Three Cheers 🎉 for Smart & Kind Adana!

I listened to this audiobook with a group of younger children and they became completely invested in this story. They were sad when the little dragon was sad and were able to relate similar events when they felt the same way. The storyline is based on a small, earth Dragon who is not accepted by the other dragons because she is different.  Then one day, while she is snoozing in her cave, a giant appears in their land and scares all the other dragons who hide in Adana's cave.  When Adana awakes to find a rather crowded cave, the other dragons look to her for a solution.  Can she defeat the giant? This is a great book to explore emotions, being different and friendships with youngsters who are just starting to experience similar problems either in the playground, daycare or school. I stopped the narration whenever they wanted to divulge a personal experience and also part-way as I was interested to see what type of solutions the children would come up with for Adana’s encounter with the giant. Even the toddlers had very creative ideas and understood that being small doesn't equate with inadequacy.  The narration was very well done & kept the children’s attention, which is important especially with a group of younger children
( ages 2-7 ).  As a treat, and because I had access to the book through Kindle Unlimited, we read the story a second time with both the audiobook & the picture book. I had to do this twice since the artwork actually distracted the munchkins during the first run through.😊 They exclaimed their appreciation of the pictures with the typical chattering of young children.  The artwork is basic but colourful & the giant is drawn with care not to give young children nightmares. Overall this is a very good book for young children ages 2- 8 and their parents to read/listen together and then talk about. Kudos to the author, narrator & illustrator. 4🌟🌟🌟🌟

A ginormous thank you to my friends for sharing an awesome group of young children for storytime.  This circle of critics made themselves comfortable and settled in without difficulty to listen to the first of several books on the afternoon's proposed agenda.  Subsequently, or often during the playing of the audiobook, the little critics shared their vociferous thoughts and opinions on the books that they had heard. Surprisingly, even the youngest were very good judges of the genre of stories that they liked to be read and then talk about. Other than nutritious snacks, the children were not bribed nor coerced into providing their opinions. They were in a warm, comfortable and safe environment and were free to wander or leave with their parent at any time. No children or parents were harmed for the purpose of obtaining these opinions. The reviewer however, being of an older age, was left slightly dented.

I received a complementary copy of the audiobook of  " Adana the Earth Dragon" by Debbie Manber Kupfer from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review. I am not related nor friends with this author. The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person

My New Superhero is Mouse & it's NOT Mickey!! 🐁

This is my first Kevin Hartman novel and it won't be my last. The action starts in the first chapter and from there it's just go, go, go. Talk about being on a mouse's exercise wheel, round & round we go!  The storyline is novel and interesting with lots of fascinating characters that create an exciting energy throughout the story. The violence is typical of superhero novels but not overly graphic, and the minor sex scenes are not explicit therefore the story can be enjoyed by youngsters who love fantasy and are old enough not to repeat the foul language that escapes our heroes lips. The narrator, Mikael Naramore, does a fabulous job with the voice characterizations. I had no difficulties differentiating between the characters. He is an enthusiastic narrator whose expression filled voice added quality to the overall experience.  I felt as if I was sitting in a cinema watching one of the first Star War movies, many years ago. Thank goodness this audiobook was only 8 hours long because I just could not stop listening as I was enjoying myself way too much. Mouse is such an unforgettable character whose grit and courage touches the heart. He creates cool gadgets, stays one step ahead of everyone and uses his intellect to defeat his foes.  I sure hope that there are other books in this series as I'd love to see what the Alpha-League Supers and Mouse tangle with next. The audiobooks would be great to listen with your tweens & YA's, especially during a long car trip. They will enjoy this rich world of make-believe as they meet Mouse and his new Alpha League Supers. If you want something fun to read as an escape from your stressful work week, this audiobook will do it.  4🌟🌟🌟🌟

I received a complementary copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review. I am not related nor friends with this author. The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.

Interesting Premise...

I thought that the premise for this novella was quite interesting.  I'm not giving anything away by stating that the author, David Fuentes', idea is to have the reader follow the path of a £20 Note as it travels through London from one person to another.  The book is a novella that is part of a series therefore we are only afforded a glimpse of the entire storyline.  To witness the trajectory of the note is quite thought-provoking, as it moves from one person to another, none of them knowing it's origin.  The storyline is primarily a crime series and the violence occurs quickly in the novella.  It is difficult to comment on the type of crime that the note becomes involved in, without giving away too much of the story but suffice to say that this novella should be rated for "adults only" due to some rather explicit content.  The narrator, Matthew Kerslake, does a fine job with his voice characterizations although as a male, female voices are always more difficult to achieve.  The story moves quickly and leaves the reader/listener wanting to know where the £20 Note travels next which is the sign of a good novel.   3.5 🌟🌟🌟.🌟


I received a complementary copy of "The £20 Note"  by David Fuentes from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review. I am not related nor friends with this author. The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.

Catch that Note 💸

After listening to David Fuentes', first novella in this series entitled " The £20 Note " , I searched for the subsequent novellas in the series but despite looking on several sites, I was unable to locate them.  As such, jumping into " The £20 Note, A Twist of Fate", Book 5,  left some gaps in the storyline.  I preferred this novella despite its occasional foul language as I didn't have to worry if the younger teenagers walked in while I was listening. The content in this novella was considerably less sexually explicit. Despite missing novellas 2-4, this title wraps up some of the crimes that occurred in the first installment of " The £20 Note ", which was a pleasant surprise. I would have enjoyed pursuing the money's progress, and I may continue to search for the complete series so I can follow the storyline to its conclusion.   The author continues to introduce quirky characters which gives these novellas a certain charm.  The narrator, Matthew Kerslake, does a great job with voice characterizations. His enthusiasm for the storyline comes through in his reading which strengthens his performance.  I wouldn't recommend reading this novella as a stand-alone. It requires, at minimum, the first story " The £20 Note "  for this novella to have some context. I thought the premise of the author's storyline very interesting however I believe reader/listeners would be better served if all the novellas were combined into a novel. The continuity of the story would be maintained and the length of the novel would justify the spending of a credit.
 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I received a complementary copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review. I am not related nor friends with this author. The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.

''Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave"

'Who Wants to Date a Billionaire' by Laura Burton, is not my usual genre of book but I was pleased to find that I actually enjoyed this novel. The storyline involves a match-making business owner who is looking to expand her business & a billionaire who needs a 'wife' for a very important family party.  Ms. Emily Stewart finds investors who throw a wrench into their loan proposal by expecting her to be in a relationship.  Her business is cash starved and really needs the new infusion of money offered by the investors therefore Ms. Stewart realizes that finding a 'husband's for the upcoming meeting with the investors is a must. As she is pondering this problem, a new client requests to meet with her to discuss an urgent problem of his own. Gorgeous architect  David Marks explains that he has misled his family into believing that he is married and now must find "the one" before his Grandmother Marks' party.  He has never dated before but this love match is vital for his future.  Immediately, the wheels in Emily's rather conniving brain start to turn & she sees a solution that will solve her problems.  At this point, her actions bring to my mind the ancient fable by Sir Walter Scott that says "O, What a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive".  I anticipated that Ms. Stewart's plans would backfire given her rather snarky personality but much to my amazement, that's not quite how everything played out, ...... I'm not going to reveal any more of the storyline except to say that Sir Walter Scott would have loved this novel. Laura Burton truly surprised me with one unexpected twist that I found quite delightful. I absolutely loved how the novel ended. Ms. Stewart finally matures enough to realize that employees have worth and that helped me feel more empathy towards her as a character.  This novel moved at a comfortable pace and there was a smooth & coherent flow.  Ms. Connie Shabshab's voice characterizations for the females were well done, however, the British accents needed for some of the men's voices were missing which affected the overall performance.  I would recommend this novel as a good clean read/listen for your young teenagers right up to your grandmothers, as I'm quite certain all will enjoy this quick 4🌟🌟🌟🌟romance. This is my 2nd Laura Burton novel and I've enjoyed her imaginative style of writing and will seek out more of her novels in the future.

I received a complementary copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review. I am not related nor friends with this author. The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.

Mentally Ill , Definitely, but Should Lucy Really Be In Prison?

