kailey_luminouslibro's reviews
3794 reviews

This book takes you through simple steps to build your skills with watercolor. Starting with what type of paper and brushes to buy, and then moving on to the intensity and value of the paint colors, you will learn how to blend and build texture as you paint.

There is a section on color theory with simple color wheels and descriptions of hue, tint, tone, and shade. Then there are examples of how you can create different effects by manipulating the colors you use.

The daily exercises are simple enough that there is lots of room for personal creativity, but also challenging in developing skills like creating depth and texture. You learn to paint in layers of light and dark, and think carefully about the perspective and composition. There are exercises to paint objects, landscapes, architecture, and portraits.

The author tells personal anecdotes about what inspires her when she is painting, along with stories that encourage the reader to keep improving your skills and keep trying even when your art doesn't turn out quite how you had hoped. This inspiring book embraces creativity and wild imagination!

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.

Nova is a spy for the Anarchists. She has infiltrated the Renegade headquarters, pretending to be one of them so that she can plot against them. But Nova's loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with Adrian, a young superhero whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades. In this second book of the series, Nova is starting to really feel the pressure of her double life as the violence in the city escalates.

I have been enjoying this series about superheroes and villains! The plot is adventurous and has many layers and twists. But the pacing is way too slow. The writing just drags on and on, telling the reader things we already know, slowing down the action to explain things that are obvious. We already know that Nova is conflicted about her loyalties. We don't need to reminded of it in every other chapter. This book could have been much shorter.

I really liked Nova's character. She has to navigate between these internally flawed groups of Anarchists and Renegades and try to find a place for herself. She is very guarded and tries to act tough, but we also get to see her sensitive heart. In this book, she has so many people that she wants to protect on both sides, and she is stuck in the middle. She sees the good in all of them, and she hates having to work against them.

Adrian was also a compelling character. He is eager to prove himself to his two dads. They are the leaders of the entire city and the most powerful superheroes in the world, and he wants to prove that he is also powerful and wise and capable.  He continues experimenting with some very dangerous powers and keeping secrets from his dads. Eventually all those secrets start to catch up to him in this second book. 

I liked the sweet romance between Nova and Adrian. In this book, their connection deepens and they kiss a few times, but they are still in the hesitant early stages of their romance. They are adorably awkward sometimes! They are starting to rely on each other for emotional support in the midst of all the chaos in the city, but they are both keeping so many secrets from each other that their trust is eroding before their relationship is even defined. So much tension!

To see details about the violence and other questionable content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/archenemies-renegades-book-2-626926

Zinnia blames herself for her aunt's death, because she scared her aunt with a snake resulting in a medical episode that ended with her death. Zinnia decides to follow an old overgrown trail up in the hills and uncover the markers along the trail as penance. Zinnia's uncle begins to lose his mind after his wife's death. He insists that he can see her up in the hills, and he spends most of his days chasing her ghost. Zinnia's little brother also insists that can see his aunt's ghost around the farm. 

Jake has a problem with stealing. He steals a neighbor's dog and gives it to Zinnia to show her that he likes her. He steals his mother's diamond ring and gives it to Zinnia. Then he steals a car to impress Zinnia, and ends up in trouble with the Sheriff.

I really hated the little teen romance sub-plot in this book. Zinnia is only 13 years old, and Jake is 16 years old. That's pretty gross. A 13-year-old is practically a child, barely a teen, and a 16-year-old boy pursuing her so intensely like that just felt wrong.

Every character in this book is disturbed and has serious mental health issues. The uncle is certifiably insane. Zinnia is confused and weird. She lies to her parents, and she steals a horse at one point. Jake is apparently a kleptomaniac. Even the old aunt who dies was really superstitious and creepy, because she never could deal with the death of her only daughter years before, and it made her morbid.

This was such a creepy weird disturbing book. To see all the weird and questionable content in this book, you can check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/chasing-redbird-1773509

13-year-old Alice has been receiving mysterious coded instructions to do some spy work. In 1930s Paris, Alice knows that spies are always at work to protect France and counteract other foreign spies. Her own uncle was a spy until his death, and he taught her all about codes and ciphers. Alice receives a mission to board the famous Sapphire Express and steal some papers from a foreign spy. She is hired as a pastry chef on the luxurious train and begins to observe all the wealthy first-class passengers very carefully, looking for any suspicious behavior. Everyone is a suspect, but after some strange clues are revealed, Alice begins to wonder what is really going on aboard the Sapphire Express. 

