iRead Book Tours Archives - Page 56 of 63

September 6, 2016

Bossy Flossy

Had Bossy Flossy finally met her match?

About Bossy Flossy

Flossy is the bossiest girl around. She’s bossy at home and she’s bossy in school. She’s bossy to her friends and she’s bossy to her cat. Sometimes she’s even bossy to her teacher! Flossy doesn’t understand why no one will listen to her. One day, Flossy meets Edward, a boy who may be just as bossy as she is. Has Flossy finally met her match?

My Thoughts

It is hard not to be bossy as a child, sometimes they can’t control their own emotions or even making up with their own perceived disadvantages of being smaller by being bossy. I know my youngest can sometimes be quite bossy but he doesn’t always mean it. When children first meet someone with the same personality they can get quite a shock. Are they really that mean and pushy?? (I know adults can have quite a shock to when they meet their match!). But in some ways this is a good thing, they can learn from these encounters. Children can learn how not to behave and how words can hurt. This is the perfect book for toddlers and young children alike who are entering school or daycare. They can learn so much about behaviour, words and actions and how they can hurt others. It opens up so much discussion between parent and child.

Bossy Flossy is well written, age appropriate language and sentences. The illustrations are bright, bold and perfect for young children. We fell in love with the title of this book and made it into a catchy tune when someone in the house was being too bossy (‘who is a bossy flossy, bossy flossy!’!). A well written, fun book for children that will be perfect to add to your child’s library!

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters and Indigo.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Paulette Bogan admits she was bossy as a child. She is the author and illustrator ofVirgil & Owen, which was chosen as one of Bank Street Best Children’s books of the Year 2016, Virgil & Owen Stick Together, which won a Mom’s Choice Award Gold Medal for Picture Books, and Lulu The Big Little Chick, which won a Children’s Choice Book Award. She lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs. They ALL think she is STILL bossy. But they’ve never told her to go to her room! You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

September 6, 2016

House of Eire Book Review

In House of Eire, Hillary Broome, a reporter-turned-ghostwriter from Lodi, California, and her detective husband Ed fly to Ireland for research and a conference.

About House of Eire

Hillary Broome, a reporter-turned-ghostwriter from Lodi, California, and her detective husband Ed fly to Ireland – Ed for a gang conference in Dublin and Hillary to research her ancestors in Galway. Hillary plans to meet up with her friend Bridget, who’s pushing a greedy developer to include a memorial museum inside his proposed Irish theme park. As Hillary travels through Ireland and learns more about her friend’s crusade, she uncovers secrets and mysterious forces nudging her to fly away home.

My Thoughts

A wonderful thrilling adventure full of suspense, mystery and history. This book is set in Ireland and we learn so much about their history, their people and their struggle. I found myself at several times, stopping where I was so I could look up an event or place to learn more about it. It left me in tears at times with the suffering the people went through.

The plot line falls in perfectly with the history of Ireland. Hilary is going back to her home country to learn her past and visit her friend who has been researching and leading a fight to stop a developer from building a theme park without truly representing the suffering of the Irish people. This quickly turns deadly when individuals are murdered, leaving Hilary scared not only for herself but for her family.

The plot quickly speeds up and you literally can not put the book down as it is that exciting! The murder, suspense and never truly knowing what was going to happen next was thrilling. House of Eire is well written, laid out, with amazing characters and an even better plot. You will easily fall in love with this story!

You can purchase a copy of House of Eire on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

June Gillam teaches literature and writing at a Northern California Community College. She describes this series as psychological suspense novels in which Hillary Broome, reporter and ghostwriter, fends off complex villains of many kinds: a berserk butcher, a demented daughter and a haunted theme park developer. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

August 18, 2016

Haven Book Review

In Haven, Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen. She was not prepared for the role but she now finds herself fighting a seemingly impossible foe.

About Haven

Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, she must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.

With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Her neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia’s shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven’s only home. Haven must make a choice; take her people and flee to the foreign Republic across the sea or lead a last stand against a powerful dictator.

My Thoughts

An exciting novel from start to finish that I thoroughly enjoyed! It mixes adventure with magic and an immortal Queen. Haven is our main character, a Queen who never thought she would be one with so many in her family. But time was not kind to her and when her whole family is gone, she is left to deal with the Kingdom alone. I loved watching her evolve as not only a person but as a Queen. She is strong, brave and independent.

I loved how the evil Queen Kadia was placed into the book with her mysterious powers. She uses her powers for evil but somehow she almost seems like a victim herself when we get to know her better. We even find that there may be a strange connection between the two powerful Queens.

Haven is a well written, thought out novel that young adults and adults alike will fall in love with. We have a strong female lead who battles her own wars in order to save her people. We watch her grow in strength, bravery and in her role as a Queen. The novel is definitely one that you will not want to put down in fear of missing what happens next!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository and Chapters.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Katherine Bogle’s debut young adult novel, Haven, came second in the World’s Best Story contest 2015. She currently resides in Saint John, New Brunswick with her partner in crime, and plethora of cats. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

August 16, 2016

The House of Kane

In The House of Kane, Aislinn is hired to discover how manuscripts keep going missing and are suddenly published by Kane Publishing House’s competitors.

