This is the second whitelisted Macmillan review title that I've downloaded through Edelweiss+. I had to read the first book in the series, Dog Dish of Doom before I could read this one (you can find my post for that here). In general, there is something about E. J. Copperman's characters that really appeals to me.
In this story, Kay is representing a parrot for a popular zombie television series. She encounters entirely different cops this time, which makes sense considering the murders in both books have taken place in New York. Kay is again reluctant to be pulled into an investigation, but her client was the only witness. While the cop this time certainly does NOT ask for her assistance, Kay feels she needs to help and poke around for other reasons. I don't want to say too much and give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.
This one's mystery is a bit more convoluted and maybe even a little ridiculous, but I still enjoyed it. I enjoy the characters, I enjoy the humor, and I especially enjoy the combination that comes out in Kay's narration of the story.
I look forward to whatever the third book may be, and I hope to read some more of E. J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen's other work in the meantime.
This has been on my TBR list for awhile, but when I had the opportunity to get a review copy of book 2, I bumped this one up on my list. Even then I have so many books right now, it was chance that I picked it up and started reading a few lines before I got out of my car after work. But that first bit interested me enough that I kept going once I got inside (not easy with all the chaos of home these days). I enjoyed the concept. I enjoyed the dogs. The title is just as theatrical as the characters - more so than the actual mystery. But I still enjoyed sorting the mystery out.
I found it interesting that the main character, Kay, isn't actually seeking to poke her head into this murder (mostly), but instead is prompted by her parents and the detective on the case. That was a change of pace, although I don't know that I found the detective requesting her investigative assistance very believable.
Anyway, I have the second book, Bird, Bath, and Beyond ready to go in my Kindle as soon as I finish some of the other books I have going.
Series: Family Spies, Bk 1 (but actually a novel of Valdemar and a spin off of both the Collegium and Herald Spy series)
ISBN: 9780756413170
Length: 360 pages
Obtained: Library copy
Comments:
I read through this one relatively quickly (I didn't want to leave it to go to work). I was relieved because the Herald Spy books dragged a bit for me. I don't know if this is the series itself - The Hills Have Spies features Mags and his eldest son Perry (Peregrine), or if the difference is that I read the Herald Spy series as ebooks while I read the print format for this book. Whatever the case - reading this went much smoother for me.
Perry has Animal Mindspeech and has been taught much of his father's spycraft. Now it is time for him to leave Haven and put his skills and Gift to the test in the real world - where innocents are disappearing.
I look forward to more of this series. Perhaps with one of Perry's siblings next time.
Marlin has a stutter that makes him much more comfortable with animals
than people. When Marlin's famous explorer father brings a jaguar into
the zoo there's a sudden upheaval within Marlin's life. This was an
interesting story. I definitely predicted some major events, but other
aspects surprised me. Some issues addressed are: wild vs civilization,
treatment of native people and colonialism, family relations, bullying
and self-confidence, differences and likenesses in beings, socioeconomic
structures, etc.
Obtained: Personal copy - I think I might have gotten it via paperbackswap.com some time agao, but I don't remember for sure.
Why this book?:
I was trying to figure out which books I could read in an effort to further reduce my collection of books. It picked me up right away, but I had other books to get to first. So weeks later, I could choose a new book, it was right there, and I snagged it.
Comments:
It has been YEARS since I read the first book in this series, Catnapped (library copy). I did not (and still do not) remember the story - only that I enjoyed it. But I was still able to quickly get into this one. I really enjoyed it.
I read much of it while sitting in a parking lot waiting on someone shopping, and the great humor and characters made up for the obnoxious humidity and heat. I liked Sara, Connor, Connor's family and SEAL buddies (though I withheld reality that they would be able to watch Sara like they did without getting in trouble with the bosses), and the dog, Pavarotti.
