Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Float Plan

Another fabulous impulse check out audiobook from the library! Still reeling from her fiancé’s suicide ten months ago, Anna takes off in his sailboat on a trip they were supposed to take together, and quickly realizes she’s going to need a guide. Enter the handsome Irishman, Keane, who’s still recovering from his own loss.

This is the perfect beach read. Beautiful storytelling, gorgeous imagery of sailing the Caribbean, a lovely romance, and a powerful message about healing. Although I found Anna irritating at some junctures, and I felt like the ending was a little rushed, overall I absolutely Loved listening to this story. The narrator really brought the characters to life, and I would Definitely be on the lookout for more books by Trish Doller. Totally recommend for anyone looking for a beautifully told story of healing, love, and running away to the gorgeous Caribbean. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1⁄2 

My attempt at a finger heart… yeah… I’ve might’ve been watching a lot of K-drama lately. 😂

Thanks for reading!

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Audiobook Review – The Whisper Man

This is Exactly how a thriller should be done! The story follows a father trying to move on after the death of his wife, his young son who is… different, an older detective who investigated the whisper man (a child killer who whispers to children through their windows to gain their trust) decades ago, the detective who’s assigned to the case now, and… the killer. ☠️

This book totally sucked me in, hitting all the right beats. With some deliciously creepy vibes, this book kept me on the toes with quite a few surprises I didn’t see coming. The characters’ wildly different perspectives are great, and I love how it flirted with the paranormal for an extra creepy feel. The overall tone is definitely somber and chilling rather than breakneck thriller, but it still keeps you hanging on every line.

I picked up this audiobook from the library, and the narrator did a fabulous job of bringing this story to life. A perfect weekend read for fall that I would recommend to any and all fans of slow build thrillers and mysteries with a side of spook. And it left me seriously craving more thrillers! More!!!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

A big thumbs up for this creepy thriller! But… if anyone whispers to me through a window, I will probably just keel over right there. 😂

Thanks for reading!

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Book Review – Queen of Night

It’s a little difficult to describe this book without spoilers, so this will be a short review for a great sequel to finish this duology! Queen of Night by Katherine Macdonald veers from the sequel, and plunges into new territory with this sequel. I loved the raised stakes and the growth of the Persephone’s character as the strands of her life come together. I also really loved the peeks we got into Hades’ perspective, and the happily ever after was a perfect end to their sweet romance. On the whole, this book was more serious and heavier than book one. It starts off a littler slower than the first, but makes up for it with an intense, action-filled second half. If you enjoyed the first book, I absolutely think you will love this one! Highly recommend this duology and can’t wait to read more by Katherine Macdonald.

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐  

Also, as a side note, the copy of Thief of Spring that I put in our local free library only lasted a week before getting snapped up. It makes me smile so big to think someone might be enjoying it right now! 😊

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

NetGalley Picture Book Reviews – Four 5 star picks!

It was a tropical storm day on Monday, and what better way to pass the time than read and review NetGalley picture books! And luckily, there were a few good ones on “read now.”

