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More Fare for Children

10/21/2013

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.

In How Mannerland Got Its Manners Back, Kevin D. Janison tells of how “America’s most polite city” changed in the blink of an eye. When a rushing wind blew apart the “Welcome to Mannerland” sign, leaving only the portion reading “Land,” Deputy Dorkface knew that trouble was brewing. From that moment on, the children changed. No longer were they obedient, polite, and thoughtful. They became little terrors. They would not clean their rooms, talked with their mouths full, and demanded rather than requested things. They forgot all about sharing, kindness, and the feelings of others.

When the behavior of the children grew unbearable and nothing the parents did to get the children to behave worked, Deputy Dorkface enlisted the assistance of the townspeople to build a town within the town just for the children. There the children could decide their own proper behavior without adult supervision — though the adults secretly watched all that transpired. Over the next days, the children did as they pleased, chewed with their mouths full, slammed doors, gossiped, and failed to attend to their personal hygiene. They even picked their noses! Only when things became unbearable did the children want to go home but then they had to earn their way back.

There are many lessons for children in How Mannerland Got Its Manners Back that Janison artfully weaves into the story. With the assistance of Eldon Doty’s vivid and colorful illustrations, children will see the sad state that a community would be in if no one cared to do the right and proper thing. How Mannerland Got Its Manners Back is a wonderful story for parents and teachers to share with young people — if they can get them to be polite enough, long enough, to sit down and listen.

Also posted at Goodreads and PatriciaReding.BookLikes.com. Linked on Facebook. Tweeted. Cover pinned.

Having Fun With Children's Books

10/20/2013

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite.

In How Sugaropolis Got Dessert Back, Kevin D. Janison brings young readers to Sugaropolis, a town in Sweetzerland, a dessert lover’s paradise. In Sugaropolis, there is sugar everywhere! Sugar cane grows in fields around the town. Bakeries and donut and ice cream shops overwhelm children with the tantalizing aroma of sweet treats. From Candy Cane Lane to Rocky Road, the children continually indulge in sweet treats. But, suddenly, strange things start to happen. A Little League player drops in his tracks, too tired to continue to the next base. Children's teeth mysteriously fall out. Imagine a 100-yard dash turning into a 30-minute stroll! It is not until parents report that their children don’t even have enough energy to play video games that people really worry.

Enter Deputy Dorkface who knows something must be done. Specifically, there must be a ban placed on all things sweet. Upset about the changes, children try to steal sweet things, then get together in their secret clubhouse to put together a plan on how to seize back their desserts. No one could have anticipated the food fight that results. When Deputy Dorkface responds by carrying the children off to jail, negotiations begin. Will the children and the townspeople be able to come up with a plan that will provide for the children to eat well and still enjoy their sugary desserts?

Kevin D. Janison’s How Sugaropolis Got Dessert Back has wonderful, fun and detailed illustrations by Eldon Doty. Parents will appreciate having this story to share with their children. Teachers can use the story in connection with class discussions about healthy eating. But best of all, children will enjoy the journey through Sugaropolis, all the while learning some important things about the harm of a diet of nothing but sweets.

Also posted at Goodreads and PatriciaReding.BookLikes.com. Linked on Facebook. Tweeted. Cover pinned.

The Laughs Continue!

10/19/2013

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Reviewed for Readers’ Favorite.

Lemony Snicket is back with part two of his latest series. This time Snicket asks the wrong question: “When Did You See Her Last?” Lemony Snicket, almost thirteen and “wrong,” apprentice to S. Theodora Markson, seeks to find the missing person, Cleo Knight. Still in the town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea with S. Theodora (could the “S” stand for “silly”?) who believes Cleo has simply run away to join the circus, Snicket knows better. With the assistance of the only remaining journalist in town, Moxie Mallahan, and an odd assortment of friends, Snicket follows the clues to the now abandoned hospital where Dr. Flammarion, under the direction of the real culprit, Hangfire, may be holding Cleo hostage.

One can always depend on Lemony Snicket to deliver the laughs in his stories and When Did You See Her Last? is no exception! Consider Snicket’s description of places such as the near ghost town that Stain’d-by-the-Sea has become since few octopi from which the ink sold by Ink, Inc., remain. Then there are Snicket’s character descriptions like the girl with the curved eyebrows that look like question marks. Snicket also delivers laughs through his characters’ foolish antics, such as Theodora who rings all doorbells six times (for no apparent reason) and the law enforcement couple’s son, Stew, who is responsible for making the sounds of the siren for the town patrol car as it rides through town.

