eggcatsreads's Reviews (480)

This is hilarious. The art in this coloring book is nuanced and unique, and the descriptions of each person you'd hate to date are hilarious. I feel like every single person has had a run-in with at least a few of these archetypes, and almost everyone can relate to the difficulties of dating while trying to avoid these kinds of dates.

I also liked how the archetypes were varied by gender, and while some had "typical" gender-norms to them, almost all of them had an equivalent for the "other" side. It's poking fun at these kinds of people without falling into sexist stereotypes, which is the biggest thing I was worried about. I also enjoyed that at no point did it assume what gender was dating these people, with the assumption that these archetypes exist regardless of gender and sexuality.

This was a fun coloring book, and I can definitely see it as a fun holiday gift to give to your hopelessly single friends who can't find a decent person to date. I think everyone can relate, and I think any group of friends looking at these fun "types" of people would see one and immediately go "OMG do you remember-?" for a few of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Celebrate for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A cute little informative coloring book for children. As a kid my preferred coloring books and gifts had some information to learn about, and each bird picture comes with a little description and information for children to learn about.

I liked how there were a wide variety of birds, and it didn't shy away from including vultures (as a former "Weird Kid" I KNOW they'd have been my favorite, especially after learning that they eat dead animals.) The pictures to color in had variety, and were both simple enough to easily color in - but descriptive enough to give any child looking at it an idea of what that bird would look like in real life.

The only thing I think would have been nicer would have been more variety with the pictures for the birds - as it is, both the name page, the coloring page, and the flash cards all have the same bird image. I think as child I'd have preferred some variety in the images, rather than simply coloring the same picture multiple times. Also, I think either the description, or somewhere near the pictures, should have a description of the coloration of the birds so any kid who wants to color them in "properly" has the ability to easily do so.

However, as it is, this strikes me as a good coloring book for a child (whether or not they're particularly interested in birds, as I think this could help kickstart that interest), as well as something that would be a fun thing to include in any gradeschool science class that includes an ornithology lesson.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Zeitgeist for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute little informative book on arthropods, with focus on insects (but also including things like spiders, ticks, and pillbugs). I really like this as a coloring book, as many times "bugs" are seen as gross or pests, when in reality they live with us during our daily lives and many are helpful to us. I love insects, and I think as a child I'd have appreciated finding a coloring book that didn't only focus on "cute" things for me - but rather, on things people would find "displeasing" with informative information to learn.

As with the bird coloring book, my biggest complain is the recycling of the images, where I feel more variety would have been nicer to color. However, I think this would be a fun coloring book for any child, and could help even ones who don't like all sorts of creepy crawlies to see them in another light.

Thank you to the author, Netgally, and Zeitgeist for providing this copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

I love both botany and entomology, so I immediately grabbed this book when I saw it was available. Not only are the photos descriptive and beautiful, but there is a lot of well-researched information to consume in this book. This is a book that would have fit perfectly in my college classes, which included classes that focused on the interactions between insects and plants, and how they communicate with one another.

I really appreciated the beginning explaining the different color spectrums humans and bees see, and the comparisons with photos of the same flower based on which spectrum is being seen - ours, or the bees. I also liked that this book goes both into vivid detail about all the topics covered, but also starts from the "beginning" as it were, and breaks down the building block information so any reader can understand the more complex information.

If you were interested in learning more about how bees interact with flowers, how bees live their lives, how honey is both created and it's benefits, and how humans interact and live with bees, then look no further. This is a great book to learn more information about these topics on, and it is written in an easy-to-understand format that doesn't talk down to you or oversimplify things - instead, it explains it to you using diagrams and photos.

I think this book would be perfect for anyone interested in the relationship between bees, flowers, and humans, and would be a great read regardless of the level of information you begin with. A more experienced reader would use the early explanations as a refresher before diving into the more complex topics, while someone with no knowledge would not be lost as they are given the same information in an easy-to-understand way.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Chronicle Books for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love fungi and took a mycology course in college, so when I saw a children's book focusing on teaching young children about them I had to grab it. However, I didn't really like this and feel like it would have only confused a child being read this book.

The art style is very simplified and would have been nice for easy-to-see drawings of the fungi in question, but I felt too often the mushroom was being drawn too like a person instead, causing confusion.

