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!