This was a fun adventure, but it seemed to stall a little bit a few times. In this episode of Race the Wild, Sage is struggling with some issues that I'm not sure if most children would understand. However, for those dealing with a ill or injured family member, this would be a great book to explore some of those emotions. Sage is distracted and a few times misses important things that could cost her team the lead. Having been the strong leader in the past, she is scared to open up and show weakness.

In the same fashion as the previous Race the Wild, we do get to see and explore a fun new ecosystem. I'm really loving the animal facts and even I learned a few interesting things myself. Kids will love these facts which are presented as fast little "commercials" from the regular story.

A fun ecosystem to explore and some great moments of discovery make this a really great story. I just worry that Sage's issues may not ring with everyone in the target audience.

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/08/great-reef-games-by-kristin-earhart.html#sthash.tpYQt3dD.dpuf

This was a cute story, but I had some problems with it being inconsistent with the illustrations. The dog is referred to as a collie, but looks nothing like one. It looks more like Benji in my opinion. Every time the dog is mentioned, which was fairly often, this bothered me more and more.

I did enjoy the story about Tori and Jewel though. Tori is in love with the pony, but has to earn the privilege of riding the feisty pony. Tori and her sister have a few incidents while at Gran's ranch, but they do their best to pitch in and help out. A cute story, but it needed just a little more work.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/08/sparkling-jewel-by-dl-green-review.html#sthash.ku6pPQtn.dpuf

So, this book is marketed as a New Adult Romance, but there is no HEA. I am going to assume this means that this is a romantic series that will eventually get there. But for those of you that want a traditional romance, this one isn't for you.

If you are looking for a small town (I'm talking like 15 people live there small) girl that finds herself swept up in a total culture shock as she enters high school in a very big city, Paradise. Lexie is feeling quite overwhelmed as she is thrown face first into the whirlpool that is high school social structure. Adrift on her own, she begins to develop a new indentity and branch out a little. I really loved watching her transform from a niave and awkward girl to a person that was happy (most of the time) with who she was.

The romantic interest was a little too dramatic for me. They are on agan and off again, and then sort of inbetween for awhile - and as you can see from the beginning of my review here - we don't end with as HEA or a HFN. I certainly hope things get worked out in the next book. While I enjoyed the writing very much, since it was presented as a romance I was really hoping for a good, happy ending.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

This was a fun mix of magic and science - sort of. The magic really takes over and I wish there had been a little more emphasis on how the science knowlege was able to solve the problems. I'm all for some fun magic in a book, but this one needed just a tad more balance between the two.

That being said, it was the book my son took to bed with him every night for a couple weeks. He loves the pictures and the addition of the giant spiders makes this story appealing to little boys even though it has little girl main characters.

As a parent, I so enjoyed the pet pig. He was just a little sarcastic and it made everything a little more fun to read as an adult.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-no-so-itty-bitty-spiders-by-amy.html#sthash.BaT4xLcY.dpuf

Daughter of Jerusalem really surprised me. Mary Magdalene's life was fascinating. I knew a little about her from church when I was a kid, but Joan Wolf really brought her to life. Her first love, heartbreak and look at what life was really like will hit you hard. Watching as she fell from her beliefs and then struggled to find her place once she found them again was quite inspiring.

Her relationship with Jesus was interesting for me. Having never pictured him as a person you can just walk up to and have a discussion with, the talks they had were incredibly well written and brought both characters to life in a whole new dimension.

I hesitate to call this a Christian book - because there is no preaching or being hit over the head with faith. It is just the story of a woman trying to find her way, and the amazing things she was able to do once she had. Absolutely beautiful.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/08/daughter-of-jerusalem-by-joan-wolf.html#sthash.vJOTMl2c.dpuf

Commanded really took a different look at the BDSM lifestyle and how it works with different relationships. Chloe is about as vanilla as they come, so Sawyer is a bit surprised when he finds himself attracted to her. He feels the need to claim her as his woman and teach her the ways of his world. But instead, he finds himself changing in subtle ways that surprise everyone around him

Chloe is blown away by the total hotness that is Sawyer Quinn. But when she finds out he's in the BDSM lifestyle, she has some very serious reservations about pursuing a relationship with him. Things are a bit dicey between them for awhile as she becomes more and more convinced that she could never be what he really needed.

