by Sho Ito ★★★★★ Gorgeous illustrations with clear instructions With Brush Pen Illustration: More Than 200 Ideas for Drawing with Brush Pens, Sho Ito provides a comprehensive text that will help beginners and novices alike. It feels like a private … Continue reading →
by Melissa McShane ★★★★★ Can Helena survive long enough to solve the mystery? The Book of Peril (The Last Oracle #2) is a fantastical twisty sequel to The Book of Secrets! Helena’s stuck in a steep learning curve as she … Continue reading →
by Michael J. Sullivan ★★★★★ Deeper and darker…what a ride! I just love this whole series so far, and what a reminder! To do this book justice and remind myself of the story so far, I went back and read … Continue reading →
by Kerry Anne King ★★★★★ How can I like this story? How can it bring both pain and joy? Whisper Me This is not what I expected; it’s a much better story, deeper and more thoughtful, than the description would … Continue reading →
by Garfield Kwan and Dana Song ★★★★★ Cute, humorous, and memorable science lessons Squidtoons: Exploring Ocean Science with Comics has it all: cute colorful illustrations, quirky kid-friendly humor, and fun science lessons. The NetGalley proof only included the seadragons section … Continue reading →
by Melanie Dickerson ★★★★★ Sweet fairytale romance… can an orphan Saracen win a Lady’s heart? Aladdin is transplanted from his homeland to a European orphanage, where he becomes friends with the daughter of one of the orphanage’s patrons. Through their … Continue reading →
by Jeff Wheeler ★★★★★ Can she survive the collision of her worlds? Cettie Pratt is an orphan living in the Fells, an area of starving, debt-enslaved, deed-contracted, ground-bound poor. Sera Fitzempress is royalty, living aloft in a luxurious castle floating … Continue reading →
by Rachel Bach / Rachel Aaron ★★★★★ What’s a girl got to do to save the universe? Okay, Devi just wants the fast track to her goal, she’s done eight full-fire tours in five years, she’s got a beautiful custom … Continue reading →
by W.R. Gingell ★★★★★ Original, poetic, and dreamy with comedic timing There is a slow dreamy feel to this book, a slow wandering through a mystery. This book reminds me of those poems where the shape and rhythm match the … Continue reading →
by Rabia Gale ★★★★★ Rainbird may be a despised half-breed, but she may be just what the world needs Rainbird is an exotic scifi-fantasy-steampunk story that throws you right into the middle of a strange and original world. Rainbird works … Continue reading →
by Garth Nix and Sean Williams ★★★★★ Have sword, has attitude … Loved the story and characters so much! Eleanor has wanted to be a knight her entire life, while Odo… well, Odo knows he doesn’t want to be a … Continue reading →
by Newt Gingrich ★★★★★ I expected to hate this book, but I was wrong… Americans, even the most jaded liberal, generally accept that the mainstream media doesn’t care for Donald Trump and is more than a bit biased toward the … Continue reading →
by Rabia Gale ★★★★★ Who ripped Arabella’s spirit from her body? Arabella’s wandering around looking for her friends in a not-so-nice part of town, when Trey comes to her rescue. While she’s assuming that he’s there to help her navigate … Continue reading →
If the Princess Bride and Terry Pratchett had a love child – Well, but then there are probably genetic crosses to Garth Nix, Diana Wynne Jones, Brandon Sanderson, Ransom Riggs, and others. Stop trying to imagine what that would look … Continue reading →
by Vin Vogel ★★★★★ Can Leo belong to two families? Two completely different worlds? Wow! Loved, loved, loved this children’s picture book! It’s original and fresh while clearly illustrating how Leo can be loved by two entirely different families. As … Continue reading →
by W.R. Gingell ★★★★★ Two fae and a vampire move into your house, what do you do? Hide and spy on them, of course! Loved, loved, loved Between Jobs (The City Between Book 1)! Pet, a 17-year-old squatter, has woken … Continue reading →
