It’s Friiiiiiiiidaaaaaaaaaaay! Hooray for the weekend which is a mere squeak away now. Time to make exciting weekend plans, arrange interesting things to do away from the house and then cancel them all just so you can stay at home and read that book you’ve been trying to read all week! 🤣 Been there. Done that. It’s day seventeen of #R3COMM3ND3D2023 and so far we’ve had forty-seven magnificent titles recommended – all published within the last eleven months. As things stand, our current leader is The Good Liars by Anita Frank. Let’s see if TGL can continue to hold the top spot after we’ve added today’s books to the tally…
I am delighted to welcome a fabulous blogger to damppebbles today to chat all things #R3COMM3ND3D2023, it’s the brilliant Hayley of The Lotus Readers. Hayley’s blog is a thing of bookish beauty. If you’re not already subscribed then why not?! Get yourself over there quick-smart and hit the button. You know it makes sense!
So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2023? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers, reviewers 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 2023. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2023 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. See, it wasn’t too painful. I just like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉
Let’s not dawdle a moment longer, here are the three books Hayley recommends…
End of Story by Louise Swanson
An incredible dystopian future where fiction is banned feels vividly real, but turns out to be something totally different in a huge twist. An incredible story of the power of the mind and the power of stories. Simply stunning.
Hayley’s Review of End of Story
A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke
A haunting story full of atmosphere, historical detail and genuinely spooky. The author uses folklore and the paranormal to explore unresolved trauma.
Hayley’s Review of A Haunting in the Arctic
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
An incredible story about one woman’s experience of slavery and her quest to be reunited with her children, taken from her and scattered across the country. This is so moving, emphasising her loss of identity but also her hope and resilience.
Hayley’s Review of River Sing Me Home
Thank you so much, Hayley. Three gorgeous titles – one of which I’ve read. I’ll be adding your other two picks to my TBR.
About Hayley – The Lotus Readers:
An aspiring writer who loves books and sharing them with others. I’m a counsellor and writing therapist so love analysing characters and their behaviour. I’m also a member of the Squad Pod Collective – a group of bloggers who read together and share book club choices, reviews and hold author Q and A’s. I’ve just turned 50 and live in a rural village where I look after the book exchange in our red phone box on the green.
Hayley’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| The Lotus Readers | X (formerly Twitter) @hayleylotusflo1 | Facebook | Instagram @hayleylotus |
#R3COMM3ND3D will only run for the month of November this year so places are very limited. If you would like to take part in #R3C this year (and I would LOVE you to!) then please get your three choices in ASAP. If I’m unable to fill all 30 dates then any posts scheduled for the end of November will be brought forward and I will close the series early (but I don’t want to do that, it sounds miserable! 😂). Here are two different versions of the form if you fancy taking part.
If you’re a book blogger, bookstagrammer, reviewer or an author and you have three books published this year which you want to shout about then please complete the following form (or click this link: https://forms.gle/d6HbMLZJjEtUSm8FA)
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