National Literacy Month ~Bucket List

 September is National Literacy month!

Let's Celebrate!

I love that there are so many months and days set aside to celebrate all things about books, reading, authors, and literacy!

A few of those are,

The fourth Wednesday in January is Library Shelfie Day

February is National Library Lover's Month

March is National Reading Month(in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday)

June is Audiobook Appreciation Month

November is National Family Literacy Month

There really is something every month, and several different days.

September being National Literacy Month, for me, kind of brings all those aspects together into one full month to celebrate it all.

 Reading, writing, exploring, all of it

What better way to celebrate, than to do a September Literacy Bucket List!

You can do one, a few, or try to do them all!

There are so many wonderful ways to celebrate. Here are a few I came up with. Some will have clickable links for you.

1. Find a PenPal to write

2. Join a Book Lovers group

3. Read the oldest book on your TBR list

4. Offer to read at your local library

5. Take a virtual tour of stunning libraries

6. Buy yourself a Bookish Gift

I've also included a free printable bucket list with 30 challenges! You can check off as you go! 

National Literacy Month~ Bucket List  <<click here

I hope you enjoy and will share with all literary lovers.

Please let me know if you do. I'd love to do a follow-up and see how many used the list and which ones you chose!

Like, comment, and share

Book Review: Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden

 Do Not Disturb

by

Freida McFadden

psychological thriller/crime/mystery

Library Audiobook/8 hours

Quote: 

" Then I have to decide if I'll forgive him. I probably will. It gets easier each time, and I have to admit, I don't know what I'd do without him."

From the cover:

Quinn Alexander has committed an unthinkable crime.

To avoid spending her life in prison, Quinn makes a run for it. She leaves behind her home, her job, and her family. She grabs her passport and heads for the northern border before the police can discover what she's done. 

But when an unexpected snowstorm forces her off the road, Quinn must take refuge at the broken-down, isolated Baxter Motel. The handsome and kindly owner, Nick Baxter, is only too happy to offer her a cheap room for the night.

Unfortunately, the Baxter Motel isn't the quiet, safe haven it seemed to be. The motel has a dark, and disturbing past. And, in the dilapidated house across the way, the silhouette of Nick's ailing wife, is always at the window. Always watching.

In the morning, Quinn must leave the motel. She'll pack up her belongings and get back on the road to freedom.

But first, she must survive the night.

Do Not Disturb is a Hitchcock-style thriller, that will keep you tearing through the pages until you reach the shocking conclusion!

My Review:

After reading, and reviewing The Perfect Son, I knew I would be reading more of Freida McFadden's books.

I'm a sucker for an excellent thriller. McFadden is quickly moving up the ranks on my favorite authors list.

Do Not Disturb grabs you from the very beginning, right in the grips of the action. Sometimes,...usually, I prefer a little backstory, or leading up; this story does not have or need that aspect. You'll get all that later on, just when you need it. Details of the before sprinkled throughout. Again, this is only my second book by Freida Mcfadden , but this seems to be her writing style. Honestly, I've really enjoyed the way she can jump from one character, or time frame, and then to another without losing the reader. The story is easy to keep up with, and full of details.

After reading/listening to this book, I did hop over to Goodreads and read a few reviews on this one. I don't know if this is a habit I should break. I want to give my opinion solely based off my experience of the book, and what I personally took away from it, not tainted by other's opinions. Although there were several people who caught a few things just as I did.

There were some serious inconsistencies in a character that couldn't be ignored. I'm not sure if McFadden had intended readers to see something else, maybe we missed. Either way, it left a lot of us baffled.

I wasn't triggered about the excuse/explanation why the character did what they did, but it seemed to be an issue for other readers.

There were a couple small things, I wish had been explained or concluded a bit more, but nothing to frown on the book about.

Throughout reading this twisted thriller, I had a few ideas on the whodunnits and whys. I got a few right, and a couple wrong. I'd say suspense was a 8/10, shock/plot twist 7/10

My favorite character had to be Rob, or Nick, which doesn't happen often. I usually find one of the female characters that stick with me most.

I think weird Greta or maybe even hot/cold Rosalie were my least favorites. But, you'll have to read Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden for yourself to see why, or if you agree.

I'm giving this one 4 stars!

Have you read this one? I'd love to know what you thought!

Any fans of McFadden's? What should I read next?

Book Review: What Good Is A Dragon by Patrick Carlson

 What Good Is A Dragon?

by 

Patrick Carlson

Children's

Kindle edition/ 32 pages

I received a copy of this book from the author to read and give an honest review.