We started with Tag and the Magic Squeaker by Sam Hundley. So this book was really cool. The story follows a dog that loses his squeaker toy under the couch, a mouse that helps him out, and a suspicious cat. It’s a simple but sweet story perfect for ages 2-5. But the coolest part is that the characters are made of scrap art of dug relics. There is some explanation in the back of the pieces used to make the art, and also a picture of Theo the beagle and his squeaker (the inspiration of the story.) Overall, totally cute and interesting kid’s book that I would highly recommend. And my 3yo & 5yo both said they liked it a whole lot! 😍 We all agree we’d rank this #3 out of the 4 books we read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Then we moved to Brian the Dancing Lion by Tom Tinn-Oisbury. I loved this book! My kids have actually started dance class, so I thought this message was fantastic. Lion loves to dance, but feels too shy to dance in front of his friends because lions are supposed to be brave and strong and fierce, and no one would think a dancing lion is brave and strong and fierce. But when his friends find out, they’re actually really supportive, and also share their own hobbies (singing, knitting, crafts etc.) Really loved the message of being a supportive friend, and also being brave enough to be yourself! And the illustrations were super cute too. Weirdly both of them said it they only liked it some, 😕 and ranked it #4 of the 4 books we read. (I rank it #2.)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Melville by Paul Schmid was next. A cute little book where the baby octopus goes out on an adventure to find a place just for him and eventually finds his way back to his mother’s embrace. The illustrations are cute and vibrant, and the story is simple but both my 5yo and my 3yo said they liked it a whole lot. 😍 They ranked it #2 out of the 4 books we read. I ranked it #4 but I think it would definitely be a best fit for the younger picture book crowd (ages 1-3), and I’d definitely recommend! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lastly we read My Pet Cloud by Amanda Rawson Hill, and this was unanimously our favorite. The story follows a boy who decides to adopt a cloud as a pet, but realizes there’s a lot to know about taking care of a pet (even a cloud!). The clever story concept perfectly showed the responsibility of having a pet, the illustrations were adorable, and I loved the cloud science knowledge sprinkled throughout. A fantastic story for ages 3-7, and my 3yo and 5yo both said they liked it a whole lot. 😍 Highly recommend!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Got lucky with our picks this time! Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARCs. (And Husband, stop making me laugh while I’m trying to take embarrassing selfies! 😂)

Thanks for reading!

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The Library Haul – Aug 19

We try to take our littles (ages 5 and 3) the library almost every Saturday to get a fresh armful of books to tide us over for the week. We’ve missed the past few weekends, so this library haul is from a while back, but I thought I’d try to give a quick sum up.

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates. Dog loves books so they open a book store. A cute story, but a little bland. ⭐⭐⭐ ½ And no request for rereads. 😕

Michael Recycle Meets Litter Bug Doug by Ellie Bethel. Cute story, great message, fun rhymes, and great illustrations. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ But… no request for rereads. 😕

Pirate Chicken All Hens on Deck by Brian Yanish. Chicken gets tired of being a chicken, so becomes a pirate. But then gets tired of being a bad pirate… and goes back to chicken life. Story fell a little flat for me. ⭐⭐⭐ And no request for rereads. 😕

Fire Truck vs Dragon by Chris Barton. Fire truck and Dragon are friends and do a lot of fun things together. A cute simple story with great illustrations aimed at the younger picture book crowd (2-4). ⭐⭐⭐⭐ And it seemed to be a hit with the 3yo with multiple reread requests. 😍

Eerie Elementary by Jack Chabor. After perusing the pictures, my 5yo rejected this one on the basis of being too scary. No rating.

The Last Firehawk by Katrina Charman (#6-9). Owl, squirrel, & firehawk go on epic fantasy adventure, battling against the evil vulture and finding the firehawk’s family. My 5yo LOVED this series. They were always the first books he wants when we get in the car, an whenever get back he checks to make sure they don’t have #10 yet (it doesn’t come out until November.) So this one gets double heart eyes! 😍 😍

Kung Pow Chicken by Cyndi Marko. Goofy super hero chicken and sidekick egg brother fight silly crime. My five year old seems to enjoy these, and he reads through them very quickly independently. We’ll definitely be picking up more of this series. 😍

Who Would Win? Ultimate Jungle Rumble by Jerry Palotta In which they make a bracket and postulate which animals would win in a fight to the death. A bit morbid perhaps… but as a kid I probably would’ve loved this series. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ And my kids asked me to reread this SOOOO many times. 😍 😍

Maisy Plays Soccer by Lucy Cousins. Exactly as the title describes. Super simple story, but Maisy books have always been a hit at our house in the younger age groups (1-3). ⭐⭐⭐⭐ And 3yo asked for a reread. 😍

Flyguy Presents Dinosaurs by Tedd Arnold. Very standard dinosaur book. No facts we didn’t know before, and the illustrations were pretty basic. This is my second flyguy book, and it hasn’t really resonated with the boys or me. ⭐⭐⭐ ½ And no reread request. 😕 Which is kind of shocking considering this is a dinosaur book!

