Bedtime Story: It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton

Read for: Children's Book Challenge

Synopsis: "From the author-illustrator of Something Extraordinary comes a tale filled with dragons, pickles, friendship, and lots of mail—perfect for fans of Mo Williams and Bob Shea.

Liam really wants some mail, so he writes a letter to his mailbox asking for something in return. His mailbox delivers, sending Liam more than he could have hoped for…and how! But as the mail starts to pile up, Liam realizes that the best packages and parcels are even better when shared with friends."

My Review: Munchkin loves getting mail so I thought this would be a fun book. It was a great way to start a conversation about sending mail and receiving mail and also how good it makes you feel and others feel when you get something in the mail. It was also fun how fantastical this book is with the mailbox actually acting as a character. This is definitely a fun one to read and share. 

My Rating: This was a fun book and one that helped to clear up a conversation Munchkin and I have been having about sending and receiving mail.  Munchkin really enjoyed this book and so did I, we give it a rating of Four Paws!

Good Night! Sweet Dreams!

Early Reader Review of Berenstain Bears Around the World by Mike Berenstain

Read for: Early Reader Challenge

Synopsis: "ravel the world in the Anywhere-Anyplace Machine with the Berenstain Bears in this lively addition to the classic New York Times bestselling series. From the plains of Africa to the Great Wall of China, there are more sights to see than points on a map!

Beginning readers will love discovering fantastic new places alongside their favorite family of bears, complete with vivid and classic illustrations."

My Review: This is a very good level one beginning reader book, even though again Munchkin is not a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears he is very interested in geography. This was a fun adventure that hits on some of the main big cities around the world, it is a short book so only a few places can be visited. With that said Munchkin really enjoyed it and wants to visit some of the places now.

My Rating: While this is a great level one book, I would have liked to see more or different places than these big cities that are already popular. Munchkin did enjoy it though and we will most likely be reading it. We give it a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag.

Review of On the Chase by Katie Ruggle

Read for: Requested Review/ Netgalley & Love this author

Review of Book 1: Run to Ground

Synopsis: "After witnessing a horrifying crime, Kaylee is forced to flee to a small Colorado mountain town and take on a new identity. There she becomes Grace, a dog kennel worker trying to avoid the dangerously attractive K-9 Officer Hugh Murdoch.

When an accident leaves Hugh and his K-9 partner, Lexi, on desk duty, both are anxious for Hugh to heal. Until then, the highlight of his day is teasing the beautiful but mysterious new kennel employee. Their simmering attraction fuels a passionate kiss—interrupted by a sniper’s bullet. With targets on both of their backs, Grace and Hugh will do whatever it takes to stay alive…not realizing the most dangerous threat of all is hiding right in front of their noses."

My Review: I have really been loving Katie Ruggle's books this year and have anxiously been awaiting On the Chase. The beginning of this book when we met Kaylee was a little intense, my heart was definitely pounding. Even with that frightening introduction, I didn't really connect with Kaylee. Hugh on the other hand was a fun character, even with his quirks and flaws. The banter and arguments between the characters kept up a nice flow throughout the book and really broke up the action in this one. And there was a lot of action, the life threatening moments almost never let up so the pages kept turning quickly. I am still really partial to Theo, Jules and the kids so I am glad that they were in this book quite a bit as well. It was a fast read that will have your heart racing with the danger and tension but will also have you laughing at the banter.

My Rating: I didn't connect with this book quite as much as the previous book but it was still a page turner and entertaining read.  I give this one a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag.

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can find out more about Katie Ruggle and her books on her Goodreads Page or Website

On the Chase was just released yesterday (Sept. 6th) so you can get your own copy now in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes and Noble or check your local bookstore.

Review of When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Read for: Recent Purchase & BTAF

Synopsis: "Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways."

