I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

It’s time for dinner!

Discover delicious foods of every shape with The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This board book, made with the Eric Carle estate, is a colourful introduction to shapes and different types of food for very young readers. It’s solidly put together but I must confess that I did not understand why there is a hole in the middle of each page (I later learned it’s for the Caterpillar to crawl through) and one of the shapes (a squiggly line) isn’t what I would immediately think of as a shape.

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR EATS DINNER was released in the United Kingdom on 7th March 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Let the games begin.

Every inhabitant in the Quadrant knows about The Pinnacle, a reality TV contest set on a remote planet with a five million cash prize. For three desperate entrants, winning would mean the world.

Right girl BEX can finally leave her broken family behind.

For politician’s son ZANE, it’s his only opportunity to save his mother.

And it’s outcast RAYA’S last chance at a better life.

But as the competition starts, the contestants are quick to discover that this year’s game has unscripted and DEADLY consequences.

And the only thing they’re truly competing for, is SURVIVAL.

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The Verdict:

Wendy Cross’s debut YA SF crime novel mixes AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie with SURVIVOR but while the pacing is fast, it cannot make up for very thin characterisation (including of the 3 POV characters), equally thin world building (with Cross heavily dependent on mentioning an aspect of this universe when she needs to explain a twist) and some heavily foreshadowed twists so that as a result the novel just didn’t work for me.

THEN THERE WAS ONE was released in the United Kingdom on 1st February 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Arwel is having a fine day.

Yes, there’s a cloud above his head.

Yes, it’s growing.

But he is FINE, really he is …

But the cloud GROWS, LOOMS, and gets in his way, until Arwel has to admit that there’s a Storm-Cat outside - and it’s waiting for him!

After a spectacular storm comes the comforting calm, as Arwel learns that you CAN’T change your weather, but you CAN change what you make of it.

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The Verdict:

Magenta Fox’s self-illustrated picture book is beautifully drawn. Arwel, his grandmother, Tuft and the Storm-Cat are filled with character and great details that keep you absorbed and looking for more. However, I think that the overarching theme - that it’s okay for you to be overwhelmed by your emotions and best to let them out and acknowledge them - to be a little too sophisticated for the target audience and consequently didn’t work for me.

STORM-CAT was released in the United Kingdom on 7th March 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to find your creative style and build your brand but didn’t know who to ask, full-time artist Aurélia Durand’s got you covered!

Inside, discover Aurélia’s path from art school student to internationally recognised artist, inspired by questions she is regularly asked, Aurélia shares how she did it, the lessons she and her artist friends have learned along the way, and how you an start your creative journey.

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The Verdict:

Aurélia Durand is an illustrator and artist. She draws on her own career in this book for readers aged 12+ to provide guidance on how to start and sustain a creative career, including looking at how to get inspiration and how to build a brand. Although Durand’s autobiographical sections are too bland and lacking in detail to be useful, she is strong on branding and self-promotion and I liked how she focused on the business part of creativity.

YOU ARE AN ARTIST was released in the United Kingdom on 18th January 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

”London’s exorcists! I have a reward for all of you, a job for one of you. Come to Brierley House, 20th April, 9.00am.”

The newspaper ad is a baited hook and it smells like a three-day old corpse. But hey, it’s a grand in hand for turning up so Felix Castor goes in anyway, alongside the curdled cream of his dubious profession. And once he’s in it’s hard to get out again. Brierley House is the home of Russian oligarch Gavril Ustinov, now missing, his driven daughter Ksenia Ustinov and their staff of taciturn, sinister domestics. It also hosts an invisible force that attacks exorcists and negates their abilities - a force that seems to be centuries old. Ksenia wants Castor to locate her missing father, alive or dead. Castor wants to find out who set a trap for exorcists back in the late Middle Ages and what else they were up to.

For a job this big he’s got friends he can call on: zombie data-fence Nicky Heath, reformed succubus Juliet Salazar, jaded cop Gary Cordwood and Trudie Pax, the Anathemata’s finest warrior. But the ghosts of Brierley are many, and they won’t give up their secrets lightly …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mike Carey’s urban fantasy/horror novella is a very welcome addition to the FELIX CASTOR SERIES that sees Castor older, but not necessarily wiser. Although the central mystery is overly telegraphed, I very much enjoyed the return to Castor’s world and in particular the way that Carey seems to be returning to a larger supernatural battle between Hell and Earth and he leaves the ending open for a sequel, which I would most definitely want to read.

The Blurb On The Back:

Every story needs a hero - this time it’s YOU!

It’s your first day at Bash Street School!

You can’t wait to become an awesome Bash Street Kid, but something weird has happened …

All the teachers have DISAPPEARED!