The beginning where they explain the different shapes of fungi, as well as the end where they go through a brief overview of them, worked and the simplified art style did not take away from it. If the middle portion of the book was more set up like these ones, I think the book would have been a better introduction to mycology to a young child.

However, during the main portion of the book, I MYSELF was confused at times with what was being portrayed or attempted at being explained - and I'm 29 years old with a biology degree who took a mycology course for fun. There were also a few times I felt like more information than necessary was given to explaining a concept, as for a young child I feel like simpler is better.

As I'm not a child, nor do I have one to show this book to, I have no definitive evidence that this wouldn't work for a young child - but I'm fairly certain if I were a child I would have been confused and uninterested in what was being taught as I'd feel like I was being talked down to.

I will say that I think this book could be a good introduction to fungi, as long as you had another book nearby to help answer any questions your child would have after finishing it.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Lerner Publishing Group/Millbrook Press for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute little informative book on dinosaurs, which would be perfect for any child going through their inevitable "dinosaur" phase.

I really appreciated how there were pronunciation guides for each of the names, to help any child reading about them to know how to say their names. This way they can share all the cool information they learn from this coloring book.

As with the bird and bug coloring books, my biggest complain is the recycling of the images, where I feel more variety would have been nicer to color. However, I think this would be a fun coloring book for any child, and despite my inherent belief that ALL kids like dinosaurs - this would be a good way to nurture an interest even if you happen to have one who doesn't.

Thank you to the author, Netgally, and Zeitgeist for providing this copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

This! Is! The! Cutest! Book!
I love this! It's the perfect blend of fun holiday cheer AND Mothman! (As someone who has gone to the Mothman Festival for the past 3 years, I would know.) This children's book (that despite warnings, I did absolutely read to the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) would be a great book to read to your little cryptozoologist this holiday season. I don't have children and even I'm contemplating purchasing this as a holiday gift for myself, as it was just THAT fun and cute to read.

I also really liked the brief definitions and explanations of what cryptozoology and Mothman is, along with a funny little Q & A that was included at the end. (Especially if you're trying to teach the lore of Mothman to your little up and coming cryptozoologist - they'll have important questions that NEED to be answered!)

Live. Laugh. Lurk.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and 8th Circle Press for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this would be a perfect gift for any child with an interest in insects - especially since so much of life wants to take away that inherent interest in them. I myself love insects of all kinds, and this would have been a great gift if I were a child again. The art in this book is cute and engaging, and the information is fun and easy to understand - without talking down to the audience.

I would have loved this book as a child, and would encourage it for any child with an interest in insects - or even one without one to foster one!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Happy Yak for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a world of fairytale retellings, The Crimson Crown barely classifies in my opinion. We see the easter eggs of the classic of Snow White scattered throughout this book, but at its core it’s a new original story almost entirely removed from the original. I believe if I didn’t know this was a retelling for the “Evil Queen” in Snow White, (along with the multitude of hints in worldbuilding), I’d have never guessed what this story was.

That’s not a bad thing, by the way. At no point was I certain where this story was going, because other than knowing our main character was to become a “villain” at the end - everything building up to that pivotal moment was brand new. This story hooks itself into you and takes you along for the ride, until you too are rooting for the villain in this tale. A sincere part of me wishes for a sequel to explore this newfound narrative, and to see if the story continues closer to how we know it - or if we will continue to root for the Evil Queen until the end.

I loved Malice and Misrule, and The Crimson Crown has a very similar vibe to it - by the end, you are wishing for the destruction of everything around the main character so she can take her (well deserved) revenge.

The one thing I found a bit difficult to get into was the romance scattered throughout, between Ayleth and Jacquetta. Much of their romance was built upon a history we were not there to see, so I found it hard to care or relate. That’s not to say that they didn’t have moments, and that I didn’t root for them to succeed against all costs - just that I find it hard to get into “established” romances in storytelling.

If you love villain origin stories, where you get to follow along with our main character as they fall deeper and deeper into a darkness they cannot escape from - until eventually they embrace this part of themselves - then this is the novel for you. Even “knowing the ending,” as it were, there were many twists and turns and I was never certain how our Ayleth became the Evil Queen we know until it finally happened.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Random House Ballantine/Del Rey for this arc in exchange for an honest review.