We're joining a fabulous blog tour to celebrate a local author now, awesome Nicki Thornton whose brilliant Seth Seppi Mysteries are available from Chicken House Books, including C's favourite to date - the superb Book Of The Week-winning "The Cut-Throat Cafe".



We've cooked up a series of 10 "This or That" questions to tax Nicki's amazing brain, so here without further ado are our questions and Nicki's answers. Take it away Nicki!

Cats or Dogs?

Oh we do love it when books arrive with a "WHOOP!" of glee and celebration here at ReadItDaddy Towers. We've been waiting, anticipating and hopping from foot to foot waiting for our Chapter Book of the Week to arrive, and "The Cut-Throat Cafe" by Nicki Thornton is every bit as good as we'd hoped.

So in the third of the Seth Seppi mysteries, what's the young would-be magician up to this time? Let's hand over to "The Boss" of the blog who has written this review herself.

In this book we find Seth at the magic town of Gramichee.

We have our cheerleading pants on once again for a hugely talented local author whose books we love to bits (and she's absolutely lovely to talk to as well!)

So let's hear it for Nicki Thornton and the third darkly delicious chapter in the adventures of Seth Seppi, this time stopping for tea at "The Cut-Throat Cafe".

This time Seth and his talking cat Nightshade arrive in the magical town of Gramichee to gain an apprenticeship.

But there's a problem. Someone's been attacking magical apprentices! Is Seth safe? Is there hidden danger at the Cut-Throat Cafe! Poor Seth also has exams to contend with too, a fate almost worse than death.

As I type this, we've just received the book, and Little Miss instantly stole off with it.

I can see her light burning in her room way past her actual bed time so I'm pretty sure that's a seal of approval, and once again a sign that she's been completely sucked into Seth's world, and Nicki's sumptuous storytelling.

Do you think she'll let my wife and I fight over it next??

Wishing Nicki and family the very best on her launch day, from all at ReadItDaddy Towers!

"The Cut Throat Cafe" by Nicki Thornton is out today, published by Chicken House Books (kindly supplied for review). 

This week's Chapter Book of the Week is another one of those fantastic middle grade books that keeps things nicely dark and spooky without being menacing, and has kept little miss completely wrapped up in a world of dusty relics, mysterious old houses and family secrets.

"The House on Hoarder Hill" by Kelly Ngai and Mikki Lish begins with two children being sent off for the Christmas holidays to stay at their grandfather's rather creaky dusty old house.

The place is great for an adventure or two, but the two kids soon get very bored - that is until they start seeing secret messages appearing on the picture frames dotted throughout their grandfather's place.

Soon, Hedy and Spencer are caught up in a mystery that has been left unsolved for years. What exactly did happen to their grandmother, and how did she disappear?

Their grandfather is tight-lipped about his wife's disappearance, but the two curious kids use their own skills and moxy, along with the help of a very strange set of talking objects in the house - and a whole host of spirits who also share the place with their grandfather.

But dark forces are massing. Not everyone in the house is as friendly as they seem!

Packed with amazing and original little story touches, and brilliant characters throughout, this is perfect for kids who love solving mysteries and puzzles and love anything ghostly too!

"The House on Hoarder Hill" by Kelly Ngai and Mikki Lish is out now, published by Chicken House Books (kindly supplied for review).

Of course we're instantly going to be attracted to a book that sets out its stall as being a completely reinvention of the whole "Princess" genre.

Particularly when you meet "Princess BMX" by Marie Basting, the awesome story of a diminutive little girl who absolutely loves gadding about on her prized stunt bike.

The titular princess is bored. Bored with life in the palace. Bored with endless trying on of dresses, of balls and parties and all that ridiculous finery.

What cuts through the boredom? In a word, misbehaviour and if there's one thing the young princess excels at, it's getting into trouble in the pursuit of having fun, whether it's sliding down the grand staircase in a stinky old vegetable sack, or endlessly teasing Mum's micro-unicorn, or playing pranks on her brother Bertie.

Time for a princess like no other. Time for Princess BMX!

Deftly demonstrating that girls want to have as much awesome fun as boys, this is a rallying call-to-arms for all middle grade story fans who love their central characters brave, a tad naughty, and completely at ease with speaking their minds, and not shying away from a challenge.

"Princess BMX" by Marie Basting is out today, published by Chicken House Books (kindly supplied for review). 

Seth is back! And so is Nicki Thornton with the sequel to her superb "The Last Chance Hotel".

In "The Bad Luck Lighthouse" Seth Seppi and his moggy sidekick Nightshade are back for more mysterious antics, all tinged with a touch of dark magic.

We've been totally engrossed in this book for weeks, and it won our well-deserved "Book of the Week" accolade so do go and check out our review.

In the meantime we're also joining the blog tour for this fab book with a devilishly tricky set of questions for Nicki, which she answered with great gusto!

So without further ado, let's dig in!

Take it away Nicki!






5 Questions from Phil

Q1) Congratulations Nicki on your second book! Let's kick off by asking whether it was easier /

harder to work on "The Bad Luck Lighthouse" than "The Last Chance Hotel"?

A1) Thank you! I am delighted I have a second book. Particularly because The Last Chance Hotel was so extremely hard to write.

I thought about the idea for ages. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted a detective plot. I knew I

needed to construct an entire magical world, and to create a large cast of characters from which you

had to guess whodunnit.

I really wanted it to have all those elements of classical detective stories that I love. To me, this means red herrings, not just clues. You have to be able to bring the reader up short, backtrack, mislead them into thinking the wrong thing...but without leaving them utterly bewildered, or guessing too easily!

The word count for the age group suddenly seemed too small to pack all this in! (I know EXACTLY what you mean! - Ed)

I got the world and the magic and the main characters long before I finally had a plot and a way into

the story. After my far-seeing publisher said they wanted to publish, it then took two years of editing.

I rewrote the entire book four times for structure to navigate where to put the clues / how to balance the backstory / have a complex plot – yet make sure it’s actually very easy to read.

So yes, by the second book, luckily I had a little more idea of how to do it!


Q2) You're so amazing at worldbuilding in your stories! Do you ever have real-life locations in

mind when you think up where you're going to set your books?

A2) Thank you again! Yes indeed. And you quite possibly know the inspiration for The Last Chance Hotel because I suspect you might have been to Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire? (We haven't but we're going to make it our business to do so!! - Ed)

Our Chapter Book of the Week is a book that C has now started her third readthrough of.

Normally when we're drawing up our "Book of the Week" books, we do so in advance but C was adamant that this got into the BOTW slot as soon as possible.

With a bit of blog-juggling and some quite stern looks from "The Boss" her willing slave-typing-monkey did as he was bid.

So here we are then with "Peril En Pointe: A Swan House Mystery" by Helen Lipscombe, and one of the most impressively accomplished debuts we've read in a very long time.

The book is a darkly delicious slice of adventure that may initially put a few folk off (A ballet school book? EWWWW!) but don't let the setting fool you, this is a story filled with exquisite plot twists, amazing characters and some truly mighty girls who love their ballet and their adventures in equal measure.

The story begins with Milly who yearns to dance like her ballerina mum.

Our Chapter Book of the Week is the sequel to local super-talented author Nicki Thornton's exquisite "The Last Chance Hotel".

Seth is back! But this time is he the same happy-go-lucky lad?

After solving the mystery of the Last Chance Hotel, Seth is discovering his own magical abilities, and is destined to put them to the test solving a whole new MagiCon case, a mysterious set of oddities surrounding the remote location of the Snakesmouth Lighthouse.

Mina Mintencress, owner of the lighthouse, has been murdered - and soon Seth and his trusty cat Nightshade are once again embroiled in a dark and dangerous quest to uncover the identity of a dark sorcerer.

But will the lure of dark magic prove too much for Seth to resist and will it hamper his ambitions to become a proper MagiCon investigator one day?

Once again Nicki really pours on the tension and excitement, with a supporting cast of characters that we SWEAR she took furious notes on while running local Indie bookstore Mostly Books (yipes, I hope we dont end up in book 3!)

So here it is. The final book...and our Chapter Book of the Week this week, the stunning "Against all Gods" by Maz Evans.

Book lovers everywhere will know what it feels like when you are holding in your hand the final book in a series that has wormed its way into your heart, and become such a firm favourite that you know the minute you're done with this, you'll want to go right back to "Who Let the Gods Out" and re-read the entire series all over again.

