Early Book Review: How to Love Your Elf (Embraced by Magic) by Kerrelyn Sparks

How to Love Your Elf is the first book in the Embraced by Magic series by Kerrelyn Sparks, however I think it could also be counted as book four of the Embraced series for continuity's sake. I would recommend reading the previous four books for a better understanding of the character and world building that has already been done but think that newcomers could catch on to the story pretty quickly. 

Sorcha knew the mission was dangerous. Leaving the safe grounds of her brother’s kingdom and parlaying with the elves across their border . . . well, treachery seemed at least as likely as true peace. But to support her sister, Sorcha would brave far more than the underhanded ways of the elves. Or so she thought, before she was taken hostage. Of course, her captors didn’t count on her particular abilities—or on the help of the Woodsman, the mysterious thief who made his home in the forest. He saw the battle from the trees, saw the soldier attacking against incredible odds to save a comrade—and then saw the valiant fighter revealed as Princess Sorcha of Norveshka. He can’t tell if he wants to kidnap her or kiss her. But despite Sorcha’s stubbornness, his inconvenient honor, and a rebellion on the cusp of full war, something burns between them that neither can let go.

How to Love Your Elf took me a few pages to remember where the story of the sisters raised on the Isle of Moon left off. I did a quick check to make sure I had not missed any because it just felt like it had been so long since I had read the previous book from Sparks. Thankfully I was up to date and just had to jog my memory a bit. I really enjoyed both Sorcha and the Woodman character. They are both good people, with stubborn streaks a mile wide, and the need to help those around them. Exploring their insecurities, doubts, and attempts to protect each other, and their own hearts, was interesting and engaging to read. I liked getting to know more and more of their personalities and to see some of the characters from the earlier stories continue their tales or make cameos. I will admit that I find the individual character arcs to be much more important and interesting to me personally than the larger story about the circle of five and their nasty plans, but I am interested to see where that part of the story goes. I am also quite invested in reading the next book- because I have been waiting for Brody and Meave to have their time since this whole story began. 

How to Love Your Elf is a good story that is part of a larger whole. Although, the romance and many of the characters can be fully enjoyed and understood without reading the previous books. 

Early Book Review: Finding Him (Covet) by Rachel Van Dyken

Finding Him is the second book in the Covet series by Rachel Van Dyken and it currently scheduled for release on February 25 2020. . I think each book does stand fine on its own, however those that read the series in order will get more from the larger story arc than those reading them separately. 

Coming out of a coma was one hell of a wake-up call. While I was in the dark, my estranged twin brother, Bridge, had replaced me in the company I owned and swept up my fiancée in the takeover. With my ruthless reputation, can I blame them for falling in love? I have to look long and hard at where I’ve been and where I’m headed. Alone time? The universe has other plans. Our family’s secluded Vermont cabin comes with a gorgeous—if at first, unwelcoming—surprise. She’s renter Keaton Westbrook, a social media superstar struggling with her own private grief. As a winter storm bears down, we’ve found something to keep us warm—an intimacy neither of us expected and both of us need. After we say goodbye, what happens then? Keaton and I are longing to reconcile with our painful pasts. I can’t bear to do it without her. Is it too much to ask of fate to give us a second chance at life and love?

Finding Him is a contemporary romance with two emotionally wounded souls finding each other, and healing in the process. Julian is coming to terms with his own mistakes and trying to find a new normal after waking up from a coma and then losing his mother. Forced to take a vacation he is not thrilled to find someone else in the cabin where he expected to find solitude. Some entertaining conversation and attraction aside neither is really looking for intimacy, a relationship, or anything else. However, their wounded edges seem to fit together perfectly- and they find healing while dealing with their individual scars. While some of the trauma they face may seem a little over the top (comas, twins, and paparazzi) I think the individual characters and their pain is thought out and well written. The over the top nature just made the one on one conversations and realizations more poignant and meaningful to me as a reader. It was a great weekend read to escape the real world but still suffer from some serious feels.

Finding Him is a roller coaster ride of feels, and is worth the ride.

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.