Book Review: All the Ice Cream in the Land by Emmy Kastner

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All the Ice Cream in the Land  by Emmy Kastner  is about a princess, the kingdom she lives in, and her loyal subjects. Full of twists and turns, children will surely delight in this story about ice cream. When I saw the title and cover art of this kid's book, it made me instantly think of my childhood and how I would've loved a book like this one. A huge shout out and thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for approving my request to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The storyline is very easy to follow, making it especially suitable for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers, particularly children between the ages of two and six. Its straightforward narrative and clear structure make it an excellent choice for read-aloud sessions at home, bedtime stories, or classroom story time. While there is limited character development, which is typical for a picture book format, the princess is still an intere...
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Book Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

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Book Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
book review secluded cabin sleeps six lisa unger
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger opens with Hannah and her family celebrating Christmas with dinner. All the gifts have been opened, with the exception of some that are from Santa. However, no one is owning up to being Santa. Fast forward six months, Hannah, her husband, brother, sister-in-law, and her best friend with a boyfriend in tow are getting together for a long weekend where secrets are spilled.

Wow! I have no words to describe how much I absolutely loved this Lisa Unger story. It kept my interest from the start of the book, and I would love to see it turned into a movie.

Told from several characters perspectives and alternating timelines, it kept me guessing for the most part. Lisa Unger did a fantastic job of keeping it easy for the reader to follow without any issues.

However, I did figure out the connection between Trina and Cat to the rest of the story relatively early on. With that being said, I didn't quite figure out the connection between Henry and the rest of the characters. I loved the suspicion thrown on some of the characters that had me second guessing myself.

I loved Hannah, Cricket, and Henry but wasn't sure if I liked Liza. I didn't trust Bruce, Joshua, or Bracken. And, I didn't particularly like Mako or Sophia. So, there were definitely a variety of characters to love and dislike. I hate it when none of the characters are likable, so having a few characters with redeeming qualities was a huge plus for me.

What was a bit eerie was that I was reading a lot of the story when Hurricane Helene was hitting Florida and Georgia, and the story takes place in those two states. Additionally, there was a big storm coming in the book that would cause a lot of flooding, power outages, and issues with people being able to leave the area.

There were a couple of nights I stayed up entirely too late to finish reading this book. This one that I will definitely be rereading in the future. Five out of five stars is what I give Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger.

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