The End of the Year Book Tag

I’ve just seen this tag on dinipandareads fantastic blog so thought I’d give it a go for the first time this year. This tag was originally created by booktuber Ariel Bissett.

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Only one! I started The Dark Between the Trees after picking it up in Forbidden Planet. It’s been a while since I’ve read any of it, but I do intend to pick it up again – hopefully before the end of the year!

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

I bought The Haunting Season when it was released in a couple of years ago, but have not managed to read it yet. I’m going to aim to read these 8 short stories over my two week holiday.

Is there a new release that you’re still waiting for?

Oh yes! There are some recently released books that I’m hoping to get for Christmas, but I’ve really been struggling with brain fog recently so I genuinely can’t remember most of the ones I’ve wished for -at least they’ll be surprises! The one I do remember as I want it to be my Christmas Day read is The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor.

What are three books you want to read before the year ends?

I’ve been lucky enough to get proof copies of three books which are released next year, and I’m excited to read them before the end of the year.

Is there a book that you think could still shock you and become your favourite of the year?

I have read so many wonderful books this year – I think I’ve probably read my Book of the Year! The three that are vying for my favourite book of the year are Impossible Creatures, The Silver Road and Podkin and the Singing Spear. I will be attempting to compile a list of my Top 12 Books of the Year, but it will be very difficult as I’ve read lots of wonderful books this year. I don’t tend to include books being released next year on my Books of the Year if I’ve been lucky enough to get an early read.

Have you already started to make reading plans for 2024?

Oh yes! I did the #BeatTheBacklistChallenge this year and, although I didn’t manage to complete it, taking part did encourage me to catch up with lots of books on my bookshelves. I also really want to catch up with books in series next year. I’m also intending to clear my NetGalley shelf: I have 7 books on it at the moment.

Books which I’m really looking forward to (and which I have digital or physical copies of):

I’m also hoping to begin to make a dent in my growing TBR of adult reads. These are the ones I’m aiming to start with next year:

I’m not tagging anyone, but if you’d like to take part, I’d love to see your answers so feel free to link your post. Have you read any of the books I’m aiming to read next year, especially the ones for adults – what did you think? Do you have any other recommendations?

WWW Wednesday

I haven’t got very far with Emba Oak as its been a very busy week with our Christmas productions. I am enjoying being back with Emba. I’ve really been enjoying listening to the audiobook of A Place Called Perfect which is not as perfect as it is made out to be. Definitely looking forward to seeing where this one goes, and picking up the next one in the series.

I read the brilliant The Mystery of Raspberry Hill . Twelve-year-old Stina is aware that she is likely to die soon so, when she is offered a chance of life at Raspberry Hill Sanatorium, she grasps it eagerly. The old hospital is hidden away deep in the forest and has recently re-opened after a devastating tragedy when a fire took the lives of young patients there. But why would a hospital which treats the rich be willing to offer free treatment to a young girl from a poor family? And who is the strange boy who visits her at night? This is a short read, but a brilliant one which I read in one sitting. I couldn’t stop reading as Stina becomes more aware of the danger she is in and discovers the terrible secrets hidden within the walls of the Sanitorium. Although this has a dark element threaded throughout, there is also a sense of hope throughout.

I also read the final book in the Time School series: We Will Comfort Them which focussed on Tomma’s family. I really enjoyed this, and will post my review shortly.

I have so many wonderful books on my TBR that, for the first time in a long, long time, I can’t actually decide what to read … I’ll wait until the weekend, catch up on my reviews and then choose!

What are you reading? Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Tuesday

This is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Girl Reader. This week’s theme is Books On My Winter 2023-2024 To-Read List.

I’m looking forward to a break over the Christmas period, so I’m sharing some of the books I’m hoping to read over this time. The first 10 are middle-grade titles released next year (except for The Book of Secrets which has already been releaed), and the final two are adult books on my TBR.

What books have you on your Winter TBR? Are any of these included

12 children’s books with a snowy setting …

Last week, I shared some of my favourite books set during the Christmas period, so today I thought I’d share some of my absolute favourite books that have snowy settings …

Where I have written a blog post for a book, I have shared it alongside the synopsis from Waterstones.

When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true… Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes?

You can read my review here.

Barbegazi are fabled creatures who live in the alps, rather like gnomes. Tessa knows that they exist because her beloved grandfather told her about them. So she sets out to prove to her family and friends that her grandfather wasn’t just a confused old man. Soon she finds not only a family of Barbegazi but also a dastardly plot to kidnap one and keep it captive. But Tessa realises that uncovering the truth carries great responsibilities – and sometimes things have to remain a secret.

