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Blog Tour Review - Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt

 Blog Tour Review - Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt In the quaint German town of Fels, Halloween takes a dark turn for eleven-year-old Jo when her annoying older brother, Hektor, goes missing. Jo suspects he's playing a prank, but then both her father and grandma forget Hektor's name, and his stuff mysteriously disappears from his room. With the adults of no help whatsoever, Jo starts her own investigation and uncovers a gruesome legend: A monster lives in the rye fields and it has been preying on the children of Fels for centuries, ensnaring them into its world under the roots. Now Jo will have two days until the gates between worlds closes on Halloween night. Armed with a trusty turnip lantern, and her brother's obnoxious best friend as her only ally, can Jo outsmart the ancient monster, or will the rye fields claim even more innocent victims? Join Jo an experience a spine-chilling adventure that combines the darkness of German folklore with the magic of spooky season. I ne...
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Review - The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson

The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson

Magic awaits, all you have to do is believe... When thirteen-year-old Olia steps through a magical doorway, she discovers another land. A land tangled by magic, where hope is lost, and a scheming wizard holds all the power. Soon Olia learns that she is destined to save this land, but with time running out and her new friends and family in danger, she must search for the magic within herself - to save everything and everyone she loves.



 

With The Castle of Tangled Magic, Sophie Anderson has woven Russian folklore together with modern fantasy and a lovely family and created something special and unique. 

It is a superb story about magic, family, bravery and home, and I absolutely adored it.

Unlike Sophie's first two novels, this one is a "portal" story, where Olia, who already lives in a wondrous and probably magical castle, travels through a portal with a household spirit into a land of pure magic. A land where everything is starting to fall apart, where she needs to find allies and find her way and find a solution before everything unravels completely. There's such an overwhelming sense of peril, that kept me absolutely gripped. The fairy tale creatures she meets are fascinating too, drawn from a Russian folklore that I'm really not familiar with, to give the whole thing a sense of being different and intriguing. And as with all the best fairy tales, things are never quite what they first seem. 

It's a story about family too, and the depiction of Olia's family is really nicely done. Unlike some other portal stories, I always felt that she had something to succeed for and someone to go home too, and that increased the tension. She never had the chance to just wander around and explore the land she found herself in because of her family and home calling her back.

It's another magical story from a magical writer at the top of her game.

A definite five moon read!

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕


The Castle of Tangled Magic is out now, from Usborne. I was given an eproof in return for an honest review.

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