Book Advent Calendar Day 24

Book Advent Calendar Day 24

Jo Linsdell   19:27:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of the featured book for 23rd A Duke She Can't Refuse (The Impossible Balfours Book 1) by Gemma Blackwood.

This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I featured a different book every day giving you the chance to grab a free copy of each book on the day it was featured. A total of 24 free reads!

I had a super busy Christmas Eve and so didn't manage to post this on the 24th as planned but I didn't want you to miss out on the last day of this book advent calendar and so I'm posting today.

I hope you've enjoyed discovering these books with me over the past 24 days. I know I've had fun searching through the free reads on Amazon to select a book for each day. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 24

Title: Murder on Board : A Cruise Ship Cozy Mystery Book 1

Author: Ivy Dawson

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Shae Jordan is trying to get a fresh start. She wants to take beautiful pictures and see the world, and so decides to take employment on a cruise ship. Unfortunately, life isn’t on a cruise ship isn’t one big holiday, as Shae is about to find out. After her first night, a body is found in one of the main pools.
The victim is heiress, Nova Ashcroft. It also becomes immediately apparent that it was no accident when they find out that Nova had been stabbed.
When the Captain approaches Shae and asks her to take a look around, Shae knows where to start. However, members of the crew are determined to keep the whole thing a secret, and surprisingly, so is Nova’s husband.
Will Shae find the truth? Or will the secret of who killed Nova be lost at sea?

You might also like: 60 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Book Advent Calendar Day 23

Book Advent Calendar Day 23

Jo Linsdell   18:25:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book Up in Smoke (Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Shannon VanBergen

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 23

Title: A Duke She Can't Refuse (The Impossible Balfours Book 1)

Author: Gemma Blackwood

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Headstrong Miss Daisy Morton must make a choice: play the fiancée to a duke she doesn’t love, or face ruin.

Daisy’s loyalty to her friends is always getting her into awkward places. Unfortunately, those places include the bedroom of the stern young Duke of Loxwell, where she is caught hiding by one of society’s most notorious gossips.

For mysterious reasons of his own, the duke saves her reputation with a false engagement. There’s only one rule: she can't fall in love with him.

Simple enough. What are the chances that the true love Daisy has always dreamed of should turn out to be the strict, strait-laced, surprisingly tender duke with a devastating smile reserved especially for her?

Alexander Balfour, the new Duke of Loxwell, lives for honour and duty. The dukedom weighs as heavily on his shoulders as the responsibility of setting an example for his four unruly sisters.

And that honour has sealed his fate forever. A fatal mistake in his past means he cannot fall in love without betraying those he holds dearest.

Even if Daisy turns his world upside down in a hundred different ways, she cannot save him from his lonely penance.

Or can she?

You might also like: Series I'm Obsessed With: The Shepherd Series by Ethan Cross

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Book Advent Calendar Day 22

Book Advent Calendar Day 22

Jo Linsdell   18:20:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book The InBetween (Painter Mann Series Book 1) by Dick Wybrow

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 22

Title: Up in Smoke (Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author: Shannon VanBergen

Grab your free copy here

About the book: 

A hilarious cozy mystery from USA Today Bestselling author Shannon VanBergen

Nikki is a flirtatious six-time divorcee. Geraldine is her quirky grandmother. Mix in a bunch of gun-toting grannies, an outrageous retirement home, and an unsolved mystery and there's bound to be some excitement. Follow along as Nikki and the cast of retirement home vigilantes work to solve the mystery before everything goes up in smoke.

Up in Smoke is part of the Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery series. If you like fun cozy mysteries and outrageous characters, you are going to love Up in Smoke.

You might also like: Book Reviews: Can You Trust Book Bloggers?

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Favourite film adaptation of a novel

Favourite film adaptation of a novel

Jo Linsdell   15:56:00

Bookish Blog Hops Winter Hop 2019

I'm back with the Bookish Blog Hops crew today to talk about our favourite film adaptation of a novel.

