Red Rover, Red Rover, Send a Vowel Over: A Picture Book about Vowel Sounds

 

Red Rover, Red Rover, Send a Vowel Over is a cute picture book (part of a series) about vowel sounds by Kimberlee Gard. Released 10th Sept 2024 by Familius, it's 32 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Lexile measure AD630L and aimed mostly at children learning to read, aged 5-7, (but appealing for all ages). 

This is such a fun book. The little letters are playing and soon realize they really need some vowels to help them or they just can't make words. The shy vowels aren't convinced at first, but letter Y soon helps them join in. 

The illustrations by Sandie Sonke are full of color and small details which invite readers to take a closer look. The playing letters also make some simple words for young readers to work out when reading along.

This would make a superlative selection for home use, library acquisition, gifting, or school/classroom library. 

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Me I Was Made to Be: Helping Christian Parents Navigate the Identity Conversation

The Me I Was Made to Be by Christie Penner Worden is a largely balanced compassionate guide for parents trying to understand and have conversations around an emotionally laden subject especially in the context (of Christianity). Released 10th Sept 2024 by Herald Press, it's 216 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. 

The author has a chatty, accessible, open, and *kind* manner of speaking. She honestly says in the introduction that she can't promise to ease the tension (since a significant portion of the audience for the book are likely parents (or people) who are struggling with gender identity). She does offer an honest, faith based discussion of the concepts involved and a heartfelt plea for compassion for others. 

There's not much actual discussion about *what* to say to a child or loved one who is questioning their gender identity. The problem is that for most people, the discussion is shaped around a binary model (male/female) without any possible nuance and especially ignoring current scientific understanding around gender and sexual identity (intersex, SrY, androgen insensitivity, etc etc etc). The author is not a scientist (and doesn't pretend to be), and the science is *complex*. 

At the end of the day, she makes a lot of good arguments for compassion, genuine compassion, openness, and love. And that's probably all that can be expected from a Christian Bible based theologically grounded discussion. It's annotated throughout and the chapter notes will provide readers with some further avenues to explore.

Three and a half stars, with the codicil that it's meandering and very much faith based.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Murder at King’s Crossing - Wrexford & Sloane #8

Murder at King’s Crossing is the 8th Wrexford & Sloane regency mystery by Andrea Penrose. Released 24th Sept 2024 by Kensington, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.The earlier books in the series are currently available on KU as well.

This is an engaging and well written series. It's an ensemble character driven cozy(ish) historical murder mystery with a strong element of romance. The author has written the story around a framework of fictionalized historical characters and she does a good job of interweaving the real historical facts with the fictional narrative allowing for some minor poetic license regarding names, dates, and times. This installment, as most of them, contain a fair bit of science/technology/engineering of the period, and feature some cameos from well known names in the scientific world of the time.

Although self-contained in the narrative arc, the cast of characters have a long history together, so it works well enough as a standalone, but it's strongly recommend to read the series in order because of  character development spoilers (in fact the titular series characters have progressed from near-enemies in book one to stably married and settled now). The language is very clean, there's some violence used in context, and very little sexual content. 

The author does take some thinly veiled pokes at colonialism, racism, slavery, unscrupulous profiteers, and the military industrial complex in this book which have distinct takeaways for our modern world.  The narrative arc and denouement and resolution are satisfying for the genre (a little swoony and overwrought, but not egregiously so). This is the eighth book, and there's a ninth due out in third quarter 2025 from the same publisher.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 11 hours, 46 minutes, and is expertly read by series narrator James Cameron Stewart. He has a well modulated light baritone voice and a surprisingly masterful control with regional UK accents of the period as well as a few non-local-accents (including southern German) without a hitch. Interestingly, his Scottish accent isn't painful to listen to (it's his native dialect), nor is his upper class Regency English RP type accent (which presumably isn't).  Sound and production quality are high throughout.

