The Future of UK Book Tours

For some time now I have been thinking really hard about the future of UK Book Tours and I have finally made a decision that I can no longer run it and I hope you believe me when I tell you that this was not an easy decision to make. I have literally agonised about it for months now. I’ve really enjoyed founding and running UK Book Tours but it costs me a lot, both in time and money. Everything comes out of my own pocket and I'm juggling my time between working full time, running my book blog, writing, and being a domestic goddess (HA!). Sadly, I can no longer sustain the site and so I’m afraid I’m bowing out. So I leave you with two options and I need your help to decide what we’re going to do...

1. Option one is to carry on with the current tours and then close the site down.

2. Option two is to have someone else run the site in my place.

I’d be really grateful if you could let me know what you think about this and I’d be very open to receiving offers to run the site. Just e mail me and let me know why you’re the right person for the job! However, think carefully about the realities of running the site before you apply.

It’s been really fun running the tour site (apart from the one blogger who stole my personal copies). We’ve been really fortunate that Royal Mail has only lost one of the many books that have been on tour. I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading the tour books and I thank you all for the continued support.

E mails

Just letting everyone know that I've got a busy week on this week and so I probably won't get round to answering e mails until at least after Friday 25th. Thanks for your understanding, on the plus side, it means you can keep the books a bit longer ;)

CALLING FOR ANGELS Tour

Thank you to The Red Telephone for providing me with a copy of Calling for Angels by Alex Smith. Written by a 14 year old author, this book is short and sweet according to reviewers so far. I have to admit that I haven't read this one yet so you should check out the Goodreads description of it here to see if this is something you want to read.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

WITHER Tour

Am I good to you guys or what?! Actually it's thanks to Kate at Sithereandread who kindly let me have the book as she knew I really wanted to read it. I mean firstly, LOOK at that cover? It's GORGEOUS! Also, I'm loving Dystopian books right now and this sounded really interesting. Imagine a world where due to genetic engineering gone wrong, girls die at twenty and guys die at twenty five. Now imagine some seedy, underground business where "Gatherers" kidnap young girls and sell them off to wealthy men to reproduce with. Eww....Check out the Goodreads description here for more information.

I have to say, I'm about halfway through reading this and it reads like a victorian historical BUT it's set in the future. It's a strange world but I'm really enjoying it so far.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

The one where I am forced to get tough...

As most of you know, I've had a lot of computer problems in the past few months and I'm pleased to say that I've finally got my main laptop back and I'm all caught up with tour stuff. Hoorah. It is my main goal to try and answer e mails quicker and this is what I am *HOPING* to do now.

As well as an update, I'm writing this post as it seems I'm going to have to get a little bit tougher with my approach to the tour site so please read the following...

1. If you are new to the site, I cannot stress this enough - please read The Rules and to be honest it sounds like a lot of people could do with familiarising themselves with this page. New people should also read So you want to join a tour? I am very open to welcoming new bloggers to the site but don't just sign up without contacting me first. Don't forget, I know nothing of your blog or even your address so how can I send you a book? You'd be surprised how many people sign up and then leave me no address. I cannot chase everyone as I simply don't have the time I'm afraid so from now on, if you are new and you don't contact me - then you don't go on the tours.

2. A lot of people have been asking me if there is a limit to how many tours they can sign up for and the answer is no, there is no limit as long as you are willing to abide by The Rules.

3. I'm still working on the MR LINKY thing so at the moment please ignore it if you see it on the site. One day, I hope to have it working so that you can post a link to your reviews.

4. Don't forget that if you are lucky enough to receive an ARC, please think of sharing the book with the tour site.

5. Last but not least, this is the bad part. I've been chasing books lately and it's really disappointed me to find out that bloggers have been keeping books for up to 4 months (yes I'm not joking) without contacting me. I'll admit some blame as I have not kept as good an eye on things but I thought the majority of people could be trusted. May I please remind everyone that there is a TWO WEEK period that you can keep the book unless there are extenuating circumstances and you CONTACT ME to ask if you can keep it longer.

As you may gather, I am quite annoyed about this and if I catch anyone keeping books for this length of time again without contacting me then they better have a good explanation or they will be barred from taking part in future tours. All the books come back to me at the end unless I give you an alternative address (for example, from people who have kindly let us borrow a book) and if you refuse to give the books back despite constant e mails and reminders then I will have no problem in outing you publicly as a thief.

