#CoverReveal of Arivia – Fangs of the Frost by D.H. Willison inc blurb @dhwillison #Fantasy #worldbuilding #magic #bookish #ice #winter ReadingCommunity #TalesOfArivia series

Today, I have the pleasure of being part of a team to reveal book 5 of the Arivia Series, thanks to the author D.H. Willison. Arivia – Fangs of the Frost by D.H. Willison will publish on 14th October 2025.

Cover Artist: Betty Elgyn Interior Artist: Si’yann

Check out the fantastical wintry cover and be transported to a different world, one of magic, a quest, the meeting of humans and monsters, below. Then, discover a little bit about Fangs of The Frost and a little of what you can expect within those adventurous pages…

Being sent on a quest to save an entire city and granted the city’s full resources is a grand honor. Unless that city is Xin, with no resources to speak of.

A magical secret from Xin’s past threatens the city’s future, and Darin must lead a rag-tag group to a frigid city at the end of the world to save it. Their dilapidated old trade schooner may be haunted, but it survived conversion into the world’s first harpy aircraft carrier. And more importantly, it was cheap.

Can a misfit crew of humans and monsters overcome creepy creatures, mysterious magical phenomena, and the whims of the Empress of the Ice? How does a couple get alone time on a ship, when one of them is the size of the ship? And will Darin and Rinloh finally put the naughty in nautical?

Join Arvia’s most eclectic heroic duo for adventures on the high seas! Caution: may contain questionable relationship advice, gratuitous human + nonhuman cuddle sequences, and/or singing.

If you like what you see here. If it’s whet your appetite to delve into the land where there’s Fangs of the Frost, or even consider it as an early buy for a Christmas present, look out for it on 14th October 2025.

#Review by Lou of The Spectaculars: Battle of the Stars By Jodie Garnish #JodieGarnish @Usborne #Childrensbook #MiddleGrade #kidslit

The Spectaculars: Battle of the Stars
By Jodie Garnish

Review written by Louise Cannon

Enchanting, theatrical, dramatic, The Spectaculars: Battle of the Stars is an entertaining read for middle-grade readers to get lost in and travel with a magical theatre school.

Blurb

Jump onboard the Wondria… The Spectaculars is an enchanting adventure series filled with magic, theatre and danger, perfect for drama lovers. For fans of Nevermoor, The Train to Impossible Places and Carrie Hope Fletcher.

There’s magic in the air as Harper begins her third year as a Spectacular at the Wondria – her magical travelling theatre school.

An immersive theatre show is touring the Hidden Peaks, bewitching everyone with its starry charms. But when the show’s fortune-teller predicts danger in Harper’s future, Harper is suddenly pulled into a terrifying battle of powerful spells and sinister figures.

With her friends, Harper must uncover who is behind it all – because if they can’t, it will be closing night for the whole of the Hidden Peaks…

Review

Immersive theatre shows are amazing and this book reflects this style of theatre to a degree. Hidden Peaks is charming everyone, but there are sinister forces at work after Harper talks to a fortune-teller who predicts her future.

What unfolds is a theatrical world of magic and friendship to pull readers in. The mild trepidation creates a desire to see how this entertaining read where the colliding fantastical world of theatre and magic ends.

#BookReview By Lou of Sundae Driver – A Story of Dan and Stan, with Zelda and the Welder By Jack Barrow @JackBarrowUK #SundaeDriver #Novella #ReadingCommunity

Sundae Driver – A Story of Dan and Stan, with Zelda and the Welder
By Jack Barrow

Quirky/urban fantasy, Sundae Driver, set in Blackpool asks the question “Would You Sell Your Soul To An Ice Cream Van? Sundae Driver is a novella within the Hidden Masters Universe.
Thanks to Jack Barrow for the novella to review. The first book I reviewed by him was In Sat Nav We Trust? He has a great way of writing and mixing the everyday with the quirky.

Blurb

Would you sell your soul for an ice cream van?

