kailey_luminouslibro's Reviews (3.79k)

I am so impressed with this beautiful book of fairy tales! They are told in that traditional fairy tale style. Each story is so enchanting! Most of these are stories that I have never heard of before.

In each tale, someone has an encounter with a dwarf or gnome or one of the fairy folk, and their luck changes. Sometimes they have a happy ending if they act with kindness and wisdom, but sometimes, if they are foolish and greedy, they have bad luck and they wind up poor and miserable.

The art style is so beautiful! The subtle colors and the delicate lines are absolutely lovely and magical! I love how little details in the background will catch your attention, and add meaning to the story. It's so delightful to see these stories come alive in the art work!

This is truly a special book, and it has a pretty blue ribbon attached for a bookmark! The pages are glossy and smooth. I love the elegant endpapers, and the whole design of the book!

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.

Cristiano is visiting his aunt at the magical Dusbar College, where he hopes to learn more about magic. When the Grand Magician of the college dies, he leaves behind a riddle. Whoever solves the riddle will win the Grand Magician's amazing sorcerer's hat. Cristiano begins to investigate, looking for clues in the Grand Magician's office.

I love how imaginative and funny this book is! The people and creatures in Dusbar College are so interesting and weird. The writing style is really funny and had me laughing!

However, the writing uses too many adjectives. It slows down the story and got on my nerves. I was also disappointed in the climax of the plot. Cristiano solves the riddle much too easily, and the plot is too simplistic. It felt like the book ended too soon, and we did not get any sort of plot twist or big reveal that would normally come in the third act of a plot. The world building and characters are really fun, but the plot structure just isn't there.

But it is still a fun little book, and I enjoyed reading it!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy 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.

Midnight Sun is a retelling of Twilight, but from Edward's perspective, instead of Bella's. I really liked that the dialogue and main plot remain the same, but we get all these insights into what was happening with the Cullen family when Bella was not around. We get to hear Edward's inner thoughts and feelings, and his reactions to everything that happens.

I really enjoyed the scenes of the Cullen family, and all of Edward's flashback memories of his earlier days as a vampire. It was so cool to get this background and more depth to the story. All these extra facets made it almost feel like a whole new story!

The best thing about this book is being on the inside of the strong connection between Edward and his sister Alice. They have such a close bond, and when Alice sees into the future and Edward reads her thoughts, they instinctively know how the other person will react because they know each other so well. I just love a good sibling bond between brothers and sisters!

I really enjoyed rereading the story from Edward's perspective because he is my favorite character in the entire series. Our personalities are so similar, and I find him very relatable, even when he is making stupid mistakes. I am so similar to him in the way he overthinks and overanalyzes everything. His thoughts are in a totally different wavelength from other people. He has an incredibly high sense of integrity. He’s a pianist and so am I. He sees others clearly but does not see himself clearly. All those things are part of my personality too, so it's incredibly interesting to me to see that reflected in a complex character like Edward.

All of his overanalyzing and overthinking does make the book very long-winded. He notices every tiny detail. But it didn't annoy me because I am that way in real life, so I felt like it was an accurate representation of his narrative style. Bella is much more laid-back, and her narrative glosses over details that she thinks are unimportant. But Edward notices everything and has to analyze every little gesture and word. It makes for a much longer book, but I soaked up every word.

I am always amazed at this author's writing style. There is something so immediate and emotional in her scenes. Even if Bella is just doing something boring like eating cereal, there is an emotional undercurrent that makes every action meaningful. It captivates me every time.

This book is not perfect, but I really loved it. The flaws were not severe enough to ruin my enjoyment, and all the good things and the wonderful characters made it so satisfying to read.

2.5 stars - The first article in this book is a serious analysis of the American economy, the financial crisis of 2008, the history of consumerism, and progressive theories about economic change. Not what I was looking for in this book. I wanted something much more lighthearted, personal, and inspiring; not a bunch of political theories.

However, there were many other articles and little personal biographies in this book that I DID enjoy, and which I found very inspiring! There is one article about stepping away from our screens that really spoke to me, and encouraged me to spend less time on my phone. I like the overall message of this book about slowing down, living more simply, and embracing what it truly important.

The whole design of this book is so attractive! The photos and illustrations are beautiful. The design really makes this book so special, and a joy to read. I also loved the neat little journals, booklets, and posters that are sprinkled throughout the book. There is even a section with some yummy recipes!

However, there is also a section with some famous paintings, one of which is of a nude woman. I don't understand why that was included. It is so inappropriate for this type of book.

Overall, I liked this book, but some of things included were just not what I was looking for.

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.

 The title kind of put me off, because no one can give you a magic formula that will suddenly make you rich. However, as I began reading I was relieved to see that there are no get-rich-quick schemes in this book. It's just general advice about saving, spending wisely, investing, and saving for retirement.

There are chapters about what type of checking and saving accounts are best, how to efficiently pay off credit card debt, setting a budget for your spending, and setting up retirement accounts. There are several chapters about investing in stocks and bonds. I liked that there are many different investing options outlined and explained.

