Hinterkind Vol. 1: The Waking World by Ian Edginton, illustrated by Francesco Trifogli

by Carol3 Comments
A couple of days ago I was sitting on the recliner in the basement and David must have been watching hockey or baseball or something on tv. Anyway, I was bored and my phone and current read were both upstairs. I was also feeling rather lazy and The Waking World was sitting on the shelf on the end table, so I picked it up, read half that evening and finished it the next day. To be honest, I'm not sure how I got ahold of this originally. I don't read many graphic novels, but I must have purchased it at some time. It's enjoyable enough, but there's nothing really exciting about it. It's just okay. The world is interesting, with all the fairy creatures returning, but they're nothing unique. There's a semi-military group too, but they've run a bit amok and once again don't strike me as truly unique. The teenage boy could be more than he seems, but his individual...
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Thursday’s Tale: Little Chickies / Los Pollitos

by Carol1 Comment
I feel like nursery rhymes sort of fall into the same category as fairy tales and folktales. They're part of a culture, something passed down over the years that most everyone connects to, which is why I'm including Little Chickies as a Thursday's Tale. Little Chickies is based on a Spanish nursery rhyme, "Los Pollitos." I found the nursery rhyme at NurseryRhymes.co, along with the translation. Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío cuando tienen hambre cuando tienen frío. La gallina busca el maíz y el trigo les da la comida y les presta abrigo. Bajo de sus alas, acurrucaditos ¡duermen los pollitos hasta el otro día! Translation : The little chicks say pio pio pio When they are hungry And when they are cold. The mother hen looks for corn and wheat. She gives them food and grants them shelter. Under mama's wings, huddling up, Sleep the little chicks Until the next day! Jamarillo has done a wonderful job in the adorable book telling the story of the chicks whose mom takes care of them. Her lyrics are simpler than...
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Healthy Speedy Suppers by Katriona MacGregor

by Carol3 Comments
I work and there are days when I get home at 5:05 and we need to have eaten and be out the door for art class by 5:50. I need speedy suppers, which is why I was so excited to see this book. It sounds perfect- healthy, quick, real ingredients, but overall I was disappointed. First, I didn't need the first section. I'm actually a little tired of having cookbooks tell me what essentials to stock my shelves: give me the recipes, I can figure out what I actually want to keep in my cupboards and what pans I need. I liked the variety of recipes and that most used common ingredients, even if she didn't call them what I do, like courgettes=zucchini. There were several my daughter was never going to try, but I'll run into that with just about any cookbook. I also thought the use of photos was good. It's full of pictures of the recipes, but the cover doesn't...
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The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

by Carol7 Comments
First off, The Janus Affair overall was better than the first in the series for me. I liked the suffragette connection and I thought the gadgets and machines were cooler this time around. It's a funner book. Braun and Books are a great team. I enjoy their interactions. They are both witty and have wonderful comebacks and one-liners. They make me smile. There's some sexual tension, but the romance touches don't overpower the story. However, the introduction of Eliza's old flame leads to one of my quibbles. While his presence pushed Books to look a little more at his feelings for Eliza, I could have done without him. I almost quit partway through. There were two male secondary characters, one being Eliza's old friend and the other a fellow Ministry worker, who I just didn't enjoy. They were jerks, and not integral enough to the story to make up for the amount of time spent on them. I really just strongly disliked...
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“B” Is for Bad Girls by Rebecca Cantrell and Sean Black

by Carol1 Comment
"B" Is for Bad Girls is #2 in the series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. It's short, funny and has a good mystery. Sofia is a great lead character. She's new to the detective business, although she played one on tv— literally, she quit acting to become a detective. The paparazzi is still happy to get pictures of her in awkward situations though, like peeing in public or coming out of a rehab facility for example. Part of what makes it fun is that her semi-celebrity status in Malibu lets us meet other celebrities, like the bad girls at the rehab center where she is undercover. Well, not really undercover, since she's still being herself, just pretending to be a drug addict, which she is not. It's neat to have the entertainment industry in the background of the series. Sofia is a riot she has a great sense of humor about herself and about life. Her friends and...
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Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren

by Carol5 Comments
I'm sorry. I had to give up on this one half-way through, and it took me a month to get that far. I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care about the characters and found the plot a little confusing. They were going on a dive to find swords but yakuza were somehow involved and there was a monk who I think was good guy but was in love with a giesha who ended up "owned" by another man. Then that guy ended up dead and I quit reading. It just wasn't for me....
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