"Flora & Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo is a Fun Read (Juvenile)

Every so often I like to read a fun book where I do not really have to figure out anything.  Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo is an enjoyable read that made me chuckle.  This book is about a young girl named Flora and a squirrel she calls Ulysses.  The story is pretty good and I especially liked the illustrations! (4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Touchdown Tony Crown and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader" by Peter Guy George

Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader by Peter Guy George is a fun read about three elementary school kids, Tony, Judd and Ash and Tony’s 80 lb. dog, Curly. 

This book had several angels to it:  football, a bit of mystery, and the chasing down of the criminal.  It is a book of Tony saving the damsel in distress, the missing cheerleader, with the help of a real detective, a friend and his dog.  It is geared to kids, but I enjoyed it—especially the football game part and the dog.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Loved "A Bride For All Seasons--The Mail-Order Bride Collection" by Four Different Authors

Great Beach Read--Very Enjoyable!

Do you like reading clean historical romance books?  Do you enjoy mail-order bride stories?  I do, so when I saw A Bride For All Seasons—The Mail-order Bride Collection, I just had to read it and was not at all disappointed.  In fact, it is a collection of four novellas by four different authors:  And Then Came Spring by Margaret Brownley, An Ever After Summer by Debra Clopton, Autumn’s Angel by Robin Lee Hatcher, and Winter Wedding Bells by Mary Connealy.  I loved them all!

This book is so cool because all four mail-order bride stories are tied together by the common matchmaker, Melvin Hitchcock of The Hitching Post, a mail-order bride catalogue with the highest rate of successful marriages.  None of the couples that were matched up in this book got what they expected because Melvin edited their letters, at times l just omitting something that he felt would prevent the client’s chances of finding a match!  Consequently, all the couples have trust issues to begin with and it was fun to see how the couples get past that and become happily married in time.  (See My two teasers.)

Out of the four authors, I was only familiar with Mary Connealy, but now I have a whole list of books to read by the other three authors as well!  This book is a fun, entertaining read.  There are also three discussion questions for each novella in the back.  This would be a great Book Club read!
(Karen's review)

Check out my progress on learning to Juggle (part 2) using The Great Juggling Kit book.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Linked up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today for the prompt:  Book review!  What are you reading this summer?

A Children's Ebook: "Candy and the Cankersaur"

Image source:  Amazon

Candy and the Cankersaur by Jason Sandberg is a children’s book about a little girl (Candy) who has a very rich father that enjoys giving her lots of things, including a pet dinosaur! The jealous neighbor boy does something very mean but admits to his crime and apologizes. I love stories with happy endings! The illustrations for this ebook are very cute and it shows the strong bond kids can have with their pets. This would be a good bed-time story for toddlers or any boy or girl who likes dinosaurs.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Winterling" by Sarah Prineas

Loved it!

Winterling by Sarah Prineas is about a young girl who goes into a strange land to find out about her parents and who she really is. This one is full of adventure and has lots of action with a really good ending. Even though this is classed as juvenile fantasy, I loved it! Give it a shot!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Mischief Master Class" by Dogs, 2 Cats and a Turtle

Inspirational,a 'Must Read" for dogs

Mischief Master Class by dogs, two cats and a turtle assisted by Annette Vivian is a really fun book about mischief real pets get into.  It has lots of great short stories and pictures!  I LOVED it!  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)--UPDATED 2/13/13

Mischief Master Class by Dogs (two cats and a Turtle!)...assisted by Annette Vivian is a must read for all dogs!  It is a great reference book giving 20 rules that dogs (and any pet really) should know for getting away with mischief by becoming a "Master of Mischief."  It is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Snoopy (visit his blog by clicking the link), a dog blogger who is a bearded collie therapy dog but that doesn't mean he can't get into mischief.  In fact, he even hosts a "Monday Mischief" blog hop every week.  Various pets on the Internet contributed their mischief stories which Snoopy cleverly used as case studies to illustrate how the rules work.  By the way, our pets have rule #1 down pat:  "Look Cute."

