We think you might like (or hate)...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Yarvi is the son of a king that is killed by an enemy. His brother, the heir, is also killed, so Yarvi becomes the new king. He's missing one of his hands (birth defect), so his people don't respect him as their king, and one of them plots to kill him. He then spends the rest of the story trying to reach revenge. Category YA Why I chose this book Kindle First, maybe? Don't remember My personal opinion (the review) This story was great! I enjoyed the narrative style, the characters were credible, and the plot was fun. And there were a couple twists in there as well, so it kept me guessing right until the end. I definitely recommend it, and plan to purchase the rest of the series. Warnings Language: none that I recall Violence: fairly frequent, but not usually graphic "Adult" situations: none Death: yes, and of major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG-13, for the violence Protagonist description Yarvi has many weaknesses, but he o...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Michael and his two best friends are teenagers, and they spend a great deal of time together in a virtual reality world called the VirtNet. They have a special knack for programming and use that to hack the game. There is a terrorist in the world named Kaine, and Michael and his friends are recruited by the VirtNet security group to help track down the terrorist. As they try to track him, the path gets harder and more perilous. Category YA, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Listed on sale on Amazon, so I borrowed it from the library to see if it's worth the cost My personal opinion (the review) Beware: the ending is a total cliffhanger. Lots of things get worked out just fine, but it clearly sets up for the next book. The story is moderately interesting, the characters are plausible, and the ending is a nice twist. But I didn't really enjoy the story-telling method. Many details were spelled out explicitly, instead of allowing imagination to ...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Retelling of sleeping beauty in medieval times with a faith based approach. Category YA, fiction, fairy tale retelling Why I chose this book One of many I added to my maybe read list in overdrive, accidentally clicked check out while deciding! My personal opinion (the review) If you're not a faith based kind of reader, don't let that throw you off. It's a clean read and is not really preachy. I like its inclusion of bible and faith based ideas and that when a character says "oh God" it was them speaking to God and not an outburst of emotion. (I didn't expect this part when I started reading.) I liked the ending and how the author tried to keep it historically accurate for the time period. Warnings Language: none Violence: a little (nothing too vivid) "Adult" situations: limited (twice a female is attacked by a male but escapes both times before it gets adult level) Death: yes (but it's easy to get o...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Meira and a small band of fighters from the kingdom of Winter are the only survivors of an attack by the Spring kingdom. Each ruler of a kingdom has an item that allows them to use magic to improve things in their kingdom, and lead their people. King Angra of Spring killed  Queen Hannah of Winter, and destroyed her magical locket. King Mather is the new king of Winter, but he's 16 and on the run with the handful of survivors, so General William leads them with his expertise for now. They are trying to find an ally that will help restore them to their kingdom. Category YA Why I chose this book Found it on sale on Amazon, where it was recommended My personal opinion (the review) I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy magic in stories, and I like a good fight every now and then. My wife, on the other hand, would probably not like this book because there's too much fighting and not enough love story. But I will definitely be buying the next boo...

This book is more of a reference type book so it doesn't fit into the typical book review outline, so I'm just going to make one up: Author: " After graduation, Morin moved to   Silicon Valley . She worked at   Apple   on   iTunes   and later spent four years at   Google , where she helped launch projects such as   Google TV ,   Google Maps ,   Google Search , and   iGoogle . [1] In 2011, at age 25, she left Google to start  Brit + Co , a media and commerce company focused on empowering and inspiring women to fully embrace their potential, and find a more informed, entertained and empowered creative self. Brit + Co has a monthly audience of 125M online and across platforms." (Wikipedia) Concept: " Over the past three generations, the rules of homemaking and our very notions of what a homemaker is and does have radically changed. We are still a nation of makers, but we are crafting and creating beyond the home, in both the an...

Concept: Treats based on science, technology, gaming, and other nerdy topics. Author: Apparently Rosanna Pansino is a youtube cooking sensation. I hadn't heard of her before I read the cookbook. Here is her channel to check out - https://www.youtube.com/user/RosannaPansino Food type: Desserts Monologue score (1-10) (how entertaining, not the recipes): 9, very very interesting, bright pictures Difficulty level: Easy - Medium -Difficult Approximate percentage of recipes I would be willing to try: 50% or so (it was really hit or miss for me. Either I loved it or wouldn't do it. Sample recipes I'm interested in trying: with links to see pictures Textbook smores - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3vh89o7f6M Unicorn Poop Cookies *(don't love the name) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_W6IZjIi9g  Galaxy Cupcakes Constellation cookies Apple Pi Pie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCoOU1Hrd8

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Belle finds an enchanted book during her stay at the castle.  Category: YA Why I chose this book: I love Beauty and the Beast and books, so it sounded like an interesting twist My personal opinion:  *Some spoiler alerts but I don't know how to describe it without.*  Death and Love are characters (used in much the same way as in The Book Thief). It was one of Love's Enchantresses that put the spell on the Beast and castle and Death and Love have a bet as to who will win out over the Beast. Death stacks the book (literally) by putting a book called Nevermore into the library.This prologue was kind of interesting. Belle is frustrated by the Beast and her life at the castle. Those feelings coupled with her adventurous spirit, Belle walks right into Nevermore when she finds it. (And the reader is screaming, "Don't do it!") It is a magical world until the enchantment starts to fall apart and Belle finds out that it has al...