Book Reviews From The Bookbag
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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That Summer at Hill Farm by Miranda France
If you were to pass Hill Farm you would think it the perfect country idyll with lambs in the fields, children playing and the farmhouse nestled in the folds of the hills. The truth though is different. Farmer Hayes loves the land, but he's no farmer. His wife is neglected and it's not that long since Isabel miscarried her fourth child. She loves her children but she's not a particularly good housewife - or wife. She and Hayes were rather bounced into marriage by her aging and doting parents. Now she's trapped in a house with death-watch beetle and a husband who is struggling to keep the farm going. Full review...
Grandma Bendy by Izy Penguin
Grandma Bendy is definitely not like other grannies:
She is incredibly bendy.
She had twisty, twizzly arms
and super, stretchy legs.
Full review...
Mortal Chaos: Deep Oblivion by Matt Dickinson
Based on the concept that something as small as the beating of a butterfly's wings can set in motion an intricate series of interconnected events, involving people around the globe, Deep Oblivion narrates a day in the life of a security guard, a homeless girl, a fireworks expert, a cruise ship captain, a monk, a missionary, a brutal military commander, and a couple of professional thieves, all of whom are somehow linked. Those who are familiar with the series know that it ends with a massive pay-off, and you will not be disappointed by the chaos and destruction of the conclusion. Many characters die, and even among those who survive very few are left unchanged. Full review...
I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg
At the age of 60, Maggie Fortenbury's glory days seem to have passed her by. An ex-Miss Alabama, she headed for the fame she dreamt of in 'the Big Apple' and ended, instead, making disastrous life choices that took her along a different route. However she had made one good decision: to work for the diminutive Hazel Whisenkott, midget and founder of Red Mountain Realty. Now, as Hazel is dead, and despite her friendship with her colleagues (obese, optimistic Brenda and moaning Ethel), suicide seems the next logical step. It has to be done correctly as Maggie comes from an era when you wouldn't want to let anyone down or any commitment unfulfilled. Therefore picking her final day becomes increasingly difficult when other things get in the way, including a troupe of Whirling Dervishes. Full review...
Katy's Pony Surprise by Victoria Eveleigh
We've been with Katy Squires for a few years now. We first met her in Katy's Wild Foal when she discovered a new-born foal on snowy Exmoor. Co-incidentally it was Katy's birthday and the foal would be Trifle. It's not difficult to guess how things went in Katy's Champion Pony, but it was great to see Trifle and Katy growing and maturing together. We've now come to the final part of this lovely trilogy and it's another that's going to be loved by the pony-mad tween girl. Even if you're not keen on horses and ponies it's still going to be a good read. Full review...
Fu-Manchu - The Hand of Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
Nayland Smith has summoned the loyal Dr Petrie back from Egypt to the familiar setting of London. The streets of the capital have seen much terror in the early 20th century, but with Fu-Manchu dead, surely the worst is over? Not so… for the agency of the Si-Fan, the doctor's masters, still lurk. Can Smith and Petrie put an end to their terror once and for all? Full review...
Indelible Ink by Fiona McGregor
Once wealthy, middle class Australian suburbanite Marie King never thought she'd be starting a new life at 59 but here she is, divorced and having to sell the marital home. Unfortunately, attached to the marital home is the marital garden into which Marie didn't only give life but also pour her own life. However, Marie tries to be positive and decides that if she's going to be a new person, she may as well go the whole way. This means tattoos (much to her offsprings' horror) and an unlikely friendship with tattooist Rhys. With that comes the realisation that the privileged suburb of Mossman isn't all there is to Sydney. There's much more to the city, and indeed herself, than she first thought. Full review...
Harry Lipkin, Private Eye: The Oldest Detective in the World by Barry Fantoni
Harry Lipkin may not be the fittest private investigator in Florida once you take into account his indigestion and his arthritis, but at 87 he's definitely the oldest. Despite this he still manages to make a steady living, picking up the little jobs that don't interest the police and Norma Weinberger's problem comes into that category. Small but expensive knick-knacks seem to be going missing from around the house so could it be a light-fingered member of staff? The suspects (the gardener, the butler, the maid and the chauffer) each have their own story and motive, leaving Harry to get the four down to a short list of one. A task that's perhaps a little harder than it sounds. Full review...
