Showing posts with label picked by its cover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picked by its cover. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Dog Night at the Story Zoo by Dan Bar-el

Argh. I feel so bad because somebody spent a lot of time on this book and I just didn't enjoy it. I couldn't figure out who it was supposed to be geared toward. It had fun pictures and a cute premise (animals coming out for open mike night) but the stories seemed like they were more geared toward adults. It was an interesting dichotomy what one that made the stories work a little less.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out

Thursday, June 1, 2017

There, There by Tim Beiser

There, There by Tim BeiserIt's rainy outside and Rabbit has a case of the grumps. Bear is trying to cheer him up but isn't having much luck. At least, until he drags Rabbit outside and shows him the life of a worm.
The verse this is written in is a little hard to follow. And I didn't love this story. But the illustrations are fun and it's a cute book..

Three stars
This book come out June 6

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

One Mistletoe Wish by A.C. Arthur

One Mistletoe Wish by A.C. ArthurMorgan Hill is a teacher, widow, and mother of five-ear-old twins. She isn't looking for love. Especially not with a big city business man who is only in town to sell off the buildings he owns, many of which are used heavily by the community, a community that Morgan loves.
Grayson Taylor doesn't love Temptation. It was a town that thrived off of the reality show that was he and his five siblings, sextuplets. Unfortunately, their reality show tore apart his parent's marriage. Now, as the oldest, he's been elected to take care of his father's estate. But he's intrigued by the woman that he sees. And he seriously falls in love with her children. 
I really liked the world building and the story but the writing was a bit... rough. and really dragged in places. I hope Arthur gets a better editor because I'm really looking forward to reading more of her stories.


Three stars
This book comes out November 22

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Unlikely Lady by Valerie Bowman


I had read the first book in this series , The Unexpected Duchess, and noted that, while I thought the author was trying to make the main characters Lucy and Derek similar to Beatrice and Benedick, the honor belonged more to her friend Jane and the man I called Lucy's brother, Derek. Well, this is their book only Derek is actually Garrett, a very good cousin of Jane's and they more or less grew up together. And while I think the author was still shooting for a play on "Much Ado about Nothing," it just didn't work for me. I did enjoy most of the book however and made it all the way through to the HEA.

The Unlikely Lady (Playful Brides, #3)Jane doesn't want to get married. She is a student of Mary Wollstonecraft and thinks that men are thoroughly unnecessary, even pests. However, her mother thinks differently. Which is why Jane resurrects the fictional Miss Bunbury from the second book in this series, makes her a Mrs., and creates a fictional chaperone so she can attend the first week of Lucy's houseparty by herself.
Garrett, for his part, is an avowed bachelor.  He is also a big softy who has been supporting the widow of his dear friend for years. Mainly because he feels responsible for the man's death. Now, the widow has invited herself to his cousin's party, mainly to follow him around. Somehow, she seems threatened by Jane. Is it the fact that at the masquerade ball, Jane and Garrett kissed (well, rather more than that) not knowing who the other one was?
I honestly think I would have enjoyed the book more if it had just been an exploration of Jane and Garrett's relationship. Isabella, the widow, was a complication that didn't need to happen. She helped bring about the ending... sort of... but it was the ending given to Hero and Claudio in the Shakespeare play so I was rather confused.
This book comes out next Tuesday and is an okay read, but if you're a fan of the Bard, this might not be the book for you.

Preceded by Playful Brides #1 The Unexpected Duchess (I DNF'd the second book)

Saturday, December 27, 2014

The Importance of Being Alice by Katie MacAlister

Image linked from Goodreads
While the romance in this story is a little fast for me and the "madcap adventure" just a teeny bit too madcap for me, I overall enjoyed the story.
Alice is about to get engaged to Patrick. Well, they were about to get engaged. They even bought tickets to a cruise in Europe, but then Patrick found somebody new. That somebody is his friend Elliot's sister.
Elliot is in sort of a hash himself. He's inherited a falling-down castle and doesn't want to accept help. His family is the general sort of crazy that you see in this type of story. And sequel bait (but bait I definitely look forward to being baited by.) As a writer, he needs quiet so he jumps at a chance to take Patrick's ticket, on the understanding that Alice is not going to be there.
But that is where Patrick has once again done his almost-fiancee wrong. Alice shows up for the trip. Now, she's generally a go-with-the-flow type of gal. But finding out that her trip of a lifetime is on a boat that's falling a part and there's a lordly gentleman with a stick up his ass already in her room... she's not to excited. Until she gets to know the lord a little better.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Murder in Real Time by Julie Anne Lindsey

Image linked from Goodreads
I didn't read the first two books in this series but it wasn't absolutely necessary. It might've helped a little but I didn't feel like I was missing any of the story.
Why grab this book? The cover reminded me of Ellery Adams' books and I like those so...
Patience Price lives in a tourist town. Living in one myself, I really appreciated the description, especially the relief that comes at the end of the season. I'm a little doubtful about the number of food trucks, but since an actual number was never mentioned, it might have been three or so and that could work.
But the mayor of the town doesn't like down time. He wants more profit for his people. So he allows a reality show to film on the island. Which turns out to be a problem when Patience's boyfriend rolls back into town and discovers two of the cast members dead in his normal room.
This sets off a chain of events where (refreshingly) the heroine doesn't want to get involved. She's been involved in two murders recently (maybe more, this is the third book) and just wants some down time. But when shots start flying at both her and her friends, she gets reluctantly pulled in to investigating.
This book came out yesterday and I would recommend giving it a chance.