Review: The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano

Posted July 17, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 1 Comment
Review: The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Seventh Miss Hatfield by Anna Caltabiano Series: Seventh Miss Hatfield #1 Published by Gollancz on July 17, 2014 Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Pages: 304 Format: Arc Source: Publisher Buy on Amazon Goodreads Cynthia, an 11-year-old American, isn’t entirely happy with her life, comfortable though it is. Still, even she knows that she shouldn’t talk to strangers. So when her mysterious neighbour Miss Hatfield asked her in for a chat and a drink, Cynthia wasn’t entirely sure why she said yes. It was a decision that was to change everything. For Miss Hatfield is immortal. And now, thanks to a drop of water from the Fountain of Youth, Cynthia is as well. But this gift might be more of a curse, and it comes with a price. Rebecca is beginning to lose her personality, to take on the aspects of her neighbour. She is becoming the next Miss Hatfield. […]

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Pastime Pleasures #11 – Lady Daisy by Dick King-Smith

Posted July 11, 2014 by Charlotte in Pastime Pleasures / 0 Comments
Pastime Pleasures #11 – Lady Daisy by Dick King-Smith

Welcome to my  feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of Lady Daisy by Dick King-Smith. Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.   Ned is a nine year-old boy who finds a doll in his Grandmother’s house. Intrigued he takes the doll downstairs. When he lifts her out of the box Lady Daisy, the doll, speaks to him. I’m surprised Ned doesn’t drop Lady Daisy in shock, I know I would. But Ned’s relationship with the doll arises through the shared bond of loneliness. Lady Daisy has been asleep for 100 years and Ned is an only child. Ned is able provide both a tough exterior as he holds his own against the school bully, who also happens to be his football team-mate, and shows a warming tenderness to his charge. By having a male protagonist interacting with a doll, King-Smith suggests […]

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Review: The Girl with all the Gifts by M. R. Carey

Posted July 9, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 1 Comment
Review: The Girl with all the Gifts by M. R. Carey

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey Series: The Girl With All the Gifts #1 Published by Orbit on June 19, 2014 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Pages: 461 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her “our little genius.” Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh. Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children’s cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad. The Girl with All the Gifts is a […]

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Review: Only Remembered edited by Michael Morpurgo

Posted July 4, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: Only Remembered edited by Michael Morpurgo

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Only Remembered by Michael Morpurgo Published by Jonathan Cape on July 3, 2014 Genres: Children’s, Historical, Non-Fiction, Novella, Short Stories, Young Adult Pages: 336 Format: E-Arc Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads 2014 will mark one hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War. To mark the date, this beautiful anthology will collect favourite extracts, images and poems from some of the UK’s leading cultural, political and literary figures. Poems, short stories, personal letters, newspaper articles, scripts, photographs and paintings are just some of the elements of this astonishing collection, with cover and artwork by renowned illustrator, Ian Beck. Among the many contributors are Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, Sir Andrew Motion, Miranda Hart, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer, Antony Beevor, Emma Thompson, David Almond, Dr Rowan Williams, Richard Curtis, Joanna Lumley, Raymond Briggs, Shami Chakrabarti and Sir Tony Robinson. Royalties from the publication will be […]

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Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Posted July 2, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 4 Comments
Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness Series: All Souls Trilogy #2 Published by Headline on February 14, 2013 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Romance, Science Fiction Pages: 630 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher Buy on Amazon Goodreads Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey. Shadow of Night beautiful weaves the fantasy elements with the rich detail of historical facts. The main problem with this book is that all the characters that we grew to love in A Discovery of Witches […]

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