Book Extract: Agent Pangolin by AC Bradburn
I am pleased to be welcoming AC Bradburn to Novel Kicks. They are here with their novel, Agent Pangolin.
Sunda is a pangolin on a mission. Her family has been taken by poachers, she’s been ripped away from her beloved Sumatran rainforest and now the beautiful nature reserve that she calls home in London is about to be destroyed by humans. But there’s no way she’s going to let that happen.
Sunda becomes an animal secret agent for the mysterious ‘Web of Light’ and discovers an ancient legend that could help save her home.
Can she solve the mystery of the shiny moon before it’s too late? With beautiful illustrations by Julia Vasileva, this is a magical story of courage, friendship and justice for the natural world.
AC Bradburn has shared an extract today. Enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
THUD!
A ginormous paw bashed Sunda’s back. She was drenched with fear.
THUD!
And again, THUD!
She recited the pangolin mantra: curl up, hold firm, don’t relax for one second. That was the pangolin way – at the first sign of danger, roll into a protective ball and wait for the threat to pass. Wincing as the paw struck yet again, she kept her long tail firmly clasped around her head. Her tough, chestnut brown scales gave her the perfect suit of armour. Then the snuffling began – probing, teasing, searching for a way in, first with claws, then with teeth. She held her breath. Eventually a slobbery tongue wrapped around her scales and propelled her across the forest floor. She came to rest at the foot of a giant meranti tree, perched on one of its roots like a stranded soursop.
The tiger cub came at her again, lolloping over the crisp, dry leaves. It grunted, so close that Sunda could feel its steamy breath. A slimy globule of saliva oozed down over her scales and onto the ground. She hadn’t managed to get a proper look but it seemed like a young one, hopefully too small to break her defences. But the cub’s parents couldn’t be far away and the thought of a fully-grown Sumatran tiger sent a fresh burst of terror through her scales.
by 
Book Review: Local Girl Missing by J.A. Baker
I am so pleased to be welcoming J.A. Baker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Local Girl Missing
Missing without trace…
When local woman Deborah goes missing, her colleagues Adrian, Yvonne and Merriel are all left in shock. Gossip around the office begins to swirl – what could have happened to Deborah? Is she dead or alive? And who could be responsible for her disappearance?
Everyone is terrified that they could be next…except the one person who has all the answers. The last person people expect.
Because Deborah is being held captive by a monster, a psychopath. But not a stranger… it’s someone she knows all too well…
*****
Deborah is being held against her will by a monster. However, this monster isn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows well.
Whilst her work colleagues are reeling from her disappearance, someone knows the truth.
This was the first novel I’d read by this author. The premise of this book really caught my attention so I was happy to be invited onto the blog tour for Local Girl Missing.
Seriously, I know this term is banded about a lot but this book had me hooked from page one. I had to know more. I needed to know what becomes of these characters so one more page became one more chapter and before I knew it, I’d read it in one sitting.
by Book Extract: The Contraband Killings by Lucienne Boyce
I am pleased to be welcoming Lucienne Boyce to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for The Contraband Killings: A Dan Foster Mystery.
Principal Officer Dan Foster of the Bow Street Runners is sent to collect smuggler Watcyn Jones from Beaumaris Gaol on Anglesey, and bring him back to London for trial at the Old Bailey. As if having to travel to the wilds of North Wales isn’t bad enough, Dan is saddled with an inexperienced constable as his interpreter and assistant. At least it’s a routine assignment and shouldn’t take more than a few days.
But when the prison escort is ambushed and Watcyn Jones escapes, a straightforward transfer turns into a desperate manhunt. And as Jones’s enemies start to die, the chase becomes more urgent than ever. Dan’s search for the killer brings him up against a ruthless smuggling gang – and his chances of getting off the island alive begin to look far from promising.
Lucienne has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Between 1793 and 1815 Britain was at war with revolutionary France. Faced with the very real threat of invasion as the French amassed ships and troops at key Channel ports, the government called on men to join local militias such as the Loyal Anglesea Volunteers. But the government’s enemies were not only pressing on them from the outside: there was also the enemy within, in the form of radical societies set up to campaign for political reform. Many of these groups supported the French and some were even prepared to take up arms with the revolutionary forces when they landed on British shores.
