Press and blog reviews

Below is a selection of recent press and blog reviews.

Soulmates

Wonderfully original...as British as Bridget Jones.

Narratively Speaking

Soulmates

I had butterflies in my stomach, clammy hands and a
dry mouth. My diagnosis? I’ve fallen head over heels in love
with Soulmates!

Jess Hearts Books

Soulmates

Forget Romeo and Juliet, and meet Poppy and Noah.

Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post

Soulmates

This novel is one epic love story.

Dark Readers

Soulmates

A fantastic contemporary YA romance with a dark edge.

Melissa Cox, Waterstones

The Usborne cookbook for children

From one of the best-known children’s publishers, a bumper cookbook by Rebecca Gilpin and Fiona Patchett with 70 recipes spanning sweet and savoury dishes. The book is full of easy to follow instructions and illustrations.

The Independent

Penny Dreadful is a Record Breaker

The characters are very well drawn and the language just right to draw in young readers... The illustrations are just as funny as the stories and capture the expressions of the characters wonderfully well.

Parents in Touch

Write your own story book

This book gave me a chance to write the stories I knew I had inside me. It made me glad because it helped me prove to myself that I could write.

Bethan, aged 11, Bookbabblers

Penny Dreadful Causes a Kerfuffle

This compilation of three stories is great entertainment, well written and brilliantly illustrated... Likenesses have been made between Penny Dreadful and Horrid Henry and after reading this book I look forward to seeing the TV adaptation very soon!

School Librarian Journal

How to Save a Life

A satisfying and engrossing read.

School Librarian Journal

Peppermint Kiss

A super new series to appeal to tweens... a lovely story of supportive family and friends.

Parents in Touch

Level 2

Level 2 is a brilliant first instalment from Lenore Appelhans that I found very hard to put down! I think the storyline is very different from everything else out there in the genre at the moment. I adored the world building, it is rich and really well developed! Lenore’s writing style is fresh, engaging and I really enjoyed it.

Fiction Fascination blog

Animals

A chunky, beautifully illustrated boardbook, this provides lots for little children to look at and talk about as they find out about animals.

Surrey Advertiser

Look inside: Science

packed with fun and has over 110 flaps to lift... full of 'lessons' any child of eight-plus (and any adult) would find fascinating.

Newbury Weekly News

Animals

Encourage your child's first words and animal recognition with the colourful and lively pictures in this chunky first word book... The illustrations are quite charming and perfectly pitched for the age group.

Parents in Touch

Snail brings the mail

This is a humorous tale which children will thoroughly enjoy whilst increasing their phonemic awareness... repetitive text increases the awareness of sounds and the rhythm makes the story flow.

Parents in Touch

Look inside a pirate ship

The pictures are packed with detail, the text is entertaining - and then there are over 50 flaps to lift to find out even more. A super book and one which deals with a very popular subject.

Parents in Touch

Queen Victoria

This is the perfect introduction to Queen Victoria - there is a good amount of information with plenty to interest children as they gain an insight into this great queen.

Parents in Touch

The Claws of Evil

offers a cinematic mash-up of dark history, rich fantasy, steampunk innovation and action-packed adventure.

The Lancashire Evening Post

Noisy orchestra

A super introduction to the orchestra.

Parents in Touch

Lots of things to spot in the town

A busy colourful book for pre-schoolers absolutely crammed with things to look at, look out for, and talk about.

Parents in Touch

Things to make for mums

We all know that mothers treasure things their children have made for them, but sometimes a little inspiration is needed. Well, here it is!

Parents in Touch

Sticker atlas of the world

A lovely way for children to learn about the countries of the world - and this is a brand new edition so bang up to date.

Parents in Touch

The Claws of Evil

The pace of the novel is frenetic, the world Andrew Beasley has hewn from the fertile source of Victorian London is fascinating, but I constantly felt like a lot was being held back to blow you away in the books to follow... if you love high adventure and excitement, you won't be disappointed.

Read it Daddy blog

The Claws of Evil

A thrilling fantasy with fascinating characters and a compelling plot.

Booktrust