The Thief of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron

Illustrated by Alessia Trunfio

Book Summary

Welcome to a fantasy world where edible magic is the hottest commodity, traded between those who can pay or - in the case of Jude Ripon, the youngest thief in Farrowfell - those who can steal it!

Twelve-year-old Jude Ripon has never been taken seriously by her family of magic-stealing masterminds. To them, she's just the youngest, only good for keeping watch while they carry out daring heists. Desperate to prove her worth, Jude decides to steal valuable magic from the fanciest house in town . . .

But Jude's stolen prize was protected by a curse which threatens to wreak havoc on the family business. While attempting to untangle the mess she's made (and wondering why anyone would want to curse an honest thief trying to earn a living), Jude discovers just how far her family will go to stay at the top of the criminal world.

Suddenly, her quest to become a true Ripon isn't straightforward any more . . .

Jude is part of the top thieving family in Farrowfell, but as the youngest, she's never really treated as if she belongs. She's determined to prove herself to the rest of the family and show them that she is just as capable as the rest of them.

The book starts with a lovely map that has the most important place at center, the library! And it is just as magical as you would expect, with rooms that can answer every question. The magic system is really unique and interesting, where dangerous raw magic is tamed and made into spells you can eat. You can turn invisible or walk through walls as well as countless other spells. and yes, the yo-yo IS important 😁

Jude is such a great main character, I loved how cool she is no matter who or what she faces. She's so brave and ultimately pretty selfless though I'm sure she would hate for anyone to say that about her! 

Full of suspense and urgency which made me whizz through the book. I thought it had an excellent ending that was fully satisfying but also left me hoping for a sequel. I'd love to read more about Jude and her next adventures.

I've created a Raw Magic Cocktail, though if you've read the book you'll be cautious about drinking it!

In a goblet pour 15ml of creme de poire and top up the glass with prosecco, then add in some edible silver shimmer  and give it a little stir to make it sparkle.

Spotlight on...
The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.  If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website (https://www.foliosociety.com/)!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Today's spotlight is on the 2nd place finalist of last year's BBNYA competition. Add it to your Goodreads shelf here.

Book Summary

Perhaps you know the myths.

Furious, benevolent Gods.

A tree that binds nine realms.

A hammer stronger than any weapon.

And someday, the end of everything.

But few have heard of me.

Looking back, it’s easy to know what choices I might have made differently. At least it feels that way. I might have given up on my title. Told my father he was useless, king of Gods or no, and left Asgard. Made a life somewhere else.

Maybe I would never have let Loki cross my path. Never have fallen in love.

But there’s no going back.

We were happy once.

And the price for that happiness was the end of everything.

Author Bio

Cat Rector grew up in a small Nova Scotian town and could often be found simultaneously reading a book and fighting off muskrats while walking home from school. She devours stories in all their forms, loves messy, morally grey characters, and writes about the horrors that we inflict on each other. After spending nearly a decade living abroad, she returned to Canada with her spouse to resume her war against the muskrats. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing video games, spending time with loved ones, or staring at her To Be Read pile like it's going to read itself. 

Epilogues for Lost Gods is the sequel to her debut novel, The Goddess of Nothing At All.

Find her on Twitter, Tiktok, and Instagram at Cat_Rector. Or visit her website.

The Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore

Book Summary

Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.

Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse. 

Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.

As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.

This was one of my favourite books so far this year. The blurb didn't really give much away as it was quite different to how I expected at first. It's written from the viewpoints of Savana and Jesse and is interspersed with police reports giving some tantalising possible clues into the murder. However, the reader doesn't even really know who died until about halfway through the book.

I really liked the mystery, a lot of things were not as I first assumed and I had to keep guessing and then second-guessing myself! There were all these little tit-bits of clues and I even had to go back and re-read parts of the book to try about work out what really happened. I ended up reading the last half of the book in one go because I just had to know what really happened.

To make a Love and Murder cocktail shake the following ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass: 30ml Campari, 30ml Green Chartreuse, 30ml lime juice, 15ml sugar syrup, pinch of salt.

I must admit to being a little sceptical at first, with this combination of flavours, but it actually works really well. I did substitute Aperol for the Campari as I prefer it and I think it gave a slightly sweeter taste, as well as looking more orange than red.