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Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Benjamin Ashwood is from a small town. They have a problem in town with a demon that's terrorizing the livestock. A small band of travelers comes, takes care of the demon, and convinces a young woman in town to join their band. Ben accompanies her, with the group, to make sure she's safe. And Ben is unlikely ever to return to his simple life from before, now that he has seen the great, big world outside town limits. Category Fiction, Fantasy Why I chose this book Kindle Unlimited trial month, saw this one was highly rated My personal opinion (the review) This had such great potential to be an awesome book! It was funny, exciting, moderately clean (few swears)- generally a great novel. And then, about 2/3 of the way through, the author drops a sex scene and the f-word. It was completely unnecessary, and changed the book from being a great PG-13 to a solid R. Boo. Great story, bad execution. Warnings Language: Occasional, mostly mild, 1...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Tess and Max are sent to live with their Aunt in the English countryside for the summer. While out on a walk, Tess finds an enchanted gate and key and discovers a world of magic  Category: Juvenile fantasy (definitely for early middle school grades) It was for younger audiences than I expected  Why I chose this book : Saw it at bookstore My personal opinion (the review): There were many things I liked about this book, especially the setting and the description of a Tess as a character. However, I feel these were ultimately outweighed by all the questions that were left unanswered in the text. I feel like the author had many great ideas, but didn't follow them through. For example, there are several comments throughout the story about Tess and Max's mother being ill, but there is never any closure. At the end, when they video chat with her it says that only the Aunt notices how pale and thin she looks but then it's dropped after that. Also,...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Dion knows about his origin, and tries settling with the Eldren people, but he's too different from them and can't control his ability, so he leaves to find his place at sea. Chloe is engaged to a man she does not love, just as the Oracle told her, and he turns out to be even worse than she thought, so she leaves to find her exiled father, and has her own adventure. Kargan sees the leadership of his kingdom change a few times, and decides to take his future into his own hands. Nikolas basically goes Napoleon, but I'll leave that intentionally vague (no spoilers). And the Eldren keep trying to recover the Horn of Marrix, now that they know where it is, and restore their homeland. And there's more, but too much to explain. Category Fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) When I reached 72 percent of this book, and saw that the action was still going strong, I knew it would be a cliffhanger. But ...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Following some strange things happening around them, Bethany and Owen go on a quest to try to find her missing father.  Category: Juvenile  Why I chose this book:  Third in the series My personal opinion: Of the three books so far in the series of 5, this book has been my favorite. I really like how Riley plays with the concepts of what writing is, what powers a writer has over his characters, and can fictional characters change their own stories. This book also takes place largely within a comic book setting and the characters must follow comic book rules (getting together a team to fight the bad guy, getting powers by accident, time jumping between different parts in the comic book series, etc).     Warnings Language: None Violence: Comic book style "Adult" situations: No  Death: No Movie rating equivalent: PG 8-10 for some scary elements  Protagonist description: Bethany is a stick to the rules kind of ...

As a podcast, I know this is a bit of a stretch, but I'm going to treat it like an audiobook. They are stories I have or would like to read someday.  Brief synopsis (no spoilers) - " This show brings you folklore that has shaped our world. Some are incredibly popular stories you think you know, but with surprising origins. Others are stories that might be new to you, but are definitely worth a listen." Modern retellings (In that he uses modern English and not the original source language) of myths, legends, and fairy tales.   Category: Myth, Legend, and Fairy Tales Why I chose this book: This podcast was specifically recommended by a friend, but I have always had an interest in fairy tales and the like.  My personal opinion: These stories have been really interesting to listen to. I have gotten to hear both the "real" version of stories I thought I knew as well as be introduced to new stories I never would have known about. Jason does a reall...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Josh is a tunnel engineer, leading a team tasked with digging a tunnel under Central Park. He and his team drill into a crystalline metallic wall, and his life is never the same. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Kindle Unlimited preview, found this book My personal opinion (the review) This was pretty good. The author really, really likes to use the s-word and using the Lord's name, but thankfully avoided most other profanity. The plot line was interesting. The science fiction was credible. I won't pay for this book, and I won't read it again, but it wasn't bad. Warnings Language: frequent cursing Violence: not really "Adult" situations: none Death: some, but not frequent Movie rating equivalent PG-16 (like PG-13, but I won't let my 13-year old read it) Protagonist description Josh has regrets from his life, and they hang in the back of his head. But he pushes the guilt away by working hard Point of view of story Third p...