Category: Blog Series Page 115 of 220

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Isabelle Follath (Illustrator)

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Revenge of the Beast Jack Meggitt-Phillips and illustrated by Isabelle Follath. It’s the follow up to their delightful The Beast and The Bethany, which you really should read if you haven’t. I’ll be posting my take on the novel in a bit here, but for now, let’s learn a bit about it.

Revenge of the Beast Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Isabelle Follath (Illustrator)
Release date: March 22, 2022 (US); September 30, 2021 (UK)
Publisher: Aladdin (US); Farshore (UK)
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 288 pages

Revenge of the Beast

Book Blurb:

Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl in this riotously funny, deliciously macabre, and highly illustrated sequel to The Beast and the Bethany in which Bethany and Ebenezer try to turn over a new leaf, only to have someone—or something—thwart them at every turn.

Once upon a very badly behaved time, 511-year-old Ebenezer kept a beast in his attic. He would feed the beast all manner of objects and creatures and in return the beast would vomit him up expensive presents. But then the Bethany arrived.

Now notorious prankster Bethany, along with her new feathery friend Claudette, is determined that she and Ebenezer are going to de-beast their lives and Do Good. But Bethany finds that being a former prankster makes it hard to get taken on for voluntary work. And Ebenezer secretly misses the beast’s vomity gifts. And neither of them are all that sure what “good people” do anyway.

Then there’s Claudette, who’s not been feeling herself recently. Has she eaten something that has disagreed with her?

Book Links:

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Jack Meggitt-PhillipsJack Meggitt-Phillips is an author, scriptwriter, and playwright whose work has been performed at The Roundhouse and featured on Radio 4. He is scriptwriter and presenter of The History of Advertising podcast. In his mind, Jack is an enormously talented ballroom dancer, however his enthusiasm far surpasses his actual talent. Jack lives in north London where he spends most of his time drinking peculiar teas and reading P.G. Wodehouse novels.


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Mike Nero and the Superhero School by Natasha Carlow, Kyle Stephen (Illustrator)

This morning I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for Natasha Carlows’s Mike Nero and the Superhero School. In a little bit here, I’ll be posting my take on the book, but for now, let’s learn a little about the book.

Mike Nero and the Superhero School Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Mike Nero and the Superhero School by Natasha Carlow, Kyle Stephen (Illustrator)
Publisher: Kat Biggie Press ‎
Release date: February 1, 2022
Age: 5 – 8 years
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 36 pages

Mike Nero and the Superhero School Cover

Book Blurb:

“Can I tell you something about this school? You see this isn’t a regular school. This is a superhero school…”

First days can be tough, especially for someone as shy as Mikey but Mikey’s new school is a little different. On his first day, he meets his principal and some incredible children who help him discover his own superpower within and he learns that no matter what we may look like on the outside, everyone has something that makes them valuable.

Can Mikey learn to use his newfound superpower to make his school a better place for all students?

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About the Author:

Natasha CarlowNatasha is a wife and mother of two amazing rainbow babies. She resides in Trinidad and Tobago, where she works as an Itinerant Counsellor working in Youth and Guidance. She is the author of the award-winning Happy Tears and Rainbow Babies, which tells the story of how faith brought healing and hope to her family after the pain and loss of miscarriages. Her experience with grief and loss moved her to create avenues for other families in her country experiencing similar things. She is a contributing writer at pregnancyafterlosssupport.org and Her View from Home. Inspired by her son, Natasha wrote her newest book MIke Nero and the Superhero School which focuses on a young boy with special needs and how he comes to discover the superhero within himself. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking fancy restaurant meals at home and eating them in her pajamas.

www.natashacarlow.com

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Blitz.

Love Books Group

WWW Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Yes, it’s the first WWW of that month where I have to look at the name at least three times after I spell it to be sure…(I don’t remember the last time I misspelled it, but it just never looks right).

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the sequel to The Beast and the Bethany, Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips. I’m listening to the timely Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, Bahni Turpin (Narrator) on audiobook.

Revenge of the BeastBlank SpaceBan This Book

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Adam Shaw’s The Jackals and Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach (Narrator) on audio.

The JackalsBlank SpaceFuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law

What do you think you’ll read next?

Up next are a couple of books that might be worth reading for the titles alone. My next book should be Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali. My next audiobook should be A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, Patricia Santomasso (Narrator).

