*Review* Our Building by Joseph Coelho

 Genre: Children's 6-10 years

Published: August 6, 2024

Pages: 48

This magical story follows three children living in a high-rise apartment block, as they embark on a fantastical adventure which helps them see their home in a new light.

A deeply personal story written by the award winning poet Joseph Coelho, drawn from his own experience growing up in an apartment block and looking for adventure. This story is a celebration of, and a reclaiming of high-rise apartment blocks as a place where magic and adventure can happen.

It’s a modern-day fable that shows the children of an apartment block travelling to a strange, magical world inside a tree and meeting an old man with supernatural powers, only to realise that the magic they’d been looking for had been in their block all along.

Beautiful illustrations complement the poetic narrative, creating an enchanting story which children and adults alike will fall in love with.
​
This powerful story is about how society separates ‘urban’ spaces from the countryside, but the reality is that nature is everywhere, and everyone should have access to it.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a story about three children who live in an apartment building in a big city. At the start of the story, they are looking for some excitement in what feels like a very boring building. They end up traveling into a special tree where they meet an old man who teaches them to see their building in a new way. 

I liked how this story shifted from prose to rhyme as the children's adventure became more magical. It reminded me a bit of the way The Wizard of Oz was filmed in black and white for the Kansas scenes, and color for Oz. And I think we could all stand to find the magical in our mundane everyday existence. 

Overall I give Our Building 4.0404 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Joseph Coelho - Children's Author, Poet and Playwright

‘Winner of the Independent Bookshop Week Picture Book Award 2019 for If All the World were’

(Also Shortlisted for the insugural Booktrust Storytime Prize)

Long-listed for The Carnegie Children's Award with his poetry collection 'Overheard In A Tower Block' illustrated by Kate Milner (also shortlisted for the CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award and Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards.).

Winner of the 2015 CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award with his debut poetry collection 'Werewolf Club Rules.' Illustrated by John O'leary.

His debut Picture Book with Fiona Lumbers 'Luna Loves Library Day' was voted one of the nations favourite picture books by a survey led by World Book Day.

His writing has been described as "sensitive" and "Lyrical."

"I had the good fortune of working with young people and students in classrooms up and down the country over 16 years. This gave me a feel for the way young people think, for the things they want to read about, for the stories and poems they are hungry for. When I write, I write for all those young people I've met over the years, those who couldn't find a book that dealt with an issue they wanted to discuss, those who couldn't find a character who looked like them, those hungry for a story in a world they recognise."

His books include 'If All The World Were...' Illustrated by Allison Colpoys, the non-fiction title 'How To Write Poems' Illustrated by Matt Robertson and A Year Of Nature Illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd (2019).

His poems have appeared in many anthologies including 'A Poem For Every Day Of The Year' ed. Allie Essiri and Jacqueline Wilson's 'Green Glass beads.'

He has written plays for companies including: Soho Theatre, Polka Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre, Theatre Royal York, Oily Cart and The Spark Children's Festival to name a few. His plays have received special note from Soho's Verity Bargate Award and The Bruntwood Playwriting Competition and he has spent many years touring and performing his work...

"The years spent performing to children as an actor and performance poet enabled me to take my work to children who would otherwise not get to see theatre or possibly read a book, I've performed in libraries and school halls, community centres and tents and have had to discover on the front-line how to make my words land. If you can't capture a child with your words and performance they will simply walk out on you. In that environment you learn all the tools for grabbing attention, tools like pizazz! and wow-factor! For sure, but also tools like emotion and intrigue and thrills and truth."

Joseph has been a guest poet on Cbeebies Rhyme Rocket, Radio 4's Poetry Playtime and Front Row. He is the presenter of BBC's Teach Poetry (Oct 2018) and features in DiscoveryEDUK's Poetry Curriculum.

Follow Joseph on Instagram and Twitter and find out more at his website below.

www.thepoetryofjosephcoelho.com

@JosephACoelho

@JosephCoelhoAuthor

*Review* This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

 Genre: Horror

Published: October 8, 2024

Pages: 382

In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.

In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over. 

But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes out: The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.

As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.

I won a copy of this through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program. Then my Thrills and Chills book club chose it for our February book. This is my honest review. 

