The Girl of Ink and Stars Book Review

So the first book that I read this year was in fact not my first review (always on catch up) but I'm finally getting around to sharing with you my thoughts on Kiran Millwood Hargrave's novel A Girl of Ink and Stars.

Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella Riosse dreams of the faraway lands her father once mapped.

When her closest friend disappears into the island’s Forgotten Territories, she volunteers to guide the search. As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.

But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

Isabella is a teenage girl who has know both love and loss in the short years in which she has been alive. Her father is a cartographer - he plots maps - and together they live on the island of Joya. 

Read With Me 2020 #4

Hello everyone.

Welcome to this weeks Read With Me.

Thank you to everybody who linked up last week. I know there are only a select few of us who join in now but your posts are all very much appreciated.

Today is actually my birthday!

Surprisingly I don't have any books being gifted to me (that's not to say that I won't buy any).

My Sunday Photo 2020 #4

A Pocketful of Stars Book Review

In the past year or so I've really begun to love the genre which is classed as MG - middle grade. I think I like it more because I can easily share them with my children and it's like having our own mini book club.

A Pocketful of Stars was a book that popped up on my social media feeds quite frequently at the end of last year. The front cover alone really appealed to me and I popped it on my Christmas wish-list without even reading the blurb.

Safiya and her mum have never seen eye to eye. Her mum doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming and Safiya doesn't think they have anything in common. As Safiya struggles to fit in at school she wonders if her mum wishes she was more like her confident best friend Elle. But then her mum falls into a coma and, when Safiya waits by her bedside, she finds herself in a strange alternative world that looks a bit like one of her games. And there’s a rebellious teenage girl, with a secret, who looks suspiciously familiar . . . 

Sometimes I think it's best to go into a book almost blind. 

It makes what happens all the more enjoyable as it is unexpected and the surprises are then actually surprises.

Read With Me 2020 #3

Hi everybody, welcome to this weeks Read With Me linky. As always a big thank you to all who linked up last week. Loving the reviews that are being shared.

Today I wanted to share some books with you that I was kindly sent near the end of last year. They are part of the Biographic series that I had the pleasure of reviewing previously.

Some of the latest books to be added to the range include: The Beatles, Bob Marley, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn and Picasso.

My Sunday Photo 2020 #3

Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone January Book of the Month

As a lover of books I don't tend to separate them into children's or adults books because I think that in reality any book can be read by any person. Whether filled with pictures or thousands of words, a story is written for all to read.

The last book that I read in 2019 came from author Abi Elphinstone - someone who many would see as writing kids literature but I'm here to tell you that they are highly accessible to adults too.

I first came across this author when I was gifted a copy of her debut book, The Dreamsnatcher. Back then I described that story as magical and she has managed to keep the magic alive in each and every one of her novels that have been released since.

Sky Song is a tale that was on my TBR list for quite some time so I was rather pleased when I received it from my husband at Christmas.

In the snowy kingdom of Erkenwald, whales glide between icebergs, wolves hunt on the tundra and polar bears roam the glaciers. But the people of this land aren’t so easy to find. Because Erkenwald is ruled by a cruel Ice Queen and you must stay hidden or risk becoming another of her prisoners.  

Join Eska, a girl who breaks free from a cursed music box, and Flint, a boy whose inventions could change the fate of Erkenwald forever, as they journey together in search of an ancient, almost forgotten, song with the power to force the Ice Queen back.

Pure magic.

Read With Me 2020 #2

Hello guys and welcome to this weeks Read With Me linky. A huge thank you to those who came back for another year and linked up last week.

After managing to read 103 books last year, I've set my Goodreads target for this year at 100 books. Looking back at my previous targets, I can't believe that I have been setting these targets since 2014. It's great to look back at what I read in previous years.

Have you set a reading target for this year?

My Sunday Photo 2020 #2

The Dilemma by B. A. Paris Book Review

I don't think there are many authors can manage to write brilliant stories each and every time they release a new novel but as B. A. Paris releases her fourth novel The Dilemma, I'm here to tell you that she has in fact found the winning formula. An impressive mix of heart-break and mystery that will always have you wanting more. 

It didn't take me long to devour this book, three hours to be precise.

There was a slight change to her formula this time round, in the sense that it was less suspenseful, instead more thoughtful. Looking at the affect of what one event can have on not just one person, but those around them too. Family and friends alike.

A moment in time can change, some things, it could also change EVERYTHING.

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.

Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.

Told from two points of view. 

Musical Mac Book Review

ad this book was sent to me free of charge in exchange for this review however all thoughts and opinions are my own 

I love a story with a good message, especially a children's book because we learn so much from a young age and what better way to be taught things than through the medium of reading.

Musical Mac is a beautiful tale of friendship and courage...

Mac is a millipede with lots of arms and lots of legs, which is very handy indeed  when there are lots of things to do. The thing he wants to do the most is play music in the annual Soggy Bog Talent Show, but he's always been too shy to play on his own.

This year he has a brilliant plan - he'll join a band! But when Mac ends up alone on stage, can he find the courage to be himself ... with a little help from new friends?

The main character.

Mac is a brilliant choice of character.

Read With Me 2020 #1

Hello and welcome to the first Read With Me of 2020, here's to another year of reading that we have ahead of us.

So how was everyone's Christmas and New Year?

How many books did you manage to purchase/read over the festive period?

My Sunday Photo 2020 #1

The End of Something Wonderful Book Review

Starting 2020 with a book review.

I don't think I could have started with anything else now could I. 

My first review of the year is for the book The End of Something Wonderful by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic.

Once you had something wonderful. A precious pet, maybe a guinea pig or a fish or even a pill bug. But now that something wonderful has become something dead.

What do you do?

How do you plan a funeral to say goodbye?

And should you ever bury something dead in a litter box?

Now you might be reading the title and thinking, well this is a little depressing for the new year but bare with me and you'll see just why I chose this as my first story to showcase.