A young Viking girl is swept by a storm on to a desolate English
beach. Cruelly orphaned there, Ylva becomes set on revenge, tracking
a killer through dangerous hinterland.

She wants only the favour of the Norse gods and the comfort of
her stories. But when a stranger decides to protect Ylva –
seeming to understand her where others cannot – Ylva must
decide if her own legend will end in vengeance or forgiveness …

You can read my review here.

Way out in the furthest part of the known world, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off from the rest of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath the Snow Sea. There, a little boy called Ash waits for the return of his parents, singing a forbidden lullaby to remind him of them… and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardian, Tobu.

But life is about to get a whole lot more crazy-adventurous for Ash. When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers, he’s whisked aboard the Frostheart, a sleigh packed full of daring explorers who could use his help. But can they help him find his family . . . ?

You can read my review here.

In the snowy kingdom of Erkenwald, whales glide between icebergs, wolves hunt on the tundra and polar bears roam the glaciers. But the people of this land aren’t so easy to find – because Erkenwald is ruled by an evil Ice Queen and the tribes must stay hidden or risk becoming her prisoners at Winterfang Palace.

Join Eska, a girl who breaks free from a cursed music box, and Flint, a boy whose inventions could change the fate of Erkenwald forever, as they journey to the Never Cliffs and beyond in search of an ancient, almost forgotten, song with the power to force the Ice Queen back.

Deep in the forest, magic is waiting . . .

Sparkling with frost and magic, Shadows of Winterspell will sweep you up in a world of friendship and magic, to uncover family secrets and find out who you really are.

Stella has been living behind the magic of the forest for most of her life. Lonely, she enrolls at the local school, and as she begins to make friends, she discovers that she is even more different than she thought. But as autumn turns to magical winter, Stella realizes that uncovering her own family secret is the only way to release the forest from the grip of a dark and old magic.

At the stroke of midnight on the dawn of December, five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen in the city park standing on a pedestal of ice. His heart is beating, he is smiling serenely, but no one can wake him. Finn’s big sister, Bianca, suspects that the beautiful sparkling book Finn got from the library has something to do with it, but the book has vanished. Does the tall mysterious stranger who first discovered Finn know more than they will admit?

Each day, more children are found frozen and Bianca realizes she’s running out of time. Her quest to discover the truth and rescue her little brother hurls her into a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty and danger, where all is not as it seems. Can Bianca save her brother and the other Ice Children before they are forever lost?

You can read my review here.

When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent to stay with a kind professor who lives in the country, they can hardly imagine the extraordinary adventure that awaits them.

It all begins when the children explore the professor’s rambling old house. When they come across a room with an old wardrobe in the corner, Lucy opens the door and gets inside. To her amazement, she suddenly finds herself standing in a wood, with snowflakes falling through the air. Lucy has found Narnia, a magical land of fauns and centaurs, nymphs and talking animals and the magnificent lion, Aslan. They are joined by the beautiful but evil White Witch, who has held the country in eternal winter for a hundred years.

You can read my review here.

It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just the same.

Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . .

When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?

Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, in a house full of food and fireplaces. Ten minutes away, in a ruined chapel, lives a pack of wolves. Feodora’s mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. A wolf wilder is the opposite of an animal tamer: it is a person who teaches tamed animals to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run, and to be wary of humans.

When the murderous hostility of the Russian Army threatens her very existence, Feo is left with no option but to go on the run. What follows is a story of revolution and adventure, about standing up for the things you love and fighting back. And, of course, wolves.

Somewhere in the deep and frozen north is an island surrounded entirely by ice. The inhabitants love their snowstorm isle-with its scattered wooden cottages, its small patches of forest, and its single mountain peak. Most of all they love the magnificent ice bears that roam the streets, giving the island its name-The Isle of Bears.

Life with bears is dangerous, as Marv Jackson knows-the large crescent moon shaped scar on his face acts as a constant reminder of the night he survived a bear attack. But something tells him the legendary tale of that night, isn’t quite the full story, and that the truth lies with a mysterious skating girl and her magnificent polar bear.

Mila and her sisters live with their brother Oskar in a small forest cabin in the snow. One night, a fur-clad stranger arrives seeking shelter for himself and his men. But by the next morning, they’ve gone – taking Oskar with them.

Fearful for his safety, Mila and her sisters set out to bring Oskar back – even it means going north, crossing frozen wild-lands to find a way past an eternal winter.

Have you read any of these? Have you any other snowy setting recommendations?

