were born in the UK are currently living overseas but his/her books are being published in the UK first
Top examples of authors born in other countries but who currently reside and are published in the UK and count as being ‘British authors’ include Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff, Moira Young, Laura Lam, CJ Daugherty etc. We love these authors and we claim them as our own!
I know it can be tricky to work out if X author counts towards this challenge so if you are not sure about a particular author, please do contact me and I’ll see what I can do to help!
I do not have a blog but I would love to take part. Is there a way that I can take part?
If you have an account on Goodreads or another book review website you may still join the challenge. Sign up by linking to your profile page and make sure you link directly to your reviews each month to be eligible to win the monthly prize packs.
How will I know if the monthly prize pack is International?
I will always specify clearly the terms and conditions of winning the prize pack on the monthly link up page.
As the prize packs are often kindly donated and sent to the winners by the publishers it is up to the publisher if the giveaway is international or not.
When will I know if I have won a prize pack and what do I do if I win?
The winner of the monthly prize pack will be notified on the link up post for the following months British Books Challenge.
The winner will then have 14 days to contact me via email with their address and must be happy for me to pass this onto the relevant publisher.
Once your prize is received please let me know so I can tick you off my list and feel free to share any pictures of your prize on social media using the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge18
It’s not January anymore and I’ve only just seen this challenge – can I still sign up?
Yes! Of Course! The more the merrier! Follow the steps above for a sign up post then start linking your reviews in the monthly link up post for the month you are starting the challenge.
I am a publicist promoting a book by a British author (or indeed a British author). Can I promote my book via the British Books Challenge?
Yes. If you would like to donate prizes to the monthly prize packs that would be fantastic. Please contact me via email to discuss this further. I really do appreciate the generosity of publishers and authors who have donated books as prizes in the past and I hope that this continues in the future!
I have a question that you haven’t answered here. How can I contact you?
The best way to contact me is by email, I will reply to all emails as quickly as possible but sometimes life gets in the way so please bear with me if it takes me a couple of days to respond.
I do have a twitter account ( @ChelleyToy ) and always love to hear all of your thoughts/comments regarding the #BritishBooksChallenge18 and any books you are reading for the challenge there, however, for queries regarding the challenge email is still your best bet towards hearing back from me.
#BritishBooksChallenge18
Looking for the monthly link up posts? Click on the months below
Please note these will be updated as each link post goes live on the 1st of every month
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
#BritishBooksChallenge18 Sign Up
I am treating one lucky sign up winner to start off their New Year in the best bookish way possible with a Waterstones gift card of £15!
To enter –
Write a blog post or page on your blog or upload a video to your YouTube channel linking back to this one.
In that post/page/video compile a list of titles by British authors that you hope to read and review during 2018. If you are not yet sure, just add one or two and update as and when you read titles with hyperlinks to your review. A bit like I’ve done here
Insert the British Books Challenge button onto your blog’s side bar. To do this save the button onto your computer, then go to add gadget on your sidebar to put the picture on your blog adding a hyperlink to it of the url address for this post. For Youtubers, please include the graphic within your video.
Fill out the Mr.Linky form below. Do make sure the link you add goes directly to your sign up post and has your blog/channel name as the title. Links to anything other than sign up posts will be deleted and only people who have created a sign up post will be eligible to win the monthly prize pack each month and be entered for a chance to win the sign up prize. This is very important step!
UK/IRE entrants only for the prize draw but anyone can still sign up for the challenge.
Ends 31st December 2017
Please note that the winner will need to provide me with an address to send their prize too and will need to be signed up to the challenge on or before the 31st December 2017 to be eligible to win.
Thanks for signing up for the British Books Challenge 2018!
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your British Books Challenge sign up post here
Welcome to the British Books Challenge 2017 – December!
#BritishBooksChallenge17
We are wrapping up warm and getting cosy this month with lots of fab books as we get ready for Christmas and a brand new year! Where has the year gone!
I can’t wait to count up how many books by British Authors we have read for the whole year! You have all done so amazing! Thank you for being on board with this challenge and so eager whilst also bearing with me over the past couple of months! I heart you all very much!
So far we have a grand total of 561 reviews of books by British Authors in total since we all started in January 2017!
*group hugs*
And thank you so much for always embracing our author and debut of the month as well as all of the other amazing books you all read!
Thank you all!
Lets wrap up warm and jump into December!
About The British Books Challenge
The British Books Challenge is a reading challenge that will be running here on Tales Of Yesterday between 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2017 and the main focus of the challenge is reading and reviewing books by British authors.
I have created a #BritishBooksChallenge17 summary page here which will also keep track of my own progress in the challenge too.
If you have not signed up yet there’s still plenty of time – find out more about the challenge here
Please note you can sign up to the challenge at any time throughout the year but only sign up entries made on or before the 31st December 2016 will be entered to win the sign up prize.
This is the first time I am hosting this particular challenge and I have lots of things planned for us all!
I have been in touch with lots of publishers who have kindly donated lots of lovely prize packs for us throughout the year for the challenge!
Right lets get the ball for December rolling!
November’s prize pack contained the following book which will be sent out by myself….
All valid reviews and links by British Authors that were linked up on the November linky here were eligible to be entered to win the November prize pack. With people who read any books by our Author Of The Month and/or our Debut of the month earning extra entries.
But there can only be one winner!
And the winner is…….
Bibliobeth
Is Monogamy Dead by Rosie Wilby
Congratulations!
Please email me your address so that I can arrange for your prize to be sent out to you!
Decembers prize pack will be sent out by myself and contains the following book ……
**Please note this is the Zoella Book Club Edition**
“This book will make you cry, think, and then cry some more.”
–Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything
From the New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past.
When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.
To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.
If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.
One winner will be picked at random from the list of valid reviews submitted each month and will be announced in the following month’s review link up post. The winner will then have 1 week to contact me to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen. Obviously the more reviews you enter the greater your chance of winning and don’t forget you gain extra entries for any reviews by Debut or Author of the Month for December! It doesn’t matter if you only review one book (or even skip a month or two in the challenge!) you’ll still be entered for each review you do write.
Please Remember…..
Only participants with a valid sign up page that has been linked here are eligible for entry to the monthly prize packs mentioned on this monthly link up page – you can still sign up here
When you add your link to the Mr. Linky below please make sure you link directly to your review, not just to your blog/vlog (invalid links will be deleted)
Books must have been read and reviewed in 2017 to count towards the challenge so those books you read last year but reviewed in 2017 don’t count! Only books reviewed in December on your blog will count towards the challenge (you could have read them in earlier in the year though – I’m feeling kind 🙂 )
Also, please make sure that the reviews you link are for books written by British Authors – they can be born in Britain (living here or abroad) or they can be adopted British Authors (who were born elsewhere and now live here) but if they don’t fit into one of those categories then they don’t count. (as above invalid links will be deleted and won’t get you an entry into the prize pack). Please note that Britain includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, I’m afraid authors from Southern Ireland don’t count.
Also see the Author Of The Month and Debut Of The Month section for ways to gain extra entries each month!
And lastly feel free to share your reviews on social media using the #BritishBooksChallenge17hashtag – it’s not compulsory but it would be fun to share any great British Books you have loved with others!
Lets get chatting and celebrating all of the brilliant British books and authors that we have and all of the wonderful British books that we are reading!
Always remember – never tweet an author into a negative review and be constructive.
For more information about the #BritishBooksChallenge17 click here
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge giveaways please contact me by email.
And the winner was……
Rachel Verna’s Strangeness
Devotion by Ros Barber
And the #BritishBooksChallenge17 Author Of The Month for December is…….
Miranda Dickinson
I adore Miranda and her books so much ! I’m so happy that she is our December Author Of The Month!
Don’t Forget…..
If you read, review and link up any books by the author of the month (in the same month that they are author of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review!
If the author has multiple books and you read them all you will gain a double entry for each review of each book.
#BritishBooksChallenge17
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their titles through the British Books Challenge author of the month then please contact me by email.
As always there are so many good debuts coming out this month that it was really hard to decide which to pick….
And the #BritishBooksChallenge17 Debut Of The Month for December is…….
Hold Back The Stars by Katie Khan
Technically the hardback was released in January 2017, but the paperwork has been released this December and as I’ve heard so many lovely things about this book. I am so hugely excited about this book and am so happy that it is our Debut Of The Month!
Don’t Forget…..
If you read, review and link up a review of our debut of the month (in the same month that they are debut of the month only) then that one review will get you an extra entry into the monthly prize pack draw. So a double entry for one review
#BritishBooksChallenge17
If you are a publisher who publishes books by British authors or British author who would be interesting in promoting their debut through the British Books Challenge debut of the month then please contact me by email.
As well as following the hashtag #BritishBooksChallenge17I would also suggest following my blog using your preferred feed subscription (by email by filling in the subscription box at the top of my blog , BlogLovin’ etc) in order to keep up with the latest news and posts regarding this challenge throughout 2017!
Lastly thank you to everyone who has joined in this challenge this year! Its been so wonderful to have you all on board. And if you want to continue I’m running #BritishBooksChallenge18 so do feel free to sign up here!
Happy Christmas and here’s to a fab new year!
Now for the important part, make sure you link all of your reviews using the Mr. Linky form below. In the Your Name field please include your blog name, the title of the book and the author. Make sure the link takes me directly to your review or your entry won’t count and will be deleted from the list.
Name – Please add your name and blog / YouTube channel e.g Chelley Toy – Tales Of Yesterday
URL – Please add a direct link to your review post here
