Book Reviews

One Good Knight

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Little Bee

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One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey, Narrated by Gabra Zackman

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Actual Rating: 4.5

Narrator Rating: 5

One Good Knight is a retelling loosely following the Greek myth of Andromeda. Where Greek Lore indicates Andromeda to be beautiful, One Good Knight indicates she is “lesser” than most females and more homely than beautiful. One Good Knight is also loosely based from St. George and the Dragon, however, it is really in name only as this does not end in an entire town going through religious conversion.

In One Good Knight, Andromeda (Andi) is very book smart and she starts to notice some magical irregularities in her research for the Queen. During this time, the Queen had her consort conjure a dragon to wreck havoc on the villages. Andi is tasked to find out how to “rid” the kingdom of the dragon and discovers meaningful sacrifice would do so. A lottery is set up for virginal women, and each week a new name is drawn. After a while, the reader discovers prior to the cast, that this lottery is not by chance, but whenever a family displeases the Queen or speaks out against the Queen, their daughter is “selected” in the lottery and sent to die. During one such lottery, Princess Andi’s name is drawn and she is sent to be sacrificed, and so the adventure begins.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns this particular story had. As a reader, it is often times easy to get bored when books do as you expect. One Good Knight keeps readers entranced. Without giving away spoilers, the ending has been one of the best I have enjoyed. Much like in The Fairy Godmother, the Tradition had a mind of it’s own, only in One Good Knight I really enjoyed the way the Tradition worked for the characters. I feel Andi was well written. She is portrayed as a confused, homely, child not to be taken seriously for most of time leading up to her being sacrificed. Queen Cassiopia is one to be despised. She is heartless and offers up her daughter happily to be killed.

The reason the actual rating is 4.5 stars is mainly because it was soooo slow to start out. Once the excitement of Princess Andi being sacrificed to the dragon occurs, things really start to speed up.

I really can’t say there is a particular character I didn’t like, aside from the villains of course, but I even enjoyed them. I thought each character in the book gave the book it’s personality it took on. Oh but the twists!!! It would be too many spoilers to explain the twists, and I want any potential reader to be as shocked as I was when I first came to the twists.

I am really glad I started this series, and I look forward to more Virgin chasing unicorns, fairy godmothers, and all of the other Traditional tales yet to be discovered.

Spicy Romance

Escaped

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Little Bee

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Escaped by Trinity Blacio

Goodreads: 4 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Escaped is the first book in the Running in Fear series by Trinity Blacio. I have really turned into a fan of Blacio and my expectations were high.

I want to start with what I did not like about this story. My biggest issue with the overall story is that the leading lady, Jaycee, had been brutally raped as a child, and was in an abusive relationship and entered into a relationship that she didn’t fully understand AND the men in that relationship did not take into consideration what she has gone through. I believe that many instances of “control” are abusive in themselves. My fear has always been when BDSM relationships begin to boarder controlling, abusive, relationships. Blacio does clearly identify both of these in the story, however, I believe Jaycee’s mates are blurring the lines. I often find that the males in Blacio’s stories are bullheaded and need knocked down a peg or two.

I did like everything else in the story. I thought there was excitement, great sex, action, and romance. The story was fairly quickly and I was ready to move on to the second book immediately. As usual, I really enjoyed the sexy scenes and thought they were done nicely.

If you haven’t read one of Blacio’s stories, I do encourage it. My biggest remark to the publisher is that a better editor is needed. Sometimes the wrong names are used, as was the case in this story, and in another story I am reading, the setting is wrong. I think this can really turn off some new, potential, readers.

Romance

An Innocent Ride

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Little Bee

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Innocent Ride by Alethea Robertson

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I was provided a free copy for an honest review.

Innocent Ride is about young woman named Candace who is looking for her Romeo. Her Happily Ever After. She goes to a witch to have her Astrology read. Shortly after she comes into contact with 2 men, one of which she feels an instant connection with and the other she feels nothing but friendship.

