Book Review - Goblin Market by Diane Zahler + Giveaway

 

Lizzie and Minka might be sisters but, they are nothing alike. Minka is outgoing and personable while, Lizzie is shy and prefers to keep to herself. Lizzie likes that nothing ever happens in their quiet sleepy village. She likes that its safe and comfortable and she hopes nothing ever changes.

However, Lizzie's world comes crashing down when Minka meets a boy. The boy gives her a delicious plum to eat. He is charming, alluring, and handsome. He tells her that she is special and he understands her like no one else does. He tells Minka to join him in the darkness in the forest.

As Minka falls under the zdusze's (goblin) spell, Lizzie will stop at nothing to save her beloved sister. She knows that his words and fruit is poison and she is desperate to get Minka to see the truth. Will Lizzie be able to save Minka before it's too late?

I am not familiar with the poem or the Polish folklore that this book is based off of. However, I thought it was an interesting read. The book was short but, filled with world building details for young readers to enjoy. At times, the book did seem to drag a bit and had a lot of fluff material though. Overall, I found it to be an interesting read and I would read more books by the author.

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

 

 

About The Book:

Title: GOBLIN MARKET

Author: Diane Zahler

Pub. Date: August 16, 2022

Publisher: Holiday House

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 256

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

One sister must save the other from a goblin prince in this rich, spooky, and delightfully dark fantasy!

"TERRIFICALLY TIMELESS. . . SPLENDID."—Shelf Awareness

Lizzie and Minka are sisters, but they’re nothing alike: Minka is outgoing and cheerful, while Lizzie is shy and sensitive. Nothing much ever happens in their sleepy village—there are fields to tend, clothes to mend, and weekly trips to the market, predictable as the turning of the seasons. Lizzie likes it that way. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. She hopes nothing will ever change. 

But one day, Minka meets a boy. 
A boy who gives her a plum to eat. 

He is charming. He is handsome. He tells her that she’s special. He tells her no one understands her like he does—not her parents, not her friends, not even Lizzie. He tells her she should come away with him, into the darkness, into the forest. . . .

Minka has been bewitched and ensnared by a zdusze—a goblin. His plum was poison, his words are poison, and strange things begin to happen. Trees bleed, winds howl, a terrible sickness descends on Minka, and deep in the woods, in a place beyond sunshine, beyond reality, a wedding table has been laid. . . .

To save her sister, Lizzie will have to find courage she never knew she had—courage to confront the impossible—and enter into a world of dreams, danger, and death.

Rich world-building inspired by both Polish folklore and the poetry of Christina Rossetti combines with a tender sister story in this thrilling novel from Diane Zahler.

"Lush. . . Dreamy. . . Breath-quickening."—The Horn Book
"Resonates with emotion."—BCCB
"Believably wrought."—Publishers Weekly
"Will entice readers looking for some chills."—Kirkus Reviews

About Diane Zahler:

Diane grew up reading children's books and never wanted to do anything but write them. Now she’s the author of six middle-grade fantasy novels and a historical novel, DAUGHTER OF THE WHITE ROSE. She lives in the country with her husband and slightly neurotic dog in what is aptly nicknamed the Bug House. Visit her website at www.dianezahler.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of GOBLIN MARKET, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

8/8/2022	Ya Books Central	Excerpt
8/8/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
8/9/2022	hauntedbybooks	Review/IG Post
8/9/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post
8/10/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
8/10/2022	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Post
8/11/2022	BookHounds YA	Excerpt/IG Post
8/11/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
8/12/2022	Lisa-Queen of Random	Excerpt/IG Post
8/12/2022	onemused	IG Post

Week Two:

8/15/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
8/15/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
8/16/2022	Beers Books Boos	Review/IG Post
8/16/2022	Celia's Reads	Review/IG Post
8/17/2022	Littlefreelibrarygrahamnc	IG Review
8/17/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
8/18/2022	A Backwards Story	Review/IG Post
8/18/2022	@jypsylynn	IG Review
8/19/2022	@amysbooknook8	IG Review
8/19/2022	Eli to the nth	Review/IG Post

Book Review - Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

 

Sixteen year old Amanda Verner was hoping for a fresh start. When she hears that they would be moving from their small mountain cabin to the prairie, she is excited over the opportunity. She can leave behind the past winter that has taken a toll on her mentally and physically. She had terrifying visions and she felt her sanity slipping especially when her baby sister cries nonstop.

Amanda is excited to leave behind the memory and pain of the boy she was secretly meeting in the woods and whose baby is she now carrying. However, when they arrive to their bigger home, they realize something is amiss. The inside of the house is covered in blood and Amanda is certain something isn't right. She heard stories of the land being tainted by the devil and people losing their minds and killing their families. Their only neighbor is a son and his doctor father who seem strange and they live in the woods at the edge of the prairie. Amanda isn't sure if the prairie is evil or if its just her.

