Category: anthology

5*, anthology, blog tours, book review, charity

#BlogTour #BookReview When Stars Will Shine, edited by Emma Mitchell. #HelpForHeroes #CharityAnthology #WhenStarsWillShine

if only I could read faster

Emma Mitchell is a fellow book blogger and fabulous editor that gives so much of her time to help authors. And now she has decided to combine that with helping an amazing charity, Help For Heroes. Some amazing authors have written short stories for the anthology, many have a Christmas theme but not all.

I received a copy of When Stars Will Shine but I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

Anthologies are a great way of discovering new authors, and when buying the book also helps an amazing charity then that can only be a good thing.

Some of the stories in When Stars Will Shine are only a few pages long, and others are longer, a lot have a Christmas theme but this book can be read year round. Given the charity the book is raising money for, many of the stories have a war theme, but many do not. The stories fit into a variety of genres so it will suit every reader.

I have read books by many of the authors before and it was great to read their stories, but I also discovered authors who I haven’t read and now want to. I loved reading this book, not only to discover new authors but because you never knew what the next story was going to be about as they were all so different from each other.

Editor Emma Mitchell has done an amazing job putting this anthology together, I know she has worked incredibly hard on it and that has paid off with this fantastic collection of stories from some amazing authors. Buy this book, you will be helping an amazing charity and you’ll have a cracking book to read. Win-win in my book!

Blurb:

When Stars Will Shine is a collection of short stories from your favourite authors who have come together to deliver you a Christmas read with a twist. With true war tales that will break your heart, gritty Christmas crimes that will shake you to your core, and heart-warming tales of love lost and found, this anthology has something for everyone. And, with every penny made being sent to support our troops, you can rest assured that you’re helping our heroes, one page at a time. From authors such as Louise Jensen, Graham Smith, Malcolm Hollingdrake, Lucy Cameron, Val Portelli, and Alex Kane, you are in for one heck of a ride! When Stars Will Shine is the perfect Christmas gift for the bookworms in your life!

Featuring:

Fredrick Snellgrove, Private 23208 by Rob Ashman
Four Seasons by Robert Scragg
The Close Encounter by Gordon Bickerstaff
Believe by Mark Brownless
What Can Possibly Go Wrong? by Lucy Cameron
Mountain Dew by Paul T Campbell
The Art of War and Peace by John Carson
A Gift for Christmas by Kris Egleton
Free Time by Stewart Giles
Died of Wounds by Malcolm Hollingdrake
The Christmas Killer by Louise Jensen
The Village Hotel by Alex Kane
A Present of Presence by HR Kemp
The Invitation by Billy McLaughlin
Brothers Forever by Paul Moore
Girl in a Red Shirt by Owen Mullen
Pivotal Moments by Anna Osborne
Uncle Christmas by Val Portelli
Time for a Barbeque by Carmen Radtke
Christmas Present by Lexi Rees
Inside Out by KA Richardson
Penance by Jane Risdon
New Year’s Resolution by Robert Scragg
Family Time by Graham Smith

Available from: Amazon

4*, anthology, blog tours, book review, short story

#blogtour CWA Anthology of Short Stories Mystery Tour @the_cwa @OrendaBooks

if only I could read faster

CWA_Blog_Tour_Poster

I loved the idea of this book, the Crime Writers Association is a UK based membership club for crime writers and every year they produce an anthology of short stories written by their members. This year the anthology is published by the ever reliable Orenda books which to me makes it even more exciting.

My Review:

If you’re a crime fan then this is the book for you! An anthology of short stories written by some of the best crime writers around is pretty much heaven for most crime readers. If you’re like me and enjoy reading books set in exotic locations then this book is pretty much perfect.

What I love about anthologies is that I get to read lots of stories by different authors and I am always introduced to new authors that I haven’t read before. This can only be a good thing but if you do find an author whose writing you don’t particularly like then it’s only a short story and so doesn’t take long to finish.

If I am totally honest this book made me realise that I don’t really enjoy reading short stories as much as full length novels. I like to be able to get right into the story and while you can do that with a short story it just doesn’t work as well as the story is over so quickly. Another thing that I realised is that I like looking forward to reading my book, thinking about the story and wondering what might happen next, but that can’t happen with a short story as you read it in one go and then it’s over and you move on to the next book.

But of course there are many positives to reading short stories and I loved the fast pace of the stories, every word mattered and so there wasn’t any wastage and things got where they were going pretty fast. Some of the stories had me holding my breath and disappointed when it finished, the majority of the stories were great, some were even better and some weren’t quite as good.

I think that this book would make a brilliant present as anyone will find something that they like and hopefully love. A non-crime reader will definitely find out whether they might like to read crime or not and if they do they’ll have some ideas of authors to try and crime fans will definitely find new authors to read.

Once again Orenda Books have produced a brilliant read with some amazing crime authors involved. I look forward to next years anthology!

Blurb:

CWA HB AW.indd

Crime spreads across the globe in this new collection of short stories from the Crime Writer’s Association, as a conspiracy of prominent crime authors take you on a world mystery tour. Highlights of the trip include a treacherous cruise to French Polynesia, a horrifying trek in South Africa, a murderous train-ride across Ukraine and a vengeful killing in Mumbai. But back home in the UK, life isn’t so easy either. Dead bodies turn up on the backstreets of Glasgow, crime writers turn words into deeds at literary events, and Lady Luck seems to guide the fate of a Twickenham hood. Showcasing the range, breadth and vitality of the contemporary crime-fiction genre, these twenty-eight chilling and unputdownable stories will take you on a trip you’ll never forget.

Contributions from:
Ann Cleeves, C.L. Taylor, Susi Holliday, Martin Edwards, Anna Mazzola, Carol Anne Davis, Cath Staincliffe, Chris Simms, Christine Poulson, Ed James, Gordon Brown, J.M. Hewitt, Judith Cutler, Julia Crouch, Kate Ellis, Kate Rhodes, Martine Bailey, Michael Stanley, Maxim Jakubowski, Paul Charles, Paul Gitsham, Peter Lovesey, Ragnar Jónasson, Sarah Rayne, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Vaseem Khan, William Ryan and William Burton McCormick

 

The CWA Anthology of Short Stories Mystery Tour is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.