It has lots of colored photos and URLs for videos to watch of the contributors too (with their blog URLs) as well as many of Snoopy himself, of course.  It is a quick, fun, light read that I enjoyed in spite of the overuse of a couple words:  "doh" and "Tee Hee."  My favorite mischief was the two dogs who ate the cookies that were hidden inside the oven and then left the empty tray inside and closed the door when they were done!  I must admit, I've never seen any other book quite like this one although "Dear Sparkle:  Cat-to-Cat advice" which is written by a cat for cats comes close.   

Mischief Master Class is available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon with 50% of the proceeds donated to Therapy Pet Support charities which we think is awesome! 

Good job, Snoopy and your buddies!
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Dear Sparkle: Advice From One Cat to Another" by Sparkle

Image source:  Amazon

Dear Sparkle: Advice From One Cat to Another (No Humans!) by Sparkle the Designer Cat is not only a fun read but also insightful and informative. There are all kinds of different problems that cats have, most involving their humans. The advice is given in such a way that humans can benefit from it as well. I highly recommend this cute book to any cat owner. The cat letters may be fictional; however, the tip part for humans is really non-fiction. Sparkle says what a smart cat owner should do. I found it both amusing and interesting.  Visit Sparkle's blog too, it's very cat friendly and interesting!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

You HAVE to read this one!

This is a very good book for all cats.  We LOVED it as much as Sparkle's other book:  Dear Sparkle:  Cat to Cat Advice From the World's Most Foremost Feline Columnist by Sparkle the Designer Cat.  It's a must read!
(Spunky Doodle and Manny Boy's review)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Gifted" by Terri Blackstock

Fun Christian Read

"The Gifted" by Terri Blackstock is a quick Christian fiction read which shows how Christians should work together to meet needs of others and introduce them to Jesus. When Andy, Carl and Bree were discouraged that they were the only ones who showed up for their Bible Study after work in an effort to reach their co-workers with the gospel, a tornado hit and they were crushed under the rubble. God answered their prayers and their lives were changed once they experienced God's power.

This is a powerful little book that challenges Christians to use the gifts God has given them to serve Him by serving others and meeting their needs. It is a fun read because each of the main characters are endowed with supernatural powers which makes for a good read but isn't very believable. Here's a little teaser that gives you an example:

"Where are we going, anyway?" Bree looked around them.
"I'm not sure, but my feet know."
Bree laughed. "Do you know how stupid that sounds?"
"Of course I do. It's downright ridiculous, but it happens to be true."
The hospital came into view, and Carl's feet picked up their pace. "Okay, now I've got it. We're going to the hospital."

(Karen's review)

If you have read this, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.  If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Spy Cat" by Peg Kehret and Pete the Cat

Spy Cat by Peg Kehret is an adventure with the cat and the little boy being the ones to find the burglars who have been breaking into homes in the neighborhood.  It has excitement, adventure and animals.  Parts are funny, such as when Pete the cat eats the burglar's hamburger and fries.

This is a quick fun read that shows the strong bond between kids and their pets.  I liked it!  
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Stranger Next Door" by Peg Kehret and Pete the Cat

Manny and Spunky's favorite character is Pete the Cat!

The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret and Pete the Cat is actually better than I expected.  Although the author's cat helped write parts of this book, in the story we know what the cat is thinking and saying, but the people in the book only hear it meowing which makes it more realistic.  Shortly after an aloof family move in next door to Alex's family, houses burn in the neighborhood, including the new neighbor's.  Pete the cat sees what happens and using his cat intelligence, makes his people aware of what is happening.

This book has both mystery and adventure, plus it's a quick fun read with the Pete the Cat being one of the main characters.  I think any kid who likes cats would enjoy this book very much, I did!
(Karen's review, rating 5 stars)

Other books I liked by this author:  Animals Welcome

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend" by Matthew Dicks

Different, a Fun Read!

