Lisa Marie Pottgen's Blog, page 2

Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

This book may be unsuitable for younger readers due to the subjects of a sexual nature, drug and alcohol use, language, violence and/or other controversial material. The flames indicate my subjective opinion of the degree of these subjects in the book. They may or may not all be represented and there may be others represented that are not specifically mentioned. Please research the suitability of all books for yourself and your family, especially if you are unfamiliar with the author or publisher. A rating of 0 flames does not necessarily mean the book is suitable for young children. It merely means there is no "mature" content.
Spark (Elemental, #2) Series: Elemental #2
by Brigid Kemmerer
Published by Kensington on August 28th 2012

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.

Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can't.

Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he's not doing it.

And no one seems to believe him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.

Gabriel can't let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that's right at his heels. But there are some risks he can't help taking.

The fuse is lit. . .

Praise for Brigid Kemmerer and The Elemental Series

"Five hot guys, one tough heroine, plenty of romance and non-stop action. . . Elemental is the new series to watch." --Inara Scott, author of The Marked

"Overflowing with action, snappy dialog, and hot guys--The Elemental Series will take your breath away." --Kim Harrington, author of Clarity

ISBN: 0758280068
Pages: 290







Format: Kindle
Source: Library

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Action & Adventure, Survival Stories, Romance, General, Paranormal
Also in this series: Storm (Elemental, #1), Elemental
Also by this author: Storm (Elemental, #1), Elemental

Fair warning, if you haven’t read Storm, you are going to want to stop right now.  There will be spoilers for that book.  It’s kind of impossible to review a sequel without giving away what happened in the prior book.

In this installment, we get to see a lot more of Gabriel.  He seems to be dealing with a lot of guilt over what happened to his brothers and his inability to have done more to prevent things or to help them more.

At first, I had a little trouble with the fact that we were reading from a different point of view in this book, and this seems to be something more and more common in YA series’ lately.  I am not sure if it is something that I like or not, but I digress.  And then, of course, the point of view shifts around a little in this book.

We meet a lot of characters that you learn to love, and a lot more characters that you learn to hate.  What’s more, we learn a bit more about the characters we already knew and gain a bit of a different perspective about them.  My eyes really opened on quite a few of the characters in this installment.  Of one thing I am absolutely certain, however.  Taylor and her cronies need to die a slow and painful death.  And Ryan Stacey is the devil incarnate.

I think the biggest shock for me though was the revelation about who was really behind the fires.  I totally didn’t see that coming but in hindsight, part of me thinks I should have.

The relationship that develops between Gabriel and his love interest took me by surprise, to be sure.  I was glad to see it though because it showed a side of him that I didn’t think could exist after how his character was playing out in the beginning.  Really, the same with Michael.  Who would have thought Michael could have a soft side?

Then of course there is the developing friendship between Gabriel and Hunter.  After everything that happened in Storm with Hunter, I never would have thought any of them would have trusted him.

All in all, I think Spark was an even bigger roller coaster ride than Storm and I was once again left with more questions than answers.  I am sitting here ready to devour more of this series and I get the feeling I will be left with a sense of loss when I get to the end.  If you haven’t read these yet, you really should!

 


About Brigid Kemmerer

Brigid Kemmerer was born in Omaha, Nebraska, though her parents quickly moved her all over the United States, from the desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, and several stops in between, eventually settling near Annapolis, Maryland. Brigid started writing in high school, and her first real “novel” was about four brothers causing a ruckus in the suburbs. Those four brothers are the same boys living in the pages of The Elemental Series, so Brigid likes to say she’s had four teenage boys taking up space in her head for the last seventeen years. (Though sometimes that just makes her sound nuts.)

Brigid loves hearing from people, and she probably won’t refer to herself in the third person like this if you actually correspond with her. She has a smartphone surgically attached to her person, and email is the best way to reach her. Her email address is brigidmary@gmail.com.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

The post Spark by Brigid Kemmerer appeared first on .

My Piece of the Puzzle (5) Summer Break, Vacations and Random Reflections

Each day and each experience when living with a child with autism is different.  Each child with autism is different.