But the surest sign that you are reading a Snicket tale, and the one thing certain to make any reader laugh, is when Snicket provides a unique definition for a word.Yes, When Did You See Her Last?, Snicket’s latest adventure, is sure to elicit laughs and to be enjoyed by readers—young and old alike!

When Did You See Her Last? is available from Amazon here and Barnes and Noble here.

Also posted on Goodreads, PatriciaReding.Booklikes.com. Post linked at www.Facebook.com/PatriciaRedingAuthor and tweeted. Cover pinned.

An Author's Private Life

10/16/2013

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I got a free download of Bone Blind on Amazon. In exchange, I offer the author this, my honest review.

Finn Ryan is an author. Horror stories are his bailiwick. Specifically, zombie stories set in Victorian times. His work is renowned. His research on everything from 19th century embalming practices to Victorian psychiatric hospitals to fairy lamps is detailed. For example, Finn considers: does his story require that he refer to the fabric in question as “crepe”—a rumpled fabric, or “crape”—a fabric in black? But, Finn’s personal life is in a bit of a shambles. Carrying guilt for not having been where he should have been some years back, on a cold night that nearly cost his daughter, Katie, her life, Ryan does all he can to protect Katie. So, what happens when he invests his time and attention on another horror writer and famous recluse, Tally Serzak? Is Tally the woman responsible for the twenty-year-old murder of a Boston man? And, if so, what danger does that present to Finn himself—or to his beloved Katie?

My favorite part of Bone Blind was the realistic manner in which Padgett presented the ways of an author. She discusses how a horror writer spends time on creating atmosphere; how a writer of romance reflects on the “concern of the female with corralling the male to his functions as father and breadwinner;” how mystery writers ponder over and then present the puzzle pieces. It was the little thoughts that Finn had as he wrote—like wondering whether horses were made uneasy with the smell of death and because he was unsure, adding a white mongrel dog into his scene—that brought Padgett’s story to life and that made it feel so genuine.

With a backdrop of the world of writers in general, and the lives of the two authors, Finn and Tally in particular, Padgett creates a story that is part horror (that being the story that Ryan is writing), part romance (that being Finn and Tally’s—someone odd—relationship) and part mystery (as the local, soon to retire detective Warren Yost seeks to end his career with the final hurrah by discovering the murderer of a 20-year old case).

I very much enjoyed Bone Blind and I highly recommend it lovers of mysteries!

Find out more about Bone Blind and Abigail Padgett on Goodreads here or on Padgett’s website here. Bone Blind is available from Amazon here.

Also posted at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and PatriciaReding.Booklikes.com. Linked at Facebook.com/PatriciaRedingAuthor. Post tweeted and cover pinned.

Hurray for Hollywood!

10/15/2013

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Reviewed by Patricia Reding for Readers’ Favorite.

In The Dead and the Beautiful (a Nikki Harper Mystery), Cheryl Crane reacquaints readers with Nikki Harper, the daughter of a famous movie star from the golden days of Hollywood, Victoria Bordeaux. The story opens when Victoria hosts a garden party. There, Nikki meets “Disney’s Fab Four,” young stars who had made it big a few years earlier when they co-starred in a Disney sitcom. When Ryan Melton, the husband of one of the Fab Four shows up dead a short time later, Alison, the sister of Nikki’s love interest, is accused of the murder. Nikki follows the clues to uncover the real culprit in an attempt to support Alison in much the way that Victoria had supported Nikki years earlier when Nikki herself had been accused of a murder.

As the daughter of Lana Turner, Cheryl Crane is uniquely qualified to tell the story of an adult child of a Hollywood star. With a “smile” ingrained in Nikki since childhood—one that is not fake, just “rehearsed”—Nikki is at home among the rich and famous. Readers will enter Nikki’s world, as Crane surrounds them with designer handbags, shoes and clothing, posh and beautiful homes and home furnishings, and Hollywood’s elite, in The Dead and the Beautiful. In the midst of this world of wealth and fame, Nikki befriends people who, enamored with the fame of her mother, are eager to assist Nikki as she attempts to solve the mystery. All the while, readers will be drawn closer and closer to the ultimate question: will Nikki identify the real murderer before she becomes the next victim?

Find out more about Cheryl Crane on Goodreads here. The Dead and the Beautiful is available from Amazon here and Barnes and Noble here.

October 14th, 2013

10/14/2013

Tattooed and Imprisoned?

10/14/2013

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I got a free download of Steamed: A Maid in LA Mystery from Amazon. I thank the author and in exchange I offer this, my honest review.

