The House Of Birds & Butterflies: Dawn Chorus by Cressida McLaughlin

Abby Field works at Meadowbrook nature reserve owned by Penelope and her late husband Al, as part of their estate they set up and ran the reserve together until his death and now Abby Field has been working there for the past eighteen months making friends with the other workers, Rosa, Gavin, Stephan and
Marek.

But when the reserve is threatened by a rival whose setting is set to be used in a TV show presented by Flick Hunter, a popular lady amongst the men at least, they all need to pull together to hatch a plan to up visitor numbers. However,the arrival of a new Tennant at Peacock Cottage close on site to the reserve sets about issues being bought up that also need to be dealt with by Abby as Penelope wants the thriller writer tenant in the cottage to be happy and satisfied and not moaning about people constantly making noise by the cottage. Soon enough, Abby and author, Jack build up a relationship which goes from complaining to friends of sorts.

Abby is a great character and I love the close knit community of the village in this book, with each characters quirks they all fit nicely with each other and despite Abby's sad past, it's a great positive her job is what was her safety when she was younger.

I can't wait for the next part of the story when it gets released now!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

In this book Maya is an aspiring filmmaker and dreams of attending NYU but her traditional Muslim Indian parents don't approve. They dream of her marrying and staying at home and being a good girl as they dream.

However, after her dream seems within reach, an act of terrorism causes more violence in her life and not just to the public as she and her family face physical and verbal abuse.

She also has to battle with a crush on Phil she's harboured for years but as the pair grow closer and closer, things escalate till the future seems too hazy to hope for together...

The book looks at the future of a hopeful student but as she goes against all her strict parents wishes whilst she experiences love but also a terrorist attack that directly affects her life and unfortunately this is all too true an occurrence. It was a real book with deep issues that many people can relate to.

The Pants Project by Cat Clarke

Liv's just started middle school but is hiding a secret deep down, she knows she's a boy, transgender and hates the school's uniform being sexist that girls have to wear skirts not trousers.

This spurs her on to petition and make a change along with the support of best friends Maisie and Jacob who's own battle is with hyper mobility syndrome while Jade the school bully has her own fun with the situation while the school head has a meltdown when the petition campaign makes the local news!

Her two moms and her brother all accept her for who she truly is as she eventually works up the courage to be the real him and brave coming out in the open about his feelings deep down.

A raw and emotional book about a transgender teen fighting for their belief's and taking a stand. I enjoyed this book and found it interesting with all the history through childhood memories we got to relive as he dealt with his feelings growing up.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

With her mum dying from cancer, Lina is left to go stay with Howard whom she believes is actually her father in Italy where he lives in a World War two cemetery of which when Lina goes on her morning run, meets Ren whom is also Italian American and will be attending school together.

When she gets her hands on her mums old journal she realises a lot of secrets where between them and it leaves her to trace down her real father and uncover what happened to her mum before Lina was born. Her friend from home Addie keeps in touch after Lina decides to stay despite her first nerves and Addie enjoys the drama but obviously helps Lina in any way she can as well as with Ten and his friends she meets.

It was such a great read and so different with being a mystery built into a loss story about the years before Lina would never know about along with her mum enjoying Italy as much as she is now she's settled in and soaking up the culture, places and hobbies.

Leah On The Off Beat by Becky Albertalli

Set a year after the events in Love, Simon, we meet Leah who is bisexual but isn't out to her friends, just her mum.

Abby still dating Nick, is a girl Leah used to like and possibly still does even though Garrett is also showing an interest in her too as the pair hang out more.

As prom and graduation are about to arrive, we see loved up Simon get promposed to while the girls stress over their college choices after failing to get in for some of them. However after Abby goes through some relationship drama with Nick, she heads off to Athens with Leah as the pair take a campus tour and get close while there where feelings take a toll on them both and it becomes an emotionally charged trip.

Leah is a talented artist and draws for a hobby and uploads them onto her art blog. Leah is also the drummer of the girls and Garretts band which is an issue as the band faces separation as they part ways for college.

This sequel was everything romantic, cute and LGBTQ friendly to the maximum! If you want a cute read about prom, love and friends this book is for you and it was super to see the characters lives beyond Love, Simon.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Katy by Jacqueline Wilson

Katy is the eldest of her siblings as she lives with her dad and step mum Izzie and the assortment of children they already had and had together from Katy, Elsie, Clover, Phil, Dorry, Jonnie and Cecy, her best friend too who's practically like another sister.

Usually the one to make up games and entertain her siblings, she often winds up in trouble somehow. But all the girls and boys are on their best behaviour when their dad's favourite ex patient comes to visit, Helen has rheumatoid arthritis and is in a wheelchair but hasn't let it hold her back as she's a highly successful academic becoming a doctor herself!

After Katy isn't allowed to have her skateboard back but goes behind her step mum's back to go out anyway, she tries to concoct a swing from a tree beach with a single piece of tied rope.

However, Katie asked to a changed life after her worried neighbour finds her and she gets whisked away to hospital where she remains for weeks of her school holiday. Once a life loving eleven year old looking forward to the summer holiday before secondary school starts, she hates the idea her life will now be wheelchair bound and limited.