During the story, Candace goes through many trials and tribulations where her feelings are tested and she is challenged to change her ideals on love and life. The reason I gave the story 4 stars is mainly because I felt some characters could have been more defined and situations better explained. For instance, Robbie confused me the whole time. I get that the connection was supposed to be magical, but his mood swings are never fully developed. Eventually you find out what is wrong with Robbie, but I felt like when those particular moody instances happened, it was a bit of a turn off because there was no follow up for majority of the book. The back and forth with the emotions for Candace was a tad whiny after a while. Now, I totally understand what it feels like to be heart broken and question another person’s feelings and motives, but it felt like half of the book was this scenario.

This book is lighthearted, quick to read, and unique. The main premise really holds around motorcycles and riding with her “prince.” I found myself engrossed with Candace and her determination to achieve her dream. I enjoyed the other characters as well. Oliver was definitely a favorite!!! I bumped the rating up on Goodreads because I felt that the book was original. There are not many scenes in the story, but that is okay. The descriptions were well done and I still enjoyed the entire story regardless of how the back and forth feelings made me feel.

This my first book by Alethea Robertson and I will definitely read more of her books in the future.

Children Books, Uncategorized

Follow the Bread Crumbs

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Little Bee

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Follow the Breadcrumbs by Chris Stead

Rating: 5 stars

Follow the Bread Crumbs is another cute story where Willy Nilly has a big idea that does not go according to plan. Willy Nilly is one day at the lake feeding the ducks and other birds and he has the idea of building a pond in his back yard for the birds to stay so he no longer had to clean his room in order to be permitted to the go to the pond. He went to the local baker and got some of his stale bread. He went home and dug a big hole in the back yard and filled it with water. He left bread crumbs from the pond to his back yard. When he went to bed, he hoped that a couple of ducks and geese would follow the bread crumbs. The next morning he finds out all the animals at the pond, and even an alligator, followed the crumbs to his house! Willy Nilly had to go get more bread to feed them because the animals were getting antsy and hungry. As he rode by the pond, he saw people crying because there were no ducks to feed anymore. When he got back to his house he decided to leave bread crumbs from his home back to the pond. The next morning when he woke up, he saw that all of the animals left the yard. When Willy Nilly rode his bike to the pond, he saw all the animals were back and everyone was happy again.

This is another story following Willy Nilly’s adventures. It was a cute story and once again, the graphics were amazing. I think young children will enjoy Willy Nilly’s Adventures. Chris Stead is a great children’s writers, and I hope to one day share them with my own children (once I have them!).

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

Children Books, Uncategorized

My Birthday Cake Needs a New Home

Posted on February 3, 2017February 3, 2017 by Little Bee

28462926 My Birthday Cake Needs a New Home by Chris Stead

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

My Birthday Cake Needs a New Home is about a little girl who had a great birthday, but had too much leftover birthday cake. She searches high and low for a new place to put her cake. She tries her ears, her belly button, the refrigerator, her bookshelf, and even in her dad’s car! She finally settled on giving it to her brother.

I really enjoyed the art work for this book. I liked how it had smashed cake everywhere she tried to hide it. I feel it really helps connect the story together. It only takes a couple of minutes to read and is a great bedtime story, especially for those who love their birthday and want to keep all of their leftover cake forever 🙂

Children Books

Sami the Magic Bear- A Trip to the Hospital

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Little Bee

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Sami the Magic Bear- A Trip to the Hospital by Murielle Bourdon

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Leukemia is any parents’ worst nightmare for their children. In Sami and the Magic Bear- A Trip to the Hospital, Laurie becomes sick and is diagnosed with leukemia. Laurie was very active prior to this diagnosis, and becoming sick makes her feel lonely and very tired. One day, Laurie’s teacher and classmates send a giant card and Sami the Magic Bear. Sami makes Laurie very happy, and less lonely. One night as she goes to sleep she says that maybe she just let go. The next morning Sami is alive and tells Laurie that she needs to be strong and keep going. This gives Laurie hope. Later, Laurie is released from the hospital and her life gets back to normal.

