Book Review: Pit Perfect (Barkside of the Moon) by Renee George

Pit Perfect is the first book in the Barkside of the Moon series by Renee George. I downloaded this book immediately after reading the sequel, The Money Pit, because of the writing style and character work. 

When cougar-shifter Lily Mason moves to Moonrise, Missouri, she wishes for only three things from the town and its human population. To find a job, to find a place to live, and to live as a human, not a therianthrope. Lily gets more than she bargains for when a rescue pit bull named Smooshie rescues her from an oncoming car, and it’s love at first sight. Thanks to Smooshie, Lily’s first two wishes are granted by Parker Knowles, the owner of the Pit Bull Rescue center, who offers her a job at the shelter and the room over his garage for rent. Lily’s new life as an integrator is threatened when Smooshie finds Katherine Kapersky, the local church choir leader and head of the town council, dead in the field behind the rescue center. Unfortunately, there are more suspects than mourners for the elderly town leader. Can Lily keep her less-than-human status under wraps? Or will the killer, who has pulled off a nearly Pit Perfect murder, expose her to keep Lily and her dog from digging up the truth?

Pit Perfect is a fast moving and fun mystery. I liked Lily's character and the complications that she brings with her to the small town. I liked her efforts to fit and and to get to know the town inhabitants. Finding her uncle and making friends in the new town started fairly easy, at least until the dead bodies start appearing and throwing suspicion on those that have been helpful. I really enjoyed the character development and the groundwork laid down for the rest of the series. My real complain, read for it, is that the book was too short. It felt way too short. I want more of this set of characters and Moonrise Missouri. A good start to a series, leaving me wanting more.

Early Book Review: Tricky by Kari Rust

Tricky by Kari Rust is a picturebook about the Duke and his dog, Tricky. It is currently scheduled for release on October 15 2017. This pair spend their days making trouble. They cheat, steal, and play pranks on their neighbors, just for fun. But one day, somebody new comes to town and gives Tricky a treat that melts his mischievous heart, and sets him thinking about the effect his actions have on others. Inspired to change his ways, Tricky decides to set things right the only way he knows how with tricks! Tricky’s ploy might just lead The Duke to reconsider his ways.

Tricky is a great picturebook that shows Tricky and his master playing tricks on just about everyone. When someone shows Tricky kindness he starts to question what he has been doing. I like that The Duke shows that while he likes to play tricks he does not respond well to being on the other side, and Tricky learns not to play mean tricks of others. My favorite thing about this book is that it is the act of someone else being kind, rather than a harsh consequence, that helps Tricky see the error of his ways. Readers, even the youngest, will see that sometimes offering a simple kindness to others can make a big difference. They also get to see that more often than not, people that are being unkind can change or will often move on when things change in their lives. The stylized artwork and bold colors make the story pop off the page and feel a little more alive to the audience. I greatly enjoyed the read, and think it is both a fun read and one with a great message to share.

Book Review: Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday

Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday is a lovely new adult romance. Theo Wallace usually laughs at the horoscopes his mom sends. Still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and practically friendless, this one begs him to reconsider. Because a friendship that stuck, that thrived. Well, that would be a reason to leave past pains behind and look to the Bright Future. When his sister Leone challenges him to find her the perfect date for a spring wedding, Theo uses it as a chance to make new friends. Theo’s ex economics tutor and newest roommate Mr. Jamie Cooper seems to be a possible and convenient match. Real convenient. Like written in the stars, convenient. All he has to do is make sure this Jamie is good enough. Could really be The One for her, and the friend for him.

Leo Loves Aries might catch readers by surprise, just like it catches one of the main characters. I loved Theo's journey of self discovery, and the cluelessness he has about the world around him. He is just so good hearted and blind to some aspects of those around him that he constantly made me smile. He is not stupid, far from it, but just does not see everything he should. I know so many people like that, which made the character feel even more real to me. I loved that friendship is so important to the story, and that Leone is such a smart, capable, and strong character. She often sees things he cannot, even is she is blind. Meanwhile, Jamie is a nice balance between them, smart and aware. I loved the developing friendship that happens between all the major players, and how the dynamics between them grew and changed through out the book. I just loved the read, and will be looking for more from the author.

Leo Loves Aries is a new adult romance and coming of age story that had me smiling as I read. I just enjoyed the characters and the read that much. While some readers might not enjoy the story simply because it is a same sex romance, I found the characters and the journey to be charming and enjoyable.

Book Review: Geology Lab for Kids: 52 Projects to Explore Rocks, Gems, Geodes, Crystals, Fossils, and Other Wonders of the Earth's Surface by Garret Romaine

Geology Lab for Kids: 52 Projects to Explore Rocks, Gems, Geodes, Crystals, Fossils, and Other Wonders of the Earth's Surface by Garret Romaine is a non fiction book for middle grade readers. It features 52 simple, inexpensive, and fun experiments that explore the Earth’s surface, structure, and processes. This family  and classroom friendly guide explores the wonders of geology, such as the formation of crystals and fossils, the layers of the Earth’s crust, and how water shapes mountains, valleys, and canyons. The book leaves no excuses for boredom as it contains a year’s worth of captivating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) activities.