I skipped all of the personal anecdotes and stupid jokes, and only read the parts with actual common sense advice. I was pleased to find that some of the things he advises are things I am already doing, and now I feel like I have some ideas for being even smarter with my money.

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 has poems from many different poets on all types of subjects that all lead back to kindness, love, and joy. Each poem has a little snippet of beauty, something we can recognize around us in life and say "this is a good thing."

I like how simple many of the poems are. They cut right to the heart of something that we usually overlook: a child swimming, a family getting waffles at a hotel, a tulip, a heartbeat, the smell of clean laundry.

But just because the poems point us to the beauty in life doesn't mean that they shy away from the sad or ugly things. There are several poems that talk about someone with cancer, or grieving the loss of a loved one. Even in the distressing and sad things, there can be a type of beauty if we look closely for that silver lining.

Like most things, there were a few poems that really spoke to me, and others that I did not like. In general, I prefer poetry that rhymes and has meter, which these do not. I'm not usually a fan of modern poetry, but some of these poems are beautifully crafted.

I love the pretty design of this edition, and the gorgeous deckled edges of the pages! There is something so luxurious about deckled edges. It's the little details that made this book so special, like the one-paragraph bios of each poet and the reading group questions at the back of the book. Some of the poems have a famous quote with them that inspired or somehow matches the poem. There are also pages with a "Reflective Pause" that gives a short explanation of one of the poems, and invites the reader to explore the deeper meaning with some prompts and questions.

This book makes such a lovely gift, and would be a great way to start reading more modern poetry! You could even use this book as a sort of meditation, since it is so full of joy and light!

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 advice on exercise, nutrition, and staying healthy beyond 50.

This is definitely a "guy" book, written by guys, for guys. It's crass and in your face and trying to be super macho. I only wish that the descriptions on the back, or in the title, or anywhere on the internet had made that clear. There should be a big sign on this book saying, "No Girls Allowed." I finally searched around and found a different book by the same authors called "Younger Next Year for Women." Guess I should have picked that one up, but I won't bother with it now.

I did not like the underlying philosophy behind a lot of the medical and psychological conclusions in this book. There's a lot of talk about Darwin, evolutionary biology, and survival of the fittest, as if those theories are proven to have some influence in the medical field, which they don't. It seemed really silly and illogical to me to base your health on outdated theories like that.

I also did not like that there is profanity in this book. Why would that be included in a health book? It's so inappropriate!

This book is very long-winded, going on and on for chapter after chapter about the same things; exercise, nutrition, and staying emotionally connected. Good advice for the most part, but they dragged on and on.

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.

Each page in this book has a little lesson or affirmation to help you navigate the difficulties of life and find peace within yourself. At the top of the page is a main statement, and then a short paragraph or two explaining the concept and how you can apply is to your own self-care.

I love the beautiful design of this book. The soft colors are soothing, and some pages have a little artwork in the margins. It's such an attractive layout for the whole book, and that is important to me if I'm going to keep coming back to it again and again to read a page each day for 233 days.

At the end of the book there is an index, making it easy to find an affirmation or meditation for particular topics you are looking for. And there are some lined pages at the end where you can write a note to your self and add your own thoughts.

Some of the ideas in this book resonated with me and others did not. Sometimes I felt there was too much emphasis on the self, to the point of being self-centered. But for the most part, I found these ideas to be inspiring and healthy.


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.

When Liz gets shot and is bleeding out, only Max can heal her with his alien powers. He puts himself and his friends in danger, and now Sheriff Valenti is hunting for an alien in Roswell. Can Liz and Max learn to trust each other before it is too late?

I loved the Roswell TV show when I was a teenager, and it was so fun to rediscover this story through the books! I don't think I would have enjoyed the books nearly as much now as an adult if I didn't already have the nostalgia of the TV show.

I like that the books are different than the TV show and have slightly different plot lines. It keeps it interesting for me, and it's fun to see how the books differ from the show. The character's personalities are a little different too. Michael is way more funny and less brooding. Isabel is more haughty and mean. Alex is more confident. Max is way less calm than in the TV show. It's weird to see these different sides to their personalities.

The writing is really dorky and has all the high school tropes that you would expect from a 90s teen novel. But I don't care! I love it anyway! Most people would probably roll their eyes at the teen angst, but it just makes me laugh because I already adore the characters.

I can't wait to read more from this series!

Four kittens live with their family in the basement of a museum, where the night guard keeps them to scare away the rats. When the museum adds the Egyptian Book of the Dead to an exhibit, the kittens worry that it might be cursed. Strange things begin to happen around the museum, but is it just coincidence? Or is the Egyptian exhibit really cursed?

This is such an adorable book! The kittens are so cute, and I love the little adventures they have. The plot is simple, but interesting. The writing style is perfect for this age group, and even enjoyable for an adult to read.

I love the world-building of the museum and the family of cats. The old grandfather cat takes a special interest in the kittens in this second book in the series, teaching them to hunt for rats and being more involved in their adventures.

The best thing about this book was the sibling relationships between all the kittens. They squabble and tease each other, but they learn and grow through their mistakes.

The illustrations are beautiful, and really bring the story to life. Seeing the artwork of the kittens makes me want to give them a cuddle!

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.


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.