Showing posts with label famous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label famous. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Book Review - Harry Houdini (The First Names Series) by Kjartan Poskitt

 

Harry Houdini is probably the most well known magician in the world. Harry Houdini was actually born Ehrich Weisz and he was an Hungarian-born immigrant. He began performing stage tricks so, he can bring in extra cash for his family. He started off doing card tricks and gradually started doing escape acts. Harry became well-known for his death-defying escape acts. 

He was known to undergo daring feats, such as, being buried alive, being locked in a crate that was thrown into a river, and escaping from a milk can. Harry was able to captivate the audience's interest while entertaining them with magic. 

The children's book comes illustrated and goes into detail about Harry's life. The book provided in-depth facts and stories about Harry along with tidbits on how the tracks were performed. The back of the book included a glossary, timeline, and an index. One thing to note, unlike other biographies about Harry, this one doesn't include the story of his death. Overall, a good read for the kids and fans of Harry.

 

Friday, April 5, 2019

Book Review - The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

GG Carter is a beautiful famous celebrity news anchor. GG is everything her daughter, Grace is not. GG is flawless, beautiful, and has impeccable taste. While Grace is an aspiring astrophysicist. GG and Grace have never quite understood each other.

Then one day GG just disappears. Reporters and camera descend on their house to report on the story. Grace and her family are struggling for answers over GG's disappearance. While the authorities are looking into GG disappearance, Grace grows closer to her high school's popular boy, Mylo. Grace realizes she doesn't know her mother as well as she thought. She is left wondering did her mother leave on purpose or was she abducted?

When I first read the premise of the book, I thought it would be an interesting read. However, roughly one-third of the book, I lost interest in the novel. I felt it like it was very slow and boring. There were almost zero buildups on why GG disappeared. During, the GG's disappearance I felt like the disappearance was a side story compared to Grace and Mylo's budding friendship. The book didn't have enough material to keep me interested in the characters.

 **Disclosure - I received a free uneditted 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 any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**



Title: THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
Author: Ria Voros
Pub. Date: April 2, 2018
Publisher: KCP Loft
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 512
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonB&NTBD

Grace Carter's mother --- the celebrity news anchor GG Carter --- is everything Grace is not. GG is a star, with a flawless wardrobe and a following of thousands, while Grace --- an aspiring astrophysicist --- is into stars of another kind. She and her mother have always been in different orbits.

Then one day GG is just ... gone. Cameras descend on their house, news shows speculate about what might have happened and Grace's family struggles to find a new rhythm as they wait for answers.

While the authorities unravel the mystery behind GG's disappearance, Grace grows closer to her high school's golden boy, Mylo, who has faced a black hole of his own. She also uncovers some secrets from her mother's long-lost past. The more Grace learns, the more she wonders. Did she ever really know her mother? Was GG abducted ... or did she leave? And if she left, why?

Author Ria Voros (Nobody's Dog, The Opposite of Geek) reaches for the stars here, deftly combining mystery with a passion for science and themes of mother-daughter bonds, celebrity, first love and best friendship.

Facts about astronomy and astrophysics are seamlessly woven into the story and are supplemented by an interview with real-life astrophysicist Elizabeth Tasker, making this the perfect book for readers who love STEM. And even readers who don't have stars in their eyes will love this smart, suspenseful, relatable and literary novel.



About Ria:



Ria Voros is a YA and children’s author, teacher, presenter and obsessive reader. Her children’s and young adult novels have been finalists for the White Pine Award, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, and been a Best Books for Kids and Teens selection. She has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. When she’s not writing, teaching or eating sweet things, Ria can be found hiking to the tops of mountains or buying too many books at any bookstore she enters. She lives in Victoria, BC, Canada with her husband, daughter and son.


Giveaway Details:
3 lucky winners will win a finished copy of THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, US Only.


Giveaway Link:

Tour Schedule:

Week Two:
4/1/2019- Moonlight RendezvousReview
4/2/2019- PopTheButterfly ReadsReview
4/3/2019- A Gingerly ReviewReview
4/4/2019- Here's to Happy EndingsReview
4/5/2019- two points of interestReview

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Book Review - The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner

Photo Source - Amazon
Sarah Hollenbeck has gone through her second and probably hardest life transformation. She was married to her high school sweetheart when they got divorced. Unsure of her life path, she joins a book club to pass the time. She discovers she has a passion for writing steamy romance novels. When she decides to become a Christian, she is afraid of how the members of her church would react. It also doesn't help that she is falling in love with the new pastor, either. Sarah is also on the hook for one last novel, but will she able to write another steamy novel? Will Sarah be able to reconcile with her past? Will the church members be able to accept her?

At first I love reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I probably read more than half of the book within a few hours, but towards the middle, I didn't feel the same magnetic pull. I felt some portions of the book moved too quickly, and the characters didn't get to develop. Sadly, I also didn't have a connection with any of the characters. Sarah went from reinventing herself to being a moody child acting adult. However, I would be open to read other works by the author.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**