January 25, 2016
Black Dagger Legacy 1: Blood Kiss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
From the description of the series, I expected the books to focus more on the actual Brotherhood, kind of like The King went back to Wrath and Beth even though it brought in a lot of info about Wrath's parents too. Instead, it focuses on other relationships within the training center while the Brothers teach, inevitably bringing out more of their day-to-day lives beyond just hearings and fighting. If this book is really "about" anyone, it's Paradise. It will be interesting to see how this series dove tails (or doesn't) with the original series that is still on-going, especially since all of these characters are still very prominent there as well. It might start to feel like you're missing big gaps of info if you only read one of the two series overall.
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January 22, 2016
Puzzle Pieces
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The title certainly fits the story in many ways. The book starts off both confusing and thrilling in the middle of a hospital escape. We're not sure yet why this escape is taking place, only that it is and apparently involves a great deal of risk for the few people involved. Slowly, we get to know this escapee, who turns out to be our new main character, Presley. It isn't just her story that is focused on in this book though. There's also a rather lengthy history lesson resulting in a 80-year old murder being solved along with a continuing family secret that Presley now has to hold for the sake of her new potential family. Pretty much from the moment Presley sets foot in Haggerty, her fugitive status is put on hold for the Skeleton Murder(s), lengthy history lessons, George Ann's health problems, and budding romance she tries very hard to ignore. This reveals several "pieces" to the overall puzzle, but also brings the pace of the book down to about a snail's. The plus to all this is that we see many old characters from Haggerty who are now very familiar to anyone who's read Green's previous works. Haggerty, and its residents, never seem to be far from the action.
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January 21, 2016
Duck Tales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Based off the once-popular TV series Duck Tales, this film follows Scrooge and his young nephews on a new treasure hunt involving a servant/thief, a sorcerer, a genie, and a lot of mayhem. As always, Scrooge loves his money, but he proves he loves his family and still has a heart too. This blast from the past for my husband and I was our daughter's pick for a family movie tonight. Not what we expected, but it made for an amusing evening.
The Mediator 6.5: Proposal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I remember first finding and loving this series near the end of High School. Coming back to it with this short novella was a lot of fun. Jesse and Suze are still cute and funny, while Suze's favorite "stalker" is still as creepy as ever. The title turns out to have a bit of a double meaning between Suze's latest ghost problem and her personal relationship. Of course the more personal turn is something readers have been longing for since the original series was first published, and even more-so since the more recent additions. The teaser for the next book leaves a lot of possibilities and turmoil out on the table as well. Obviously things can never be easy for our favorite pair. Hopefully they've both learned something after surviving college and establishing careers. Guess we'll have to wait and see how things turn out between them, the house/curse, and Paul.
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January 18, 2016
The Poky Little Puppy Follows His Nose Home
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a cute little book about a litter of puppies and how one in particular uses his nose to find home. They find a lot of animals and people, learning as they go. If your child likes animals, or dogs specifically, they'll probably like this book. As with most books in the Little Golden Book line up, it's a short story with nice sized pictures to keep small children entertained.
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My Book Of Poems
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
As the title suggests, this little book is all about poetry. Each poem has it's own illustration. A few span two pages in very small segments. Others have two poems on one page. Mostly though it's one illustration with one poem per page. A cute book, but a little harder to keep kids entertained in a "story" with themed poems than short tales would be.
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My Christmas Treasury
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The "treasury" is actually a collection of short stories and poems about different Christmas celebrations and tales around the world. The book the children are reading at the end is identical to the cover of this actual book itself, making for a bit of additional fun if the kids are paying attention. Another book that made it from my childhood on to my daughters, though it has definitely seen better days.
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Seven Little Postmen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is actually a poem by the same title in the back of the book that this story is based off of. The entire premise is that a little boy has a secret to tell his grandmother, so he sends it in a specially sealed letter through the mail. Very little mail seems to be sent this way today, aside from bills that adults read, so children don't have the same experience with this mode of communication as they used to. It makes for an even more interesting story as they learn just how things used to work and they way presents are still mailed today as those are things that can't normally be sent electronically.
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Jingle Bells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another cute Christmas book based on a classic Christmas carol. This one is unique in that it actually highlights the text from the carol in red before continuing on with the side story in black ink. Additionally, the music for the carol is printed in the back of the book to sing along with. Between that and the illustrations, this makes it more of an above-and-beyond the carol experience that is fun for the holidays all around. I remember actually playing the carol out of the back of the book on my parent's piano when I was a child. Maybe my kids will do the same when they are old enough.
