WWW Wednesday

I’m just about to start Fireborn and definitely think it will be one I enjoy. I’ve just started listening to David Tennant reading The Wizards of Once: Never and Forever. This is a series which I’ve really enjoyed and I’m looking forward to finally finding out who the narrator is!

I’ve had lots of time to read since getting back from Ireland and have read four books. I’ve just finished How to be a Human which is a heart-warming, humorous adventure about friendship, being true to yourself and appreciating the small things in life. I will be posting a review of this one.

I’ve really enjoyed the Pages & Co series and, as I know the next one will be released in September, I decided to read the third one, Tilly and the Map of Stories which I adored. I just love the celebration of books, stories and imagination. Tilly and Oskar need to stop the Underwoods from binding source editions of books and denying bookwanderers the right to travel within these stories for their own nefarious ends. This sees them travelling to Washington’s Underlibrary, bookwandering into one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dreams and trying to find the fabled Archivists to get help to protect bookwandering. I love, love, love the characters they meet in their brilliant adventure. I think this is my favourite of the series so far as Tilly and Oskar battle to keep stories alive for all readers.

I also read The Ghost of Gosswater which is a beautifully evocative mystery that kept me engrossed throughout. Twelve-year-old Lady Agatha, who is banished from her home by her cruel and greedy cousin, the new Earl of Gosswater Hall is given some shocking news: her father is not the deceased Earl, but a local farmer who takes her to live in his cottage. Agatha is a wonderfully strong and resilient young girl who is determined to find out the truth of her parentage, and when a ghostly girl comes into her life, she finds herself caught up in a mystery to uncover the secrets of her past. I adored the portrayal of the tentative relationship that forms between Aggie and Thomas. And there’s a goose who is utterly brilliant!

Finally, I read A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth which was a magical read which I devoured in a day, despite it being one of the longest middle-grade books I’ve read in a while. I love portal magic stories and this one follows Imogen and her little sister Marie as they chase a moth through a door in a tree, and into the life of a royal prince, Miro, and into the most fantastical, dark but humorous adventure, with a wonderful cast of characters including monsters, an evil Queen-in-waiting and a dancing bear. I loved the children in this story who are far from perfect, but are there for each other when it really matters. I also really enjoyed the exploration of ‘monsters’ in this story. The illustrations by Chris Riddell are also wonderful. I will definitely be picking it the next book in the series, Beyond the Mountains, when it is released in October.