Book Review - The Monster Hypothesis by Romily Bernard + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

The town of Bohring is home to more alligators than people. It is also the hometown of a monster curse where kids turn into monsters. Kick Winter is living in the Hollows swamp with her fake psychic grandmother Missouri. Kick is having a hard time making new friends and finding the space to do her scientific experiments.

Kick recently discovered that the town's curse of turning kids into monsters is happening. The townspeople are worried but,  Kick knows there has to be a scientific explanation for everything. She doesn't believe in curses or monsters. As the new kid, she's determined to prove there is no curse, even if it means becoming a fake psychic.

The novel was a fun read with outlandish characters such as a chicken loving gator. I liked that the main character tries to use logic and science to solve the monster mystery. I enjoyed the messages of friendship, being true to yourself, believing in yourself and doing the right thing.  The book is an enjoyable read for middle schoolers who loves mystery novels.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

 

Title: THE MONSTER HYPOTHESIS

Author: Romily Bernard

Pub. Date: December 10, 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Pages: 304

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Welcome to Bohring-home to 453 people, 2,053 alligators, and one monster curse.

Correction: home to 454 people, now that Kick Winter is living in the swamp Hollows with her Grandma Missouri, the town (fake) psychic. Bohring is anything but boring for Kick who has already blown a hole through the kitchen floor, befriended a chicken-eating gator, and discovered that the town's hundred-year curse is upon them.

It's the Bohring curse and all the kids are about to become monsters-or so the legend goes. People are worried-except for Kick. She knows there's a scientific explanation for everything, especially curses and monsters. But Kick is the new kid in school and she's determined to make a name for herself . . . by pretending to be psychic.

According to her calculations: one teeny-tiny life + (fake) psychic skills = popularity. But when kids start disappearing and glowing creatures start showing up, Kick's theory quickly evaporates in a puff of foul-smelling swamp gas. Can Kick use her (real) science smarts to prove the curse is a hoax? Or is it just-maybe-sort of-somehow possible the curse is here?

Author Romily Bernard weaves a fast-paced middle-grade mystery filled with humor and scientific intrigue, set in a perfectly eerie Southern town.

About Romily:

Romily Bernard graduated from Georgia State University with a literature degree. Since then, she's worked as a riding instructor, cell-phone salesperson, personal assistant, horse groomer and exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service representative. . . . She's also, of course, now a YA novelist.

So don't let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.

Romily currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and Find Me is her debut novel. It placed first in the 2011 YA Unpublished Maggie Awards (given by Georgia Romance Writers) and won the Golden Heart Award for YA Romance from the Romance Writers of America in 2012.

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Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a hardcover of THE MONSTER HYPOTHESIS, US only.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21027/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/2/2019	Popthebutterfly Reads	Review
12/3/2019	Mythical Books	Excerpt
12/4/2019	Sometimes Leelynn Reads	Review
12/5/2019	Lifestyle of Me	Review
12/6/2019	BookHounds	Excerpt

Week Two:

12/9/2019	Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog	Review
12/10/2019	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
12/11/2019	Little Red Reads	Review
12/12/2019	Life Within The Pages	Review
12/13/2019	Book Briefs	Review

Week Three:

12/16/2019	Adventures Thru Wonderland	Review
12/17/2019	BookishRealmReviews	Review
12/18/2019	fictitious.fox	Review
12/19/2019	Paper safari	Review
12/20/2019	Nay's Pink Bookshelf	Review

Week Four:

12/23/2019	She Just Loves Books	Review
12/24/2019	Hurn Publications	Review
12/25/2019	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
12/26/2019	Character Madness	Excerpt
12/27/2019	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Excerpt

Week Five:

12/30/2019	Two Points of Interest	Review
12/31/2019	Fyrekatz Blog	Review

 

Book Review - The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio

Photo Credit - Amazon

During World War II, the rare and last surviving camellia specimen of the Middlebury Pink has been hidden away on an  English estate. Flora is an American baker at her struggling family bakery. Someone from an international ring of flower thieves promises Flora a solution for all her problems. All she has to do is pretend to be a nanny for a family and find out where the Middlebury Pink is hidden on the estate. 

Half a century later, a garden designer Addison and her husband, Rex live in the manor owned by Rex's family. Addison immediately falls for the manor's gardens. However, when they come across an old gardener's notebook, they realize they have a mystery on their hands. The notebook chronicles a string of women who have gone missing. Will Flora be able to find the flower and rescue her family? Will Addison be able to solve the mystery behind the missing women?