I was deeply disappointed that the third book in the series, Horsewhipped (for which there is a sneak peek in the back of this one), was never released as scheduled and that apparently Gabriella Herkert has disappeared from the face of the earth. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but her website no longer exists, and the only social media found is Linkedin. Though it seems her law career is thriving.
It was the selection for the discussion I do. I originally picked it because it looked interesting and I enjoyed Water for Elephants.
Comments:
Most of the people who read it for the discussion enjoyed it. (One didn't - she thought there was much more mention of sex, particularly where it concerned the bonobos, than necessary.)
I thought the story was okay. The writing flowed very well. I didn't dislike it, but I was okay setting it down and reading something else before finishing it. I'm fairly sure I read Water for Elephants in one sitting, so I guess that means it wasn't as good? Or maybe it just means I'm more easily distracted than I was 7 years ago? I suspect the reason is a combination of those possibilities.
Anyway, I probably will read more by Sara Gruen. I've heard pretty good things about At Water's Edge.
Title: Horse of a Different Killer
Author: Laura Morrigan [Website][Facebook][Twitter]
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
ISBN: 9780425257210
Obtained: Library copy
I enjoy this series, though once again I found myself scraping my brain to remember what happened in the first two stories leading up to it. This time around Grace's sister is suspected of murder, Grace's usual sources are unavailable to her for one reason or another, and she must scramble to find the truth... and a missing possibly mistreated horse along the way.
I look forward to reading more of this series in the future.
Title: Texts From Mittens: A Cat Who Has an Unlimited Data Plan and Isn't Afraid to Use It
Author: Angie Bailey [Website][Website/Book Facebook][Website/Book Twitter]
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 9780373893225
Obtained: Library copy
Very cute. Parts were funny and needed to be shared. Parts were silently amusing. And parts were okay, moving on...
Title: Through the Woods
Author: Emily Carroll [Website (scroll down for "About" section)][Publisher Page][Twitter]
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN: 9781442465954
Obtained: Library copy
This is a series of stories all featuring a "through the woods" element.
The thing about this book is that you need to pay attention to the recommended ages. Because my 7yo nephew came to look at it with me, and I was reading aloud (just because I enjoy it). He didn't understand the first story (and I didn't explain), and the second story creeped him out so bad he had nightmares. When he saw the cover nearly a month later he called it the "bad book". So FYI, it is intended for "Ages 14 and up".
But back to reading aloud, it works wonderfully with a low slow tone. I loved the atmosphere and flow of the stories. The one story I didn't care for was "The Nesting Place". Ugh. But otherwise the stories shared a kind of cool and creepy feel, with corresponding images.
I enjoyed this book, and Midnight Texas. This is a multi-perspective story, but it works.
Once again, though I am left knowing I really need to read and/or re-read some of Charlaine Harris's other series. I especially need a refresher on the Sookie Stackhouse series, because a couple more came out in this story and some of the story line actually reflected things that had happened in the Sookie series. But I also need to read the Aurora Teagarden books (which I never did) and finish the Lily Bard books.
Why this book?: I read everything new by AQ/JAK/JC
Comments:
The heroine's name is Ursula. That is what first struck me about the
book. When I hear Ursula, I don't think historical English woman
(though I suppose that suits). I think Disney villain - one that creeps
me out more than most other Disney villains. Once I pushed past that I
was able to continue with and enjoy the story. It has many of the same
characteristics that make AQ/JAK/JC books comfort reads, so it was a
feel good story. Nothing else especially stood out as being something I
should mention though.
Life got busy and complicated and my blog suffered for it. But I have still been reading. I'm going to try to remember everything (except the kids books). I'll write a little something about the books if I can (such as if I jotted notes down, or if I read it recently). I have to do this in multiple parts because I'm limited by the tags.
Here we go...
Title: Prayers for Sale
Author: Sandra Dallas [Website][Facebook]
This was a book club read. I had the following notes saved on my phone...
