#Review By Lou of A Room of One’s Own a play, part of the arts festival in #Alton #Hampshire – Saturday 11th July 26 at #WessexArts #virginiawoolf

A Room Of One’s Own

Original Text by Virgina Woolf
Stage Play Adaptation By Dyad Productions

Date:11/07/26

Door Time: 14:30

Start Time:15:00

End Time:~16:05Venue:Wessex Arts

A Room of One’s Own, originally written by Virginia Woolf, performed with gusto and passion by Rebecca Vaughan of Dyad Productions. I reviewed the play in the marquee in the grounds of Prestonfield House as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I see it is still touring and tickets are still available. The one woman play is powerful and in many ways, inspiring. Check out the synopsis and the rest of my review below. You will also find the website link to tickets after my review.

*please note, all reviews are my own. I am not affiliated to anyone or any company. The blog is solely mine too.

Synopsis

Award-winning Dyad Productions (Lady Susan, I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic, Austen’s Women) return with a 21st century take on Virginia Woolf’s blisteringly brilliant pre-TED talk. Take an amusing and incisive trip through the history of literature, feminism and gender. Meet Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Aphra Behn, and Shakespeare’s sister, Judith! Introducing a different way to look at creativity, it even comments on what life will be like in the 2020s! Come and be amused, challenged and changed. Rebecca Vaughan performs Woolf’s 1928 exploration of the impact of poverty and sexual inequality on intellectual freedom and creativity.

Review

A Room Of One’s Own is all you need to create is what Virginia Woolf’s works tells us. A room, however big or small and mind-space. It’s inspiring! It’s humble and one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever heard, in the world that we live in today, that seems to concentrate on vying for university places, of perhaps not belonging to the “right class”, it’s inspirational and says anyone can create something, no matter what class you come from. So, that’s the overriding message that remains with me.

There’s a bit of a history lesson in this too about the arts, especially writing in-terms of female writing. It’s well-constructed and adds in some well-known modern writers too, so it becomes a piece that bridges the past with the present. It has short moments of being dry, hence not quite the 5 stars, but on the whole, it holds a great amount of attention and is a compelling watch as it shows the journey of how far feminism has come, how far women have come in pushing the boundaries and writing what’s in their heads and being published.

It’s a great play to watch in a beautiful setting, whether you’ve read the book before or not. It’ll make your heart “sing”.

Dyad Productions also have other plays coming soon, such as a Christmas Carol to look out for.

https://wegottickets.com/sct/RCuqvDdTPB

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/room-of-one-s-own

#BookReview of Fifteen Minutes by Amanda Prowse @MrsAmandaProwse #novella #fifteenminutes

Fifteen Minutes
by Amanda Prowse

I have read and reviewed a few books by Amanda Prowse, each one different, each one with something to ponder over, something to discuss if you are in a book club or to pique interest in humans even if reading alone. Fifteen Minutes is a new novella by Amanda Prowse. Who would you re-connect with if you had fifteen minutes extra? Check out the cover and my full no spoiler review below as part of the blog tour.

We never know when the last of anything will happen, the last word, the last time you can say you love someone, the last time you will see someone. Makes you think about life, those last minutes, that final time.

Meet Chen, he’s kind and wise. He isn’t any normal guy, he can gift people time. He has a philosophy that time is fluid, bendable even. He has a power that he has chosen to use, not for bad, but for good. He has selected some people to gift back fifteen minutes of time to allow them to have those final moments. It’s an interesting concept and makes you, as a reader wonder what you would say to someone, if given those precious extra fifteen minutes, what would you say to someone lost, that lost connection, what would you ask that you’ve always wanted to know? Who would you choose to re-visit and at what point would you desire to do it?

Chen doesn’t just choose anyone. They have to be seen as deserving of this gift. The stories that unfold are fascinating and written with such depth, such emotion and yet it is a novella. Each word, each sentence cleverly crafted, allowing slightly more than a passing glimpse into lives. There’s a lot of humanity throughout this rather philosophical, life affirming book.

Each chapter as you meet each character is full of poignancy as you discover what emotions emerge and how life changes again for everyone.

