I’m out of media storage unless I pay for it which isn’t an option, so I’m hopping on over to Blogger! You can find me here: https://bellisdoesbooks.blogspot.com Hope to see you there ..read more

I was sent a free e-book of this for work purposes, but then bought the physical copy and its sequel. I was under no obligation to review and all views and opinions are our own. The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Rise of the Zombie Pigs by Emily-Jane Clark, illustrated by Jeff Crowther, published by Scholastic The first thing you should know about Knobbly Bottom is that “it is a village, not a bum.” And despite it being a seemingly boring, sleepy village in the countryside, it’s particularly susceptible to being threatened by terrible creatures… I first read ‘Attack of the Vampire Sheep’ as an ebo ..read more

I was lucky enough to receive an early proof of this in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. Marnie Midnight and the Moon Mystery by Laura Ellen Anderson, published by Farshore Having loved Laura Ellen Anderson’s Rainbow Grey books and what I’ve read of Amelia Fang, I knew I’d be in for a treat here and I wasn’t wrong! This time, Laura has turned her incredible imagination to the world of minibeasts, with main characters Marnie (a moth), Floyd (an A not a bee) and Star (an ant) starting Minibeast Academy for the first time. Marnie is desperate to learn more about ..read more

I received a free early copy of this from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. Isaac Turner Investigates: The Clockwork Conspiracy by Sam Sedgman, cover design by Tom Clohosy Cole published by Bloomsbury I love the Adventures on Trains books (you can read my reviews of most of them here, here, here, here and here if you haven’t read them yet!) so I was super excited when I heard co-author of this series, Sam Sedgman, had his own new mystery adventure coming out. The Clockwork Conspiracy is a high octane, science-fuelled adventure whose main chara ..read more

I requested and received a free copy of this from the publishers, and have bought my own copy too. The Ice Children by MG Leonard, illustrated by Penny Neville-Lee, published by Macmillan A modern twist on Hans Christian-Andersen’s Snow Queen with a misunderstood winter queen,  an environmental slant, an absolutely magical winter wonderland and a mystery to solve – this is a perfect winter read which sees MG Leonard’s knack for mystery adventure writing move into the world of fairy tale and fantasy brilliantly. The opening to this book immediately draws you in and had me hooked: Finn is ..read more

I received a free proof copy of this, but will be buying the finished book. All views and opinions are my own. The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton As soon as I heard about this I knew it was one I would love – a northern, verse novel following Nate through a difficult final year of primary school. And sure enough, love it I did. It’s likely to be in my favourite books of the year. Both beautiful and believable, this is a book that made me both laugh and cry. For the first time since nursery Nate and best friend PS are in different classes and they’ve drifted apa ..read more

The Raven’s Song by Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble, cover by Joanna Hunt and Sheila Smallwood, published by Old Barn Books I absolutely adore this book, which I read when it came out in hardback last year – you can read my review of it here. It’s a wonderful blend of folkloric magical realism, cautionary environmental messages, scientific advances and fierce family bonds and friendships from two of my favourite authors. It was one of those books where so much about it got me thinking and I just knew I had more questions to ask. Luckily Bren and Zana very kindly agreed to answer them for me ..read more

I was lucky enough to be sent a free copy of this in exchange for a review. All views and opinions are my own. The Wild by Yuval Zommer, published by Oxford Children’s I always love Yuval Zommer’s playful, expressive illustrations and the way his love of the natural world shines through them so when I was invited to be part of the blog tour for this, his latest book, I jumped at the chance. And nowhere is this love of nature more evident than in The Wild. A cautionary yet hopeful tale of caring for our planet, standing up for your beliefs and the power of working together, this is a much-need ..read more

I was lucky enough to request and receive a free copy of this. All views and opinions are my own. Foxlight by Katya Balen, illustrated by Barry Falls, published by Bloomsbury. This was a wonderful surprise parcel to open, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time; Finishing Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year (review here) recently sent me down a David Almond rabbit hole – I listened AGAIN to both Skellig and My Name is Mina, as well as The Colour of the Sun and – new to me – Heaven Eyes. And in the midst of this dream-like spree full of wonder at the natural world, absent mothers and childr ..read more

I was lucky enough to request and receive an early copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All views and opinions are my own. This is one of the funniest books I’ve read in ages (not least because Earle has taken the Earle-Montgomery Twitter Croc-gate to the page ) and in a time when it seems compulsory for all teen/YA to be romance, crime, fantasy or a combination of the three it was hugely refreshing too. OK, this is sort of a love story, but it’s a fairly one-sided one, and while some of the moves Marv makes, on the advice of Yorkshire’s Otis Redding (yeah, you read that right), are ..read more