Jane Litte's Blog, page 95

REVIEW: A Christmas Romance by Betty Neels

On the night before Christmas…

Office clerk Theodosia Chapman’s can-do attitude and sunny disposition have got her through even the most trying of times. So when her only remaining family withdraw their offer for her to spend Christmas with them, she won’t let it get her down. It looks as if she’ll be spending the festive season alone, until handsome physician Hugo Bentinck arrives on her doorstep on Christmas Eve and whisks her into his world! And Theodosia’s about to find that his love for h...

REVIEW: Read Island by Nicole Magistro, illustrated by Alice Feagan

Join a very brave girl and her furry friends on an adventure to Read Island! Through the power of imagination and the pleasure of reading, this curious trio set sail for a magical island made of books. On their way they discover a joyful collection of animals converging by sea and land, just in time for an unforgettable story hour.

A rhyming celebration of nature, books and the importance of stories, Read Island invites you to experience the diversity and wonder of a hidden and wild place. In ...

REVIEW: Winter Lullaby by Dianne White

Rendered with reassuring words and pastoral scenes, this soothing lullaby of a story is sure to settle even the most restless of cubs.

“Mouse is rushing to her nest.
In soft, dry grasses she will rest.”

Geese are calling, a chilly wind is blowing, and the sky is turning gray. Winter is on its way. For Mama Bear and Small Bear, that means it’s time to tuck into their den for a long sleep. But Mouse is scurrying by, and Chipmunk is still gathering nuts beside the lake. And look at Hare and Skunk...

REVIEW: The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert

His grumpy neighbor needs some holiday sunshine…

Gideon Holiday is the perfect neighbor. Need a cup of sugar? Spare folding chair? Extra batteries? He’s always ready to help. And he’s waited years for his hot, grumpy, silver fox neighbor, Paul, to need him. For anything. But this December, Gideon would be happy if he could just get the Scrooge-like Paul on board with the neighborhood holiday lights fundraiser.

Paul Frost has no intention of decking his halls or blazing any Yule logs. Even if hi...

Reading List by Jennie for July through September

Romola by George Eliot

This is one of the last George Eliot books I had unread. I’ll confess that early on I thought about dumping it, but I persevered. As a book written in the 19th century about the 15th century and centered quite a lot on philosophy and the character of Florence at the time, there was a lot of blah blah blah at first.

The central story is pretty simple – a young man, the victim of a shipwreck, arrives in Florence and begins making connections immediately. He is Tito Melema, a...

JOINT REVIEW: The Larks Still Bravely Singing by Aster Glenn Gray

Janine: The Larks Still Bravely Singing begins when Robert Montagu and David Callahan reunite after being invalided from the battlefields of World War I.

Robert and David both attended the Abbey, an English boys’ boarding school. As members of the same natural history club, they rambled along the countryside and sometimes tussled. When Robert realized that David felt the same spark he did, he feared he would corrupt David and pushed him away (I wasn’t clear on where that idea came from—maybe be...

REVIEW: The Great Gatz by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Jackie Logsted

A dog tries his best to keep his two co-parenting owners and their happiness afloat in this hilarious and touching sequel to Joint Custody by Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Jackie Logsted.

The Man is happy. The Woman is happy. That means Gatz is happy. He’d like to forget about the trouble he made to get them back together—only slightly ashamed at his antics—and focus on the future. The Woman and New Man are about to get married, after all. But when The Woman loses her job because of some bad press...

REVIEW: A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas by Jackie Lau

Greg Wong hates when things don’t go according to plan, so he definitely doesn’t appreciate it when his mother insists he drive Tasha Edwards back to Mosquito Bay for the Christmas holidays. He likes peace and quiet when he’s in the car, and that’s the opposite of what he’ll get with Tasha, his high school sweetheart. The first woman he ever loved.

Not that he has feelings for her now. Of course not. Though while he’s trying not to smile at her laughter and terrible singing, he can’t help noti...

Open Thread for Readers for December 2021

Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Want to share your favorite books and other entertainment sources of 2021? Just want to chat about stuff in general?

REVIEW: City Kitties by Rizwan Asad, illustrated by Andy Catling

When naughty little Mitten asks Nessie why she never falls for his tricks, Nessie answers with a tale of experience.

She’s “been there, done that!”

Told in gentle rhymes, City Kitties is more than a story about knowing the value of experience. It’s about knowing which experiences are truly valuable.

Review

The illustrations are the best part of this one. Scampy Mitten is truly a mischievous kitten trying his best to pounce at or on Nessie but always ending up just a flick of his tail behind ...