I would have liked this book much better if Alice wasn't constantly lying. I mean, I know that a spy is obviously going to have to play a role and that includes lying to protect your secret identity or to gather information, etc... But she lies to her mother, lies to her friends, and is manipulative and deceptive without real reason. She lies when she could have told the truth and gotten better results. She manipulates people to get them to help her with her objective, when she could have just told the truth and asked them for help. There were a couple of places where she definitely needed to lie to protect herself as part of her spy work, but for the most part, all that deception was unnecessary. There was even a scene where Alice encourages her friend to lie to their parents. I would have liked this story much better if our heroine had a more strict moral code. Or at least don't lie to your own mother!!!

I really enjoyed the mystery and all the clues and codes. It's really fun to see how Alice's knowledge of pastry and confections helps her to solve the clues! I was delightfully surprised by the plot twists, and I was intrigued by all the different suspects. They are all hiding their own little secrets, and Alice has to figure out who is the actual spy, who might be a jewel thief, or who is just hiding a broken heart.

The writing is exciting, and the adventure has great pacing as we switch between cozy scenes in the kitchen and daring spy escapades. Overall, I really enjoyed this mystery!

To see all the instances of lying and the minor violence in this book, you can see details on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire-a-recipe-for-trouble-alice-eclair-spy-extraordinaire-1-2493884

Jack discovers that he is the descendant of wizards, and has a special Warrior magic stone in his chest that sets him apart from other wizards. Two factions of wizards, the Red Rose and the White Rose, have been fighting for power for centuries. To minimize the bloodshed of the wars, they have a tradition of holding a tournament with two warrior champions who fight to the death. Now wizards of both the Red Rose and the White Rose are after Jack, either to capture him and use him in the game or kill him outright to stop the other side from using him. But Jack just wants a normal life in his sleepy hometown in Ohio. He just wants to play soccer in high school and pass his exams; maybe kiss a girl he likes. And now he has to train to fight and kill for a world of wizards that he knows nothing about. 

I liked the interesting world-building in this modern fantasy. There are different levels of magic-users who all have different rights under the wizard council. Warriors are almost extinct because they have been killed so much in the tournament. Enchanters and Seers are considered lowly in the ranks of magic-users, and it's perfectly legal (under the council) for wizards to enslave them. Wizards are at the top of the ranking, and they have all the political power. No one can stand against them... until Jack comes along.

I liked Jack's character because he is really determined. He makes a decision and sticks to it, even when things get tough. Even when it's painful or difficult, he just plows ahead with all his strength to accomplish his goal. He's also really protective of the people he cares about. He is willing to sacrifice himself, if it means keeping them safe. But he's also fairly dumb at times, making rash decisions, acting impulsively, and he has a nasty temper when he feels threatened. But it works for his character because he has a Warrior stone, which makes him rather volatile. 

The writing is okay. It's not brilliant, but it's not bad either. The pacing is good. 
I liked the supporting characters fairly well. Some of them are a bit cardboard, but most are okay. 
The plot is adventurous and mysterious as Jack learns about this world of wizards and the limits of magic. 
I liked that this book can be read as a standalone if you don't want to continue with the entire trilogy. 

There is a lot of violence, as you can imagine, and a few scenes where some warrior ghosts magically appear to warn Jack about eminent danger. But it wasn't scary. They were nice ghosts. 
To see details of all the violence and the ghosts and other questionable content, you can check out the book on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-warrior-heir-heir-chronicles-1-1001

Nova has grown up with her uncle and his group of Anarchists. They have trained her to hate the Renegade superheroes, and she agrees to infiltrate their forces by pretending to become a Renegade so she can spy on them. Nova's loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with the Renegades and she realizes that they are not all bad. She is especially drawn to Adrian, a young superhero in training whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades. 

This was a really fun story about superheroes and villains! The plot is adventurous and has many layers and twists. But the pacing is way too slow. The writing just drags on and on, telling the reader things we already know, slowing down the action to explain things that are obvious. We already know that the character is scared to go into the burning building. Duh. We don't need two paragraphs about how they are scared. Just give us one sentence about their heart beating fast and get on with the action already! Every single scene was dragged out within an inch of its life. The book should have been 150 pages shorter. 

I really liked Nova's character. She is so torn between the reality she wants to see in the world, and the way the world really is. She has these high ideals, but no idea how to realize them out of the mess the Anarchists and Renegades have created. She begins to see that there are faults on both sides, and she has to navigate between these very flawed systems and try to find a place for herself. She is very guarded and tries to act tough, but we also get to see her sensitive heart.

Adrian was also an interesting character. He is eager to prove himself to his two dads. They are the leaders of the entire city and the most powerful superheroes in the world, and he wants to prove that he is also powerful and wise and capable. But he keeps making mistakes. He needs more training. He takes risks and tries to handle it himself instead of asking for help when he needs it. He is also experimenting with some very dangerous powers and keeping secrets from his dads.  

I liked the slow romance between Nova and Adrian. They are very hesitant around each other. They are obviously attracted to each other, but of course Nova is trying to keep her distance and stay focused on her mission to take down the Renegades from the inside. It's adorable how Adrian keeps getting past her emotional defenses with his charm and kindness. 


I was disturbed by the first scene in the book which includes a lot of violence and descriptions of blood, but it didn't get too bad after that. A few fights, some explosions, and a couple of murders, but it wasn't too graphic. 
To see details about the violence and other questionable content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/renegades-renegades-1-632760

Christine is fascinated by the voice of the "Angel of Music", and he trains her to be a great singer at the opera. When Christine is reunited with her childhood friend, Raoul, they discover that the Angel of Music is really the dreaded Phantom, who has terrorized the Opera House for many years. Raoul wants to protect Christine, but she feels pity intermingled with fear for the Phantom, and cannot bring herself to betray him.

This book is so deliciously gothic! I love the wild melodrama and the super-emotional characters. The plot is full of mystery and dramatic scenes. There is a nasty ratcatcher with a swarm of rats that follow him through the spaces between the walls of the opera house. There is a mystic shade that has a fiery death head that seems to float above the ground in flames. And there are various corpses and blood and skeletons in deep underground tunnels. You have to have at least one skeleton or corpse in a gothic book; it's a requirement of the genre!

The Phantom himself is everywhere in the Opera House, spying on everyone. He hears everything and seems to appear by magic in locked rooms. I found all these machinations really interesting, especially later in the book as we learn how he pulled off all his illusions and tricks. At first, you think he might just be a villain, but as you read more of his dialogue it becomes evident that he is utterly insane. Like, this dude has completely lost his reason. No doubt he's a genius, but a mad genius.

I was surprised that most of the story is told from Raoul's perspective.  I thought it would be more of Christine, but our intrepid hero is the one driving the action of the plot. I just adore Raoul! I especially loved the descriptions of how Raoul and Christine were friends as children. Super cute and sweet! Raoul is so brave and determined. He is very foolish sometimes and acts impetuously, but he has a good heart. He is all light and goodness, whereas the Phantom is pure darkness and evil. 

Christine is a really complex character. She is sort of brainwashed at the beginning, but even after she knows the "Angel of Music" is actually the murderous Phantom, she has such a strong pity for him, such a deep compassion, that she can't quite give up on him. She doesn't want to hurt him, knowing how he is obsessed with her. In every other scene, she changes her mind. She is terrified of the Phantom, but she is attracted to his beautiful music. She hates him, but she wants to show him kindness. I think this inconsistency shows how she is warring within herself between the dark and light sides of her own personality. She has to choose between the men in her life, and that is like choosing between different sides of her own heart.

The writing is sort of round-about and backwards because it starts out telling us about a police investigation into all the people who were murdered by the Phantom. So we already know that certain people are going to die at some point in the plot. Then it goes into these letters and reports from various of the characters and how the author gleaned their stories and testimony about the Phantom. So we already know the ending for those characters. Then we finally launch into our main story, which is mostly told from Raoul's perspective beginning from when he reconnects with Christine at the Opera. Then the last part of the story is told from the perspective of a Persian who knew the Phantom's tragic backstory. The Persian assists Raoul to navigate the underground tunnels in search of the Phantom's lair to rescue Christine, and so we hear all the final drama from the Persian's testimony which abruptly ends right when they are about to die. Then we hear the final ending from various reports and some conjecture and from a final testimony that the author heard from the Persian about how they escaped. 
This storytelling structure is all over the place! It's all so random and chaotic. But it's fine; it works. The pacing is decent, but not great. The writing definitely captures your attention with all the mysterious and weird things going on.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and the corpses and scary scenes were not too scary or gory for me. To see details about the violence and scary scenes, you can check out the book on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-phantom-of-the-opera-1370838

