NEWSFLASH . . . VLOGGING IS GO!
It's bad enough having to move house, school and country all at the same time, without making a fool of yourself on the first day of term. But that's just what Lucy's done - and one of her classmates has videoed the whole thing and put it online!
Lucy's so stressed, her stammer's become worse than ever. So when a friend encourages her to create her own videos, she thinks it's a terrible idea - surely she's embarrassed herself enough for one lifetime!
But when Lucy finally gives vlogging a try, she's amazed to find that people actually want to watch . . .
Includes tips for making your own vlogs!

I don't know how I heard about the Girl Can Vlog series, but I'm glad I did, because Lucy Locket's Online Disaster is one of the cutest, sweetest books I've ever read. It's a very young series, aimed at 10-14 year-olds I'd reckon, but can easily be read by anyone older than that; I'm 26 and I read it and enjoyed it. With the rise of the YouTuber (they're everywhere, literally) it was only a matter of time before that became a thing in books, and I'm only slightly surprised that this is the first one I've read - surely there must be more out there?!

What I liked most about Lucy Locket Online Disaster is that Lucy is just a regular girl, in fact, she's even got a stammer, and that isn't glossed over, it doesn't magically disappear, it's there, present, for the entire book, in the writing of scenes, in the vlogs, and I think that's so important for young kids to see that having a stutter isn't the end of the world. And, sure, there will always be the Dakota's of this world, who try and shame you for your impediment, but they're the awful ones really. 

I absolutely loved getting to know Lucy, Abby, Jessie and Hermione (in fact, I am most excited about Hermione's book because HELLO! Book worm) but all four girls are amazing, and I love that they go through little hiccups and bumps in their friendship, but it's also the kind of friendship that can sustain bumps in the road, and all friendships have their fair share of bickering and fighting, that's growing up. I loved everything about this book - the story, the way the vlogs were laid out, the little images scattered on all the pages, it was such a fun, quirky, sweet read. Perfect for any youngster (or oldster). 

Lying About Last Summer is one of those books that sucks you in, and doesn't let you go until you've finished it. I've had it on loan from the library for a while, but never felt like reading it until now. Yes, I am a mood reader, and sometimes I just do not fancy a book, but I finally wanted to read this one, and I did, and it was pretty awesome. It wasn't as twisty as I was expecting, as I had guessed a few of the things that came out towards the end, but it was still a stellar, enjoyable read.

Skye is a bit of a prickly character, I liked her right away, but the way she acts when she first comes to camp, and the judgements she makes of Fay, Brandon, Danielle did annoy me a little bit, especially since Fay seemed quite sweet and sensitive, and almost like you wanted to protect her from the big, bad world, but after what Faye goes through, losing her sister, you can kind of understand it, why would you want to get close to people when you see what happens to your blood, for crying out loud? 

To see what really happened to Luisa was chilling, it seemed kind of too extreme for the book, which is a crazy thing to say, but when you think of Skye's life, and they're idyllic little house, it's hard to see it all going wrong, not helped by the fact Skye starts receiving text messages from Luisa, or so it seems? It added a bit of extra chill factor to the book, and that's the only bit of the story I didn't guess - who was behind those messages. I had Joe pegged as the bad guy, he riled me up something chronic, and there was just something about him that I didn't trust or believe, you know when you just get a feeling about someone? I felt that way about Joe. He was creepy with a capital C. 

I really enjoyed Lying About Last Summer, I was gripped the whole way through and I read the book in one sitting, barely stopping except to eat and drink, Sue Wallman has written a pretty fantastic read, and I can't wait to see what she writes next! I'll be reading it for sure, because this was fantastic.

I've slowly been making my way thought Colleen Hoover's books - all thanks to the absolutely blow-your-socks-off Confess. I've now read three of her books - Confess, this one, and November 9 and I can't believe it's actually taken me so long to get her books read! But on the flipside of that - I have all of her books to read, and still many more to get devoured and that is an awesome feeling. I went back to her debut novel for my next one, so I'm going to work my way through her catalogue in chronological order, as it was intended! 

