About The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart
Aventurine is the fiercest, bravest dragon there is. And she’s ready to prove it to her family by leaving the safety of their mountain cave and capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human. But when the human she finds tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, Aventurine is transformed into a puny human girl with tiny blunt teeth, no fire, and not one single claw.
But she’s still the fiercest creature in the mountains — and now she’s found her true passion: chocolate! All she has to do is get herself an apprenticeship (whatever that is) in a chocolate house (which sounds delicious), and she’ll be conquering new territory in no time…won’t she?
My Review The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart is one of the most fun books I’ve read in a long time. I loved Aventurine’s spunky nature and her passion for chocolate. The story consistently shows her struggle with baffling human customs contrasted with her more familiar dragon ways. I loved the characters from Aventurine’s wily friend Silke to the strict chocolatier Marina.
On her journey, Aventurine discovers a love for chocolate which will certainly appeal to chocolate-loving readers, but she also learns to value humans despite how strange and different they are from dragons. When her new human friends become threatened by her dragon family, Aventurine must use all her wits and newfound understanding to bring the two sides together peacefully in the same way she’s had to make peace with her dragon and human self.
Readers who enjoyed Tuesdays at the Castle or Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George definitely need to give this book a read! Keep some chocolate handy to snack on, because you’re surely going to crave it.
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Cultural Elements
Brief reference to Aventurine’s friend having brown hands. Not much in the way of race or description details given other than that.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content The story contains dragons and some magic elements, mostly in that some humans use magic to fight dragons or affect certain tasks, like food preparation.
Violent Content Humans and dragons are enemies. Dragons eat humans (not shown in the story, but briefly discussed) and humans tried to kill dragons they encountered in the past.
Drug Content
Enchanted hot chocolate turns Aventurine into a human.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I’m today’s stop on the Bloomsbury Blog Tour celebrating the release of two fantastic middle grade books: The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis and The Frog Princess Returns by E. D. Baker. I’m so excited to share both of these books, and I’ve got excerpts to share and a chance to win both books, so read on and enjoy!
The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart
Stephanie Burgis
Bloomsbury
Published May 30, 2017
About The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart Aventurine is the fiercest, bravest dragon there is. And she’s ready to prove it to her family by leaving the safety of their mountain cave and capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human. But when the human she finds tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, Aventurine is transformed into a puny human girl with tiny blunt teeth, no fire, and not one single claw.
But she’s still the fiercest creature in the mountains — and now she’s found her true passion: chocolate! All she has to do is get herself an apprenticeship (whatever that is) in a chocolate house (which sounds delicious), and she’ll be conquering new territory in no time…won’t she?
Excerpt from The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart
He hesitated a moment. Then he leaned down and scooped up a wooden spoon from the ground, his hand trembling. “Trust me,” he said. “You should have the full experience.”
As his face squeezed tight with concentration, he began to whisper to himself, almost chanting the words. Was he singing that stupid song again? The rhythms didn’t sound quite the same, but who needed to hear more human nonsense? Not me. I didn’t even try to make it out.
The moment he reached into his pocket, though, I grabbed his shoulder with one claw. “No swords!”
“I—I…” He stuttered to a halt. “It’s not a sword,” he finally managed. “Look.” He pulled out a bag from his pocket. “It’s just cinnamon.”
Cinnamon? I leaned down toward the bag suspiciously. If he was trying to poison me…
“I’ll eat some myself,” he said. “Look.” He reached one shaking finger into the bag and scooped out a few orangey-brown specks. Then he swallowed them. “See?”
I smelled, which was even better. The open bag smelled amazing.
“Put it in,” I ordered. I wanted to smell that combination. I could already tell that the mixture of cinnamon and chocolate would be wonderful.
He shook in a few pinches, still breathing hard.
Ohhhh, I had been right. These new smells were even better.
I was almost starting to wish that I didn’t’ have to take him home afterward for my family to eat. It would be much more satisfying to keep this human as a pet, to make hot chocolate for me any time I wanted.
He would be a hardworking pet, too, I could tell. As he stirred the hot chocolate, he kept on whispering to himself the whole time in that funny rhythmic chant, his whole body taut with concentration. I suppose I could have listened harder, to try to pick out his words, but really, when had I ever cared about anything humans said? Besides, I was far too busy enjoying the smells from his pot. If I could have, I would have wrapped myself up in those steamy tendrils of scent and rolled around in them for hours. Hot chocolate. Talk about a treasure fit for a dragon!
I’d have to look for more chocolate in his luggage when I finished here. I already knew I would have to have hot chocolate again. Lots of it.
Finally, he looked up and gave me a nervous, wavering smile. “It’s ready,” he said. “Shall I pour it into a cup, or…”
I snorted, sending a ball of smoke flying past his face. “Do you really think I could drink from one of your tiny human cups?”
“I suppose not,” he said. “You’d better drink it from the pot then.” He wrapped one soft, human hand in his outer covering for protection, and then lifted the pot by its long handle. “Look out, it’s hot.”
I gave him a contemptuous look as I reached out with one forefoot. “I’m a dragon.”
My claws curved around the little pot, cradling it like the most precious of gems. Carefully, I lifted it to my mouth. Closing my eyes, I tipped the luxuriant, hot liquid into my mouth.
Ohhhhh!
Bliss exploded through my sense. I reeled with pleasure.
Chocolate chocolate chocolate—
“Ahhh!”
And then everything exploded inside me, and the world went black.
The Frog Princess Returns
E. D. Baker
Bloomsbury
Published June 6, 2017
About The Frog Princess Returns Fans of E. D. Baker’s The Frog Princess, rejoice! Fifteen years after the original, Princess Emma, Prince Eadric, and all the beloved characters are back for another magical adventure from popular author E. D. Baker.
Two weeks after Emma’s birthday, Prince Eadric — having been turned from a frog into a human again — is still in Greater Greensward. One day, a beautiful princess named Adara arrives at the castle in Greater Greensward for a visit, claiming to be Emma’s distant cousin. But Adara has other motives that threaten Emma and Eadric’s blossoming romance.
Meanwhile, something is very wrong in Greater Greensward. Crops are dying, streams are drying up, and large sections of trees in the enchanted forest are withering — all because the Fairy Queen has disappeared. Without her, there is no peace in the magical kingdom, and dangerous foes threaten to take advantage of her absence. Only brave, tenacious Emma with her knowledge of the land can restore order . . . but first she must set out on a journey unlike any before.
Brimming with lovable characters and page-turning magic, The Frog Princess Returns will bring a whole new batch of readers to E. D. Baker’s highly acclaimed, wonderfully popular world of Frog Princess series.
Excerpt from The Frog Princess Returns
We had reached the top of the stairs when Adara announced that she wasn’t feeling well and was on her way to bed. She was walking away when a guard approached. He told me that someone was waiting to talk to me in the Great Hall. Eadric and I looked at each other, wondering who it could be at that hour. Following the guard, we entered the Hall and found a middle-aged man wearing the clothes of a farmer sitting on a bench by the door.
“I’m sorry to disturb you so late in the day, Your Highness, but I came right after I saw what had happened and it took me a while to get here,” said the farmer. “I’m Johnson. My fields are next to the enchanted forest. I planted my crops there because of the fairies. They take good care of the forest, and the dust they use runs off into the fields around it, making them healthy, too. I’ve had some of my best harvests ever since I started planting those fields. I would have had a great harvest this year if this hadn’t happened. It’s my wheat, you see. Someone gave it the blight.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I don’t know what I can do about it,” I told the man. “Haven’t you ever dealt with the blight before?”
Johnson nodded. “Back before I planted near the forest, it happened every few years, but it was never like this. It’s not the blight itself, you see. It’s the way it hit my wheat. Some wheat has it and some doesn’t. It’s made a pattern like a big circle. Darndest thing I ever saw.”
“Really?” I said. “You think someone might have infected your crop with the blight deliberately?
“I can’t think of any other reason it would look like that. Who would do such a thing to a man’s wheat?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” I replied. “I’ll come look at it tomorrow.”
First Maple and Water Lily, now Farmer Johnson. Something must be really wrong.
Visit the Other Stops on the Blog Tour
Check out some of the other great blogs participating in this tour. There are guest posts and interviews with the authors as well as some other fun tidbits– not to mention you might want to add a few of these blogs to your own reading list.
I started reading an e-book version Tales of the Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, and for some reason thought it was a short story collection. Only after I finished did I realize it was actually the first three books in the series packaged together as one e-book. Which actually made me feel better, because it took me a lot longer to read than I anticipated! Here’s a quick take on each of the first three books in the series.
The Frog Princess (Tales of the Frog Princess #1)
Probably the most significant departure from the familiar fairy tale which inspired this story is that Princess Emeralda (Emma) is also a witch. Her aunt and mentor, also the country’s most powerful witch and protector, teaches Emma to use spells and control her power, something Emma struggles with and has very little confidence about for much of the story. When she retreats to a pond outside the castle for some solitude, she meets Eadric, a talking frog who claims to be a prince under a curse.
Eadric finally convinces Emma to break his spell by kissing him, only something goes wrong. Instead of returning Eadric to his human form, Emma becomes a frog. The two set out to find the witch who transformed Eadric to begin with so they can have her explain what went wrong and undo the spell. While Emma is smart, sweet, and eager to please, Eadric is a bit proud and sometimes obnoxious. Despite all that, Emma seems to gradually fall for him. The two encounter some peril along the way from predators and a witch who needs two talking frogs for a spell of her own.
Witch themes aside, the story is clean and well-suited to readers ages eight to twelve. There are obviously some kisses between Emma and Eadric. Even after he’s returned to his human form, he asks Emma to kiss him. The exchanges are brief. It’s a pretty quick read packed with quirky characters, such as Emma’s aunt’s lost love, who turns out to have been transformed into an otter and a perky bat who helps Emma escape captivity.
Dragon’s Breath (Tales of the Frog Princess #2)
Emma and Eadric set out on another quest to save her kingdom. Emma’s aunt, who should be busy protecting the country, can’t stop worrying about her lost love. Emma and her friends must reverse the otter-transformation spell before it becomes permanent. Emma and Eadric race to find the ingredients for the reversal spell. The task takes them to a mermaid’s undersea castle and deep within a dragon kingdom. Emma’s magic goes haywire, randomly transforming herself and Eadric into frogs and back again at the slightest hiccup.
By this second book, Eadric’s character smooths out a bit and it becomes easier to understand Emma’s affection for him. Emma herself remains strong and smart, even when she doubts her magic. Eadric still pesters Emma for kisses at every turn, but she often responds more favorably. The streamlined storytelling is perfect for readers who get easily distracted or need activity to keep them interested.
Once Upon a Curse (Tales of the Frog Princess #3)
Emma travels to the past to undo an evil curse placed on her family generations earlier by a slighted fairy. She tries to resist temptation to meddle in the past, which isn’t easy. She also learns the hero of the story isn’t the person she expected it to be. The same streamlined storytelling, fun characters and quirky humor fill the pages of the story as earlier books in the series.
About The Hunger Games
The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. She sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
My Review
My favorite thing about The Hunger Games is the balance between Katniss and Peeta. Katniss is a survivor. She’s strong and clever with traps and snares but emotions totally mystify her. Peeta’s work at the bakery affords him physical strength, but his real asset in the Games is his intuition, his understanding of others, and his strength of heart. Those two need each other if they have any hope of surviving in the arena.