The battle is on to answer one question: what should they do with the school? Make new friends and decide what YOU want to do in this epic new adventure where you’re the main character.

YOU RULE THE SCHOOL!

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The Verdict:

This CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE style novel is the first in an illustrated series for readers aged 8+ by Craig Graham and Mike Stirling. It’s a lot of fun, giving readers the chance to hang out with Dennis and chums and offering laugh out loud moments while fleshing out Walter and his flunkies. My only complaint is Vivian Truong’s Manga-style approach to the characters’ eyes, which took my out of the experience (although otherwise work well).

BEANO - THE DAY THE TEACHERS DISAPPEARED was released in the United Kingdom on 4th January 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

When Fitzroy saved his valet, Griffin, from the hangman’s noose after the death of his wife, the facts behind those events were known only to the two of them. Now, years later, the body of a dead woman has been discovered, mutilated in exactly the same way as Griffin’s wife, and troubling secrets from the past cast a deadly shadow over those involved.

As the war intensifies, Fitzroy is sent on an overseas mission, Griffin is arrested, and a recovering Euphemia Martins is left to get to the bottom of the situation. With her brother-in-law Hans, and Fitzroy’s dog, Jack, in tow, she journeys to the University of Edinburgh’s medical school, where Griffin studied many years ago, to uncover the shocking truth behind his wife’s murder …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The 17th book in Caroline Dunford’s EUPHEMIA MARTINS MYSTERY SERIES marries crime and World War I espionage to uneasy effect, in part because it focuses more on character, relationship and overall series development than the central mystery. That’s a shame because the crime had a lot of potential but Euphemia does little actual investigating so developments happen in sudden bursts (specifically the revelations to the end) and so do not convince.

Review copy from author.

The Blurb On The Back:

Queerness is everywhere.
It always has been, and it always will be.

Queer people have been finding ways to fly their flags for centuries. Only problem is, it hasn’t always been from the rooftops for everyone to see.

Queerbook is here to help you discover the bits of gay culture you never knew you’d missed. It’s here to tell forgotten LGBTQ+ stories. It’s here to set you straight (ahem) on the LGBTQ+ terms you’ve seen lying around but might not have pinned down yet. It’s here to lead you through the magical portals of queer film, books, music, art and much, much more.

Wherever you are on your journey of discovery, this book is for you.

Are you ready?
Queer we go …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Malcolm Mackenzie is an award-winning author, editor and journalist. This entertaining and informative YA book is a good summary of LGBTQ+ history and culture with lively illustrations by Emily A Foster. Despite being broad in scope there’s inevitably a personal element to the choices here and I wondered if there could have been more contemporary LGBTQ+ people/culture but it’s still a great introduction for any teens interested in queer culture.

QUEERBOOK was released in the United Kingdom on 1st February 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

The Empires of Varkal and Med’ariz have always been at war.

Alefret, the founder of Varkal’s pacifist resistance, was bombed and maimed by his own government, locked up in a secret prison and tortured by a ‘visionary’ scientist. But now they’re offering him a chance of freedom.

Ordered to infiltrate one of Med’ariz’s flying cities, obeying the bloodthirsty zealot Qhudur, he must find fellow anti-war activists in the enemy’s population and provoke them into an uprising against their rulers.

He should refuse to serve the warmongers, but what if he could end this pointless war once and for all? Is that worth compromising his own morals and the principles of his fellow resistance members?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Premee Mohamed’s literary SF novel is a sophisticated examination of what it means to be antiwar and the impact of conflict on those who fight. Alefret is an interesting character and I enjoyed the way Mohamed teases out his backstory and motivations while there are moments of real suspense and tension within the story. However the final quarter is rushed and Qhudur an under-developed foil whose unshakeable fanaticism doesn’t ring quite true.

THE SIEGE OF BURNING GRASS will be released in the United States on 12th March 2024 and in the United Kingdom on 14th March 2024. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

What is anxiety, and how can you manage it?

How can you understand and express your emotions?

Why do we experience low mood, and what can we do to help?

Dr Emily’s reassuring guide is filled with tips, techniques and useful information to help you maintain good mental health while growing up.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Emily MacDonagh is a doctor who practices in the National Health Service. This is a well-intentioned book aimed at helping readers aged 9+ to understand and express their emotions and the impact of hormones as they grow older. Although there is some solid, practical advice, the tone is a little patronising at times and the illustrations by Josefina Preumayr and Ana Sebastian are pretty flat and uninspiring (albeit with good representation).

HEALTHY MIND HAPPY YOU: HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH was released in the United Kingdom on 18th January 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.