Reviews written by Jan Farnworth, Digital Manager/Blog Assistant and Staff Reviewer

What I liked: Bridget Vanderpuff and the Baked Escape will give you all the feels of the classic orphanage stories we read when we were little or are just now reading. Matlida and Trunchball, Anne of Green Gables, Marilla, the BFG, and his child he carried away from an...

Dawn and Dust is the sequel to the outstanding tale Ink and Ore by indie author Hayley Whiteley. What stands out most for me in this story is the magic system, the use of ore as a way to create and build things. Katie and Brenna's friendship spans any distance...

Ink and Ore is a debut indie novel about two friends fighting against all odds to end a war. The magic system is unique; the plot twists keep you guessing at every turn, and the anguish you feel as you read about some of these characters' circumstances is gut-wrenching. Katie...

Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch is the first book in the new series about Ivy Newt, a little witch, and her friend (a familiar) Tom Wolf. Set on a bat-shaped island, Miracula is full of magic, mischief, and drama that young people are bound to enjoy. There are castles...

What I like: Ziva and her sister are a loving pair who work well together and understand their relationship. Temra, even though her younger sister, does a fantastic job of helping her anxiety-ridden sister navigate life. Ziva doesn’t communicate well with people, has high anxiety around numerous...

It’s the Easter Beagle. Charlie Brown is a delightful flashback for me to share with my kids, and we can even watch the show accompanying this book. What I delight in most with this story is that Peppermint Patty is determined to share the magic of dying easter eggs,...

Goat is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). Did you know that acronym? I didn’t know for a while, and the littles you read this with will be delighted when they find out that Goat is not just a name for an animal. Kids will delight as Goat's misunderstanding...

I Have Three Cats is a classic story many of us have encountered. You have your limit, or what you think is your limit for pets, and when a stray arrives, you have to choose not to feed it, to try and find the owners, and eventually, maybe we will...

Eleven Houses is a story of isolation, paranoia, growing dread, family dynamics, and a heavy sense of impending doom written by the author during the pandemic when we all experienced these feelings. Eleven Houses is a delicious, creepy tale of a lonely island that is the gateway to death....

What I liked: The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley is a brilliant work of historical fiction inspired by the real-life story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. It's a gripping and emotional journey through revenge, resilience, and complex power dynamics, and the author masterfully blends historical facts with vivid fiction. The...

Of Silver and Shadows is the 2021 debut novel for Jennnifer Gruenke and is the only one she released to date. Again, this is another neglected Netgalley arc that sat on my physical and ebook shelf for too long. I love unique magic systems, worlds where magic is forbidden and...

Sorcery and Strife is the compelling second novel in the Sorcery and Sacrifice series. If you read book one first, you will enjoy book two way more, but it can be read before book one if preferred. In this second novel, we follow Fenity, who has lived her whole life...

Sorcery and Stagecraft is a story with the fae, demons, portal magic, humans, and mages. We have three POVs in this story: Ricci, a stage performer who travels with her family to different markets to make money, and Lela, who is in the fae realm, wary of humans. We must...

Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo is a refreshingly creative middle-grade fantasy that drew me right in. Metty, as her friends call her, is on her way to her fate, for in this world, when you turn ten, you get a tattoo that determines your fate. There is...

The Wildest Things by Andrea Hannah is a sapphic retelling where Snow White has reawakened after 20 years in her glass coffin but not by proper love's kiss, instead by a forest that is hungering for its keeper to balance the world out. While Snow White has been slumbering...