Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Everlong

I heard great things about this one through the Twitterverse, and when I saw it pitched for my little free library contest, I knew I had it grab it. It totally did not disappoint!

Everlong is a whimsical paranormal that follows Lily as she walks to “her bench” every night to write. There, she runs into sweet Sam, and they strike up an easy friendship. From there, things get a little more complicated for the pair as they come to learn more about each other.

The writing is beautiful, and the relationship that grows between the two feels incredibly natural. If you like friends-to-lovers, this story gets it exactly right. It is sweet, and poignant, and though we are in the mysterious world of paranormal, this story uses it to cast a light on the human side of it.

After the things I’d heard about this book, I was braced for the end, but honestly I found it a wonderful, poignant end to a great love story. (No tissues required over here, but if you’re a crier you might want to be armed in case.)

This story hits right in the feels, capturing our humanity in a little jar of whimsical paranormal. I’m so glad I picked this one up and can’t wait to share it with our little free library. Highly recommended to anyone who wants paranormal romance that goes beyond the surface.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love adding wonderful books to our little free library!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Picture Book Review – This Town


Okay, I’ve read a few new picture books today, but This Town by Mark Restaino was definitely my favorite. The story is about a little girl as she grows up in a small town, all the people she meets along the way, and how her life is connected to the town around her. The illustrations are pleasing to the eye, the prose has a nice lilting rhyme to it, and when the story comes full circle, it’s very satisfying. This is actually the second excellently poignant picture book by Restaino I’ve read ,and I would also recommend taking a look at “How Could I Ever Forget?”

Would totally recommend this for ages 2-6! Thanks to Sandra’s Book Club for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cheers to another great picture book!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Betwixt


Okay, continuing my Darynda Jones marathon. I *loved* the first two books of the Sunshine series, I thought the first two books of her Charley Davidson series were okay, so I picked up Betwixt.

This story follows Defiance as she comes in to a rather large inheritance in the town of Salem with lots of paranormal fun involved.

Once again, the author’s strengths shine here with lots of voice, an interesting world and setting, and lots of banter. But… once again the romance veered into insta-love territory that fell a little flat for me (Although I like Roan more than I like Reyes from Charley Davidson).

To add to that, about 70% of this book is someone telling the MC to do something: watch this video, do this other thing, we don’t have a lot of time and you’re in GRAVE danger – to which the MC finds some way to put off said thing she needs to do, OR she keeps getting interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Seriously, someone interrupts her by knocking on the door probably about 10 times! It was driving me insane!

I didn’t think the MC was quite as likeable as Charley or Sunshine, and some of the plotline (mainly not being able to afford the house) seemed a little contrived. And there’s a cliffhanger, which I’m not super a fan of. Overall, while I think the sequel has potential (there was a lot of set-up in this one) I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. However, the writing voice is fun, so if you’re into quirky paranormal, I still recommend you might try it from the library… although I think I’d point you to the author’s other series first.

⭐⭐⭐½

Curl up with the Sunshine Vicram books first!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Drift


This sci-fi dystopian follows Samara, an enslaved, enhanced assassin, and her mark, the idealistic resistance leader, Tristan, as their fates intertwine with that of their brutal, divided world.

I really enjoyed the intricate world-building in this tiered, futuristic society, and the action scenes kept the plot moving at a quick pace. Tristan is easy to like with his unassailable optimism, his devotion to his friends, his cause, and his interesting powers. And while it took me some time to warm up to Samara, she comes a long way throughout the story, and I was rooting for her by the end. Wyatt makes for an interesting, conflicted villain, and the side characters all have very distinct personalities. Probably my only real critique is there is an interesting element of fate running through the book which gave it a little bit of an insta-love spark that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I think that’s just my subjective opinion.

Overall, I thought this was a very engaging, unique story that I would definitely recommend for fans of sci-fi, dystopian, and a slow burn romance. Heads up though, because the cliffhanger will definitely have you asking for the sequel!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Real talk, we need more sci-fi romance in the world! NEED!!!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Second Grave on the Left


Second Grave on the Left has most of the charm of the first book: humor, banter, great voice, and the return of our funny, badass grim reaper heroine. But once again we have another rather forgettable “solving a murder” plot and the insta-love romance with the dark & otherworldly Reyes didn’t really grow as much as I would’ve hoped. The additional world building was interesting with Charley’s powers growing, but although I’d say I enjoyed it (once again the audiobook narration is great), I expect the sequel to be more of the same, so I think I’ll probably stop the series here. If you really loved the first one though, I think you’ll also totally be into this one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Still good, just not as good as some of Jones’s others.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – First Grave on the Right


