Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Toad in Books

Jun 18, 2018  
TT
The Toad
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
The Toad by Elise Gravel is part of the Disgusting Critters Series. It is a non-fiction picture book about all things toads. The book shows how toads relate to frogs, their habitat, and food. It also shows that there are different kinds of toad breeds. Beyond talking about the different kinds of toads, the readers learn about their skin and the bumps. Readers learn that the pests that toads eat help to keep the insects at a reasonable amount so we humans don't have to deal with them as much.

The text in the book is presented in an easy way to read which is both entertaining and funny. The illustrations are a great visual that accompanies the text.

I received an advanced readers copy from Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
Red, White &amp; Royal Blue
Red, White & Royal Blue
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A book where the President’s son falls for the Prince of Wales? Sign me up!

This book is raunchy and the language is rather explicit, and my goodness, I loved it. This one was one of my rare audiobook listens, and I was driving down the road laughing and crying. Wiping away actual tears at points.

McQuiston combines a sort of coming of age love story against the backdrop of politics. Both storylines are compelling beyond belief. Alex, the President’s son and our main character, is incredibly well-written. Funny, sweet, and so real. And Henry, our Prince, is lovely too. It’s impossible not to root for them.

This book is witty, sweet, a surprising nail biter at times, and offers such a great message—now more than ever. (And the narrator in this one was easily my favorite in my limited audiobook career.) Cannot recommend it enough!
  
Danger is Everywhere was one of those books that would have been much better if I’d read it (physical or Kindle) instead of listened to it. All things considered the narrator did a good job, but there’s only so many acronyms one can keep straight without actually looking at the book. Not only that, the book had a definite voice to it, but the narration was just a little too much. It would have been much better if it had been an annoying voice in my head instead an annoying voice in my ear—and it was definitely supposed to be annoying (in a silly kind of way).

The premise of the book is clever and the examples and chapters are very funny. Part of the humor is how serious the book takes itself. But as I said earlier,the narration kind of killed it, and I couldn’t stick with it without getting a headache. Maybe one day I’ll become a Dangeroligist but I’ll have to get a paperback.
  
The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2)
The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2)
Lemony Snicket | 1999 | Children
8
8.5 (24 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Series of Unfortunate Events is my favourite series on Netflix, so a few months ago I decided I was finally going to buy the books and read the whole series, and I don’t regret that decision.

The Reptile Room is the second book in the series and is much better than the Netflix series.

The book opens with Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire on their way to live with their uncle, Dr Montgomery Montgomery, a semi-successful herpetologist with a large collection of reptiles.

Dr Montgomery’s assistant, Gustav, left him without any notice just before the Baudelaire orphans arrive, and his replacement, Stephano is strangely like Count Olaf.

The thing I love about The Reptile Room is the dark humour running throughout it. There are constant jokes that are definitely not aimed towards children which make it such a fun book to read.

It’s funny, sad and entertaining all at the same time and I really do wish I’d have read it when I was younger because it’s just the ideal book for me.
  
Old Acquaintance
Old Acquaintance
Annabelle Jacobs | 2018 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Old Acquaintance by Annabelle Jacobs
Old Acquaintance is a semi-seasonal story about two men who reunite after many years apart. Their separation was caused by life, and jobs, and the fact they never got on when they were at school, for reasons only known to one of them.

The story takes place on the build up to Christmas (hence the semi-seasonal), but it doesn't focus on the season! Instead, quite rightly, it focuses on Sam and Charlie. You stay with them as they work through their attraction, and communication issues, and even bring up history from the past.

There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading. This is a lovely book, with a real feel-good vibe to it. Funny in places, and low-angst in others, this was the getaway-from-everything book I needed. Most definitely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was received by me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Men at Arms (Discworld, #15; City Watch #2)
Men at Arms (Discworld, #15; City Watch #2)
Terry Pratchett | 1993 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.5 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wonderfully wacky
I dare anyone to read a Discworld book and not smile at least once (if not multiple times). There's something about the wonderfully wacky world of Ankh-Morporkh that makes it so entertaining and delightful to read. Not only are the Discworld books well written, they're also full of flawed yet well developed and loveable characters.

Men at Arms is no different. The City Guard are a rather motley crew of loveable misfits, and every single one from Vimes to Carrot to Detritus has their moment or moments in this book. Some of the interactions and conversations between characters in this book are hilarious, especially those involving Detritus and Cuddy, or the conversations between Vimes, Carrot and Vetinari. Not only does Pratchett manage to fill the book with humour and fantasy, he also throws in a lot of real world problems like racism and species-ism (probably not a word) in such a manner that it's both thought provoking, meaningful and still funny. Pratchett really knows how to work his magic with these books.