Review: The Ice Children

The Ice Children is a magical, mesmerising, wintery read with a timely underlying ecological message, and is a story that completely captured me.

Five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen in the city rose garden with his feet encased in a pedestal of ice. Although he cannot be awoken, his heart is still beating, but can he be saved by the love of his older sister, Bianca, as she determines to investigate what has happened to him – and the other children who are appearing frozen. Could it be something to do with a mysterious silver book and a group of strangers who rely on the coming of winter for their existence? Bianca, using all her ingenuity and courage, finds herself in a beautiful and dangerous winter wonderland where she endeavours to save the ice children, and winter, before time runs out …

This is a stunning adventure – a modern fairytale – drawing on well-known tales including The Snow Queen and The Selfish Giant but with a fresh twist to include an important and timely ecological message. I loved the setting of Winterton with its snow queen fortress, fairground, circus and companion creatures, especially the reindeer, Pordis. Like all fairytales, the magic has an underlying darkness, but there is also hope that there can be a better future when action is taken.

I found Bianca an incredibly sympathetic character who clearly loves her little brother and desperately wants him back home with her and their parents. She is courageous, determined and empathetic and comes to understand that the ice children are not the only ones in danger of no longer existing in our world. She shows kindness and understanding and brings hope when it appears to be lost. I also loved that she believes in the power of stories to change the world!

The illustrations are absolutely stunning and add to the magical quality of the storytelling perfectly.

This is a truly mesmerising, magical modern fairytale that is just perfect for young children to enjoy this winter, hopefully whilst the snow swirls outside.

First Lines Fridays

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

My name is Stina and I’m probably going to die soon. No one has told me so, but I’m no fool. I see it in Mama’s eyes. I hear the neighbourhood women murmur and mutter. They tilt their heads and cluck their tongues when the see me. Tut-tut-tut.

Any ideas?

Goodreads Synopsis:

The grown-ups all think she’s going to die soon-she can see it in their eyes. Still, when poor twelve-year-old Stina is sent to remote Raspberry Hill Sanatorium she can’t believe her luck. She gets to ride in a real motor car to the hospital, which looks like a magnificent castle hidden deep in the forest.

But as Stina explores the long, echoey corridors of her eerie new home, she begins to suspect that the building is concealing a dark secret. How did the old East Wing burn down? Why doesn’t her mother reply to any of her letters? And what are the nurses all so afraid of? Stina is determined to solve the mystery of Raspberry Hill-but as she edges closer to the truth, she finds herself in terrible danger…

Cover Reveal: The Narzat

Today, I’m excited to reveal the cover for a wickedly funny debut from Luke Marchant and illustrated by Rory Walker. It will be published by Everything with Words on 18th April.

Synopsis:

The Narzat lives in the Ungle Bungle Jungle with his friends the Looky Looky Lizard (a feisty reptile who communicates through sign language) and the Chatty Chiwunga (a comically talkative bird who never shuts up). Little is known about how the Narzat arrived there, but he wears a necklace bearing a meaningful inscription. The Ungle Bungle Jungle is full of animals you’d love to meet because they’re fun and friendly but some, like the roaring Ravenoserous are absolutely lethal. One day two villains arrive, Lord and Lady Snide armed with guns and a fierce desire for furs and the Narzat’s necklace. Can the Ungle Bungle Jungle defeat the two awesome newcomers and their wicked plans?

About the Author:

Luke studied English and Creative Writing at Cardiff University. He’s worked as a primary school teacher for more than ten years and he’s always loved writing.

“I was influenced by the fantasy world-building of Terry Pratchett’s ‘Maurice and his Amazing Rodents’, the environmental adventures of Nizrana Farook’s ‘The Boy Who Met a Whale’, and having a humorous ensemble of characters such as Maz Evans’ ‘Who Let the Gods Out?'”

Available to pre-order at:

Amazon.

Central Books.

WWW Wednesday

I have just started two new books. I am listening to A Place Called Perfect which has been recommended to me by a child in my class. I am also reading the third book in the Emba Oak series, Emba Oak and the Screaming Sea.

I have finished reading The Ice Whisperers which I really enjoyed. I loved the concept of travelling back in time to meet your sister, and thought the whole premise of this story was fascinating. I also finished reading Magicborn and loved the blend of Georgian England and Fairyland in this action-packed read. Finally, I finished listening to Morgana Mage in the Robotic Age which was a fun read for slightly younger readers with a mix of magic and technology.

I still didn’t manage to get to this one last weekend – blame Christmas shopping!

What are you reading? Have you read any of these?

