#Review by Lou of Mousey Mornings by Fiona Lowry @FionaLowry9 #PictureBook #KidsBook #MouseyMornings

Mousey Mornings
By Fiona Lowry

Review written by Louise (Lou) Bookmarks and Stages

Mousey Mornings is a cute, cosy picture book with lots of pictures, a story without too much cheese and can also be used for useful discussions.

Blurb

Discover the cozy, hidden world beneath the stairs with Melvin and Zara.

Melvin is a brilliant little chef who loves to whip up delicious treats for his best friend, Zara. But when Melvin’s whiskers droop from exhaustion, Zara realizes it’s time to step up and lend a paw.

Through teamwork, kindness, and a sprinkle of determination, the two friends embark on a heartwarming journey to rediscover what makes their friendship so special.

Perfect for young readers, Mousey Mornings is a delightful tale about the importance of helping one another, sharing responsibilities, and the magic of lasting friendship.

Join Melvin and Zara as they learn that the best recipes aren’t just for food—they’re for friendship, too!

Review

There’s a whole mousey world to have fun exploring. Young readers join Melvin and Zara in this cosy story about friendship and teamwork.

It’s a book that can be related to human households. Melvin is exhausted after always doing nice things like creating treats for his friend Zara, who doesn’t really do a lot back. She then realises just how tired he’s becoming after working hard and decides it’s time for her to give him a hand (paw) out. The friends then realise how valuable their friendship is and even more so when they work as part of a team.

Mousey Mornings is nicely illustrated and is great for reading alone or aloud. It’s a lovely bedtime story.
It’s also great for opening up discussions as part of a family or in an educational setting.

Review By Lou of Pure Evil By Lynda La Plante @LaPlanteLynda @BonnierBooks #JackWarrSeries #CrimeFiction #PureEvil #CompulsiveReaders #BlogTour

Pure Evil
By Lynda La Plante

Review by Louise (Lou) Bookmarks and Stages

Vanished is book 4 in what has been an incredibly good series so far. Jack Warr is definitely different from your usual detective in the way he conducts and goes about solving murders. It’s a rather juicy, compelling series that truly is worth following. It doesn’t stop at book 4. There is a 5th book on its way soon.
Find out more in the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

AN UNTHINKABLE CRIME.
A DETECTIVE UNDER SUSPICION.
A KILLER RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES.

It was supposed to be a simple case: a young man arrested for armed assault.

But it was just the beginning.

As Rodney Middleton awaits trial, Detective Jack Warr is warned by his mentor DCI Ridley that they have only scratched the surface of the man’s crimes.

Then DCI Ridley is suddenly removed from his post. No one is to contact him – and no one will say why.

As Warr digs into Middleton’s past, Ridley calls pleading for help, now accused of a murder he insists he didn’t commit.

To catch a monster and exonerate his friend, Warr must weed out the lies. But what awaits Warr if he uncovers the truth?

Review

Lynda La Plante knows how to intrigue readers by not just the twists, but by posing questions in readers minds. When DCI Ridley is mysteriously removed from his post, of course you want to know why and what happened.
As Jack Warr does some digging around, you want to know what will be uncovered as questions of what the truth could be enters the mind.
This is masterful and accomplished writing!

There’s lots to uncover when it comes to Rodney Middleton that makes for deep, dark, intriguing reading.

The more you delve into this book, the more complex, what seems simple, becomes darker and what transpires from that is an unputdownable read.

#Review By Lou of Emily Was SO Embarrassed. Tales From The Craft Box by Michelle Olson #ChildrensBook #kidsbooks #readingforpleasure #EmotionsForKids #Parents #Caregivers #Family

Emily Was SO Embarrassed
Tales From the Craft Box
By Michelle Olson

Delve into the craft box and discover the buttons who come out to play and who have very human emotions and fun doing what children do. Can they overcome an obstacle?
Thanks to Michelle Olson, I have the blurb and I’ve written a review, which you can see below.

