Dangerous by Essie Fox BLOG TOUR #Dangerous @essiefox @OrendaBooks #HistoricalFiction #Byron #Venice

 

Fiction can be fatal…
 
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city.
 
SCANDAL
 
But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer…
 
MURDER
 
As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him…
 
MYSTERY
 
Rich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron's life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself…

Dangerous by Essie Fox was published on 24 April 2025, in hardback, by Orenda Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

Looking back on my reading log, I find that I've been reading Essie Fox's novels since 2011 when I read her debut; The Somnambulist. I've always been entranced by her stylish writing.  I would never claim that historical fiction is my go-to genre choice, but there is something about her ability to weave an intoxicating story with amazing characters that makes me return to her books. 

Dangerous is something a little different for this author. Whilst it is still firmly a historical fiction book, it is also most certainly and crime story; a novel filled with mystery and ill doings where Lord Bryon himself is both the suspect and the investigator. 

'Mad, bad and dangerous to know' .... a phrase that has been used as the title of novels, on a music album and was originally said about Lord Bryon by one of his many lovers. Essie Fox has recreated this well known historical figure as he is banished to Venice and conjured up a wonderfully gothic and mysterious story about him and his life. 

From the dirt and filth of Venice, to the glitz and the glamour of the wealthy parts, the reader travels through it all. We enter brothels alongside Bryron as he cannot ignore his desires and we witness him discover the body of a woman in an alley. This is his downfall. Immediately Bryon becomes the suspect, not helped in the least by the publication of a book that details wounds to the neck - vampire-like, just like those on the real life victims. 

This is an extraordinary novel that totally swept me away to Venice. I can't say that I like Bryon, he's a rogue for sure, but I totally enjoyed his story and the author's treatment of him. It is impeccably researched with Venice taking a leading role of its own, alongside the charismatic and decadent Bryon himself. 

Fans of historical fiction will adore this one. Highly recommended. 

Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing. 

After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, and then book publishers George Allen & Unwin, before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design. 

Essie now spends her time writing historical gothic novels. 

Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Essie’s Victorian gothic novel, The Fascination, debuted at number 10 on the Sunday Times bestseller list, and was widely acclaimed. 

Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian. 

She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London. 

She lives in Windsor. 

X @essiefox

Still Got It by Claire Carver BLOG TOUR #StillGotit #ClaireCarver @0neMoreChapter_ @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

One beautiful Greek summer and a second chance at love.

Grace Foreman never expected to find herself widowed before she turned sixty – but when she packs her bags for a summer on a gorgeous Greek island, the last thing on her mind is a holiday romance. Grace would rather take a chance on a tan … or maybe a new summer wardrobe…

But then Grace meets ex Special Forces soldier Will Lancing – and although Grace isn’t looking for love, she soon finds out she’s still got it when it comes to playing the dating game…

Still Got It by Claire Carver was published on 10 April 2025 by One More Chapter. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

As a massive fan of all things Greece, I was instantly attracted to this book. Add the fact that the lead character is a woman of a certain age and I was in! 

Grace has been widowed for a few years now. Her marriage to Phil was great, they had two daughters who are now grown up and living their own lives. Grace has made a decision that has even startled herself. She's taken a summer teaching job on a Greek island. The novel begins as she arrives. 

Claire Carver obviously loves Greece too! Her descriptions of this beautiful island, and it's people, the food, the landscape is just perfect and I wanted to Google my next Greek getaway immediately! 

This is a love story, it's romantic but it's a little different. Grace is older, she has experience. She has a nice life already and is not sure that she needs to alter that. However, when her old friend Sofia visits her on the island for a week, she realises that there is life out there for her after all. 

This is a warm, uplifting read that deals with some serious issues as well as being very funny in places. Grace is a wonderfully created character who I really enjoyed getting to know. 

It's full of romance and sunshine and is recommended by me. Perfect for your holiday reading list.

 

Claire’s love of Greece started more years ago than she cares to remember. Corfu was her first destination as a teenager, and since then she has travelled extensively around the country, particularly the islands, and is even learning Greek, very slowly. 