If I had the chance to spend a ginal 15 minutes to spend with someone who died, it would be my gran. She lived a full life, working for the NHS as a medical secretary before a long, adventurous retirement with my grandad. I never got a chance to say goodbye properly because she died in spring, 2020 due to Covid in her care home. She did reach the grand age of 90 and had a fascinating past and was always fashionable, kind and had a sense of fun, especially when I was a kid

Who would you reconnect with for an extra fifteen minutes? This powerful, well considered and constructed book would certainly make you think.

Blurb

One last touch, one last word, one last I love you…’ Fifteen Minutes – the new novella from Amanda Prowse that will take you on the wildest emotional adventure.

It gets us all in the end, time.

What if I told you that time was not as unyielding as you might have believed? What if I told you it was in fact a fluid, bendable thing and that there are gaps in it, if you know where to look.

Interested? You should be.

What if I told you that the makers of time made a small error, an oversight if you will that allows us to give time back.

Fifteen minutes to be precise – gifted to the most deserving, where they get to spend precious time with someone they have lost.

A chance to right a wrong, ask that burning question or maybe just be held, one last time…

I guess the question is, who would you choose or more importantly when?

#Review of Three Summers by Karen Swan @karenswanauthor @bantambooksuk @randomttours #blogtour #summer #threesummers #karenswan

Three Summers
By Karen Swan

review by louise cannon

Three Summers is a book for fans of Lucinda Riley and Santa Montefiore, coastal fisherman villages and towns. It’s a compelling summer book with substance. Check out the cover any my review below in my Random T. Tours and Bantam Books blog tour.

Oozing of romance and the scents of Italy, Karen Swan transports readers to the 1950’s and early 1960’s in three lush summer times. The scenery is picturesque and captures balmy summers in Puglia, and paints a clear picture. The interwoven traditions of the food, from lemons to pasta, festivals creates an immersive atmosphere, creating a sense of what the author is seeing as she writes. The historical content is also fascinating about the socio-economic situation back then.

Rafaella Parisi’s romantic life is complex. She is dating Fon Giannelli but Cosimo from the wealthy Franchetti family is on the scene.

The writing is descriptive, but not overcooked and the development the characters situations throughout the years is fascinating to watch play out. With decisions that have big impacts on everyone’s lives to be made, it becomes a book that you want to invest the time in reading.

Wherever their lives lead and whatever the turns that materialise in their paths, there are consequences and highly unexpected dangers ahead, creating jeopardy, making it an enthralling, captivating read with some intense moments.

Three Summers is where Escapism and the realities of complicated relationships collide, bringing emotion and romanticism from both the characters and the Italian setting.

Every summer tells a story…

1950’s Italy

1957: The summer of innocence.

Amongst the lemon trees, Rafaella Parisi impatiently waits for the summer visitors to arrive in her small fishing village on the coast of Puglia. She may be dating Fon Giannelli, but there is one person she longs to see: Cosimo – son of the wealthy Franchetti family.

1958: The summer everything changes.

After a devastating accident at the lavish Franchetti villa, Rafa makes a vow that changes the course of all their futures . . .1961: The summer they meet againWhen Rafa and Cosi’s worlds collide, Rafa faces an agonizing choice. Is she willing to risk the life she has for the future she once dreamed of?

1961: The summer they meet again

When Rafa and Cosi’s worlds collide, Rafa faces an agonizing choice. Is she willing to risk the life she has for the future she once dreamed of?

#Review of Bad Influence by Will Carver @will_carver @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #thriller

Bad Influence
By Will Carver

Will Carver is known for Nothing Important Happened Today, Hinton Hollow Death Trip, The Beresford Hotel and more books that will have you seeing society in a different light and make you think in ways you may never have before. His unique societal focussed thrillers are darkly twisty and once you pick them up, they’re hard to put down. In Bad Influence, it looks at social media, influencers and poses the question, do you know who’s in your house when you’re not at home? I am on the blog tour for Bad Influence with a review. Check it out below, along with the blurb. Thanks to Random T.Tours and Orenda Books for an e-book and slot.

Do you know who’s in your house when you’re not at home? It may be more than just your dog or cat. *Phrogging is the latest wave of social media crazes, created by top influencers in America, followed and tried out by others. In this case it can lead to dangerous consequences.
*Phrogging – an act of living in someone else’s home without their knowledge or permission.

