Tuesday, March 31, 2026

My Review for To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker, read by Chelsea Stephens and Troy Duran

March 31, 2026  , , ,  No comments

 


"The sky is a velvet blanket littered with stars that wink at me for the first time in a week."

To Bleed a Crystal Bloom was the March read for #thatbonkersbookclub and… I was disappointed. 😕 It’s a Rapunzel retelling, which I honestly found a little strange and quite dark. 🕯️ Our protagonist has been locked in a tower since she was two, but now has this odd fascination with the man who put her there, as well as a weird creature living in the sea. 🌊

I just found the story boring. 😴 Nothing grabbed me, nothing made me want to keep reading—but I did, because I kept hoping it would get better. It didn’t… at least not for me. 🤷‍♀️ When we discussed it, the majority of us felt the same way, and at least two of us got the ick from the relationships, 😖 never mind the nauseating references to other things I never want to think about ever again. 🤢

A lot of it felt random and unexplained, and maybe that comes in the next book—but I won’t be sticking around to find out. 🚫 Sorry, Sarah, you didn’t hook me with this first instalment, and I won’t be coming back for more.

I do have a pretty copy of When the Moon Hatched on my shelf (and the next one on preorder 👀). I’ve heard that one’s much better, so I am looking forward to it ✨—but yeah… no more Crystal Bloom for me ❌📚

About the Book

"What a pretty flower to keep locked in a big, rocky tower."

Nineteen years ago, I was plucked from the heart of a bloody massacre that spared nobody else.

Small. Fragile. An enigma.

Now ward to a powerful High Master who knows too much and says too little, I lead a simple life, never straying from the confines of an imaginary line I've drawn around the castle grounds.

Stay within. Never leave.

Out there, the monsters lurk. Inside, I'm safe...though at a cost far greater than the blood I drip into a goblet daily. Toxic, unreciprocated love for a man who's utterly unavailable.

My savior. My protector.

My almost executioner.

I can't help but be enamored with the arcane man who holds the power to pull my roots from the ground. When voracious beasts spill across the land and threaten to fray the fabric of my tailored existence, the petals of reality will peel back to reveal an ugly truth. But in a castle puddled with secrets, none are greater than the one I've kept from myself.

No tower is tall enough to protect me from the horror that tore my life to shreds.

To Bleed a Crystal Bloom is a dark Rapunzel reimagining full of immersive imagery and breathtaking angst.

About Sarah - by Sarah

Originally from New Zealand, I've been living in Australia for the past ten years! My husband and I have three children together, so when I'm not writing we're out and about having family adventures.

I love sushi, peppermint tea, and plants—our house is basically a jungle. My other great love is anything snow related. We try to get away as often as we can on family snowboarding trips, and our dream is to one day have a house somewhere it snows through the winter months!

There's just something about the snow that feels magical. 

I get back to New Zealand as much as I can to spend time with my family, so that's always a treat. Aside from that we live a pretty quiet life here on the Gold Coast.



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Monday, March 30, 2026

My Review for Fairytale by Stephen King, read by Seth Numrich

March 30, 2026  , , ,  No comments



“I think all worlds are magic. We just get used to it.” ✨🌍

#thatbonkersbookclub chose Fairy Tale as the read for The Chiller Shelf for March (it may even have been my suggestion—I can’t remember! 🤔📚). Either way, it’s definitely my favourite of the three Stephen King novels I’ve read so far. 🙌 In my mind, it leans far more toward fantasy than horror, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. 🐉✨

I both read and listened to this one, but definitely leaned more towards the audiobook. 🎧📖

The first half of the book follows a normal kid who’s had a pretty tough childhood 💔 and has had to grow up fast. He then takes it one step further by agreeing to look after an older man who needs extra care after an accident. 🏡🩹

The second half is where the fantasy world kicks in—and wow, does it kick in. 😳⚡ We go from a normal world with a normal kid to a portal into another world where everything is very much not normal. 🌌🚪✨

Slight spoiler (but necessary!): Radar is one of the main characters—she’s a dog 🐶💛—and she doesn’t die. 🙌✨ Nothing bad happens to her, and she lives happily ever after. 🥹🌈 Honestly, that’s the most important thing in this book! If you’re an animal lover, you’re safe to fall in love with her—I promise. 🐾💛

If you’ve never read a Stephen King novel and you’re not sure how you’ll feel about his writing (that was me three books ago 😅), this is a great place to start. 👍📖 It’s long, yes, and there’s one section in the middle that could have been shorter, but it’s far from a scary read 😌 I really hope he writes more fantasy—he’s clearly good at it! ✍️✨📚

About the Book

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.

A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.


About Stephen

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.

Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.