The sunshine, the culture, and the warmth of the Greek people, not to mention the food, inspired her to write her debut novel, Still Got It, to be published on April 10 by One More Chapter, part of HarperCollins. 

It’s a story of second chances and taking risks at any age. Grace Foreman, a widow, and mother of two grown up daughters, grabs the opportunity to escape the daily grind and work as a teacher at a language school on a little-known Greek island for a whole summer. 

Sparks fly, and not in a good way, when she meets Will Lancing, the ex-army head of security at the villa next door. As Grace adapts to life on the island, making friends and relaxing in the sun, can she truly overcome her grief over her husband’s death and give romance another chance? 

Claire is a long-time journalist and tv producer, who has worked in features, showbiz, and interiors. She is married with two grown up children and lives in southwest London. 

Instagram @clairecarverauthor

There Came A-Tapping by Andrea Carter #ThereCameATapping @andysaibhcarter @LittleBrownUK #BookReview

 

Since losing her parents in a car crash as a teen, Allie has struggled to cope. Meeting Rory finally made things easier. She's come to rely on him for almost everything, so when he disappears while filming a documentary in the West of Ireland, she fears she'll come undone. Again.

Tap...

When a couple arrive at the Dublin apartment she and Rory share, claiming to be the new tenants, Allie is distraught. Why did Rory let out their home without telling her? And - where is he?

Tap-tap...

She seeks refuge at the run-down and reputedly haunted Raven Cottage in the Slieve Bloom mountains, where she and Rory were planning to move one day. Allie slowly starts to build a life for herself - and begins to believe that she might manage to make it alone.

Tap-tap-tap...

But then Rory's car is found submerged at the end of a pier, nowhere near where he was supposed to be - and the body in the driver's seat isn't his. Alison starts to revisit her memories of their time together, and begins to question if she can trust them...

A gripping, haunting thriller that will give you chills - perfect for fans of Tana French, Erin Kelly and Jane Casey.

There Came A-Tapping by Andrea Carter was published in hardback on 27 March 2025 by Constable / Little Brown.  My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I really enjoy Andrea Carter's Inishowen mystery series and was intrigued to learn that she'd had a stand alone crime novel published. 

As with her mystery series, this one is beautifully written. The setting is wonderful. Carter has always excelled at recreating the isolation of the Donegal landscape in her series, and she does it just as beautifully in this book which is set in the Slieve Bloom mountain area.

The reader meets lead character Allie as she is waiting for her partner Rory to return home from a work trip. As time passes and it gets later and later, Allie becomes concerned. She contacts his work colleagues who tell her that Rory left before they did, and they are all safely home now.  Allie suffered a great personal loss a few years ago, losing both her parents. Rory is her rock, he's there for her to lean on, she struggles to get through life and cannot bear to think about life without him. 

And then, a couple appear, wanting to look around Allie and Rory's flat. It seems that they are the new tenants. Allie had no idea that Rory had let out their home. He didn't tell her. 

She has no choice but to to seek refuge at Raven Cottage. A run down and isolated cottage in the Slieve Bloom mountains. It had been their plan to live in the cottage one day, but not this soon, not before it was fully renovated and certainly not just one of them. 

The cottage is in a terrible state and Allie's frame of mind is not much better.  The final straw is when Rory's car is found in the water at the end of a pier. Rory had no reason to be there, and it soon becomes clear that the body in the car is not Rory. 

Allie seems to go slightly mad. She is convinced that she hears tapping noises in the cottage. 

This is a tension filled story that kept me guessing right until the final chapters. The cottage, the accompanying Ravens and the tapping are so frightening, I found myself jumping at the slightest sound whilst reading the novel! 

Allie is a complex character, we are never quite sure of her, or if her memories are true. There are many questions to be asked during her narrative and this adds to the depth and atmosphere of what is a riveting and chilling story.

I really enjoyed this novel and hope that the author writes more stand alone stories soon. Recommended by me. 

