HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE REVIEW!

The Review is one year old this month! 

Yes! That's right! 

ONE YEAR OLD!

Okay! Okay!

I'll wait while you all finish singing Happy Birthday!

THANK YOU ONE AND ALL !

Paula Lofting wrote the very first Review post, which was a 'Welcome' blog, and went out on 1st September 2013.

Then next post was by Lisl, who did a book review and author interview with Sarah Bruce Kelley. This was followed by Lisl's Bits & Bobs chatting about The Adventures of Merlin. 

Following on Lisl's heels came Paula Reads: The Handfasted Wife by Carol McGrath, and Paula's People: Helen Hollick Talks about her Foray into Writing. 

We then had a review by Marsha of Medieval: Blood of the Cross by Kevin Ashman. 

Bernard Cornwell

Paula Lofting interviewed the esteemed author, Bernard Cornwell,in December 2013! And in the same month his book, The Pagan Lord, was reviewed by Mark Thistlethwaite, of The Historic Novel Society, for The Review.

Manda Scott

This month - September 2014, Paula has interviewed yet another esteemed author, Manda Scott. Manda chats about her book The Emperor's Spy and about her Boudica Books. It's a most engaging, and interesting chat, and one not to be missed.

The Review Group has gone from strength to strength. Since day one we have had an amazing 54,922 views of our pages across 249 posts. Our posts have been reviews of books, interviews with authors, and special blog posts from some of our members. We are a diverse bunch, working well together, each one of us having something special to bring to the group.

As the year has progressed, we have added more interviews with Louise's special posts called, The Review Group Author Interview. The interviews give the authors a chance to reach out to our readership, and in turn, the posts generate lively interactions between the author and those who drop by to read the interview.

 

OUR BOOK LAUNCH EVENTS are special events where we pull out all the stops and showcase one particular author and the book that is being launched. The event includes an interview with the author, and a review of their book. It is an interactive event where people ask questions of the author, talk about the book, and generally have a brilliant time! These events also serve to place the author in the limelight for the duration of their event.

Wendy J. Dunn

Our latest Book Launch Event was for Australian author, Wendy J. Dunn, whose book The Light in the Labyrinth was about to become available. Wendy's event interview can be read here, and author Anna Belfrage reviewed Wendy's book.

I know Wendy will agree that we all had a fabulous time!

We also offer free giveaways for books that have been reviewed. This is very popular both with authors and readers. A lucky winner is drawn from the 'hat' from those who have left a comment about the book on the blog or The Review Blog Page. It's always exciting announcing the winner, and exciting being on the receiving end too!

We have a strong and enthusiastic book review team, who regularly read and review the books on our reading list. The list is updated every month, so there are always books to choose from. The reviews, in turn, highlight that author and their book for one week.

We have great new ideas coming to fruition in the coming year. Great and exciting times ahead! For example, The Review has recently started yet another exciting development. A Review Group on Goodreads. So please come and join us there too!

So everyone! 

Please raise your glasses and join me in a toast!

TO THE REVIEW! 

HERE'S TO AN EVEN GREATER SUCCESS NEXT YEAR!

PAULA'S PEOPLE: GUEST SPOT, BOOK BLOGGER SRUTI TELLS US HER STORY

Today on Paula's People, I have invited lovely reviewer Sruti to tell us about her book blog. Sruti is also a respected interviewer and her blog is a fantastic place for readers to find a good read because she has an extensive range of genres and you are likely to find books to read that you will never have had the opportunity to find. So please welcome Sruti. 

Books, Blogs, and Myself
Sruti Nayani  

Wow! I get to write about Books, Blogs, and Myself in this guest blog. This guest blog was commissioned by a friend and fellow reviewer for her blog. Well, this was how it began.
It started with me being introduced to books by my father, at age six. I mention the date now, though it is not because I have an excellent memory but because I have written it down on the book. It was the 23rd of May 1988. I remember exactly where it was, and how it was built and the wonderful stuff it contained.
So, there I was, browsing at the store picking up a book or two. And what did I find? My first Enid Blyton! The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat, it was called. I bought it because I loved the cover. It had two girls and three boys, plus a dog and a cat, all in a garden and a wooden room and green hills in the distance. I loved the first girl’s haircut, (noticed it was a little like mine) short hair and playing with boys. Since I was a tomboy at that age, it fitted right into my bookshelf.

