A few months ago I read and reviewed (and LOVED) the first book in Anna Doherty's Fantastically Feminist series: The Brontes. The Fantastically Feminist series is all about celebrating the incredible achievements of women through Anna Doherty's wonderful words and illustrations.

In celebration of Black History Month, today I'm here to tell you about the latest book in this wonderful series: Michelle Obama!

Having recently read Becoming I was thrilled to get the chance to explore Michelle Obama's fascinating life in a different way. She's such an inspirational figure and this book is a great way of finding out all of the different kinds of wonderful work Michelle has done and continues to do.

It tells the story of Michelle Obama's life through moments in her childhood, her education, working life and through her time in the White House and the amazing work she did there. The fun illustrations and layout make this an accessible biography for children aged 5 and up.

This book, and this series in general, is a wonderful way to introduce non-fiction to children and share the lives of inspirational, diverse women.



Don't forget to visit the other wonderful blogs on the tour!

Three close friends… Two unforgettable summers… One girl’s darkest secret…

Alys appeared last summer, and then she vanished without a trace.

Ifan fell in love with her.

Hannah hated her.

And Marko regrets what they did.

This summer Cait is new in town, and a girl has been reported missing. Cait needs to uncover the truth. What happened last summer? And who is Alys?

I'm delighted to be today's stop on the blog tour for My Secret Lies With You by Faye Bird!

My Secret Lies With You is a YA mystery-thriller full of friendships, mysterious characters and secrets. I really love reading mysteries and thrillers in the summertime because I love a fast-paced read I can spend a whole afternoon in the sun with. I'll be taking this on holiday next month and I can't wait to find out the secrets.

For this blog tour, we're getting you in the mood for intrigue by sharing author Faye's favourite mysteries, one of which is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon - a book I really enjoyed! Here's what Faye has to say about it:

"I went to see the adaptation for the stage just before it closed in London at the end of April this year. It was a long time since I’d read the book and so I took with me the overall sense of the book, and the story, but without the specific memory of all of its parts. And I was surprised, because I think I’d forgotten just how heart breaking and harrowing this story really is. The adults behave pretty badly. Yes, everything comes good in a chocolate box way by the end, but by god we’ve gone through it with Christopher before then. I think my main memory of the book was when Christopher was travelling to London. The interminable journey, the anxiety, the chaos both in his head and all around him as he navigates his way to his mother’s house in NW2.  And the production does this so well with light and sound and physical theatre – bodies moving, walking, pulsing, treading the walls and the floor… The end of the first Act had me in floods of tears. But then alongside the pain of that journey sits all Christopher’s open and wise observation as he tries to make sense of his world, and that switched my emotions up again and made me smile. The way Haddon navigates from funny to sad and back again so beautifully – the way it doesn’t patronise Christopher at all – that is the mark of a brilliant writer and Simon Stephens has captured that perfectly from the book to the stage too. And of course Christopher is writing a book of his own in this story, and it’s a murder mystery. He refers to Arthur Conan Doyle, his favourite writer. I wasn’t a writer when I read The Curious Incident… but it was one of the books that made me want to be a writer when I read it. And there are many smart things Christopher says about writing a book, and specifically a mystery, that ring true. When asked halfway through the play about his book Christopher says it isn’t a proper book because it doesn’t have a proper end. Endings are so important to mysteries. But he also says that he was excited. “When I started writing my book there was only one mystery to solve. Now there were two.” There’s certainly a good recipe in there for success. Christopher definitely had good reason to be excited about his story, and particularly how it ends. I was excited to have been there and shared a part of it, in the theatre too."

Thanks so much to Faye for sharing her thoughts on a favourite mystery! I'd love to know what your favourite mystery/thrillers are, let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

My Secret Lies With You by Faye Bird is out now! Thanks to Usborne for the review copy and setting up the blog tour. Check out the tour poster and don't forget to visit the other stops!


Links to books in this post marked with [aff. link] are affiliate links, which just means that if you want to purchase them, it supports the running of this blog - with no extra cost to you! If you want to buy any other books, please consider using my Wordery link - thanks lovelies!

Laura was dying. There was no cure for her illness. So her family decided to grasp a desperate last hope - Laura was frozen until she could be cured.

But what happens when you wake up one day and the world has moved on forty years? Your best friend is middle-aged, your parents presumed dead. Could you find a new place to belong? Could you build a new life - while solving the mystery of what happened to the old one?

Dark secrets lurk in the future of the girl from the past…

Today I'm sharing the new YA sci-fi novel from Usborne: Beauty Sleep by Kathryn Evans! Described as "Sleeping Beauty with a Black Mirror-style twist", Beauty Sleep explores what it would be like for a pre-tech girl to wake up in a futuristic world. Today I'm sharing a little taster with a gripping extract from the novel to get you excited! No doubt you'll be as hooked as I was...