I enjoyed. Historical fiction can be so interesting, and this fit the bill. Stretched between the Civil War, the Depression, and Mining. Plus the Colorado Mountain setting, the old teaching the young, the storytelling, and the friendship aspects... They combination appealed to me. There was both sorrow and joy, but overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to trying more by Sandra Dallas. I discovered at the end that some of the characters can be found in other books so I intend to go back and discover these additional stories.
It was the January title for the discussion group I'm leading.
Comments: Also as far as I had gotten in a draft post from early February. LilyAnn has been living a tedious life, until one day she gets a wake-up call and starts making some changes.
Is the south (southern USA) really like this? Every time I read a book about small town southern life I wonder.
I couldn't resist the cover, the title, or the little bit that I read of the blurb (the first sentence or two).
Comments:
It wasn't exactly what I expected, especially with the multiple perspectives. But that didn't make it less interesting. As I was adding this my nephew (7 yo) came up behind me and read the title. I told him that some people do horrible things and kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks/horns. He says, "Can't they just cut them off without killing them?" I say, "Cutting them off can kill them. People don't need that stuff." He thinks and responds, "Why don't they just cut them off dead ones?" (meaning those who've died of natural causes). He was called away before I could respond... ::sigh::
I had just finished Woof at the Door; I was interested in Grace's story and wanted to read more.
Comments:
So this time around Grace is called out to a rescue to check on a Tiger that isn't behaving like himself. In the process she learns of a girl who is apparently missing. No one is looking into the girl's whereabouts though, and Grace is concerned enough to start investigating.
I like Grace, despite the fact that she can be a little but of an anti-trust ninja. I like Kai (romantic interest and detective). I love the animals involved in the books/stories. There are some (too many) assumptions made, but not too many for me to handle. And not everything surrounding the mystery is as it seems, which is nice.
It was overdue, my hold for the 2nd book had just come in at the library, and I was in the mood.
Comments:
I didn't read the blurbs ahead of time, so I was surprised by a line on the 2nd page, "Like Dr. Dolittle and Ace Ventura, I can, and do, talk to animals." First, I read the Dr. Dolittle books as a child, so this line brought a fond-memory induced smile to my face. But second, she talks to animals! And solves mysteries! (Oh the little things that thrill me.) Now I recently had a dog ghost that talked, but this is all animals. Like in Tamora Pierce's YA fantasy books. Suffice it to say I'm very happy with this aspect.
Anyway, Grace is called in to help with a supposedly vicious Doberman whose owner was just murdered. Not only does Grace calm him, but she realizes he's the only witness. But he's freaked out and not sharing clearly, and once he does how can she possibly tell anyone? No one will believe her... or will they?
I zipped right through this and the 2nd book, A Tiger's Tale, after it.
I like Salina Yoon's work, and I was curious about this one.
Comments:
This is a cute book. There's a straightforward opposites aspect. But there's an underlying humor as well for the observant (kid or adult). i.e. The "Straight Snake" is straight of course. But he's also a sheriff and "straight-shooter" while the "Tangled Snake" is a burglar tangled up in his prison stripes. And there are others humorous touches. The "Quiet Snake" that is reading all about music. The "Slow Snake" that even a snail is outpacing - with a lead. Just a quick, cute picture book.
Penguin does the same activities all the time. So he decides he's going to go somewhere warm. He finds out that he can't do all those same activities on the sand (though you can sandboard which is similar to sledding - one of the things penguin finds he cannot do on the sand - I've done it). Anyway he makes a new friend (Yea for new friends!) learns what he is able to do while on vacation in a tropical location, and experiences new things. I though Penguin and Pinecone was better, but this one was still cute.
Personally, I thought this looked boring. But my niece chose it to check out and be read so that is what we did. It turned out to be better than I expected. While the cover is pretty dull, the pictures are more colorful, and the story decent. Twins Minnie and Max are getting ready for bed. At each step of the way they act like different animals, two by two. It has a Noah's Ark theme to it I didn't expect.