Memoirs of an imaginary friend by Matthew Dicks is told by Budo, the imaginary friend of a special needs boy named Max. I thought this book was fantastic! I got into it from page 1 and had a hard time putting it down. Budo tells the story very well and you're going to love Max! The ending is super good--you have to read this! I've read a lot of very good books this month, but this one is my favorite!
(Gerard's review, rating 5++ stars)

Karen's thoughts:
I started Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks and thought it was just too goofy with the "imaginary friend" telling the story. I read up to chapter 9 and thought, "Why am I wasting my time on this?" and decided to give it up and read something else--The Raven Boys. I liked that even less because it was about the supernatural, fortune telling and some crazy hunt for some old king from the past--it made no sense to me. So when my husband said how good this one was, I decided to go ahead and finish reading it. I'm glad I did because it did get better and I liked Max and Budo so was curious to see what would happen with them. Once I got past the absurdity of it and didn't take it so seriously, I enjoyed it. It reminded me of ROOM by Emma Donoghue a little bit.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Wake" by Amanda Hocking--Fun Fantasy

Want to be a Mermaid?

Wake by Amanda Hocking is fun fantasy read that I enjoyed. This teen romance is the first book in the Watersong series. Gemma and her sister, Harper, live in a tourist town near the ocean. Gemma loves swimming so much that she not only is practicing every day for the Olympics but also goes on midnight swims in the bay which drives her older protective sister nuts. Gemma starts falling in love with the geeky boy next door but three creepy girls who come through town choose Gemma to become like them because of her beauty, courage and love of the water.

This would be a good book to choose for a beach read—light, humorous but with adventure and some suspense. I think swimmers would especially find it interesting. I look forward to the next book in this series called Lullaby coming out winter of 2013.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Surrender" by Lee NIchols

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Surrender by Lee Nichols is the last book in the Haunting Emma series that I enjoyed.  This series is part fantasy with ghosts, wraiths, ghasts and also about friendship, loyalty, forbidden love and adventure.   I liked the humor throughout this series and recommend it if you want a light, entertaining read.  The first two books in this series are:  Deception and Betrayal which you should definitely read first.  Surrender is mostly about romance with lots of action near the end.  The ending was good, but not the ending I was hoping for.  I would have had Emma give all her powers to Bennett and then go with Harry and live a normal life.  My favorite character was Coby, the popular high school football player who dated Emma and died but continued in the story to the end as a ghost.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"Dear Sparkle: Cat-To-Cat Advice" by Sparkle the Cat

Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the world's foremost feline columnist by Sparkle the Cat is a fantastic book that entertains while imparting great information on how to solve some problems that cats and humans have. Sparkle answers the letters from cats with humor and many good suggestions, including some cat owners can learn from as well. It has cute pictures of cats included too and shares bits of cat wisdom! I read it on my Kindle and highlighted many passages. I highly recommend this for any cat owner and am sure your cats will enjoy it too! Ours did.


Sparkle is also a blogger who I visit regularly at www.sparklecat.com. She is a sweet cat!
(Karen's review: My rating: 5 of 5 stars )

Spunky Doodle and Manny's review

This is our favorite book yet!  The best book ever!  If you live with a cat, you must read this one!  It's pawsome!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Dog On It" by Spencer Quinn (UPDATED)

Two Paws Way Up For Chet (25 stars)

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn is a fun book to read. It is told by Chet, a trained K-9 dog who helps Bernice, a private eye, investigate a missing person report. You are just going to love Chet's perspective on things! It goes fast and you're into it quickly. The best thing is that there is going to be another book with Chet and Bernice. You can bet I'll be reading that one too.
(Gerard's review 4/1/09)

Karen's thoughts (11/5/11):

I liked this one because the dog tells the story from his point of view.  Chet, the dog, has a wonderful relationship with Bernie, his owner and they make a good team in solving the case.  This is different from the usual mysteries because the reader finds out what happens along with the dog who knows way before Bernie.  Parts are very sad--the dog got abducted, mistreated, and wound up at a shelter where he almost was put to sleep for good!  This is a quick fun read if you like dogs. 

The Dog Who Knew Too Much is another one we read by this author which was good too!  

