VIRTUAL TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT – Don’t Be Grumpy Monkey by Snezana Danilovic, illustrated by Sandy Thornton. 30th October – 7th November. @HappyPandaBooks @snezanawrites @Sandyillustrat1 @lovebookstours @kellyalacey #Ad #LBTCrew #BookTwitter #DontBeGrumpyMonkey #satanama #satanamamantra #kidsyogamusic #kidsyogasongs #happypandachildrensyoga #grumpymonkey #wellbeing #mindfulnessforchildren

DON’T BE GRUMPY MONKEY BY SNEZANA DANILOVIC & ILLUSTRATED BY SANDY THORNTON

13th of October

Genre: Children’s 4+ Picture Book

Publisher: Happy Panda Children’s Yoga

BACK OF THE BOOK

Monkey is having a bad day. He couldn’t find his teddy, the swings were busy, and now Dog is in his place in yoga class. Monkey does not want to do yoga, and he does not want to work with Dog. Monkey is grumpy!… But then, something magical happens. Happy Panda suggests a special song, Sa Ta Na Ma. The gentle singing and chanting shifts Monkey’s grumpy mood making him feel calmer and more centred. Yoga is the best but making up with friends is even better!

An entertaining and humorous story about yoga, friendship and mindfulness. 

‘Don’t Be Grumpy, Monkey!’ is the second book in the series and features Sa Ta Na Ma meditation and chanting.    

Children can join in singing and chanting the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation at home (just scan the QR code in the book).


AUTHOR BIO

Snezana Danilovic – author

Snezana Danilovic is a children’s author and an experienced children’s and teen’s yoga teacher. Her mission is to bring yoga to children through her passion for storytelling. Snezana specialises in teaching yoga in nurseries, primary schools, and secondary schools. She is a founder of Happy Panda Children’s Yoga which, over the past three years, has successfully brought yoga to many schools in and around Windsor and shared the power and joy of yoga with hundreds of children, teachers and families. 

She has spent the last 30 years writing and working in theatre and children’s TV, creating an array of characters for pre-school and early years. When she is not writing books and teaching yoga, she entertains children with and balloon modelling and balloon art! She is in fact is one of the most loved balloon modelling entertainers in London!

Snezana lives in Royal Windsor with her husband, two children and a hamster. She loves hugging trees, and her house is full of balloons and musical instruments! 

She is also a fabulous gardener, her front garden winning a first prize in Windsor for “Gardens in Bloom 2023!”

www.snezanadanilovic.co.uk

Sandy Thornton – illustrator

Sandy Thornton is a picture book maker with over 20 years’ experience in early years, creative play, running her own children’s art and craft classes, and providing creative ideas and content for children’s TV, including Cbeebies’ Mr Maker. 

Whilst working as a nanny for many years, Sandy came to realise the power of art and imagination. Allowing the children in her care the safe space for unabashed creativity, she found herself further inspired to create her own stories, exploring scenarios and narratives through the playful use of art materials. This provided the opportunity to follow her passion for sketching, creating dynamic, colourful characters, using a combination of traditional and digital art. 

From an early age, Sandy snipped, sketched, glued, and stapled her own little books and magazines, influenced at the time by Herge’s Tintin and Jansson’s Moomins. Sandy lives in North London, with her family, their dog Winston and cat Finnie.

www.sandythornton.co.uk

Happy Panda Children’s Yoga is a mindfulness resource for children 3–11 years old, providing yoga, picture books, yoga music, and creativity (arts and crafts), nourishing children’s imaginations and empowering their wellbeing. 

We are best known for our book series, which includes ‘Yaks Can Do Yoga!’ and now ‘Don’t Be Grumpy, Monkey!’

We are proud to support and work closely with local school sports partnerships and networks delivering our wellbeing programs to local schools.

www.happypandachildrensyoga.com


BUY LINK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Be-Grumpy-Monkey-Childrens/dp/1838289453/ref=sr_1_3

VIRTUAL TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT – In Truth, Madness by Imran Khan. 16th October – 4th November. @Ajimran @BBookCollective @lovebookstours @kellyalacey #Ad #LBTCrew #BookTwitter #magicalrealism #journalism #fiction #correspondent #media #fantasy #adventure #worldaffairs #currentaffairs #news #Aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish

IN TRUTH, MADNESS BY IMRAN KHAN

12th of October

Genre: Magical Realism

Publisher: Unbound Digital

BACK OF THE BOOK

The perfect read for Neil Gaiman fans. 

