Book Review

Book Review

Moon Reads: Star

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Star by Holly Webb

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read Before: No

Ownership: Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my opinion of the book nor do I receive any other compensation for reviewing it beyond the book.

As I mentioned in the Frost review, Star was my first Holly Webb book, which I read in December and honestly, I loved it. It was the right kind of cute and gentle but also had a little adventure, a little bit of moving in space to another area or in a way living someone else’s experiences.

The story follows Anna, who wishes for snow and borrows a little wooden tiger from her Russian grandmother while she hears stories of her cousins back in Russia. But as she goes for a walk, she wonders about a loose tiger cub in Russia near the village where her cousin lives. As such, we suddenly are now in that village and being the cousin Anna.

The story follows Anna as she tries to save the tiger cub but also not be in danger, and it is very cute, very intriguing and cares about the little animal and just shows how things can affect life, but also to be safe. I really liked some of the measures Anna took to be sensible before leaving her house and a few of the things she cautiously does before approaching the tiger cub.

Overall, the story was enjoyable, made me want to have a few wood-carved animals to display somewhere and just to think about animals and the roles they have and what can happen when we disrupt them.

Recommended for readers that can read on their own or a family read to slightly younger readers with some guidance on topics and explanations on the content, nothing untoward or anything like that but it does deal with hunters and animals and other little things. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and it is so worth reading.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Frost

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Frost by Holly Webb

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Gifted by a friend since I love books about foxes.

I had never read a Holly Webb book before I read Star, review to come, and then I was organising my middle grade shelves and realised I had this one by her too, so it felt right to read it and review it.

Frost is a story about a young girl who starts feeding the fox cubs that live near their apartment complex, but she has to do so secretly because you know, urban foxes = bad. The story focuses a little on the present and our main character interacting with eh foxes but also interacting with her family and one of the neighbours in the complex. This part was at first a bit generic but got more particular and showed a lot of character and growth for our little girl.

On the other hand we have the “fox” story, which focuses on a slight time travelling, like being in another body after she listens to a story and decides to feed the fox on a cold snowy night. This somehow means she is in a much older age, 1600s if I remember correctly, and her fox friend is still around but there is also a historical and cultural lesson on snow fairs and the roles of children and life in general.

I really enjoyed the story, and obviously because it has a fox, it was nice to read and just be part fo the fox love shared here.

This book is probably for readers that have a good comprehension level as the story is cute and meant for probably 7+ but it also has a little of historical value and it has illustrations which I loved.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Nagata Kabi Manga

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Today I am doing a review of multiple titles because it felt right to bundle them together.

Nagata Kabi has a very interesting set of manga at hand with My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and the follow-up stories. They are very much a reflection on her life and the challenges she encounters. The very first one talks about how she feels lonely even in company and also trying to discover her identity. Her making this into a manga and sharing it gives her the opportunity to be more “successful” and to have a career, but then she struggles with further mental and more books happen.

The books are intense and very honest about her perception of things as they go, but as you read more and more and get through the volumes she also self reflects on her previous works and how she may have got some things wrong and misunderstood things.

Part of it focuses on her sexuality and the loneliness she feels, that she feels like she cannot cope on her own. It also focuses on the concept of adulthood and what this implies, what success may be conceptualised as, and that sometimes we assume someone has it together but they do not .

The set also explores health and burnout, and other health issues, but overall there is a big focus on mental health and on figuring life out. I found I partly wanted to rush through it but also there was a lot to ponder and reflect on and at times it hit hard and made me ponder my past or decisions. It does have an interesting viewpoint and gives some insight I hadn’t expected to find in this manga and collection of them and I want to keep on reading on how her life goes on and does.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Payback’s a Witch

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Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself

This book was slightly outside of my usual reads, but it sounded like a good change from those usual reads. And I am glad I did.

In Payback’s a Witch you meet Emmy who is on her way back to her home town where magic is real and she is about to venture into her past. She is convinced she left Thistle Grove for good and she has a great life where she is, but the pull of magic and the memories will do a number on her. And it is not only that but the chance to gain revenge on Gareth Blackmoore, the heir to the most powerful magical family in town.

She pairs up with her best friend Linden, and also with Talia, both also heirs to the other magical families, and when they realise they all want to get that sweet revenge, chaos turns interesting.

