Tag Archives: Adventure

Magic Keepers: Crystal Chaos

by Stephen | Leave a comment

Linda Chapman, Hoang Giang. Little Tiger. (160p) ISBN 9781788954402

Magic Keepers: Crystal ChaosThe first in a new series from Linda Chapman, and filled with really cute illustrations from Hoang Giang.

This sets up a new magical world based in Curio House, where Ava’s Great-Aunt Enid used to live and collected all sorts of interesting curios from around the world.

In her will Enid insists that all the curios have to be kept together and this is where Ava and her mum come in as they go to live in the house after Enid’s death.

With her dog Pepper and her new friends Lily and Sarah Ava falls into a world where they discover magic is real and that crystals do hold their own potential and energy.

They all have to learn how to use these powers rather SNAPPY as they accidentally let loose a scaled terror on the local fish population.

It is also a wonderful story of friendship and how everyone is different and have their own strengths and weaknesses but together they are better.

Fun and with a nice easy read I got through this in an evening and looking forward to seeing how the story develops.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Mountainfell

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Katharine Orton. Walker Books. (320p) ISBN 9781529503296

Mountainfell

Mountainfell

This was such a brilliant book I finished it in a day, not even eating until I’d found out what happened to everyone.

It has everything! Dragons, adventure, family, friendship, discovered magic, dastardly villains, ecological crisis, and much more.

At it’s heart there is a tale of Erskin searching for her sister who has been taken by the cloud dragon after an earthquake disturbs the equilibrium between the village and the monsters beyond the wall.

But as we and Erskin find out there is far more to the story than that simple sentence.

In the end Erskine and her friends not only find her sister but find out a lot more secrets about the world they inhabit and the peril that they all face.

Written with a pace that pulls you through this gripping adventure whilst also describing the wonder in enough detail that you are amazed by the animals and scenery that you travel through, this is a book I really couldn’t put down.

There is also a deep story of what people can do to nature in the name of profit and progress and the ruin it can cause.

I really didn’t want this story to end and would love to see a return to this world in the future.

I especially loved the fish…

If you want to help and support this blog you could become a Patreon which would help pay for my hosting, domain names, streaming services, and the occasional bag of popcorn to eat while watching films.

If you can’t support with a monthly subscription a tip at my Ko-Fi is always appreciated, as is buying things from my Ko-Fi Shop.

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Into Goblyn Wood

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Anna Kemp. Simon & Schuster. (320p) ISBN 9781398503830

Into Goblyn Wood

Into Goblyn Wood

Who doesn’t love the story of a badly treated orphan escaping the cruel orphanage and discovering their true potential? Especially if that true potential is out there in the world of faeries.

In this magical tale we follow the story of Hazel, the orphan, as she and her friend Pete escape from the orphanage and go the Goblyn Wood to join with the Wild Children, other orphans and such that have previously escaped.

All does no go to plan and as soon as they enter the wood Pete is snatched by unknown assailants and Hazel starts her journey to rescue him finding the truth about herself in the process.

A fun and fantastic story that gives a different twist on the lives of faeries and how there are different types of faeries and how they all came to be, with a creeping evil at the core that needs to be defeated and it looks like Hazel will be the only one to do it, and there’s a prophesy to prove it!

A beautiful book about friends and family, but especially about a young girl finding herself and the confidence to rescue those she loves. There is a brilliant training montage-style episode in the book where Hazel is left to develop her growing powers.

Really looking forward to book two as this ends on such a cliff hanger and I really hope Anna gets round to this quite quickly.

If you want to help and support this blog you could become a Patreon which would help pay for my hosting, domain names, streaming services, and the occasional bag of popcorn to eat while watching films.

If you can’t support with a monthly subscription a tip at my Ko-Fi is always appreciated, as is buying things from my Ko-Fi Shop.

You can always email me on contact@bigbeardedbookseller.com with any suggestions.

The October Witches

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Jennifer Claessen. UCLan Publishing. (352p) ISBN 9781912979905

The October Witches

The October Witches

I’ve finally got around to using NetGalley properly and what a first book to set off with.

From the magnificent cover all the way to the last words this is a brilliant magical adventure full of heart, family, and friendship.

This is the tale of the Merlyns and Morgans, the descendants of the first two witches, Merlyn (a woman not a man) and Morgan, who fought each other for power and in the end limited witches power to the month of October.

Clem is the main protagonist of the story who has just come into her power this October and becomes the fifth point of a star and the key to a plan her mum and aunts have been planning to make the magic last all year round, but the dastardly Morgans interrupt this plan and try to enact their own plan to have magic all year round and to control the world.

Full of excellent characters from Bobby the pony to the bumbling but mysterious postman, full of Aunts and young hags, I raced through this story never wanting it to end but desperate to find out what happens, and it seems to have been set up for a sequel, hopefully next October

If you want to help and support this blog you could become a Patreon which would help pay for my hosting, domain names, streaming services, and the occasional bag of popcorn to eat while watching films.

If you can’t support with a monthly subscription a tip at my Ko-Fi is always appreciated, as is buying things from my Ko-Fi Shop.

You can always email me on contact@bigbeardedbookseller.com with any suggestions.