His Fair Assassins

I listened to the story GraveMercy, book 1 in this series, mostly while riding around on my ATV.  I thought the premise of the story was very creative and interesting.   The characters were engaging, but the plot dragged for me and I get bogged down by the abundance of political intrigue.  I honestly can’t remember how it ended… but I think I will put it on my list of books to go back and reread because I think it deserves a second look.

When Nothing Else Works

This is a book for early childhood professionals that addresses challenging behaviors in the classroom.  Now, it reads much like a textbook (maybe it is used as one) but contains much useful information.  The book is divided into chapters that help look at behaviors from multiple views including personality, needs, environment, and reactions.  It gives well-documented proof that the views it puts forth are sound principles.  The one short-coming is that everything in it is quite generalized.  Of course, this is necessary in a textbook situation where you are trying to equip a beginning teacher with tools to enter the classroom with, but it would be frustrating to a seasoned professional who may not be able to tell where to look for answers to an ongoing issue because they do not know where a behavior stems from.    That being said, I believe this text would be a welcome addition to early childhood curriculums and many parents could benefit from reading it as well.

Money Run by Jack Heath

Teenagers looking to get rich often get themselves in loads of trouble.  Which, fortunately, can make for some very good literature if the author knows what he is doing.  Mr. Heath was well up to that challenge.   Ashley and Benjamin get in way over their heads when an assassin shows up on scene when they think they are about to hit it big.  And then you won’t stop reading until you finish, famished and uncomfortable because you haven’t eaten or taken a bathroom break for several hours.

All Our Yesterdays

Oooo, this one was niiiice.  We have ourselves a little time-travel story all mixed together with a mystery/thriller.  You will not be disappointed with the twists that the author added here.  Em and Finn are great characters, and you really feel for everyone.  It’s really just a bad situation that got out of hand. I buy that.  Happens all the time.  I was very happy with the final pages of the book and had to give props to the author for having everything mapped out nicely without sharing it with the reader until the very end.

Rose Under Fire

Nothing I can write in a review can give enough credit to this book.  From the author of Code Name Verity comes a great World War II story that takes the reader into a believable, yet horrifying look into the Ravensbruck concentration camp from the view of a female pilot.  My advice for Code Name Verity was to read it.  My advice for Rose Under Fire is this: read it, and tell the world.

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

The first mermaid…uh, merman book I have honestly ever read.  Definitely not my genre, but nonetheless a good read.  I enjoyed that the mermaids weren’t solidly the Disney stereotype, but also avoided being slimy, fanged harpies.  Not sure I would read more like it, but I enjoyed the trip with this one.

A Study in Silks

Sherlock Holmes’s niece Evelina is trying to enter high society and solve a steampunk/sorcery case at the same time without getting herself into a whole heap of trouble.  Of course she ends up in a heap of trouble.  Oh, and she’s magical, but shhhh, it’s a secret.  And she grew up in a circus.  But we’re keeping that under our hats as well. I really enjoyed reading this story and it wasn’t until after I finished that I took the time to think through all of the craziness that author Emma JaneHolloway had just passed under my nose with a “just go with it” attitude.  Now I think that marks a good author: that they get you to buy into their crazy without realizing it.  Two more books, A Study in Darkness and A Study in Ashes will most likely make their way into my “to read” collection.

Inhuman by Kat Falls

Can I read it again for the first time please?  So if you’ve read my review of Save the Pearls you know I do not buy human chimera stories just because they are thrown my way.  But Inhuman was completely different.  I couldn’t remember what this story’s premise was when I opened it on my kindle.  (Sometimes that is a good thing and I get a pleasant surprise.  Lots of times, however, I get burned for reading a genre I was not in the mood to endure.)  So I thought maybe this was a book about zombies.  Oh, super virus running rampant? Zombies.  Walled off cities? Zombies.  Hyper-paranoia about risk of contamination?  Zombies!  And then it totally wasn’t zombies!  Big fan, right here.  I was reading about Lane (the main gal) sneaking into the Feral Zone at dawn in my tree stand while out hunting.  I could almost see mutants and hybrids stalking their way through the woods around me.  *Appreciative shudder*  The language that the author created and/or repurposed worked well, though I almost gave up at chimpacabra, not gonna lie.  I also loved the way Mack’s storytelling wove things together without being overwhelming, just a nice background reminder.  Yeah, if more of these show up on the shelves, I’m not going to be sad. 5 out of 5 plush monkey dolls to the author.  Well done!

Rose by Holly Webb

Rose was amazing.

This was an innocent, fantastic story about orphans and magic, finding who you are, and overcoming evil.  Done.  Meant for a younger audience, this book was both entertaining and well-written.  I recommend this book without reservation to…anyone.  Maybe not guys who only read Field and Stream, but I can see this being a quick, enjoyable read for young adults as well as a charming adventure for younger audiences.