Book Spotlight - HOUSE OF ELEPHANTS by Claribel A. Ortega + Giveaway

 

About The Book:

Title: HOUSE OF ELEPHANTS (Witchlings #3)

Author: Claribel A. Ortega

Pub. Date: October 1, 2024

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Formats:  Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 432

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/HOUSE-OF-ELEPHANTS 

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Claribel A. Ortega: The third bookin the spellbinding Witchlings series!

It's been months since the end of the Golden Frog Games, and a cure for the hex that turned young witches to stone still hasn't been found. Seven and Thorn want nothing more than to find a way to heal their friends, but everything they try ends in failure.

When the Black Moon Ceremony arrives earlier than expected, Seven and Thorn take it as a chance to welcome any new Spares into their coven. But rather than welcoming a few Spares like they thought, all the witchlings in the ceremony are chosen to enter the Spare coven!

The new Spares are met with anger from the Hill Society. They create more unfair laws that ban Spares from using magic and being equals in Twelve Towns society! On top of all that, Spares start disappearing. And no one seems to care.

As Seven and Thorn struggle to find a cure for the stone hex and to stop the Twelve Town's unfair treatment of Spares once and for all, they discover a piece of hidden history that will change everything-if they can get anyone to listen to them.

 

Grab the first 2 books in the WITCHLINGS series now!

 

About Claribel A. Ortega:

Claribel A. Ortega, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad, Witchlings, and Frizzy (Pura Belpre Award-winner), is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she's cohosting her podcasts Write or Die and Bad Author Book Club and helping authors navigate publishing with her consulting business, GIFGRRL. Claribel has been featured on BuzzFeed, NPR, Good Morning America, and Deadline. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok at @Claribel_Ortega and on her website at claribelortega.com. 

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of HOUSE OF ELEPHANTS, US Only.

Ends October 31st, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/30/2024	Daily Waffle	Excerpt
10/1/2024	Fire and Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
10/2/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
10/3/2024	onemused	IG Post
10/4/2024	Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
10/5/2024	bookloversbookreviews	IG Post

Week Two:

10/6/2024	@_lbee2ndl_	IG Review
10/7/2024	@katherinebichler	TikTok Post
10/8/2024	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
10/9/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
10/10/2024	foxingontheedges	Review/IG Post
10/11/2024	@thepagelady	IG Review
10/12/2024	@parkhopandpages	IG Review

Week Three:

10/13/2024	@mjreadsmagic	Review/IG Post
10/14/2024	thefashionistfiles	Review/IG Post
10/15/2024	@callistoscalling	IG Review
10/16/2024	avainbookland	IG Review
10/17/2024	FUONLYKNEW	Review
10/18/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/TikTok Post
10/19/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review

Week Four:

10/20/2024	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post
10/21/2024	The Litt Librarian	Review/IG Post
10/22/2024	Deal sharing aunt	Review/IG Post
10/23/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
10/24/2024	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
10/25/2024	@pagesforpaige	IG Review

Book Review - Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

 

Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley is about a cook, Kat Holloway, who discovers a dead body in her pantry. Kat Holloway recently started working for Lord Rankin’s household. The members of the household are composed of a few oddballs but Kat doesn’t mind if they stay out of her way and her kitchen. Things take a turn for the worse when Kat discovers her young Irish assistant dead in the pantry.

Kat is determined to find out who killed her kitchen maid. She turns to her friend, Daniel McAdam, to help solve the mystery. Daniel is adept at discovering secrets while assuming different personas. Kat also enlists the help of Lord Rankin’s sister-in-law, who is a mathematical genius. Will the trio be able to figure out who is behind the murder?

The book is the first in the series, but it hints at a back story between Kat and Daniel. It was a bit annoying at times because the author didn’t give much detail and I felt like I was missing something between the two characters. This didn’t feel like the first book in the series but maybe the second book.  I liked the detail Kat gave while cooking. Other than that, I felt that the book was boring and lacking. There were times when nothing would go on and then suddenly something would happen, but it wasn’t always relevant to the murder at hand.  If you enjoy a light cozy murder mystery with a focus on cooking, you might find this book to be an enjoyable read.

Book Review - Five Years After: A John Matherson Novel, book 4 by William R. Forstchen

 

Five Years After: A John Matherson Novel, book 4 by William R. Forstchen is about the fallout from an EMP attack that happened five years earlier.  John Matherson is struggling to hold together the makeshift government that he helped create after the EMP attack on the United States. The government, now called the Republic, is facing threats from multiple fronts. The budding government is trying to control the remaining colonies but faces insurgents who want power for themselves. After living a few years quietly, John is pulled back into the fray when he receives news that the President is dying, and he needs to help negotiate with a new military power that was hidden from the rest of the world.

I thought the book was an okay read. I didn’t realize it was a part of a series but, I was able to read it and follow along with most of the story as a standalone. I also didn’t care for the premise of the book. I don’t like the “end of days” type of storyline. The book was also very predictable, and most of the storyline seemed ripped from the headlines. I also felt that for the amount of pages nothing was  happening, and it was a bit boring. I felt it was an okay book though I am in no rush to read other books by the author.

Book Review - Not Nothing by Gayle Forman

 

Not Nothing by Gayle Forman is about a young boy, Alex, who is sentenced to volunteer at a retirement home.  Twelve-year-old Alex did something really bad that landed him in trouble with the law and in front of a judge.  The  judge sentenced him to spend his summer volunteering at a retirement home.  There he meets an annoying do-gooder named Maya Jade. She spends the entire day bossing Alex around.

Alex just wants to serve his sentence without any issue. He misses his mom and hasn’t seen her in a year. He feels that his aunt and uncle don’t want him. They don’t make him feel welcome and constantly complain about how much of a burden he is. The residents seem like zombies to him and don’t seem to have much going on.

Josey is 107 and he is ready to die. He has managed to evade death many times during his lifetime. He survived being in the Nazi ghetto and a concentration camp. He managed to escape because of a brave woman named Olka and his ability to sew. Now, he spends his day in Shady Glen, refusing to speak to anyone and waiting to die. That is until Alex knocks on his door and Josey decides to tell Alex about his story. Alex finds himself drawn to Josey and comes back every day to hear more of Josey’s story.  Alex must decide if he will rise to the occasion, even if it means confronting the worst thing he has ever done.

I found the book to be a heartwarming and emotional read. I enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick read. I found myself crying and rooting for Alex and Josey. The book teaches young readers many important lessons like not judging others, forgiveness, hope, and compassion. I like that the book does take a heavy topic but makes it suitable for young readers. I loved reading the book and would be open to reading other books by the author.

Book Review - The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

 

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings is about a young boy, Perry, who is trying to save his beloved city. New Orleans is a city that is filled with magic and wonder. NOLA is the city where ghosts can be seen dancing the night away. For others, New Orleans might be strange but, to most of its inhabitants, it’s known as home.

Perry knows Nola and all its quirks. So, when the city’s Great Magician starts popping up in random and odd places and well-known songs are being forgotten, Perry knows something is wrong. The nine songs of power escaped from the piano that maintains Nola’s beat and without them, New Orleans will fall. Perry is unwilling to watch his home get destroyed and he is willing to do whatever it takes to recover the nine songs.

I found the novel very hard to get into. I couldn’t tell what was real and what was imaginary.  For example, a ghost that appears randomly and plays music. Is this a person’s imagination or did that happen or is it a part of the book’s reality? I found the slang and writing style hard to follow along with. I had re-read the same thing a few times and sometimes, I got confused about what was going on. I decided to stop reading the book since I was willing to do everything else in the world, including cleaning, then reading this book.