Trinket's father disappeared years ago, and now that Trinket is alone in the world, she has decided to retrace his steps and learn to be a storytelling bard like he was. Trinket begins to gather stories as she travels, in an effort to learn to storytelling. Everywhere she goes, she asks if anyone has heard of her father, but no one has seen him for years. She meets a seer who can tell the future, and a woman whose baby has been stolen by the selkies. Trinket faces off against an evil banshee and the fairy queen. She rides on a pooka to the land of the dead, and saves a noble hound from a ferocious wolf. Through all her adventures, she searches for some trace of her father, and discovers that she shares his storytelling talent.

I really loved Trinket's character! She is full of doubt and pain, but she continues on her journey trying to help people and gather their stories. She is recklessly brave at times, but it's only because she is so passionately determined to know the truth. She has a really big heart, and I loved how she can see the inner heart of others.

The adventure is really exciting and wild. Many of the stories are based on similar fairy tales from Celtic lore about selkies and the fae and banshees and pookas. But this story has its own twists as Trinket encounters these magical creatures.

There are some creepy scenes when Trinket goes to the land of dead and meets the banshee, but it wasn't too scary. For details about the scary scenes, you can check out the book on the Screen It First website. https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-seven-tales-of-trinket-1367188

Tom comes from a family of adventurers in the Land of Stories. He has six burly older brothers, all named Jack, and when they receive a commission from the Story Bureau, they follow their instructions and complete a daring adventure, awakening cursed maidens with a kiss, defeating giants up a beanstalk, or outwitting evil witches. But Tom is still too young to go on adventures like his brothers do. One day, the brothers all receive a new story commission and set off on new adventures, but they are each lost in the Land of Stories and they never return. Tom is assigned to find them and return them to their assigned stories. Tom begins to retrace their steps and finds that all their stories have been halted right in the middle, waiting for the hero to arrive and save the day. As Tom investigates, he must find the courage to go on his own adventure and save his brothers, so that his brothers can save the rest of the Land of Stories!

This was such a fun adventure! I loved Tom's character. He is very anxious about performing well in his adventure. He worries that he might not have the courage to continue, but when he is faced with a true crisis, he doesn't think about himself, and he doesn't worry about having courage. He just does what needs to be done. He discovers that true courage is not about posturing with big muscles; it's about caring for others.

I liked the world-building of the Land of Stories, since we get to see some well-known fairy tales like Snow White, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, the Frog Prince, and Hansel and Gretel. Each of these stories have their own silly twist that makes for a really funny look into the "inner workings" of the stories. Rapunzel is getting very impatient waiting around up in her tower. Sleeping Beauty is not quite asleep all the time and whispers clues to Tom. The Frog Prince actually hates eating slimy flies. It was delightful to see these fairy tale characters "breaking character" to ask if the hero is on the way to finish their story.

Such a fun book, and it received a "Nothing Found" rating on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-secret-history-of-tom-trueheart-494645

Simon wants to start his own business so he can get away from his bullying aunt and uncle. He asks his schoolteacher to invest in the business; they will buy 1,000 turkeys and herd them to Denver where they will fetch a better price. But Simon also needs a driver to drive the mules and wagon, so he hires a worn-out drunk, gets him cleaned up and sober, and they start on their trek across the wilderness with a massive gaggle of turkeys. Along the way they meet thieves, they befriend a runaway slave, and they struggle to survive in the wild prairies while keeping their flock together.

This story is so adventurous and fun! I really loved that Simon meets so many people during his journey and helps them, befriends them, and inspires them to better their lives. The drunkard finds a reason to stay sober. The orphan finds a family. The runaway slave finds freedom. And Simon finds friendships that last a lifetime. There are so many great themes of courage and resilience in this book!

The illustrations in this graphic novel are fantastic! I loved the warm colors and the sweeping prairie scenes. The characters are all really well designed, so that you can tell something about their personalities just from how they look, their body language, and facial expressions. The art is full of energy and emotion!

To see the few instances of minor violence and other questionable material in this book, check it out on Screen It First! https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-great-turkey-walk-a-graphic-novel-adaptation-2493873

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.