Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

01Oct 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Seven Spectacular Books I Read in September

In September I read four five-star books, one of which is an absolute classic, one of which is a sequel to a hit book from 2020, one of which is a truly life-affirming book and the final of which is a contemporary masterpiece about the struggles of love and class set in Greek mythology (take a guess!). I also read three other books which I've given summaries of below. [caption id="attachment_1194" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below to support the blog, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my opinion of the products themselves. To Kill a…

29Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Cosmic Taryn

Blogger Spotlights, Features

Today's Blogger Spotlight is ironically highlighting someone who loves to interview other people. Taryn's blog focuses on telling the stories of people she finds interesting around the world. This isn't limited to just fellow bloggers, she interviews authors, artists, developers, entrepreneurs and many more. [caption id="attachment_1181" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Taryn also has two books of poetry out that I have linked at the end of the post! What is your blog about? I have a blog where I interview interesting people. I believe everyone has a story to tell or something worth sharing with the rest of the world. I’d love for my readers to be able to connect with anyone from authors, artists, podcasters, website developers, programmers, entrepreneurs etc. What do you think makes your blog…

27Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Book reviews, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance

You can't go too far on bookstagram without The Song of Achilles being recommended to you. In Madeline Miller's debut novel, she focuses on the story of Achilles and Patroclus as they grow from boys to men and the different directions life takes them despite their love for one another. [caption id="attachment_1176" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Song of Achilles via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Song of Achilles very much intrigued me as I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology (as any nerd is) and…

25Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Mystery

A couple of years ago I picked up One Of Us Is Lying but for some reason or another ended up DNFing it. I've picked it up again though however and managed to plough through and I must say I have mixed feelings about it. [caption id="attachment_1172" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Final Empire via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. One of Us Is Lying is the first book in what is going to be a trilogy. It focuses on the unraveling events after five teenagers walk…

24Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

The Book Thief is described as a "life-affirming bestseller" in it's Kindle title on Amazon and I must say, this is very true. The Book Thief is the story of a young girl starting in 1939 as she grows up in Nazi Germany and the stories of those around her as the bombs begin to fall. [caption id="attachment_1169" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Final Empire via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. I'll be honest, I picked up The Book Thief three or four years ago and DNFed…

21Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Primary Bookstagram

Blogger Spotlights, Features

Not all blogs are there to be uploaded to constantly. Some work as an alternative platform and a basis to promote your other successes. Primary Bookstagram, run by Claire, is a blog that currently only features one post as her main source of traffic is from her Instagram page, highlighting high-quality texts for year 6 students. [caption id="attachment_1161" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] What is your blog about? I believe children should read as many high-quality texts as possible to use as models and inspiration for their writing. Readers are writers, yet it is very time-consuming to find a real wealth of writing examples. I blog about which page numbers in quality children's literature can be used for writing models. I find specific setting descriptions, characterisation and atmosphere examples…

21Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Book Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Book reviews, Fantasy

Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors and many say that The Final Empire is the perfect entry point into his books. So of course I had to pick it up and find out what all the hype's about. [caption id="attachment_1155" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Final Empire via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. As you'll know, I've read Brandon Sanderson before and even reviewed him on here before. I read The Way of Kings before I picked up The Final Empire, but had heard that…

20Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Book reviews, Fantasy

When you look at other series out there that die-hard fans would say comes anywhere near to Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson series will feature on a lot of people's lists. It's got the young cast, the great friendships and the magical elements. But how good actually is Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. [caption id="attachment_1149" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is the first of technically seven books in the series, however, there are spin-offs too. It features our main character Percy Jackson, accompanied by mythical friends, all of whom are children of greek gods (literally, not just ridiculously good-looking people.) Plot – 3.5/5 Comparisons are made to Harry Potter because it features the general story of a boy who doesn't feel like…

18Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness

FREE and cheap Promotions and Giveaways to Increase Your Social Media Following

Features, Tips and Tricks

Having a good social media following is crucial to getting an audience to your blog. If you want people to repetitively see your posts and visit your articles, then having a good social media following is a great way to keep them coming back. However, building that social media following isn't easy. There's either the long and patient method, asking people to follow you or one of the most effective ways to increase your following for free or for very little money is by doing giveaways. By doing giveaways you can create rules on how people enter. You should make these rules easy enough for everyone to enter but also an easy way to get your social media platform shared around. I'd recommend getting people to share the post/tweet around…

17Sep 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

Book reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Mystery

The sequel to the record-breaking The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is now out. The Man Who Died Twice brings back all of our favourite characters with their wit, intelligence and dry sense of humour and introduces us to some new characters, expanding on this utterly enjoyable fictional world that Osman is building. [caption id="attachment_1136" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Set after The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice has quite the hype to live up to after Osman's first book broke records for the speed at which it sold. With intelligent, funny characters, an utterly loveable fictional British town and Osman's dry and very English writing style, this is another huge success. Plot – 4.5/5 The Man Who Died Twice sees our favourite Thursday Murder…

Author: Luke Harkness