Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valour by Ally Carter

April has spent all her life in foster houses. But this time she might finally have a home. If she can deal with the sword wielding presumed dead billionaire living in the cellars, stay on the right side of Ms Nelson and avoid the SadieMatic8, that is...

What a fun read this was! Ally's usual spies are slightly upended here; no one is trained, they're all just using their natural talents (one of which is screaming about mice) and the person they're trying to help would really rather they didn't, thanks. (He's a bit ruder about it than that.)

The main story is wrapped up nicely, but there are plenty of threads left dangling that I'd love to see dealt with in other books. Who is April's mother is probably the biggest one, but there's lots of others. I'm looking forward to reading more about April and her fellow orphans (and Smithers! I love him the most.)

A great new series for anyone who likes adventure, humour and mystery.

Violet knew what was happening before Ms Nelson reached for the little girl - before the boy even let her go. In a flash, she was in Ms Nelson's arms and being carried to the car. Her legs kicked. Her arms reached towards the boy, who wasn't reaching back.

And then a single word broke through the air, 'Tim!'

It was the first word she'd said, and Ms Nelson stopped. It only took a moment for her to consider, then say 'Tim?'

'What?' he snapped.

'How would you like to come to Winterborne House too?'

April didn’t mean to start the fire. She wasn’t even the one who broke the vase.

She had absolutely no intention of becoming the only person who knows that Gabriel Winterborne, the missing-and-presumed-dead billionaire, is neither missing nor dead and is actually living in the basement of Winterborne House, sharpening his swords and looking for vengeance.

Now that April knows Gabriel Winterborne is alive, it’s up to her to keep him that way. But there’s only so much a twelve-year-old girl can do, so April must turn to the other orphans for help. Together, they’ll have to unravel the riddle of a missing heir and a creepy legend, and find a secret key, before the only home they’ve ever known is lost to them forever.