Mac is the odd one out in her family. While her parents and siblings are all doctors, Quincy opted for a different life. Divorced and raising three teen boys, Quincy runs a maid service in L.A. The story opens with Quincy at home alone while her three boys are off with their father and his newest young wife (who Quincy likes so well that she’s considered adopting) for an extra long holiday. But trouble begins when Quincy fills in for one of her staff to clean the home of a Hollywood award winner and while there, discovers the dead body of the homeowner. Will the police think Quincy is the guilty party in light of her having cleaned up all of the evidence of the crime? If so, she could end up in prison (and tattooed like her uncle—the only other black sheep in the family)!

Steamed kept me laughing. It was quite funny! However, while Quincy was amusing and generally likeable, she was also—a ditz. While 38 years old, the mother of three and a business owner, it seems Quincy must have something on the ball. But, that either is not the case, or Quincy prefers to give the impression that she is just empty-headed and foolish. While the depth of her silliness might be understandable (I suppose) for a teen, even tolerable (though barely) for a young adult, it was not at all attractive on a grown woman. It was no wonder that others, including Quincy’s own parents, treated Quincy as though she was not all that capable. . . . So, the story was funny—but it would have been a lot funnier if Quincy was either: (1) younger, not the mother of three nearly grown children and a businesswoman from whom you would expect more; or (2) not so incredibly foolish. Having said that, if you want a good laugh and you don’t mind a largely “vacant” heroine, you will enjoy this one!

Find out more about Steamed and Holly Jacobs on Goodreads here or on her website here. Like her on Facebook here and follow her on Twitter at HollyJacobs1.

Also posted on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Goodreads and http://patriciareding.booklikes.comwww.PatriciaReding.Booklikes.com. Linked at Facebook.com/PatriciaRedingAuthor, Post tweeted and cover pinned.

Eastern Influences

10/13/2013

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Reviewed for Readers’ Favorite at ReadersFavorite.com.

The beautiful cover of Autumn Magic hints at the eastern influences in Triana Willard’s story of Wren, the youngest daughter of a family that has been exiled to live a great distance from the city. When Wren’s mother arranges a marriage for Wren’s sister, Sky, to a distant cousin, the family prepares for the great wedding day. Shortly after Sparrowhawk, the groom, his parents and their entourage arrive, the ceremony is to take place. But before the nuptials are completed, the bride and the other wedding guests suddenly turn into black swans that fly away. Only Wren and Sparrowhawk are left behind, both having been protected from the magic that transformed their loved ones. Together Wren and Sparrowhawk journey to find Sky and their other family members and to save them from the dark magic of the witch that seeks to destroy Sparrowhawk’s family.

In Autumn Magic, young readers will find courage with Wren, as she sets out to go beyond the furthest borders she has ever known in order to save her family. They will watch as Wren struggles to determine whether Sparrowhawk can be trusted. They will grieve upon learning that someone Wren had always trusted would betray her. They will be filled with wonder at the creatures created by magic that Wren and Sparrowhawk must overcome. With smooth prose and a unique story setting, Triana Willard takes her readers on an fantasy adventure that will have them discovering, as does Wren, that they too can face and overcome whatever fears and hardships might visit them.

Find out more about Triana Willard on Goodreads here and on her website here.

Also posted on ReadersFavorite.com, Goodreads, PatriciaReding.BookLikes.com and Facebook.com/PatriciaRedingAuthor, the post tweeted and the cover pinned.

A Mystery Involving an Overdue Library Book

10/5/2013

I received a copy of Gingerbread Man as a free download. In exchange, I offer this, my honest review.

This was actually a difficult story for me to “rate” because my rating does not altogether reflect how much I enjoyed the story. We meet at the outset, Vince O’Mally, a detective promising the mother of two children who have been abducted—against O’Mally’s own better judgment—that he would find them. Of course, O’Mally does find them. But the scene wherein the children are found is so horrific that O’Mally cannot get it out of his mind. (Readers note: fortunately, the scene is not shared with us!) Ordered to get counseling or take a break, O’Mally decides to take a break—but not so that he can rest. Rather, O’Mally decides to start his own investigation. Off O’Mally goes to Dilmun (a small town wherein nothing bad ever happens) because O’Mally’s only lead is an overdue library book from the Dilmun library. The book, found at the crime scene with the dead children, had been checked out some years ago and then never returned.