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Extract from Beauty Sleep

I was winded by it.
"Forty? Forty years?"
"I know it's a shock," Benjie said.
It was impossible. Completely impossible. I tried to process what they were telling me, but my brain couldn't cope.
"How...what...how...?" Then my head snapped up. "Wait, is it gone, the cancer?"
Benjie smiled. "We began treatment as soon as you were revived. You slept through most of it, but you responded well. You'll need a lot of onitoring, but we're confident you are on the road to a full recovery."
I wrapped my arms around myself, as if I was checking I was whole. "So what...when...what year is it?"
Benjie paused, then said, "2028."
It was impossible. It couldn't be 2028. That sounded so far in the future - it was science fiction.
What was the year I went to sleep then? I wracked my brain, frustrated by my lack of memory. Then I remembered sticking something into a scrapbook - a picture of Prince Andrew and Fergie getting engaged - and writing the date in bubble letters. It was March. March, 1986.
I shook my head.
How could I remember that and so little else?
Forty years?
Benjie held my arm. "I'm so sorry. We weren't sure...We didn't want..."
I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled into a ball, turning my head away from them. I closed my eyes. I wanted to shut him out.
I wanted to shut everything out.
The didn't leave. I could hear them whispering. Still I kept my eyes closed.
Forty years.
A lifetime.
No.
No, it wasn't. It was a long time but it wasn't a lifetime.
How old would Mum and Ima have been in 1986? I searched my patchy memory. Early forties? Maybe? A spark of hope ignited.
I opened my eyes. "They could still be alive, Mum and Ima. Do they know? Can't you find them? Tell them I'm awake?"
Benjie bit his lip.
"I know they'll be old, it doesn't matter, Benjie. I just want to see them. I need to see them. I can cope, I swear."
He wouldn't look at me. Cold crept over my skin.

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If that doesn't have you intrigued, I don't know what will. Beauty Sleep is out now!

Thank you so much to Usborne for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. Don't forget to check out the other stops!


Links to books in this post marked with [aff. link] are affiliate links, which just means that if you want to purchase them, it supports the running of this blog - with no extra cost to you! If you want to buy any other books, please consider using my Wordery link - thanks lovelies!

This post contains items that were gifted from Viking. This is not a paid-for post.

Today, April 23rd, is Shakespeare Day. Despite being written over 400 years ago, Shakespeare's works are still celebrated the world over. He introduced phrases that we still use today and he wrote with a wit still unrivalled.

Today is the publication day for the fantastic third book in Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy: The Winter of the Witch! I'm so happy to be taking part in the blog tour for Winter of the Witch, I'm going to be sharing my spoiler-free review and stay tuned to the end for a giveaway!

There is a battle raging over Moscow, Old Gods and New are vying for control of Russia and it's people. Vasya is at the centre of this conflict, desperately trying to save both the human and magical worlds of Russia and the Winter King, who is fading in the creeping heat of summer and battle. But she might not be able to save them all.

In 2018, I read the whole of the Winternight trilogy, something I don't often do. I tend to start fantasy series and then trail off at some point, but this one had me gripped throughout. It turned out to be a five star series for me and one of the best I've read. I think the main reason for this is that it has such a great balance between character development and plot. I generally prefer character-driven novels but I get a bit frustrated when the accompanying plot is badly paced or non-existent. The Winternight trilogy has such strong characters who get you really invested and a well balanced plot which drives excitement and tension at just the right moments.

The Winter of the Witch is a really strong finale to this wonderful series. It maintains and builds on the folklore and spirit elements that were so present in the first book and made the second book so gripping, to create a fantastic, emotional and exciting final journey with so many unexpected twists and turns along the way.

One of the things I love most about this series is the sweeping range of settings across medieval Russia; the scenery was ever-changing across the course of the three books. From rural village life with lush descriptions of the nature which is almost a character within Vasya's home of Lesnaya Zemlya, to the high walls of Moscow, the dark forests of Midnight and the crackling fires of battle camps. The reader always feels completely immersed in this world as no matter the landscape, it is deftly described and fully realised without hitting you over the head with it.

Vasya is one of the best protagonists I've ever read. She could have so easily been a  manic-pixie-dream-girl or stereotypical chosen one but instead she is complex, flawed and brilliant. There were times I questioned her decisions, felt frustrated with her or urged her to take another path, but that is what makes her so real and human and an ultimately convincing character. I also really liked that romance was an undercurrent in these books, bubbling under the surface with just enough angst and emotion to invest in, but not distracting from the main story or Vasya's character development.

Vasya is firmly cemented as one of my favourite fantasy heroines of all time. Her character arc is incredible yet entirely convincing. I wholeheartedly adore her and I already can't wait to go back to this series for a reread and spend more time with her, watching her grow into the incredible woman she is in The Winter of the Witch. 

On my Instagram I described this series as epic and quiet at the same time and I think that's exactly what I love about it. It's sweeping enough to be exciting and to carry you fully into another world but it's quiet and charming enough for you to hold it close to your heart and feel like it's yours. This series felt like coming home to me, it felt like everything I'd ever wanted in a fantasy and I'll always hold it close. Read the Winternight trilogy, you won't regret it.

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With the help of Ebury, I'm running a giveaway for a finished copy of The Winter of the Witch over on my Instagram! Head to the link below and read the caption for details on how to enter.

View this post on Instagram

📚🎁 GIVEAWAY! 🎁📚Happy book birthday to The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden! My blog is today’s stop on the blog tour, head to the link in my bio to read my spoiler-free review. - To celebrate publication day of the third book in the Winternight trilogy, I’m collaborating with @eburybooks to give away a finished copy of The Winter of the Witch (swipe to see the gorgeous finished cover) to one lucky winner. - To enter: 🎁 Like the post 🎁 Follow me @sarahschapter 🎁 Tag a friend in the comments who might like to enter - Extra Entries: 🎁 Tag more friends (one comment per tag, up to five comments) 🎁 Comment on my review post (link in bio) 🎁 Share this post on your stories and comment when you’ve done this. - UK and Europe entries only. Giveaway ends 23:59 GMT on 16th January 2019. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram.

A post shared by Sarah Brown (@sarahschapter) on Jan 9, 2019 at 11:58pm PST

Also, don't forget to catch the other stops on the blog tour: