Early Book Review: The Ninjabread Man (Twisted Fairy Tales) by Stewart Ross

The Ninjabread Man is a part of the Twisted Fairy Tales series of children's books by Stewart Ross.  It is currently scheduled for release on February 15 2020. Long ago, in ancient Japan, two ninja warriors had everything they wanted in life, except for a child. So they decided to bake one! Out of the oven leaped a speedy, sneaky, and brave Ninjabread Man who went on to cause absolute chaos! 

The Ninjabread Man is exactly what you expect from the title of the book, a twist on the classic Gingerbread Man story. This is not the first, or I expect the last, version of the tale that uses the Ninja twist. I did like the illustrations, they were fun and bright, adding some humor and color to the pages. However, there were some grammar issues in the text and it just did not strike me is twisting the tale or making it fresh enough. It was a good idea, but not one that excited me or had me eager to recommend it to anyone.  

Early Book Review: Shine Bright: A Color, Draw & Dream Book for a Beautiful Life by Lindsay Hopkins

Shine Bright: A Color, Draw & Dream Book for a Beautiful Life by Lindsay Hopkins is an activity book that is currently scheduled for release on February 14 2020.  This book is intended to build creativity and confidence. This book focuses on all of the awesome traits that make each reader special! Each chapter features patterns to color, fun drawing lessons, and ideas for writing about hopes and dreams. 

Shine Bright is a inspiring activity book for middle grade and older readers. It offers encouragement for readers to be themselves, be brave, and keep moving forward. I liked the stress put on the fact that no one is perfect, no one can do something perfectly the first time, and that bravery is really about doing the things you love and want to try even though you might be scared. The activities including coloring, drawing, and writing lists and ideas related to the chapter subject. Often times I find books with this intent to be a little cloying, but I really like the way it was done here. It was not all "hip hip hooray you are perfect!", but rather takes notice of the fact that we all get scared and make mistakes and encourages readers to keep trying and to be kind to others because they are doing the best they can too.  I think many young readers will enjoy exploring this book, and will hopefully come away from it with more confidence than before. 

Book Review: Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo is a memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Path to the Stars is a memoir that talks about family problems, and other issues that Sylvia faced in her life, but does not focus on them. Nor does it have a bragging tone to it, which sometimes happens. Insted, this is an honest and straightforward story of one person's life and how hard work and encouragement can make a difference. I was a Girl Scout myself, so I was very interested to see how something that played a role in my own life affected someone else, particularly someone with such amazing accomplishments. I was not disappointed with this read in any way. I liked the honest way she shared her childhood, laying no blame on her parents but sharing the way their family life and particularly her father's beliefs affected her. I liked seeing how she worked for changes in her own life, and her own future, that varied from the beliefs that she did not agree with. A good deal of the book focuses on those formative years, which makes sense since this book is aimed at the middle grade market, but I would love to see a later book for young adults, and new adults, that focuses more on the college years and later. I also have to say that I liked her not to the readers at the end of the book, and the information about the Girl Scouts that she included afterword. I also like the pictures that she included.

Path to the Stars is a wonderful memoir for middle grade readers, and everyone else.  

Early Book Review: Wrong Bed, Right Man (Accidental Love) by Rebecca Brooks

Wrong Bed, Right Man is the third book in the Accidental Love series by Rebecca Brooks and is currently scheduled for release on February 17 2020. I have not read the previous books, and think each must be able to stand on its own. 

Rose Campbell is determined to get her stuff from her cheating ex-fiancé’s apartment. There’s just one problem. A sexy stranger is sleeping in her bed. Work boots and scruff so aren’t her type––except when they’re on furniture maker Owen Crowley, who is funny, kind, and speaks his mind. The prim and proper Rose isn't the kind of woman Owen is usually interested in. But the more he gets to know her, the more intrigued he becomes. There’s passion underneath those stiff suits of hers that he can’t wait to explore. There’s no reason these two opposites can’t have some sexy fun, except that one thing. Rose works for the very people trying to destroy Owen’s business.

Wrong Bed, Right Man is a sweet contemporary romance with a few good twists and turns. Rose is doing her best to get on with life after years of conditioning to be the quiet good girl and never raise a fuss. However, after catching her fiance in the act of cheating she just wants to get through each day and get her furniture back. This leads to all sorts of adventures with Owen, who is trying to keep his business afloat and not take advantage of the innocent Rose. I really liked Owen, he is a guy with integrity and an intense work ethic but very little filter. I liked his father even more. Rose I liked to an extent, but was a little frustrated with her on occasion. I did not mind the prim and proper, but found her inability to stand up for herself to more bothersome to me than Owen's ability to ignore slights to her. She  has a great, supportive group of friends but so little self esteem that it really took some of the fun out of the story for me. I did enjoy the resolution, and think parts of the story were brilliant, but was annoyed with Rose more often than not. 

