Author: Little Bee

Come join the fun! I review books :D
Posted in Children Books

Happy Monsters

Posted on by Little Bee

25317658

Happy Monsters by Uncle Amon

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Age Range: Early Childhood/Preschool (3-6) (it says 4-8, however I adjusted)

All of these were cute little stories! Very enjoyable. Below are some that I have taken a special liking too. I highly recommend this book for those of you that are teachers or have children 🙂 Some of these stories also have activities that you can do with your children to get them to think further on the story you have read with them.

In regards to other Amazon reviews, specifically the 2 star reviews: I am not a friend of the authors. I am a random reader that was browsing the free kindle books. This review is my own. If your children did not like it, then I am sorry to hear that. If your children did not like it because there are not a lot of pictures, then I am sorry. Not every book needs pictures, an imagination is a wonderful thing and unfortunately it is wasted a lot these days. These stories are very cute and have great meaning. These are not typical stories about nonsense, each story has its own lesson. They are very short and to the point.  This book is also free. I feel you can’t really complain about a book too much when it is free. Maybe that is just me 🙂 If the stories were completely horrible I would say so. Free or not. I would just say, hey, don’t waste your time or download space on this free book.

At the end of the book there are games and puzzles such as pictures to spot differences, mazes, and a free book download.

Argo Takes Flight

This first story was really cute. It was about a little monster named Argo who was brought with his siblings to a cliff by the ocean for their first flying lesson. Argo was so determined that he would be the best flier of all of his siblings, but it turned out, he couldn’t even fly for a second. Argo decided to give up. He wouldn’t go back out to the cliff to try, no matter how much prodding his family tried. One day his mom came in and told him he needed to keep trying. Argo had asked his mom if maybe his wings just didn’t work, his mother had a wonderful reply. His mother replied, “You’ll never know unless you try, now, will you?”

I think this story has a great lesson that was delivered in a great way for young children. So often young children give up when they do not succeed the first time, or even a second or third time. I think how Argo’s mom handled this situation was very nicely done. It is very important as parents to handle an unsuccessful first, second and third try with care but with encouragement.

Gigi Makes a Friend

I think, especially in the way things are going around us right now, this story is super important. Gigi is a garden monster and one of the rules is to never ever talk to humans because humans might hurt the garden monsters or chase them out of their homees (or even both). One day, Gigi sees a smiling little girl and just can not help herself. Gigi has to introduce herself to this little girl, so she runs out to meet her. At first the little girl is astonished, but her and Gigi become friends and play all day. After, Gigi’s parents are very upset about Gigi’s new human friend, but Gigi convinces her family to meet her new friend the next day. At first Gigi’s family is very terrified over the meeting with Gigi’s human friend, but after a while they realize how nice she is. The very last line ends ” As Gigi liked to say, ‘No matter how different we may look on the outside, we’re all alike on the inside-where it really counts!'”

Again, this story is so important right now, and I really do not think that I have to go any further as to why. If you reading this review do not know why, turn on the tv right now to any news station and you will see. Any story. Any station. Anywhere in the US, or the world for that matter. If you do not know how to teach your kids, or know the right words to express to your children on how to be like Gigi, just let them read stories like this. It will do the work, not because you aren’t a good parent or incompetent, that is not what I am saying at all, so please do not take offense. Sometimes, the job of an author, is to get a point across in a way that we as adults often can’t anymore.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Princess Nancie Gets Dressed

Posted on by Little Bee

25948827

Princess Nancie Gets Dressed by Leela Hope

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Age Group:  3 to 8

Cute little story. There were a few typos in it, also didn’t format correctly for me for my Kindle. I think that the more appropriate age range would be 3 to 5 as Nancie is 4 years old. I do not really see an 8 year old appreciating the story, at least this story the same way a 3 to 5 year old would. From what I can see, there are multiple Princess Nancie books, so perhaps the older range would like those, but since this is the book I read, it is all I have to go off of.