As Danny struggles to keep his ice cream van on the road he meets Stan, a mysterious stranger, at a crossroads, at midnight. Spitting in his palm Stan shakes on a deal with Danny to fix up Nellie, Danny’s rusty, vintage, ice cream van, and so, Danny’s life improves dramatically. But a few years on, Danny cannot understand why he can no longer face the daily routine of endless cheerful customers and excellent profits. Seeking supernatural advice Danny learns he has paid a price he did not agree to, but there is a solution. Can he fulfil the task to free himself from Stan and break his contract?

If you like supernatural antics with thoroughly silly twists, and unlikely characters, then you’ll enjoy Jack Barrow’s magickal adventures in modern Britain.

Get Sundae Driver today as an introduction to Jack’s Hidden Masters series.

Review

Sundae Driver is perhaps not what you’d expect an ice cream seller’s job to be. You don’t usually end up selling your soul nor having to get supernatural advice…
Set in Blackpool, readers meet Danny in Stanley Park. It’s the turn of the century and it’s not a great start, but he really wants to keep going with selling ice creams from Nellie, his beloved van, which needs an MOT. There’s a lot of hope for it to be able to stay on the roads. He then meets a stranger whom he gets talking to. Things change from there with some intriguing events and the mysterious Madam Zelda and instructions to a magic circle with a contract with his name on it. The odd events continue with a strange zombie and time travel.

Sundae Driver has an air of the quirky and a certain atmosphere hanging about it that draws you in. It’s a strange journey that readers are taken on throughout that is well-knitted together with a fast flow with humour. There are twists and turns that ensure you want to read to the end to find out what happens if you sell your soul and if Nellie, the ice cream van and Danny survives everything.

At just 91 pages, Sundae Driver is definitely worth a read if you’re looking for an entertaining novella different from the norm.

Purchase Link:
Amazon

*Please note I am not affiliated with the author or Amazon or any bookshop.

#Review By Lou of The Sun and The Void By Gabriela Romero Lacruz @GRomeroLacruz @Daphne_Press #Fantasy #EpicFantasy

The Sun and The Void
By Gabriela Romero Lacruz

It isn’t often I review Epic Fantasy, but The Sun and The Void caught my eye. I have a quick review of my thoughts. Take a look at the blurb too.

Blurb

In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, a sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism, ancient magic, and two young women’s quest for belonging unfolds.

Reina is desperate.

Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesare is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her.

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it’s hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

Review

The Sun and The Void is a sweeping epic fantasy that draws your eye into the fantastical world of magic, belief systems and comparable lines of worldly pasts of colonialism. It shows Reina’s desperation for something new and frustrations of being dependent of Dona’s magic. Eva’s storyline is a bit more complex, being a child of illegitimacy and of mixed race. It shows how far the real world has changed. The trepidations of adventure and magic are the more enthralling parts that keeps you wanting to read onwards and is its main strengths. Aside from this, it is a slow-burn, that doesn’t quite catch the full force being a blazing page-turner, but worth reading onwards to become involved in the world and the magic and creatures it holds.

The Interviews By Lou – Questions answered by various actors, a presenter, authors

The Interviews

Conducted by Louise Cannon (Lou), featuring various guests, whom I am eternally grateful for giving the opportunity to interview them.

Ever wanted to know more about what inspires authors to write? What’s behind the written page? Behind the scenes of an actor’s life as they take to the stage? Plus much more? Here, I have 22 interviews I have created and conducted with authors, actors, a presenter from both sides of the Atlantic. Also included are a couple with blog tour organisers, where you’ll learn more about what this entails and an extraordinary secretary.
Get comfy and cosy with a cuppa, sit back and see what people have divulged for you. All interview answers are exactly as people have told me. So many genres, you may be inspired for what to read or who to look out for on a stage or TV.
Check out the links. They’ll open in a new tab, making it easy for you to navigate back to this page.