At the start of this book, I thought it was going to be a Get Out kind of story and I was really hoping that Jemma would just not leave Chicago to work the Duchon's. It felt like a trap from the start, but I can understand how the promised money would be tempting. 

The middle of the book kind of dragged for me, making it tough for me to want to keep reading. Most of the characters are just awful people, and I was okay with the idea that a curse was eventually going to kill them. It really just felt like Karma coming to get them. 

There were a couple twists and reveals that caught me off guard, but for the most part, the twists were predictable. 

Overall I give This Cursed House 3.4836 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Del Sandeen lives in northeast Florida, where she works as a copy editor and writes speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Nightlight podcast, and Gay Magazine. This Cursed House is her debut novel. She can be found on Twitter @DelSandeen.

*Review* Slippery, Spicy, Tingly: A Kimchi Mystery by Yangsook Choi

 Genre: Children's 5-9 years

Published: October 1, 2024

Pages: 32

Keo loves kimchi! And he loves Halmoni, his grandmother!

But when Halmoni unexpectedly comes to visit and digs a big hole in the backyard, he's not sure what's going on. Could Halmoni be planning to bury a secret treasure?! Yangsook Choi, author and illustrator of the beloved picture book The Name Jar, serves up a tasty new story that's bursting with heart, humor, mystery, and . . . cabbage!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a story about a kid whose grandmother shows up at their house to make kimchi for their family. While she's there, she doesn't spend as much time with the kid as they think she ought to if she really cares about them, so when she leaves, they think she doesn't really care about them. But once the kimchi is ready for eating, she comes back and it becomes clear to the kid that making the kimchi, which is a process, is a way that she shows she cares. 

I like to feed the people I care about, so I understood the motivation there, but at the same time, I feel like the grandmother probably could have involved the grandkid in the process of making the kimchi, like teach them how to do it so they can do it in the future and then they wouldn't have felt like she didn't care about them in the first place. That being said, I'd probably be okay reading this book a few times at least. The illustrations were colorful and fun. 

Overall I give Slippery, Spicy, Tingly: A Kimchi Mystery 3.7942 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Yangsook Choi grew up in Korea. She started drawing at age four and loved telling her grandma scary stories. Since moving to New York to pursue her art, she has written and illustrated many books for young readers. Her books have been acclaimed as a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, an American Library Association Notable Book, and with an International Reading Association's Children's Book Award. She splits her time between Seoul and New York.

*Review* Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

 

Genre: Dark Romance

Published: October 23, 2023

Pages: 355

“I want to ruin her so that she’s mine, my beautiful disaster. My wild creature. My goddess of chaos.”

The viral TikTok friends-to-lovers dark romantic comedy full of murder, chaos, and sizzling chemistry—unlike anything you’ve read before.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive—the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers.

From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country.

But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love.

Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves?
Or have they finally met their match?

Tropes:
Golden retriever x black cat
He falls first
Touch him/her and die
Friends to lovers
Forced proximity
One bed

This book was all over social media when it came out, and the hype got me. I was able to borrow a copy from a friend to read. This is my honest review. 

This was a unique approach to a serial killer story and I am so on board with serial killers that target other serial killers. Making a contest of it was an interesting approach to foreplay. And Rowan was playing a very long game to get into Sloane's pants. I really wanted to see them together because he was so committed from the start. 

A highlight of this book is the banter between the characters. I love me some good snark and quick comebacks and this book had those in spades. 

Unfortunately, I felt like the book wrapped up into too nice of a little bow at the end. It just didn't quite feel like a fitting ending for this couple and the rest of the book. 

Overall I give Butcher and Blackbird 3.2783 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Brynne is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures. She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!). When not busy writing, Brynne can be found with her husband and son on their family farm in NS, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses, reading, motorcycling, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine.

*Review* Scooper and Dumper the Pumpkin Parade by Lindsay Ward

 Genre: Children's 3-7 years

Published: July 9, 2024

Pages: 40

Autumn fun with small-town vehicles.

Crisp fall days are here, and Scooper and Dumper are in high gear, getting ready for the pumpkin parade. From hanging lights to moving hay bales, they’re a terrific team. The night of the parade, they have everything together but the pumpkins. So they head over to Maybelle’s farm. But rounding everything up isn’t so easy. And what’s that spooky noise in the cornfield? Could it be a ghost?

