This wasn't what I was expecting. It seemed like it they was going to be a more fun adventure with a mystery that needed solving but it was really just them running from one location to the next. It felt very repetitive and I found it hard to keep track of where they even were because of how similar each place and circumstance was.

I did like the main characters but even they felt a little flat sometimes.

The ending brought the main plot forward but it took too long to get there. I see that this is the first in a series. Maybe now that we got to the main point of this series the next installments will he better however I don't think they will be something I need to read.

This book has potential to be a great story: great characters, interesting storyline, it’s way of describing England’s places (it was a little weird at first but I came to enjoy them).

However, I felt it needed to be worked more: there too many circumstances where our main characters seemed to be showered in luck and the pace was a little weird, for example.

I’d be very curious to read the next one.

An interesting children's story and one I found to be enjoyable and super quick to read while still telling a story that readers can enjoy and recommend.

i really enjoyed reading this book, it was a great children's novel. The characters were fun and I thought the writing was fun.

What a wild ride through England. Wow!

The story is following Tom and Sarah's escape from an awful life at an orphanage. Trying to outsmart their followers the children steal a hot air balloon and their "road trip" around England begins. Their destination is London, but on the way there they have to land and refuel, they make allies in the most unlikely places, who not only help them avoid getting caught, but also try to find out what Tom's connection to the word/family "Britfield" is.

This story is packed with information about landmarks and towns between Yorkshire and London, and the history of England.

The chase gets a bit unbelievable the nearer we draw to London. Suddenly there is a conspiracy and a secret organisation at work. Still, I'm sure young readers won't mind this at all.

What young readers might also not mind are the Americanisms used in the story. It's a story set in Britain, with British characters, but American English words - I'm just saying that no 12 y/o British girl would compliment her fellow escapee's choice of "pants" when referring to trousers. That made me chuckle.

Of course the mystery of "Britfield" wasn't entirely solved, we'll have to wait for the next instalment to find out more.

I was excited to read Britfield and the Lost Crown by C. R. Stewart! The colorful cover caught my attention and the book kept me captivated the whole way through! I enjoyed following Tom and Sarah through the countryside of England, and on through to the bustling city of London! I can't wait to see where this leads next as Tom and Sarah discover secrets and avoid danger!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book!
All opinions expressed are my own.

The description for Britfield & The Lost Crown, along with the dramatic front cover, made it feel like this was going to be an exciting and vast adventure, filled with intrigue and danger. The book started that way, with the daring escape from Weatherly Orphanage being one of the best parts of the book, but once this part of the book was out of the way it did begin to slow down a little.

The lead character, Tom, has grown up in different orphanages his whole life, and only has vague memories of his life before and his parents. He's grown up in one abuse home after another, being treated like a prisoner, he and his fellow orphans used as free labour in sweatshop conditions. He's had to grow up fast, and has missed out on a lot of the things that most children get to have.

When he's suspected of being behind the theft of a book from the evil orphanage owners home (something that he admittedly did do), he's told that he has two days to give them information on every breaking of the rules that has ever happened. He's asked to betray every other child in Weatherly's, and his reward is information about his parents; whom he'd assumed died years before.

Tom, being a good person, knows that he can't betray his friends, even if it means that he can get his family back; so a plot is hatched to break him and his best friend Sarah out of the place. The planning of the escape, the pandemonium that ensues because of it, and the breaking out of Weatherly's were my favourite part. The kids were clever, they'd plotted out an elaborate and complex plan that sounded like it could really work; and of course, like any good plan there were things that went wrong along the way that threw obstacles in our heroes way. It was so much fun to read, and despite knowing that Tom and Sarah must escape, there was still a sense of tension.

Once Tom and Sarah manage to leave the orphanage they engage in a chase across England, being followed by a detective who's written to be the greatest police officer in the country, Gowerstone. Gowerstone is brought in to find the missing children by the orphanage owners, but then doesn't seem to be working for them. He is able to take charge of multiple forces across the country, in Cambridge, London, and Canterbury, and seems to be answerable only to the Prime Minister. He seems to know each step the kids are going to make before even the reader, and has access to all kinds of info that he's a walking supercomputer.

Gowerstone was the first part of the book that threw me. It seemed like C.R. Stewart wanted some kind of super special police officer/secret agent type tracking down the kids, but never really gives too much of an explanation for it. How were the orphanage owners able to get him on the case, yet he be working in an official capacity? I'd understand them calling him in if her were a private detective, but he's very clearly working for the police. It's also never explained how he's able to command so many different branches of the police, and has apparently unlimited resources, including firearms squads, to find two runaways.

The strangeness of Gowerstone made me begin to suspect that the author wasn't hugely familiar with the workings of British police forces, and this began to spill out into other parts of the book too. Every location that Tom and Sarah visit is almost overly described, but in a very clinical way. The author gives almost map-like directions when they travel around London, telling us which streets they take and in sequence, giving us historical facts about when certain buildings on those streets were built. Canterbury is broken down into which parts of the city were built in which century, but the smaller details about what the streets were like were glossed over.