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Thin Rich Pretty" by Beth Harbison

Thin rich Pretty by Beth Harbison is a book I read to participate in Katherines Corner Book Club this month. I thought it was a fun read, humorous, entertaining, with believable characters. The message is to be yourself. It's about how three girls met at a camp when they were 13 and how the problems they struggled with such as Holly being too fat, Nicola thinking she was ugly and Lexi, the lonely rich girl carried with them into adulthood. It deals with bullying, friendship, and restitution. I thought it was a cute story and finished it in two days. I recommend it to women, don't think men would care for it.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?  

Check out our audio book giveaway for IRON HOUSE by John Hart!

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Keep A Little Secret" by Dorothy Garlock

Keep A Little Secret by Dorothy Garlock is about secrets, revenge and romance. Charlotte leaves her home in Minnesota to teach in Oklahoma and lives on John Grant’s ranch. John Grant is a target of two people holding grudges against him.  Owen and his twin sister leave Colorado in search of their father to get revenge but find love instead. There are several calamities that make this an interesting read.

I was attracted to the cover and when I saw it was by Dorothy Garlock, I had to get it. This is a fun read with some mystery, action and romance. I liked the teasing between the couples and between the brother and sister. The wildfire, stampede and tornado all made for exciting reading.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card

I know I'm way late to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card since it came out years ago.  That being said, I thought this book was just AWESOME!  For sure my book of the month for April and will rank very high in my books of the year list!

The premise of this book is the government has tabbed Ender to be the next big commander.  He is taken away from his family and sent to "Battle School."  His brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, also play interesting roles in this book. 

If you loved Hunger Games and The Maze Runner series, you will love this book too!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's Review:
I liked Ender's Game very much too.  I'm glad Gerard encouraged me to read it!  Ender is just six years old when the government rejected his older brother and sister and took him instead to train to be the commander to fight against the buggers out in space and save the world.  Ender is very smart and very endearing.  He doesn't want to kill anyone but excels in the battle games.  I liked how even though Ender was an "underdog" he was very clever and came out on top when others made things tough for him.  The only thing I did not like about it was the ending.

If you like stories about mind games, leadership, friendship, bullying, military strategy/training or science fiction, you would love this book!  Anyone with battle experience I think would identify with Enger.  We both highly recommend this one--it's awesome!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Dogs Don't Lie" by Clea Simon (UPDATED 4/23/11)

Visit the author's cat's blog at www.conscious.cat.net

Dogs Don’t Lie by Clea Simon is a good, quick mystery in a small town. A man is found dead at his home and all signs point to his dog, a pit bull named Lilly.  But did the dog really do it? The best parts of the book for me are that Pru Marlow could understand what her cat, Wallis, was saying and the Dog, Lilly, becomes a hero at the end! The plot was a bit confusing, but it’s still a good read!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's review posted 4/23/11:
Dogs Don't Lie by Clea Simon is a cozy mystery with a cute, entertaining twist--Pru Marlowe is an animal behaviorist and also discovers she has a gift of being able to hear what animals think and feel.  With the help of three cats, two dogs, and a ferret, Pru solves the murder of one of her clients whose pit bull she trained.  She questioned some humans too though.  At first the dog was blamed for it's owner's death but then Pru set out to save the dog and eventually figured out who the real killer was. 

If you like animals and a cozy mystery, this one is for you!  It starts off a bit slow but stick with it!  I was surprised to find out who the real murderer was.  Well done, Clea!

Stop by and visit the author's Conscious Cat blog and find out Challenges Of Living With Mystery Writer Clea Simon.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Happiness is . . ." by Barbara G. Tarn

I read "Happiness is . . . " by Barbara G. Tarn in about 15 minutes while watching TV.  It's a short 56-pg book with one thought of happiness and a cute picture illustrating it on each page.  She just compiled it from her happy thoughts she posted on her blog at Creative Barb Wire.  Not only is this written in English, but also Turkish and some other language, but I don't know what it is.  This was a fun, uplifting quick read.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?