For those who don’t know what autism is:

Autism is a developmental disability, which is defined as a syndrome. A syndrome is simply a mix of signs or characteristics that can be used to show a particular condition. Autism is a lifelong condition that combine both developmental and behavioural features.

Translation: Autism is a series of developmental issues in socialization and communication that affect each person differently.

I know it has been a while since I have posted one of these.  Especially for those of us with a kid with autism, sometimes life has a way of getting away from you whether you want it to or not.  

Summer has brought with it a whole new series of challenges for us.  There is no school, so L’s routine is completely disrupted, disoriented, and out of sorts.  This summer has been no exception, and brought about all of the day to day challenges we face in spades.  But there have been some triumphs, too.  Every day is a new adventure.

We FINALLY(!!!!!) potty trained!  She finally got it.  And most nights, she doesn’t even wet the bed.  This was critical because the end of last school year brought about the revelation that in addition to her autism, ADHD and seizures and other health problems, L has an IQ of 151.  This classes her as profoundly gifted.  And her school has never had a profoundly gifted autistic child before.  They have never had a child entering kindergarten who needed both gifted enrichment and special education services at the same time.  

L still struggles with her social skills (she doesn’t have any).  She struggles with change and routine and structure.  And as she makes the transition from pre-K to kindergarten, she struggles with her emotions.  But she is so highly intelligent that it makes her journey more complicated.  It’s why to the outside world she looks so “normal” even though she is not considered high functioning because of the degree of dysfunction caused by her autism features.  So if we wanted her to be able to be in a regular education kindergarten class, she had to be potty trained.  And everyone, the school included, thought the special education classroom was not the best place for her because academically she was functioning at a first grade level in pre-K.  So we set to work.

Do you know what did the trick?  Superhero underwear.  I actually found girls underwear with superheros.  Batgirl, Supergirl and Wonder Woman.  They aren’t the same as the boys’ Avengers underwear she wanted, but they’ll do, she tells me.  And we do fairly well most days.

 

Then, we took a family trip this summer.  As my grandmother is getting older and things happen, I worried that we would start running out of chances for my kids to spend time with her and my grandfather.  There is so much that they can learn from them about so many different things, just by spending time with them.  So we all loaded up, all five of us, in a rental car and drove what was supposed to be 7 hours so the kids could spend some time with Nanny and Papa.  Well, all 6 of us, my brother went with us, too.  The drive was definitely an adventure, but the trip was so worth it.  I just wish it could have been longer.

I was the most worried about L and the road trip.  Seven plus hours in a car twice in one week, how is she going to do with that?  She did surprisingly well.  Her uncle let her use his hotspot part of the time so she could watch her Youtube videos, and we had ways to charge her iPad.  I had several power banks with my so that everyone could have their devices charged up.  And one night on the way back to our hotel after going for ice cream, all of a sudden I hear L tell her older sister, “no, no, no.  The nucleic acids go on the outside of the germ.”  And then I had to explain to my 12 and 10 year old what nucleic acids were.  And how their 5 year old sister knew that and they didn’t.

And now, we are winding down and getting ready to go back to school.  Last week, L managed to crack the screen on her iPad when she tripped.  So a replacement screen will be in Friday and my dad said he would be able to change it.  And Kindergarten will bring new adventures and new challenges and new joys and triumphs.  Right now, L is OBSESSED with all things planetary.  She knows everything there is to know about the solar system and the dwarf planets.  Pluto is her favorite.  When I created her an email address and told her it was plutofan she said to me very pointedly “That’s the dwarf planet that used to be the 9th planet that has a lot of ice, not Mickey Mouse’s dog, right?” 

So that’s our summer so far.  What kind of adventures are you all having?  Did you take any trips?  Have any tips on taking road trips with autistic kids?  We have another trip planned for December.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

The post My Piece of the Puzzle (5) Summer Break, Vacations and Random Reflections appeared first on .

