Tag: reads

Review: Lost Beast, Found Friend

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Keelee is a brave, young girl who discovers a purple, fuzzy, funny beast! Together the two must make their way across this fantastic land to return Beast to his home. This is a touching tale of friendship and fun that children will want to revisit again and again. The children’s book is the debut of painter Nick Kennedy and comics writer Josh Trujillo (Dodge City). Lost Beast, Found Friend transports readers to a lush, tropical world, and Kennedy’s unique style gives Keelee and her new friend a vivid fantasy world to play in. This book will stick with readers of all ages long after story-time is over. Lost Beast, Found Friend is a charming and vibrant adventure story for the explorer in all of us!

This is an adorable little children’s book that is a quick and colorful story about friendship. I absolutely loved it even though it is short and sweet. Not only is it a story about friendship, but has a touch about not judging based on appearances and found friends/family. The artwork is fun, colorful and dynamic.

This is a great story for children, especially those that may feel different or want to understand about making friends. It has a very sweet message as well as some humor.

Lost Beast, Found Friend comes out June 9th from Oni Press, so be sure to pick up a copy for your little ones!

Review: Forgotten Ones – Drabbles of Myth and Legend

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For as long as men have lived, myths and legends have permeated cultures across the globe. But for every known monster, are there creatures of lore, gods of fable, and rituals of old that have been forgotten by time?

Delve into the darkness that came before and witness over 100 short drabbles resurrect the ancient world in 100 words or less.

Featuring award-winning horror and fiction authors from around the world, we dare you to remember the fear of the unknown and to dive headfirst into the beyond.

Within these pages the old gods have awoken and with them, chaos will reign again.

I thought the concept of this collection was really interesting, as I’d never heard of a collection of drabbles (100 word stories) before. It may not be the best format for me as there were so many of these that I was sucked into and left wanting more. For me I’m not sure if I can be satisfied with only 100 words. Still it was a great way to get acquainted with a number of different authors and their writing styles.

There were so many of these that were written beautiful and had a great punchline, but there were also some that just didn’t do it for me, which is something you can see with any collection. Still, I did enjoy the stories but I’m not sure if drabbles are something I’m going to read a lot in the future as I feel like I will always want more in some way.

Happy reading!

Review: Happily Ever After & Everything In Between

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From the bestselling author of Quiet Girl in a Noisy World and Book Love comes a funny and adorable collection of comics about married life, specifically an introvert married to an extrovert! Debbie Tung’s tender, funny, and utterly relatable comics are the perfect gift for anyone in a relationship.

The comics in Happily Ever After & Everything In Between may be inspired by Debbie Tung’s marriage to her extrovert husband, but any couple can relate to increasingly relaxed anniversaries, slowly seeing more of each other’s weird sides, or the punishment for taking care of your sick loved one (catching whatever they had). Happily Ever After humorously captures what everyday love looks like—both the sweet moments and the mundane—making it a fitting gift for weddings, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day.

As soon as I saw Debbie Tung had a new collection coming out I had to get my hands on it. I’ve read her two previous books and loved them and this one was no different. This one deals with married life and how she and her husband interact with each other as well as the outside world. It is super relatable and perfectly illustrates how relationships can be when you’ve found your person.

Debbie Tung is great at portraying what it’s like to live with anxiety and being an introvert – and how it is to have someone in your life who gets you. Her signature art style is great for her slice of life comics. This one is definitely a great addition to her collection of books.

Happy reading!

Review: Kim Reaper Vol 1 – Grim Beginnings

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Part-Time Grim Reaper. Full-Time Cutie!

Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. Unlike most university students, Kim’s job is pretty cool: she’s a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife.

Like most university students, Becka has a super intense crush. Unlike most university students, Becka’s crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn’t know that.

Unaware of the ghoulish drama she’s about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it… and maybe even get a smooch in the bargain. 

As soon as I saw this one available on kindle unlimited I wanted to pick it up since I have heard about it in the past. It follows two college girls, one of them Kim who is a part time grim reaper. She and Becka go on a number of misadventures after Becka follows her through a portal. What she thinks will allow her to ask Kim out becomes something completely different.

The first volume is full of laughs and crazy escapades as Kim and Becka try to navigate getting to know each other, their growing relationship and Kim’s job of reaping souls when it is their time. It’s light hearted and tongue in cheek. Looking at where it left off it will be interesting to see what happens to these two as well as what the Reaper’s council has in store for them.