Meet Malek Khalil, a brilliant reporter with decades of experience in the field, and a man on the edge. Where there is war, natural disaster or political crisis, Malek is in the midst of it, but years of conflict reporting have taken their toll and he is slowly unravelling. 

His colleagues, Neeka and Justin, have noticed a change in him, beyond even his usual vivid imagination. Neeka is especially sensitive, having been his friend and producer for many years, and perhaps knowing him better than he knows himself. Justin, a skilled and brave cameraman, has worked with them for just as long and the three make a formidable team – but they are only as strong as each other – and Malek is fast going down the rabbit hole.

Born a Muslim but an atheist to his core, Malek’s voyage takes him around the world and back in time to ancient Babylon, as he finds himself arguing with a God in whom he does not believe. A keen reader, his ‘madness’ is heightened by a strange book that keeps appearing on his Kindle, telling the stories of people he has briefly encountered during his career.

In Truth, Madness takes place in the Middle East, South Asia and London against a backdrop of war, religion, political skullduggery and emerging love, taking the reader on a tumultuous journey through the most dangerous arenas of modern culture and the ancient world. 

Is Malek losing his mind, or is he experiencing an astonishing kind of truth?


AUTHOR BIO

Having kickstarted his career in the heady world of 1990s independent magazine publishing with work on Dazed and Confused, and launching seminal style title 2nd Generation, Imran Khan jumped into the mainstream with BBC London – hosting radio shows on popular culture, arts and news as the millennium approached. In 2001 he produced a series of short documentaries for BBC Newsnight, Britain’s leading current affairs programme. His work was noticed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks and Channel 4 commissioned the award-winning film “The Hidden Jihad”, which he wrote and presented. Imran subsequently moved full-time into TV news, working as a BBC producer and correspondent reporting from Lebanon, London and Qatar, with freelance stints in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

He became a correspondent for Al Jazeera English in 2005 and is known for his extensive reporting from Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Libya and Ukraine, as well covering the Arab Spring and the conflict in Syria. Increasingly, Imran reports on climate change as the world finally wakes up to the issue. He continues to work as a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, dividing his time between the Middle East, South Asia and London


BUY LINK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Truth-Madness-Imran-Khan/dp/1911586904/ref=sr_1_1

Murder At Castle Traprain by Jackie Baldwin: A Virtual Tour Review with @lovebookstours @kellyalacey @JackieMBaldwin1 @Stormbooks_co #Ad #LBTCrew #FreeReview #GiftedBook

Murder At Castle Traprain By Jackie Baldwin

BACK OF THE BOOK

Grace McKenna sits outside the café with her faithful dog Harvey at her feet, gazing over the sea at Portobello Beach. She sneaks Harvey a piece of sausage and he scoffs it happily. Life doesn’t get much better than this, she thinks, turning her face to the early morning sun. But in the shadowy corridors of nearby Castle Traprain, a remorseless killer is preparing to strike…

Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s been one thing after another for Detective Grace McKenna and her team at the fledgling Portobello Detective Agency, and she’s finally enjoying some peace as the leaves turn and autumn beckons. But when a wealthy local landowner contacts her about a case so sensitive he can’t even discuss it over the phone, Grace is instantly intrigued.

Russian collector Sacha Komorov lives out of the public eye, despite his immense wealth and marriage to a famous ex-prima ballerina. As Grace gazes at the ominous silhouette of his Scottish estate, Castle Traprain, with its high walls and thrusting turrets, a shiver runs down her spine. Komorov himself is just as forbidding as he discloses the disappearance of a priceless rose-diamond Fabergé egg from his collection. It’s an inside job, and he needs Grace to uncover the traitor within his own household.

As Grace dives into the case, her team goes undercover at Castle Traprain to win the trust of the staff. But things take an unexpected turn when Komorov’s beautiful and troubled wife, Katya, begs for Grace’s help to catch a disturbing stalker. Are the two cases connected? And why does Katya want to keep her husband in the dark about hiring Grace?

The plot thickens when one of the potential suspects is found murdered in the Housekeeper’s quarters. It seems this is no ordinary jewel thief. The killer lurking within Castle Traprain will do anything to achieve their ends and, as the tension mounts, Grace and her team find themselves ultimately becoming targets in an increasingly deadly game…

An unputdownable Scottish mystery that will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next, perfect for fans of Clare Chase, Faith Martin and Frances Evesham.

MY REVIEW

My go to books are always crime and I always want go to authors and I’ve definitely found another one in Jackie Baldwin.