Actors/Presenter/Authors

Fern Britton on The Daughter’s of Cornwall, part of her family’s life, letters and more. The review also weaves through and more… Interview Here

Robert McNamara on the play – Report to An Academy By Franz Kafka, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and more… Interview Here

Vanessa Heron on being The Secretary of the Oscar Wilde Society, how the society came into existence, her favourite play, how to join and more… Interview Here

Ronald Rand – Solo Transformation On Stage on getting into character, his acting, his book and his charitable works, and more… Interview Here

Laura Loane – The first interview I conducted. She talks about books, acting, disability and more…. Interview Here

Authors

Cecelia Ahern on PS. I Love You, Postscript, Freckles, themes around health and more… Interview Here

Matson Taylor on the Evie Epworth books. Discover more about what inspired him, his job out-with being an author and more… Interview Here

Lotte R. James on The Gentleman of Holly Street, the strong themes and advice for historical fiction authors… Interview Here

Anna Willett on The Newlywed where she talks of special crime squads, keeping writing fresh, getting into the psyche of the setting and more…. Interview Here

Val Penny on Hunter’s Chase, setting the book in Edinburgh, combining dark themes with humour and more… Interview Here

Isabella Muir on A Notable Omission, writing crime fiction, the fun of research, the 1970’s and more. Interview Here

Miriam McGuirk on Second Chances, the importance of finding new opportunities after seismic life changes occur, the importance of communities and their hubs and more… Interview Here

Jeanine Englert on Conveniently Married to A Laird, writing historical romance, the class system, marrying out of convenience and more… Interview Here

Viv Fogel on Imperfect Beginnings, writing poetry, an art installation, her birth mother, the noise and the silence within her writing and more… Interview Here

Candi Miller on Salt & Honey, Africa, Culture, Charities and more… Interview Here

Lela May Wight on Bound By A Sicilian Secret, the importance of relatable, gritty themes being included in romance, the inspiration behind the main character being Sicilian and more… Interview Here

Bobby Twidale on De-Ja-Vu, being a former teacher, engaging boys in the education system, writing complex relationships and more… Interview Here

Sarah Rodi on Claimed by the Viking Chief, writing about the Viking period, devouring books in the library, servitude and marriage and more… Interview Here

Tani Hanes on Puppily Ever After, writing a ‘coming of age’ story, values in the book relating to real life, pets and more… Interview Here

R.L Baxter on Blue Lunar and the Apex Grail, writing fantasy, building fantastical worlds, his varied career and more… Interview Here

Paul De Blassie III on Goddess of Everything, the mother/son relationship, the supernatural and his other job of Depth Psychology, the healing of the human mind Interview Here

Simon Van-Der-Velde on Backstories, his “office kimono”, the inspiration for short-stories, his ‘desert island’ books and music and more… Interview Here

Thank you for taking the time to read the interviews.

If you work in the world of stage and theatre or in the world of books and would like to be interviewed, then please do get in touch via my Contact Form

#CoverReveal and #BlurbReveal of Harpyness Is Only Skin Deep By DH Willison- @dhwillison #Audiobook #Fantasy @WriteReadsTours @The_WriteReads #HarpynessIsOnlySkinDeep

Today, I have the opportunity to be part of the audiobook cover reveal for Harpyness is Only Skin Deep. A fantasy book that has grounded themes such as friendship and wit and more. Check out the vibrant cover, the blurb and see where you can find out even more below.

Blurb:

Unassuming human Darin yearns with every fiber of his being to be that grand hero from countless books and games. When given the chance for a one-way trip to the fantastical world of Arvia, he quickly realizes he’s terrible at it. Yet the qualities he’s always undervalued—quick-wittedness and empathy—save his life when he encounters the ferocious harpy Rinloh.

Harpyness is Only Skin Deep is about friendships that defy all odds, laughing at the absurdities of life, and seeing the good in the worst monster in the realm.

The audiobook of Harpyness is Only Skin Deep is available from September 22nd in over 40 global retailers, including Spotify, Kobo, Libro.fm, and Apple.

Author: DH Willison

https://dhwillisoncreates.com/

Twitter: @dhwillison

Cover Artist: Papaya Style

https://www.instagram.com/papaya_style

artstation: https://papaya_style.artstation.com)

Audiobook narrator:

Rachanee Lumayno

twitter @rachaneelumayno

instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachaneelumayno)