Holiday Review: The Holiday Cottage

Imogen's family life has always been hard. It's been just her and her mother, Tina. But Tina never wanted a child. 

Imogen never had a sense of family. Now she's a workaholic with no friends and no work life balance. Because of a strong desire to fit in, Imogen made up stories about her family to share with co-workers. But in reality, she spends Christmas alone, working. 

After a huge fight with her mother, Imogen messes up for the first time at work. Her boss, thinking that she's close to burn out, makes her take a month long vacation.

Imogen has no idea what she's going to do with her time. But at her last work event, lunch with a client, she's offered a place to stay outside of London.

Imogen's time at the Holiday Cottage change everything. 

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book - but I do wish the ending was a little longer. Everything tied up so quickly. I confess it took me a little bit to get into the book, especially after that moment with Tina. I wasn't sure where the book was going. I felt so bad for Imogen, especially the moment with Tina and the moments with her co-workers. I would have liked to see them have the tough conversation at the end of the book. I adored Ralph. I loved Sara's girls. There were some sweet moments, some funny moments, and some yikes moments. 

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great book for your Hallmark movie watchers!

* This is not a romance, but it does have romance in the book

Review: Dead Below Deck

 

Maggie feels lucky to be part of the friend group. She has been invited to spend spring break with her new friends, sailing on a yacht to Grand Cayman. But something happens on that trip. Maggie wakes up hung over and unable to recall the night before.

Then they discover that Giselle, the daughter of the man who owns the boat, is missing. And there's blood on the railing. Could she have been pushed overboard?

Now the police are questioning all the girls - but Maggie is their primary suspect. She has the most secrets and the most to lose...

My Thoughts: I loved this book - I didn't want to stop reading it. I was almost late going back to work because I was 10 pages away from the end and my lunch break was over. It was so hard to go back to work!

I really loved the set-up of this book. It starts with the friends missing Giselle. Then it goes backwards in time until the girls get on the yacht. Then it moves forward. Interspersed between the chapters are police interviews and letters that Giselle wrote to her dead month about the events leading up to Spring Break. 

All the drama in this book kept me turning the pages as secrets were spilled. I devoured this fantastic thriller. If you like twisty books, this one is for you!

Cover Thoughts: Perfect

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation:  A must have book for public libraries 

Picture Book Wednesday: Ice Cream Everywhere

Ice Cream is loved all around the world - with lots of different textures and flavors.

I'm a sucker for ice cream, it's one of my favorite deserts. It was fun reading about ice cream flavors from around the world. We might all be a little bit different, but ice cream can cheer us all up! There's a lot of knowledge in this book - and it might inspire you to go out for ice cream...

Top Ten Tuesday: Paris

 This week's topic is destinations. I chose Paris. I have been once a long time ago, but I would love to go back. And I love reading about it.

Read and Enjoyed:

On my TBR list:

Bonus:

Have you read any of these?

Middle Grade Review: Crushing It

 

Mel's the captain of her soccer team - and they are so close to going back to the championship game. Last year, they lost the game. It crushed Mel. She's not sure why the team made her Captain this year, but as the games get more intense, the team starts falling apart. It's up to Mel to get them back on track. But there's a lot going on with her team.

Tory's having a hard time at home. Her mother's remarried and barely has any time for her. Just when Tory thinks she's found an ally in her step-brother, he joins the Army. And she's crushing over a girl she met online. 

Tory's not one to share her feelings and it's clear something is very wrong with her. Her best friend Chloe is frustrated that Tory won't talk to her. 

Mel's having trouble with her best friend Rima. Rima's running for student-body President and she doesn't have time for Mel. She's so focused on the election that she doesn't see that Mel is struggling. Mel also doesn't like some comments Rima's been making about her lately. Is there a reason they are still friends?

Will all the drama off the field, can they come together on the field?

My Thoughts: This debut crushed it! There's so much in this sports book: all the DRAMA (friendship, family, romance, and school), a little romance, poetry, and public speaking. I didn't want this to end. Middle school friendships are hard, and this book captured all of it. I loved the sports parts and the question of what makes a good captain. I love how everything turned out. Looking forward to whatever Erin Becker writes next! 

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A must have sports book for your school and public library collection.

Review: Gotcha Day

 

This is a book filled with stories about dogs - it's heartwarming and a little sad at some points.

The pictures are lovely and adorable.

This is a perfect book for any dog lover.

They ask the same questions to all the owners, so I thought I would fill them out for our rescue:

Knightley:

Shephard/Black Mouth Cur Mix

2.5 years

Nicknames: Knighley Bitely, Knight Bite, Bobba

Tell us about Gotcha Day:

I had been looking at pictures for a while. He was in a littler of three. It was timed entry - we took a later time because the place was far from our house. When we got there, "Mason" was the only one left of his litter. We met him - he chewed shoelaces and licked my glasses. I knew he was coming home with us. I held him in the car all the way home - which is where the first picture was taken. It's one of my favorite photos of us. 

What are his favorite things to do?

He loves being outside: going for walks, racing around the backyard, or being on the porch. He loves going to doggy day camp. And he loves peanut butter and cheese. 

Does he have any silly quirks?

So many! He will bark at objects that are new in the room. He always wants to be outside, but if he's on the porch alone, he will bark to come back inside. 

What does he mean to you?

Our first dog had died. We had Emma, but the house was too quiet. I lasted a few months before I started looking at other dogs. I found this place on Facebook and looked at several puppies. After a little bit of time, I found the M litter. We made an appointment. And he became ours.

Knightley is a giant goofball. He was a fussy baby - needing lots of attention especially when he was overtired. He filled the hole in our heart. He's adorable, sweet, and smart. He completes our family. It's not quiet anymore! 

Anything else we should know?

Our older dog, Emma, wasn't thrilled about this new addition to the family. It took her about two weeks to warm up to him. Now they race around the backyard, chasing each other. They don't snuggle in the traditional sense, but often lie near each other. 

Review: Mini Architects

 

20 Projects Inspired by Great Architects

Each project has a little bit of history about the building/creation and then step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to re-create the work of art. There are discussion questions and different ideas to try out.

I love how the projects are so different - from mediums to places in the world to time of creation.

The one thing I would have like to see was a mini biography of the architect that inspired the work. I feel like that was missed opportunity.

This book makes a great gift!

* Last year I reviewed another book in this series - Mini Artists - which I also enjoyed.

** Book sent for review