Want to join us for future Bookish Blog Hops? Join our Facebook group. We do 4 hops a year, one for each season.

Favourite film adaptation of a novel

I honestly don't know what film to pick for this. For TV series it would probably be Sex and the City, but for film? It's a tough question to answer.

The Harry Potter series was done really well. I've seen several films based on Jane Austen's books that I've loved too. There's not really one that stands out though. That might be because I usually find the film doesn't quite live up to the book in most cases. For example, whilst I enjoyed the films for Percy Jackson, and for Me Before You, they just didn't come close to the books.

Lets see what the others had to say:

Erica Robyn - https://www.ericarobynreads.com/

I would definitely have to say my favorite book to film adaptation is Pet Sematary, the 1989 film. In this adaptation, there were a handful of things that differed from the book, but it wasn’t anything major. For the most part, it was all pretty spot-on! The atmosphere was wicked creepy and looked great! All of the camera shots were so artistic and wonderfully framed. The makeup and other visual elements were amazing! All of the actors were just perfect for their roles! The kid actors did an especially amazing job. I mean, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed? Could that have been any more ideal?

Leslie Conzatti-- www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

My favorite adaptation will always be Stardust, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. It is my favorite fantasy movie to begin with, and when I finally got around to checking out the book, I went in with high hopes that such writing would carry over, and I could relive all my favorite parts of the film, with the added detail and description of a master author!

What. A. Disappointment.

The book I read was nothing like the movie I loved. Oh sure, it had the high points and everything, but it was the subtle details I wanted, the richness and the vivid colors and magic and whatnot--not the gore and the graphic nudity and all that! Most disappointing of all was the novel version of one of my favorite side characters from the movie, Captain Shakespeare. With a name like that, how could you not make him some kind of fantastic larger-than-life persona? And in the movie he’s played by none other than Robert DeNiro, with all the flamboyant charm that man can give to a role--I adored it! 

In the book? Captain Shakespeare gets two sentences of description. He gets three or four paragraphs in one chapter, as a means of getting the illustrious main characters from one point to another. That’s it. 

I still love the movie though. I just feel like it improved on the story, rather than being exactly like the book. That’s one of the instances when making those changes is okay.

Tomorrow we'll be visiting Kaili at www.entertaininglynerdy.com to talk about whether we prefer to keep books or give them away once they’ve been read.

Book Advent Calendar Day 21

Book Advent Calendar Day 21

Jo Linsdell   15:30:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book The Christmas Compromise (Christmas Mountain Clean Romance Series Book 3) by Susan Hatler.

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 21

Title: The InBetween (Painter Mann Series Book 1)

Author: Dick Wybrow

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Painter Mann is a one-of-a-kind private investigator. He may even be the world's best, but mainly that's because he's dead.
Assisted by his "Temps"-- a select few of the very old who are so close to death they can actually hear him-- Painter has sworn to help the murder victims stuck in The InBetween by revealing their killers so they can move on.
But, a new mass murder case threatens everything after Painter recognizes the killer's face as the person who murdered him.
Exposing them will free dozens of ghosts but will also clear Painter, leaving no one to help the souls trapped in The InBetween.
Also, he's really into the whole private investigator thing. When alive he was never really good at much. Dead? He's a hell of a PI.
Is Painter willing to risk it all to save those he's sworn to help?

I love the idea of this book. Can't wait to read it. 

You might also like: Ways To Write More Creative Book Reviews

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Book Advent Calendar Day 20

Book Advent Calendar Day 20

Jo Linsdell   15:21:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book Wicked Games (Steele Security Series Book 1)  by A.D. Justice.