That's how it is with us. Each of Maz' brilliant books has slid with ease into our Chapter Book of the Week slot, and this is no exception.

It wasn't a foregone conclusion though. As C gets older she gets tougher, and when this arrived she grabbed it with a 'whoop' and what followed was a couple of days of agonising questioning until I could comfortably get her opinion on it.

"It's good" she said simply, quietly, almost with reverence, and a tinge of sadness...

So what are you in store for? Well, if you have been following Elliot's escapades across all four books (and if you haven't WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING, MORTAL?) you'll know where things stand at the start of this book.

Elliot faces his darkest period yet. Having vanquished unearthly foes, narrowly avoided losing his home, then suffering from the highs and lows of amazing triumphs and horrid losses, Elliot's final quest could decide the fate of mankind.  

This week's Chapter Book of the Week isn't the first fictional dalliance with the darkest night for Benjamin Read and Laura Trinder...

Our Chapter Book of the Week this week once again proves that Chicken House Books have a superb eye for amazing writing talent, and once again they grace our Book of the Week slot with a fabulous debut from an author who lives just around the corner from ReadItDaddy Towers!

Nicki Thornton ought to know her stuff, having successfully co-run our favourite local indie bookstore "Mostly Books" for a number of years.

Now she's turning her expert eye for fabulous stories to actually writing them herself, cooking up "The Last Chance Hotel" - a superbly spooky story that had C, her mum and I gripped from page 1. I'm turning over the review to Mum and C to give you their thoughts on this book (and hopefully I'll get to read it in more depth once they've finished as they're not even letting me get a look in!)

The story introduces Seth, a lowly kitchen boy who works at the titular hotel itself. Put-upon as the lowest of the low by just about everyone else working there, Seth's life isn't exactly a laugh-a-minute.

The hotel is run by the villainous Bunn family who think nothing of mistreating Seth.

Thankfully he does at least have one friend, a black cat called Nightshade who is his constant companion.

Seth's life changes completely when a delegation of magicians arrive at the hotel for dinner, kicking off a mystery surrounding a poisoning, an impossible murder and a lot of finger pointing - unfortunately in Seth's direction!

Just as everyone is eating dessert the VIP guest dies. All eyes are turned on Seth, as he made a very special dessert just for the VIP guest. Seth knows he is innocent but needs to prove it. But how can he.

Can Seth somehow solve the mystery and clear his name?

We were very excited when this landed on our doorstep. We have known Nicki (and husband Mark) Thornton from Mostly Books (our fantastic indie bookshop in Abingdon now run by equally fantastic folk who are carrying on its good name).

The Last Chance Hotel is told from Seth's point of view as the lowly kitchen hand (or 'Saucepan Scrubber' in the eyes of Tiffany Bunn, the annoying daughter of the hotel owners).

Seth is such a likable character and we loved Nicki's inventive and amazing names such as Professor Papperspook and Gloria Troutbean (we are wondering which visitors to Mostly Books these people are based on), and the fancy food Seth has had to cook for the amazing dinner.

I think our emotions ranged from excited anticipation to wild mania when we saw this week's Chapter Book of the Week...

We're absolutely delighted to be joined by Gwen Lowe, author of "Alice Dent and the Incredible Germs" for a fantastic "This or That" round of questions ahead of her book launch.

Gwen has brought her incredible expertise in microorganisms into play for a new story about a girl who catches a cold like no other. We won't spoil things too much but you're in for a (slightly snotty) treat in this tense tale of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary illness! EEP!

But first we've managed to catch some time with Gwen for a fabulous "This or That" question and answer session.

Without further ado, over to Gwen...!


1) Chocolate or cheese?

Wow – a hard question to start with! I like eating most things beginning with the letter “c” – cupcakes, crisps, cauliflower, cookies, curry, cherries . . . but I guess if you pin me down and force me to answer then I choose. . . chocolate!

Our Chapter Book of the Week is the fantastic follow-up to one of our favourite books of the year, can Maz Evans pull off the difficult second book in her "Gods" series? Of course she can!

