'''Read [[Features|new features]].'''
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{{newreview
|author=Melanie Watt
|title=Scaredy Squirrel has a Birthday Party
|rating=3.5
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Scaredy Squirrel is planning a birthday party - his own - but he's not a very brave squirrel and thinks that the safest thing to do for his party will be to celebrate, by himself, in his tree. Very safe. Very far away from any possible danger, like ants or Bigfoot or confetti. Very far away indeed from unfunny clownfish, ponies and porcupines. But then Scaredy's friend Buddy sends him a lovely birthday card and all of the plans for the party have to change.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846471346</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Seema Barker
|summary=Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall wants to make it clear that ''River Cottage: Veg Every Day!'' is a ''vegetable'' cookbook and that it's up to the reader to determine whether or not it's a ''vegetarian'' cookbook. He makes it quite clear that he's not a vegetarian and has no intention of becoming one, but for the four months which it took to film the series of which this is the book he didn't touch a scrap of meat or fish. It's a new Hugh, but the slimmed-down version is the result of a conscious decision before filming began rather than the consequences of the change of diet. The new hairstyle has yet to be explained…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408812126</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sam Willis
|title=The Glorious First of June: Fleet Battle in the Reign of Terror
|rating=5
|genre=History
|summary=To be frank, I was not expecting a lot from this account of a famous maritime battle. Marine warfare histories can be rather dull, with lists of ships and mind-numbing detail that may appeal if you have an intimate knowledge of a warship's anatomy, but quite deathly for the rest of us. But I was gripped from the first page to the last by this really insightful account not just of the battle but of the whole political and historical events which inspired it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849160384</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Kjell Eriksson
|title=The Hand That Trembles
|rating=4
|genre=Crime
|summary=I read and reviewed recently Eriksson's [[The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson|The Princess of Burundi]] and was rather disappointed. How will this book shape up? Sven-Arne Persson is an astute politician. He knows when to press the flesh for best effect and also when to turn on the smiles - even if those smiles don't quite reach his eyes. In short, he is a career politician. Calculated. And there's a great line on page 21 which sums him up beautifully - 'He was a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of county politics ...'
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>074904019X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gabrielle Kimm
|title=The Courtesan's Lover
|rating=4
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=This is a big thumping book running to almost 500 pages. We're in sixteenth century Italy, Naples to be precise and the scene is set for the entrance of the main character, courtesan Francesca. And what an exotic creature she is. But also charming, thoughtful and intelligent.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751544558</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Geraldine McCaughrean and Richard Brassey
|title=Great Stories from British History
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=''Since when was History True?'' is the heading of the first chapter and it's one which you need to read ''before'' you buy this beautiful book, because it would be easy to assume from the title and the pictures on the cover that it's a history ''text'' book you're going to invest in. In ''some'' ways you are but what you are actually acquiring is a ''story'' book. This is a book of the great stories of British history. Some of them are (broadly) true, some have been debunked by historians and some have simply fallen into disuse – but Geraldine McCaughrean would hate to see them lost altogether.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444001426</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Ernest Cline
|title=Ready Player One
|rating=4.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=A short while ago, I stumbled across a highly enjoyable film called ''Fanboys'', about a bunch of ''Star Wars'' fans trying to break into George Lucas' mansion to get a sneak preview of the new film. I didn't pay much attention to the name of the writer, until I came across Ernest Cline's author bio in ''Ready Player One'' and realised it was written by the same person. This immediately gave me high hopes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846059372</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Christina Courtenay
|title=Highland Storms
|rating=4
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=The publisher, Choc Lit Limited, gives a fair idea of what kind of read this book is. Romance with a capital R. Courtenay decides to go back in time to a Scotland rather weary of battles but strong in image especially in terms of the countryside. Is the book's purple hue suggestive of the purple heather to be found all over this area of Scotland, I wonder. It all conjures up a deeply romantic setting for many, myself included. Add in the odd fairy-tale castle or two and it's even better.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906931712</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Laura Owen and Korky Paul
|title=The Misadventures of Winnie the Witch
|rating=4
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Have you met Winnie the Witch yet? I do hope so. She's really quite bonkers, often rather disgusting, and she has a fat, long-suffering cat called Wilbur. She's a bit of a favourite in our house, so we were eager to sit down and read her newest stories together!
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192732145</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Tom Ryan
|title=Following Atticus: How a little dog led one man on a journey of rediscovery to the top of the world
|rating=4
|genre=Pets
|summary=Tom Ryan is a middle-aged, stressed journalist, running his own newspaper, the ''Undertoad'' in Newburyport in America. His life is full of political intrigues and mayoral elections, boardroom deals and subterfuge and his life is full of challenges. He doesn't need a dog. He doesn't even particularly want a dog, but when a miniature schnauzer enters his life one day, everything changes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141048972</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Michael Bond
|title=The Tales of Olga Da Polga
|rating=3.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Meet Olga, a proud, loveable and loving guinea pig. We see her first, as does a girl called Karen, living in a pet shop with some friends, and after a cycle of short stories she will end by living with friends of very different kinds. In between she has to experience life with humans (or sawdust people) and survive scrapes in the wilder world, but still has time to explain where guinea pigs' tails went and how they got their squeak.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192731939</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Kjell Eriksson
|title=The Princess of Burundi
|rating=3.5
|genre=Crime
|summary=Berit and Justus (mother and son) are waiting for John before they eat supper. He's late. Perhaps he's popped in to see an ex-colleague or nipped into the pub for a quick drink. But neither of these options ring true for Berit. John is currently unemployed which is a shame as he was very good at his last job. He's also not the most social or chatty of men. Some would even describe him as surly and a bit gruff.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0749040092</amazonuk>
}}
