Hello! Remember me? I’m the book blogger who hasn’t really posted very much this month (but has been reading like a machine, for some reason!). The one that likes crime fiction but gets irked when people get the name of her blog wrong (damppebbles, one word – no capitals)? Anything? No, well, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if you have forgotten me. I haven’t been very ‘present’ this month for which I apologise.

It’s been a bit of a funny one, truth be told. The half term holiday always slows my reading down but this half term I had to organise a rather last minute birthday party for my four-year-old on Valentine’s day because he was suddenly having grommets and a tonsillectomy on the Friday of half term week. Then, of course, we had a very sad little man for the following week which was complicated when hubby came home from work on the Monday with this darned ‘flu that’s going around at the moment. Grumpy man child plus grumpy man – not easy. Then as the husband is getting (gradually, slowly) better I come down with a vicious case of tonsillitis myself. Gah! That’s all I could say, by the way. GAH! So to cut this incredibly long and boring story short, I have been reading but finding the time (or, whilst ill myself) the inclination to sit down at the laptop and write a few reviews was near impossible. A grumpy Emma is probably ten times worse than a grumpy man child and a grumpy man put together, after all.  My apologies dear reader. I hope March will prove to be a jam-packed bookish month on the blog.

So, what did happen? I took part in FIVE blog tours during February:

All five stops were review stops:

Past Echoes by Graham Smith | Force of Nature by Jane Harper | The Reunion by Samantha Hayes | Kiss Me, Kill Me by J.S. Carol | The Pact by S.E. Lynes |

I managed one review for around publication day and that was for The Memory Chamber by Holly Cave.

I still absolutely flipping love that cover. Isn’t it gorgeous?! And what a very different subject for a book. Worth checking out if you’re looking for something a bit different.

So now I hope you see why I am so disappointed with the number of blog posts I have published this month. A measly six, I mean….SIX!!

Two very gorgeous things did happen though. I was sent a fabulous Valentine’s Day gift from the lovely folk at Dead Good Books. Look at how magnificent it is – but I totally failed to acknowledge the delivery or share it on social media, harumph.  Thank you Dead Good Books, I absolutely love my gift! So many beautiful things 😍😍.  Dead Good are focussing on helping us all find a little more time for ourselves this year and see reading as the perfect way to do that.  I have to say, I couldn’t agree more!  Reading IS the perfect hobby to help us all relax a little more.

I also won the fabulous Bibliobeth‘s fifth blogiversary giveaway.  My prize was to pick any five books and Beth would get them sent to me!  Yup, you heard that right – ANY FIVE BOOKS!!  I spent A LOT of time deciding on the five and here they are in all their glory.  What do you think?  Have you read any of them?  My thanks again to Beth for her super giveaway.  Still thrilled to have won and it was a few weeks ago now!

In other news, I have been accepting books and blog tours like nobodies business so have made the decision to reset my year of tackling the TBR starting tomorrow – 1st March 2018.  If you missed my original post (aka failed plan) then click HERE.  No new books and limited blog tours allowed from now on until 1st March 2019!  Eek!

I think that’s about it for February.  All that’s left to do is name my book of the month…

I had four five star reads this month so it was a tough choice but I have picked….

Kiss Me, Kill Me by J.S. Carol is my book of the month for February!  I love James Carol’s books, they always have a great hook which keeps me glued to the pages from start to finish.  And oh, the emotions I felt reading this one.  Talk about a mixed bag!

“It’s superb, incredibly entertaining and really quite disturbing in places. I was completely smitten with Carol’s characters in this novel but in quite different ways…I loved this book. Love, love, loved it!”

That’s it from me for February.  Make sure you pop back tomorrow when I will be joining the blog tour for Blue Night by Simone Buchholz.  Then on Friday I will be sharing my review of Stav Sherez’s The Intrusions as Stav and a bevvy of other fabulous authors will be appearing at First Monday Crime on Monday 5th March in London.  Make sure you grab a ticket now so you don’t miss out!

Wrap up warm lovely people, it’s a bit chilly here at the moment but with only a sprinkling of snow, and I will see you on the other side (or maybe I should just say ‘March’).