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@randomthingstours

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Blog / Instagram Book Tours. Established 2016
Working with publishers and authors to share the book love.
Managed by @annecater14

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It is my turn on the tour for ‘Miss Wolcott’s Ghost’ by @louisepennyauthor and published by @hodderbooks

‘Miss Wolcott’s Ghost’ sees Louise Penny in fine fettle - it’s a complex and nuanced plot with Inspector Gamache having to face some ghosts from his past! This is the 21st book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone story; however, I do recommend the whole series wholeheartedly! This is one of the best of the series as I fell in love with Miss Wolcott and her ghost from the first mention of her, and then to find out she is based on a real person was a true highlight.

When Inspector Gamache is woken in the middle of the night with a call on his personal line, he knows it can’t be good. The caller only says that there is a body in the Lost Nation before hanging up. His interest is piqued as no one knows where this is until a local baker offers to lead him to it. There he finds a body laid out over a grave, a plant growing through them, and a headstone with the date 29 May 1914. As he looks into the case, he finds links to a huge tragedy - the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, which seemingly everyone has forgotten about. Even though more people died than when the Titanic sunk.

Once again, this book was all about community, the concept of home and found family, alongside much-loved family members. Three Pines is about acceptance, love, and support. I honestly wish it was a place I could visit as, despite the books sometimes dealing with dark themes, you always find comfort in picking them up. One of my niche sub-genres that I love to read about is pioneering women in the early 1900s, and Miss Wolcott definitely fits into this space. I loved learning about her, and then reading that she was on a lady called Miss Willmot led me down a rabbit hole finding out about her life.

We find Gamache also having to face his own demons and ghosts when a character from a previous book reappears. You don’t need to have read that book though, as the story is told in a series of flashbacks. It drills down into who he is as a person and whether second chances should be given to people.

Continues in comments

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📙📙BOOK REVIEW 📙📙
📚📚Random Things Tours AD/PR 📚📚
The Inheritance by Kate Horan

A good debut novel set in Sydney, Australia and a small exclusive town called Hartwell, south of Sydney. Centred around the wealthy Ashworth family, in particular the youngest daughter of the family Isobel ‘Issy’. She has led a privileged life and lives in a swish apartment with her lawyer partner, Hugh. Told from dual perspective of Issy and freelance journalist Megan ‘Meg’ Hunter and whilst I found the first half quite slow it picked up dramatically in the second half.

Briefly, Issy’s father sends her to Hartwell to oversee a new building project he has planned for the town. At the same time Meg has also arrived in Hartwell after her mother, who is living with dementia, mentioned the town and Meg felt that there is a story to root out. At Christmas Isobel and her two brothers receive an anonymous gift of a DNA testing kit…

The Ashworth family are ruthless in protecting their family secrets. A gripping story about family and how wealth can corrupt. The author has written some interesting characters but it was hard to feel fully invested with either of the two main protagonists. I enjoyed the plot and the book was entertaining. A satisfying debut.

#bookreview #theinheritance #KateMoran #harper360

QOTD have you ever done a DNA testing kit? And if not, would you ever do one? If so/not why?

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📚 Book Tour Review 📚

The Nancys And The Secret Of Tulip Farm by R W R McDonald (The Nancys Book 2) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Uncle Pike and Devon are back in town for the first anniversary of the death of Tippy’’s dad. After a van explodes early one morning destroying the town hall and killing three people, the police make an arrest and say the case is closed. Tippy, Uncle Pike and Devon don’t agree with the police. They re-form their secret amateur detective club, The Nancys, despite being asked by the police to leave the case alone. Naively putting themselves in potential danger along the way, their investigation raises more questions than answers. There is also the threat of another planned explosion. Who is telling the truth and who is hiding something? Can The Nancys solve the case before anyone else gets hurt or worse?