Blurb

Emily has a big secret… and she’s tied in knots about it!

Emily LOVES dancing with her ribbon-it’s her favorite thing in the whole world! But there’s one problem: she’s SO worried about messing up that she’s never danced in front of anyone. Not even her best friend, Becky.

So when Becky asks her to perform in the annual talent show, Emily panics. Will she let her nerves get the best of her? Or will Emily find the courage to twirl, leap, and sparkle her way into the spotlight to help her friend?

With plenty of laughs and lots of heart, Emily Was SO Embarrassed is a joyful story about bravery, determination, and discovering that even the biggest stage fright can’t outshine the power of true friendship.

Review

Let’s start with that cover. It is absolutely eye-catching and almost tangibly 3D. It reminds me of a children’s tv programme, I can’t remember which one, but it has a similar quality in that it looks less cartoon-like and more 3D like in a way. The rest of the book follows this same formula in eye-catching story-telling through pictures. There is text too, just a little on each page.

Emily likes to dance and it’s fun how this button from the craft box has fun twirling and zig-zagging her ribbon all around. There are other buttons she is friendly with who encourage her to dance in a talent contest.
The book realistically deals with the feelings that some children have when they are good enough to perform, but feel all anxious about things going wrong and feel embarrassed when all isn’t quite perfect.

Emily was SO Embarrassed has warmth, energy and fun throughout a nice, short story written with great pacing as it moves from scene to scene. It’s written in a positive, fun way that has a short burst of trepidation, real emotions, friendship and how with a bit of determination and encouragement, you can pick yourself up and keep going with whatever you’re doing.

#Review By Lou of Vanished By Lynda La Plante @LaPlanteLynda @BonnierBooks_UK #DCJackWarr #CrimeFiction #Vanished #CompulsiveReaders #BlogTour

Vanished
By Lynda La Plante

Review by Louise Cannon – (Lou) – Bookmarks and Stages

Vanished is the 3rd book in the Jack Warr series. I am pleased to be on the blogathon/blog tour for this entire series. Even more excitedly, there is a brand new 5th book in this excellent series, coming soon. Today I have a review on Vanished below.

Blurb

When an eccentric elderly widow claims she is being stalked, Detective Jack Warr is the only person willing to dig into the truth behind her wild claims.

Jack soon finds himself embroiled in an international drugs operation, art theft – and a murder investigation. On the back foot throughout, he is forced to play second fiddle to the Drug Squad, confront an old adversary, and even fight off accusations of assault.

But Jack believes that every aspect of this multi-faceted case is simply a distraction from the one person who lies at the heart of it all – the widow’s elusive stalker. Find him, and the truth will come out…

Review

The quality of the writing is excellent. As soon as you open the first page, you start to get to know who Avril is. She’s an intriguing person with more than just being eccentric going on, but it has meant that people haven’t always believed her claims at what’s going on, until Detective Jack Warr’s involvement…
It’s entertaining and interesting reading about Avril. There’s quite a feistiness about her and evolving and developing eccentricities, which draws you in and she grows on Jack.

The book gets off to a fast-paced start with trepidation and high-stake danger, instantly hooking you in.

Things get rather nasty and Jack Warr becomes determined to solve, what becomes a rather more complex case than you’d initially think, with the murder, a drugs operation and an art theft. Amongst it all, personal life also goes on, which creates such a rounded view of everyone, there’s even a wedding…

There’s much to read about in this thriller. It’s all written succinctly, making each part easy to follow and be gripped by.

Detective Jack Warr is one to follow. His story is a gripping one and the cases he gets involved in are thrillers that are very compelling to read.

#Review by Lou of #NowThatsWhatICallAMusical @TheNowMusical – A nostalgic, fun, poignant 5 star #Musical starring @Nina_Wadia @toyahofficial @SamBaileyREAL Directed and Choreographed by @CraigRevHorwood #ATGTheatres

Now That’s What I Call A Musical
Directed and Choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood

Review written by Louise Cannon (Lou) – Bookmarks and Stages

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” right? This is the perfect musical to escape all your worries and once more be carefree, just for a bit as you re-live your youth, but also reflect on adulthood a bit too.

Set in Birmingham, the time seamlessly flips between 1989 and 2009. This is a nostalgic musical that joins a school reunion at a bar. There are friendships, betrayals, old adversaries and so much more in this upbeat musical with poignancy and positivity. Every scene is perfectly formed, easy to follow and is highly compelling.

The plot deftly portrays the carefree youthfulness of the 80’s, the pop culture, the cassettes, VHS and more… Gemma and April are friends, portrayed by Nikita Johal and Maia Hawkins in their youth and Nina Wadia and Sam Bailey in their adulthood. It’s interesting and fun following their life stories and see how they progress and what becomes of them.
All in all, it’s a strong cast with everyone involved playing their part very well.

Each location has a guest star, in this case it was Toyah Wilcox. It’s a rather fun way of doing things. There are fantastic big songs from the times throughout. The hits just keep coming and all fit well into the story-telling.

The stand-out cast were Nina Wadia and her very memorable performance of how her character turned out. Her performance was outstanding as she portrayed the highs with fun and the lows of how tough some aspects of life became with so much emotion and poignancy. Her character is also very relatable. Nina Wadia makes you feel all the emotions. Her performance and portrayal of her character, Gemma, isn’t one you’d forget in a hurry.

Toyah Wilcox was the guest star when I saw it and, let’s put it this way, she’s still got it. She sang 2 of her most famous hits and gave a lot of energy and positivity to her performance. This was also memorable and won’t leave me for a long time too.

The cast were all great and highly watchable, bringing life to their characters, from portraying the carefree times of youth to the realities of how complex life can become.

This is an outstanding and very special jukebox musical and one I highly recommend.

Follow the tour here: Now That’s What I Call A Musical UK Tour

#Review of The Dead Will Rise – A Simon Westow Mystery By Chris Nickson #ChrisNickson2 #SevernPress #HistoricalCrimeFiction #TheDeadWillRise

The Dead Will Rise
By Chris Nickson

The Dead Will Rise in an unexpected way. This is a Simon Westow mystery that will transport you to a time in history to the grim, dark streets of Leeds, where crimes need solving by the unlikeliest of duos. Check out the blurb and my review below to find out more…

Blurb

Thief-taker Simon Westow is used to finding stolen goods, not stolen bodies . . . Can he hunt down those committing crimes against the dead in Leeds?

Leeds. April, 1824. Wealthy engineer Joseph Clark employs thief-taker Simon Westow to find the men who stole the buried corpse of Catherine Jordan, his employee’s daughter.

Simon is stunned and horrified to realize there’s a gang of body snatchers in Leeds. He needs to discover who bought Catherine’s body and where it is now. As he hunts for answers, he learns that a number of corpses have vanished from graveyards in the town. Can Simon and his assistant Jane bring the brutal, violent Resurrection men who are selling the dead to medical schools to justice and give some peace to the bereft families?

Review

The cover isn’t the only evocative part of this book. The descriptions of the streets is too and is for the senses as he describes the sites and smells in a way that transports your mind to 1824, Leeds. It sounds almost an idyll, but lurking around is quite the opposite. There’s a rather brutal mystery to be solved. Bodies are being resurrected in the name of medical science. The subject seems well-researched with a time in history and fictional plot weaving succinctly together.

Simon Westow is aware of body snatchers (the infamous Burk and Hare in Edinburgh come to mind), but had never seen anything like that in Leeds, until now…

Simon and Jane make a formidable team. After a bit of complication, they take on the case. It, however puts extra pressure and strain on their relationship as time goes on. There’s been a lot of trust between them, but now its fragile and is hanging in the balance.

The Dead Will Rise is full of twists and history that will have readers turning the pages to see what’s coming next and how it ends.