Our Saturdays are busier with fall sports, but hopefully we’ll still be able to squeeze in our library visits!

Whew! And that’s it for now! Tune in next week for the review of our next library haul! Kid’s book recommendations and review requests welcome (as long as it’s find-able at our library).

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Book Review – One of Us is Next

This is a sequel, so I’ll keep this review short, but while a pleasant enough YA suspense, I didn’t think this one was as good as One of Us is Lying.

One of Us Is Next follows three kids from Bayview high that are loosely related to the kids from the first book. Basically, someone starts mass texting the whole school in a weird truth or dare game that gets out of hand, and the three POVs are scrambling to find out who.

This book hits all the usual notes of a YA mystery, but it felt a little slower paced than McManus’ other books I’ve read. Maybe I came into this book with expectations high after the first one, but the suspense wasn’t as intense as the first book, the reveal seemed a bit expected, and the characters/romances fell a little flat for me. I got the audiobook from the library, and I thought the male voice was a little annoying, which might have contributed to the problem.

I’d probably still recommend this one if you’re a McManus fan, but if there’s a third entry in the series, I’m not sure I’d read it.

⭐⭐⭐¾ 

And don’t listen to weird texts from rando’s! 😆

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Dating Dare

The Dating Dare follows Seth and Tara, two people that have had bad luck with relationships in the past, but agree to a short term fling (the dating dare) before Seth leaves for Paris.

Full disclosure, I think this book is considered a stand-alone spin-off of book one, A Sweet Mess, but since I didn’t read book one, this was my first interaction with these characters, which felt a little awkward, and I think reading the first book probably would’ve given me some better context. (i.e. seeing people regard Seth as a playboy rather than just being told that most people think he is one.)

But anyways, let’s start with what I liked: Seth is fantastic. He seems all around just dreamy and wonderful, and the narrative was seamlessly split between his and Tara’s narratives. I really liked the premise, and I am all for characters promising not to fall in love with one another. And the side characters, though they don’t play a large role, were all fleshed out in a way that made me want to learn more about them, building a charming little small town world around the two leads.

That said though, I’m afraid I really didn’t like Tara. I felt like Seth did nearly all the romantic lifting throughout the book, and their banter felt a little forced or cheesy to me. But this may have been in part due to the fact that I thought her voice in the audiobook was a little annoying. Other than that, this book doesn’t pack a whole of lot of surprises. It’s a cute little romance that progresses exactly how you think it would, with a satisfying ending. For this one, I think I’d recommend picking up the first book for context, and then maybe sticking to the ebook instead of the audiobook.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC!

⭐⭐⭐1⁄2 

Tula looking a bit whelmed here.

Thanks for reading!

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Book Review – Obsidio

Obsidio is the final book of a trilogy, so this review will be a little shorter. I *loved* the first two Illuminae books, so I was eager to dive into this one. Unfortunately, I do think this was the weakest of the trilogy. Asha and Rhys didn’t have a whole lot of chemistry to speak of, and I felt like Asha and her story just fell a little flat in general. I think the first half dragged a little, but the second half more than made up for it. I loved seeing the characters from the other books in action, and Aiden, to me, totally makes these books. For some reason, I can’t help but love our AI anti-hero.

In this book, we also find out who the analysts are that have been transcribing/narrating the videos… and weirdly it took me out of the story. I felt like the narrative of this book was less suited to the epistolary style. This book didn’t have the big mind-blowing twist of the other two, but it still made for a satisfying ending to the trilogy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tula giving the Illuminae series her full attention.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Chase (Fox and O’Hare #2)

Just a quick review for this one since it’s a sequel. The Chase by Evanovich and Goldberg backs in more of the stuff I loved from the first book! All of our favorite characters are back, the action is even more fast-paced than before, and Nick and Kate’s relationship continues to evolve with all the snappy banter you could want. The audiobook narrator is excellent, and I’ll be definitely checking out book 3 from the library. Solid five star heist book. I guess my only quibble is that it wraps up REALLY quick there at the end. While it could work as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading book one for the full effect. Also, for the record, I recommend the first book to my husband, and he also really enjoyed it and plans to read the second one, which is quite the recommendation! But seriously though, someone make these movies already – I neeeed them!!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Banter-filled heists – give me more!!!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

On Covers!