The novel was a quick and creepy read. However, I was left wanting more. I felt like there was a lot of build up but the story was very lacking in details. Most of the exciting parts of the story took place towards the end and it felt rushed. It was a good attempt at a debut book but, it needs to be fleshed out more.

Book Review - The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel by Kim Edwards

 

 

 

In a late winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his own twins in Lexington, Kentucky. His first child, a son, is born perfectly healthy. David notices that their second child, their daughter is born with Down syndrome. He decides that he needs to protect his wife, Norah, from heartache and makes a split second decision that will alter their lives forever. 

 

He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the child to an institution for children like her and to keep the secret from his family.  Caroline feels conflicted on David's choice and instead, she decides to keep the child for herself. 

I wanted to love this because the description and summary was so spellbinding. However, I was more than 40% into the book before I lost interest. and stopped reading. The story just plodded long with boring details and unnecessary filler. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and I wasn't invested in learning what happened to them. This book is a good reminder why I shouldn't pick up books by the title and cover.

Book Spotlight -The RUSH: This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills by Si Spurrier , Adrian F. Wassel + Giveaway

About The Book:

Title: THE RUSH: This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills (The Rush #1-5)

Author: Si Spurrier, Addison Duke (Colorist), Nathan C. Gooden (Illustrations), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer), Adrian F. Wassel (Editor)

Pub. Date: August 9, 2022

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 136

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

Historical horror that chills to the bone, The RUSH. is for fans of Dan Simmons’, The Terror mined with a Northwestern Yukon gold rush edge. Answer the call of the wild north and stampede to the Klondike…

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD. ALL THAT HUNGERS IS NOT HOLY. ALL THAT LIVE ARE NOT ALIVE.

This Hungry Earth Reddens Under Snowclad Hills.

1899, Yukon Territory. A frozen frontier, bloodied and bruised by the last great Gold Rush. But in the lawless wastes to the North, something whispers in the hindbrains of men, drawing them to a blighted valley, where giant spidertracks mark the snow and impossible guns roar in the night.

To Brokehoof, where gold and blood are mined alike. Now, stumbling towards its haunted forests comes a woman gripped not by greed -- but the snarling rage of a mother in search of her child...

From Si Spurrier (Way of X, Hellblazer) and Nathan C. Gooden (Barbaric, Dark One) comes THE RUSH, a dark, lyrical delve into the horror and madness of the wild Yukon.

Collects the entire series. For fans of The Terror, Fortitude, Coda, and Moonshine.

Reviews:

"The book strikes a wealthy mixed vein of sophisticated psychological chills and monstrous horror."― Publishers Weekly

"Gritty historical drama meets supernatural horror in this sumptuously drawn tale set during the Yukon Gold Rush." ― PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The Rush is a chilling bit of historical horror. Rugged and raw and thoroughly researched. It's got such a wonderfully creepy sense of menace but most of all it's the moving story of a mother searching for her child, that's its beating heart. Wonderful work."  -- Victor Lavalle (best-selling and award-winning author of he anthology, Slapboxing with Jesus and four novels, The Ecstatic, Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, and The Changeling, the fantasy-horror novella The Ballad of Black Tom, and the comics series Destroyer and Eve)

"The Rush is a splendidly savage tale of frontier scum and the doom they’ve brought down upon themselves, and the innocents cursed to suffer alongside them. I for one can’t wait to see more."  -- Garth Ennis (best-selling and award-winning writer, Preacher, and writer/co-creator of The Boys)

 

About Si Spurrier:

His work in the latter field stretches from award winning creator-owned books such as Numbercruncher, Six-Gun Gorilla and The Spire to projects in the U.S. mainstream like Hellblazer, The Dreaming, and X-Men. It all began with a series of twist-in-the-tail stories for the UK’s beloved 2000AD, which ignited an enduring love for genre fiction. His latest book, Coda, is being published by Boom! Studios at present.

His prose works range from the beatnik neurosis-noir of Contract to the occult whodunnit A Serpent Uncoiled via various franchise and genre-transgressing titles. In 2016 he took a foray into experimental fiction with the e-novella Unusual Concentrations: a tale of coffee, crime and overhead conversations.

He lives in Margate, regards sushi as part of the plotting process, and has the fluffiest of cats.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

About Nathan C. Gooden:

An award-winning illustrator and sequential artist, Nathan C. Gooden is Art Director at Vault Comics. Nathan studied animation at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and worked in film production, before co-founding Vault Comics. Nathan’s previous works include Brandon Sanderson’s Dark One (Vault), Barbaric (Vault), Zojaqan (Vault), and  Killbox (from American Gothic Press). He lives in Southern California, where he plays a lot of basketball and hikes constantly with his wife. 

