Book review: The Cat and the Christmas Kidnapper (Conrad the Cat Detective #4) by L.T. Shearer [blog tour]

I absolutely adore the "Conrad the Cat Detective" book series by L.T Shearer as it combines two of my absolute favourite things: cats and crime novels. And since adopting my own feline friend last month, diving back into this series felt even more special as we were able to enjoy the book "together" :)

Book review: The Christmas Express by Isla Gordon

I cannot believe I've been reading this author for 10 years almost to the day (even if her books were published under a different name at the time 👀), but I'm so happy that she's still writing festive rom coms as they've always been some of my absolute favourites! And her latest one takes place in Canada, the most magical place in the world. 🍁

Book review: A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson

I adore Mr B's Emporium in Bath. It's my all-time favourite book shop with the best booksellers! They have recommended many novels to me that ended up being absolute favourites, including the fantastic The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson. Just two years after the release of this brilliantly clever take on the whodunnit, the series already comprises of four different titles. And the latest one is set at Christmas time; the perfect murderous read for the festive season. 

Book review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter [blog tour]

I was obsessed with Ally Carter's heist and spy novels 10-15 years ago, so when I saw that she had a festive crime release coming up, I was VERY excited to check it out. And it didn't disappoint. It had her telltale fast-paced storytelling as well as a murderous plot twist and a delicious budding romance!

Book review: Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick [blog tour]

It's the season for murder mysteries! OK, I admit, I do love a good whodunnit any time of year, but nothing beats cosying up on a cold and dark evening with a gripping tale of killings, secrets, and red herrings. And Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick hit the murderous spot just right. 

Book review: The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett [blog tour]

October was a truly festive reading month for me. But rather than devouring another romance book, this time around I returned to the fictional town of Lockwood, and particularly the Fairway Players from Janice Hallett's novel The Appeal as they gear up for their seasonal production. After all, no Christmas is complete without a dash of murder...

Book review: Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas [blog tour]

Around Christmas I'm usually busy spending time with family, playing games, and cooking and baking – not so much reading. So I'm delighted to get my festive fix early on with the plethora of seasonal novels that have just been released. I'm one of those people who gets in the autumn mode in late August and a festive one just a few months later, so I never find it too early to crack open snow-covered books and Cadbury Roses. And Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas has been a very fitting addition to my Christmas reading list this year. 

Book review: That Festive Feeling by Heidi Swain [blog tour]

I'm a latecomer to the Heidi Swain fan club, but after reading both the fantastic The Book-Lovers' Retreat and the delightful Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage this year, I was really excited for her new festive novel. I cannot resist a Christmas romance at the best of times and especially not from one of my newest favourite authors! 

Book review: The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop by Cressida McLaughlin [blog tour]

I've been in such a Christmas romance mood with my books lately (in fact, I've accumulated over ten new festive reads in the last month alone...) and Cressida McLaughlin's wonderful novels set in the picturesque, fictional village of Port Karadow always hit the spot for me. And none as much as the latest addition to her Cornish Cream Team series, which is all about a new book shop that has opened up in town. Combining a love of books with a festive setting, makes for the cosiest of reads to curl up with on a dark and cold afternoon (hot drink of choice optional, but very much recommended). 

My 16 Favourite Reads in 2016

What an amazing bookish year 2016 has been. I read a total of 103 books and managed to hit my Goodreads challenge once again (though, in fairness, it was lowered considerably from my usual target as this year has been far busier for me working wise and blogging wise and so I knew that elusive 125 books was out of reach early on. This is the year I discovered my love for beautiful non-fiction books, redisovered my love for young adult fiction, and I started collecting beautiful hardback to prettify my shelves. My favourite books of the year are mostly YA and non-fiction titles, though there is general fiction in there too, as well as a children's series I reread and fell head over heels in love with again. So without further ado, here are my 16 favourite reads in 2016!

Book review: Christmas Stories by Scholastic Classics

I'm absolutely loving racing through the festive titles from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays. The beautiful Christmas Stories anthology by Scholastic Classics was a particularly seasonal read that started to get me excited about the upcoming holidays. I mean, with words by Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen within the pages, how could it not?

Book review: The Twelve Days of Christmas by the V&A

Sometimes a book comes along that is so stunning in design that the only logical response is to stroke the cover upon first laying eyes upon it. The Twelve Days of Christmas, using intricate patterns from the Victoria and Albert Museum's William Morris collection with new illustrations by Liz Catchpole, is one such a treasure. This is not a book that evokes emotion through carefully crafted words, instead it does just that with its beautifully designed pages.

Book review: A Christmas Cornucopia by Mark Forsyth

One of the books from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays I was particularly keen to dive into, purely from an aesthetic point of view, was A Christmas Cornucopia. The cover design is beautiful, and printed in hardback this makes for a very lovely stocking filler. Not only that, but when I actually started reading it I was instantly hooked on the words hidden within this pretty little festive tome too, which were insightful and hilarious in equal manner. 

