Curse Of The Werewolf Boy - Chris Priestley

Mildew and Sponge don’t think much of Maudlin Towers, the blackened, gloom­laden, gargoyle-infested monstrosity that is their school. But when somebody steals the School Spoon and the teachers threaten to cancel the Christmas holidays until the culprit is found, our heroes must spring into action and solve the crime!

But what starts out as a classic bit of detectivating quickly becomes weirder than they could have imagined. Who is the ghost in the attic? What's their history teacher doing with a time machine? And why do a crazy bunch of Vikings seem to think Mildew is a werewolf?

Welcome to Maudlin Towers, boarding school for boys in an undetermined time period but definitely before cars were invented. Arthur Mildew and Algernon Spongely-Partwork, henceforth known as Mildew and Sponge, are taking part in the school jog (up a mountain) and supervised by the sports master, Mr. Stupendo, when they spot a Viking in the ha-ha* What follows is a hilarious tale in detectivating, with possible Roman ghosts, a Temporo-Trans-Navigational-Vehicular Engine, Vikings, and the mystery of the School Spoon.

Mildew and Sponge don't like Maudlin Towers, it is pretty rubbish, so when the School Spoon goes missing and the Headmaster threatens to cancel Christmas the boys know they're the best candidates to detectivate the incident. However, it's not going to be that simple...

Chris Priestley has long been a favourite author and his Tales of Terror are fantastic. In Curse Of The Werewolf Boy, he brings his trademark illustrations and Gothic storytelling to a younger audience, along with a good dash of humor. Mildew and Sponge are an excellent comedy duo, mostly without meaning to be funny, and the supporting characters are wonderful. How can they not be, with names like Miss Bronteen, Hipflask, and Footstool?

If you're looking for a spooky Halloween read for a middle-grade reader then do try the first instalment of Maudlin Towers, spooky without being frightening, extremely funny, and with some absolutely superb illustrations. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book to what Mildew and Sponge get up to next!

*ha-ha - a ditch running alongside the school playing field...

Curse Of The Werewolf Boy - Chris Priestley
ISBN - 9781408873083
Publisher - Bloomsbury
Release Date - October 5th, 2017
Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

 

Prisoner Of Ice And Snow - Ruth Lauren

Valor is under arrest for the attempted murder of the crown prince. Her parents are outcasts from the royal court, her sister is banished for theft of a national treasure, and now Valor has been sentenced to life imprisonment at Demidova, a prison built from stone and ice.

But that's exactly where she wants to be. For her sister was sent there too, and Valor embarks on an epic plan to break her out from the inside.

No one has escaped from Demidova in over three hundred years, and if Valor is to succeed she will need all of her strength, courage, and love. If the plan fails, she faces a chilling fate worse than any prison ...

An unforgettable story of sisterhood, valour, and rebellion, Prisoner of Ice and Snow will fire you up and melt your heart all at once. Perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell, Piers Torday, and Cathryn Constable.

I was intrigued by Prisoner Of Ice And Snow by Ruth Lauren after reading a blurb that started with 'a cross between Prison Break and Frozen...' and that was it. An MG combination of those has to be good and so I started reading...

Valor gets sent to the prison where her sister, Sasha, is imprisoned for stealing a music box which was to have been a major part of a peace treaty between Demidova and Magadanskya. Instead,  the two are on the verge of war, Valor's parents have lost their positions as the queen's most trusted advisors and now both of their daughters are locked up in Tyur'ma, Demidova's infamous prison. The prison that nobody has escaped from in 300 years...

Despite being warned not to make friends or to trust anybody Valor soon has a merry band of cohorts. Feliks, the street urchin caught up in her arrest, Sasha, her sister, and three inmates of the prison, Katia, Natalia, and Nicolai. Together they learn that Sasha just might be innocent, that someone is plotting against the throne, and that they absolutely have to break out of prison. That might be easier said than done, no matter how determined Valor is. Warden Kirov seems to appear at the most inopportune moments, buildings are mysteriously set on fire, and cruel punishments are handed out to the sisters at the (im)perfect time and thwart their attempts.

To find out if they escape you'll have to read the book but I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of this Russian-inspired fantasy. It says suitable for middle-grade readers but to be honest, I would say it's at the younger end of YA. The characters obviously all have their own stories to tell but this book is the story of Valor and Sasha so there are only hints at the other children's lives before Tyur'ma.

Valor is definitely the more stubborn of the two sisters and once she sets her mind on something there's no going back. To rescue Sasha she puts herself at risk and doesn't ingratiate herself with the other prisoners to start with, thanks to the rather chilly punishments they receive. Sasha is interesting in her own way though, and I sincerely hope we get to see more of her in the next book along with the rest of the gang. There are lots of unanswered questions and a plot twist or two that need to be resolved so I'll definitely be adding it to my wishlist. As to the 'Prison Break vs. Frozen' comparison? Well, I wasn't disappointed that it was more Prison Break than Frozen. I assume that comparison comes from the fact the book is about two sisters...

Prisoner Of Ice And Snow - Ruth Lauren

ISBN -

Publisher - Bloomsbury Children's UK

Release date - September 7th, 2017

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon UK | Wordery

Huge thanks to Bloomsbury for providing me with a review copy of Prisoner Of Ice & Snow.

About The Author

Ruth Lauren lives in the West Midlands in England with her family and a lot of cats. She likes chocolate, walking in the woods, cheese, orchids, going to the movies, and reading as many books as she can. She’s been a teacher and worked in lots of different offices, but she likes writing best. Prisoner of Ice and Snow is her debut novel.

