Book Synopsis:

A stunning gift book drawing together mythological poems – classic and brand-new – from around the world, illustrated throughout in black and white by award-winning former children’s laureate Chris Riddell. Compiled by bestselling anthologist Ana Sampson, with an introduction by Natalie Haynes, author of Stone Blind.

People all over the world have always told each other stories. And from the very earliest times, many of these stories were told in verse. This collection of poems includes retellings and reimaginings of Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Aztec, Japanese and Inuit mythology.

You will meet gods, monsters, tricksters, heroes, magical creatures and objects, magicians and spirits including Medusa, Icarus, Loki, Osiris, the Minotaur, Pegasus, Bunyip, Kukulcan, Cerberus, Beowolf and Mjolnir and there are footnotes to shine a light on stories themselves.

Includes poems from Neil Gaiman, W B Yeats, Kae Tempest, Sylvia Plath, Shakespeare, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joseph Coelho and many more. . .

My Review:

God’s And Monsters is a really beautiful anthology that would make a great gift for a child.

Firstly I absolutely love Greek mythology so I found it very interesting to learn a bit more about this whilst reading this book. It was especially interesting to learn more about the mythology from other countries as there were a few legends featured in this book that I hadn’t heard of before. I spent lots of time on the computer trying to find out more about them which I always love and I think would create a great learning opportunity for a child.

The book is divided into different sections starting with The First Rays Of Sunshine and ending with The Dark World: Underworlds & Afterlife. I thought this was very clever and I enjoyed following the myths through the different parts of life. You can either read the book from cover to cover or it’s easy to dip in and out of depending on what you’re interested in.

This book is beautifully illustrated, with full page illustrations at times that are just stunning to look at. They really help to bring the stories to life and my children loved flicking through the book just looking at them. My daughter loved retelling the poems to her younger brother too showing how fascinating the poems are to younger readers.

Overall I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it to children of all ages. I think it’s aimed at children aged 9 and over but as mentioned earlier my daughter and son (age 8 & 5) were able to really enjoy it too. I think it’s the type of anthology I’d have treasured when I was younger so would make a great gift for Christmas or a special occasion.

About The Author:

Ana has been editing poetry anthologies since 2009, when I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and Other Poems you Half-Remember from School was the third bestselling poetry title that year. More recently she has edited two volumes of poetry by women, She is Fierce (an Amazon number one category bestseller) and She Will Soar, a collection of poetry about motherhood, Night Feeds and Morning Songs, and Wonder: The Natural History Museum Poetry Book. She has contributed articles to books including Writers’ Market UK and The Book Lover’s Companion and to newspapers and magazines, and talked about poetry and publishing at literary festivals, bookshop events, at libraries, in schools and online. Ana has also appeared on television and radio talking about books, poetry and teenage diaries. She lives in Surrey with her husband, two daughters, two demanding cats, and far too many books.

You can visit her website and sign up for her author newsletter at http://www.anasampson.co.uk.

Good morning everyone here are some of the great books I’ve added to my tbr this week:

❤️The Other Lives Of Miss Emily White by A.J Elwood
🧡 Wildfire by the Grace
💛Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
💚The Book Of Beginnings by Sally Page
💙The Beginning Of Everything by Jackie Fraser
🩵Wild Houses by Colin Barrett *
💜Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi *
🩷The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin
🤍 Remember, Remember by Elle Machray
🩶 Doppelganger by Naomi Klein *

The Other Lives Of Miss Emily White and Ripe are bookclub reads, the books with stars next to them are books I got from the returns pile at work or proofs sent to the shop and The Scarlet Veil was kindly sent to me by the lovely @indie_thinking . The rest of the books I bought as I keep hearing great things about them.

Have you read any of these?

Book Synopsis:

When does a story begin?

For Edwin Hope, it begins with a childhood dare and a forbidden tree. It begins with him falling … in more ways than one.

Called home from his studies by the grandfather who has always hated him, eighteen-year-old Edwin is once again trapped in a house that is colder than the winds whipping across the fields. Seeking sanctuary, he escapes into the untamed beauty of the Peaks and meets a woman who sparks an old memory. A memory of the sycamore that broke him, and the little girl who saved him.

