Showing posts with label Jennifer Claessen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jennifer Claessen. Show all posts

Sunday, 22 June 2025

NETTA BECKER AND THE TIMELINE CRIME

Written by  Jennifer Claesssen                          


A golden cover has a matt black maze across it. Within the path s of the maze appear the book title and authors name in violet. Black cameo images appear in the maze also. These are a bulls head, a crown, two winged people, two running girls, one female like statuesque figure, a boy in shorts with a book, and what looks like the head and shoulders of another female.

                                                       

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my latest Book Review featuring this week an Adventure in Middle Grade Fiction.

Without further ado, and as my trusty housekeeper, Mrs H, always says, "Time stands nor sits for no man, so the wise plan and fill their days with work, rest and play."

This week's review maybe turns that adage a little on its head, as our lead character goes travelling in time. So without further ado, lets drift on over to baking hot Crete, then and now . . . 


A golden cover has a matt black maze across it. Within the path s of the maze appear the book title and authors name in violet. Black cameo images appear in the maze also. These are a bulls head, a crown, two winged people, two running girls, one female like statuesque figure, a boy in shorts with a book, and what looks like the head and shoulders of another female.



AUTHOR:  Jennifer Claessen  (Clickable link)

 

Illustrations by:  Heidi Cannon  (Clickable link; also on X as @HeidiOliviaArt) 


Published by:  UCLan Publishing  (Clickable link)

 

Publication date Paperback: 25 June 2025

 

Paperback 13 digit ISBN:  978  191 6747 593

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £7.99


Amazon KINDLE price:  £3.99

 

Pages: 240

 

Age range:  9 - 12


 

 

SPOILER ALERT


Some as to plot direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to... 


We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme Williams Publicity and UCLan Publishers for offering us a chance to Read & Review this story. 


As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.


The plot

Netta Becker is eleven, a brilliant swimmer and, much to her annoyance, on holiday with her younger, book-mad brother, Remy. It was his turn to pick where the family went for their holidays, and as he loves Cretan history, he chose Crete and a cheap villa holiday near King Minos's palace. Not the cool sort of place Netta wants to go to, not cool in any sense of the word. She is missing a big swimming gala back home and can't even go for a swim at the villa as the pool has green algae and cracked tiles.

But soon after arriving at their somewhat rickety resort, she starts seeing people. Not just the other families staying there, but people from a past age, adults and children. 

Very soon her visions take more serious form by way of her zoning out and having dreams far realer than they ought to be. In fact, she is being dragged back four thousand years to the palace of King Minos. Here she, on each visit, sees and hears different people and events. One time she is seen by Princess Ariadne, Ari for short. Ari thinks she is a spirit, a 'tricksy muse,' come at her behest. 

As events move on, Netta, much to her brothers upset, gets to see more than just the ancient ruins of modern Crete. She is seeing the buildings and people in their prime. It is soon clear that she has arrived just before the unveiling of King Minos's fabled labyrinth. There are festivities, offerings, and a white bull is to be sacrificed to the labyrinth to appease what lies within. Ari and Netta, who are about the same age, bond and talk about how history records what happens to Ari. Netta gets to see around the palace and learns of the children to also be sacrificed to the labyrinth. 

This galvanises her into action, and with Ari she plans to free the children and help them escape Crete. Minos has decreed none may leave the island, so things will be difficult, possibly fatal if Netta and the children are caught in the attempt. Maybe this is why Netta is being drawn back in time? Certainly, whatever is pulling her back is getting stronger, and each time she is drawn back she ends up spending long and longer in Crete and less in the villa. Back in the here and now, Remy acts to not only try to advise Netta of historical facts and outcomes, but to fend off enquiries as to why Netta is absent. But even he is getting worried by what the increasingly prolonged absences are doing to Netta’s body.

When Netta starts to gain a corporeal form in ancient Crete, the race is on to save the children and to hopefully put a stop to what is drawing her there. There is also the pressing matter of getting her back into her own body and time before she is stuck in the past. 

So, what did we think?

Growing up I was enthralled by the movies that featured characters from Greek mythology. But I was less enthralled when it came to reading dry textbooks on the matter. 

This story deftly brings together old Cretan and Greek mythology with the modern world by allowing our protagonist to pass back and forwards in time. More accurately we find that she is being drawn back and forth in time by compelling forces: something in ancient Crete and her brother and family life in the present. So unlike the TV series Quantum Leap, we find ourselves with two stories that are set to converge rather dramatically. 