The first thing I loved about this book was that it is set in Portabello with trips to nearby places such as Edinburgh and North Berwick, places I spent a lot of my youth visiting.

This is the second book in the series and I will definitely be reading the first one.

The story centre on Grace McKenna and her team at her fledgling detective agency. Following the success of one of her previous jobs, Grace is hired by Sacha Komorov following the theft of a faberge egg from his home, Castle Traprain.

After Grace starts her investigation she becomes drawn into an investigation of a stalker and very soon after, a murder.

The story picks up in pace very quickly as new evidence and murders make life more difficult for Grace and her team as they also become targets of a psychopath within the walls of the castle.


BUY LINK

https://amzn.to/3YU3FlV

COVER REVEAL – Savage Ridge by Morgan Greene @canelocrime @mrmorgangreene @lovebookstours @kellyalacey #Ad #LBTCrew #BookTwitter

SAVAGE RIDGE BY MORGAN GREENE

11th of October

Genre: Crime / Thriller

Publisher: Canelo Crime

PRE-ORDER NOW

Publishing 21st of March 2024

BACK OF THE BOOK

Small town justice comes with a price.

Ten years ago, in the pine-shaded town of Savage Ridge, Nick, Emmy, and Pete murder their high school classmate, Sammy Saint John.

His body is never found, and no arrests are made. The three friends make a pact to leave Savage Ridge and never return…

Now, each is drawn home, seemingly by chance or fate. But it’s neither: Private Investigator Sloane Yo has brought them back to finally answer for their crime.

The noose begins to tighten. But with each stone turned over in pursuit of justice, the long-buried secrets of Savage Ridge, and Sloane’s employers – the ruthless Saint John family – start to come to light.

What aren’t they telling Sloane? Is Sammy Saint John the only victim? And when the truth is finally revealed, whose side will she choose?

For fans of Chris Whitaker’s We Begin at the End, Savage Ridge is a shattering, propulsive why-dunnit crime thriller set deep in the pines of the American Pacific Northwest.


BUY LINK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Ridge-atmospheric-timeline-thriller-ebook/dp/B0CJTRS68V/ref=sr_1_1

https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Ridge-atmospheric-timeline-thriller-ebook/dp/B0CJTRS68V/ref=sr_1_1

COVER REVEAL – Fatal Tribute by PJ Skinner (Seacastle Mysteries Book 3) @PJSkinnerAuthor @lovebookstours @kellyalacey

FATAL TRIBUTE BY PJ SKINNER

11th of October

Genre: Cozy Mystery

PRE-ORDER NOW

Publishing 31st of October

BACK OF THE BOOK

How do you find the murderer, when every act is convincing?

Tanya Bowe, an ex-investigative journalist, agrees to interview the contestants of the National Talent Competition for the local newspaper, but finds herself up to her neck in secrets, sabotage and simmering resentment. The tensions increase when her condescending sister comes to stay next door for the duration of the contest. Several rising stars on the circuit hope to win the competition, but old stager, Lance Emerald, is not going down without a fight. When Lance is found dead in his dressing room, Tanya is determined to find the murderer but complex dynamics between the contestants and fraught family relationships make the mystery harder to solve.

Can Tanya uncover the truth before another murder takes centre stage?

In this enthralling English, small-town, cozy mystery, Tanya finds herself out of her depth in the cut-throat world of Talent competitions. If you love a cozy whodunnit set at the seaside, with a cast of recurring characters, this is the series for you.


BUY LINK

https://amzn.to/48M9R3V

Little Women

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Author: Louisa May Alcott

Page Count: 566

Date Finished: 26/2/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth – four “little women” enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War New England The charming story of the March sisters, Little Women has been adored by generations. Readers have rooted for Laurie in his pursuit of Jo’s hand, cried over little Beth’s death, and dreamed of travelling through Europe with old Aunt March and Amy. Future writers have found inspiration in Jo’s devotion to her writing. In this simple, enthralling tale, both parts of which are included here, Louisa May Alcott has created four of American literature’s most beloved women.

Review

This read was was part of a classic A-Z group and was the book choice for February.

I found the writing easy to follow but the story just didn’t engage me and neither did some of the characters. Some of the scenes I had heard from others were quite emotional but I found them dull and just not emotionally hitting at all.

Not what I would call a bad read but certainly not one I found terribly enjoyable compared to some of the other classics I have read over time.