Enjoyable cozy murder / romance. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Instrumentalist

The Instrumentalist is a complex, nuanced fictionalized historical novel by Harriet Constable about the real-life Anna Maria della Pietà. Released 20th Aug 2024 by Simon & Schuster, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in third quarter 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a well written novel, engaging, and with sometimes luminous prose. The probable origin of Anna Marie, her upbringing, her discovery of music, and he notice and education by music maestro Antonio Vivaldi, all follow current accepted research. The author makes bold departures in her characterizations, endowing 8 year old Anna Marie with a surety and hubris (she knows she's destined for greatness from infancy) which surely were at vast odds with the reality of the time period and culture. Many of the secondary characters seem sketched in, vague outlines instead of believable living people with internal motivations and desires.

It's undeniably well written. There's not much there, however, to engage fanatical Vivaldi (or Anna Maria della Pietà) fans, or lovers of period music, or Venice, but if readers think of it less as a factual historical retelling, and more as a historical novel about Venice and music of the Baroque period written around a very loose framework of real history, it reads and engages much more easily. 

Three and a half stars. It's a promising debut. It would make a good choice for public library acquisition, home readers, and possibly book club discussion. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Death at the Sanatorium

Death at the Sanatorium is a very well written procedural mystery thriller by Ragnar Jonasson and a promising series starter (or else!). Released 10th Sept 2024 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in early Sept. 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Told in three parallel timelines, the story is written around a framework of events which took place at a tuberculosis sanatorium, in the 50s, the 90s (when it had been closed and the hospital buildings used for administrative purposes) and 2012. The author has undeniable skill with characterization and setting, there's a brooding menace throughout much of the story that will leave readers dreading a jump scare.

Readers who hate cliffhangers should be aware going in that although the main mystery in this book is resolved in this volume, it ends on a fade-to-black cliffhanger that will have readers growling in frustration.  

Originally published in Icelandic in 2019, the translation work on the English edition (presumably, but not explicitly stated, by the author himself) is seamless. It flows very well in English translation, and in fact the author's afterword talks a bit about his earlier experiences translating classic crime fiction of the Golden Age (Christie, Ngaio Marsh, etc) into Icelandic provide some added nuance to the read.

Aside from the solid mystery, the main character, Helgi, is a huge crime fiction fan and the book's peppered with lots and lots of titles and background for avid readers to check out. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours 42 minutes and is very capably read by Sam Woolf. He has a cultured and well modulated tenor voice and does a good job with the disparate accents including a credible Icelandic accent. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read. 

Four stars. Annoyance at the cliffhanger fade-to-black ending shouldn't dissuade readers from enjoying a good procedural with bleak and well described isolated settings, lots of three dimensional characters, and a (mostly) good and subtle resolution and denouement. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

The Faculty Lounge

The Faculty Lounge is a compassionately written slice of life novel by Jennifer Mathieu. Released 23rd July, 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Dutton imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Warmly written "comfort reading", set around a fictive (but realistically rendered) high school in Texas and the staff who call it home, it's got good bones and the author makes good use of the vignette format to interweave the stories of the large cast of characters. 

After the death of a retired elderly substitute teacher on a sofa in the school faculty lounge, the story radiates outward in ripples, tracing the interconnections between the late Mr. Lehrer (10th grade English) and his colleagues, former students, and others... and with the connections between the characters themselves.  

Four stars. It would be a good low stress choice for a book club discussion, for public library acquisition, or for home use. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

Brighteyes - The Shutterclique #1

 

Brighteyes is the first superhero thriller illustrated novel in The Shutterclique by Dave Neal. Released 29th June 2024, it's 314 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. 

Interspersed with full page action graphics, it's primarily a written/prose superhero novel. As expected, it's action driven, with archetypal characters. The author's used a "stat sheet" to introduce new characters as they arrive. It's an interesting technique, and in this specific case, seems to work pretty well. 

Much of the story is told with punchy bullet lists and short staccato two sentence paragraphs. Not at all a bad thing, and again, it works pretty well in context. 

Four and a half stars. This is -definitely- one for fans of the old-school superhero stories of yesteryear. It would make a good choice for public or secondary school acquisition, home reader's library, or gift giving to a superhero fan. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

I'll Never Call Him Dad Again: Turning Our Family Trauma of Sexual Assault and Chemical Submission into a Collective Fight

I'll Never Call Him Dad Again is a poignant, often excruciating, memoir a family's tragedy, written by Caroline Darian. Released 18th March 2025 by Sourcebooks, it's 224 pages and is available in the English translation in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an unvarnished memoir from the daughter of the woman whose husband drugged and abused her over a period of years, filming his own (and others' abuse). She was unaware of what was happening for *years*. 

