Otter’s Coat: Real Reason Turtle Raced Rabbit Cherolachian Tortoise and Hare By Cordellya Smith Illustrated By Blueberry Illustrations
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Today I am on the blog tour for Otter’s Coat. It is a sweet, fun and engaging story, suitable for 5-7 year olds. Thanks to Random T Tours for organising the tour and a copy of the book. Discover more about the book in the blurb and review below, as well as the author.
Blurb
When Rabbit hears the animals talking abut what a beautiful coat Otter has, he becomes jealous and tricks Otter totake it for himself.
Follow along as Turtle races Rabbit to the top of the Black Mountain to win back Otter’s coat and make sure it is returned.
Review
Instantly the book is recognisable as a take on Aesop’s famous fable – The Hare and the Tortoise, so it mixes something a bit new with a timeless classic and a lovely story is told once again that will be engaging for 5-7 year olds.
Throughout the story is a game of hide and seek, whereby children have to hunt out the chipmunk along the way to the end.
The book nicely takes children to a nut moon festival and then sneakily into the rabbit’s trick with the otter in its bright bold illustrated pages, in what unfolds into a fast-paced chapter book. It is great for those lessons on fables and their outcomes for schools or for reading for pleasure and is well-designed for its targeted age group, as well as being engaging, with themes that are familiar that create a fun story, which can also be used as discussion pieces, like you would with Aesop’s Fables, which this book could be easily paired up with.
At the end, there is a note for parents that explains what a Cherolachian is, which is added interest and adds roots.
About The Author
Originally from the mountains of Kentucky, Cordellya Smith is a storyteller who loves to share stories that provide children with versions of beloved tales that reflect her Cherokee and Appalachian roots. A first generation college graduate, Cordellya works to promote literacy and a lifetime love of reading.
Today I am pleased to be closing the Blog Tour for The Matchmaker by Paul Vidich, thanks to Random T Tours inviting me to review and to No Exit Press for gifting me a copy of this gripping book where the worlds of the KGB and CIA collide as the Berlin Wall topples. Discover more in the blurb and my review below as well as a bit about the author.
Blurb
Berlin, 1989. Anne Simpson, an American who works as a translator at the Joint Operations Refugee Committee, thinks she is in a normal marriage with a charming East German. But then her husband disappears and the CIA and Western German intelligence arrive at her door. Nothing about her marriage is as it seems. Anne had been targeted by the Matchmaker – a high level East German counterintelligence officer – who runs a network of Stasi agents. These agents are his ‘Romeos’ who marry vulnerable women in West Berlin to provide them with cover as they report back to the Matchmaker. Anne has been married to a spy, and now he has disappeared, and is presumably dead. The CIA are desperate to find the Matchmaker because of his close ties to the KGB. They believe he can establish the truth about a high-ranking Soviet defector. They need Anne because she’s the only person who has seen his face – from a photograph that her husband mistakenly left out in his office – and she is the CIA’s best chance to identify him before the Matchmaker escapes to Moscow. Time is running out as the Berlin Wall falls and chaos engulfs East Germany. But what if Anne’s husband is not dead? And what if Anne has her own motives for finding the Matchmaker to deliver a different type of justice?
Review
Berlin, 1989, now seems eerie with what is going on today, minus the Berlin Wall, but read the book and the past and present almost seem to collide where spies are concerned…
The book takes readers into the world of the CIA, the KGB and a refugee committee . The book is gripping and intense with the espionage that goes on. There is also the chilling thought of what can go on in the world of marriage too.
The book has a map at the beginning, setting the scene at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Anne Simpson is an American woman working at the Joint Operations Refugee Committee. She is in a marriage that isn’t your typical one as he disappears. It isn’t what she thought it was to the German. Little did she know she was a target by the networker of Stasi agents and their mysterious person known as The Matchmaker, who the CIA are in a race for time to find him because of his KGB links and before he reaches Moscow.
There is also the chaos in Germany that ensues the fall of the Berlin Wall to contend with in this action-packed book that has an even more chilling edge now than ever… It’s sure to capture the imagination of John Le Carre fans.
About the Author
Paul Vidich has had a distinguished career in music and media. Most recently, he served as Special Advisor to AOL and was Executive Vice President at the Warner Music Group, in charge of technology and global strategy. He serves on the Board of Directors of Poets & Writers and The New School for Social Research. A founder and publisher of the Storyville App, Vidich is also an award-winning author of short fiction. His novels, An Honorable Man, The Good Assassin and The Coldest Warrior, are available from No Exit Press.
Music of the Night – A Crime Writers Association Anthology
Waltz and embody the tune of crime in Music of the Night Anthology and hit the high notes with some new crime writers and soar into the crescendo with many top, critically acclaimed crime writers all waxing lyrical together with stories as twisty as a treble clef. Discover more in the blurb and the rest of my review below… Firstly, thanks to The Crime Writer’s Association and Random T Tours for inviting me to review and for gifting me a copy of the book.
