Soul Ryder by Nita Lapinski

January 15, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Soul Ryder by Nita Lapinski
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Paranormal, Contemporary, Inspirational Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

“Am I dead?” the young girl, Leah asks. Addie, a Clairvoyant Medium struggling with her own horrific loss, is compassionately hesitant to reveal the truth.

Join Addie and her insightful dog, Roka as they work to untangle the unimaginable tragedy that has left Leah bewildered and confused. They must race against time and Addie’s own unforeseen challenges to guide Leah to a very important crossroad.

This book is an interesting look into the life of a clairvoyant medium. Addie gets visions of dead people, all the while dealing with her own pain, the loss of a child. Leah visits Addie often, trying to give her a message.

Addie experiences people on the other side of the veil, and it affects her deeply. She must figure out how to help Leah, but it is taking her toll on her.

Soul Ryder is a short and easy-to-read story. This paranormal tale unfolds quickly and tugs at the emotions. Hopefully the author will write more stories, giving readers an inside view into her protagonist’s gift and how she helps others.

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One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw

December 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment


One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Holiday, Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Eva has spent the past three years burying herself in her work, trying to forget the heartbreaking events of the Christmas that ripped her world apart. This year, the last thing she wants is to attend her friend’s weekend-long Christmas party. But at her husband James’ insistence, here they are.

When Eva—overwhelmed by bittersweet memories—tries to sneak back to London in the middle of the night, she is visited by the ghost of her beloved grandmother. Gran tells Eva that if she doesn’t face her fears head-on and stop shutting out her loved ones, she risks losing them all forever.

When Eva wakes on Christmas morning, she finds herself living not her own life, but that of her hardworking assistant, Diana, whose overflowing inbox isn’t the only secret she’s been keeping. The next day, she wakes on Christmas morning again, this time in the body of her best friend’s little sister. As Eva lives the same day again and again through the perspectives of her friends, she is offered a glimpse into the lives of those she has been pushing away. With each Christmas Day comes a new lesson—and an insight into the secrets and struggles her loved ones have been hiding. To move forward, Eva must let go of the past. But is it too late to fix her future?

The protagonist, Eva, makes quite an impression with her shop. The setting is mostly on the wild moors of Cornwall. Eva is has a strong personality and pushes people around in her life for the sake of her obsession. She takes her friends and family for granted. She also has something painful in her past and a marriage on the rocks.

Eva and her husband James are invited to a Christmas party at the home of her friends, Hallie and Kian. When midnight hits, her grandmother’s ghost comes to see Eva with advice that is hard for Eva to hear. Eva will have to learn a lesson the hard way: When she wakes up on Christmas day, she literally is not herself but is in the body of her assistant Diana. What could she learn from this? Well, she wakes up again the next day, and it is Christmas again. This time, she occupies someone else’s body.

This is quite a clever story and has depth. A main theme is relationships, but there is more. As Eva sees other points of view, it affects her in interesting ways. Surprising things come to light in this delightful tale for the season. It is a good read, with suspense, fun while being meaningful, and is written well.

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Rag Lady by Susie Black

November 20, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Rag Lady by Susie Black
Holly Swimsuit Series, Book 1
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Holly Schlivnik dreams of being a writer, but fate has other plans. A family crisis throws her into an improbable situation and her life will never be the same. Determined to make her own luck when things don’t happen the way she plans, the irrepressible young woman takes a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling and shatters it to smithereens. The wise-cracking, irreverent transplanted Californian goes on a raucous, rollicking rollercoaster ride of hysterical adventures as a ladies’ apparel sales rep traveling in the deep South and finds herself along the way.

Change is inevitable.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored the many ways in which life can suddenly veer off into directions one never saw coming. For example, Holly’s college major had nothing at all to do with the sales position she eventually took at the company her father worked at, but she muddled through and eventually discovered all sorts of things about her new job that suited her nicely. This was one of many examples of how characters adjusted to new circumstances and found ways to thrive when nothing went the way they thought it would. They were all enriching for the plot and interesting to think about.

