One Bad Apple

by CarolNo Comments
One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly When Meg Corey unexpectedly finds herself out of a job, an apartment, and a relationship, she seizes the opportunity to renovate the Massachusetts colonial house her mother has inherited from distant relations and to sell it quickly for a share of the profits. But Meg gets more than she bargained for when she learns that renovating a two-hundred-year-old house is not easy task and that the gorgeous ffteen-acre apple orchard on the property is in danger of being paved over by developers. And she definitely isn't expecting to run into her ex-boyfriend...floating dead in her new septic tank. The police immediately suspect Meg, whose only ally is the charming local plumber who found the body. determined to clear her name - while fighting her growing attachment to the troublesome house and orchard - Meg begins to investigate the crime and the townspeople only to find there's one bad apple in this bunch... This is the first in...
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The Fran with Four Brains

by CarolNo Comments
The Fran with Four Brains (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist #6) by Jim Benton Being a mad scientist in the modern world is very hard work. With so much that needs to be done in such a short period of time, multitasking can get way out of hand. Franny needs some additional help. But for Franny there is only one person in the world she trusts to help her with her experiments -- herself.  So she acquires assistance the mad-scientist way, by building a few real, live, steel-plated Franbots. Another great Franny K. Stein adventure. Amber absolutely loves this series, mostly because it's about a girl who loves science and gross things, just like Amber. Her favorite part of this one was the food ray, one of the Franbot accessories. Amber is almost 9 and this series is a little below her reading level, but that makes it fun. She doesn't have to worry about the actual reading, she can just breeze...
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Frantastic Voyage

by CarolNo Comments
Frantastic Voyage (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist #5) by Jim Benton Franny's faithful lab assistant, Igor, has swallowed a doomsday device that is ready to go off at any moment! For any regular scientist, there is only one way to get the device out -- um...make that two ways. But Franny K. Stein is no ordinary scientist, so she concocts her own way to get the device back and save her friend. With her miniaturization machine, Franny shrinks herself to the size of a pin and goes on a field trip like no other...through the body of a ticking time-dog! Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride! Amber absolutely loves this series and this was another good entry. It subtly shows some of the downfalls of watching too much tv, with all the familiar humor and grossness that characterize Frannie's world. I have to admit that I thought her wishing she had more time to play in the...
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I’m Your Santa

by Carol3 Comments
I'm Your Santa The Christmas Present by Lori Foster When Beth Monroe catches her fiancé fooling around, she's out for revenge...and the sweetest kind comes courtesy of Levi, the cheater's best friend. But when their one-hour tryst stretches to an entire weekend, holiday cheer takes on a whole new meaning... This was my favorite of the novellas. The end was kind of sappy, but the romance was believable and the family interactions were great.  It's a Wonderful Life by Karen Kelley Hollywood hottie Jeremy Hunter needs to get serious about his acting career, and that means Christmas spent researching his upcoming role. But going incognito as a preacher in a tiny Texas town soon brings wicked temptation in the form of beautiful Bailey Tanner... Yes, this was predictable, but it was fun. I did feel like I missed a lot of the background on the secondary characters, which I guess was in other books by the author. Home for Christmas by Dianne Castell A philandering boyfriend...
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Guess Who’s Coming to Santa’s for Dinner?

by Carol1 Comment
Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner? by Tomie dePaola  This year, Santa and Mrs. Claus are having their entire family over for Christmas dinner. There's Uncle Alfred, the inventor from Bermuda; Sister Olga, the opera singer; eight young children, including Baby Willie; and even a polar bear named Oscar. With a family like this, mayhem is bound to follow; and from a snowball fight to the Christmas pageant to the meal itself, it's a wild affair. But in the spirit of the season, everyone has a wonderful time—even the frazzled hosts! The illustrations are cute and lively, as expected, and tell more of the story than the words alone.  It's nice to know that Santa's family is just as dysfunctional as the rest of us. This was a difficult book to read aloud, though. There are simply too many speech bubbles, and it feels jumpy. Amber liked the book, but wondered why no one in the story brought up the fact...
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