Tooth Goblins by Ash Toroid

Read from June 10th - June 16th 2016.

Published on July 4th 2015 by Createspace.

Format    Paperback - 182 pages

Review    What a fantastic, little, magical fantasy gem of a book this is. Aimed at the lower end of the YA market/middle grade readers, this book oozed all that surprise that cries out for bewilderment from that age group but the best thing is, I, at 40 enjoyed it too and anyone who likes fairies, goblins and fantasy and wants a short light read would no doubt enjoy a read of this.

Ever wondered what the tooth-fairy does with your teeth? or if anything other than fairies might have an interest in them? Ellie Merlson finds out the hard way that a small number of teeth have a much darker fate. Caught up in a deadly war between fairies and goblins, Ellie must embrace her destiny to save a world. These words form the synopsis on the back cover.

Ellie is one of the two main characters in the story and is portrayed as a nine year old girl which at times I struggled to believe due to the way she spoke and content of her speech at times. She began a convincing nine year old and then began to sound older. I could however, understand why she had to be nine and not older due to her brother Duncan needing to be thirteen as that was a main part of the story. 
I could also see in this story that she grew in maturity along with it which was noted by her brother too which partly explains this.
These two characters are very appealing to the reader and quickly, you feel 'on their side'.

This book chugged along at a great pace, incorporating action at it's fullest. It is a very enticing page turner. I can't see many youngsters putting this one down for long before they have finished it.
The story is very original, full of imagination and is much more than fairies and goblins. It even brings a spin onto the Merlin character. If you think you know about Merlin, think again. 

There are a few very small mistakes in the book - missing words and mixing a couple of the boys names up in the latter chapters once or twice but it really didn't deter from the story at all. 
Ash Toroid has written a lovely first book, showing his original creativity and a mind full of imagination. I was a little sad at the end because I wanted more and it did seem to indicate to me that there was going to be another which I think the story asks for.

A well deserved 4 stars for this one which showed so much originality.

The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence #1) by Agatha Christie

Read from April 14th - April 22nd 2015.

Published in 2001 by Planet Three Publishing Network LTD (first published in 1922)

Format    Hardback - 256 pages

Review    Wow, this is amazingly good.Hard to put down.Full of action written in such attentive detail that we have come to expect from an Agatha Christie story.

A young Tommy and Tuppence are such loveable characters.Post WW1, down on their luck and looking for adventure.
Advertising themselves as-
'Two young adventurers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No unreasonable offer refused', fancying themselves as sleuths.
Quickly, they become embroiled in a case of mystery involving a missing girl, important war time papers and some not very nice men, including criminal mastermind-The Elusive Mr Brown!

Trouble follows them around this adventure.

I loved this book and recommend to any Agatha Christie reader but please remember it was written in 1920, full of all the playfulness and terminology we would surmise from that time.

5 stars for this one.

The Dark Army (Keeper of the Realms #2) by Marcus Alexander

Read from November 25th - December 21st 2014.

Published February 1st 2013 by Puffin Books

Format    Paperback - 412 pages

Review    Marcus Alexander has only gone and done it again.Book 2 in the Keeper of the Realm series really doesn't disappoint, chocca with endless imagination.The story is so vivid, a reflection on how good Marcus's writing is. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end, it never faltered.
I liked the character of Edge Darkmount, he is scarily untrustworthy but wins Charlie over by promising to decipher her mysterious pendant she holds for a price- if she will help him get revenge on Bane by carrying out a dangerous mission where she faces demons, gods and experiences torment and a darkness that mixes with her keeper powers to find and bring him back an urn which contains his 'god'.
She completes this task and realises she cannot trust the evil lord as he turns on her. The future of Bellania relies on Charlie's special powers. The evil lord conjours up a stone army via his god to advance upon Bane. Clever Charlie banishes the evil lord through a portal in the middle of nowhere and the urn with his god in it to the bottom of a lake again in the middle of nowhere and with the help of her fellow keepers, they combine their skill and power and take over the entire stone army to advance on Banes army that is pulling Bellania to shreds.