The action is compelling and doesn't rely on high tech gadgetry. The peril is tangible and grows as the pace escalates and had us turning the pages as quickly as Netta jumps to and fro. 

The ending, which I shall not spoil, was awesome. I did not see it coming. 

So, Crunch time. 

Very impressive creative story telling with a delightful twist that breathes new life and enjoyment into the core and gaps in mythology, by combining past and present. I found this engaging, thrilling and very hard to put down, and much like Netta, we were sucked in and happily, avidly insisted on stayed till the very last page.


And now for my Sunday Selfie . . . .

Here is little me just giving last minute instructions for my tea to Mrs H. With the air con on over this particular bed in the guest room, it has been the perfect place to be during our heatwave. 

Erin sits on a mint green/light green beige cotton bed throw. She is looking up towards the camera. Her body is facing left with her tailcurled around her rear white socked legs.


We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. CLICK THIS LINK to visit their site and to get the code to add to your own blog . . . 


Small image. The Cat on My Head Sunday Selfies Blog Hop badge. Features a yellow-haired lady with a tuxedo cat on her head.

 I hope you enjoyed that adventure. 

Till laters!

ERin

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Sunday, 1 December 2024

The DECEMBER Witches

Written by  Jennifer Claessen

                            

A Christmassy cover of matt red with the three main Merlyn witches standing with backs to us. Centrally on the cover, in white text, is the title and author name. The girls are dressed in long scarves and bobble hats that match their hooded coats. From left to right, the colours are mauve, red & yellow. The decorations on the cover include a Christmas tree, an owl, a robin, leaves, snow, a wooden spoon and a recipe book. There are loads of stars that feature prominently in the story.
                                                        

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.



Hello, and welcome to my latest book review. This week we are featuring a magical Adventure in Middle-Grade Fiction. A topical one at that, as it begins in December, and features two very special witches' covens, the Merlyns and the Morgans.

This is the third of the trilogy, and even though we never got to read the first two stories, I feel we can quite ably guide you through this grand finale, which really does sew up all the loose ends, all rather neatly. That pun I shall let you discover for yourselves.

Without further ado, and with my trusty housekeeper, Mrs H, toiling over a bubbling saucepan of homemade soup (she assures me there is nothing even remotely like eye of newt or leg of toad), let's get on with the show!


A Christmassy cover of matt red with the three main Merlyn witches standing with backs to us. Centrally on the cover, in white text, is the title and author name. The girls are dressed in long scarves and bobble hats that match their hooded coats. From left to right, the colours are mauve, red & yellow. The decorations on the cover include a Christmas tree, an owl, a robin, leaves, snow, a wooden spoon and a recipe book. There are loads of stars that feature prominently in the story.


AUTHOR:  Jennifer Claessen

 

Cover Illustrations by: Heidi Olivia Cannon 

 

Published by:  UCLAN Publishing

 

Publication date Paperback: 7 November 2024

 

Paperback 13 digit ISBN:  978 1916 747 166

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £8.99


Amazon KINDLE price:  £8.99

 

Pages: 330 (plus bonus short story)

 

Age range: 9 to 12


Any dogs or cats? Witchy birds, and a rather spry donkey have important parts to play.

 

 



SPOILER ALERT

YES, as to plot direction and characters from all three books in the series.



Thank you to...


We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme Williams Marketing and UCLan Publishers for offering us a chance to Read & Review this story.

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.



A plot summary of books one and two:

In book one, called The October Witches, we get introduced to our lead protagonist, Clementine/Clemency/Clem and her relations that form the Merlyn witches. We are introduced to the other coven called the Morgans. Both, as I am sure you will know from Arthurian legend, don't really get on.

It is the month of October, and 12-year-old Clem's magic descends from the stars for the very first time. Witches in the covens get their magic only for one month a year. Year-round magic would be too much for their bodies. But Clem can't really use hers. She discovers that her mother and two aunts have cooked up a plan to make their magic last beyond their allotted month by storing it in a pumpkin. But this goes awry when the Morgans take the pumpkin and the three elder witches.

The young Merlyn 'hags' as they are called, Clem and Mirabelle, join up with hags Kerra and Senara from the Morgan side and restore an ancient 12-panel tapestry. This shows the ancient history of both families, from a time when the witches discovered that the magic was too strong and needed to be rationed from the stars.

In the grand finale, the Merlyn coven elders are saved in a big battle at the Morgan castle. And, with the destruction of the pumpkin, all the witches' magic is returned to the stars, just in time to celebrate Halloween.

