The Christmasaurus: The Musical Edition - by Tom Fletcher

Title: The Christmasaurus: The Musical Edition

Author: Tom Fletcher

Published: 16 Nov 2017

Series: -

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

They sang and danced a merry celebration with their new dinosaur friend . . . It was a Christmas Eve that none of them would ever forget.
The Christmasaurus is a story about a boy named William Trundle and a dinosaur, the Christmasaurus. It's about how they meet one Christmas Eve and have an extraordinary adventure. It's about friendship and family, sleigh bells and Santa, singing elves and flying reindeer, music and magic. It's about discovering your heart's true desire, and learning that the impossible might just be possible . . .
The Christmasaurus: The Musical Edition includes 14 songs on CD, all written and performed by Tom Fletcher, accompanied by a full orchestra with performances by Giovanna Fletcher, Carrie Hope-Fletcher and Santa Claus! And listen out for newcomer Max Reader singing 'Someone More Than Me' and Harry Judd on drums in 'Afraid of Heights'. 
Throughout the book you'll find prompts telling you which track to listen to as you read the story, and at the back are all the lyrics, so you can sing along, too!

Sometimes the right things to do are the hardest.

I listened to this as an audiobook.

The introduction is read by Tom Fletcher which is a nice touch. I also like that he added in the science behind why there are no more dinosaurs. The made-up words also make it fun to listen to and I'm sure that children would love the words too when it's read to them.

In the physical book, there are lovely illustrations by Shane Devries and there are also illustrated gift tags in the margins where it tell you that you can play the scene-specific songs from the exclusive soundtrack if you wish to.

In the audiobook, it automatically heads straight into the song for you, rather than you having to press play on the next song while reading. I also like that Tom mentioned that music is a type of magic too as it's very true - it can sometimes help lift your spirits when you're feeling rotten, and it can help you to continue to be happy when you're in a good mood.

The songs are wonderfully catchy, and I'm pretty sure I know every word to #1! However, when you look up Tom Fletcher's music video to #12 and really listen to the words, it does make you become sad. I'm also glad that Tom's wife Giovanna and his sister Carrie both sing a song or two as it does make it feel a little more homely. Song #5 can make you sad when you listen to the lyrics too.

The narrator has a good tone of voice and makes it sound as if a grandparent was telling a story to a child. You can also tell which character is which, and even the Christmasaurus has a unique voice.

There are some great life lessons to be learned in this book too - even for an adult!
- It's okay to be different
- Some people have a disability
- Bullying isn't okay
- It's okay to feel rotten

One point I do find interesting is the theory of how the elves act and how they make the toys for good children. We always think of elves as little creatures that physically make the toys - but in The Christmasaurus, we find out that maybe everything they say is in rhyme and they dig in the ice for the toys instead.

The soundtrack:
1. It Must Be Christmas Time
2. Dig, Diggedy Dig (The Digging Song)
3. The Christmasaurus
4. Thin Ice
5. Someone More Than Me
6. The Nice List
7. I've Been a Good Girl
8. I Believe It Could
9. I Ho, Ho, Hope It's Santa
10. I Love Creatures
11. Christmas Makes Me Sick
12. Afraid of Heights
13. Don't Know What It Is
14. If You Believe

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All books in this series:

    1 | The Christmasaurus

    2 | The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch

Eve of Man - by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher

Title: Eve of Man
Author: Giovanna & Tom Fletcher
Published: 31 May 2018
Series: Eve of Man Trilogy #1
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:

AGAINST ALL ODDS, SHE SURVIVED.
THE FIRST GIRL BORN IN FIFTY YEARS.
THEY CALLED HER EVE . . .
All her life Eve has been kept away from the opposite sex. Kept from the truth of her past.
But at sixteen it's time for Eve to face her destiny. Three potential males have been selected for her. The future of humanity is in her hands. She's always accepted her fate.
Until she meets Bram.
Eve wants control over her life. She wants freedom.
But how do you choose between love and the future of the human race?

I listened to this as an audiobook but kept up in my physical copy.

I love this Fletcher family so much and they are so very talented. I was excited to read this book as the synopsis sounded very interesting, plus I was eager to see how they would write together.

The book was well written and I couldn't stop listening. The narrators also did a wonderful job. I loved the voice of the person who narrated Bram, and the person who narrated Eve reminded me a little of the actress Natalie Dormer who plays Irene Adler in the TV show "Elementary".

My first question was how old is Holly? Eve was the first one born in fifty years, so where did Holly come from? This gets explained as Holly is a hologram type of program with 3 different sets of operators - one set being Bram and Hartman. Hartman also reminded me a little of Ron Weasley in the way that he spoke.

The way that Eve's situation was described reminded me a bit of the royals - having suitable partners chosen for you to pick from, the public watching in amazement and wonder, the tight security measures, the isolation you're forced into... I do feel sorry for the way Connor's first impression went though.

I did love the way that the Drop was described though and made me sort of wish I could jump into the book experience it for myself. In my mind, the Freevers also called themselves that as it's short for "the Free Eve-ers". It might not actually be, but I'm going to keep on thinking that as it sort of makes sense in my head.

The ending was so lovely too. A little cheesy, but still quite cute.

Spoilers!

I teared up at Mother Nina's funeral. She was so loving and kind and shouldn't have died. But she did it to save Eve, who she love like she was her own daughter.

It also makes me sad that Bram was abused by his father, but it also explains the way that he acts around him and also with the way he treats his father during the book too.

Is Bram's Dad using Vivian like Holly's being used? A hologram type of projection program? Or is she actually a real person?

I did have a moment of wondering if Bram's mother was Ben, but I'm still not too sure whether I believe that or not yet.

When I was right about guessing who the informant was, I was quite proud of myself. I'd guessed that it was either going to be one of the Mothers or Hartman. Mother Cardi was the informant and was also married to Frost from the Freevers, who sacrificed himself to save Ernie and everyone else who was in the house - which I also teared up at.

Last question though: Were the little humans in the glass things in the Doctor's lab Eve's babies? And if so, were they all baby boys? I'd sort of like to think so, but I could also be very wrong. It does make me sad to think of all those little beings in glass tubes being prodded and not being laid to rest in one way or another though.

End Spoilers!

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All books in this series:

    1 | Eve of Man
    2 | The Eve Illusion