Book review: I'll Be Home for Christmas anthology

With the start of December nearly upon us (yes really, better start planning that Christmas shopping!) I thought it was the perfect time to start reviewing the more festive titles from my Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays. And I couldn't have picked a better novel than the I'll Be Home for Christmas anthology from Stripes Publishing. Not only is it jam-packed with a wide array of great stories from some of the hottest voices in British young adult fiction, but at least £1 from every copy sold goes directly to homelessness charity Crisis.

Bookish Gift Guide for the Holidays

Books are the perfect gift for the holidays (though they're not just for Christmas, guys!), however it can be a challenge finding just the right title for the right person. I've done the hard work for you this year by researching recent releases that are especially seasonal or gifty, making them the perfect present for your friends and family members (or yourself, of course). I've divided the guide by adult non-fiction, adult fiction and children's/young adult fiction, so you can skip straight to the right section if you already have some idea of what you'd like to get. I've also linked to my reviews if they've been published already and if they haven't yet, keep an eye on them in the next few weeks. Enjoy!

Book review: A Christmas Tail by Cressida McLaughlin

Serials are nothing new, after all Charles Dickens was a master of them, but in the digital age they've only quite recently made a spectacular comeback and especially in the commercial women's fiction genre it's working really well. Novels from the likes of Cathy Bramley and Lisa Dickenson come out first in staggered digital parts before being published in full as a paperback. It's genius, because readers will initially buy the books digitally, eagerly anticipating each new instalment, and they will also purchase the full paperback to have a beautiful copy on their bookshelves to cherish.

While I love the idea of serials, once I start reading I wouldn't have the patience to wait for a next instalment (I'm far too curious!) and rather read it all in one go. This means I do have to wait for the full paperback release and I had to really put my patience to the test when Novelicous' Cress McLaughlin's Primrose Terrace was published in four digital parts. In November the full book was finally released and I of course read it straight away. It was an absolute joy and well worth waiting for!

Guest post: Author Lindsey Kelk's Top 5 Christmas Traditions

Lindsey Kelk©Philippa Gedge 2015
Today I am super duper excited to be kicking off the blog tour for the latest gigglefest from one of my favourite authors ever: Lindsey Kelk!

You're probably familiar with Lindsey's incredibly popular I Heart... series, and in recent years she's started to branch out from Angela, Alex and Jenny Lopez to write novels about a whole new cast of characters, including the stand-alone Always the Bridesmaid and the AMAZING About a Girl series (which, even though it was very hard to achieve, is even more fabulous than the I Heart... books are). And after the second part in that series, What a Girl Wants, was released in 2014, we're back with Tess and the gang for A Girl's Best Friend this Christmas!

Will the book persuade me to move from #TeamNick to #TeamCharlie? I've started reading it this morning and am still all heart-shaped eyes over Nick, but we'll see if this changes over the course of the third novel...

To celebrate the release of A Girl's Best Friend this week (Thursday, 5 November you guys – better get to the shops quick in the morning or pre-order your copy now!) Lindsey has written a host of guest posts for the blog tour, which will be sprinkled among reviews and other festive content for the book. She stopped by Page to Stage Reviews with her Christmas top 5, which I'm delighted to share with you below.

Book review: The Little Shop of Hopes and Dreams by Fiona Harper

My edition: paperback, published on 3 October 2014 by Mills & Boon, 400 pages.

Description: Nicole, a born organiser and true romantic, has created her dream job when she sets up the Hopes & Dreams proposal agency - staging YouTube worthy proposals...until she's hired to plan a proposal by gorgeous photographer Alex Black's girlfriend.

Alex is the New Year's kiss that Nicole hasn't been able to forget - and now she's planning his wedding to someone else! But if she lets herself fall for Alex's charms, her reputation and business will be ruined before it's even got off the ground!

Suddenly the girl whose always prepared is at a loss...and falling head over heels.

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Book review: I Will Marry George Clooney (... By Christmas) by Tracy Bloom

My edition: paperback, published on 9 October 2014 by Arrow, 375 pages.

Description: There comes a time in every woman's life when the only answer is to marry George Clooney. For Michelle, that time is now.

Slogging her guts out in a chicken factory whilst single-handedly bringing up a teenager who hates her is far from the life that 36-year-old Michelle had planned.

But marrying the most eligible man on the planet by Christmas could change all that, couldn't it?

Sometimes your only option is to dream the impossible - because you never know where it might take you.

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Book review: The Christmas Party by Carole Matthews

My edition: Paperback, published on 23 October 2014 by Sphere, 448 pages.

Description: Louise Young is a devoted single mother whose only priority is providing for her daughter, Mia. Louise has a good job in a huge international corporation and she's grateful for it. The only problem is her boss who can't keep his hands to himself, but Louise can handle him. What she really doesn't have time for is romance - until she meets the company's rising star, Josh Wallace.

Louise usually says no to evenings out but she's decided to let her hair down tonight. It's the office Christmas party, she has a pretty dress to wear and she's looking forward to some champagne and fun. She's completely unaware that others around her are too busy playing dangerous games to enjoy the party - until she's pulled into those games herself . . .

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