Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Monthly Archives: March 2025


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‘Worst Hero Ever’ Has the Right Stuff – And Milk

Worst Hero Ever

By Archer Thorn (Blackstone Publishing, April 2025)

Genre: Fiction: Fantasy/Sci Fi/Humor/Action-Adventure

Pages (print): 211 + Glossary)

Via: Author Request

Riddles? Secret doors? Some faceless evil pulling the strings? A dead sister who may not be dead? Double-crosses? Betrayals? All kinds of techno gizmos and mechanical doodads with minds of their own? What could possibly go wrong?

Kimber: Wait! Wait! The first thing you need to know about this book is that it’s about me! Kimster the Amazing! Kimster the PAWsome! Kimster the marvelous wonder dog and stupendously splendiferous and seriously stunning super hero!

Mom: Dial it back a little, will ya Kimmi?

Kimber: What? Okay, okay. I s’pose we better go on with the book review?

Mom: Not much gets past you, does it?

Kimber: That’s what super heroes do. Nothing gets past us! Unlike that Jim Riven “worst” guy in this new fantasy book. So just remember. I’m the Real Deal, okay?

Since you asked Real Nice, here’s the 4-1-1 on the book:

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‘Twilight of Evil’: WWII Historical Fiction With a Twist

Twilight of Evil

By George Alexander (Old Monk Publishing. January 2025)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages (print): 284

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fegelein pressed the top corner of the panel. It clicked and opened inward, revealing a narrow, dark passage. Hitler took Eva’s hand. “We depart.”

Move over John le Carre, Ken Follett, and Hilary Mantel. There’s a new kid in town. Name’s Alexander. George Alexander. And he’s penned one doozy of an historical fiction tome in Twilight of Evil. Like this:

A faked suicide? Body doubles? Look-alikes and stand-ins? A hidden passage and a staged suicide shrouded in uncertainty? Did Hitler, aka: Evil Mustache Due (EMD), really die at the end of World War II? Or did he escape, leaving a trail of lies and deception in his wake with visions of rebuilding the unthinkable from the ashes of defeat: A Fourth Reich?

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Coming of Age Tale a Mixed Bag?

Downeyoshun: A Novel

By A. Young (Apprentice House Press, 2024)

Genre: Fiction – Coming of Age

Pages (Print): 380

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Setting & Stats

This coming–of–age tale is told from the point of view of Sally Osterhoff. Set in Baltimore, Maryland, it opens in summer 1955 and spans 25 years of Sally’s life. The final chapter rings down the curtain on summer 1980. In between we learn that Sally is a math whiz. She plans to be a mathematician, a teacher, and a carpenter. Swim in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. And find a place to call “home.”

That being said, Toots, the first thing ya oughtta know about Downeyoshun is what Downeyoshun (“down-ee-oh-shun”) means. It’s a Maryland thing. A contraction of “down to the ocean” or “down to Ocean City.” Like, “We’re going downeyoshun this summer.” (The other thing ya oughttta know is that we’re writing reviews on a borrowed computer for the time being. Which we like, can’t stand. But Mom’s is in the shop. So deal with it, okay?)

Key

That’s key. (The word meaning. Not the AWOL computer. Well. Maybe the computer, too. But anyway…) Because Sally lives for summers with her aunt and uncle in Ocean City. Or going “Downeyoshun.”

See how this works?

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‘Little Joe’ and Kimber’s New Best Bud

Well. Who can resist THIS?

Kimber: I can’t come to the blog right now. I’m off to play with my new best bud, Little Joe.

Mom: The guy from Bonanza?

Kimber: Bo-whatza? Naw.

This Little Joe is a sweet and adventurous little pup. He lives with his hooman Anne and her fam in a farmhouse at the end of a long country road in this delightful new children’s book by Mike Darcy. I’ll let Mom fill ya in:

The 4-1-1

Little Joe is friends with a big green bullfrog named Hopper. The puppy accepts Hopper’s invite to the frog’s home for some “lovely fly soup.” Little Joe’s not too sure about the menu. But he likes to explore. Like another sweet furry face we all know and love. Anyway, the puppy takes Hopper up on his offer.