The world of influencers is what Will Carver is focusing on in this latest societal thriller. It takes you into the world of Paige, a qualified nutritionist and mentor who doesn’t like fake news and promotes fitness, Ellie, Max, Shona, Barnaby, Alyssa who is friends with Alessandro, now wanting to be called Less, all in their 20’s and hoping to “make it”. The main story-lines come from Alyssa and Less in a rather fast-paced unique manner that is fitting with social media, narratives and in a relational sense too.
The observations are acute and spot-on about how people want to be noticed. In Less and Alyssa, their parents bankroll them financially and they do a bit of entrepreneurship themselves, especially Less, so in that way, they are secure, even with Alyssa being not quite so wealthy, but within themselves they are insecure. There are issues within their families and Alyssa is a full time carer to her grandmother, gets herself out the door, does the meals. She, in that respect is relatable as anyone who’s a carer from a younger than average age will understand and see this part reflected to a certain degree. Paige plays a big part too and is brought further to the fore later on in the book.

What happens next is the start of a darker side creeping in after a jaw-dropping party, a crime fuelled by inhibitions. Not a thought about the consequences. Things get even darker when a new type of influence is coming on-trend, Phrogging. As readers we join the speed and thrills of the ride of this life, but things take an unexpected dangerous turn.

Intelligently the emotions and mental health are played out in the characters, most pertinently in Paige. It is, again, a well observed study of not just the ‘human condition’ but also the effects of being so absorbed to high influencer levels in social media.

The relevancy and importance of reading this book is high.
The pace is fast, explosive compelling plot won’t just wash over you, it will stay with you beyond the last page!

Blurb

Two bored teenagers.One stupid game.The wrong place to play…Alyssa wants to be seen. Less wants to be someone. She takes two buses to class, posts pictures of her lunch, and pretends it’s all effortless. He hides his privilege beneath thrifted clothes and a sketchbook full of impossible designs. Together, they are inseparable – two outsiders constructing a version of themselves the world might finally applaud.Then Alyssa stumbles upon the hidden world of phrogging – living unnoticed inside other people’s homes. She and Less slip through Los Angeles’ glossy veneer: influencers, producers, pop stars, all so busy performing their perfect lives they don’t notice the shadows in their attics, the scratching in their walls.An act of rebellion. A harmless thrill. A social experiment.Until they choose the wrong house.Until the influencer they idolise catches them in the act.Until the cameras, already rolling, capture everything.What begins as a reckless adventure becomes a nightmare of lies, power … and murder…

#Review of A Killer Plot by E.C. Nevin @evilevehall @zaffrebooks @thebookdealer #compulsivereaders #blogtour #crimefiction #cosycrime #AKillerPlot

A Killer Plot
By E.C. Nevin

Cake, Prosecco, a book event and murder. Bookshops aren’t all quite a cosy as they first appear and the people in them aren’t always innocent as they first seem either. Cosy crime got twisty and A Killer Plot is a new book in the genre. Enter this book event recounted in a book if you dare! Today, I am on the Compulsive Readers blog tour. Also thanks to Zaffre Books for a book. Check below for the blurb and my review.

Having not read the previous Jane Hepburn mysteries book, I felt that A Killer Plot works well as being read as a stand alone. Jane Hepburn is.a mystery author who, like many authors, does the literary talk tours. This time she is at the cutely named, Willow Tree Books in London. Fascinatingly, you learn a lot about upmarket Cecil Court, its connection with Cats poet, T.S. Eliot, Graham Greene, theatreland and the starting place for Foyles Bookshop. Later, Cleeves, Rankin and other authors are mentioned, which may inspire readers to take a look at their books if they haven’t already too. The mentioning fits neatly into the plot.

One part that stands out is when it nicely says about authors being social butterflies, although she isn’t. It made me think about how much of social media is about readers not being sociable, which looks like a majority when the reality is more likely to be a mix, similarly with authors. What mirrors those not sociable butterflies is how Jane loves the bookshop, seeing it as almost the perfect haven, except for all the people. It mirrors that part of society in a well observed way.
There’s an air of sadness in the beginning as you learn about how her books aren’t selling well, barely a ripple, a key member of publishing staff leaves and her contract ends. It also shows a reality in the book world. This is in contrast to the much celebrated author, Natasha Martez.

The mystery really begins when there’s a panic about what’s happened to Hugo Strauss, host of the book launch party and first under big suspicion is Jane. She has a funny way with words, which adds a lightness to the serious situation, which readers can see unfold day by day, hour by hour. It creates an air of immersiveness, giving people an ‘eagle-eyed’ view of what happened from a Friday in September.
There’s more mystery when RedRuin66 pops up in online messages, which are cleverly crafted by Nevin.
The mystery gets twistier and observes just what can be dug up around the internet if you know what or how to do searches on people.
In parts the atmosphere grows quite sinister in feel. There’s some trepidation and danger in certain events.

I recommend A Killer plot and enter a sinister author and publisher world of book events. It’s coy crime with a twist.
If you like books such as The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horrowitz, I also recommend A Killer Plot.

Blurb

In the follow-up to A Novel Murder, mystery author Jane Hepburn is back and ready to leave her sleuthing skills in the pages of her novels. That is, until she’s invited to a prestigious literary party in London—where the gathering of glamorous attendees may be hiding a killer.

Jane Hepburn has almost made it. After solving the murder of her literary agent at last season’s crime book festival, Jane has received a burst of internet fame that landed her an invite to the coveted Cecil Court book party in London. Visiting beloved bookstores along the winding alleyway of Cecil Court, and brushing shoulders with famous writers and the editors and agents who made them stars, Jane is looking forward to a fun, murder-free weekend and a distraction from her own writer’s block. But an innocent moment of respite leads Jane to the charming, yet indolent assistant to a hotshot editor. The only problem is the assistant happens to be dead, and it is Jane who discovers her body.

Chaos ensues as the police get involved, but the case quickly grows more complicated when the assistant’s boss also shows up dead. What secrets were they hiding? And what was someone trying to conceal by killing them? To ensure that another event isn’t overshadowed by an unsolved murder, Jane and her two loyal friends, debut novelist and star of the party Natasha Martez, and agent intern Daniel Thurston, must put their sleuthing skills to the test. But nothing is as it seems in a party full of attendees with secrets they’d do anything to keep.

#review of Diagnosis or Death by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick #bookreview by Lou @jakelynch #annabellemcgoldrick @randomTTours #diagnosisordeath #psychologicalthriller

Diagnosis or Death
By Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick

Mind Over Murder author, Jake Lynch and Annabel Goldrick have their new book Diagnosis or Death are groundbreaking in who their protagonist is. The protagonist is a psychotherapist who specialises in EMDR – Eye Movement Desentisisation and Reprocessing. Both authors have worked in journalism and now, Annabel is also accredited in EMDR. They bring their real life experiences and fictionalised them to create a compelling new series that brings a uniqueness to the crime/thriller/psychological thriller genre. I am on the blog tour with a review and book. I haven’t read any other books by these authors, but from this one, readers looking for something new are in for a treat of a read. Check out the cover, my review and blurb below…

Review

It’s intriguing when there’s a new protagonist on the horizon in crime fiction and this piqued my interest.
Janna is a former news reporter, now a psychotherapist practicing EMDR, is knee deep in work. Then there’s the shock of the death of a colleague and surely it isn’t suicide as first thought by the police.

Janna works from home nowadays and ends up getting highly involved in trying to discover what really happened. She then ends up digging around the murkier side of AI and the deep-fakes that are created. It’s chilling to the core!

What is fascinating to see unfold is how the skills of a psychotherapist can be deployed into a crime scene and also learning a bit more about this branch of psychology. Both professions in some ways marry up well as demonstrated in the book as both have an interest in people. This comes across in an intriguing manner, as does the crossover into a deep, dark crime scene. What evolves is a modern day crime that feels realistic and is compelling to read.

Blurb

Janna Rose is back! The Oxford journalist-turned-therapist is shocked by a colleague’s sudden death, which police dismiss as suicide – but she’s not convinced.

Pursuing her passion for justice, Janna investigates further only to be drawn into a shadowy world of Artificial Intelligence, where identity is fluid and nothing quite as it seems.

But who are the men behind the scheme, and what are their real motives? With dark forces threatening to drag her down and peril around every corner, Janna must deploy all her insights into human motivation to reveal the truth.