Children’s books … festive reads …

I love reading books set during the Christmas period/about Christmas in the lead-up to and over the Christmas holidays, so I thought I’d share some of my favourite reads over the last few years. I have a selection of new books to read over this Christmas.

Where I have written a blog post of these, I have shared it alongside the synopsis from Waterstones.

Ever since her sister, Agnes, died, Pearl has a tradition every time it snows. She makes a person out of snow. A snow sister. It makes Christmas feel a little less lonely.

On Christmas Eve, her father receives a letter about a long-lost relative’s will. Is their luck about to change? In anticipation of a better Christmas, Pearl goes to beg credit at Mr Noble’s grocery to get ingredients for a Christmas pudding. But she is refused, and chased down the street where she is hit by a hansom cab. The snow is falling so hard that they can’t take her home. She’ll have to stay at Flintfield Manor overnight, in a haunted room… Will Pearl make it home for Christmas?

It’s the Christmas holidays and Thea is looking forward to spending them with her father. She can tell him all about her plans to become a writer, and maybe he’ll buy her the typewriter she’s been dreaming of.

But when Thea arrives in snowy Norway, everything feels… wrong. Her father is as distant as ever and now she has to share him with his new family: his girlfriend Inge and her children. Then Thea makes a surprising discovery. Deep in the snowy woods by the house, is a bear. He’s scared and hungry and he desperately needs Thea’s help.

When the town hears about a bear living in the woods, Bear’s life is in even greater danger. Thea needs to show everyone that he’s not dangerous – he’s a good bear – if she’s to save him.

After a tumultuous term in Paris, Libby and Connie are looking forward to a quiet holiday at Connie’s family home. But before long they find themselves caught up in another mystery, this time set against the dramatic backdrop of the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh.

You can find my review here.

For Aiden, Chloe, Ava and Josh, holidays at their grandparents’ cottage mean wild beaches, no curfew, Bella the dog, and most of all – adventure!

The lead actress in Frost Castle’s winter play is sure she’s cursed! A break-in, a car accident, and now her precious locket is missing. But the cousins suspect a ruthless thief. With a blizzard raging outside and a legendary ghost in the castle corridors, unmasking this villain will take all their bravery and skill…

Eleven-year-old Emily doesn’t think Badger Cottage will ever be home. But there is something out there that needs her; a bright pair of eyes in the darkness.
In the middle of a fierce battle between conservationists, who want to to rewild the lynx in the woods, and the local farmers, Emily tries to shield a baby lynx she calls Lotta, afraid it will be killed by the person who killed its mother. But can Emily work out who the illegal hunter is in time, and who can she trust?

A magical story of snow and stars by Catherine Fisher. The Clockwork Crow is a mysterious gothic Christmas tale set in a frost-bound Victorian country mansion. When orphaned Seren Rees is given a mysterious package by a strange and frightened man on her way to her new home, she reluctantly takes it with her. But what is in the parcel? Who are the Family who must not be spoken of, and can the Crow help Seren find Tom, before the owner of the parcel finds her?

George is about to spend his third Christmas without his mum. Since she died, George’s life has felt dull and grey; his dad has thrown himself into his work and has no time for family, and definitely no time for Christmas.

Then, George stumbles across Marley’s Curiosity Shop. There he finds a mysterious snow globe, which – though George can’t quite understand how – appears to show a scene from George’s past. A Christmas in which he and his family were together, and happy…

That night, George and his dad are swept on an adventure to three Christmases – past, present, and future. With help from new friends, and just a touch of magic, can they begin living life in full colour again?

When Oscar and Molly rush outside to investigate a crash in the night, they’re not expecting to find a dazed Angel Gabriel wandering around their grandparents’ back garden. And they’re certainly not expecting to find themselves in a race to save Christmas.

But if they don’t track down a missing shepherd, wise man, donkey and the actual Mary and Joseph, who’ve all crash-landed in Chipping Bottom, not only will Christmas cease to exist, but they will too.

Operation Nativity is on.

You can read my review here.

Wish it could be Christmas every day? Well, for nine-year-old Holly Carroll and her family, it is! Living her merriest life in a house with year-round fairy lights and Christmas trees, a carol-singing toilet and a diva donkey who thinks he’s a reindeer, home-schooled Holly tries to spread cheer wherever she goes.

But when she goes to a new school with a singing Santa backpack and first day Christmas cards (during a heatwave in September!), she realises not everyone shares her enthusiasm for spreading cheer. In fact, when the neighbours try to remove the Carrolls from the street and Holly discovers a group of children that may not get a Christmas at all, her snowglobe world begins to crack. Is the world’s most Christmassy girl about to lose her Christmas spirit?