I must confess I know nothing of Slam poetry. And a lot of the poems featured in Slammed actually made zero sense to me, because all I know of poetry is that it's supposed to rhyme. That's all I know! That's all I expect from a poem, so I kinda felt detached from the poems in the book because they didn't rhyme, and yes, I know that's probably silly but there ya go. 

Slammed was an awesome read. I genuinely devoured the first 200 pages on a Saturday morning waiting to go to work. It was with genuine sadness, too, that I had to put it down and actually go to work, because I could read about Layken and Will all day long. Because they have the type of relationship that not only consumes them, but you as the reader, too. And boy was I invested in those two crazy kids. Although let me say this now: It was very Aria and Ezra of them. I've got no idea which came first - the book or Pretty Little Liars, but it was very similar but I prefer Layken and Will over Aria and Ezra, as Ezra always seemed a teensy bit weird for my liking.

Layken is one of the strongest characters you'll ever meet. She has so much stuff thrown at her, and she very rarely cracks. If your dad died, and the guy you liked turned out to be your teacher, and your mom was keeping secrets, you'd just want to hide in your room, under your duvet, eating crap food all day, or maybe that's just me? But not Layken, she just powers through and gets on with it and I loved her for that, because it's so refreshing. I mean, remember in New Moon when there were just BLANK PAGES because Edward left? Yeah, Bella was a sap. But Layken wasn't like that. And I liked that because of what happened with Will, she didn't turn on the angst or moon over him, she just knew what the deal was, and got on with it. 

It's really the supporting cast who help make this a great read, too. Will was awesome. I loved Will. But Kel and Caulder were a great double act and you've never met two little kids so freaking perfect for each other, and they were amazing. And you can't forget Layken's mom who was pretty sweet, really. And Eddie, who BTW is a girl, was insane. I love girls like that, who overcome so much and still be as perky and fantastic as Eddie was. KUDOS GIRL. Slammed really was a cracking read. And I am stoked to throw myself into Point of Retreat (and also terrified, because I was Will and Layken to ride off into the sunset with no problems to ever befall them again because they've gone through SO MUCH already). This was a stunning book, and if you'll excuse me, Point of Retreat is calling my name! 

The wonderful new novel from Alex Brown, bestselling author of The Great Christmas Knit Off, perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley and Jill Mansell.
April Wilson is wondering what to do next – her life has been turned upside down after the loss of her husband so she’s hoping to piece herself together again with a visit to her elderly great aunt, Edith. Arriving in the rural idyll of Tindledale, she’s dismayed to find Edith’s cottage and the orchard behind it in a sorry state of disrepair. Edith seems to have lost interest completely, instead she’s become desperate to find out what happened to her sister, Winnie, who disappeared during WWII.
April gets to work immediately, discovering that the orchard still delivers a bumper crop each year, and with the help of some of the villagers – including Matt, the enigmatic Farrier – begins to unravel the mystery of the missing Winnie. Slowly, April can feel things coming to life again – but can Orchard Cottage work its magic on her too?

Alex Brown has been one of my favourite authors for a while, and her Tindledale series is one of my favourites! I only recently read the second book, actually, but book three is already here, and let me tell you it's one of the most emotional books I've ever read, in fact I stayed up til after midnight finishing it, because just as I was about to put it down and go to bed, it came to a really intriguing part and with only 22 minutes of reading time left, I could hardly put it down then, could I? So I stayed up and finished it, completely ignoring the fact I have a 10 hour shift tomorrow, oops. 

The Secret of Orchard Cottage is one of those books you just feel yourself getting into, almost like you're part of the book, like you're actually watching everything that's going on from above, and I really liked April. Considering everything she's gone through, she's one of the strongest main characters I've ever met, and I love how selfless she was, going out to look after her Aunt Edie, despite her own grief and sadness. Even more so, when she starts investigating what happened to Edie's sister, Winnie. It's actually a pretty remarkable story - and I kind of wish we had had more snippets back to Winnie's life then, like we did in the Prologue. That would have been an interesting addition, but nevertheless, you still really get to feel the full force of Winnie, because she is a massive part of this book. This might be April's story and the story of Orchard Cottage, too, but it's also Winnie's story. 

