I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

The bestselling DadSaysJokes is back with an all-new collection of their best jokes, guaranteed to leave you grinning and groaning in equal measure.

Q: What kind of tree fits in your hand?
A: A palm tree.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Kit and Andrew Chilvers run the popular Instagram account DadSaysJokes and this book is basically a distillation of it - a load of dad jokes and puns that will make you groan and chuckle. Some of the jokes are so old that they’ve got barnacles on them, a few are US-focused and so may not resonate with UK readers and there are also a couple that don’t work at all. For all that though, it’s more hit than miss and definitely not just for dads.

DAD JOKES: GREATEST OF ALL TIMES was released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

”My only talent is lying. Father says it will serve me well.”

Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies. But this is not her story.

For Sabrina Parry, life in nineteenth-century Wales is cruel. With her father in prison, it fails to her to protect her family and marry off her sick sister, Ceridwen.

Then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods, and Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but deadly world of fairies and monsters of old. Soon she realises Fairyland is far more dangerous than she ever expected. So when an annoyingly handsome fairy offers her a deal, Sabrina is forced to accept to save her sister.

But as with all fairy bargains, there is a heavy price. And if Sabrina doesn’t pay with her life, she will surely pay with her freedom.

Or her heart.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Anna Fiteni’s debut historical fantasy YA novel is a fresh and welcome take on fairies that couples Welsh folklore with a headstrong main character with motivations of her own beyond romance and settling down. Incorporating elements of time travel (which for the most part paper over some anachronisms) when the inevitable romance develops, Fiteni puts an interesting spin on it that plays with the reader’s expectations and which I thoroughly enjoyed.

THE WICKED LIES OF HABREN FAIRE was released in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Together they stand. Together they fall.

Southall, West London. After being released from prison Zaq Khan is lucky to land a dead-end job at a builders’ yard. All he wants to do is keep his head down and put his past behind him.

But when Zaq is forced to search for his boss’s runaway daughter, he quickly finds himself caught up in a deadly web of deception, murder and revenge.

With time running out and pressure mounting, can he find the missing girl before it’s too late? And if he does, can he keep her - and himself - alive long enough to deal with the people who want them both dead.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

It’s not hard to see why Amer Anwar’s debut crime novel won the CWA Debut Dagger Award. Setting his story within the British Asian community offers a fresh take on the detective format and he’s created an interesting main character in Zaq, who makes the most of what he learned and who he met in prison. What lifts the story is Zaq’s relationship with best friend Jag, which brings in humour and humanity when at times the plot begins to creak.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Ecstasy in London.
Crack in Los Angeles.
LSD in Tokyo.
Heroin in Sofia.
Cocaine in Medellín.
Bounty hunting in Manila.
Opium in Tehran.

This is your next fix.

This is Dopeworld.

DOPEWORLD is a bold and eye-opening exploration into the world of drugs. Taking us on an unforgettable journey around the world, we trace the emergence of psychoactive substances and our relationships with them. Exploring the murky criminal underworld, the author has unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, hitmen and government officials.

This is a deeply personal journey into the heartland of the war on drugs and the devastating effect it’s having on humanity.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Niko Vorobyov is a freelance journalist and author who has a conviction for possession with intent to supply. This is a readable if glib exploration of the drug world, offering a history to modern day drug policy and the development of various narcotic substances that’s too heavy with moral equivalence and too lacking in personal reflection to be a truly informative read about the subject.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Missing-linc.com comprises a group of misfit sleuths scattered across the States. Their macabre passion is giving names to the unidentified dead. When Ellie Caine starts investigating the corpse known as the Boy in the Dress, the Boy’s killer decides to join the group. The closer they get to the truth, the closer he will get to them.

The Boy was Teddy Ryan. He was meant to have been killed in a car crash in the west of Ireland in 1989. Only he wasn’t. There is no grave in Galway and Teddy was writing letters from New York a year after he supposedly died. But one night he met a man in a Minnesota bar and vanished off the face of the earth.

