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Book Review: The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
Today I’m talking about the just-released middle grade adventure tale The Storm Runner by author J.C. Cervantes. I absolutely LOVED this story – which is the first installation in The Storm Runner series – so I’m happy to know there is more to come, even if I’m already impatient for the next book in the series. I think this is a book that will flying off library shelves as it ticks off a lot of boxes: action and adventure, mythology, fantasy, and it has a pretty great protagonist, too. Review If you are looking for a fantastic, funny, crazy adventure for your middle grade reader, J.C. Cervantes’ novel The…
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Book Review: Megge of Bury Down – Volume 1 of the Bury Down Chronicles
I received Megge of Bury Down for free from Smith Publicity in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review, because I do these reviews for love of books, which can’t buy me a cup of coffee. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. If you like this post, do me a solid and buy your book from Amazon via my link. Some lovely book mail landed on my desk recently! The debut novel of author…
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Book Review: Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
Y’all, I’m speechless. Not because this book is so amazing – although it is! No, I’m left without words because despite all the raving I’ve done to everyone (in person and online) about Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, I didn’t finish my review of it! How did this happen? This is one of my favorite books of 2017. Read on to learn why! I read Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance book in November and to be quite honest, it’s probably the reason why I didn’t get through as many advanced review copies as I would normally read in the holiday season (including a few Christmas reads.) I just had to slow…
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Middle School Book Picks from my Middle Schooler
Two weeks before school let out, my 11-year-old suffered a concussion which left her unable to do much of anything – like watching TV, running outside, or the worst possible punishment when you could inflict upon her – reading. This proves especially painful (pun intended) when your order of Scholastic books arrives the day after you bonk your head. Thankfully, the concussion cleared up in time for vacation and Maddie spent nearly the entire 3200 mile drive reading. As such, SHE has a pile of middle school books she would love to recommend. They run the gamut from fantasy to supernatural fiction (dealing with grief) to historical fiction, and she was…
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Review: Debris & Detritus, The Lesser Greek Gods Running Amok
Someone once tried to convince me that anthologies were books for people with short attention spans. I prefer to think of them as a word buffet, with a multitude of delicious varied tastes, and I appreciate them because I can also devour them in small bites (if I can show self-restraint). If you feel the same, I have just the book for you: Debris & Detritus, The Lesser Greek Gods Running Amok. And much like me viewing a dessert buffet, complete with chocolate fountain, I wasn’t able to resist devouring this in one sitting. Debris & Detritus, The Lesser Greek Gods Running Amok Authors: Patricia Burroughs, Michelle Muenzler, Robin D Owens, Irene…
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Book Review: Bury the Living
I’m drawn to historical fiction, and I’m a sucker for a bit of the paranormal or contemporary fantasy. I’m also a fan of Jodi McIsaac’s Thin Veil series and as well as her thriller “A Cure for Madness” (which I’m sure she wrote into a full novel after I insisted in my Amazon review that her original short story of should be so much more.) When an e-galley of her newest book Bury the Living came available on NetGalley, I pounced on it, and then brewed a cup of tea and settled in for a late night of reading. She didn’t disappoint. Bury the Living has a little bit of everything:…
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I’m Sailing….Sailing Away
Today is the day. The day that has got me through this dreadful winter. Through 70+ inches of snow and who knows how days of many sub-zero weather. (Ok, Tom Skilling from WGN probably knows, but whatever.) Through the down coat, the pale, dry winter skin and hair electrified by static. I’m in Florida. Port Canaveral to be exact. And I’m boarding the Disney Fantasy. For seven days, I won’t be cooking, washing dishes, scrubbing toilets or folding clothes. I won’t be making beds. I will be kicking back, reading my book, splashing in the pool, trying not to eat too much fattening stuff, and generally turning off my brain.…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Angelmaker
I’ve just finished reading Nick Harkaway’s second novel, Angelmaker, and I don’t know how to begin to describe it. Let’s start by saying it was a fantastically entertaining read. Normally, I’m a bit hesitant when I see a book described as “absurdist” as quite often this is a misnomer, and what you actually get is something a bit surreal. This is not true for this book, albeit the cast of characters includes an octogenarian secret agent (retired), an evil dictator (who surely must be older than dirt), a serial killer, a community of Undertakers, a monastic society of former-creator/inventors-now-turned-evil-bodyguards (or something) called the “Ruskinites”, and a gnarly, near-toothless pug with…