Book Review - Midnight on Strange Street by K.E. Ormsbee + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

The Sardines is a group of teenagers who live near each other and love glowboarding together. Avery Miller recently moved into the neighborhood after her parents' divorce.  She is looking for a fresh start from the bomb sirens and talk of the war in Los Angeles. Dani Hirsch is the leader of the Sardines. She knows that their team is the best at glowboarding but, they are just yet to prove it.  She is focused on the team winning the big race in the summer and nothing will distract her.

Bastian Gil is tired of being bullied because he is different. He and his twin sister, Lola can share thoughts but, he feels that is normal. Lola wants everyone to have fun and just glowboard for fun. She doesn't like it when the team fights. As the Sardines prepare for their big race, they start to realize that they have magical powers that make them different from everyone else. As they start to grasp their abilities, they soon realize nothing will be the same again.

I thought the novel had an interesting premise but, I was disappointed in the delivery. I felt like the novel was very predictable and was detailed without adding anything to the story. I wished more time was spent talking about each of the children and if other people received special powers. For example, why were they picked and how did they get it? Overall, it would be an entertaining read for people who like kids with superpowers finding themselves but, I was expecting more mystery and surprises.

**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: MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET

Author: K.E. Ormsbee

Pub. Date: January 21, 2020

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 400

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

AVERY MILLER is looking for a fresh start, away from all the bomb sirens and talk of war in Los Angeles. She expects to find a haven in Callaway, Texas, where the cool new substance “glow” was first discovered. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with glowboard skaters Dani, Bastian, and Lola, aka the Sardines. . . .

DANI HIRSCH, captain of the Sardines, knows for a fact they’re the best glowboarding team in Texas—if only they could prove it. Nothing will distract Dani from leading the team to victory at this summer’s big race. Not even food explosions in the school cafeteria, or a mysterious midnight message, or secretive government workers in Callaway. . . .

BASTIAN GIL is sick of the bullies who tease him for being a Sardine, for being different. Sure, he and his twin sister, Lola, can share thoughts. That’s just twin telepathy, though—nothing too weird, right? But when Bastian finds he can do even stranger things, he starts to wonder if maybe he really is different from the other kids at school. . . .

LOLA GIL wants life to go back to normal, to a time before big glowboard races and government investigations. But the more the Sardines discover about themselves—like how they can share thoughts and move objects with their minds—the more Lola begins to fear there was never anything normal about her. . . .

When the Sardines receive an ominous, otherworldly message, they must decide if they’ll use their newfound powers to stop an impending disaster—one that could have more to do with the war, their bullies, and glowboarding than they can possibly imagine.

About K.E.:

K.E. Ormsbee writes books, cooks food, & records podcasts in Austin, TX. She is the author of the WATER AND THE WILD fantasy trilogy (Chronicle Books and Gumption Press), folk mystery THE HOUSE IN POPLAR WOOD (Chronicle Books), and the upcoming sci-fi adventure MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET (Disney-Hyperion, January 2020).

She also writes Young Adult novels as Kathryn Ormsbee: LUCKY FEW, TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY, and THE GREAT UNKNOWABLE END (Simon & Schuster).

K.E. Ormsbee likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She is from the 90s. You can visit her online at keormsbee.com or follow her on Twitter & Instagram @kathsby.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET, US Only.

Rafflecopter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba21045/?

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/20/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
1/20/2020	BookHounds Ya	Excerpt
1/21/2020	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
1/21/2020	She Just Loves Books	Review
1/22/2020	Jazzy Book Reviews	Excerpt
1/22/2020	Trapped Inside Stories	Review
1/23/2020	Descendant of Poseidon Reads	Review
1/23/2020	Books,Dreams,Life	Excerpt
1/24/2020	Fazila's Book Review Corner	Excerpt
1/24/2020	fictitious.fox	Review

Week Two:

1/27/2020	Savings in Seconds	Review
1/27/2020	Precious books world	Review
1/28/2020	Little Red Reads	Review
1/28/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
1/29/2020	Ficticiouswonderland	Review
1/29/2020	Books and Zebras	Review
1/30/2020	jrsbookreviews	Review
1/30/2020	Jena Brown Writes	Review
1/31/2020	Eli to the nth	Review
1/31/2020	Two Points of Interest	Review

Book Review - Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Photo Credit - Amazon

Alice never really believe in luck as she had her fair share of bad luck. However, she still believes in love. Alice has been in love with her best friend, Teddy for years. When Teddy's eighteen birthday arrives, she buys him a lottery ticket attaching a note professing her love for him. The unimaginable happens and Teddy wins the lottery.

Teddy and his mother are overjoyed by the news because they have been struggling financially At first, they are stunned by their good luck but, then  Teddy gets swept up in the fame and fortune of being the youngest winner of $140 million.  With Teddy's sudden influx of cash, things between him and Alice begin to change.

I found the novel to be a fun and entertaining read. It was interesting to see how different people would spend their lottery winnings. I enjoyed most of the characters but, did find them to be a bit annoying. Alice was so blinded by her grief and then her love for Teddy that she didn't take the time to considered other people around her. While I understand and appreciate her need to give money to the less fortunate (I loved Teddy's idea in the end on what to do with his wealth), I didn't like that she was trying to force her way on Teddy. Especially when she mentioned her main motivation behind volunteering. I wish there was more development on some of the characters but, overall it was a nice cozy young adult romance novel.

