September 23, 2023

Which Way To Anywhere

 

 



Title - Which Way to Anywhere
Author - Cressida Cowell
Release Date - September 19th, 2023
Genre - Middle Grade Fantasy

Synopsis
   From the #1 internationally bestselling author of  How to Train Your Dragon  and Wizards of Once comes an out-of-this-world adventure where magic and reality collide!

    K2 O’Hero is a seemingly ordinary boy—after all, he and his twin sister, Izzabird, have been sworn to keep their family’s Magical history a secret. Not even their infuriating stepsiblings, Theo and Mabel, know that Magic exists. They believe K2 to be the most hopeless person they have ever known.

    But K2 has a secret gift: He draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers, and dark, twisty jungles alive with plants that hunt by the smell of fear. But what K2 doesn’t know is that the maps he draws are real .

    When their baby sister, Annipeck, is kidnapped, the warring stepsiblings will have to use K2’s gift to find a crossing point into one of those worlds and embark on a daring rescue mission.


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Review:
I do not often reach for middle grade books when I'm looking for something to read but I'm glad I was given the chance to review Which Way to Anywhere by Cressida Cowell. This is defiantly a book series I would purchase for my son when he is gets to the reading stage. Which Way to Anywhere had a perfect mix of loveable characters and not so loveable characters who we follow through an alternate universe on a high stakes adventure. With portals, robots, an entire world of never seen creatures and magical abilities, Which Way to Anywhere is brimming with excitement and whimsical fun. Pick this up for the child in your life, or even yourself and enjoy the fun magical adventure.  

Favourite Quotes
"When vegetation attacks I absquilootely DEPLORES it..." 

 

"..she had opened the door to the airing cupboard to find it already occupied by a long, lean, see-through gentleman in old-fashioned dress and a large Viking hat keeping warm in there. She wasn't frightened, only a little sorry for him, because the ghost was weeping gently and was polite, requesting she find him some for of 'Cure', before handing her the pillow card she was looking for..." 

"You don't really appreciate the ordinary m

 

oments... A peaceful day. Rain on your roses. A delicious sandwich, one of the really good ones. Lovely, quiet, ordinary moments. Take a big deep breath and enjoy the ordinary moments, people. They're more wonderful than you think."   







Cressida Cowell grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. She was convinced that there were dragons living on this island, and has been fascinated by dragons ever since. She has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin’s and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton. Cressida loves illustrating her own work, but also loves writing books for other people to illustrate as the end result can be so unexpected and inspiring. Cressida has written and illustrated eight books in the popular Hiccup series. The unique blend of child centred humour and sublime prose made Hiccup an instant hit. How to Train Your Dragon is now published in over 30 languages. A DreamWorks Animation feature film is out in March 2010. Also the author of picture books, Cressida has won the Nestle Children’s Book Prize 2006 and has been shortlisted for many others. Cressida lives in Hammersmith with her husband and three children.





I would like to Thank TBR Tours, Cressida Cowell, and Netgalley for a copy of the book for review and blog tour purposes.
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September 22, 2023

The Society for Soulless Girls

 

Title - The Society of Soulless Girls
Author - Laura Steven
Release Date - September 19th, 2023
Genre - Young Adult Thriller/Mystery

Synopsis
   A sapphic enemies-to-lovers retelling of Jekyll & Hyde, this dark academia thriller follows two roommates who must solve an infamous cold case of serial murders on their campus after an arcane ritual gone wrong prompts another death.
   
    Ten years ago, four students lost their lives in the infamous North Tower murders at the elite Carvell College of Arts, forcing Carvell to close its doors.
​
    Now Carvell is reopening, and fearless freshman Lottie is determined to find out what really happened. But when her beautiful but standoffish roommate, Alice, stumbles upon a sinister soul-splitting ritual hidden in Carvell’s haunted library, the North Tower claims another victim.
​
    Can Lottie uncover the truth before the North Tower strikes again? Can Alice reverse the ritual before her monstrous alter ego consumes her? And will they give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between them?

    Exploring possession and ambition, lust and bloodlust, femininity and violence, The Society of Soulless Girls is perfect for fans of The Secret History, A Lesson in Vengeance, and The Grimrose Girls.

Representation: Sapphic, Queer, Asexual, Autistic, Neurodiversity
Trigger Warnings: sexual harassment, on page animal death, suicide, self-harm, violence, murder, physical abuse

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Review:
A Society for Soulless Girls is an amazing young adult dark academic book. We are given a dual perspective, Lottie and Alice, throughout the book, along with beautiful descriptions. Usually, I have a hard time visualizing what I am reading, but Laura Steven’s described these dark academic vibes, old buildings and surroundings, right down to the smells and feelings. I felt like I was right there with the main characters, smelling what they were, and feeling what they felt. One of my favourite lines was the description of Lottie’s father sounding like sunshine and honeybees. I did not connect with Lottie as much as I did with Alice. She is introverted and finds love and comfort in libraries.

Laura Steven’s made sure we had really great Sapphic and ace representation. And she did not shy away from some very loved tropes from enemy to lovers with a nice slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, and, of course, the one bed trope. 

If you are looking for a beautifully written Jekyll and Hyde retelling containing Sapphic main characters on a dark academic exclusive boarding school back drop, I highly recommend you give A Society for Soulless Girls a go. You will not regret it.







Laura Steven is an award-winning author from the northernmost town in England. She has published several books for children and young adults; her debut novel The Exact Opposite Of Okay won the inaugural Comedy Women In Print Prize in 2019, while The Love Hypothesis was optioned for TV by an Emmy-winning team. Her books have been widely translated, and her work has appeared in The i Paper, The Guardian and Buzzfeed.



I would like to Thank TBR Tours, Laura Stevens, and Netgalley for a copy of the book for review and blog tour purposes.
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September 20, 2023

The Final Haunt

 

 


Title - The Final Haunt (The Spirit Chasters #4)
Author - Kat Mayor
Release Date - September 19th, 2023
Genre - Adult Horror

Synopsis
Third Eye Redesigned
Casey faces a long, arduous recovery. Her near-death experience has left her with the loss of her human sight. It has also left her with abilities she never had before.

SCI Realigned
The Spirit Chasers are back, investigating the most haunted locations in America. After all, these ghosts aren't going to cross themselves over. This season they take on the legendary Hillendahl Mansion and an abandoned psychiatric hospital, as well as homes with an evil and bloody history.

Investigation Rewind
Some places are too evil -- Enchanted Hill should be left alone. Lurking in the background is a demonic entity they just can't escape. If they brave it, they're going to need every supernatural gift at their disposal to defeat an ancient evil that threatens to destroy them all.






Start the series for free!


“Some places are too evil. Some places should be left alone.”


The Spirit Chaser is available for free here:







I am a native Texan and have lived in the Houston area for most of my life. I am a wife and mom who loves to read. When I’m not kicking an idea around in my head for a story, I read and review books on Goodreads. Occasionally, I sleep. Author of The Spirit Chaser Series and Murder of a Mommyvlogger. Author of the Circles series under the name KM Montemayor.






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September 12, 2023

Adventures of Takuan from Koto 



Title - Adventures of Takeuan From Koto
Author - Ryu Zhong
Release Date - August 6th 2023
Genre - Young Adult Fantasy
Synopsis:

Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.

 A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.

    But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.

    Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.

    Or does our story begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan of Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.
  







Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research
and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his
experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few
hundred years.
Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study
Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.






This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 11th to 15th of
September. See the tour schedule here:
Tour Schedule






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