I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

Never stake more than you can afford to lose.

When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game - the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets - he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.

Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in the envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war …

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The Verdict:
Alex Livingston’s fantasy novel combines gambling and politics with intricate world building. Unfortunately, the pacing lags, the relationships don’t convince (notably Ten and Quinol) and the geopolitics political is confusing. I enjoyed the 18th century French inspiration and Livingston’s put a lot of thought into his card games so while I wouldn’t rush to read further books in this world, I’d check out his other work.

THE KNAVE OF SECRETS by Alex Livingston was released in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 7th June 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Pandemic Planet
Beginning in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly around the world, causing the deaths of millions of people and leading to closed schools, empty streets and shuttered businesses.

But viruses and pandemics have been part of human history for thousands of years, from the Black Death to SARS. PANDEMIC PLANET looks at what pandemics are, how they spread and how we deal with them. It explores how we arm ourselves against dangerous diseases, from developing groundbreaking new vaccines to simple, individual measures such as washing your hands and wearing a face mask. It also looks at how and what we learn from pandemics, as well as some of their surprisingly positive outcomes.

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The Verdict:

Anna Claybourne is an experienced writer of non-fiction for children. This reassuring and informative illustrated book about pandemics and diseases for readers aged 9+ is part of a series about issues related to the planet and will particularly help them to make sense of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. She does a great job of breaking down the causes of pandemics but also deals well with the consequences of it and does so without scaremongering.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

WINE AND MURDER - nothing is more likely to rouse Auntie Poldi’s love of the chase.

Still relishing the notoriety from her spectacular resolution of the Candela case, Poldi is alive to the faintest whiff of criminality.

What to others might seem a series of misfortunes - the water supply cut off, a poisoned dog - is clearly, to Poldi, an escalation: the Mafia have had her in their sights ever since she solved Valentino’s murder.

Poldi has tasted blood. No one is above suspicion. And trouble will surely follow …

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The Verdict:

The second in Mario Giordano’s AUNTIE POLDI SERIES (energetically translated from German by John Brownjohn) is a rollicking crime novel packed with humour, passion and more twists than you can shake a stick at. Poldi is a great creation - a 60-something alcoholic with a death wish who’s lust for life is reinvigorated by her investigations - such that you can’t help root for her. I hadn’t read the first book but I will definitely be doing so.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Why did ancient Greeks ride elephants into battle?

Discover history for yourself with this fun, quirky series that tackles the questions other books are afraid to ask!
- Why did the ancient Greeks exercise naked?
- How did an owl inspire a city-state?
- And just what was Pythagoras’ theory of … beans?

A QUESTION OF HISTORY: THE ANCIENT GREEKS answers all these questions and much more.

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The Verdict:

Tim Cooke is an experienced children’s author and editor with a particular interest in history. This fun introduction to the ancient Greeks (part of a series) aimed at readers aged 9+ has cheerful illustrations by Matt Lilly and gives you a very broad idea of who the ancient Greeks were (perhaps too broad as some topics are a bit random). That said, it’s a good way of getting youngsters interested in classical history and so is worth a look.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

What can you learn from the RAF to transform your own leadership skills?

The Royal Air Force is a well-oiled machine. Much of that is down to its unique leadership style where seniority doesn’t automatically imply leader: anyone can be a leader on a mission. Rise Above unpicks the RAF leadership model to provide a fresh perspective on how to:
- Deploy the shared leadership style to get the best results for your team
- Improve your personal leadership competences to guide your own development and enhance your skills as a leader
- Embrace diversity and inclusion, technology, innovation and adaptability, which have long been a reality for the RAF.

John Jupp combines practical strategies with real-life examples from over 100 years of the RAF, illustrating how leadership works, so you will be better equipped to lead effectively.

Whatever your level, you can lead.

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The Verdict:

John Jupp was an RAF Group Captain, set up the RAF Leadership Centre in 2003 and currently works as a leadership consultant. His book gives an interesting description of the RAF leadership model and how the service evolved, but he fails to convince on how it can be applied outside the RAF (which is a unique entity with a unique structure and mission) and also doesn’t look at where it’s fallen down and what lessons were drawn from that.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

According to the rule, Freddie has to say “yes”.

