Can you believe it's the end of the month already? Time is really flying past!
So here is the February wrap up, I haven't read as much as I intended but hey ho, that's life I guess. I'm struggling with audible at the moment. It's weird because if the radio is on in the car I hear everything. The minute I turn audible on I seem to switch off and not remember a thing that's been said!
I only read 4 books! I'm not a quick reader and sometimes I'm so shattered after a day at school that trashy tv is all I can manage!
1. The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinsky
Due to be published 30th April 2020
Synopsis:
Pack your suitcase for a magical adventure! Perfect for fans of The Train to Impossible Places and The Polar Bear Explorers' Club.
At the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, each suitcase transports you to a different world. All you have to do is step inside . . .
At the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, each suitcase transports you to a different world. All you have to do is step inside . . .
When 12-year-old Flick Hudson accidentally ends up in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she uncovers a fantastic secret: there are hundreds of other worlds just steps away from ours. All you have to do to visit them is jump into the right suitcase. Then Flick gets the invitation of a lifetime: join Strangeworlds' magical travel society and explore other worlds.
But, unknown to Flick, the world at the very centre of it all, a city called Five Lights, is in danger. Buildings and even streets are mysteriously disappearing. Once Flick realizes what's happening she must race against time, travelling through unchartered worlds, seeking a way to fix Five Lights before it collapses into nothingness - and takes our world with it.
A magical adventure for 9+ readers that will take you to whole new worlds.
I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to get a physical copy.
2. The Legend of Podkin One-Ear (Five Realms) by Kieran Larwood
Synopsis:
Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch. The sound of heavy footsteps, trudging through knee-deep snow, echoes through the night’s silence.
A thick white blanket covers the wide slopes of the band of hills known as the Razorback Downs. Moonlight dances over it, glinting here and there in drifts of sparkles, as if someone has sprinkled the whole scene with diamond dust.
Podkin is the son of a warrior chieftain. He knows that one day it will be up to him to lead his warren and guard it in times of danger. But for now, he's quite happy to laze around annoying his older sister Paz, and playing with his baby brother Pook.
Then Podkin's home is brutally attacked, and the young rabbits are forced to flee. The terrifying Gorm are on the rampage, and no one and nowhere is safe. With danger all around them, Podkin must protect his family, uncover his destiny, and attempt to defeat the most horrifying enemy
This one has been around for a while but I just hadn't got around to it. I read this on audible.
3. The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan
Synopsis:
The first in a new children's fantasy adventure series, full of imagination, humour and heart, and with echoes of Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Neverending Story and Jumanji. The Land of Roar is perfect for children aged 8 to 12, and can sit on their bookshelf next to Nevermoor, Wizards of Once and How to Train Your Dragon.
Readers can bring their fantasy world to life and meet dragons, unicorns, mermaids and more in this beautifully illustrated children's book. Believing is just the beginning . . .
When Arthur and Rose were little, they were heroes in the Land of Roar, an imaginary world that they found by climbing through the folding bed in their grandad's attic. Roar was filled with things they loved - dragons, mermaids, ninja wizards and adventure - as well as things that scared them (including a very creepy scarecrow. . .).
Now the twins are eleven, Roar is just a memory. But when they help Grandad clean out the attic, Arthur is horrified as Grandad is pulled into the folding bed and vanishes. Is he playing a joke? Or is Roar . . . real?
This is another one I read on audible and really enjoyed. I'll be buying a physical copy of this when I can get some pennies together!
4. The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke
Due to be published 14th May 2020
Synopsis:
The amazing humour and world-building of Nevermoor meets the wisdom and warmth of Rooftoppers in this completely unforgettable and totally gorgeous comedy-adventure!
In all the years that Elinora Gassbeek has been matron of the Little Tulip Orphanage, not once have the Rules for Baby Abandonment been broken. Until the autumn of 1886, when five babies are left in outrageous circumstances: one in a tin toolbox, one in a coal bucket, one in a picnic hamper, one in a wheat sack, and finally, one in a coffin-shaped basket.
Those babies were Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem and Milou, who were swiftly and firmly deemed 'the unadoptables'. Twelve years on the children still have each other - until the fateful night a most sinister gentleman appears and threatens to tear them apart. The gang decide to make a daring escape, fleeing the frozen canals of Amsterdam for an adventure packed with puppets and pirate ships, clock-makers and cruel villains - and with only a scrap of a clue to guide them to their mysterious new home .
There we have it. I'm not reviewing them here but in a nutshell I think that The Strangeworlds Travel Agency is going to be extremely popular. I loved it!
The Unadoptables has to be my favourite book of the year so far. It's just a joy to read. Those 2 are definately on my list to get hardback and paperback copies of if they will do them in both. Hopefully there will be book signings too!
You need to get them!
So whilst there only 4 books, 2 of them were corkers and I'd definately recommend them.
Happy reading,
Allison xx