In book two, The November Witches, Clem decides the best way to atone to her elders for all the chaos of October and the loss of their magic is to repair the tapestry by stitching the parts back together. This goes against the advice of Kerra. Despite there being no magic in their home, knights start arriving at their door. So, to evade them, the young hags return to the Morgans castle. There are problems for the Morgans, with wild magic on the loose, fires springing up everywhere, not to mention a forest starts to cover everything.

It dawns on them, on Clem, that the November chaos and twisted magic come directly from the now-restitched tapestry!

In a twist, young Kerra Morgan, fed up of being ever ignored, proclaims herself Queen of the Knights so she can seize the tapestry.


In the finale of the tale, Clem leads the witches to victory over the knights and forces the dark and twisted back into the tapestry. But in the chaos, whilst Clem finds her voice, she losses Kerra, who is literally drawn into the fabric of the weave.

So, on to book three.

It is finally December, which means Clem turns 13 and gets her first proper month of magic. There is joy in their house as cakes are made and gifts are given. But there is also ill health amongst the family of witches. Especially Aunt Connie, who has a terrible, worrying cough. Then with a bang, Clem is filled to overflowing with magical stars, the carriers of the magic. Things start to explode, and not just the occasional lightbulb.

She has way more than she should have. In fact, she has more than any witch could ever bear and runs the risk of exploding as her body tries to contain the ever-increasing burden and volume.

Someone, it seems, has chosen her to be the One True Witch! And that someone the hags, especially Clem, will come to know as the Stitch Witch', the embodiment of thousands of years worth of magic being stuck in the tapestry, stewing away. And what the Stitch Witch wants is to release all the energy into a witch they can easily control, and then create Avalon, a witch's home. This comes with a huge price tag, for the earth, witches and all of life as we know it.

It becomes a race to not only try to rescue Clem before she dies but to get rid of the malignant power before its new world of Avalon supplants all the Merlyns and Morgans know and hold dear. And let's not forget Kerra, who is still held captive within the tapestry threads.

So, what did we think?

Wow. End of review.

OK, so we need to fill that in a bit. Whether you like witch stories or not, this, like the twelve months of the year and the twelve panels of the tapestry, is so very much more.

The relationship between the young hags of both covens and between their elders is captivating, at times fun, and rings so true of many diverse multi-generational families.

A coming-of-age adventure, finding oneself and family, this book most certainly is, and it does it well. The facts, sadness and joy of gaining and then losing family is very well portrayed, heartfelt and brings true strength to the story that hangs about Clem's shoulders like the tapestry. It would be hard for us not to conclude the tapestry in this story is an analogy for life. Yes, that may seem obvious, as tapestries are often snapshots of a moment in time. But this one is more so. It depicts in layers the past, present and what may come if one is consumed by things; the risk of repeating destructive patterns.

As the conclusion to a trilogy, it is wholly satisfying. It brings delightful humour, and unexpected additions to the cast who all play a critical role, though both we and they may not realise it at first sight.


So . . . .

Crunch time.


A skilled, at times deeply heartfelt, but always compelling and fun adventure that is as worthy of telling and retelling as befits a modern re-imaging of the Arthurian legend and witchcraft shenanigans.

Would I watch this as a movie? Absolutely. Should you buy this? Again, absolutely, a perfect set to get the young or older 'hags' in your life.


A Christmassy cover of matt red with the three main Merlyn witches standing with backs to us. Centrally on the cover, in white text, is the title and author name. The girls are dressed in long scarves and bobble hats that match their hooded coats. From left to right, the colours are mauve, red & yellow. The decorations on the cover include a Christmas tree, an owl, a robin, leaves, snow, a wooden spoon and a recipe book. There are loads of stars that feature prominently in the story.


Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, steering clear of evil tapestries, please magic yourselves by whatever means to your local independent bookshop. Or order on-line. There are plenty out outlets out there, and each store is just waiting to brew you up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.


Jennifer Claessen's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.jenniferclaessen.com/

UCLan Publishing's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://uclanpublishing.com/

Heidi Olivia Cannon's web page: https://heidioliviaillustration.com/about is being updated, she can also be found on the site formerly known as Twitter under: @HeidiOliviaArt



I hope you enjoyed that adventure and review. 

I shall leave you with a Selfie of ME!






We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this sentence to visit Janet Blue's site.

Small image. The Cat on My Head Sunday Selfies Blog Hop badge. Features a yellow-haired lady with a tuxedo cat on her head.

🙂 🙂

Till laters!

ERin


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