Henry Hunter and the Beast of Snagov: Henry Hunter Series #1 by John Matthews

Henry Hunter is almost a beast himself.  He decides to research things and just takes off to do it.  He takes his trusty sidekick, Dolf, with him.  As long as Henry is in charge, Dolf doesn't worry.  He should...

Sky Pony Press and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 6th and it is written for middle graders.

If you're going to read this book, you need to take off your common sense and logic and hang them on a tree somewhere.  This is a book of imagination that is great fun to read even if most of it is impossible.  Let's have some fun!

To begin with, you need to understand that Henry is very rich and can use all his parent's money and resources for his adventures.  They don't even live with him anymore.  They are doing their own research in another country.  We all grew up that way, right?

Dolf is just a common schoolboy with an uncommon friend but somehow he and Henry hit off and now they hunt for whatever has caught Henry's eye at the moment.  In this case, he's looking for a beast who is supposed to be worse than vampires.  Can you imagine?

Traveling to Transylvania is no problem, they'll just take Henry's private jet.  Henry has acquired a driver to take them to various castles that are famous for having vampires there.  It starts out as a simple tour but that changes quickly.  They have people following them and trying to kidnap them.  They run into a young girl who just happens to be a vampire.  And there's conspiracy underway in the same area they are searching.

It's action packed, very busy, and it's full of danger but Henry and Dolf survive.  This is apparently one of a series because at the end, they give you a hint of what the next story will be about.  I'd read more about Henry.  He's a funny sort of kid but Mr. Matthews' stories are great!

Fairyland, The Secret World of the Hidden Ones by John Matthews

I've always had a fondness for faeries (hence my business name) so I was anxious to review this book.  It's lovely and contains most of the lore about faeries all in one place; I like that!

Abrams Books sent me a copy of this for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.  (You'll feel bad if you let your chance go by...)

Abrams has done a marvelous job of printing this.  There are little envelopes inside with treasures, including some postcards.  The map in the back is a nineteenth-century pull-out map that is a copy of the one in the Library of Congress.  The artwork is done by William Blake and others of his time period and the newer art is done by Matt Dangler.

You get faery history, discussion of good and bad faeries, information about faery spells, what faeries are called in all parts of the world and more. Basically, anything you want to know about faeries can be found in this book.  It's an excellent resource for writers and faery lovers in general.  Why not grab a copy for your library?

Happy reading.