I try not be critical when it comes to reviewing children’s books, but I try to review objectively. I did like this Sami story, but it seems like something is missing. I think it is a great story to help sick children when they need a lift or to be reminded to hold on and keep strong. This would be a great story for any kid, sick or not. It is very positive, and even made me a bit teary eyed.

Spicy Romance

Desire Under the Dark Moon

Posted on December 9, 2016December 9, 2016 by Little Bee

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Desire Under the Dark Moon by Trinity Blacio

Goodreads Rating 4 stars

Actual rating 3.5 stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the third installment of the Wicked Sisters Series. Finally, it has become clear why it is called the Wicked Sisters! In this particular story Allie, the final single sister, came back after a year of being kidnapped. This is also 2 years since the mating of Whitney with her mates in Frankenstein’s Submissive. The basis of this story is that, even though all 3 sisters are mated, their mates have to fight to keep them. The Dark Moon happens once every 1000 years and all males of every supernatural species has the right to challenge for any one of the sisters to become their mates, regardless if they are already mated. Then, as a whole family unit, all three sisters and their mates basically run the supernatural world and can go through multiple dimensions/planes.

I did not like this one AS much as I enjoyed the other two in the series. I felt the whole book was focused more on this Dark Moon, and there was not enough sex, and the sex scenes they did have weren’t as exciting.

I did like that we find Whitney has had a kid, but it is unclear if Marci has as she wanted one at the end of book 2. I liked Darwin and Steel. I was a little confused by the trio. The book does not really explain how a wolf, demon, and bear came together as a set. Lance appeared to be the “head” of the group much the way Frank and Garth are the head of their little groups in the previous stories, however, he did not seem “strong” enough to be the head of the group. Darwin seemed to have stronger features and bigger ties. It was a little confusing determining their mate structure. I gave this a 4 star rating on Goodreads because i felt that it was better than a 3 star, though the actual rating is somewhere in the middle. It would have gotten a higher rating if there were some pretty WOW sex scenes like her books previous had and if some of the fight scenes had some more details. The epic battle was very brief. If this installment was to focus on the Dark Moon and it’s meaning, I felt it should have had more umph.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but felt it did not hold up to par compared to the other books I have read by this author. Also, I was very happy that the editing was MUCH better than previous stories I have read from this author.

YA Book Reviews

Mirrored by Alex Flinn

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Little Bee

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Mirrored by Alex Flinn

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

Mirrored marks my final Retelling in the Retellings challenge I participated in this year. It has been fun. And I met the challenge goal of 12 retellings since January 1, 2016!!

Mirrored is the retelling of Snow White and her evil, wicked Step Mother. This book as the fairest of them all (Celiene), the wicked stepmother who is uber jealous (Violet), Kendra (from the book Beastly), various dwarves (including Jorge–pronounced George, Stacey, and Goose), the prince (British rock star named Jonah Prince), and a mango (instead of an apple…because they live in Florida).

I gave it only 4.5 stars because I felt like there was so much build up, creating the story and back drop, that by the time the “Big Kiss” happens, it was not as spectacular as it could have been. The whole situation felt awkward and forced. I also feel that the last few chapters were just kind of “bleh.” I was hoping for just as much excitement in the end as the story had at the beginning.

Either way, this story was wonderful. It is the 3rd book in the series. I didn’t read the second book, but it appears they can be read out of order. There was one comment regarding Beastly that threw me off. Kendra mentions the boy she turned into a beast during a conversation with a young Violet in the 1980s….but Beastly was more recent…they had technology such as Instant Messenger and cell phones, that it would be impossible in a LOT of ways that Beastly occurred before 1985. I am still trying to wrap my hand around it.

Children Books

The One and Only Ivan

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

This review contains spoilers. Through the ENTIRE review. I don’t usually do that, however, I cannot explain my rating without telling why.

The One and Only Ivan is such a sweet book. It is a fast read told from the perspective of Ivan, a Silverback that was captured in the wild when he was a young gorilla. He was ultimately brought to a roadside Big Top circus by Mack, the man who bought him when he was captured.

