Tuesday 24 May 2022

Book Review: "Read Between the Lies" by Malcolm Duffy

Kindle:
Hardback:
Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5


I got approved to read and honestly review this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I wanna start off in my normal way of reviewing books, by saying that each book I read starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly held in place by the time I close the back cover but I've got no problem with removing stars as I feel is necessary.

Let's get started with the reading shall we?

I like the cover of the book 'cos I initially read it as "lines" instead of "lies" but I've literally just noticed that the lines can be read as an E as well as an N which has already piqued my interest!

After 2 chapters and 3 chapter titles, this book is already giving me more appreciation for what children go through during school.  I've read less than 10 dyslexic words so far in this book and it's made me realise for the first time in my life just how hard it really is for those with dyslexia and gives me a greater appreciation for their struggles... they must have awesome coping strategies that they've learnt since their diagnosis!

This book gets better and better!  After only 8% I'm already hooked and it takes a truly special book to achieve that!

Noo!  There's a brand name potentially used without permission, so my sense of fair play has kicked in and I've had to knock off a star, just like I have with other books... it's a 5 star story, but potential trademark infringement means that we're down to four stars unfortunately  :-(

I'd been wondering how old Ryan and Tommy are 'cos it says on Amazon that it's a book for 12+ and also teens and young adults, so I was wondering which it was, but it's definitely a book for younger teens 'cos the main characters are 16 and 17.

Oh dear.  The end of that chapter can't bring good news for Tommy, let alone Ryan!

The built up tension and explosiveness in the next few chapters has been spot on.  I'm right on the edge of my seat and the atmosphere it's created is absolutely amazing.

Oh my life... the explosions are still happening and make for incredible reading!  My heart is starting to race which can't be good this close to our groceries being delivered lol

That was an unexpected end to that chapter... I'm 42% of the way through and our groceries are due in the next hour, so I've stopped reading until that's over and done with.  Can't wait to keep reading though!

Time to carry on with the reading now.

I'm at 60% now and just got a big surprise - it's what I've been hoping for since the first page, but to see it come true is fantastic.

Oooh!  Shakespeare... this should be interestingly handled!

I'm intrigued by the loft letter now lol

OMGosh!  I really wasn't expecting the loft letter to be talking about *that*!!  Totally caught me off guard but it ties up the questions that teens might have been having about Tommy and Ryan!

What an awesome end to an incredible book.  It should definitely be 5 stars, but my sense of fair play to previous books I've reviewed is demanding that the fifth star stays forlornly on the floor, sobbing and heartbroken.

Friday 20 May 2022

Book Review: "Finding My Moo: What Can I Do?" by Marie Zhang

Kindle:
Paperback:  

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I wanna thank Book Review Buzz and Net Galley for letting me know about this book.  I decided to buy it using my Kindle Unlimited membership.

I also wanna start off this review in the same way I start off all my other book reviews - by saying that it'll start off with the full 5 stars and I'm hopeful that it'll end with them all firmly in place too.

Let's get started shall we?

It's a gorgeously cute front cover and my heart is breaking for the poor cow sat in the puddle.

Ooooh!  I've never had that on my first generation Kindle before!  I'm seeing images instead of the just plain text that I get... I dunno how the publisher sorted that out, but it's the sign of a good book to be able to produce a book with images on my Kindle!

I'm loving all the repitition and the opportunity to invite the youngster to make the noises of the animals too.  The words used to describe each noise might be a touch advanced for such a young audience, but they might learn how to recognise the words and associate it with the noise they produce.

Just finished reading and it's a wonderful book that is right up the street of such young listeners... it's a great introduction to books that involve them that I reckon should be available to every youngster!