Category: book review

February 4, 2020

Shower Your Little One with the Love of Reading from Sourcebooks Kids this Valentine’s Day

I love how reading a good book helps to connect you with others, especially children. A book helps children understand the world around them, helps them verbalize and understand others and their feelings. Books help us put in to words how we are feeling and helps us to better express ourselves.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, what better way to talk about love with your child then with a fantastic, kid friendly book?

Every year we celebrate Valentine’s Day with a gift for each of our children. The following books would make an excellent gift or even a great read leading up to Valentine’s Day to help us talk about our feelings and what we mean to each other. Being a part of a family, we know we love each other but sometimes we also know that we can drive each other a bit bonkers. It is important for kids to know that they are loved for every part of their personality. Thinking a bit outside of the box, these would also make a great baby shower gift and guaranteed to make the parents to be want to cry!

Here are the top five Valentine’s Day children’s books that will show your little one just how much you care.

I Love You All Ways

From the author of Be Brave Little One and If I Could Keep You Little comes I Love You All Ways, an adorable exploration of how love surrounds us, no matter what we do or where we go. From morning to night — through the happy, playful, and mischievous moments — I Love You All Ways is a sweet celebration of the never-ending love for a child.

“In case you ever wonder,
in the busy of our days,
exactly how you’re loved by me,
I think you’ll be amazed. “

This is a beautiful hard cover book that will make you want to cry. The simple sentences that were easy to read, leave a big impact on children. The words remind children that yes we love them when they are good but we also love them when they are loud, mischievous, sick and everything in between. It reminds our children that they will have our love with them wherever they go and whatever they do. The illustrations are done in soft colours that matches the tone of this book.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

I Love You To The Moon and Back

Share your heart with the one you love most in the world and wrap them in the security of God’s protection with this newest picture book from renowned inspirational brand Precious Moments. Written in sweet, rhyming verse, this is the perfect book to share on Valentine’s Day or all year round!

I collect Precious Moments so I could not wait to open this book and it did not disappoint (the illustrations were brilliant!). This beautifully written book starts off with that special moment when we bring our child home and our hearts are bursting with love. It takes on a religious tone, as we talk about the gift from above in the form of His love and our friends and family. That these very important people will be there for us, supporting us and celebrating with us for the rest of our lives. It really helps to remind us of the importance of these relationships and the impact they have on our lives. I loved the ending – I found it was only when I became a Mom that I really understood all my parents did and felt for us.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Always More Love

Always More Love is a heartwarming story and fun experience for families to share together about how the love for those special ones in your life only grows more and more each day.

“I love you so much, but there’s more in my heart.
How is that possible? Well, where do I start?

Now move in close and you will see
Just how much you mean to me.“

This book was so much fun to read aloud – it is very interactive and you can act as silly as you want together. From tickles, to snuggles, to giggles – this book is perfect for young children as we talk about how our heart is so full of love but we can always love just a little bit more. The book is illustrated with bright, bold colours that your young child will appreciate.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

I Love You Like No Otter

There’s no better way to say “I love you” than with a sweet and heartfelt animal pun! I Love You Like No Otter combines a warm message of love with beautifully illustrated animals, making it the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day and all year round!

This is an adorable and simple read for young children. Each page is a pun using favourite animal characters. The puns are quite funny, I have used a few to put as notes in a lunch pail and it gives us a good laugh at the end of the day. How can you not love animals and jokes?

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Love: From Sesame Street

In this New York Times bestselling picture book, beloved Sesame characters share what love means to them. This warm and uplifting book will show children new ways to look for love in everyday life—and brighten their day!

“Love is a sunny day!
Love is being an everyday HERO.
Love comes in all shapes and sizes.
Love is cookies… and then more cookies!”

I love Sesame Street and the message that it sends to young children. This book has a powerful impact on young children as we explore the many sides of love and how it comes in all shapes and sizes. It can help children to discuss their feelings and how love makes them feel, and even the examples of love that they see every day. How do we show love to our friends? To our teachers? To our family? And even gives children a great way to describe these feelings. It helps to really open the door to the endless possible ways that we can describe love.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? Make sure to add one or more of these great books above and get ready to start engaging your child in the wonderful topic of love and what it means to us.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned books in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 4, 2020

An Everyday Hero Book Review

An emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.

About An Everyday Hero

At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams of being a songwriter up in flames. To make matters worse, a series of bad decisions and even crappier luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she’s supposed to use music to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when the one thing that brought her joy has failed her.

When Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, her plans to stay detached and do as little as possible get thrown away. New to town and dealing with the death of her father in action, she hides her emotions behind a mask of bitterness and sarcasm, but Greer is able to see past it and recognizes pieces of who she once was in Ally. The raw and obvious talent she possesses could take her to the top and Greer vows to make sure life’s negativities don’t derail Ally’s potential.

After Greer is assigned a veteran to help, she’s not surprised Emmett Lawson, the town’s golden boy, followed his family’s legacy. What leaves her shocked is the shell of a man who believes he doesn’t deserve anyone’s help. A breakthrough with Ally reminds Greer that no one is worth giving up on. So she shows up one day with his old guitar, and meets Emmett’s rage head on with her stubbornness. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her―and along the way they might just save themselves too.

