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Lindsay (1812 KP) rated The Costume Contest (Mariana Books Rhyming #2) in Books
Oct 14, 2021
Are you shopping for Halloween theme books for your child or children? Well. “The Costume Contest” by Roger Carlson is a good one to have on your child’s bookshelves. It deals with Halloween, and it also helps with cooperation and conflict solution.
We meet Aaron and Ava for this story. The story behind this is sweet. Will Aaron help his little sister out with her costume and the contest? You will see that Aaron wants to be something different for Halloween? But did Aaron promise to be a cat with Ava or not?
Children will learn about conflict solutions and solving problems through cooperation. I like how the two kids figure out their trick-or-treating costumes between themselves, though with parents’ support. What does Aaron decide to do?
The author put this story on Halloween, focused on friendship, and saw what happens when they trick-treating. Who ends up willing to participate in the costume contest? The pictures are so colorful. Are the different costumes you see while Aaron and Ava are trick or treating? This book is a sweet story and has a few teaching lessons through the book.
Parents will enjoy having this book on their shelves. Children will want to read this book again and again. It is suitable for the Halloween season, along with some teachable lessons for children.
We meet Aaron and Ava for this story. The story behind this is sweet. Will Aaron help his little sister out with her costume and the contest? You will see that Aaron wants to be something different for Halloween? But did Aaron promise to be a cat with Ava or not?
Children will learn about conflict solutions and solving problems through cooperation. I like how the two kids figure out their trick-or-treating costumes between themselves, though with parents’ support. What does Aaron decide to do?
The author put this story on Halloween, focused on friendship, and saw what happens when they trick-treating. Who ends up willing to participate in the costume contest? The pictures are so colorful. Are the different costumes you see while Aaron and Ava are trick or treating? This book is a sweet story and has a few teaching lessons through the book.
Parents will enjoy having this book on their shelves. Children will want to read this book again and again. It is suitable for the Halloween season, along with some teachable lessons for children.
The Ministry of Time
10.0
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A BOY MEETS A GIRL. THE PAST MEETS THE FUTURE. A FINGER MEETS A TRIGGER. THE BEGINNING MEETS THE...
Speculative fiction Historical fiction time travel
Rivers and Creaks
5.0
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A grumpy innkeeper. A dead guest. Can he solve the locked-room mystery before his business crumbles...
Merissa (14102 KP) rated Something Cryptid This Way Comes (Love in Maplewood #9) in Books
Jul 11, 2025
SOMETHING CRYPTID THIS WAY COMES is the ninth book in the Love in Maplewood series and can be read as a standalone.
Bram and Trevor were best friends growing up, until Bram left Maplewood. They have remained long-distance friends and go on holiday together once a year. The only trouble is Trevor thinks a whole lot more of Bram than just Best Friends. And Bram is afraid to rock the boat and lose the friendship. Along comes some Maplewood Matchmakers!
This is a nice story with good pacing and low angst. Trevor and Bram don't wait for the closing act to get their thoughts in gear, giving some nice scenes where they realise who they are to each other. Most of the intimate scenes between them are, well, not fade-to-black exactly, more like fade-to-grey. And when trouble does occur, it is easily sorted with little drama.
And that, I'm afraid, is why I'm giving it 3 stars. It was nice. It didn't thrill me, it didn't sweep me away, and I didn't feel that connected with the main characters. It was just... nice.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 11, 2025
Bram and Trevor were best friends growing up, until Bram left Maplewood. They have remained long-distance friends and go on holiday together once a year. The only trouble is Trevor thinks a whole lot more of Bram than just Best Friends. And Bram is afraid to rock the boat and lose the friendship. Along comes some Maplewood Matchmakers!
This is a nice story with good pacing and low angst. Trevor and Bram don't wait for the closing act to get their thoughts in gear, giving some nice scenes where they realise who they are to each other. Most of the intimate scenes between them are, well, not fade-to-black exactly, more like fade-to-grey. And when trouble does occur, it is easily sorted with little drama.
And that, I'm afraid, is why I'm giving it 3 stars. It was nice. It didn't thrill me, it didn't sweep me away, and I didn't feel that connected with the main characters. It was just... nice.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 11, 2025
The Price of Loyalty: Serving Adela of Blois
Book
In a time of kingdoms and crusades, one man's heart is the battlefield. Cerdic, a Saxon knight,...
Historical Fiction Medieval France Crusades Adela of Blois William the Conqueror
Hunger and Thirst
10.0
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1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula...
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Brothersong in Books
Apr 21, 2025
I have loved this whole series, and the finale to the Green Creek quadrilogy (I think that’s a word!) is no exception. There’s the content that I’ve come to love this series for: family (both genetic and found), love, friendship, acceptance, excitement, fear, joy - and a happy ending. That’s something that the inhabitants of Green Creek deserve, after all.
