Category Archives: Book reviews

The Bom Annual

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Fiona

As I mentioned before, when on holiday I bought a copy of the Bom Annual for the princely sum of £1. This is my very first Bom book of any kind – and so I know almost nothing about him. … Continue reading →

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Chimney Corner Stories part 2

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Fiona

After discovering my Dean edition of Chimney Corner Stories didn’t contain the same stories found in the first edition I wrote quite a bit about that, so here is a review of the remaining stories. Toy stories The three toy … Continue reading →

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The Island of Adventure – TV tie in novel

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Fiona

A long time ago, before the word lockdown had entered our everyday vocabulary, I borrowed two books from the library. They were The Island of Adventure and The Sea of Adventure, both being novels based on the Cloud 9 TV … Continue reading →

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Short Stories: Chimney Corner Stories

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Fiona

This was supposed to be an easy review for me, but it has become complicated and cost me money! (Don’t worry, Cunningham & Petrov will return next Friday!) While adminning my Enid Blyton Facebook group several answers to the security … Continue reading →

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If You Like Blyton: The Mystery of Tully Hall by Zöe Billings

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Fiona

The Mystery of Tully Hall is the first novel from Zöe Billings, who I know from the Enid Blyton Society Forums and the Enid Blyton Day. If you’ve visited the forums yourself you may know her as George@Kirrin, who calls … Continue reading →

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If you like Blyton: Kidnap in the Caribbean by Lauren St John

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Fiona

Stef and I have both reviewed the first Laura Marlin mystery: Dead Man’s Cove. I borrowed the second book in the series, Kidnap in the Caribbean, ages ago and have finally read it so I thought I would review it … Continue reading →

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Enid Blyton: The Untold Story by Brian Carter

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Fiona

Some time ago I had an email asking if I would give permission for a photo of Elfin Cottage to appear in a new book about Enid Blyton. After checking with Stef who had taken the photo, I replied saying … Continue reading →

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Five on a Secret Trail part 2

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Fiona

The first part of this review covered my confusion over Harry/Guy, and that will probably continue as I cannot get it into my head which one’s kidnapped and which one isn’t. Going deeper underground I have said before that I … Continue reading →

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Five on a Secret Trail

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Fiona

This is one of my lesser favourites, in fact it comes in at 18/21 in my ranking of the series. This is the first time I’ve read it since I wrote that list, so it will be interesting to see … Continue reading →

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The Naughtiest Girl continued: Well Done, The Naughtiest Girl

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Fiona

As my library will hopefully be reopening again soon I thought I really should read a few more of the 15 or so books I’ve had out for over a year. I’m getting deja vu over that statement so I’m … Continue reading →

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Return to Kirrin by Neil and Suzy Howlett

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Fiona

I am in a couple of Enid Blyton Facebook groups with Suzy Howlett and had seen her mention her ‘unofficial’ novel a few times. Now I’m always very wary about Enid Blyton continuation books – and I think I have … Continue reading →

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Famous Five for Grown Ups: Five Go Parenting by Bruno Vincent

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Fiona

As you can see this week I decided to read Five Go Parenting. You might be wondering why given my scathing review of the only other one I’ve read before now (namely Five On a Strategy Away Day). But, this … Continue reading →

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Five Have Plenty of Fun part 3

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Fiona

Right, here we are at part three and I’m not letting this review turn into a four-parter, so get ready as this might will be a lengthy post… I’ve already written about Berta and some similarities to other Blyton books and … Continue reading →

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Five Have Plenty of Fun part 2 – Quentin and Elbur

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Fiona

Last week I started my review of Five Have Plenty of Fun, but all I really covered was Berta (aka Lesley, Leslie and Jane) and the similarities I spotted between that book and some others by Blyton. Despite the fact … Continue reading →

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If you like Blyton: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Fiona

Usually my If you like Blyton posts are on modern-ish authors you might not have heard of, mixed with a few older things that again, you may not have read. This time, though, I fear I may be teaching your grandmother … Continue reading →

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Five Go to Mystery Moor part 2 – George and Henry

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Fiona

Last week I reviewed the main story of Five Go to Mystery Moor, and now it’s time for the comments, nitpicks, questions and so on that I always seem to have these days. I have an awful lot which relates … Continue reading →

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Five Go to Mystery Moor

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Fiona

My last Famous Five review came in August last year, and that was Five Have a Wonderful Time. If you’re about to tell me that I have missed Five Go Down to the Sea, I haven’t, I just accidentally reviewed … Continue reading →

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If you like Blyton: The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Fiona

Despite being known as a ‘children’s classic’ I have only read this series for the first time recently. I had seen the 1995 film before and had a certain fondness for it, but the notion of there being a book … Continue reading →

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(One to avoid) if you like Blyton: The New Bobbsey Twins #22 The Super-Duper Cookie Caper

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Fiona

We are heading in a slightly different direction with this review; the first Bobbsey Twins post was an overview of the 1980s Wanderer series, which Sean followed with reviews of two of the New Bobbsey Twins books; The Secret of … Continue reading →

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If you like Blyton: The Adventurers and the City of Secrets

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Fiona

The Adventurers and the City of Secrets is the third book in The Adventurers Series by Jemma Hatt (the fourth, The Adventurers and the Continental Chase just came out at the start of November). Like the previous two books this … Continue reading →

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