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The Boy With a Drum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Little Drummer Boy is a classic around Christmas time, which I remember is what I used to think this was about as a child. Now, reading it to my own kids, I realize that this is more of a general story about a boy with a drum as he plays and animals start following him. Still a cute story, just not what I remembered it being "classified" as when I was growing up.
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Tiny Toon Adventures: Happy Birthday, Babs!
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a cute little book where Babs is all sad because it seems like no one remembers her birthday or wants to come to her party. What she doesn't realize is that they are planning a surprise party just for her. For kids having grown up with the Tiny Toons like I did, it was a fun story. My daughter seems to like it mostly for the rabbits and balloons.
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Santa's Surprise Book
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a cute little book when I was a kid about Santa essentially making the book you're reading to "spend Christmas with you." Now my daughter insists it is her book every time she sees it and loves flipping through the pictures. Probably holds her attention more than some of the others since it's a rather descriptive art project overall.
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Raggedy Ann & Andy Help Santa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Raggedy Ann & Andy weren't my favorite as a child, but this was a still a cute Christmas book for my collection. It wasn't the biggest hit this last year for my daughter either, so she'll still bring it to me in the stack and ask for it when she's in a big reading mood. I think she's more interested in Santa and the idea that they Raggedy family are a type of doll than anything else since she's discovered her love of dolls within the last year.
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Frosty the Snow Man
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Adapted from the original song by the same title, this short children's book expounds on the tale of Frosty the Snowman. It's a little different than how it's portrayed in the short kid's film, but they are fairly close given they have the same foundation. The artwork is fun and lively, adding to the draw in for small children. Especially where my daughter got to build her first snowman this year, Frosty was an even bigger hit than usual.
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Walt Disney's Mickey's Christmas Carol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another book from my childhood moving into my own children's. We actually read this to our kids for the first time last year when my mother gave me a copy of the script to the play A Christmas Carol. Being that Mickey and Minnie Mouse are big hits with the kids, it was natural that she refused to put this book down for several days and constantly asked for us to read it again after she'd flipped through the pictures herself. She found it again around Christmas time this year and repeated the process all over again. I'm curious to see if it's her or our son who pulls it out first next year.
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
We had good timing finding this from my old children's collection - just in time for the holidays. So this review is late, both in the fact that this was my book as a child, and because we were reading it well before Christmas. It's a well-worn book of a classic children's tale that my daughter is just now old enough to really be interested in. Maybe next year we'll even watch the seasonal cartoons to go with the stories.
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Peter Pan in Tinker Bell & the Pirates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Despite the title, this book does actually pretty much tell the entire story from the movie. Of course everything has to be abbreviated for book format, but it's still all there. The difference is that it is largely told from Tinker Bell's perspective as Wendy is brought to Neverland and she mistakenly trusts Captain Hook, nearly ending Peter's life. Interesting lesson on what jealousy can do to even the strongest of friendships.
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Disney Princess My Busy Book: Pretty Princess
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This "book" is more half book and half toy. It features a one page "story" for each princess along with a matching figurine of the princess in her "princess dress." It also has a fold-out play mat with pictures of castles and lands (like for Pocahontas) that you can play with the figurines on. So far, my daughter likes to lay out the mat, spill out the figurines on it, and then put each one back in the box as she finds the matching story.
Disney's Junior Graphic Novel: Aladdin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The "graphic novel" design makes this ideal for children as the pictures really help tell the story. It's especially good that there are so many on each page since it is a surprisingly text heavy rendition of the movie. Originally one of the last children's books I bought myself at a grade school book fair, this is now part of my daughter's book collection. She doesn't "read" it as often as she looks at the pictures and asks for a story, but she's definitely interested in it.
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Disney Pooh Stories 7-Book Library
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a new set of books given to the kids by family members for Christmas. A fitting theme choice as the nursery was originally decorated in Winnie the Pooh and the kids love the cuddly bear. The stories are longer than the "learning to read" sentence books without being too long as the books themselves are only around 10 pages each. The text itself is big and easy to read, making it ideal for small children to read on their own when they get to that stage. A cute collection for a children's library.
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January 17, 2016
Disney Princess: Electronic Reader & 8-book Library
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
These stories are very short, but perfect for small children who are just learning to read on their own. As a bonus, they come with an "electronic reader" that will tell them the story if the push the button with the corresponding page symbol after selecting which princess they want to hear about. This gives them the option of reading along with parents, with the reader, or by themselves. For several weeks now, it has been my daughters go-to choice when I ask her if she'd like to read some books. Sometimes she wants me to read, other times she wants to do it herself. Either way is fine with me as it gets her to do something to help her learn and play quietly.
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Disney Princess: Princesses & Puppies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was one I picked up for my daughter for Christmas. Like most of the Step Into Reading series, this is very brief, single sentence pages to get the story across. With pets and princesses as the main theme though, my toddler thinks it's perfect. Puppies aren't necessarily her favorite animal, but it'll do for this short story.
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Barbie in Princess Power: Saving the Day!
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Between the stickers in the book and the fact that it is one of my daughter's current favorite movies, it's a big hit for her. For me personally it's overly simplified and shortened, but what do you expect from such a small "step into reading" book based on such a big kid's movie? It serves it purpose well as far as my daughter is concerned, and she's the one I bought it for, so her rating counts the most.
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January 16, 2016
Duty 5: Danger Ahead
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I still thoroughly enjoy Green's work, but this book was a little harder than most. First off, it dives straight into everything without any refresher course on what is happening. If you haven't read the rest of the series, or even if it's just been awhile so your memory might not be spot on, it takes awhile to make heads and tails of what is happening. The entire book is set up so that you grow to hate Rex for everything and more than a little on edge with everything happening, especially as Brooke and Hunter are driven further apart by one extreme after another. In the end though, it's helping family that sets things straight for everyone. I have to be satisfied with the ending as it tied up all the loose ends and wrapped things as well as they will be short of seeing a real planned wedding for Brooke and Hunter. Really, there is just no down time with all the risks and emotions in this book.
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January 14, 2016
Shadowhunters
Shadowhunters (2016)
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The newest adaptation of The Mortal Instruments. So far only two episodes have aired, so I can't give a verdict long-term yet. Naturally, things have changed from the original story line. Some of this is to be expected just to make the story more friendly for a different medium. So far I'd have to say that it's looking more promising that City of Bones turned out. The casting feels more true to the original characters and their interactions seem on-target despite some of the changes made. Probably the only one that really stood out as odd to me was how busy and tech heavy the Institute was when it was essentially supposed to be deserted except for the Lightwood family and few other shadowhunters who worked with them. Beyond that, I thought everything fit in remarkably well for a pilot. At the moment I'd have to say that I'm pleased and optimistic for the full run of the series. Especially if it continues to get the viewer numbers it needs to keep up a decent budget and do the story justice.
Down the Rabbit Hole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Picked this up for In Death 41.5: Wonderment in Death.
In Death 41.5: Wonderment in Death by J.D. Robb
Obviously this one held my attention. I didn't want to put it down, thought 2 kids and a day job insisted I must. One thing that struck me after the fact was that there is absolutely no Mavis or Nadine in this one. Might not be so strange given Mavis is busy with her own family & career while Nadine might not get wind of this Mad Hatter given it was originally considered a murder/suicide. Still, it's unusual for our favorite reporter not to be sniffing around when an unusual story stirs up around Eve. That might have detracted a bit given the short nature of this story though, and the fact that we do get some Louise and Charles on the side. The parallels to the classic Alice in Wonderland are woven in wonderfully with this dangerous cocktail. It's a good thing Eve has plenty of help from all the right angles so there isn't another "Alice."
Alice & the Earl in Wonderland by Mary Blayney
Not exactly the thrill seaker. This one is more of a mild simmer as man pines after girl and girl insists it would destroy his social standing, so no go. All thanks to a little time travel and a small matter of a wishing coing though, these two get their happily ever after, neatly solving a few other wishes for changed fates along the way.
ILove by Elaine Fox
This was by far one of the odder stories as those with addictions are literally sucked into technology and forced to "pay attention" until they figure out what is important in life. Really it all felt very convoluted and cheesy. Not exactly the strong character draw from some of the other stories.
A True Heart by Mary Kay McComas
Elise is by far one of the hardest characters for me to get into, mostly because she is so negative about everything. It becomes amptly apparent that it's a large part of why she's drawn into this costume nightmare to discover herself so to speak. The constantly changing personas as they characters literally change "costumes" to become someone else with each discussion, revelation, and/or history viewing is a little mind boggling. It would be far easier on the subconscious if they picked a "character" to be the guide and stuck with it. Otherwise it's this constant game of trying to remember who is talking to whom in the costume sense of the charade. Add to that a complete 180 where the main character rushes off on her friend to "make everything right" and you're left wondering what exactly you just read. Still, the various cameos are entertaining, ranging from Zorro, to Star Wars, Avatar, Curious George, and even Abraham Lincoln.
