Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson

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NetGalley Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson
Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson opens with the main character traveling to a magic show prove his ex-wife's innocence in a murder. It involves ruling out the different people in the show. Will Ernest prove that his ex-wife is innocent without ruining things with his fiancé?

First and foremost, a big thank you to NetGalley for approving me to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The approval for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) came after the book was already published and being busy with the holidays both contributed to the delay of me reading and reviewing the book.

The synopsis intrigued me, and I wasn't sure what to expect from this author as I haven't read anything by him before. However, it feels like Benjamin Stevenson is following a step by step guide provided to him in a writing class because the main character keeps mentioning how things should go according to "the norm". I find it quite annoying and invasive to the actual story. The actual motive to the murder was plausible, but the execution of how it was done was a bit far fetched to me. Additionally, I didn't particularly care for any of the characters.

The story had the ability to be fantastic but was lackluster. I am going to give the author another chance, but Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret (Ernest Cunningham, #3) by Benjamin Stevenson wasn't really for me. With that being said, it might be right up your alley. Three out of five stars.

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