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 20

Title: The Christmas Compromise (Christmas Mountain Clean Romance Series Book 3)

Author: Susan Hatler

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Morgan Reed is excited to return to her hometown of Christmas Mountain, Montana and open her beauty salon, but when she arrives to her rented business space she’s shocked to find it already occupied by Dallas Parker—her brother’s best friend, the guy she had a childhood crush on, and the one her mom blames for their family’s greatest tragedy.
With their landlord out of the country and unreachable, Morgan and Dallas must open their businesses together. But, no worries, all small towns need a combo furniture store/beauty salon, right? Ugh. As they work together, Morgan tries to keep her emotional distance but time and off-the-charts chemistry soon turn a childhood friendship into a blossoming romance.
Unfortunately, just when their relationship develops into something deeper, an unexpected crisis reopens her family’s old wounds and the blame is on Dallas once again. Will Morgan’s sadness and fear pull them apart, or make her realize Dallas has always been her heart’s true safe harbor?
(This story was previously set in the Christmas Falls world under the title Forever Yours in Christmas Falls. Forever Yours in Christmas Falls is still available in paperback.)

As you may already know, I'm a big Susan Hatler fan. When I saw this one pop up under the free kindle books section I just had to grab a copy. 

You might also like: Current Reads of Book Bloggers

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Book Advent Calendar Day 19

Book Advent Calendar Day 19

Jo Linsdell   11:08:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book Christmas Can Be Murder: A DCI Morton Novella by Sean Campbell

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 19

Title: Wicked Games (Steele Security Series Book 1) 

Author: A.D. Justice

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Wicked Games is book one of the USA Today bestselling series by award-winning author A.D. Justice.Noah hasn't been the same since the day Brianna died three years ago.When an intruder breaks into his house, he realizes a painful truth--he believed an elaborate lie. She's alive and well.So many questions, not enough answers.But who's to blame for these wicked games?These skilled operatives of Steele Security will put everything on the line to protect the people they love the most. Pulse-pounding action and red-hot romance unite in this complete series of sizzling page-turners.Alpha. Possessive. Protective. Made of Steele.

You might also like: Exploring Audiobooks: Where To Find Free Audiobooks

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Book Advent Calendar Day 18

Book Advent Calendar Day 18

Jo Linsdell   08:42:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book Work in Progress: A House Flipping Rom Com (Cook Brothers Book 1) by BJ Harvey

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 18

Title: Christmas Can Be Murder: A DCI Morton Novella

Author: Sean Campbell

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

When a former policeman’s wife is kidnapped on a cold Christmas Eve, DCI Morton drops everything to repay an old debt. Muddled clues point in every direction as the clock ticks towards Christmas.
Could an old enemy be involved? Or has Santa really gone rogue?
Sometimes, Christmas can be murder.

Please note that Christmas Can Be Murder is a novella, not a full-length novel. It is 23,330 words (approximately 98 print pages).

You might also like: 60 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

Book Advent Calendar Day 17

Book Advent Calendar Day 17

Jo Linsdell   11:37:00

Free Reads Every Day!

I hope you managed to grab a copy of yesterday's featured book Deadly Games: A Cavendish & Walker Novel - Book 1 by Sally Rigby.  

It's December and that means the count down to Christmas is on. This year I decided to set up a special advent calendar where I'll be featuring a different book every day. You'll be able to grab a free copy of each book on the day it's featured. That means 24 free reads!

I'll be offering you the chance to get your hands on some great books, from a variety of genres, all for free!

I'll be visiting Amazon each day and selecting a book at random from their free list. I'm not even sure which books I'll be featuring yet so it'll be a surprise for me too. 

Book Advent Calendar Day 17

Title: Work in Progress: A House Flipping Rom Com (Cook Brothers Book 1)

Author: BJ Harvey

Grab your free copy here

About the book:

Jamie Cook is a work-in-progress. He’s always wanted what his parents have: a good marriage, lots of kids, and financial security. He thought he’d have the first two with his ex-girlfriend while the third would come once he got his house-flipping business off the ground. When his ex doesn’t subscribe to his five-year plan, he makes Cook Brothers Construction his sole focus.
Then he moves next door to April Williams, a sassy single mom he can’t stop riling up. Throw in her matchmaking mother-in-law, who’s set her sights on Jamie being April’s knight in a leather tool belt, and a house threatening Jamie’s sanity, and it should be a recipe for disaster, but Jamie wants this three-month project to last forever. That’s if he can stop being the neighbor from hell and prove to April he’s not just flipping a house—he wants to flip her heart.***Work In Progress is a full-length, neighbors to lovers house flipping romantic comedy that can be read as a complete standalone and is book 1 in the Cook Brothers series.