This story is about a 4 year old little girl named Nancie who is allowed to dress herself for the day’s adventures. It tells of the struggles she goes through to get dressed and how her mother encourages her to keep going and not give up. Her mother does however make her change into something different. I do think that dampens a child’s creativity, so that lost a star for me. I know that if you let children dress themselves, some children would pick out the most insanely wildest things, but I think that is the experience of it all. That is the point and purpose.

Still an overall cute story, more for a target audience of preschool/kindergarten age range. I work around young kids a lot, so it is nice to have something kid appropriate to read if I need it. Leela Hope’s books on Amazon are fairly inexpensive. I found this one free for Prime, most are also free for Kindle Unlimited. However, I did see that the paperback version was about $9, which I feel is a bit pricey.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Exploit Me!

Posted on by Little Bee

25740312

Exploit Me! By Nicola Diaz

Goodreads Rating: 2 stars

Audible Rating: Overall 2 Stars, Narrator Rating: 3 stars

I was given this Audiobook free for my honest review. I have not been paid in anyway for this review. This opinion is my own.

First, I want to say, the narrator, Sunny Tusker, was great, but the story was a little off for me. This is supposed to be in the realm of BDSM, and though some of the acts were BDSM, it was less D/s and more bondage and masochism. When I read the description, I guess I expected something completely different, that included more D/s in it, but there isn’t any of that at all in it.

This story actually is about a girl who gets fired from her waitress job, she then finds out she is 2 months behind on rent and will be evicted if she doesn’t cough up the cash fast. So she goes to the local coffee shop and looks at the help ads posted and comes across a bdsm type photo magazine ad. She tears the back ad page searching for new models, and the remaining part of the story are 2 live sex shows in which the boss takes photo/video. Reminds me of the Live Sex Acts club on Bourbon Streets. I have never been there…but similar concept, minus the some guy taking pictures (well I guess maybe except they have PR people that might).

It felt missing a lot. I believe this story continues on, but I am not sure how promising it feels. The flow of the story was a reflection. It starts out with Kelly going out on stage for a show and she is reflecting back on how she got her start. The bondage scenes were not very hard and could use a little more excitement. More character description would help as well. It is hard to visualize what is going on when you do not really know what the characters look like.

Posted in Spicy Romance

In The Heart of the Blizzard

Posted on by Little Bee

25388362

In The Heart of the Blizzard by R Scott

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

Audible Rating: 2 stars

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast.com

One of my favorite kinds of movies or fantasies, was the one where the male/female character got lost in the wilderness and stumbled upon the lone house of the other character. I am not sure why that has always been my ideal fantasy or favorite storyline, but I always felt an author could go any direction with this start as their base. In the case of In The Heart of the Blizzard, R. Scott took it a different direction than I was expecting. The ending left me with a WTF look on my face for a while. Writing this review, I still have a WTF look on my face.

The story was okay. I thought the sex scene could have been steamier. I think my issue that really ruined it or dampened what the story could have been was the narrator. I think someone with a sexier voice would have done this story more justice.

This was a quick listen, and I appreciate the author giving me the opportunity to listen to it for my honest and unbiased review. That ending is still a shocker! I can’t even.

Posted in Book Reviews

Dead Ice

Posted on by Little Bee

21066968

Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

As much as I do love Anita Blake in all of her poly glory, I really do miss when this series was more horror and gore than sex. Don’t get me wrong, the sex scenes are great and so well constructed that it feels like the reader is a part of the entire storyline, but I miss Edward, and Wicked and Truth…I miss the books that kept me up ALL night reading because I literally couldn’t put it down.

This particular installment had a back story, such as the zombies being raised and their souls being placed in it, but it was primarily based around the many men in Anita’s life. I usually don’t have an issue with it, but I think it is time to have more horror book and a bit less romance, to help balance it out. I don’t think it will damage the integrity of the series to go back to Anita’s beginnings and have some real good vampire slaying and horror that leaves you with nightmares!

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Immortal Circus (Act One and Two)

Posted on by Little Bee

1739882917698017

The Immortal Circus (Act One and Two) by A.R. Kahler

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Audible Rating: 4 stars

I had to go back and see if I actually reviewed Act 1, and it doesn’t look like I did. The reviews are pretty much the same. I don’t do book reviews very much, but pinpoint a few things here and there that I like or dislike. So I guess I can do both at the same time, because both books really had the same things right and the same things wrong with them.

In both books, Vivienne is annoying, and doesn’t have a memory. In Act 2, she slowly starts gaining her memory back, but bits and pieces. None of you questions are ever answered, and at the end of each Act, you are only left with more questions. Yet, I continue with the series.

I do have to say, I would suggest LISTENING to them, Amy McFadden is a great narrator, and I have said that over and over again because if she narrates, I will generally listen instead of read.

My qualms with this series is mainly that I always felt lost in the storyline. In both books. Even after Act 2, and all the WTF moments that both Acts equally shared, I still had too many moments where I struggled to hold on to the overall story. I also hate that I wasn’t fully prepared to have my heart a little broken in Act 2, but I won’t say why.

I am still lost to the whole purpose of this story as a whole. Hopefully, the Final Act will answer all the questions, however, I feel like there is way too much that needs to be addressed before this series can end!

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Flame is HOT

Posted on by Little Bee

24463321

The Flame by Christopher Rice

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

THIS is how you write a book that is MMF! Just going to put that out there. It made the sex scenes sexy and HOT. The book was well written and it made me super excited to start into this series!

I received this book for free from Christopher RIce at the RT Book Lovers Convention when my mother and I were having a lunch break. Mr. Rice happened to be having a lunch break in the same little cafe and my mom asked across the little diner style eatery and asked if he was a writer or reader. He stated he was a writer and then gave me an autographed copy of the prequel, The Flame, and the first book, The Surrender Gate, from his Desire Exchange Series.

I read The Flame pretty quickly. I found the storyline interesting and fresh. I liked the idea of a candle meant to catch your inner most desire and to provide you with that desire. I lived in New Orleans and worked just outside of the French Quarter and never once new of this little pop up Candle Store, so that was the only disappointment for me with this story.

I felt the interactions were sexy and believable. I think the dynamic of the friendships were interesting and well thought out. I like when romance and sexytimes are believable and most importantly HOT. What I also liked about this story, is that at no point, did they try to make another in this trio uncomfortable. They knew who would flake out and run, and did their best to keep tensions low and slow to keep everyone in a safe, comfortable bubble while they were trying to figure out what happened with this candle!

Loved it!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Dinner for Three

Posted on by Little Bee

13645180

Dinner for Three by Neneh Gordon

Goodreads Rating: 1 star

This book. I am not even quite sure where to start with this book. Basically, Julie’s two boyfriends are going to meet for the very first time in order to see if the three will work in a more poly type of relationship. The sex scene wasn’t that great and I felt could have been much better. I have read some really great sex scenes, even for free books. I felt that I couldn’t wait for it to be over and it was just uncomfortable. Not so much uncomfortable because I am a prude (I mean, just give a scroll through some of the erotica I have read or listened to and you will know and understand that I will read or listen to just about any book…smut or not.) I just thought this was more on the trash side, and not the good kind of trash.

Sometimes my boyfriend will say things like “you and your books” after our own sexytimes, because that is what “those books” should elicit out of it’s readers, and this book did nothing of the sort. If an erotic book cannot make a reader feel tingly inside, even in 12 pages (let’s face it, porn mag ‘articles’ are shorter), then maybe a re-work and re-wording of the story should be considered.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Taint

Posted on by Little Bee

18366077

Taint by S.L. Jennings

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

I had high hopes for this book. I believe it held a lot of promise. I can tell you, I didn’t quite see that ending coming!

When I first received this book at the RT Booklovers Book Convention in May, I was pretty excited. The cover was absolutely delish, the story line looked pretty interesting and it became one of the first books from the convention that I cracked open, aching to get into it!

Let’s get to the first point, and this may have been wrong of me…okay it was wrong of me….but I compared it sort of with the School for Submissives Brie attended in Red Phoenix’s Brie Learns the Art of Submission. Let’s face it, based on the description, a bunch of women that are not good lovers, are sent away to a secluded area where they learn to become AMAZING lovers that their hubbys can’t get enough of, sounds like it could be somewhat similar, am I right? So I feel that it was a legitimate jump…well, it wasn’t. So if you have read Brie, don’t make that connection. Because it is not.

Second point, I am still trying to figure out the obsession Justice had with Ally. Maybe I missed it completely. I feel like her character wasn’t fully built up to the amazingness that Justice was seeing. As a reader, it is important that comes across. Based on the little doozy at the end…if that is the reason he is obsessed with her, that is a bunch of crap and I will remove a star. Which, I am sure that has a FRACTION, because he does know who everyone’s husbands are, but if that is the SOLE reason, done…star is gone. I want to think that there was something spectacular about Ally that just wasn’t translating. I know she was pretty “real” based on the little bit of information that was given, but the author never really fully dove into Ally, or Justice for that matter. Justice was all “mysterious” and “brooding” and you didn’t really learn who he was until the end, and then you just felt sorry for him, but he was still sexy and his backstory  wasn’t any different than what happens OFTEN within that community. I wanted to tell him to put his big girl panties on and deal with it! It could have been worse. Get a therapist.

The final point I want to make about this story is that it just took way too long to get to the point. By the time anything significant happened, there was about 50 pages left to the story. And I believe I am being generous and significantly rounding up. That might have been when they first had sex. (Spoiler!) I normally stop reading a book by the 4th chapter if nothing significant has happened yet. I have read books where in the first 10 pages there were at least 3 deaths! (Not GoT either!) So, when a book is 219 pages and it takes almost 170 pages to actually get anywhere in the story? I am not sure why I kept trucking through! I guess because I knew at SOME point, it was going to hit the fan, and I HAD to be a part of it! And it HIT the fan hard! I didn’t quite see that ending, but I guess it was expected.

Posted in Romance

Nash

Posted on by Little Bee

18655937

Nash by Jay Crownover

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I want to say, as much as I love the Marked Men series, I feel like 4 stars is generous, that the actual rating is more like 3.5 stars.  I like Nash, but I didn’t like Saint. As far as the females in the Marked Men series, Saint is my least favorite.

In the Marked Men series, there are very real life issues that the relationships face, but with Nash and Saint, Saint has so many issues I am surprised that Nash stuck around. Most men would have head for the hills. Saint created her own issues back in high school. Instead of ASKING him, or attempting to find out, she automatically blamed him for something that she believed he said because she walked by and overheard a conversation. Now, I am sure, at some point in time, everyone has walked by a conversation and assumed it was about them, regardless of the situation and if it was or was not actually about that particular person. But in this case, Saint had created some random event in her head and instead of ever asking, talking about or mentioning, instead assumed. Turns out, Nash was deeply hurt when Saint randomly started to avoid him in high school because she was the only thing that made him truly smile. Nash thought she was too good for him to associate with, she was too smart and would amount to more than he could ever be. Saint on the other hand, thought she was disgusting and fat and not worth a moment of Nash’s time. A little bit of conversation could have gone a long way! Now, I have to admit, I am writing this review from a 30 year old mindset. So I have to attempt to think back on whether or not, I would have mentioned something if this were me in this situation, if I would have said anything? Unfortunately for Saint, that answer is still yes! I have always been that person to ask or point out or make others have emotionally draining conversations until I get to the bottom of whatever the issue is.