Genre: Middle Grade

A #WyrdAndWonder Wednesday | “Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrow” by Peter David

Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2025 by jorielov Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrow, Peter David, Self Published 2 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started hosting blog tours with The Write Reads in 2020 and prior to hosting with Dave (who runs the tours and has built an incredible community of the socially bookish behind it) I was following their feeds via Twitter. I took an unexpected hiatus from hosting their tours until Summer, 2024 wherein I reconnected with Dave and started to get back into the tours as they were available to join. I love finding new Independent publishers as much as I love finding new niches of fiction and Non-Fiction alike in which to absorb a story or style of narrative I haven’t yet come across and through hosting for The Write Reads I am finding my journey of discovery is regularly heightened to travel into new spheres of where story can take us all.

I received a complimentary copy of “Buddy and the Queen of Sorrow” from the author Peter David in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why this particular story impressed me and why I wanted to read it:

I was particularly attached to my stuffies growing up as I believe most children are as they find the comfort and friendship in stuffed animals. I had such a wide variety of stuffies, too, including my teddies – each of them were their own unique personality and had their own distinctive names, too. I still have most of them today – though, sadly, not exactly with me as their packed away. Whilst deciding how to feature the novel socially for the blog tour – I took inspiration by other book bloggers who were showcasing the book alongside their own teddies. And, mine will reflect a new addition to my shelves as well as a few friends who also give me loads of smiles by being present in my readerly life.

The concept of the story is what truly gave me courage to read the novel as I was quite intrigued by how the author set the tone and the narrative to begin. I also knew that he might be mistaken quite a lot for the ‘other’ Peter David of whom I had the pleasure of meeting once at a Trek convention and one of who wrote some of my favourite stories in the world of Trek. I was also wicked happy to find a #newtomeauthor of Middle Grade Fantasy as that is one of my focuses whenever I am seeking out new Fantasy novels to read.

In fact, I try to hone in on new voices in both Middle Grade and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. I have quite a few I’m reading at the moment – leftover from last year when my work hours went bonkers and time elapsed off the clock before I could fully tuck into the stories. Those will be featured in the coming weeks as March starts to arrive and I’m able to finally settle into the novels I received at the close of (2024).

I wasn’t sure what I would find within the pages of Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrow but as I started to read this story, I found it quite wondrous indeed! It is as if David was able to peel back the layers of time and entreat us all a reprised visitation to our own childhood wherein toys and stuffies and teddies occupied our hours with endless imagined play and the curious adventures we took them as we lived our lives. It is a testament to the joy of being a child whilst firmly still embracing the innocence of childhood as an adult, too. It has poetry and lyrical prose as much as it has heartwarming sequences of brave courage. There is a bit of everything in this novel but what leaves you the most JOY of all is having taken the journey David envisioned us all to undertake. And, that is the best blessing of all, truly.

I found a particularly wicked good interview with Peter David about this novel, too!

Buddy the Knight and the Queen of Sorrow
by Peter David
Source: Author via The Write Reads

Buddy is no ordinary teddy bear.

He’s a Knight, crafted by The Nameless Wizard himself, and sworn to protect his Person, 10-year old Mieya, from all the Things-That-Go-Bump-In-The-Night.

When Mieya is cursed into a magical sleep, it’s up to Buddy and his friends Esteban the Bard, Sasha the Warrior-Princess, and Copper the Butterfly to journey across The Realm-Under-The-Bed and find the one responsible.

But this is no ordinary Quest. The Realm is a dangerous place, filled with jungles, deserts, lightning storms, and Monsters. But worst of all is The Queen of Sorrow who waits for them in her dark castle in the crags. To break her curse, Buddy will need more than his skill with a blade, Esteban’s witty songs, or Sasha’s ferocious might.

He’ll need Heart.

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, Fantasy Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 979-8227115102

Published by Self Published

on 30th August, 2024

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 168

About Peter David

A native son of Massachusetts, Peter has been living in the Deep South for over 25 years. By day, he’s an insurance professional, saving the world one policy at a time. But at night, well, no one really wants to see him fighting crime in his Spider-Man onesie.

Instead, Peter develops new worlds of adventure influenced by his love of science fiction, mysteries, music and fantasy. Whether it’s running role-playing games for his long-time friends, watching his beloved New England sporting teams vie for another championship, or just chilling with a movie, his wife, two boys, one puppy and three cats, Peter’s imagination is always on the move. It’s the reason why his stories are an eclectic blend of intrigue, excitement, humor and magic, drawn from four decade’s worth of television, film, novels and comic books.

Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2025 by jorielov in #EnterTheFantastic, #TheWriteReads, #WyrdAndWonder Wednesday, 21st Century, Animals in Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Children's Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade Novel, Modern Day, Organised Blog Tours, Portal Fantasy, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Supernatural Creatures & Beings, Supernatural Fiction, Witches and Warlocks

A #SciFiMonth Inner Space Odyssey Book Review | “The Heart of the Uni-verse” by S.D. Henke

Posted Monday, 13 January, 2025 by jorielov S.D. Henke, SDH Publishing, Self Published, The Heart of the Uni-verse 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I’ve been wanting to read this lovely novel for the past year, as I received it ahead of #SciFiMonth in (2023) and had fully intended to either read it ahead or feature it during the event itself. Due to various reasons, I was delayed, and my review was pushed forward until now. The author reached out to me via my Review Policy page, and I was truly grateful they had as it was a different kind of story and format of a book, and I was most eager to read it. I am hoping by featuring it this year during #SciFiMonth other readers might give it a chance to leave an impression on them as well.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Heart of the Uni-verse” direct from the author S.D. Henke in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

An apology to the author for taking a bit longer to read this lovely story:

I had fully intended to read this lovely story closer to the time it arrived by Post, however, as it turnt out, the best timing for me was this #SciFiMonth instead. Everything was going fine, too, as I was hugged so dearly close into the story and appreciating the diversions of where the poetry moved along in sync with the journey we were undertaking with Pi. Then, of course, the events I mentioned on a book spotlight happened and I expanded what was going on personally in my life on The Sunday Post. To put it simply, I lost my footing with my final reads of #SciFiMonth and had to redivert my attention into reading by selecting some #cloakanddaggerchristmas reads (such as Prison Break Hostage) instead as well as some INSPY Contemporary Romances (such as The Doctor’s Christmas Dilemma) to put me back on track!

By the time I *finally!* realigned into the novel, it was a breath of fresh air as I truly loved the uniqueness of how its told and the style in which it was written. Thereby, I truly apologise to the author for taking a heap longer to read this novel than originally intended. I can honestly say, the times I’ve spent inside the story were wicked brilliant and I definitely look forward to seeing more stories by Henke now that I firmly have a grasp on her artfulness of storycrafting!

The Heart of the Uni-verse
by S.D. Henke
Source: Direct from Author

PI confronts the everyday trials of an eleven-year-old grappling with the complexities of life, family, and friends, and the prospects of losing it all in a heartbeat as he faces his third and final round of open-heart surgery for a congenital defect. Struggling with the family dynamics of his exhausted mother, his deployed military father, and his declining grandfather, BIG PAW, Pi feels as if his life is spiraling out of control.

When it’s announced that his school will host the 3M contest an idea to alter his misfortunes springs into action. Pi sees this as his chance to change the course of his life. There’s just one problem, only eligible 6th-grade students are allowed to enter, and although he should be in 6th grade based on his age, he was held back a year due to his health condition. Crushed by the news that his dream could be foiled by the limits of space and time, he and his friends concoct a plan that can take them to the stage of the national science contest.

Other things are changing for him as well as he navigates a budding new friendship with a sixth-grade girl, CEYLAN who has offered to enter the contest for him. With the added moral support of his best friend JAMAL, and the solace he’s found in science, Pi sees his own cosmic connection with the power of positive thinking as a path to help heal the hole in his heart.

Pi and his friends enter the contest and work together to bring ‘Mind Matters’ into the scientific spotlight. The evidence rests in the countdown toward Pi’s impending surgery. On top of that, the changes in Pi’s grandfather are taking a turn for the worse as Pi watches him drift away in direct conflict with what he is working to achieve.

Meanwhile, his own timer is up with his deployed father’s scheduled homecoming and the surgery moving ahead as planned. Pi is out of time and out of hope and failure seems to be allied with his everyday reality. Just when he thinks he has no other option than to give up, his own efforts to promote the positive has left an impact and his friends and his grandfather step up to show him that “Mind Matters” really do matter.