The Messenger Bird by Ruth Eastham
Three days before Nathan's thirteenth birthday, his father, who works for the Ministry of Defence, is arrested for leaking top secret information to the enemy and causing the deaths of British soldiers. As he is dragged into a police car, he manages to mutter a few words to Nathan, asking him to follow a trail of clues and solve the mystery which will prove his father's innocence. But he urges Nathan to trust absolutely no one. He must not even confide in his mother and sister, because telling them will put them in danger too. Frightened, weary and confused, Nathan must use every ounce of his courage and ingenuity to save his father. Full review...
The Gilded Edge by Danny Miller
London: 1965
These were the dark days, when the Krays had yet to be brought to justice and the underworld in London was based on protection rackets and armed robberies.
These were the days when a politician getting caught with a call girl was a national scandal and generated genuine fear and outrage rather than a few front page headlines soon forgotten. The headlines generated then are still quoted now. Full review...
A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle
Mary's life seems full of grief at the moment. Her grandmother, whom she loves dearly, is dying in hospital, and at the very moment when she needs the comfort of a good friend, her bestie Ava has had to move away. But unlike many young fictional heroines, Mary has a strong and loving family to support her, and it is with them that she shares this glorious adventure. Full review...
You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo by Karen McCombie
Ruby lives next door to Jackson and although he can be somewhat annoying, being a boy, they share a BIG secret. At the bottom of their garden lives a Thing. There's no other way to describe it really, but Thing can be cute, funny, adorable - and something of a liability when it decides to do a little magic. You see, when Thing gets upset (which happens quite frequently - the world can get very confusing when you're only a little Thing) its magic spells are not completely reliable, which is why Ruby and Jackson went to a pool party and found themselves face-to-face with a giant inflatable monster. Full review...
Iggy and Me and the New Baby by Jenny Valentine
Flo's little sister Iggy seems to have just one thing on her mind at the moment and that's babies. She's desperate for Mummy to have another baby but Mummy says that two are quite enough - 'one under each arm in an emergency'. Actually, Iggy has something else on her mind too. She longs to grow. At one point she was the smallest in her class - which meant that she was the smallest child in the school. She will do anything to grow - however odd it might seem to everyone else! Full review...
Breaking The Devil's Heart: A Logic of Demons Novel by H A Goodman
In this afterlife, Heaven is pretty much hands off. Angels whisper sweet nothings into human ears but don't go much further than that. If the living don't act on Heaven's advice, the angels simply practise what you might call courageous restraint. Hell, on the other hand, is much better organised. Set up like a sizeable corporation, its demons are purveyors of the Formula and relentless targets push the demons into becoming exceedingly effective - and dodgy - salesmen. Drink too much of the Formula and you're in big trouble - sinning all over the place. Full review...
MetaWars: The Fight for the Future by Jeff Norton
Welcome to the world of Web 4.0 - a totally immersive world of virtual reality, jacked into your spine, and the perfect place to escape, live and work - as opposed to the near-Apocalyptic conditions on Earth, with global warming, over-population and anarchic ruin everywhere. Jonah uses the Metasphere to go to school by day, and his rollerskates to try and win race prize purses by night. But the world is about to turn upside down for him. For the inventor of Web 4.0, who alone can control and profit from this other reality, is out of prison, and the 'terrorists' against him are stepping up their activities too. Secrets in both worlds will conspire to drag Jonah in, but in an existence where you can be killed virtually or IRL and they both have the same result, the danger he faces is only going to mount up... Full review...
Meltwater (Fire and Ice) by Michael Ridpath
A group of internet activists decided to base themselves in Iceland whilst they prepared their latest exposé. This time it was a video of a purported Israeli attrocity which needed verifying and preparing for publication. All would have been well - or as well as such things ever are - if one of the group hadn't been murdered on a visit to a volcano. It was a volcano which caused the second problem - not the erruption of the small, pretty one which the group had visited with fatal consequences, but the big, ugly one which no one could pronounce and which disrupted air traffic all over Europe in the spring of 2010. Yes. That one. Eyjafjallajokull meant that travel too and from Iceland was exceedingly difficult and it disrupted the investigation of the murder. Full review...