I'm sorry to have to get tough but certain people have forced me to. I don't want to have to close the tour site down and if you don't want that either then please act accordingly and don't let it happen. Thanks.

The Memory Cage

Thank you to Scholastic for providing me with a review copy for The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham which I am sharing with the tour site. This is a debut novel and it is clamed that fans of Michael Morpurgo will love this. I admit that I don't know a lot about the book so I would suggest you check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR Tour

Thank you to Kate Linfoot for providing me with a copy of The Clan of the Cave Bear for review. I am planning on reading and reviewing this but I now have my own copy so I'm putting this on a tour. You may have seen this book in the shops lately as the final book in the series has recently been released. AND I cannot believe I have literally just found out that they made this best selling book into a movie in 1986 starring Darryl Hannah! I MUST look that one up! If you want to find out more about the book, check out the Goodreads description here and look at how many 5 star reviews there are of the book. I think it's worth giving this series a go as it's been around a while and is still highly regarded it would seem.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

AGENT 21 Tour

Thank you to Random House Children's Books for providing me with a review copy of Agent 21 by Chris Ryan. Chris is of course the ex SAS guy who has written a lot of successful adult books however this is his latest YA offering. The synopsis reads like it could be a movie and definitely one that might have boys interested but I think girls would be interested too, especially if the MC was hot LOL. If you've not heard of this book before or are curious as to what it's about, please check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

THE CURSED ONES Tour

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a review copy of The Cursed Ones by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie. This is the first book in a series and all I really know about it is that vampires are involved. I would strongly suggest you check out the Goodreads description here for a more attractive synopsis ;) I'll admit I haven't gotten round to reading this yet but I'm definitely keen to give it a try.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site. Also, I'd recommend taking a look at So you want to join a tour?

FIRELIGHT Tour

Thank you to Liz Scott for providing me with a review copy of Firelight by Sophie Jordan that I'd like to share with you all on the tour site. This book is about dragons no less which is a little different from a lot of other paranormal YA stories out there. If you haven't heard of the book before, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

LOW RED MOON Tour

I expect a lot of you will have heard of Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin (a pseudonym for Elizabeth Scott). It was published in both the US and the UK with a lovely shiny cover and red is my favourite colour so of course I was attracted to this book! Psssst it's also got wolves. If by some miracle you haven't heard of it, check out the Goodreads description here. I'll admit I still have to read this but at only 196 pages, it looks like a quick and entertaining read :)

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

RAISING DEMONS Tour (AKA Demonglass)

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a review copy of Raising Demons (AKA Demonglass) by Rachel Hawkins. This is the second book in the Hex Hall series so please make sure you have read the first book before signing up for this one. Having just read this I can tell you that it is VERY good and VERY funny as you might expect so it comes highly recommended by me. If you still need help deciding, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY Tour

I'll admit I have not yet read Between Shades of Gray by Rutya Sepetys yet but I've heard a lot about it and I will get to it soon as the release date is fast approaching (March, I believe). Thank you to Penguin for sending me a review copy. If you haven't heard of it, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

HALO Tour

What a gorgeous looking book this is! Thank you to Becky from The Bookette for donating it to the tour site. Yes it's another book about angels but hey, that's fine by me! If you haven't heard of Halo, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! Also, checkout the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

DEAD BEAUTIFUL Tour

I've been sitting on a US ARC of Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon for a long time but I heard a rumour recently that it was going to be released in the UK so this is the right time to send it on a tour. I haven't read it yet but it sounds fantastic and right up my street. Check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

THE LIMIT Tour

The Limit by Kristen Landon is not one I had heard of until the very lovely Asamum brought it to my attention and let me borrow her copy to put into a tour. This is described as a middle grade dystopian novel and I'd certainly give it a read. Check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

THE IRON WITCH Tour

The Iron Witch is the debut novel from UK author Karen Mahoney featuring one of the most beautiful book covers I've seen in a while. I'm actually halfway through reading this ARC and I'm really enjoying it. It's different from a lot of the books I normally read and I'd like to share it with you guys but you can only have it when I've finished *evil laugh*. In the meantime, you can check out the Goodreads description here. Apparently, you can read the first four chapters right now here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS Tour

