Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
There’s no review today, but you can pass the time looking through some old posts like:
Month: November 2019
BONUS REVIEW: The Amish Cookie Club by Sarah Price
Summary
Edna, Verna, Wilma and Mary gather together every couple weeks to bake cookies for Sunday worship services. Family and friends flippantly call it their “cookie club,” but it’s more like cookie therapy. As they gather and bake, they share one another’s burdens.
Mary’s daughter is painfully shy and probably over-protected. The women wonder how she’ll ever make her way in the world. Wilma’s twins seem to be in constant battle with one another. Perhaps Wilma’s own abrasiveness has rubbed off too much. Edna grieves that she was never able to raise a daughter. Her sons are almost all grown, but they don’t seem to have any interest in courting or starting a family. And Verna’s daughter, Myrna has just lost ANOTHER job. Her strong and vocal opinions cause her problems with employers and customers alike.
Edna has the idea of helping Myrna find a job in an Amish home where her hard work might be appreciated and she could learn some more agreeable methods. And Ezekiel Riehl’s farm could be the perfect solution. Ezekiel has four children including a baby less than a year old. The story is that his wife developed cancer, and Ezekiel refused to let her get treatment, insisting they pray and trust it to God. Myrna doesn’t quite like the sound of that, but she doesn’t have to agree with him to watch the kids and clean the house. She needs a job, and he needs help at home. It’s just a business arrangement.
Review
This was delightful! I loved Myrna! Her strong opinions and organizational skills felt very familiar to me. She needed a place that both needed AND appreciated those skills. And she found that.
The author does a good job of setting up the four moms and their concerns which will be covered in future books while also focusing on Myrna’s story. The balance between those threads was great. Personally, I got a little tired of Wilma. I’m glad the next book (An Amish Cookie Club Christmas, out now) will focus on Mary’s daughter and Edna’s family.
It’s clear early on that this medical care situation is going to be a factor in Myrna’s relationship with Zeke. As often happens in novels, gossip, assumptions and lack of communication go a long way towards thwarting love. Readers will have to check this book out to see if Myrna and Zeke can triumph.
This is another fantastic Amish story from Sarah Price. She is now a must-buy author for me. I love her work! I recently read the second book in the series – An Amish Cookie Club Christmas – and it was just as good! (♥♥♥♥½)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
REVIEW: Sweet as Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand
Summary
Lily, Poppy, and Rose Christner have been raised by their Aunt Bitsy since their mother and father died. Bitsy’s a little unusual for an Amish woman, but she has done well by her nieces. They have built a honey bee farm on their property, and their honey and other bee products take care of their family.
Dan Kanagy is back in town after two years in Pennsylvania. He went to learn more about raising cattle to help on his family farm. His parents hoped he might find a wife there, but no luck. He has always been in love with Lily Christner.
Lily can’t believe that mean Dan Kanagy is back in town. He made fun of her braces and thick glasses when they were in school together. His nicknames for her always hurt so much. Thankfully, Paul Glick has always pulled her away from the teasing and been her one true friend. He seems to be talking a lot about their “future.” But Dan’s arrival leaves Lily’s feelings very confused.
Review
The author has launched a new series – the Petersheim Brothers – and I ADORED the first book, Andrew (Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥). While I was waiting for book 2 (Abraham, out now), I decided to try one of her other books to see if I enjoyed more of the author’s work than just that one title. I read this in a day, and I loved it. In fact, when I finished it, I gave it back to the library and bought the whole three-book series for myself.
The characters are my favorite part of this series, although the story is terrific. I fell in love with all three of the Christner girls – responsible Lily, spunky Poppy, and wary yet sweet Rose. And their Aunt Bitsy is delightful. Dan is terrific – although his cluelessness is cringe-worthy. I kept watching him screw up this relationship with Lily because he has NO idea his nicknames and teasing tear her apart.
