📖 Book Review ~ The Tiny Tycoons : Cyber Mental by Dolapo Adeyemi

28 May

Thanks to Cameron Publicity and Marketing for my copy of this book

 

Meet Max and Mia, siblings who accidentally discovered that spilling glitter glue on a comic book could lead to the greatest adventure ever - transforming from digital CONSUMERS into tech-savvy CREATORS!

In Tycoon Town, these everyday kids (and their robot dog Metallia!) are about to show YOUR 8-12 year old how to:

✅ Create amazing tech projects that'll make friends say "WHOA!"

✅ Outsmart sneaky apps that treat kids like products instead of people

✅ Balance their digital diet without giving up the fun stuff

✅ Join a worldwide crew of kid innovators changing the digital landscape

Packed with laugh-out-loud adventures, hands-on activities, and real stories of young creators, this book doesn't just talk about digital literacy - it transforms it into an epic quest your child won't want to put down!

FOR PARENTS & EDUCATORS: This isn't just another children's book. It's a science-backed approach to healthy technology use that kids actually enjoy. Includes a comprehensive guide with conversation starters, implementation strategies, and resources to extend learning beyond the page.

📖 My Review..

I thought this was an interesting and informative book in an easy to read format. Its colourful illustrations and charming brother and sister combination makes for enjoyable reading whilst at the same time getting its message across in a fun way. Aimed at the 8-12 year old market its an interesting book for confident readers, and equally suitable for parents to read through with their children, it is full of good ideas, tips and little projects about navigating the digital world whilst firing their imagination in other ways. 

We are coming up to the school summer holidays when children perhaps have more time to navigate the digital world, this book allows them to stretch their imagination with creative projects in a fun and safe way.

About the Author

DOLAPO ADEYEMI is a London-based serial entrepreneur who grew up in Nigeria with an accountant father and entrepreneurial mother, learning early that knowledge was the ultimate currency. With a degree in Chemical Engineering (and later an MBA at London Business School), she worked in the energy sector, started her own business making solar-powered bags, moved into the world of fashion with OYSBY, her own premium footwear brand, and was a finalist in the Draper’ Footwear Awards and was featured in Oprah magazine and other major media.

Immersing herself in technology and marketing innovation, and now with two daughters, she had an epiphany: we live in a world where only a privileged few truly understand how systems really work – from digital algorithms to financial markets – and we’re failing our children by not giving them this knowledge early. Furthermore, there is no reason why kids cannot understand the dopamine tricks of the attention economy, the origin, value, and systems of money, recognize cognitive biases, and learn to replace conflict with empathy.

Watching her daughters, now 8 and 10 navigate our digital world, she saw both the incredible potential and the pitfalls of technology in young hands. Tiny Tycoons was born from these everyday parenting moments - from explaining how apps work to discussing why we can't believe everything we see online.

TINY TYCOONS: CYBERMENTAL is published in paperback (£14.99) and ebook (£3.99) and will be available in all good bookshops and online booksellers.

📖 Blog Tour ~ Black Gold by Rob Starr

 

Just Once Publishing 
10 July 2025

Kiara Fox #2

Thanks to Midas Campaigns for the book and invitation to the blog tour

After the sudden death of her husband, fraud investigator Kiara Fox is thrown into a high-stakes case that pulls her halfway across the world.

In South Africa, oil tankers are mysteriously arriving at port with far less cargo than when they left – leaving the insurance company boss Tyrone haemorrhaging money. Despite her grief, Kiara can’t turn down the opportunity to help him work out what is happening as she knows this case could secure her family’s future.

At the heart of the problem is Adesco Oil, a family-run empire. CEO Gavin Adriaanse wants to transform the company into an eco-friendly powerhouse, but his brother Tony will stop at nothing to protect the family’s wealth. Tensions are rising, especially with the launch of Neptune, a revolutionary new oil rig poised to change the industry forever.

But when Kiara arrives, the case becomes far more dangerous than she ever anticipated. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a web of corporate deceit, betrayal, and espionage – both within Tyrone’s insurance company and Adesco Oil. With powerful enemies lurking in every shadow, Kiara realises that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth buried. The closer she gets to the heart of the conspiracy, the more deadly the game becomes.

In a race against time, Kiara must navigate a world where profit meets power and uncovering the truth could cost her everything.

📖 My Review ..

