Wednesday 6 July 2016

Champagne & Lemonade Book Review


Champagne & Lemonade is a collection of short stories written by John A. D. Hickling designed to take the reader on a journey through different times and genres meeting some quite eccentric characters along the way. I'm joining the blog tour on my stop I'm sharing with you my thoughts on the book

Nibble the fish is desperate to escape his boring old pond.

A new breed of super hero has been born and his name is Boob Cheesecake.

Dumpton Hospital's staff have a somewhat unconventional approach to looking after their patients.

Robert Hood is on a mission to save modern England.

And just who is the vampire terrorising the neighbourhood from his home at 113A Greenstone Street?

From the quixotic to the poignant, John A. D. Hickling's wild and whimsical tales fizz with fun and are sure to entertain almost everyone.


There are 15 short stories contained within Champagne & Lemonade, here are the list of titles :
A Golden Tail

The Monster Hunters
Broom's Bubblebum Bottles
I Can't Stand Nosey Buggers
The Beautiful Snow
Champagne and Lemonade
Harry And The Pirates of Rock Bay
The Cleaner
Nothing That Money Can't Buy
Horsing Around
Stand Together
Lokk Mum I Can See
Vampire of 133A Greenstone Street
Depressing/Depressed Again
Robert Hood

I really enjoyed this book and I have to say it is very cleverly written because the author's own writing style shines through in each story yet each tale is so wonderfully different.

What's great about this collection is that it appeals to the masses, with so many genres included it can be suitable for all ages, from young to old. So really it is a book for the whole family to enjoy in a sense.

From the funny and quirky to the mysterious and scary, there is definitely a story for everyone included inside. I'm impressed at just how well Hickling has taken on so many differing genres. Every tale seemed to have a certain enthusiasm to it.

I won't give a detailed description of any of the stories because I wouldn't want to spoil them. The endings on some are so very clever, I couldn't guess what was going to happen and I think it's better that you read them first hand for yourself.

Being short stories this is a book you can easily dip in and out of, perfect for someone who loves to read but doesn't have a lot of time on their hands. And ideal that you can finish a story before putting it down so you don't need to remember just where you got to.

For short stories they certainly get you thinking, I found this especially with Beautiful Snow, it's surprising how a small amount of words can make you stop and look at things differently.

My favourites were Broom's Bubblebum Bottle, Nothing That Money Can't Buy and Vampire of 133A Greenstone Street, all quite different but each one entertaining in it's own way.

Champagne & Lemonade is a collection of short stories that I'd highly recommend to others, quite simply a delight to read.

You can follow what's been happening on the rest of the tour by checking out the blogs shown on the image below.


8 comments:

  1. I think short stories may be the answer for my slow reading progress. I love to sit and read but once I get a book nothing else gets done, so often I don't start at all! A short story a day could work for me - I love the title of this book :)

    #readwithme

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  2. I don't usually read short stories but I recently read The Gingerbread Wife by Sarah Vincent and enjoyed just being able to finish a story in my limited reading time and not being frustrated that I had to stop lol. This sounds a collection I would enjoy. Great review.

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  3. I don't usually read short stories, but I find it interesting that these are all so different! It must be quite a skill to switch between genres. It sounds like a really good collection.

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  4. I think this is what I need at the moment,something to dip in and out of! #ReadWithMe

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  5. Oh this sounds interesting. I don't usually read short stories but these all sound very different and fun. #readwithme

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  6. I am not a fan of short stories but this collection seems appealing. Thank you so much for sharing. :) x #ReadWithMe

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  7. Thanks for sharing this, some short stories are probably exactly what I need right now so I can dip in and out!
    #readwithme

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  8. I enjoyed this book too. Loved the varying selection. The Cleaner was my favourite story #readwithme

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