As I said, this is currently available on kindle unlimited, so be sure to snag it if you want to read it – happy reading!

Blog Tour: Night of the Dragon

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All is lost.

To save everyone she loves from imminent death, kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko gave up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must make one desperate final effort to stop the Master of Demons from using the scroll to call the Great Kami Dragon and make the wish that will plunge the empire into chaos.

Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko to stop a madman, and to separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.

But even with their combined skills and powers, this unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.

Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound Books-A-Million AppleBooks Google Play

Night of the Dragon was easily my most anticipated book of the year. I have been eagerly awaiting the conclusion to the Shadow of the Fox trilogy and HAD to know what happened to the characters. That being said, this book pretty much broke me. If Julie Kagawa has a tear quota she needs to meet, I’m pretty sure I provided what she needs.

That being said, Night of the Dragon was just as amazing as the other two books and was a fast paced, well formed conclusion. I don’t really feel like anything was left unresolved but it was certainly a difficult and emotional journey to get to the end. We follow the same characters as we have followed previously as they continue to try to defeat Genno in his quest to claim the Dragon’s Wish. There were so many twists and turns (some predictable and some out of left field) and Kagawa again succeeded in writing this book so that it reads like an anime. It is action packed and there’s never really a dull moment.

It was heartbreaking and amazing at the same time, if you have grown to love the world she has created in the first two books, be prepared to get emotional but to also love this conclusion to the trilogy.

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey, Blood of Eden, Talon, and Shadow of the Fox series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.

Julie now lives in North Carolina with her husband, two obnoxious cats, and a pair of Australian Shepherds that have more Instagram followers than she does.

Social Links:
Author website: http://juliekagawa.com/
Facebook
Twitter: @jkagawa
Instagram: @juliekagawaauthor
Goodreads

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press for giving me the opportunity to finally read the conclusion and be included in the blog tour!

Happy reading!

Review: Cat’s Cafe

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Welcome to Cat’s Café, a neighborhood coffee shop where all are welcome! Based on the popular webcomic, Cat’s Café introduces readers to the adorable denizens of this world. There’s Penguin, who has a bit of a coffee problem; Rabbit, whose anxiety sometimes overwhelms him; Axolotl, whose confidence inspires his friends; the always-supportive Cat, who provides hot drinks made with love and a supportive ear for anyone’s troubles; and many, many more. With a sensitive take on real issues and a gentle, positive outlook, Cat’s Café is about the power of acceptance, friendship, and love … and delicious cups of coffee.

Ok I won’t lie, I wanted to read this simply because of the title and the fact that there are a range of animals portrayed, including a cat and a penguin, but I’m so glad I picked it up. This collection features short comics revolving around the same group of animal characters, all with different personality traits and struggles. The central theme that connects them is that they live in the same community and frequent the same cafe (owned by Cat!).

There are tons of little discussions regarding anxiety, self confidence issues, depression and more. Each comic was a great snapshot into different situations and were full of inspiration and heartwarming messages.

Happy reading!

Review: Alone with the Stars

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In the summer of 1937, Amelia Earhart is the most famous woman in the world – a record-breaking pilot, a best-selling author, and a modern woman shattering the glass ceiling in the early days of aviation.

And then she vanishes.

In Tampa, Florida, 15-year-old Lizzie Friedlander spends her afternoons glued to her father’s radio, tapping into the enormity of a world she longs to travel. Lizzie can hardly believe her ears when she picks up a radio signal from a faraway source that sets her heart racing: “Amelia Earhart calling SOS!”

As Lizzie copies down the transmissions, it’s clear that the Amelia Earhart is not lost at sea, as the newspapers are dreading, but alive and calling for help. In a race against time, Lizzie must convince the local Coast Guard that the radio transmissions were real and that Earhart’s life hangs in the balance. But will anyone believe her?

Written for audio by David R. Gillham, the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author of City of Women, and performed by Emily Bauer and Hilary Huber, Alone with the Stars is a breathtaking and illuminating tribute to a woman who risked her life in pursuit of new heights, and the young girl who tried desperately to save her when everything went wrong. Inspired by actual events, Alone with the Stars reveals, in riveting detail, the final moments in the life of a great heroine, whose courage changed the world forever.

I feel like this story just fell short of what it was attempting. It was an intriguing take on the Amelia Earhart and the girl who famously thought she heard some of her last transmissions, but there were points where it either didn’t go far enough, or was just a little over the top. It has huge themes regarding how women and young girls were viewed at the time, and what Amelia did to break those stereotypes.