Oh lordy! Lucretia Cutter is back! Today sees the release of M.G Leonard's fantastic follow-up to her brilliant "Beetle Boy"

This time it's Lucretia's turn for a bit of nasty revenge in "Beetle Queen", published today by Chicken House Books.

Insect fan Darkus is once again in danger as the nefarious Lucretia Cutter (a rather nasty character if we do say so ourselves) sends out her yellow ladybird spies to help her hatch a new plot to bend the world to her will.

With lots of beetle friends in tow, Darkus, Bertolt and Virginia will do everything to try and stop Lucretia's evil plans - but this time it won't be easy as her horrid sidekicks Humphrey and Pickering are out of jail, and rather fancy some revenge of their own.

Will Darkus's dad actually wake up and realise what's going on before it's too late?

A stunning sequel to Beetle Boy (which we've also just read), Beetle Queen is full of wry humour, breathtaking suspense and - oh - bugs, yes, lots of bugs. In fact if anything, Beetle Queen has made us incredibly paranoid about any yellow ladybirds we spot while out on our woodland walks!

Charlotte and I absolutely lapped this up, though I think this has an awful lot to do with Lucretia, who is the sort of baddie that you just can't help but admire, in their single-minded pursuit of foul evilness!

If you're still playing catchup,  or if you're the sort of person who likes to get into a book series at book one, then don't forget to pick up a copy of "Beetle Boy"...

This is the story that introduces Darkus, and his fantastic Stag Beetle friend Baxter.

The two don't exactly hit it off at first, but when Darkus realises the big scary bug is actually trying to communicate, it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Mysteries unfold that will steer both Darkus and Baxter through a strange disappearance (as Darkus's dad goes missing), and a chilling encounter with a vile villain named Lucretia who is like a bug-loving version of Cruella De Ville, with a rather horrid penchant for bug-shaped jewellery.

Hugely original, beautifully paced and written and a real win for anyone (like us) who loves interesting bugs and truly rotten baddies, "Beetle Boy" and "Beetle Queen" by M.G Leonard are both out now, published by Chicken House Books. 

(Both books kindly supplied for review)

What on EARTH is a Snagglegrollop? You may well ask - and in this fun story from Daniel Postgate and Nick Price, you'll find out. Snagglegrollops, you see, are highly prized as pets so when Sam, a young boy, isn't allowed to have a dog or a cat, he innocently asks whether his doting parents might find houseroom for a Snagglegrollop instead.

They're genuinely surprised when the boy bring one home. It's a rather natty creature with great table manners and none of the usual dog-and-cat aversions to keeping clean.

In fact there's really only one thing better than a Snagglegrollop - as Charlotte found out part-way through the book. Enter the Quibblesnuff, a sassy and rouged-lipped gorgeous creation belonging to Sam's friend Emily.

"She's so beautiful!" - Charlotte, aged 6

You can find out what happens when a Snagglegrollop and a Quibblesnuff meet once you read the story yourself. Fabulous fun splicing together a story dealing with childhood requests for pets or their imaginary friends. Loved Nick's illustrations too, so beautiful and full of cool little snaggle-details!

Charlotte's best bit: The Quibblesnuff

Daddy's Favourite bit: Brilliant fun for tiddlers, beautifully illustrated and told

Apologies for the sporadic updates to this blog of late but Charlotte has been doing her best impression of a braying walrus. For those parents who have toddlers or youngsters with a chest infection, you'll be only too familiar with the horrible noise kids can make when they cough, and how horrible it sounds over a baby monitor in the middle of the night. 

Thankfully she's coming out of it now and so I remembered that there was one book we didn't review in our last library grab - I'm Me. 

This fun tale of a little girl called Imogen and her imaginative auntie is an excellent jolly little read. Imogen's auntie wonders what her niece would like to be today. A princess? A mermaid? A monkey swinging from a tree? 

Margaret Chamberlain's illustrations are superb and sketchy and make every panel look busy and full of movement. Sarah Sheridan's text is fun and easy to digest for youngsters. It's a girl-centric book I guess, but whatayagonnado!

Charlotte's best bit - Definitely dressing up as a mermaid

Daddy's favourite bit - Yup, I'll agree on the mermaids though Auntie's coconut bra as a monkey was quite stunning too