Review: A Season to Celebrate by Fern Michaels

Goodreads Blurb

Make it a merry Christmas with four stories of the special way the holidays warm our hearts…

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING * Fern Michaels
Former Air Force Pararescueman Kevin Matthews is back home in Texas, working at his family’s Christmas tree farm while deciding his next move. Or maybe he won’t move at all, if sparks keep flying with the town’s new surgeon, Kate Stafford . . .

AN UNEXPECTED GIFT * Kate Pearce
Widower Billy Morgan wishes his grown children still needed him. Good thing his longtime friend, Bella, does. She’s planning her son’s Christmas wedding and Billy is happy to help. Along the way they just might discover their own occasion to celebrate . . .

CHRISTMAS IN BLUE HOLLOW FALLS * Donna Kauffman
Attorney Moira Brogan expects her brother’s Christmas wedding to be a peaceful affair. She doesn’t expect to be cornered by an unwanted lothario, rescued by a gorgeous Aussie chef–or be swept off her feet by said chef. Nursing a broken heart, the last thing she wants is a new romance. But Hudson Walker has other ideas . . .

HOLIDAY HOMERUN * Priscilla Oliveras
Event planner Julia Louisa Fernandez dreams of a life in Chicago. But her family in Puerto Rico expects her to take over the catering business. Former pro baseball player Ben Thomas knows what that’s like–and when they meet, he might be the one to inspire a winning strategy, just in time for the holidays . . .

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Each story in this novel brings you good tidings at Christmas. All four stories bring family together and romance unexpectedly.

Christmas Homecoming had me laughing. Kate Safford is the new surgeon who meets Kevin Mathews, who was an Air Force pararescueman that returned home. The teenage romance that circled around these two was romantic. Love makes us act weird and not think straight.

An Unexpected Gift gives Billy Morgan a second chance at romance and spending time with his family. A wedding sometimes leads to another wedding for an attendee. Past friendships can lead to romance.

Christmas in Blue Hollow Moira hasn’t been having the best love life. She is an attorney, and her career hasn’t been going on how she planned. At a bar, while a fight breaks out hot, Aussie chef Hudson Walker comes to the rescue. Hudson was sent to by Moira’s brother to keep an eye on her. Well, he sure keeps his eyes on her. A wedding at Christmas is my dream wedding.

Holiday Homerun, what a lovely spanglish novel. I loved that my Puerto Rican heritage was celebrated in this story. Strongly can relate with the heritage, family values, and strict family. Julia Fernandez hit a home homerun to create a spectacular event with Puerto Rican traditions. Ben Thomas, the hot former baseball player, falls in love with Julia. They have great chemistry.

Goodreads Author Biography

Fern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.

As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.

Review: She’s Got This by Laurie Hernandez

Goodreads Blurb

Even Olympians have to start somewhere. And in this charming illustrated book, Laurie Hernandez tells the story of Zoe, a little girl who dreams of flying—and becoming a gymnast.

When Zoe sees a gymnast on TV, she realizes that gymnastics is just like flying. But when she first goes to class and falls off the balance beam, she discovers that following her dreams is harder and scarier than she thought.

Through this heartwarming and inspirational story, featuring vibrant art from Nina Mata, Laurie imparts important lessons she learned on her way to Olympic glory: You always have to get back up and try again, and you always have to believe in yourself.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Cute book that teaches children that falling is all part of succeeding. If you don’t try and you give up, then you won’t succeed. Practice makes perfect. Laurie learned from all her falls while she trained. It is all part of life. I loved the illustrations.

Review: Judy Moody and the Right Royal Tea Party by Megan McDonald

Goodreads Blurb

Judy Moody is in a royal purple-mountain-majesties mood. Make that Majesty with a capital M! With Grandma Lou’s help, Judy has dug up proof that some old-timey Moodys (aka the brave Mudeyes) lived in merry olde England. In fact, if her grandpa’s notes are right, Judy might even be related to — royal fanfare, please — the Queen herself! Should Judy start packing her purple robe for a sleepover at Buckingham Palace? But then Judy’s family tree gets a few more shakes — thanks to her nemesis, Jessica “Fink” Finch — and some more surprises come tumbling out. Crikey! These new gems are not nearly as shiny or sparkly as the crown jewels. Now Judy has some right royal family secrets she’d like to keep hidden away in a dungeon somewhere — and especially away from Jessica, the princess in pink herself!

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Judy Moody becomes a queen for a day. It was such a cute, fun book for young children to read. They get to learn British words, some history, and a day in the life of royalty. The illustrations were wonderful. Greatly depicted what was going on in the story. I had a few laughs with the words used and Judy Moody’s funny actions. It’s the first Judy Moody book I have read and enjoyed the plot, characters, and adventures.

Goodreads Author Biography

“Sometimes I think I am Judy Moody,” says Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, the Stink series, and THE SISTERS CLUB. “I’m certainly moody, like she is. Judy has a strong voice and always speaks up for herself. I like that.”

