Ben and the Spider Lake

Ben and the Spider Lake is another magical book from children's author Angela Fisher.

She returns to the Spider Kingdom for this her third book.

It is the summer holidays again and Ben, together with his dog Scoot and his family plus his best friend Jess travel to a small cottage close by the Dark Mountains.

He learns that the lane at the back of the cottage is to be dug up. This is a disaster for it would result in homelessness or even injury for the families of spiders who live under the lane.

Ben must locate Lox, who is the guardian of the Spider Gate.

With Jess, Ben tries to work out a way to help move the spider kingdom subjects  to a safer location.

But they only have one month before to workmen arrive!

Where can they be moved to? How can they be moved?

Will there be any help forthcoming? Or does Ben's gran know more than she is letting on?

The book is ideal as a Christmas present for any children between 3 to 6 for parents, grandparents or other relatives to read with them.

This book is published in hardback by The Book Guild at £9.95 and it is available for purchase at our own shop https://goo.gl/KD9so0 along with thousands of other books and gifts of all types.

Mischief

Mischief is the latest novel by popular writer Liz Vincent.

It tells the story of the younger generation of the Lange family, who readers met in her previous novel, Malice, published last year in 2015.

Grace Langhe is maturing and growing up,. Her mother is worried that Grace seems to be channelling for her grandmother Madge, a somewhat domineering and forceful personality in the family.

Thomas comes onto the scene and Grace falls for him and she enters into a relationship that some might describe as troubled or even risky.

Yet Thomas is not quite what Grace had presumed him to be and the relationship comes to a dramatic conclusion that leaves Grace feeling justifiably traumatised.

Grace feels that, somehow, Grandmother Madge is looking out for her and trying to steer her in the right direction.

Grace leaves to work away from home with her best friend Lucy.

Through Lucy she meets a young man called Seth, though the circumstances of their meeting are a little strange, to say the least. She decides to keep her relationship with Seth a secret from her parents. After all, things had had very badly wrong with Thomas and she was so hurt by her experience that she doesn't feel able to confide in her parents that she is in another relationship.

After a time she reassess her life and decides to take up the opportunity to train to become a journalist.

Quite by chance she catches up with an old friend from her school days who she has seen in years, Jade. Jade is extremely proud of her handsome boyfriend. Thomas!

Grace reveals the less-than-savoury truth about the dark unpleasant true side to Thomas' personality and eventually they join forces to formulate a plot to get revenge on Thomas.

The revenge serves a dual purpose, because it also means that Grace is pushed into the limelight and her career in journalism grows and prospers.

But all the while, Seth is there, being her rock.

She and Seth wed and start their life together. But strange things are happening. What if Madge did not merely approve of her marriage to Seth, but actively arrange for it to take place?

But what, exactly, was really taking place? And what was the link to the long dead crusader with the tomb in the church?

This is an intriguingly mystical book and to reveal more of the plot would spoil this extraordinary story.

It is published in paperback by Matador and will make a very welcome stocking filler for lovers of fiction with historical and modern flashes.

It costs £9.99 and is available for purchase here: https://goo.gl/vwb28W

Gifts to buy? Then get them Faith In Nature!

The Faith In Nature range is chock full of great beauty and skincare products that do have a great level of Faith in Nature.

For they are all made from natural ingredients. And organically sourced, where this is appropriate.

And they carry their very genuine care and concern for the natural environment throughout their offering, as they insist on using plastic bottles that are made from recycled materials wheber this is possible.

The range of beauty products is award winning, so you know you will be buying your Christmas gift recipients only the best that is available.

Take for example their Pineapple and Lime Shampoo, with added organic mango extract.

It is specially formulated and blended to be perfect for people who have hair types from normal to oily.

I have very oily hair which often defeats lesser shampoos. But not Faith in Nature Pineapple and Lime Shampoo! Not only does it smell great, I could actually feel it doing my scalp good as I massaged it in.

And there's also the complementary Faith in Nature Pineapple and Lime Conditioner, also with organic mango extract, formulated for normal to oily hairy.

It also has a great scent to it and it help condition even the most oily of hair types!

And they also have a range of absolutely perfect handmade soaps, including the wonderful Coconut soap that is carefully blended with organic coconut.

There's a wonderful range of beauty and skincare products, plus an amazing range of gift sets, ideal for Christmas presents.

To purchase please visit  http://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/faith.

(We would like to thank Discount Supplements for their help with arranging the review samples for our review team.)

The Heroes of Elwhen

The Heroes of Elwhen is the first part of a six part series for children, from the pen of Staffordshire author G. H. Cawser.

It is guaranteed to transport young readers to a fantastical and wonderful land, the land of Elwhen.

Joh and Sally-Annie are both city kids, born and bred. However, they like to speond the long, summer months on the farm that is owned by their Uncle Ned.

No matter what rural adventures have befallen them previously, it's likely that nothing could prepare them for the great adventure that was about to befall them, when they would depart on a magical journey to a wondrous world.

They and their cousin Gerald have time for one final trip to the very summit of the mysterious Barrow Hill.

