Bedtime Story: Meeow and the Big Box

 

Synopsis: "Meet MEEOW. He’s one cool, creative cat—and an irresistible new character from best-selling author-illustrator Sebastien Braun.

Like every child, Meeow loves to draw, paint, and make things. His adventures in imaginative play will inspire young readers to see what marvelous things they can do, too. With Braun’s appealing characters, brightly colored pictures, and simple text, this is a series that all toddlers will adore."

My Review: This is a very cute little book about Meeow the cat. The images and story are simple but fun. It will encourage Munchkin to use his imagination and creativity down the road. I am definitely going to be checking out the other Meeow books.

 

My Rating: A simple yet fun book that Munchkin loves (in fact I got so tired of reading it over and over I had to hide it for a few days). We give it a rating of Four Paws.

 

 

Good Night! Sweet Dreams!

Review of Airs Beneath the Moon by Toby Bishop

 

Synopsis: "In the Duchy of Oc, the most precious of creatures are the winged horses blessed by the goddess Kalla. When one is born, it is immediately taken to the Academy of the Air to be trained and watched over. But when a spirited peasant girl bonds with a winged horse of her own, the Academy gets more than it bargained for."

My Review: This is a fantastic fantasy, it has brought me back into loving the genre. I love Larkyn and her whole family. The characters are all so rich and the world building is great, I can picture myself there. You feel the push and pull on Lark, the constant pressure and the ridicule that pushes her down but then the love of Tup and the dream that drives her. I really enjoyed the story as a whole. The turmoil that the Academy faces not to mention Lark and Tup, will keep me reading the rest of the series.

 

My Rating: I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to continue the series. It really renewed my love of Fantasy, with characters so rich and real that I wish I could meet them. I give it a rating of Four Paws!

Wednesday Writing

So Wednesday is my official writing update day. I have so many story projects going on and I need a push to get some done. So I will be trying to post each Wednesday about how my writing adventures are going (and I may need a swift kick in the pants by you guys sometimes).

Current Active Project:

Each Item a Story - 46,444 words
A journal a woman keeps as she sorts through antique items and documents left in a home she purchased.

Olivia's Mountain Tale - 3,607 words
Olivia is left in the mountains by her uncle to guard the sheep grazing in the summer pastures.  This summer could change the course of her life.

Princess Bs - 34,317 words

A story about a woman, recently divorced and returned to her home town to figure out what is next. She encounters an old friend and spends a weekend with him and his daughters. Feelings that are long since buried are rising up again, but are her recent loss and his current life going to stand in the way of their happily ever after?

Tamlyn Marie's Grace - 5,811

Think Cinderella only with a matchmaker ;)

Other Works in Progress:

The New Old Home - 17,193 words

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery, but what would you do with that money? That is the question presented to Natalie, when she is at the lowest point in her life, she is presented with an opportunity to make any normal person's dreams come true, but all those winnings can't give her what she wants most.

Night Rider - 17,229

Alice is a recent high school graduate who is a very accomplished competitive rider in Hunter/Jumper, Dressage, and Western/Rodeo. Her parents had arranged for her to attend a private college on the east coast geared specifically to equine professions. However, Alice wants to focus on her studies in English Literature. When she arrives at the college she hides her riding abilities, but can she keep her talent and love of horses hidden?

The Last Mountains - 13,468 (handwritten) = 15,766 (typed)

A equine shapeshifting family is being hunted to near extinction and the young new leader must go against all her lessons and approach the elite council for aide. Will they help her? How will she keep her family's traditions and values alive, let alone her herd?

Other Ideas Plotting:

Bloodsoar's Story

A pegasus struggles through life, ejected from the herd, near capture by humans.

The Assassin's Assassin

A student learns what the school is really teaching and sets out to destroy those who support the program.

Angel Story

Angels battle out an age old feud in a parallel world

All in the Company
A business that keeps to itself, employees marry employees and live on company property. Lissandra is ordered to marry Cody but both are always on business and don't know one another.

Little Wind Guides
Little Wind must lead her clan to new territory as the gods of the Fire Forest are cleansing their home with wrath.  Will they follow her while she holds so many secrets.

 

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I WON! I WON!! Oh my gosh I really can't believe it!! When I started this month and set my goal at 25,000 I never expected to even make that count but would you look at me now! I do have a little more typing to do on my original story to finish it up (yes finish it, can you believe that actually end the story) today and will definitely have a full 50,000 on that one story!! Right now my word count for the month sits at 50,051 and while I am doing some more writing this afternoon I couldn't wait to validate so once I hit that 50K mark last night I went ahead and validated not wanting to miss the chance!

 

Review of Southern Attraction by Tracy Kauffman

Synopsis: "Southern Attraction is a young adult romance book about a girl who loses her parents and is forced to live with a redneck uncle from Alabama. There she has to choose between two young men that she likes. Will she choose true love or a lifestyle that she is accustomed to.

Heather has everything she ever wanted; money, clothes, friends, popularity and parents that adored her. Until one terrible day, she loses it all. She is uprooted from a place she loves to a small town in Alabama with a uncle she doesn’t know. The small town of Huckleburg was nothing like Manhattan. Country rednecks owned the town and no one accepted Yankees from New York. Heather didn’t think things could get worse until a tornado comes and blast through the small town. Heather has to lose herself to rediscover what life is all about. She meets two guys that she can’t decide between who she really wants. Join Heather as she discovers that there is more to life than money and fame. Will Heather ever fit in and find true love or will she stay an outsider living in the south."

My Review: I think the author had very good intentions with this story but there was just a real disconnect with the characters. I just could not connect with them on an emotional level. Heather especially seemed like two different people, I understand she is a young character who is growing as a person and experiencing several traumatic events but her personality was too all over the place for me. I did like seeing the town really come together after the tornado, it is a true small town mentality. It has a great message but I would have preferred to be led into the emotions and how the characters were feeling as opposed to being straight out told what they felt.

 

My Rating: While I thought the concept of the story was great, it just wasn't quite up to par for me.  I give it a rating of Two Paws.

 

 

Southern Attraction was sent to me by the author for an honest review.

 

To find out more about Tracy Kauffman and her work please visit her Website, BlogSpot, Wordpress, Facebook or Goodreads Page.

 

You can also obtain your own copy of Southern Attraction in digital or print formats on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

 

 

Monday Reading List

Its Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey. Share what books you have finished in the last week, are currently reading and what might be coming up next!

Reviews Posted Last Week:

Links will take you to my review

 

Johnny and the Seven Teddy Bears of Sin  By James E. Venn
A Lifetime by Morris Fenris
Big Girls Do it Wetter by Jasinda Wilder (After Dark)
I'll Follow the Moon (Bedtime Story)

Books Finished Last Week:
Reviews will be posted at a later date

Clara Claus
The Christmas Wish
Snow Dance
One Boy, No Water

 

Currently Reading:

Dark Chatter by Andrew Branch - Kindle - 22%
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen - PB - on Page 40 of 383
The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann - PB - on page 22 of 364
Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu - Audio - 16%



 Books to be Read Soon:

 

Water Harvest by Eric Diehl (Requested Review)
Knightmare by Deborah Valentine (Requested Review)
The Lover from Hell by Rob Palmer (Requested Review)
Judgment by Jade Varden


 



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It has been a successful week for me, even with both Munchkin and myself being sick and miserable.  I focused more on my writing than my reading but I have been sticking to my plan to write during the day and read after Munchkin goes to bed (at least on the days that I didn't collapse as soon as he fell asleep). So I have almost met both my writing and reading goals for this month and I can't believe what a great month it has been and I thank you for your support and good vibes that have been sent my way!!

Happy week and those of you in the US have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!