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I have been waiting with great anticipation for The Fire Star by A.L. Tait and I couldn't move until I had finished the last page!

The Fire Star is an exciting adventure mystery set in medieval times in the imaginary kingdom of Chatrell. We are transported to Rennart Castle filled with a rabbit warren of rooms, nooks and crannies and secret passages. It is home to lords and ladies, knights and maids, where secrets are kept, plans are hatched and spies lurk.

Lady Cassandra arrives at Rennart Castle to unwillingly marry knight protector, Sir Garrick. The marriage has been arranged so her greedy uncle, Airl Buckthorn can claim the Fire Star, a precious red jewel handed down through generations to the women in Lady Cassandra's family.

When the Fire Star goes missing, Reeve the new squire is blamed and must prove his innocence by finding the missing jewel or he will never become a knight. Reeve has unexpected ally in Maven, Lady Cassandra’s feisty maid who will be banished to a nunnery with her mistress if the jewel isn't found. Maven and Reeve have only three days to solve the mystery of the theft of the Fire Star. They will need to trust each other and work together or they will both lose their dreams.

The Fire Star also shines a light on the life of females in medieval times where beauty was valued over intelligence. Women were not allowed to be educated and were expected to be obedient to men. Definitely not the life fiercely independent Maven and Lady Cassandra dream of and why they are connected to a secret society of women called The Beech Circle.

This fast-paced story with its twists and turns, lies and secrets, unexpected friendships and touch of romance is narrated in turn by Maven and Reeve and will keep you turning the pages until the thrilling ending.

You can read an extract from The Fire Star HERE

Allison has a passion for medieval times and her fascinating page of resources will take you into the world of Kingdoms, Castles and Secret Societies that inspired The Fire Star.

I can’t wait to solve another mystery with Maven and Reeve and I know Allison is busy writing their next adventure!

In the meantime, if you want to continue your medieval adventures, I highly recommend you read The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cypher series also written by A.L.Tait!

Happy reading!

If you're looking for mystery and adventure and some danger along the way then head off to Rome with Kensy and Max in Disappearing Act these school holidays!

In their second book, Kensy and Max are now regular students at Central London Free School and have begun their formal training as agents for the spy agency called Pharos.

Thanks to coded messages from their missing parents, the twins know they are alive, but to protect their parents they can't tell anyone. So Kensy and Max spend the Christmas break at their grandmother's stunning estate, Alexandria which is also the countryside base of Pharos and filled with cleverly concealed state of the art training facilities (the hydraulic diving board is impressive!). Kensy and Max are excited about taking driving lessons, but when something goes terribly wrong with Esmerelda, some quick thinking from Kensy prevents a tragic ending. They're seriously wondering if someone is trying to get rid of them.

Kensy and Max finally meet their rather mysterious Uncle Rupert who causes quite a stir when he arrives at the Christmas party via parachute, but leaves them with more questions than answers. Despite missing their parents and Fitz their manny, Christmas is a fun celebration with ugly jumpers and a Thriller-esque dance-off before the twins head to Rome on a school excursion. Buoyed by a secret message from their parents, Kensy and Max hope to secretly meet them in Rome where Mr Reffell, their passionate history teacher is eager to show his students the history, art and architecture of Rome. However, when inquisitive Kensy notices a dark-haired boy acting suspiciously with a group of orphans near the Trevi Fountain it unexpectedly leads to Kensy and Max's first mission for Pharos. Along with their fellow agents-in-training, the twins put their talents and newly acquired spy skills into practice as they bravely attempt to rescue the Prime Minister's kidnapped son and put a stop to the plans of the evil criminal network, The Diavolo. You will definitely need to catch your breath at the end of this book!

One of Max's talents is cracking codes and he deciphers the Pig Pen Cipher to reveal an important message the team has intercepted. Read the information Jacqueline Harvey has included at the back of her book and watch this video to help you decode the book's chapter headings and try coding your own secret messages to share with friends or information you want to keep secret.

Happy Reading and coding!

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What would you do if you woke up in a strange place? If your whole life changed in an instant and you had no idea what was going on?

Jacqueline Harvey is the author of  the hugely successful Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose series and now you can meet her newest characters, Kensy and Max in their action-packed spy adventure series.

‘Breaking News’ is the first book in the Kensy and Max series. The story is like a carefully crafted jigsaw puzzle made up of missing parents, intriguing characters, mysterious events, suspicious looking grannies, cryptic codes, a strange new school, and family secrets all intricately linked and ready for the reader to piece together with Kensy and Max.

Resilient and resourceful twins, Kensy and Max Grey will appeal to readers who enjoy following clues, cracking codes, solving mysteries and being part of the action alongside the twins. When you finish this book you will be waiting excitedly for the second book to find out more about Kensy and Max and their exciting new life at the highly secretive Pharos.

Happy reading!

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