Go Back to Where You Came FromBlank SpaceA Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

Saturday Miscellany—1/29/22

  1. This post is brought to you by “hey, I remembered to proofread (seconds before I hit publish)!” Something I frequently forget to do (and only caught out of the corner of my eye while moving the mouse to the button). So this isn’t going up with the 4 missing links and 8 glaring formatting errors that it almost featured.
  2. I’d picked the graphic for this far before I read the last post I mention, there’s no connection between them.

Hope everyone had a decent week, and that it ends on a relaxing note—and, hopefully, with a good book.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet ‘I always be sneaky’: Boise eight-year-old hides self-made book on library shelf—an insanely cute story from a library nearby
bullet The Comics Cavalcade: The rise of a medium—a very brief history of Comic Books
bullet Humor in Books, and Other Places, Too! An Interview With Susana Imaginário—the latest installment in Lockhaven’s series. (I’m really enjoying these, can you tell?)
bullet Witty and Sarcastic Book Club had another fun series this week, Fantasy Focus: Comedic Fantasy, you should check it out.
bullet An Interview with Andi Ewington, coauthor of Campaigns and Companions
bullet An Interview with Sean Gibson, author of The Part About the Dragon was (Mostly) True
bullet A guest post by Kyle Lockhaven, the aforementioned interviewer
bullet An Interview with Bjørn Larssen , author of Why Odin Drinks
bullet A Guest Post by D.H. Willison, author of things like Love, Death, or Mermaid?
bullet Where to start with: Agatha Christie—Janice Hallett provides this handy guide for people like me, who haven’t actually read one of the genre’s greats and want to start.
bullet 21 Phrases You Use Without Realizing You’re Quoting William Shakespeare
bullet A Reading Spreadsheet Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated—they don’t?
bullet 10 Book Series I Loved Growing Up—a fun post over on FanFiAddict, even if it makes me feel really old because I literally couldn’t have read most of these as a kid
bullet Blogging to Get Free Books: Sometimes Necessary, not Evil—Once again, I have missed a blogging controversy (and I’m fine with that), still a good post.
bullet What I’ve learnt from reading fiction – part 7—I really like these posts
bullet To binge read or not to binge read?

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Appeal by Janice Hallett—came out in the U.S., and should not be missed. I talked a bit about it last year.
bullet Accomplice by Lisa Lutz—will get under your skin. I posted about it recently.
bullet Light Years From Home by Mike Chen—a family drama and UFO abduction story, that just might involve an intergalactic war. I hopefully dive into this next week.

The Friday 56 for 1/28/22: The Jackals by Adam Shaw

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it

from 56% of:
The Jackals

The Jackals by Adam Shaw

As soon as I step out the front door, I exhale. The chilly downtown air hits me all at once, and I’m forced to recognize the beads of sweat resting in my hairline, the moistness of Rob’s post-workout filth on my shirt, the goosebumps traveling up and down my arms. I quit my job. Apparently, I’m moving.

“Jack!”

Beth is smiling. Her pale skin shines against the red brick of the wall behind her. Her hair is down, and she’s wearing the same red flannel she wore the day I got back to Lafayette. A couple golden strands cling to it near her right shoulder, but she either doesn’t notice them or doesn’t care. It only takes her eyes a couple seconds to notice the box of belongings under my arm, though, the bat signal of a corporate walk of shame, and her smile disappears.

Book Blogger Hop: Book Signings?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Have you ever attended a book signing? If so, who was the author?

Not as many as I’d like to–my corner of the world doesn’t really attract many authors I’m into, alas. But there’ve been a few:
bullet Lance Olsen, who was then Idaho Writer in Residence, at Borders bookstore. This would’ve been somewhere around 1996, I think.
bullet Cherie Priest was at Rediscovered Books in November 2011 for a reading/signing.
bullet John Scalzi did a reading/signing here in ’15
bullet A couple of weeks later, Shane Kuhn, did, too.
bullet I’ve been to a couple of signings/book releases/etc. for Devri Walls books.
bullet Craig Johnson was really entertaining when he did a reading/signing in 2018.

All in all, these are great ways to hear writers reading their work, hear their stories, and get your book squiggled in. Also, they are fantastic opportunities for me to fail at basic human interaction, you know, just in case I forget that I can’t handle that.

What about you?

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies

I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for the first in a Gaslamp Fantasy series, The Cruel Gods, The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies. I didn’t have time to read it, which is disappointing, because I’ve heard nothing but good things for a few months now about this book–but I wanted to take a moment to help spread the word about it with this Spotlight. After you read this, you should absolutely check out some of the posts about it at https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours.