En route to Hopper’s pad, it starts raining. Hard. Think Noah. The friends decide to shelter in the forest. New places! New smells! New… danger?

Uh-Oh

Well. When Little Joe the not-Bonanza-guy takes off after a deer, the duo winds up lost. And face to fur with a hungry bear.

Kimber: I see those looks. Like when your faces gets all scrunched up and worrified. Not to Fret, Cookie. Our intrepid hero pup also winds up finding friends in unexpected places.

Lithe and lively, Little Joe and the Big Rain is a little Androcles and the Lion. A little Goldilocks. And maybe a bit Narnia. It’s well-written, structurally sound, and ripe for a sequel. The illustrations are adorable. (Kimber: Not as adorable as me, of course. But that’s a mighty high bar.)

Beautifully written with vibrant descriptions and vivacious storytelling, this book grabbed us on page one. It kept us following Little Joe and his adventures until the very end.

So if you or someone you know is looking for an engaging and entertaining read for the little’uns, Little Joe and the Big Rain fills the bill. If you’re looking for a new best bud, kindly get in line. Behind Kimber.

Hark! Doth I hear “ribbet”?

Our Rating:

4.5


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Why ‘Two Weeks Till Sunday’ Is Better Than Beef Bourguignon

Kimber: Yo, Mom! What’s this ‘week’ stuff? Is that like wan Beef Bourguignon? Limp leg of lamb? Flimsy filet mignon?

Mom: No, Kimster. It’s w-e-e-k. As in, seven days.

Kimber: Great. Got it. What’s ‘seven days’?

Insert Mom eye roll here.

Kimber: Silly Mom. She’s probably ruminating on my beautimous brilliance and munificent magnificence. Or she wants to tell you about a brand new historical fiction thingy we just read. It’s like, Totally Pawsome! You know this is true because I say so. Got that, Cupcake?

Well. The book is Two Weeks Till Sunday. By indie author Caleb Backholm. Take it away, Momster! (That’s not a typo. In case you’re wonderin’, Cookie.)

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Our Favorite Books Set in Ireland

According to family lore, one of us has roots in Ireland. So on this Saint Patrick’s Day we’re highlighting some of our favorite books set in and around the fabled Emerald Isle. Of course, we had to dig some up. And keep digging. And dig some more.

It took some effort. But one of us – the sweet four-legged one with a heart of gold – happens to be very good at digging. (Let’s just keep that our little secret, okay? – Kimber.)

So here are some of our favorite books set in Ireland. That we’ve actually read. Any of these ring any rainbows? In no particular order:

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Top 10 PAWsome Non-Fiction Books To Read & Re-Read

“Alright Kimber. Step away from the non-fiction book stash and I’ll forget all about that incident with the double cheeseburger.”

Kimber: Drat! I was kinda hoping Mom already forgot about that.

Squirrel!

Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. Top non-fiction titles. As you know, non-fiction tells a true story about actual events and real peeps. All of the NF titles below are uber readable. Eminently engaging. They feature sturdy writing and are told with great skill. And sometimes a twinkle or two. Maybe more. Ditto pitch-perfect pacing. All are a cut above. So you really should drop everything and buy your own copy, Cupcake. Just sayin’.

So here’s our totally subjective, 100% unscientific list of top 10 non-fiction titles. Some are old. Some are new. Many are by indie authors. How many do you recognize?

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P.U. – DNF 8.0

A very wise person once said Life, “Time is like a penny. You can spend it anyway you want. But you can only spend it once.”

Which brings us today’s DNF List. Way we see it, life’s too short to spend time on lousy books. Like, who wants to waste their time on sludge? Skunkers and clunkers? Especially when there are so many other good books around. So we don’t bat an eye at chucking a book into our DNF pile. (For more, see 4 Reasons Why We’re World Champion ‘Book Bailers.’)

Complete Wastes of Time

So here’s the latest Mom and Kimber Official DNF List. We ploughed through these stinkers so you don’t have to. In no particular order:

DNF List 8.0

We All Live Here – Jojo Moyes

You know how you love a book so much that you’re on the lookout for the author’s next title? Then you get it. Dive in. And grab the nearest barf bag.

That’s what happened with this dud-o-rama.