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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

My Review for My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal, read by Lenny Henry

March 25, 2026  , , ,  No comments


“It’s strange to think that this little black bean will grow up to be a big plant and that plant will have its own seeds to make another plant and another seed and this will go on, over and over again, for years...”

My Name is Leon was recommended to me by my cousin, and it’s set in and around Birmingham — my hometown — which immediately drew me in 🏙️. I listened to the audiobook via Libby, narrated by a true Black Country lad, Lenny Henry, while pottering about 🎧.

For those who don’t know, Lenny Henry is a comedian, so I went in expecting something light-hearted… but it’s far from that! While there are moments of humour, the story is often upsetting and deeply moving 💔 — powerful and eye-opening, set against the backdrop of the Birmingham riots in the early 1980s.

I loved Leon’s story ❤️. I adored Tufty, his allotment friend 🌱 (who I’m guessing Lenny Henry plays in the TV adaptation), and I really admired Maureen as his foster carer through much of the book. It’s the kind of story that should be required reading for anyone considering a career in social work — if only as a guide on what not to do 👀.

The narration is fantastic — Lenny Henry really brings it to life 🙌. I could listen to his voice forever.

My Name is Leon is a bostin’ book, and I’d recommend it to anyone ⭐. (If you don’t know what “bostin’” means, give “Black Country sayings” a quick Google!)

About the Book

It's 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. The Dukes of Hazzard is on TV. Curly Wurlys are in the shops. And trying to find a place in it all is nine-year-old Leon. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They've lost one home, but have they found another?

Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can't hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family . . .

About Kit

Kit de Waal was born in Birmingham to an Irish mother, who was a childminder and foster carer and a Caribbean father. 

She worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law, was a magistrate for several years and sat on adoption panels. She used to advise Social Services on the care of foster children, and has written training manuals on adoption, foster care and judgecraft for members of the judiciary. 

Her writing has received numerous awards including the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2014 and 2015 and the SI Leeds Literary Reader's Choice Prize 2014 and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year. 

MY NAME IS LEON, her first novel was published in 2016 and shortlisted for the Costa Book Award. She has two children and lives in the West Midlands.





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Sunday, March 22, 2026

My Review for Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

March 22, 2026  , , ,  No comments



“Good Luck is rather particular who she drives with, and mostly prefers those who have got common sense and a good heart…”

Black Beauty was my March read for #classiclitbookclub. 🤎 I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before, but not for many, many years—and definitely not with the same understanding I have now.

Also, how pretty is this Wordsworth Collector’s Edition ? ✨ It’s such a lovely one to have on the shelf and made the whole reading experience feel a bit more special.

Told through Beauty’s own voice, I slipped so easily into his world, starting from his early days as a young colt. 🐎 It’s set in a time when horses were part of everyday life—used for work, travel, and everything in between—and honestly… I wasn’t quite prepared for how differently they were treated.

Some owners showed real kindness and care, but far too many were cruel, pushing them harder and harder just to get more out of them. 💔 It made parts of this really difficult to read at times.

I absolutely loved his kinder owners—the ones who gave him extra straw to sleep on, warm bran mash in the cold, and genuine affection. 🥹 Those moments felt so comforting, especially against the harsher ones where he was overworked or neglected.

It’s such a simple story in a way, but also really powerful. It highlights that bond between humans and animals so beautifully, and just reminds you that kindness and patience go such a long way. 🤍

If you’re an animal lover (especially horses), this one is definitely worth picking up. Just maybe go in expecting a few emotional moments. 🥺✨

About the Book

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Black Beauty is a perennial children's favourite, one which has never been out of print since its publication in 1877. It is a moralistic tale of the life of the horse related in the form of an autobiography, describing the world through the eyes of the creature. In taking this anthropomorphic approach, the author Anna Sewell broke new literary ground and her effective storytelling ability makes it very easy for the reader to accept the premise that a horse is recounting the exploits in the narrative. The gentle thoroughbred, Black Beauty, is raised with care and is treated well until a vicious groom injures him. The damaged horse is then sold to various masters at whose hands he experiences cruelty and neglect. After many unpleasant episodes, including one where he becomes a painfully overworked cab horse in London, Black Beauty finally canters towards a happy ending. Although Anna Sewell's classic is set firmly in the Victorian period, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness. 


About Anna

Anna Sewell (1820- 1878) is the well-acclaimed author of the children’s novel, Black Beauty which sold over fifty million copies world-wide. Born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England to parents, Mary Wright Sewell and Isaac Phillip Sewell. When Anna was fourteen years old, she suffered a severe ankle injury in a fall which left her unable to walk without crutches for the rest of her life. She directed all her energy and focus towards writing and her love of literature. She began to write poetry and short stories, many of which were published in local newspapers and magazines. The book was finally published in 1877 when Sewell was fifty-seven years old, just a year before her death. While Sewell did not live to see the immense impact and popularity that her book created but she left behind a rich legacy which inspired people to be more compassionate towards animals and advocate for their rights.