The book overall was really sassy and with awesome witchy vibes. It leans heavily on cliches, and preconceptions of magic types, but then it turns them don’t their head at times or adds an interesting spin on it to make it its own thing and it was so nice to read. It felt a little like one does when you read a cosy murder mystery, even if there was no murder or mystery in this book particularly. And there is some romance happening here and there, alongside a lot of self-discovery and loads of revenge and payback.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and then even had to share it with friends because it left a good fluffy feel and the revenge and payback vibes were awesome, alongside some of the discoveries in the story. If you like witchy vibes, friendship, romance, and a fun adventure of a contest happening in the background, then this is the book for you.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Kindness (a user’s guide)

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Kindness (A User’s Guide) by Ali Catterall and Kitty Collins

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: The publisher did a giveaway of the books for Kindness Day and I got one

I am really bad with dates and remembering what day is meant to be what, so when I found out it was kindness day and there was this little book to be a “guide” I decided to give it a go. If you ever read Chicken Soup for Children/Teens, this is a more adult and less fun kinda book. It tries hard to be fun and it is presented in a very cute way with quotes and little tips, which were nice to read. But the stories had a very small font and not all of them had a little tip at the end. At first, I was interested to read a variety of them but slowly some became very focused on things that had happened in the UK or US and nowhere else, and I felt like there were missed opportunities of kindness.

It does explore things like the Japanese Skilled Veteran Corps or the meaning of ubuntu, but it would have also been really interesting to read about more recent acts of kindness, like the one included of Marcus Rashford. I felt like it had a lot of room for more unknown acts of kindness, the kind done less by rich or famous people and more the kind one does every day to that make people famous.

Still, some were new stories of kindness for me and I enjoyed those, I just wish there had been more of those. But overall it is a nice collection of stories and I will be passing it on to a friend because as soon as I saw it I already knew I had to pass on the favour and pass on the kindness.

I do think this book will be right for others and it will be a comforting book for many, it just wasn’t exactly what I hoped for with a title like this. But nevertheless, it is a kind book with lots of stories.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Fire Fox

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The Fire Fox by Alexandra Page and Stef Murphy

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered because it was my kind of book.

Book with foxes? Check! Book with a little bit of grief? Check! Illustrated? Check!

The Fire Fox is a lovely book with soft dreamy artwork that fits the story, and it is a lovely heartwarming, hope inspiring story. The story is about Freya and her mum going to a little cabin in the woods to get away since her dad has passed. This has made the colour leak a little away from their lives. But then Freya meets a magical fox in the snow that she befriends and follows into the forest. The trek around the area and is just beautiful to read, and I recommend it as a good night story, or to talk about grief and hope.

I also really like that it is inspired in the concept of fire foxes that spark the Northern Lights, which is a cute concept and I ended up reading up on that too.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Under the Whispering Door

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Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read Before: No

Ownership: Received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a review but also preordered.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

Welcome to my blog tour post, but also my review, but also where I say I wish I could rate something over 5 foxes.

Under the Whispering Door is my absolute kind of book. It is about death and dying and about what comes next, but it is also about grief which is something that attracts me to books a lot [if you have been reading my reviews for a while, books with any of the themes around death and grief are huge for me]. And it is a book about a tea shop, yes, about tea, and cakes. And there is also a cosy and soft gentle aspect, but there is also fierceness and a touch of weird and I love it.

Wallace Price dies after having lived a corporate job life to the point that his job consumed and defined his life. So when he realizes he is dead and needs to move on, he isn’t quite ready for that. The book focuses on him coming to terms with the fact that maybe his life wasn’t what he thought it was or that maybe there was more to life than a job. But this means he doesn’t have much motivation to move on as he arrives at a cute tea shop where Hugo, the ferryman is there to help him be ready to move on.

There was a lot of focus on the fact that Wallace gets an ultimatum of seven days to move on, but this only really comes later in the book, and therefore it kept me guessing which took a bit off my enjoyment. However, overall the book is a little bit about Wallace learning to see himself in a different light but also to consider the privilege and also the lack of things he had in his life. But I also thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the main cast of characters and the reasons why they’re there.

If grief, death and wholesome but also intense self-review and considering what kind of human you may be, with a point to self-reflecting is not for you, then this book will miss the mark, but if you are open to this type of emotions and reflections, it is a wonderful read and it might bring tears to some readers. Not me but I have a very unusual perspective on grief and death so this was a nice read and some of the views were interesting to read, particularly because it leaves a lot open to fit various beliefs on what comes next in the afterlife, and that was nice to see that it didn’t try to pigeon hole into a single one.

