There are no words for how much I love this book! I re-read this one more than any of the other books in the series.

This book is perfect for lettering beginners who want to be more creative and artistic! The instructions are clear and everything is demonstrated step by step. I really love that all the different elements of handwriting are analysed and explained in detail. They explain each component like down-strokes and up-strokes, letter height, the weight of pressure on the pen, and those little brackets that stick out from the ends of the letters (which are called "serifs"). There is also an extensive list of materials that are good to use, like types of pens and markers, paper thickness, and watercolors.

I love that there are so many practice pages in this book! They really break down each lettering style into simple components and then give you a chance to practice each pen stroke separately before putting it all together. The book teaches both blocked and calligraphy styles, and then you can get creative with making the style into your own unique handwriting.

Once you have put together all your individual pen strokes and had a chance to practice pen weight, then the book guides you into adding flourishes and extra details to your lettering. You can start playing around with your style, adding thicker lines or thinner script. There are dozens of different styles to choose from, or create one of your own.

There are also further embellishments like shadows that appear to lay behind your letters, outlines in different colors, dots, stripes, stars, flowers, and ombre blends of color. There are tutorials about drawing banners, borders, wreaths, and other lines and shapes. The book finishes with some ideas for lettering projects that you can use, like greeting cards, chalkboard designs, and others.

I am so inspired by all the ideas in this book! The whole design of the book is colorful and clear. It's the perfect place to start learning lettering and get a creative boost!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

This book gives excellent advice for beginners about how to plan a weight training program for yourself. It talks about the benefits of weight training, how to stay safe and avoid injuries, how to set fitness goals for yourself, and the importance of warm-up and cool-down exercises. There is some advice about nutrition, how to incorporate cardio into your fitness plan, and how to track your progress.
There is an entire chapter just about the equipment and proper gym etiquette. You can also set up a gym at home with the guidelines in this book.

Most of the book is divided into chapters with weight lifting exercises for each area of the body, "Glutes and Hamstrings, Quadriceps and Calves, Chest, Upper Back, Lower Back, Abdominals and Obliques, Biceps and Triceps, and Shoulders."

Then the last chapters have "Total Body Workouts, Upper Body Workouts, and Lower Body Workouts" with lists of exercises to do and how many sets and reps are recommended.

Each chapter includes warm-up and cool-down exercises and stretches, some of which are yoga poses!

Each exercise and stretch has detailed instructions as well as an illustration demonstrating how the exercise should be done. I really love that each one comes with instructions for modifications and variations, so that you can make it easier or harder depending on your needs.

There are also tips for how to lift safely by engaging the correct muscles and keeping your body in proper alignment. Some exercises also have tips for working out at home, and using common objects around the house to replace fancy machines from the gym.

This book has everything you need to get started with weight lifting!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

This blank recipe journal is perfect for writing in all your favorite family recipes! It's divided into color-coded sections that you can label any way you want. You could organize the sections by which family member submits the recipe, or by the type of recipe, or by the time it takes to cook.

Each section has a title page where you can write in the title you have chosen for that group of recipes, and a contents page where you write in the page numbers for each individual recipe in that section. The contents page makes it easy to find any recipe you need!

Each page has a colorful design with a place for the title of the recipe, a list of ingredients, prep time, cook time, how many servings it makes, and plenty of room for instructions and notes.

I just love the colors and the designs throughout this book. There are simple illustrations of cooking utensils, pots and pans, salt and pepper shakers, oven mitts, tea pots, and all sorts of cute things. There is also a measurement conversion chart at the back of the book for easy use!

The construction of the book is quite sturdy as well, to withstand a few generations of cooks spilling things in the kitchen. The pages are a little thicker than normal, and the cover is thick for a paperback too.

I can't wait to start writing in some favorite recipes!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

This book includes inspirational quotes from famous people like Nikola Tesla and Eleanor Roosevelt. I really loved these interesting quotes from a wide variety of people!

Most of the meditation prompts and guidance in this book are innocent reminders to release stress, focus on what is important, believe in yourself, and allow yourself to relax. But sometimes there will be a weird one that made me wonder about the underlying philosophy that is being taught in this book. It is very focused on self, and talks about an "Eternal Consciousness". There is an entire chapter about interpreting your dreams that sounded completely idiotic to me.

There is a lot of talk about "creating your own reality" and other strange ideas. (Reality is reality. You can change your perception of it or how you think about it, but what is real is real. You don't create it. It just is.) While reading, I would just try to enjoy the normal meditations and mindfulness prompts, and skip over the weird ones.

I did like the way this book made me think more mindfully about my surroundings, my thoughts and emotions, and my relationships with people. There are some really lovely ideas in this book, but I would be careful to determine for yourself what parts of this book are helpful and which are untrustworthy or even harmful in the long run.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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 love these fairy tales from Celtic myths! They are retold in a simple manner for children, and each tale is between 3-7 pages long. The tales use a few Irish and Scottish words, but they are explained and there is even a glossary of Celtic words in the back of the book. I love how the rich Celtic culture is celebrated in this book!