While the plot moves quickly and the threat of death keeps readers on the edge of their seats, the story’s real victory is its unforgettable characters. Rue, the clever, young tribute Katniss watches in training, and Cinna, her compassionate costume designer and unexpected ally, remain my favorites.
While it’s very clean in other ways, The Hunger Games, as you might imagine from the description, has some strong violence which may make it the wrong pick for younger or more sensitive readers. My daughter has been asking to read Divergent, which has more violence and some sexual content, which I’m not sure she’s ready for, so reading The Hunger Games was an alternative I felt more comfortable with, and which still let her into the young adult spectrum. We read the book together and sometimes stopped to talk about what was happening.
The Hunger Games Movie
After reading the book, my daughter and I watched the movie together. It does have some brief, mild profanity, and of course, gives visual to the violence depicted in the scenes of the book. The movie stays pretty true to the spirit of the book, though it does streamline and minimize some things. For instance, instead of Katniss listening to hours of a tribute being tortured, she quickly ends his life in an act of mercy. You can read a full content breakdown of the movie here.
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Cultural Elements
Major characters are white and straight, except Rue and Thresh, who are black.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between boy and girl. They spend nights together, but usually one or other is gravely injured, and at any rate, no mention of anything sexual happening.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content Strong violence. Tributes actively try to kill one another with weapons and traps. An older teen kills a younger one with a spear. A girl kills opponents with knives. Mutant wasps kill and wound others. A boy bashes another tribute’s skull in with a rock. Genetically mutated monsters which appear to be some kind of human/dog hybrid chase tributes, torturing one they catch. (Katniss describes hearing the pained sounds of the victim for hours, but can’t see what’s happening.)
Drug Content
Katniss samples wine with her dinner. Her mentor, Haymitch, abuses alcohol. He stumbles about drunk and at one point collapses into his own vomit.
About Spark
Brenna James wants three things for her sixteenth birthday: to find her history notes
before the test, to have her mother return from her business trip, and to stop creating fire
with her bare hands. Yeah, that’s so not happening. Unfortunately.
When Brenna learns her mother is missing in an alternate reality called Linneah, she
travels through a portal to find her. Against her will. Who knew portals even existed? But
Brenna’s arrival in Linneah begins the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, including a royal
murder and the theft of Linneah’s most powerful relic: the Sacred Veil. Hold up. Can
everything just slow down for a sec?
Unwilling yet left with no other choice, Brenna and her new friend Baldwin (Um, hello,
Hottie!) pursue the thief into the dangerous woods of Silvastamen and beyond. Exactly
what Brenna wanted to do for her sixteenth birthday. Exactly. When they spy an army
marching toward Linneah, Brenna is horrified. Can she find the veil, save her mother, and
warn Linneah in time? And more importantly, why on earth doesn’t this alternity have
Belgian waffles?
My Review Spark is a peppy, fun read perfect for fans of Sara Ella’s Unblemished. I enjoyed the cast of characters and found each one really different from others. Anna might have been my favorite, simply because she was so silly. The romance between Baldwin and Brenna is sweet and perfect for readers just beginning to read romance.
The Christian themes in the story are pretty straightforward without being preachy. Brenna faces choices surrounding a prophecy which seems to indicate that she’ll play a major role in the land of Linneah, a role she is more than a little hesitant to accept. As she struggles with how to embrace her destiny, she finds great allies and keeps readers entertained with her spunky observations and longing for ordinary breakfast food. I enjoyed Spark and found it to be a pretty quick read.
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Cultural Elements
Human characters are white. Other characters, like fauns and shapeshifters face some prejudice from humans.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content Brief kissing.
Spiritual Content Brenna must make a choice to serve Elyon (God) or opposing forces. Various characters possess God-given gifts like the ability to command fire, sense emotions, stop time, and see visions.
Violent Content Brief battle violence.