The chapters are short and headed up with little titles as well as numbers. The story switches between fast-paced crime mystery and light-hearted family drama, blending them together. The main characters are a quirky but close-knit family, with a good cast of supporting characters. The narrative is peppered with funny moments and cliches which made me chuckle to myself while I was reading. This is the second book in The Nancys series. I haven’t read the first book but this book worked well as a standalone book. However, I wish I’d read the first book so I knew the history of the characters. There are regular references to the Nancy Drew stories which I remember from my childhood and I liked the link back to my younger self. There is occasional bad language in the narrative which, although appropriate to the setting and story, I didn't like or feel was necessary. It took me a while to get into the story, but the more I read the more I looked forward to reading what happened next. Other than the bad language, it was well written and I enjoyed it. Thank you Random Things Tours and R W R McDonald.

If you’ve read it too, what did you think of it?

#TheNancysAndTheSecretOfTulipFarm #TheNancys @R W RMcDonald @OrendaBooks @RandomThingsTours #Ad #FreeBookReview

Photo credit: R W R McDonald / Random Things Tours
Background credit: Canva @Canva

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🗣⁉The Official Catchphrase Book👀⁉
🗣👀⁉ By 🗣👀⁉
🗣👀⁉ Roland Hall 🗣👀⁉

🗣👀⁉ Book Review Post 🗣👀⁉

This is definitely not the typical sort of book that I review but OMG what an absolutely fantastic, fun family game!! With the weather getting worse this is the PERFECT book to get for a family fun rainy day in. It will also make an absolutely fantastic stocking filler or gift for any Catchphrase or Quiz lovers with Christmas just a few months away!

As a family of 5 with 8 year old twin boys and a 13 year old boy this was a great book for us to play when we went on holiday last week and we were listening to the rain on the caravan. It i so easy to play, as anyone who has ever watched Catchphrase will know. You just "Say What You See"!

The book includes an introduction, instructions on how to play, 8 rounds and the all important answers at the end. You can play this as a couple or in friendship, family groups or individuals. It is packed with 200 Catchphrases and all are fantastically illustrated on very good quality paper, for the paperback copies. Most pages include 2 images on each side with the Catchphrase and then underneath are dots/dashes showing you the number of words and letters in the answer. It also includes the all important Super Catchphrases and the Bonus Catchphrases. It is so much easier to set up, less confusing, more fun and (hopefully) should cause alot less arguments than Monopoly!! The rules are simple with each team writing down their answers to the Catchphrases. Then when you get to the Bonus Catchphrase the team with the fewest points get the first go switching teams until one gets it right. On the Super Catchphrase the team with the most points go first where you have to get to the top of the pyramid in 60 seconds. You can check out more photos and a video on Amazon but I would seriously highly recommend this brilliantly fun game book to anyone and everyone! I love quizzes & Catchphrase and this would have made a perfect gift for me

A perfect rainy day, family fun game and/or gift!!

🗣👀⁉ Purchase Link 🗣👀⁉

https://amzn.eu/d/0gLVf4DZ

#theofficialcatchphrasepuzzlebook
#saywhatyousee
@quartobooksuk
@ivy.press
@randomthingstours

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BOOK REVIEW

Thanks so much to @randomthingstours for sending me the copy of The Witching House by John Everson, @nightwhereman

Published on 20 October 2026 by Flame Tree Press, @flametreepress .

366 Pages
Horror

About the book:

After moving to the small farming town of Parkville, Illinois, Gianna feels isolated, homesick, and at odds with her new stepmother.

On a dare, she performs a ritual in the abandoned Witching House and summons the ghost of Madelyn, a young woman who was burned to death there years earlier after being accused of witchcraft.

At first, Madelyn seems like the friend Gianna desperately needs. She offers comfort, understanding, and protection from the people making Gianna's life miserable. But when a series of gruesome accidents and deaths begins to spread through Parkville, Gianna learns that Madelyn's kindness masks a darker purpose.

Driven by a thirst for vengeance against the town families she blames for her death, Madelyn demands Gianna's help in carrying out her revenge. As the body count rises, Gianna must find a way to stop her spectral friend before everyone she loves becomes a victim.

REVIEW:

When I see a John Everson novel, I just know it's going to be good, and The Witching Hour was no exception.

What a great time of your to be reading a horror story. October and the spooky season was just right to get me in the mood for Halloween.

It's a spooky, eerie, hugely atmospheric tale of revenge and it's not for the faint of heart. There's gore, gore and more gore and lots of great scary scenes.

