Category Archives: Book Reviews

The Alphabet For Life by Fran Norris

Summary:

An alphabet book with a difference! Who said A is for Apple? Why not A is for Acceptance?! Let’s learn the alphabet using words that will inspire and empower everyone to thrive in life! Packed with fun illustrations and thoughtful quotes and themes, The Alphabet For Life is a unique children’s book the whole family can enjoy and learn from for a lifetime.

Author Information

Fran Norris is a mother of two living in Devon. Like most parents, her daily life largely involves coming up with creative approaches to making the good-for-you stuff enjoyable and appealing to children. She believes that education should nurture our natural curiosity and empower each individual to reach their fullest potential. Inspired by the playful way children approach any task, from brushing their teeth to eating toast, Fran is convinced that fun should be at the core of all learning.

As a former scientist, Fran approaches life as a wonderful experiment and loves to question everything. Her children provide a never-ending source of mystery and challenges to be solved. Creating THE ALPHABET OF LIFE reconnected Fran with her love of drawing and painting, encouraging her to work as an illustrator now.

What I Thought

What a wonderful take on the alphabet. With vividly coloured illustrations, quotes that illustrate the concepts, and a host of words that should be in every person’s vocabulary. This could be used with pre-school children to explore concepts such as courage, kindness etc. I even learnt a new word for U and I’ve recently read a whole book about I.

Thank you to Faye Rogers and Authoright for a gifted copy for the purposes of honest review.

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Tags: AlphabetofLife, Authoright, Blog Tour, Book Review, Faye Rogers, Fran Norris, gifted, The Alphabet For Life

Angel Mage by Garth Nix – Blog Tour Book Review

Oct 23

Posted by kirstyes

Angel Mage, the new fantasy novel from Garth Nix, is a bit of an enigma. A cross between adult and young adult, a stand-alone but with potential for further works in the world.

5 points of view from 5 seemingly late teenage characters. And the one we hear from most is the villain – Liliath. Usually we root for the one we spend most time with but can you do that when their ultimate goal – fuelled by love – may lead to destruction?

An impressive new magic system with the ability to call on the power of angels and with magic comes with real cost for those using it. For a specific group of people, taking advantage of angelic healing will have a very extreme and opposite effect.

Female musketeers in a female dominated world. And boy has the world been thought through. For me this is a book that needs reading more than once. A story where nuance is found in re-exploring the carefully crafted worldbuilding and one that challenges the reader to find the character they identify most with.

This does lead to a more meandering plot which ramps up in velocity nearer the end of the book.

One thing that took me out of the story was a continuity error in the first part of the book where the gender of an angel is discussed and then confused. Yes, I’m one of those pedants who notices things like that. I do see more and more errors slipping into to traditionally published books. I wonder if the pressure to publish more quickly to meet demand has an impact on the smaller details.

There is much to like about Angel Mage but I do see reader opinion being divisive. For me this was a good story but I have to admit to preferring the Sabriel series with its sarcastic cat a little more. You can check out the rest of the blog spots happening this month to see what others thought.

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Tags: Angel Mage, Blog Tour, Book Review, Fantasy, Garth Nix, Sabriel

Hex Life – Witch Books Fearture 🧙🏻‍♀️😉

Oct 1

Posted by kirstyes

To celebrate today’s release of Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery Edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering today, I’m doing a feature on some recent witchy book releases.

Hex Life is a masterful anthology of eighteen tales of witches. A mix of creepy, kind, feminist and vengeful. Some are even set in their authors’ existing worlds – although these tales stand alone for those, like me, who haven’t previously read their work.

I’ve always been a fan of witchy books so much so that it was one of the ‘I read’ badges I ordered from Felfira Moon.

For me it probably started with The Worst Witch (Mildred Hubble at Cackle’s Academy) and solidified with Harry Potter. Who doesn’t like the idea of having magical powers or going to magic school? I’m still waiting for my Hogwarts letter!

The last few months have seen a bonanza of Witch themed books released and my Halloween loving heart is going to have an amazing October reading them all.

Sabrina: Season of the Witch by Sarah Rees Brennan

A prequel to the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina sees Sabrina casting a spell to see how Harvey feels about her.

Sanctuary by V V James

The death of a star quarterback sees his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of a witch, accused.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

An unlikely marriage between a witch and a witchhunter will surely go down in flames.

Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre Sullivan

Sisters, Sacrifice and witchcraft as twins remove to a strange mountain town where teenage girls go missing.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

A complicated woman’s investigation at a hidden school of witchcraft and wizardry.

I just want to highlight one of the tales from Hex Life, though it’s hard to pick a favourite with a collection this strong – and beautiful. Look at that detail! Widow’s Walk By Angel Slatter gave me Practical Magic’s “aunties” feels with the elderly witchy residents taking wayward young women into the fold. It twists tropes and has a purrfect ending.

A huge thanks to Titan for the gifted copy hardback copy of Hex life. The other books featured are a mix of gifted review copies and book subscription box featured books. A bonus mention to my stunning replica of Defence Against the Dark Arts by AlarmEighteen which I’m partway through reading.