Andrea Carter grew up in Ballyfin, Co. Laois. 

She graduated in Law from Trinity College, Dublin, qualified as a solicitor and moved to the Inishowen peninsula. 

Having practised law for twenty years, more recently as a barrister, she now writes full time. 

She was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2019 and her first three books have been optioned for television. 

She lives in Dublin with her husband and dog.

X @andysaibhcarter

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Lovers of Franz K by Burhan Sönmez BLOG TOUR t. #SamiHezil @brhnsnmz @OrendaBooks #Translated Fiction #BookReview

 

West Berlin, 1968. As a youth uprising sweeps over Europe in the shadow of the Cold War, two men face each other across an interrogation table. One, Ferdy Kaplan, has shot and killed a student. Kommissar Müller, the other is trying to find out why.
 
As his interrogation progresses, Kaplan’s background is revealed piece by piece, including the love story between him and his childhood friend Amalya, their shared passion for Kafka, and the radical youth movement they joined. When it transpires that Kaplan’s intended target was not the student but Max Brod, Franz Kafka’s close friend and the executor of his literary estate, the interrogation of a murderer slowly transforms into a dialogue between a passionate admirer of Kafka’s work, who is attempting to protect the author’s final wish to have his manuscripts burned, and a police commissioner who is learning more about literature than he ever thought possible from a prisoner in his custody.
 
In this gripping, thought-provoking tribute to Kafka, Burhan Sönmez vividly recreates a key period of history in the 1960s, when the Berlin Wall divided Europe. More than a typical mystery, Lovers of Franz K. is an exploration of the value of books, and the issues of anti-Semitism, immigration, and violence that recur in Kafka’s life and writings.

Lovers of Franz K by Burhan Sönmez was published in hardback on 10 April 2025 by Open Borders Press; an imprint of Orenda Books. It is translated from the Kurdish by Sami Hêzil. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this blog tour. 

I do like to dip into translated fiction and this is the first novel that was originally written in Kurdish that I've read. 

Whilst this is a slim novel at just 110 pages in the hardback edition, it is a story that will leave a great impression on the reader. I have to admit that I had to do some research into Franz Kafka. I have always been aware of his literary works, but knew very little about his personal life.  I read the novel first, and then went off and did some research, it may be better to do that the other way around as some of the things that I discovered about the real Kafka then made me think a little differently about Sönmez's story. 

The novel is almost all dialogue and takes place in a room in a police station. Ferdy Kaplan is being interrogated by Kommissar Müller. There is no doubt that Kaplan is guilty of shooting and killing a student, he has admitted to the crime. However, it seems that there is much more to this than first appears. Kaplan constantly apologises to the parents of his victim. He seems genuinely sorry for what has happened. 

The reader slowly realises that Kaplan killed the wrong man. He had intended to kill Max Brod, a close friend of Kaplan's hero and idol Franz Kafka. Kaplan thinks that Brod has betrayed Kafka, instead of destroying Kafka's papers after his death, as promised, Brod has made them publicly available. 

It's a short book, but quite a dense story to follow. There were times when I had to go back and re-read some of the dialogue, to make sure that I was on the correct path. 

With flashes of history, and a dip into the passion felt for talented artists this is a clever novel and unlike anything that I've read before.  One to read more than once, and one that awakens curiosity about the characters. 

Burhan Sönmez, now President of PEN International, was born in Turkey in 1965. His mother tongue is Kurdish, which was stigmatised in Turkey during his youth. While practising law and campaigning for human rights in Istanbul, he was seriously injured during a murder attempt by the Turkish police in 1996 and left the country, receiving treatment in Britain and remaining in exile there for several years. He now splits his time between England and Istanbul. Sönmez a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Lovers of Franz K. is his sixth novel.

Sami Hêzil was born in Van in Turkish Kurdistan in 1975 and graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University in 1999. His previous translation work consists of English to Kurdish translation, including The Raven and Twenty Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe and The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde.

