World Book Day: The book Vs the comic

My little Captain Leo on World Book Day 2016

For many years, on this day, my Facebook timeline would be filled with cute children dressed in an array of costumes. I'd make the usual "ah" sound and hit the like button, maybe even write a little comment. Then I'd move on. However, this year I'm involved: my son has reached school-age and is, as I type, taking part in his first World Book Day.

I was only told last week that the children would be invited to dress up, so didn't have much time to let the creative juices flow. But fear not, the supermarkets were filled with costumes to take care of that problem. Or were they?

As I peered through the selection I was amazed, and slightly disappointed, that what was on offer was characters from The Avengers, Star Wars, Minions and Frozen. Now while I completely understand children like to dress up and have fun, I can't remember reading about any of these characters in a book! They are comic and film characters first and foremost. So while there may be some books featuring them as a merchandise ploy, I feel it's a bit of a cheat... there I said it.

Parents will roll their eyes at my view and kids will call me the boring mum (poor Leo!), but it's how I feel. There are so many wonderful books to choose from, why choose a comic?

So, what did Leo dress up as? Although the picture gives it away somewhat, I'll explain anyway.

Leo's favourite character has always been Peter Rabbit, so I took it for granted he would choose that. No, of course he said he wanted to be the Hulk (who doesn't, right?). And it dawned on me; while I may be a book lover (and I hope as he grows Leo will be too), right now three year-olds want fun and colour and excitement. For them, the likes of Peter Rabbit and Oliver Twists just 'ain't cutting it.

Therefore, we reached a compromise. Leo dressed up as a pirate, and he believes it's because he likes the book Pirates Love Underpants and that swashbuckling show on CBeebies, (but I chose to ignore that). For me, Leo went to school as Captain Hook - Peter Pan's arch-enemy. Now, while I know the story has been on stage, TV and made into a film (or three!), the character is ultimately from an enchanting classic book about a boy who didn't want to grow up.

My February book reviews...

February has been a whirlwind month for me. In the Shadows was returned from my editor, proofreader and beta readers. I also set up a blog tour (more news on that coming soon), which I'm really excited about.

And between all that, I'm pleased to say I still managed to read three fab books - and started a fourth. However, as I've not finished that one, you'll just have to wait until March's round-up for the review.

So, without further ado, here are my February reads:

The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft 

This was the first Kathryn Croft novel for me, and my first 5 star review of 2016. I can't remember reading a book where, at some stage, I doubted every single character. It's an awesome psychological thriller that will keep you thinking, keep you guessing and keep you reading.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy The Girl you Lost on Amazon.




The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza 

I loved the gritty nature of the main character, DI Erika Foster and I look forward to reading more about her. She has a background story that I'm sure will be delved into much more. I felt The Girl in the Ice was a bit repetitive at times, which sometimes slowed it down for me, but the characters definitely held my attention.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy The Girl in the Ice on Amazon.



CXVI Desperate Measures by Angie Smith 

This was a bitter-sweet read for me. Having thoroughly enjoyed the CXVI trilogy, I knew no matter what the ending of Desperate Measures was - it was saying goodbye. The author does this impeccably and wraps everything up in her usually clever and thoughtful way.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to pre-order CXVI Desperate Measures on Amazon.