But before they can make for home they are drawn into an amazing world the likes of which they couldn't ever have imagined, a land called Elwhen.

They are soon captured by Belladonna, a witch who they encounter soon after they arrive in Elwhen, so the three children find themselves involved in a struggle that could conceivably destroy Elwhen.

They want to return home, but learn that that dream would be an unattainable one, when they are tricked and cajoled into hunting down an amulet with magical powers. The Jewel of the Isle.

But what if the jewel is already within the purview of the witch? What would she do? Could she take the jewel and use it to her nefarious ends?

They are threatened by the witch and her army of trolls. All seems lost, but they are not without hope, resources or help. They meet with a wizard, Mr Thurlan, who offers them his assistance and the use of a very important waygaerth "for a moment of need."

This will make a wonderful Christmas gift for children who love fantasy novels.

It's just £6.99 and is available for purchase here https://goo.gl/6HLMeo.

Blackmail

Blackmail is the debut thriller novel by retired judge, Michael Stokes.

Stokes uses his training as a lawyer and his experiences in the courtroom as both an advocate and a judge to create this thriller.

A group of professional criminals plan and execute a daring robbery.

However, the gang of professional crooks bungle the operation and as a result a security guard is shot and left seriously wounded.

Michael Doyle, the leader of the gang is not too concerned by this rather unfortunate turn of events.

After all, hasn't he been able to concoct an apparently cast iron alibi that means that he could not have been anywhere near the scene of the crime?

However, his clever alibi is put at risk by the discovery of DNA evidence that link a gang member with the injured security guard.

CCTV images link Doyle and his gang member to the scene of the crime and both are subjected to arrest.

Smart lawyers seem to have the DNA evidence excluded on a technicality. However, Doyle's girlfriend is a smart cookie -as they say- and with her knowledge of the law, she believes that these machinations do not have a viable chance of succeeding.

However, someone decides to take matters into their own hands and the wife and child of a judge are kidnapped.

If the judge issues a ruling that is to the liking of the kidnappers, then his wife a son will be released. If not....

But what will the judge do?

Who is responsible for the kidnapping? Is it Doyle's girlfriend? Or perhaps there is someone from the past life of the judge who has an axe to grind and a point to make?  

Will his family be save? Or are they already dead?

If the judge rules in favour of the defence, will his family be released unharmed? Or not?

And who is the mole behind the major robbery?

This is a stunningly good debut novel. I hope that it will be the first of many thrillers from the pen of Michael Stokes. (More are planned, so please keep an eye out for them.)

It is published by Matador at £9.99 and is a good, substantial read of well over 500 pages.

If you have a lover of legal thrillers to buy a Christmas present for, this will be an excellent and well-received gift.

You can buy it from us at this link https://goo.gl/6HLMeo

The Boathouse

The Boathouse is a romantic debut novel from Dane Anthony Howard.

It's the story of how a young couple,  Ben and Louise, fall in love one summer in North London.

The story of how they meet, fall in love and how their romance blossoms and grows during one idyllic summer is set against a backdrop of poetry, of rock and roll and even a modicum of drugs and sex.

But as the love story moves form North London -Primrose Hill, to be more precise- and the English Lake District, their relationship is hit by a terrible double tragedy that shatters their romance and changes lives for ever.

For a debut novel this is a stunning work and it is to be hoped that this is the first of many novels from Dane Anthony Howard.

The book is published in paperback by The Book Guild at a very reasonable £6.99 and is available from us at our retail site at this address https://goo.gl/6HLMeo.

It will make an excellent Christmas gift for those who do not always expect a happy ending to the novels they read.

Brockmans Gin it belongs in your Christmas drinks cabinet

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a gin aficionado. However, in the case of Brockmans Gin, I am more than happy to make an exception!

Brockmans Gin is vastly different to the gins you might already have tried. In fact, I will issue you the That's Christmas challenge. Please buy a bottle of Brockmans Gin and give it a try. I think you will be pleasingly surprised at the flavours in Brockmans Gin.

The scent is pleasing, with nice floral notes.

But then comes the taste! My word, what a revelation it is to the artistry behind the creation of a good gin!

This is my own personal opinion: At first there is a definite subtle hint of Palma Violets.

But next there's a definite little hint of roses and thirdly there's a visit to a hedgerow in full floral bloom at the height of summer.

Although, obviously, you can make cocktails with Brockmans Gin, you might feel more than a little guilty about spoiling the natural taste of this fine gin.

For the purposes of research we did prepare some cocktails with some Brockmans Gin.

We found it worked extremely well with Fevertree Indian Tonic Water, with Fentiman's Rose Lemonade and with some Opies cherries in Kirche. Plus, of course, a good deal of the Kirche!

If you intend to make some Brockmans cocktails for the Christmas and New Year period, please take our advice and buy more than one bottle, or run the risk of running out!

It should cost about £28 a bottle.

To find your nearest stockist visit http://brockmansgin.com/find-brockmans-form

For more general information please visit  http://brockmansgin.com.

And please do mention That's Christmas when you contact them.