Tag: cute

Book Review

Moon Reads: Sad Girl Hours

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Sad Girl Hours by Anna Zoe Quirke

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I can’t remember the exact reason I bought this one, but it felt like it’d be my kind of book. A good dose of cuteness, some sadness and lots of emotions. And I was right, this was a delight to read (despite dealing with heavy topics) and it felt like a warm hug or eating a nice apple pie fresh from the oven (not at burn your mouth temperature but at good temperature).

The story has two points of view, one from Saffron who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) who is dreading autumn and winter coming. She had to take time off the previous year from uni and can’t afford to do it again or it will make becoming an astrophysicist difficult or impossible. And also she’s somehow managed to keep it secret from all her friends and the people online that follow her for her short bubbly videos on astrophysics in a way that is easy to understand. She’s scared that if people know, they’ll dismiss it like her family does or they’ll stop liking her. And then she meets Nell.

Nell is our other point of view, who is proudly autistic, studying to become a poet, and a lover of autumn and winter and all the coziness they can provide. So she becomes determined to show Saffron that they’re not bad seasons with a bucket list of things to do to showcase how good it is to have the seasons come.

Of course as they start doing things like jumping on piles of leaves or lighting candles and having a cosy day in, Saffron and Nell both slowly start to develop feelings for each other but neither is sure of what exactly is going. And they both are trying to balance their own personal issues with having a fun time, becoming better friends and university.

There is a lot of fun but also some seriousness on caring for yourself and also how others care for you. I think this was a lovely little book to read and I’d recommend it as a nice autumn read. Do be mindful that it discusses SAD, family not taking this into account and being mean and not helpful, and obviously the spirals that can happen in your head about it.

Book Review

Moon Reads – The Bakery Dragon

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The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

Apparently we are on a theme of reviews being quite cosy. I think partly this is because the world is being a little bit too much and we need reassurance, a safety blanket and cosy books are perfect for this.

The Bakery Dragon was actually initially an illustration Devin Elle made and then this inspired her to write a little book story about a dragon who longs for a different kind of treasure.

I think the overall story is super cute with our little dragon, Ember, finding that a hoard of gold and treasure isn’t really motivating and then while wandering around the town they see a little bakery window and find it so enticing. I honestly fully understand the dragon, I find the bakery windows and looking at bread and pastries super tasty and exciting and I just always end up wanting to go in and buy something and taste it (specially if you add the nice smell of the bread, yum!).

Anyway, bread turns out to be the perfect hoard and treasure for Ember, who is curious and wants to learn how bread is made. The baker then shows Ember how to make bread and Ember learns that sharing bread and making bread and having others enjoy it is very rewarding and a treasure in itself.

I am a fan of Devin Elle’s artwork so it is not a surprise that I loved a book about a little dragon that loves bread and that expands on her illustration work and dedicates itself to bread and cute little dragons. This book is like a bread version of The Tea Dragon Society hitting all the stops in cuteness, food appreciation and dragons.

Book Review

Moon Reads – Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

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Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

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.

This book was the perfect excuse to pull some cute cat plushies because why not, I have my own brand of “stray” cats.

I loved this book, probably even more the Emily Wilde’s series (and I enjoyed those a lot). And I am so so thankful to Orbit for the review copy because I was able to read the book before it came out and then I raved about it to other people (I do circus arts and I have an informal “book club” where we all read different things but weekly we talk about what we each read and recommend books to each other and this book has been one I’ve recommended a few times).

Anyway, to the actual review of this book. The short version of the review would be that this felt like I was reading a mix of the film and book versions of Howl’s Moving Castle (book version including the other two which rarely ever get included, but are so good), with Agnes being a little like Sophie and Havelock being like Howl. There is also like in the books, a much more involved sister and it is just very satisfying and wholesome and worth reading. Very cosy, very cute, you will want to visit a cat cafe and maybe watch Howl’s Moving Castle or read it afterwards.

Now the longer version, we start our story with Agnes trying to find a place to move into after a mage battle destroyed her previous shop front and the landlady she had cannot afford to fix the damage. Winter is coming and she needs a warm space for the cats and herself as she runs a cat charity to pick up strays. But most places she sees aren’t accepting her because she has cats. Until she finds the perfect shop, but she thinks she can’t afford it, despite being drawn to it over and over. Finally she decides to give in and just check it out, and somehow things work out in a way that is scary but feels meant to be. She’s quickly moving in and everything is pretty smooth, but then she starts getting weird visitors that go through her charity and into the basement of the shop.