Over the course of being in hospital, she has a kind nurse Jasmine, while she makes friends eventually with a boy called Dexter whom is a bit goth/emo/alternative and lives to draw graphic comic strips featuring baddies and the from reaper. They both relate as similar things have happened to them only as Dexter gets dumped by his girlfriend and Katy hates that her family get to go on holiday without her, or her dad as he's a doctor and choses to stay to see Katy, the pair keep up visiting and cheering each other up.

We then see Katy struggle adapting the life at home and school with Cecy as she faces life in a wheelchair and all it brings while she discovers it doesn't change her true character as she fits back in with her family and friends.

The book features many life changing moments for Katy from starting back at school and needing them to make changes to accommodate her as she has had to make for her life. The topic of everyday girl typical worries about weight come up as Katy wishes to just be able to take part normally in sport like the other students as well as the Paralympic games even being featured to inspire her. It puts day to day worries into perspective as Katy realises her life is changed forever and captures a true look at disability in children/teens and how it affects them.

Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson

Taken to the foundling hospital as a baby, Hetty is fostered until she reaches the age of six and is brought up with many siblings, Gideon, Martha and Eliza are also fostered from there too.

She hates the idea of going back to the foundling hospital when she's six as she'll have to stay until she's fourteen. But her not by blood relation brother, Jem says they'll marry and be happy together when she's old enough.

Hetty loves seeing the wonders of the Circus when it arrives from Elijah the elephant to her loved Madame Adeline whom invites her up to ride with her on her horse and calls Hetty her little star.

Then her time is up at home and she's forced into the Foundling hospital where she's trained to be a seamstress and makes enemies of Sheila and Monica but a friend in Polly even battling influenza together as tragedy strikes Hetty's old foster family life.

Then, suddenly Polly is adopted out of the hospital to replace a rich couple's dead daughter!

In a turn of events, on an outing for the jubilee, Hetty runs away when she spots the circus and ends up across London, in a close call with a man where she gets helped by a kind girl selling flowers and have a run in with an aspiring author, Miss Smith, whom returns Hetty from her jaunt to the foundling hospital where she finally learns her real mum would have called her Sapphire and was hiding in plain sight all along. In this historical mystery fiction.

I found Hetty a great character of a girl, strong willed and unafraid to be herself even when others disagree with her she holds herself strong and sure. It's shocking to think in the past many girls sufferred the way the foundlings did or served horrid masters but Hetty had something positive in the Circus to hold dear in her memories and heart as she yearned to return and perform one day and that goal as well as to be a writer showed her fiery spirit staying strong.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

Freida isn't the most popular of the girls, but her friend of now drifting from friend, Isabel used to be ranked number one in this book all about being the best and most desirable girl manufactured in order to be chosen by a man.

These girls are made specially for the men, carefully designed and kept until one day their men arrive and select them to begin a life with where they need to produce only sons and never daughters as all women are manufactured. If they can't be a companion, the girls are either destined to be a chastity at the school or a concubine forever or even worse, underground experiments.

Megan is now the most popular girl ranked at the top out of all their year and despite Isabel, Frieda's old best friend only ever wanting to be on top, she soon battles with her weight which is heavily discussed in this book by all the girls as they criticise each other hardcore as they need to be perfect to the men. There is also more than meets the eye as we learn later on as to why Isabel distances herself and struggles to cope in some ways.

As the boys begin their visits to the school to spend time with potential partners, Freida feels honoured to be Darwin's choice many times as he's the best ranked number one, however Megan isn't happy about this at all but when Freida tries to hard to be accepted, the best and gives in to her feelings she ends up paying the price in the end.

This book is brutal and vain but in a great way, a bit triggering for anyone with an eating disorder  I feel but besides that it was an intriguing storyline and essential looking at real life Barbie or Brats being made in the way the girls are spoken about in the book. It was very honest in topics discussed from sex, marriage and the girls relationships with their bodies which portrays they were more human like in attitude than brainwashed into set ways of thinking though they did have rules to follow for the so called ideal life to be theirs.theirs

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Five years since her mum passed away from ovarian cancer, Andie is in the shadow's to her dad's congressman life despite being under investigation and not currently in the running.

When a chance meeting with a dog crosses her path with Clark, she finds her life shifting as she chances taking on a job advert with no description and becomes a dog walker for the summer, finding herself falling into it with a growing passion and growing love as Clark is one of her clients!

As relationships in her friend's lives fall apart it hits her hard and after an argument with her father he realises family must come first despite him distracting himself for so long, he can't run away from being a father yet he embraces Clark and Andie's relationship as he finds out Clark is a very successful author and a genuine nice guy maybe he can help heal the father daughter relationship too.

A great summer read, I found hard to get into but after a few chapters and perseverance, it paid off as I became immersed into Andie's life and how strong she is facing all she does with her parents, broken set life plans and trying something completely out of her comfort zone for once by chance. The dog's and the friends she makes from them show how crutial pets are in lives and how they can unknowingly help someone so much!