There were a few other things, such as people describing travelling through London with 'blocks', and saying that London Underground tickets would cost £2.50 each really threw me out. It came as no surprise to learn at the end of the book that C.R. Stewart was not a British native, and lived in the US. They seemed to want to set their story in England and include these famous, historical location, and they clearly did a lot of research about these places; unfortunately it often came across as a little cold and distant. I wanted to see these places through the eyes of the two children, not with a breakdown of the historical info the author researched.

I wish I could say these were the only issues I found with the book, but once the kids left the orphanage I began to enjoy the story less and less. Okay, stealing the Hot Air Balloon was fun, and an interesting and unique form of cross-country escape, but the two of them didn't really feel in too much danger. This was largely because most of the people they came across helped them, gave them food, gave them clothing, helped them escape the police, did things for free for them. Either everyone in Britain are super nice people who help children (trust me, we're not) or Tom and Sarah have some kind of pheromones that makes everyone do things for them. It began to get a little ridiculous if I'm being honest.

I know I seem like I've criticised the book a lot, and that's just because it wasn't to my particular tastes; you might feel differently. As a book intended for kids I'm sure that a lot of the things that brought me out of the narrative or bugged me won't be an issue to children in the target audience. As it is, the book is a fun little adventure story, it has some mild peril that won't traumatise child readers, and has lots of nice people in it helping the heroes. If that's the kind of thing you're looking for for your own children, this book will definitely keep them entertained.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to review this book.


I thought this story was intriguing and for the most part I was invested. There were a couple of parts that were pretty slow to get through but overall I enjoyed the adventure in this book and would definitely read from this author in the future.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story and overall the author managed to provide a clear and accurate description of the various locations in the UK. The two heroes are likeable and believable, although the villains seem a little bit of a stereotype. The one area that lets this down is the number of 'Americanisms' that have found their way into the book. In the UK we have Autumn (not Fall), most young people would not have heard of a sophomore (not used in the UK) and there were several other occasions that jarred. Some editing by a British editor or proof-reader might have helped. However, apart from this I really liked the basic story and will definitely read the next in the series.

Tom and Sarah are orphans in a harshly run orphanage in Yorkshire. The adventure begins with their efforts to escape. Think Oliver Twist mixed with St Trinians. I really enjoyed this part of the story but it went downhill once they escaped.

They then have a series of adventures across England but it is all too neatly packaged to be in any way believable. Everyone they meet knows something about Tom’s backstory even though it’s a closely guarded secret. People they bump into seem to recognise them (how?), know that they are being chased (why?) and know exactly who to contact to pass on the information.

I liked the main characters but not enough to read the second book to find out what happens next.

Who doesn’t love a good story about badly treated orphans escaping and going on an adventure? Nobody!

I just loved the characters in this book, the goodies, baddies, the not so sure’s.. the plot is exciting, and well written. I did wonder why they didn’t just go straight to the police, but then there would have been no story!

Loved it, and I look forward to the next book!

My thanks to Netgalley and Devonfield Publishing for the copy

I love it when a book can be loved and enjoyed by all ages. and this book can cetainly be Read by all ages. This is a Great mystery and escape middlegrade book. And i Would recommend it to everyone. But it is so Much more than an escape and mystery book. It is about extremely strong friendships. IT is about knowing that a family is not always bloodrelated. and to top it of you learn a lot about England. I almost felt i was there with them. So thank you to netgalley for this free digital book in exchange for an honest feedback

This was a fun read, and I very much enjoyed the premise. There were a few pacing issues throughout the book, it took a little while to get going and there were a few places were the inclusion of history slowed the pace a little too much. However, I think that the target audience would enjoy it.

I am sorry to have to give this book only two stars because it contains the skeleton of a wonderful story. In the opening, Tom and his friend Sarah are living in a gruesome English orphanage. Their escape is action-packed and hot air balloon flights over English landscapes are described with exhilarating beauty. Eventually a conspiracy against Tom is uncovered. Interesting! Characters met along the way are quirky and entertaining.
Unfortunately, serious flaws mar the novel. Heavy use of a blue pencil would so help a passage such as, "- he said, hysterically scratching his head and glaring at Mrs. Grievous." Taking out all of the ly adverbs would considerably lower the word count of sections of the work.. Also, the author occasionally stops the action to give us a scholarly history of the scene we are seeing. This was sometimes interesting to me, but I am a senior citizen, not, presumably, the intended audience of this YA novel. These passages slow the flow of the storytelling which drags for other reasons too. Incidents begin to seem repetitive, luxurious settings, falls that should end in disaster but don't.. Cuts and rearranging could reveal the good bones.

