Ryan

As a Maritimer, I've always been familiar with the stories of the Titanic and the Atlantic. The sinking of the Empress of Ireland is certainly a tragedy I'd heard of but it wasn't a story I knew much about.

I found Nicholas Kinsey's book absolutely fascinating and could certainly draw parallels between the Empress of Ireland's tragic sinking and the Lusitania's. They both happened so quickly that there was absolute chaos on the decks. They also both resulted in intense inquiries afterwards.

The historical research was first rate and based on primary sources. Though the book is historical fiction, the facts shone through and it were presented in a very readable way.

An important (though terribly sad) part of Canadian history that more people should learn about.

Sage Willowbrook's “Tea Witchcraft for the Green Witch” is a fountain of knowledge for anyone interested in herbal wellness. It is a compendium of information on teas, decoctions and elixirs that promise health, success, confidence, happiness and abundance.

While the book is written for an audience of those who practice witchcraft, it is really that anyone might find interesting.

What I loved about this book was its simplicity. The recipes were easy to follow and mainly used fresh ingredients you'd already have in your herb garden, like rosemary, sage, peppermint and lemon balm, as well as the usual dried versions you'd find in your spice cabinet.

The book included helpful tips for harvesting ingredients and steeping instructions.

I tried the Rosemary and Thyme Restoration Tea, recommended for mental clarity and found it quite refreshing. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other recipes in the book in the coming weeks!

Tlalane Manciya's debut book “Love, Lies and Lilies” is an engaging collection of poetry interspersed with meme-style quote snippets.

The collection is certainly a varied one. The poems touch on everything from romance and love to heartbreak and loss. The lovely poem “Float like a butterfly (The Ballerina”, which interprets the choreography and movements of a ballet dancer, juxtaposes strongly with the heartbreaking poem “My darkest night”, which provides an emotional account of a long night spent next to an unconscious loved one in a hospital bed. I enjoyed the darker poems more than the romantic ones that started off the book.

The standout piece of the collection was a vivid and vibrant poem called “Give me roses while I'm living”. The piece had great imagery and very reminiscent of Christina Rossetti's famous poem “Remember” in a way.

I really can't honestly say that I was 100% in love with the presentation. The inclusion of the meme-style quotes was unflattering to the author's content, which was so obviously heartfelt.

I love a good Agatha Christie-style whodunit and this one was right up my alley! So often fiction authors tackling a historical setting really don't do their homework but the care and research that went into accurately portraying the spirit of the 1920's was so evident in this book.

Dora was up against a brick wall from the very get-go but her determination and sleuthing skills allowed her to break through barriers and take on a staid old boy's club with aplomb.

A charming and well-conceived mystery.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was very familiar with Julie Broad, from both her YouTube channel Book Launchers and previous book “Self-Publish and Succeed”. When I heard she was doing a book specifically focused on marketing, I was absolutely delighted... so delighted in fact that I read “Self-Promote and Succeed” in one sitting.

The book offers a wealth of useful information for authors and probes some truly revealing questions... Do I need to be a bestseller? What does success look like to me?

I liked the fact that marketing being a long game was acknowledged, and that what works for one person might not be at all applicable to every author's journey. This is especially important for nonfiction authors, who so often fall into the trap of applying marketing techniques which are tried and true favourites in fiction spaces - and super ineffective in nonfiction ones.

Having watched many of Julie's YouTube videos, I wasn't at all surprised that a great deal of focus was placed on using one's book as a means to brand building through courses, public speaking opportunities, etc. Depending on one's goals and (especially) nonfiction genre this may or may not be every author's greatest focus, but what I loved about the book was that it offered helpful suggestions for almost every marketing path imaginable.

One of my favourite messages in the book was, “Your book is not for everyone, and if you try to make it for everyone, it will be important to no one.” Julie stressed the importance of writing (and marketing) for your ideal reader - which is something we all need to keep in the forefront of our minds with every marketing decision we make as authors.

I found the chapters on library marketing and ARC readers particularly enlightening. The tangible facts and figures in the chapter about bookstore marketing was great food for thought and set reasonable expectations about how ‘worth it' pursuing that avenue was. My favourite chapter was the one about launch day - I loved the analogy of a book launch being like a birth. It was extremely validating to hear that an author who's had as much success as Julie has faced the same challenges that I have (as a very niche blogger turned author) and how she overcame them.

This book succeeds because there's nothing abstract about the advice it offers. Julie deals in facts and solutions and clearly wants to help set people up to succeed in the fabulous (but always challenging) world of self-publishing.

I received a free advance copy of this book and I am leaving an honest review.