So after my last self-publishing post, I wanted to go into a little deeper review of some of the services I’ve used before. Specifically covers and editors since they’re so important, and I’ve used a couple different businesses. Please keep in mind this is just my personal opinion and experience. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

Custom Cover artists I’ve used

When I started looking for a cover for Odriel’s Heirs, I really had no idea what I was doing (as usual.) But I knew I wanted a cover that would also double as character art, so another author recommended Dominique Wesson. Her character art is absolutely stunning, but she is SUPER busy, so her commissions can take 6 months or more. As of 2020, a cover with 2 characters runs $200 and 1 character is $150. Although I really love the Odriel’s series covers, the NetGalley cover ratings have been relatively low: 25/35 for book one and 16/27 for book two.

For The Gatekeeper of Pericael, I really wanted to get away from the character art concept, but I still really liked the idea of custom art. So a critique partner helped me come up with an idea, and I found Illusstation on Fiverr to bring it to life. The full wrap around cover cost $200, and it only took a month! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a custom art cover. NetGalley cover rating: 26/29

For my third book, I wanted to to do more of a graphic design style. I found Cal5086 on Fiverr and a cover cost me $170. Although I had to come up with the concept myself, turnaround was super quick, and although I haven’t revealed it yet, I really liked how it turned out.

For the Burning Shadows novella, I decided to try out 100covers, and they’ve been my favorite so far. I really like that they take a little survey of your tastes and what you’re looking for, and then use their knowledge of the design market to come up with a concept. (Which is awesome for my artistically challenged self) They assign you a project manager to work with, you can request changes, and they get back to you within the month. An ebook cover runs $100, and if I were to get a paperback it would be $200. I will definitely be using them again in the future.

other options

However! In the past year, I’ve also creeped around the internet for other affordable quality premade options, and compiled a list of other great cover artists/sites to maybe try one day. Just as a personal preference, I don’t consider artists that aren’t upfront about the cost, and while I’d consider something *amazing* for around $350, my usual budget is around $200ish for combined paperback and ebook formats.

Celin Graphics has GORGEOUS custom covers, but they’re booked through 2021, and run a little pricier at $350 for ebook+print. I might take this plunge one day, because they’re seriously beautiful, but it’ll definitely take more of a commitment. I’m also following them on Facebook for pre-mades, but I think opportunities are kind of rare, and I’m not sure how much they are.

Maria Spada @Mspremades: gorgeous premades that run $200 for ebook+print. Follow her on Instagram for a chance to claim them!

RFK Cover Design: $50-$75 for ebook+paperback premade – $25 for ebook only. Follow her on Facebook for a chance to claim them, but be aware they go SUPER fast!

Ebook Launch: $149 for ebook+paperback premade – $99 for ebook only.

The Cover Collection: $167 for ebook+paperback premade – $89 for ebook only.

Book Cover Zone: $89 for ebook+simplistic paperback premade – wide selection.

P&S Book Cover Designs: $120 for ebook+paperback premades – $70 for ebook only.

AMDesign Studios: All-in-one premade packages ranging from $79-$129. $29-$99 for ebook only. I subscribed to their email newsletter for first look.

Bailey Designs Books: $150 for ebook+paperback premade. $99 for ebook only.

Cauldron Press: $150-$250 for ebook+paperback premade. $100-$200 for ebook only. Follow the facebook page for the first look. Also, their custom chapter headers and title page art look pretty cool too.

Those are my favorites to creep on so far, but if you have any recommendations, I’d love to check them out! If I find any other options I like, I’ll be sure to add them. Hopefully this was helpful, and thanks for reading!