Freddie is unremarkable - too unremarkable. In fact, his teachers and fellow students keep forgetting who he is. Even his TV-producer mum thinks he’s a disappointment. After embarrassing himself in front of Jasper Perry (the gorgeous teen star of his mum’s new show), Freddie decides to try something different: saying “yes” to every opportunity.

That’s how Freddie ends up auditioning for the school musical (Grease), actually going to parties, and flirting with hot new boy Zach! He’s becoming a whole new Freddie - maybe even one that his mum might be proud of.

But the path to love is never smooth, and sometimes you have to get things wrong in order to work out what - and who - you really want.

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The Verdict:

Simon James Green’s YA gay rom-com is a light hearted affair that nods at PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and GREASE while hitting all the romance notes you’d expect and throws in some smart observations about how being a gay compares with how TV show gay teens together with genuinely hilarious one-liners and scenes (I particularly enjoyed those with bitchy theatre kids). I’m not normally a YA romance fan but would check out Green’s other books based on this.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Have you felt angry before? How did it feel? Did you want to shout and stamp your feet? Did you know how to calm down?

This book will tell you all about angry feelings and what you can do to deal with them.

The Tame Your Emotions series encourages children to talk about their feelings and learn easy ways to deal with them. Each book contains notes for parents, teachers and carers with suggestions for activities for how to help children better understand their emotions.

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The Verdict:

Susie Williams is a children’s non-fiction author and editor. This is a solid book (part of the TAME YOUR EMOTIONS series) for readers aged 5+ that uses pictures of animals to introduce children to the topic of anger as an emotion, how it feels, why it can be destructive and how they can control it. There’s a section for parents/carers/teachers at the back on how to tackle the topic plus some further reading suggestions at the back.

FEELING ANGRY: A KID’S GUIDE TO COPING WITH ANGER was released in the United Kingdom on 9th June 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Civil Rights Stories
Racial Equality

Discover the powerful real-life stories of racial inequality from history and from around the world. The colour of your skin shouldn’t mean that you are treated badly and with prejudice. But discrimination by white people against Black, Asian and indigenous peoples, means that racism affects the happiness and safety of millions.

Civil rights are the rights that all people should have, no matter who they are or where they live. But not everyone enjoys equal rights. Civil Rights Stories shines a light on some of the people, movements and moments in the struggle for equality - a struggle that continues to this day.

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The Verdict:

Anita Ganeri is an award-winning children’s non-fiction writer and Toby Newsome is an award-winning illustrator. This powerful book for readers aged 7+ (part of a series on Civil Rights Stories) examines examples of racial injustice throughout history and across the world and gives a potted history of white supremacy and prejudice that explains how this history has created present day inequality and discrimination for people of colour.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

I don’t have enough

This sensitively written picture book explains what poverty is and looks at the reasons behind why some people have less than others. The books is meant to be read with children with the aim of opening up discussions about important issues in a simple and reassuring way.

Written by psychotherapist and counsellor Pat Thomas, this superb series promotes interaction between children, parents and teachers on personal, social, health and emotional issues.

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The Verdict:

Pat Thomas is a psychotherapist and journalist specialising in child development and Claire Keay an artist and illustrator. This deeply compassionate non-fiction book (part of a series) aims to introduce the subject of poverty to children aged 5+ in a very sensitive way that encourages discussion and understanding without causing stress or worry or causing bullying or alienation. It’s a great book with wonderful illustrations and worth a read.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Sustainable Planet

Planet Earth is facing BIG challenges. As the population steadily grows, we’re creating more and more waste, using up natural resources, polluting our seas and skies and even changing our climate. To save our precious home, we all need to learn to live more sustainably.

SUSTAINABLE PLANET looks at what sustainability is, why it is so important and how we can all help to create a better, more sustainable world for the future. It explores some effective and achievable ways of improving sustainability, both with global actions, such as investing in renewable energy and protecting biodiversity, and individual ones, such as avoiding fast fashion, eating less meat and even planting trees.

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The Verdict:

Anna Claybourne is an experienced writer of non-fiction for children. This book about sustainability for children aged 9+ is part of a series on issues related to the planet and gives a solid summary of what is currently happening to the planet re pollution and climate change and how readers can make changes in their own lives to counter the effects but could be more explicit on how some changes reduce opportunities for younger generations.

SUSTAINABLE PLANET was released in the United Kingdom on 14th April 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.