My Thoughts

I love the way Laura writes – she takes on a huge topic and approaches it with dignity, compassion, a touch of humour and hope. This book is just as fantastic as her last novel.

In this book we have two main characters who have both returned back to their hometown broken and scarred but for very different reasons. Greer did everything she could to make it work in the music industry and lost everything. She has even given up on her love of music and playing. She returns home to live with her parents for a fresh start scarred from this experience and with little hope of ever playing again. She has been left battered by the industry, a person who was supposed to love her and feeling as though she will never succeed as an adult and on her own. Emmett was sent home from the war after a surprise attack that left him physically injured and changed for life both physically and mentally. But it is the emotional and mental injuries that he hides that are far worse. He is angry at the world, and not the same person he was when he left.

The pair are forced together through an outreach program and their first encounter makes quite an impact! It left me laughing but the incident truly describes the pair. The two have many emotional and mental challenges to work on individually. Together they are the support that they didn’t know that they needed nor that they wanted. They are that kick in the butt, that breath of fresh air that encourages you to do better, to see the positive and to move forward with hope. I found at times, they were one step forward and two steps back and you were on the edge of your seat praying that they would make it through. The one piece that brings the story together and gives the hope and redemption that our two main characters need, comes in the most unusual but fitting way.

An Everyday Hero is a beautiful, well written novel from start to finish, you will not be able to stop reading it. It makes you laugh, cry and warms your heart. You fall in love with the characters and are left craving more. It is a definite must read.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Laura Trentham in an award winning romance author. The Military Wife is her debut women’s fiction novel. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 3, 2020

Born Slippy

A provocative, globe-trotting, time-shifting novel about the seductions of — and resistance to — toxic masculinity.

Born Slippy

Frank Baltimore is a bit of a loser, struggling by as a carpenter and handyman in rural New England when he gets his big break, building a mansion in the executive suburbs of Hartford. One of his workers is a charismatic eighteen-year-old kid from Liverpool, Dmitry, in the US in the summer before university. Dmitry is a charming sociopath, who develops a fascination with his autodidactic philosopher boss, perhaps thinking that, if he could figure out what made Frank tick, he could be less of a pig. Dmitry heads to Asia and makes a neo-imperialist fortune, with a trail of corpses in his wake. When Dmitry’s office building in Taipei explodes in an enormous fireball, Frank heads to Asia, falls in love with Dmitry’s wife, and things go from bad to worse.

Combining the best elements of literary thriller, noir and political satire, Born Slippy is a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.

My Thoughts

Born Slippy is the type of novel that you cannot put down – it is full of anguish, heart break, selfishness, suspense and so much more.

First we have Frank, a man with a kind heart but someone that you just want to shake. He trusts those around him, most of the time a little too much. He is awful at standing up for himself, instead he always accepts less than what he truly deserves. At times, he appears envious of others and it makes you wonder if that is why he accepts bad relationships, bad friendships and allows others to use him. Dmitry is hard to put into words – he is manipulative, selfish and while appears to be charming, he is an awful person. He makes Frank believe he is his friend but you want to shake Frank for believing him.

The book starts off with an explosion a Dmitry’s office building where he is presumed dead and then we take a journey back in time to see how their relationship developed over the years and uncover quite a plot around money laundering and more. We see how Dmitry evolves from being a young man who wants to make millions to quite the con artist, with hisa many schemes over the years adding up. We watch as Frank unknowingly (or perhaps he knows but prefers to keep his blinders up) participates in these illegal acts. Frank seems to be constantly grasping for something that he cannot reach – whether it be love, work or respect. While my heart was sore for him at the end of the novel, he played a large part in his demise.

This is a well written novel, that starts off a bit on the slow side but builds an intricate plot that you will not want to stop reading. You find yourself shocked, angered, intrigued throughout the book – and constantly on the edge of your seat as you can never quite guess what Dmitry has up his sleeve or how low he may go. Born Slippy is a definite must read novel.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Tom Lutz is the author of, amongst others, And the Monkey Learned Nothing, Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World and Crying, which have been translated into a dozen languages, and several of which have been named New York Times Notable Books. His Doing Nothing won the American Book Award. He is the founding editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books. This is his first novel.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 28, 2020

Scot Under the Covers Book Review

The second in the seductive new Scottish historical romance Wild Wicked Highlanders series from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Enoch!

About Scot Under the Covers

In Scot Under the Covers, a resourceful English lady and a hot-blooded Highlander join forces to trick a scoundrel, and every rule will be broken!

Miranda Harris is known for her charm, wit, and ability to solve any problem she encounters. But when her brother lands neck-deep in gambling debt to a crafty villain and Miranda is subsequently blackmailed into marrying him, she must enlist the help of the devil himself to save the family honor―and herself.

