Review: Sanctuary of the Shadow, by Aurora Ascher

28th March 2024 | Hardback | Bantam | £18.99

Enter the circus at your own risk… and discover the greatest show on earth in this explosive

and darkly magical fantasy novel.

For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, it’s a place to hide

from those who slaughtered her entire clan. Disguising her abilities as part of her act has kept her

true identity safe for years.

Until he arrives.

A strange new attraction with no name, no memory of who – or even what – he is, let alone an explanation for his odd yet deadly powers. But beneath the layers of anger and isolation, one

glimpse into his inky eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in her own.
And so, she chooses him.

Harrow is drawn to the darkness, to her insatiable need to soothe the beast who threatens their very existence. But with every secret she unlocks from his past, another from hers is revealed – luring

enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s afraid she’s given

them the perfect weapon against her because he’s not what he seems.

But maybe it’s time they finally learn neither is she…

Continue reading “Review: Sanctuary of the Shadow, by Aurora Ascher”

Review: The Rabbits, by A.A. Milne

Publication date November 2023
Price £9.99
ISBN-13 978178842459

Description
The adventures of a group of friends, pre-war, with far too much time on their hands. The Rabbits, as they call themselves, are Archie Mannering, his
sister Myra, Samuel Simpson, Thomas of the Admiralty, Dahlia Blair and the narrator, with occasional guests. Their conversation is almost entirely frivolous, their activity vacillates between immensely energetic and happily lazy, and their social mores are surprisingly progressive.

Originally published as sketches in Punch, the Rabbits’ escapades are a charming portrait of middle-class antics on the brink of being shattered by World War I, and fail entirely to take themselves seriously.

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Review: Girl Unmasked, by Emily Katy

Publication date Thursday, March
28, 2024
Price £18.99
EAN\ISBN-13 9781800961395
Hardback
288 pages

Description

To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different.
As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked is the extraordinary story of how she got there – and how she very nearly didn’t.

Still only 21, Emily writes with startling candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive.

In this simple but powerful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily came to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had once been failed.

Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked is a remarkable insight into what it can be like to be autistic – and shows us that through understanding and embracing difference we can all find ways to thrive.

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Review: Captain Vlad and the Mary Rose, by Kate and Sam Cunningham

Formats available: Paperback
First published: 01/04/24
Series: A Flea in History
ISBN: 9780993338237

Description

King Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose, is sailing to Portsmouth to stop a French invasion. This should be the easy part of the journey, but for Captain Vlad flea and his crew of rats, the humans and their pets create dangers on every deck.

Join Vlad and Roxton rat as they work out how to avoid Hatch the dog and the Captain Carew’s hawk.

This book has been written and illustrated using the artefacts, research and knowledge of the experts of the Mary Rose Trust. It is a fun way to find out about Tudor ships and what it was like to live on board one of Henry’s fleet.

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