Rebecca Markus undertakes a challenging novel with 'The Crazy One'.  I have to admit that as a health professional, the term 'crazy' sends shivers down my spine, since it reminds me of the asylums of yesteryears where 'crazy' people were just housed or received horrific treatments that often ended in their tortured deaths.   Putting that aside, the author provides a very good portrait of Lucy's gradual decent into psychosis from her original functional delusional personality disorder. Based on the author's profile, Lucy fits the description of an individual with an existing mental illness that also has secondary erotomania.  She's had a childhood where she felt deprived of love & in fact, she started to fantasize about living a more exciting life when she was about 10. She suffers from OCD, although she has been controlling her symptoms. She was bullied in school. She is socially awkward and fades into the background wherever she goes. She is still financially dependent on her parents. Lucy has worked 8 years at a family owned mall store but nowhere else. Lastly & most importantly, she has no real friends. Amazingly, she has managed to stay in touch with reality for over 26 years but as she begins to decompensate, she blends more of her fantasies into her 'real' life and her delusions take over her damaged psyche. Before her move to Colorado,  had any of her acquaintances or family tried to get Lucy to a psychologist for treatment, a diagnosis of erotomania would have been diagnosed and her life path could have been changed. In an April 2nd,2019, article in Psychology Today, by Dr. Joe Pierre, entitled "Erotomania: When Love is a Delusion", the doctor mentions that this syndrome has been around for a millennia, yet why individuals develop this delusion still remains unclear. Just like Lucy, in this novel, modern day sufferers find their hidden messages of love through social media. Ms. Markus highlights how Lucy follows Twitter feeds & other forms of current day social media to get her 'love' messages  to keep track of Beau Castle and then Joel Ruskin.  We sadly meet Lucy as she sits in the prison's visitors room meeting with True Crime writer Elijah who is planning to write a book about her crime. It is vital that you read/listen carefully to their conversations since there are comments that reveal important information about Lucy's mental status. Elijah's role in the novel is to seek out individuals who either knew Lucy or might remember her and be willing to provide him with behavioral information related to the stalking. In the novel, he is also the instrument that brings the story back to the current day. Having Lucy write a journal for Elijah was an excellent way to provide the reader/listener with insight into how Lucy's delusional thinking decompensated during her last few months in Colorado and why she became more violent.  How two individuals living in a house didn't suspect that they had a stalker(not a ghost) is the one question I'm left to ponder. Towards the end of her stalking, Lucy pulled some rather spectacular stunts that most certainly would have had me questioning whether I was being targeted.  Sadly, many stalkers end up harming their targets however, this is rarer with erotomania.  I feel like I'm writing a review for the court to consider leniency for Lucy and instead of punishment, consider rehabilitation. I've explained her syndrome which is legitimate and based on Joel Ruskin's personality, I believe that he would be in agreement that placing Lucy in a treatment centre would better serve society. This novel evoked many feelings in the reader/listener community towards Lucy most of which was sadness due to her mental decline. Given this fact,  knowing Lucy's ongoing difficulties and the bullying that she has to deal with in prison, shouldn't Lucy be transferred to a Mental Health Facility?😷 The author has very well portrayed an individual with this form of mental illness and the narrator helped with her excellent vocal characterizations. Although this was fiction, sadly the circumstances portrayed do happen in our society. If you are concerned about a friend or family member, get them to treatment as early as possible to avoid the tragic ending Lucy faced.  I would recommend this book for those individuals who enjoy psychological thrillers and/or novels that delve into the functioning of the psyche. 

I received a complementary copy of this audiobook at my request, from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review.  I am not related nor friends with this author.  The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.

Review of: LOST ANGELS: THE LOST ARCHANGELS, BOOK 0 by TATENDA CREED

It has been quite some time that I've read or listened to a book where the main characters are all angels.  I wouldn't usually pick up this genre of book and I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised by this prequel. So much so, that I plan to continue with the series.  I was concerned at the beginning of the story as I found the angels' bickering rather childish and felt that the story could have moved a bit faster. However, Lucifer entered the picture with his unholy scheme, and the pace with the action increased enough to capture my attention. The Archangel 's watcher, Jude Thadeus, has had his hands full trying to keep the Archangels out of trouble but they've often ignored his warnings with dire consequences that have affected the current love of their lives.  Lucifer, who has been thrown out of heaven by his Father, plots the ultimate revenge, despite the fact that his Mother has cared well for him and provided him with a beautiful piece of countryside. Everyone seems to have a plan, but they have all forgotten one key component. How will their Father react to all this chicanery, when he has been warning them about their behavior.  The storyline in this prequel provides the reader/listener with clues to what lies ahead in the series.  Paranormals, vampires, and of course Lucifer will continue to interfere with Jude Thadeus' progress in reuniting the Archangels. This is sure to be a very interesting series. My only negative comment is the prequel ends with a 'cliffhanger'  which is one of my pet peeves since too many authors use this technique to force readers into buying sequels to obtain the end of a story. Since this novel is a prequel, I'm hoping that this will be the only cliffhanger utilized.    For those who enjoy audiobooks, Gary Bennet, the narrator, provides a very good performance throughout this novel.  He has a range of vocal characterizations that help the listener differentiate between the Angels which helps to visualize the novel as you listen. I'm looking forward to hearing more of his storytelling as the series continues.

I received a complementary copy of this audiobook at my request, from StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review.  I am not related nor friends with this author.  The opinions expressed in this review are fully mine unless identified as that of another person.