Lily’s boyfriend shows a lot of examples of gaslighting. The more strict parts of the Amish life and community reinforced the awful things he said to her. My heart broke for Lily as she accepted his manipulation as her due, and I was quite vocal about my dislike of that man as I read. But I especially loved that Lily worked out her own issues. No one rescued her. In fact, when someone tried, it caused even more trouble. This was something she had to do for herself.
I enjoyed the second book in the series, A Bee in Her Bonnet (Rating: ♥♥♥♥½), and I read book three, Like a Bee to Honey, in a day (Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥). I highly recommend this series as well as the Petersheim Brothers series!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
REVIEW: The Poison Jungle by Tui T. Sutherland
Summary
Sundew the LeafWing is headed home with unexpected companions – Blue and Swordtail, the SilkWings, and Cricket the HiveWing with the dragonet Bumblebee. She’s taking them to her home in the Poison Jungle, the place where the LeafWings have been hiding for 50 years. But now the LeafWings are ready to stop hiding and fight back against the HiveWings. Sundew’s mother, Belladonna, has been leading raiding parties out, and her tribe is ready to unleash decades of anger on those who destroyed their home and the rest of their tribe.
But Sundew and her friends have discovered some secrets about Queen Wasp and her mind control. Sundew has a sample of the vine and flower she grows to control the other dragons. If they can find a LeafWing who knows what it is, they might be able to stop Wasp. But the Poison Jungle holds more secrets than the LeafWings know. Sundew is even keeping some secrets of her own. And secrets have a way of coming into the light whether you want them to or not.
Review
This was great! There’s significant suspense in this one. The jungle itself is a major source of suspense. And the characters are fantastic. I loved digging into Sundew’s story more. I adored her relationship with Bumblebee. The romantic subplot also gives new insights into the character. I loved it.
It’s hard to review this well because there are spoilers in almost everything I want to say. This ends with a major event and NO hints for what is going to happen next. And the next book – Dragonslayer (February 2020) – goes back to the history of Pyrrhia. Readers will be chomping at the bit to get back to this story by the time book 14 is released!
There were two places where I felt the story had things to say about contemporary issues. One is in the wrestling Sundew does with her feelings about the HiveWings. Her anger burns hot at the whole tribe, but when she considers them rationally, she knows none of the HiveWings – except Wasp – have acted on their own free will. So what responsibility do the HiveWing’s hold for their actions? They may not have taken action of their own free will, but they have enjoyed the privileges garnered by being the top race on their continent. Aware readers may see the racial comparisons to our own world. The second piece is a spoiler, but I will say it introduces the idea of immigration and raises some of the questions we wrestle with today. I’m eager to see how that part of the larger story plays out.
Fans of the series should dive right into this one if they haven’t already. You don’t want to miss it! (LGBTQ+)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
Book Shopping Suggestions: The 2019 Holiday Hint List Is Here!
It’s Thanksgiving week and for many that’s when thoughts turn to holiday shopping. To help you along I bring you this year’s edition of the Holiday Hint List. You can see past lists here. I try to limit duplications from one year to the next.
My hope is that this list will give you some shopping ideas and relieve you of some holiday stress. If you have questions, please let me know!
Here it is as a PDF: 2019 Neverending TBR Holiday Shopping Hint List
BOOK NEWS: November 26, 2019
Check back later today for the 2019 Holiday Hint list!! Now, on to some of the new books releasing this week.
Books for Kids
The ABCs of Metallica – Alphabet picture book
Spies in Disguise: Gadgets, Gizmos and Gear – Paperback picture book with stickers from the new movie Spies in Disguise.
You Loves Ewe! – Homonyms abound in this new picture book from Cece Bell (El Deafo).
Spies in Disguise: Lance Saves the World – Pigeon Lance shows off his new perspective.
Spies in Disguise: Meet the Spies – Meet the characters from the new movie.
