Mailbox Monday - July 1st

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 

Happy Monday! 

We are now into mid winter here in Australia. Some states have been receiving quite a bit of coastal rain (not much inland where it is needed) but Sydney has not seen much rain in the last few months and we are now on level 1 water restrictions. 
I spent last Saturday outside in the garden, in temperatures of 19°C, reading The Ex by Nicola Moriarty. It was a perfect winter's day reading the perfect thriller.

June was National Scoliosis Month and I had planned to write a post about scoliosis and the scoliosis warriors Facebook group I am a member of. However the time slipped away and here it is July already. Scoliosis affects everyone differently and the group is a good support for those that have recently been told they have scoliosis and also long term sufferers. I still hope to write up a post some time in the future.

Books  received during the past week.

 From the publisher for review

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book by Julie Berry
Publication date:  10th September 2019

Godfrey, a peasant boy who works for the lord and lady of the castle, finds a bestiary, or illustrated book of beasts, on the way to do his chores one morning. He begins inventing his own story, placing “Sir Godfrey” at the center of numerous heroic deeds. Sir Godfrey battles a lion, tames a unicorn, defeats a griffin, conquers a bonnacon, and triumphs over a dragon. Godfrey does not realize that each time he says the name of an animal, it magically emerges from the book, causing mayhem and inadvertently accomplishing his chores. The laughs pile up and the tension mounts: When will Godfrey realize that all this outrageous stuff is going on?

Dot is drawn to any book when the title has "Don't"  in it so I know she will love this story.

My purchases

The Ex by Nicola Moriarty (The Ex Girlfriend in US)
Publication date: 17th June 2019

Girl meets boy. They fall in love. 
There's just one problem...
She wants him back. She wants you gone.
Luke is The One. After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe.
The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble moving on. She texts Luke all the time and leaves aggressive notes on Georgia's car.
Georgia starts to feel afraid. But she decides to confront Cadence ... and that's when things get interesting.

I've been reading so much about this book that I had to rush out and purchase a copy. I read it over the weekend and it is fabulous. My review will be posted during the week sometime.

What Books did your postman deliver, or you downloaded, this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.

   

 

Storybook Corner Book Review: Hide and Seek Little Chameleon (Children's Picture Book)

Hide and Seek Little Chameleon

by

Anita Bijsterbosch

Publisher: Clavis Publishing
Publication date: 15th May 2019
Pages: 18
Format Read: eBook
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

Little Chameleon loves to play hide-and-seek. He knows a few special hiding tricks. Will you help look for Little Chameleon?

A cheerful seek-and-find book filled with colors, numbers, and animal friends. For toddlers ages 30 months and up, with a focus on the child's language development.

Mummy chameleon and little chameleon are playing hide and seek.

Help mummy find little chameleon as he hides and changes colour to blend into his surroundings.

While you are looking for little chameleon each page features a different colour. There are other insects and animals to find; one red spider, two red ladybugs.

As the hide and seek game progresses through different colours the story introduces different animals and the sound they make plus the number of objects to find increases from 1 through to 10. Each page ends with the question: But...... where is little chameleon?

This is a gorgeously illustrated children’s book suitable for ages 2+ which introduces and reinforces colour and counting with a fun repetition to the end of each page. Further education can be made with older children by discussing the way chameleons can change colour to blend into the surroundings just as little chameleon has done.

                             🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rated by Dot & Jay   5/5

We decided to colour our own chameleon and what better colour for our chameleon than all the colours of the rainbow. 

 

 

Book Review: Solving Cadence Moore by Gregory Sterner

Solving Cadence Moore

by

Gregory Sterner

Publisher: Aperture Press
Publication date: 7th November 2017
Pages: 370
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the author via Book Publicity Services 

Ten years ago, famous young singer Cadence Moore disappeared without a trace on a remote highway in western Pennsylvania. To this day her fate remains unknown. Was she kidnapped or murdered? Or did she simply run away in search of a new life, leaving behind the abuse and heartbreak that haunted her?

Charlie Marx, host of the popular conspiracy radio show "Underground Broadcast," is obsessed with Cadence. Desperate to find her after deceiving his boss to save his job, he launches an investigation of his own, digging deep into the missing woman's past and uncovering her darkest secrets. Working feverishly for weeks, he claims to have solved the mystery and promises to reveal Cadence's fate at the end of a groundbreaking podcast series and live radio special.

But is it all a lie? As years of twisted details slowly unravel, Charlie races to solve the biggest mystery of the decade. If he succeeds, it will mean closure for Cadence. If he fails, his entire world will come crashing down live on air--and the truth may be lost forever.  

Solving Cadence Moore is a uniquely plotted mystery written around a radio podcast series.

With podcasts becoming increasingly popular Sterner’s idea of writing a mystery with a radio personality, not a detective, as the main character and centering it on a podcast series is modern and brilliant.

The disappearance, ten years ago, of popular, young college singer Cadence Moore is back in the headlines after a documentary was recently screened about it.