5 stars given.

Cruel Reality: Games of Life and Death by C.J. Whitley

Read from April 30th - May 8th 2016.

Published May 27th 2016 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform


Format    Paperback - 590 pages

Review    I was asked whether I would read and review this book by the author C.J Whitley, and what an honour it was to be asked as this was an amazing, imaginative read. It was marketed to me as a YA (young adult) read, somewhat resembling a modern day Hunger Games style. I thought to myself, bring it on. I am not adverse to a bit of dystopian fantasy. 
Soon enough, this book came flying through my letter box. I say flying, really, that is not the right word for a book of it's size. I have read books of many more pages and books of much less so wasn't at all daunted by it's sheer size.
Upon opening and reading the first few pages, I was soon to realise that it held lots of very short chapters. This was a smart move by the author I felt as there is nothing more off putting than a huge book with extremely long chapters and worse still, no chapters to some. Remembering the target audience, shorter chapters in busy lives are quite attractive. The chapters were catchy and gripping, willing me onto turn the page, onto another chapter. I was loving this book, it appeared.

300 British people of varying ages wake to find themselves in a room, a room with no windows, doors that do not open (from their side at least), but they have been provided with food and water and a blanket for warmth/comfort. What is it all about? Have they been kidnapped? Is it all just a scary dream for someone? Once all awake, this picture slowly becomes clear and the reality isn't the most desirable.

As regular readers of my reviews know, I am not a fan of repeating the plot/story as there are many that do that and people just want to read thoughts and opinions and after the first handful, tend to scroll past until they get to the desired review part. The above paragraph is all you are getting out of me regarding the story line. 

This amazing story encouraged convincing imagery with the detailed but light descriptions although I did find on the subject of detail, that it bounced around with how full it was of it. At times, like some of my reviews ;-) it was a little too wordy in places. There is a sentence which says of one of the main characters, '....she went and used the toilet'. Nice to know that unlike on television, they actually carry out normal every day activities, but this is where tv have it right, as I felt it wasn't needed.
I found myself feeling for the characters, I felt very connected to them as the story went on and I think that is the sign of a good writer if they can get a reader feeling (with) for the characters portrayed. I felt the claustrophobia and fear when it was being described for the characters and went on that first recce with Mike (the main pratagonist), armed with those scary feelings. Another element that stood out for me was when I read some of the book earlier in the day, I was thinking often about the characters and the story most of the day and couldn't wait to get my nose stuck back into those characters lives again.

This story was all a bit far fetched really, as with all books of this subject but but not completely unbelievable. 
There was one point (by page 85) where I remember thinking the young children were being exceptionally good. Really? by this point, none of them had 'created' about having no gaming systems etc? hmmmm, hard to believe and if going to the toilet is mentioned, surely this wouldn't be excess detail to add. 

The author seemed to have an understanding of what runs through a young ladies mind when in 'love'. It reminded me of when I was young and in that lust stage and I felt myself smiling with the memories of this. Great thought and empathy shown there from C.J Whitley. I felt a bit emotional a few times reading this book.

I was left wondering throughout, what people must have been thinking with this disappearance of many. This question kept rearing it's head and the author didn't fail to disappoint. From page 207, this was indeed answered. 

The pages included some truly unexpected, shocking and brutal twists that are certainly not for the feint hearted but it just kept giving more and getting more exciting and shocking. I couldn't work out what was coming next. There was no build up to events, just a pure adrenaline fuelled read. I have seen two of The Hunger Games films although I have not read the books but I actually preferred this to watching those if I am honest. The author did a magnificent job of making the story feel real, so real in fact that it has taken me a while to be able to put a review together for it.

I highly recommend this book and not just to young adults but anyone who is willing to take chances, wanting an adventure, able to believe the unbelievable and isn't afraid of an emotional roller-coaster that may leave them feeling a bit of an emotional wreck of any age.

4 out of 5 stars for this one - well earned.

The Babble Hinge - 7.

Hellooooooo,
Ok, ok, so it has been a little while since I added a review (apart from a couple of old ones, I transferred over from Goodreads).
I have had a fair bit of overtime at work lately and well, basically life happened and got in the way.
I have a couple of reviews to put up on here and promise you they will be going up by the end of the week.

I have had a crazy prescription day today. Boots (chemist) keep messing up my script.I am on a couple of pain meds. The first, I get more than enough of and the second,well, that's another story. The script is, 1-2 4 times daily.I get a box of 100.Boots order this for me ONCE a month.Now, my maths is dire but even I know that if I am taking my max dose, then a box of 100 just isn't going to make it through the month so, I place an order with my Drs manually for that and my cholesterol pills.Oh my word, all this pillage, sounds like I am a right druggie.I would rather not be on any of it but I do know it is only temporary. Back to the story.The order was put in on Thursday,which was 4 days ago explaining that Boots keep messing the script order up and this was an extra order as well as their monthly one. Now, I understand why people get so annoyed talking to answer phones as all this is done via a prescription voicemail system. Today, I rang Boots who confirmed they had got my cholesterol med script all ready to go and yes, I could collect after work.Fantastic, what about my pain relief. "What about it" you ask. Oh no, it hasn't been put on. I rang the G.p next and spoke to a receptionist who says, yes it has been written but to be sent over to Boots for the 26th. Argh!! "But, I have had no pain meds over the weekend and left my repeat med req on Thursday". She says but you have them once a month and Boots have requested it for 26th."Look", I said "with all the will in the world and my maths isn't great, you can not make a box of 100 last a month at a dosage of 1-2 4 times a day, it just doesn't equate". The receptionist seemed to understand and said she would just speak to the Dr................5 minutes later, she returned to the phone. "The doctor says they will scrap that script and get you another done, it will be ready tomorrow". "Tomorrow?!? but I called it in on Thursday, giving over the required 48 hrs notice and I have work and have been without meds all weekend". She giggles, I think what is so darn funny.You don't have my pain obviously.Yes, it only takes off an edge but that edge enables me to sleep a little and to work better a little more which is huge to me.Here we go again.I decide to pop into Boots after work and get my cholesterol meds and some shop strength co-codamol. I waited ten minutes for someone to take note that I was there and then they couldn't find the meds.They looked high and low and then apologised to me.The pharmacist apologised saying I had been given incorrect information and even that med wasn't ready for me either and that they would text me once it was in and ready........really ready.
Off home I went almost empty handed.I went somewhere else for the co-codamol and they didn't have any but did have their own capsule mix which I thought, that will do and took it.

Oh dear.What a palarva! I love that word - palarva.
Talking about words, I was having a conversation with some others about lovely sounding words on The Bookshop Cafe (a group on Facebook for book lovers of all kinds).We liked agog, I love place names such as Mesopotamia and Constantinople and I also like Pumpernickel. We also came up with these beauties to name just a few - flibbertigibbet. rambunctious, widdershins, bunting, doily and cockwomble. Ohhhhh, should I have said that word on here? hehe (feels naughty now). I shall leave you with that one.What words do you like the sounds of? 

Will be back soon to review and babble some more.

Equal Rights (Discworld #3) by Terry Pratchett

Read from August 24th - August 31st 2014.

Published April 3rd 2014 by Gollancz

Format    Hardback - 240 pages

Review    Loved this book.Full of fantasy,humour and magic .I'm not convinced that Esk is just 9yrs old.I think Terry Pratchett writes her much older,like a teenager.Absolutely enjoyed the relationship between Granny Weatherwax and Cutangle.I could imagine them in the boat together (felt like I was there too) like an old married couple.very humorous and really made the book a clear hit for me.An easy,comfortable read. Wyrd sisters next....

5 stars given.

One of my first reviews. A little shorter than others. Will expand on this in the future.

The Babble Hinge - 6.

Here I am, at 09:30 hours, sat at my desk attaching another hinge with a Latte beside me and two furry moggies either side of me also. I am sporting the rather tired eyes and hair look after a busy day yesterday. Yesterday, what happened yesterday? I'll start there and work backwards, just because, I can :-)

I left the house at 9am to make the approx 3hr drive to the other side of Lincoln and for those that don't know, Lincoln in the UK is round in the next smaller hump up on the map to me. The darker green area shows Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
                                          
It was only my 4th/5th time driving there and for those that know, driving on the A17 can be a bit of a deathwish in itself although, I don't see it as that bad if I'm honest. 50mph was pushing a bit as a max speed due to being stuck behind bank holiday caravans. It resembled a convoy backing down the road until hooray, we lost the caravan only to find that within seconds two more had joined the convoy.......in front! This was certainly going to take some time. Oh how I wished I could trundle along and read my book at the same time. If only. Two problems with that, the book was at home and I may just end up in the purple Citreon Picasso's back end that I was becoming all too familiar with from the A47 onwards.
Onto the A15 with afore said caravans dearly departed, and a little before seeing R.A.F Waddington on the left in a sign, a small low down sign saying RAMP, like so -
                                  
remembering this road allows you to drive down it at 60mph so one of these at the side of the road in the grass very close to THE ramp doesn't really do much for your 11 yr old cars suspension or the 11 yr old wheels and if I'm truthful, my 40 yr old body in general. You may giggle, but by jove, this was no RAMP, this was a STEP!!

I was going to show you some lovely photo's of yesterdays trip into Lincoln with my dad but I will have to show you some from the internet stock instead as I'd still like you to see what a wonderful historic city is is and hopefully you can enjoy it as much as I always do. I completely forgot to take some for you yesterday. I have loads on my external hard drive but do not have it to hand. I will endeavour to show you ones which correspond with where we went.
Here is a view of part of Lincoln castle from the medieval wall walk which is mainly what we went for -
           
Photo taken from Trip Advisor.
If you ever get the chance to go, go.The castle and the cathedral are wonderful. We didn't go into the cathedral yesterday but here it is for you to see and is directly across from the castle.
                 
This is almost as I would have seen it yesterday from the medieval wall walk.Photo taken from BBC Lincolnshire site. A little history on the beautiful Lincoln cathedral.
Afterwards we went for a strutt down Steep hill.Steep hill is littered with tiny old shops down each side.Very quaint.

Steep Hill midway point. Click link to see where it is cited from.

Lets bring it back to books. On the way down on the right is this wonderful building called Jews Court/Jews House and that door right next to the window made me feel like Alice in Wonderland as it is much smaller than I am. This is a second hand bookshop but I didn't go in it as we were then going off for lunch.


On the way back home to Norfolk there were waves lapping (slight exaggeration) up the left side of my car. I have become a mega, blinded, spray pro driver. The journey home made more pleasurable with 6 mins, 45 seconds of the full version of Guns and Roses, Paradise City blasting out courtesy of Radio one, and yes, I did sing and wiggle my head. :-).

I am going to leave you with photo's of a treasured book box set that I received recently for my birthday. They are so beautiful.

                         
     
 

I love Sherlock Holmes and wanted a really lovely set to keep and treasure. They are a little smaller than average books and are sold by The Collectors Library, although mine came via Amazon. Book lovers will understand the joy I felt upon hearing the book sounds, the feel of the pages and the smell of the ink. Wonderful book times ahead with these. Other books from The Collectors Library may end up on my bookcases in due time ;-).

Oooooo, one more thing. I spotted this on my local library window -



A trip to the library may be in order. How exciting is this. :-D

For those that subscribe to my blog via emails, apologies if you have received a few with older reviews on them. I sent some back out via Google+ as they are good books but are so far back, I didn't want them to be forgotten as they deserve reading time by others.


It is book o'clock, so I will waffle at you again another time very soon.

The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse

Read from March 26th - April 5th 2016.

Published September 11th 2014 by Orion

Format    Hardback - 409 pages

Review    I don't like repeating the story blurb in my reviews so here is the
 synopsis from the cover - 

Sussex, 1912. In a churchyard, villagers gather on the night when the ghosts of those who will die in the coming year are thought to be seen. Here, where the estuary leads out to the sea, superstitions still hold sway.
Standing alone is the taxidermist's daughter. At 17, Constantia Gifford lives with her father in a decaying house: it is all that is left of Gifford's once world-famous museum of taxidermy. The stuffed animals that used to grace every parlour are out of fashion, leaving Gifford a disgraced and bitter man.
The bell begins to toll and all eyes are fixed on the church. No one sees the gloved hand pick up a flint. As the last notes fade into the dark, a woman lies dead.
While the village braces itself against rising waters and the highest tide of the season, Connie struggles to discover who is responsible, but finds herself under suspicion. Is Constantia who she seems - is she the victim of circumstances or are more sinister forces at work? And what is the secret that lies at the heart of Gifford House, hidden among the bell jars of her father's workshop?

My thoughts    Atmospheric, Gothic psychological thriller that allured me into it's dark pages from the get go. My first introduction to a Kate Mosse book has enticed me to read her other works. I really enjoyed the writing style. It flowed very comfortably with an almost warming feel. The imagery and descriptive text were totally captivating. A strong introduction,opening at midnight on 24th April 1912 in the graveyard of the local church, where people believe that the ghosts of those who will die in the coming year will walk into the church. Commencing the first chapter with a scene in the graveyard was exciting, a fabulous angle to enthral any reader. I disliked having to put it down. The taxidermy procedures and techniques were described in depth showing the research that must have gone into putting the chapters together. Some of the characters are quite complex and I found I had feelings towards them all, including a fondness to the alcoholic Gifford. Gifford and his daughter Connie live in a remote building known as Blackthorn house that appears to be watched. Ten years before, criminal activity took place which involved the main character Connie (now 22 years old), then 12, having an accident and ending up with amnesia, but is dimly aware through flashbacks that something consequential happened. I was surprised throughout this book. It kept time with me and unfolded as I read. I personally think this would make a really good film.

I gave this one 5 stars.

The Babble Hinge - 5.

Well, here we are again and what a couple of weeks it has been!

I had my birthday week off work and filled it with fun. However, I did think I really needed another week off work to recuperate. Yeah right ;-)

I thought I would have time to do lots of reading, but oh no, it wasn't to be. By the time I was able to pick up a book, I was so exhausted, I fell asleep.

Last time I blogged a hinge, I told you about the start of the week where I had taken my niece to Bewilderwood (link is on that page). By the end of that week, my lovely colleagues had surprised me with a fabulous Mad Hatters Tea Party. I had been looking into having one of these but decided the official ones were just too expensive to ask friends to pay for, for a few fancy sandwiches and cakes.
Bless them, they only went and hired out a nearby village hall and put it all on themselves.Oh my, what a treat it was. I love Alice in Wonderland.One of my favourite stories.I love it's magic and it's quirkiness and as a child thoroughly enjoyed the film and the warmth I felt from it. I received many Alice in Wonderland/Mad Hatter Tea Party gifts including this fabulous tea pot -


Oh I do love a good cuppa.

So, back to the party, well, it was magical.Knitted mice coming out of teapots -

My friends dressed up and when I arrived, I was quickly donned with a rabbit nose, a tail, a hat and a clock to go around my neck -

Not a very flattering photo but you get the idea (blushes).
Cutting cake -

Safe to say, I felt like a queen, but not THE Queen - The Queen of Hearts, that is. :-)

"Have I gone mad?"

"I'm afraid so, you're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret....

All the best people are." 

- Alice's Adventures In Wonderland -

I have finished and reviewed AEROADDICT - The story of one man's lifelong love affair with aeroplanes by Doug Gregory. You will find this in this blog if you look hard enough ;-) Lovely book.

I still have The Taxidermists Daughter by Kate Mosse to review but in the meantime I am having a quick easy read of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Harry Potter #3) 

as believe it or not, I haven't read further than book two!!

I have been contacted by an author via my blog to review a book called Cruel Reality Games of Life and Death. The author tells me it is a bit like a modern day Hunger Games. This grabbed my attention.

The authors name is C.J Whitley. This is the blurb for the book - 

Taken by masked men in the night, a host of British people find themselves at the mercy of unknown abductors. They cannot guess where they are going, or why they are going there. When they find an arsenal of medieval weapons in their new prison, horrific possibilities are imagined. When cruel reality of their fate is revealed to them, they must learn a new way of life.
Fight or die. There is nowhere to run.

After good old Harry Potter, this will be my next read and what a chunk it is too!

I will report back to you on this and many other babbley things.

So many pictures on this hinge.

Good evening all and so to our next post.

AEROADDICT - The story of one man's lifelong love affair with aeroplanes. by Doug Gregory

Read from April 5th - 12th 2016.

Published 2013 by Little Knoll Press

Format    Paperback - 192 pages

Review  The next two paragraphs is a summary that can be found on Goodreads, that I read before starting the book.

Doug’s is a ‘lifelong love affair with aeroplanes’ - first as a boy in Southampton, then as a WW2 night-fighter pilot, flying more than 67 missions over occupied Europe, and post-retirement, as the pilot who built his own replica S.E.5a biplane and entertained the public with his aerobatics in the Great War Display Team.

Doug, now aged 92, didn't hang up his flying goggles until he was into his 90s. This memoir tells how he built an aeroplane in the back garden and took to the air in it - to Doug a natural way to pass the time: ‘This is an account of me, building a fun aeroplane for my enjoyment in my dotage, and while building it, dragging up and jotting down a few reminiscences with which I have bored friends over the years. Building an aeroplane is fun in itself, but it is only a means to an end. Flying is the greatest pleasure.’
The book is a gripping read, told with wry humour, honesty and some pathos.

My thoughts - I love planes (especially military planes) and I love history and this book had both so I felt excited about being asked to read it.

I did hope it wasn’t all “I screwed this piece of wood to this 6 by 4 bit of metal” type of read and no, it wasn’t.

This book captured Doug’s love and passion for planes, flying and life in general. His writing style flowed well from 1940’s war time to present day and continued back and forth merging his war time experiences with plane building in his retirement.

A very easy and enjoyable read which captivated me from the very beginning whilst being enhanced with photographs of young Doug, older Doug and the planes he flew and his own S.E.5a that he built.

It really doesn’t matter if you don’t know plane/military ‘lingo’ so to speak, it is explained very well and you soon get to understand the terminology used.

This book came across as Doug’s diary, a diary of his thoughts, memories and activities so I felt I got quite close to Doug, as though he had let me snuggly into a portion of his life. I do like it when a book does that and can envelope and pull you into the life that is in the book. At times, I did chuckle. This man had a great sense of humour but I think when living through hard times, you had to have.

The humour was evident from the start and I particularly enjoyed the chapter where he explained how he was chosen to be a pilot in the RAF and then having to go through the, in his words ‘ceremonial puncturing of bodies’.

Doug shares with us, his duties abroad in places such as India and Rhodesia in Africa and of course, what this young aspiring pilot got up to in his evenings and free time here in the UK and farther afield. Believe me, his young life was far from dull, for the time.

We are invited in the well put together pages to share his excitement at finally flying his first RAF aeroplane and the ups and downs (literally) of accomplishing this task of learning and being taught at the flying training school.

Doug introduces us to some of his friends past and present and his wife Liz who even lends a hand with his plane building. His love of planes and thirst for the build was probably a way for him and Liz to share some quality time together.

The book finishes with a fabulous photograph of Liz and Doug in 2012 which just makes you feel like you want to smile at the end.

A very talented man who even adds poetry into the read. I also liked the way the book was presented with the easy to read type which would be helpful to the older population, the short captivating chapters, the way it was laid out with smatterings of poetry which broke the pages up and the postscript at the back which just after finishing the main story, tidied it up somewhat. The picture index right at the back, I found a great help so I could relocate a photo again as I read further along without shuffling around the pages.

I was surprised how much I got into this book and how I felt I knew Doug through his work. I’d recommend to anyone who likes reading historical memoirs and especially when it comes to aeroplanes.

Sadly, Doug passed away in August 2015 and you find at the front of the book some words written (as described) from those whose lives he touched which makes the content all the more poignant.

5 out of 5 stars given.

The Babble Hinge - 4.

Good Evening.

What an amazing start to my leave week. The weekend has gone so quick and I am shattered. I collected my niece Saturday morning and we went to Bewilderwood for the day and the sun came out for us and made it a great day for climbing and sliding and tunneling. Yes, this almost 40 year old did it all too but I did stop at taking part travelling along a zip wire! Yeah right, what a funny old sight that would have been. This is a link to Bewilderwood. If you're close and have little ones, and older ones, my niece is 12 then go and enjoy it and believe me, you will enjoy it as much as them. I do think that any older than her age and they are not really going to be that interested but you never know. Anyway, I'm getting carried away here.Here's the link - http://www.bewilderwood.co.uk/
Such a magical imaginative place.

The journey there wasn't so pleasant. I have experienced my first road kill. A very jolly pheasant came toddling across the road at great speed, looking very happy with himself out there in the sun, straight for my front wheels. At almost 60mph, I knew I was going to hit it with a row of cars behind me and cars going the other way, there was no way I was going to avoid this beautiful happy bird without causing an accident. So, there we have it, bump. I had to try and explain to a 12 year old girl that although awful, there would or could have been worse on the road if I had tried to avoid it.
She sat in the back for each journey after that but just said, "I wish I hadn't seen that" and just carried on. She soon got over it as she then proceeded to tease me about the whole episode wondering if they had pheasant plush toys in the gift shop! Cheeky little so and so. Oh and on the way back, guess what? yes, another pheasant came across the road.It was in front of me trying (bless it) to dash through the traffic on the other side, but just as I came along, it gave up and stayed on my side of the road. With no one behind me, I could slow as it made it's way to the bank....to safety. I think this meant I was forgiven by my niece :-).

Arriving at my sisters 16 miles away just after lunch to a box of 6 lovely homemade cupcakes for me to take away for my birthday. A little cheeky cupcake once home. It was so very scrummy. Lemon flavour with hundreds and thousands and a chocolate bunny on top. My sister informed me that I could freeze some. haha, freeze? FREEZE? that's assuming they will last THAT long.

Book news. I am almost through  The Taxidermists Daughter written by Kate Mosse and published by Orion Books. I am really enjoying it. I love the style of writing. Keep and eye out for the review because being off work for a bit means lots of fabulous reading.

Yesterday I received the book that I was asked to review, I believe as a result of this blog, so this could be my first blog customer!

AEROADDICT by DOUG GREGORY D.F.C (Little Knoll Press).

I will be starting this book after I have finished my current read. I love history and for those that know me, military planes are a huge love of mine.

So to next time or my next review. Time to catch up on some sleep and a cheeky read.  

The Babble Hinge - 3.

I received a message via Facebook yesterday asking me to review a book and today, had it all confirmed after a couple of private messages back and forth which means, my blog is starting to take off and people are interested.Yay. I do put my reviews onto Goodreads and Amazon but this is MY platform, MY blog and I'm quite enjoying it so far.

After being blown about a windswept city, trying to keep from eating my hair and meeting a friend who incidentally would not have that problem due to him being bald (although he would say, at least my head is kept warm), we went off to a local D.I.Y store to check out all the beautiful kitchens that I can't have due to the fact that I rent my home. SIGH...... haha. I did buy a Z bed or what ever the generic name is for them these days.Just a single one, ready for when my niece comes to stay. Once home, I opened up the Z bed and popped the mattress in place and a big awake nightmare ensued of being folded up rather abruptly in the Z bed!! I had one of these as a child to sleep on regularly and yes, it folded up regularly, with me in it, half asleep much to everyone's delight and humour, but definitely not mine.I did lay on it to check it out and I was settled with the fact that they are much better made these days and fold the other way.Phew! I don't think my sister would be too impressed if I bought my niece back so bent up and resembling Flat Stanley (written by Jeff Brown). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley

After deciding it was fine and thinking I really didn't need to pay for a delivery, I could have fitted this thing in my car at least five times over, I got comfy enough to finish the rest of what was, my current read From a Poison Pen by B.P. Smythe. It didn't take me long as it was so captivating. I virtually drank this book, it was such an easy read, a page turner with just the right size and style/format of text. Don't you find certain style or text format makes you turn the page quicker and read the pages faster? I do. Check out the review I wrote for this book. 

I also wrote a review yesterday for The Surrogate (Brennan & Esposito #1) by Tania Carver which I also enjoyed but in a very different way. 
I have another review to put together tomorrow and add to my blog too.

I just want to share how shocked and surprised I am that in less than two weeks,my blog view count at this time stands at 1160!! I am so chuffed and very happy by this. Thankyou to all that have had a little look and added to this number over the last 13 days. I hope to understand this blogging biz a bit more and make a better job of it. Be patient, I am completely self taught, trying to work it out as I'm going along. I have a couple more ideas that I will put in place soon enough. Keep coming back and I hope you keep enjoying my reviews.

Back to my next book........hmmmm.........ok, I've decided. It's going to be - The Taxidermists Daughter written by Kate Mosse and published by Orion Books.

                                     

Time to retire for a little read in bed. We will do it all again very soon.

Additional info - 29/03/16 I have renamed 'End of Day Thoughts' as I thought it a little plain and just lacked a bit of zing, besides, I am not writing something everyday.I have decided to name it THE BABBLE HINGE as I babble on and it is a hinge, connecting the pages together.Hope you like it too.

From a Poison Pen by B.P. Smythe

Read from March 20th - 26th 2016.

Published February 15th 2016 by Bloodhound Books

Format    Paperback - 386 pages

Review

..........'Now lying on her back, Myra knew this wasn't the best position. She twisted herself around, swearing as she banged her head and face in the process until she was resting crouched up on her knees. From there with great effort, as the line stretched and cut deep into her wrists, Myra raised her top half; then painfully rolled head-first over the wardrobe edge and flopped onto the marble tiles' .......excerpt taken from Lovers Leap. Lovers Leap is just one of ten short stories I have had the pleasure of reading in this book by B.P.Smythe. "B.P.Smythe, really? you wrote all these? how versatile are you?" Catchy little reads of varying length. Just enough to suck you in, get you comfortable, enjoy the read and then BANG, the macabre twist hits you head on and ties it all together in a neat little bundle. The author engages the reader right from the start and doesn't let go, enticing them to read more and more of these easy read shorts. Most of these stories have dark undertones to them leading to some weird but psychologically "oh yeah" revelation moments. There is a couple of grammatical errors and the last story, We'll Meet Again, I felt was overly waffled in segments. These very small issues did not hinder the stories at all and in fact, I'd go as far as to say We'll Meet Again was one of my favourite ones. I found myself quite captivated by a lot of the characters in the book. Many showing great depth of which I found connection even in the short time they invaded my head space. The writing IS simple and comfortable which readers who want a book they can just pick up and go with will love. The stories full of intrigue and a small element of suspense in some that will appeal to a diverse type of reader who appreciates anything from murder mysteries, war stories to dark humour. I recommend this book to anyone who I have described above and anyone who likes a little of a Twilight Zone esque feel to their reads. I will certainly be looking out for more works by this author. /http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/from-a-poison-pen/ 4 out of 5 stars given.