Wrong Bed, Right Man is a fun and steamy read. 

Early Book Review: Dekoboko Sugar Days by TOKYOPOP, Yusen Atsuko

Dekoboko Sugar Days by Yusen Atsuko and Tokyopop is currently scheduled for release on February 18 2020.  Yuujirou Matsukaze has been close friends with Rui Hanamine since the two of them were children, and at that time, Yuujirou was the one who stood up for and took care of his adorable, soft-hearted friend. But as it turns out, Yuujirou's childhood dreams end up growing a little too big to handle - or, rather, too tall! At over six feet in height, the cheerful and happy-go-lucky Rui towers over his would-be protector, and still has no idea Yuujirou's had a crush on him since they were kids!

Dekoboko Sugar Days is an enjoyable graphic novel that show two fairly clueless high school guys finding their way from friends to more. They each have to figure out their own feelings and then gather the courage to share that information with each other. I like that it showed their continued struggles with communication- which often gets left out of the story. Insecurities and figuring things out is more than half the struggle particularly for young and new adults that are still trying to figure out what they want, never mind how to talk about it with they person you care most about. The assumptions of those around them, and the doubts they each had felt the most real in the story. I liked the artwork, although I do have to admit that there were a couple of moments that I confused a couple of characters and it took me a minute to figure it out. I liked the occasional breaks in the fourth wall, and the amount of humor that was sprinkled through the story. I had a few issues with continuity or flowing storyline, particularly the moment of their first time together. I felt like a couple pages were missing, as they went from insanely awkward to french kissing to clarifying that Rui was still good to be bottom. I missed any conversation about that, and I went back to make sure I had not accidentally flipped pages to quick or something. So I did enjoy the story, I did see many tropes and stereotypes, but for the most part I was happy with the read.

Dekoboko Sugar Days is a read that hit some good points, and a few head scratching moments. However, overall I enjoyed the read. 

Book Review: A Tangle of Brungles by Shobha Viswanath, Culpeo Fox

A Tangle of Brungles is a children's book written by Shobha Viswanath and illutrated by Culpeo Fox. To summon the handsome Mr. Brungle, a coven of witches stir up the great brungle stew. A lounge of lizards, a mischief of mice and a quiver of cobras are just a few ingredients they toss in to create this terrible broth. But does Mr. Brungle appear? The book is a humorous introduction to some collective nouns.

A Tangle of Brungles is a visually impressive book. The illustrations are bright, bold, and teaming with detail. The texts flows nicely, telling the story of witches looking for love, and naming a variety of collective nouns in the process. I think it was well done although I have to admit some of the rhymes did not work for me, like broth and north. However, overall I liked the flow and the voice in the text. I thought the ending was a fun surprise as well. I have looked up more than a few collective nouns over the years, out of curiosity, and still learned a few new ones in this book. With the sneaking leaning and entertaining  text I enjoyed the read very much, but still found the artwork to be my favorite part. I would gladly study the illustrations over and over again and suspect it will be a long time before I stop noticing new things on each page.

Early Book Review: The Bat by Elise Gravel

The Bat by Elise Gravel is an illustrated nonfiction book about bats perfect for beginning readers. It is currently scheduled for release on February 4 2020. This book uses conversational text and silly illustrations to teach readers about habitat (bats live everywhere except Antarctica!), species (there are over 1,200 kinds of bats), echolocation, hibernation (bats hibernate just like bears!), conservation (don't disturb a sleeping bat!) and much more. Although silly and off-the-wall, it contains factual information that will both amuse and teach at the same time.

The Bat gives the youngest readers a good introduction to facts about bats. There are some interesting facts, and important information about safety and why bats are not scary. The illustrations are fun and bold, with a touch of silly to keep the readers engaged.The text and images on each page work together perfectly and keep the narrative moving along nicely.  I found the balance of fun and fact to be good for those readers with short attention spans, and that prefer the sillier stories to non fiction text. I think this would be a hit with the  preschool and lower elementary school crowd. 

Early Book Review: Her Twin Baby Secret by Therese Beharrie

Her Twin Baby Secret by Therese Beharrie is currently scheduled for release on February 4 2020.  Alexa Moore is the definition of independent. She runs her own successful business and she’s decided to start a longed-for family—by herself! But after business rival Benjamin Foster comes to her rescue and pretends to be her boyfriend for a night, their earth-shattering kiss sparks Alexa’s desire to share much more with him. But having Benjamin in her life means she must confide in him—she’s pregnant with twins!