A few pages into this novel and I couldn't wait to read more. I wanted to know more about the missing women. However, about a third into the novel, I realized the novel kept dragging without any new details to keep me hooked. While the novel solved a few mysteries in the end, I felt like it was too perfect that characters coincidentally just run into ran into each other. I felt like there were too many subplots and none of them were defined enough to be enjoyable.

 **Disclosure -  This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**

Book Review - Flower Fairies Magical Moonlight Feast by Cicely Mary Barker

Photo Credit - Amazon

In this book, the fairies are planning a last minute feast to celebrate with their friends. However, how will the guest be able to attend the feast through the forest? The beautifully illustrated book is filled with pop-ups along with a final pop up with built-in lights. I thought the book was beautifully done but, by the time, I got this new book the batteries stopped working. Sadly, there is no way to replace the batteries. Overall, a fun and entertaining read for the little ones.

**Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.** 

Crystal Waters Winter Pear Scented Soap Petals

I got this as a set for the holidays. One of the junkiest thing I can get (while I do love the person who gave it to me, it just meh..should have given me the $5 instead). Excuse me, while I have a snob moment -- just because I like beauty products and I like sales, I don’t feel like I should get generic beauty products where everything is just off… Why? Because then you end up with shitty little things like these that take up the prime real estate. The glycerine soap petals are infused with soap that you would need one petal at a time to provide a generous lather. However, this is far from the case. The petals were impossible to remove and then they provided no lather and just turned into mush. I thought if I used the whole “flower” maybe I can get a decent lather going. Oh, how was I wrong! Instead the whole thing turned into “play-doh” consistency and fell apart into pieces, while sticking to my tub. It was probably one of the most useless products I ever used -- a complete waste of time and money. I am fearful of even trying the other products that came in this crappy kit.

**Apologies, I lost a few photos for some of my reviews when my memory card and then computer got damaged...**

Book Review - Baker's Magic by Diane Zahler

Photo Credit - Amazon

**May Contain Spoilers**

Flowers, Magic, Pirates, Princesses, Maidens, Kidnapping, Bees, Bugs, Baking and Mayhem -- Oh My!

Bee has always been alone.  While wandering around in a new kingdom, Bee stole a bun from a bakery out of desperation. She was immediately caught but the baker took pity on her. Taking her under his care, they both realize Bee is an amazing baker. When one of Bee's friends needs help, Bee stops at nothing to protect those she loves. Together they embark on a journey to save her friends and the kingdom while protecting all she holds dear.

The heartwarming story is filled with quirky cute characters. The book is full of adventure and imagination. I can see how this can be a favorite about middle school age children and it teaches them a valuable lesson on believing yourself while protecting your family.

*Disclosure - I received a free uncorrected eBook copy of this book for my honest opinion*

BBW Butterfly Flower Shower Gel

The scent was a bit strong in the bottle so I was a bit hesitant to purchase this shower gel. I am glad, I did however. The scent is soft and stayed on my skin throughout the day. Like the any other BBW body wash, it gives a nice lather and leaves your skin feeling soft. I am curious, how they came up with the whimsical name. Was someone sitting on a field watching butterflies collecting nectar and pollen and  the butterfly got alarmed by  the passing wind or perceived enemy and it flaps away leaving a trail of soft scent in the air? Or did someone in the marketing team have one too many chardonnays and thought it was a cool and sophisticated name? It does say how they came up with the name on the bottle but I like my drunken theory better.

Gud Natural Body Butter Orange Petalooza Blood Orange Flower

Gud is created by the creators of Burt’s Bees, so it is not formulated with any parabens, phthalates or petrochemicals. The thick body butter has shea butter to help alleviate dry skin. This rich and creamy lotion is very moisturizing but it is a bit greasy. It does absorb quickly and leaves a scent of blood orange and hyacinth.  I personally, didn’t like the scent very much but I did like how my skin felt  after applying the body butter. I think next time, I will try another one of the other 5 scents available.

Decleor Hydra Floral Flower Nectar Moisturizing Cream

 

Photo Credit - Decleor

The floral flower nectar cream is packed with mint, orange blossom waters, codium, wild pansy, and moringa oleifera [doesn’t that just sound so heavenly!]. The sweet scented creamy lotion is non-greasy and fast absorbing. It made my skin smooth, soft and radiant looking. I used the Neroli Essential serum as a carrier before applying the moisturizing cream and my face  felt and looked amazing. Using these two sweet scented powerful duo works amazing together and afterwards my skin feels and looks like I just came back from the spa.