Drusilla has had many acolytes over the centuries but none like Edwin. With the Great War looming and Edwin’s future uncertain, she knows the right thing to do is to set him free from her spell, but can she do so if it means breaking her own heart?

My Review:

The Promise Tree is an absorbing and thought provoking book that is the perfect mix of romance and fantasy.

I loved the premise of this book which sounded really different from anything else that I’ve read. The idea of a mysterious women somehow connected to a tree was very intriguing and I soon found myself drawn into the story. It was very interesting to follow the story through the years and find out exactly what was going on.

The author has a wonderful way of describing things so that the reader feels like they are actually there seeing everything for themselves. I loved her incredibly vivid descriptions of nature and the seasons especially as they really helped me imagine the setting. I actually wish this had been an illustrated story as I think the illustrations would be beautiful.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. The story is a little slow in places but I didn’t mind as I was so absorbed in the story. The author cleverly weaves all the strands of the story together and I loved the ending which I thought was really beautiful.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Elisabeth’s writing career began in 2013 when she entered Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest and it turned out she could. She writes romantic Historical fiction as Elisabeth Hobbes and Historical folklore/fantasy inspired romance as Elisabeth J. Hobbes.

She teaches Primary school but would rather write full time because unlike five year olds her characters generally do what she tells them. She spends most of her spare time reading and is a pro at cooking one-handed while holding a book.

She lives in Cheshire because the car broke down there in 1999 and she never left. Elisabeth has two almost grown kids, two cats, two dogs and a husband. The whole family are on the autistic spectrum and that probably includes the pets! She dreams of having a tidy house one day.

Book Synopsis:

THE LEGEND
1913. Captain Scott and his four companions reach the South Pole to find their Norwegian rival Roald Amundsen has won the race. Defeated, they set out on the 850-mile journey to their ship. Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the explorer sent out to meet them at One Ton depot, peering South through thick spectacles, sees only an infinity of white, and turns back. A year later Scott’s pitched tent is found, just ten miles from the depot, and the bodies within speak of hunger, the unbearable strain of hauling the sledge, and the brutal winter cold. They lie in a tomb of ice. Cherry is left forever tormented by thoughts of what might have been.

THE TRUTH
1969. Ten years after Cherry’s death, Falcon Grey – who as an orphan of the Blitz was brought up at the explorer’s country estate – receives a bequest: a small red notebook that was found in Scott’s tent. It is a diary: and it states that they were not victims of the cold, or hunger, but murder, in the coldest of blood. Suspects range from envious foreign powers – such as the Kaiser’s Germany – to revolutionaries and even Scott’s own men. Vital clues lie in the tent, so Falcon goes South to the ice to see it for himself, but someone is desperate to conceal the truth and will kill to keep the secrets under the ice.

My Review:

The White Lie is an absorbing, intriguing book from a new author for me.

Firstly I always love books set in cold locations so I really enjoyed exploring the artic alongside the Falcon Scott. I had heard of the famous explorer before reading this book but I didn’t know much about his ill fated expedition. It was really interesting to learn more about it and what artic exploration entailed.

I loved the main character Falcon who I warned too immediately as soon as I learnt about his sad past and realised he was the same age as my youngest son. He’s a very sympathetic character and I often wished I could reach into the book to give him a hug. Cherry was also an interesting character who I felt a lot of sympathy for as his guilt over what happened was almost palpable at times. It was heartwarming to read about his special relationship with Falcon and how he looked after him when he was younger.

I thought this book had a great pace to it and I enjoyed following events in both timelines equally. It was great fun trying to figure out what was happening and the link between the expedition with events in WW2. My only slight niggle with this book is that I found the change between the timelines a bit confusing at times as it often happened quite quickly but this did get easier as the book progressed. The ending was interesting and, despite having many theories, I was pleased that I hadn’t guessed.

Huge thanks to Emily from Hodder and Stoughton for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. I’ll definitely look forward to reading more from this author in future!