I think a little more length and some softening of the extreme points (such as when they are talking to the Coast Guard) would have made it amazing. It was still enjoyable, but I feel it could have been better.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour: The Darkness We Hide

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In the thrilling conclusion to The Undertaker’s Daughter series, THE DARKNESS WE HIDE, Doctor Rowan Dupont has been staring death in the face for so long, she’s willing to meet it for the secrets it holds. Death has followed her back to her hometown of Winchester, Tennessee, ten months ago, cloaking the walls of her family’s Victorian funeral home like a shroud. In investigating the mysterious deaths of her loved ones, Rowan has unearthed enough family secrets to bury everything she’d previously thought true. But each shocking discovery has only led to more bodies and more questions; the rabbit hole is deeper than she ever imagined.

Despite settling into a comfortable life with Police Chief Billy Brannigan, Rowan knows dangerous serial killer Julian Addington is still out there. She can’t let her guard down now. Not when she’s this close to ending it once and for all. But with a storm brewing on the horizon, she’ll get only one shot before the impending darkness takes hold, threatening to wipe away every truth she’s uncovered—and everything she holds dear.

Buy Links: Harlequin  Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Powell’s

Oh boy, this one was full of twists and turns that I didn’t expect. I had not read the other books in the series and kind of wish I had read them first. I may go back and read them even though I’ve already read this one, just so I can better understand all the nuances of the characters and story.

That being said, it was still a really enjoyable and thrilling story. There were a number of points where I was both scared to find out what was going to happen and also eagerly needing to know. I’ve only read a few of Debra Webb’s books so far, but she is quickly becoming an author whose writing I really enjoy.

I would definitely say read the rest of the series first, but I would recommend picking them up for sure!

Debra Webb is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 130 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama. Visit Debra at www.DebraWebb.com or write to her at PO Box 176, Madison, AL 35758.

Social Links:
Author Website
Twitter: @DebraWebbAuthor
Instagram: @DebraEWebb
Facebook: @DebraWebbAuthor
Goodreads

Happy reading!

Review: Tomorrow’s Wilderness Vol 1

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Gengineers extraordinaire! The intrepid duo of Joy (Prof. Williams) and George (Prof. Martinez) tackle challenges ranging from invasive pyromaniac knapweed to pretty poisonous pet Puppysaurs. A lighthearted romp through the future of genetic engineering.

These stories are set in a future roughly 60 years from now (approximately 2080). All of the stories feature organisms with unusual genetics. These organisms were either created intentionally for various reasons (“Sofia’s Seed Weevils”, “The Great Knapweed Round-up”, “Grandma’s Kittens”, and “Please Don’t Feed the Wildlife”) or were discovered in the wild (“Terroctopus Paxarbolis”, “The Squirrels of Snohomish County”, and “Gigantanthropus Canadensis”).

In each story, George and Joy face a genetic or environmental challenge. The challenge may be invasive plants (“Sofia’s Seed Weevils” and “The Great Knapweed Round-up”), identification or protection of rare or challenged species (“Terroctopus Paxarbolis”, “The Squirrels of Snohomish County”, and “Gigantanthropus Canadensis”), or dealing with the consequence of poorly managed genetic constructs which have escaped into the wilderness (“Grandma’s Kittens”, and “Please Don’t Feed the Wildlife”).

In each story, Joy and George are successful in resolving the issues, typically through some combination of cleverness, scientific acumen, and more than their fair share of good luck.

The stories are lighthearted and optimistic, George and Joy (and their students) have a lot of fun along the way, but nonetheless each story is grounded in real and factual challenges facing the wilderness of the future.

For the reader interested in the underlying scientific details, an Appendix is provided which clarifies the science versus the fiction in each story.

I won’t lie, I was sucked in when I heard the word “puppysaurs” and was instantly intrigued by this collection. Through the stories in this collection we follow two scientists (Joy and George) as they face different genetic dilemmas. They are often called on to identify mysterious animals or flora. The banter an friendship between the two of them is one of the best things in the collection, and really carries over from story to story.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a lot of scientific language and sometimes the explanations are very technical, so if do not enjoy that type of writing this may not appeal to you. I absolutely ate it up since it is something I enjoy, and I loved the talk about genetic splicing as well as examination of what some of the consequences of messing with genes may be.

