Tag: book review blog

— baby, book review, children's —

Peekaboo Jungle: Baby’s First Crinkle Peek-A-Book by Surya Sajnani (Review)

October 18, 2023

Open out the soft pages of this beautiful, sensory-rich organic cloth book to explore a world deep in the jungle, and play peekaboo with Monkey, Jaguar, and Toucan.

Movable, crinkly, cloth jungle creatures are found inside, perfect entertainment for little hands and great at stimulating babies’ senses. Move Monkey’s tail, Jaguar’s body, and Toucan’s beak to see what is hiding behind each!

Presented in a sweet gift box, the pages are made with extra padding for an ultra-soft feel , making them ideal for the pram or play mat— and they’re machine washable!

Little hands will love to explore Wee Gallery Cloth Books . This successful partnership between Wee Gallery and Happy Yak presents beautiful illustrations, bold lines, whimsical animals, and repeating patterns; all designed to stimulate visual development in young infants , making this new quality cloth book series an ideal first gift… Read More Peekaboo Jungle: Baby’s First Crinkle Peek-A-Book by Surya Sajnani (Review)

— ARC review, book review, children's —

How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias and Melissa Iwai (ARC Review)

October 18, 2023
Blog post header for How This Book Got Red

In this clever picture book tale about the power of representation, a red panda decides to write her own story when she realizes that none of the other panda books include pandas that look like her.

When Red discovers a new book about pandas, she can’t wait to read it! Except it’s about only one kind of panda, and red pandas are completely left out. Red never gets to read stories about pandas like herself! So she decides to take matters into her own paws and write her own book.

But when Red looks around, it seems like the only kind of pandas the world cares about are the black and white kind. Will anyone want to read about red pandas? It’s up to Red to finish her story and share it with the world… Read More How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias and Melissa Iwai (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, children's —

Sam Francisco, King of the Disco by Sarah Tagholm and Binny Talib (ARC Review)

October 17, 2023

A toe-tapping adventure celebrating optimism in the face of adversity about a community of cool cats who just want to have fun.

Superstar DJ Sam Francisco’s party is keeping his neighbor Buzzkill Bill awake. Bill tries everything to shut it down—he sends his dogs, then pest control, the fire department, and the police! When Bill finally succeeds in pulling the plug, things look bleak, but luckily it’s the people (and the cats) who make a party, not the fancy equipment.

Written in verse, this exuberant celebration of dance, music, and self-expression begs to be read aloud over and over. Young readers and adults alike will delight in the humor, charm, and energy of Sarah Tagholm and Binny Talib’s fantastic felines led by Sam, the David Bowie of cats. Featuring a silver-foiled cover for full disco effect, readers are introduced to many musical genres, as each of Sam Francisco’s adversaries are gradually won over by the beat… Read More Sam Francisco, King of the Disco by Sarah Tagholm and Binny Talib (ARC Review)

— Adult, book review —

Bayou Born by Hailey Edwards (Review)

October 17, 2023
Blog post header for Flavia the Bibliophile's book review of Bayou Born by Hailey Edwards

Her beginning may be our end…

Deep in the humid swamps of the Mississippi bayou, a mysterious, half-wild child is dragged just in time from the murky waters. She has no memories, no family and is covered in strange markings, the meaning of which no one is able to decipher. Adopted by the policeman who rescued her, Luce Boudrou follows him into the force, determined to prove herself in the eyes of those who are still suspicious.

However, there’s more of a battle ahead than Luce could possibly imagine. She may be an orphan without a past, but no one – including Luce herself – could ever be prepared for the truth of her dark, powerful destiny… Read More Bayou Born by Hailey Edwards (Review)

— Adult, book review —

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune (Review)

September 20, 2023

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots–fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?… Read More In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune (Review)

— book review, children's —

I Will Read To You by Gideon Sterer and Charles Santoso (Review)

September 14, 2023

A gentle blend of spooky and sweet, I Will Read to You is a unique rhyming bedtime tale about empathy, storytime…and monsters.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved stories—scary ones about skeletons and witches, giants and ghosts, vampires, dragons, mummies and goblins. But he wondered…do monsters have anyone to read to them ? Armed with only a book and a flashlight (and with his bemused mother in tow), he travels through the night, calling together every monster he can think of to make sure they get the bedtime story they need.

Delightfully spooky and surprisingly tender, I Will Read to You celebrates monsters, stories, and the way a good book can bring us together… Read More I Will Read To You by Gideon Sterer and Charles Santoso (Review)

— Adult, book review —

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto (Review)

September 12, 2023

He loves me; he loves me not…

Ama Torres loves being a wedding planner. But with a mother who has been married more times than you can count on your fingers, Ama has decided that marriage is not the route for her. But weddings? Weddings are amazing. As a small business owner, she knows how to match her clients with the perfect vendor to give them the wedding of their dreams. Well, almost perfect…

Elliot hates being a florist, most of the time. When his father left him the flower shop, he considered it a burden, but he’s stuck with it. Just like how he’s stuck with the way he proposed to Ama, his main collaborator and girlfriend (or was she?) two years ago. But flowers have grown on him, just like Ama did. And flowers can’t run off and never speak to him again, like Ama did.

When Ama is hired to plan a celebrity wedding that will bring her business national exposure, there’s a catch: Elliot is already contracted to design the flowers. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up, not knowing their complicated history. Add in a meddling ex-boss, and a reality TV film crew documenting every step of the wedding prep, and Ama and Elliot’s hearts are not only in jeopardy again, but this time, their livelihoods are too… Read More Forget Me Not by Julie Soto (Review)

— Adult, book review —

One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake (Review)

September 1, 2023

In modern-day Manhattan where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures.

On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters — each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless — and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants, known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.

After twelve years of tenuous co-existence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.

If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first… Read More One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake (Review)

— Adult, ARC review, book review —

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (ARC Review)

August 28, 2023

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find… Read More Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (ARC Review)