The Other Side

The Other Side

By Milo McGivern

Genre:-Children's Fiction

Age:-8-12 Years

Publisher:-Matador

Blurb:-The Island of Animaux is a mysterious, wonderful place. Unknown to humans, hidden by fog and always on the move around the planet. It is a land of crazy, mad, funny adventures. Welcome back!

 The five new tales in The Other Side follow on from the ones in the last book, Coffee and Ice Cream. Aubrey the Turkey is once again up to his neck in bother. See where he ends up when a magic trick goes wrong, also how Clifford Platypus, Walli Hog and their friends manage to save him. Travel with Aubrey, Clifford and Walli as they go on an enjoyable seaside holiday, at least for the Turkey. Watch as the island becomes stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, unable to move. The biggest crisis in its long history!

 Please enjoy the stories. And don't be afraid to laugh, particularly as Aubrey's expense. But please, please, please-continue to remember to keep the latest position of the island top secret!

Thank you #AD #Gifted @FreeHonestReviews @lovebookstours

Instagram:-@miloncgivern2021 @lovebooktours @paulalearmouth #LBTCrew #Bookstagram

X(Twitter):-@McGivernMilo @KellyALacey @lovebookstours @mamof9 #TheIslandOfAnimaux

My Review:-This is Book Five in 'The Island ofAnimaux series.' We decided to read this book as one of our bedtime stories and we all enjoyed it. A place that no humans know about and it moves around the planet. We get to meet many characters, both old and new in this book. Aubrey turkey, Clifford the Platypus and Walli Hog. The stories are fun but also have meaning, the environment, love and loss. I found it a great way of helping children with emotions. I liked the idea of the map at the beginning along with two coordinates. The little pictures throughout the book adds to the stories. Emily enjoyed this book and found it easy to read.

Retribution-Landscapes of Love

Retribution-Landscapes of Love Book 2

By Philip Tyler

Genre:-Literary Fiction/Contemporary Fiction

Pages:-338

Publisher:-Pickhill Publishing

Blurb:-Retribution is the second book in the Landscapes of Love trilogy. The complex relationship between Charlie, Daniel and Anne Marie moves to the beautiful landscapes of Saudi Arabia. Charlie lives on the large family estate in the spectacular Yorkshire Dales. Since university, where she was physically abused by a wealthy American fellow student, she has had no interest in developing relationships and has thrown herself into managing the estate and enjoying her successful business as a landscape photographer. Daniel is an independent mercenary who works for governments and wealthy organisations around the world. He uses the financial rewards to run conservation programmes for white rhinos in Kenya and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. When his wife is killed, he uses his business skills to track down those responsible in the whole 'white gold' supply chain across the world and destroy them. Anne-Marie is a very intelligent and extremely beautiful Afo-American who helps Daniel with his dangerous work. Anne-Marie develops a passionate love for Charlie.

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @thebooknetwork.co.uk

Instagram:-@thebooknetwork.co.uk @paulalearmouth

X(Twitter):-@TheBookNetwork1 @mamof9

My Review:-This is Book Two of 'Landscapes of Love'. I had the pleasure of reading and review Book One 'Catharsis'. We are taken on a journey in the life of Charlie, Daniel and Anne Marie. With the beautiful backdrop of Saudi Arabia. Even though each of the characters are totally different from each other, but all fit together. We get to see how the characters Charlie, Daniel and Anne Marie are developing, Charlie a landscape photographer and doesn't let past traumas (we learnt of these in Book One)

Hexed

Hexed

By Lisa Wakely

Genre:-YA/Supernatural/Fantasy

Pages:-200

Publisher:-

Blurb:-After sixteen-year-old Harriet Flynn trips over an ancient gravestone etched with strange markings in a seventeenth-century holiday village and reads the inscription, she and her friends are alarmed to wake up with supernatural powers.

 Having magical abilities is fun at first, but when a series of accidents cause the group to become frightened, Harriet becomes determined to find out what's going on.

 While investigating the history of the gravestone they came across that night, Harriet realises she has unwittingly awakened a centuries-old, deadly curse and she is the only one who can put an end to it-and she has less than a day.

 With time running out, Harriet must find the true key, to save herself and the ones she loves.

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @zooloosbooktours

Instagram:-@lis_wakely @zooloosbooktours @troubador_publishing @paulalearmouth #Hexed

X(Twitter):-@liswakely @ZooloosBT @mamof9 #TheBookGuild #Hexed

My Review:-At sixteen-year-old Harriet Flynn is left to help her mother at the holiday village they ran with her father having to go away. Harriet needs to help with the reenactment of life back in the seventeenth century. After tripping over a gravestone the night before, Harriet and her friends wake in the morning with magical powers, but not sure why or how. Even though it was fun at first they soon learn it's going to be a lot harder than they think to sort out. Harriet only has day with the help of her friends to find the true key. Will this be to much for Harriet and her friends?

