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

R

Y

M

A

R

C

H

A

P

R

I

L

M

A

Y

J

U

N

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

R

N

O

V

E

M

B

E

R

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

E

C

E

M

B

E

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.

Review: Mirror Mirror Majanka Verstraete

I was happy more than happy to be tour a stop for the book tour for Majanka Verstraete's book Mirror Mirror.  Majanka Verstraete is a twenty-one year old female from Belgium. She’s currently studying law at university. Her greatest passions in life are writing and reading. She especially enjoys writing books in the young adult genre, ranging from young adult horror novels to epic fantasy and paranormal romance. She has currently published two books, The Blood That
Defines Us and Mirror, Mirror. She’s working on a collection of horror short stories, The Thirteenth Hour, which is due for release on June 1st 2012. Her current writing project is a paranormal romance series under the working title “The Angel of Death Series”. Volume one will be entitled “Soul Thief”.

Mirror Mirror is a young adult novel about a girl named Piper.  She has a love for antiques and so it is no surprise when she falls in love with an old mirror she finds in the attic of her new home. She places the mirror in her room only to soon find herself having nightmares and hearing strange voices. 


I enjoyed the book but some parts did trip me up a bit. English is not Ms. Verstraete's first language so some turns of phrase I had to reread a few times. But that did not distract too much from my enjoyment of the book. There was enough going on that it left me wanting to read more to see what was going to happen. It was much more of an intelligent read than I was expecting. I also adore the cover since as many of you know I enjoy looking at the covers of books almost as much as I enjoy reading them. Over all I think the book was a great read and that anyone who is a fan of the YA paranormal genre will enjoy it. I would love to see a second book. I give the book 3 and half out of 5 stars.