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Book Review: Harley James and the Secret of the Falcon Queen by Leah Cupps

A delightful middle grade adventure filled with legends and lore of the Scottish Highlands.

By Marie SinadjanPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Will Harley uncover a queen’s secret… before it’s too late?

Harley James lands in the beautiful Scottish countryside, but green clovers aren’t the only thing awaiting her arrival. Harley is greeted with one of her greatest enemies yet—the mysterious Magnus Murdoch.

S.M.A.L.L. has a new mission—to protect the secret of the legendry Falcon Queen. Harley works with old and new friends while sleuthing across Scotland. She must solve challenging riddles and find clues that lead to the queen’s secret chamber.

Join Harley as she thunders through the Scottish countryside on horseback, discovers a mysterious silver feather and uncovers a secret that will change history.

GENRE: Middle Grade / Adventure / Chapter Books (Ages 8 to 12)

PURCHASE LINKS: Author Website | Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Leah Cupps is an author, designer and entrepreneur. She came up with the idea for Harley James with her oldest daughter Savannah. Savannah had taken an interest in Mayan history and so the two of them worked together to come up with the idea for the first Harley James book, The Mystery of the Mayan Kings.

Leah lives in Indiana with her husband and three children. She is also the co-founder of Vision Forty Press, a small family-owned publishing company.

Be part of the adventure at www.harleyjamesadventures.com. You can download a free printable activity book that you can enjoy with your kids (or yourself, if you so fancy) and learn what's fact and what's fiction from each of the Harley James books!

Review & Recommended Listening

This is the third book of the Harley James series, but it stands alone well on its own, with Harley recounting her previous adventures as she goes about her new one. Harley is a delightful protagonist, smart and strong-willed and always saving the day — though it seems her father doesn't quite believe the magical side of her adventures. Perhaps that will be rectified in the coming installments, since she and her father and pretty close despite that. (And the fact that she gets into trouble and he has to ground her.)

The book is an easy read and nearly every chapter is accompanied by beautiful illustration. It's very middle grade, but easily something adults can enjoy too, if you're anything like me and into these sort of things. If you go to the official website, you can even download a printable activity book where you can solve puzzles and other brain teasers. An accompanying one specifically for The Falcon Queen would've been, as the kids say in the book, pure dead brilliant, but maybe that's something in the cards in the near future. (I mean, you do get a S.M.A.L.L. medallion for reviewing, how cool is that?)

I also love how this book centers around a queen. That the setting's in Scotland's pretty cool too; looks like the universe is telling me to go on that holiday!

If you enjoy middle grade adventures in exotic, dreamy locations, you'll be sure to love this one. And check out the other books in the series as well:

  • Harley James and the Mystery of the Mayan Kings - where Harley has to recover the legendary statue of a long-lost Mayan King, which has been stolen from her room.
  • Harley James and the Peril of the Pirate's Curse - where Harley has to prevent a mythical blue pearl from being found.
  • Harley James and the Puzzle In Paris - where Harley has to recover the legendary amethyst Rose de Paris, stolen from the Louvre Art Museum.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended Listening: As I mentioned in my open call for books to review, I’ll now be adding a song to my reviews! It’ll be one that either sums up the book for me, what I’d imagine in a trailer were it a movie, something that I associate with the story or one of the characters for whatever reason… or maybe even an original inspired by it 😉

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About the Creator

Marie Sinadjan

Filipino spec fic author and book reviewer based in the UK. https://linktr.ee/mariesinadjan • www.mariesinadjan.com

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