KJK Reads

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Supernatural Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great first introduction or basic guide to the different types of ghosts around the world. I am interested in the supernatural but am just starting to look deeper into it so I learned a lot of different creatures here. There are some interesting facts here such as being raised in the North East we used to say The Grey Lady ghost was in the school toilets if you called her 3 times in a mirror so it was very interesting to learn that one of the original Grey Ladies is actually from somewhere close to other family members. The images are awesome as they show what these new to me creatures look like and there were quite a few beautiful ones in there. However, I would have liked a pronunciation breakdown after each title.

Rating: 2 Stars  Themes: Retellings Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I have mixed thoughts on this one. On one hand I do appreciate what Birss was trying to do here and some of the stories such as the twist on the Little Mermaid worked quite well in my mind. But others seemed to be too short to have much of an impact with their message and felt a little forced. While I do usually love a good feminist retelling this collection fell short of the mark for me. However, the illustrations were beautiful and it was great to mostly have an original one for each story, with just two sharing an image. Favourite Quote: “I watched my younger sister die in inches, as most women do for the love of an undeserving man. She molded herself in his image, and I lost her for a time.”

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is soo cute and a great way to help teach children about resilience in the face of any of life’s changes. Kit and Amal are both so curious about their new surroundings and apply determination, resilience, and hope to the things around them in an interesting way. The illustrations are great, they’re pretty and vibrant enough to attract children's attention to the details without becoming overwhelming and add to the overall effectiveness of the story.  Favourite Quote: “If you kids can find determination, resilience, and hope, you can handle any change. Good or bad. Big or small"

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Cosy Mystery, Romance Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I read this book as a standalone as an introduction to Walsh’s work and I was not disappointed. The book is a great cozy mystery set in a small town and has both mystery and love throughout in different forms. I loved Shortcake and the unlikely friendship formed with Princess and the strong bonds between the different friends in the story. I also enjoyed the bits of comic relief throughout to diffuse the tension a little such as the bar scene or bits between Shortcake and Princess. The mystery was well developed and it took me quite a while to be able to suss it out, and even then I got the evidence wrong, which I love to do and the details about the Halloween party at the end was a great touch. Favourite Quote: “The murder had shattered the peaceful illusion of small-town safety, but it had also reminded me that I had people I cared about and wh...

Rating:  3 Stars Themes: Novella, Christmas, Suspense, Supernatural  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I’ve never read a holiday supernatural suspense book before so I thought I’d start with a novella to dip my toe in and this book did not disappoint. The setting is so Christmassy that at the beginning waiting for the supernatural to kick in I almost forgot it was coming and then as it started I just needed to know more. Cookie was well developed, I started to really get into it as if I was living the story with her and Thad and Pip were characters I felt a connection with too. I really liked the way in which the story ended although I would have loved to see an epilogue or something to get just that little bit more insight into the ending but maybe that’s just testament to how much I liked the characters. Favourite Quote: “I had told myself when I was a little girl that a shadow can't exist in the light, but I had ...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a real whistlestop tour for becoming less technology dependent. It is extremely brief which can be helpful for those who are intimidated by thick books but want some guidance. There are some really good tips here like avoiding AI and having tech stations. However, some of the tips are quite biased such as taking zoom therapy offline and taking in person jobs while those are essential for some disabled individuals to be able to access them in the first place. While it does acknowledge that there are many who live offline through no choice of their own at the end it doesn’t accept those who like online through similarly uncontrollably circumstances. Favourite Quote: “Rejecting the online world is a privilege Use your power for good.”