The writing is plain and unembellished. It's set up as a journal, with dated entries. It's very difficult to read in places, and readers who have experienced sexual/domestic abuse should be aware going into the read that it's not at all easy to read. It's not prurient or sensational at all, and the author/investigators/legal representatives involved are respectful throughout. 

The author uses her platform to provide some sobering statistics about the prevalence of "chemical submission" and the associated depressing statistics of prosecuting crimes when often the victim can't remember the trauma accurately (or in the case of Ms. Darian's mother, at all, over a period of years when she was misdiagnosed and feared she was in early onset Alzheimer's). 

The author's strength, her mother's incredible resilience, the glimpses of hope and rising advocacy are all important, but it's not clear if the balance is to the positive column at the end. The alternative, remaining silent in the face of actual, real, evil, is even more unthinkable. 

Awful (in the literal sense), very well written, and definitely important.  It would be a good subject for a book club reading and although it's written accessibly and without technical jargon (and not annotated), it would have value for healthcare professionals and educators/advocates.

Four and a half stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

The Murderer’s Ape - Sally Jones #2

The Murderer’s Ape is an exceptional historical mystery adventure by Jakob Wegelius, and the second book to feature gorilla adventurer Sally Jones. Originally released in 2008 in Swedish, this English translation was released by Pushkin Press in Sept. 2024. It's 624 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a genuinely exciting adventure story with grand themes and a massive complex story arc. There is travel, political upheaval, hiss-worthy antagonists (boo!), and a wonderful cast of quirky characters, including at the center, a classic protagonist, loyal and intelligent, who also happens to be a gorilla. 

The print formats are enhanced by the author's pointillist sketches of the major characters. Although marketed for children (Lexile measure 870L), it's an excellent book for all ages. It's a *big* book, and would make a wonderful long-project bedtime read for littler kids. 

There are some big themes, and some high-stakes scary bits (but no graphic violence), but the introduction scene leading into the story (which is written in current time) is reassuring that it all works out in the end.

The translation work by Peter Graves is seamless and never intrusive or clunky. It's remarkable for its subtlety and nuance. Even more impressive since the original (Swedish) also encompasses words and concepts from Raj period India, Portuguese, and Finnish. 

The unabridged enhanced audiobook has a run time of 13 hours and 46 minutes and is capably read by Kimberly Farr. She has a professionally trained alto voice and does a good job of the vast and varied cast of characters. The sound and production quality are very high throughout the read. 

Five stars for the book, four and a half for the audiobook. The translator deserves (and has received) awards. It would be a great choice for public and secondary school library acquisition, home use, and gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

 

Barnaby Unboxed!

Barnaby Unboxed! is an adorable creative picture book for young readers by the Fan Brothers. Released 3rd Sept 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Tundra imprint, it's 80 pages and is available hardcover and ebook formats. Its assigned Lexile measure is 600 and it's aimed mostly at children aged 5-9 (but appealing and moving for all ages). 

This is a beautifully illustrated adventure story about Barnaby, an elephant mouse hybrid "perfect pet". He has a pampered life with his little girl, with walks and treats and TV and story times. That all changes when he feels unloved and runs away, winding up with more danger than he planned on. 

There are some valuable themes of found family, what home means, self-worth and finding (and appreciating) what we have. It's a profound little book, and told in age appropriate language, all accompanied by luminous impressionist inspired artwork throughout. 

Beautiful book. The illustrations are deftly rendered and, as said, just luminous. 

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public, school, or classroom library acquisition, for the home library, or for gift giving. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Essential Travel Guide For Unforgettable Destinations: Navigating Must-See Attractions in London

Navigating Must-See Attractions in London is one of a series of seven different destination travel guides by Sierra Quest, this one aimed at London travelers. Released 2nd June 2024, it's 147 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also available on KU at the current time.

This is a very general guide with highlights of many of the best known attractions, as well as a handful of off-the-beaten-path sites to visit. The book includes an introduction with some good advice on using the tube, travel alternatives, and some general etiquette. The chapters are arranged logically and information is easy to find: Practical tips (getting around, travel, etc), Landmarks, Neighborhoods, Museums, Culinary, Hidden Gems (including some green spaces and parks), and Day Trips.

There is nothing profound here, but it is handy to have it all collected in one slim volume. There are some photos included, but it's not a graphics heavy collection.

Four stars. It's a good very basic guide to London, and as a bonus, is currently included in the KU subscription. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.  

Build It Simple

Build It Simple is a general collection of simple DIY builds for home and garden projects collected by the folks at Storey Publishing. Originally released in 1977 as Home Made, this reformat and re-release, due out 8th July 2024 is 144 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. 

It does have a cool, retro vibe, the book is illustrated (in color) throughout and the projects are basic, sensible, classics, like potting benches, Adirondack chairs, some bird houses, little garden tool shed on a post (see cover illustration) which could also double as a little free library, and even some macrame plant holders. 

None of the builds have specific item or materials lists, and the tutorials are provided more as sources of inspiration than specific step-by-step instructions. Most of the projects are provided with some general measurements, but all are simple enough that most readers will be able to do a credible job of a finished (usable) project.

Four stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, gifting to a handy teen/tween, or for activity/makers groups.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Cook Once, Eat Twice: Time-Saving Recipes to Help You Get Ahead in the Kitchen

Cook Once, Eat Twice is a well written, graphically appealing tutorial guide with recipes by Nadiya Hussain to help cooks be more efficient and save time in the kitchen. Due out 18th March from Sourcebooks, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This is an *accessible* book full of info which anyone (even the least confident) can incorporate. It's full of ideas for using up leftovers and incorporating partial ingredients which might otherwise go to waste. The author leads readers from the very basics and beginning steps (pantry lists, necessary equipment) through universal basic recipes (bread, cooking and mashing the ultimate potato). The recipes are arranged into logical thematic chapters instead of by meal and dish type:  back to basics, lovin' your leftovers, ready meals, two dishes, never wasted again, easy bakes, and waste not want not. The waste not want not chapter is especially eye-opening and really squeezes a surprising amount of usable food out of things we throw away without thinking about (chick-pea water from draining the cans, banana peels(!?), apple cores and peels, date seeds (!), and several others).

Recipes are written with an introduction/background (full of chatty personal info and history). Ingredients are listed in a bullet list sidebar, followed by step-by-step simple instructions. Ingredient measurements are given in imperial (American) measurements. Most items should be easily findable at any well stocked grocery store in North America. Recipes which coordinate or use the same partial ingredients are linked in the introduction header. Nutritional information is not given. 

The photography is abundant, clear, and in color. Recipes are professionally styled and serving suggestions are appetizing and appropriate. 

The author/publisher have included a cross referenced index in the back of the book. 

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or secondary school acquisition, home use, or for a housewarming gift for a newly-fledged person living on their own for the first time.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

Mollusks - Discover More: Marine Wildlife

Mollusks is one of a series of short books for primary school learners, this volume written by Kaitlyn Salvatore. Released 25th Jan 2025 by Rosen Publishing under the Britannica educational group, it's 32 pages and is available in hardcover library binding format. 

This is a colorful and engaging book about the mollusk phylum and *some* of the classes belonging to it: bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods. For some reason (brevity? complexity?) the other 4 classes: aplacophs, monoplacophs, polyplacophs, and scaphopods aren't included in this book. The target audience is roughly 6-10 years old, though it's quite information dense, and there aren't likely a lot of kids that age with good enough reading skills to really absorb the info (in other words, there are a lot of adults who could learn a thing or two from the content included here).

The language is not complex, but the text is written in scientifically accurate jargon. Scattered throughout are prompts and questions to help readers think about the material. The prompts are in color highlighted text bars labeled "Consider This". 

The book is very colorful and fully illustrated throughout. Most of the book uses stock photography, but the quality and sharpness of the photos are top notch. 

Four stars. It would make an excellent choice for public, school, or classroom library acquisition, for home use, or for gift giving (to a biology/natural sciences interested kid). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance

When the Earth Was Green is a well written, layman accessible monograph on biosphere evolution on Earth by Riley Black. Released 25th Feb 2025 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

The author's enthusiasm is contagious. She writes realistically of the freezing, baking, bug infested, unpleasant, inhospitable, sometimes dangerous realities involved in the field work of paleontology. In the end, it all comes down to passion for the work (described almost like a gambling addiction - for science!), stubbornness, and luck (mostly luck). There's a fair amount of humor as well in her writing. 

Along with the field descriptions, there's a lot of engaging background science, delivered in accessible, digestible bites.  It's not a graphically engaging book, there are no pictures, maps, or diagrams in the review copies. It's also not at all academically stilted. The chapter notes are minimal and there aren't any annotations. The reference chapter is limited, but provides enough sources for further reading to keep keen readers engaged for a while. There are a number of interesting appendices as well.

It's aimed at an adult audience, but paleontology mad adolescents will likely find a lot to love here as well. 12 year old me would've been in raptures. 

Four stars. Well reasoned and engaging. Philosophical and moving in places. Definitely worth a look for natural science readers/fans. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Death at the Sign of the Rook - Jackson Brodie #6

Death at the Sign of the Rook is the 6th Jackson Brodie cozy(ish) mystery by Kate Atkinson. Released 3rd Sept 2024 by Knopf Doubleday on their Doubleday imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback (UK), audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a meandering cozy absolutely full of secondary characters. The author writes very well and there are moments of genuine humor and a few giggle/snort-worthy scenes and dialogue. That being said, the pacing is odd. Ms. Atkinson's adept enough at her craft that it has to be an conscious stylistic choice, but for the first time in this series, I found myself really slogging to finish it. The stately home murder mystery weekend premise is effective and a fun niche genre, but it never quite achieves liftoff. There are moments, however, and for voracious readers who are already fans, it's likely worth a look. 

There is a LOT of backstory development from earlier in the series, and especially given the stylistic and pacing departures from the rest of the series, it doesn't work very well as a standalone. The author *is* indisputably wonderful, so if reading out of order, and disillusioned by the weird pacing and bizarre cast of secondary characters, readers should grab one or more of the earlier books to give it a fair shot. 

There are some odd developments in this book which aren't clearly dealt with directly. It's weirdly annoying that they're not cleared up or directly addressed before the end of the book. Not a deal-breaker, but noticeable.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 31 minutes and is expertly read by Jason Isaacs. He has laser sharp control and hops between a *vast* cast of characters of both sexes and a dizzying array of regional accents with surgical precision.  

Three and a half stars. Capably written, but not at all smoothly integrated in the series to date. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Season of Death

 

 

Season of Death is the 16th Barker & Llewelyn Victorian historical mystery by Will Thomas. Due out 22nd April 2025 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. 

This is a well established series and the characters are quite finely drawn in a well written whole. The background research is impressive and the descriptions really do call up Victorian London. The story is fictionalized but written around a real historical framework and intertwined so skillfully that it's not always easy to tell where real history shades over into fiction. 

The denouement and resolution are well done and satisfying. My only quibble (and it's a fairly minor one) is that the dialogue feels anachronistic in some places. It isn't clunky or awkward, but there is some modern vernacular and a most egalitarian (and non-period) mixing of social classes. The mystery itself is quite convoluted and the climax and denouement were full of twists (most of which are fairly heavily foreshadowed, there weren't any *shocking* reveals). 

There are some moderately graphic descriptions of blood and violence (including domestic violence and abuse), misogyny, and racism included, so readers who are very sensitive to these and similar should be aware. All in all it's a very well written and engaging historical mystery. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 33 minutes and is superbly narrated by Antony Ferguson. He has a rich baritone voice and the quick switches in dialogue from Barker's brogue to east London Cockney thugs without a wobble is a thing of beauty. The sound and production quality is high throughout the recording. The narrator's virtuosity with a staggering array of regional accents is admirable and a joy to listen to.

The books are self contained stand-alones, so it's not necessary to have read the books in order to understand what's going on, although the interpersonal developments between returning characters will be somewhat spoiled if read out of order.

High quality historical mystery. Four and a half stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

 

A Slash of Emerald - Dr. Julia Lewis #1

A Slash of Emerald  is the second historical mystery featuring Dr. Julia Lewis, by Patrice McDonough. Released 25th Feb 2025 by Kensington, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

A well crafted thoroughly researched historical novel featuring an intelligent and driven young female physician in London in 1866. She's fully licensed (having used a legal loophole to join the register of practicing physicians after finishing her studies in the USA), and has joined her grandfather's practice. She has a very keen eye for detail, and employs critical reasoning and observation to also help the police with inquiries. 

It's not really a cozy cozy, there are some gruesome descriptions, but overall, the violence occurs chiefly off-page, so it's not truly horrifying. The author also doesn't shy away from the historically accurate but distressing sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, crushing poverty, and other unsavory details. Speaking of detail, the book is written around a framework of actual historical events and people, and interwoven with a lot of interesting real political and social movements of the time period. Ms. McDonough has definitely done her homework.

The characterizations are impressive, and they're three dimensional and believable, with their own motivations and agendas. There's some slow-burn development/potential romance between Julia and Richard, but it's definitely sloooow (2 books in, and there are only glimmers of romance, nothing concrete). This volume works well enough as a standalone mystery, but there are some interpersonal developments between the returning characters which will be spoiled if read out of order.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 9 hours and 15 minutes and is capably read by series narrator Henrietta Meire. She has a light RP English accent, but does a credible job with the varied London accents both male and female. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Worth a look for readers of historical mystery and very well written. Readers who enjoy Deanna Raybourn, Anna Lee Huber, Tasha Alexander, et. al., will likely enjoy this book.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet

Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet is an adorable early ages story by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Charles Santoso. Due out 8th July 2025 from Macmillan on their Roaring Brook Press imprint, it's 32 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. 

This is such a cute story; young Evelyn has almost everything a witch needs: messy hair ✅, bubbling cauldron ✅, perfectly carved pumpkins ✅, but no pet! When she visits the shop, the only pet she can afford with her coins is the plain white egg. The egg doesn't hatch right away, so she takes a trip to the library for info (great messaging!). The egg is stubbornly still an egg, so she has to just exercise her patience and wait (another great message!). 

The simple story is told in loosely rhyming freeform prose. It's written for 3-6 year olds, so the content is age appropriate (with the possible exception of pet adoption without thorough research, but given the target audience, they're not going to be adopting pets unilaterally), and it's *cute* and fun and lighthearted. 

The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Kate Coventry with additional music and background effects. It's a short book, so the audio track is only 8 minutes. It's a surprisingly good adaptation, and would work superbly for a read-along with the physical book for learning readers. The narrator has a young, neutral (Colorado? Pacific Northwest?) American accent with lots of enthusiasm and playfulness which adds a lot of fun to the read. It's a Macmillan Audio release, so sound and production quality is very high throughout. 

Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public/school/classroom/home library acquisition. It would also be excellent for learning or sight impaired readers. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt!

 

Honk Honk, Beep Beep, Putter Putt! is a beautifully illustrated fun adventure for young readers by Rukhsana Khan and Chaaya Prabhat. Released 17th Sept 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Tundra imprint, it's 32 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

Ibraheem and his cat Mitu go along on a delivery adventure with Ibraheem's dad on his motorized rickshaw. The story is told in simple verse, full of sounds and sights. They're sharing the road with much larger, more powerful vehicles and it's fun to see how everyone manages to get where they're going without mishaps (although there are some near misses). 

The prose is simple free verse, and will be enjoyed and understood by the youngest readers (Lexile AD370L, circa preschool-7/8 year olds). The art is *full* of color and sound and there is so much movement in the details and vehicles that it's almost as much fun to study the illustrations as it is to read the story. 

It's full of onomatopoeia and it would be great for classroom reading circle (with lots of honk honk and beep beep). It might be slightly too exciting for a bedtime read, but after dinner read would be great. The author has even included some of her observations about driving etiquette in diverse areas of the world which could serve to inspire some classroom discussions on culture and travel.

Five stars. This is a super fun storybook and would be an excellent choice for public, school, or classroom library acquisition, for gift giving, or for home use.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.