Category: Book Events

Hunting November by Adriana Mather

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Welcome to the Hunting November blog tour
hosted by RockStar Book Tours!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Wow! This sequel was an exciting next step in the November story! I loved this story took us all over the place! I liked the scavenger hunt mixed with Mission Impossible feel that this plot gave the reader!

Hunting November picks right up where Killing November stops. All November wants now is to find her father. She sets off with her friends on a scavenger hunt, going from clue to clue. The hunt takes the group from November’s home town to Europe where they bounce around the country in search of their next answer. The final clue lands them in enemy territory and is filled with betrayal, secrets, and deceit.

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Queen to Ashes by Mallory McCartney

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Welcome to the Queen to Ashes blog tour
hosted by RockStar Book Tours!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

What a wonderful sequel!! I am always so, so happy to find that the second book in a series not only lives up to the first but does even better! Queen to Ashes was an absolutely wonderful addition to the Black Dawn series.

Picking up at the end of Heir of Lies, we find Emory, the rightful Queen of Kiero, fully immersed in her new world. She still doesn’t have all of her memories and struggles to remember so that she can save her people. The action seems to never end for these characters! It was just packed with things happening that kept me turning the pages!

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The Knowing by Brit Lunden

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

Overall:

I thought The Knowing was a lovely romance with just a hint of paranormal. I enjoyed the main character JB, and his love for Ellie was sweet and special.

How I Felt:

I listened to the audiobook of The Knowing. My review includes my thoughts on the book overall, as well as the experience of listening through audio.

The story surprised me a bit, as I had listened to the book Bulwark, a very paranormal story, and was expecting a lot of spooky happenings in this story. The Knowing though is more of a sweet, lovely romance that lasts the ages, and has a bit of a paranormal twist.

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Scheme by Jennifer Sommersby

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

I loved the magical world that Jennifer Sommersby has created in this series! She does a great job of world-building, and this is a story that easily sucks you right into the environment.

The story picks up where Book 1, Sleight ends. It is time for the three AVRAKEDAVRA books to be destroyed. The journey is not nearly as easy as Genevieve and Henry would like though! They encounter new friends that they need to partner with to help them destroy the books. I really enjoyed these additional characters in the story. I thought that they were nice additions and offered a great expansion to the world-building.

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Perils and Pearls by Hulda Bachman-Neeb

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

As A Whole:

I loved that Perils and Pearls provides a view of a family’s experiences during World War II from a different setting than I usually find. I liked that this covered Indonesia and the Netherlands throughout the book.

On the Details:

The story begins with the patriarchal line, dating back to the 1600s. I struggled with this portion of the story a bit. I had a hard time keeping all the family members straight, and I’m unsure if this much detail was truly necessary to the overall story. It was interesting to see how Bachman-Neeb’s family moves between Indonesia and the Netherlands though. I was intrigued by all the historical information that I didn’t know much about. I felt like there was some good information that provided detail that helped understand the rest of her story.

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Bulwark by Brit Lunden

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

I loved that Bulwark had this creepy story feeling that had me nervous, but not completely terrified. It felt like a campfire scary story, and that was a lot of fun!

How I Felt:

I listened to the audiobook of Bulwark. My review includes my thoughts on the book overall, as well as the experience of listening through audio.

The story reminded me a bit of Hansel and Gretel. Considering that the house is called “Gingerbread House”, it would make sense that I would think that way. Aside from the house name though, the idea of an old witch and the disappearance of younger children reinstated that similarity for me. Clay, the main character, visits a house and has an odd conversation with the older women who lives there and is later told by others in town that in fact, that house no longer exists.

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Steel Rose by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

I loved the world in Steel Rose. It’s this wonderfully interesting Dystopian place that has influences of steam-punk, mythology, super-powers, and present-day. It felt like I had been dropped into a mixing bowl of old and new, real and imagined. I loved it!