Thank you, Patrick Carlson(Goodreads author link)

From the cover:

It's the queen's birthday and Alexander must deliver a dragon before the party starts. What does the queen need with a baby dragon? Come with Alexander while he travels across the kingdom to deliver this special gift...and discover what good a dragon is!

My Review:

When receiving this book, my first impression was, Wow! The illustrations are wonderful!

I'm definitely a visual person, as well as a mom. I believe a great children's book must have eye-catching pictures to pull kids into the story. This book definitely hit the mark. Throughout the book, the pictures are vibrant, and seem to pop right off the pages!

The story tells of Alexander's travels through the kingdom and all the creatures he meets along the way. Each of them believe they have an even better gift for the queen than the baby dragon he is sent to deliver. Alexander never questions taking along each gift to be delivered. But, when he arrives to give them all to the queen, which gift will she be most excited about?

I love the message this story gives that even with the best of intentions, others may not know exactly what we need or want at that moment, and not everyone seeks beauty and power. I feel it also shows that just because something isn't important or special to one, doesn't mean that for everyone.

I actually read this book twice. Once alone and then again aloud to my 8-year-old daughter.

Ele:

She agreed the pictures were her favorite, and the story was well liked. Her takeaway from this was, a bit different from mine, but I love that she formed her own opinion and found something that I missed.

*spoiler*

She thought when the queen received all the gifts, and seemed to only notice the baby dragon, that she should have been happy with all her gifts.

Sometimes we focus so much on that one thing we need or want, we forget about all the other gifts we've received.

Is my 8-year-old wiser than me???

We decided to give this book 4 stars. I do wish the ending had maybe been a little clearer for younger readers. It does give you the reason, in pictures, but then just kind of trails off. 

Ele wanted to see pictures of the queen's birthday party.

Again, thank you, Patrick Carlson for this wonderful opportunity to read and review this book.

 If anyone would like to get a copy of this book, here is the Amazon link(no affiliate):

What Good Is A Dragon?

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Blazing Bedtime Stories(Harlequin)

 Blazing Bedtime Stories

Harlequin Blaze #447

Grown-up fairy tales for Valentine's Day!

by

Kimberly Raye, Leslie Kelly, Rhonda Nelson

Quote from Once Upon a Bite(story #1):

"For every male of our kind, there is a female. It's just a matter of finding her son. The minute you do, you'll know it."

Date started: July 23, 2022

Finished: August 22, 2022

paperback, 216 pages

fantasy/romance/erotica/contemporary

From the Cover:

Once Upon a Bite

Beauty and the Beast-in the bedroom! When wolfishly irresistible Matt Keller lands in Skull Creek, Texas, Shay Briggs sees a hunky beast who needs her taming touch.

My Review:

Nope! You cannot type the words Beauty and the Beast in the description and give me,...this?! I could not get into this one. Short, yet it took me over a week to push through. I seriously struggled to read it more than this author probably did writing it. Too cheesy. (Quote:Shay- "You scared the pants off of me!"- Matt" Your pants, sugar. They're still present and accounted for." his mouth crooked into a grin.) ok, just uhhh, ok?

The storyline is Shay owns a haircare spa, and meets Matt, AKA the werewolf, and they jump in bed after their first meeting. He's uncontrollably drawn to her, and she just needs someone who isn't a one-night stand. Oh! Did I mention they also threw in a vampire?

From the Cover:

My What a Big...You Have!

Scarlett Templeton doesn't believe in fairy tales. That is, until she meets a sexy rogue in the woods, on her way to Grandmother's house...

My Review: This one was actually my least favorite. I'm not sure what was missing, or maybe there was too much going on outside their secluded cabin. It just never felt like the story was coming together. The smexy scenes were much better than in the first short story. The characters were more believable, but, what happened to Grandma? 

From the Cover:

Sexily Ever After

Ugly duckling Juliet only ants to be a femme fatale. Little does she guess that a chance meeting with hottie Gareth will inspire her to reveal her sexy swanlike plumage-and a lot more-before long!

My Review:

This one I actually did enjoy. The storyline was well-thought-out, believable, and came through all the way to the end. This was the most realistic one, for me. That definitely helped me get into it more than the first two. No fantasy, mythological creatures. There's nothing wrong with fantasy genre, just wrong type of fantasy for me. LOL

I think most women could relate to Juliet. She's insecure about her appearance, but confident in her career. One of 3 sisters, she never seemed to be the one "bringing home the boys". This time, the man shows up at her house. I would give this one 4 stars if it was a stand alone. I could see this story growing into a full length book.

Overall, I gave Blazing Bedtime Stories 3 stars.

You can get a used copy by clicking the link above.

Have you read any of the Blaze series books? Which is your favorite?