Twitter | Website

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Book Haul #125, Or The One Where Normal Service May Resume...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews where we can share what new books we've picked up this past week be they bought, borrowed or downloaded. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

I'm not quite sure what the matter is but I've been hit by the cleaning bug. I've been cleaning, tidying and decluttering - all without the aid of a certain book that apparently sparks joy... I have been reading too, but I've fallen back into my old habit of starting a book, reading a few chapters, sticking a bookmark in and then, instead of finishing said book I'm moving on to another one instead. I've now lost track of how many books I've started but I'm pretty sure if you checked my Instagram feed it would give you a clue!

I am back on the wagon when it comes to buying books but seem to have lapsed on the old review front. I have received 3 of my most anticipated reads for 2016 recently though so it's not all bad and I've been waiting to read Ada Palmer's Too Like The Lightning ever since I met her at a Jo Walton event 2 years ago!

For Review

 Foxlowe | HEX | The Unseeing

The Square Root Of Summer | Too Like The Lightning | The Winner's Kiss

Book Haul #66

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews and Letterbox Love is a UK edition hosted by Narratively Speaking. Here we can share what new books we've picked up this past week. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

Don't fall over but I think this might be one of my smallest book hauls ever... I'm not sure what happened - I somehow managed to buy only one physical copy of a book this week, not bad but as I actually already own a copy but can't find it I probably shouldn't have bothered! It's for a good cause though, the fabulous Mrs Markham and I are doing a buddy read/re-read of the entire Dark Tower series by Stephen King, if this interests you by the way feel free to join in - we'll mostly be chatting the series up on Twitter so we can annoy worship maybe get a retweet from the man himself! The others were pre-orders (one of which I'd completely forgotten I'd paid for months ago) and a Kindle bargain after my sister said I had to read it! Probably just as well because I did treat myself to something else un-bookish (sort of) :)

Bought

The Assassin's Blade - Sarah J Maas

Half Bad - Sally Green

The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Kindle Bargain

The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

Kindle Pre-Order

Gilded - Christina Farley

Review - Netgalley

Chasing Stars - Helen Douglas

I was going to try & stay away from Netgalley/Edelweiss for a while as I'm drowning under review copies again but given how much I loved After Eden it would have been rude not to request Chasing Stars, thanks for approving me Bloomsbury!

Bought - Bookish but not a book

Game of Thrones S3 DVD

I wanted this blu-ray version but wasn't about to pay a silly amount of money for five discs, it is pretty though... Also not quite sure how it would fit on the shelf!

Book Haul #63

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews and Letterbox Love is a UK edition hosted by Narratively Speaking. Here we can share what new books we've picked up this past week. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

Another book haul post... My outstanding ability to buy books continues although for once I haven't gone crazy and I do have a few review books as well! I posted my first monthly round-up post on Thursday and whilst I posted links to my book haul posts I didn't say how many books I'd bought. I think maybe I need to name & shame myself and share the total, it could well be the one thing that stops me from hitting buy/download quite so often! And look, Dark Days! After waiting patiently for this one by the lovely Kate Ormand it would have been rude not to get it when it popped up on Edelweiss earlier this week!

Bought

Eric | Sourcery | Mistwalker

Review - Edelweiss/Netgalley

Dark Days | The Night Gardener | The Well's End

Review - from the author

Thrall - Jennifer Quintenz

Review - from Bloomsbury

Mutant City - Steve Feasey

Doesn't that ARC look fantastic? That's the front and back covers for Mutant City, out in May this year. Steve Feasey was looking for volunteers on Twitter to review it and I put my hand up as the synopsis sounds great. Thank you Bloomsbury!

Book Haul #55

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews and Letterbox Love is a UK edition hosted by Narratively Speaking. Here we can share what new books we've picked up this past week. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

So Christmas is a handy time of year for us compulsive book buyers, any parcels that get delivered are - of course! - Christmas presents and most definitely not more books... I'm making the most of it though as I know come January 1st I'm cut off from all the lovely, shiny new books and will instead be reading everything I've bought this year and not got around to! I didn't actually buy many this week but I did order a few from the Book Depository which haven't turned up yet so next week should be a good week :)

Bought

Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug - Chronicles: Art & Design

Kindle

Truly Madly Deadly - Hannah Jayne

Breathe - Sarah Crossan

Crash Into You - Katie McGarry

From Orion

The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales - Kate Mosse

Review - Edelweiss/Netgalley

Black Dog - Rachel Neumeier

The Seers - Julianna Scott

Hang Wire - Adam Christopher

The Islands of Chaldea - Diana Wynne Jones

Sleep No More - Aprilynne Pike

The Murder Complex - Lindsay Cummings

After The End - Amy Plum

Book Haul #53

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted on Tynga's Reviews and Letterbox Love is a UK edition hosted by Narratively Speaking. Here we can share what new books we've picked up this past week. There are also lots of other 'book haul' memes out there for you to choose from!

A real mixed bag this week! The only books I bought were two classics that I wanted needed coveted because they have gorgeous covers. I'm trying to collect various editions of my favorites in both hardcover and paperback so if anyone comes across a pretty hardcover copy of A Room With A View please let me know! Apart from that it was library week where I picked up a mixture of YA and adult horror, sci-fi and fantasy - the Poul Anderson covers for the Operation books make me laugh :) Nothing for my Kindle, not even freebies! I'm definitely practicing for next year and my intention not to get any new books unless I pick up a review copy or two...

Bought

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

A Room with a View - E M Forster

Library

Operation Chaos - Poul Anderson

Operation Luna - Poul Anderson

The Ghost Hunters - Neil Spring

Isabel's Skin - Peter Benson

Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow

The Orphan Choir - Sophie Hannah

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror - Chris Priestley

The Dead Men Stood Together - Chris Priestley

Last Kiss Goodnight - Gena Showalter

vN - Madeline Ashby

The Black Prism - Brent Weeks

Constable & Toop - Gareth P Jones

 What did you get this week?