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a cute story about Scooper and Dumper working to get a whole bunch of pumpkins from the farm to the autumn parade, and they are the perfect vehicles to get that done. But that doesn't mean things don't go wrong in the process. But they work together to solve their problems, and save the day by getting the pumpkins where they need to go, just in the nick of time. 

This was a really fun read for me and would probably be a great book for any young person who is a fan of the Cars movie franchise. I would definitely be okay reading this book a few times at least. The illustrations were very bold and colorful. 

Overall I give Scooper and Dumper 4.2696 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Lindsay Ward is the creator of the Dexter T. Rexter series as well as Jessie: Queen of the Road, Rosie: Stronger than Steel, Between the Lines, Pink Is Not a Color, This Book Is Gray, and Brobarians. She is also the author of Our Spot, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Lindsay lives with her family in Peninsula, Ohio, where vehicles like Scooper and Dumper take care of the roads all year round. Learn more about her online at www.lindsaymward.com.

*Review* Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

 

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Published: May 2, 2023

Pages: 665

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

My primary book club read this book last year for our January meeting. This is my honest review. 

I should have written this review before I read Iron Flame and Onyx Storm, because I liked the series more after this book than I currently do. Fourth Wing sucked me into the world of the Empyrean. There were some serious Divergent vibes the way the university separates students and violet made it into Dauntless with flying colors. 

I was also intrigued by the relationship between Wiolet and Xaden. By all counts they should not get along. He has every reason to bear a grudge against her based on who her mother is and vice versa. Of course this wouldn't be a YA/NA book without at least one love triangle. But who will she choose?

Overall I give Fourth Wing 4.3978 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifteen novels, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. A second-generation army brat, Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for more than twenty years. She's the mother of six children, and she and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a cat named Artemis, who rules them all.

Having fostered, then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October, which she cofounded with her husband in 2019. To learn more about their mission, visit oneoctober.org.

To catch up on Rebecca's latest releases and upcoming novels, visit RebeccaYarros.com.

*Stacking the Shelves* 15 March 2025

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme run by Reading Reality in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon, winning through Goodreads ebook giveaways, or the few books that I pick up at the store during the week. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. Because it's been working so well for me, I'll be separating the books based on how I obtained them. 

Purchased

Fangs for Nothing by Steffanie Holmes - I got this on sale for just $0.99 because I liked the pun-y title. 

Beg, Borrow or Steal by Susie Tate - I got this on sale for a mere $0.99 because I read another book by this author for my smutty book club and enjoyed it well enough. 

Imago by Octavia E. Butler - I grabbed this on sale for a mere $2.99.

Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler - I got this on sale for just $2.99. 

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman - I got this on sale for just $1.99.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi - I got this on sale for just $1.99.

Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality by Roshani Chockshi - I got this for a mere $1.99 too.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi - This was also just $1.99. 

The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker - I got this for just $1.99 on sale. Maybe still on sale.

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson - This book cost me a whole $3.99 on sale. Boy I hope it's worth it. 

The Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - I got this on sale for just $2.99.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill - This was just $1.99 for me, and it may still be on sale now. 

Giveaway Wins

Zoe Baird: Pathogens and Popstars by Michael Ball

The Lost Journal by James Marshon

Legacy of the Diamond Holders by Alyson Macy

Embrace Me by Raven Foxglove

Josi The Vampire Girl by Alicia Richter

Beyond the Fountain of Youth by Julian Gershon Jr.

The Tarn by Neil Jopson

Freebies

I Bought a Haunted School by Sam Whittaker

Death Beneath the Covers by Fiona Tarr

Below the Surface by Tina S. Transformation

Ledge Pond by Sangay Glass

Murder with a Fudge Brownie to Go by Kristy T Dixon

So that's most of the books I picked in digital format this past week. There was a thriller/crime/mystery book blast yesterday that I got a bunch of books from, but I only featured the ones with the covers that most appealed to me while I was building this post. 

Have you read any of these books? Any you think I ought to read sooner rather than later? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your new pretties. - Katie