This was fine to read through once. After that I was ready for it to be over. Too bad the kiddos decided they wanted to hear it again. And again. ::sigh:: There wasn't anything wrong with this, I guess I just wasn't in the right mood or something.
My ma works for a pest control company so I'm drawn to the bugs...
Comments:
The text was nothing special to me, but the illustrations are bright and vivid. It's a nice board book, and I feel sure the kiddos would have appreciated it if they had seen it where it was buried in the stack of books.
The story's a nice tale of a glasswing butterfly with clear wings who loves lovely flowers and colors. She is swept away and ends up in a city where she helps (along with a ladybug, ant, and pigeon) the community garden grow into a lovely patch of color surrounded by the gray, etc. of the city concrete and steel. There's a note on Glasswings and Pollination at the beginning of the book. And the colors and illustrations are absolutely lovely.
Author: Kate Banks (Macmillan); Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben (Macmillan)
Publisher: Frances Foster Books
ISBN: 9780374305918
Obtained: Library copy
Why this book?:
My niece picked it out.
Comments:
A young boy's bedtime storybook comes alive for him as his mother reads it. He learns about bear and hibernation along the way. Cute and I like the book coming alive through reading. Not much more to say.
The pictures look like posters or adds They are vivid and catchy. Each has a saying or quip with it and is captioned with a fact about the animal pictured. Example - The tiger is "All Ears" and a fact is given about the tiger's hearing.
Title: Dishing Up Death Author: Marie Celine aka Glenn Eric Meganck aka J. R. Ripley
Publisher: Beachfront Publishing
Series: Gourmet Pet Chef Mystery featuring Kitty Karlyle, Bk 1
ISBN: 1892339951
Pages: 242 + recipes throughout
Obtained: paperbackswap.com
Why this book:
I thought it sounded like a fun cozy. Plus, there's the pet aspect.
Comments:
I started this book with high hopes and ended it feeling disappointed. It actually moved pretty well, pace-wise. I could pick it up and keep reading. It wasn't a slow start, I didn't drag through it.
The problem is the characters. They seem artificial. Characters make a book for me. I can overlook plot, some editing, and how realistic or likely the story is. But if I can't properly like the characters...
Kitty is - I don't even know how to describe her. She can come across as naïve and child-like in some of her reactions. But when you think about it, she's running her own business, successfully completed culinary school, and is now investigating a murder.
So how is it that she can be so ignorant when her best friend decides to throw out all the food in her kitchen (Because hello? She thinks the cops aren't going to want to have access to that for evidence? And she isn't going to look suspicious?) Or she goes into people's houses, accepting them as clients willy-nilly without a thought to safety. And that's something, coming from me.
But there were other things that bother me. The victim's friend talks about how he wouldn't mind being between her thighs, yadda yadda. This might not be out of place in another book. But it jumped out and felt forced here. I understand the author was saying something about the character, but still.
Then there is the play between the detective and Kitty. I actually like the detective. I do. And his side of things and intentional rushing actually added some humor. But I did not understand what appealed to him, and I didn't feel any reciprocity or chemistry on Kitty's end.
::sigh:: I feel so frustrated just re-capping all this. There was just so much potential! I wanted so much to enjoy this. And I did to an extent. But the frustration (especially with the end, which I can't bring myself to talk about) has muted the enjoyment.
This was supposed to be a Cozy Cull book, but the condition (an ex-library hardback, thus with more wear than usual) plus my feelings on the story... We'll see. I still might.
A very cute book.
Crispin's family has always been fire-breathing, and now that he's
seven he'll join them in the ranks of fire-breathing dragons. Or
will he? I really enjoyed Crispin's tale. It was different and fun
(after all, he's not your typical dragon).
Canadian Book (Set in Drumheller,
Alberta, Canada; Author resides in B.C., Illustrators Ontario
residents)
Words flow in a bouncy musical sort of
way, with vocab (instruments as well as descriptors). Would make for
a cute bedtime story. I read it twice in a row to the kiddos, but
didn't fully appreciate it myself until I read it on my own later.