Book Review: The Best Mistake Ever!(And Other Stories) by Richard Scarry

 The Best Mistake Ever!

And other stories

by

Richard Scarry

Step 2 book (grades 1-3)

48 pages

The Best Mistake Ever!

A Visit to Mr. Fixit

Best Friends

From the cover

In these three stories about Lowly and Huckle, there are all kinds of silly mistakes-mistakes about food, mistakes about friendship, and even a mistake about a cuckoo clock!

This is my first review on a children's book!

My daughter will be 9 in September, and she is homeschooled. Which means we do A LOT of reading, and we have the freedom to choose which books we read. I want to continue sharing our reviews with you, and have a great way of teaching and understanding from start to finish.

1. choosing a book

2. reading it

3. going over what we've read/possible further research on either topic, or author

4. giving a review and report of book

I think this will be a great way for us to keep Ele accountable with her reading and also share our books with everyone. 

Here's to our first review!

Review

My POV:

This book was easily split into three stories, all with the same lesson. Mistakes can be silly. We don't need to assume every mistake means something horrible.

Labeled grades 1-3, I found it a great fit for Ele. She is going into "3rd" grade, but does struggle with reading. This book was easy enough for her to have confidence in her reading, yet include challenging words for her to work on.  The illustrations were spaced well to break up the reading parts into "chunks" that were manageable, and easy to stop, when placing a bookmark. These cute little characters definitely gave me a laugh. Lowly was my favorite.

Ele:

A Visit to Mr. Fixit was my favorite. I loved when the bicycle bell went cuckoo! Mother Cat was my favorite, and I liked her "angry eyes". It was easy for me to read and tell my dad about it. I would give it 5 stars for the whole book.

You can get your copy here:

The Best Mistake Ever!(And Other Stories)

My Weekend is Fully Booked

 Do you have a weekend full of reading ahead?

I seem to always plan on getting so much reading done over the weekend, in between all life's other things that fill up the hours. Alas, it always seems the hours are too short to accomplish all the things I'd hoped. Reading, usually, is at the top of my list of things I didn't have or spend enough time doing. 

My current reads that I'm hoping to at least make substantial progress in are,

The Liar by Nora Roberts

This one is a Kindle, coming in at 502 pages, I'm on page 93. It's finally picking up pace, and I'm really enjoying it.

Listed on Goodreads as contemporary romance mystery

Blazing Bedtime Stories

self-explanatory. Erotica, 3 stories It's those Harlequin series you get by mail club. I actually bought 2 of these at a thrift shop a few years ago, and just set them aside. They are...what you'd expect, short, spicy, cheesy, romance. 

This one has:

Once Upon a Bite

What A Big...You Have!

Sexily Ever After

(vampire, /werewolf edition)

These are the two I'm going to work on this weekend. I may start something new too. LOL

How many books at once is too many?

Asking for a friend.

What are you reading this weekend? Let me know.

Book Review: The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

 The Perfect Son

by

Freida McFadden

Quote: "But, I never believed him. Even when he was sobbing in my office, it seemed incredibly fake. I don't think he was sorry at all. Not even a little bit. The only thing I think he was sorry about was that we found her."

Date started: Aug 4, 2022

Finished: August 5, 2022

Kindle/e-book edition, 237 pages

mystery/psychological thriller

From the cover:

"Mrs. Cass, we were hoping your son could answer a few questions about the girl who disappeared last night..."

Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening, two detectives show up at her front door. A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive.

Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth- Liam may have done the unthinkable.

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?

My review:

The book begins with the transcript of Erika's interview with the police.

It then goes on to be told from Erika's point of view, and remains that way throughout the book.

The first chapter starts off as a mundane, typical suburban daily routines. Breakfast, chats about their days, school, plans. But, in Erika's mind, there is a lot going on that is not your typical stay-at-home-mom's thoughts.

I do like that this particular story stayed with one narrator, although she wasn't my favorite. 

The story is pretty fast-paced, and flows. There were a few parts that threw me off. They just didn't seem to have good reason to be placed in the story. I kept waiting to see why, but even then, it didn't seem relevant. Maybe too many "fillers" for the book.

The relationship between the Cass family and the school, teachers, friends, neighbors seemed a tad unrealistic due to the nature of their situation. Also, within the household, it seemed they all had separate lives, and secrets.

Do we really even know the people we live with?

Hannah(sister) and Jason(dad) didn't play a huge role in the book until later into the story.

A few times while reading, I would think, "Oh, this is it!" "This is where we figure it out." and then...nope! Wrong!