For Megan McDonald, being able to speak up for herself wasn’t always easy. She grew up as the youngest of five sisters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father, an ironworker, was known to his coworkers as “Little Johnny the Storyteller.” Every evening at dinner the McDonalds would gather to talk and tell stories, but Megan McDonald was barely able to get a word in edgewise. “I’m told I began to stutter,” she says, leading her mother to give her a notebook so she could start “writing things down.”

Critically acclaimed, the Judy Moody books have won numerous awards, ranging from a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year to an International Reading Association Children’s Choice. “Judy has taken on a life of her own,” the author notes, with nearly 3 million Judy Moody books in print. Interestingly, the feisty third-grader is highly popular with boys and girls, making for a strong base of fans who are among Megan McDonald’s strongest incentives to keep writing, along with “too many ideas and a little chocolate.” And now — by popular demand — Judy Moody’s little brother, Stink, gets his chance to star in his own adventures! Beginning with STINK: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING KID, three more stories, and his own encyclopedia, STINK-O-PEDIA, Stink’s special style comes through loud and strong — enhanced by a series of comic strips, drawn by Stink himself, which are sprinkled throughout the first book. About the need for a book all about Stink, Megan McDonald says, “Once, while I was visiting a class full of Judy Moody readers, the kids, many with spiked hair à la Judy’s little brother, chanted, ‘Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink! Stink!’ as I entered the room. In that moment, I knew that Stink had to have a book all his own.”

More recently, Megan McDonald has recalled some of her own childhood with the warmth, humor — and squabbles — of three spunky sisters in THE SISTERS CLUB.

Megan McDonald and her husband live in Sebastopol, California, with two dogs, two adopted horses, and fifteen wild turkeys that like to hang out on their back porch.

Review: Batman & the Justice League Vol. 1 by Shiori Teshirogi

Goodreads Blurb

A young boy from Japan travels to Gotham City on a mission. A year before, his two parents–both scientists–were presumably killed in an expolosion that destroyed an experimental power plant. But the boy believes they may still be alive. At the very least, he’s determined to find out what actually happened. But his quest soon leads to a run-in with some powerful forces–forces that require help from both Batman and the Justice League!

Mangaka Shiori Teshirogi (Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas) creates an exciting new story, combining an authentic Japanese comics approach with the World’s Greatest Superheroes. Translated into English and collected for the Western audience for the first time, collected in standard manga size trim, Batman & The Justice League Vol. 1 is phenomenal entry point for fans of the Justice League and manga alike!

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Justice League is done in the form of a manga book. First time I read a book in this format. It had a great plot, great illustrations, and interesting story. The Joker and Lex Luther are up to no good in Gotham City. Will the Justice League stop the villains’ plans?

Goodreads Author Biography

Shiori Teshirogi (手代木史織) is a japanese manga artist.

Review: Benjamin by Aaron Powell

Goodreads Blurb

The harsh winter and great outdoors of upstate New York provide Benjamin with the only solace from an otherwise agonizing existence. His mother’s abusive alcoholic boyfriend, the bully on the bus, and a Math teacher who pays a little too much attention to schoolboys are slowly chipping away at his dignity and feelings of self-worth.

Benjamin clings to any sense of normalcy, until a series of escalating events drives him to the very edge of suicide. He begs God for help—a divine intervention—but his prayers go unanswered until he has an epiphany: God helps those who help themselves.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

A story of abuse and revenge. Benjamin lives through abuse at home, in the school bus, and at school. He lives tormented by all his abusers. This story reveals abuse in many forms. Aaron reveals each living detail Benjamin lives through so the reader can sense his hurt, stress, and madness. Benjamin finally decides he can not live this way any longer. He needs to take care of each tormenter. Killing each person that hurt him will make his life and others safe. We need to make sure kids are protected and not being bullied or abused.

Review: The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Goodreads Blurb

A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha—one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

The Bone Witch Trilogy:

The Bone Witch (Book 1)

The Heart Forger (Book 2)

The Shadowglass (Book 3)

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I loved the beginning of this book and was thrilled to read but wasn’t amazed at how the story formed throughout the book. It had a great plot, and you get to learn the back story of what happened to Tea. It had a magic and creepy monster who needed to be awakened by dark Asha in order to kill the creature before they attacked the human. I felt like it lagged a little. It resembled a little to Memoirs of a Geisha, which made it fun to see Tea transformation to an Asha.

Review: The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Blurb

Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.

Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.

The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control…or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Life comes full of surprises. This was the first book I have read from Ann. I was lost halfway through the book, going from character to character. It started getting interesting halfway through the book. This book brought two families that share kids in common but live their separate lives. Two of the kids, Sasha and Ray, are not related but never met even though they share Ray’s sisters. This book is filled with love, secrets, courage, and strength. The two families can’t be together until an unexpected tragedy brings them all together. I learned that we need to all love and care for each other because tomorrow isn’t promised.

