Bewitching and alluring! I couldn't put it down. Adds depth to the typical fairy tale.

Saaski is half-Folk and half-human. She is exchanged for a human child and forced to grow up among humans, but she never feels like she belongs anywhere, either with the Folk or with her human family. The villagers tease and ridicule her, calling her a witch, but Saaski finds an unexpected friendship with a goatherd boy on the moors.

One of the reasons I love this book so much is because I grew up also torn between two cultures, two countries, and never quite felt that I belonged in either one of them. Like Saaski, I had to find my own way, and make my own world.

Saaski is beautifully strange and brave. I love the magic of the Folk and the imaginative story!
Just as good reading it the second time!

I'm so in love with this series! The dreamscape is incredibly imaginative. There's always something new to discover beyond what we've already seen in the first book. The plot keeps me guessing the entire time, and the action just never stops. I love every single character, both the old characters from the first book and the new characters that are introduced. This second book is just as good as the first book in the series, which doesn't happen often with series.


I was so inspired by Archer's courage and faith. There is a scene where he is encouraging his little brother, and he shows so much strength of character and compassion. I really fell in love with him right there. Archer still has a lot to learn and a lot of growth in this book though. He is not a static character at all!

I love seeing the development for all these characters. Kaylie is growing into quite a formidable little person. Even the villains are changing and developing in this book in unexpected ways.

There is a forcefulness in the writing and an immediacy to the pacing that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. I am dying to read the rest of these books!

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher or author for review. The opinions stated here are my own, and are not influenced by the publisher or anyone else.

Mary Poppins is back again with Jane and Michael for adventures in the Park! An ordinary outing in the park turns into a magical and extraordinary adventure when you go for a walk with Mary Poppins.

I love how Mary Poppins can be stern with the children, but is also kind and loving. She has a no nonsense attitude, but secretly loves to take the children on nonsensical and silly outings!

The writing is enchanting, and has a beautiful charm in its simplicity! I love all the Mary Poppins books!

I wish that the book had more of a cohesive plot line, but they are individual snippets, more like separate short stories, without any real connection between chapters.
I also got bored sometimes with the long descriptions, and interminable supporting characters who show up in a scene with no real purpose.

But overall, I enjoyed this book very much! The old-fashioned charm is palpable, and Mary Poppins can do no wrong.

Archer and his fellow Dreamtreaders are fighting the final battle. With the Rift tearing their world apart, they will need some strange allies to pull things back together. Kara has taken the Nightmare Lord's throne, and is throwing the world into chaos in her desperate grab for power. Archer will have to think outside the box to find a way to defeat Kara and her armies before the Rift destroys everything they know.

I continue to love Archer's character! He grows and changes and becomes more mature in this book. He's no longer reckless and foolish. He takes responsibility for his bad choices, and puts his own needs aside to focus on helping others.

I adore little Kaylie! She is an 8-year-old genius with more mental power than all the others combined, but she is cute as a button and sweet as icecream. She's so adorable and lovely!

I was confused by some of the plot points concerning the villain characters.

Spoiler

Uncle Scoville, known as the Lurker, has been established in the previous two books as a maniacal, terrifying villain, known for torturing his prisoners, enslaving others with gort, and smiling creepily with an insane laugh. He is a crazy evil guy! He's lost his marbles from being in the Dream so long. He has no respect for human life. He enjoys harming others and tricking them and lying about everything.
So after everything he did to bring about the Rift, I found it very unrealistic that as soon as the Rift actually happens, and he sees the destruction of the Waking World, and millions of people suffering and dying, then he just magically changes his mind, and decides to be a good guy!
Oh, he spent the whole last year punching massive holes in the Dream Fabric, but now he wants to sew up the holes and restore order. Really? What brought about this sudden change of heart? I mean, he was a maniac before. Clearly disturbed and crazy and insane and nutso! Maybe since he was reunited with his body, then he's not crazy anymore?? Not sure.
It just felt very unrealistic to me.