I really enjoyed this collection and it was wonderful to follow Joy and George through their adventures. Thanks so much to the author for reaching out to me and offering me a copy of this book!

Happy reading!

Historical Serenade Release Day Blitz

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Today I am excited to share the release of Historical Serenade: Seven Tales of Romance. This collection of historical romances will transport you from the comfort of your home. For a limited time you can own the digital edition for 99 cents. It is also available for Kindle Unlimited. Learn more, order your copy, and enter the celebratory giveaway!

Historical Serenade: Seven Tales of Romance 

From authors Lane McFarland, April Holthaus, Barbara Bettis, Dawn Marie Hamilton, Karen Muir, Ria Cantrell, and Ruth A. Casie comes a collection of Historical and Time Travel Romances.

Let them serenade you with their spell-binding tales filled with danger, deception, revenge, honor and passion as we take you back in time on a journey spanning the Medieval Highlands through England’s Golden Age to North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

 HEART OF THE HIGHLANDS: THE RAVEN by April Holthaus

As the king’s personal guard, Eamon MacLeish’s loyalty has never been questioned until a mysterious lass seeks an asylum for a crime, she claims she did not commit. Adelyn Scott would welcome death over marriage but had no idea her wish would come true when she discovers her husband’s body on the night of their wedding.

As Adelyn and Eamon piece together clues surrounding her husband’s murder, Eamon must choose between his loyalty or his heart.

SILVERHAWK by Barbara Bettis

Seeking revenge again his father, Sir Giles kidnaps the man’s young betrothed, only to find himself thwarting her repeated escape efforts. Lady Emelin won’t let a blasted mercenary destroy her last chance at a home and family, yet when she learns they must track down English traitors, she reluctantly assists. Eluding searchers and enemies like, Giles and Emelin discover that their past goals don’t matter; only a future together will do.

 JUST WITHIN A HIGHLAND MIST by Dawn Marie Hamilton

A trio of pesky pixies have plans for Gregor MacLachlan’s heart. While hunting, a wayward shot from his bow nearly hits a strange lass who appears as if by magic. Emily Smith follows a child in her care onto a forbidden mound in the woods and wakes in a strange bed, in a place and time not her own. Can she find love in the arms of the dark-eyed stranger who becomes her champion?

 DAGGER’S DESTINY by Karen Muir

In Medieval England, after Lady Katherine de Grey’s family is murdered, she is rescued by a childhood friend, Sir Richard Weston, and they are forced to marry. Richard resents the edict and intends to petition for an annulment. But, Katherine has other plans. With each caress of her dagger, she empowers herself to fight for her destiny. All she has to do is convince her new husband that the woman he truly desires is already his wife.

 TO LOVE AN IMPOSTOR by Lane McFarland

Disguised as Nicholas Barlow, a ruthless, old businessman during the day, the Flintlock Brigand’s leader at night, and Captain Randolf, in between, Nicholas ruins constables who failed to show Bristol’s orphans mercy.

Diana Fleming, daughter of Bristol’s wealthiest gentry, returns to beg her father for help raising of ten orphaned children, but instead discovers her father died because of Nicholas Barlow. Now penniless and desperate, she’s determined to destroy the man who murdered her father.

CELTIC PERIL by Ria Cantrell

Tom Callum landed a spot with Celtic Storm as the lead singer and front man. When he reaches Scotland, he is drawn to seek his heritage and uncover the mysteries of his past. He is fascinated with a painting of a girl, Jenna Brandham of the Clan MacCollum, who lived more than six hundred years ago. Jenna tugs at his long forgotten memory. Tom will soon be plunged into a world of intrigue, deception and peril. The past and present collide in an adventure that brings danger at every turn. Only love will give Tom the strength he needs to thwart an attempt on King Richard’s life. Will Tom be able to survive his leap into the past? Will he be able to survive his return to the present, only to leave his heart behind?

 THE MAXWELL GHOST by Ruth A. Casie

Traitors, deception, murders and ghosts run rampant at Caerlaverock Castle. Jamie Collins and Laura Reynolds, long-time friends find their destinies intertwined with hidden passions, but all is in jeopardy when Laura becomes the murderer’s next target. Jamie will find he needs some ghostly assistance to save Laura and declare his love. No magic…a love that lasts an eternity.

99 cent Boxed Set 7 Romances 

Available in Kindle Unlimited 
Returns to $4.99 price April 30th, 2020

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