It's my 50th Birthday so let's celebrate with books

They say age is just a number and it's certainly a mantra I believe in the older I have become. But for me birthdays are also bittersweet as they are a reminder that my mum is no longer around as she died suddenly 3 days before my 29th birthday. And now that I've reached the big 5-0 milestone, it's also a reminder as to how young my mum was as I've now only got 2 more birthdays to go until I'll be the age she was when she died.

Sadly with the way life has been for us all in the last 10 months, birthdays, weddings and any other form of celebrations have been rather pared back and mainly celebrated with those in our households or social bubbles so we've certainly got a lot of catching up to do when it is safe to meet up again. Personally I wouldn't have liked a big party or anything but would have liked to have been able to arrange to go out with friends for afternoon tea, instead I'll be celebrating my birthday home alone although will be catching up with friends online. 

But not only is it a special day for me, but it's also a big new books day in the publishing world as there are a LOT of new books out today. Below are just a small selection of some of the books that have caught my eye and made it onto my wishlist. Which ones will you be buying?

Emma's NetGalley Challenge: The House of Secrets by Sarra Manning

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

An ordinary house on an ordinary street, built in 1936 and never lived in. Its rooms might be empty, but this house is full of secrets.

When Zoe and Win, raw and reeling from a recent tragedy, move into their new home it's meant to be a fresh start and a way to mend the holes in their relationship.

But pushed to the back of a cupboard is a suitcase that's been gathering dust for eighty years. Inside is a wedding dress, letters and a diary all belonging to a woman called Libby. And there's something else in the suitcase, something that echoes Zoe's own pain.

Zoe follows Libby's trail from Paris to Spain on the brink of Civil War to secret trysts in London, and as Libby finds the courage to live and love again, Zoe begins to let go of her own grief.

But when Libby's story takes a darker turn, Zoe becomes increasingly obsessed with discovering what really happened all those years ago. Because if Libby managed to get her happy ever after then maybe Zoe and Win can too . . .

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Blogiversary Giveaway: Win a copy of The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp

It's been many years since I read a classic, in fact I think the last time was probably in my teens at school, but one of the classics I have never read but kept meaning to was William Makepeace Thackery's Vanity Fair although I have watched various TV and film adaptions over the years including the recent ITV series. 

So when I saw that Sarra Manning had written a contemporary re-telling of the book, The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp, I decided to buy a copy to read, although I still haven't managed to find extra hours in the day to read it, and when it was offer bought an extra copy for this giveaway 😉

Beautiful, brilliant, ruthless – nothing can stop Becky Sharp.

Becky Sharp has big dreams and no connections. Determined to swap the gutters of Soho for the glamorous, exclusive world behind the velvet rope, Becky will do anything to achieve fame, riches and status.

Emma's Review: After the Last Dance by Sarra Manning

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Two women. Two love affairs. One unforgettable story.

Kings Cross station, 1943. Rose arrives in London hoping to swap the drudgery of wartime for romance, glamour and jiving with GIs at Rainbow Corner, the famous dance hall in Piccadilly Circus. As the bombs fall, Rose loses her heart to a pilot but will lose so much more before the war has done its worst.

Las Vegas, present day. A beautiful woman in a wedding dress walks into a seedy bar and asks the first man she sees to marry her. When Leo slips the ring onto Jane's finger, he has no idea that his new wife will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

So when Jane meets Rose, now a formidable older lady, there's no love lost between them. But with time running out, can Rose and Jane come together to make peace with the tragic secrets that have always haunted their lives?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback