Category: Book Reviews

Book reviews including Children’s books. Reviewed by myself and the girls.

The Girls Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

We were sent The Girls book to review, a lovely story about friendship. The Girls is written by Lauren Ace and illustrated beautifully by Jenny Lovlie. This is a story of four girls, but also of womankind. A perfect read for children aged 3 to 6 years. We love to review books and often work with Little Tiger and their imprints reviewing books. Whilst we are given copies to review our thoughtsd and opinions are always out own.

The Girls

Once there was a tree that grew little girls…

The Girls – Book Review

Four little girls meet under an apple tree and form an unbreakable bond that grows and grows across the years. The girls share their secrets, dreams, struggles and triumphs in this lovely book as the four girls grow together.

Four Friends

Friendships

This beautifully illustrated shows the girl’s friendship through their ups and downs, laughter and tears. Watch the girls friendship bloom throughout the years as they grow into women.

Empowering And Inspiring

This is a truly lovely story that leaves you feeling positive and empowered. It shows the importance of friendship, the love and support that helps you through every stage of your life. The gorgeous illustrations paired with Lauren Ace’s warm, heartfelt words is an inspiring read for young girls.

Friendships

As a parent you will find this book shows your children there are no limits on their dreams. For children, it is reassuring as well as a rallying cry. This book shows you can be different or the same and relationships will come and go but filling your life with love and friendship will get you through the best and worst times.

This beautiful book is available in paperback and is published by Caterpillar books, an Imprint of Little Tiger Group. It is a fantastic book to introduce to young girls especially as they begin to make friendships through school.

Supporting each other

Izzy’s Thoughts

I read The Girls to Izzy and she thought it was lovely story. She enjoyed it so much she asked Eva to read it to her several times after! Izzy noticed the texture of the book whilst holding it too and really liked the feel of it. This book got us talking about how different and similar we all are and discussing friendships.

Personally I love the fact the book shows that friends do occasionally spend time apart, working on their own lives. Yet they still come together to celebrate and support each other just like we do in real life. True friendships can last a lifetime and this book makes that point so clearly and beautifully!

Do you love empowering books like The Girls?


Driftwood By T.L. Wright – Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I ordered Driftwood to start off my reading challenge this year. T.L. Wright is a lovely lady I occasionally chat to on Twitter and an amazing author! I really couldn’t wait to get started with Driftwood, the front cover is gorgeous!

Driftwood

As part of my reading challenge this year I vowed to read as many books by authors that I chat to as I can. Last year I read Free and What’s Mine by the lovely Fiona Morgan. To start off this year I wanted to begin with Driftwood and I am so pleased I did. This is a book that will no doubt be re-read too which isn’t something I do often!

Driftwood

Driftwood begins with a beautifully worded poem that instantly draws you in. This stunning gothic romance is simply amazing. You can’t help but notice T.L Wrights unique style of writing that entrances you.

Several stories cleverly combine into one as we meet each character. Each character has a unique story but one which pulls them all together in an enchantingly haunting way. With several references to certain bands (I won’t give the game away!) cleverly placed I found myself fangirl squealing a bit. Not something that usually happens in all fairness haha!

Driftwood back cover

An Amazing Read

Driftwood is unlike anything I have ever read. You instantly find yourself lost in the words, living and breathing each one which isn’t always the case. It’s been a long time since I came across a book like Driftwood. I honestly can’t wait to read the sequel and any other work written by T.L Wright.

I couldn’t recommend this more if you love a slightly darker and in-depth read. The way it is written is absolutely beautiful, I can’t stress that enough!

I’m now going to be hunting for more books like this as it has helped spur me on with my reading challenge. I have already managed 3 books this month which is great after years of barely picking up a book. It is becoming part of my self-care routine now to read for an hour a day at least.

Have you read anything this year? Does Driftwood sound like a book for you or have you read it before?

What’s Mine By Fiona Morgan – Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I recently read What’s Mine by Fiona Morgan. Having picked up my love of reading again, I decided to support a few authors I know through twitter. I ordered both books by Fiona Morgan to get started. I recently shared my review of Free, her first book too.

What's Mine by Fiona Morgan

What’s Mine

Just like Free, What’s Mine pulls you in straight away. Bronagh finally seems to have it all, a flat and a fantastic new job. To top it all, her long-term friend Max finally confesses his feelings for her! It all sounds too good to be true. Bronagh is so excited to finally land her dream job and can’t wait to get started.

Elaine has lost her job and having been replaced by Bronagh, she is determined to get her own back and get back ‘What’s Mine’. A campaign of terror quickly ensues and Elaine does her best to scare Bronagh. Bombarding Bronagh with abusive texts, turning up wherever she goes and trying to get between Max and Bronagh. This quickly escalates leading to devastating consequences.

Strong Characters

Fiona Morgan has a unique way of writing, her characters personalities feel so alive. Bronagh is a tough, strong woman but Elaine does her best to try and wear her down. When the story takes an unexpected twist and Elaine gains an accomplice you can’t help but wonder just how badly things will end!

Max and Bronaghs relationship has just started out but Elaine does her best to weave her way in and cause problems. Elaine wants nothing but revenge, she’s too far gone to see any way out other than getting rid of Bronagh. That bitch has it all, friends, Max and now Elaine’s job too!

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed What’s Mine, it really is a powerful story full of love, hate, manipulation and control. I love how Fiona Morgan hits on every emotion and thought that would run through each person’s character. You can tell a lot of time and effort has gone into building each character up and Fiona tells the story so well!

Full of twists and turns, you never know how What’s Mine will end. Will Bronagh and Max survive together? Will Elaine get her own way? It’s a fantastic read and I couldn’t put it down!

Have you read anything by Fiona Morgan yet?

Animalphabet Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Animalphabet is the latest book by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sharon King-Chai. This beautifully illustrated book has an animal for each letter of the alphabet.

Animalphabet Book

Bestselling author Julia Donaldson is well known for her fabulous book The Gruffalo. Animalphabet is Julia Donaldson’s latest release and another fantastic book for children. Especially perfect for those aged 3 to 5 years, Animalphabet is a lovely hardback book. You can buy it on Amazon here.

Animalphabet Book Review

As we explored the animal world with this gorgeous book we learnt a lot! With peep-through pages and fold out flaps this glorious gift for animal lovers becomes an interactive guessing game. Find out who is faster than a Caterpillar, who can hug tighter than a nightingale and who can fly better than a pig!

Caterpillar - Animalphabet

With stunningly eye-catching artwork throughout, the Animalphabet book contains an exotic array of animals. They truly are stunnnig and something to marvel over. This is a book to treasure and stand proudly on display. Julia Donaldsons rhythmic words make the book flow beautifully making it lovely to read out loud.

Animalphabet book

With each page we discovered an amazing collection of beautifully coloured animals in their habitats. Comparing animals to each other to learn comparison words and adjectives makes learning fun. Finding out who is bigger, smaller etc makes it such an enjoyable read. Izzy loves guessing which animal is next as we ask each question.

We absolutely adore this stunning book, Animalphabet is fun to read with it’s rhythmic words and gorgeous artwork. Being such an interactive book makes it such a fun reading experience and would make such a lovely gift! We would definitely recommend the Animalphabet book for young animal lovers. We love children’s books, don’t forget to check our our Book Review page to discover more Children’s books we’ve reviewed.

Have you heard of Animalphabet?

One Snowy Night – Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Eva read One Snowy Night, a children’s collection of winter-warmer animal tales by best-loved authors. Illustrated by Alison Edgson, this paperback is aimed at 5-8 years and published by Stripes. 

One Snowy Night

One Snowy Night

A cosy collection of short winter animal stories perfect for bedtime reading. Beautifully and highly illustrated by Alison Edgson makes the book interesting even for younger children.

One Snowy night is a charming collection of stories from authors Holly Webb, Jeanne Willis, Linda Chapman, Swapna Haddow, Leila Rasheed and Micheal Broad. Along with  Liss Norton, Cand Gourley, Katy Cannon and Sita Brahmachari. Together, these fabulous authors and illustrator have created a gorgeous book for children. What’s not to love about a book full of heart-warming winter stories by many much-loved authors.

In The Snowy Mountains – Linda Chapman

One snowy night begins with a girl who ventures off in search of the secretive snow leopards in mountainous Mongolia. Discovering a baby snow leopard leads to a big discovery. This short but heart-warming story is a lovely winter read.

One Snowy Night Animal Anthologies

A Christmas Star – Holly Webb

A heart-warming tale of a young girl desperate to nicely wrap a present for her parents. Written by well-known and loved author Holly Webb, this story shows the true meaning of Christmas. When Lucy’s mischievous kitten Star is making it difficult to wrap the presents she gets grumpy with Star. At bedtime, everyone suddenly realises Star is missing! Lucy gets upset, realising Christmas isn’t Christmas without her loveable mischievous kitten.

A Christmas Star

A Winter Surprise – Swapna Haddow

This lovely story is about a squirrel named Jumbie. He plans a surprise woodland party for his friends. Losing the invitation makes Jumbie really stressed out and just before the party too! I think this story is beyond cute and a good reminder we often worry about little things when the important things are right there! (Guilty!)

Jumbie

These cute winter animal stories make a perfect gift for animal lovers or young readers. With a total of 10 stories, this is a great read throughout December as a family.

Do you love Winter Animal stories too?

Advent Book – How Winston Delivered Christmas

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

An Advent book is such a lovely idea, isn’t it? We were kindly sent How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith to see what we thought of this twenty-four-and-a-half chapter book. For each day, from the 1st December, there is a story and an activity you can do. This gorgeous Macmillon book is perfect for children aged 5-9 years but Izzy (4) found the activities easy to do too.

How Winston Delivered Christmas 

Advent Book - How Winston Delivered Christmas

Advent Book

I love cosying up with the girls to read and this book is ideal! I love that it is full of fun activities to do as well as stories. Most of the activities are really quick, simple and extremely fun! From Letters to Santa, Recipes, Crafts and more, this book is bound to keep children occupied throughout December. 

How to read How Winston Delivered Christmas

Fun Activities 

One of the first few activities in the book is to make your own Winston the Mouse finger puppet! Each activity has a list of things you will need and full instructions. 

Make Your Own Winston Finger Puppet

The girls were really excited to make their own Winston and quickly set to work making their own Winston. For this activity, we used a piece of white card, scissors, sticky tape, pens and string.

Making a Winston The Mouse Finger Puppet

This activity was lovely and quick to do and the girls really enjoyed making their own Winston. When we snuggle down to read another chapter each day the girls now get their Winston’s out to read with us!

Eva's completed Winston Finger Puppet

A Beautiful Story

A beautifully written story of a brave little mouse called Winston who sets out on an adventure on Christmas eve. Winston found a letter that has gotten lost on its way to Father Christmas and he is on a mission to deliver it himself in time for Christmas day! Along the way Winston makes some wonderful friends.

This stunning Advent book makes a beautiful gift that can be re-read and used again each year, becoming an enjoyable Christmas tradition. Full of gorgeous illustrations this is certain to fill you with Christmas Cheer all through December.

Have you heard of How Winston Delivered Christmas before? What do you think of the idea of an Advent book?

Free By Fiona Morgan – Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’ve read Free by Fiona Morgan* over the last fortnight. Since Izzy started reception I’ve felt less guilty about reading. I’ve always been passionate about reading but with 2 kids I found it hard to make time. Children’s books have been the main reads over the last 8 years! Now I get more me-time I’ve spent my afternoons enjoying a few chapters with a hot chocolate! 

Free By Fiona Morgan

Fiona Morgan is a lovely author who I chat to on Twitter, I wanted to show her some support by giving her books a read. I have her first 2 books which you can buy as paperbacks from Amazon or download on Kindle.

Free & What's Mine by Fiona Morgan

Free

Free is the first book Fiona has written and I have to admit I was a little sad to finish it! It’s one of those books where you get to know the characters so well you actually miss them. 

Ava’s boyfriend Nathan has convinced her she is useless, incapable of being independent in anyway and regularly beats it into her. She seems to push his buttons whatever she says or does and causes Nathan to get angry! After a chance meeting with a guy called Neil who is completely different and so understanding, Ava plucks up the courage to leave Nathan. One day after a beating she calls Neil and makes her escape. 

You can’t leave me!

Leaving an abuser is never easy and Nathan is extremely persistent when it comes to pursuing Ava, causing both Ava and Neil mental anguish. Nathan is adamant Ava is his and she can’t leave him or live without him. The long-buried memories of Neil’s father are brought back in to focus as he helps Ava. Caught up in uncertainty and physical violence, Ava and Neil’s growing tender love is put to the test! 

Perfectly Captured

Fiona captures every angle so perfectly throughout the book and you can’t help but feel the storyline. For someone who has lived with an abuser and witnessed it on several occasions. I’ve seen and heard so many similar stories that Free feels like real life. From thoughts & feelings to actions, everything is spot on. I’m not usually a fan of Romance Thrillers. I prefer thrillers but Free doesn’t go overboard on the romance side and I found myself wanting to see how their relationship developed! 

I’m looking forward to the girls going to school tomorrow so I can start reading What’s Mine! I’ve managed 7 books so far this year and hoping to make it 8. With captivating storylines like Fiona’s, I may even top that!

Fiona Morgan - Author of Free

Do you like romance thrillers? Have you heard of Fiona Morgan’s books before? 

*This is not a sponsored post. 

Frost Book Review – A Winter Animal Story

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Eva received a copy of the Frost book to review last week, reissued and redesigned with a dazzling new cover! Frost is written by bestselling author Holly Webb and award-winning illustrator Britta Teckentrup. A perfect, read aloud, heart-warming winter tale full of wondrous animal adventure.

Frost Book Review

Frost Book – Eva’s Thoughts

Eva really enjoyed the illustrations throughout the book. Frost, a cute fox gets Cassie to follow him. She transports back to the Frost Fair on the frozen Thames which sounds really exciting too. She finds out Frost is a big sister and helps feed them with sausage rolls. Eva thinks this is lovely of Cassie as Frost needs her help.

Frost & Cassie - A Winter animal story

Frost 

Cassie’s neighbours all complain about the foxes hanging around the flat she lives in, close to the river Thames. Cassie thinks the foxes are beautiful though and has a favourite fox! A small fox with a white tail-tip Cassie calls Frost is her favourite. 

One night Cassie spots Frost looking cold and thin so she decides to sneak him some food. Frost wants her to follow him and leads Cassie towards the river where she feels the world change around her! She finds herself back in the 17th century- at the time of the Frost Fair on the frozen Thames. Cassie is thrilled by the sights and sound of the famous fair, then she glimpses a fox with a white tail-tip! 

Frost wants Cassie to follow him again, can she find a way to return Frost to his countryside home? 

Halloween Books For Kids

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

There are some fantastic Halloween books for kids of all ages. The girls absolutely love Halloween and a good spooky story to get stuck in to. Together we have put together a list of books we think are perfect for Halloween! Mostly suitable for children aged 7 to 9 but we’ve also included a super cute book perfect for 3-5 years too.

Halloween books for kids

Halloween Books For Kids – Night of the Living Ted

This is the first book in a hilarious new series by Barry Hutchison and illustrated by Lee Cosgrove. This funny yet scary book is aimed at 7 to 9 year olds. Eva recently reviewed Night of the Living Ted and absolutely loved it.

Night of the Living Ted - Book Review

Lisa-Marie & her step-brother Vernon pop into town in search of a birthday present for their dad. They discover a Create-a-Ted shop offering free Halloween Bears! That night the shopkeeper brings the bears to life for nefarious purposes but Vernon’s bear, Grizz doesn’t want to be a slave to humans. Grizz wants to rule the world! Having converted the shopkeeper’s Stuff-U-Lator into a machine for turning living matter into stuffed bears, he begins to prowl the streets. Can the children and Bearvis save themselves and the world from being stuffed?

Vlad The Worlds Worst Vampire Series

Vlad the worlds wors vampire series

We simply couldn’t pick a favourite from the Vlad the worlds worst vampire series. We’ve reviewed 3 of the Vlad books so far including Vlad the Worlds Worst Vampire,Fang-tastic Friends & Midnight Fright. In this funny series Vlad the worlds worst vampire faces many problems sneaking off to human school! Will he ever be a good enough vampire to earn his bat license? These are a great selection of Halloween books for children aged 7 to 9 years.

Hounds of Penhallow Hall – The Secrets Tree

For children who love a good mystery, The secrets tree is a great read this Halloween. Polly & rex are in search of a new ghost dog whilst celebrations are in full swing at the stately home. They come across a dog’s head carved in a door down the old stable block. They also wake a terrier called patch, only for him to run away.

The Secrets Tree

Polly & rex find him hiding in a hollow tree and find themselves on the trail of an even greater mystery. Inside the tree is a coded message! Can Polly & Rex unravel the mystery of the dog’s young master and his brother?

I’m Just a Little Vampire (Google-eye book)

This cure rhyming googly-eye book is perfect for little ones ages 3 to 5 years. Little vampire tells you all about his vampire life throughout this adorable rhyming book. The googly eyes wobble about as you turn the pages, delighting younger children!

It can be hard including younger children in Halloween excitement without scaring them but this book is perfect. Izzy loves this book, she received it last year and regularly pulls it out to be read to her.

Do your kids have any favourite Halloween books? 

Night Of The Living Ted – Book Review

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Eva read Night of the Living Ted written by Barry Hutchison and illustrated by Lee Cosgrove this week. Aimed at 7-9 years, Eva was sent a copy to review by Stripes publishing. This funny fright for Halloween night is available in paperback on Amazon for £5.99.

Night of the Living Ted - Book Review

Night Of The Living Ted

Night of the Living Ted is the first of a hilarious new series from award-winning author Barry Hutchinson. Lisa-Marie & her step-brother Vernon pop into town in search of a birthday present for their dad. They discover a Create-a-Ted shop offering free Halloween Bears! 

That night the shopkeeper brings the bears to life for nefarious purposes but Vernon’s bear, Grizz doesn’t want to be a slave to humans. Grizz wants to rule the world! Having converted the shopkeeper’s Stuff-U-Lator into a machine for turning living matter into stuffed bears, he begins to prowl the streets. Can the children and Bearvis save themselves and the world from being stuffed?

Eva’s Thoughts

Teddies come to life and Invade the town! When Vernon makes a bear, it ends up coming to life in this funny but spooky story. Suddenly an army of evil teddy bears is on the loose. Perfect for readers who enjoy a good scare, and just in time for Halloween, one of my favourite times of the year.

My favourite part is when Vernon & Lisa-Maries mum & dad are turned into a frog and a slug. Vernon & Lisa-Marie need to learn to stop arguing long enough to help battle the beastly teddy bears and save everyone. It’s a really great book that I really enjoyed reading.

Does this sound like the perfect Halloween read for your child?