The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies Tour Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies
Release date: October 13, 2021
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 535 pages
The Thirteenth Hour

Book Blurb:

When the saints fail, the sinners step up.

Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.

Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.

To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.

For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.

The Thirteenth Hour is the first book in The Cruel Gods series—a gaslamp fantasy featuring magical portals, gothic cosmic deities, quaint Britishisms, and steampunk vibes. This is an adult book containing strong language and mature themes that some readers may find disturbing. For a full list of content warnings, visit Trudie Skies’s website.

Book Links:

Amazon ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Trudie SkiesTrudie Skies has been living inside fantasy worlds ever since she discovered that reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Through the magic of books, she wishes to share these worlds of hope and heroes with other weary souls. Living in North East England, Trudie spends most of her free time daydreaming about clouds, devouring whatever fantasy books or video games she can get her hands on, and chasing after her troublesome dogs, who would like to reassure you they are very good boys.

Her debut YA fantasy series, Sand Dancer, was published through Uproar Books. Trudie is now writing adult gaslamp fantasy with her new series, The Cruel Gods.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ BookBub ~ Goodreads

 


My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

WWW Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Time for WWW Wednesday!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the very compelling Reconstruction by Mick Herron and am revisiting Burning Bright by Nick Petrie, Stephen Mendel (Narrator) on audiobook, which I remember not playing out the way I expected at all–looking forward to seeing if I should’ve picked it up on the twist earlier.

ReconstructionBlank SpaceBurning Bright

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished David Rosenfelt’s Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure and Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster, Angus King (Narrator) on audio.

DogtrippingBlank SpaceDead Man's Grave

What do you think you’ll read next?

Up next are a couple of things I’ve been wanting to get to for a while, and my library has come through for me: How to Save a Superhero by Ruth Freeman and my next audiobook should be Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach (Narrator).

How to Save a SuperheroBlank SpaceFuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law

What about you?

Saturday Miscellany—1/22/22

I apparently had one of those weeks where I did more reading than blogging/blog prep, I didn’t realize it, but apparently, that was the case. STill did get a post or two up every day, and found some good stuff for this post, just not what I expected to produce at the beginning of the week. Oh, well. Read some good stuff, plugged away at a couple of projects I’m excited to share with you, and…well, I don’t know, there should be a third thing, but who has the energy to write a whole list?

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Book bans are back in style
bullet For Booksellers, the Crystal Ball Stays Cloudy: Indie booksellers saw solid sales in 2021 but wonder what 2022 will bring
bullet 30 years of Harry Bosch—that’s a mind-boggling number
bullet Humor in Books, and Other Places, Too! An Interview with Armanis Ar-Feinial—I’m really digging this series from K. R. R. Lockhaven.
bullet The Deeply Personal Art of Organizing Your Books—Molly Templeton weighs in on book organization
bullet 5 Years of Blogging—Suckerforcoffe looks back on five years of blogging—no mean feat.
bullet What You Need to Know Before You Return a Book on Audible in 2022
bullet I read City of Lies…all of them—I don’t know how I left this off of last week’s list, but I’m glad I did, I’m a little short on material for this week. The Fantasy Inn’s Kopratic read every book called City of Lies around. Brilliant idea for a project

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or four) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Tales From The Bridge: All Things Sci-Fi Ep.27: A Conversation with Seanan McGuire—I’ve heard a few interviews with McGuire—she’s always entertaining, but she’s in rare form here. Great stuff.
bullet The Thriller Zone Nick Kolakowski, Pulp Thriller Writer—this was a good interview that inspired me to dip into the archives, the episodes with Ace Atkins and Tori Eldridge were worth noting, too. This podcast is going to be in the rotation for a while.

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins—This is the tenth and final book in this series for Atkins, and he goes out strong in this story of Spenser protecting a politician from threats and harassment. I tried to get my post up about this yesterday, but it needed a little more time in the oven. Hopefully early next week.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Celeste L and Eweto Ovie who followed the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger!

The Friday 56 for 1/21/22: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it

from Page 56 of:
Nice Dragons Finish Last

Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

“…believe it or not, I don’t normally get into back-alley brawls with strange men.”

“Well, if anyone deserved breaking your ‘no slamming people into walls’ streak over, it would be Bixby’s idiots.”

“I only got half of them,” he reminded her. “You did the other. Credit where credit is due.”

Marci laughed. “If by ‘credit’ you mean ‘assault and battery charges,’ then I guess you’re right.” She shook her head and turned to flash him a warm smile. “You know, we make a pretty good team.”

Julius felt that smile all the way to his toes.

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