Her Twin Baby Secret is an enemy to lover romance with much more emotional depth than I usually expect from the trope. Alexa's family is less than loving, while Benjamin's is very caring but has their own struggles. The family issues have affected the way both of them relate to others and deal with conflict- which is true of us all. I loved getting to know both of the characters, and could relate to Alexis's need to do everything herself and fear of getting hurt by those she might let in. Ben's protective nature was not unexpected, but I loved how sweet and caring he was. Each of them coming to terms with their own failings was perfectly paced and timed for the overall story, and it was just so well done.I also enjoyed that the secondary characters were so multidimensional, even those that could have been completely bad or oblivious had a moment or two when they were clearly more.  I so want to see more of some of them, and plan on getting my hands on more books from Beharrie as soon as possible.

Her Twin Baby Secret is a wonderful romance. I cannot wait to explore the author's other books. 

Early Book Review: Teach Me (Filthy Rich Billionaires) by Caitlin Crews

Teach Me is the first book in the Filthy Rich Billionaires by Caitlin Crews. It is currently scheduled for release on February 1 2020. Socialite Erika Vanderberg has been planning for this night for months. Years. All so she can finally gain entrance to Berlin’s most exclusive sex club. Erika is here for one person: Dorian Alexander, her brother’s best friend and her secret childhood crush. Only, now her childish crush has been replaced by something hungry, raw and oh-so-wickedly adult. And the moment Erika sees Dorian—his dark eyes intent and focused, that hard body—everything comes crashing into place. Yes, she’s submissive. And yes, she desperately wants to surrender to Dorian over and over again. But Erika has spent her life pretending to be a spoiled little socialite who pushes everyone away. Submitting to this delicious man and all his heady power won’t change who she is—will it? After one taste, there is already a dark hunger between them, one that threatens to unleash who Erika really is.

Teach Me is from the Harlequin Dare line, which means that the heat level is much higher than what some people might expect, if the mention of the sex club did not already warn you about this. So, if BDSM and related themes are no goes for you then I suggest moving along. However, I have to say that I liked the way the dynamics of the lifestyle are laid out and explained, how a healthy and safe relationship is all about communication and honesty. I think those are things everyone can improve on in their relationship no matter what form it takes. Now, this is about so much more than the sex and lifestyle. The emotion aspects of the relationship are tied to the lifestyle, but have their own part to play as well. Both Erika and Dorian have family trauma that shaped them and changed them over the years, affecting their values and how they see themselves. Erika's character arch is sometimes painful to watch, but so important to the story. I liked that we got both Dorian and Erika's points of view in the story, but I would have liked to see more of a struggle on Dorain's part- if felt a bit one sided in the character growth and while there were a few introductions to secondary characters there was not much outside Erika's personal story arch to the book.

Teach Me is a book that ran hot and cold for me. I liked the honest and realistic look at the lifestyle and what shaped the characters, but it was a little to 'big guy saves lost girl' to make me completely happy.

Early Book Review: Kissing Game by Marie Harte

Kissing Game by Marie Harte does not come labeled as part of any series, but does tie into several of the previous contemporary romance series from Harte. If you are already a fan or these you will be thrilled to see Rena and Axel finally get their book. If you are new to Harte's writing then you will still be able to enjoy this story, but will miss out on some connections and inside stories. It is currently scheduled for release on February 4 2020.

Rena Jackson is ready. She's worked her tail off to open up her own hair salon, and she's almost ready to quit her job at the dive bar. Rena's also a diehard romantic, and she's had her eye on bar regular Axel Heller for a while. He's got that tall-dark-and-handsome thing going big time. Problem is, he's got that buttoned-up Germanic ice man thing going as well. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, Rena's about ready to give up on Axel and find her own Mr. Right. At six foot six, Axel knows he intimidates most people. He's been crushing on the gorgeous waitress for months. But the muscled mechanic is no romantic, and his heart is buried so deep, he has no idea how to show Rena what he feels. He knows he's way out of his depth and she's slipping away. So, he makes one crazy, desperate play.

Kissing Game is a fun and heart felt read made even better because fans of Harte will see that it ties in characters from three of her series. I loved seeing how well some of the couples are doing and how much has happened in their lives.  I loved Axel's character, and have wanted to read more about him for awhile, and this book hit all the right notes. Axel is a good man with some deep wounds and a hard time letting go. Rena is a romantic that wants a happy ever after but is not sure that it will ever happen for her. These two have been dancing around each other for what seems like forever, and it was so much fun watching Axel trying to be romantic. The gifts he uses to try and woo Rena are hysterically bad, and his attempts to be everything he thinks he should be rather than himself were sad and hard for me to read. I loved what a softy he really is, despite his size and fighting reputation. I think the book hit a good blend of humor and deep feels, and I that all fans of the author are going to want to pict this one up. 

Kissing Game is a must read for fans, but still a great weekend reads for romance fans that love to read about a growly hero that is a marshmallow just below the surface.