To no one’s surprise, turns out she is a front for the most known mage ever Havelock, who is super famous and sought after. And well, as you would expect chaos ensues, with a magical battle between Havelock and another mage and our poor Agnes who loves keeping track of things and organisation struggles. But she’s practical and despite the fact she doesn’t agree with magic and mages, she will make the most of this chaos thank you very much.

She then goes on a mission (if you’ve seen Howl’s Moving there’s a scene that’s very similar to Sophie cleaning Howl’s Castle and it was so satisfying to read) to make things work out for this weird arrangement. But in some ways, she seems to be adopting Havelock as one of her strays and maybe, just maybe falling in lvoe with him despite her misgivings on magic and mages and the fact she thought she couldn’t love someone other than her husband who passed away two years before.

There’s a whole plot that I don’t want to spoil, but I definitely can say that this was adorable, very satisfying to read and honestly 100% worth it. I’d recommend it for the cosy factor, the magic, the Howl vibes, the pastries, the cats and the romance.

Book Review

Moon Reads: How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days

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How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

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.

I have typed this review a few times trying to find the best way to tell you “hey, this was really fun to read, and I wish everyone else would read, please go read it. I want more fun cosy chaos books like this one”, and I don’t think I know how else to say it.

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days is a cute chaos hug to a fantasy nerd. You have Pansy, a halfling in search of a little adventure and that feels a little out of place in her village because of being a little odd and not wanting pure comfort. And you have Ren a goblin who is trying their best to support their clan and also they have a green thumb like nobody else.

Now have Pansy inherit her grandma’s cottage and she feels like this is her chance to make her own life without feeling a bit out of place, she has found her place. But surprise, when she goes to claim her inheritance, Ren is already living there and growing all manners of things (including lots of moss inside the house, apparently moss inside the cottage is not a halfling thing but I think is a pretty cool idea).

To the surprise of both, they somehow end up making a deal on who gets to keep the house, whomever doesn’t leave and stays in it. There’s a few ground rules like not being destructive to each other’s things and stuff, and that you can’t “remove” but only add things (you can already see this backfiring, right?). And so it starts, a little back and forth between them trying to find ways to annoy each other of the home.

It is not to the reader’s surprise of course, that these all backfire in very amusing and funny ways, but also in making the home cosy for both of them. I will say, this was a proper cosy read, with lots of plants and cooking, and questions about belonging and family (or clan) and what it means to be part of them.

But there’s also a lot of little elements reminding you of other worlds, other stories, other classics and some newer works, and it was this also that was fun to read. It felt like a good hug and was about as complex a read as I could muster at a time when I had no voice and a fever. I still enjoyed it a lot and it made me laugh, then cough then regret my life choices, but 10/10 worth it for the story.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls – Fantasy Emporiums Illumicrate

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Subscription box: Illumicrate

Theme/Month: Fantasy Emporiums, January 2025

Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.

Illumicrate is a book subscription box that usually features fantasy and sci-fi, and curates a wide range of books, including both young adult and adult fiction. It usually contains a new release and several bookish goodies.

Somehow we’re still trying to catch up on the boxes, but in this case I missed adding the leaflet to the photograph, so imagine it is there. Starting on the top left corner and going clockwise:

  • A cute little tea strainer inspired by A Tempest of Tea. I am not super big on tea strainers because they are a pain to clean up but this one is super cute!
  • A trivet inspired by Legends and Lattes, which was perfect becuase a great book chocie and trivets are such wonderful things! This had been in use at home but is currently in storage waiting to the next house move.
  • Two mini vases inspired by This Poison Heart, which are cute, I just don;t know what I will do with them.
  • Midnight Bridge Blanket, I didn’t feel like extending it all so there wasn’t a massive view of it, but still, blankets are great.
  • And finally the featured book which was Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao, which I haven’t read but I’ve head good things so I still want to.

A nice fresh start to the year box, which was fun to open, with a blanket to cuddle up with and things to make the day cosy and make you feel like you’re wrapped up by a fantasy, and I just love it overall together.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth

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Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth by Ben Clanton

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

Every time I see there’s a new Narhwal and Jelly book I am very happy for it.

The series is very funny and cute and perfect for little ones. The artwork feels a bit like drawn with a crayon and it is so fun. Narwhal is always so peppy even when bad things happen.