Quite possibly the one you've all been waiting for, I present to you Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This has been creating A LOT of buzz in the blogosphere and I cannot find anyone who has a bad word to say about it. I've wanted to read it for the longest time and now I have a copy. In fact, there is a funny and yet frustrating story behind the acquiring of this book. I had asked for an ARC when I first heard about the book but I heard nothing from the publishers so I assumed I wasn't getting one. MONTHS later, my US friend told me I had some parcels at his house that he'd tossed to the side and forgotten to tell me about. I asked him to open them and one of them happened to be an ARC of Anna and the French Kiss. I squealed in delight as I had wanted to read this book for so long. Now the finished copy is out (it is actually sitting right next to me) and my friend has STILL not sent me the bloody book. Actually, he may have sent it off yesterday if he got his arse into gear. So I'm taking names now and when it finally arrives, I'll send it out. If you've not heard of this book, where on earth have you been?!?! If needed, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating. I cannot stress this enough, especially if you are new to the site.

TRASH Tour

Released in the latter half of 2010, this tour of Trash by Andy Mulligan is for those bloggers who haven't had the chance to read it yet. I have to say that I love the final UK cover :) For more information about the story, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

HALF BROTHER Tour

First published in the latter half of 2010, Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel is now in hardback. It's an interesting story about a chimp that joins a family but it's so much more than that. If you're interested, check out the Goodreads description here. Thank you to Random House for providing a review copy.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE Tour

Out now with a beautiful UK cover, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is the first book published by Lauren Kate and is based on the story of Macbeth. For more information, check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

THE BODY FINDER Tour

Another book with some great buzz that I haven't managed to read yet *le sigh* is The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. It's now been released in the UK as a paperback and thanks to Headline Publishing, I have a copy to go on tour. If you're not familiar with the book, check out the Goodreads description here. I think it sounds like excellent reading for a cold, drizzly day.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

IMMORTAL BELOVED Tour

No vampires, no werewolves, no angels. This book is about being immortal but I have a feeling that there's more to the story than that. I haven't read it yet but it's on the list! Besides which, I LOVE the cover! Check out the Goodreads description here for more information. Thank you to Hodder Book for providing a review copy.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

MY NAME IS MEMORY Tour

Described as an epic love story spanning several lifetimes, My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares is a book I'm definitely interested in reading. It came out in hardback in America and was marketed as an adult book. In the UK, a different hardback cover was used to market it as a YA book and it is just about to be released in paperback. I think this is my favourite cover of them all actually. Out officially on 20th January, thanks to Hodder Books I have a copy to go on a tour. So what do you say, are you interested in reading about an epic love story? Still not sure? Check out the Goodreads description here.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

PARANORMALCY Tour

I'm sure that the majority of us will have heard of the buzz surrounding the US release of Paranormalcy back in August 2010. Well, 5 months later it has hit the British shores and Harper Collins are publishing it THIS MONTH. Just in case you're not familiar with the story, check out the Goodreads description here. Also, if you want to see something funny that I did when this book was first released, have a look at this post on my regular blog.

As always, just leave me a comment with your name and e mail address if you want to sign up for this. Also, don't forget to read the rules before participating.

Happy New Year!

I'm a little late with this but Happy New Year to you all! And thank you for making UK Book Tours a success in 2010. Here's hoping to another successful year full of lots of great books! I'm hoping this year will be really exciting, especially as I'm attending BEA (Book Expo America) and hoping to bring lots of goodies home with me :) It's going to cost me an absolute fortune but the experience alone is worth it. Unfortunately, due to the high cost I'm thinking this is a one time only thing so I'd better make it count. I want to try and document the trip on my regular blog Narratively Speaking and I hope you'll take a look as a way of sharing the experience with me.

Anyway, that's in May. In the meantime, we've got some FANTASTIC releases ahead of us so keep your fingers crossed that we can get hold of some of the books. I'm going to work harder to answer your e mails faster and stay on top of things better. 2011 is a year of getting organised for me. I know some tours have gone a bit quiet but now that the festive period is over, normal service can resume. So, I wish you all a Happy New Year and happy reading! x