From the Book Elf

  If I had a Polar Bear  by Gabby Dawnay and Alex Barrow If I had a Polar Bear by Gabby Sawney and Alex Barrow was published on 5th October 2023 by Thames and Hudson. My thanks to everyone for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take place on the tour. Synopsis The latest addition to the wildly popular series of bedtime stories imagines what it would be like to have a polar bear for a pet. What would it be like to have a polar bear as a pet? It might be an unconventional choice, but it would be sure to give the best bear hugs... Polar bears are cuddly but they’re also very strong. As marine mammals, they can swim for days at a time – that’s serious perseverance! So if Santa ever needed help delivering his presents, guess who he would call? Join our funny female protagonist as she wonders ‘what would life be like... if I had a polar bear?’ My Review What is there not to like about this lovely rhyming story for young children. It is perfectly

  Peace on the Western Front  by Mattia Signorini Peace on the Western Front by Mattia Signorini published by Manilla Press My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis 1914. A boy enrols in the army, hoping to find peace in the great adventure of war. Handed a rifle, he discovers the grim grey days distinguished only by the ever-present spectre of death. In the midst of horror, he finds close friendships, love and companionship. In an unexpected act of courage, he changes the course of history, bringing German and Brits to put down their weapons for a celebration of peace. In 1933, a father and son set out for Flanders. The former soldier carries more of the war with him than his maimed left hand. The British man he met in the forest of Ypres is a memory passed down from father to son, a story of friendship across enemy lines, forged by one uniting the need for peace. My Review T

  A Christmas Carol with Grandfather Time  by Rose English A Christmas Carol with Grandfather Time by Rose English - Children's picture book (ages 4-8+) Synopsis A seasonal treat, a modern, lyrical re-telling of the Charles Dickens classic - ‘A Christmas Carol' The book is specially designed for families to share during the Holiday Season, or for young competent readers to try for themselves. This is a beautiful picture book to treasure, with full colour images on every page. Grandfather Time is a magical clock ~ he brings us the story of young Ebenezer, a boy who is not very caring and really hates sharing. One Christmas Eve, not so very long-ago Grandfather Time decides to teach the boy a lesson. So with the help of his friends; the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future and with lessons to learn he brings forth the first tutor – a little golden-red King Charles spaniel, called Miss Ruby Heart. Will this unlikely pair be able to teach the boy the error of his ways? Or will he b

  Murder on the Christmas Express  by Alexandra Benedict Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict  was published on 28th September 2023 by Simon & Schuster.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis CAN YOU SOLVE THE CASE?  Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer. In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers.  With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one.  Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.  Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again? My Review For me this was a book that I initially had doubts about, mainly because it took a while, page 158 to be precise, for the first body to be discovered and to be honest I was starting to lose interes

  Gallows Drop  by Mari Hannah Gallows Drop by Mari Hannah   was published on 5th October 2017 by Pan. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Compulsive Book Tours for inviting me to be part of #TeamDaniels. Synopsis Gallows Drop  is Maria Hannah's sixth gripping crime novel featuring DCI Kate Daniels. At dawn on a lonely stretch of road, a body is found hanging from an ancient gallows the morning after a country show. Hours earlier, DCI Kate Daniels had seen the victim alive. With her leave period imminent, she's forced to step aside when DCI James Atkins is called in to investigate. There's bad blood between them. When Kate discovers that Atkins' daughter was an eyewitness to a fight involving the victim, the two detectives lock horns and he's bumped off the case. It's the trigger for a vicious attack on Kate, exposing a secret she's kept hidden for years and unearthing an even darker one. Shaken but undeterred, Kate s

  The Lost Supper  by Taras Grescoe The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe was published  on 9th November 2023 by Greystone Books. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis In the tradition of Michael Pollan, Anthony Bourdain, and Mark Bittman, “a surprising, flavoursome tour of ancient cuisines” (Kirkus ★ )—from Neolithic bread to ancient Roman fish sauce—and why reviving the foods of the past is the key to saving the future. Many of us are worried (or at least we should be) about the impacts of globalization, pollution, and biotechnology on our diets. Whether it's monoculture crops, hormone-fed beef, or high-fructose corn syrup, industrially-produced foods have troubling consequences for us and the planet. But as culinary diversity diminishes, many people are looking to a surprising place to safeguard the future: into the past. The Lost Supper explores an idea that is quickly spre