Adorable. When I actually sat down and read this I really enjoyed it. It was clever, had a great ending, and was plain ol' fun. Plus there's a recipe at the end for all those that enjoy that sort of thing.
Canadian Book (Author born in Manitoba and resides in B.C.)
Author: Dr. Seuss aka Theodor S. Geisel aka Theo Lesieg
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0394800869
Obtained: Library copy
Why this book:
My eldest nephew loves Dr. Seuss and I hadn't read this one before.
Comments:
Poor Thidwick! They just so take advantage of his big-hearted nature! And what horrible friends to leave him that way! And what a great ending! =) My nephew enjoyed it too, of course.
I picked this with my youngest nephew in mind (he LOVES trains), even though I figured the story was a bit older. Basically two boys get into their toy box. One pulls out Shark. The other pulls out train. And shark and train have at it. Who wins when they're selling lemonade? Or trick-or-treating? It goes back and forth including finding some things that both shark and train are bad at. It ends when it's time for lunch...until next time, that is. Best one line - Shark: "I'm gonna choo-choo you up and spit you out." lol!
I picked this because it looked fun. I thought it might be like another book - one I absolutely love - called A Bear for Breakfast by Jennifer King.
Anyway, it did turn out to be fun with a nice rhythm for reading aloud, as well as including some vocabulary, rhyming, and onomatopoeia. Plus it has bright colorful illustrations.
Something of note: the rhinos were watching TV. Guess what they were watching? Arthur. Why is this important? The illustrator for this book, Marc Brown, is the author/illustrator for the Arthur series.
I was seeing this everywhere on the blogosphere. And everyone had nothing but praise. So I requested my library purchase it and waited patiently while continuing to see recommendation after recommendation. After ALL THAT HYPE I did not, unfortunately, fall in love with it the way everyone else did. Don't get me wrong. It was cute and all. The animals all following Lydia in her burst of discovery were great. Especially the whale in the sky and the dinosaurs. And I appreciated the message. I think it was more one of those cases where your expectations get built so HIGH that the book can hardly meet them.
I picked this because I thought it'd make a bus ride sound fun. That is, my 5yo nephew has been having issues with not wanting to ride the bus and not wanting to go to preschool. I thought, well, maybe this might make a bus ride more appealing.
Turns out the monkey on the school bus is just one page, but that's okay. It was still a nice bouncy sort of read. I didn't end up reading it to my nephew though (read it to my niece instead), so I didn't get to test my theory.
This is that song. I obsessed over the tune to that song for half my shift, trying to remember it and now as I blog this it's stuck in my head. But you know the song (maybe?).
"There was a tree in the hole, and a hole in the ground, and the green grass grew all around, all around, and the green grass grew all around."
Anyway, this is that song with pictures filled in for words (and a rebus key afterwards), lovely illustrations, and the song (complete with notes and whatnot) at the end.
Title: Giraffe and Bird
Author: Rebecca Bender aka Rebecca Buchanan
Publisher: Dancing Cat Books
Series: Giraffe and Bird, Bk 1
ISBN: 9781897151846
Obtained: ILL Library copy
Comments:
After reading Don't Laugh at Giraffe, I had to read the book that preceded it as well. Unfortunately, my library doesn't own this so I was left waiting for ILL. I read it and jotted down some notes before I returned it. Too bad I promptly misplaced them. So my memory about what I wanted to say is shaky. My apologies in advance.
Like Don't Laugh at Giraffe this one emphasizes vocabulary. One of them (can't remember which) can't abide the other. One of them can't stand the other. Etc. They finally part ways, but then they discover maybe they'd be better off with each other than alone. I guess it's a good example of a symbiotic relationship. I had more to say, but I'm afraid it's gone now...
