Our Divine Mischief by Hanna Howard

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Cute, romantic fantasy!

In Fuiscea, 17yo Aila wants to participate in the Goddess Trial. She wants to discover her purpose in life and what her occupation will be, according to the gods. Her trial isn’t normal and she doesn’t meet the goddess on the island. Instead she meets an enthusiastic dog that becomes her companion. The two of them head back home to face the community leaders who don’t know what to make of the failed trial. The leaders create challenges for Aila and she must participate in the rest of the trials, together with her dog, and await the verdict of their future.

Likes/dislikes: A sweet, clean romance read. A cute antasy full of perseverance and love. I love that the author uses fun words like squidgy and lolloping.
Mature Content: G
Language: PG for 7 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is a mix of copper, tanned, white, and black skin.

Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson

Posted on by lynndellwatson

A fun, lighthearted novella!

In this sequel novella to Sorcery of Thorns, Nathaniel and Elisabeth are together at Thorn Manor and trapped inside with Silas and the new maid Mercy. The manor is protesting the fact that Nathaniel isn’t married or engaged and in this protest, the manor has locked them inside and created a tremendous storm outside that will continue until he does something to remedy the situation. A fun, lighthearted novella, 4 stars!

Likes/dislikes:
I thoroughly enjoyed the charm and light humor in this novella. The characters are fun and care for each other’s wellbeing. It’s a quick lighthearted read.
Violence:
None
Mature content: PG for kissing and the mention of a kiss between Nathaniel and an old acquaintance, Felix.
Language Content: G for no swears.

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A fun, clean romance!

The story opens as the main character, Prudence, awaits her class partner for their group project presentation. Quint shows up late and acts nonchalant. She believes that she’s done all of the work but the teacher gives her the lower grade because she struggles with teamwork. She’s allowed an extra credit assignment and grade if she’ll do more research on the topic and demonstrate her ability for teamwork. She volunteers at Quint’s family owned sea animal rescue center for her research. During summer break, Prudence expands her horizons and broadens her perspective. She also helps catch an embezzler. A clean read with some unexpected happenings, 4 stars!

*I also listened to the audiobook which was fun to listen to!

A Many Feathered Thing by Lisa Gerlits

Posted on by lynndellwatson

51148288._sx200_sy200_

Heartwarming!
Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read and review A Many Feathered Thing by Lisa Gerlits!
This book tells a story about Clara and how she found her “voice”, gained confidence and built her self esteem. Clara continued to have ear infections when she was a baby and a toddler. When she was two, her parents realized she was having hearing problems, surgery helped with her hearing but she struggled to learn speech and lost confidence because of teasing from others and the frustration of trying to get the sounds right. Clara is reading The Diary of Anne Frank with her class at school. As she learns about Anne and her life, Clara sees parallels of Anne’s experiences and feelings in people she knows and associates with. This healing story inspired me to sketch again and that’s something I love to do but haven’t done for decades. Clara grows tremendously within the confines of this story, all because her self awareness grows and her confidence builds, thanks to the realization that she can do things, she can be brave and the faith that others have in her. Sometimes, all we need to grow is to have a chance to see outside ourselves and get a different perspective on life’s situations. A truly heartwarming story, 5 stars!

The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 by Linda Budzinski

Posted on by lynndellwatson

81miivubtfl._sl1500_

Fun, romantic read!
Thanks to the author for the complimentary copy of The Boyfriend Whisperer 2.0 by Linda Budzinski from Swoon Romance!
Alicea Springer is the new Boyfriend Whisperer and her app is supposed to be very accurate. She wants to get back with her ex-boyfriend Ty, but the app says her match is Darius Groves. Alicea gets paired up with Darius for an English assignment and she begins to see the truth about him. Her eyes are opened to her past, present and her possible future. Another clean, romantic young adult read from Linda Budzinski that brings fresh characters to the world of the Boyfriend Whisperer, 5 stars!

Can Your Conversations Change the World? by Erinne Paisley

Posted on by lynndellwatson

51hc2bwgnqll-_sx365_bo1204203200_

Become an activist for equality with another guide from Erinne Paisley!
Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Can Your Conversations Change the World? by Erinne Paisley!
This book takes a look at feminism and the continuation of working towards equal rights. As part of the POPACTIVISM series, this book focuses on the importance of discussing feminism and what it means for equality. The author shares a bit of her upbringing and the educational background her parents gave her that has helped foster her independence throughout her life. The author has written other activism books and she’s still a teenager. Very impressive! Feminism simply means believing in equality and human rights for both males and females. 5 stars for this impressive book!