The Perfect Son definitely holds up to the plot twist factor. I'd say the last 3 chapters, I couldn't read fast enough. After all my failed attempts to figure it out, I just had to keep going.

The ending? *Mind Blown*

I gave this one 4 stars

I'd definitely recommend for anyone looking for a good psychological twist mystery.

This is the first book by Freida McFadden that I've read. I really enjoyed her style and the story. I'll be looking into more of her books

Find your copy here:

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

Book Review: In My Head by Alicia Rades

 In My Head

by

Alicia Rades

Quote: "Don't be sorry Mila, if something is wrong with this version of the program, we have to know before we release it to the public." ~ Dad pg.2

Date started/finished: August 3, 2022

Kindle edition/ short story, 98 pages

YA/Sci-Fi

From the cover:

Sixteen-year-old Mila Brooks doesn't have any friends. Her father's position as chief technology manager at the biggest tech firm in the world has alienated her from her peers. As a beta tester for the latest implant, a computer chip that connects you to The Internet of Things, Mila is sure everyone hates her because of her upgrade. When Mila hears Parker's voice in her head, everything changes.

My Review: This is one of the shortest and fastest books I have read in a long time.

Literally took me less than 2 hours to read it. 

From the synopsis and page 1, I immediately got The Giver, and, The Feed vibes. I know there was another book about the brain implant/chips, but I cannot remember it! Ugh!

In my Head, jumps right into the story, and just keeps going. The storyline is easy and quick to follow.

Mila is a typical teenager, except for her upgrade. She has insecurities, and a crush on the popular guy.

Parker isn't really Parker, but it was pretty easy to figure that one out. Ariel is annoying and Carter turns out to be a nice guy.

I wish this had been longer. I think the story and characters could have really developed into a great book. Possibly even a series. I enjoy the futuristic, fantasy storylines. I think it's the "what-if" factors that really grab me into them.

We've experienced so much in the last few years. I don't know how anyone couldn't be wondering.

I'd recommend this to like-minded people.

In My Head by Alicia Rades

I'm giving it 3 stars. 

Only because it was cut short, and we needed more backstory. Still a good read.

Book Review: Maids of Misfortune(A Victorian San Francisco Mystery #1) by M. Louisa Locke

 Maids of Misfortune

by

M. Louisa Locke

Quote: "Men, in particular, would rather trust their lives to the stars than to the advice of a woman."

Started reading: July 16, 2022

Finished: August 3, 2022

Kindle edition: 338 pages

From the cover:

It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide, five years earlier, and one of his creditors is threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt.

Annie Fuller, also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sybil, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sybil's clients, Matthew Voss, has died.

My Review:

My favorite aspect of this story was Annie's character as a woman finally having her independence, and it shows throughout the book.

No longer, the mere wife or daughter of someone, to be controlled, she has taken her new role and embraced it. The story does give bits and pieces of her life before, but for the most part, we just see a woman with her own mind, and a mystery she intends to solve, no matter how she gets it done.

This would definitely be more of a cozy mystery series. While there is the "who dunnit" theme, for me, it was more about Annie's life after becoming a widow. I'm leaning more towards historical romance.

A few characters didn't really get to shine through or become developed like I had hoped.(maybe in the books to come).

Maids of Misfortune

I was pleased with the story as a whole. I rate it 4 stars.

Follow Me Links~ temporary set up

 Hi everyone.

 I know this isn't the typical way to ask people to follow. As I said in my "re-launch" post here,  A Novel Experience~Welcome Back I am trying to make this blog a priority, and my main blog once again. I had been running another blog for a few years (non book related), and it just isn't working for me anymore. I made the decision to let that domain go and refocus on this one. My OG Book blog!

With that said, I am having to make a lot of changes throughout my social media pages. I have to decide whether to convert them or just start fresh with new accounts. I do want A Novel Experience to have its own contacts and connections, but some things I cannot see having a personal and a book blog account, at this time, anyway.

Mainly, Pinterest and Goodreads.

I have had both for years, and it would be impossible to transfer all my things. Pinterest I am having the most difficulty with. I have tried for days to unclaim or remove my other website, and replace it with this one. It will not save the changes, and now it says You do not have access to this account. (Meaning A Novel Experience). I have said, I am no way tech-savvy, and this is example A.

I will list the ones here that you can follow.

I will also add follow me buttons to my home page, once I get them all worked out. Feel free to comment or email me if you see any issues, or can help me with this in any way. I truly appreciate it!

Goodreads

BookBub

Twitter

Pinterest  hopefully, I can get this worked out soon.

I definitely will be creating a Facebook page in the near future.

If there are any other places you know of that have the follow options, and are book related, please let me know.

Happy Reading!