Tag: Book Reivew

Posted in Book Reviews

The Memory Stones

Posted on by Little Bee

The Memory Stones by Lewis Pennington

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first review in a year and a half! It has been a struggle to really read or get into anything with all that has happened in the world these last two years, but if there was a book to bring me back from it all, it just had to be this one!

The Memory Stones is a fantastic blend of historical fiction and fantasy. It follows Mase Winslow through an adventure of scandal, finding himself, love, and being the change he wanted to see in the world. Mase was the son of a local plantation owner in South Carolina. His best friend was named Spoons, a slave on the plantation. Now, I know what you are thinking. Today’s times are not the time to write a book involving slaves, and that was my fear reading the book, I wont lie….how would this be handled. I will give you this little spoiler, during Mase’s time in the “current” “present-day” time he spent in New York and South Carolina, he learns that the plantation he grew up on, was actually one of the stops on the underground railroad and that his father had very progressive beliefs compared to everyone else during the Civil War era time he lived in. Mase uses this knowledge, and the things he learns about the future, to take back with him when he makes it back in time to his own era.

I will let you be the judge of the content of the story, but it is a highly recommended read. I am anxiously awaiting the second book, because boy did that ending get me! The book is wonderfully written, with care being put into each character, each scene, and each chapter. Each character was well developed and had their own personal growth through the story that you got to enjoy along with them. I will tell you this though, normally, if an animal dies, I automatically knock a book back an entire star, because my poor animal loving heart just cannot take it. And while I was upset, when I really looked at the scene where a horse does die, there really isn’t any other way for that scene to have played out but for the horse to have died. So this is why, I left that star intact. I would never want such a heroic creature to suffer, and there was no way to write it back to health and life and keep the integrity of the story.

I really hope you decide to pick this book up and read it. It captures your attention from the very beginning, I am just sad that life got in the way and it took me so long to finish. I would think about it constantly because wherever I left off each time, was always in the most exciting of places. I can’t wait for the opportunity to continue reading Mase’s story.

Posted in Children Books

The Little Green Boat

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Little Green Boat by Chris Stead

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

 

The Little Green Boat  is about a little boy named Willy Nilly who has a trip to the beach planned with his parents. When Willy Nilly gets to the beach, he goes exploring and finds a little green boat. This little green boat takes him out into sea. Willy Nilly becomes very hungry he becomes determined to find food. Two dolphins swim up to him in the boat and inquires about what is wrong with Willy Nilly. Willy Nilly tells him he was taken out to sea and he is hungry. The dolphins offer to bring him to land, however, the land they bring him to is not the same as from where Willy Nilly departed. In search of food, Willy Nilly begins to traverse the island and pass monkeys who throw things at him, bats in a cave, alligators that try to eat him, up a mountain to where he finds a chest full of food. At the bottom of the chest is a note with a number and a phone to call for help. Willy Nilly calls the number, and before you know it, a helicopter comes and picks him up and brings him back to the beach his parents are located. His parents are just sitting down to eat, but Willy Nilly is no longer hungry and wants to go play.

This story was very cute. I really enjoyed Willy Nilly and his adventure for food. A kid after my own heart! I think this story is very light and enjoyable for kids. I believe it will keep a child’s attention throughout the story. I think, in the future, Willy Nilly should have a female friend go on these adventures as well. I think it would be great for young female readers. Working with children, this will definitely be a book I let my clients read while sitting in my office. Willy Nilly’s adventures on The Little Green Boat are fun and require Willy Nilly to be smart and brave. These are great factors in stories for young readers.

 

To find out more about the author and see the rest of the series, visit Old Mate Media

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Trapped in Wonderland

Posted on by Little Bee

Trapped in Wonderland by Dani Hoots

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I received a copy of Trapped in Wonderland from Netgalley. This is my own review. I was not paid for this review. 

This is the first book I have read by Dani Hoots and I can guarantee it will not be the last. Having said that, before I get to the “good stuff,” I want to explain why my actual rating was 4.5 stars.

There were times in the story, especially the first few pages, where it felt very rushed. The narration was very fast paced, almost like a kid hopped up on too much sugar. I felt I had to read fast to keep up. As the story went on, the narration pace slowed down.

I know this is an ARC, and hopefully there are many revisions to come as there are some things that need editing. This includes the use of wrong words, sentence structure issues, and some redundancy. I did not count off for this in my rating as, again, this is an ARC copy. I wanted to make note of this for editing purposes.