Ivan thinks his life is perfect the way it is, he does the same thing everyday and never really thinks anything about it. One day, a baby elephant named Ruby is brought to the show in order to bring more people in. The older elephant, Stella, immediately takes to Ruby and helps her get adjusted. But one night, Stella dies, leaving Ruby all alone. Ivan made a promise to Stella that Ruby would know better in the world, and not be left in that Big Top like the rest of them.

After Stella’s death, Ivan thinks and thinks of ways that he can get Ruby to a Zoo where she could be taken care of by good people and run with other elephants. Finally, Ivan gets an idea. This idea is sparked through his love of art, and a little girl named Julia (her father cleans the Big Top every night after it closes) provides Ivan with finger paints and teaches him to use it. Ivan sees a commercial for the local zoo and paints a picture on MANY pages of paper. Once it is complete he tries giving it to Julia so she can see it. Julia doesn’t understand, but eventually sees letters that spell out the word HOME. Julia and her father set to figuring out the puzzle and eventually see that Ivan painted a picture of Ruby at the local zoo (logo included) with the word HOME at the bottom. Julia begs her father to put the sign up over the current billboard logo, and he finally relents. The next day lots of people show up at the Big Top to see Ivan and Ruby. There are also protesters outside of the Big Top. Eventually a news crew comes by to take photos of Mack and Ruby, and of Ivan. During an interview with Mack, the cameraman goes around the Big Top and spots the claw-poke that Mack uses to get Ruby to do tricks. You know the one, that circus trainers poke the back of elephants with? The really MEAN device….and this claw-poke gets aired on TV! The next day, an inspector comes to inspect the Big Top. After that, someone comes with a Ruby sized crate, and will click a clicker whenever Ruby touches it and gives Ruby a treat. After that, an Ivan sized crate comes and the same process is repeated. Finally, both boxes arrive. Ivan goes into his box so that Ruby will not be scared. After Ivan goes into his crate, he is sedated. When he comes too he is in an enclosed room with a bunch of people who are taking care of him. Soon, the lady who brought the Ivan sized box comes in and puts a show on TV for him. It is of gorillas. Two females and a juvenile male. He notices there is no silverback to protect them. He watches them. Everyday. Until one day, the woman opens the windows. Ivan looks outside and sees the gorillas he has been watching on tv. The zoo slowly introduces him with the other gorillas. One day while out in his zoo jungle, he goes to the highest peak. Where he can see Ruby playing with the other elephants. Ivan is very happy. Ivan is finally home.

This book made me cry happy tears. The change in Ivan when he accepted that Ruby deserves better than what he has grown up with. Ivan did not remember prior to be captured. He only remembered being at the Big Top. This book was very moving. I found myself entranced, even in the simplicity of the writing. Simplicity is not always a bad thing. There was no need for fluff in this story. Applegate did not need it.

If you want to be moved, I suggest it. Even with the spoilers I provided, I left out a lot. I have never read this particular writing style, but I enjoyed it. I have wanted to read this book for a long time, so I am glad I finally bought the copy to read.

Book Reviews

Of Ocean and Ash Blog Tour

Posted on September 16, 2015September 17, 2015 by Little Bee

Of Ocean and Ash

by A.R. Draeger

Series: Falling In Deep, #3

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Cover Designer: Quirky-Bird

Release Date: June 9, 2015

Of Ocean…

Cast into the sea at birth, human-born Ia found her adoptive family among the merfolk. While her underwater upbringing was peaceful, Ia’s blood-heritage and the strict societal rules of the merpeople lead her to wonder of the world above the waves.

And Ash…

When a storm lands Ia ashore, she discovers her body has transformed into the human she would have been. Taken in as property by a callous plantation owner, Ia works alongside the slaves until she can make her way back to the water. There is nothing Ia wants more than to go home, that is, until she meets a handsome, troubled man named Matthias, who has a touch that can be as kind as his tongue is harsh.

Torn between two very different lives, Ia must choose – stay in his world and risk her life for a love untested, or return to the familiar arms of the underwater world that raised her and risk losing what may be the greatest love she will ever know.

Will Ia’s choice lead to happiness or her destruction?

