Spotlight on...
Arvia: Wings of the Wild by D. H. Willison

Today's spotlight is book 4 of the Tales of Arvia series. It's full of magical creatures and was just released on 22nd November 2023. Find it on Goodreads.

Book Summary

It’s easy to stand up for your friends. What about for anonymous creatures nobody else cares about?

With their homes apparently safe from the magical storms, Darin and Rinloh venture to an isolated elven village and another ancient mystery: ruins of an imperial city whose entire population vanished centuries ago.

The duo befriend a host of eccentric new characters, from a chipper ogress and hipster troll to a deadpan griffin. Yet the Forest of Nightmares challenges them as never before. Merciless carnivorous trees, subterranean horrors, ethereal creatures no mortal weapon can slay… and most sinister of all, the greed and ambition lurking within the human heart.

Darin and Rinloh’s empathic connection grows stronger the deeper into the wilderness they go, but will it be enough to stop a dark conspiracy from ravaging the land?

Arvia: Wings of the Wild challenges the harpy-human duo with their grandest adventure yet. They must balance their deepening relationship as they sharpen their skills and work together as never before to unravel a deadly new plot.

Author Bio

D.H. Willison is a reader, writer, game enthusiast and developer, engineer, and history buff. He’s lived or worked in over a dozen countries, learning different cultures, viewpoints, and attitudes, which have influenced his writing, contributing to one of his major themes: alternate and creative conflict resolution. The same situations can be viewed by different cultures quite differently. Sometimes it leads to conflict, sometimes to hilarity. Both make for a great story.

He’s also never missed a chance to visit historic sites, from castle dungeons, to catacombs, to the holds of tall ships, to the tunnels of the Maginot Line. It might be considered research, except for the minor fact that his tales are all set on the whimsical and terrifying world of Arvia. Where giant mythic monsters are often more easily overcome with empathy than explosions.

Subscribe to his newsletter for art, stories, and humorous articles (some of which are actually intended to be humorous).

Mix & Match 15

The weather lately has been pretty horrendous so I've made a Dark & Stormy cocktail to drink while you look through today's selection. I've got a real mix this time, from picture book to non fiction to novels.

Fill a tall glass with ice and add 50ml dark rum and 15ml lime juice. Top with ginger beer and enjoy.

Tapper Watson and the Quest for the Nemo Machine by Claire Fayers

Tapper loves adventure stories but really has no wish to live them himself. He's much happier at home, reading about his favourite hero, Isosceles. Of course, this all changes when he's sent to help some merchants with a delivery by submarine.

I thought this book had really great characters, but I must admit Morse was my favourite. The tapping Erisian Danger Plant had me smiling throughout the book, with its cheeky messages and always wanting to help everyone. I loved all the amazing worlds and the fascinating echolings, created from people's memories. And there were so many unexpected twists, the book was action-packed.

The use of the rivers of the underworld from Greek mythology was really clever, how it varied for each of the different nations. Every world had their own version of how the rivers fit into their origin myth. 

It sounds like this will be a series and I really hope so. I'd love to read more from Tapper, Fern and hopefully also Morse!

Can You See the Stars Tonight? by Anna Terreros-Martin

Nora and her puffin find a lost baby puffling (the cutest name for a baby animal ever!) and realise that many are getting lost because the can't see the moon and the stars any more. This has really adorable illustrations and a very important story that we can all learn from.

The Disappearing Diamond by Glen Blackwell

Emmie and Jack are sent to 1851 by a mysterious stranger. The Koh-i-Noor diamond has disappeared from the present and they must find out what happened to it in the past!

I don't know how they were supposed to know what to do, they were given absolutely no information! But somehow the two manage to find themselves at the Crystal Palace and discover the the diamond being stolen. Luckily they make some friends that can help them along the way. I liked reading about Victorian London and the Great Exhibition.

This was the second book in the series but even though I hadn't read book one, it didn't really affect the reading too much. It has made me curious about the previous books involving the Titanic and the Blitz. They both sound so interesting and take place in such fascinating time periods!

Biology: The Whole Story by Lindsay Turnbull

I love science books and this one was so easy to read with lots of fascinating subjects, written in a very accessible way.

This really is the whole story, from bacteria and eukaryotes all the way up to ecology and how different species in ecosystems work together. Including the dangers of interfering and affecting the delicate natural balance. The colourful illustrations help to explain the concepts.

Shiver Point: It Came From The Woods by Gabriel Dylan

As you probably all know by now, middle grade is my favourite and I do love a good spooky book. So this was not one I would miss out on.

To me, Shiver Point sounded like a perfectly creepy town, complete with an eerie forest, but the kids who live there are all so convinced that their town is terminally boring that they can't believe what's actually happening.

I liked getting the story from all the different kids' points of Views. They are all very different but at the same time have something in common and I was really hoping for them to get together and be a monster hunting gang!

Lots of mystery and action and I will never look at slugs the same way again!