 **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 - The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

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 The Butler family has been put through their fair share of trials but, when a family secret is exposed, the entire family is sent reeling. Althea is the oldest sister and mother figure to her siblings since their mother passed away. Althea is known for her strong will and her siblings both appreciate and fear her. However, the family is stunned when Althea and her husband, Proctor is arrested for committing fraud. Their family goes from being well-respected icons in the community to being treated as public enemy number one. 

Her sisters, Viola and Lillian, are still trying to come to terms with the scandal. They have to step in and help care for Althea's two teenage daughters. Will the Butler family be able to come to terms with Althea's crimes and begin to heal?

I thought this novel was going to be filled with drama and dramatic twists. Instead, it felt like a cozy read where nothing happened. Page after page, I felt like the story kept dragging with little to add to the story other than Althea is in prison, her daughters miss their family, and the sisters have no idea how to manage the situation. I wish the author spent more time explaining their crimes and their motivation behind it.

 **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 - Anyone by Charles Soule

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In Ann Arbor, Michigan, a scientist is working inside her barn trying to locate the cure for Alzheimer's. When she flips a switch on her project, she finds herself mysteriously transported into her husband's body. Her botched attempt to cure Alzheimer's ends up changing her life and the world forever.

Two decades later, all over the world, the "flash" technology enables individuals the ability to transfer their consciousness into another person's bodies. The flash market is available to anyone who meets their criteria and individuals are only allowed to flash for a specified amount of time.  Every aspect of human life has been transformed by technology from travel to warfare to entertainment.

I thought the novel had an interesting premise but, I couldn't finish the rest of the novel, even though I was close to the ending. The story moved very slowly and nothing happened to advance the storyline chapter after chapter.  I was quite disappointed because the beginning of the novel was interesting and I couldn't wait to read more. Then towards the middle of the book because unbearable slow. After being maybe 100 pages shy of finishing the book, I couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

**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.**

NCLA Treatment Clean Up Your Act

I usually do my nails at home and because I am an uncoordinated idiot, I make so many mistakes. Someone recommended getting a nail polish remover pen. I have heard good things about the NCLA brand so I decided to give this one a try. The remover pen came with replacement tops in a handy storage compartment on top. I found the sponge application to be hard and hardly any liquid came out. I found it easier just use to the tip just to wipe off the excess nail polish since nothing ever comes out.

Book Review - Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge

Photo Credit - Amazon

Changeling Edmund and the Human Childe were swapped at birth. Edmund lives in secret among the humans in the World Above. He keeps his powers a secret from his parents and older sister, Alexis. Childe lives in the World Below among the changelings. In the World Below, being a human makes him a curiosity in the royal palace. When a dark force descends on the palace and an evil sorceress Hawthorne takes the throne, Edmund and the Child will have to work together to stop her.

The book had a very basic storyline of two "brothers" fighting for their family. The graphic novel had themes of friendship, family, and loyalty weaved throughout the book. I found it to be a fun read and a good starting point of the next adventure of Edmund and the Childe. I wasn't fond of the washed-out artwork but, it started growing on me. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

**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.**

Book Review - A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe

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**May Contain Spoilers**

In the year 1933, Jessie Lesage is an American woman traveling to Vietnam to start a new life with her and her husband. She and her French husband Victor, who is an heir to the Michelin rubber fortune, is certain that their new life will be full of promise and fortune. While the rest of the world is facing an economic downturn, the Michelins believe Indochine can improve their financial standing.

The Michelin plantations near Saigon have been plagued by scandals but, Jessie believes the plantations are the key to the family's success. She convinces her husband to move to Vietnam to secure their future along with ensuring her secrets in America stay buried in the past.

Jessie has trouble settling in Vietnam but, when she crosses path with the exuberant Marcelle de Fabry, Jessie's life will never be the same. Marcelle descends on Jessie's world like a whirlwind and becomes a guide to Jessie. However, beneath Marcelle's glamorous exterior she is hiding a deep secret. She wants to put the colony back into the hands of the people including, the Michelin plantations.

I was expecting this novel to be so much more but, instead, I found it to be very boring. I couldn't bond for any of the characters. The author paints Victor and Jessie has the heroes and is saving the colony. However, the plantation prosecutes and tortures people who spread the word of Communism. Jessie only gave money to the sister of one of her servants only after much prodding and complaining that the sister shouldn't be in her home. The author tries to weave Jessie's past life as a sad story of poverty and being abandoned but, it feels like she uses that as an excuse for her behavior. Her motivation to move the family to Vietnam was from her need for self-preservation but, she ends up putting her family in the crosshairs of Marcelle. Overall, the novel was interesting in the beginning but, then went all downhill towards the middle of the novel.

 **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.**

Grace and Stella Dr. Pedicure Foot Exfoliating Mask - Original

I have my dad's feet. They peel and are always rough. I hardly wear sandals because I am ashamed of how my feet look. I moisturize my feet every night before bed and even do monthly foot soaks. And the problem persists of dry calloused skin. My friend told me she did a foot mask and left her skin baby smooth and I should give it a try too.

The vegan foot peel comes with a pair of booties and two pieces of tape. The booties fit with the help of the tape to keep it in place. However, I found the tape to insufficient and used some additional tape to keep the booties in place. The paraben-free formula is composed of 17 types of natural fruit and vegetable extracts to removed dead and rough skin. After an hour with the booties on, I proceeded to wash my feet off. After a week, nothing happened. I felt nothing different. A few days later, I was at the beach and guess what happened? The skin came off in full layers, it was quite disgusting. I pulled a few pieces off and tried not to vomit while doing so. And under all that disgusting floppy skin was skin so soft and delicate it kind of hurt walking on it. My skin never felt so soft and smooth. I am a life long convert.