About The House of Kane

Aislinn Marchánt, a writer and editorial consultant, is hired by the major New York publishing company, Kane Publishing House, to help determine why several submissions sent to them have mysteriously disappeared only to be published later by another publisher. Are the editors at Kane simply not being diligent enough with the in-coming material, or is there something more sinister going on? Working from her West Palm Beach home, Aislinn quickly becomes involved with the House of Kane as well as with Caldwell Kane, the man who hired her.

As Aislinn works toward uncovering the various layers of truth of her former husband, her elderly neighbor, and Kane Publishing House, she continues to research her own novel, the story of a love between two people that becomes fractured because of the misunderstandings created by two different cultures. Her research takes her to abotanica where a Santerian priest reveals the truth in her own life and a destiny that is joined to that of Caldwell Kane.

My Thoughts

Missing submissions, fierce competition, lies and deceit are found throughout this fantastic novel by Barbara Casey. This novel showed an inside look at the publishing world while mixing mystery, deceit and a tad bit of romance that makes you not want to put the book down (literally could not stop reading this book!). Not to mention, I was totally jealous of her awesome job!

Aislinn uncovers quite a mystery at Kane Publishing house not to mention the underlying stories of her ex-husband, new boss, her neighbour and her own novel – it was quite an exciting time for Aislinn! While the mystery seems a bit obvious half way through, the twist on it was unbelievable and was not what I was expecting! It was very impressive the way the characters were tied into the story (especially one that you thought was just there to add a little extra into the story but played a role in the grand plot).

I loved not only the plot (which is very unique and one of the best parts of this book) but also the hints of a romance that could develop between Aislinn and Caldwell Kane. While an age difference exists and Aislinn does still have a strong relationship with her ex husband, a romance between these two would be perfect. Their personalities and interests compliment each other perfectly.

The House of Kane is a well thought out, written novel that will keep you guessing and reading to the last minute. You will fall in love with the characters, their connections and ties to the story. I loved every moment of this novel.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Barbara Casey is a partner in Strategic Media Books, and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. She is also a manuscript consultant and the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories.

Her award-winning novels have received national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and The Gospel According to Prissy, also a contemporary adult novel received several awards including the prestigious IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction. Her most recent young adult novel, The Cadence of Gypsies, received the Independent Publishers Living Now Award and was reviewed by the Smithsonian for its list of Best Books.

Ms. Casey makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

August 15, 2016

The Wish Rider

In The Wish Rider, Dara asks her friends to help her locate her birth mother when she learns that she might be living in New York City. It is where they enter into a dark, terrifying society that shocks and is more then they could ever have imagined.

About The Wish Rider

Seventeen-year-old Dara Roux and her two best friends, Mackenzie Yarborough and Jennifer Torres, the three collectively referred to as the F.I.G.’s (Females of Intellectual Genius) because each has an intelligence quotient in the genius range, have just returned from Frascati, Italy. It was there that their much loved teacher and mentor, Carolina Lovel, discovered that her birth parents were gypsies, and that she had a connection to the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world.

Now, with graduation from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women behind them, Dara asks her friends to help her locate her birth mother when she learns that she might be living in New York City. Relying on Dara’s gift for speaking and understanding foreign languages, the black and white images that stir musical cadences in Jennifer’s mind, and Mackenzie’s mathematical calculations that normally provide numerical solutions and answers to life’s most difficult questions, the determined young women tirelessly go from one address to another in search of Dara’s mother.

Their determination turns to desperation, however, as they encounter a dark hidden society more dangerous and terrifying than they could have imagined. It is there that Dara hopes to find out why she was abandoned in a candy store all those years ago.

My Thoughts

I was really excited to read this book, especially after falling in love with The Cadence of Gypsies. While I still really enjoyed Wish Rider, there were some parts I wish were drawn out some more to give us a deeper look into Dara’s exciting adventure and maybe a little more depth with the F.I.G.’s unique abilities similar to the first novel but Wish Rider was unique and special in its own way.

In Wish Rider, we find Dara on a quest to find her birth Mother. Unlike the other girls, Dara had been abandoned in a candy store in her youth and that is how she ended up at Wood Rose Orphanage. It was her trip to Italy with her friends and mentor, that made her want to discover her past – especially when she finds out her Mother may be in New York. She decides to make the trip with her best friends and mentor, Carolina, because there was no way she could do this alone.

When they arrive in New York everything seems to turn dark. I loved how Barbara ties in the gypsy heritage and knowledge from The Cadence of Gypsies in this second book. I was not entirely sure about Dara’s Mother and what she was involved in but it was definitely dark and scary. I wish this part had been built up a bit more as I was a bit confused at this part of the novel. I just wasn’t sure about Dara’s Mother, what she was involved with and how this connected to the F.I.G.’s.

Wish Rider is a well written, second book follow up to The Cadence of Gypsies. We get an inside look at Dara, who although she has had a difficult past had turned into a wonderful young woman. A great follow up to the first novel in this series. You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Barbara Casey is a partner in Strategic Media Books, and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. She is also a manuscript consultant and the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories.

Her award-winning novels have received national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and The Gospel According to Prissy, also a contemporary adult novel received several awards including the prestigious IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction. Her most recent young adult novel, The Cadence of Gypsies, received the Independent Publishers Living Now Award and was reviewed by the Smithsonian for its list of Best Books.

Ms. Casey makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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