by Jasmyn | Oct 24, 2019 | Book Reviews, Middle Grade, Readers
I picked up Tyrabbisaurus Rex for my eight-year-old at PennedCon earlier this year and read it once evening before dinner. It was such a fun book. As an adult, I really enjoyed it, and when I got home, and my son read it, he enjoyed it as well.
“Cuddles,” as the children have named him, is a class pet, a rabbit that truly believes that it is a T-Rex. The book alternates between his POV and those of the children in his classroom. The rabbit’s chapters and internal dialog are hilarious and very entertaining as he tries to escape his captivity and try new things to nibble on.
The children all have their own opinions about Cuddles, and their chapters show those very well. From absolutely wanting nothing to do with him, to thinking he’s pretty cool but not that interesting, to wanting to spend all their time snuggling him – the students and Cuddles interact along with the teacher to create an entertaining story that delicately touches on quite a few things. From making friends, death in the family, self-esteem, and self-image (of the rabbit).
I highly recommend this for boys and girls in the early grade school years. It’d make an excellent read-along for adults and children to experience and talk about together.
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Title: Tyrabbisaurus Rex
Author: A.J. Culey
Genre: Children’s Book
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Tyrabbisaurus Rex doesn’t appreciate being locked in a cage. Sure it has three levels and is full of scrumptious veggies, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to accept his fate as a classroom pet.
Ginger’s not happy about the always escaping, poopy rabbit. First he chewed the dress her mom gave her. Now he keeps staring at her favorite hat. The demon bunny has got to go!
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by Jasmyn | Oct 22, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
My daughter bought me this book for my birthday – and she knows what I like to read. Fairy tale adaptions are sooo much fun, and this take on Beauty & the Beast did a fantastic job.
The atmosphere of the book was exceedingly gothic, and the people and scenery seemed very French (to my uneducated eye). So the stage was set – and in comes Lucie, a girl looking to escape her step-father and find a way to earn her way in the most respectable of ways. She manages to find a job as a cleaning maid at Chateau Beaumont only to find that Chevalier de Beaumont is a monster of a person. He enjoys the misery and pain of others and looks only to further himself.
Enter the curse – the one we’ve seen many times. And suddenly the Chevalier is no more, and in his place is Beast. Lucie watches over Beast in a transformed state herself, but this is where the story takes a new and exciting turn of events.
I love how Lisa Jensen incorporated the roses and Beast’s love for them. I love the little twists and turns she put on the curse to make it unique and surprising. And I loved it when she introduced Rose. So we have two potential Beauties, which is not a way to make this some kinky ménage. It’s just a way to show Beast’s desire for companionship.
The ending was nothing like I expected at all. And I will also add a trigger warning for rape, suicide, and abortion topics.
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Title: Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge
Author: Lisa Jensen
Genre: Fairy Tale Re-Telling
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They say Château Beaumont is cursed. But servant-girl Lucie can’t believe such foolishness about handsome Jean-Loup Christian Henri LeNoir, Chevalier de Beaumont, master of the estate. But when the chevalier’s cruelty is revealed, Lucie vows to see him suffer. A wisewoman grants her wish, with a spell that transforms Jean-Loup into monstrous-looking Beast, reflecting the monster he is inside. But Beast is nothing like the chevalier. Jean-Loup would never patiently tend his roses; Jean-Loup would never attempt poetry; Jean-Loup would never express remorse for the wrong done to Lucie. Gradually, Lucie realizes that Beast is an entirely different creature from the handsome chevalier, with a heart more human than Jean-Loup’s ever was. Lucie dares to hope that noble Beast has permanently replaced the cruel Jean-Loup — until an innocent beauty arrives at Beast’s château with the power to break the spell.
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by Jasmyn | Oct 21, 2019 | Book Reviews, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Readers
A lot is going in The Woman in the Window. Anna fox has experienced a trauma, and now she has very severe agoraphobia. She wanders her house alone (living with just her cat) drinking and not quite taking her medication correctly. The circumstances leading up to her situation are vague, and we slowly learn everything as the story continues.
She passes her time watching her neighbors – like hardcore spying on them with a zoom lens – playing chess and learning French online, and talking to other agoraphobics in an online community. She’s happy – mostly – and chats with her family quite often.
A.J. Finn does a fantastic job of drawing you into Anna’s strange world and making you doubt everything you think you know. As we spiral through life and the strange things Anna has witnessed right along with her. I enjoyed being able to follow her train of thought. It brought me into her mind and emotional turmoil when she started doubting everything about herself.
While most of the book is a meandering journey through potential craziness, the end was a heart-pounding rush leading up to a gentle settling of sorts. Don’t expect too much action and thrills from this one. But don’t discount its ability to test what you believe right along with all the characters.
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Title: The Woman in the Window
Author: A.J. Finn
Genre: Thriller
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Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.
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