by John McCain and Mark Salter ★★★★★ We are more alike than different… There’s so much wisdom in this book, The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations, about choosing what’s right and honorable over party, over … Continue reading →
by Charlie N. Holmberg ★★★★★ When a bookish girl studies to be a plastic magician, her peculiar talents might just be world-changing… …if Alvie Brechenmacher and her mentor can outwit a dangerous rival. Alvie is apprentice to Marion Praff, a … Continue reading →
by Lois McMaster Bujold ★★★★★ Can Ivan prove he’s actually related to his cousin Miles? We all know that Ivan is anything but an idiot, a favorite descriptor (Ivan-You-Idiot) of cousins and compatriots, but he manages to skate through life … Continue reading →
by Nancy Springer ★★★★★ Nancy Springer has still got it! The Oddling Prince is a wonderfully fantastic story of two brothers. One, Aric, has been raised as the king’s heir; the other, Albaric and son of the Queen of Elfland, … Continue reading →
by Connie Willis ★★★★★ Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Connie Willis has a way of writing stories that engage us but more importantly that capture the complexity and conflict in defining moments and force us to resonate … Continue reading →
by A. M. Morgen ★★★★★ Can George change his luck? The first few paragraphs of The Inventors at No. 8 sweeps aside a family – and several servants – in a one-day streak of bad luck that spares only the … Continue reading →
by Oana Befort and Maggie Reinbold ★★★★★ Gorgeous, fascinating, and helpful Drawing Wild Animals: Essential Techniques and Fascinating Facts for the Curious Artist is everything I love in a book! It truly is for the curious artist! The illustrations are … Continue reading →
Disney Manga by Haruhi Kato ★★★★★ What happens when you’re a fairy who’s different? Rani is a fairy with a disability; unlike all the others, she has no wings. She sacrificed them to save Mother Dove. But when Rani tries … Continue reading →
by L. Penelope ★★★★★ That ragpile on the path is trouble; it just happens to be a man. Jasminda doesn’t need trouble. She’s on her way home from a trip to town and worried about losing her home, being asked … Continue reading →
by Jessica Day George ★★★★★ What if everything you knew was a lie? Anthea has been passed from home to home since her parents’ death. She wants only to be a proper young lady that a family would want, to … Continue reading →
by Tom Reynolds ★★★★★ Can Midnight find what was lost? This novella is a great peek into the psyche of Midnight, letting us understand more about the legendary man who lived, worked, and fought with and against metahumans. Midnight is … Continue reading →
by Lois McMaster Bujold ★★★★★ Bujold’s wit rides again Mira’s Last Dance: Penric & Desdemona Book 5 is the shortest Penric novellas so far, and yet it is in many ways the most enjoyable. It is a brief sojourn into … Continue reading →
by Lois McMaster Bujold ★★★★★ Where there’s a demon, there’s a way. The Penric novellas are must-read if you love Bujold or fantasy. While they’re short and rather episodic novellas, the books are deep, mystical, and thoroughly enjoyable and each … Continue reading →
by M.C. Dwyer ★★★★★ WOW!! Not your mom’s Beauty and the Beast ! Just wow! Having read Dwyer’s stories in Still Waters: A Noblebright Fantasy Anthology and Fell Beasts and Fair: A Noblebright Fantasy Anthology, I grabbed Bleddynwood the minute … Continue reading →
by Joyce Magnin ★★★★★ What a tangled web! Honey Moon borrowed a family heirloom – a locket – from her mother, and during a sleepover with friends, it’s gone missing. Honey must solve the mystery of who took her locket, … Continue reading →
Disney Manga by Shiori Kanaki ★★★★★ When Tinker Bell and Vidia find Lizzy’s fairy house Tinker Bell accidentally gets locked in and captured. Hijinks and fairy trouble ensue. Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue a sweet Tinker Bell story converted from … Continue reading →
Disney Manga by Shiro Shirai ★★★★★ What’s a robot to do? Is there more to life than shoveling garbage? Disney Manga: Pixar – Wall-E tells the story of WALL-E, the last robot on Earth. He’s been cleaning up the Earth … Continue reading →
by Karen Kane ★★★★★ Can Charlie and Frog find Aggie before it’s too late? Where – and what – is the missing treasure? Charlie and Frog: A-Castle-on-the-Hudson Mystery is a whimsical middle-school book reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory … Continue reading →
by Anita Lesko and Temple Grandin ★★★★★ Awesome book that speaks to the tremendous work that Temple has done. Temple Grandin: The Stories I Tell My Friends is a must-read for anyone interested in Temple or autism. However, this is … Continue reading →
by Ausma Zehanat Khan ★★★★★ Comprehensive eye-opening insider’s view of Ramadan The month of Ramadan is a time of fasting and celebration for Muslims around the world. Ramadan: The Holy Month of Fasting gives comprehensive coverage to many aspects of this important … Continue reading →
by Bokerah Brumley ★★★★★ What if almost everything you knew about your life wasn’t true? What if you were hiding in plain sight in a human world and human school, but you were really fae? What if your mom’s favorite … Continue reading →
by Rowenna Miller ★★★★★ Torn made me wonder how far I would go to protect my brother. Torn (The Unraveled Kingdom) is about a seamstress torn between her brother and her lover, her ancestry and her adopted culture, her class … Continue reading →
by C.J. Brightley ★★★★★ Wonderfully original tales, amazing world-building, strong writing This is an absolutely brilliant collection of noblebright stories by the same editor who coordinated the Luminous: A Noblebright Fantasy Boxed Set and the Still Waters: A Noblebright Fantasy … Continue reading →
by Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller ★★★★★ Fascinating collection of jerky recipes with clear instructions I grabbed Jerky: The Fatted Calf’s Guide to Preserving and Cooking Dried Meaty Goods because my family makes a LOT of jerky, but usually just … Continue reading →
by Melissa McShane ★★★★★ He’s no Prince Charming, but then again, she’s not a brainless beauty… Servant of the Crown turns a trope on its ears. What happens when the beautiful girl knows she’s beautiful (let’s face it, she’s got a … Continue reading →
By Josh Burnette and Pete Hardesty ★★★★★ Can you ever have too much good advice? NOPE!! I wish someone had told me… …some of these things before I left for college. I would have had less financial trouble in front … Continue reading →
by Alwyn Hamilton ★★★★★ What a ride! Be careful what you wish for… a Djinni may grant it. What an epic conclusion! Alwyn Hamilton is an incredible writer who weaves intense action with personal peril, overarching themes of what it … Continue reading →
by Kristen Pham ★★★★★ Joan was made, can she make a difference? Joan Fasces has been raised as an Evolved (natural) human. On her 18th birthday, her Status meeting blood test reveals that she’s actually a Throwback, a clone of … Continue reading →
by Lee Goldberg ★★★★★ I almost DNF’d, then I realized right before my brain broke that … True Fiction is a spoof. I thought you should know that right off the bat, since I was a little slow catching on … Continue reading →
by Rachel Aaron ★★★★★ Do nice dragons always finish last? Will Julius be the last dragon standing? Wow, what a brilliant ride! Last Dragon Standing starts out showing us why Bob has been plotting for all these centuries, and it … Continue reading →
by W.R. Gingell ★★★★★ Being the queen heir isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but neither is finishing school… Accompanied by some old friends and a crafty new friend, Annabel faces one of the hardest challenges of her life: … Continue reading →
by Mark Hyman ★★★★★ Gives me hope! A doable guide to what we should be eating Great intro to Hyman’s “Pegan” diet, and you’ve got to love a reasonable middle ground. The Pegan diet seems logical, scientific, and doable. Let’s … Continue reading →