Title: A Few Bites
Author/Illustrator: Cybèle Young
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Series: A Few ..., Bk 2
ISBN: 9781554982950
Obtained: Library copy
Comments:
I found this on the new books rack, thought it was appealing, read it on my lunch hour, decided to check it out... And I did eventually read it to one of the kiddos. I found Viola's imagination and the way she made everything so much more appealing to little brother Ferdie charming. The illustrations are great as you can see each scenario from dinosaurs to aliens unfold around the setting of their house in color. There's something so charming about books that emphasize the child's imagination. The only part that fell slightly short for me was the ending when Viola runs out of ideas to convince Ferdie to eat his ravioli. It was just so abrupt.
While I was looking up the links for this I discovered:
1. This is another accidental Canadian book!
Cybèle Young lives in Toronto.
2. There's actually another book around Viola and Ferdie titled A Few Blocks in which Viola convinces Ferdie to go to walk to school using similar techniques to this one. I look forward to trying that book as well.
I've seen plenty of Splat books, but I haven't really read them until this one. I found myself charmed. Splat is so eager to get a very big present from Santa that he makes extra attempts to be good and helpful. He makes a mess of it, but he's just so excited. So excited, in fact, that he stays up listening for Santa. But he doesn't hear anything. Wasn't he good enough? I'll definitely be trying more of the Splat books in the future...and there are quite a few to choose from.
Santa is lazy. He's also beardless (I point this point out because my niece asked about it the moment she saw the first picture). Everyone else has to pick up the slack, especially his dog Rodney. But that Christmas goes horribly, with lots of complaints (I would have complained too). So Rodney decides since Santa obviously isn't going to take action, he will. This is a cute story. It's definitely a different perspective of Santa, though...
I really enjoyed this book. It's such a sweet story. The illustrations are simple and yet adorable. And even though Penguin and Pinecone must part, I love the ending. It looks like two new Penguin books are due out this 2013, Penguin on Vacation and Penguin on Holiday; I look forward to reading them. Salina also has a book titled Penguin's Snowy Day that came out in 2009. I'm not sure if it's the same Penguin or not (he's illustrated differently), but if so, this is book 2.
Author: Lucille Colandro; Illustrated by Jared Lee
Publisher: Scholastic / Cartwheel Books
Series: There was an old lady..., Bk 9
ISBN: 9780545402873
Obtained: Library copy
Comments:
This was another Wowbrary find. I've always had a fondness for the original "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" bit. And this was about books! Unfortunately, the book wasn't what I hoped for. It didn't seem to flow right. She swallowed school supplies and eventually had a snazzy book bag made of and holding the supplies. Maybe I'm just a traditionalist. I've never read the rest of the books in the series, so perhaps if you've enjoyed them you might appreciate this one. But it wasn't for me.
Collage art makes for interesting textures that just work for
the book. The story itself tells of people working together for
knowledge and community and their passion. Educational about Egypt,
the library, and how people standing together can make a difference. Includes pictures of the actual people/event referenced, some
information about the Alexandia library, and some words in Egyptian
found on protest signs at the end.
Lillian, Tilly, and William J. flow from one word to the next, using a different meaning (and sometimes different spelling) of the word the next time around (ex: new, gnu, knew) until they lose there way. But this Cat Tale is meant to go on and they soon find their way again.
I found this book amusing. There has to be a word for the word use part, but I don't know what it is. My ma read it to my niece and she didn't really get it, so I guess you'd need to find wordplay fun? (My mother admits she has no imagination...I'm sure that didn't help.)
This book is simple and yet interesting. "Good News." "Bad News." is repeated over and over and over again. But each time is due to something else happening. It's basically a story about looking on the bright side of things and friendship.
I read this to my niece when I first checked it out, but I read it to my 5 yo nephew more recently. With him I explained this word is "bad" this word is "good" and had him read it for himself (adding in why it was bad or good for each scenario). He was so proud of himself for reading it. The only part that tripped him up (both when I read it and when he did) was when they're all electrocuted. He kept saying that was bad and good. I kept saying, "It's bad news! Wait till the next page, you're going to fast for the story!"