About The Author:

James Kelly is the author of the Nighthawk crime series for Allison and Busby and the Philip Dryden series for Penguin. He was born in 1957 and is the son of a Scotland Yard detective. He went to University in Sheffield, later training as a journalist and worked on the Bedfordshire Times, Yorkshire Evening Press and The Financial Times. His first book The Water Clock, was shortlisted for the John Greasy Award and he has since won a CWA Dagger in the Library And New Angle Prize for Literature. He lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Good morning everyone I’m very excited to have received a copy of this fabulous sounding book this week. I love a good murder mystery and I’m intrigued that this story is told in the format of a true crime podcast as I think that will make it very interesting to follow.

Huge thanks to the tagged publisher for sending me a copy of this book. I’m looking forward to the blog tour next month!

What are your weekend plans?

Book Synopsis:

Supper for Six . . . but murder is on the menu

The mystery of Bruton Square has never been solved. On that infamous night in 1977, six strangers were invited for dinner at Lady Sybil Anderson’s Mayfair apartment. Only five made it out alive.

Welcome to Supper for Six, the true crime podcast. I’m your host, Felix.

Together, we’ll uncover what really happened that night . . . Let’s dig in.

A murderous Abigail’s Party – Fiona Sherlock’s Supper for Six is immersive and incredibly entertaining. Join Elizabeth Chalice and Felix Caerphilly on their quest to get to the bottom of this rather deadly dinner party . . .

About The Author:

Fiona Sherlock is a crime writer from Bective, in Ireland. Her murder mystery games are played across the world. She also writes poetry and prose but cannot stay away from a good murder. After spending a decade in Dublin working in public relations and journalism, she moved to the country for midday fires and elderflower champagne.

Play one of her immersive games at BespokeMurderMystery.com

Good morning everyone I thought I’d share a stack of some of the books kindly passed onto me by my lovely book friends!

❤️ Operation Nassau by Dorothy Dunnett
🧡 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
💛Arms & Legs by Chloe Lane
💚 Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
💙Stone Blind by Natalie Hayes
💜The Mystery Of Yew Tree House by Lesley Thomson

Thanks so much to the lovely @lovedreadingthis and @acottageofbooks for sending these to me.

I’ve got a busy day today I’m going into my kids’school this morning to hear children read and then I’m going to work where I have an event tonight too which should be fun.

Happy Friday everyone!

Book Synopsis:

Lucy Young is only twenty-six, but she’s exhausted. She’s tired of bad dates, being on the bottom rung at work, and living off Rice Krispies.

She’s ready to skip to the good part.

The part where she’s happily married, running the office, and never even thinking about her overdraft.

But you should be careful what you wish for . . .

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author so you can imagine my excitement at receiving a copy of her new book and to be invited onto the blog tour. Once again the author has written a heartwarming, hilarious and feel good book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Firstly I absolutely loved the main character Lucy who was such a fun, relatable person who I quickly warmed to and enjoyed following throughout the book. She often had me laughing out loud as I read, particularly her moments with Felix which were utterly hilarious at times. I think we’ve all been there, wondering where life is going to take us and it was very interesting to follow Lucy as she tries to unpack what she really wants from life.

I thought this book had a great pace to it and I soon found myself drawn into the story. The author has done a great job of blending romantic fiction with fantasy to make a very believable, fun story. There was always something happening to keep my interest and even in the slower moments I found I didn’t mind as I was just happy hanging out with the characters. The message in this book is a lovely one to live your life as it is happening and not to be in a rush for the next stage.

Huge thanks to Alainna from Hodder and Stoughton for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Sophie Cousens started her career in television, where she produced, among other things, The Graham Norton Show, Big Brother, Ant and Dec and Russell Howard’s Good News. Working in TV taught her three things;

1 – Wearing a lanyard makes you look as though you know what you are doing.

2 -The best phrase you can contribute in meetings is “let’s action that!”If you say it often enough, hopefully someone else will do your work for you.