My Review: I have been hearing a lot of really great things about this book and the author will be at the Boston Teen Author Festival, so I decided to pick it up. Unfortunately, it fell a little short for me and really confirmed that contemporary YA really isn't for me anymore. While I enjoyed the fact that the story revolved around to Indian-American teens, I always enjoy reading about different cultures, the cultural references throughout the book weren't well explained and I had to keep stopping and looking things up which obviously pulls a reader out of the story. Also, Dimple is a young coder who is very passionate about it but we don't really get to see any part of that, she is at a competition for coders but she barely spends any on page time working on her idea. That felt very half done for me, if you are going to have a character so passionate about something, I expect to see it, I kind of felt like the author wanted this quirky side but didn't want to put in the time and effort to research it. Rishi's character also fell a little flat for me, he was passionate about his heritage which I appreciated but other than trying to make Dimple happy he really only revealed more depth to his character a few times. For me the best characters was Ashish and he played such a minor role in it all. This will be a great book for avid YA contemporary romance readers but for someone who just picks up a book here and there but is often disappointed, this definitely wasn't the book for me.

My Rating: This really turned out to be a disappointment for me. It is a cute cover, cute names, cute romance but it was all too cutesy for me, I wanted a little more substance and to explain the cultural aspects a little more clearly.  I give it a rating of Two Paws.

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

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School by Kimberly & James Dean (Early Reader)
David Goes to School by David Shannon (Bedtime Story)
Everyone's an Aliebn when Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun (Graphic Novel)

 Books Finished Last Week:

Reviews will be posted at a later date

Ted and Friends
When Dimple Met Rishi
The Librarian of Basra
On the Chase
Saga Vol. 7

Currently Reading:

Scythe by Neal Shusterman - Print - on page 265 of 435
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - Audio - 31%




 Books to be Read Soon:

Pages Read/ Time Listened
150:23 Hours (about 6 Days) Listened (none listened this week)
40,265 Pages Read (1,197 this week)

Books Added to Shelves Recently TBR
Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
Samurai Rising by Pamela Turner
Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Saga Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
How to Tame a Willful Wife by Christy English
New World: Rising by Jennifer Wilson
The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson
And I Darken by Kiersten White
World Mythology in Bite Sized Chunks by Mark Daniels
Eliza and Her Monster by Francesca Zappia
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon
Frogkisser by Garth Nix
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
The Beast's Garden by Kate Forsyth
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Addie on the Inside by James Howe
Also Known as Elvis by James Howe
Viking Warrior Rebel by Asa Maria Bradley
New Leash on Love by Debbie Burns
Puss Without Boots by Shari L. Tapscott
Monstress Vol. 2 by Marjorie M. Liu
Everyone is an Aliebn when ur are an Aliebn too by Jomny Sun
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Saints Blood by Sebastien de Castell
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
P.O. Box Love by Paola Calvetti
Britt Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Nomansland by Lesley Hauge
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd
The Secret Loves of Geek Girls by various authors
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley
The Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence
The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor
Luin the Sapphire by Rich Feitelberg
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce
Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce
Realm of the Gods by Tamora Pierce
The Winter King by CL Wilson
The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere
The Christmas Hope by Donna VanLiere
The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere
The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere
The Christmas Note by Donna VanLiere
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
The John Wayne Code by Media Lab Books
The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones



Books Read From My Shelves




Interesting Tidbits on the Web:



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If you saw my monthly wrap up you know I have a very busy month coming up! Thank goodness today is a holiday here in the US because I need today to really catch up and get a jump on everything.  Tomorrow Munchkin starts Kindergarten, I can't believe how fast that came up! Then later this week Hubby & I have a date night at the Patriot's game and then I have HasCon on Friday, and last but not least Munchkin starts soccer next weekend. Hopefully I will have some time to read because I certainly have a big stack of books to get to (note to self: no more book buying except at conventions for signing).

September is here and it is time to start breaking out the cozy socks and blankets, hot tea and hopefully lots of reading time! I am so ready for it.

Hope you are all starting a great week!