Summary
For the first time in nearly thirty years of marriage, Art McElroy Sr. buys his headstrong, disapproving wife a dozen yellow roses. Hours later he discovers her lifeless body seated on the toilet. Mae Rose McElroy's sudden death leaves a void in her family and in the entire Midwestern farming community of Fairview. It's a void Mae Rose will attempt to fill, herself, from the hereafter by meddling directly in earthly affairs.
Mae Rose's meddling leads to her spiritual expulsion from heaven, and she winds up in the body of Mary Lee Broadmoor (Scary Mary), a crusty writer and director of exquisite horror movies. Mary Lee refuses to succumb to stage-4 pancreatic cancer until she gets one final shot at an elusive Oscar. Like Mae Rose, who argues with God for a return to earth, Mary Lee pleads, from her Hollywood deathbed, for more time to complete her work, as her hospice nurse, Gertie Morgan, looks on.
The two women's spirits work together, and Mae Rose provides her host with a new script idea: a love story, based on her life! The script earns Mary Lee her coveted Academy Award, but the movie's release shocks and disturbs Mae Rose's family. They set out to find, and confront, the woman who has somehow co-opted, and publicly revealed, their personal tragedy.
Along the way, new love emerges as the reader meets a caste of crazy, eccentric, but highly memorable characters. "Death by Roses" suggests that relationships don't end at death, but continue until their ultimate purpose is achieved. The universe has every resource at its disposal to get the job done. It also has an amazing sense of humor.
My Thoughts
Death By Roses was not quite what I thought it was going to be. Im not sure why I assumed that it would be something else, but I just did. Maybe it is because of my preconceived ideas that I didn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped.
I was expecting more of a comedic book. Possibly a funny story about a murder (I know, that sounds weird... a funny murder?!) or something along those lines. That is not what this book is.
I was wondering if I was alone in my feelings of this book, so I read some reviews from other readers. One reviewer said it well when they described it as more of a life after death style book with very little humor.
The way Mae Rose died, the fact that Art and Mae Rose had such a disappointing relationship with each other, and the pettiness and bitterness she had made Death By Roses just simply not that enjoyable to read. I feel somewhat bad about writing a "not-so-great" review, but this is how I feel about it. I don't think that I would have even finished it if I hadn't been reading it to complete a certain challenge in a read-a-thon that I was participating in.
It honestly wasn't the worst book that U have ever read, but it wasn't the best book either. Like I stated before, I did go into this book with the wrong idea of what it was going to be about. So, with that being said, I may have enjoyed it a little more if I wasn't expecting something else. And, just because it wasn't my cup of tea, it doesn't mean that someone else might really enjoy it.
*Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
Henry and the Hidden Treasure is an imaginative adventure a young child has in defending his pocket money against his little sister. Henry constructs elaborate defensive measures that he is sure will stand up to the clever ambitions of Lucy. Little does he know, Lucy has a few tricks of her own.
With a focus on introducing children to the use of ordinal numbers, Henry and the Hidden Treasure also draws out some important qualities of being a kid – such as creativity, the value of listening to parental advice, and of course, being nice to your sister.
My Thoughts
Henry and the Hidden Treasure is a cute little children's book. I loved the story and the illustrations are wonderful! I teach Kindergarten, school starts back up next week, and I will definitely be taking this sweet little book to read to my class.
I don't get many requests to review children's books, and I'd say about have of the ones I do receive are just "ok", but this one is simply adorable! I highly recommend it!
*Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
Sixteen-year-old Selina can bend time, though she doesn’t realize it yet. She also has a rare disorder which makes it next to impossible to socialize and find what she wants most: a boyfriend. Of course, there’s always super-loyal family-friend Alex, who’s been by her side like a seizure alert dog every time she’s had an “incident.” He’d like very much to fill the position of boyfriend.
When a couple of aliens arrive on Earth in search of a time-bender they awkwardly flirt their way through Selina’s defenses and try to convince her she’s their only hope to defeat their planet’s enemies, whose next target is Earth. Now Selina is avoiding the truth: she not only has fallen for one of the aliens, she also loves Alex. If she leaves Earth she’ll never see him again. If she doesn’t go, she dooms Earth.
My Thoughts
I read this book several days ago but needed time to really think about it before posting my review. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this book. Was it entertaining? Yes. Did it keep me reading and wanting to see what happens next? Yes. So, why am I not completely sure how I feel about The Time Bender? I'll explain.
As an adult, who has read TONS of books, I had a hard time with a few things. I'll get to those in a minute. If I had read this when I was about 13-14 I would have loved it and not really noticed the things that bothered me as an adult reader. It really is an entertaining book! I don't want anyone to think that I hated it.
Now, the things that I had issues with...
The first is that Selina had almost no problem letting a stranger into her house. Even when he acted so super weird and his skin was an odd color for a human. Although, I do believe the book stated that her skin was a bluish color as well.
Next, when Marcum basically told her that she had powers she didn't seem to react like a normal person would have.
And then when Alex's dad told him his secret (I don't want to give too much away) Alex was just pretty much like "Ok, cool, no big deal!"
Those things were just too unbelievable to me. I do understand that most Scifi books are somewhat unbelievable but they're supposed to make you believe in them!
Anyways, like I said, as a young reader I probably wouldn't have noticed these things but as an adult I did. It is a good book and I will recommend it to younger readers. I wouldn't mind reading the others in the series when they become available.
Thank you, Debra Chapoton for sending this book to me!
Summary
Be careful what you wish for.
After moving from Vancouver to isolated Hazelton, BC, high school senior Rachel Barnes hopes she’ll finally find closure and a sense of direction after tragedy has torn her family apart. When she and her friends discover the old spirit box her grandmother gave her, they see it as a chance to wish their troubles away. But the Great Spirits—deer, crow, bear, and the mythical wendigo—give away nothing for free.
So instead of worrying about fitting in and finding a boyfriend, Rachel finds herself in a race to control the malevolent spirit who’s taken up residence in Mason Allen, who she fears and craves in equal measure. What began as a harmless game forces Rachel to confront her past—and offers her a future she never imagined.
My Thoughts
So, I opened up my planner a few days ago and realized that I had written in to try to review the book Harmless this week. I couldn't remember what it was about so I searched for the review request email and read the synopsis. It sounded pretty good so I wasn't worried, but at the same time, I sure was hoping that it would be the kind of book that I would be so into that I would want to put it down (You know, since I didn't have much time to read it being that I'm a procrastinator). Well... It was SO GOOD!
I seriously read it in 2 days. It would have been 1 day if I hadn't started it late at night! I really enjoyed it. Even after reading the synopsis, I was still surprised and kept on the edge of my seat.
Before reading Harmless I had never even heard the word wendigo, much less knew what one was. I really like learning about other cultures and things so I found that pretty cool. I don't know that I would ever want to meet one but learning about them was neat! Lol!
Harmless was left somewhat open ended. Hopefully that means there will be a sequel to this story! I would love to hear more about what happens with Mason and Rachel!
Thank you, Katherine, for sending this book to me! I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from you!
*Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
Marshall Hail was a husband, a father, a Physics Nobel prize winner and industrial billionaire. But when Hail's family was killed in a terrorist attack, he became a predator and redirected his vast industrial assets toward one goal, removing every person on the FBI's Top 10 Terrorist list. With the help of his MIT colleagues, Hail designed and built a devastating arsenal of attack drones of all shapes and sizes that are flown by the nation's best young gamers. The world will come to realize that Marshall Hail possesses the capability of getting to anyone, anywhere, at any time, unleashing an operation so disturbing that the CIA has named it Operation Hail Storm.
My Thoughts
Such a great book! It is fast-paced and certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I didn't want to have to put it down! The character development was phenomenal. My personal favorite is Kara!
Operation Hail Storm is the kind of book that somehow makes you feel a bit smarter when you've finished reading it. I feel like I learned so much more about technology but didn't feel like I was being forced to learn. So Good!
I honestly don't know that I would have picked this book up on my own. It's not the genre that I usually prefer. That is one thing that I love about reviewing books for people. They send books that I wouldn't necessarily pick out for myself, I read them, and then I end up a happy girl with an extended book genre preference! Love it!
*Note: I received copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
'Ten Tips for the Frazzled Parent, When You've Reached the End of Your Rope!' takes a behind the scenes look at the joys and frustrations of raising children. Most would agree there is never a dull moment with a child in the house, and several can be downright overwhelming! Having conceived and written the book in the parenting trenches, author Birgitta Karlén takes a real look at how fun, yet frustrating, demanding, challenging and sometimes silly the job of parenting can be. Illustrator Michael Pugliese brilliantly captures the nuance of the family dynamic, with his loveable characters and true-to-life depictions. Parents and caregivers alike will find these ten bits of parenting "wisdom" charming and irresistibly funny!
My Thoughts
Ten Tips For The Frazzled Parent is such a cute little book. It would be a great baby shower gift for a new parent. The illustrations are fun and so relevant (great job, Michael Pugliese!).
I especially loved tip #4 "Even though it may seem like they are trying to kill you...slowly...you are the light of their lives."
It's a really small, short book that is a quick and fun little read. Thanks, Birgitta Karlén, for sending it to me!
*Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
The Elephant Picture Book is a delightful picture book for children (ages 4-8) that tells about the differences (and similarities) between African elephants and Asian elephants. It also provides a special look at a group of elephants at Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand, a place where overworked and abused elephants have found a safe and loving home in a natural environment. Photographer Michael Owens captures both the gentleness and the majesty of these enchanting animals in his full-color photographs that are guaranteed to delight both young readers and their parents alike.
My Thoughts
I took this book to my class (I teach First and Second grade at a private school) and they LOVED it! I read it to them first and then they wanted to take turns looking at it at their desks. The book stayed in my classroom for the rest of the school year and will be returning when school starts back up in August!
The Elephant Picture Book was a bit hit in my classroom! Thank you, Jack Roberts, for sending this book to me!
*Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
