Synopsis: Princesses just want to have fun. . . . And Mia does too, despite the fact that the student government over which she presides is suddenly broke. But Grandmère’s got a wacky scheme to raise the money, catapult Mia to theatrical fame, and link her romantically with an eligible teen bachelor who’s not her boyfriend. No wonder Michael seems to think she’s not much fun. Is it possible that Mia, soon-to-be star of the stage, president of the student body, and future ruler of Genovia, doesn’t know how to party?
Review: “A feeling of calm has descended over me. Oh, wait, that’s just Fat Louie, sleeping on my feet.” (Page 249)
Not only does Mia have to keep on her toes due to Grandmère but she also begins to worry about not being cool enough for her older boyfriend. While Mia doesn’t have any problems writing things down, it’s obvious she needs to actually share her feelings with someone instead of acting so different and trying to be someone she isn’t. All in all, this series continues to be a great homage to a teenager growing up, in a bit more spotlight than the average person faces.
Synopsis: Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the miller’s daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar and rather hard-to-explain components to the story.
Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, and she’s come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. A bevy of miller’s daughters confront their perilous situation in very different ways — sometimes comic, sometimes scary. Most of the time, it’s the daughter who gets off safely, but sometimes, amazingly, Rumpelstiltskin himself wins the day. And in one tale, it is the king who cleverly escapes a quite unexpected fate.
Review: A Fairy Tale in Bad Taste This was a unique take on who Rumpelstiltskin was and why he wanted a baby. It did give a bit more depth on who Rumpelstiltskin was, and some more backstory than the original tale. The ending was a bit surprising but also fair considering.
Straw Into Gold I quite enjoyed this take on the classic tale, where Rumpelstiltskin helps multiple times. I absolutely loved the ending, and only wish such a short tale had been longer.
The Domovoi This was a great take on WHY Rumpelstiltskin appeared and wanted to help spin straw into gold for no reward. I also quite liked the moral of the ending– “Some people… just aren’t happy unless they aren’t happy..” (Page 59)
Papa Rumpelstiltskin This was one of the better tales in who/what Rumpelstiltskin is and why he wanted so desperately to help the miller’s daughter. Cute!
Ms. Rumpelstiltskin This was another short story that did a great job of fleshing out the character of Rumpelstiltskin to showcase why someone may have wanted the miller’s daughter’s baby in the first place. The ending was also quite enjoyable.
As Good As Gold This one I quite loved- one in which the King isn’t the big instigator of such drama. The ending was perfection.
I would recommend this little book for anyone who loves retold fairy tales and quick little reads.
Synopsis: As a world-renowned chef, single dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive.
Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when it’s suggested that Archer is looking for a live-in nanny, she almost runs in the opposite direction.
Now, Iris finds herself in a whole new world. One where her gorgeous new boss lives right across the hall and likes to cook topless… Keeping everything strictly professional should be easy, right?
Review: “I’m pretty sure half of dealing with kids is just tricking them into doing stuff.” (Page 81)
I absolutely loved this book. A quick, simple, fun read I found that this was the first in the series that had the perfect spice as well. There was a great message of what life can be like when you try to be perfect versus when you’re trying to find something sustainable/some balance. Iris and Archer were absolutely perfect together. It’s fun, flirty, and honestly one of the best single dad books I’ve read. Usually single dad isn’t really my style, but this book hit in all the right places: both in finding one’s self, and letting yourself become part of a community.
The only complaint have is the name at the very end… so many options that could have kept with the tradition.
Did I stop writing the book reviews? At some point.
Why? I wish I could pinpoint this. If I don’t write them as soon as I finish a book sometimes they just add up and then… and then it seems like a big hurdle to get them all done before the end of a month, and I just keep pushing it off a little longer. There’s been quite a bit going on in the real world which also attributed to this.
Are you going to post them again? Yes, yes I am.
Right now? How many? Well, we’ll take it one review at a time, but there are 3 books I read in paper that I need to review, and 14 on kindle for a grand total of 17 books from June to now.
How many were read in each month? 11 in June, 6 in July- at least I’m fairly certain of these numbers.
Will you ever put out novels again? There may be a few on the horizon… care to take a guess on the subject matter?
Synopsis: The book club is about to get a makeover….
Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma’s already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.
But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can’t help but wonder: What would Jo March do?