Drug Content
Prince Rune (who opposes Elyon) uses an addictive substance that promises power to those to follow him.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
J.M. Hackman has held many positions: assistant librarian, office assistant, office manager,
substitute teacher, writer, wife, and mother. She still holds the last three. And loves it. She
received a degree in Elementary Education from Pennsylvania State University and now
spends her days writing stories, consuming massive quantities of chocolate, and looking for
portals to other worlds.
About Shadow and Thorn An exiled king.
An elusive thief.
And the treasure they would give their lives to possess…
Alexei is returning to his homeland after more than twenty years in hiding. His kingdom is destroyed, his people dead or enslaved. His only hope to provide sanctuary for those few who remain is the uncertain word of a traitor, a broken man who claims to know the hiding place of Erath’s greatest treasure. To find it, Alexei will have to return to the place where Erath fell, and brave the shadowed halls of a castle that echoes with the ghosts of his past.
Zara is a woman without a future—a treasure hunter, and a thief who hates to steal. Trapped by fate in an abandoned castle, she encounters a destiny she could never have predicted, and uncovers a treasure far greater than she ever imagined.
When their paths collide, Alexei and Zara may both have a chance to atone for past mistakes… unless they kill each other first. Brought together by enemies both expected and unexpected, they will plumb the depths of an unimaginable betrayal and forge the foundations of a love they would risk anything to keep.
My Review Confession: The characters’ ages make this technically adult fiction, which I almost never review here. I’m making an exception for two (kind of flimsy) reasons. One is that I LOVE this series, and the other is that earlier books fit the young adult genre a lot better, so YA readers who’ve been along for the earlier books may want to know what I have to say about this one.
The only hiccup for me was the opening scene. I was kind of confused by what was happening and I wasn’t sure if I should be able to place it with something from a previous book. Once I got a few chapters in, I realized exactly what was happening in that opening scene, and I appreciated it a lot more.
I remembered Alexei from the third book in the series, and I definitely remember thinking I wanted to know more about him. So finding him at the center of this book was really exciting. I also liked Zara a LOT. She’s spunky and good, which you don’t often see paired together. I was a fan from the moment she walked on scene.
Shadow and Thorn is a re-imagining of the story of Beauty and the Beast, but it’s possibly the most clever re-imagining of that story I’ve ever read (and I do NOT say that lightly because Robin McKinley’s Beauty is easily in my top twenty-five favorite books ever.) because while it retells the story in a different way, it also becomes an origin story. I know that’s vague. I don’t want to give too much away, but there were so many moments as I read the story where things suddenly clicked and I was like, OHHHHHHH! I see what’s happening here! And that made reading it so much fun.
I also liked that Alexei has a team of allies–sort of the way the Beast has his servants in the castle who are loyal and often see things he doesn’t. It rounded out the cast of characters really nicely. The castle appears as a character, too, and I thought that was really imaginatively done. She is ancient and inhuman, and it definitely came across in her actions and desires and added some real complexity to the tale.
I feel like fans of Leah Cypess need to read the Andari books. Seriously. Something about this story reminded me of her debut, Mistwood. If you’re a fan of fairy tales re-imagined, you need to put this series at the top of your reading list. Kenley Davidson has published four books so far, and I’ve loved every one of them. If you’ve never heard of the Andari Chronicles before, check out my review of the first book, Traitor’s Masque here .
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Cultural Elements
The Andari Chronicles feel rich with varied cultures. This story focuses mostly on one culture, which had previously been enslaved because of their magical abilities.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Brief kissing between a boy and girl.
Spiritual Content Magical abilities allow some people to do amazing things—manipulate crystals, predict the future, heal others, or control them.
Magical ability can also be used to form an unbreakable bond with someone. When someone shares a bond with someone else, they must stay near each other or risk death if they become too distanced from one another. Also, if one member of the bond dies, the other will follow.
Violent Content Brief battles. Some soldiers become wounded.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