You might also like: Exploring Audiobooks: Where To Find Free Audiobooks

Check back tomorrow for another free read!

A Book You Won In A Giveaway

A Book You Won In A Giveaway

Jo Linsdell   18:14:00

Bookish Blog Hops: Winter Hop

The Bookish Blog Hops gang continue to tour the web this month with our Winter 2019 hop. Yesterday we were at https://catsluvcoffeez.blogspot.com/2019/12/bookish-blog-hop-winter-hop.html
talking about reading challenges. Today we're discussing books we won in giveaways.

Want to join the Bookish Blog Hops group? Find us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/127759384464964/  (N.B. You will need to insert your book blog url when signing up to be part of the group). 

A Book You Won In A Giveaway

I’ve been lucky enough to win several giveaways this year. All of which were via Twitter. Most recently; Stone Cold Heart by Caz Fear, Time of Prophecy by T.N. Timofeev, and A Different Time by Micheal K. Hill. A Different Time was a great read. I’ve not read the other two yet. 

You might also like: Book Review: A Different Time by Michael K Hill

Here's what the rest of the group had to say:

Erica Robyn - https://www.ericarobynreads.com/

I LOVE book giveaways. Everytime I see one of my blogging friends host one, I click to check it out immediately. Not just to enter, but to help them spread the word to get them some more eyes on their blog. The last book I won in a giveaway was Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith, but I haven’t had the chance to read it yet! I’m hoping to get to it soon!

Valerie, Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews - https://catsluvcoffeez.blogspot.com

I don’t enter giveaways that often, which is silly of me! Before I became a book blogger, I’d enter all the Goodreads giveaways on books that sounded interesting. To my surprise, one day I won! The book was Gary Whitta’s Abomination. It wasn’t one that really hit my radar but it was sooo good! It’s a perfect match up of fantasy and horror. I’m so glad that I won it

Leslie Conzatti www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

I always make a point to enter the in-event giveaways if at all possible--and it pays off pretty well! All the books in this picture are books (I think only a few of them are unsigned) that I’ve won in “door prizes”, giveaways, or mini “contests” that I entered! That’s about HALF my indie library! And that’s not even counting all the ebooks I’ve been sent.

We’ve got: (Top Row) Purple Door District by Erin Casey, Devotion and Deception by Katika Schneider, Skeins Unfurled (since unpublished, but I am eagerly awaiting the day she can re-publish them!) by K. M Vanderbilt, Stories We Tell After Midnight Edited by Rachael A. Brune, and the first 3 books in The Portal Prophecies Series by C.A. King;

(Bottom Row) Firebird and Fireweed by MJ Vieira, Unforgivables by Tabi Slick, The Things We’ve Said and The Secrets We’ve Kept (Just a one-time release as novellas, published as a single anthology with four volumes under the title The Truth Behind) by Kelly Blanchard, Tomoiya’s Escape by C. A. King, and Last Stop and Morning Mist by Christy Mann.

The thing about these giveaways is that most of the time, I “won” it because I was the only person to respond to whatever question or prompt the author had! Literally, that’s all I had to do, just be there and interact and respond. It’s so much more personable than a Goodreads or Amazon giveaway, where you’re one in thousands… Online/Facebook cover reveal or book release parties (or just “giveaway bonanzas”) are a great source of books that you would most likely already want to read, anyway! 

Kriti https://www.armedwithabook.com/

My one giveaway win was through Twitter as well - Rain Coast Books sent me a copy of Chase Darkness with me. Its a hard copy and I have not gotten to read it yet.

Have you won any books in giveaways recently?

Drop by our next stop at www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com
where we'll be sharing about the books we'd like to get gifted for Christmas.