The Mystery at Rake Hall by Maureen Paton BLOG TOUR #TheMysteryatRakeHall @maureen_paton @_SwiftPress #CSLewisInvestigates #BookExtract

 

In post-war Oxford, secrets lie behind every door.

In 1947, with rationing still biting and the black market thriving, university don C.S. ‘Jack’ Lewis finds himself pulled into a mystery straight from one of his friend Dorothy Sayers’ novels. Susan Temple, his brightest student, has hidden herself away at Rake Hall ― a hostel for unmarried, outcast mothers – and hasn’t been heard from since.

With no experience beyond catching the occasional student plagiarist, Lewis is hardly a detective. But when Susan’s absence continues to haunt him, he teams up with her concerned friend Lucy and together they delve into the disturbing rumours of a nasty racket at Rake Hall. Can Lewis’s nose for the truth separate fact from fiction?

In The Mystery at Rake Hall, Maureen Paton – whose mother lived at the real-life Rake Hall while pregnant with Maureen – brilliantly recreates a post-war Oxford world, as well as imagining an alternative life for one of its most famous residents.

The Mystery at Rake Hall : C S Lewis Investigates by Maureen Paton is published on 24 April 2025 by Swift Press.  As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour today, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you. 

Extract from The Mystery at Rake Hall by Maureen Paton 

Normally, he never took much notice of what a female student was wearing. That way danger lay, even if you were saying something gallant about their outfit. And Jack Lewis wasn’t that kind of man. But there had been something odd about Susan Temple’s appearance at tutorials recently that had puzzled him, try though he might to set his mind on higher things than the mystifying intricacies of young women’s wardrobes.

And now, for the second week in a row, there was no sign of her. Tapping his pipe on his desk to give himself time to ponder, he eventually looked up at the long, glum face of the other pupil, Christopher Henchard, who was probably also wondering why Temple hadn’t turned up to help him out of his usual scholarly jam with some well-chosen words. Although she looked as delicate and willowy as one of the wood nymphs from Lewis’s beloved Greek mythology, Temple stood up well to intellectual interrogation.

There was something defiant about her that amused him; despite his college image as a middle-aged bachelor terrified of what the university’s young bucks called ‘totty’, he secretly relished pitching his wits against the women students. Having fought to gain admission in the first place to the tiny minority of female colleges, they were almost guaranteed to be brighter than many of the men – especially the rugger buggers heading for thirds after spending too much time on the pitch. Lewis, a clumsy, butterfingered man, detested sport and left all that to his brother Warnie.

Yet the vulnerability of someone as rashly combative as Temple also disturbed him. There were men who would see that as a challenge and take advantage – especially with her lush-lipped, high-cheekboned, dark beauty, although he tried not to be too aware of that. He had always been bothered by the potential susceptibility of the female undergrads, so vastly outnumbered by their male counterparts after leaving home for the first time – and therefore only too ripe for exploitation and domination.

He knew he was being patronising – tantamount to suggesting that they were the weaker sex, not up to the demands of academia, which was certainly not his intention – yet it troubled him nonetheless. After all, the university had yet to recover from the strange and shocking case of the girl who had been found dead in her bed in Lady Margaret Hall only the previous term. The inquest had established that she had a weak heart, a condition confirmed by her family, yet the whisper was that she had been taking amphetamines to cram overnight for her finals.

Maureen Paton is a freelance journalist specialising in arts, showbusiness and women's issues.  

She is the author of two works of non-fiction and is a former committee member and former newsletter editor of the campaigning organisation Women in Journalism. 

The Mystery at Rake Hall is her first novel.

www.maureenpaton.co.uk

X @maureen_paton

The Cure by Eve Smith BLOG TOUR #TheCure @evecsmith @OrendaBooks #BookReview #SpeculativeFiction

 

Living forever can be lethal…

Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.

Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year reverses your biological clock, guaranteeing a long, healthy life.

But Ruth's cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, who hungers for immortality, and the SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are dubbed Supers, and the population begins to skyrocket.

Then, a perilous side-effect of the SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed…

Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.