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, Poetry & Drama, Science Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781738125401

Published by Self Published

on 10th April, 2023

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 241

Published By: SDH Publishing / Self Published

Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #SciFiMonth

This story took the award for BEST Science Fiction.
(Middle Grade Science Fiction)

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Sci Fi November 2024

Posted Monday, 13 January, 2025 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Review (non-blog tour), Children's Literature, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, Literature for Boys, Middle Grade Novel, Modern Day, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Reading Challenges, School Life & Situations, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction

#TheWriteReads blog tour celebrating A NEW #MiddleGrade Heroine | Introducing “The Legendary Mo Seto” by A.Y. Chan

Posted Tuesday, 24 December, 2024 by jorielov A.Y. Chan, Aladdin Books, Simon & Schuster, The Legendary Mo Seto 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started to notice I was receiving quite a few enquiries on my blog the last few months – in respect, to authors reaching out to me directly about reviewing their novels and one publicity firm I hadn’t worked with in the past as well. Ms Chan was the first author I responded back positively towards because of the note she attached to her query and how much the story itself resonated with me as a reader. I appreciate writers and/or publicists who take the time to look over my blog and know if their story and/or characters will be a good fit for me as a reader. I knew from what she shared with me; this particular story would be right up my street so to speak.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Legendary Mo Seto” direct from the author A.Y. Chan in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why this particular story impressed me and why I wanted to read it:

I have had a long-held fascination and interest in Martial Arts – from the days wherein I practiced and trained in Tai Chi Chaun to the hours I’ve spent watching television series and/or movies which had a focus on Martial Arts, too. It isn’t often I find a writer who will put those elements into their stories or a grounding presence of Martial Arts as an important part of their character(s) lives, too. From that aspect of the novel, I was fully hooked and invested in curiosity to read the story! I wanted to know more about Mo Seto right away and find out what fuelled her passion for not just the practice of learning Martial Arts but the competitive side of her character as well.

However, there was a hint of a hidden secret history about her family and that out of her own courage to pursue the truth, she would find a lot to be revealled. From that angle of it, I was most intrigued, too. The last time I saw a story cleverly hide a family history secret was when I was watching the first season of Ms. Marvel and it truly captured my imagination. I need to follow-up with that series and see if they produced a second series, but I wasn’t sure if they would as the lead character was showcased in the film The Marvels.

The fact this novel was written for a Middle Grade audience also was well timed for me to read it – as I’ve been wanting to re-focus more on my readerly interests in both MG Lit and YA Lit – especially over the course of Summer. I had this idea to focus on YA Reads over Summer for quite a few years but either the intensity of storms (ie. severe lightning) would kick me offline or life would interfere, and I’d lose the hours to read the stories themselves – something always seemed to distract me from my efforts every Summer, until now. Mostly as our weather patterns are changing and the storms seem to be coming closer to the end of Summer than at the start of it, too.

I also love finding new heroines and heroes to champion in Middle Grade – especially when I find a book for MG Readers which is lovingly written for an MG Audience and isn’t writ too adult or with inclusions which would make it more Upper YA than Middle Grade. That seems to be the case a lot of the times these days in publishing and that is why I love celebrating writers who still keep the innocence and the adventure alive and well for the audience in which they are writing for rather than rushing ahead with more adult themes or content that isn’t always (I feel) suited for that audience. We all have to grow up eventually but sometimes I think we forget that there is something special and beautiful about still allowing kids to have wicked fun with their imaginations with stories that don’t have to make them feel like they need to hasten their own journey into adulthood.

The Legendary Mo Seto
by A.Y. Chan
Source: Direct from Author

Mo Seto, martial arts movie star! Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? If only there wasn’t a height restriction to audition. But 12-year-old Modesty (Mo) Seto has never let her height get in the way before, not when she became a black belt, or when she fought the meanest boy in her class, and she’s not going to let it stop her this time! Now if only she can figure out a way to grow five inches and fool everyone at the auditions… Join Mo on an adventure (and audition) of a lifetime and find out if powerful things really do come in small packages!

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, Martial Art History

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781665937320

Also by this author: The Legendary Mo Seto

on 4th June, 2024

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 320

Published by: Aladdin Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Follow @SimonTeen (via Instagram)

Posted Tuesday, 24 December, 2024 by jorielov in 21st Century, Book Review (non-blog tour), California, Children's Literature, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Equality In Literature, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Geographically Specific, Martial Arts, Middle Grade Novel, Modern Day, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Taekwondo

#TheWriteReads Blog Book Tour during #SciFiMonth | Introducing “Skyfleet” (March of the Mutabugs) by Victoria Williamson a new #MiddleGrade Sci-Fi adventure!