Grabbed it off a library shelf the other day cuz we super loved Moyes’ The Giver of Stars. But this hunka junk? Just wanted to slap some sense into these lifeless, colorless and banal characters who can’t seem to figure out which end is up. And think looking for “love” in all the wrong places will solve everything.

It doesn’t. Duh.

And Lila Kennedy’s BFF, Eleanor? Give. Me. A. Break. Ridiculous on turbo boost.

Gritted our teeth thru about 150 pages before bailing out. Life’s too short to have this sort of junk renting space in our heads.  Besides. We ran out of mental Lysol. So ciao, babies! And don’t let the door hitcha on your way out.

Off the Books – Soma Mei Sheng Frazier

This debut “coming of age novel” about a cross-country road trip is getting some rave reviews elsewhere. Which doesn’t means beans to us. Unless you want to hop on for a one-way trip to dull-as-a-blunt-spoonsville.

Union Station – David Downing.

Did you bring a book with you during your last mad dash to the ER? Her Momness did. This one.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

In all fairness, facing down a loved one’s emergency medical issue doth not a great context for reading make. Too many bad associations. So Mom just quietly returned this title to the library a few days and 50 pages later. (ER patient His Royal Dadness is okay, thank you very much.)

The Cobbler’s Crusaders – Rick Steigelman. Link not available.

Got a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A nine year old American girl is visiting her Grand-mere in Paris. Young Jacquelyn Pajot is itching to see the sights, especially the Effiel Tower. But Grand-mere is intent on dragging the girl to Mass every day. Ditto hair appointments and knitting lessons.

When Jacquelyn meets two local girls, Genevieve and Nicolette, they set out to discover Paris sans adult supervision.

What could possibly go wrong?

We could not get into this book. Tried and tried. Just didn’t connect. It struck us as snooty. Like when Jacquelyn is served a glass of warm milk at a Parisan cafe – apparently warm milk is a French thing- followed by jabs at Americans and American culture. Zzzzzz.

And that can-can stuff at the Moulin Rouge? Really? It’s a lot of noise and a lot of splash but doesn’t really go anywhere. Like this book. Bailed out around page 70. Buh-bye!

The Badger Chronicles: Secrets of the Whispering Woods – Martin Newbold

Want to get on our bad side in two seconds flat (or less)? Misrepresent your work. Like listing your book’s length at “0-1000 words” when it’s almost 200 pages. Like this overwritten morass of redundancy and repetition.

Got through about 90 pages thru sheer force of will and gritted teeth. Then we ran out of will. And teeth. ‘Sides. We have better things to do than plow through a dull as dirt “forest fable” that goes round and round in circles for pages and pages. And me without my trail of bread crumbs.

What title topped your most recent DNF List?


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Dual Rescue Delights in ‘Stay, Girl’

See? Found a pic with a beagle in it! Sort of.

Stay, Girl

By Angelica R. Jackson

Genre: Fiction/Coming of Age

Pages: 279

Via: Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sacramento, CA, 1953. Penny was one of the dogs seized by the county in a cruelty case. Thirteen year-old Lizabeth “Bet” Carter is on the run from an abusive stepdad after her addicted mom dies. She’s heading to her Uncle Earl’s. But only cuz Bet promised her mom she’d “go” to Earl’s. Bet never said anything about staying with him. In fact, she plans on high-tailing it down to Oregon to work as a cook’s helper in a lumber camp with her best girlfriend. As soon as she can make some plans.

But an unlikely yet heartwarming alliance begins to form in this captivating and compelling coming of age tale reminiscent of Where the Red Fern Grows, Marley and Me, and Shiloh.

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Kimber’s Update on Her 2 Fave Hoomans

What?

Kimber here. With a quick update on my two favorite hoomans. Her Royal Momness and His Royal Dadness.

If you’re a regular reader, you probably know that The Royals were waylaid by The Creeping Crud (RSV) for over a month. Mom is doing much better. So, watch out world!

Dad developed a blood clot in his leg. Most likely due to inactivity while battling RSV. Thankfully, we got him to the E.R. fast as greased lightning. Found a blood clot a la ultrasound. Got him on blood thinners right away. (The hoomans say blood clots are very dangerous. Can be deadly in minutes. In case you’re wondering.)

Not good! Not good! Red alert!

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