Whatever will I do without this series? Other than go back to the beginning and start again, of course. Because that’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do, isn’t it!
Look, I know this might seem like a very uncharacteristic series for me to get caught up in, but sometimes life throws curveballs that you need to find some escape from. And TJ Klune just does that for me. These books are my shut-the-world-out books. The goodies are good, decent people, and the baddies get their just desserts. Nothing wrong with that at all. Read what makes you happy, read what makes you feel better informed, read what educates you, read what snatches you up into another world you’d never otherwise experience (my favourite kind of books, incidentally).
This series really should be read in order, so I’m giving you permission to go and buy all four books or borrow them from your library, OK?
Whatever will I do without this series? Other than go back to the beginning and start again, of course. Because that’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do, isn’t it!
Look, I know this might seem like a very uncharacteristic series for me to get caught up in, but sometimes life throws curveballs that you need to find some escape from. And TJ Klune just does that for me. These books are my shut-the-world-out books. The goodies are good, decent people, and the baddies get their just desserts. Nothing wrong with that at all. Read what makes you happy, read what makes you feel better informed, read what educates you, read what snatches you up into another world you’d never otherwise experience (my favourite kind of books, incidentally).
This series really should be read in order, so I’m giving you permission to go and buy all four books or borrow them from your library, OK?
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2613 KP) rated Dead in the Water in Books
Mar 28, 2022
Dead Man Floating
Maisie Mitchell has sold her restaurant and retired to Florida. She’s living in a senior’s only community, and that’s where she’s met Donna “Dot” Pinetta, a retired homicide detective from Chicago. The two are opposites in many ways, but they quickly form a friendship. They are enjoying their lives, although they begin to notice an undercurrent of tension in their community, all centered around Mason Jacobs, the young, handsome recreation director. Things come to a head when they discover his body floating in the pool one morning. Dot jumps into detective mode, with Maisie tagging along behind her. Will the two of them figure out what happened?
This book sets up a promising new series with a sub plot involving Maisie and Dot getting an RV to travel. That premise is what drew me to the book. It’s is much shorter than the books I read, and I did notice the difference. Characters and descriptions were a bit thin, and the plot felt a bit rushed. A few more pages to allow everything to breath would have been nice. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I appreciated the set up we got before the murder, introducing suspects and motives. The climax was great as well. I like Maisie and Dot, and I’m definitely planning to join them for more trips.
This book sets up a promising new series with a sub plot involving Maisie and Dot getting an RV to travel. That premise is what drew me to the book. It’s is much shorter than the books I read, and I did notice the difference. Characters and descriptions were a bit thin, and the plot felt a bit rushed. A few more pages to allow everything to breath would have been nice. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I appreciated the set up we got before the murder, introducing suspects and motives. The climax was great as well. I like Maisie and Dot, and I’m definitely planning to join them for more trips.
Edge (Immortals of Indriel #1.5)
10.0
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They claim he will be a great leader. They say he is the most powerful Immortal of his...
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
How I wish I could have known Sunny when I was in my thirties - or even now, if I’m honest! I read this book on The Pigeonhole, and I looked forward to opening each stave every day. It was one of those books that I just didn’t want to end. I mean, what happens after the last page?
Sunny feels the weight of expectation on her shoulders. She knows that her parents want her to get married, but she only seems to meet men who are wrong for her. I think a lot of this is because of her distinct lack of self-confidence and her poor body image. She calls herself fat constantly, she doesn’t seem to like herself very much, and puts herself across as the life and soul of every party to her friends, whilst hating the way that they use her. Actually, I don’t think that a lot of her friends are deserving of her friendship at all.
This book is a journey to self-acceptance for Sunny, and I was very happy to be on that journey with her. It’s funny and sad in equal measure. You can definitely tell that a comedian wrote this. Some of the observations were really funny, and the timing was perfect.
It’s a touching, funny novel, and one I’d recommend without hesitation.
Sunny feels the weight of expectation on her shoulders. She knows that her parents want her to get married, but she only seems to meet men who are wrong for her. I think a lot of this is because of her distinct lack of self-confidence and her poor body image. She calls herself fat constantly, she doesn’t seem to like herself very much, and puts herself across as the life and soul of every party to her friends, whilst hating the way that they use her. Actually, I don’t think that a lot of her friends are deserving of her friendship at all.
This book is a journey to self-acceptance for Sunny, and I was very happy to be on that journey with her. It’s funny and sad in equal measure. You can definitely tell that a comedian wrote this. Some of the observations were really funny, and the timing was perfect.
It’s a touching, funny novel, and one I’d recommend without hesitation.