Normally I complain about weak female characters but in Trapped in  Wonderland this worked. Alice, who is not a very confident girl, gets sucked into Wonderland by kids she knew from school. It is her job to destroy Morpheus and the Cirque de Reves, a circus that brings about darkness from the inhabitants’ of Wonderland fears. Alice considers herself a weakling and is confused on what she can do to help. She is accompanied by the Mad Hatter, The March Hare, the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat, and eventually the Knave of Hearts. This group, who develop and strengthen friendships as the adventure continues, traversed through the Red and White Kingdom, escapes the Dream Kingdom, enters the Dark Forest and lives to tell the tale. With each adventure, Alice becomes bolder and more confident in her abilities to possibly succeed when she meets with Morpheus for a second time. Will she succeed? You’ll just have to read the book to find out!

My favorite character is Chase, or as we know him from the stories, the Cheshire Cat. He is funny, troublesome, and caring. He’s definitely my book boyfriend and I look forward to seeing more of him in the series. I found this image by thezayniac and I think it would be a perfect Chase:

I found myself becoming completely immersed into Wonderland and this particular story. I liked the various nods to the original story, while keeping true to this retelling. I have read a few Alice in Wonderland retellings, and Trapped in Wonderland is probably my favorite. I look forward to recommending this to friends once it is released and I look forward to future books in this series!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Smart as a Whip

Posted on by Little Bee

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Smart as a Whip by Judith Anderson

Goodreads rating: 4 stars

I received an email submission for Smart as a Whip in exchange for an honest review!

If Rebel Wilson and Albert  Einstein had a love child, it would be Kimber Cassidy.

Kimber Cassidy : If you think she’s too much for you, you’re probably right

Summary:

Coming close to giving up on her cherished dream of following

in her father’s footsteps, Kimber Cassidy, a plus-size

voluptuous beauty in her mid-twenties, jumps at the chance to

clear the name of a family friend, Manny. There’s been a

murder at a local BDSM playspace and Manny’s been framed

for the crime. In order to keep an innocent man from spending

his life in jail, Kimber needs to use the logical and analytical

skills taught to her by her father, a detective with the East Alton

police, who was killed in the line of duty when she was just

sixteen.

 

During her investigation into not only the murder, but also the

sexually provocative BDSM lifestyle, Kimber will need to use

her wits to gather all the facts and figure out who killed a

member of The Playspace; a local kinky club. But it won’t be

easy. During her adventure, she’ll come to know things not only

about her family, but about also about herself, that will shake

her to the core.

 

Things become even more complicated when Kimber meets

Jeremy, another club member who is as sexy as he is

dominant. As she delves deeper into the world of spanking and

bondage, she discovers her deepest dark desires, but will she

get lost in them? Only by relying on her father’s advice, facing

her fears, and realizing who she can trust and who she can’t,

will she be able to keep a man from suffering for a crime he did

not commit.

 

Review:

I was very excited to receive this book, I had been wanting to read it since shortly after it came out.

My overall opinion is that the book is original and can hold it’s own in the genre. This is slated as an erotica with an overall story beyond straight sex.  My qualm with this, I feel the rest of the story has more development and I find the sex scenes more lackluster. This story is a prime example. I felt the sex scenes could have been longer or at least in more detail. Or maybe I just wanted them to be longer and more detailed. I like to get worked up when I read erotica.  As far as the underlying story, I would have liked to learn more about the private investigation that Kimber was doing on the side of her actual job. I felt that, because this is a shorter story, that some aspects were glided over and became missed opportunities. It would have been nice to feel connected to Kimber instead of an observer of Kimber’s everyday life.

On the positive, it was still a great story. I liked Kimber, and would like to know Kimber better. Hopefully there will be other stories with Kimber so that readers can get to know her better and hopefully build that connection. I wish there was some more BDSM, and I feel this book was a good opener if one has not read a BDSM style book before.  I like that Kimber has confidence and an “in your face” personality. I feel there is a lot of promise in her character as she is further developed. And I of course loved Watson ❤ and am glad he was okay!! Or this would have gotten one less star!! 😉

 

 

About the Author:

Judith Anderson lives in the Midwest and has been living

the BDSM lifestyle since 2000. She has attended munches and

BDSM events for several years and is well versed in impact play

(spanking, paddling, caning, etc), fire play and rope. She has also

taught classes on aspects of the BDSM lifestyle within her local

community.

 

In 2015, she self-published Pretty When You Cry, an

anthology of her short stories, available on Amazon. It was

nominated for a Golden Flogger award by BDSM Writers Con for

best BDSM book in the “Anthology” category. She also had a short

story included in Riverdale Ave Books “The First Annual Geeky

Kink Anthology”. Her first novel, “Choice”, was published

by Blushing Books in Janurary 2016. She enjoys going for walks,

reading mysteries, listening to music and the sound of begging.

She particularly enjoys the begging. Especially accompanied by

tears.

 

Check out these links:

Facebook

Judith Anderson’s blog

Posted in Romance

Kick The Candle

Posted on by Little Bee

Kick The Candle

Kick The Candle by Genevieve Jack

Narrated by Brittany Pressley

Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

Narration Ration: 5 Stars

Kick the Candle  is the second installment of the Knight Games series by Genevieve Jack. Kick the Candle  was a great follow up to the first book The Ghost and the Graveyard in that a lot of issues were resolved, and new issues presented itself.

This riveting follow up had the right amount of every element needed to make a successful paranormal romance: steamy sex scenes; horrible scary monsters; the friendly big bad wolf; a lot of asskicking action, and a whole lot of suspense. Listening to the book had me intrigued throughout the book, though I will admit, the beginning started too slow for me. I listened to the last 3 hours of the book on a work trip, in which I was driving, and let me say, if you plan on listening to this book, do not drive a vehicle!!! I kept gasping and clenching my steering wheel trying to maintain control over the car!

I gave it 4 stars because I did feel that some concepts were over sold or dragged out. There were times I felt Grateful was too whiny. This is not a YA, and not NA either. It is a woman who has made some bad love decisions, discovering she is a witch reborn over centuries, and trying to come to terms with her Caretaker. I understand that is a lot to hold on her shoulders, but no need to beat a dead horse.

My favorite character in this book is Poe, her Raven familiar. I thought he was fantastic. His wit and charm is catchy, while also maintaining his heroic ferocity! I also enjoyed the newer characters that were “hidden” in the first book. I found the Leprechaun very entertaining, even if he was the bad guy.

I do not want to give away the end, but I am happy with how it ended. I am curious and excited for the next installment and what the next adventure will be with Grateful and her delicious Caretaker, Rick.

I highly recommend the series, and if you like Audiobooks, I equally suggest listening. Pressley is a great narrator. She strives to create a voice profile for each character that is enamoring and charming, striving to match the character’s personality.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Monster on the Mountain

Posted on by Little Bee

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Monster on the Mountain by Aurora Russell

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

This is the first Aurora Russell story I have read, and I can guarantee it will not be my last. I want to point out, this book has a LOT of sex. A LOT. So, if extremely sexy books are not your thing, this book is not for you.  The scenes are VERY explicit. So if your delicate sensibilities are too sensitive, this will shock you and make you blush.

What I liked about this book is that for paranormal erotica, it is original. The Monster is a hybrid shifter of bear and Siberian tiger. By being a double blooded hybrid shifter, his senses are double that of a normal shifter: he hears more, he smells more, he feels more. There are those who believe these double blooded shifters should be killed at birth and others who are more open to the hybrids. What is similar about this love story and other paranormal love stories, the connection is instant. Like other sifters, the monster, Kristoff, knows his mate the moment he meets her.

This story is about a monster that saved the girl. Bad guys who try to kill the monster. Bad guys steal the girl. Monster gets mad (and you dont like him when he’s mad 😉 ). Monster saves girl. Monster leaves girl because his life will cause her danger forever. Girl gets mad. Girl goes to monster. Monster realizes he is an idiot. Monster and girl live forever happy. The end. After almost every serious scene, there is a sexy scene. As generic as the above paragraph sounds, that combination can make for a great story if the monster is well developed, the threat is significant, and the girl is worth it. Aurora Russell takes this story line and provides all the correct elements to make it a fantastic love story.

Monster on the Mountain is a quick read, I read it in one day. It has action, adventure, paranormal, love, sex. Everything to make a story great. There are a couple loose ends though, and I would like them cleared up 🙂 Though I am not in a position to make demands. I am curious if there will be another book, if not with Kristoff and Adelaide, but maybe the other characters in the story, and Kristoff and Adelaide can make an appearance to answer some of my burning questions….liiiike….is SHE PREGNANT?!?!?!?