Review: Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

This book may be unsuitable for younger readers due to the subjects of a sexual nature, drug and alcohol use, language, violence and/or other controversial material. The flames indicate my subjective opinion of the degree of these subjects in the book. They may or may not all be represented and there may be others represented that are not specifically mentioned. Please research the suitability of all books for yourself and your family, especially if you are unfamiliar with the author or publisher. A rating of 0 flames does not necessarily mean the book is suitable for young children. It merely means there is no "mature" content.
Storm (Elemental, #1) Series: Elemental #1
by Brigid Kemmerer
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on April 24th 2012

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming . . .

ISBN: 075828005X
Pages: 337







Format: Kindle
Source: Library

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Action & Adventure, Survival Stories, Romance, General, Paranormal
Reading Challenges: 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

My Thoughts

I somehow managed to have later books in this series for review that I had not had a chance to get to yet, so I finally got a chance to borrow this one from the library and give it a read.

For starters, it took me a little while to get into the story because the beginning seemed a bit, dry and slow going.  The fact that the author included a fight scene right at the opening of the book kind of bugged me and I was never able to put my finger on why.

Throughout the text of the novel, there were a few stand-out editing problems that niggled at me and they did interrupt the flow of the reading process, such as “Wite-Out.”  This misspelling was the one I had the hardest time with.

The action did finally pick up at about the middle-point of the book, but it still left me feeling like I was missing something.  I felt like there were a few holes in the plot that I couldn’t quite get my head around.  But it finally started coming together just in time for the book to end.

What stands out to me right now is that the author gives a great deal of detail regarding some aspects and some situations in the story, but then leaves big gaping holes in other places.

There is one quote from the novel, about location 2945 for Kindle readers, “sex and rape are a few motions apart.”

First of all, this is a YA novel.  That may be a bit too heavy for a YA reader.  And the sentiment in and of itself really irritated me.  There were points where there were things that had happened to the main character that she played off as her own fault, and it took her a long time to become empowered in her own right.

Overall, though, there were twists and turns in the plot that I totally did not see coming.  I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Have you read this book?  This series?  What are your thoughts?  Were you as bothered by the gaps as I was?  What did you think of Chris’ brothers?  Is Michael really as big of a jerk as I think he is, or can he really redeem himself?  I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next.



Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

The post Review: Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer appeared first on .

A Matter of Time

This book may be unsuitable for younger readers due to the subjects of a sexual nature, drug and alcohol use, language, violence and/or other controversial material. The flames indicate my subjective opinion of the degree of these subjects in the book. They may or may not all be represented and there may be others represented that are not specifically mentioned. Please research the suitability of all books for yourself and your family, especially if you are unfamiliar with the author or publisher. A rating of 0 flames does not necessarily mean the book is suitable for young children. It merely means there is no "mature" content.
A Matter of Time Series: Angel Sight #3
by Lisa Basso
on August 4th 2015

Rayna and Kade went to Hell to save one another . . .; but both failed. Now, centuries of Kade's demons are unearthed when he is brainwashed and used as a Fallen pawn. In the freezing pits of Hell, Ray is beaten, tortured, and pushed to her breaking point. If Ray is to ever leave, she must take a stand and fire back at her attackers even though she is only now beginning to understand the true strength of her wings.

ISBN: 9781942664499
Pages: 296







Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Social Issues, Depression & Mental Illness
Also in this series: A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight, #1)
Reading Challenges: 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

MY THOUGHTS:

Wow, there is just so much packed into this book.  I almost can’t believe I just read this as quickly as I did.  On one hand, a lot of my unanswered questions from the second book are resolved, but at the same time, I feel like I have more unanswered questions now, and I know that no more answers will come because this was the end of the series.

This finale will be a heartstopping, total rush of an adventure that will take you on a roller coaster ride through the plot twists and turns that even this reviewer did not see coming.  The further I got into the book, the more I was filled with a variety of emotions I didn’t even know how to sort through and process.  I wish it wasn’t over.

I find myself feeling almost lost and empty now that the series has come to a close, wondering what I will read next, because I felt so attached and invested in these characters and now I don’t have them anymore to keep me company.  If you haven’t yet picked up this series and are a YA reader, this one is a must read.  Go give it a whirl!



Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

The post A Matter of Time appeared first on .

Talkin’ Bout Books Tuesday (1) : Racy Book Covers – Yay or Nay?

“Talkin’ ’bout Books” is a newish meme for weekly book discussions.

Each Tuesday, we will post a discussion about a book-related topic. Sometimes, we will gear this toward writing books rather than reading them.

 

My topic for this week is:  Racy Book Covers – Yay or Nay?  What do you think about “risque” book covers on non-erotica novels?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Too often, too many authors have fallen into the mantra that “sex sells.”  Even YA novels lately have gotten to be more and more over the top in terms of the adult nature of the cover images and to me too many authors are toeing the line between what is and is not appropriate on this one.

I think, especially in the realm of YA, we need to take a step back and not play to that base sense.  As both a YA reader and a YA writer, it concerns me that we have gotten so off track.  Many times, the racy covers don’t even have anything to do with the content and are misleading, and only a ploy to suck people in.  Often, if a cover is more on the racy side, I won’t even bother with the book because I don’t choose to expose myself to too much of that if it is something I plan to post about.  But that is just me.

 

What are your thoughts?  Have we gotten too hung up on sex sells and forgotten why we read and write?

 

The post Talkin’ Bout Books Tuesday (1) : Racy Book Covers – Yay or Nay? appeared first on .

Review: A Slither of Hope by Lisa M. Basso

This book may be unsuitable for younger readers due to the subjects of a sexual nature, drug and alcohol use, language, violence and/or other controversial material. The flames indicate my subjective opinion of the degree of these subjects in the book. They may or may not all be represented and there may be others represented that are not specifically mentioned. Please research the suitability of all books for yourself and your family, especially if you are unfamiliar with the author or publisher. A rating of 0 flames does not necessarily mean the book is suitable for young children. It merely means there is no "mature" content.
Slither of Hope Series: Angel Sight #2
by Lisa M. Basso
on August 5th 2014

Rayna struggles to piece her life back together, but hiding in plain sight from the police, the SS Crazy, and the Fallen isn't a foolproof plan—something Kade, the World's Worst Roommate, reminds her of everyday. The late nights of failing to teach Ray how to protect herself against the Fallen are getting to Kade, changing him in ways he doesn't like, and after a family emergency sends Ray back into Cam’s arms, Kade decides he's had enough. News of Rayna's resurfacing brings both angels and the Fallen to San Francisco by the dozens, all eyes scouring the city for the girl with the gray wings. Rayna will need both Kade and Cam's help to ensure her family's safety, navigate the new dangers and enemies springing up all over the city, and manage the surprises that arise with her new set of wings.

ISBN: 9781939765048
Pages: 298







Format: Paperback, Kindle
Source: Gift, Purchased

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Social Themes, Depression & Mental Illness, Social Issues
Also in this series: A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight, #1)
Also by this author: A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight, #1)
Reading Challenges: 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

My Thoughts

This series had me hooked from the very beginning, and this book was no exception.  Rayna is still dealing with the repercussions of everything that happened in the first book (if you haven’t read my review of A Shimmer of Angels, stop now, scroll down and find the link and go read that instead, because I do not promise there will be no spolers for that book in this review).

Now of course, this would not be a YA novel if there was not your usual love triangle.  But the love triangle here is anything but ordinary.  After all, here we have Rayna caught up between Cam, an Angel, and Kade, the Fallen.  And she has no idea what her feelings are for either of them.  And how can she sort through all of that with everything going on and everyone after her?

I really enjoyed reading this story because it is so much different from the usual fantasy fare.  There are no vampires, no werewolves, no faires and no mythical creatures.  Well, there are angels, and there is talk of Lucifer and his many minions.  And of course, there are the nine circles of hell and all, but you know, that’s nothing unusual, right?