Geology Lab for Kids is a great resource for classrooms, homeschooling families, and kids that just love science and experiments. The photography and explanations of the experiments are very well done, accessible to young readers and the adults by their side. In the book there is information that will help readers identify the most common rocks and minerals, maintain and display a rock collection, understand insects are trapped and preserved in amber, understand how geysers and volcanoes form and erupt, understand how layers of rock reveal a record of time, and how to pan for gold like a real prospector. The activities are creative and fun, including some edible (and plenty on inedible) experiments and projects. I think that this is a perfect resource for getting children excited and engaged in science. 

Book Review: The Money Pit (Barkside of the Moon) by Renee George

The Money Pit is the second book in the Barkside of the Moon series by Renee George. I had not read the first book, but George did such a great job of dropping in important information about the first book that I felt like I had. 

Cougar-shifter Lily Mason is trying hard to live as a human in Moonrise, Missouri. But renting a garage apartment from Parker Knowles, her boss at the Pit Bull Rescue Shelter, is making it difficult to keep her secret. Lily makes an offer on a “fixer-upper” with a checkered past and begins work on getting the place ready for her and her dog Smooshie. The sweet pitbull proves primed for demolition when she scratches a hole in a wall and yanks out a human bone. The investigation brings Lily unwanted attention from the local police chief who has an ax to grind and a murderer desperate to keep the past in the past. Lily needs Smooshie and Parker more than ever if she wants to keep her secret and prevent another killing! 

The Money Pit is a charming mystery with great characters. I enjoyed Lily's character, she is smart and strong with secrets she needs to keep, and innate skills that lead to her knowing other people's secrets. I loved the animals, Smooshie and Elvis were special characters all their own. I think the mystery was well formed and kept me guessing through the book. I was certainly surprised with a couple twists, but in a good way. I greatly enjoyed the read, and will be checking out the other books from George as time allows. The writing style and character development made me happy, and the other authors mentioned in the acknowledgements are some of my favorite in the genre, so that could be part of the feel. 

The Money Pit is a fun, fast paced cozy mystery for dog lovers and mystery fans alike. Rich characters and a unique small town come together for a highly entertaining read. In fact, I bought and downloaded the first book after reading this one, not because I needed the background information, but because I loved the characters so much I wanted more.

Book Review: The Capybara Conspiracy by Erica S. Perl

The Capybara Conspiracy is a middle grade novel by Erica S. Perl.  Seventh-grade playwright Olive Henry is frustrated by her middle school’s lack of appreciation for anything but sports. While the principal drones on and on during morning announcements about the sports teams’ victories, all non-athletic club meetings are relegated to the school basement, never to be mentioned on the loudspeaker. So Olive and her best friend, Reynaldo, hatch a plan to kidnap the school’s capybara mascot, planning to return it, heroically, just in time for the school’s pep rally and claim a reward: permission for their drama club to practice in the auditorium. And, hopefully, some overdue respect for the school’s non-athletes. But when an animal-rights student activist and an undercover athlete with murky motivations join in the conspiracy, their plans—along with Cappy the capybara—veer wildly out of Olive’s control.

The Capybara Conspiracy is written in play format, which is not my favorite, and took me a while to get used to. I liked the idea of kids being creative, and liked the amount of humor and twists involved in kidnapping a capybara. I also liked the information in the back of the book, which gives ideas for kids group reading the book because of the format. I enjoy the idea, and think many reader would find it to be fun and satisfying to do so. However, I think many of the characters were either underdeveloped or based off of less than flattering stereotypes. I get that it was part of the gag, but with the current state of the country with immigration, and the amount of girls that still think dumb and pretty is the way to go, I was not amused. Although, I was not the target audience either- so maybe I was just not in the right headspace to enjoy the read.

The Capybara Conspiracy is  a book with humor, and wacky escapades. However, it also has some standard stereotypes (some of which are proven untrue about the specific characters) that I just did not enjoy. I think there are some readers that will enjoy it, but between the stereotypes and the format I was not one of them. 

Book Review: Never Dare a Dragon (Boston Dragon) by Ashlyn Chase

Never Dare a Dragon by Ashlyn Chase is the third book in the Boston Dragon series. While having read the previous books will give a reader a better grasp of the secondary characters and the mythology, I think new comers to the series will still be able to enjoy the read.I did read the first two books, and they certainly gave me a head start when things started to get complicated.

Jayce Fierro is part of a legendary Boston firefighting family of phoenix shifters. Hiding his true form makes being in a relationship rather difficult. Meeting the beautiful Lieutenant Kristine Scott of the New York City Fire Department and knowing he can't have her only makes things worse. Dragon shifter Kristine can't stop thinking about fun, flirty Jayce and his teasing smile. A relationship could never work-not with the distance between them, and definitely not with her shifter secret. But when Kristine lands herself in a blaze of trouble and secrets are revealed, Jayce will do whatever it takes to help-whether or not the feisty, stubborn New Yorker wants him to.

