Hello bookish pals and welcome to a brand new week on damppebbles, the penultimate week of #R3COMM3ND3D2021. I hope we’ve managed to tempt you with one or two (or twelve!) new additions to your TBR. And if we haven’t, there’s still lots more bookish loveliness to come so make sure you stay tuned!

Joining me to share the #R3C21 book love today is the absolutely fabulous Eva of Novel Deelights. I’m a huge fan of Eva’s blog, it’s a must-read for all book lovers so if you don’t already subscribe, make sure that changes! In fact, pop over there now and hit the subscribe button. We’ll wait for you…

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2021? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2021. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2021 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. I like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉

Here are the books Eva recommends…

City of Vengeance (Cesare Aldo #1) by D.V. Bishop
Combining a lot of my favourite things, this just had to be on my list. It’s historical fiction, it’s crime fiction AND it’s set in Florence, Italy! Full of intrigue and suspense, and with an incredibly fascinating protagonist, City of Vengeance is the first book in a series I feel needs more attention than it’s getting so far.

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
Okay, so yes, we’re in Italy again. So sorry about that (but not really). The Wolf House follows women working in a brothel in Pompeii as they try to make the best out of their current situation while trying to find a way out of this life and on to better things. The first in a trilogy, it’s amazingly well written with characters that will win you over in an instant.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Throwing a complete curve-ball here because if you follow my reviews, you know this isn’t normally a genre I read at all. But Project Hail Mary turned out to be in the running for the top spot on my list of books of the year. Sure the scientific explanations go way over my heads sometimes but I don’t care. This is a story to become truly invested in with a character to root for. It had me hooked, it made me emotional and it made me laugh. What more do you want?
Eva’s Review of Project Hail Mary

Three brilliant picks, thanks so much Eva. A couple of additions to the terrifying TBR here too!

About Eva:
Eva; 40s something (for a little while longer anyway); lover of wine, dogs, books and Italy. Not necessarily in that order.

Eva’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| Novel Deelights | Twitter @noveldeelights | Instagram @noveldeelights |

Sadly submissions for #R3COMM3D3D2021 are now closed (posts will be running until just before Christmas so we’re not quite done yet). Shortly after the last post I will be inviting you all to attend the virtual after-show party, which should be a giggle, where we can cast our eyes over the marvellous and majestic beauty of 2021’s books. We will also crown 2021’s winner (or joint winners, if that’s the case). So I expect it to be a jolly good ol’ knees up! Until then stay tuned as we have lots more bookish loveliness heading your way ❤