Blurb
Music of the Night is a new anthology of original short stories contributed by Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) members and edited by Martin Edwards, with music as the connecting theme. The aim, as always is to produce a book which is representative both of the genre and the membership of the world’s premiercrime writing association.
The CWA has published anthologies of members’ stories in most years since 1956 with Martin Edwards as editor for over25years during which time the anthologies have yielded many award-winning and nominated stories by writers such as Ian Rankin, Reginald Hill, Lawrence Block,and Edward D. Hoch.
Stories by long-standing authors and stellar names sit alongside contributions from relative newcomers, authors from overseas,and members whose work haven’tappeared in a CWA anthology before. Among the gifted stars of today whose fiction featured in a CWA anthologyatan early stage of their crime writing careers are Mick Herron, Frank Tallis,and Sarah Hilary. It isn’t a closed shop, and never has been.
Review
This book is full of original crime based stories from new and well-known crime writing talents, brought to readers by the Crime Writers Association (CWA), expertly edited by Martin Edwards.
The contributing authors are:
Abi Silver, Alison Joseph, Andrew Taylor, Antony M. Brown, Art Taylor, Ben Price, Cath Staincliffe, Catherine Aird, Chris Simms, Christine Poulson, David Stuart Davies, Dea Parkin, Jason Monaghan, Kate Ellis, L.C Tyler, Leo McNeir, Martin Edwards, Maxim Jakubowski, Neil Daws, Paul Charles, Paul Gitsham, Peter Lovesey, Ragnar Jonasson, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Vaseem Khan.
There is an eclectic mix of crime and music. I have highlighted the titles in navy blue.
The theme is music related and they have all tackled it with aplomb! Be Prepared is the opening title. Be prepared like a Scout and a Guide for music and song and suspense as a minor key weedles itself in, changing the atmosphere. The notes soon change to sharps in The Sharp Thorn as the harpsichord plays its chilling tune and who is to say they were the right notes? So, next comes Wrong Notes and a concert with something wrong with the piano as the bars of music are waiting to be played with a chilling sting in the notes tails, before The Melody Of Murder begins in the next story, with innocent talk about tv shows that then plays out to scenes of murder and what Netflix does.
Pick up a violin and will you play to the tune and see what happens in Violin CE. It isn’t just any violin, it is a Stradivarius, or will you hear a certain fragment of a tune at all in the sinister Love Me Or Leave Me: A Fugue in G Minoror feel the emotion of music and hit a crescendo as it climaxes with in The Sound and the Fury. Find out more if people live or die as the music plays loudly, filling the room.
Head to Berkeley Square to find, the nightengale has flown off and has been replaced in the twisty A Vulture Sang in Berkeley Square in a war and any sweetness there was has been cut through.
How about Not A Note with a piano lesson that has fast developing atmosphere or having The Greatest Hitwith lots of emotion or creating a Mix Tape. Read stories featuring names of well-known popstars and bands, like a love letter to musicians.
Enter the darkside of romance in The Crazy Cries of Love that has notes that grip with their musical tie and a sense of danger. The writing is sharp as the sinister flat notes play, creating atmosphere or listen to the blues in Bombay Blues and compose some music in a way you may not ever imagine in A Death In Four Partsand there is A Scent of An Ending with a melancholic tune that reels you in along with its scent.
Waltz into the darkest of secrets to be revealed in AndThe Band Played On.
Firstly – I wish Simon Kernick a Happy Publication Day! Today I am pleased to review Good Cop, Bad Cop by Simon Kernick on the Random Things Blog Tour.
Don’t forget to breath whilst reading this high octane book!
Check out the blurb and my full review below. Thanks to Headline for gifting me Good Cop, Bad Cop and for Random Thing Tours for inviting me to review.
Blurb
COURAGEOUS HERO OR COLD-BLOODED CRIMINAL? TONIGHT WE FIND OUT.
It’s 14 years after the worst terrorist atrocity in UK history and, with the perpetrators either dead or missing, the motive remains a mystery. But Dr Ralph Teller, a wealthy industrialist who lost his wife in the attack, never gave up hope of justice. He thinks he knows the real identity of the mastermind responsible.
Only one person can help him put together the final pieces of the puzzle – retired police officer Chris Sketty, who infiltrated the terrorist group and was wounded trying to prevent the attack. But Cleverly thinks Sketty is a liar…and possibly far worse He has a dossier on all the former cop’s dark secrets and will make them public unless Sketty tells the truth.
So, over one night, Sketty will share his brutal tale of betrayal, ruthlessness and corruption, finishing with a revelation so terrifying and unexpected that it will change everything. Is Sketty a brave hero, crippled in the line of duty, or the most ruthless mass murderer the country has ever seen?
