The Piraroo by Marko Kitti

Summary

Dear Reader,

I’m afraid you’re soon going to meet a tarantula the size of a kitten. You’re also going to bump into a whopper of a seagull who is the British Champion in Poop Bombing. Not to mention an extraordinary, furry creature whose ancestor once belonged to a notorious pirate captain.

You’re also going to meet a ten-year-old boy called Max, the owner of the tarantula, whose life is about to turn upside down in this nail-biting adventure that includes petnappers and disgusting healthy smoothies!

So I am warning you, Dear Reader: Should you decide to read about Max and his animal friends, your life will never be the same again.

Yours sincerely,
MK


My Thoughts

This was a cute little book for children of all ages!  I am not a stranger to books by Marko Kitti and this one is just as good as the others!  I quite enjoyed it!

I do have to say, I am not a fan of spiders.  So, it wasn't my favorite thing to read about! Haha!  However, I did sympathize with poor Max.  When your pet is your family, the love is real!  Also, the illustrations were fun!  I found myself wanting to color them!  I actually might do that later!

Overall, this was a fun book and I recommend reading it to/with the children in your life!  Enjoy!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple

Summary

With all his family and friends gone, one-hundred-year-old Murray McBride is looking for a reason to live. He finds it in Jason Cashman, a ten-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect and a list of five things he wants to do before he dies. Together, they race against the limited time each has left, ticking off wishes one by one. Along the way, Murray remembers what it's like to be young, and Jason fights for the opportunity to grow old. But when tragedy strikes, their worlds are turned upside-down, and an unexpected gift is the only thing that can make Jason's final wish come true.


My Thoughts

Oh my goodness... this book...

I knew from the start that I was going to like this book.  The summary told me that much.  And then, literally within the first few pages I knew that I was going to enjoy it!

I also love the writing style.  The personalities in this book are so well written and they feel so real!

The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride should really be a movie.  I could picture each scene while reading this book.  It has a great mixture of humor and drama.  I honestly teared up quite a bit with this one.

The ending hit me a little hard, I must say.  It was so good yet I was so upset!  I don't want to spoil it so you'll just have to pick it up for yourself.

I'm so glad this book was sent my way!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Memory Tree by John A. Heldt

Summary

Days after barely escaping 1889 with their lives, the Carsons, siblings from the present day, resume their search for their missing parents in 1918. While Adam and his pregnant wife, Bridget, settle in Minnesota, unaware of a wildfire that will kill hundreds, Greg seeks clues in his great-grandparents' Mexico, where he finds love, danger, and enemies. At the same time, Natalie, the ambitious journalist, follows a trail to World War I France, and teen twins Cody and Caitlin rekindle a friendship with an old Pennsylvania friend haunted by her past. In THE MEMORY TREE, the sweeping sequel to RIVER RISING, several time travelers find answers and meaning as they continue the adventure of a lifetime in the age of doughboys, silent movies, and Model T's.


My Thoughts

The Memory Tree is the second book in the Carson Chronicles series.  Not I read the first book, River Rising, and enjoyed it so I jumped at the chance to read this one.  I can't say that I was disappointed.

I do believe that the first time travel book I read was written by John A Heldt.  That book was where I found a love for time travel books.  I have enjoyed all of his books ever since.

While I enjoy all of his books, I'm not sure that this one is at the top of the list.  It's still great, just not my favorite.  I may have enjoyed River Rising more than this one, but it was still quite good.

Thank you, John A. Heldt, for sending this book my way!  I am a fan!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Burglars and Blintzes by Morgan C. Talbot

Summary

Moorehaven is swarming with guests during summer’s last hurrah, and Pippa has her hands full at the mystery-author B&B. When her gossip-group connections inform her that a local construction project has unearthed a skeleton with a pocketful of Spanish gold, the news spreads, and treasure hunters flood the beaches. But the skeleton has a more recent connection to the area than anyone suspected, unearthing a shameful secret that hits far too close to home.

A marine salvage team rolls into town, seeking the rest of the treasure. When they hire Pippa’s boyfriend, Lake, to be their pilot, the team’s pretty spelunker quickly stakes a claim, rousing Pippa’s jealousy. But Pippa’s been playing tug-of-war over Lake ever since his ex-wife, Mallory Tavish, became the new acting chief of police.

When a killer’s strike brings tragedy to Moorehaven’s door, Pippa must rally her friends, family, and mystery-writing guests to catch the murderer before she loses someone she can’t live without and all the warmth of summer dies with one last gasp.


My Thoughts

Oh, Morgan Talbot, you've done it again!  I loved the first Moorehaven Mysteries book and I just may have loved this one even more!  

Cozy mysteries are definitely at the top of my reading preferences so when I received the review request for this book I was pretty excited.  Not to mention the fact that I was already a fan of Morgan Talbot and pretty invested in Pippa's story.  I love the relationship between Lake and Pippa!

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries then I am sure you will enjoy this book!  Pick it up and settle in for a great story!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Afterlife of Walter Augustus by Hannah Lynn

Summary

Walter Augustus is dead. His current state of existence has become a monotony of sweet tea and lonely strolls and after decades stuck in the Interim — a posthumous waiting room for those still remembered on Earth — he is ready to move on. Only when he is forgotten by every living person will he be able to pass over and join his family in the next stage of the afterlife. At last the end is tantalizingly close, but bad luck and a few rash decisions may see him trapped in the Interim for all eternity. 

Letty Ferguson is not dead. Letty Ferguson is a middle-aged shoe saleswoman who leads a pleasant and wholly unextraordinary life, barring the secret fortune she seems unable to tell her husband about. However, when she takes possession of an unassuming poetry anthology, life takes on a rather more extraordinary dimension.


My Thoughts

The Afterlife of Walter Augustus is definitely a book unlike any others I have ever read.  That is for sure.  I wasn't sure if I would like it but I actually did!

It's an interesting thought that you can't move on if you are still thought of by anyone.  I'm sure glad that's not how it really works!  I don't know if it would be flattering or annoying to know that you are in someone's thoughts.  And, for that matter, would it be hurtful to never be thought of at all?!

I did enjoy both characters, Walter and Letty.  I did not, however, like Hector!  Whew!  Then there's Pemberton.  I grew to appreciate his character as well.  You'll have to read the book to know why!

Overall, not a bad book at all!  I quite enjoyed it!  So glad it was sent my way!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You Can't Sell Right Field by Brian Tarcy

Summary

Every small resort town in America faces huge development pressures. This is the story of one such town.

In the summer resort town of Vermouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, Cletis Bord is the town garbageman and the shortstop on the Townies softball team in the Vermouth Softball League. His best friend, Bobby Linster, the second baseman, just sold the Linster family land that is the right field of their longtime softball field. You can't sell right field. Can you?

You can if a well-dressed slick-talking developer claiming to be an heir to Walt Disney comes spreading money around like lottery winnings to 19 Vermouth landowners, including the Linster family.

And that's how Cletis Bord, an unambitious stoner got involved with other town characters, and even an endangered species, trying to win an election to stop a zoning change that would allow a huge development to change his hometown forever.

Set during a softball season pennant race during an idyllic summer on Cape Cod, You Can't Sell Right Field follows the Townies as they split apart over the zoning change and try to come together to win softball games and the championship.

By the end of this love story for his hometown, Cletis, the narrator, finds his own version of love, grows up some and learns an important lesson about small-town democracy.

My Thoughts

I'm not quite sure how to classify this book.  Not really sure how to rate it.  It wasn't super great.  It wasn't horrible either.  It was just simply ok.  Somewhere between 'meh' and good.  I hope that makes sense.

There were times when it felt like I was reading about The Sandlot kids all grown up with mediocre lives.  That was when it was a bit more enjoyable.  Then there were times when I got kind of bored with it.

I honestly don't think it was a bad book!  I just don't think it was the right book for me.  I will say, there are times when I feel like I completely wasted my time with a book.  This didn't feel like a complete waste of time.  There were good parts.  It just wasn't a good fit for me.

*Note:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Tangled Ruse by Laura Beers

Summary

After a failed abduction attempt, Lady Rachel is sent into hiding on her uncle’s estate near the sleepy village of Rockcliffe on the shores of Scotland. As she struggles to cope with the nightmares of her past, she unwittingly stumbles into even greater danger than she left behind. And this time, Shadow isn't around to save her.

Luke Beckett, the Marquess of Downshire, was content running his stud farm in solitude, far from the scheming of the devious women of Society. That is, until his neighbor's infuriatingly contrary niece rides into his life. Hiding behind the guise of a common horse trainer, he begins to form a peculiar friendship with Lady Rachel, without the constraints of his title. However, the longer the ruse continues, the more Luke realizes there is much more at stake than just their friendship.

With the looming threat of a French invasion, Luke and Rachel must work together to stop the tangled web of treachery before it is too late. When the truth is finally revealed, will they have the strength to trust each other with their hearts, or will the fear of rejection destroy their relationship before it has a chance to begin?


My Thoughts

Once again.... I loved a Laura Beers book!  I am never disappointed in her books!  I am a major fan!

There are some books that I receive for review and I'm just not sure about how I'm going to like them.  At times I feel a bit anxious because I worry about writing unfavorable reviews.  However, with Laura Beers books, I never worry!

The first of her books that I read was Saving Shadow.  That one was extremely good and I was a fan from that point on.  There is just something about her books that keeps my attention and makes me smile!

One thing that I absolutely love about these books is ow they continue from one story to the next.  Like, Saving Shadow for example.  As you read, you learn about a few side characters.  Then, the next book in the series focuses on one of the side characters from the previous book!  And so on and so on!  I absolutely love that!

I loved (and sometimes hated) Luke and Rachel!  They were very well written characters.  I found myself annotating like crazy in this book!  There were just so many thoughts in my head while reading this and I needed to get them in the book!  The sarcasm and humor are my favorite.

In case you haven't figured it out, I loved this book!  I have already been recommending it like crazy!  Thanks again, Laura Beers, for sending it my way!

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.