Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time - Lauren Keenan

Title: Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time
Author: Lauren Keenan
Genre: Childrens, cultural
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 260
Date read: June, 2022

Amorangi and Millie lost their mum. Their only clue to her whereabouts is a carving on a tree that says I’m in the past! Rescue me! To do this, Amorangi and Millie must travel up every branch of their family tree and collect an object from each ancestor they meet.
They must then be back in the modern day before the sun sets, or they’ll all be trapped forever in the past. But can they do it in time?

In their travels, the children experience aspects of events in New Zealand history, such as the invasion of Parihaka, the Great Depression, World War Two, the Musket Wars and the eruption of Mount Taranaki. They also experience changes in the town and landscape, the attitudes of people and the way people live their lives.


A fun children's book involving time travel and just a tad of a history lesson - but so subtly delivered that the kids will never realize it ;-) I really enjoyed reading about how Taranaki changed throughout the years, and was once again saddened to be reminded just how badly colonizers tend to treat the original people :-( This one was extra poignant as I have been to Parihaka Marae, and it therefore seemed less abstract than such reminders often do (which is bad enough in and of itself...)

But I digress. Please don't get me wrong - the book is not depressing at all! This is the take-away my adult self took from it. Kids will focus more on the time travelling aspect and the siblings' adventure through time.

The Damning Stone - T.J. Klune

Title: The Damning Stone (Tales from Verania #5)
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~17hrs
Date read: June, 2022

A year has passed since the Dark Wizard Myrin attempted to take control of the Kingdom of Verania. Though the scars of the final battle remain, Veranians have come together in unity in order to rebuild. Good King Anthony sits on the throne once more, with Morgan of Shadows at his side.

However, a king is not immortal. One day, Anthony will step down, paving the way for his son, Grand Prince Justin, to assume the throne.

And Justin wants anything but.

Unfortunately for him, he finds himself with bigger things to worry about than just becoming the ruler of a country. At the celebration of the might of Verania and its people, a delegation arrives, led by a man who calls himself a magician. This man represents the King of Yennbridge, who has come to claim what was promised to him years before: the hand of the firstborn son of the King and Queen of Verania.

With his ridiculous friends at his side—Sam, Ryan, Kevin, Gary and Tiggy—Justin sets out to make the visiting king’s life a living hell. Which, of course, backfires spectacularly, and when the dust settles, Justin finds his friends changed in ways he can’t expect, leaving him standing alone.

Except he’s not as alone as he thinks, given the King of Yennbridge will do anything to prove he’s worthy of the frozen heart of the Ice Prince.

Prince Justin has finally met his match.

Let the games begin.


Okay, I'll state my bias right away - I'm simply just more fond of Sam that I am of Justin, and that alone made me adore this slightly less than the other books in the series.

But that said, it was still really, really good! I loved having all the characters back, I loved Dylan and can't wait to meet Digger (because the end definitely paved the way for another book - which I'm all for!). The humour was the same as always, the friendships were as awesome as always (I loved the kids!!! So sweet :-D ), and it had some interesting twists along the way that I hadn't seen coming.

I read this as an audiobook, and as always Michael Lesley did an amazing job :-D