It’s 1952 in smog-shrouded London. Christmas might be fast approaching, but with her mum away and Uncle Frank busy running the post office, Penny Black is lonelier than ever. All that changes when Penny discovers a small, fluffy, funny, springy and – most importantly – talking creature in the post office one night, trying to make off with a letter. But Wishyouwas is no thief.

He’s a Sorter, and he soon introduces Penny to a fascinating secret world hidden in the tunnels underneath the city’s streets. Self-appointed guardians of lost mail, the Sorters have dedicated their lives to rescuing letters that have gone astray and making sure they get delivered to their rightful owners. Penny is determined to protect the Sorters, but how long will she be able to keep them safe with Stanley Scrawl, the sinister Royal Mail Rat Catcher, on the prowl? Can Penny save the Sorters and deliver a joyful Christmas?

You can read my review here.

What if somewhere along the way we’ve all got the Santa story a bit wrong…?

Join Blanche Claus and her best friend Rinki for a funny festive sleigh ride you’ll never forget!

You can read my review here.

Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest…

When Col’s childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians – a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight – Col must race to Blitz-bombed London to save his sister.

But there are darker forces at work, even than the Nazi bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything.

You can read my review here.

It’s a dark and lonely Christmas Eve in the dining room of ancient Soul’s College. The kitchen boy, 11-year-old Lewis, has helped prepare a highly unusual meal, made with unrecognisable ingredients, cooked by a mysterious chef. And then the guests arrive … and carnage ensues. They are ex-students of Soul’s College, and they are all completely demented. They demand bottle after bottle of wine, flinging their cutlery and howling like banshees until … silence. The Dean of Soul’s College has arrived, and the evening’s ceremonies must begin.

For this is the annual meeting of a secret club for those who despise children, warmth, happiness, and above all Christmas. Each member must try to outdo the others by telling the most terrible, disgusting story they know.

Without hope there would be no magic.

Once upon a time, Father Christmas didn’t come to visit children every year. In fact, it nearly came to pass that there was no Christmas as we know it.Father Christmas had a lot to deal with; there were troubled elves, reindeers that kept falling from the sky, and more than a few angry trolls for him to contend with.

The reason? There was not enough magic in the world. Magic is born of hope – and if the children of the world couldn’t see any magic, then why would they hope for it?

It is Christmas Eve and all is not well. Amelia Wishart is trapped in Mr Creeper’s workhouse and Christmas is in jeopardy. Magic is fading. If Christmas is to happen, Father Christmas knows he must find her.

With the help of some elves, eight reindeer, the Queen and a man called Charles Dickens, the search for Amelia – and the secret of Christmas – begins …

It’s Christmas, and the snow is falling in Cambridge, where the detective duo Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the festive period.

But Hazel’s hopes of relaxing amongst the beautiful spires, cosy libraries and inviting tea-rooms are dashed by the danger lurking in the dark stairwells of Maudlin College.

Two days before Christmas, there is a terrible accident.

At least, it appears to be an accident – until the Detective Society look a little closer, and realise a murder has taken place.

Faced with several irritating grown-ups and fierce competition from a rival agency, they must use all their cunning and courage to find the killer (in time for Christmas Day, of course).

Whether you’re looking to find a Christmas mystery, a heart-warming treat, a rib-tickling read, an engrossing fantasy or a little horror, I hope there is something from this list that will appeal.

November Wrap-Up

Where did November go! I’ve been ridiculously busy at work this month and often working late in the evening with planning, so not as much reading done as I would have liked. I’m so glad I’ve made it a rule that I don’t work at the weekend, but I have now started a Christmas Movie Sunday afternoon, so only read in the morning.

Books I’ve read:

I’ve read 9 books this month which was a lot less than when I had half-term! I enjoyed all of these – the ones that really stood out for me were The Colour of Hope, Utterly Dark and the Heart of the Wild and Stitch.

Books sent by publishers:

I am grateful to have been sent 6 books by Publishers this month as well as a copy of Ember Spark, thanks to the kindness of two wonderful authors, Abi Elphinstone and Mel Taylor-Bessent.

NetGalley:

My Netgalley ratio is at 96%. I have five books on my shelf. I have read Stitch which is amazing and will hopefully find time to write my review this weekend. I have also been sent physical copies of three of these after I had requested them.

Books bought and gifted:

It was my birthday in November so I had some book presents but, as always, I also treated myself to some new books! I tend to ask mostly for adult/young adult books for my birthday and Christmas and buy children’s books myself.