Blog Tour, Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

Peril at the Bake Off by Ruth Quayle & illustrated by Marta Kissi (Blog Tour)

Peril at the Bake Off is a brilliant children’s mystery story. Ruth Quayle has captured the essence of childhood when life is one big adventure. This story is about kids being kids - having fun and getting into all sorts of trouble with their cousins. Bella and Joe are spending the summer with their granny… Continue reading Peril at the Bake Off by Ruth Quayle & illustrated by Marta Kissi (Blog Tour)

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

How to be Brave by Daisy May Johnson

How to Be Brave is a funny and engaging book uniquely told through the power of footnotes. With a chatty style, the reader is pulled right into the story almost as an additional character. The narrator breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader directly, drawing us into every questions, dilemma and decision. Calla lives… Continue reading How to be Brave by Daisy May Johnson

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

The Wizard in the Wood by Louie Stowell & illustrated by Davide Ortu

The Wizard in the Wood is the third instalment in the The Dragon in the Library series for readers age 7+. The opening perfectly recaps all the magical happenings of the previous story so it could stand alone as a fun adventure without reading the others first. The Wizard in the Wood is engaging right… Continue reading The Wizard in the Wood by Louie Stowell & illustrated by Davide Ortu

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

The Secret Detectives by Ella Risbridger

A life-changing journey on a 19th century ship bound for England, leaving behind everything you’ve ever known, witnessing a murder on a dark night… The Secret Detectives is a gripping Middle Grade mystery with hints of Nancy Drew and The Secret Garden intertwined in its gripping plot. Eleven-year-old Isobel Petty is alone in the world.… Continue reading The Secret Detectives by Ella Risbridger

Book Review, Illustrated Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

Stick Boy by Paul Coomey – Blog Tour & Special Guest Post by the Author!

Review by Lucy (age 10, Year 6) Stick Boy is a book about a boy who is literately a stick boy. The entire world is in 3D whilst Stick Boy is just a stick. He was bullied by lots of different kids at his old school so he had to move to a different city… Continue reading Stick Boy by Paul Coomey – Blog Tour & Special Guest Post by the Author!

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

A Tangle of Spells by Michelle Harrison

The Widdershins sisters are back with their third magical fantasy adventure. They are finally leaving their home in Poacher’s Pocket, a ramshackle pub on Crowstone Island. Moving on from the gloom of the prison and the Sorrow Isles, they journey to the mainland and a bright future. Fliss, Betty and Charlie, along with Father, Granny… Continue reading A Tangle of Spells by Michelle Harrison

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

A Case of Grave Danger (The Violet Veil Mysteries) by Sophie Cleverly

Thirteen-year-old Violet is the daughter of an undertaker: born in the mortuary, living her whole life among the dead. With a cemetery for a back garden, dealing with loss and those in mourning is nothing new for her. She can sense the dead and listens to their messages. Then, one day, a young man is… Continue reading A Case of Grave Danger (The Violet Veil Mysteries) by Sophie Cleverly

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

Murder on the Safari Star by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

Harrison (Hal) and Uncle Nat are back for their third fast-paced, heart-stopping, edge of your seat mystery! The Adventures on Trains series just keep getting better and better with Murder on the Safari Star. This time, Uncle Nat surprises Hal with the best Christmas present ever – a chance to travel through South Africa and… Continue reading Murder on the Safari Star by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

Blog Tour, Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

Jane Austen Investigates: The Abbey Mystery by Julia Golding – Blog Tour

The Abbey Mystery is a perfect mix of classic Austen style and a Nancy Drew mystery. As a huge fan of both, I was thoroughly charmed from the very first page, laughing to myself at Julia Golding’s earnest girl detective and clever turn of phrase. It’s 1789 and thirteen year old Jane Austen is the… Continue reading Jane Austen Investigates: The Abbey Mystery by Julia Golding – Blog Tour

Book Review, Middle Grade Fiction

Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy

Splinters of Scarlet is a gripping historical adventure with a fascinating thread of fantasy and magic woven into the tale. Life in Denmark in the mid-1800s is hard, especially for orphans Marit and Eve who have no one to care for them. Too old to stay at the orphanage, Marit struggles with the deaths of… Continue reading Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy