Book Review: Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J. M. Bergen

Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows

by 

J. M. Bergen

Publisher: Elandrian Press

Publication Date: 2nd February 2019

Pages: 352

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the author via Book Publicity Services 

Thomas thinks he's an ordinary twelve year old, but when a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes gives him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows, the world he knows is turned upside down. Suddenly he’s faced with a secret family legacy, powers he can hardly begin to understand, and an enemy bent on destroying everything he holds dear. The more he reads and discovers, the deeper the danger to himself and the people he loves. As the race to the final showdown unfolds, Thomas must turn to trusted friends and uncertain allies as he seeks to prevent destruction at an epic scale.  

I’ve read a few Middle grade books with the theme of magical crystals  and I’m always amazed how authors can write such diverse stories with the same basic theme; our protagonist must get to the crystals before the antagonist and thus save the world. Bergen has come up with an original take on this tried and true theme.

Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows is a magical story filled with peril and friendship.

Thomas is an ordinary twelve year old who loves to read books about magic until one day he is given not a book about magic but a magical book. His father’s parting words ring in his ears “Magic is real, Thomas. No matter what happens, always remember that magic is real.”

The story starts with the everyday life of Thomas Wildus. He goes to school, hangs out with best friend Enrique, has problems with the school bully and has a crush on a pretty girl in his grade.

After Thomas receives the book the story changes to one of mystery, danger and suspense.

There is a slow build up to the main revelations about Tomas and his mission. The explanation of the magic and quantum physics was a bit long however the story kept my interest.

Overall Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows was a good read filled with danger, suspense and magic. Thomas was a modest hero and a good role model.

Content: Scenes of mild peril

                 Words ‘bloody hell’ and ‘evil bastard’ are used sparingly.

Age: 8 – 12 years

 

My rating: 4/5         🌟🌟🌟🌟 

 

 

photo courtesy of Goodreads

J.M.’s debut fantasy/magic series originally started as a bedtime story for his oldest son. The story turned into a saga, and one book turned into five. The first book in the series, Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows, is scheduled for release in February 2019.

When J.M. isn’t working on the Thomas Wildus books, you can find him playing with his kids, napping, or dreaming up new adventures. If you ever meet him and can’t think of anything to talk about, you might ask about Herman the Shark, the Kai and Eli stories, or why Riddle-Master by Patricia McKillip is his all-time favorite book. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll have questions and stories of your own (if you do, he’ll think that’s far more interesting).

 

 

Book Club Book Review: Table for Eight by Tricia Stringer

Table for Eight

by

Tricia Stringer

 

Publisher: Harlequin Fiction AU

Publication date:  24th September 2018

Pages: 496

RRP: $32.99

Format Read: Trade Paperback

Source: Courtesy of publisher via Beauty & Lace book club

A cruise, no matter how magical, can't change your life. Can it...?


Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Supported by the ship's all-powerful maître d' Carlos, she has a mission: transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. Not only can Ketty turn Cinderellas into princesses with her legendary style-eye, but she has a gift for bringing people together.


But this trip is different. As the glamour and indulgence of the cruise takes hold, and the ship sails further away from Sydney towards the Pacific Islands, it becomes clear that her fellow travellers - a troubled family, a grieving widower and an angry divorcee determined to wreak revenge on her ex - are going to be harder work than usual.


As Ketty tries to deal with her own problems, including the unexpected arrival on board of her long-lost love, Leo - the man who broke her heart - as well as troubling news from home, she begins to realise this might be the one cruise that will defeat her.

Ketty Clift loves cruising and helping people so naturally she combines the two on her numerous cruises.

Ketty’s fashion design business has taken a recent downturn and she had thoughts of cancelling her cruise on the Diamond Duchess’s farewell voyage but it seemed fitting that what may be her last cruise is also the last voyage for this magnificent ship.

Ketty loves to observe people and her table of eight each night for dinner id the perfect opportunity to get to know her fellow passengers; their strengths and foibles.

One cruise. Twelve days. Eight strangers. (well almost strangers, there is a husband and wife with the wife’s father in the group).

Stringer skilfully develops her characters. There are characteristics you will see in yourself and the people around you which draws the reader in, quickly becoming invested in the characters’ lives, eager to learn more.

Stringer uses the backdrop of a luxury cruise liner to explore issues of broken relationships, love, loss, grief, family relationships, self image and second chances.

I’ve never been on a cruise and Stringer’s luscious descriptions of the opulence of the ship, the activities available, the night life and the beautiful islands they visited brought it all to life on the page. If you have cruised before I am sure it will bring back memories in vivid detail.

I loved that the characters were older (aged between 40 and 69) and how they formed friendships and relationships in a different way than younger people. Table for Eight confirms that age is no barrier to love and the need to have companionship and feel wanted.

The story is told in multiple POV so we get a well rounded view of what the characters think and feel. This also helps to explore the different ways that people see the same situation.

The main character, Ketty, is a people watcher and she loved giving people a nudge toward love, healing or a change of direction. Some may see Ketty as a meddler or a busy body but she always had good intentions.

Each character has their own reasons for being on the cruise and heartbreak, secrets and jealousies are slowly divulged throughout the story.

Stringer’s move from her highly successful Rural Fiction stories to the Contemporary Fiction market has been an outstanding success.

Content: themes of loss and grief

                 no sex

                 minimal coarse language (hardly worth a mention)

My rating    5/5            🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace book club. You can read the original review here 

Table for Eight is book #33 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

 

photo courtesy of Harper Collins Aus

Tricia Stringer is a bestselling author of novels across three genres: women's fiction, historical saga and rural romance. Her first book, Queen of the Road, won Romantic Book of the Year in Australia and she has been shortlisted for more awards. Tricia has spent many years in education as a teacher, a librarian and in middle management; with her husband she took on the first licensed Post Office in South Australia where they included a bookshop, and she now works as a full-time writer. Tricia travels Australia and sometimes overseas researching and drawing inspiration for her novels which always feature an authentic Australian voice. Home is a place near the beach in rural South Australia.

 

Book Club Book Review: On the Same Page by Penelope Janu

On the Same Page

by

Penelope Janu

 

Publisher: Brio Books (XO Romance)

Publication date: 1st October 2018

Pages: 352

Format Read: Paperback

Source: Publisher via Beauty and Lace Book Club

Sometimes a girl just has to do what’s in her heart …

By day Miles Franklin, named after the famous author, is a successful lawyer. But by night she writes historical romance novels under the pen name Emma Browning. When Miles’s assistant covertly enters her boss's novel in one of Australia’s biggest literary awards—and it wins—Miles’s perfectly ordered world is torn apart.

Lars Kristensen smells a rat. As the CEO of Iconic International, the company publishing Miles’s prize-winning novel, he’s determined to meet the author and uncover her true identity. But Miles is equally determined to protect her privacy—and to keep writing. Even if it means mastering pole dancing, and choreographing a love scene in the back of a horse-drawn carriage … Well, she is a romance writer, after all.

Miles has the grit to keep her secret, but Lars has the smouldering looks and arrogance of any romantic hero she has ever imagined.

Hmm. Sometimes a girl just has to turn the page …

Janu brings up the issue of literary snobbery in On the Same Page. Does it exist? I'm sure it does but I've never come across it.

Miles Franklin is the daughter of two acclaimed authors. She was sent to a psychiatrist in her early teens as she was reading and writing historical romance stories. Her parents thought there was certainly something wrong with her. She was wasting her literary talent.

Miles is a lawyer by day and a successful Historical Romance author by night. Hiding her secret behind the pseudonym, Emma Browning. However when her latest novel wins a literary award there is much disapproval in literary circles, including that of her parents.

I loved Miles! A relatable character; she was uncoordinated, out of shape, anxious and had a chronic blushing problem. She put a lot of herself into her characters and also a lot of the things she wanted to be.

Janu ties the classics cleverly through the narrative with references to many of the greatest literary romances of all time. I loved the snippets of Miles' Historical Romance stories which gave the reader stories within a story.

There is a minor but powerful subplot of teenagers in crisis and how a little attention and caring can make a huge difference in their lives.

The story is filled with humour usually at Miles expense. Written in the first person we learn a lot about Miles' hopes and fears. I would have liked to learn a little more about Lars.

On the Same Page is a wonderful story that will make you laugh and also sigh

My Rating 4.5/5                🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 

*This review is part of the Beauty & Lace Book Club. You can read the original review here

  On the Same Page is book #32 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

and part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie Author Challenge

  

photo courtesy of Goodreads

Penelope Janu writes contemporary fiction about clever and adventurous women who don’t mean to fall in love, but do. Penelope’s novels, whether coastal or rural, celebrate Australian communities.

Penelope is a lawyer with an interest in social justice issues and the environment. She, like her characters, is up for anything, even though she has a terrible sense of direction. She has six children, big dogs, a distracting husband and never enough time to write.

Penelope hopes readers will fall as passionately in love with her heroines and heroes as she invariably does. She has travelled to many places in the world but has lived most of her life in Sydney, Australia. When not reading or writing Penelope can be found walking the coastline, or in the bush (though she's not much of a walking companion as she plots as she walks).