Sruti aged six 

By the time I was nine I had read my first Shakespeare, As You Like It. And my love for books continued. I kept reading on and off through my career in journalism, but then it was time to start off on my blog. What you can see today at Sruti's BookBlog actually started with a publisher who mailed me about how he could send me a few books and if I reviewed them, I could not only keep them, but that they would be free too.

My first books 

You cannot imagine my delight! You can call me a silly girl, but there I was, never realising the power of the internet until then. And today, almost six months later, I am getting books from publishers and authors to review. I had reviewed a few books earlier, but I had no idea of how much bigger a book blog could be.

I also like to interview the authors and the editors of these books, because not only is it a fun thing to do, but because it lets me grow intellectually. And plus, I get a chance to put in a few of my own views, on writing, reading and editing and hopefully more.

I have written about four short stories, which are up online. But it took me a few years to discover blogging. The best thing about my blog is that it gives me a lot of space to write about books. I am now trying to expand my blog further and am reading up a lot of articles, with regard to writing, blogs and more. A fairly big boost is that my book is being read by Jacaranda Literary Agency. It is a book of short stories for children and tentatively called The Nap Time Adventures.

Now I enjoy a lot of historical books, mythology, legal, adventure and thrillers too. Some of my favourites include most of the Amar Chitra Katha series, then and now. Have always liked the illustrations in these comic books. Growing up, there were Enid Blyton’s adventures and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

My library 

I enjoy a lot of Jeffrey Archer, John Grisham, Robin Cook and Alex Rutherford. And also, Krishna Udayasankar, Anand Neelakantan, and Devdutt Pattanaik. I get a lot of books, so nowadays I have mostly said goodbye to having a favourite author. I enjoy most of the books, and rarely used to say no to anything.

That’s my story...

Thank you Sruti for a fabulous post. You can find Sruti's blog at http://srutis.blogspot.co.uk/

Review: The Lost King: Resistance by Martin Lake

                                                         



Martin Lake writes a story set in England, Normandy, and Scotland during the turbulent times of 1066. This story follows the English heir to the throne, Edgar the Aetheling. Edgar, a descendent of the royal line, is only a boy, not yet fourteen at the time of the Norman Conquest. The upheaval of the Norman invasion brings chaos and bloodshed to the Isle. Many of the thegns and church leaders want to crown Edgar king but William the Conqueror is too powerful for a boy king to rule. Thus, it is decided to surrender to William and crown William king. Edgar is now a political hostage to William.

Edgar has a small group of supporters and friends that are there to guide and counsel him. Among them are Oswald, a former Housecarl of King Harold's, Godwin, son of Oswald, who becomes Edgar's best friend, Athelstan, Thegn of Wessex, an extremely able advisor to Edgar, Merleswein, a very wealthy Thegn, shire reeve of Lincolnshire and supporter of Edgar, and Earl Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria. When Edgar's older sister, Margaret marries the Scottish King Malcolm, Malcolm also becomes a supporter of Edgar's right to the English throne.

We see Edgar thrive and mature in the challenges he faces in his determination to regain the crown of England for himself. Edgar must make some very hard decisions in his pursuit of his goal and with the help of his family, friends, and supporters Edgar makes strong inroads on this path.One must read Martin Lake's book, Wasteland, to follow Edgar's continuing resistance against the Normans.

I really enjoyed reading a novel set during the Norman Conquest and from Edgar's point of view. I have read many books on the Conquest and this is the first book I have encountered that was about Edgar. Martin Lake sets an accurate tone throughout the book. The characters were well written and one cannot help but want Edgar to succeed and defeat William. I will definitely be reading Edgar's continuing story in Martin's next book in the series, Wasteland..

Martin Lake is offering a free e-copy of The Lost King: Resistance. For a chance to win this wonderful book please leave a comment below or send me a private message on Facebook. Giveaway runs till Sunday October 13th.



                                               

Martin Lake


Martin Lake lives on the French Riviera with his wife. He has a written five historical novels. Three are about Edgar Atheling, the last native born King of England and his battle to win back the throne from William the Conqueror.

‘Outcasts,’ is about the common men who were knighted to defend Jerusalem against Saladin.

'Artful' concerns the further adventures of the young pick-pocket after he has been transported to Australia.

Martin’s work has been broadcast on radio and he won first prize in the Kenneth Grahame Society competition to write a story based on 'The Wind in the Willows.'

You can find Martin’s blog at http://martinlakewriting.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinLakeWriting
Twitter: @martinlake14
Email: martinlake14@gmail.com
To subscribe to Martin’s newsletter list just click on this link: http://eepurl.com/DTnhb and it will take you to a sign up form.