But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for them both…

The Cure by Eve Smith was published on 10 April 2025 by Orenda Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

This is Eve Smith's fourth novel.  I have read and adored her first three books, she's become a favourite author of mine and I've been looking forward to The Cure for a long time now. 

Speculative fiction is my favourite genre. I do love the fact that this is not 'science fiction', this is not something that is totally implausible. Speculative fiction concentrates on things that could happen, one could even say, that they are likely to happen. Whilst the plot lines are often terrifying, the reader can really see that these things are possible .... it's very frightening. 

It is sometime in the near future and the population is growing out of control. Despite that fact that poverty and hunger still exist, people seem to want to live forever ....  and some people can. Those who have enough money can become 'Supers'. It is against the law, and there's an army of Omnicide investigators whose job it is to track the Supers down and make sure that they make their transcendence day ..... the day that they are terminated, the day that they die. 

Our two main players are Ruth and Mara. Ruth is a woman who has obeyed the law throughout her life. However, it was Ruth that discovered Rejuve; the drug that means that humans can now live forever. Ironically, she discovered it as she searched for a cure for the illness that killed her young daughter. Mara is an Omnicide investigator, seeking out those people who have accessed the SuperJuve version of Rejuve. Both Ruth and Mara especially want to track down Erik Grundleger - the scientist who stole Ruth's discover and created the Superjuve. 

It is so easy to write reams and reams about this book. We can look at the exquisite characterisation that Smith never fails to deliver, we can talk about the science and the potential for the things in the novel to come true. We can look at the world in its current state and compare it to the author's creation in The Cure. 

The perfect book for a Book Group read, so much to dissect, to pick over, to debate. It is a chilling yet powerful story that is also very frightening. A thriller, an in-depth look at humanity, at greed, at power. Original, frank and very perceptive. Highly recommended by me. 

Eve Smith writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her.


Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as ‘an exciting new voice in crime fiction’, Eve’s debut novel, The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was a Book of the Month in the Guardian, who compared her writing to Michael Crichton’s.

It was followed by Off-Target, about a world where genetic engineering of children is routine, and ONE, about survival in a world ravaged by climate change.

Eve’s previous job at an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.

She lives in Oxfordshire with her family.

www.evesmithauthor.com

X @evecsmith

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The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen #TheSummerGuests @tessgerritsen @alisonbarrow @PenguinUKBooks #TheMartiniClub

 

THE MARTINI CLUB ISN’T OPEN TO EVERYONE . . .

Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching.

But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive.

For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft. And now, a missing teenager down by the lake.

When their good friend becomes a prime suspect in the girl's disappearance, Maggie and her Martini Club must put down their binoculars and roll up their sleeves. Leaving Jo to deal with not only a powerful family desperate for answers, but a meddlesome group of retirees.

Can Jo and the Martini Club find a way to work together, as they uncover one of the deadliest scandals their small town has ever seen?

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen was published in hardback by Bantam on 27 March 2025. My thanks to the publisher who sent my book for review. 

The Summer Guests is book two in the Martini Club series. However it can easily be read as a stand alone story, the author ensures that her readers are kept well informed about who is who! 

The members of The Martini Club live and meet in a small town in Maine called Purity, and is led by Maggie Bird.  All of the members are retired after fascinating and often challenging careers as spies. They like to talk about books and have a drink together.  However, their backgrounds and their sharp minds mean that they often find themselves involved in things that are not really their business. 

The usual flock of summer guests have arrived in Purity. Susan and her teenage daughter Zoe have joined Susan's in-laws for a break.  Zoe goes missing and whilst Susan is distraught, other family members don't seem to be too worried.

Acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau is soon on the case and her immediate suspect is an elderly local man. When Maggie and the rest of the Martini Club hear this, they are appalled. They know he's not responsible, they know him, he's their friend and he has a granddaughter who is a similar age to Zoe. Despite Jo's displeasure, Maggie and her gang start their own investigations.

