Book Review & Giveaway: Careful What You Hear by Helen Dunlap Newton
I’m pleased to be welcoming Helen Dunlap Newton to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Careful What You Hear.
After a surgical mix-up gave 13-year-old Noah Baker mind reading powers, he becomes a spy tasked with stopping the bad guys.
Ever since he accidentally got an experimental cochlear implant, Noah and his secret agent partner, Lena, have been going on secret missions for the government. Now, they’re in for a reward for all their hard work—Space Camp! But all is not as it seems. When Noah accidentally overhears thoughts that reveal a plot to steal top secret plans from nearby Redstone Arsenal, he must make a choice.
*****
An experimental cochlear implant has given Noah the ability to read minds. He and Lena are about to get a special reward for all the top secret things they have been doing for the government. However, it isn’t long before they are involved in foiling a new plot.
Being an adult man in his forties, I am certainly not the target audience for Careful What You Hear. However, this didn’t stop it from being an enjoyable read.
I have not read the first book in the Do You Hear What I Hear? series but this can be read first and it’s easy to fall into the story if this is your child’s introduction to this series.
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Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Valentines Past
It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing flash fiction prompt.
The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.
Don’t edit, just write. Once you’re done, you’re welcome to share in the comments but there’s no obligation.
Today’s prompt: We are going back to past Valentines.
Your character is somehow given the ability to travel back to previous Valentine’s Days.
They have a chance to change the future.
Who do they meet? Are they able to do something about the love that got away? Does it make them appreciate what they have in the present?
If you’re struggling for a first line, here is a suggestion – “the light is so bright, I can’t figure out where I am. I pick up a familiar smell. No, it can’t be.”
Have fun.
by Book Extract: The Immigrant Queen by Peter Taylor-Gooby
I’m delighted to be welcoming Peter Taylor-Gooby to Novel Kicks. We are shining a light on his latest book, The Immigrant Queen.
Hated as a foreigner, despised as a woman, I became First Lady of Athens
Aspasia falls passionately in love with Pericles, the leading statesman of Fifth Century Athens. Artists, writers and thinkers frequent her salon. She hides her past as a sex-worker, trafficked to the city, and becomes Pericles’ lover. Her writings attract the attention of Socrates, and she becomes the only woman to join his circle. She is known throughout the city for her beauty and wit and strives to become recognised as an intellectual alongside men.
Pericles’ enemies attack him through Aspasia and charge her with blasphemy. As a foreigner she faces execution, but her impassioned address to the jury shames the city and saves her. Pericles is spellbound, they marry, and she becomes First Lady of Athens.
Sparta besieges the city; plague breaks out and Pericles is once again in danger.
The Immigrant Queen tells the true story of how Aspasia rose to become the First Lady of Athens and triumphed against all the odds.
Peter has kindly shared an extract from The Immigrant Queen with us all today. We hope you enjoy.
*****
Limander, a slave and bard to Aspasia, meets a young nobleman and falls for him. Love between slave and noble carries the death penalty.
*****
The young scribe was last to leave and I waited, head bowed, for him to go so that I could carry out the screens. A gold band circled the neck of his tunic – he was of high standing in Athens, from one of the five noble families of the city. He dropped the stylus into his satchel but the tablet slipped from his fingers and fell face down on the floor and I heard the crack as the wax split across. He stared at it as if terrified, dropped to all fours and put out a hand to touch it. A leader of the people does not behave like this. After a moment I went over and stood beside him.
‘Sir. May I help you?’
He looked up at me, his eyes moist with tears. He seemed so young.
‘The musician! None of them appreciated you, you sang so beautifully of love and all they want to do is talk about politics and speech-making.’
‘Thank you. But, if I may ask, sir, is there anything I can do for you?’
‘It’s Lord Pericles, no-one will understand. He wants to publish these conversations for the glory of Athens and he insists on checking everything. I am late already and now I’ve broken the tablet and he will be angry.’
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: Freewriting and Prompts
Hello everyone and welcome to the first Novel Kicks Writing Room of 2025.
I thought we could start off with some free writing.
Using one of the prompts below, write a story. The word count is up to you but try and aim for at least 500 words. If you wanted to add an extra challenge, set a timer for 10 minutes.
I’ve also included some random words below you could try and include if you wish to.
A stranger on a bus tells you that in order to save someone you love, you must complete challenges. He then holds out an envelope and says, once you accept this, there is no going back but if you don’t a loved one will die.
by Book Review: The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson
I’m so excited to be welcoming Laura Pearson back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Many Futures of Maddy Hart.
Suddenly Maddy is right there… in her very own future. And it’s all wrong, yet again.
It happens to her every time. When the kisses lead to the bedroom, just when she thinks she might have found the one… Just for a split second, Maddy disappears, and she finds that she’s living her own life. But ten years into the future.
She’s only there for a little while. But each time, it’s long enough to know that she doesn’t want to be any of those future versions of Maddy. Because every man she falls for seems to lead her to a future that is just… wrong.
Until she meets Oliver. And the vision of their future is happy. Beautiful even. A little girl runs around, her braids flying behind her, giggling about how she wants sausages for dinner. She has eyes just like Oliver’s.
There’s just one catch. If Maddy wants the family she’s seeing in her future with Oliver, she realizes she has to break his heart now…
Would you destroy your present if there’s a chance that it could give you the perfect future?
Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Matt Haig, and The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. The most unmissable ‘what if?’ love story of the year!
*****
Every time Maddy Hart is intimate with a man, she sees a glimpse of her life exactly ten years into the future. None of them are happy, not until she meets Oliver. He’s about to change her life. Can Maddy make the hard choices now to give her the future she wants?
I’ve read and enjoyed a few novels by Laura Pearson and so was excited to be invited into the blog tour for her latest book, The Many Futures of Maddy Hart. The blurb alone appealed to me. I love these kinds of novels and so couldn’t wait to get started.
by Book Club