Charlie Marx, radio personality, thinks he can do a better investigation of the facts of her disappearance. His boss assigns him podcast time and Charlie starts to build the momentum. The podcast becomes a major hit when Charlie declares he will let his listeners in on the truth of Cadence Moore’s disappearance. A truth he doesn’t have, but why let that get in the way of a good story.

The podcast goes through interviews with all the witnesses and friends of Cadence’s last days. It’s ten years on and some recollections may be hazy; some may even be lying!

The mystery of Cadence’s disappearance really pulled me in and throughout the interviews I made, and changed, my own conclusions many times.

The main focus of this story is Cadence and we get a lot of background on her and her friends. However there is not much on Charlie Marx, the producer of the podcast, and his boss, Tyler Ruebens. Both men came across as egotistical fast-talking con-men. Their personalities leapt from the page and brought the characters to life. As unlikeable as they were, they were extremely real.

Gregory Sterner’s debut novel Solving Cadence Moore, a modern day noir, will draw you in and keep you hooked until the very last page.

Content: frequent coarse language

                 mentions of incest/rape

                 mild violence

                                              🌟🌟🌟🌟 1/2

 My rating   4.5/5

Gregor Sterner is an author who enjoys mystery novels, philosophy, conspiracy theory stories, and true crime. His debut mystery novel "Solving Cadence Moore" was released on November 7th, 2017. He has learned so far in his brief membership in the worldwide club of published authors that it is wise to listen to feedback, especially from publishers or agents who have had more success than you. You have to be flexible and open to collaboration in order to move forward in the process of getting your novel published. He thinks it's important to embrace inspiration when it comes and don't be afraid to take risks, as long as you do so in the parameters of good writing and good reading. 

Mailbox Monday - June 24th

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week.


Happy Monday!

A fairly quite week here last week. The temperatures plummeted this week making it feel much more like winter with the mornings and evenings quite cold now, but we are lucky that it is mild and sunny during the day. I found I sunny spot outside today and enjoyed some reading time until the clouds rolled in and forced me back inside.
Our large local, second hand, charity book sale was on during the last weekend and it was hard but I refrained from attending as my daughter reminded me repeatedly that I don't need more books.
I didn't completely go without buying more books as Big Sky Publishing had an unmissable online sale where I purchased some children's books at crazy prices.

We went out for dinner as a family for my son's birthday to a local club and then back home for cake. ( and I forgot to take a photo).

Books  received during the past week.

 


Received from the publisher for review:

The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Publication Date: 9th July 2019

You just dropped off your child at the bus stop.
A panicked stranger calls your phone.
Your child has been kidnapped.
The stranger then explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger.
The only way to get your child back is to kidnap another child - within 24 hours.
Your child will be released only when the next victim's parents kidnap yet another child.
And most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don't kidnap a child, or if the next parents don't kidnap a child, your child will be murdered.
You are now part of The Chain.

Making Trouble: Tongued With Fire by Sue Ingleton
Publication date: 1st August 2019

In the winter of 1875, two rebellious spirits travel from England to Australia. Harriet Rowell (age 22) and Alice Moon (age 18) were champion swimmers in a time when women didn’t go into the sea; and they were in love in a time when many women were in love with each other but held such love secretly. Harriet and Alice took on the world at a dangerous time for women’s freedom of expression, but their love ended when Alice moved to Sydney to become a writer.

Before Harriet can get over her grief from the breakup, tragedy strikes; Alice is found dead in her bed at thirty-seven. Suspicions rest upon the powerful, chauvinistic scientist, John McGarvie Smith, with whom Alice had been working in her newfound capacity as a journalist. This book seeks to uncover the truth of Alice’s death and seek justice.

My Purchases:

The Pink Snowman by Alan Horsfield
Publication date: 5th April 2017

It's snowing in the Blue Mountains and Krystal is bored....but not for long.
After a disastrous attempt to build a snowman, Krystal and her friend Jasper find themselves with a puzzling problem.

Not only has their snowman come to life, now he's turning pink, and he's not happy about it!

Can the friends solve the mystery of the talking snowman's strawberry shade? 

Chicken Little by Oakley Graham
Publication date: 5th May 2017

Chicken Little thinks the sky is falling and sets off on a mission to tell the king.

A classic story about learning to think for yourself.

The Silent Owl by Clemency Pearce
Publication date: 5th August 2016

In the great, old hollow oak, lived an owl, who never spoke.

In the deep, dark forest lives a silent owl.
The forest animals are worried about Owl, but he has a few surprises up his sleeve!

 Sweet as Sugar by Oakley Graham
Publication date: 5th August 2017

The time has come for a young sugar glider to leave home. She tried to be brave, kissed her mummy on the cheek, and scampered on her way.

Follow Sugar in this original tale about learning to be happy with who you are.


 

What Books did your postman deliver, or you downloaded, this week?

Post a link to your Mailbox Monday or simply list your books in the comments below.