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Blog Tour: ‘Hotbed’ by Joanna Scutts

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Hotbed’ by Joanna Scutts, a fascinating look at (as it is subtitled) ‘Bohemian New York and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism’.

Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions are all my own!

This book was published in hardback by Duckworth on 14th July, 2022.

Book Review: ‘The Slow Road to Tehran’ by Rebecca Lowe

This is absolutely the best type of travel writing – engaging, humorous, vibrant and packed with historical and cultural detail. Many thanks to Rachel Quin for bringing this book to my attention and for sending me a review copy – opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

April 2022 Wrap-Up and May TBR

It’s been a weird month – Easter holidays (yay!) so lots of reading, followed by a school inspection (not so yay!) and no reading.

This month, I read 10 books – which puts me at 40/120 on my Goodreads Challenge. Exactly on target but not exactly racing through the reads…

All my reads this month were three or four stars – a good month. Keep reading to see what books I enjoyed in April and what I plan for May.

(Audio)Book Review: ‘Madhouse at the End of the Earth’ by Julian Sancton

I’m quite obsessed with Antarctica and love historical non-fiction, so this was an obvious choice for me. The book’s subtitle – ‘The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night’ sold it to me instantly!

Blog Tour: ‘The Ethical Stripper’ by Stacey Clare

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Ethical Stripper’ by Stacey Clare.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Unbound for inviting me onto the tour and the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

From the Publisher:

Forget everything you’ve heard about strippers: this book is an antidote to stigma, shame and stereotyping.

How can a feminist also be a stripper? Is stripping sex work? What makes sex work “ethical”?

In this powerful book, Stacey Clare, a stripper with over a decade of experience, takes a detailed look at the sex industry – the reality of the work as well as the history of licensing and regulation, feminist themes surrounding sex work, and stigma. Bringing her personal knowledge of the industry to bear, she offers an unapologetic critique and searing indictment of exploitation and raises the rights
of sex workers to the top of the agenda.

‘The Ethical Stripper’ rejects notions of victimhood, challenges stigma and shame, and unpacks decades of confusion and contradictions. It’s about the sex-work community’s fight for safety and self-determination, and it challenges you to think twice about every newspaper article, documentary and film you have seen about stripping and sex work.

‘The Ethical Stripper’ takes a comprehensive look at sex work, balancing the lived experience of the author with an examination of the different legal frameworks for sex work around the world.

Blog Tour: ‘The Love that Dares’ by Rachel Smith and Barbara Vesey

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Love that Dares’, a collection of letters by LGBTQ+ writers throughout the ages.

Thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me on to the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was published on 27th January 2022 by Ilex Press.

(Audio)Book Review: ‘Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’ by Andrew Lownie

Wow, was I deluded about the abdication of King Edward VIII! In my mind, it was a wonderfully romantic story about how he sacrificed the monarchy in order to marry his true love, the twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson.

Yeah, it wasn’t like that at all. I feel so naive!

(Audio)Book Review: ‘The Dangerous Kingdom of Love’ by Neil Blackmore

I love historical fiction and this time period – James VI of Scotland succeeding to the throne after Elizabeth I and becoming James I of England. In my head, this is a time of Shakespeare, Macbeth, witch hunts and the Gunpowder Plot. Genuinely fascinating, and a precarious time to be part of the court, especially if you were gay as this was definitely not a time of tolerance.

Cue Francis Bacon – writer, philosopher and newly promoted to Attorney General under James I. And hiding his sexuality from all but the men he picks up for fleeting liaisons on the banks of the Thames.

Book Review: ‘The Dublin Railway Murder’ by Thomas Morris

I don’t read an awful lot of true crime but this one really intrigued me – a true, locked-room murder mystery. And even better for me – one set in Victorian Dublin.

I was very excited to read this one – thanks to the lovely people at Vintage Huddle who sent me a copy for review. Opinions, as always, are my own.

Book Review: ‘Walking the Invisible’ by Michael Stewart

Thanks to HQ Stories for my proof copy of this book – and grovelling apologies for not having reviewed this earlier. As always, opinions are my own regardless of how I acquired the book.

This book was published in June 2021 in hardback – there’s also an (excellent) audiobook version available which I listened to alongside reading.

When I read the blurb for this book, I was instantly intrigued. While I’m no lover of nature and have no desire to wander the Yorkshire moors in all weathers (as this writer has done), I do love literary heritage. So of course I want to know about the buildings and villages and landscapes that inspired the Brontes.