I struggled with the slow and sometimes uneven pacing of this book. The narrator went into plenty of detail about every twist and turn Holly faced while adjusting to her new job. This was necessary in some scenes, but in other ones it slowed the storyline down and made readers wait even longer for fresh developments than we already had waited. As much as I wanted to give this a higher rating, I didn’t feel comfortable doing so given my experience with it.

With that being said, I did appreciate how much effort the author put into describing such a wide variety of characters. The people Holly met were from all sorts of backgrounds. Some of them I liked immediately, while others needed some time to work their charms on me. It was interesting to see how my opinions of the latter evolved over time as I got to know them better and understand why they behaved in certain ways.

This was a prequel to the Holly Swimsuit series, but it worked perfectly well as a standalone story, too.

Rag Lady was a thought-provoking read.

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Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

August 31, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Historical
Rating: 4 stars
Review by Snowdrop

Abandoned by her wanderlusting husband, stoic Pearl raised her three children on her own. Now grown, the siblings are inextricably linked by their memories—some painful—which hold them together despite their differences.

Hardened by life’s disappointments, wealthy, charismatic Cody has turned cruel and envious. Thrice-married Jenny is errant and passionate. And Ezra, the flawed saint of the family, who stayed at home to look after his mother, runs a restaurant where he cooks what other people are homesick for, stubbornly yearning for the perfect family he never had.

Now gathered during a time of loss, they will reluctantly unlock the shared secrets of their past and discover if what binds them together is stronger than what tears them apart.

I just read “Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant” and have read “A Spool of Blue Thread”. I think Anne Tyler hits close to home in some instances in her books. I don’t mean these are whole books about one’s putrid, confused, or plain old messed up childhood or lifestyle. There just seem to be pieces that you can pull out and they just fit. And…I think she makes people mad. I think she makes her readers either feel something they have experienced or feel for someone who has.

I thought Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant was stark and sad. It seems to flow back and forth from one family member to another. Yet somehow the pieces and the pictures of the family are put together. Woven into a whole horrid picture of life.

I think Anne Tyler is a somewhat profound writer. Both of these books were well-written. I found what I read sad, and they left me in a blue mood, or maybe just a reflective one. Do these things make this a bad book? Not one bit. It makes it a book to read and see what you think.

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Great Cat Tales Edited by Lesley O’Mara

August 14, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Great Cat Tales Edited by Lesley O’Mara
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Respected authors, such as James Herriot and Doris Lessing, spin twenty yarns about cats.

So many stories about cats and only so much time.

I picked up this book because it featured stories about cats. I love cats, I love books…what could go wrong? Nothing, really. There are twenty stories in this anthology and they’re across the gamut of stories about cats.

I liked the variety because there’s so much to learn about cats and there’s so much to infer about them, too. Some of the stories are hard to read in that they’re longer than others – so those wanting short stories might be a bit put off. And also, some involved not so fun endings. I want to read uplifting stories and these weren’t always that, but that doesn’t mean others won’t like this anthology. It’s still good and the stories are wonderful.

If you’re looking for an anthology of animal stories and love cats, then this might be the one for you.

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Big Truck Little Island by Chris Van Dusen

July 20, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Big Truck Little Island by Chris Van Dusen
Illustrator: Chris Van Dusen
Publisher: Candlewick
Genre: Fiction, Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

That big truck is stuck! How will the island residents get where they’re going? A tale of community and ingenuity from the celebrated Chris Van Dusen, inspired by a true story.

When a big truck and its big load get stuck on a narrow road, traffic on the little island comes to a halt. Some cars need to go south and some have to travel north. How will Meg get to her swim meet? What about Barry’s ballet class? Luckily, the kidscome up with an ingenious solution: why not just swap cars? Inspired by an incident that happened on Vinalhaven, Maine, Chris Van Dusen tells a fun tale of resourcefulness and community through clever, rhyming wordplay and whimsical illustrations, sprinkled with plenty of cars and trucks for transportation-loving readers.

I was looking forward to reading this story because it is based on a true story that happened in the state of Maine. I spent many summers camping in Maine in my younger years and therefore I appreciated the artwork on the pages created by the illustrator. The attention to detail with bright colors were a delight on each page.

The story is about how a big truck and its big load get stuck on a narrow road blocking traffic going both directions. The occupants in the cars that were stuck in the traffic got out of their cars to communicate with each other. Exemplifying a sense of community and teamwork.

You see, each person had to be somewhere, and they were all stuck, the solution they came up with didn’t even cross my mind. It was quite brilliant.

This was a clever rhyming read-aloud story that held the interest of the six-year-old girl that I nanny for. She enjoyed this story so much that she requested me to read it several times.

If you are looking for a fun story to read to your child, this summer then I’d recommend this one.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Bug on the Rug by Sophia Gholz

July 18, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Bug on the Rug by Sophia Gholz
Illustrator: Susan Batori
Publisher: Sleeping Bear
Genre: Fiction, Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

Pug is snug on his rug. But what happens when along comes BUG?! With a claim to the rug?! The two engage in a hysterical, rhyming battle of wits and strength until Slug asks the necessary questions and helps them find common ground. Rhyming is an important developmental reading skill. It teaches phonics (decodable text) and helps young readers infer content. This is a fun story to build those skills–and is an epic read aloud!

I am a nanny of a six-year-old girl who is going into first grade this Fall. Of all the book covers to choose from and she chose Bug on the Rug. I must admit that I love the cover as well. The pug’s face is priceless.

This is a rhyming read-aloud story that is absolutely hilarious and heartwarming. Pug is snug on his rug when a bug comes along. The bug comes along to claim a piece of the rug. The two begin a battle over who owns the rug. In the midst of the battle a slug comes along and helps the two through conflict resolution. Where and why the bug comes along on his rug is the ‘oh bless his heart’ part of the story.

The little girl that I nanny for, and I loved this story. We read it a multitude of times and laughed out loud every single time. As an adult I enjoyed the happily ever after between two unlikely friends.

Happy Summer Reading 2023!

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Zen and the Art of Brazilian Sticky (& other roofing tales) by Gennita Low

July 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Zen and the Art of Brazilian Sticky (& other roofing tales) by Gennita Low
Publisher: GLow World
Genre: Contemporary, Humor, Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Life as a roofer is hard work. Endless hours beneath a blazing sun, pounding rain, howling wind and even the occasional hurricane (you’d be surprised at the calls during a hurricane).

But there are lots of laughs and moments of Zen if you spend time with Gennita’s cast and crew. There is nothing like watching life through the eyes of a female roofer who writes romance books, a bunch of “crapenters,” a grumpy Airborne Ranger Vietnam Vet, and a stucco man affectionately dubbed “the Brazilian Sticky Man” with a flair for creative renaming of just about everything under the sun. In fact, his “Semen Maker” is probably the star of the show, with its Zen way of giving meaning to daily shenanigans.

How a few mispronounced words, a little laughter and friends can make the day!

First, I have to note that the author has done work as a roofer. Really. She’s a tiny woman, but I can imagine her holding her own on a roof. That said, this book is a collection of stories loosely based on her time roofing.

This was a funny book. Hands down. I was told to get it because I’d laugh out loud. Normally, I’m not much for bursting out laughing while reading, but with this book, I did. Jenn is the head of the roofing crew and she works with the Brazilian stucco man. BSM as she refers to him, has a tendency to change words. His stucco is his sticky and his cement mixer is his semen maker. I hadn’t thought there could be that many ways to mess up those words and make the conversation veer right into the dirty, but it’s possible. I loved the stories and could actually see most of them happening.

The writing flowed well because it felt like I was reading a story by a friend or at least a conversation with a friend. I won’t give too much away, but if you’re in the mood to laugh, then this is the book for you. Give it a try.

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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

June 14, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Rating: 5 stars
Review by Snowdrop

The bestselling historical fiction novel from Kim Michele Richardson, this is a novel following Cussy Mary, a packhorse librarian and her quest to bring books to the Appalachian community she loves, perfect for readers of William Kent Kreuger and Lisa Wingate. The perfect addition to your next book club!

The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.

Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.

Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home.

What a great story. I can’t find a thing wrong with it. It isn’t all filled with good things. It’s also full of poverty-stricken people and racism that we all hope would go away. Although you might think of these atrocities in the big city, this story is set in the 1930’s right in the heart of the Appalachia’s. Cussy Mary, a 19-year-old young lady, takes care of her father who works in the mines. It’s just the two of them, and they struggle to even keep food on the table.

Cussy Mary takes on a book delivery job. It was The Pack Horse Librarian Project, established as part of President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. It was exactly as it sounds…ladies delivering books via horses to people all over the hills and trails. Some of the trails were quite treacherous to travel. Cussy Mary used a sure-footed cantankerous old mule to get to some of the families and people on her route. She had people that could not wait to see her no matter the kind of book she had for them and yet others were afraid of her because she was what people in Kentucky called the “Blues”. Her skin was blue, and the prejudice just as real as any other you are familiar with.

Somehow, I’m sure you can already tell I enjoyed this story. There’s another aspect to this little bit of historical fiction that was very important to me. I kept running to my computer to see if all these things were true, and they were. Roosevelt’s Project, the Pack Horse Librarians, and unfortunately, the poverty and prejudice. What a joy to read an enjoyable story of fiction and soak up all of those facts at the same time. Well-written and great to read.

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American Arcadia by Laura Scalzo

May 26, 2023 By Leave a Comment


American Arcadia by Laura Scalzo
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

New York City, 1985, the scaffolded and torchless Statue of Liberty is under reconstruction, the Twin Towers hum with money, and the clubs pulse with music. Young Wall Streeter, Mina Berg, and her roommate, Chry Risk, strike up friendships with the volatile Danny Nyro and easygoing Dare Fiore. Mina wants Chry’s family prestige, while Chry only wants to play the bass like Jaco Pastorius. Nyro trades on his father’s notoriety and Dare is keeping secrets. Each of these twenty-somethings attempts to rewrite their origin story as they find themselves knotted in the cross purposes of friendship and love, life and death. Meanwhile, the Sicilian grandmothers on Staten Island are telling tall tales of a fugitive mermaid who lives in the New York Harbor. It’s for you to decide if she’s a monster or a saint. Themes of art, immigration, reproductive rights, AIDS, assault, class, and betrayal simmer beneath a dynamic plot that spans one life-altering year.

The 1980s was a memorable time, with big things turning the world upside down or individual homes. This story, set in 1985, in New York, covers some of those things such as AIDS and friends and family dynamics.

Mina and her friend Chry live their busy lives in this big city, Mina on Wall Street, and Chry as the daughter of a senator, trying to find her own way through music. They befriend a nice guy with a secret and a rich guy whose bold behavior often encourages the others to take chances. Each of them is bathed in mystery. For example, Mina was left to die as a baby but adopted. Will she ever know the truth from where she come?

As these twenty-somethings live day-by-day, having fun and working, they discover things about themselves and others. Not all these things lead to somewhere good. They face tragic realities, and readers are sure to pick up some of these moving moments and feel them as well.

One learns about the culture of the era, the New York of the eighties and what a bustling time it was, in some ways, different that it is today. Questions are often different, but not always. While reading about these friends and their families, one is likely to be entertained. The writing is personal and addictive. Why not check this one out?

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