Book Review: My Dog, My Cat by Ashlee Fletcher

So can you tell why I picked up this book from Netgalley*? Yup, any picture book with a cat is a must in this house.

This book was cute and simple. It went into ways that cats and dogs are different. The words were simple and perfect for beginning readers. The fact that many of my son's sight words were in this book meant that my son could "help" me read the book to him. He was so excited by that.

He was delighted to find out that both the dog and the cat love pepperoni pizza. Since that is his favorite kind of pizza he was so happy to love the same food as them. He giggled when it came time to learning where the dog and the cat go to the bathroom. Just like most other children his age (and of course some adults) potty humor is a big one for him

The illustrations are cute and helped my son to guess at some of the words he didn't know. When I asked him his favorite part he told me he loved the whole thing. This will definitely get a couple of rereads in our family. I'm glad to find a book that he can partially read along with.   For older and more advanced readers this book may be too simple. But this is perfect for very young children or those like my son who have learning disabilities.

5 out of 5 stars


*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well.

Book Review - DNF: The Bliss King: 1. Captive by AA Paton

I knew going into this book that it was a risk for me. I'm a fan of Stockholm syndrome books. I thought the premise sounded good. But immediately when I started the book it was nothing but a drag for me. I got to 16% before I had to admit defeat. Which for a book of just over 100 pages says something in and of itself.

I hate head hopping (where the voice is switch from one person to another). It is gimmicky and rarely works. In this case it totally did not work for me. Both characters were barely distinguishable from the other. Overly long time spent in there heads with not much dialog.

Character names were just randomly flung at you leaving you to say, "Wait..what who is this person they are talking about". There is little actual world building. You are given names of places and leadership but little to no explination of how this world works. Oh and speaking of character names the only "normal" name was Rebecca who changed her name to something like Rattana or some such name.

The main female character is established as smart but basically a horny slut who has no problem with getting drunk and sleeping with random married men. There is insta-lust between the FMC and the MMC. The male main character is portrayed as someone with no scruples. He has no problem killing etc....but the one odd moral he seems to have is he wont kick a puppy. So murdering humans is ok but kicking a puppy is waaay over the line of evil (note I am an animal lover and don't condone violence to animals. I just find it funny this guy's set of morals).

Also there were some weird awkward turns of phrase that had me scratching my head and saying, "huh". For instance I still don't understand this one - "like the ground pepper of ash".

The one positive thing I can say is that I love the cover of the book.

This is 1 star out of 5 stars.

*I recieved a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion

Book Review: Yogurt: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner by Janet Fletcher

Ok when I saw this on Netgalley* immediately the cover drew me in. Could any dish look yummier? Since yogurt is popular food in our family I knew I just HAD to check out this book.

The good news is that the yumminess is not just limited to the cover. Page after page full of recipes that I'm dying to try. Not just meals but desserts and drinks too. I can't decide which recipe I want to try first. I'm torn between the Cherry Tomato Raita and Harrisa-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Peppers. Or maybe I'll start with Turkish Spiced Green Beans with Yogurt.

The photos are pure food porn. Warning don't read this cookbook unless you are prepared to become very hungry. Between the photos and amazing recipes I found myself getting hungrier and hungrier. Most of the recipes appear to be well written with clear instructions. I think a number of the recipes are great for new cooks but those with medium and higher cooking skills should have no problem at all with the recipes. Some food ingredients may be hard for people to find in certain parts of the country.

I give give this book a solid 5 out of 5 stars.


*I recieved a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion

Book Review: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

This book is a reread for me. Since it has been nearly 3 years since I last read it I wanted a refresher before I started the second book in the series. I wasn't sure if it would still hold the same magic for me that it did back then when it was a solid 5 star read for me.

This second time around I was re-enchanted with the world of Mylena. Greta is a kickass female bounty hunter. But she has one major secret. She is human in world where humans are despised and blamed for the world's eternal winter. She arrived in Mylena as a young teenager sent through a magical fire while attempting to save her brother from a witch. But soon her secret is out and all of Mylena is out for her blood. She has no one she can trust not even the Goblin King Isaac, who makes her blood rush.

I'm happy to say that I was still totally in love with this book and my book crush on Isaac still beats strong. I'm a sucker for an alpha male.  I'm all for a kickass main character who is vulnerable at the same time. Oh and the cover....oh how gorgeous is it? Oh how it plays to my inner cover whore.

I'm happy to say that this is still a 5 out of 5 star read for me.

Monthly Mix-Up Mania Reading Challenge 2015-2017

Monthly Mix-Up Mania Reading Challenge 2015-2017

Gina @ Book Dragon's Lair is running this challenge again. 

Rules 2015-2017 edition -  Sign Up Here 

What: To read a book for each letter in the year. That's right, a title for the J in January and the A in January, etc.... 74 books total!

Official Start date: April 1, 2015, because we're fools to try this but any book read since 1-1-15 that you didn't already use for the 2013-2015 edition counts ;) 

End date: March 31, 2017, yes, two years, because well, we have other challenges to do ;)

Guidelines:

• only one letter per book
• books can be moved around if it fits better somewhere else after you've read it
• the letter doesn't have to be the first word, just the first letter of a word in the title (a, an, and the do not count)
• reviews aren't necessary but a quick "I read for letter... it was about... I did/not like it" would be nice and can be left in the comments.
• if you decide to join in, create a post on your blog telling others then come back and link up (to the actual post, not just your blog's home page)
• a blog is not necessary, just comment on that month's post.
• the most important thing is to have fun!

Just a couple of suggestions. . .
read a book with the month's name in the title
Only use the first letter of the first word

Have a good time!

J

A

N

U

A

R

Y

F

E

B- Beneath the Surface- John Hargrove - April 2015

R

U

A

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Y

M

A

R

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H

A

P

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I

L

M

A

Y

J

U

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E

J

U

L

Y

A

U

G- Greta and the Goblin King- 4/2/2015

U

S

T

S

E

P

T

E

M

B

E

R

O

C

T

O

B

E

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V

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D- Double Dare by R.L. Mathewson- April 2015

E

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B

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R

Book Review: Carrot by Vanita Oelschlager

My son is a huge fan of cats...ok not so much a fan as much as you could say they are an obsession for him. He could go on and on about them all day long. In fact cat is one of the few words he knows how to spell/read.  So to say that we read a lot of books that feature cats is an understatement. So that's why I was happy to receive this ebook from Netgalley*.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. Bright colors and wonderfully drawn scenes helped keep my son's attention. We both enjoyed the simple rhyming schemes and my son was easily able to keep up with it. In fact he even began to give a few rhyming words of his own.

This was a cute story encouraging children to realize that just because one person (or cat) seems to have it better that doesn't mean that they do.  You should appreciate what you have in your life and not compare it to others.

This was a 4 out of 5 read.

* I recieved a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
** This was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled.                                                                                                                                                                            

Book Review: Pasta the Beginner's Guide by Carlo Lai

OK so in case you didn't know it my all time favorite food is spaghetti. I could it eat it every single day. Blame my dad...he too is a spaghetti freak. So when I saw this book available on Netgalley* I just knew I had to read it.

Right from the start this cookbook sucks you in. A great explanation at the start of the book on the different tools and ingredients you will need to make your own yummy pasta dishes. Most importantly each recipe has multiple pictures with it. I hate when I read a cookbook that doesn't show the finished product. I'm always unsure if that is how it is supposed to look. With this book you not only get to see the finished project but you get to see photos of the dish being prepared. 

As the title suggests this is the perfect book for someone who is a beginner at making pasta. The recipes are not overly complicated and the instructions are clearly stated. I love that there is also a recipe that uses eggplant to replace noodles. I wish there had been a few more vegetable noodle recipes as that is a big trend now with products like the Veggetti and Spirooli that make noodles out of veggies.  But I wont fault the book for that since it encourages people to make their own home made noodles.  

There are at least six recipes I cannot wait to try out and make. All in all this is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to do more of their own cooking at home. 

4 1/2 stars out of 5.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Thursday's Tale: The Goblin Pony

One of my favorite blog features I used to do was Fairy Tale Fridays. Well, it looks like Carols Notebook is still doing this after all these years. But it has turned into Thursday's Tales. So I'm happy to dive right back in and enjoy reading old classic fairy tales and brand new ones I've never seen before.

Today I read The Goblin Pony from The Gray Fairy Book by Andrew Lang {1900}. This was a new and unfamiliar tale for me. Though like so many fairy tales it had a gruesome ending.

Old Peggy warns her grandchildren not to leave the fireside for it is Halloween night. But all of her grandchildren have some excuse for going out into the moonlight. When they are outside they come across a black pony. All of the children hop onto its back and as they gallop away more of their friends hop on the pony's back. The pony takes them to the ocean where they all drown. The next morning Old Peggy tries to find the children but there is no trace of them. She comes across the black pony who neighs and runs past her.

This is obviously one of those stories to keep children from wandering off. The children were warned that going out was a bad idea but they ignored their widened old grandmother and ended up drowning. It reminds me of so many other tales where bad children have horrible things happen to them. I also was partially reminded of the mythical creature selkie. 

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A Return to Blogging

It's been over 3 years since I've last blogged on here. So much has changed in that time and yet so much is still the same. I still live paycheck to paycheck especially now that my husband is out of work. My son is now 7 years old and still a handful. He is severely learning disabled so that makes a challenge of everything. He is finally at a stage where he loves to be read to but cannot read for himself. Chapter books are still too advanced for him but he loves picture books. My stepdaughter is about to get her drivers license and will be off to college in less than two years.

The blog is rough and needs to have a lot of the cobwebs swept away and a brand spanking new coat of paint. But it feels good to get back into something that meant so much to me. I hope to check back in with old blogger friends and discover new ones. I'm not going to put the pressures on me to blog every single day but I would like to post something at least 2 times a week.

I still have very little time and very little money to read but I've become an expert at finding free/discounted books. I want to read more and read so much more when I was actively blogging. So here's to a return to blogging and I hope that it still holds the enjoyment that it once did.