Colder Than The Grave

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Author: JD Kirk

Page Count: 376

Date Finished: 21/2/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

She left him for dead. Now, he’s back to repay the favour.

DCI Jack Logan should’ve known things were going too well. Genuinely happy for the first time in years, Jack has almost fooled himself into believing that the world is a decent place.

But, when the discovery of a mutilated body kicks off a series of grisly murders, Jack’s dream of a peaceful life rapidly begins to crumble around him.

With friends in danger, and enemies begging for his help, Jack must risk everything to protect the final would-be victim, and stop the most monstrous killer he’s ever faced.

And to do that, sacrifices will have to be made…

Review

Colder than the grave brings to a close the story arks of Olivia and the Iceman with both coming together in an amazing story.

The DCI Logan books are known for their humour and although there is some in the book at the early stages this is very much darker than the others and mirrors the final book in the Owen Petrie arc.

Very much an edge of your seat read and I devoured the pages. I can read a JD Kirk book relatively quickly but I think I flew through this one at great pace just because I was so enthralled with it.

JD Kirk continues to earn high reviews.

Hear No Evil

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Author: Sarah Smith

Page Count: 331

Date Finished: 05/2/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Glasgow, 1817: Jean Campbell – a young, Deaf woman – is witnessed throwing a child into the River Clyde from the Old Bridge.

If found guilty she faces one of two fates; death by hanging or incarceration in an asylum. But Jean’s deafness leaves her isolated and unable to defend herself, until the authorities call in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution.

Through a difficult process of trial and error, Robert and Jean manage to find a rudimentary way of communicating with each other. As Jean grows to trust Robert, she reveals what really happened on that bridge over the river Clyde. And Robert, now embroiled in this dark case, must act quickly to ensure justice is served, before it is too late.

Review

First read selection for 2023 from The Scottish Book Club and from the synopsis I was expecting high trauma especially from our previous reads but was happily surprised.

The story is mainly about the relationships between the characters and how different classes of society were looked upon by other classes in the 1800s. I loved how the bond between Jean and Robert grow. Also I liked how the book was split into to. You have the story of Jean following her arrest and going through court proceedings and Roberts investigation, alongside the story of Jean prior to being arrested up to her arrest.

A well written story and very thought provoking. I’ve really enjoyed this read and flew through it in a few days because I didn’t want to put it down.

Go The Distance

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Author: Jen Calonita

Page Count: 336

Date Finished: 30/1/2023

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

What if Meg had to become a Greek goddess?

Hercules has regained his godship, but Zeus tells Meg she can’t be with the hero because she’s, well, mortal. Luckily, Hera has a solution that would see Meg join Hercules on Mount Olympus as a goddess.

The quest? To rescue Meg’s ex-boyfriend’s wife from the Underworld. The same ex who left her while she was trapped by Hades. Can Meg defeat monsters and gods alike and finally put her past behind her? Or will her fear of commitment have her running away from an eternity of goddess-hood with Herc?

Review

My daughter bought this without realising she already had a copy so decided rather than returning it she would give it to good ole dad who enjoys reading.

I’d never read any twisted tale novels before this and after finishing this one I’m making a list of more to read going forwards.

I wasn’t expecting much from a Disney read and expected something more child like but this is definitely young adult and has great character development along with a good story with some emotional bits that even almost brought a tear to my eye.

I really hope the other books are as well written as this one but I’ll certainly check other versions written by this author.

The Assassin’s Blade

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Author: Sarah J Maas

Page Count: 430

Date Finished: 28/1/23

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan’s most feared assassin. As part of the Assassins’ Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam.

In these action-packed prequel novellas – together in one edition for the first time – Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn’s orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery . . .

Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine and find out how the legend begins in the five page-turning prequel novellas to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series.

Review

So my friend Tracy suggested we read the Throne Of Glass series and we had purchased Throne Of Glass only for my friend to announce there was a prequel written and we had to read the books in order.

So said book was purchased last year sometime and finally we started to read and if it wasn’t for reading other books at the same time and being burdened by a day job I think I would have read this in a day.

The story and characters are a joy to discover and I definitely want to read the rest of the series (1 a month is the plan). It’s not often I get pulled into a series so easily especially to the point I’ve already looked into the authors other series to enjoy.

I’m usually more of a crime reader these days but this book thoroughly brought my imagination to life and had me engaged on every page.

Sarah J Maas has earned easily a spot on my fav authors list in just one book. I think you’d agree that’s a pretty solid recommendation. What are you waiting for. Click the book cover above a buy if you don’t have this one already.