Dalya and the Magic Ink Bottle Review

 

Dalya and the Magic Ink Bottle

By: J. M. Evenson

Capstone

Capstone Editions

Children's Fiction, Middle Grade

Publish Date: September 1. 2020

#Dalyaandthe MagicInkBottle

#NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

This was fun middle grade. I gave it 4 stars.

This book is about a 12 year old girl who learns about family and friends.

She isn't thrilled about spending her summer vacation in Turkey with her dad. Her parents are divorce and her dad is always working and hasn't spent much time with. He promises he will spend time with on this trip to reconnect with her but ends up breaking this promise on the first day.

She finds a bottle under some floorboards and discovers that it is magic and she wishes to go home. Does she go home no she ends up going back in time still in Turkey but now she is a cat. She wants to get back and has to figure out how to do so. 

She finds some friends in a girl, a dog and a rat. Does she learn how to become a good friend? Does she learn about how important a family? More important does she get back home?

This was a lot of fun and adventure in here and I would recommend that you read it.

Kind of a Big Deal Review

 

Kind of a Big Deal 

By: Shannon Hale

Macmillian Children's Publishing

Roaring Brook Press

Teens and YA

Publish Date August 25, 2020

#KindofaBigDeal

#NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

I want to thank Net Galley for the chance to review all these book I have received lately. Only a few haven't been very good and for the most part I have enjoyed the books I have received. 

This book surprised me and I ended up enjoying it. I was afraid at the start that I wasn't going to like it but ended up enjoying it enough to give it 4 stars.

This book is about a high school drop out who is learning herself. She only dropped out of school to go to Broadway because of the encouragement of her drama teacher who gave her high hopes.

She didn't do well and ends up being a Nanny to a little and living in Montana. She starts introducing herself to make friends but always adds that she is a big deal which of course turns people off.

One day she and her charge go to a bookstore and she gets a book and some reading glasses because all of sudden she can't see the words on the page clearly.

They go to a park and her charge goes and plays with the other children and she sits down to read and has to put on the glasses. She finds herself inside the story and at first she doesn't understand what is happening. She recognizes the people but they have different names and different lives.

She is able to pull out of the story with hardly any time missing. She is excited and intrigued about what happens.

Later at home she try's to read the story again to go back into the book and she can't. She doesn't understand why she can't.

She goes back to the bookstore and gets another book and goes back to the park and she is able to enter into the new story. She thinks it is either the tea that a friend is giving her or the park bench she is sitting on. She is gone longer this time and it worries her charge.

She finally figures out what is causing her to go into the story line and then she learns that she can't leave and has to figure how to get back to the real world. In the process of this she learns a lot about herself and what she truly wants.

It is a little slow at the beginning but really does get better especially when she enters into the books.

I would recommend that you give this book a try.

Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister Review

 

Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister

By: Gregory Maquire

Harper Collins Publishers

William Morrow

General Fiction (Adult)/ Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Publish Date March 17, 2009

#Confessions ofanUglyStepsister

#NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

This was an interesting book. It is a different retelling of Cinderella. I like the back information on the step mother and the two step sisters. I really like getting to know them better.  I really liked that the sisters weren't as mean as the original. The step mother wasn't only mean to the step daughter but also to her own.

I also like that the father was killed off. It was fine and I enjoyed it. I gave it 4 stars. It had a slow beginning but picked up as things started happening.

Dwarf Story Review

 

Dwarf Story

By: Professor W. M. Marplot

Waxing Gibbous

Middle Grade

Publish Date June 30, 2020

#DwarfStory #NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

What do I want to say about this book. It started off great but ended up dragging. This book is 388 pages long and it could have been shorter. Around 60% I started getting bored with the book. I enjoy reading middle grade because they are quick and fast to read but this book was not and I found myself not wanting to read it.