Devilishly handsome Highlander Aden MacTaggert knows next to nothing about the ways of the ton, but he most certainly knows his way around gaming halls and womens’ hearts. Still, Aden is not sure how he’ll manage to find a Sassenach bride in time to save his family’s inheritance. When his almost sister-in-law Miranda comes to him for assistance, he proposes a partnership: She will help him navigate London society and he’ll teach her everything about wagering…and winning back her freedom. The beautiful, clever lass intrigues Aden―but is she playing her own game, or are the sparks between them real? He is accustomed to risking his pocket. But betting on Miranda’s love is a game he can’t afford to lose

My Thoughts

Scot Under The Covers starts off a bit slow as we learn about the MacTaggert brothers but it quickly picks up and leaves you on the edge of your seat through a series of lies, bribery, fights and romance.

The MacTaggert are rough around the edges and don’t care about what anyone thinks about them or their Scottish heritage. Life was not always easy for them – their Mother left them for English society when they were young and now they were forced to head to England by their Mother to find wives (yikes – not an easy task for brothers who refuse to be tamed nor have any fondness for English society). While they appear to be hard on the outside (not to mention that they have been rumoured to love to gamble and place bets!), I was constantly amazed by the thoughtful, compassionate, perceptive nature that shone through (I actually really enjoyed the eldest brother’s character and can’t wait to learn more about him).

Aden falls and falls hard for the beautiful Miranda. Miranda though is not too sure of him – because of her family history, any man that gambles is not a person she wants to associate with. She has seen too many people fall victim to gambling debts and lose everything. So you can imagine how their first few encounters turned out! But Miranda is soon forced to put her future in Aden’s hands when an evil character enters the plot who is threatening her and her future. But Miranda is still scared – can she truly trust Aden?

I loved the way this story turned out and it was definitely not what I was expecting at all from when I first started reading it. The characters had such great depth to them, Aden was so much more than the gambling, care free Scot that he was perceived to be. He went to great lengths to protect Miranda and he definitely ensured that the individual who was holding her at his mercy was punished and would never commit those crimes again. Miranda made me laugh so many times – she was brave, independent and did not mind saying what she felt. It is a beautiful novel, fast paced and full of intriguing characters, mystery and romance. I fell in love with the characters and read this book all in one night.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

A native and current resident of Southern California, Suzanne Enoch loves movies almost as much as she loves books, with a special place in her heart for anything Star Wars. She has written more than fifty Regency novels and historical romances, which are regularly found on the New York Times bestseller list. When she is not busily working on her next book, Suzanne likes to contemplate interesting phenomena, like how the three guppies in her aquarium became 161 guppies in five months.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 27, 2020

Mark of the Medallion Book Review

Mark of the Medallion is the spellbinding first novel in The Wizard Academies YA fantasy series. If you like sword and sorcery, enchanted adventures, and suspenseful coming-of-age stories, then you’ll love Mike Shelton’s action-packed tale.

About Mark of the Medallion

Fifteen-year-old apprentice Kyril is sick of being bullied. And after a tragic fire leaves him orphaned with out-of-control thoughts and powers, he can’t wait to escape constant taunting at the wizard academy. So when a dicey faction entices him with companionship, he ignores the grim warning signs.

Even as Kyril’s power grows within the group, he’s left out of the crew’s dangerous plans to derail the authorities. And when being accepted comes at the expense of making questionable choices, he fears his newfound friendships aren’t worth the deadly price.

Can Kyril master his new magic before his shady companions send him to his doom?

My Thoughts

I love reading about magic, and this book delivers magic, an excellent plot and incredible characters, making it a great read for young adults and adults alike.

Kyril comes from a poor family and was orphaned at a young age. He is alone in the world and others make him feel worse about his position in life. He is bullied for many reasons, and like most victims none of it is deserved. He would do anything for a friend, to be appreciated and to feel power.

Something strange begins to happen at their academy, people are acting out of character, doing things they shouldn’t be doing. Kyril is one of these individuals – and is gaining power at great leaps and bounds. These powers don’t go unnoticed and soon he is brought into the folds of a powerful group who have ulterior motives for him. Because of his past, he doesn’t realize he is being used and begins to behave and act in ways he never would have before. The plot that begins to unravel has many dark turns and unexpected twists, keeping you on the edge of your seat through the entire read.

Mark of the Medallion is very well written with an excellent plot that develops at a great pace. You are never left feeling lost or as though you are missing information. Mike introduces each character and gives you the right amount of information to understand their magical powers and how the characters are connected. I loved the plot – it was not what I was expecting and kept me engaged. The book is geared toward young adults but I loved every moment. A fantastic read from start to finish!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Mike is now on his fourth YA fantasy series. For information on his new releases, book reviews, and other relevant info, please join him at www.MichaelSheltonBooks.com.

Mike was born in California and has lived in multiple states from the west coast to the east coast. He cannot remember a time when he wasn’t reading a book. At school, home, on vacation, at work at lunch time, and yes even a few pages in the car (at times when he just couldn’t put that great book down).

Other than reading, Mike enjoys the outdoors, disc golf, and spending time with his family. He has worked in corporate finance for most of his career, publishing his first books in 2016. He has now published 15 YA fantasy books full of adventure, magic, and wizards!

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.