Brave Chef Brianna by Sam Sykes: Book Review

4 Stars. I grabbed this on a whim as I was prowling through my library's shelves last week. Who can resist a bright and cheerful cover that also portrays monsters? Not me. This was really cute and contained important messages about friendship; overcoming self-doubt; and living for your own ideals of happiness, not those dictated [...]

A Deadly Education by Noami Novik: Book Review

3 Stars. I'm going against popular opinion a bit in my review of this book. Don't get me wrong; every review I've seen is glowing and I don't exactly disagree. But I don't fully agree either. First off, I do love this world. It's interesting and full of magic and enclaves of magicians (Wizards? I've already forgotten what they [...]

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore: Book Review

I finished this back on July 27 but I've already forgotten everything about it. Ugh. But that's typically what happens with my three-star books so at least I know I rated it accurately. Christopher Moore's brand of humor is not for everyone. I think it varies wildly from book to book so it's not even reliably to my taste. This [...]

Fable by Adrienne Young: Book Review

This was exactly the kind of book that I needed right now. It was fast-paced with characters I liked who acted in ways that largely made sense to me. Fable is a survivor who will do a lot of things to get by but she does have her own set of morals. She has a bit of the hopeful optimist about her. Most people would hate the...

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles: Book Review

I wanted to like this. The concept is strong and I couldn’t help comparing it to The Night Circus, another book I wanted to love. But there was way too much description, infinitely too many unanswered questions, and too little actual plot to please me. This is author Janella Angeles’s debut novel and unfortunately, it shows. She...

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer: Book Review

Eh. What was most interesting about this book is the setup for future stories. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I won't say much about that, but I will say that I like Minerva and hope that she becomes a recurring character. The other twists could lead to some very interesting developments. I missed most of the oddball...

The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer: Book Review

I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. These books are just a lot of fun, even to a 30-year-old woman. They would have been some of my favorites if they'd been around when I was a kid. I have to admit to giggling aloud even now. But aside from the wackiness of the story, I like seeing Artemis grow and learn about...

The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood: Book Review

I have listened to all of these books on audio and Katherine Kellgren's whole-hearted narration has kept me coming back. She threw everything she had into howling at the moon, singing songs, and giving voices to both the innocent and the bad guys. I realized that Katherine had passed away before finishing the series as I added...

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer: Book Review

I truly enjoyed this book. Artemis is a genius, but we also get to watch him grow up (and loosen up) a little as the book progresses. Just when you start to forget that Artemis is only twelve, a scene comes along that shows how vulnerable he still is. The plot was smart, funny, and well-written. The fairies were not your typical [...]

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins: Book Review

This was so much fun! I devoured it. Sophie is clumsy and goofy and funny and just so relatable to every girl who wasn't part of the beautiful mean girl crowd in high school. Jenna is adorable. How can you dislike a vampire whose favorite color is hot pink? The pacing of the mystery is spot-on and while I had theories that got a [...]