Mia Mayhem Vs. the Mighty Robot – Book 6 in the Mia Mayhem series. A helpful cleaning robot goes rogue when Mia accidentally makes it grow three times its normal size.
The Princess in Black and the Bathtime Battle – Book 7 in this fantastic series. Princess heroes and their sidekicks help the Princess in Black and Goat Avenger with a stinky monster problem.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Ali Cross (Older Middle Grade 10-14) – A spin off of Patterson’s Alex Cross series, this one starring Alex’s son who wants to follow in his father’s detective footsteps. Ali is hunting for his missing best friend while his father is on trial for a crime he didn’t commit.
Spies in Disguise: The Junior Novel – Junior Novel of the new movie.
Incredible LEGO Creations From Space with Bricks You Already Have – A Lego idea book for using all the random bricks you might have. I always dreamed of organizing ours so something like this would work. It would be difficult to sort through huge tubs of bricks to find just the right size, but if you have a politely-sized collection, or you did a better job of organizing than I did, this could be a fun resource for you.
Starsight – Sequel to Skyward. Spensa is still shaken from the things she learned about her father, but she suspects there’s still more to the story. And she’s determined to find the truth.
Books for Adults
A Very Scalzi Christmas (Hardcover – November 30) – A collection of short stories and poems from science fiction author Jon Scalzi. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Abraham (Mass Market Paperback) – Sequel to Andrew (♥♥♥♥♥), and book 2 in the Petersheim Brothers series by Jennifer Beckstrand. The younger Petersheim brothers are matchmaking again, hoping to get their older brothers out of the house so they can move out of the basement. While Abraham has his eye on a young woman in their community, he is far too shy to approach the talkative young woman on his own. I’ll be reviewing this one soon, too.
An Ale of Two Cities (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Literary Pub Mystery series about a murder at an ice-carving competition. I have book one on my watch list at the library. Sounds like a great series!
Bookmarked for Murder (Trade Paperback) – Book 5 in the Mystery Bookshop series. This one focuses on a death on a chartered bus trip. Sounds original!
Cobblered to Death (Mass Market Paperback) – First in a new series about a baker from a show called Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter (even though she’s really a pediatrician’s daughter) competing on a reality show.
The Dog Who Knew Too Much (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 6 in the Paws & Claws Mystery series. America’s “favorite dog” is in town, and the scamp stumbles across a dead body. Sounds like a cute series.
Invitation Only Murder (Hardcover) – Book 26 in the Lucy Stone Mystery series. Part time reporter Lucy Stone is drawn into investigating a suspicious death while visiting an eccentric billionaire on his island which has been stripped of modern technology.
Lady Takes the Case (Trade Paperback) – First in a new historical mystery series where someone is murdered at a house party. This sounds great!
Murder at Icicle Lodge (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Ferrara Family Mystery series. Alberta and friends are off for vacation at the new Icicle Lodge where they discover a murdered celebrity. I need to catch up on this series, too.
Murder with Cherry Tarts (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 4 in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series. One of Daisy’s employees has been trying to help a down-on-his-luck single dad who ends up suspected of murder.
A Murderous Tangle (Hardcover) – Book 3 in the Seaside Knitters Society series. A visiting environmental activist is accused of murder.
My Fake Rake (Mass Market Paperback) – First in a new series. A science-minded wallflower convinces a colleague to let her turn him into a fake rake to help her catch the eye of a naturalist. Yep, I’m going to need this one. Sounds fantastic!
Paw of the Jungle (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Paw Enforcement series. A police officer and her K-9 partner are enjoying a day off at the zoo when some rare animals start to go missing. This sounds fun!
Publishable By Death (e-book) – First in a new series. The new bookstore owner is surprised to find a dead reporter in her storage room on opening day. I’ve already pre-ordered this one!
Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Heroes (Paperback Graphic Novel) – A Star Wars comics collection.
Thread and Buried (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 9 in the Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series. A movie director is found dead after harassing his female lead, and the story which inspired the movie he was making is leading to murderous revelations.