Never Dare a Dragon is both what I expected from Chase, and a little disappointing. I think a good amount of time was spent on the danger and conflicts of the book were very well done. The danger to Kristine and her mother felt very real, as did Kristine's need to resolve the problem and keep Amy safe. Although, I will admit that I kept expecting a member of her fire station to be in the pocket of the bad guys, and was a little relieved that it never came to pass. The continuing thread about the dragon families and muses from the series might not make sense to newcomers, and while I enjoyed that continuity I think it felt like an afterthought rather than a necessary part of the book. My biggest issue with the book is that I never felt really connected with Kristine or Jayce. Their romance just was, I never really felt that it built up or grew. Perhaps it just depended on the aspect of paranormal characters that find a perfect mate and just know rather than getting to know each other and work through relationship issues. I get that the action of the story made doing that hard, but some of it could have happened prior to the danger and action coming into play. I still liked the book, and I still felt it was important to the larger story arc, but I have come to expect more fun and character depth from Chase.
Never Dare a Dragon is a good addition to the series, and I found some of it very good. However, it just did not capture me the same way the previous books in the series did. 

Book Review: Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer by John Powell

Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer by John Powell is a collection of short stories that left me wondering about the intended audience. The tone is fun and humorous, suitably silly for young readers that might enjoy it, but some of the humor seemed to be geared towards adults. The short stories tell of an impoverished knight in old England who discovers a way to tame the great variety of monsters that roam the land in the days of Good King Freddie the Umteenth and his prime minister Merlin the Whirlin.

Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer is humorous and silly, with each of the short stories able to read one their own. This might make it a good pick for readers looking for short fun reads, because it is easy to read a single tale and put it aside until you are ready for more. I found the tone to be a bit childish, but at the same time there were bits about private parts and getting drunk, making it not quite right for some younger readers. To be honest, the stories really did not hold my attention well. Which made the fact that I could read a bit and the put it aside a good thing. I can see the appeal for some readers, but it just never grabbed me. 

Book Review: The Grumpy Gardener: An A to Z Guide from the Country's Most Irritable Green Thumb by Steve Bender

The Grumpy Gardener: An A to Z Guide from the Country's Most Irritable Green Thumb by Steve Bender. Gardeners from across the country have turned to Southern Living Senior Garden Editor Steven Bender for his keen knowledge and gardening know-how with equal doses sarcasm and sidesplitting humor for nearly 35 years. This book collects some of the wit and wisdom from the magazine columnist in a single A - Z volume, providing gardeners from coast-to-coast with his valuable tips for planting, troubleshooting, and growing flowers, vegetables, shurbs, trees and more. Sidebars throughout the book - "Ask Grumpy" - help readers tackle common garden problems ("How do I get ride of little house ants?"), and readers from the past 35 years take part in the book when Grumpy shares his favorite reader's responses to some of his advice, his favorite rules for gardening, and Q & A's covering your favorite plants and flowers are all inside. Additionally, beautiful line-drawings and illustrations throughout make the book as beautiful to look at as well as entertaining to read.

The Grumpy Gardener: An A to Z Guide from the Country's Most Irritable Green Thumb is a wonderful resource, and highly entertaining for any garden enthusiast to thumb through for reminders or to simply enjoy the dry humor and snark that accompanies the information throughout the book. I love that the information is very accessible, even for those that have no gardening experience, or have had little success with their gardening attempts thus far. I learned many things about plants I thought I knew well, and will adjust my gardening accordingly. I feel like going back to re read occasional will help remind me of important things, and maybe bring things I missed the first time around or forgot to my attention. The sidebars of reader responses, questions with Bender's answers, and line drawings add an extra layer of humor, and occasionally beauty, to the book as a whole. I will be referring back to this volume regularly, both when garden planning and when I am stumped on how to fix or maintain something that should be growing.

Book Review: Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales by Emily Jenkins, Rohan Daniel Eason

Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales is a middle grade book written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason. This is a collect of seven classic fairy tales told in the authors personal style.

There once was a frozen forest so cold, you could feel it through the soles of your boots. It was a strange place where some kisses broke enchantments and others began them. Many said witches lived there -- some with cold hearts, others with hot ovens and ugly appetites -- and also dwarves in tiny houses made of stones. In this icy wood, a stepmother might eat a girl's heart to restore her own beauty, while a woodcutter might become stupid with grief at the death of his donkey. Here a princess with too many dresses grows spiteful out of loneliness, while a mistreated girl who is kind to a crone finds pearls dropping from her mouth whenever she speaks.

Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales is a nice collection of classic tales, some more well known than others. I liked that Jenkins stuck to the fairy tale tradition of telling these stories with the same heart, but her own personal touch. The characters are not flat, which often happens with those that are considered known already, rather they are rich in personality and humor. I enjoyed the collection, and think that many others will enjoy the combination of humor and empathy that threads through the stories. The fun illustrations added an extra layer of enjoyment and whimsy- adding a special something to the reading experience as a whole.