One of the things I want to highlight it that obviously it is centered on death and therefore it touches on a variety of deaths and what brings them on, alongside mental health and other circumstances that may cause anxiety in some readers, or be sensitive subjects to them, so read with care, but if you can dip your toes into this book I recommend doing so.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The House in the Cerulean Sea

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered Waterstones paperback edition

I had heard a lot of good things about this book, but I am also wary of “hype” because it is usually not my thing. However, the premise of the story sounded like my kind of thing, wholesome but with a tinge of sadness, melancholia and grief. And it was exactly that, but softer and much better.

Linus has a predictable life, he has stuck to his job, he cares about doing his job well but only to complete his task. As a caseworker for magical children in government orphanages, he investigates incidents and helps to oversee their wellbeing. He is almost clinical about this, but he also cares and doesn’t want to be swayed by the adults. So when he is asked to report to the most high level of management, he is terrified.

They give him a very special assignment with little information since everything is classified, but the main thing is to go visit this particular orphanage that has extremely dangerous magical children: a female gnome, a powerful sprite, a wyvern, a green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and finally the AntiChrist.

But what ends up surprising Linus the most is Arthur, the caretaker of the children who works hard on helping them grow to the best of their magical capabilities while retaining dreams and their “humanity”.

Overall the story is about Linus finding what happens when your dreams suddenly fall onto your lap with some interesting strings attached and you have a choice. But it is also about equality and that being magical is not something to be afraid of just because it is different. And there are also a myriad of secrets kept in this house and in the surroundings, which Linus slowly starts finding out.

Overall, it was a feel-good story with some interesting social and cultural commentary about our times, with the help of magic it touches some intense aspects about what it is to be different and rejected, or to be labelled something and therefore dealing with prejudice, but also, about being allowed to dream even if it seems impossible.

This was a book that once I got going, I had to stay up until 2 am to finish it because I could not put it down and also because it felt like a balm to my soul. It was the exact right amount of sad, heartwarming and cosy I needed.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Gustavo The Shy Ghost

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Gustavo The Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read Before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself

Happy Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)! I had to post this today since it fits perfectly with the day and the book. Gustavo is a shy little ghost who loves playing the violin. He is very good at doing all the ghostly things that ghosts do: walking through walls, haunting objects, making objects fly and glowing in the dark.

But he is shy and he finds it very hard to make friends, or queueing to buy “eye” scream (love the pun, honestly), so as the Day of the Dead comes near, he decides to be brave and do something to deal with this.

The artwork is adorable, the little Mexican details all over the place and the illustrations made my heart warm and fond, and it was such a lovely sweet story about being spooky, making friends, and being a little courage. And even though it is not focused on Day of the Dead as the main theme, the spooky topic, the shyness, everything made this little adorable book a winner in my heart, and I loved it.

Absolutely recommend as a lovely spooky season gift, or read out loud book to share with children, it may be good for talking about not just Halloween but other countries and their specific traditions.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow

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The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkellner

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered

A while ago I reviewed The Okay Witch, which was a refreshing new graphic novel with a lovely story about family and coming into your magic powers. And then, when I saw there was a second one, I immediately preordered it.

In this sequel, Moth Hush already has magic powers, but as much as it has changed her life, in the same way it hasn’t changed her life much. She is still getting bullied at school, still a misfit and no one seems to even know she saved the day in summer because she saved it so well no one knew about it.

What is even worse is that she starts her first day to school matching with the dorkiest most ridiculous teacher, who then catches her mum’s attention and they start dating, making it even worse for poor Moth. She is so tired of magic being so awesome and yet being quite useless and not making her life better, why cant she have a better life?

So when a mysterious charm promises to help her become a new version of herself, more confident, cool and popular, Moth is attracted to it like a moth to the flame [yes, I couldn’t resist that, sorry for the bad pun use]. But is magic really the answer to her problems or is it maybe a little more complicated than that, and what could go wrong by this suddenly very well timed and placed charm making it to her life just then?

Avoiding spoilers I have to say that the book was lovely, it comes with a refresher of what happened previously and then gives you the story. The biggest thing for me was that there was a lot of tell in the first half of the book, adding lore and stories but most of it is spoken by the characters and therefore it felt a bit slow to read through it when it was just characters walking through a museum kind of thing.

However, it does pick up quite well and recover from this by the second half of the story and then it gets very interesting, and I liked the whole development of the charm and everything else, worth a read, and I recommend that if you haven’t read the first one yet, you should buy both and enjoy some witchy magical stories!