Friday 8 May 2015

Our Children's Book of the Month: Darkmouth


Shane Hegarty's new gripping tale for readers from 9-12 is setting the bar high for adventure tales - which is why we've chosen it as our Book of the Month.
Fans of Artemis Fowl, The House of Secrets series and even Percy Jackson will utterly adore this.

Twelve year old Finn doesn't really have much get up and go, and just wants to do what every young boy wants to do. That would be fine, except Finn is about to be the latest in a long line of "Legend Hunters". The town of Darkmouth is the last town in Ireland where portals open and let through human-eating monsters (including Hogboons and Wolpertingers) which he needs to destroy. The big problem is, he isn't really very good at it. His father, the current Legend Hunter, is desperate to show him how to be the best he can and to follow in family tradition, but Finn can't understand why it is so important. Unbeknownst to Finn a prophecy has been made and it's all about him! Until he realises how important it is, Darkmouth and its residents will never be safe.

The story is full of fun and page-turning excitement, not to mention a few mishaps with a Desiccator and a few of the neighbours cars. Boys and girls alike will have their half term brilliantly filled with this great book. It's also peppered with wonderful illustrations by James de la Rue.

And if you really enjoy it, there's good news - this is only the start of what looks to be an awesome series.

If we got you curious, head on over to the main Waterstones Blog for an excerpt. :)


Love, Nina






Monday 4 May 2015

Our Fiction Book of the Month: Perfidia

James Ellroy is no stranger to crime fans. His L.A. Quartet novels have, at the latest, been put on the map for even non-crime readers by their popular cinema adaptations The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential.

Ellroy, dubbed as the "demon dog of American crime fiction" by director Reinhard Jud back in the nineties, and whose dark past is a strong source for his writing (the unsolved murder of his mother inspired The Black Dahlia), has just started a second L.A. Quartet, this time set in the Second World War, with Perfidia being the first in the series. It's an epic door stop of a book, with the powerful L.A. noir atmosphere fans have come to love so much, in the context of a world-changing event: the attack on Pearl Harbor.
 
Both the Guardian and the Independent have given it smashing reviews, so it might well be that summer read you've been waiting to sink your teeth into.
 
 
But as none of us would want you to just take our word for it, here is a cheeky sample.