Blog Tour

April 17, 2025

THE RIVER is going on a tour of the book blogs. I’ll post stuff here as it happens.

17th April @gemmasreadingjourney

My thoughts:

I was instantly hooked, I read 3/4 of the book in one sitting.  Coming from East Lothian myself, and having visited most of the places mentioned, it was easy to imagine the scenes described. @emmas

I loved the connection between Lachlan and Morag and just knew they were destined to be together.   Even after all the years spent apart, she was his forever person. 

The story covers a lot of delicate matters in a very real and caring way.  It was beautiful written, well paced, and kept you intrigued to know what happens.  The book does cover a lot of real political matters throughout the book. 

I’d recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by Craig.

#Ad#gifted#randomttours #@intocreative #bookstagram#booksta#bookish#booktour#Scottish#politics#love#losingfamily

22nd April @emmas_books_and_more

🩵 Review –
This was such a beautifully written novel. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. Even though there are some sensitive subjects, they were handled with care. The story was easy to follow, had good pacing and a great cast of characters. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💝 Thank you to @randomthingstours the publisher and author, Craig A Smith for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
#ad #prproduct #@randomthingstours #craigasmith #bookblogger #bookstagramuk #booktours #bookreview

23rd April @the_reading_glass

The publisher’s description really does tell you all you need to know about the plot but it did make me think the writing would be more literary than it is. Not that it’s bad writing at all but I had expected something more insightful from the narrator.

However, I did enjoy The River. It was a quick, easy read, spanning the years between 1950 and 2016 (I think!) with well defined characters and places. The dynamic between Lachlan and Morag is especially captivating and although I felt the plot was predictable, it was still satisfying.

Something I did love was the cover, designed, I believe by Stephen Cameron, who established Into Creative and Into Books.

24th April @booksbybindu

Brilliant

‘The River’ by Craig A Smith is a coming-of-age novel with a difference. It highlights how life, like a river, can meander around a bit but ultimately get you where you are going. It is also a mirror that reflects its setting – locale but also cultural and political discourses. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is the first book of the author’s which I have read but it certainly won’t be the last.

I am a great proponent of Scottish literature, especially those that feature the working class and let the readers immerse themselves in their lives and stories. This is one of those books. Lachlan is a character that I loved from the get-go and despite some difficult situations he manages to radiate hope. Spanning 75 years we see Lachlan’s life as he deals with seven notable deaths. Some are deeply personal and some are culturally significant but each shapes and moulds him into the person we see at the end of his life.

Lachlan’s life is a reflection of how Scots and Scotland see their place in the world. His family goes from a secure and happy home at the start to an era where it became harder for workers to find employment due to the deindustrialised of Scotland. It follows the rise of nationalism in Scottish politics but it also shows how people become interconnected. I loved Lachlan and Morag’s story and both were interesting and complex characters.

This was a compelling read and I flew through it. I did manage to drop it in the bath though. Oops at least it was a dunk in Scottish water! It was a profound read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Let me know if you pick this one up!

25th April @angiplant

My thoughts

This beautiful story tells the story of Lachlan. From early childhood through adulthood.

His life seems to be a series of unfortunate events and shows how circumstances can change the direction of a life in one go. If you’re not brave enough to follow through on what you want the way it goes can be vastly different from anything you said as a child.

It is so much more than that, though. It shows the changing climate of politics in Scotland and how people went from feeling unnoticed in their own country to ensuring they were, and should be noticed.

I liked Lachlan. He’s a character that anyone could know. We all have hopes and dreams, wishes and aspirations. Things we wished we’d done or not. Lachlan is the everyman that is so relatable. Even when you’re yelling at him to take the chance you want him to.

I loved this book and hope to read a lot more from Craig A. Smith.

With thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.

28th April @smeets_books

A Scottish tale of a life and a river ❤️

Ad-pr product: Today is my slot for this gorgeous book by Craig A Smith: The River. Thanks to #intobooks via @randomthingstours for sending me a copy.

We meet Lachlan, aged ten, as he navigates growing up in 1950 Aberforth, alongside the river. His dad is angry at the thought of those Tories coming in to get rid of rationing and he’s falling in love with his neighbour and best mate Morag, though he doesn’t know it yet!

Something happens to Lachlan and he needs to move further along the river to Stirling and then he will eventually move again to Alloa and Edinburgh and we traverse his life along that river as he has children, meets people that want an independent Scotland and like their whiskey almost as much as Lachlan!

I really enjoyed this book. I’m half Scottish and shamefully didn’t know half as much about the history of the politics of the country as was brought up in this book. Lachlan and Morag are your everyman characters, especially Lachlan, who loves his beer and whiskey, likes seeing his friends from years ago, goes on the odd fishing trip, and will often get roped into going along to political events with the SNP!

The river is a character in itself, and will often cause havoc in the story, but continues to wind along, just like Lachlan as he travels the journey of his life. This is a life story but has many childish elements to it so the beginning really reminded me of Starling by Kirstin Cram with a different setting. If you enjoyed that, I’m sure you’ll like this book too.

29th April @fatguyreading

The River is a beautifully written coming of age tale with a message that life is somewhat of a metaphor for a river. As we meander our way through life, we take twists and turns, might come to a dead end or two, but we’ll get there in the end.

We follow Lachlan in this quite profound and powerful homage to his childhood, his life ( spanning some 75 years ), and to his love of Scotland.

I won’t give too much away about the story, but will say that death plays a large part in this story, as Lachlan navigates his way through 7 notable deaths. Some of the deaths are personal to him, others culturally significant, but all effect him in different ways, and shape him into the person he becomes.

So all in all, I throughly enjoyed this read. It’s compelling, thought-provoking and heartfelt, but also sad in parts.

It’s a wonderfully evocative read, with great descriptive writing and I really felt connected to Lachlan on a deep level.

5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 ‘s from me.

#fatguyreading#bookstagammers#bookstagramuk#bookstagrammer#bookstagram#bookstagrammersunite#bookstagramit#bookreader#booksbooksbooks#randomthingstours#theriver

30th April @pause_theframe

My thoughts: The chance to read a Scottish based book is starting to shine a bit, giving us a chance to enjoy our home and a brilliant read at the same time.
This book does have a wee focus on death, but rather than see a dark book that has lots of triggers. Instead look at what this book offers. Throughout the book, we get to see just how death can change you. How it can mould you into a new perspective or take on life, or even take life in a new direction entirely. There are also times when we learn from them by just feeling them and letting them run their course.
This book also looks at Scotland as both the stunning place it is and the beautiful history and culture we have to offer. It is such a stunning book and really is a fantastic read.

1st May @skbookwormfever

The authors writing and story telling was very well done. The descriptions of the setting and plot made it feel like you could imagine it all happening.

The story was paced and you can feel the emotions and love and loss between Lachlan and Morag. Even after many years apart they had this raw connection that ran deep than they even realised. We follow the life of Lachlan from childhood through adulthood and how many challenges he has endure during this time. You begin to wonder if some things didn’t happen which direction would his life go in. 

The story spans from 1950 til 2016 and touches on many issues through this time. The plot also touches on politics and the effects this has on the choices everyone makes

I was hooked from page 1 and really enjoyed it.