The characters are really interesting and exciting. I found myself rooting for the villain, which is new for me. I wanted the romance to work out for Viktor and Rose, even with all of Viktor’s ideals and flaws. Their chemistry was really fabulous. I would have liked to see a little more build-up to their romance, as it felt just a bit rushed. It was, however, a great and steamy romance that was a lot of fun to read about. I would love to see a second book about them, but it looks like book 2 moves on to a new set of characters. I’m looking forward to reading this new story as well!

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Attraction by Ruby Porter

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

I felt that Attraction was filled with so much raw emotion. There is a lot of guilt and angst as the main character reflects on their relationships.

The narrator is actually unnamed making it a bit hard to connect to the book the way I would have liked. They are also not all that likable. However, I was still intrigued and wanted to know more about past relationships and history.

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The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

What I Loved:

I loved the mixture of all of life’s emotions in The List of Things That Will Not Change. It felt like such a real-life story because Rebecca Stead chose to avoid sugar-coating situations. Divorce is a hard topic to write about and Stead balances the story perfectly with a well-balanced mix of heartache and happiness.

How I Felt:

The main character, Bea, is experiencing life-changing events in her family. Her parents are divorced and she is living in the aftermath. Her attitude is lovely. She’s joyful and upbeat, while finding herself troubled with times of anxiety and doubt. I found her to be a perfect middle-grade character that is relatable and real.

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Dog Town by Debbie L Richardson

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

What I Loved:

The world that Debbie L Richardson built for Dog Town was adorable! I loved the separation of the big dogs and the little dogs into two different parts of town: Big Rover and Little Rover. There are dog laws that must be followed and rules that, while not laws, are obeyed just the same. It was easy to drop right into this world and enjoy the story.

How I Felt:

The characters are so easy to love. Harry, a Little Rover resident, is the main character and is a good boy who follows Dog Law…well mostly. He loves running and enters the little dog races all the time. When he wins, he secretly leads a group of dogs into Big Rover, which is against Dog Law. So, maybe, there’s one or two laws he likes to break 😃 Harry’s group of friends, Junior and Fleabag are great sidekicks for him, each offering a different personality that makes them an adorable trio.

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No Nice Girl Swears by Alice-Leone Moats – Review

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

Written in 1933, No Nice Girl Swears was a guide for ladies to learn etiquette for the times. Some of the advice is dated, as times and etiquette have changed over the years, but other sections feel timeless, and could still apply in today’s world.

While this book was tauted as an instruction manual for women for its original release, it is a bit tongue-in-cheek at times. The author was quite witty and I found myself laughing with her as I read. I specifically enjoyed the chapter Lunches and Teas; Or, Scarcely Worth the Trouble. I found this one to be quite funny with comments like:

It seems to be the rule for the guests to arrive late, and after the first course girls begin jumping up and saying good-by to their hostess, as they all seem to have something to do at two o’clock or shortly after.

No Nice Girl Swears

In addition to the wit found within this book, there are some pieces of advice that can still apply today. There are topics like How to Deal with a Date that is Drunk and Twice Shy, a section on remarriage. Both segments had advice that would aptly apply in today’s world as well as the 1930s.

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The Spirit Breather by Bekah Harris – Review

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

What I Loved:

The fantasy world that has been created in The Spirit Breather is intense and wonderful. I loved the Native American aspects that are so perfectly placed in the story. They complimented the overall plot and gave the world a base for the reader to understand the story through.

How I Felt:

This book was so much fun! I felt completely drawn into the story from page 1. The first moments are filled with action and character development, I felt immersed immediately!

The characters are built to make you want to connect with them. Joseph seems dark and broody, but you also want to get to know him. He can easily be a character you end up with a crush on. Emily is just this wonderful girl with a determination and fire that was intriguing and made me like her so much.

The bad guys were the Raven Mockers. They are these terrible shape-shifting creatures that get their energy and sustain life through human souls. From the first action scene in the book, the reader gets a terrifying view of how these creatures shift and what they are capable of. Hats off to Bekah Harris’ descriptive abilities here too. I could visualize every change in their body as they morphed from human to bird. I’m still shivering a bit as I write this. These powerful storytelling skills continue throughout the entire book!

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