Review: I had previously read book 3 of this series, and it was so sweet to start it again from the beginning. I absolutely loved seeing how all of the girls, many with different life priorities, come together once their moms start a book club. It was great to see how everyone has different problems in life, and how they could relate to the characters of the classic tale Little Women. I loved seeing how the girls’ relationships blossom and how they learn to rely/stand up for themselves and each other.
If you’re old enough to remember Wishbone, this will give you that same warm fuzzy feeling, in book form! This book also comes with a little book club question guide, in case you want to use it for your own book club!
Synopsis: It’s a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular stepparents . . . Here you’ll find unique twists on curses—from fairy tale classics to brand-new hexes of the modern—by bestselling authors!
Review: This book seems like it would be about curses… but most of it is not. There are certainly some oddball stories throughout, so I will highlight a few that I found exceptionally good.
Red as Snow, White as Blood by Christina Henry An interesting take on the classic fairytale and stepmother troupe. I quite enjoyed this but it felt familiar.
Listen by Jen Williams This had a unique twist on a curse and how one gets out of it.
Henry and the Snake-Wood Box by M. R. Carey I thought this a very interesting take on human nature, the nature of a creature, and how both can change and evolve over time.
Skin by James Brogden This left a creepy twisted feeling of itchiness; very well done.
Look Inside by Michael Marshall Smith This was such a unique piece, and I absolutely loved this take on what can touch you; whether you’re aware of it or not.
New Wine by Angela Slatter With such an abrupt ending, one cannot help but wonder what happens next, how the pieces are picked up, and how one moves on from such a thing.
All in all, the above stories were decent. Look Inside was by far my favourite, followed by New Wine. Given there were 20 works within, and I have very briefly reviewed 6, I will leave you to make your own assumptions. My main issue with the book was that many of the stories didn’t really have anything to do with a “curse” per say, or were merely so elusive about what was really going on that they were less enjoyable. I wouldn’t particularly recommend this book.
Synopsis: That marriage pact I made with my grumpy, off-limits best friend. That was totally a joke…Right?
It was a heat-of-the-moment agreement scribbled onto the back of a crinkled gas station receipt nine years ago. “If neither of us are married by age 30, we’ll marry each other.”
Haha! So funny!
Cash moved to a city 500 miles away. Building his billion-dollar empire. Making a name for himself. Me? I stayed in our gossipy hometown. Working a simple job. Living a simple life. And we never discussed the marriage pact again.
But I just turned the big three-oh. And Cash showed up at my door, in the middle of a freaking rainstorm. Tall, muscled and soaking wet. With a birthday cake in his hand and a daring smirk that says he means business.
Holy plot twist! Didn’t see that coming!
Now the small town rumor mill is in overdrive. Cash is dissolving my defences with those sexy half-smiles he saves just for me. And my brain is exploding with what ifs…
What if we give this a shot? What if we’re crazy enough to try? What if we’re good together?
We’ve always been ‘just friends’. We’re experts at playing it safe. But his skin on my skin leaves me reeling. His oh-so-fiery kisses melt my excuses. I know our decade-plus friendship is on the line. But I’m aching to see Cash’s wild side.
Review: I wanted to love this book. It sounded good. The characters clearly liked each other. Unfortunately, there were too many times that they kept pulling themselves back from what they had wanted for so long that their desire almost began to seem as if it were unrequited as neither was willing to actually say how they felt. When the slow burn finally seemed like they were on their way to understanding and moving forward, there was another bump. The spice itself had some very odd prose. The other characters, and friend/family connections were great and well done; especially the grandmother! I did love the last few chapters and how the book ended, but honestly, I had stopped part way through this book to read another then came back just to see how it ended.
Kit McCafferty’s life is quiet, unremarkable and filled with cat hair. In the magical city of Coldstream, located on the border between Scotland and England, Kit is viewed as little more than mildly eccentric and mostly harmless. She passes her days caring for her family of five cats, feeding the local feral moggies, and maintaining relatively good relations with her neighbours.
All that changes, however, when a teenage werewolf shows up at her door in the desperate hope of renting out a nearby vacant flat. Kit knows that the smart move is to tell him to leave. The last thing she needs is to become embroiled in complicated shapeshifter politics. But something about the secretive young werewolf tugs at her heartstrings.
It’s not long before Kit ends up caught in a maelstrom of mysterious crime and magical wrong-doing. Fortunately, there’s far more to Kit McCafferty than meets the eye and she has a few dark secrets of her own.
