Category: Books

I love Christmas and winter books and we have a whole box full of them, a good variety really. Many we've read over and over through the years. Merry Christmas, Davy! by Brigitte Weninger is a charming tale about sharing and kindness. Davy is an little bunny whose dad has taught him and his brothers and sisters that Santa wants them to be good, help one another, share and to be kind and loving. When he is left at home alone the next day, he puts into practice what he learned. So many of the forest animals, like the birds and deer, look so hungry and Davy knows it's tough to find food in the snow, so Davy takes some of his family's food out to share with his forest friends. Of course, when everyone comes back home, they wonder where all their food wen. First, the family is a little upset with Davy, but when they realize that what he...

My birthday was in November, so not only did I pick up some books for review, I also received some bookish presents, and my husband and daughter gave me money to move my blog to a self-hosted site, which I love. So here's my mailbox for last month. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of  A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted by Jenny Q at Let Them Read Books. These are the presents from my brother and his wife. Aren't they awesome? If you can't tell, the t-shirt has the words of "The Raven" by Poe forming the silhouette. And the cup is made out of US corn plastic. Now the books I received: The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandell (From Unbridled Books via NetGalley) Twas the Night by Sandra Hill, Trish Jensen and Kate Holmes (from Bell Bridge Books via NetGalley) 8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf by Michael Mullin (From the author) Mrs. Jeffries and...

Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell is one of those books that hooked me and kept me reading, but that I probably won't remember in six months. Anne  is used to her mom being on long business trips,  but when her mom is days late coming home and Anne can't track her down, she lets her grandparents know she is worried. They give her a letter from her mother, written before she left, and as Anne reads it, her whole world is torn apart. No one is who they claim to be and now her life may be in danger. And that's on top of the regular teenage girl concerns, like boys. This is a YA thriller and the plot just keeps going. Anne, strong, independent, mostly level-headed, just never gets to stop and take a breath. Everything she knows to be true turns out to be a lie and she's got two sets of bad guys after her, but at least...

Who would have thought I'd love an A is for Alligator book? Alphabeasts by Wallace Edwards is simply gorgeous, magical; I could get lost in the illustrations. Edwards takes on a tour of an ornate Victorian mansion, introducing us to all the menagerie that lives there, from the alligator awaking from a dream to the zebra soaking in the bath tub. Along the way, we meet some out of the ordinary animals, like the ibis, a mandrill, a quetzal, even a narwhal. Each of the animals stars in a richly-colored scene filled with tiny details, a portrait that makes me at least wonder what the rest of the story is. Take for example the alligator from the cover. What was he dreaming of, why is he propped in the armchair like that? And I love the cat who stares into the mirror and sees the reflection of a tiger. I wish I had a picture of the octopus changing the light in...

I don't know even where to start with this review. After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli is in theory a crime novel, but it's too fun, and silly, and improbable to really be taken as such. Charlie Mordecai is an art dealer, although in this novel he doesn't do much actual work. Instead, his life is saved in the opening of the story by some kind of secret government agency under the condition that he marry a certain rich American, Johanna. When the loving Johanna asks him to kill the queen of England, Mortdecai sets about to do it. The attempt goes awry, and he is sent on a mission of international intrigue that is simply absurd, but pleasurably so. He attends a vicious, feminist-run training camp for secret agents, combats an all-powerful union of Chinese waiters, poses as a priest, smuggles heroin from China to America, and survives a shootout in a slaughterhouse. Mortdecai is the show-stopping star here. As...

Two and a Half Dead Men by Jason Krumbine is a quirky paranormal adventure featuring two brother, Mort and Thane Grym, who work as Grim Reapers, a job they inherited from their father who has gone missing. The two brothers are as different as night and day. Thane is neat, responsible and seems to honest care about the souls they collect. Mort is a drunk, a poor gambler and a womanizer. They fight, a lot, but they love each other and are doing a difficult job the best they can, and for what seems to be not much money. This time they've got a doozie of a case on their hands. Two dead guys souls have gone missing and there's a third dead guy, who's not actually dead, running around. And to top it off, there's a new Grim Reaper outfit in town, competition that the Grym brothers are not looking forward to. Thane and Mort need to figure out...