If I had to point out a negative, it would be that too much was left open ended and unanswered.  We find out what the “dark side” wants with Rayna, but what of Elyon and his plans?  And the situation with Rayna’s family is kind of there, and there is some major stuff, but then they just sort of, aren’t a part of the story anymore.  I am hoping that, as I sit down now to read the third and final installment, a lot of my burning questions are answered, because the cliffhanger I was left with is just gnawing at me right now.


About Lisa M. Basso

Lisa M. Basso was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She is a lover of books, video games, animals, and baking (not baking with animals though). As a child she would crawl into worlds of her own creation and get lost for hours. Her love for YA fiction started with a simple school reading assignment: S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. When not reading or writing she can usually be found at home with The Best Husband that Ever Lived and her two darling (and sometimes evil) cats, Kitties A and B.

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | Tumblr

Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

The post Review: A Slither of Hope by Lisa M. Basso appeared first on .

ARC Review: The Spider Ring by Andrew Harwell

The Spider Ring by Andrew Harwell
Published by Scholastic Inc. on January 27th 2015

A powerful ring. A dangerous web. When Maria inherits a strange, spider-shaped ring from her grandmother, she doesn't realize she's also inheriting a strange power -- the power to control spiders and have them do whatever she wants. This is a pretty cool thing when it comes to fetching objects from another room . . . or if Maria wants to use the spiders to get back at some mean kids in her class. But the power comes with a price. Maria has attracted the attention of the Black Widow -- who is trying to collect all the spider magic for herself. The Black Widow is not going to let anything stand in her way -- especially not Maria. The story of the ring is being woven like a web -- and Maria is going to have to do everything she can to not get trapped within it.

ISBN: 9780545682916
Pages: 224







Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, General
Reading Challenges: 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I always endeavor to provide my honest opinion regardless of the source of the book and do not allow receiving a book for free to influence my opinions in any way for any reason.

My Thoughts:

Maria is a seventh grader who is sort of the outcast, the odd girl whose family doesn’t have a lot of, well, anything. Her clothes are all second-hand because she is raised by a single mom and she would rather spend her time with her eccentric grandmother than doing much of anything else.

Grandma Esme has a lot of stories and a lot of secrets. Maria never imagined in her wildest dreams that any of those stories, or those secrets, could have really been true and that they would take her on the adventure, or the nightmare, of a lifetime.

The Spider Ring is the kind of middle grade read that will get the attention of both boys and girls because it has elements that will hold the interest of both. While having a female main character, something that we are lacking in a lot of MG fiction these days, the content is kind of icky and scary and more on the level of something that will draw in the boys. Then, of course, you throw in a bit of Jr High teasing and drama for the girls, and you have the complete package.

It did start a little on the slow side and I was kind of worried that I was not going to be able to get into it, but I hit about the 25% mark and the story took off on its own. While the pacing in the beginning was slow, that did improve toward the middle, though the end to me felt a bit rushed and like there was something missing from the story and that there needed to be something more. It’s hard for me to explain that without giving anything away.

Overall, if you like middle grade reads and you want something completely different, give this one a try. It very definitely is unique!


About Andrew Harwell

Andrew Harwell is a children’s book writer and editor living in Brooklyn, New York. He may or may not believe in magic.

Originally from Georgia, Andrew graduated from the University of Chicago, where he double-majored in Germanic Studies and Fundamentals: Issues and Texts (a major which here means a whole lot of reading and re-reading).

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Pinterest | Tumblr

Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge

The post ARC Review: The Spider Ring by Andrew Harwell appeared first on .

Review: The First Queen: A Dusk Gate Chronicles Short Story by Breanna Puttroff

The First Queen: A Dusk Gate Chronicles Short Story (The Dusk Gate Chronicles) by Breeana Puttroff
Published by Thirteen Pages Press on January 1st 1970

Becoming a queen isn't easy. It's even harder when you're about to be the first ruling queen your kingdom has ever had -- and you grew up in an entirely different world.

But somehow, Quinn and William will figure things out together.

The First Queen is a short story (around 10,000 words/40 pages) of some fun moments surrounding Quinn's coronation and her early marriage. The story comes between Blooms of Consequence and A Christmas Rose, for fans of the series.