Anyone who voiced radical opinions was an object of suspicion, especially if they were spotted near military or naval installations. So when Dan Foster and his assistant, constable Goronwy Evans, hear Sampson Kirby a young English tourist, spouting anti-monarchical sentiments, and he is later seen apparently signalling to ships out at sea, they begin to wonder what he’s up to. One night they follow Kirby to the Parys Mountain copper mine, which supplies the Navy with copper sheaths to protect its ships’ hulls from the destructive attacks of marine worms and barnacles.
They followed Kirby to the outskirts of the town, where he paused and adjusted his load before setting off into the dusk. Ahead of them rose the outline of Parys Mountain. The barren landscape on either side of the dusty, rutted track was indistinct, no more than vague shapes in the darkness. No lights shone in the buildings at the top of the mountain, and the open cast was a vast, silent pit of darkness. Sulphurous smoke still belched from the kilns, but no men hammered and no rock tumbled. The wind hissed over the lifeless ground, the ropes on the windlasses creaked, and water gurgled.
by 12 Days of Clink Street: Stars and Waves by Roberto Maiolino
Laura is a student in Astronomy at the University of Cambridge. Her work on exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars – is largely unnoticed by the scientific community. However, it attracts the interest of a secluded elderly Russian astronomer, Professor Kasparov, on the basis of his own research thirty years ago. He tries to contact Laura and her supervisor, Julia, but dies in mysterious circumstances.
In the attempt to find out more about Kasparov’s old data, Laura and Julia travel across the globe. During their journey, science becomes entangled with poetry, while astronomy gets embroiled with mystery. They face a dark pattern of strange accidents and deaths. Their quest for clues gradually becomes a frantic pursuit through some of the most fascinating and deadly environments.
Will Laura and Julia uncover the truth? The whole truth? And… will they survive to tell the world?
*****
Laura is a PhD student in Astrophysics. Whilst observing some stars, she discovers something important.
However, it isn’t long before she realises that someone doesn’t want this data analysed and when she finds out someone has already mysteriously died, the more in danger she feels she’s in.
Can she get to the truth before she loses her life?
The premise for this book intrigued me and so I was happy to be invited onto the 12 Days of Clink Street to review Stars and Waves.
Laura is a strong, female character. She’s intelligent, compassionate, and easy to like.
by Book Review: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Aimee Brown
I am so pleased to be welcoming Aimee Brown back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
Dax Hartley has made flowers his entire life, just like his late father did.
When his dad’s old florist’s shop is up for sale, he has to have it. Only problem is, he’d need to sell a kidney to afford it. The reality show Battle of the Blossoms is the perfect opportunity to win the money he needs, but when his childhood crush blows back into his life, distractions risk taking his eyes off the prize. He needs his head and heart to start working together to ensure he doesn’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
Hollyn Matthews has made some colossal mistakes in life.
When she’s dumped just as she’s expecting an engagement ring, she knows she’s put her heart into the wrong man. Hoping for a second chance at being a grown-up, she moves home to stay with her brother and his best friend Dax, a boy whose memory faded as she ran away from her past. Facing the hurt she left behind means facing some home truths about herself, but there’s one boy who has always loved her, if only she’d take the time to notice him.
*****
Having spent eight years with her boyfriend, Hollyn is expecting a proposal. When he dumps her instead, she finds herself having to go back home. She ends up in her brother’s apartment, spending time with Dax. As Hollyn helps Dax win a flower competition, will they be able to keep their feelings at bay?
This is the first book I’ve read by Aimee Brown. The premise intrigued me so I was pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
I did feel a little sorry for Hollyn. She has a horrible thing happen to her and I wanted to give her a hug. She did come across as a little shut down but when you learn more about background, you find out why.
I did get a little frustrated with her parents and you don’t get to know too much about the other supporting characters like River and Mercy (possible future books maybe?) I hope so as it’s not the last I want to see of these characters.
by Book Club