The characters were believable and felt real and the pace was just right.

4 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

#fatguyreading #Ad #Bookstagram #randomthingstours horror

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I am so pleased to be sharing my review today on the @randomthingstours for the brilliant

The Deadly Inheritance of Everest MacDonald
By AJ West

I devoured and adored this book and would happily do it all again. The authors first book is one of my favourite reads and now I’ve enjoyed all 3 of his books, so I think I can call him one of my favourite authors sitting proudly next to Charles Dickens and John Boyne. What this author manages to do is write a story that just somehow takes you in and wraps you up in their world so much so that it is hard to leave. The story is all encompassing and the characters have had so much life breathed into them that you just feel like you’re walking alongside them. The characters all have a real charm about them even the not so nice ones. You get a real sense that the author loves both writing and loves their characters. The characters don’t just tell the story they are the story and that’s what makes this story so good. It is a fantastically written historical novel that is as charming as it is clever and witty. I just started a favourite reads shelf on my Goodreads account and this book will definitely be going to sit there.

Synopsis
1917. As the Great War rages on the continent, Everest Macdonald is summoned to her father’s deathbed and entrusted with a final urgent request: she must uncover the truth behind the murder of her uncle, the celebrated Victorian actor William Terriss, a crime that has haunted her family for twenty years.

In 1897, Terriss was stabbed to death outside London’s Adelphi Theatre, a killing that shocked Victorian society. The murderer was swiftly arrested and confined to Broadmoor, the case declared closed. Yet, years later, a sealed package of evidence is passed to Everest by her dying father, which casts doubt on the official verdict and the haste with which it was reached.

#happywhenreading #bookstagram #historicalfiction #recommendedreads #goodreads

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🧩 𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗲𝗲 👀
𝙰𝙳 𝙿𝚁 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚝

Time to put those brain cells to work! 🧠✨

I was kindly sent The Official Catch Phrase Puzzle Book by @quartobooksuk and @randomthingstours & it’s such a fun one for anyone who loves a good puzzle! 💜

Inspired by the iconic Catch Phrase game, it’s packed with visual puzzles where you have to figure out the familiar phrase from the clues in front of you.

🎥 I’ve included 3 puzzles in this video for you to have a go at…

💬 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲? 👀
1️⃣ Easy peasy?
2️⃣ Made you think?
3️⃣ Completely stumped? 😂

Drop your answers in the comments — but no peeking at everyone else’s first! 🤭👇

A huge thank you to Quarto Books & Random Things Tours for sending me a copy. 💜

🖤

🏷 #CatchPhrase #CatchPhrasePuzzleBook #PuzzleBook #UKBookstagram #BookishFun

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📚Book Review📚

Vlad And The Stone Age

Kate And Sam Cunningham

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is just one of an extensive series of books that follow Vlad the flea on his adventures through history and I jumped at the chance to read and review this new release after first meeting Vlad in Captain Vlad And The Mary Rose - which I absolutely loved!

It was great to be back with Vlad and to see what adventures he was getting up to this time and we find him in the Mesolithic Period - or as I know it better, the Stone Age.

Travelling with the families to their next camp at Star Carr, where they plan to celebrate the return of Spring with food and gifts for the earth spirits.

I think I mentioned last time that I really wasn't interested in History at school and it's only now that I seem to be learning so much through books like these and I honestly wish that there'd been something as fun as this when I'd been younger.

Vlad is such a character and as well as learning lots, it's great to see what scrapes he gets into along the way.

This time, being chased by a bear!

As well as the fun and fascinating story, this was packed with the most wonderful illustrations that fill each page and give a great view into the period as well as creating discussion points.

For those younger readers, there's plenty to be looking at whilst listening and there's always so much included in the images.

I love looking out for Vlad in each one.

I like that there's a fact file included at the end of the book to give some extra info about what we've read and this is perfect for the older readers to continue their study of the period and to get lost down a rabbit hole of looking up even more detail.

There's also a brilliant website to visit where readers came explore more with Vlad.

I love this series so much and the books are beautiful additions to any bookshelf.