In this one, Narwhal’s “horn” which is actually a tooth starts seeing the effects of having too many sweet things and ahs a crack, which hurts Narwhal, and so JElly and Narwhal go around trying to figure out how to fix it and cheer Narwhal up.

As always, sheaningans, waffles and lots of fun happen and this was very cute, with some interesting facts about Narwhal horns/tooth.

I just want to know what happens next, because Jelly seems to have softened a lot now that they’re good friends with Narwhal.

Book Review

Moon Reads: She Drives Me Crazy

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She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

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

I have no memory of how I ended up deciding to buy this book, but I did at some point and while packing books and trying to reduce them, I thought this was a bit of an odd choice (I’m not really someone who reads books with sport involved in them) but decided to give it a chance.

I am glad I did.

She Drives Me Crazy was a fun read. It was easy, flowed well, and I finished it in a day (one bit read while having breakfast, then the rest in the afternoon after having to do the boring adult stuff of the day).

I admit I do enjoy some fake dating, and it was an interesting one.

Scottie is heartbroken, a little obsessed and upset about her ex, who moved schools and is now playing in a different basketball team. And luck just seems to not be giving her a break when she ends up having to give her nemesis, Irene, a ride to school each morning.

Irene is the perfect cheerleader and popular, but Scottie remembers her as mean, and therefore they seem to not be getting along despite their forced proximity. But then, Scottie sees an opportunity to make her ex jealous and for Irene to keep chasing her own cheerleading dreams.

Shenanigans ensue. However, one of the things I liked a lot about the book was how it tackled the emotions after a breakup, the stages of grief it can bring, and how people can change and not recognise it. Scottie has a long journey of recovering from a breakup that had a hit to her confidence, and that was handled incredibly well, and it was very interesting to read the conversations and interactions about it, alongside seeing parents and family of both Irene and Scottie being part of the story and not helpful plot movers.

Both Irene and Scottie having supportive and interesting groups of friends was also nice rather a mean girls vibe it was more interactive and you can see the mixing of their groups as they continue with their fake dating that slowly becomes less fake and brings them to confront why they are dating and if there are feelings in between them.

Overall, quick read about high school, a bit of basketball and cheerleading, a bit of fake dating and just a fun time.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Doughnuts and Doom

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Doughnuts and Doom by Balazs Lorinczi

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

I love a good little graphic novel and Doughnuts and Doom does not disappoint. For starters, what a title!

But our story follows Margot who has troubles being a witch in public or under stress, she just wants to get her license and be able to do her own life. But as she gets a craving for doughnuts to cheer herself up, she accidentally casts a curse on Elena who just wants to be a rock star and make it.

Their lives now accidentally entwined due to Margot’s chaos and her magic being a little out of control, we keep getting some interesting interactions and a cute story.

One of my favourite things is that there are a lot of raw feelings depicted here, the frustration, the anxiety, the fears, they are here and they’re not “positive” or made pretty, instead they cause chaos, they harm, and then our characters have to figure out a way to make things work, or to find a way to keep going.

A feel good lovely graphic novel that will have you craving doughnuts and maybe a good soundtrack in the background to listen too while reading.

Book Review

Moon Reads: A Super Scary Narwhalloween

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A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

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.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Diary of an Accidental Witch – Unexpected Guests

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Diary of an Accidental Witch: Unexpected Guests by Perdita and Honor Cargill. Illustrated by Katie Saunders

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

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

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.

If you are new here, I have reviewed other books in this series because I really really enjoy it! You can read my review of the first book (Diary of an Accidental Witch), second (Flying High) and third (Ghostly Getaway) in their respective links.

The hard part fo reviewing a book you like is that then you struggle to say coherent things that tell others why you like it without being too much of spoilers, so here’s my attempt at it.

As usual, Bea wants to become the bestest witch ever and prove she can catch up with her peers who have had a lifetime of magic, compared to her very limited and relatively new experience of magic. So when the school has suddenly unexpected guests, her plans may go a bit awry, and she realises her non magical expertise and skills are an asset too and can help a lot in this magical world!

Filled with lots of funky magic, and a bit more development in the relationship between Bea and her dad who is one of my favourite book dads (he’s so supportive and chaotic but in a good way and tries so hard and loves Bea so much and it shows in all the books), there’s shenanigans and more to come but also, maybe a bit more love to show around the magical school and what the students can do best!