I hope you enjoy this little taste of series history in preparation for the release of Book Seven.

Pages: 33







Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Young Adult
Also by this author: Seeds of Discovery (Dusk Gate Chronicles, #1), Roots of Insight (Dusk Gate Chronicles, #2), Blooms of Consequence: Book Four of The Dusk Gate Chronicles

This is by far one of my all time favorite series’. I have been going through withdrawals and missing my favorite characters, so was glad to get this little glimpse.

Did you ever wonder what happened leading up to The Christmas Rose? Did you wonder how the news of Quinn’s little secret spread? Did you wonder how things progressed and Ben became such an integral part of things? This will answer some of those questions.

Though the story is short and it really is just a glimpse, the pages are packed with bits of story that add so much to the already addictive series. I don’t know what I am going to do when I have to say goodbye to these characters.


About Breeana Puttroff

Breeana Puttroff has loved making up stories since she could talk. For many years, her biggest audience for those stories was the fantastic students she had the privilege of teaching.

One summer afternoon, while she was picnicking in the beautiful mountains of her Colorado home with her little girl, she saw an old, broken stone bridge, and she just knew there was a story inside. Six months later, the Dusk Gate Chronicles was born.

These days, she runs a small business and writes from home while planning math lessons, digging caterpillars out of garbage disposals (oops!), discovering how to make new colors out of crayons melted in the dryer, and drinking lots of coffee (and occasionally tea).

She loves it when readers connect with her on Facebook or Twitter, especially if they have new recipes for disastrously good times with kids.

Breeana holds a B.A. in English from the University of Northern Colorado, and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and Literacy from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Rating Report


Plot





Characters





Writing





Pacing





Cover





Overall:

The post Review: The First Queen: A Dusk Gate Chronicles Short Story by Breanna Puttroff appeared first on .

Review: 2012

2012 by Ted Stetson
Published by Smashwords Edition on January 19th 2011

Everyone said it's the last day of Earth and went outside and waited.

ISBN: 9781458112323







Format: eBook
Source: Free

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Fiction, General

Wow. I usually try not to write such a negative review. But, I just cannot help wondering what in the world I just read. Realistically, this was more flash fiction than anything else. And I generally have no objection to that. I have seen some beautifully written flash fiction. But this? This really should have seen another pair of eyes before the author hit the publish page.

It is an interesting premise. An asteroid headed for Earth could mean the end of the world. I had hoped the author would have done more with it, and yet I found this really lacking. The editing issues are glaring. Their when the word there should be, things like that.

Overall, I was sorely disappointed with this particular story.

The post Review: 2012 appeared first on .

Review: Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs

Déjà Dead Series: Temperance Brennan #1
by Kathy Reichs
Published by Pocket Books on August 25th 2015

People stepping into the world of forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, star of Kathy Reichs' electrifyingly authentic bestsellers. Her life is devoted to justice - for those she never even knew.

In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Tempe detects an alarming pattern - and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her - her best friend and her own daughter - in mortal danger...

ISBN: 1501122118
Pages: 640







Format: Kindle
Source: Library

This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Using these links is not required or necessary, but is always appreciated.

Buy on Amazon Goodreads
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Women Sleuths, Thrillers, Crime

I have long been a fan of the TV show Bones. When I found out the series was based on books, I dove right in, looking forward to getting my fix while waiting for the newest episodes to be available on Hulu.

I was rather surprised to see how much different the book was from the television show. I was absolutely floored, honestly, as there were so many drastic differences from what I was expecting. I always do this to myself. If I watch something, I have to read the book. If I read and enjoy the book, I have to watch whatever was based off of it or vise versa. I really should stop that. The two can never coincide close enough.

But overall, I really enjoyed the book. While I was disappointed in some of the differences, those differences also kept me interested because it was hard to know what would be coming next.

From start to finish this is a heart pounding, action packed novel that will keep you guessing and keep you on your toes. If you love a good murder mystery, you definitely want to pick this one up and give it a read.

The post Review: Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs appeared first on .