This was something far different than what I had expected, but that ended up being a wonderful thing! A completely different look at the Masters of Club Sin that gives you such a good look at what it truly means to be with someone.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

I am totally loving the Covent Garden Cubs series. The characters are a ton of fun and there's just enough of a suspense to really keep things moving along. We met Susanna in the previous book in the series when her brother made a scandalous match with kidnapped noble. Now it's Susanna's turn to give her mother the vapors as she set off to have an adventure with Gideon. Susanna was very much what I had pictured a pampered, proper, and totally repressed young lady would be like. Straining against the reins of society and her mother's idea of how she should behave, she is bound and determined to experience just one grand adventure before settling down with some dull lord.

Gideon didn't set out to find an adventure, but when he stumbles into a dark room and finds himself at Susanna's mercy, he finds he has little choice but to do as she wishes. He finds that it's a strange talent she seems to have. She can talk her way into and out of just about anything. Gideon does he best to show that he isn't a gentleman, but deep down he can't help but let his better side show through and really take care of Susanna as they find themselves falling into one predicament after another.

Their adventures take them through the shady side of London and Susanna sees a side of life she never realized even existed. She get much more than she expected out of her little adventure, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Book five in the Ripple Effect Romance series takes us in a new direction. We get to know Francie - an older widow whose son has just begun his student career at Harvard. Francie has decided to finally fulfill her dream and return to school herself, and takes a job at the campus to help pay for it. While at school she meets two very interesting people, Professor Alex Diederik and student named Rose.

Francie has quite an impact on the lives of both of these people, it was really beautiful to see how much just a little kindness can mean to another person. She was a bit too good though - I had a hard time finding some sort of relatable flaw in her character, but it was just what Alex and Rose needed at the time.

This romance had a lot less drama than some of the others in the series and it was nice to see just a really sweet story where things seemed to work out for everyone involved.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://www.bittenbyromance.com/2014/05/blog-tour-review-and-giveaway-second.html#sthash.XCuDjdgs.dpuf

Ward Against Death was an amazing story. Ward de'Ath (yes ha ha he's heard that joke before) is a necromancer - a fairly good one from what I could gather. But his true passion is to be a surgeon - something is most definitely illegal in this time and place. Running from the law in several provinces, he finds himself in the mother of all trouble when he performs a wake for Celia Carlyle.

Now, there are parts of this world that may have needed a tad bit more explanation at the beginning. There were a handful of times I wondered what the heck they were talking about - almost like this was a spin off series of some sort. But I still loved every minute of it!

Celia and Ward are the most unlikely partners you could find, but somehow they manage to make it work. There are some trust issues scattered about - easy to understand since one is a criminal and one was a recently dead person. They still manage to solve a mystery and save the day - sort of?

An amazing start to a very interesting world. I'm looking forward to starting Ward Against Darkness soon.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/09/ward-against-death-by-melanie-card.html#sthash.SCpf6Mif.dpuf

We're starting to really see Terry Brooks writing grow and turn into what I have loved about some of his more recent books. In The Druid of Shannara we break away from Par and Col, the brothers we followed for the majority of the first book in the series, and instead we watch as Walker Boh embarks on a quest for the black Elfstone. We still got to see a little of the brothers, but there were absent for most of the story. Walker is a very reluctant hero and it takes losing just about everything for him to really make the first step in his quest.

His adventure is the best in the Shannara series so far. Going up against an entity that is very god-like and quite alien to what I had seen before, it was a fresh change from some of the traditional fantasy elements. I loved watching as Walker really began to embrace who he was (finally!!) and how much he was able to do and help once he had.

What did I wish I saw more of? Well, our third group that is searching for the elves. We see them for just a little bit to check in, but I kind of miss watching all the characters in one book so I can keep track of what they are all doing better. - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-druid-of-shannara-by-terry-brooks.html#sthash.goUGIedo.dpuf