The story is told from various points of view of some of the main characters, and the author does this very well. Each voice is unique and each character has their own take on what is happening.  I especially like the sense of place that the author creates. I know that Purity is based on the town in which she lives in real life and she really does bring it to life. 

This is quite an involved mystery, some may label it 'cosy', but there are some dark and dangerous issues covered within the plot, it's certainly not all sweetness and light. 

An enjoyable series with characters that have depth and are also fun. Recommended by me. 

International bestselling author TESS GERRITSEN began to write fiction whilst on maternity leave as a physician. She published her first novel in 1987 and has since sold over forty million copies of her books in forty countries.

Her series featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the television series Rizzoli and Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

Now retired from medicine, she lives in Maine and writes full time.

www.tessgerritsen.com

X @tessgerritsen

Instagram @tess.gerritsen

Comfort Eating by Grace Dent #ComfortEating @gracedent @FaberBooks @guardian #BookReview

 

Have you ever wondered why eating cheese can sometimes feel like a cuddle?
Or how a big bowl of pasta can be just what we need after a tough day?
Oh, and what is it about butter that seems to make everything just that little bit better . . . ?

The foods we turn to behind closed doors are deeply personal, steeped in nostalgia and topped with a healthy dollop of guilty pleasure. In Comfort Eating, Grace Dent throws open her kitchen cupboards to reveal why we hold these secret snacks and naughty nibbles so dear to our hearts.

Exploring her go-to comfort foods through a series of joyous encounters, Grace reflects on the memories they uncover and pays tribute to her parents, the people who taught her what comfort eating truly means. Along the way, she catches up with some famous friends to chat about their own favourites – from Jo Brand's fried bread sandwich and Russell T. Davies' 'butterpepperrice' to Scarlett Moffat's crushed-Wotsits-topped beans on toast and many, many more . . .

So grab a plate and pull up a chair: unfussy, honest and filled to the brim with heartwarming stories and comfort food tales, Comfort Eating is the perfect treat for food lovers everywhere.

Comfort Eating : The Joy of Secret Snacks and Naughty Nibbles by Grace Dent was published in paperback on 10 October 2024 by Guardian Faber Publishing.  My copy was a Christmas present from my husband. 

I adore Grace Dent!  She's one of those women that I'd love to go out for a drink with. She's sassy, bright, funny, down to earth and totally Northern and I just want to be her friend! 

This book; Comfort Eating, is inspired by her award-winning podcast of the same name. During the podcast, she welcomes guests into her home and they bring along their all time favourite secret snack or naughty nibble. It's such a fabulous podcast, sometimes it can get really emotional, but it is always hilarious in parts. 

In the book, Grace details her own secret snacks; the food that she reaches for when she's home alone, where she's not having to be 'Grace Dent Food Critic'. It's food for comfort, food that reminds her of her loved one, food that brings joy. 

The book features six main ingredients. I don't think anyone could argue that these are not comfort foods, just thinking about some of them, makes my stomach grumble. There's cheese, butter, pasta, bread, potatoes and sweet treats and each one is accompanied by a celebrity endorsed naughty nibble. 

This is not just a book about food though. It's also a memoir, where Grace talks candidly about her childhood and her parents. Her love for her late parents shines though in her writing. It is a book that deals with grief, but also with love and I absolutely devoured it. 

A truly wonderful read, highly recommended by me. 

Grace Dent is a popular columnist, author and broadcaster. She's a regular contributor to the Guardian, 'Grace Dent TV-OD' and a G2 columnist. Grace's Marie Claire column 'Graceland' appears monthly.

Grace has written eleven bestselling novels for young adults, translated into twelve languages. Diary of a Snob was recently acquired by Nickelodeon.

She's also a regular face and voice on British TV and radio, working on shows such as The Culture Show, Film 2011, Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, The Apprentice: You're Hired and the Lauren Laverne Show on BBC6 Music.

Grace lives, mainly behind a laptop, in East London. She is originally from Carlisle ('The Manhattan of the North'). Currently she is trying to leave Twitter.

www.gracedent.komi.io

Instagram @gracedent