Same thing with Rigby. He was warned multiple times that the Rift would destroy the world and that millions of people would suffer, but he didn't care. He just wanted power and money and fame, and he didn't care that there would be collateral damage. So now, suddenly he cares? He was willing to kill an 8-year-old little girl because she posed a threat to his plans, but now he just wants to save the world? And why was he promising to release the Scath if he wanted to save the world? Ugh.

I love me a good redemption story, but it needs to make sense. There needs to be a reason, a big life-changing reason, for the villain to team up with the good guys. And this just felt so unrealistic for the villains to have a sudden change of heart.

I really loved the clever way that the heroes found a way to close up the Rift. It was half sci-fi, and half magic. Very imaginative, and fit in perfectly with the story!

Overall, I loved this trilogy! Great writing, and wonderful characters, plenty of action and fantasy!

A cute, old-fashioned children's story about Freddy, an intelligent pig, who reads about Sherlock Holmes and decides to become a detective. All the farmyard animals bring their little problems to Freddy, and he does some sleuthing to solve their mysteries. A little rabbit goes missing, someone steals a toy train, and a cat is wrongfully accused of murdering a crow, but Freddy is up to the task, looking for clues, and tracking down heartless criminals.

I enjoyed the charming old style of writing, and the simple story lines. The characters are sweet and funny, and they kept my interest. I liked how Freddy makes mistakes at first. He is not a very good detective to begin with, but he learns quickly and does a better job each time he tries.

Although this is the third book of a series, you don't have to read the series in order to be able to understand the story.

Jorie comes to live with her maiden aunt in a house by the Tarn, a deep lake with a magical past. She finds out that she is a Chosen One, who can pass through the Tarn to the magical world beneath, where dragons and goblins roam free. With her friend Rufus, Jorie sets out on a quest to recover the three missing magic stones that will bring peace to the land, but an evil enemy is also looking for the stones, and betrayal haunts every step of their journey.

I was disappointed in this book. The story is promising, but the writing lacks polish and badly needs an editor. The spelling is good, but punctuation and sentence structure are riddled with mistakes and typos. The plot is predictable and trite, making the story boring at times. The whole Chosen One/ prophecy storyline is really overdone, and there's nothing new in this story to add interest to the trope.

I liked the characters, but they need better development. I liked the friendship between Jorie and Rufus. They have some good dialogue, and some funny jokes between them, but their relationship can also be awkward at times.

Also one of the characters is named "Mr. Groot." Seriously? Are we stealing names from Guardians of the Galaxy now? Granted, it is short for "Grootmonya", but still... not the most original name ever.

The writing tends to "tell" instead of "show", and then it "tells" you again, even after the writing has "shown" you something, just to make sure you know it TWICE. I got frustrated with the ridiculously obvious statements and redundancies.

For instance, this passage.... "She heard a soft reassuring snoring sound. Good! Her aunt was asleep."
No duh. Thank you, Captain Obvious, for that astute judgement. I'm so glad you explained that to me twice.

"She crept down the stairs and passed Bessie's room, and here the snoring was much louder. Bessie was definitely sound asleep."
Amazing powers of deduction! Snoring = Asleep! Wow, that was a good explanation of important information for the reader that I could never have figured out on my own.


Overall, I think this book has some potential. It has a decent magic world, a half-way decent plot, and a few good characters. It reads like a second draft though, and needs some editing, both macro and micro.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

I thought this was a fun manga! Two cosplay nerds start dating, just because it's easier to date someone who understands what it's like to be obsessed with manga and video games, and won't judge you by your interests. They wonder if it's worth it to settle for someone just because it's easy, but then they actually start to have deeper feelings for one another.

I liked the characters, and the funny office friendships they have. They have some good dialogue, and interesting situations, misunderstandings, and hilarious scenes when everyone is fighting.
I love that there are many references to cosplay, manga, anime, and video games, and it makes my little nerdy heart glow to see them obsessing over their favorite fictional characters.

I'm still wondering what they actually DO at their office though. I mean, what exactly are their jobs? They sit at a desk and shuffle some papers around, and click on their computers, but what company are they working at? It's a mystery. They're constantly on their lunch break, so I guess it doesn't matter! haha!

The artwork is really beautiful, and I love that some of panels are in color! Each character has such a classic look, but still keeps an original style that makes them stand out.

