Book Review: Fast (Burns Brothers) by Gillian Archer

Fast by Gillian Archer is the second book in the Burns Brother world. I did not read the first book, but this book can be read as a stand alone.

Family means everything to this tattooed bad boy--good thing since he's about to start his own. I wanted her the first time I laid eyes on her. But what starts as a fun time, quickly gets serious when the stick turns pink a month later. My life is already chaos with my recently paroled father popping up and the usual drama at the family business building custom motorcycles. Plus our reality show just got picked up for a full season. But it really hits the fan when I discover that the new woman in my life is the daughter of the President of the West Coast Kings, the baddest motorcycle club in Sacramento--and our biggest client. Think he'll like being called Grandpa? Life just got hella complicated.

Fast is a contemporary romance that deals with some hard issues, but felt sweet and heartwarming.  Ryan is an alphamallow- all hard edges and tattoos on the outside but a softy at his core. On the surface Hope is sweetness and confidence, but she has a core of steel.  The compassion and care for others is something they shared, and something I loved to see expressed by each of them so differently. They each have huge father and family issues, but I loved the way they found comfort together and worked things out. The surprise baby was done very well- I liked how honest and realistic the complications of that were handled. The switching perspectives helped keep track of the worries and fears they each had, and the circumstances that made things more complicated. The heat is on high, but so is the danger and the sweet. I liked how well balanced the different elements were, and there were a few times that characters surprised me and took an unexpected path. I was never bored, and am looking forward to going back to read the first book and continuing to follow this series.

Fast has a nearly perfect balance of danger, sweet, and heat. It is a must read for fans of the author.

Early Book Review: First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide by Linda Wyszynski

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide by Linda Wyszynski is currently scheduled for release on September 3 2019. This beginner’s guide teaches everything you need to know about a variety of hand stitching techniques. It is filled with detailed descriptions of materials and tools, the easy step-by-step instructions for classic embroidery, crewel, and cross-stitch will have you creating and embellishing projects like jewelry, journal covers, pillows, fashions, and more with confidence.

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch was a wonderful reminder for me, because I used to do a great deal of needle work but had switched most of my crafting time to crochet- mainly because I can read on my kindle when crocheting and that does not usually work out so well when working with a sharp needle. This has inspired me to get back to it and maybe get through some audio books or my Netflix queue instead of my reading pile once and awhile. I liked getting the refresher course on tools and supplies, and think that newcomers to the craft will get a good understanding of the options- but they might be a little overwhelmed. There are so many options out there that I had never even considered and details I was unaware of that I was eager to try something new, but all that information at once might be too much for someone that has yet to thread their first needle. Beginners might just want to take it in small pieces or read what they are interested in at the moment. I found all of the writing to be very accessible and clear, both in the supply descriptions and the instructions. The pictures and diagrams were helpful and were well placed for optimum usefulness. The handful of designs included were simple and well explained- a nice starter set for beginners. I now how a few personalized pattern ideas running through my head.

First Time Embroidery and Cross-Stitch is a nice stitch guide and a good resource for beginners. I would have liked a few more patterns and a little less about supplies that a beginner is not likely to need, however it offers exactly what the title suggests.

Early Book Review: Ice: Chilling Stories from a Disappearing World from DK Publishing

Ice: Chilling Stories from a Disappearing World from DK Publishing was written by Laura Buller, Andrea Mills, and John Woodward. It is currently scheduled for release on September 3 2019. This comprehensive book can teach readers about early humans and how they survived in one of the most hostile environments on Earth, the tragic and treacherous journeys of early polar explorers, how icy landscapes develop and change, and meet the animals who make these frozen lands their home. Detailed annotations explore the place of ice on our planet and how we and other animals survive and interact with it. Using captivating CGIs, illustrations, and photography, this book will take readers on an epic journey from the ice age to modern day, exploring how icy worlds are created, how creatures live in these harsh environments and the impact of climate change. This makes it a the perfect companion for any reader who wants to discover frozen worlds and the creatures that make them their home.

Ice: Chilling Stories from a Disappearing World captured my attention with the image on the front cover and never let go. As someone that thought they had a good grasp on most habitats and some of the science involved in the coldest regions on our planet, I need to say that I learned quite a lot from this book. There is so much more to ice, in all its forms, than most of us could ever know. I found the text to be very well organized and researched with absolutely stunning images through out. There is a great deal of information here, and not all of it very optimistic,  making this a book that I think can be taken in smaller bites and returned too many times to refresh or reread the most relevant bits for current research or interests. I think even the youngest readers can appreciate the images in the book, while older readers (including adults) will be able to learn much from this resource. 

Ice: Chilling Stories from a Disappearing World is exactly what you would expect from the title and publisher. It is a well done non fiction book well suited for all libraries and personal collections, and visually stunning. 

Early Book Review: Texts from Mittens: The Friends and Family Edition by Angie Bailey

Texts from Mittens: The Friends and Family Edition by Angie Bailey is currently scheduled for release on September 3 2019. This book follow along with Mittens as he enjoys hilarious, snark-filled text volleys with his cast of quirky friends and family: Earl (the “filthy hound”), Stumpy (the best friend), Drunky Patty (the usually tipsy next-door neighbor), Grandma (giver of treats), and Fiona (Mitty’s girlfriend). It is based on Angie Bailey’s virally popular blog.

Texts from Mittens is a cute collection of texts that imagine what a cat might text to his friends and family. I have never seen Bailey's blog, so this whole thing was new to me, although I have seen various twitter and facebook accounts that post from the imagned mindset of the pet. I found the texts to be entertaining and, as a cat servent myself, sometimes relatable. I never really laughed out loud or did more than smile as to the antics of Mittens and crew. However, I did find it amusing and a entertaining distraction in the midst of a heat wave.

Texts from Mittens is a good book to flip through and entertain yourself with for awhile.  

Early Book Review: Buried in the Stacks (Haunted Library Mystery) by Allison Brook

Buried in the Stacks is the third book in the Haunted Library Mystery series by Allison Brook. It is currently scheduled for release on September 10 2019. I do recommend reading this series in order to make some of the relationships and tensions better understood. However, I think a dedicated newcomer could still catch on pretty quickly.

Librarian Carrie Singleton is building a haven, or at least trying to, but one of her neighbors is misbehaving. Can resident spirit Evelyn help Carrie catch the culprit who made her a ghost? In winter, the Haunted Library is a refuge for homeless townspeople. When a group purchases a vacant house to establish a daytime haven for the homeless, Carrie offers the library as a meeting place for the Haven House committee, but quickly learns that it may be used for illegal activities. As the new Sunshine Delegate, Carrie heads to the hospital to visit her cantankerous colleague, Dorothy, who had fallen outside the local supermarket. She tells Carrie that her husband tried to kill her--and that he murdered her Aunt Evelyn, the library's resident ghost, six years earlier. When Dorothy is murdered--run off the road as soon as she returns to work. Evelyn implores Carrie to find her niece's killer, but that's no easy task: Dorothy had made a hobby of blackmailing her neighbors and colleagues. Carrie, Evelyn, and Smoky Joe the cat are on the case, but are the library cards stacked against them?

Buried in the Stacks is a good mystery with a nice pacing. I liked that the mystery and Carrie's character development received almost equal attention through the story. Carrie is still finding her place, and figuring out not just who she is, but who she wants to be and what she wants for the future. The mystery of who killed Dorothy and the possible nefarious purpose behind Haven House are woven nicely into Carrie's desire to help others and appease her own curiosity. I enjoyed getting to know more of the residents of her small town, and unraveling the multi layered mystery. As a Connecticut native, and someone that has worked in libraries for about 20 years now, I am sometimes distracted and a bit amazed at how freely Carrie spends money. A small town in Connecticut is expensive to live in, and even with her job and cheap rent I sometimes find myself side tracked with the logistics. However, that is my personal hang up and not something that will bother most people. 

Buried in the Stacks is another solid mystery with some character development and hints toward future developments. It was an enjoyable cozy mystery. 