The Other Side of Silence by Sylvie Nickels
Pippa Eastman went to Australia to get away from her domineering father, the historian Joseph Eastman and it was there that she met Jude, the son of two Ten Pound Poms. Their relationship was good, but not exactly committed on either side. It was about having fun. Familial ties were surprisingly strong though and when Joseph Eastman developed Alzheimer's Disease Pippa returned to the UK to care for him. Slightly to her surprise, Jude followed her - determined to track down the alcoholic father who had left him and his mother in Australia. It's only after her father's death that Pippa finds herself in search of her father's life - and trying to establish that he wasn't a murderer. Full review...
The Spook's Blood: Book 10 (Wardstone Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney
One might've thought that having bound The Devil in a massive underground pit and cut his head off, life would become a little easier for Thomas Ward, Spook in-training. Although the Fiend has undoubtedly been weakened, he has many loyal servants set on putting him back together so that he can reap terrible eternal vengeance on the few brave enough to fight him. While witch assassin Grimalkin, a dark and unlikely ally, evades the Fiend's minions and keeps his head separate from his body, it is up to Tom, Alice and The Spook to work out a way to destroy him permanently. But Grimalkin cannot run forever, and the Fiend's most powerful servants are encircling Tom and his allies, forcing them to fight with everything they have, just to survive. Full review...
Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss
It's not an easy life being a spider. You have to avoid vacuum cleaners, daddy longlegs, and people with big shoes. There are good things too: you get to have fun with your best friend, Fly, and spend time with your loving family. Diary of a Spider takes us through a few months in the life of a young spider, taking in the fun and adventure. Full review...
The Secret Life of William Shakespeare by Jude Morgan
Books about Shakespeare vary hugely both in terms of approach and quality. Some focus on historical fact, while others play rather more loosely with the romance of his life. Fortunately for readers, Jude Morgan's books are rather more reliably excellent. What's more, he has a track record of fiction that concerns great writers, having previously tackled the Brontës (The Taste of Sorrow) and the romantic poets (Passion). So my expectations were already quite high coming into his The Secret Life of William Shakespeare - expectations that he has again surpassed. Full review...
Boat Works by Tom Slaughter
Imagine seeing just a little bit of a boat. It's not enough for you to decide whether it's big or small, or what it does, but on the opposite page there's another clue. 'I have two oars' - and there they are for all to see. But look more closely. You can fold that second page out for yet another clue: 'I have a rope which ties me to the dock' and there's the rope, strong and hairy, with a complex knot. Now you can fold out the second clue to reveal that his is a rowboat, by the name of Nelly, tied up at the dock. Neat, eh? Full review...
Life On The Line by Jeremy Bullard
Jeremy Bullard began his working life as a Chartered Accountant but eventually realised that the most exciting part of the day was his journey to work on his moped. Next came a spell as a IT Consultant into which he put heart and soul and only just escaped with his sanity. A mental breakdown and a spell in The Priory convinced him that he had to rethink his life choices and high on the list was a long-distance trip on a motorbike. The first two trips - from London to Cape Town and the reverse - were aborted and we join him as he attempts his most ambitious journey. He's heading from New York to the very south of South America. Oh, and he's taking in the Galapagos and Easter Island. Full review...
The Sultan's Wife by Jane Johnson
Alys Swann is leaving her native Holland to accomplish the marriage her mother arranged for her in London. Alys's parents are English but fled to Holland when her late father discovered he was on the wrong side during the English Civil War. The trip turns out to be more adventurous than Alys would like as she's kidnapped by pirates and delivered to Moroccan potentate Sultan Moulay Ismail who's a little mentally unstable (and that's an understatement). His plan for her is as a welcome addition to his globally sourced harem. There she meets Nus-Nus, eunuch and the Sultan's scribe, who has problems of his own. A local apothecary dies in a most unnatural way and Nus-Nus seems to be the only suspect. The royal court has always been a dangerous place but, for Nus-Nus, and indeed Alys, staying alive has suddenly become more of a challenge than it seemed before... and that's saying something. Full review...