I really enjoyed this book, even though Hexed is aimed at young adults, I think it is suitable for any age. It was a quick and easy read. My fourteen-year-old granddaughter is now reading it.

Me Here Without You Now

Me Here Without You Now

By Edie D. Browning

Genre:-Romance/Contemporary Fiction/Women's Fiction

Pages:-198

Blurb:-A Winter of Heartbreak and Hope: Navigating Love in the Modern Age

After building a life abroad with her true love, Louise finds herself dating again. Trying to make sense of late-night eggplant and fire emojis, she grapples with the loss of the love of her life.

 Me Here Without You Now is a love story after the love story set against the stunning but cold backdrop of Finland's winter. It is a feel-good romance book that follows Louise who struggles to move on and finds herself lost in the process. Between modern text-dating in her forties and navigating the complexities of a budding relationship with a younger man, she becomes entangled in obsessions, and losing touch with those who matter most, including her son.

 As the story unfolds through the winter months and culminates just after the New Year, Louise's journey takes a transformative turn. She begins to shed her, obsessions and reconnects with those around her, and ultimately finds love again in this touching family drama fiction.

 This heartfelt, beautiful and inspiring novel is about love, life, and the resilience of mothers that will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. It underscores that while grief is universal, healing is unique for everyone, reminding us that no matter how challenging life becomes, hope and healing are always within reach.

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @hyggebooktours

Instagram:-@author_edie_d.browning @hyggebooktours @paulalearmouth

X(Twitter):-@hyggebooktours @mamof9

My Review:-This is Book One of Four in the 'Me Series'. Louise is a widow now that her husband Matt has died and is bring up her teenage son, Peter. Since Matt died Louise hasn't been in a good place, she was depressed, but still she put everything she could into Peter. Louise is a teacher and was getting some attention from two male teachers, David and Sammy. Peter was also had a crush on his friend. The story does move from Louise to Peter, but also past and present. Louise has to deal with grief since Matt died, but also finding herself again. There are so many emotion going on through this story, one minute you're laughing, the next crying. 

Crow Face, Doll Face

Crow Face, Doll Face

By Carly Holmes

Genre:-Contemporary Literary Fiction

Pages:-256

Publisher:-Honno Welsh Women's Press

Blurb:-Annie surrendered her fantasy of travelling the world, settled instead for marrying her beloved Peter and becoming a mother.

 When her two youngest daughters-her Crow Face and her Doll Face-perform a seemingly impossible act of levitation at a family picnic, Annie realises that they are truly extraordinary. Magical. And it's her role to protect them. With growing paranoia and a bitter fatalism, she spirits her daughters away from their home and the wreck of her marriage. But she commits a terrible, unthinkable, unmotherly act on the way.

 Crow Face, Doll Face is an uncanny, brooding tale of domestic disturbances, dysfunctional families, flawed mothers, and unfulfilled dreams.

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @randomthingstours

Instagram:-@carlycrowholmes @gwasghonnopress @randomthingstours @paulalearmouth #CrowFaceDollFace

X(Twitter):-@honno @RandomTTours @mamof9 #CrowFaceDollFace

My Review:-Annie's dream has always been to travel the world. When Annie married Peter the love of her life and became a mother she knew this wasn't going to happen, because Peter didn't want to travel.  Annie had Julian first, followed by Elsa, but her relationship with Elsa wasn't good, she wore gloves when she picked her, which wasn't that often, (I feel like she may have had PND). Everything was different when she had Kitty, she was beautiful and they would call her Doll Face, shortly after they after Leila, who looked like a crow, so they would call her Crow Face. Annie thinks there is something extra special about Kitty and Leila, and they are treated different to their brother and sister. I know some parents do treat their children different from each other, but how far would you go? I don't want to say much more, apart from you need to read this book.  I have to say I loved the cover and I think it fits the book well. It had me gripped from the start, even at times I wanted to put it down but there was always something that made me to keep on reading to the end. I will be looking for more books by Carly Holmes.

Through The Snow Globe

Through The Snow Globe - #DecktheShelves Christmas Book

By Annie Rains

Genre:-Feel Good Fiction

Publisher:-Canelo

Blurb:--It's a Wonderful life meets Groundhog Day in USA. Today bestselling author Annie Rains's new novel, as a woman dangerously close to losing it all receives an unexpected Christmas gift that prompts a surprising journey of self-discovery...and another chance at happiness.

 Diana Merriman, a physical therapist, is probably the only person in the small town of Snow Haven, North Carolina, who isn't looking forward to Christmas. It's been three weeks since her fiance Linus was critically injured when a car hit him as he biked home from the toy store he owns and manages. Watching him open his eyes is the only gift she wants, but she can't help losing a little more hope every day.

 But an unexpected visit from a friendly neighbour and finding a snow globe of Snow Haven-a gift Linus had hidden in the closet-the night before Christmas Eve changes things in ways Diana never would have imagined. Because on Christmas Eve Diana wakes up to find that it's not-Christmas Eve, that is. Instead, it's somehow December 4 all over again, the day Linus got hurt, and as mystified as Diana is, she immediately starts a plan to save her partner from his fate.

 Nothing is that simple, of course. Instead of a single repeat of that day, Diana finds herself in an endless loop of December 4, experiencing every possible variation of events. Along the way, she uncovers startling truths about herself, her relationship, and even her career that illustrate the ways she's retreated from her life- and in the face of life's slights and outright blows, from her deepest feelings. Suddenly hope is second only to joy as Diana opens her heart of the people she loves in every way she can.

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @lovebookstours

Instagram:-@Annierainsbooks @canelo_co @hera_books @lilacmillsauthor @kileydunbarauthor @lovebookstours @paulalearmouth #LBTCrew #DecktheShelves

X(Twitter):-@AnnieRainsBooks @KellyALacey @lovebookstours @mamof9 #LBTCrew

Facebook:-@annierainsbooks @canelobooks @lovebookstours @PaulaLearmouth

Tik Tok:-@canelo_books @lovebookstours #DecktheShelves

My Review:-Diana Merriman had it all, until that morning when her fiance, Linus was in a bike accident. With Christmas being the last thing on her mind, Diana comes across a present that Linus had hidden from her, a snow globe, but not just any snow globe, it was of Snow Haven where they lived. Diana has the chance to change everything when she wakes up and finds its December 4th again, the day of Linus's accident. What is she going to do? The ending wasn't what I expected but it was perfect for Diana. This is a easy to read and well wrote book, perfect for this time of the year. It did have a feel of Groundhog Day when the same day keeps repeating until you get it right. With the 4th December repeating itself I did think it gave Diana time to look at her life differently. The story reminds you that you never know what is round the corner, always tell your love  ones how much you love and care about them.

The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field

The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field -#DecktheShelves Christmas Book Tours

By Lilac Mills

Genre:-Feel Good Fiction

Publisher:-Canelo

Blurb:-Harriet is facing her second Christmas on her own since her husband walked out. With little child support, she's struggling to manage financially, not helped when daughter Sara is invited to a posh birthday party and needs a new outfit.

 When Owen, a passionate environmentalist and popular blogger, overhears Harriet bemoaning her situation, he challenges her to only buy second-hand until Christmas, and Harriet accepts. What she doesn't know is that Owen is reporting her journey anonymously to all his followers.

 Though the challenge is proving successful, it's not without its troubles. Can Harriet really keep her children and bank balance happy this way? As Owen's feeling toward Harriet deepen, he begins to panic about the blog-how will she react when she finds her life documented online?

 Foxmore's inaugural Christmas fayre is fast approaching and will either be the toast of the town-or the downfall of their relationship.

 A festive romance with buckets of hearts, for fans of Holly Martin, Jessica Redland and Sue Moorcroft

Thank you #AD #Gifted #FreeHonestReview @lovebookstours

Instagram:-@lilacmillsauthor @canelo_co @lovebookstours @paulalearmouth #LBTCrew #DecktheShelves

X(Twitter):-@LilacMills @canelo_co @KellyALacey @lovebookstours #LBTCrew #DecktheShelves

Facebook:-@LilacMills @canelobooks @lovebookstours @PaulaLearmouth

WordPress Headers:-@LilacMills @canelo_co @KellyALacey @lovebookstours

My Review:-This is Book Two in the 'Foxmore Village'. It's Christmas time again, that means another year that Harriet has no help,  husband left her two years earlier. When Harriet meets Owen, a passionate environmentalist and a blogger, he gives Harriet a challenge, she could only buy second hand till Christmas, When Harriet agreed to this, there was one thing that Owen forgot to mention that he was going to post on his blog about Harriet and her second hand challenge. Will Harriet be able to keep her children happy, along with her bank balance?  Will it be more than just a challenge when the big day arrives...you'll have to read the book to find out. I read this book in one day, it was a easy read and will relate to a lot of us.