Under Occupation (Hardcover) – In Paris in 1942, a man being chased by the Gestapo passes a document to a novelist right before he dies. The novelist realizes he needs to get the document to the Allied forces.
Crazy Busy Keto (Paperback Cookbook) – Full of recipes and meal suggestions for the “crazy busy” moments in your life.
The Sacred Enneagram Workbook: Mapping Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth (Paperback Workbook) – Tools and practices to help you explore the Enneagram with the book The Sacred Enneagram (♥♥♥♥).
Stan Lee’s Master Class: Lessons in Drawing, World-Building, Storytelling, Manga, and Digital Comics from the Legendary Co-Creator of Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the Incredible Hulk (Paperback) – Lessons from Stan Lee on visual storytelling in comics.
REVIEW: Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Winnie loves comedy. She grew up watching I Love Lucy and Abbott and Costello sketches. She even thought about doing stand up, but that was before her bat mitzvah. After bombing at her own party, Winnie has sworn off performing ever again.
Winnie’s dad is her comedy idol. He’s been having some weird symptoms lately like randomly dropping things and some slurred speech that has her concerned. Then her parents tell her – the doctors think her dad has ALS.
A cute guy and the need for a distraction from her dad’s health lead Winnie to a meeting of the school’s improv group. Even though she is clueless about many of their routines, when a sketch clicks, she starts making people laugh. Winnie begins to feel at home on stage and in front of an audience again. But at the same time, so many other things start to fall apart. Suddenly she finds herself all alone with more questions than answers and more crying than laughing.
Review
This is a solid contemporary YA story. There are friend pieces and boyfriend/crush pieces. Winnie’s dad’s illness and the impact on their family is of course a huge piece of the story. And then the comedy pieces – from the improv group to using humor to mask fear and pain – work in as well. Through it all, Winnie shines.
The core of the book is the family story. From hiding the initial diagnosis to shielding Winnie from the grim prognosis to a big blow up in a public spot, the family is struggling. Hurts from the past get drawn in, and the whole thing shakes Winnie’s foundations. And while she’s dealing with all that, her relationships at school change too, leaving her feeling alone and lost.
Winnie is remarkably resilient through it all. I loved that she wasn’t immediately amazing at improv. She struggled. Everyone knew it. Some people took advantage of it. I liked the layers that added to the story. Ultimately her improv group has her back, which might have been my favorite part of the whole story.
There’s some humor here, but also a ton of heart! (Language, LGBTQ+)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
BONUS REVIEW: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
Summary
Nina Hill is quite content with her bookish life, thank you very much. She works at a bookstore, and runs their kids’ book clubs. She attends her own book club and store author events. She is very attached to her planner and her quiet routines. Add in her trivia team – Book ‘Em, Danno – and what more could she possibly need?
Certainly not the good looking guy from her rival quiz team You’re a Quizzard, Harry. He might be handsome and all, but he seems to only know useless sports trivia. Sure, that horse racing fact came in handy for the Quizzards, but if she was going to date a guy, he had to be a reader.
Nina also does NOT need the drama of discovering her birth father. She’s lived almost thirty years without him, and now that he’s dead, what more could he provide?
But the man had a family – and money. Nina’s new siblings and extended family want to meet her, and some want to keep her from any part of the estate. An estate she couldn’t care less about.
Life was so much simpler when it was just Nina, her cat and her quiet bookish life!
Review
I’m sure my husband was tired of me reading passages to him every couple pages, but the writing here is clever and snappy. I adored it! This falls into a narrow category of the “perfect” book for me. I loved the characters. The writing is sharp. I laughed often; the book and pop culture references were fantastic! I didn’t want to put the book down, but at the same time I didn’t want it to end.