Review
Mr Chris Sketty is an interesting character you will want to know. He has a deeply shocking story to tell. It’s about a shocking time of terror that he recalls from 15 years ago. You’re absorbed into Counter Terrorism and the events that happen round about. The book however starts in present day with a heart in your mouth, seriously emotional moment, before whisking readers back. It feels like Chris Sketty, now seriously injured in the line of duty, is sitting beside you giving his account of what happened. It’s clever, involving writing. Simon Kernick revs up the pace very quickly for a a high occtaine, adrenaline driven book.
Chris, with the horrors he sees in his work to contend with, also has major relationship issues. Then there’s the fact he is also lauded a hero, and perhaps on the face of it he may be, but this is twisty book that keeps you guessing and questioning if he really is a hero or not and whether all is as black and white as it first seems. One moment it’s easy to see why he is praised for being all heroic, but the next moment, raises questions as all starts to spill out, like a statement that you’re witnessing as to what really happened, but you never know for sure until the very end what is the real truth and whether he is hero or criminal. There is so much that Sketty gets embroiled in as well as the manipulative people he has to deal with. It’s the darkest of places where terrorists lurk and carry out their evil acts. Each page that turns is edge of your seat writing; the pages can’t turn fast enough!
There are so many revelations, even in part 2, which was only 6 weeks ago from part 1. There are so many deaths and you can’t tell instantly who to trust and who are totally untrustworthy. The writing is masterful and so skilled. The thriller is never lost and increasingly builds until you’ve reached the end and closed the book.
Drinking Custard – Diary Of A Confused Mum By Lucy Beaumont
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Today I am on a blog tour for an entertaining non-fiction – autobiographical book – Drinking Custard – Diary of a Confused Mum. Discover more in the blurb and review below. Thanks first to Random T. Tours for inviting me to review on the blog tour and for Octopus Books for gifting a hardback copy of the book.
About the Lucy Beaumont and the Book
Known for her sharp, witty and surreal view on everyday life, Lucy shares the unpredictable craziness of being a mum in this brilliant and laugh-out-loud ‘mumoir’. Mums everywhere will recognise the madness of it all. From when Lucy was hospitalised with indigestion in her third trimester (blame the burrito), to when she was *this close* to slapping her hypnobirthing instructor, to fi nding herself drinking a whole pint of custard in one sitting. Drinking Custard also captures Lucy’s marriage to comedian Jon, as they navigate Lucy’s raging pregnancy hormones and balk at pram prices together.
Review
Firstly, Lucy Beaumont makes it clear she hasn’t written a parental advice book. As I read through the book, this is a book with humour and with anecdotes that parents may be able to relate to in their own lives. There is about Lucy herself, who is also a comedian and her lifestyle as well as how she met fellow comedian – Jon Richardson, who she rubs up the wrong way from time to time. It’s really rather funny!
The way the book is set-out is fun, quick and easy to read for those busy parents. It’s easy to dip in and out of. It’s an entertaining enough book for something different to read to lift people’s mood.
There are some serious moments too, about hormones, the changes within her body whilst being pregnant and the challenges of those night feeds. There’s also joy of reaching certain milestones too, between missing the life pre-baby. There’s the changes in conversations from Homes Under The Hammer exchanged to Paw Patrol and Bing etc. and the groups to join up to and progressing onto nursery runs.
The book is entertaining and seems to be an honest, yet humorous account of life and becoming and being parents.
Today I am excited to reveal my review of this close to the bone, absorbingly good, chilling and terrifyingly realistic political thriller that is State Of Terror. Check out the blurb and the rest of my review to find out more about the book and my thoughts. Discover more about what Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton thought of writing together and a bit more about them, below as well as what I and 4 authors think of the fictional thriller that is – State Of Terror.
I thank Random T Tours for inviting me to review on my blog and Pan MacMillan for gifting me a hardback book.
Blurb
When an ingenious #1 bestselling novelist, known for her rich themes, riveting plots, and empathetic characters, and one of the world’s most experienced leaders with inside knowledge on the global power players from top to bottom, team up to write a novel, the result is STATE OF TERROR, by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny.
STATE OF TERROR is an explosive, never-seen-before thriller. Set in locations around the world, there is edge-of-your-seat suspense, breathtaking action, ride-or-die friendships, unlikely allies, even a blush of romance—plus all the heart and humanity you can expect in a Louise Penny novel. With a behind-the-scenes perspective that only an insider could know, STATE OF TERROR is a unique thriller that has a beating heart, plus plenty of female characters at the fore.
After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.
There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.
As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer (FSO) on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source.
Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning.
What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the beginning of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena.
As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of influence in the places where it counts the most.
To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state and her best friend and counsellor.