I did love the story line and what was going on but it could have been done in 250 to 300 pages. There was a lot happening but also a lot of dead space that was needless. I did like the pixies and dwarf and the other fairy creatures. The mystery was also good. 

I enjoyed the libraries that were mentioned and that it had different children from family types. For example: A rich kid, a only child and a child from a large family.

I only gave this a low 3 star rating because of the dragging of the story. Sorry but I want my middle grade to be quick and fast and entertaining.

Shorefall Book Review

 

Shorefall A Novel

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine

Del Rey

Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Publish Date: April 21, 2020

#Shorefall #NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/5d0c9d0fccf0e4ac2a95598542e70f18c68d2424" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

This is the second book in a series. I just finished the first book at the beginning of the month. I gave that one 4 stars. This book I only gave 3 stars to. It was a slower read for me and I was confused most of the time while reading it. I did enjoy it but there was a lot going on and a whole bunch of plot twist that I got lost a lot. The story line was good and the ending was great leading you up to prepare for the next book. 

The plot twist near the end kept you guessing on who was who and who was lying. You just didn't know who to believe.

I do like his writing and recommend that you read his books but for me this book was just confusing.

What She Knew Review

 

What She Knew

A Novel

By: Gilly Macmillan

Harper Collins Publishers

William Morrow Paperbacks

Mystery and Thrillers

Publish Date: December 1, 2015

#WhatSheKnew #NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/c006ae40a94b6f4991f8876a64b57ba03bd72610" width="80" height="80" alt="25 Book Reviews" title="25 Book Reviews"/>

I was really surprised by this book. No one really wants to read about a child being abducted but she did a really good job. I would highly recommend this book. You get many clues but the person who actually did it came out of the blue because they weren't mentioned much in the book.

This book is about an 8 year old boy who is abducted in the woods while walking his dog with his mom. He actually runs ahead and is to meet his mom at the swing by a pond. At first she didn't want him to run ahead but she knew she had to give him some independence. 

At first she thinks he is playing a game but after awhile she realizes he is gone along with the dog. There are several people in the area doing their things but she happens to find one of friends and his dad and they help her look and they find the dog with a broken leg. They finally decide that they need to call the police.

The police are now involved and the search is on. The parents are divorced and the father is remarried.

There is a lot happening in this story and you get caught up in the story and are hoping they the boy alive. You also are trying to figure out who would kidnap a boy and put a family through this and you get mad. 

I gave this book 4 stars.

The War Widow Review

 

The War Widow

By: Tara Moss

Penguin Group Dutton

Dutton

Mystery and Thrillers 

Published Date May 5, 2020

#TheWarWidow #NetGalley

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/c006ae40a94b6f4991f8876a64b57ba03bd72610" width="80" height="80" alt="25 Book Reviews" title="25 Book Reviews"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/9a41056d7201c045d3f9e5c161f9569494687ae1" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>

I will have to say that this book surprised me. I thought this book was not only written well but was a joy to read. It had me guessing. I really enjoyed reading it and gave it 4 stars. I highly recommend this book. 

I had this book from net galley for and forgot that it was a mystery story so I was surprised when I read it because I thinking it was more of a love story. It had some historical events mentioned and is set in Australia. I haven't read too many books set there.

I am always up to reading a book with a female character set that time period who does something out of the ordinary. 

Our main character is a female PI right after the second world war. She has taken over her father's business after he has passed away. In the war she a reporter and her missing husband was a photographer. She is hired to find a missing boy and there are things that happen that makes this more than a missing person. The police aren't interested in finding this teenager so that is why se is hired. 

She has some interesting things happen to her to keep while she is trying to find this boy. She is a tough lady and does a great job and doesn't give up. She doesn't have a lot of clients because she is a female but she is able to maintain a office and an assistance who is a war veteran. 

She has friends in the police force and a few enemies who were actually her fathers. She uses her gut feelings and knowledge learned from the war.  

Just a great book to take in and learn a little history at the same time.