Posted in Book Reviews

Daring

Posted on by Little Bee

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Daring by Elliott James

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

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I want to first start by saying, I LOVE this series. This is the second book in the Pax Arcana series by Elliott James. For a sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal series, it is probably one of the single most entertaining reads I have read in a while. You can check out the review for Charming here: Charmed, I’m Sure

Unlike in Charming, the Knights Templar have a bigger role. You meet more Knights, including the very head honcho who puts John Charming up to an ultimatum: his life, and his friends’ lives be spared, if he infiltrated a wolf pack, and brought a human/knights killer to justice. And by justice…he means death.

Be prepared for just as much wit, fighting, betrayal, and humor as the first book. If you make time for the books, they are pretty quick reads due to their humor and story flow. There is not a lot of stalling in the story, and everything progresses at a normal, expected speed, with not really any filler or bits of information that if removed from the story, would not have altered it. Everything part in this story was necessary for story to progress appropriately.

And like the first book, I still picture that hunk John Charming being played in my head by Joe Manganiello! mmmm mmm mm!

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Rebel Spring

Posted on by Little Bee

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Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes

Goodreads rating: 5 stars

When I read a series, and it has been a while between books, I find it hard to write a review. So I like to look at the previous book’s review to see why I felt a particular way for one book and how I felt with the new book. The Falling Kingdoms series, thus far, has been a good read. It can sometimes be confusing, because multiple stories are going on at the same time. A few of the main characters each tell about different situations that happened to them and eventually by the end of the book, all stories and characters come full circle and connect together.

If you like The Game of Thrones and want a book series in a similar genre, The Falling Kingdoms would be a good start. In the very first book, a murder occurred within a few pages. It set the tone for the entire book which ended in more blood, some interestingly sketchy and unexpected love triangles, some more death and a whole lot of betrayal. So, after finishing the first book with a bang, I had similar expectations for book 2. Let me say, it delivered. There was even more betrayal, more blood, and more death. Like GoT, do not get too attached to characters, they have a bad habit of dying. The story continued, multiple perspectives going on and eventually leaving you feeling even more confused, emotionally distraught and somewhat hopeful. Due to how both books ended, I am reluctant, nervous and excited all rolled into one to finish this series out. Rebel Spring has been my favorite book by far. There was a significant amount of character growth for ALL characters. A lot of questions were answered, however, more questions needing answers filled that gap.

The kicker to this series? It is classified as a YA series…seriously. I have read quite a bit of YA in my life, and I only recall reading one other series that surprised me as being YA (Cate Tiernan’s Sweep series).

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Deep Trouble

Posted on by Little Bee

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Deep Trouble by R.L. Stine

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

I am going on an adventure and re-buying and reading Goosebumps books. I loved these books as a child. My favorites are Say Cheese and Die and Say Cheese and Die, Again. I enjoyed reading them when I was younger. In fact, if I had to pinpoint a book or series that really sucked me into reading, it would be the Goosebumps series. I don’t recall ever reading this particular book, but it is possible that I did. I remember some of these books used to scare me, and make me want to keep the lights on. I have to say, Deep Trouble was not my favorite. I know in Mr. Stine’s books that usually one of the characters is a bratty kid, but something about Billy really didn’t sit well with me. The Goosebump books also used to take me all day to read. And I was always super excited when I finished them in one sitting…my how I have grown eh?!

Posted in Book Reviews

The Glass Magician

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Narrated by Amy McFadden

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Audible Rating: 5 stars

This is the second book in The Paper Magician Trilogy. I must admit, if you have read my review on The Paper Magician, I was glad that this story had more to it. There was an actual storyline, Ceony wasn’t stuck in a never ending scene going from one ventricle in the heart to another. Between The Paper Magician and The Glass Magician, Ceony had a lot of character development. The author shows a lot of overall development as well.

I am hoping that the budding romance will move from “hints” to full on admitting that Ceony and Thane love each other. I understand that Thane cannot admit or act on his feelings for the fact that he is Ceony’s mentor and that would be wrong and is highly frowned upon. I do, however, feel that Ceony was constantly fighting herself and the feelings she has for Thane. It is almost crippling, to Ceony and to her magic. I believe that eventually it will filter through to the point of stunting her abilities. It is hard reading a book in which the protagonist is constantly going back and forth if their romantic feelings are valid and they are constantly searching out validation in their feelings from loved ones and friends.

Amy McFadden delivered amazingly, once again. I have not been disappointed yet by an audiobook that she has narrated. She is great at delivering believable emotions and making Ceony relatable. I will continue to listen to any book McFadden narrates due to the pleasurable experiences she brings!