Review
A critically acclaimed author (Louise Penny) and Former First Lady in the US collaborating to write a book has worked even better than imagined. It’s pretty close to the bone at times and there are certain characters you may recognise the traits of with real life people, but it does then have a way of absorbing you, so you then concentrate on the actual characters as just that, fictional people. It’s the sort of book, I can only imagine, may have taken courage to write. It works so well because Louise Penny is critically acclaimed for writing thrillers and Hillary Rodham Clinton, although has the knowledge behind the story told in State Of Terror, she has also written books before. It turns out it seems a formidible collaboration and really hits the mark.
Ellen Adams is Madam Secretary and the fabulous thing is that it is refreshing that here is a high-powered ambitious woman who ends up rushing like so many people do to get ready for work and with moments of doubt. The authors have skillfully written a high-powered woman with some details that everyone the world over will be able to relate to. Then there is the gritty work of trying to build alliances and being strong to do such a job as Secretary of State.
The newly elected President is President Williams and has a dislike of Ellen. He’s also pretty full of himself with narcisstic tendencies, then there is also the Defence Secretary, Tim Beecham, a loyal supporter of the president, but at times sits between that and occasionally being okay in attitude towards the Secretary of State. It shows the quick-fire lines that have to be ready at any given moment to give back to colleagues after their rubukes, in the corridors and rooms of such immense power. There is also Betsy, who is quite the friend within this story. The working relationships may come across as relatable to many, wholly or partly and are also interesting in the way they are weaved into the book and you really get to know the pressures and their personalities.
The book is very gripping and most pages are a tense read, with terrorists and so much life at stake. There is also the question for Ellen to work out who she can trust within the world and within the political sphere, including the administration she works for. The book has smaller details of diplomacy within it, which gives this book something quite unique and something new to perhaps learn, after all, even fiction has a base of fact to it, to bring its believability, which this has lots of, as you think about what happens in the world and see the scenes (albeit fictional ones), playing out on the page. It does somehow feel like fiction and reality rapidly colliding, with readers pulled into different parts of the world where the Secretary of State sees where diplomacy is required and terrorists try to hide and plot their next attack with deadly weaponary. Behind the scenes of the locations always seems to be movement, more evidence found, coded messages to crack.
The book also digs really deep and not just into terrorism as such, but also whatelse threatens the world and its population, some of it far away from America, but some of it within the States and it shows some attitudes that are within them. The only thing is, there is a bit of repetition that goes on, which is a pity, but it keeps certain parts of the story fresh in people’s minds as it is so complex. This doesn’t detract too much for it being a fast-paced, breath-taking read.
It’s a chilling read and one that is so close to the bone, but one that all the way through you hope the White House team behind Ellen, wins through, as the clock ticks down, that makes you want to hold your breath… I think readers who liked Homeland on TV would enjoy this book.
Writing Together
“When it was suggested my friend Hillary and I write a political thriller together, I could not say yes fast enough,” said Louise Penny. “What an incredible experience, to get inside the State Department. Inside the White House. Inside the mind of the Secretary of State as high stake crises explode. Before we started, we talked about her time as Secretary of State. What was her worst nightmare? STATE OF TERROR is the answer.”
Hillary Clinton added, “Writing a thriller with Louise is a dream come true. I’ve relished every one of her books and their characters as well as her friendship. Now we’re joining our experiences to explore the complex world of high stakes diplomacy and treachery. All is not as it first appears.”
Filled with real-life international figures, unforgettable characters, as well as wonderful cameos that will thrill the most ardent Louise Penny fans, STATE OF TERRORis a unique and utterly compelling international thriller co-written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th Secretary of State, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist.
About the authors:
Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first woman in US history to become the presidential nominee of a major political party. She served as the 67th Secretary of State after nearly four decades in public service advocating on behalf of children and families as an attorney, First Lady, and US Senator. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, and No 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of seven previous books, all published by Simon & Schuster.
Louise Penny is an international award winning and bestselling author whose books have hit #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail lists. Her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, published by Minotaur Books, an imprint of the St. Martin’s Publishing Group, have been translated into 31 languages. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise Penny lives in a village south of Montréal.
Originally from the mountains of Kentucky, Cordellya Smith is a storyteller who loves to share stories that provide children with versions of beloved tales that reflect her Cherokee and Appalachian roots. A first generation college graduate, Cordellya works to promote literacy and a lifetime love of reading. 
About the Lucy Beaumont 
When an ingenious #1 bestselling novelist, known for her rich themes, riveting plots, and empathetic characters, and one of the world’s most experienced leaders with inside knowledge on the global power players from top to bottom, team up to write a novel, the result is STATE OF TERROR, by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. 
Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first woman in US history to become the presidential nominee of a major political party. She served as the 67th Secretary of State after nearly four decades in public service advocating on behalf of children and families as an attorney, First Lady, and US Senator. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, and No 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of seven previous books, all published by Simon & Schuster.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 