Fallen by R.C. Ryan
Another time travel as the "rabbit hole" analogy feature. This one is also a bit of a second life/magic story as Colin is very much alive in both the past and the present both being meant for one Bethany Campbell. I do have to admit though, all the hunts on horseback have me wishing to go out riding in the hills myself (though certainly not sidesaddle in a skirt).
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January 8, 2016
Supergirl
Supergirl (2015)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was skeptical of the new Supergirl TV series to start off with, but have been pleasantly surprised so far as the series has continued to grow. There is some definite crossover with images from the most recent Man of Steel movie, leaving the option open to bring Supergirl in to the DC movie universe at a future date as well. Not a bad move considering their current work on the Justice League and creating their own cohesive universe much like the MCU has done. It will be interesting to see how the series continues on it's own or melding with the movies. Hopefully similar to how Agents of S.H.I.E.D. has closely followed the MCU releases with their content.
Enchanted
Enchanted (2007)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Enchanted brings Disney animation to meet Disney live action in the same film. The melding of the two and details between the live and animated versions of the character leave for some mind spinning scene changes between the two worlds (fairy tale, and real New York City). There is also a lot of melding of multiple fairy tale parts in this tale. Giselle's name for one, hints at the ballet. In the meantime, the "wicked step mother" is more reminiscent of the queen in Snow White and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The ball is a mix between a masquerade and Cinderella, though it's a different "princess" who is a perfect fit for the lost glass slipper. All in all, it's just enough quirky with comedy, music, and fun to make it an enjoyable, if not completely unbelievable fairy tale adventure.
Annie
Annie (2014)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A modern twist on an old classic. The music is familiar, but the scenes are all modern, as is the tech, and the "family" is anything but "conventional." Still, Stacks proves he's learned a lot from his little orphan as they grow into a family together. The random singing is comically pointed out several times throughout the movie, making it a bit of a comedy musical on top of it. Really, adorable is the best word for it. Even modern Annie will pull your heart strings and have you rooting for her happily ever after.
Nikki Heat 7: Driving Heat
Nikki Heat 7: Driving Heat by Richard Castle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Okay, this took forever to read. Mostly because kids and holidays such up a lot of time at the end of the year. That and with the Castle TV series back in full swing, I was more interested in keeping up with episodes than reading new chapters of the book until it went on break. That break gave me time to switch gears into the alternate reality that is so close and yet different in Nikki Heat.
While still having obvious difficulties, mostly around counseling and kidnapping, Nikki and Rook don't have nearly the number of set backs to their wedding than their "real life" counterparts did. Not to say that their adventure is any less dramatic with Agent Bell thrown in the mix and convoluted webs around murder, federal offenses, and hacking. Roach is probably the best highlight of this book as they are really put through the wringer to come out stronger as a team on the other side. Similar to how they are struggling with the detective exams both took recently in the TV series.
I will admit, with the current upheaval in the TV series, and rumors of possible closing after this season, it was a lot harder to stay interested in this book in the long haul. I wanted so badly to know what happened to Castle and Beckett, that it was just too hard to stay focused on Rook and Heat. In that regards, probably not the best timing as far as release date and attempt to read, though it did make sense with the wedding parallels.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Okay, this took forever to read. Mostly because kids and holidays such up a lot of time at the end of the year. That and with the Castle TV series back in full swing, I was more interested in keeping up with episodes than reading new chapters of the book until it went on break. That break gave me time to switch gears into the alternate reality that is so close and yet different in Nikki Heat.
While still having obvious difficulties, mostly around counseling and kidnapping, Nikki and Rook don't have nearly the number of set backs to their wedding than their "real life" counterparts did. Not to say that their adventure is any less dramatic with Agent Bell thrown in the mix and convoluted webs around murder, federal offenses, and hacking. Roach is probably the best highlight of this book as they are really put through the wringer to come out stronger as a team on the other side. Similar to how they are struggling with the detective exams both took recently in the TV series.
I will admit, with the current upheaval in the TV series, and rumors of possible closing after this season, it was a lot harder to stay interested in this book in the long haul. I wanted so badly to know what happened to Castle and Beckett, that it was just too hard to stay focused on Rook and Heat. In that regards, probably not the best timing as far as release date and attempt to read, though it did make sense with the wedding parallels.
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