Posted Tuesday, 26 November, 2024 by jorielov Andrews UK Limited, Skyfleet, Tiny Tree Books, Victoria Williamson 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I started hosting blog tours with The Write Reads in 2020 and prior to hosting with Dave (who runs the tours and has built an incredible community of the socially bookish behind it) I was following their feeds via Twitter. I took an unexpected hiatus from hosting their tours until this Summer, 2024 wherein I reconnected with Dave and started to get back into the tours as they were available to join. I love finding new Independent publishers as much as I love finding new niches of fiction and Non-Fiction alike in which to absorb a story or style of narrative I haven’t yet come across and through hosting for The Write Reads I am finding my journey of discovery is regularly heightened to travel into new spheres of where story can take us all.

I received a complimentary copy of “Skyfleet” from the author Victoria Williamson in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I am wicked thrilled to say, I have a lovely new release to share during #SciFiMonth this year which tackles a subject in clear view of a category of stories that befits the idea of ‘outside my comfort zones’ as it involves BUGS. I foolishly thought the bugs were altered bugs or alien bugs or some kind of bug I’ve NEVER heard of previously – never in my life did I once think that the ‘mutabugs’ in the story were actually mutated *cockroaches!* (shudders) I’m not sure about you – but for me personally? Next to spiders, those are my least favourite bug to encounter! Ick.

I felt this was also a keenly insightful story which can resonate with readers who are also interested in Cli-Fi and Environmental stories in Science Fiction. As even though the climate of this world was suddenly altered through radiation, the radiation itself stole the natural environment of its own kind of harmonic cycles of life. As described by Williamson in the story as altering the life of the plants and insects – I oft wondered if other aspects of this world were also keenly altered by the crash and the aftereffects of having that kind of radioactive presence so volatile and near communities where settlers were resettling? Those were the kinds of thoughts running through my mind as I first entered the story and was eager to see where Williamson would take the story. Would she address those other concerns or just focus on the mutabugs?

This novel arrived with a full ‘reader’s kit’ by the author – who graced us with our own miniature plane, set of non-radiated seeds (as food in this world is scarce since the meteor strike!) and a whole bunch of lovely surprises! Mind you, I could have survived without finding the little bag of ‘bugs’ included by I understood why they were present. I’m just not a ‘bug kind of gal’ and that little bag was hiding in the kit so when I pulled it out – I admit, it gave me half a fright!

Being a part of this blog tour was a blast – I look forward to sharing photos of what I received on my #bookstagram feeds as I share this review socially. I truly appreciate the time and energy the author put into giving us all a wicked good #bookpost in celebration of the book’s release and of spending time tucked into her story. If you know of a reader who loves bugs and planes and children who have the courage to stand up to adults – this is definitely a story, you’ll want them to read!

As you’ll find on my review below – it was a wicked good read and one that you can easily do in one sitting as the story is fast paced and has an ending that you’ll have to read to believe!

Skyfleet
Subtitle: March of the Mutabugs
by Victoria Williamson
Source: Author via The Write Reads

When the skies turn deadly, a young heroine must rise from the ashes...

Twelve-year-old Amberley Jain has faced incredible challenges since the crash that took her parents and paralysed her legs. Now, with her best friend Ricardo Lopez about to be sent away and a swarm of mutated insects closing in on the Skyfleet base, the stakes have never been higher. Something monstrous is driving the mutabugs north from the contaminated meteor site known as the Cauldron, and the only plane capable of stopping it - the Firehawk - lies in pieces in the hangar.

Determined to honour her parents' legacy, Amberley hatches a daring plan. With Ricardo's help, they stow away on a supply train, trading his most treasured possession for the parts needed to repair the Firehawk. After secret test flights, the legendary jet is ready for action. Now, Amberley and Ricardo must confront the deadly swarm and save their home, discovering their inner strength and the true meaning of friendship along the way.

Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs is a thrilling tale of adventure and resilience, perfect for middle-grade readers.

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade, Science Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1837917044

Published by Tiny Tree Books

on 24th October, 2024

Format: Paperback Edition

Pages: 198

Published by: Tiny Tree Books (@tinytreebooks) via Insta

an imprint of Andrews UK Limited

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #MGLit, #MiddleGrade
as well as #TheWriteReads & #Skyfleet and #SciFiMonth

About Victoria Williamson

Victoria Williamson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi.

As well as degrees in Physics and Mandarin Chinese, she has completed a Masters degree in Special Needs in Education. In the UK she works as a primary school special needs teacher, working with children with a range of additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities and behavioural problems.

She is currently working as a full-time writer of Middle Grade and YA contemporary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs of the children she has worked with and building inclusive worlds where all children can see a reflection of themselves in heroic roles.