Website |  Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of THE RUSH, US Only.

Ends August 23^rd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/25/2022	Writer of Wrongs	Guest Post
7/26/2022	BookHounds	Guest Post/IG Post
7/27/2022	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
7/28/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Guest Post
7/29/2022	@jaimerockstarbooktours	IG Post
7/30/2022	Bookdreamr	Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

 Week Two:

7/31/2022	Sadie's Spotlight	Guest Post/IG Post
8/1/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
8/2/2022	The Girl Who Reads	Review/IG Post
8/3/2022	Fire and Ice	Review
8/4/2022	The Real World According To Sam	Review/IG Post
8/5/2022	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Post
8/6/2022	See Sadie Read	Review/IG Post

 Week Three:

8/7/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
8/8/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
8/9/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
8/10/2022	The Chatty Bookworm	Tik Tok Review/IG Post
8/11/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
8/12/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
8/13/2022	@just_another_mother_with_books	IG Review

 Week Four:

8/14/2022	The Underground	Review
8/15/2022	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review
8/16/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	Review/IG Post
8/17/2022	More Books Please blog	Spotlight
8/18/2022	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
8/19/2022	@lexijava	Review/IG Post

Book Review - Ice Wolves (Elementals, #1) by Amie Kaufman

 

 

In Vallen, ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies that live separate lives apart from each other. Twelve year old orphan Anders and his twin sister, Rayna, only have each other. So, when Anders take one elemental form and Rayna takes another, he wonders if they are even related. Even though Anders starts to question if they are even related, he does know Rayna is his only friend. She is nothing like dragons who are cruel to others and they steal children from their family.

Anders decide the only way to save his sister is to join the Ulfar Academy. The academy is a school for young wolves that teaches them to value loyalty to the pack over everything else. However, Anders is more loyal to his sister than being obedient and loyal to the pack. 

I thought this was an interesting book but, I felt like the book was short on details and story. I felt like the book finished without the story really progressing and I didn't really learn anything new. When the book ended, I was left with more questions than answers. I wish the author shaved off some portions and added more details about the Elementals. I felt like the ending was abrupt and I wish there was more story in book one to keep me interested in the series.

Book Review - The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

 

 

 

Thomasina Wynchester is a master of disguise. She can be a polite young lady or a grumpy old man. She can take on whatever disguise her family needs her to be on a whim's notice. However, when Tommy's new client turns out to be the highborn lady she's secretly in love with, Tommy must decide which will take precedent.

Miss Philippa York is a bluestocking that doesn't believe in love. Her heart didn't respond when she was engaged to a duke or when he decided to marry someone else. The only thing that makes Philippa excited is decoding a centuries old manuscript to prevent someone from claiming credit for work that wasn't his. She hates that she needs to rely on a man to help her but, she is delighted when she learns that the charming baron is in fact a woman. As Philippa and Tommy grow closer, the stake of their discovery becomes more likely along with their feelings for each other.

I thought the book was an interesting read. This was my first time reading a book in this genre. I can't say that I am in love with it but, I wouldn't mind reading another book in the genre. The book is mostly focused on Philippa's budding romance with Tommy and their plot to get Philippa married. I wish the book did focus a bit more on the "case".  This book was the second book in the series but, it can be read as a standalone. I did like reading about the other Wynchester family members and would be interested in reading more of their adventures. The novel contain themes of Sapphic relationships with some graphic scenes which might not be for everyone.

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

Book Review - The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg

 

On June 25, 1980 two young women were murdered in an isolated clearing in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The two women were outsiders who came to town for a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering. For thirteen years, the deaths of Vicki Duran and Nancy Santomero has gone unsolved. People believe it was the local people who committed the crime. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted but, he was released when Joseph Paul Franklin, a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic, claimed responsibility for the murders. As time progressed, the truth  had become more elusive and  investigation stalled causing neighbors to turn against each other.

I love reading true crime novels even though this is a relatively new genre of books for me. However, this book was boring read. I am not even sure how this book was even considered a true crime novel as the author spent more time talking about herself and her experiences than anything else. Prior to beginning the book, she listed out a few facts about the case. I read more than half way through the book and yet, I learned nothing more about the case than what she listed in the introduction. However, I learned that the person who found the bodies went grocery shopping before he found the bodies and the author had a relationship with a local man. I think this book would have been better if the author focused on the case and any history regarding the community and kept her life story out of it.

Book Review - Flipping Forward Twisting Backward by Alma Fullerton + Giveaway

 

Claire is the best gymnast in her school's team. She is even on her way to qualifying for the state championships. Claire does her best at the gym but, in school she is known as the troublemaker. At school, she spends more time in the principal's office than in the classroom. Claire doesn't mind being in trouble because it helps hide the fact that she can't read. She has trouble reading because everything looks like a jumble of mess.

Her principal is sympathetic to Claire and wonders if she is acting out because she has dyslexic. Claire's mother is hesitant to get her tested because she doesn't want Claire to be labeled. Claire never realized that she might be able to get help for her reading problems. Will she be able to convince her mother that she needs help?

I was a bit torn on this book. The book has a great message and shows how everyone can have their own private struggles while appearing differently in public. However, I didn't really like Claire and her mother. Claire was very aggressive and took out her anger on others when things got hard. There was even a scene in the book where Claire was aggressive towards an animal because she was frustrated. Claire and her mother seem to have a close bond but, it seems that her mother never really paid any attention to Claire's school work. They would spend time cuddling and watching movies but, I am hesitant to believe that her mother never noticed anything amiss or that her school never contacted her before about Claire's aggressive behavior since, she seems to have a pattern of aggressive behavior. Then when Claire's mother is called in because Claire pushed a child and he lost a tooth, her mother didn't even try to get to the bottom of the fight. Claire wants to get help but, when she notices a teacher paying attention to her and trying to help, Claire still tries to rebel against the teacher. Also, I am not sure about the part where they require the parents permission to put children into "special programs". I remember being in one because they thought I didn't speak English since I was an immigrant (even though English is the only language I spoke) and they didn't seek my parents' approval before placing me in that program.

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

 

 

 

About The Book:

Title: FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD

Author: Alma Fullerton

Pub. Date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: Peachtree

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 144

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

A high-energy novel in verse starring a fifth grader who is almost as devoted to competitive gymnastics as she is to hiding her poor reading skills. What happens when Claire’s secret starts unraveling?

Claire is by far the best gymnast on her team, and she’s well on her way to qualifying for the state championships. The gym is where Claire shines. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker. She seems to spend more time in the office than in class—which is fine with her since it enables her to hide the fact that she can’t read. She has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. No one except her BFF knows.
 
But when a sympathetic principal wonders if Claire is acting out because she’s dyslexic, her mother balks. She’s afraid Claire will be labeled “stupid” and refuses testing. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb; she never imagined her reading problem could have a solution. Is she strong enough to take on both her reading challenges and her mother’s denial? Is it worth jeopardizing her spot in qualifiers?
 
Told in clear and poignant verse and featuring black and white illustrations, Claire’s struggle with something that seems to come easily to everyone else will resonate with readers and have them cheering her on.

 

 

About Alma Fullerton:

Alma Fullerton couldn’t read until she was in the fourth grade. Today she works with students who have learning disabilities. She is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels that garnered acclaim and awards in her native Canada. Alma is also the author/illustrator of several picture books. She is on faculty with the Highlights Foundation for teaching novel in verse writing and is an RA for SCBWI’s Canada East region. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of FLIPPING FORWARD TWISTING BACKWARD, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/25/2022	hodophile_z	IG Review
7/25/2022	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
7/26/2022	The Paperback Princess	Review/IG Post
7/26/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
7/27/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
7/27/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
7/28/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
7/28/2022	BookHounds YA	Excerpt/IG Post
7/29/2022	@just_another_mother_with_books	IG Review
7/29/2022	@jaimerockstarbooktours	IG Post

 Week Two:

8/1/2022	Strange Brew Reviews	Excerpt
8/1/2022	Yabookscentral	Excerpt
8/2/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	Review/IG Post
8/2/2022	celiamcmahonreads on insta	Review/IG Post
8/3/2022	Little Red Reads	Review/IG Post
8/3/2022	@enjoyingbooksagain	Review/IG Post
8/4/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post
8/4/2022	Nerdophiles	Review/
8/5/2022	A Backwards Story	Review/IG Post
8/5/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post

Book Review - Lunch from Home by Joshua David Stein

 

In a classroom with other students, four students bring culturally-specific homemade lunches while their peers bring sandwiches. The students are excited to eat their lunch but, their mood is spoiled when other classmates make comments and have disgusted reactions to their food.

The illustrated book is inspired by experiences of four "famous" chefs and their childhood experiences. The book provides a learning moment of empathy and to appreciate other cultures. As a foodie, it was interesting to see the lunches the students bought. However, as an immigrant I can relate to other people not appreciating my food the same way as they would other Americanized food. The book bought up my own memories of eating food that other people considered "gross".  The book was beautifully illustrated with vibrant colored and detailed illustrations.