ARC Review: The Cure for Dreaming

Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was mesmerising. It was really well written and utterly captivating. The historic atmosphere with a dash of magic took you on a fantastic journey. A very detailed story with lots of fantastic characters. Henri is mouth watering and such an intriguing character.

I liked that it had a strong theme of woman rights. It was a nice story line and kept the story moving along nicely. It helped bring you right into the story making you feel like you are actually there. That you watching Henri perform and can see what Olivia sees.

It’s shows you should stand up for what you believe in, even if your closest family and friends don’t.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes complex stories and just enjoy being entertained.

5 out of 5 stars.

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ARC Review: The Angry Little Puffin

Look at the funny little penguin! and What a silly-looking penguin! Hearing this all day long is enough to make any little bird angry, especially when he s NOT A PENGUIN! This is the story of a puffin who is upset that he s constantly mistaken for a penguin. He finally reaches his breaking point and goes on a rant about the many differences between the two. A little girl stops him in mid-speech because she does know the differences, and he listens as she explains to her father why puffins are her favorite. When you are feeling alone and misunderstood, sometimes it only takes the understanding of one small person to turn things around. A charming picture book with 18 fun colorful spreads showing children what frustration and feeling alone looks like from the outside, how to get over anger, and how to reach out to others when they are frustrated.”

I received a free copy of this from the publisher via netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Okay this book is for children but I found myself smiling whilst reading it. The artwork is amazing. So pretty and full colour, just perfect. I liked the story, it was a nice setting and probably would teach kids along the way. I would buy and read this my kids, (when I have some). It was funny and full of love. I would recommend it to anyone who has kids.

I love puffins and penguins, this book made me smile. 🙂

5 out of 5 stars.

ARC Review: Asylum for Fairytale Creatures

Once upon a nightmare…

Long ago, in a land where imagination meets the darkest nightmares, they built the asylum. Surrounded by a forest of thorns, it holds the most twisted minds in the fairy tale kingdom: a terrible collection of evil creatures and forgotten souls. Imprisoned within its walls, they are doomed to spend forever after telling their tales… and serving as a warning to others.

Now, you are invited to accompany Blood Red Riding Hood into the depths of this strange place – where you will meet its even stranger inhabitants. But be warned: walls this thick were built to withstand the darkest magic… so once you’re inside, you might just find yourself living horribly ever after… and wishing you were indeed in a land far, far away.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book very exciting. It was extremely dark and clever. Some of it was disturbing but strangely in a good way. I liked hearing the different stories from the characters, on how they came to be in the asylum. Some of it was over the top but it was interesting and kept me guessing.

I liked how well the stories stuck to the original with some dark twists, it was really well done and well written. I would read more from the author and recommend this to anyone who likes fairytale retellings.

four out of five stars.

ARC Review: Pickin’ Peas

Pickin peas. Land on my knees! sings a pesky rabbit as he merrily eats his way through the pea patch Little Girl has planted. But when Little Girl snatches him up and takes him home to put in a box until pea season is over, the rabbit is soon singing a new tune as he plans his escape. With a nod to Brer Rabbit, Pickin Peas is based on two folktales collected in Alabama and Virginia at the end of the last century. The lively storytelling voice of Margaret Read MacDonald, matched with Pat Cummingss bright, bold pictures, makes this funny battle-of-wits tale perfect to tell out loud, letting everyone share in the fun of chanting its rhymic refrain!

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

At first I read this on my kindle and it was all jumbled up. Then I read it on the PDF file and it was amazing. The artwork was beautiful, and I liked how the story was written over the picture, made it feel very involved. Even though I did not know the tune I found myself singing the song in my head, it was catchy. The bunny was so clever and cute. I would recommend this book to children especially if they have parents who are good singers.

Four out of five stars

ARC Review: Cinderella’s Dress

Being seventeen during World War II is tough. Finding out you’re the next keeper of the real Cinderella’s dresses is even tougher.
Kate simply wants to create window displays at the department store where she’s working, trying to help out with the war effort. But when long-lost relatives from Poland arrive with a steamer trunk they claim holds the Cinderella’s dresses, life gets complicated.
Now, with a father missing in action, her new sweetheart, Johnny, stuck in the middle of battle, and her great aunt losing her wits, Kate has to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.

After all, the descendants of the wicked stepsisters will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

General Overview (No Spoilers)

I did enjoy this book but there was glaring flaws, like years apparently passed, but there was no real indication of it. You were told rather than  shown. Also the letters, there was no stop between one and the next. I was a little bored at times, there was a few points where I skipped pages because I really did not care some of the story. I thought the exciting part would be the bits about the history of Cinderella’s dress, but I actually found that tedious, the best part of the story was Kate and Johnny’s relationship. Which for is strange since I don’t really like romance novels.

3 stars out of 5.

Step by Step Overview (Spoilers)

0% – Fairytale meets world war two, this sounds like an unusual but amazing combination. I am really looking forward to this.

10% – So far so good, there’s a few terms that I am not sure would have been around in world war two, but the story is nice and has lots of potential. I am looking forward to finding out about the dress.

20% – I like where the story is going, I like Aunt Elsie. But I do want to know more, give me something to hold on to. I do not know much more than I knew at the start. I am still hanging onto the same wispy idea of Cinderella.

30% – Oh Johnny Day, you make me swoon. Just let Kate know you like her, it’s not that hard.

40% – I am enjoying reading the letters between Kate and Johnny and Kate and her brother, Floyd. Although the letters are not separated well and takes a minute to understand it’s a new letter.

50% – Don’t let Kate and Johnny fall out, they are perfect for each other. Apparently years have passed with no indication, which annoyed me slightly.

70% – Is Kate serious? She is going to put the dress she is trying to keep hidden in a window for everyone to see?

80% – Finally coming together and Johnny is now in on the secret.

100% – Nice ending if not a little bland. I would have liked to know a little more about Kate and Johnny after all this, did they get married?

ARC Review: Frost Hollow Hall

The gates to Frost Hollow Hall loomed before us. They were great tall things, the ironwork all twisted leaves and queer-looking flowers. And they were very definitely shut.

Tilly’s heart sinks. Will’s at the door of their cottage, daring her to come ice-skating up at Frost Hollow Hall. No one goes near the place these days. Rumour has it that the house is haunted . . . Ten years ago the young heir, Kit Barrington, drowned there in the lake. But Tilly never turns down a dare.

Then it goes horribly wrong. The ice breaks, Tilly falls through and almost drowns. At the point of death, a beautiful angel appears in the water and saves her. Kit Barrington’s ghost.

Kit needs Tilly to solve the mystery of his death, so that his spirit can rest in peace. In order to discover all she can, Tilly gets work as a maid at Frost Hollow Hall. But the place makes her flesh crawl. It’s all about the dead here, she’s told, and in the heart of the house she soon discovers all manner of dark secrets . . .

Frost Hollow Hall is a thrilling historical fiction debut. Told in Tilly’s unique voice, it is a tale of love and loss, and how forgiveness is the key to recovery.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it was fun and full of mystery. I like the characters and the setting, the story was enjoyable and flowed well. I enjoyed all the secrets and the brilliantly clever big reveal, but for me the secrets were tame, clever and made sense but tame. Kit seemed like a decent person, the whole story is set around the place of his death, it was a haunting setting with such a sad story but a beautiful ending. I was engrossed from the first page, my attachment did not falter until the last page.

The house was creepy yet beautiful, I was so engaged with the setting that I felt like I was actually there. I liked the idea of a large house with lots of rumours surrounding it and the family that lived there. Even with the ghostly goings on I would love to visit there.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, books set in the 1800’s, or drama. I would definitely read this book again and I have already given a copy of the book for my mum to read.  If you want a page-turner, pick this book up.

4.5 out 5 stars, the tameness let it down slightly for me.

Challenge Update: April and May

April was not a good month for this but May was. Click the pictures to take you to my reviews.

11 to be read books out 21-30 overall, so not too bad, on track 🙂

16 books out 50 is okay but not great, I can do better. Really need to get moving this month if I want to manage this.

So 1 out of 20, really not good. It is my favourite genre, so I should manage to get back on track.

0 out of 3, still got plenty of time.

How are all your challenges going?

Arc Review: Swipe

Swipe by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

Tory Brennan and her great aunt Tempe join forces to investigate a crime at Comic-Con in this exclusive direct-to-digital short story from Kathy Reichs, author of Bones of the Lost and Virals.

A valuable Terminator replica disappears from the nerd nirvana of Comic-Con. Tory Brennan and her great aunt Tempe are on the scene, and join forces to investigate. Surely the Terminator can’t have just vanished into thin air?

When a ransom note appears, threatening the destruction of the model, Comic-Con staff start to accuse each other. The clues are soon mounting up – but can Tempe and the Virals find the thief before it’s too late?