I first came across Kiara Fox in The First Widow and was impressed by this feisty young woman who doesn’t pull any punches and who is determined to seek out the bad guys even though it puts her in grave danger. This second novel, Black Gold is another high octane thriller which sees Kiara, in her role as fraud investigator, take on a chillingly complex case, one which takes her right into the heart of South Africa, and to the Johannesburg offices of an insurance company which is being defrauded out of millions of dollars in insurance claims. Add into the mix an oil producing company who are about to launch their biggest ever project and a set of truly awful villains who will stop at nothing to get their hands on millions of dollars and you have all the right ingredients for an action packed thriller.

The story certainly gets off to a cracking good start, I especially enjoyed how we were given background into the  insider world of the oil company as well as discovering more about those nefarious characters whose main aim was to extort money. There’s never a dull moment once Kiera gets started on a case, she’s definitely a bit of a maverick, getting drawn into danger seems to be her trademark so I usually find that I’m turning the pages quicker and quicker hoping that she’s going to be ok especially when the tension gets especially tight. There are twists and turns aplenty and more than enough action which kept me turning the pages, saying just another chapter…

The story is well written and researched with a fascinating cast of characters, quite a few not at all likeable and prone to violence but thankfully, Kiara’s tenacity shines throughout and I’m hoping that she gets to chase the bad guys soon in another thrilling story.

Rob has co-written two full-length musicals and written two plays, all of which have been staged. Rob write a book about his English Channel swim in 2012 called From Starr to Starrfish, which was published in 2013. Rob lives in Brighton with his wife Sharon and their three children. Rob’s passion is open water swimming and he swims every morning throughout the year from the Palace Pier in Brighton. This is Rob’s second novel.

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🌞 Summer Read ~ River of Stars by Georgina Moore

HQ
3 July 2025

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read this book

Jo hasn’t seen Oliver since that magical, life-changing summer when their idyllic island paradise was shattered. Growing up on Walnut Tree Island, they were everything to each other, defying a feud that fractured their families decades before. If first love runs deep, Jo and Oliver’s ran like the river itself, fast and true.

On Walnut Tree Island, love affairs and secrets come and go like the tides. Once the pulse of a flourishing 1960s music scene, it’s where Mary Star fell in love with a young musician about to hit the big time, only to be left with a baby and a broken heart. Mary has made the island a haven for two generations of Star women, raising her daughter and her granddaughter, surrounded by the river, supported by a bohemian, artistic community.

But Oliver’s return to the island after years away throws everyone into a frenzy. The threat of change is coming to paradise. And for Jo, Oliver’s return opens the wounds of a love she thought she had lost for ever…

📖 My Review..

There’s a thriving group of artisans who live in houseboats on the River Thames side by side with Walnut Tree Island. Their living arrangements help to form a tight knit community who guard the place with fierce determination, reluctant for any change to spoil the ambiance of a place locked in time. 

Back in the 1960s Walnut Tree Island was home to a thriving music scene and sixteen year old Mary Star was very much part of this world however, when we meet her, in  the present day, she is old lady with her only her memories of times gone by and a fierce protective instinct towards her fiery granddaughter, Jo. Inevitably, with a new landlord, change must come to the island and for Mary and Jo Star old memories will be stirred and emotions, long buried, will have to be faced.

The novel is slow and steady, exploring the tangled relationships between the boat dwellers, the minutiae of their lives and their desire to keep Walnut Island safe from any changes which might destroy their bohemian way of life. The island, is beautifully described and is so much a character in its own right, that the whole place comes alive, from its heyday in the 1960s, to its rundown modern day appearance. However, as we move forwards and backwards in time so we come to realise the importance of this beautiful place not just to Mary, Jo and the boat dwellers but also to Oliver Greenwood, the new landlord, who has his own emotional connection to Walnut Tree Island. 

With its quirky characters and beautiful setting, River of Stars captured my imagination in a lovely story about love, loss and the value of friendship. 

About the Author

Georgina Moore grew up in London and lives on a houseboat on the River Thames with her partner, two children and Bomber, the Border Terrier.

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📖 Book Review ~ The Treehouse by B P Walter

Harper Collins
One More Chapter
3 July 2025

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

A summer holiday. A family secret. A split-second decision that will change everything. 

Twenty years ago, a summer holiday ended in tragedy for the Palmer family.

No one has spoken of it since.

Until a new tv series plays out the horrifying events of that night.

As the family are forced to relive that fateful trip, is it possible that each person is hiding their own secrets, and is someone willing to do whatever it takes to keep their past firmly in the past…

📖 My Review..

A recent television series causes the lives of brothers Kieran and Robert Palmer to implode as it reveals secrets from something that happened over twenty years ago, an event which they had thought buried forever. As teenagers they spent a fateful summer in Cornwall with their parents and during this time they became involved in something which would have a lasting effect on all of their lives going forward. The significance of the treehouse, such a brooding character, plays out its own role in the story and as we become part of the narrative we watch in horror as Kieran and Robert act out their fantasies with terrible consequences. 

Taut with tension, and alive with deceit, a tangled web of secrets and lies start to emerge and with such a set of unstable narrators you are never quite sure where the truth ends and the lies begin. I raced through the story in just few hours, compelled to read further just to see how this complex story would play out and I wasn’t disappointed. There are twists and turns aplenty, with the last third of the story revealing far more about this dysfunctional family than I could have ever thought possible. 

Well written, with a clever sense of time and place, and with totally unlikeable characters who worm their way into your mind, The Treehouse is a complicated story of murder, tragedy and deadly family secrets.

About the Author

B P Walter was born and raised in Essex. After spending his childhood and teenage years reading compulsively, he worked in bookshops then went to the University of Southampton to study Film and English followed by an MA in Film & Cultural Management. He is an alumnus of the Faber Academy and formerly worked in social media coordination for Waterstones in London.

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📖 Book review ~ Dead to Me by Gytha Lodge

Penguin Micheal Joseph
3 July 2025

Thanks to th republished for my copy of this book

 

You thought he was the one. You broke his heart. But now, he might be the only one who can save your life...

Anna and Reid weren't meant to be, apparently. She's a fiery American journalist; he's a stoic British detective - it was nice while it lasted, and then it really wasn't.

And Anna is over it now anyway. She's on the scent of a career-making story - a suspicious death amongst the cloistered elite world of Cambridge University, with a slice of police corruption too. 

It's just, the more she investigates, the more there's only one person she wants to talk to about it. She starts writing Reid a long, sprawling email - it's not like she's ever planning to send it.

Until suddenly, she's in desperate trouble. The problem with chasing a killer is that sometimes, you run right into them.

And the only detective she can trust with her life is the one who broke her heart..

📖 My Review..

Anna is a good journalist who makes her assignments particularly personal so when she is tasked with discovering more about the mysterious death of a young Cambridge University student Anna must make herself appear authentic and in doing so she puts herself in grave danger from those who will stop at nothing to prevent her from discovering the truth. 

The premise of the story is an interesting one especially as it is written from the differing points of view of Anna, her father, Seaton and her ex-police detective boyfriend, Reid. Each of them have a complicated story to share and it was enjoyable trying to work out the complex relationship Anna had with both Seaton and Reid.

The pacing is slow and takes a bit of getting used to, especially the way that Anna tries to infiltrate a close friendship group. I had to try and remember who everyone was and the role they may have played in the unexplained death of a young woman who, at the height of her university career, had her life taken away in complicated circumstances. The plot picked up pace in the last third of the novel , which I thought gave it an edginess and right until the final denouement I really didn’t know who was going to be responsible. 

Dead to Me is an interesting psychological thriller with enough plot twists which kept me guessing until the end.

About the Author

Gytha Lodge lives in Cambridge with her son. She Lies in Wait, her debut novel, was a Sunday Times bestseller, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and an international bestseller. Set in the New Forest and the surrounding area, Lodge's highly-acclaimed DCI Jonah Sheens series also includes Watching From the Dark, Lie Beside Me, Little Sister and A Killer in the Family. Dead To Me is her first standalone thriller.

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Girl from Normandy by Rachel Sweasey

Boldwood Books
27 June 2025

My thanks to the publisher and Rachel’s Random Resources
for the invitation to the blog tour

 

1940: Marie-Claire steps into the Gare de Lyon, not knowing it will be the last time she'll see her husband and son. Fleeing occupied Paris, she travels into the countryside of Normandy, and stumbles upon a chateau near Caen and a growing resistance movement. Soon, Marie-Claire finds herself working in a cafe in the quiet village of Sainte-Mère-Église, where she tries to come to terms with all she has lost – but little does she realise that her presence in Normandy will change the course of history…

1998: Half a century later, Esther is returning to the Normandy village she visited as a teenager, seeking a break from her monotonous life. Back then, she'd fallen in love with a rustic farmhouse and the family that lived there – not least the charming eldest son, Jules Joubert. But now, when Esther discovers an old annotated cookbook in the family kitchen, she begins to realise that the place she holds so close to her heart may hide more secrets than even the Jouberts realise...

