Showing posts with label secret. Show all posts
Showing posts with label secret. Show all posts

Monday, December 30, 2019

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

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.


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



Tour Schedule:
Week One:
12/2/2019
Review
12/3/2019
Excerpt
12/4/2019
Review
12/5/2019
Review
12/6/2019
Excerpt

Week Two:
12/9/2019
Review
12/10/2019
Excerpt
12/11/2019
Review
12/12/2019
Review
12/13/2019
Review

Week Three:
12/16/2019
Review
12/17/2019
Review
12/18/2019
Review
12/19/2019
Review
12/20/2019
Review

Week Four:
12/23/2019
Review
12/24/2019
Review
12/25/2019
Excerpt
12/26/2019
Excerpt
12/27/2019
Excerpt

Week Five:
12/30/2019
Review
12/31/2019
Review


 

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Book Review - A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

Photo Credit - Amazon



Almost newlyweds Karen and Tom Krupp are happily living the American dream. They have a lovely home and a comfortable life together. All that changes when Tom comes home and finds out Karen has disappeared. Her car is gone but, she left her purse and phone at home.

Tom begins to panic and calls their friends and then the police to report Karen's disappearance. The police arrive to take Tom to the hospital because Karen was in a car accident. Karen was speeding through a rough part of town and lost control of her car. Karen suffered a concussion and a few scrapes. When the cops come to ask her about details surrounding her car accident, Karen claims that she lost her memory and has trouble remembering the night before. The police believe her memory loss is very convenient and that she is hiding something.

When Karen returns home, she wants to heal and move on. However, she starts to notice her stuff being moved around in her house. It feels that someone has been in her house. Karen is unsure who she can trust because she has a few dark secrets she wants to keep hidden.

I was excited to read this book because I enjoyed Lapena's debut novel "The Couple Next Door". There were a few twists and unexpected discoveries in the novel but, because I didn't care for any of the characters, I didn't care about anything they were experiencing. However, I am still looking forward to reading more books by the author.


 **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.**

Friday, November 8, 2019

Book Review - In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund

Photo Credit - Amazon

A deadly storm hits Blackbrook Academy leaving the students of the elite prep school stranded. The students are stuck with their headmaster and a few support school staff team members. When they wake up to see the damage from the storm, they find the headmaster's body in the conservatory. They determined that his death was no accident. As the day progresses, it becomes clear that each student has something to hide and everyone has a motive for the headmaster's murder. 

I have seen the movie but, I never played the board game. However, that didn't stop me from being excited to read this novel. I wouldn't call this book a fast-paced leave you on the edge of your seat but, more of a cozy read. I was able to guess the murderer before the big reveal but, I did get stumped on another reveal. Although, that was partly my fault because I was unable to accept the truth. Overall, a fun read for fans of Clue!



 **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.**

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Book Review - Sam Saves the Night by Shari Simpson + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Thirteen-year-old Samantha has no friends because she is constantly exhausted. She is constantly in a state of chronic exhaustion because she sleepwalks every night. She has broken into stores, stolen walkers, and build tree houses in her sleep.  And she, unfortunately, remembers none of it in the morning. After her latest sleepwalking stunt, her mother takes her to see a sleep specialist who happens to run a sleep clinic out of the creepy strip mall store.

Sam is hesitant that the doctor would be able to help. However, the night after her procedure, she wakes up outside of her body and is watching herself sleep. After her panic subsides, she realizes there's a world of detached souls called SleepWakers. Each child is a member of their own clique including the Achieves, the Roamers, and the OCDeeds. 

Madalynn Sucret is the nicest girl in Sam's school and is the leader of the Mean Dreams. She shows Sam how to use her power to get back at bullies who are tormenting her. After hanging out with Madalynn, it becomes clear that Madalynn is the bully and Sam needs to put a stop to her. Sam is faced with uniting the various tribes to fight back against the Mean Dreams before it's too late.

The novel was a fun read and had an interesting premise. I like that each person had their own community that allowed them to be themselves. I thought the premise of "people show who they really are in the darkness" was going to be involving monsters and demons but, it didn't. However, the book does offer nuances of friendship, loss, family, and dealing with pain and emotion. The book reminds readers that things are not always as they appear. Overall, the novel is a good read for both adults and young adults.

**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.**

 

About the Book
Title: SAM SAVES THE NIGHT
Author: Shari Simpson
Pub. Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 304
Find it: GoodreadsAmazonKindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

What would you do if you could stay out all night and not get in trouble?
Thirteen-year-old Sam has no friends, but you can't really blame her. She lives her life in a state of chronic exhaustion thanks to her nightly sleepwalking jaunts, which include trips to the store, treehouse-building projects, and breaking-and-entering escapades-none of which she remembers in the morning. Her condition is taking its toll on her family (and her life), so when her mom takes her to see a wacky strip-mall sleep specialist, Sam is wary, but 100 percent in.

The night after the doc works his mojo, Sam wakes up outside her body, watching herself sleep. FREAKY! But once she gets over the panic attack, she realizes there's a whole world of detached-souls out there, called SleepWakers-cliques of kids like the Achieves, who use their sleep time to learn new things; the Numbs, who eat junk food and play video games all night long, and the OCDeeds who search for missing things and organize other people's stuff. And then there are the Mean Dreams, led by Madalynn Sucret, the nicest girl in Sam's school, who shows Sam that she can use her power to get back at a bully who's been tormenting her. Sam is intrigued-until it becomes clear that Madalynn is the real bully and the "tormentor" is just, well... sad. Now Sam is faced with uniting the various tribes of SleepWakers to fight back against Madalynn and the Mean Dreams in the most epic battle the night has ever seen. 




About Shari:
Shari Simpson is a playwright and screenwriter who cowrote the off-Broadway hit Maybe Baby, It's You and the Disney Channel Original Movie The Swap, both with her longtime writing partner, Charlie Shahnaian. She also won the 2012 BlogHer Voice of the Year for Humor Writing. Shari lives in Hoboken, NJ, with a patient husband, two hilarious teenagers, a demonic cat, and her pug, Mila Kunis. This is her first novel.

Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of SAM SAVES THE NIGHT, US Only.

Rafflecopter link:


Tour Schedule:
Week One:
10/1/2019- Cindy's Love of Books- Excerpt
10/2/2019- Portrait of a Book- Review
10/3/2019- Moonlight Rendezvous- Review
10/4/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt

Week Two:
10/7/2019- Struck by Stories- Review
10/8/2019- Twirling Book Princess- Excerpt
10/9/2019- Shortcake_bibliophage- Excerpt
10/10/2019- Love, Stars and Books- Review
10/11/2019- Dazzled by Books- Review

Week Three:
10/14/2019- YA Book Nerd- Review
10/15/2019- Life Within The Pages- Review
10/16/2019- fictitious.fox- Review
10/17/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review
10/18/2019- The Try Everything- Excerpt

Week Four:
10/21/2019- Novel Novice- Excerpt
10/22/2019- Nerdophiles- Review
10/23/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic- Review
10/24/2019- Two points of interest- Review
10/25/2019- Little Red Reads- Review

Week Five:
10/28/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads- Review
10/29/2019- Savings in Seconds- Review
10/30/2019- Wonder Struck- Review