Of course, anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that you underestimate a cat lady at your own peril.
Waifs And Strays is the first book in a new urban fantasy crime series. Expect mystery, magic and adventure with a heroine who will keep you turning pages late into the night. There will also be a lot of cats.
Review: “No matter how good you are there is always someone better, and greater numbers almost always beat greater skill.” (Page 43)
“They must have had fish paste for brains.” (page 225)
Every time I read a new Helen Harper series (or an older one) I always think, this won’t be as great as whatever the last one of her series I read is and yet, this was absolutely phenomenal. There’s great depth and characterization of all the characters we come to meet, and the twist at the end was simple perfection. This book left me in the biggest book hangover, far more than Nocticadia–which had been addictive for completely different reasons. Kit is relatable, understandable, and with lots of moxie.
As an aside, this book is very realistic to the life of a “cat lady”, I say as Abby has decided she MUST be on top of me as I am working at my desk this very moment. I absolutely love how Kit has very different relationships to all of her cats; similar to how multiple cat households are. I also love how Kit’s cats act when they are worried, both for and about themselves/her. They’re pretty darn awesome!
There’s great banter, an awesome plot, and it hits that perfect modern fantasy itch. I highly recommend this to people who love cats, modern fantasy, werewolves, intrigue (sometimes political) and the unexpected.
Synopsis: Student body president, that is—nominated by her power-mad best friend, Lilly. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, but as usual, she has bigger problems to worry about, like Geometry. And now that Mia’s one true love, Michael, is uptown at college, what’s the point of even getting up for school in the morning? But the last straw is what Lana whispers to her on the lunch line about what college boys expect of their girlfriends. . . . Really, it’s almost more than a princess in training can bear!
Review: In this book, Mia finally starts to find her voice, and what is worth standing up for. While it is both sad and frustrating what Lana whispers to Mia, and how her relationship seems to go after that conversation, it is unfortunately a very real problem that many relationships are affected by. While Mia didn’t really want to run for student government, it’s great to see her speak about things she finds truly important without getting ill from nerves! Lilly, unfortunately, is continuing to show that when she wants something, she doesn’t care what she has to do to try to get it. While some may think it all in fun, it isn’t cool that Lilly consistently insists on referring to Mia by a title/nickname she doesn’t like and has asked her not to use. All in all, this was a great book, and I can’t wait to read on!
I’d love your thoughts on Mia’s relationship with Lilly!
Synopsis: Tamlin Ashowan has troubled his family for years. Between the fearfulness of his magic and his refusal to share exactly what it does, his loving parents and sister don’t know how best to guide him. Tam, on the other hand, insists he doesn’t need any assistance. Despite ignoring his magic and possessing a preference for remaining locked up in his room with a good book, Tam is determined to play his role as the heir to his dukedom to the best of his ability. But being the son of Finlay Ashowan, the famous hero of Daxaria, his life is prone to chaos.
Will a new assistant, who has even more secrets than Tam himself, be able to help navigate Tam’s endless responsibilities? Will all chaos break out thanks to the unstable kingdom of Zinfera? And lastly, can Tam handle everything without having to use his magical power, or will he be pushed to new limits as his fate rushes to meet him?
Find the answer to these questions and more in the new trilogy set in the same universe as The House Witch series, The Princess of Potential, and The Burning Witch series. There’s no need to read the previous books to enjoy the new, fun adventure. Feel free to jump right in!
Review: “…those without ambitions of their own will be swallowed by others who are ravenous with the desire for more.” (Pages 447-448)
Tam is certainly different from his father. Unlike where The House Witch starts, Tam is an adult, but one that hasn’t really ever done anything on his own. He hasn’t faced up to his own abilities and potential, and has allowed himself to live in the shadows of his family. For a while, being left in the dark feels a bit frustrating, as if Tam is keeping a secret even from himself, which, in a way, he was. I loved every twist and turn of this novel, especially the way in which drama follows the Ashowans, even if it is in a different aspect from how Fin may have expected it to occur. It was lovely getting to see how much culture Tamlin has had from growing up as Fin and Annika’s son, and how well he appreciates knowledge and the world around him. I spent so long waiting, waiting, to see if we would have another little furry familiar, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens in the next novel!
Part of me wishes I had waited until the trilogy was out to avoid the book hangover this was sure to give me, and yet… I’ll just be waiting for the next! As with all Delemhach’s published works to date, I highly recommend this novel!
Amy S. Brown 