Victoria’s experiences teaching young children in a school with many families seeking asylum inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glaswegian bully Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | LibraryThing

Posted Tuesday, 26 November, 2024 by jorielov in #TheWriteReads, Blog Tour Host, Cli-Fi, Climate Change, Dystopian, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Science Fiction

#BookSpotlight for #TheWriteReads | A wicked new Middle Grade novel: “Terra Electrica” (The Guardians of the North, Book One) by Antonia Maxwell

Posted Sunday, 27 October, 2024 by jorielov Antonia Maxwell, Neem Tree Press, Terra Electrica, The Guardians of the North series 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I apologise I am a bit behind with my blog this week – as I had a wreck of a week in some respects as exhaustion took over before the mid-point. I also didn’t have my usual schedule of hours and as I was filling in for different people on some of my shifts and extending my shifts on multiple days, you could say the week got the better of me and my blog suffered a bit as a result as I fell off my schedule for sharing posts – both for The Write Reads and for Spooktastic Reads.

I was hoping my copy of “Terra Electrica” was going to arrive by Post, as I was expecting a review copy by mail – however, it never arrived and thereby, I fetched the ebook copy which was given to members of the blog tour as I wanted to sample the story in order to write a spotlight on its behalf. What really drew me into wanting to read this novel was the fact it was written for the Middle Grade audience, focuses on the Environment and has a very convicting premise which I felt was a good starting point for IRL discussions with children about the state of our Environmental issues and the concerns we all have for the health of the planet and what we can actively do to help even as everyday citizens.

I’ve been interested in the ecological health of our environs since I was a young girl. The biggest impact on me as a child was the film “Medicine Man”. And, a visiting Environmentalist in the fifth grade who first opened my eyes to the global impact of the environment and how globally we’re all in this together. This was long before they started calling it Climate Change and the effects of humans on the interworking environments around the world and how our choices in energy and consumption of energy is costing a heavy price on our air and the quality of life. And, of course it is much more complicated than that, too, and involves a lot more than just energy – but I didn’t want to get into everything all at once and decided to just focus on mentioning energy which is one of the top issues we have right now.

Except to say, for the polar ice caps on the brink of melting has been a mainstay of concern since I was growing up, too. The sea levels rising as a result of a major melt has been a huge concern especially for certain states which sit below sea level right now as it were and how that impact of erasure would have on the United States as a whole as there would be missing parts of our country once the sea rises to the point where parts of the land would outright disappear beneath the new levels of the sea. It gives you pause to think about the wider issues rises in sea levels would have on a global scale as much as what would happen if all the ice melts? What other imbalances and changes would that cause globally as well?

Thereby whenever I can find an Environmental focused story – especially in MG or YA literature, I am definitely the reader who is excited about that kind of story. Therefore, someday I do hope to have a copy of this novel to read but until then, I am happily spotlighting it to help promote the book and maybe encourage others to seek it out too!

Terra Electrica
Subtitle: The Guardians of the North : Book One
by Antonia Maxwell
Source: Publisher via The Write Reads

This is the first novel in an action-packed dystopian adventure series set in the near-future post-melt Arctic.

The last ice cap has melted, and the world is on the brink of collapse. A deadly force—Terra Electrica—has been unleashed. It feeds on electricity. It is infecting civilization.

In this chaotic, rapidly changing reality, 12-year-old Mani has lost her family and community to the Terra Electrica. Armed only with some ancestral wisdom and a powerful, ancient wooden mask she was never meant to inherit so soon, she suddenly finds herself responsible for the fate of the world.

Can Mani piece everything together and harness her newfound powers in time to save humanity?

Genres: Children's Literature, Middle Grade

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1915584113

Published by Neem Tree Publishing

on 4th July, 2024

Format: epub | PDF editon

Published by: Neem Tree Press | Follow via Insta (@neemtreepress)
an imprint of Unbound Publishing

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #MGLit, #MiddleGrade
as well as #TheWriteReads & #TerraElectrica

About Antonia Maxwell

Antonia Maxwell is a writer and editor based in North Essex and Cambridge, UK. With a degree in Modern Languages and a long-standing career as a book editor, she has a lifelong curiosity for language and words, and a growing fascination in the power of story – the way it shapes our lives and frames our experience.

Posted Sunday, 27 October, 2024 by jorielov in #TheWriteReads, Blog Tour Host, Cli-Fi, Climate Change, Dystopian, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Science Fiction