Cinderella’s Dress by Shonna Slayton

Posted on by lynndellwatson

18630484

Magical historical fiction!
Cinderella is the Queen and is in possession of the dress that holds magic. Her stepsisters have married into a rival kingdom and Cinderella sends her most trusted servant on a mission to protect the dress. Time moves forward to the servant’s descendant granddaughter during World War II, Kate Allen. Kate Allen lives with her brother Floyd and their mother. Mr. Allen is in Europe, during the war, protecting art. Floyd joins up and goes to basic training and eventually over to Europe after the war is over. Their great aunt and uncle arrive at the Allen’s apartment with a mysterious trunk that holds a precious secret. I love Shonna Slayton’s writing style and how she mixes true historical facts into a fairytale story. The complicated story line brings many dynamic characters together to tell a Cinderella tale within the awesome World War II setting. I am anxious to read Cinderella’s Shoes, the sequel to this book worth a magical 5 stars!

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Posted on by lynndellwatson

34499221

A swashbuckling read!
Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children’s Publishing for the opportunity to read and review To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo!
Lira is a siren that steals someone’s heart every year for her birthday. Lira captures a Prince while her cousin Kahlia steals a queen. The Midasan prince is introduced next, Prince Elian. This prince has two lives- one in the castle and one as a pirate, captain of his own ship and crew and a siren hunter. Lira will take her mother’s place as the Sea Queen someday, but in the meantime her mother is cruel and abusive. The Sea Queen punishes Lira for being kind and weak by turning her human and leaving her stranded in the ocean. Elian and his crew rescue Lira, thinking she’s an orphan that’s lost her family to drowning, but they are wary about her story. Elian’s goal is to kill the Prince’s Bane- the siren that kills princes. Elian has no idea that the Prince’s Bane is Lira and she’s keeping her background hidden from the crew and everyone they come in contact with. As Elian works toward his goal, he makes deals along the way with separate princesses and a slave trader. Eventually, Elian and his crew start to trust Lira because of the loyalty she’s shown by saving Elian’s life. Lira’s goal is to take over as Sea Queen and rid the world of her monstrous, manipulative mother and she hopes for peace as an end result. To Kill a Kingdom bursts with action, adventure and intrigue. This fantasy full of magic creates an amazing world with unique characters and backgrounds of their own. A wonderfully fun read worth a swashbuckling 5 stars!

Where the Sea Takes Me by Heidi R. Kling

Posted on by lynndellwatson

33509084

Brilliant and eye-opening!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Where the Sea Takes Me by Heidi R. Kling!
Sienna has just finished college finals and is planning a Team Hope trip to Cambodia. Her friend, Spider, wants to make their relationship more than just friends and Sienna isn’t too sure about that idea. Her father knocks her off her feet when he calls to tell her that Deni will be visiting soon. Deni, as in the Deni that Sienna fell in love with two years ago and who she helped recover from the tsunami in Indonesia on her last Team Hope relief trip. Deni arrives and he and Sienna fall instep with each other and Spider doesn’t quite know how to handle the situation. Team Hope travels to Cambodia on a long ride and Sienna has her eyes opened wide to the beautiful country torn apart by war, poverty and sex trafficking. The Cambodian people have extreme perseverance and are living in the results of Pol Pot’s destruction. Realistic fiction, adventure and history create the story and a touch of romance brings it all forward. Where the Sea Takes Me is a brilliant, eye-opening read, 5 stars!

Burning Bright by Chris Cannon

Posted on by lynndellwatson

40019526

The World of Bryn!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Burning Bright by Chris Cannon! Bryn’s story opens three months after the tumultuous events of the last book of the Going Down in Flames series. She’s had the summer break to be proper and forge ahead without anytime to mourn or recuperate since she’s had to spend the whole time with her stoic grandparents. Now Bryn’s returning to school with her friends, Clint and Ivy and Jaxon, her betrothed. As the school year moves forward, a weird and creepy set of attacks occurs, leaving everyone untrusting of each other and scared to go anywhere alone. I appreciate how easily the author brought the world and story background up to speed in Burning Bright because my memory was refreshed like I had just recently read the first four books of the series, even though it has been a while. I enjoy Bryn and her relationship with Clint and Ivy and how they work so well together, personality wise and with loyalty. It’s fun being in Bryn’s world again! 4 stars for the good story; I just felt like the ending flew by too quickly.