3 – If in doubt, find someone wearing a lanyard – they’ll know what to do.

Sophie currently lives in Jersey where she now writes full time. She lives with her husband Tim and has two small children who keep her occupied with important questions such as ‘but did Cinderella have a toothbrush?’ and ‘do giraffe’s know they have really long necks?’ She yearns for a time when she will be able to add a miniature dachshund to the party.

Ok so anyone who knows me knows that Isaac And The Egg is one of my all time favourite books. I always recommend it at the bookshop and make sure it has a face out spot as much as possible.

Therefore you can imagine my delight when I was offered a copy of his second book Small Hours! I’m not ashamed to admit there was dancing involved 🤣

Huge thanks to Ollie Martin and Headline for sending me a copy. I can’t wait to read it!

Out March 2024.

Book Synopsis:

The eagerly awaited new novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed debut Isaac and the Egg.

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden…

You’d see a father and son, a fox standing between them.

You wouldn’t know that Jack has returned from the city, still determined to be the opposite of his father. Or that Gerry would rather talk to animals than this angry man back under his roof.

You wouldn’t imagine that neither is quite who the other remembers. That someone irreplaceable is missing. That one conversation might change everything.

If you saw them in the small hours, you’d begin to piece together their story. It’s about connection and belonging – and how the world comes alive when you stop to take it in.

About The Author:

The eagerly awaited new novel from Bobby Palmer, author of the critically acclaimed debut Isaac and the Egg.

If you stood before sunrise in this wild old place, looking through the trees into the garden…

You’d see a father and son, a fox standing between them.

You wouldn’t know that Jack has returned from the city, still determined to be the opposite of his father. Or that Gerry would rather talk to animals than this angry man back under his roof.

You wouldn’t imagine that neither is quite who the other remembers. That someone irreplaceable is missing. That one conversation might change everything.

If you saw them in the small hours, you’d begin to piece together their story. It’s about connection and belonging – and how the world comes alive when you stop to take it in.

Good morning everyone I’m taking part in a witchy read-along challenge hosted by @bookasaurusbex this month.

The read-along is divided into six covens, chosen by the type of books you like to read, and I’m part of the green coven. Here are some of the books I’m looking forward to reading this month:

🎃 Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
🧹The Bear & The Nightingale by Katherine Arden
🎃The Last Witch Of Scotland by Philip Paris
🧹Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
🎃Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
🧹 Weyward by Emilia Hart
🎃 Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia Of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
🧹Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

Some of these books are for buddy reads which I’m looking forward to and some I’m planning on fitting in when I can around my other October hopefuls which I’ll post soon.

What’s your favourite witchy book?

Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring two Hannah Grace books.

I read Icebreaker earlier this year and absolutely loved it so I’ve been very impatient for her next book to come out. It actually came into the shop when I wasn’t working meaning I had to make a special trip up town so I could collect it and then I started it straight away. I’m about 50 pages in but I’m loving it already!

What sequel have you been most excited for?

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

A TikTok sensation! Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.
 
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.
 
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.
 
Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him. 
 
But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot. 

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried… because she could never like a hockey player, right?

Wildfire by Hannah Grace

The new novel from the bestselling author of Icebreaker….

When Russ and Aurora cross paths at a university party, a drinking game ends with them spending the night together. The next day, Aurora slips away before Russ learns her full name. 

This anonymity ends when they both turn up to their first day of work as camp counsellors. A job they had both chosen to escape Maple Hills for the summer. 

Given their history, there’s still an obvious tension between the two but the camp has a strict “no staff fraternizing” rule. Russ doesn’t want to risk heading home early but Aurora has never been one for rules.  

As things heat up, they’ll have to resist or risk starting something they just can’t stop.    

About The Author:

Hannah is an English self-labelled “fluffy comfort book” author, writing predominantly new adult and contemporary romance from her home in Manchester.

When she’s not describing everyone’s eyes ten-thousand times a chapter, accidentally giving multiple characters the same name, or using English sayings in her American book that nobody understands, you can find her hanging out with her husband and two dogs, Pig and Bear.