This manga is definitely NOT for kids, since there are some more adult themes in it, like smoking, drinking, and some sexual innuendo.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

I have always liked the series, and enjoyed rereading this first book. There’s plenty of action and adventure, and the romance is very sweet. I like the characters, and the mystery and intrigue of the war between countries. The writing is excellent, and the story moves at a good pace.
One of the best things about this book is seeing how the young princess gradually matures and grows into a young lady, instead of a spoiled little brat. Her character growth is believable and interesting.
I also love how the Christian message is presented along with the story, but never feels preachy.

Adeline is cast out by her father and finds shelter with her new friends, the La Motte family, who are on the run from the law. The family find a refuge in an old ruined Abbey in the depths of the forest, where they hide from prying eyes, always terrified that they will be discovered and forced from their pitiful home.

The Marquis who owns the dilapidated Abbey, discovers them living on his land, but inexplicably allows them to remain, making a mysterious alliance with Mr. La Motte. Ghoulish skeletons, mysterious manuscripts, and gruesome secret rooms are lying around all over the Abbey, and the dark forest holds secrets of its own.

The friendly Theodore warns Adeline that her life is in danger, but he is called away to his regiment before he can explain or help her. Adeline goes through every kind of disaster and terrifying mishap, fleeing for her life when she is betrayed by those she trusts.

This is Gothic melodrama at its best! I lost count of how many times Adeline fainted, but it must have been more than twenty times. She dissolves into tears, is frozen with terror, collapses under the strain of horror, and is prostrate with grief in every single chapter. Several other ladies, not to be outdone, also fainted on several occasions, and even the men collapsed into a chair overcome with emotion every once in a while. Everyone is constantly exclaiming, "Alas, woe is me!"

Everything that possibly can go wrong for Adeline does go wrong in the plot. It's one catastrophe after another for the entire book! There are so many lucky coincidences and timely misfortunes that it became funny, and when that plot twist finally arrived, it was so obvious that I didn't bat an eye.

The writing is laboriously descriptive and extravagant, peppered with pompous poetry which various characters recite or compose on the spot. I started skimming over the descriptive passages, and skipped the poetry altogether.

I was both charmed and frustrated with Adeline. She's sweet and virtuous and adorable. She's pitiful and weak and spineless. She's intelligent, but unresourceful. I just wish that she would take action, and DO something.
There are only TWO scenes in the entire book where she does something without the help of a man. (She explores a secret passage by herself in one chapter, and later on in the book she jumps out of a window.) There were at least a dozen scenes where she could have taken more action, but instead decided that wringing her hands and composing poetry were the more prudent decisions.
Even so, I did love her character. She's just too charming and sweet!

Despite the chaotic plot and the sensational melodrama, I really enjoyed reading this book! It's so mournful that I found it funny!

Kanade is a young girl when she sees her neighbor, Risa, dancing in the ballet, and begs her parents for ballet lessons. She quickly learns that studying ballet means hard work, determination, and sometimes disappointment. With Risa's help, Kanade is encouraged to stay dedicated to ballet, and she uses her intense observation skills to learn from the dancers around her.
Later with two years of dancing experience, she longs to be allowed to wear pointe shoes, but is told she is still too young. Despite the drama surrounding the other students, Kanade finds her own inspiration and her own center as she prepares for her big recital.

I LOVED the beautiful artwork in this manga! The graceful dance poses, and lovely costumes make this a pleasure to read, and I found myself pausing on several pages just to enjoy the gorgeous illustrations.

The story is wonderful; all about finding your inspiration in your art, learning to deal with disappointment, and reaching out to others and encouraging them, even if it means they might surpass you and claim that coveted solo part.

Kanade is a delightful character who goes through a lot of change and development through this first volume. She is spunky and funny and fierce. She is a perfectionist, and can get discouraged easily at times, but her friends encourage her to keep working hard to perfect her dancing, and she develops the skills she needs to be a great dancer.

Through it all, Kanade finds JOY in dancing, and it's infectious! She inspires other dancers with her pure love of movement, and captures the hearts of her audience. Just like this manga captures the hearts of its readers!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.