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Thursday, March 19, 2026

My Review for Shaedes of War by Jenny Grimes

March 19, 2026  , , , ,  No comments



“You turned a dark magic spell into a field full of flowers?” 🌸✨

Shaedes of War is the fourth book in the series and such a fun read! It starts a little slow, but the intensity really builds as you go. 🔥 The trials gave me Hunger Games meets Triwizard Tournament vibes, and I loved them—especially the last one. 👀💥

Edmyn and Markis bring such a great contrast to the purity of the Shaedes, and their love for their mates is intense .❤️‍🔥 And wow… the spice in this one 🌶️🔥 let’s just say… toe-curling and mind-spinning. 😮‍💨

Oh—and Collin.🥹 You will fall in love with him. Such a sweet kid who just wants to protect the realm and become fae… but will they let him? 👀✨

As with the other books, I loved discovering the different Shaedes and their powers. Honestly, I’d take a bit of each… plus a dragon 🐉 (her name would be Cora. 💁‍♀️)

Thank you so much to Jenny Grimes for including me on her ARC team. 💖📚

About the Book

With everything to gain and even more to lose, will their love survive?

An ancient prophecy threatens everything Opal and the others believe about the future of the Seam, while new adversaries sow fresh hate in a court susceptible to unrest. To prevent bloodshed and a war built on terror, Dru sacrifices herself as the prize in a set of harrowing marriage trials, jeopardizing her chance to find happiness in the arms of a certain handsome dark lord.

When the pressure is on, the battle lines are drawn, and new faces at court bring more questions than answers, Opal and her friends won’t stop fighting for what is right—even if the result is a terminally broken heart.

The stakes are at their highest and so is the heat between characters who are living each day as if it is their last. Join the Shaedes on this final epic adventure full of spice, magic, longing—and hope. True colors will shine, and all truths will eventually be brought into the light.


About Jenny

Jenny Grimes writes fantasy romance novels that focus on the blurred lines between worlds, the darkness you’ll find in all of them, and the love that resides there too. She creates her characters and spins her stories from her home in the human realm, where she raises her three little book dragons with her husband, and spends a healthy amount of time reading, travelling, and creating art.


















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Sunday, March 15, 2026

My Review for The First Witch-Mage by Isabel Campbell, read by Bridget Bordeaux

March 15, 2026  , , ,  No comments



"Books clomped off her desk and arranged themselves on a nearby shelf." ✨📚

This was my March listen for another one of @hook.me.a.book challenges. This time it's the #LetsEarItAudiobookChallenge 🎧.

I wanted to enjoy this one, I really did. It sounded so good when I chose it on Libro FM, and maybe I made the mistake of listening rather than reading, but I think I missed a lot of it because I was doing other things! Whatever it was, it didn't grab my attention. Although I did finish it, I won't be reading (or listening to) the next one.

Read the book description — sounds good, right? Especially if, like me, you love a witchy read 🧙‍♀️. Plus so many people loved it and it has such great reviews, although to be fair there are some not-so-great ones too. Maybe it's like Marmite — you either love it or hate it! Maybe I'll come back to it one day. If enough people tell me they enjoyed this one, then I might just give it another go.

Although this one didn’t quite work for me, I think readers who enjoy slower-paced, magical fantasy stories may still find a lot to love here.

Thank you to Tantor Media and Libro FM for the opportunity to listen to and review The First Witch-Mage by Isabel Campbell.

About the Book

Those who cross a Blackwood soon learn that they won't like the results.

Theadora Kathryn Blackwood's life is just the way she wants it. Thea focuses on what she wants to do, what she wants to study, and the local COVEN hierarchy leaves her the hell alone.

It took years for her to accomplish that much freedom, and now she is about to graduate college, the local coven leader has given her what she wants most.

The opportunity to be freed from the shackles of Coven Politics for the rest of her life.

The catch is that she must join the Arcane Investigations Division as an Arcane Consultant for three years.

If Thea is still employed at the end of the set time, the Coven will absolve her of all ties and responsibility to them. The downside is that NOLA AID has lost two witches in the last four years. No one expects an untrained witch without the Coven's support to survive.

Even if she is a Blackwood.

About Isabel by Isabel 

I started writing and publishing with LMBPN® Publishing in 2023 thanks to my friend, Renée Jagger.