Early Book Review: The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner is a middle grade to young adult graphic novel that is currently scheduled for release on September 3 2019. Thirteen-year-old Moth Hush loves all things witchy. But she’s about to discover that witches aren’t just the stuff of movies, books, and spooky stories. When some eighth-grade bullies try to ruin her Halloween, something really strange happens. It turns out that Founder’s Bluff, Massachusetts, has a centuries-old history of witch drama. And, surprise: Moth’s family is at the center of it all! When Moth’s new powers show up, things get totally out-of-control. She meets a talking cat, falls into an enchanted diary, and unlocks a hidden witch world. Secrets surface from generations past as Moth unravels the complicated legacy at the heart of her town, her family, and herself.

The Okay Witch is a a graphic novel that takes a classic trope- underappreciated and bullied kid turns out to have powers- but magic does not instantly make everything better. I liked the way Moth and her friend CHarlie are written. Neither are perfect but both are trying to be the best people they can, and trying to find themselves in relation to their parents and in spite of them. I liked the larger story- setting their family drama and inner struggles against the history or the town. I liked seeing how history directly affects the present- and the characters in the story. I think the attitudes of the other kids- and a good number of the adults- were spot on with what I have seen in the world. My only complaint with the story is that I wanted to keep going. I want to see Moth and Charlie continue to grow, I want to see more about their families and the possible changes that are made, I just want more. That is not to say that there was anything lacking in the ending- the conclusion wrapped things up nicely- but did leave some room for sequels. I cannot end this without saying how much I loved the art style, I really enjoyed every page visually. Facial expressions and movement were conveyed perfectly and the images just made me happy.

The Okay Witch was an amazing debut graphic novel from Steinkellner and I think it will appeal to middle grade and older audiences. I look forward to seeing more from them in the future!

Book Review: The Best Friend Problem (Mile High Happiness) by Mariah Ankenman

The Best Friend Problem by Mariah Ankenman is the first book in the Mile High Happiness series. Prudence Carlson has been lucky in life. A fulfilling wedding-planning business run with her girlfriends in Colorado, plus the best guy friend ever in her firefighter bestie Finn. All that’s missing from it is a baby. Luckily, it’s the twenty-first century—Pru can take matters into her own hands. She doesn’t need to find true love to create the future love of her life. Except all this talk of babies and insemination and...Pru and Finn cross a line they never expected to. Sure, one night of passion won’t change their close friendship. Until Pru goes in for a fertility check-up to find… she’s already pregnant. As best friends, Pru and Finn have survived college, new jobs, and bad breakups, but can they survive crib shopping, birth classes, and late-night cravings? Especially when Finn has never considered himself even remotely Daddy material?

The Best Friend Problem takes the friends to lover trope and doubles down by adding a unique wanted but accidental pregnancy twist. It was an ambitious story to tackle, and I'll say that Ankenman did it beautifully.  I really enjoyed getting to know Pru and Finn- and seeing their journey through both perspectives. I could relate to Pru, at least with her reluctance to accept help, and understood her motivations and fears throughout the book. I liked Finn's openness and caring for others, and I knew they would figure it out once they admitted their own emotions. I also loved the secondary characters, not just Mo and Lilly, but Finn's coworkers and family to. I think the characters work was really the star of this story, the banter was fun and the characters supportive and real. I felt like this group of people are really liking in a Colorado town just waiting for me to visit and meet them. 

The Best Friend Problem is an engaging read that had me rooting for and wanting to shake the main characters at the same time. I look forward to reading more from Ankeman in the future.

Early Book Review: The Incredible Yet True Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt: The Greatest Inventor-Naturalist-Scientist-Explorer Who Ever Lived by Volker Mehnert, Claudia Lieb

The Incredible yet True Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt: The Greatest Inventor-Naturalist-Scientist-Explorer Who Ever Lived is an biography for children written by Volker Mehnert and illustrated by Claudia Lieb. Explorer. Scientist. Polymath. Hero. In his day, Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was among the most renowned scholars of the Enlightenment. He led pioneering expeditions in Central and South America (including the Amazon rainforest) as well as in Siberia, and he arguably founded the natural sciences as we know them. Charles Darwin called Humboldt “the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived,” and credited him with inspiring the journey that resulted in On the Origin of Species. And yet, in history books, Humboldt has been eclipsed by his intellectual heirs and admirers—such as Darwin himself, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau—until now.

The Incredible yet True Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt is a well written and researched book about an explorer and inventor that took part in many amazing expeditions and had a great impact on science. I like that it the story began with Humbolt being intelligent but distract able and frustrating his tutor. I think that could inspire readers with similar challenges academically to find their niche and work hard. Although I did find myself siding with his family a little as he quit his job and started exploring the world. It must be nice to do what ever you want with no obligations or money concerns, but I digress.I was glad to learn about his work, and thought the writing was easy to follow and accessible to middle grade readers. I liked the illustrated pages, and think the artwork added a great deal to the finished product. As a whole,  it was a little dry at times and while I can admire the work he did, and the fact that it was not easy all the time, I cannot help but think about how many others with the same interests and intelligence  could have done alongside, before, or after to further science if they only had the same opportunities.

The Incredible yet True Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt is an interesting and informative look at one inquisitive man's life. I like that it showed some of the challenges that he faced in his efforts to research and explore, but that the privilege of bring a rich man allowed him the opportunities that others with similar interests would not have had. 

Early Book Review: Handle With Care (Veteran Movers) Marie Harte

Handle With Care is the third book in the Veteran Movers series Marie Harte and is currently scheduled for release on August 27 2019. While each of her books can be enjoyed as a stand alone, some of the character connections and personalities shine more for returning readers- so I highly recommend reading as a series.

Evan Griffith has done a lot in his life: a stint in the Marine Corps, life as an overworked CPA, investing in his family-owned moving company. But none of that holds a candle to helping people move. On an unforgettable job, he’s involved in a female-on-female brawl, taken by a teenage conman, and falls in love at first sight with a woman holding a knife. Yeah, his life has gone down the rabbit hole for sure. Kenzie Sykes is doing her best to raise her brother, keep him out of jail, and deal with a broken heart that still hasn’t healed. So of course the sexiest man she’s ever seen has to catch her on an off day. She doesn’t have time for romance. He’s not asking. Until he is, and she finds herself saying yes. Both of them have loved and lost before, but if there’s one thing Evan knows, it’s that Semper Fidelis is more than a motto, and that real men love hard, and honest men love true.

Handle With Care is a contemporary romance that, as I expect from Harte, touches on real problems and heartbreak that our main characters need to work through. Evan has been through a lot, and he is still working towards finding balance in his life. Kenzie is still dealing with trust issue, money issues, and trying to keep her brother in check. I like that neither were looking for love- but despite their fears and fighting against it they both fell hard. I do think that at times I had to agree with Kenzie in that Evan was just too perfect- even his fears and missteps were endearing. I did empathize with Kenzie's fears and doubts- and might have reacted the same to her situation, maybe. The panic when things are just going too well, waiting for things to suddenly go wrong again, is something very relatable. I really enjoyed hearing about and seeing characters from the previous books, and seeing the continuing story of Smith finding his place. I really cannot wait to see where this all goes from here.

Handle With Care is another winner from Harte. While not my favorite of her books, I still loved it and look forward to reading more!

Early Book Review: Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! by Julie Berry

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! was written by Julie Berry and illustrated by April Lee. It is currently scheduled for release on September 10 2019. Godfrey, a peasant boy who works for the lord and lady of the castle, finds a bestiary, or illustrated book of beasts, on the way to do his chores one morning. He begins inventing his own story, placing “Sir Godfrey” at the center of numerous heroic deeds. Sir Godfrey battles a lion, tames a unicorn, defeats a griffin, conquers a bonnacon, and triumphs over a dragon. Godfrey does not realize that each time he says the name of an animal, it magically emerges from the book, causing mayhem and inadvertently accomplishing his chores. The laughs pile up and the tension mounts: When will Godfrey realize that all this outrageous stuff is going on?

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! is illustrated in the style of manuscripts from the middle ages. The images and colors are beautiful and I enjoyed looking at them. The text of the story is written in rhyme, and also carries the feel of a middle age tale. It felt a little clunky to me, but oddly enough I think that was deliberate to fit with the style they were working for. I have to admit that my favorite part of the book was not the actual story, but the beastairy and information about the Middle Ages included in the backmatter. I have always been fascinated by that sort of thing and I was glad to see that kind of primer to the medieval world included here.

Don't Let the Beasties Escape This Book! is a stylized and interesting read, but I do not think it is for everyone. Those interested in creatures and medieval life will enjoy it, but I think some will not enjoy it quite as much.