I picked this book after falling completely in love with Darynda Jones’s “A Bad Day for Sunshine.” While this one still sparkled with humor, fabulous banter, and a gutsy, kickass heroine, it didn’t quite capture me like Sunshine. I definitely liked the concept: a sassy grim reaper constantly plagued by the dead to solve their problems uses her powers as a private investigator. I loved finding out more about Charley’s powers and the back and forth with her sidekick, Cookie, but the central “solving a murder” plot seemed less memorable and the insta-love romance from a “bad boy” types didn’t really work for me. (Especially they’re initial meet-cute was just super weird to me) Still, the narration of the audiobook was great, and it kept be interested enough to read the sequel, so I’d definitely still recommend for those looking for a fun, voicey paranormal mystery with a side of bad boy insta-love.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Another quirky, fun story from Darynda Jones!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Piranesi


So let me preface this by saying I knew within about the first ten pages that this book wasn’t for me. But as it’s so highly rated and recommended, I decided to try to broaden my pedestrian horizons and give it a shot. And I found it… very strange.

If you are reading to soak in the writing and look deeply into the symbiology and themes of a book. This may be for you! The first half essentially follows Piranesi as he wanders through a never-ending house of nature and statues that he reveres unequivocally. There’s a little mystery as we try to figure out where exactly Piranesi is and how he got there, but even though this book is short, this story… Takes… Its… Time.

Piranesi is a strange, innocent sort of character, reverently altered by his strange surroundings, and spends much of the book alone, reading through his journals to try to piece together his memories.

This book has lyrical descriptions with strands of grand themes interwoven into philosophical musings, and in general is unique in its own way. Altogether, I found it interesting, but not gripping, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a literary venture they can think into.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not really for us, but it could be for you!

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!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Reviews – Five Feet Apart, The Heist, Squeeze Me, and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

I was roadtripping for work last week so I downloaded a few audiobooks from the library to enjoy on the way… and I really struggled with finding something that hit the spot.

I started with On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, a poetic novel which reads like the autobiography of Vietnamese child immigrant and his experiences in US as an immigrant, as well as the far-reaching impacts of his mother and grandmother’s war-battered history. I got to the 50% mark when I had to put this one down. While beautifully told, I was just not in the mood or this kind of wandering, raw literary fiction. But for the right reader, I feel this might hit strong. (No rating.)

Then I moved to Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen, a lighter novel told in a humorous third person omniscient. The story starts off when a wealthy heiress goes missing at a swanky party, and you get the viewpoints from a host of characters either trying to figure out what’s going on or cover it. It was after listening to the first hour of this novel that I realized that third person omniscient definitely isn’t my favorite. Although Angie Armstrong, the wildlife removing excon, is an interesting character, I didn’t really feel particularly attached to her or any of the other characters with the detached POV. Also, since we found out what happened to the heiress in the first hour, the story really just wasn’t holding my attention. However, if you’re into humorous third-person POV, you might enjoy this one. (No rating.)

Then I moved onto Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott. A YA Romance! Surely this one will be right up my alley! The premise is essentially about two teens with Cystic Fibrosis that fall in love, but because of their condition, aren’t allowed within 6 feet of one another.

And it started off really cute! The MC is likeable, and of course she and the love interest get off on the wrong foot. They start to fall for each other… but honestly by about midway, the story started to fall flat for me. The back stories veered into melodramatic territory with bad, short-sighted decisions and even their relationship felt more jerky than smooth.

I googled the book, and it sounds like this book was based on the screenplay… which actually makes a lot of sense. The dialogue is snappy and it’s actually a pretty short book, but I felt like the characters and plot weren’t really as full as they usually are in a novel. I feel like teen readers may enjoy it, and seeing the CF representation was really cool, but as a whole I’d label it as a meh read. I’m not even sure I would watch the movie.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

And then, lastly, feeling somewhat put out about all my audiobook bad luck, I started The Heist by Lee Goldberg. And the first thing I notice, of course, is that it’s in third person omniscient, which as I had just realized many hours earlier, is not my favorite. 🤦

If almost abandoned this book at the 10% mark, but since I didn’t have another audiobook downloaded, I decided to press on.

And I’m super glad I did! I absolutely loved the characters (specifically Kate, Nick, and Kate’s dad), the banter was just perfection, and the heists antics were definitely clever. I actually even recommended this to my husband since he’s a fan of heists (which I almost never do.) My only complaint is that I wanted more Nick and Kate flirting/interaction… and with seven books in this series, I’m not exactly expecting significant relationship growth in Book Two.

That said, while I’m not entirely sure I’ll be picking up the sequels, this book was a fun ride, and I would LOVE to see a movie. Like seriously, GIMME GIMME GIMME. (4.5/5)

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½

Thanks for reading! I’m really hoping I have better audiobook luck on my next work roadtrip in July, and now that I have NetGalley, I’ll be requesting audiobooks through there too. Fingers crossed for some good ones!