Review: Little Ghost's Summerween - Maggie Edkins Willis - April 2026  Little Ghost has attended his very first birthday party and decides he wants one of his own. His friend Anya gives him the most beautifully simple advice: the party should celebrate what Little Ghost loves most. And of course, what Little Ghost loves most is Halloween - bats, black cats, candy corn, pumpkins, the whole gloriously spooky lot. The small snag? It's the middle of summer. What unfolds is a genuinely delightful little story about identity, creativity, and the joy of refusing to be boxed in by expectations. Maggie Edkins Willis has a wonderful instinct for the interior logic of childhood like of course you can have Halloween in summer. Why wouldn't you? The solution Little Ghost lands on (a "Summerween" party) is exactly the kind of lateral thinking that picture books do best: it validates kids who feel like they don't quite fit the calendar of normal celebrations. The illustr...

Review: Birthday Kisses - Book #2.5 Lancaster Prep Series - Monica Murphy -December 2022 Monica Murphy brings us another heartwarming and sweet installment with Birthday Kisses , the 2.5th book in the Lancaster Prep series. Set five years after the events of A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime , this novella gives fans the perfect opportunity to revisit beloved characters Crew and Wren during the festive holiday season. It’s a chance to see how their relationship has evolved, but also to get a glimpse of the couple navigating the challenges of adult life. This short but impactful read beautifully captures the emotional dynamics of a married couple amidst the bustle of the holidays. Wren, who has always been the strong and independent one, is feeling a bit out of sorts as the weight of everyday responsibilities starts to take its toll. Meanwhile, Crew, ever the doting husband, is focused on making her happy and ensuring she’s feeling loved, particularly on her birthday. The magic of th...

Review: Avocado Magic - Taltal Levi - March 2024 I had been in the past couple of weeks in a really bad reading slump for myself and when I get like this and I am screaming out for books to read, I give myself something quick to read and I know I had a couple of picture books left on my Netgalley shelf to read and review. Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi was one of them and after reading this book, I guarantee it will give you and other readers a new appreciation for the Avocado which is often a tasteless food. In Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi, it is Ellie's birthday. She goes to bed all excited but when she wakes up in the morning, she is disappointed as even though she is now a whole year older, she doesn't feel any different than she did the day before. Nothing has changed, how can a birthday and being a year older not make any significant change? Her Dad, seeing Ellie is down gives her an Avocado seed to nurture and grow and explains that just like this process can be slow and ...

Review: None of This is True - Lisa Jewell - July 2023 I often find for myself that Lisa Jewell is a hit/miss author and so when I saw this one was on offer as part of the Book Box subscription over at The Book Shoppe. I knew I would give it a read as it even sounded intriguing with the idea of meeting someone who shares not only the same birth date as yourself but also someone who was born on the same date and at the same hospital. On the evening of Josie's 45th birthday, she and her husband Walter went out for dinner. At the restaurant was famous podcaster Alix who was also celebrating her 45th birthday with family and friends. The pair meet in the toilet and wish each other a happy birthday and call themselves birthday twins. The next few days, this gets Alix thinking of a new podcast idea and when Josie and Alix spot each other - Josie presents an idea to Alix about telling her story as she leads up to a big change in her life- now that she has turned 45. Alix agrees and the ...

Today's TTT was books on my Birthday Wishlist , I liked this one as for me it's my birthday in 2 weeks time on the 7th July :) TTT Original Post - https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/ Here are Ten Books on my Wishlist : 1) Ali Cross - The Secret Detective - James Patterson  ( Book #3 in the Ali Cross Series) 2) Love and Murder - Summervale Series- LL Hunter   ( Book #6 in the Summervale Series) 3) The Godparent Trap - Rachel Van Dyken ( One of my auto-buy authors) 4) Happy Death Day - Lilah Love Series - Lisa Renee Jones ( Book #7 Lilah Love Series) 5) Lord of the Fly Fest - Goldy Moldavsky ( Lord of the Flies meets One of Us is Lying) 6) Stay Awake - Megan Goldin (one of my favourite Australian thriller authors) 7) The Final Gambit - Hawthorne Series - Jennifer Lynn Barnes ( Book #3 Hawthorne Inheritance Series) 8) They All Had a Grudge - They All Had Series - Michele Leathers ( Book #6 They All Had Series) 9) The Girl in the Castle - James Patterson and Emily Raymond. ...

Review: Bones - A Whispers and the Roars Bonus Story - K. Webster Last night, I was in such a weird mood and I was indecisive Paula. I wasn't ready to go to bed and I wanted to read something, but nothing seemed to be holding my attention. I needed a quick read, something to just hit the spot, and Bones by K. Webster was that book. A really quick read, this book was a freebie given after you had finished reading Whispers and Roars by K. Webster as there was a link at the back of her book, to get sent the Bones- bonus story. This short read is set three years after the end of Whispers and Roars where Kady is going strong with Yeo and all her personalities have been held at bay. Yeo comes home to a surprise; Kady is gone and in her place is Bones. The pair have this romantic night as it is Kady's present to Yeo. I always have to admit, I felt weird when Yeo was with Bones as even though it's Kady on the outside, everything else about Bones was male and so it's like Yeo is...