Britfield and the Lost Crown opens with an action-packed escape from Weatherly Orphanage. At first glance, I thought this story was going to take place during a much older time, something kinda akin to Oliver Twist, especially given the horrible way in which the orphans were being mistreated. Although I wasn't able to pinpoint the exact time period, there are computers and a helicopter giving it a more modern feel. Tom and Sarah endure many hardships as they make their escape from the orphanage. Especially as they climb across a rooftop, travel through an underground tunnel, and once they hop aboard a hot air balloon. All while being tracked from the ground by Detective Goverstone and his massive police force. When their balloon does crash land, a foot race ensues taking them through the city streets of Oxford. Along the way, Tom and Sarah receive help from a student and professor at Oxford University and visit such historical sites as Windsor Castle, Christ Church, and Canterbury Cathedral, to name a few.

I love stories set in England and having Tom and Sarah flying around in a hot air balloon gives the reader an interesting, birds-eye perspective of England. As I learned from reading an interview with the author, one of Stewart's main goals for writing Britfield & the Lost Crown was to not only to write something that was entertaining but also something that was accurate geographically, historically, architecturally, and culturally. I think he accomplished this very well. There are lovely passages describing the buildings they pass and historical details about the places they visited are intermingled into the dialogue. In addition to the story being exciting, there are also five maps detailing the places Tom and Sarah visited in the story, with one even including the layout of Windsor Castle. There's even a website for the book with even more details and actual photographs from the countryside of Yorkshire, The Midlands, Oxford, Windsor, Richmond, London, and Canterbury. Beautifully detailed photos that include excerpts from the book linking them to the relevant passages from the story and adding in the historical significance as well. For example this one on Windsor Castle:

" The oldest inhabited royal residence in Britain, Windsor Castle represents the pinnacle of majesty. First built in 1070 by William the Conqueror, the original wooden structure was replaced with greyish stone and improved over the centuries. Perched high on a hill and illuminated by lights, it stood as an enormous fortified structure with thirty-foot walls and fifty-foot rectangular towers."

The next book in the series, Britfield and The Rise of the Lion is due to release in the Fall of 2020 and this time Tom and Sarah will be traveling to France. I can't wait!!

If there wasn’t already a well-known book and movie by the title of The Great Escape, I would say that this book should be renamed to it because this whole book is one exciting escape after escape.

The Weatherly Orphanage isn’t known by its occupants for being a warm and cozy place to live. Instead, it is a place where the kids get little food and clothing and are forced to work long hours at a nearby factory. It’s also known for doling out harsh punishments for small infractions. When an unexpectedly harsh punishment puts Tom’s best friend Sarah into solitary confinement for a month, Tom knows it is time to leave. Their friends at the orphanage form an elaborate scheme to break them both out, starting an escape adventure that spans across England. If escaping wasn’t enough, the Grievouses hire legendary Detective Gowerstone, who is known for finding missing children and orphans.

This story is one big, long escape. Detective Gowerstone isn’t a legend for nothing and his intuition about where the Tom and Sarah might be constantly keep the kids fleeing using various locations and means to journey toward London. From Canterbury to Oxford to Windsor Castle the kids get to see so many places and get very, very, very lucky by finding nice folks who help them during their escape.

But this is also a mystery-thriller story too. At the orphanage Tom learns something he doesn’t expect regarding his family and the longer Tom and Sarah stay on the run more people become involved in keeping that secret safe – at all costs.

This story really put a smile on my face. Even though this is a giant escape book, the author really knows how to not weigh it down by scary moments. Young readers will get to follow them to many different famous locations along the way and learn a bit of history too. At the end there is also a “Where are they now” type of epilogue on the fate of the orphan children, which I really liked to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Devonfield Publishing LLC for the reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

I liked this book better in the end than I did in the beginning. It took a long time to get going. The author loves a cliff-hanger for each scene, which grew tiring to me, but I"m not the the intended audience. The history was fascinating and the end was Da Vinci Code-like. I think kids will love this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you for NetGalley and Devonfield Publishing for the ebook provided.

It’s a WOW book, I know this book is aiming a middle grade readers but I enjoyed it thoroughly!!

My favorite part was whenever they planned for their great escape plan, how all of the orphans teamed up only just wants to buy some time for Tom and Sarah, I honestly clapped and thrilled while reading this chapter. The entire story is heart-stopping surprises, English history part is fascinating (I’ve always wanted to visit England, someday I will), clear dialogues, liked the plot, adventures theme background along the story. The characters showed their brave charisma, clear dialogue, provides fully devotion of Tom and Sarah

Again, I read this together with my 4th grade son and we both enjoyed it together. His favorite part was when Mr. & Mrs. Grievous been captured by the police, “they’re so mean, they’ve deserved it” that was his first opinion when finished reading this book.

Highly recommend for middle grade readers, and we’re excited that the adventures will continue in the next book.

I had fun at reading this book. Some more editing would help but it was quite entertaining and engrossing.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

You can't fault the plotting in this book. Fast-paced and full of adventure, the target audience, it's just right for the target audience - middle grade readers.
But as an adult, I found the characters flat and dry. Tom and his best friend Sarah are residents of an orphanage, where all the children are good - sharing the scarce food, helping each other and always looking out for one another - while the adults are evil incarnate. And there was something about the writing that just didn't click for me.
I received a digital advanced readers copy of this book.