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had not read any Viral stories before, so I had no idea what to expect. I liked the story it was fun and as someone with a forensic science degree, it was interesting to see some used in a fun way. I was a little lost in the Viral part of the story. But it was such a small part of the story, it did not matter. I liked the characters, although at times I was confused between some of them. A Kit was mentioned and I do not know who they are. For only being 70pages, it packed a lot into the story, I liked how there was some tension between the characters, which added to the story, gave some depth to them. I would definitely read some of the other Viral books.

four out of five stars.

 

ARC Review: Sharcano: DNF

Sharcano by Jose Prendes

A burnt and half-eaten megalodon shark corpse is found beached. A priest commits suicide. A previously unknown volcano rises from the China Sea and brings about a tsunami that destroys Shanghai. Yellowstone erupts after 640,000 years of silence. A pit in Nicaragua known as the “mouth of hell” begins violently spewing lava.

When Reporter Mick Cathcart and Marine Biologist Agnes Brach set out looking for answers, they never expected to stumble upon the biblical end times. Yet with sharks made of lava shooting from volcanoes to devour anyone in their way, how could anyone deny it?

With the help of a beleaguered priest and a billionaire industrialist, Mick and Agnes scramble to shutter the volcanoes and put down the lava sharks before the whole world burns to a cinder.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like films like this, ones that take a normal event like a volcano erupting and make it quite unbelievable, like lava sharks coming out of it, I thought I might like to read it to, I did not. The writing style was not to my taste and there was swearing where I personally felt it was not needed. The idea was a little far fetched, I thought it was going to be a comedy, but it was very serious and not what I expected. I did not think it was bad, just not for me, I could not finish it. I thought some of the storylines were unpredictable, which is a good thing and I did find myself wanting to know what happened in the end, but it was too tough going for me.

It was original and thought provoking, and if the writing had been more suited to me I am sure I would have carried on. I do hope it does well, it is unlike anything else I have ever read.

I would suggest this to fans of crime and far fetched books.

ARC Review: Don’t Even Think About It

Don’t even think about it by Sarah Mlynowski.

Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have).

We weren’t always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn’t expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we’ve kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what’s coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.

So stop obsessing about your ex. We’re always listening.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

General Overview (No Spoilers).

I have seen a few bad reviews for this book, but I loved it. If you take it for what it is, light, fun, teenagers with telepathic powers, and of course cheesy, it is then a very good book. But try and take it too seriously it will probably fall flat. I needed a nice light read full of drama and secrets, that’s exactly what I got. It was funny, I could not put it down. For the first time in a long time, I read a book from cover to cover in one sitting. I even changed my plans so I could sit and finish this.

It does exactly what it says on the tin, what more could you want? It made me smile and gave me a warm feeling inside. The only downside was that I could not read the second book in the series straight away.

5 out of 5 stars

Step by Step Overview (Spoilers)

0% – Looks like a lot of fun, teenagers with telepathic powers, what could go wrong?

10% – The writing style/narration is different, it’s like all the characters are telling the story at the same time. I wonder how it will work when they can read each others’ thoughts. Olivia is an interesting character. She is shy and a hypochondriac, not usual for a main character, none of them seem like usual lead characters, which I really like, even the popular girls have their insecurities.

20% – I like it when there’s just one line that make you think, it’s like what you are reading actually happened, there was a line like that in Harry Potter and it smile every time I read it. There was such a line in this book, I smiled from ear to ear.

30% – It’s fun hearing all the characters secrets, knowing who fancies who, etc.

40% – Why can’t Cooper hear their thoughts? So they are not going to tell, probably a good plan. Hopefully we find out soon, why Cooper cannot hear them. I wanna know!!

50% – Poor Cooper, how is he going to handle it? Why Sadie’s apartment for the meeting, seems a strange place.

60% – I would really hate people knowing my business, even if you are not hiding anything, you still have parts of your life that you don’t want anyone else to know.

70% – Purple eyes, I would love to have purple eyes. I really want Tess and Teddy to end up together. For some reason, Cooper and Olivia are a couple who I want to be together.

80% – Who is this new nurse and what does she know? Have other students from different schools had strange side affects too? And how was it incompetence from the original nurse?

90% – Okay, I admit it, Teddy is a jerk. It’s only the first book in the series, so I assume that either they are not going to get the antidote or it’s not going to work.

100% – Yay, they did not get the antidote. Looking forward to the next one. Totally cheesy but totally different.

Who would I recommend it to?

Anyone who likes YA.