Writing and reviews with an environmental, science fiction, and fantasy touch
The Cat Who Saved Books was a netgalley book, for which I am very grateful. I seem to have become better at picking books that suit my post-covid brain since I realised the trouble with those more thrilling books I’d
The Year of Shadows was, I think, a near miss for Book of the Month for GMGR a few years ago. I put it on my list anyway, sure that it would be picked soon… but so far, not. I
Rea and the Blood of the Nectar caught my eye when it was offered by Netgalley and the publisher. I’m glad it did! It’s a super fantasy tale, smoothly merging the life of a poor girl in India with a
Outlaw Heroes has been in my Kindle a long time, since about November 2013. I have a feeling I picked it up as a special offer – kindle free days or similar. Those were the days! It is definitely a
I’ve had the Sign of the Green Dragon on my TBR for quite a long time, and decided I’d better read it before I give up reading Middle Grade Books. Well, I may read some for fun, but I’m giving
The Wide Awake Loons has been in my Kindle since February 2015. I suspect I got it in a free or reduced price offer, possibly a Kindle deal. I apologise to Katherine Holmes for taking so long to get around to
Lockdown may be easing in many countries, but it is still big news. Maybe it helps children to read about kids in other countries, or other situations from themselves. If so, Clare O’Beara’s two books featuring kids in lockdown in
The Mostly Invisible Boy was a Great Middle Grade Reads book of the month – for June! I managed to read it before the end of July, which is a vast improvement on my recent performances. This was the Group’s
Umbrella Mouse to the Rescue came to me from the publisher via Net-galley early in the year, when it was scheduled for publication around June. I saw a new date for July and one for September, so I’m publishing the
Monstrous Devices was a net-galley book from the publisher. I got it very close to the publication date listed, although it seems to have been published earlier, maybe in different formats, or it’s been picked up by a bigger publisher.
The Seed Savers series by Sandra Smith has been one of my joys to read over the last few years. I didn’t really understand Sandy’s use of the Bible as a teaching method in book 1, but now I realise
Salt has been in my kindle for at least three years (on my list for four!). It’s not the first I’ve read by Helen Laycock, whose Mandrake’s Plot I featured at the end of 2018. Helen gets over the ‘absent
A Girl Called Justice is for middle graders who like a good mystery. And Elly Griffiths (Ruth Galloway series, Brighton Mysteries) is READING IT ON FACEBOOK! She started 1st May, with the aim of finishing it May 14th when a
I’m delighted to announce a third ghost: IT’S OUT TOMORROW… Voyagers: The Third Ghost An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology Journey into the past… Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives? Can everyone be warned before
The Star Agency is book 1 in the series of the same name by R E Weber. If you find it sounds vaguely familiar it’s because I reviewed book 2 in the series, The Voyages of the Seven, over two
What Stars Are Made Of came from Penguin Random House Childrens UK, via Netgalley. I absolutely loved the blurb and was delighted to be granted a review copy. It’ll be published on Thursday next week. This is the NetGalley blurb:
My Book of the Year for 2019 is… one of the following. Book of the Year 2019 long list I long list nearly all of those I’ve given five stars on Goodreads during the year. So those are (links to
The Earthkeepers: I thought it might have survived a few passes of Down the TBR Hole, as I knew I had the cover in my system here. It turns out I uploaded it in 2014 for a blog tour. I
Today is a book review on Justine Laismith’s blog tour for Secrets of the Great Fire Tree. I ‘meet’ Justine on the GMGR Goodreads group, and I’m delighted to host her today. The tour organiser is Aurelia Leo. Secrets
Chronicles of Marsh hits the online bookstores today! Join in the celebrations by getting your own copy, reading the interviews, and entering the giveaway! If you have your own blog, you still have time to make your own post –
Cosmic Colin: Hairy Hamster Horror and The Witches both came from my library. MG means middle grade, a period of schooling in the US that translates into the roughly 8-12 age group in the UK. I regularly peruse the childrens
Witchbone Book One ~ The Goblin’s Winter: a paranormal fairy tale is a very long title for a book. Several other things make me wonder whether the author took heed of editorial advice for MG tales [also demonstrated by the
Castle Hangnail is the GMGR Book of the Month selection for October, Halloween month. I’m very grateful to the Amazon resellers for getting a copy to me in time. It arrived around 12, I started it at 3.30, and finished
Witch Week caught my eye as I was browsing the mobile library shelves. The GMGR and other book of the month choices eluded me, so I hunted for something else that fell into the categories MG and suitable for Halloween
After Zero was published on 1st September. I got a pre-release copy from the publishers via Net-galley on August 31st. Had I not have been in the middle of something else, I might have got this review out by the