Book Review - The House of Whispers by Laura Purcell

 

 

Louise Pinecroft has lost most of her family to consumption. Only she and her father were left unscathed but, they are incredibly lonely and heartbroken. Here father, Dr. Pinecroft, decides that he will run an experiment to prove that he can cure the disease that killed his family. He believes that the sea air can cure consumption. He arranges for a group of prisoners who have been ravished by consumption to stay in the caves under his new Cornish home. While he devotes himself to the experiment, Louise finds herself surrounded by a maid who is convinced that fairies will take people from their homes.

Forty years later, Hester arrives at Morvoren House to become a nurse for the partially paralyzed and mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester takes the position because she is running from her past. However, she finds herself surrounded by superstitious staff who conducts weird rituals and mysterious events occur during the night. Will Hester's past come back to haunt her?

I have read a few books by the author so, I was excited to read this book. However, I was disappointed how boring this novel was. I felt like the author built up the story line but, the ending was very unsatisfying as it didn't really answer anything. The story is told across three different timelines and each add a bit to the story but, the author failed to make them into a cohesive and enjoyable story.

Book Review - The Summer Sisters (Juniper Springs, #2) by Sara Richardson

 

The Buchanan sisters share everything including their inherited Juniper Inn. The sisters plan to remodel and do a grand re-opening of the inn. However, their mother, Lillian, refuses to attend the party because of her decades long feud with her sister, Sassy.

Rose is determined to make the celebration an extravagant one to celebrate both the inn and Sassy. Even if it means requesting the help from a certain surly hardware store owner to help with the renovations. Dahlia is heartbroken that her marriage has failed. She decides to move closer to her family. She and her kids are starting to rebuild their lives when Dahlia questions if she is ready to fall in love again. She is worried about the stability she has worked hard to give her children.

Sassy has missed her sister and tried to reconnect. However, they are both two stubborn to reconcile. When Sassy discovers something that might change her life forever, will it be too late for them to reconnect?

I thought the book was a cute and cozy romantic read. This was the second book in the series but, can be read as a standalone. This was my first book in the series and I felt like I missed some nuances between the characters. The story was told from alternating point of views and a few times I got confused between the sisters. I thought the book was a cute read and look forward to reading more books in the series. If you like Hallmark movies, you will enjoy this novel.

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

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.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube

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 - 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: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, 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.

Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

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

Rafflecopter link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2991/?

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

10/31/2019- Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers- Review