 Solstice  by Helen Steadman Solstice by Helen Steadman  was published on 18th September 2023 by Bell Jar Books. My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Books Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis England, 1673. Still a world of witches, witch trials and witchfinders. When a new vicar arrives to take over the parish of Mutton Clog, the village finds itself in the grip of puritan fever, and suspicious eyes are turned on Rose Driver. Rose’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the fanatical witchfinder, John Sharpe. Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat. Rose should be safe in her quiet village, but is history about to repeat itself? Find out in Solstice, the powerful conclusion to The Widdershins Trilogy. Inspired by real witch trials, Solstice tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world. The Widdershins Tril

  The Pieces of Us  by Caroline Montague The Pieces of Us by Caroline Montague is published by Orion Books. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Rachel at Rachel's Random Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Marina and Hugh were once madly in love. But after the loss of their beautiful little daughter, grief has created a distance between them that feels impossible to bridge. Marina knows leaving Italy is the only way they will be able to move on, but Thorncliffe Hall, Hugh's family home in England, is so grey and unwelcoming. Just when life feels like it may never regain colour, Marina and Hugh come across a striking china coffee pot in a London shop window, adorned with a fox flying through the night sky. The coffee pot comes attached with a mystery, one that is connected with Hugh's own family many years ago. By digging into the past, Marina is about to discover a story far beyond her wildest dreams. But will t

  The Counterfeit Detective  by Simpson Grears The Counterfeit Detective by Simpson Grears  was published on 1st October 2023 by Rymour Books. My thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review and to Love Books Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis An American professor discovers the diaries of John Ledbury, known as the counterfeit detective, a minor poet who, in Victorian London, is employed to reply to the mail that comes addressed to Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street.   Through the diaries, he unearths a series of baffling unsolved murders. He travels through England and Scotland but he realizes that, in order to solve the mystery, he has to travel further, back through time itself. My Review I have to be honest this wasn't my cup of tea. However, for those who the storyline will appeal to , and there are many I am sure, it is a very well-written book with lots of intricacies as John Ledbury and Scotland Yard try to unravel what is happening, who

  Diary of An Artist in Love  The Muse Frequency The Diary of an Artist in Love was published on 15th August 2023.  My thanks to The Muse Frequency for sending me a copy to review  and to Love Books Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis  A slender, beautifully illustrated volume of 30 poems, enumerating love in all its configurations and crucibles: through enchantment, presence, magnetism, illusion, nature, restlessness, wonder, and memories that rise from our past, and follow us into our future. Readers will be immersed in a series of 15 poems called “Love is” I through XV, with 15 additional poems that sit between them, threading the eye of the needle that we call love, with topics that seem to successively build on one another and chronicle the different phases of this intangible marvel that rules our lives. These poems include: · “We Start Here” · “Stay With Me” · “Wondering” · “Beautiful Things” · “Limitless” For seekers, artists, lovers, moon-gazers, anyone tha

 Single all the Way  by Elaine Spires Single all the Way by Elaine Spires Published 9th October 2014 My thanks to Elaine for sending me a copy to review and to  Rachel at Rachel's Random resources for inviting me to take part on the tour Synopsis Single All the Way is the third in the Singles’ Trilogy. The first book Singles’ Holiday was set in Antigua and the second Singles & Spice set in India. In this book, Travel Together Tour Manager Eve Mitchell is planning a quiet Christmas at home to rest and relax before a special New Year. But she soon, very unexpectedly, finds herself in the depths of the Essex countryside looking after a singles' group which contains some old, familiar faces and some pleasant - and not so pleasant - new ones. With its country walks, quizzes, disco and black-tie ball, the Christmas and Twixmas Break passes quickly, but just as they think it's all over the plot takes a twist and we learn some dark secrets... My Review As this is the third book