The Wrong Man by Jason Dean
Ex-marine James Bishop worked for an elite protection company. The idea behind his last mission was to protect multi-millionaire Randall Brennan and his daughter Natalie but, instead, he found himself framed for murder. Who? Why? These why may be questions that need answering but that's not going to happen whilst he's serving a life sentence. However, where Bishop is concerned, that's only a minor blip compared to the task ahead. Full review...
Troubletwisters: The Monster by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
This book really should be required reading for anyone charged with bringing up children with magical powers — especially if they've already saved the world a time or two. In a nutshell, it shows what happens when you answer all the said young people's questions with some vague promise to explain everything when the time is right. As if that's going to satisfy them. Full review...
Britain for Sale by Alex Brummer
Buy British, we're constantly told, and many people do - the French, the Germans, Qataris, Chinese... If you want to buy British you'd be hard pressed to use a British electricity company, the people shifting North Sea oil to you might be foreign, the trains near you may be foreign-operated, and so much of what's in the shops you buy from would of coursed be sourced from abroad, and shipped through foreign-owned ports. Whether or not the country is going to hell in a handcart, it's moving in piecemeal stages to exterior business interests, and the British citizen gets the worst of the deal. Full review...
Sparrow: The Story of Joan of Arc by Michael Morpurgo
Joan of Arc knows she's special. She knows that she has been chosen to save France - the voices tell her so. But she also knows that she has a lot to do to convince the Dauphin and the noblemen who protect him that it's time to make a stand for their country. Can she become a heroine? Full review...
The Golden Hour by William Nicholson
Maggie is nervous about committing to a live-in relationship, terrified by the idea that there must be something better out there. Dean is terrified of losing the love of his life and old Mrs Dickinson is just, well, terrified. Henry is frustrated by rabbits in his garden, Alan is frustrated by work, and Liz is frustrated by old Mrs Dickinson, who is her mother... Full review...
The Glimpse by Claire Merle
Ana's Dad helped invent the DNA test that helps to divide Society into two categories: Pures and Crazies. Pures are people who are 'normal', and Crazies are people who carry genes for depression, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Having lived as a Pure all her life, when Ana finds out her test was wrong her world falls apart. Now, marrying Jasper, a Pure-boy, is her only chance of a normal life. But will Jasper still want her now she's a Crazy? Full review...
Dirt by David Vann
We're back in the mid-nineteen-eighties in a suburb of Sacramento and Galen lives with his mother on the family walnut farm. The farm's not what it was, largely having been left to its own devices since the death of Galen's abusive grandfather some years before. Galen's father is something of an unknown quantity - his mother won't even discuss who he was or tell Galen anything about him, but then she's able to shut her mind to most things which she finds unpleasant. Her mother has been moved from the farm to a nursing home - she's still quite active but her memory is going. Suzie-Q's sister, Helen is determined to get her hands on the family money for the benefit of her seventeen-year-old daughter, Jennifer. Full review...
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The Comonot Treaty is approaching its 40th anniversary but the state of play between humans and dragons is still parlous. The people in Goredd still revile and distrust the dragons who walk among them in human form. For the dragons, humans are like cockroaches - easily crushed individually, but surprisingly resilient when they band together. Humans are impulsive, emotional. Dragons are impassive, logical. It's not an easy fit and the fragile peace is at risk after the murder of a Goreddi prince. Dragons are suspected of the crime. Full review...
Bear's Underwear Mystery: A Count-and-Find-it Adventure by Todd H Doodler
Bear receives a mysterious message: 'Follow the trail of underwear. Find all TEN and you'll be THERE'. He's delighted to be involved in a mystery and goes off hunting for the white pair which is number one. Once they are found he's off in search of the pair with blue stripes, then the pair with green spots, another in purple plaid and so on... Each page has a number tab for extra fun. Full review...
Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: Romans by Tony Robinson
You could be mistaken for thinking Tony Robinson had written books like this before, for he was doing 'Horrid History'-style TV programmes before the official ones were made. This series fits so well into his erudite yet family audience-friendly manner, and this second book takes us in a primary school curriculum-suiting way into the world of Rome. A lot is in these books, from trivia for all ages (I didn't know, or had forgotten, that all those Julius Caesar reliefs and statues are of him in a wig as he was bald), to the delectable gross-out (the posh man's cuisine) to the foregrounding of the obvious difference between them and us (in a word, slavery). Full review...
The Seeing by Diana Hendry
It's 1956 when Natalie comes storming into the quiet seaside town of Norton and slap-bang into Lizzie's life. Natalie is from the wrong side of the tracks and reserved, well-to-do Lizzie is immediately drawn to this unconventional girl who wears her poverty and neglect like a badge of courage. As the two girls grow closer over the summer, Natalie reveals a shocking secret - her odd younger brother Philip has the gift of second sight and can see "left over Nazis" lying in wait, ready to start another war when the time is right. Natalie says it's up to the three of them to rid Norton of these LONs. Full review...
Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: Egyptians by Tony Robinson
You could be mistaken for thinking Tony Robinson had written books like this before, for he was doing 'Horrid History'-style TV programmes before the official ones were made. This series fits so well into his erudite yet family audience-friendly manner, and this launching book takes us to the strangest of worlds - yet one only a museum visit away, that of the ancient Egyptians. A lot is in these pages - complete with adult stuff glossed over (just how in-bred were those Ptolemys?!), the gross-out being relished (making mummies, and some alleged Egyptian medicines) and the obvious differences between them and us foregrounded so we can empathise with them (and at the same time remember it's harder for most of us to sleep on our roofs than they would have found it). Full review...
The Economist Book of Business Quotations by Bill Ridgers (Editor)
It's not so much a book of business quotations as a book of business aphorisms. There's a prime example on the dust cover: J Paul Getty's 'My formula for success? Rise early, work late, strike oil.' It's arranged alphabetically by subject matter from Accountants and Accountancy ('Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions' A A Latimer) through to Work-Life Balance ('For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.' Lily Tomlin). Most entries are short and pithy and few run to as much as half a page. Full review...
Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer
When Emmi sends and email to cancel a magazine subscription, she has no idea what a slight typo in the email address will lead to – a life-changing, potentially marriage-wrecking, all-consuming online love affair with the man whom she emails in error. What starts as an insignificant, casual message quickly becomes something much more important to both her and Leo as two people who have never met start to share their secrets and wishes, dreams and fears with each other, not just because they can but, it seems, because they have to. Full review...
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
Everyone knows the story of the Three Little Pigs, but in this version, when the wolf comes along and huffs and puffs, he actually blows the little pigs right out of the story. In fact, they float across a number of pages before eventually ending up in the middle of Hey diddle diddle! However, they don't find this nursery rhyme to their liking so they move on to a story about a prince who kills a dragon. Having just escaped from their own dangerous enemy, the three pigs realise that they can't possibly leave the dragon to be slain, so they take him with them right the way back to their own story where, with the help of their new friend, they definitely don't allow the wolf in. Full review...
My Dearest Jonah by Matthew Crow
Jonah and Verity start to write to each other as part of a pen-pal scheme. They may only meet on paper but, as they reveal themselves and their pasts through their letters, they become the only constant in each of their existences, and what existences. Jonah has a troubled past (to put it mildly) including a stint in prison and a father serving a life sentence. Verity is the product of working class parents with aspirations which she has failed or refused to meet, splitting her working life between the local coffee shop and the local strip joint. Their futures begin to appear a lot brighter than their pasts but then clouds gather to prove that appearances can be deceptive. Full review...
Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb
Meg Lytton comes from a family of witches. Her mother, who died in childbirth, renounced her gift in order to marry. But Meg's Aunt Jane continued to practise and has taught Meg to hone her skills. Sent to serve the Princess Elizabeth - in confinement at Woodstock, suspected of treason against her sister - Meg soon finds that her royal mistress has a strong interest in the occult and encourages her to continue. Elizabeth is beset by danger and must tread a delicate path through intrigues and religion. Meg, too, walks in peril. The ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent has taken an uncomfortably close interest in her and if he were to discover her secret, he would send her straight to her death. Full review...
The Curse of the Bogle's Beard by Siobhan Rowden
This is the book that takes the disgusting granny stereotype to its farthest lengths. Barnaby's gran is fond of purple to look queenly, digs her nose in his ear when she talks to him, and is rather hairy, very burpy and incredibly bossy. She also has nothing good to say about her daughter's choice of husband - Barnaby's father - who has decided to ignore the invitation to inherit the family's pickled vegetable factory and has in fact vanished. Could an old diary Barnaby's found of someone's very brave and very beetrooty life hold a clue? Will Barnaby overcome his nerves to explore Nan's mansion on his own? And quite how far will she go at preserving certain things? Full review...
The Killing Moon: Dreamblood: Book 1 by N K Jemisin
Ehiru is a Gatherer. He visits those who are dying to help them pass away peacefully. He sends their souls to a safe place for eternity, while taking their dreamblood to heal others. Most people in his city, Gujaareh, are happy with this. Then he Gathers a foreigner who's unwilling, and claims that the order of priests he belongs to are corrupt... could this barbarian be correct? Full review...
The King who Wouldn't Sleep by Debbie Singleton and Holly Swain
'Many years ago, in a palace far across the sea, there lived a king, a queen and, of course, a beautiful princess'.
In fact the princess is so beautiful and the king loves her so much that he resolves to watch over her every single day and night until he is able to find her the perfect suitor. In true traditional tale style, princes travel from far and wide to try and win the hand of the princess and, more importantly, the approval of the king. Unfortunately, even though there are all sorts of princes – tall, short, strong, weak, blond, bald and so on – not one is good enough for the king's much loved daughter. Full review...
Tilly's Moonlight Fox by Julia Green
It's a difficult time for Tilly. She's just moved house, losing contact with her best friend as a result, and now her mother, who is expecting a baby, is too ill to leave her bed or even spend much time with her. Tilly is a sensitive, generous girl who tries hard not to get in the way or be a nuisance because she understands that her father needs to give all his time to his wife, and to sorting out their new home. Lonely, unhappy and frightened by all the bewildering things that are happening, she finds herself thrown back on her own company, unable to share her worries. Full review...
Funeral Note: A Bob Skinner Mystery by Quintin Jardine
When a man's body was exhumed from a shallow grave in Edinburgh the initial reaction was that it was murder - I mean, why else would you dispose of the body in that way? But then, why would you bury it with obvious care and tell the police where it's buried? When the postmortem showed that the man had died from natural causes it seemed that it was case closed - but Chief Constable Bob Skinner didn't always think in straight lines. He had more pressing problems to deal with though. It seemed obvious that an Inspector on his force was corrupt and on the personal front it looked as though his marriage was heading for the rocks. Full review...
Rory's Boys by Alan Clark
Rory Blaine, grandson of Lady Sybil Blaine is gay, free, single and loving it, as he tells himself a dozen times a day. He may be middle aged but he's still got it. He's a partner in a successful advertising firm and so, so over having been thrown out of home when he was a teenager; yes, over it – totally and completely. When he hears his grandmother is dying, he decides it's time to remind her (and her considerable wealth) of his existence. The tardy but intensive attention seems to pay off when he's left the ancestral pile. But the stately home wasn't left to him quite in the way that he thought. There are so many strings attached it resembles a marionette: if he wants to keep it he must transform it into the first retirement home for elderly gay gentlemen and he also seems to have acquired his first resident, whether he's wanted or not. Full review...
A Bunch of Fives by Helen Simpson
I will come straight out with it at the top of this review and state that I am a big fan of Helen Simpson. So this book, which is a selection of five stories from each of her five collections, is right up my street. All I’ve got to do now is convince you that you need to read it too! Full review...
