Category Archives: By Genre

Review: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

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Crown of Wishes
Rokshani Chokshi
St. Martin’s Griffin
Available March 28, 2017

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From Goodreads
Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the … Continue reading →

Review: Giant Smugglers by Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls

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Giant Smugglers
Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 17, 2016

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Thirteen-year-old Charlie stands up to a bully and soon finds himself on the run. When he ducks into an abandoned warehouse, he discovers someone else already hiding there: a giant! Charlie soon learns that the giant is on his way to meet his family, but an evil doctor and his team of scientists are close to finding him. If they find the giant, they’ll harvest growth hormones and use them to make a fortune on athletes and soldiers. Charlie vows to help his new friend escape and to keep him from becoming anyone’s science experiment.

The story moves quickly, … Continue reading →

Review: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

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See You in the Cosmos
Jack Cheng
Dial Books
Published February 28, 2017

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From Goodreads

11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can … Continue reading →

Review: The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill

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The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie MorrillThe Lost Girl of Astor Street
Stephanie Morrill
Blink
Published February 7, 2017

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Eighteen-year-old Piper Sail’s best friend Lydia goes missing from a neighborhood street in 1924 Chicago. Piper vows to find her friend, even if she has to take up the investigation herself. As Piper begins to hunt for Lydia, she soon learns everyone in her neighborhood hides a secret, even her father and the handsome detective who’s working the case. Piper realizes finding the truth may cost her newfound love, her respect for her family, and possibly, her own life.

I loved this book! I was hooked from the first page. Immediately we meet … Continue reading →

Review: Beauty and the Beast Lost in a Book

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Today I’m part of a blog tour with Disney to celebrate Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly! My review copy of Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book and a complimentary copy of Belle’s Library: A Collection of Literary Quotes and Inspirational Musings was provided by Disney.

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book
Jennifer Donnelly
Disney Press
January 31, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book

Smart, bookish Belle, a captive in the Beast’s castle, has become accustomed to her new home and has befriended its inhabitants. When she comes upon Nevermore, an enchanted book unlike anything else she has seen in the castle, Belle finds herself pulled into its pages and transported … Continue reading →

Review: BookBurners created by Max Gladstone

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The BookBurners review is a little different than my usual spiel, and not only because it’s part of an Irish Banana Blog Tour. BookBurners is not actually a traditional novel. The story (well, actually, stories) was first published at Serial Box in, you guessed it, serial form. Readers have the option of subscribing to a particular series and getting the latest episodes via an app for phone and tablet or purchasing them on Amazon individually, and now as a whole season. The whole thing is almost 800 pages, so it’s pretty whoppin’.

The sixteen episodes were written by a team of authors whose names you might recognize. And rather than the longer form of a novel, these episodes read like segments of a TV show, with a team of characters who face individual challenges resolved in each section but building together to form a larger story.

Confession time: … Continue reading →