I Love Spring Book Tag

First of all, thanks to Ashlee on Books Are 42 (what a great blog name!) for the tag, check out her answers here. I really wanted to make sure I got this one out while it was still spring and I'm done with just one day to spare 😁 It was created by Helene Jeppesen and as spring is almost over I won't tag anyone but feel free to have a go if you want!

How is spring where you live?

Here you can get all four seasons in Spring, sometimes even in one day! Gorgeous sunshine, miserable rain, fog, rainbows, we even had snow some years.

Most anticipated book release this spring?

I got my pre-order of Mina and the Cult by Amy McCaw which I am really looking forward to reading. Doesn't it look gorgeous along with the rest of the series???

Show us a book cover that makes you think of spring

Alyssa and the Spell Garden by Alexandra Sheppard. I haven't read this one yet but it's so pretty, definitely a nice flowery spring cover.

Where are you going to read this spring?

Depends on the weather but if it's sunny then I like to read on my balcony with a nice cocktail 💖

Find a cover with the sun on it

This was a tough one, I seem to have countless books with the moon but the sun was pretty rare. After scouring my shelves I eventually found Secrets of the Sun King by Emma Carroll. I read it ages ago but I remember it was soooo good!

What are your favourite spring reads?

I don't have anything particular I like to read in Spring, I just read a mixture of books all year round, I'm not really one for particular seasonal books.

Find a book with many different colours on it.

Black Hole Cinema Club by Christopher Edge. I thought of this one immediately when I saw this prompt.

 Spotlight on...
Ghosts of Mars by Stuart White

This book was the 7th place finalist in the 2023 BBNYA competition. Find it on Goodreads here. For more information on the BBNYA competition, you can find details at the end of the post. 

Book Summary

Mars. 2045. 13-year-old Eva is the first Martian.

And world famous on two planets!

Fame, Type 1 diabetes and a sarcastic AI companion haunt her, but when her dad goes missing on the red planet, she must overcome the 'Ghosts of Mars' to save him.

The Martian for middle-grade, full of science, friendship and adventure, with elements of The Sword in the Stone.

Author Bio

Stuart is an award-winning author and secondary school teacher. He has a Masters Degree in Creative Writing and founded, and now runs, WriteMentor. In 2020 and 2022 he was placed on the SCWBI Undiscovered Voices longlist and named as an Hononary Mention for his novels ‘Ghosts of Mars’ and ‘Astra FireStar and the Ripples of Time’. In 2023, he won the WriteBlend award for his middle grade debut, Ghosts of Mars.

Stuart was included in The Bookseller’s 2021 list of Rising Stars in the publishing industry.

About BBNYA

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 want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website or take a peek over on 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!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green

This is a compilation of lots of different stories set in Japan. I haven't finished them all yet but have been dipping in and reading the ones whose titles caught my eye. For that reason this is more of a spotlight than a full review but I'll write one when I do finish!

My favourite so far was Swirl, about a woman whose late husband won a haiku competition and what that leads her to discover. This was quite uplifting! However the very first story, Swallows, actually made me feel a little sad and I was disappointed with the slightly abrupt ending.

Book Summary

Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction.

In an innovative, fast-paced company, a man’s job comes under threat when a team of robots are brought in to replace the HR department. A husband’s search for shortcuts to his domestic tasks goes painfully wrong. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a foreigner takes a weekend break and discovers something other than solitude in the mountains.

Marking Christopher Green’s debut adult fiction and inspired by his own experiences, these whimsical slice-of-life tales are full of heart and humour—perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Author Bio

A long-time resident of Japan, Christopher lives near Tokyo with his wife and daughter. Christopher writes short stories and children's stories. His first collection of short stories Takeout Sushi is due for publication by Neem Tree Press in May 2024.

For a little more about Christopher and his books, please visit www.greeninjapan.com

Lively Lila: A Dance of Happy Discovery by Ben Levey

Lila is fun and imaginative and every day is a new adventure for her. She might not always feel the same as everyone else but she doesn't let that stop her living her life!

There's so much information packed into this fun story. The rhyming words sound musical, living up to the title of a happy dance.

Book Summary

Step into Lila’s whirlwind world in A Dance of Happy Discovery

Embrace Lila’s unique sparkle as she twirls through life’s ups and downs with ADHD, showing us all how to love who we truly are.

Young readers, prepare to be dazzled by this exciting adventure that’s bursting with boldness, bravery, and the fun of being different.

Dive into Lila’s story and uncover a tale that’s all about standing strong, letting your creativity fly, and celebrating the superhero within!

Author Bio

Ben Levey is originally a Chartered Project Manager in the construction industry from East London, but he has tapped into his love for the creative world through his fashion brand and now, children’s books.

I've made a Happy Happy Cocktail, I ran out of triple sec so substituted with blue curacao which gave the cocktail this cool colour. I took the photo before stirring but please stir before drinking!

60ml vodka, 30ml triple sec (or other orange liqueur), 150ml orange juice. Fill a rocks glass with ice, pour all the ingredients in and give it a stir.

Spotlight on...
Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C Wilson

Book Summary

Queen Clytemnestra's world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself.

Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten, once more, to destroy the family Clytemnestra loves.

From one of Greek mythology's most reviled characters—a woman who challenged the absolute power of men—comes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother's burning love.

Author Bio

Susan C Wilson is a working-class Scottish writer. Her lifelong passion for ancient Greece was ignited as a child by stumbling across stories of gods and heroes in the dictionary. She loves to explore what makes us human: the eternal motivations, desires and instincts that cross time and place.

She has a degree in journalism from Napier University and, in preparation for writing her novels, gained a diploma in classical studies from the Open University. Clytemnestra’s Bind, her debut novel, was long-listed for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2019. It is the first in The House of Atreus trilogy and will be published by Neem Tree Press in June 2023.