Roberta Reads

Daggers at the Country Fair by Catherine Coles My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed Poison at the Village Show, so I grabbed Daggers at the Country Fair as soon as I could. I think I liked this one even better than the first. In this book, Martha has been invited to open the Winteringham country fair by the forward-looking organiser. She and some friends from Westleham stay there, and, of course, Martha stumbles across a dead body. I loved reading this story. It is well written and easy to read. I love Martha’s character development - she is more confident in this book. I like how she’s starting to take more control of her life, and that she and Ruby are getting closer. I also enjoyed her growing closeness to Luke, but I really, really hope that Catherine Coles has some sort of resolution to the issue of Martha’s missing husband in the not too distant future. The mystery itself was a good one. I enjoyed finding out more about the suspicious chara

Death Among the Diamonds by Fliss Chester My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fliss Chester is a new author to me, but I do love historical (especially 1920s) cosy crime, so I jumped right in! I really loved reading this book. The author has struck a great balance, keeping things light and humorous, but also providing a fun mystery. I really liked Cressida, she’s obviously a fun loving woman, and Ruby (her dog) makes an excellent sidekick. I liked DCI Andrews too. I hope there will be further books in the series, so I can get to know them both better. If you’re looking to while away a few hours pleasantly, I recommend this enticing and exciting cosy crime. It was a lot of fun to read. I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own. View all my reviews

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Dragons by Andy Shepherd My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have enjoyed the The Boy Who Grew Dragons series enormously, so I was excited to get my hands on a copy of The Ultimate Guide to Growing Dragons. This time around the superhero squad are rather scattered about the globe, and are constructing a guide to the art of growing dragons. It was great to spend more time with this group of friends - both human and dragon. Tomas has come a long way since the first book. The story was full of funny moments, and a few new discoveries about the dragons. I loved how the superhero squad all worked together to solve the problems. The illustrations by Sara Ogilvie are brilliant! They add so much to the story and really bring it to life. In conclusion, this book was an absolute joy to read. It’s engaging, appealing, and so much fun! I recommend it for anyone who loves dragons. I wasn’t given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jessica Redland is a favourite author, and I absolutely love the Hedgehog Hollow series, so Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow very quickly made it to the top of my TBR. I enjoyed reading this book so much. I’ve been waiting to find out more about Fizz ever since she turned up at Hedgehog Hollow, so it’s wonderful to finally hear her story. And what an emotional, but ultimately positive one it is! I also loved the further developments in Samantha and Josh’s story, and the way that Hedgehog Hollow has expanded. It’s so lovely to return to this group of characters, who feel like friends now, and to see so many of them thriving. As well as all the above joys, this book was full of festive feeling too! It felt like a fitting end to what has been a wonderful series. Overall, this was a wonderful story, a fitting end to the series, and simply a joy to read. I strongly recom

Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies by Ali McNamara My rating: 5 of 5 stars Oh, how lovely it is to be back in St Felix again. I love this setting so much, and the little bits of magic that happen there. Each time it’s a little different, but it’s always wonderful! This story focuses on Sky, a meteorologist who is sent there to study the peculiar weather patterns that sometimes occur. I loved the island of Aurora, what a wonderful (though slightly inconvenient) place to live! It was great to see a main character who has my disability. It almost never comes up in happy, fictional books, and I’ve never read one where the main character had it before. I felt like it was a good and realistic portrayal of someone who has ME moderate/mildly (like many illnesses it varies a lot) and is not really comfortable with it, and trying to hide it from those around them. I also loved that Sky is a meteorologist, weather physics was one of my favourite modules at

An Unfortunate Christmas Murder by Hannah Hendy My rating: 4 of 5 stars Having read and enjoyed Hannah Hendy’s first book (The Dinner Lady Detectives), I was keen to get my hands on An Unfortunate Christmas Murder. Margery and Clementine are as entertaining as they were in the first book. I do enjoy the way they go blundering into situations, and use their intelligence to solve the mystery. I love their long term relationship too, they work really well together, and are just so comfortable. And very amusing to read about too! I enjoyed the plot of this book, at first it seems a confusing array of events, but it gradually resolves into a solution. I liked the fact that although I worked out some elements ahead of Margery and Clementine, I didn’t figure the whole thing out. Overall, this was another excellent mystery solved by the excellent duo of dinner lady detectives. With a very festive ending. I definitely recommend it, and will be looking out for