What stories does the area carry? And could this trip change Esther’s life for ever?

📖 My Review..

The troubled years of WW2 are brought to life in this dual time story which gives us Marie-Claire’s poignant time in France during the German occupation, together with Esther’s story in 1998 when she returns to the farm house in Normandy where she spent a happy time with the Joubert family as a teenager. 

With both time frames fitting so smoothly together the transition between past and present is seamless and I enjoyed spending time with Marie-Claire in the 1940s witnessing her time in the Normandy village of Sainte-Mère-Église and the vital role she plays in the safety of the townsfolk. Esther’s gentle reawakening and her burgeoning relationship with her childhood sweetheart is done with a light touch which doesn’t detract from the difficult time experienced during the war years by some members of the Joubert family. It’s a poignant read particularly Marie-Claire’s story which tugs away at the heartstrings and reminds us of the danger people in this part of France experienced during this troubled time and of the stalwart bravery of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in order to help those who were in danger.

I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time reading this lovely story, being immersed in the history of the area and the added significance of the church at Sainte-Mère-Église which was blended nicely into the story. I enjoyed the modern day gentle romance and the uncovering of Joubert family secrets which had been buried for far too long. Beautifully written, The Girl from Normandy is an absorbing story which kept my attention from first page to last.

About the Author

– 

Rachel was born to English 10-pound-pom parents in sub-tropical Brisbane, Australia, and when the family moved back to Poole, Dorset, she was just 5 years old. She then grew up against the stunning backdrop of Poole Harbour where she sailed and played on the beaches of Brownsea Island and Studland, and walked across the Purbeck Hills, all of which inspired her imagination and provided the setting of her debut historical fiction novel set in WWII. Since then, Rachel has moved back to Brisbane, Australia.

Social Media Links – 

Facebook: @RachelSweaseyAuthor also tag https://www.facebook.com/highspotlit

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📖 Book Review ~ The Secret Love of a Gentleman by Jane Lark

Boldwood Books
30 June 2025

Marlow Family Secrets #3

 

A past scandal and a broken heart have left Lady Caroline Kilbride hiding away from the world, in the safety of her brother’s home. But when a devilishly handsome newcomer arrives for the summer, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to him.

Rob Marlow, a man determined to carve his own path in life, never expected to be intrigued by his brother-in-law’s dependent sister. Yet in Caro he sees courage, intelligence and a spark of the woman she once was.

Friendship blossoms into something more passionate, but when the truth of Caro’s painful history resurfaces, will she retreat into the shadows or fight for her happy ever after?

📖 My Review

Whilst Robert Marlow is spending the summer with his sister and brother-in-law, he meets the enigmatic, Lady Caroline Kilbride. That Caroline is frightened of something and hiding away in the country is obvious and Robert, intrigued by this beautiful young woman, is determined to bring her out of her shell and bring some warmth back into her life.. This is a beautifully described romantic novel with just enough spice to keep the passion alive. It's story of intrigue and danger, sly gossip and innuendo and yet is fuelled by a love story which will not be defeated by those who think that Robert and Caroline don't belong together.

This is the third book in the Marlow Family Secrets series and whilst it is possible to read as a standalone story, those readers of the previous books will be delighted to become reacquainted with the characters we have already met. It was especially interesting to meet with Andrew and Mary Marlow who featured so strongly in The Dangerous Love of a Rogue. I have enjoyed stepping once again into this Regency world which the author recreates so well and The Secret Love of  a Gentleman is a delightful romantic read and a great continuation of the series.

Since its original publication in 2015 the book has now been recently re-published by Boldwood Books, with a delightful new cover.

About the Author

Jane Lark is an internationally bestselling author of both historical fiction and psychological thrillers. She has twice been shortlisted for the RNA Awards. The first in her new wartime saga series, The Great Western Railway Girls, will be published in February 2025.

Facebook: @Janelarkauthor

Twitter: @JaneLark 

Instagram: jane.lark

Bookbub profile: @janelark

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