Goodreads rating: 5 stars

I was given a copy of this book for my honest review, I was not paid for my review or my thoughts. These are my own.

I have to admit, I have been excited and nervous to review a book of someone I know, someone I communicate with. Granted, we are not best friends, we do not hang out on weekends or go have coffee and talk about recent trips and adventures, we do talk. Her and my mom talk. However, even though I know her, my rating still stands at 5 stars because I am here to rate her book and not her as a person (and she is pretty damn cool in my opinion 😉 ).

First, the writing is amazing and very fluid, the story has moved a long very quickly. Every aspect of this story flows together in one smooth motion, like spreading rich, creamy peanut butter on a piece of freshly baked bread. You become enamoured with Ia from the very beginning. You want her to succeed at becoming a Caller, but at the same time, you don’t want her to succeed because you want her to have the freedom to escape the likes of Ro. It is a historical romance piece, set during 1736 in the Caribbean. I believe the amount of research needed had to be immense to get the amount of detail for the different types of servitude (slavery, indentured etc). Reminds me of the picture Amber actually posted on her page, but I have seen other writers on my news feed posting lately:

I like history, I like how it is explained in the context of the story, how it is explained to Ia, who does not understand or know the differences, because it shows that a lot of research was done to get it correct. I do not read a lot of historical romance often, and I like the paranormal and historical romance combination to create this piece.

My least favorite character is Ro. I would not want to be forced into Ia’s position where I would either have be Ro’s bride or have Ro force himself upon me and there be nothing anyone could do about it due to being a Lesser. The scene that Ia had witnessed at the beginning where Ro raped another Lesser was sad, and when Ro discovered that she did in fact see, he didn’t care and informed Ia that one way or another, she would be his.

One qualm I do have with the story, some terms I had to just kind of figure out. The mer-society Ia is a part of is interesting, and though some terms I could figure out on my own, such as Lesser, it would be nice for a small dictionary somewhere (maybe there is and I just didn’t know) where other terms would be. I gathered that a Caller would be similar to a Siren, maybe, because of my work and how much of it I have been doing on little food and sleep the past few days, I didn’t connect the dots right off on my own, but some of the roles in the mer-society, would be nice to be listed out.

I have been trying to decide my feelings on Mathias. He warns Ia of the dangers of Lord Malcom and other Overseers, but something inside me kept telling me to be mindful of him. Him being in a position of power is just as capable of hurting Ia. I feel too often, his moods are bipolar. I do like that he does care, and I can appreciate the risks he puts himself in by some of his actions. In the same respect, Ia does not fully comprehend the exact risk because she is not of land. He did grow on me, but even by the end, I still have mixed feelings with him. Men. Should have listened!

I wanted to cut Lord Malcolm. He was well written. If you want to hate a bad guy, he is written to be hated! As a reader, you wanted to kick him, cut him, punch him and come to Ia’s rescue every chance you get! (I won’t go into more because I do not want to give spoilers, but brace yourself, poor girl).

I have to admit, as I was reading, I often kept thinking of the Little Mermaid. Maybe, this is because it was my first mermaid story I read, but Ia reminded me of Ariel so often!! The first time she saw her legs after she was washed up on the shore after the storm, when she first saw a spoon to use for her soup before chores, and pretty much any other time she had any experience with a human object. I found myself hoping the entire story she would return to the ocean, even if there were aspects she did not like in being a mermaid. I know that is selfish of me. Ia was born crippled, and tossed into the ocean at birth by her father who would rather her die than try to raise her in this world as a cripple. When she was washed up on the shore, she lost her fins and gained her legs back, but they were crippled like she was at birth. Ia had to learn how to be human when she has never been human other than the few minutes when she came into existence.

In true form to my book reviews, I didn’t want to give away any spoilers, read the book. It is sooooo goood!!!! And it gets even better, like OMG amazing once it hits the climax!!! DO IT!

Click here to see all the stops on the Of Ocean and Ash Review Tour!

A.R. (Amber) Draeger resides in rural Texas with her husband, Josh, and son, Logan. When not writing or reading, she is watching reality TV shows or tromping through the nearby woods.