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Showing posts from July, 2023

Book Review: Better Than Revenge by Kasie West

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Better Than Revenge by Kasie West is a young adult romance novel with an expected publication date of December 31, 2024. The story opens with Finlay auditioning for the school podcast. Jenson, her boyfriend, decides to audition as well at the last minute and happens to get the position Finlay has been wanting for years. Jenson overheard saying that Finlay is terrible, and Finlay breaks up with him and seeks out to get her revenge by becoming the new starting kicker for the football team. Can Finlay pull off this feat? A big thank you goes out to NetGalley for approving and providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of Better Than Revenge by Kasie West. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. First and foremost, West did a fantastic job with this story. I was pulled into the storyline right off the bat and had trouble putting it down. Despite it being a young adult romance novel and me not being the target audience, I absolutely loved it!  The author had me ...
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Book Review: Death by Food Truck: 4 Cozy Culinary Mysteries by Joi Copeland, Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, and Teresa Ives Lilly

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Death by Food Truck: 4 Cozy Culinary Mysteries by Joi Copeland, Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, and Teresa Ives Lilly is a collection of four novellas that are loosely related to each other.  There are a rash of deaths at the Birch Point Lake Park linked to four different food trucks.  This book collection was published on July 1, 2023. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Barbour Publishing for approving my request to read Death by Food Truck: 4 Cozy Culinary Mysteries by Joi Copeland, Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, and Teresa Ives Lilly.  I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.  When I requested to read this book, I didn't realize that the stories had religion in them.  Had I known this, I wouldn't have requested it. Overall, I would have enjoyed the stories much more had they not been religious, especially the first novella.  I felt like the first author was cramming religion down my...
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Book Review: Scariest. Book. Ever. (Goosebumps House of Shivers, #1) by R.L. Stine

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Scariest. Book. Ever. (Goosebumps House of Shivers, #1) by R.L. Stine is a new book series for children in middle grades.  It opens with twins Betty and Billy being dropped off at their Uncle Wendell's house while their parents fly to London for two weeks.  What their parent's don't know is that someone is after Wendell and one of his books.  To keep the book safe, the twins must help their uncle. First and foremost, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Scholastic for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC).  As a tween and teen, I loved R.L. Stine's Fear Street book series, so I was excited to be approved to receive Scariest. Book. Ever. (Goosebumps House of Shivers, #1) for free in exchange for my honest review.  I solely requested this book because of that, so I had no idea what to expect going into the story. I'm not the target audience for this book, but I'm sure I would've loved it if I was eight to ten years old.  There were a few red herrings, which was ex...
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Book Review: Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) by Barbara Ross

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Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) by Barbara Ross is the first book in a series about a family owned clambake business on an island in Maine.  When Julia Snowden returns home to Busman's Harbor to help her mother, sister, and brother-in-law to help with the family business, she finds a corpse hanging from the banister of their family summer home, which causes the local police detectives the shut the business down.  Who murdered the victim?  Will the Snowden Clambake be able to withstand being closed during the investigation? Barbara Ross is a phenomenal story teller and weaves such an extraordinary tale that I was completely sucked into Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) . Time seemed inconsequential, and the story played like a movie in my mind.  I have absolutely fallen in love with the Maine Clambake Mystery series. There were twists and turns aplenty, and I wasn't exactly who the culprit was going to be.  With that being said, I did know that s...
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Book Review: How to Catch Santa Claus by Alice Walstead

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How to Catch Santa Claus by Alice Walstead is a children's picture book about Santa Claus delivering presents on Christmas Eve and trying to evade traps that kids have hidden in their houses to catch good old St. Nick.  Published by Sourcebooks Kids, this holiday book is due out on September 1, 2023.  A huge thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Kids for approving my request to read this book. Having always loved the Christmas holidays, I enjoyed reading How to Catch Santa Claus as it brought back all the excitement I had as a little kid waiting for Santa Claus to visit my house and leave gifts.  As a child, I even asked my parents to stay up late and take a photo of the elusive St. Nick . . . a photo my parents gave me the day after Christmas.  Anywho, this book catches all the excitement a child might feel on Christmas Eve.  The writing was well done and the illustrations intriguing. This is the perfect book to read with young children that they should find...
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Book Review: Never Lie by Freida McFadden

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Never Lie by Freida McFadden opens with newlyweds Tricia and Ethan driving to a house showing that is in the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm.  The house once belonged to a psychiatrist who just happened to be murdered.  Upon arriving, they've lost cell phone service and realize that they're going to be snowed in.  Finding a set of keys, the married couple settle in for the night.  While searching for something to keep her entertained, Tricia finds a secret room full of cassette tapes and decides to play one.  What Tricia learns about the former owner unravels a web of lies. Freida McFadden is an author I've heard a lot about in the online book groups I belong to, and the other members have raved about several of the author's novels.  Not knowing much about her writing style or books, I decided to place holds on several of McFadden's novels at my local public library. Entertaining and fast paced, Never Lie by Freida McFadden held my interest, and I fi...
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