The stories themselves are wonderfully interesting and full of magic and history! At the end of each story, there are some questions to prompt discussion and get the reader thinking about the choices made by the characters in the story.

Each story has a full-page illustration in bright colors. The artwork has bold lines and an energetic style similar to the cover. I love how the art enhances each story, and conjures up fantasy images of olden days when fairies and giants roamed the earth.

I enjoyed this book so much! It would be perfect to read aloud to a child and share the stories, and then answer the discussion questions together.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

This book begins with information about aromatherapy and common essential oils and how to use them safely. The remedies and recipes are divided into sections for Emotional Healing, Physical Healing, and Beauty and Wellness.

I like how it goes in-depth about how essential oils work and how they can promote healing in various areas if used properly. There is also a lot of good advice about how to choose a reliable brand of essential oils, and what different terminology means, and how to properly dilute the oils to be safe for use. There are lists of common essential oils, carrier oils, and hydrosols, and suggested substitutions and uses for each one. There is a wealth of information about each essential oil, including their healing properties, and precautions for safe use.

Each recipe gives a description of the main scent you can expect, either floral, fruit, herbaceous, citrus, wood, spice, or earthy. There are tips for storing the oil blends, and instructions for the safe application for children or if you are pregnant. Some essential oils would be too strong for babies or young children, and there are safer substitutions you can use.

There are recipes for anxiety and depression, for staying focused and alert, for curing allergies, cough, acne, PMS, and headache. There are recipes to boost the immune system, and fight the flu. And there are beauty recipes for homemade shampoos, body lotion, and facials.

This book has so much great information, and is perfect for beginners wanting to learn about essential oils!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

3.5 stars
Hark is a conman and a thief. When his best friend, Jelt, convinces him to try a dangerous diving stunt, Hark finds the ancient heart of a dead god and tries to use it to heal Jelt. But the heart is deceitful and begins to change Jelt into a monster.

I liked the deep characters in this book. They are well-written with interesting personalities. The relationships between the characters are deliciously emotional and complex. I especially loved the character development! Several of the characters change and grow and learn. Their relationships change. Their views and beliefs change. It's wonderful to see the internal journey that they go on, and how their relationships with each other either help or hinder them on that journey.

One thing that I appreciated about this book is that there is not even the tiniest hint of romance in this story. Strong friendships, family ties, loyalty, and betrayal are all included and wonderfully developed, but no romance. A romantic sub-plot would have ruined the story. So glad that it was left out.

I loved the intense world-building for this beautiful fantasy world. The whole magic system with the old sea gods is so intricate and powerful. I loved the history and multiple layers of this world. There are legends, politics, rumors, opposing leaders, and all the complexity of a real world. Gradually we begin to find out the truth about this world, and what really happened to the sea gods, and what is only rumor and legend and what is true. It's fascinating to watch it all unfold!

The writing style is excellent, pulling the reader into the story. The author uses vivid words and imagery to paint a forceful picture. I really loved the writing.

The only things that I didn't like about this book were the pacing and the multiple POVs. The pacing is far too slow for a fantasy adventure. It made some scenes difficult to slog through. It seemed like every little thing was stretched out in a long scene, long dialogue, or long explanations, that could have been explained just as well in half the words. The content is good. The writing is powerful. But the pacing is so slow that it ruins the energy and tension in the story. I kept losing interest and putting the book down because I was getting bored with it. Then I started skimming. I ended up reading the first sentence of each paragraph through most of the book, and then reading about half of the dialogue. And I understood everything perfectly well. It didn't need all that extra. All the extra is good detail and good additions, but it's just so excessive that it slows down the adventure. Just get on with it! This book could have been 200-250 pages, and would have had much better pacing.

I have a pet peeve with multiple points of view. The main character, Hark, has the POV for most of the book, and then the POV randomly switches to a side character, Selphin. It was jarring to read the scenes from her perspective, and it didn't really add that much to the book. I would have much preferred to stick with our main character. Or at least make Selphin a more integral part of the story from the beginning and not suddenly jump to her POV in the middle of the book. It broke up the flow of the story in a way I didn't like. It's fine. It's not badly written. I just didn't like it.

Some really good things in this book. Some things I didn't like. It's a very entertaining read, and I love how imaginative the world is!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the 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.

Emma and Laralyn are two peasant girls, one beautiful and one plain. When the King and Queen decide to adopt a Princess, the girls become contestants in the Princess Games to win a place in the royal family. Emma is sturdy, clever, and hard-working. She only cares about the food. Laralyn is dainty, demure, and determined to win. She only cares about pleasing her money-loving mother. How can they compete with the dozens of other girls who all want to be the new Princess?

This book has a delightfully silly story with loads of hilarious characters! I loved the wit of the writing and the funny plot line. The characters are quirky, and I liked the twists and turns in the plot. It's a simple fairy-tale story, and the style is just right for readers ages 9-15.

However, this book is in desperate need of a good copy editor. There were punctuation errors, grammar and spelling errors, incomplete sentences, and a dozen other problems with the writing. The story itself is good, and the writing style is delightful. With a good editor, this book could be really enjoyable, but trying to wade through all the mistakes got on my nerves.


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