Teddy’s nephew, Shaun, is no hero, but he is determined to solve the thirty-year-old mystery. He joins forces with the disparate members of Missing-linc to hunt down the killer. The only problem: the killer will be with them every step of the way …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sarah Lotz’s standalone thriller makes the most of its original hook in that you know who the killer is from very early on so although the main story turns both on other characters discovering the truth, it’s given emotional depth by the slow reveal of family secrets and has strong themes of identity and trust. Although the ending didn’t fully work for me, I would read more about these characters and am interested in reading Lotz’s other work.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Leigh Chen Sanders is sixteen when her mother dies by suicide, leaving only a scribbled note:

”I want you to remember”.

Leigh doesn’t know what it means, but when a red bird appears with a message, she finds herself travelling to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time.

Leigh is far away from home and far away from Axel, her best friend, who she stupidly kissed on the night her mother died - leaving her with a swell of guilt that she wasn’t home, and a heavy heart, thinking she may have destroyed the one good thing left in her life.

Overwhelmed by grief and the burden of fulfilling her mother’s last wish, Leigh retreats into her art and into her memories, where colours collide and the rules of reality are broken, The only thing Leigh is certain about is that she must find out the truth. She must remember.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Emily X. R. Pan’s debut YA novel is a powerful and moving look at what it means to live with a parent with depression that incorporates Chinese spiritual beliefs with a magical realist twist. Leigh is a believable protagonist, forced to navigate grief and first love and Pan does well to show her gift for and love of art. Although a little overwritten in places for my taste (purely a personal thing), I will definitely check out her subsequent work.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Two boys. Two bands. Two worlds colliding.

Nate Hargreaves - stage-shy singer-songwriter - is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleaze ball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list.

Jai Patel - hot-as-hell high school rock god - has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break.

When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong …?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

There are no big surprises in Kevin Van Whye’s YA gay romance, which hits all the beats you’d expect in a friends-to-lovers tale. It’s sweet without being cloying and I believed in Nate and Jai’s attraction but there are missed opportunities here, from the homophobia of some members of Nate’s family and their wealth disparity to the battle of the bands competition and Nate’s relationship with Tommy, which lacks resolution.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Even in the midst of runaway economic inequality and dangerous social division, it remains an axiom of modern life that meritocracy promises to open opportunity to all. The idea that reward should follow ability and effort is so entrenched in our psyche that, even as society divides itself at almost every turn, all sides can be heard repeating meritocratic nations.

But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy for the embattled middle classes, while at the same time, even those who manage to claw their way to the top are required to work with crushing intensity. All this sets directly from meritocracy’s successes.

This is the radical argument that The Meritocracy Trap prosecutes with rare force, comprehensive research, and devastating persuasion. Daniel Markovits knows from the inside the corrosive system we are trapped within, as well as how we can take the first steps towards a world that might afford us both prosperity and dignity.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

David Markovits is Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for the Study of Private Law. This interesting but infuriating book convincingly argues that the USA’s middle classes are locked out of opportunities to advance to the professions and elite education and the elite are forming a self-perpetuating clique but relies on such a narrow view of meritocracy that I was unconvinced by the propose solutions.

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

The Blurb On The Back:

Pedro likes everything to be perfect.

His pile of toys …

His roly-polies …

And even his friends.

When Pedro meets Poppy, he thinks he’s met the perfect friend, until they enter the school talent show together. Poppy’s approach is definitely not perfect. But maybe she can show Pedro that perfection is not always what it’s cracked up to be …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Simon Philip’s lovely picture book about not putting pressure on yourself by trying to be perfect all the time and instead just focus on enjoying yourself, features delightful illustrations by Ella Oksted that convey a real sense of energy and movement. Young readers will enjoy the colours and the mischievous sense of humour and adults will enjoy the book’s central message.

PERFECT PEDRO was released in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

School. Home. Life. Everything has changed for Amir and Mo since they arrived in the UK as refugees. The two close friends are navigating their new lives as best they can: navigating their new lessons, using new languages.

But when Amir suddenly finds himself in hospital, he starts to read. Through the books, he finds an inspiring, unexpected voice to guide him. Will this help Amir and Mo to finally find their voice and come to terms with their past?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Sita Brahmachari’s contemporary novella for readers aged 11+ is part of a collection specifically aimed at readers with dyslexia and those lacking in confidence. It’s a very sensitive, empathic look at friendship, what it means to be a refugee and the terrible experiences that those who have been displaced endure in their journey to the UK that is all the more important given the current political climate.

PHOENIX BROTHERS was released in the United Kingdom on 5 June 2025. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.