💕Thank you to the author, publisher and random things tours for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

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📚More Books Monday📚(ad|pr)*

Some fantastic books have arrived recently all of which I cannot wait to read!! As always a big thank you to the authors, book tours and publishers 🫶🏻

It’s half term for my gremlins so I’m looking forward to some family time and hopefully getting a few pages read around the madness!

Are there any books here you would be reading first??

🍁A Reunion to Die For ~ K.J. Whittle*
🍁 Bah Bloody Humbug ~ Jo Middleton*
🍁Under the Hickory Tree ~ Jo Chinn*
🍁Our Streets ~ Helen Aitchison*
🍁No Good Reason ~ Hannah Brennan*

#MoreBooksMonday #WhatDebReadNext

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When The Sky Burns by Isla Lockwood.
A dark Christmas romantasy 1 Skyworld series.
I absolutely loved the cover of this book. I got into this book straight away. I love the writing style and the story. I loved Aliwen's character. She was my favourite. I loved everything about this book. There was nothing I didn't like. I read this in two sittings. I could not put it down. And the ending, oh my god. Hurry up with Book 2. What a cliffhanger. Please hurry with Book 2. I definitely recommend.

Blurb.
The 'Christmas' romantasy of 2026 is here...

Twelve perilous nights of Yule.

One ancient curse.

Two men who sought to contain her.

Until she became the weapon they feared.

The phoenixes are dying. The kingdom that worshipped them has fallen. When rebel spy Aliwen steals a sentient grimoire, she uncovers a truth the witches buried. The curse that destroyed the phoenixes was never meant to be broken.

But hidden within it is a single flaw.

Her.

On the run with the rebel leader who believes she holds the key to reclaim their kingdom - and hunted by an enemy Rider whose fire would destroy her with a single touch. Aliwen has the twelve nights of Yule to unravel the spell that reshaped kingdoms.

Or burn with it.

This book contains: Violence, aggression towards a child, torture, imprisonment, death, coercive control, references to sexual exploitation, references to war trauma, enslaved women, graphic injury, references to death, grief, death of birds, and psychologically distressing themes.

@islalockwoodauthor
@randomthingstours
#whentheskyburns
#romanticfantasy
#Dragons&MythicalCreaturesFantasy

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What we were hiding by Jonas Saul.
This was a really good read. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book. I really enjoyed it after a couple of chapters. I did like the cover and blurb of this book. It was different. This was full of suspense and it was very intense. Gripping and twisty. I did enjoy this book. I liked the writing style and the story.

Blurb.
Ben Redfield built a life he refuses to lose--his business. his marriage, his name.
So when a rival begins quietly dismantling everything he's built, Ben doesn't call
the police
He doesn't call a lawver
He calls his estranged brother-with one make the problem go away. Clean Ouiet. Untraceable
Instead, the wrong people start dying.
Now Ben is exposed. The police are closing in. And someone is always watching
He wanted one man gone. Now he's the one beina hunted
Because once you step into a world built on silence, you don't get to choose who pays the price.

# whatwewerehiding @jonassaul @imagine_press @randomthingstours #thriller

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📚📮 #BookPost 📚📮

After loving the first two books in the series, very excited to have this copy of #NoGoodReason by @hannahbrennan_author

Looking forward to continuing the series on the #BlogTour with @randomthingstours next month

Huge thanks to @avonbooksuk for sending 📖

AD/PR PRODUCT

📚SYNOPSIS📚

What drives a happy woman to commit a terrible crime?

After leaving her work summer party, thirty-eight-year-old Courtney Baker drives into a busy bus-stop outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital, killing several bystanders, and herself.

The pressure for answers from the police is immediate. When it’s discovered Courtney is an ex-drug user with a heart condition, many jump to the conclusion that she relapsed. She must have lost control: of herself, and the wheel.

But Detective Liz Field is not convinced. The more she investigates, it’s clear that those closest to Courtney are hiding secrets of their own…

With the case under intense public scrutiny, and Field’s team hit harder than ever before, Field must question every assumption. Could there ever be a ‘good’ reason to murder?

📆 RELEASED 19 NOVEMBER 📆

#bookdelivery #hannahbrennan

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