As the story progresses, O’Mally meets the small town residents, including Holly Newman, who had witnessed as a young girl, her own sister’s abduction. Holly’s sister, Ivy, had never been found—and Holly had never quite gotten over the experience. So, when a full-fledged investigation begins in Dilmun for the child molester and killer, Holly is at the center of the activities.

The Gingerbread Man was the kind of read that made me keep going back for more. I quite enjoyed it! Even so, there were a few issues that perplexed me. How was it that Holly could remember the eyes of her sister’s abductor but never recognized them as belonging to someone who was a part of her own everyday life in the intervening years? It was not until Amanda (the “adopted daughter” of the local celebrity and recluse) identified the predator that Holly put the pieces together. Perhaps this is not altogether unusual, but it did strike me as odd. And, why would the local physician who was a Dilmun resident at the time of Ivy’s abduction not have recognized a certain similarity between her and Amanda? (He would have known Ivy for the same reason he knew Holly—they spent their summers in Dilmun.) For that matter, how is it that none of the other townsfolk did either? In addition, why would that local physician take it upon himself to determine who was or was not potentially responsible for some reprehensible act when he really could not know of what someone might be capable? In short, these issues did not entirely add up for me. Even so, I genuinely appreciated Holly’s journey to find her own strength. I also appreciated that O’Mally recognized, because he was inclined to fall (unwisely) for the needy, that he should avoid Holly. But, it was in those moments when Holly showed herself most capable that O’Mally found her most attractive. Thus, it seems, both characters grew.

I recommend Gingerbread Man to anyone who enjoys a good mystery thriller!

Find out more about Maggie Shayne on Goodreads here and on her website here. Gingerbread Man is available from Amazon here and from Barnes and Noble here.

So Much Fun!

10/1/2013

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I got a free download of The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back from Amazon. In response, I offer the author this, my honest review.

At the outset, let me say that I really do not read that many “romance” stories. I suppose this is largely due to a couple factors—the first being that so often they seem to be the same story, regurgitated with new names; and the second being, I suppose, that I’ve long since outgrown them. But, I’ve been shaking it up a bit of late, reading some of this and some of that. And, when it comes to The Ugly Sister Strikes Back! I am so happy that I picked this one up!

Mattie Lowe, so named she believes because her mother hated her, is the ugly stepsister of Ella, against whom Mattie has a list of grievances. The guys all fell for Ella, she was completely unselfish, she had a beautiful name, spent hours helping around the house (and thereby putting the housekeeper’s job in jeopardy—something Mattie would not do because she was not selfish like that), and had the ability to make everything look amazing. But the greatest wrong was that Ella was dating Jake Kingston, Ella’s perfect counterpart—and Mattie’s love interest.

I must—simply must—stop to tell a short story. My eldest and only son is about 6’3”. As a tall woman myself, I remember from my own dating days of yore how few tall men there are out there! And so, during my son’s dating years, I used to tell him: “Don’t waste it on a short girl.” Ha ha ha! So, what did Sariah Wilson have right there in Chapter 1? Mattie, noting Jake’s 6’2” height thinks: “[b]eing 5’11” made me sort of a tall guy connoisseur and it always aggravated me to see all that height being wasted on teeny-tiny girls like Ella!” Oh, Sariah Wilson, did you speak to me! And, oh, did I laugh! And, the laughs just kept coming!

The best part of this story—aside from its humor—which was precious and real—was that it was a happy story. It was a story about discovering the beauty of differences between people, of reaching out to those you may envy but who have your best interests at heart, of facing the truth that some relationships (like Mattie’s with her mother) were just not meant to be, of facing your greatest fears, of discovering you may just be an ugly duckling waiting for your day to reveal your true beauty, and so on and so on. Wilson captured the angst of “teenagedom” with rare humor (as opposed to the common moodiness). For anyone looking for a quick, fun, satisfying, engaging, “can’t-put-it-down” read, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Oh yes! And one more thing! It was a YA story that was truly written for the YA crowd. It wasn’t smutty or negative. It was a story I could—can—did—heartily recommend to my own teen daughters!

Well done, Sariah Wilson! Very well done, indeed! I will definitely be looking to read your other works!

Oh yes—one final thought! This would make a great movie!

Find out more about Sariah Wilson and follow and fan her on Goodreads here. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is available on Amazon here.

Patricia Reding

Posted here are a number of Patricia's reviews of the works of others.

Those reviews posted here that Patricia did for Readers Favorite are identified as such. No review of less than 4-stars for any Readers' Favorite review is posted here or elsewhere.

Those works reviewed for NetGalley are identified accordingly.

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