This was genuinely one of the most special books I've read this year. It was so full of warmth, despite the difficult subjects it tackles - April losing her husband, Gray; Winnie's story; Edie losing memories and thinking she's in a different time to the one she's in, but the novel never loses it's heart or soul. It's helped by Bella, Bella brought a lightness to the book, a shine, and the other residents of Tindledale are also awesome. Honestly, it's like the best place to live. And Matt. Oh, man I love a tattooed guy. JUST because of the tattoos, he has sleeves, which are my absolute favourites. I dream of having a tattoo sleeve (or two) and that's what caught my eye immediately, but he was so sweet, too.

This is the kind of book where you just love everything about it and want to squish it in your arms, I'm not kidding. It just made my heart want to burst, there was so much warmth, light, laughter, and sadness, too. But it was still hopeful, I have no idea how Alex Brown pulls that off, but she does. She's a truly amazing storyteller, able to weave hard topics into something manageable, that doesn't make you want to go and cry or bang your head in frustration, because you see this stuff every day, and when you read you kinda want to be away from real life, but Alex makes it easy to digest, less horrific. The Secret of Orchard Cottage is an amazing book, trust me. This is my favourite of Alex's books so far, it just had so many layers to it, and characters that I really, really invested myself in, and it also made me shed a tear at the end. It basically gave me all the feels. 

 
Hi Alex! Welcome to Bookish Escapes! Can you tell us all about your new book The Secret of Orchard Cottage?
Hello and thank you for having me. The Secret of Orchard Cottage is set in Tindledale and follows the story of April, who is trying to piece herself together again after the death of her husband, Gray. April visits her Great Aunt Edie in Tindledale and is dismayed to find Edith’s cottage and the orchards surrounding it in a sorry state of disrepair. Edith seems to have lost interest completely; instead she’s become desperate to find out what happened to her sister, Winnie, who disappeared during WWII. April gets to work immediately, discovering that the orchard still delivers a bumper crop each year, and with the help of some of the villagers – including Matt, the enigmatic Farrier – begins to unravel the mystery of the missing Winnie. Slowly, April can feel things coming to life again – but can Orchard Cottage work its magic on her too?
 
Winnie's story is so important to the book, what made you want to tell it?
Ahh, this is really hard to answer without spoiling the story for those who haven’t read The Secret of Orchard cottage yet. Let’s just say that I’ve always admired the ordinary women who did their bit for the war effort.
 
Did any part of you want to include more snippets of Winnie? I loved the book, and would have loved more of a peek into Winnie's life!
Yes! I adored writing the snippets of Winnie, especially her diary entries. I’d love to write Winnie’s story in its entirety one day, so watch this space …. J
 
Your whole writing career so far has been series, do you dream of writing just one book, set in one place? Or are you happy writing connecting books (I like connecting books - it's so much fun seeing old characters pop back up).
I loved writing the Carrington’s series, but the Tindledale books are all stand alone stories, with the added bonus that I get to pepper in updates on previous characters. I’m not very good at saying goodbye to my characters as they become like friends after spending so much time with them, so this works perfectly for me. I’m sure I’ll write one book set in one place one day, but I reckon it’ll be hard not to want to include at least one old favourite friend from a previous book.
 
How does it feel to wake up every day knowing you're a published author? That strangers like me read & love your books?
Well, most mornings I wake up to the alarm telling me to get up and get my daughter to school which is always a bit hectic, but as soon as I sit down at my desk and read all the emails, reviews and messages from my wonderful readers it feels absolutely brilliant.
 
Finally, what's next for you? More Tindledale, I hope? :) 
​At the moment I’m writing a Christmas short story about Kitty (she runs The Spotted Pig Café in Tindledale) and what happens when her late soldier husband Ed’s service dog, a black Labrador called Monty, is retired from the army and needs a home.