I was born in York and grew up in England. I lived with my maternal aunt and uncle while I was in uni (that’s college to my American readers!). Being with them for more than an odd week here and there in the summer made me connect deeply with my Scottish side, and I realized that Scotland was the home of my heart.

I miss wandering the Yorkshire Moors, but the Highlands more than make up for not getting back to York as much as I should! Currently, I live in a wee Borders town with my dog Emma. I write to the music of the seagulls since I live right on the harbour in a homely flat by the sea. I quite love my town. It’s peaceful and hectic by turns.

Dogs are a part of life here. Walking around the town, you see them with their people everywhere you go. The pubs and restaurants have dog-friendly spaces in this part of the world. It makes sharing my life with my four-footed companion so much easier. Everyone in town knows Emma. We walk to the greengrocer, the butcher (he always saves her a meaty bone!), the bakery, and our lovely local coffee house. Rain or shine (mostly rain), we get outside for a little while almost every day, usually ending with a walk along the beach where I can watch Emma chasing crabs and birds. There’s a very nice shop on the prom, so popping out to buy milk and butter isn’t a hardship when I get to take a moment to listen to the waves crashing on the rocks. 

It’s largely an uneventful life (unless Renée is here), but it suits me. I regularly go for drives through the countryside, which is beautiful in any season, though in very different ways. If I need more than the beautiful winding roads and fields full of sheep, I drive north for an hour to Edinburgh or south for a bit more than an hour to Newcastle, then scurry home with my car boot full of shopping bags and tasty treats.

You can learn more about me and my adventures by reading the author notes at the end of each book. I hope you enjoy them!



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My Review for The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

March 15, 2026  , , , ,  No comments



"2020 has a sci-fi ring to it, I feel, like it might be the year of alien landings 👽 or the one when the gamma rays get us."

The Other Passenger is my March read for @hook.me.a.book challenge – the #NeglectedFaithfulsReadingChallenge 📚. It reminded me of why I enjoy a thriller, and after reading this I have decided to try and read some more this year. Let's see how that works out! 🤞

The story switches between the beginning of 2019 and the end, as we roll over into 2020, with Jamie as the most unreliable narrator I've ever heard — honestly — by the middle of the book, I wasn't trusting a word he said! 😅

I was kept guessing throughout The Other Passenger. Just when I raised my eyebrows and thought to myself, "really, that's a poor twist, I don't like that if it's the ending", Louise threw a complete curveball ⚾, turned the story on its head and went streaking off in a completely different direction, which had me hooked all over again! Even up until the very end, there were so many twists and turns 🔄, I was meeting myself coming backwards!

If I had to live my life again, one of the things that I think would be quite a cool thing to do is commute to work by riverboat 🚤, just as Jamie did. You can even have a drink at the bar 🍸 on your way home, as you wend your way down the river! I'm pleased I finally got around to this book. Now let me look at Louise's backlist 📖.

About the Book

You’re feeling pretty smug about your commute to work by riverboat. No more traffic gridlock or getting stuck on the tube in tunnels (you’re claustrophobic); now you’ve got an iconic Thames view, fresh air ?— a whole lifestyle upgrade. You’ve made new friends onboard — led by your hedonistic young neighbour, Kit ?— and just had your first ‘water rats’ Christmas drinks.

But the first day back after Christmas, Kit isn’t on the morning boat. The river landmarks are all the same, but something’s off. You disembark to find the police waiting. Kit’s wife, Melia, has reported him missing and another passenger witnessed the two of you arguing on the last boat home after your drinks. Police say you had a reason to lash out at him. To kill him.

You protest. You and Kit are friends ?— ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your private lives? No, whatever coincidences might have occurred that night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

Aren’t you?

About Louise

Louise Candlish is the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling author of 18 novels. Her latest release A Neighbour's Guide to Murder is a slow-burn psychological thriller about an age-gap friendship between neighbours that escalates to scandal and murder. It is an instant Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller and a WHSmith Travel Book Club pick. It publishes in the US July 7.

Our Holiday, set among second-home owners on the English south coast, was a Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2025 nominee.

Louise recently celebrated her 20th anniversary as a published author with the news of two prestigious prizes for her book The Only Suspect: the Capital Crime Fingerprint Award for Thriller of the Year and the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction. The book is currently in development for TV and filming begins soon in London.
​
She is best known for Our House, winner of the British Book Awards Book of the Year – Crime & Thriller and now a major four-part ITV drama starring Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton. A Waterstones Thriller of the Month, the book received a Nielsen Bestseller Silver Award for 250,000 copies sold.

Louise lives in a South London neighbourhood not unlike the ones featured in her books, with her husband, daughter, and a fox-red Labrador called Bertie, who is the apple of her eye. Authors who inspire her include Tom Wolfe, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine and Agatha Christie.



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