Goodreads Author Biography

Ann Brashares is an American young adult novelist. She is best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.

Review: Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis

Goodreads Blurb

What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of beloved college professor and bestselling author Thomas Huston are found slaughtered in their home. Huston himself has disappeared and so is immediately cast as the prime suspect.

DeMarco knows—or thinks he knows—that Huston couldn’t have been capable of murdering his family. But if Huston is innocent, why is he on the run? And does the half-finished manuscript he left behind contain clues to the mystery of his family’s killer?

A masterful new thriller by acclaimed author Randall Silvis, Two Days Gone is a taut, suspenseful story that will break your heart as much as it will haunt your dreams.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Wow, I am speechless. Randall is truly a gifted writer who writes stories that make you struggle with your belief in good people. His writing makes you see, feel, and place yourself in the story. This is the first book I have read from Randall, and I just found another favorite author to read. This story really tore my heart apart. His writing really grasps the reader from the very beginning, making you feel sadness, hope, strength, weakness, and death in the worst ways. Life is precious but can disappear at the blink of an eye. Each word I read leads me to more mystery, secrets, and revelations. I loved both Ryan and Huston as strong-willed characters who are in search of answers and freedom. I truly was captivated by how this story unraveled and set the reader and characters free of the torment. This thriller mixed with poetry and mystery will keep you wanting more. I highly recommend this book.

Goodreads Author Biography

Randall Silvis is the internationally acclaimed author of over a dozen novels, one story
collection, and one book of narrative nonfiction. Also a prize-winning playwright, a
produced screenwriter, and a prolific essayist, he has been published and produced in
virtually every field and genre of creative writing. His numerous essays, articles, poems and short stories have appeared in the Discovery Channel magazines, The Writer, Prism International, Short Story International, Manoa, and numerous other online and print magazines. His work has been translated into 10 languages.

Silvis’s many literary awards include two writing fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award, six fellowships for his fiction, drama, and screenwriting from the Pennsylvania Council On the Arts, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree awarded for “distinguished literary achievement

Review: Without Words by Delancey Stewart

Goodreads Blurb

After an accident in the line of duty, firefighter Roberto DeRosa’s life is turned upside down. His career fighting fires is over, and he’s left with an uncertain future and an injury that makes communicating difficult for him. The only time words flow easily is when they’re lyrics and he has a guitar in his hands. Talking to women is definitely out, especially if they have bright blue eyes that seem to see right into his soul.

Dani Hodge is on the brink of realizing her dream of opening a small combination wine and book store in San Diego’s funky Ocean Beach neighborhood. But before she can open the doors, there’s work to be done, more work than she can do herself.

When the tattooed guy who completely ignored her at a bar walks by and offers her a hand wrangling a tile saw, Dani can’t afford to say no—and why would she say no to Mr. Strong and Silent when his stare conveys more than words could?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It is a wonderful book that sparks love at first sight to a full-blown lust and desire. I loved how both Dani and Rob had many scars from previous relationships. This made the story more fun since they were so attracted to each other but were so worried about how either one would leave. Rob was a character with many flaws who had a huge heart. I loved that Dani, though scarred from her past family history, was able to succeed and had a clear mine of what she wanted in life. This was a wonderful romance filled with love, hope, and determination. I assure you that wine and chocolates truly make this the book extra enjoyable.

Goodreads Author Biography

I’m USA Today Bestselling author Delancey Stewart. My contemporary romances run the gamut of settings and setups, but they always deliver humor, heart and heat. It’s a guarantee.

I write from my home in Denver, CO, where I manage a household full of boys and men. Okay, only one man. The hubs. But two boys. I mean, three if you count the hubs. (You see why I do words and not numbers. I was told there’d be no math in this bio. Someone lied.)

I grew up in California and have had more jobs than anyone on earth (personal trainer, pharmaceutical rep, copywriter, tech writer, marketing director, wine seller, elementary school teacher… I’m not kidding. The list. It goes on.) But the one I love the most is writing, in part because I get to meet people who love books and stories as much as I do! Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to say hello, and don’t forget to join my newsletter!

Review: The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

Goodreads Blurb

The Bad Guys next mission? Rescue 10,000 chickens from a high-tech cage farm. But they are up against sizzling lasers, one feisty tarantula, and their very own Mr. Snake…who’s also known as “The Chicken Swallower.” What could possibly go wrong?

Get ready to laugh up your lunch with the baddest bunch of do-gooders in town!

My review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This was such a cute, funny book. Perfect for children to read and enjoy. I love the illustrations, and the plot was very good.

Goodreads Author Biography

Aaron is an Australian author of children’s books and artist who until the mid-2000s was also an actor. His award winning picture books include Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon and the best-selling Pig the Pug.

In the field of acting, he is probably best known for his lead roles in two television dramedies, 1994’s The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award, and 2003’s CrashBurn, before retiring from performance in 2005.