Nina is a hoot! She’s crazy smart, witty and quirky. I clicked with her book love – of course – and her organized approach to life. She’s a cat person. She has made the best out of a non-traditional upbringing. I adored her. Add in two awesome kid characters – Clare and Millie – and a couple of Nina’s new relatives, and I was in awesome-character heaven. Even the most abrasive character was a favorite by the end.
I expected Nina’s anxiety over this new family to make that part of the story awkward and angsty, but it was actually my favorite part of the book. The romantic storyline was good, but the family piece was outstanding! I read this from the library, but this is now a must-buy for me. And I loved the writing in this from the first sentence, so I’ll be checking out the author’s other work asap. (Mostly off-page sex. Includes discussion questions for book groups.)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++
REVIEW: The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Summary
Olive has known Ethan for a couple years now, since her twin Ami started dating his brother, Dane. She’s never particularly liked Ethan. There’s usually a simmering hostility between them.
When Ami and Dane plan their wedding, Olive and Ethan are right there, maid of honor and best man. And while Olive considers herself a bad luck magnet, Ami is the opposite. She loves entering sweepstakes and contests, and she often wins. In fact, most of the wedding – and the 10 day honeymoon in Maui – are things Ami has won.
Olive and Ethan are the only two people at the wedding who don’t partake of the seafood buffet at the reception. Therefore, they are the only two who do NOT get food poisoning. Since the honeymoon trip is a contest prize, there is no way for Ami to postpone the trip. So she begs Olive to take her place and enjoy the vacation. And Ethan is going, too. Now Olive has to pretend to be married to her nemesis in romantic Hawaii. How is she going to pull that off?
Review
This is laugh-out-loud hilarious, at least for the first half of the book. It’s an absolute delight. Olive completely cracked me up – so brash and honest. It’s fantastic. I love a story that makes me laugh.
This would be perfect as a Hallmark movie. You’ve got the enemies-to-lovers situation as well as a fake relationship, two of my favorite romance tropes. And if you have a story where people have to hide who they really are, there’s always a moment where things fall apart. When that happens, the humor of the story pulls back and leaves room for other emotions. And this book hits those emotions just right.
Through everything – the snarky, hilarious beginning, the blossoming romance, and the dumpster fire when everything falls apart – Olive shines. I loved her. She tries to learn from her mistakes. She’s honest to the point of almost blowing their cover multiple times. And she evaluates and stands by her instincts, even when they cost her almost everything. While the whole story is a treat, I stayed with this one because of Olive. Don’t miss her story! (Language, sex)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
REVIEW: Power of a Princess by E. D. Baker
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
The fairy Queen Suriner and King Darinar are moving their kingdom back to the human world. And their half fairy, half pedrasi granddaughter, Princess Aislin, will be a big part of operating their new kingdom.
As such, Princess Aislin gets to choose her guards/ladies-in-waiting to help her. And her choices are pretty revolutionary – a fairy, an orc, a living doll, and a giant just to name a few.
But a mysterious “She” is trying to cause trouble for the new fairy kingdom. Whoever she is, she’s spreading ugly rumors and provoking attacks on creatures who are friendly to Aislin or her family. But she has something much more serious than nasty rumors planned for Aislin. And this unknown “She” is willing to use a familiar face to get what she wants.
Review
This was so fun! I loved Aislin once again. And her guards, her “mestari,” are just as terrific. This is a great girl-power story with an emphasis on character qualities like kindness and loyalty.
This is also a great fantasy story. There are great creatures like manticores and griffins as well as giants and fairies. There’s magic and spells and curses and such. But none of the magic is more enjoyable than the character and the leadership of Princess Aislin.
It takes awhile for Aislin and her friends to get the information they need on the villain for this story. But the slow build on that front was offset by the building of Aislin’s team and some fun fairy world building. The battle is wrapped up by the end – no cliffhanger. But the war is not yet over. There’s more adventure to come for Aislin and her mestari. And I am here for it! You can read my review of book 1, More Than a Princess, here.