Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A tiny demon is trying to escape the pit of hell and avoid a return trip at all costs. So Jarilhil “the saintly imp” is sent to earth to “save” Francesco di Pietrodi Bernardone.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
The Halcyon CrisisNote We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Ahoy, mateys! This is your Kimber speaking. Hands off the New York steaks and no one gets lick-ified!”
What? I’m just trotting out my best impression of “Mr. One,” aka: “Captain One” in this adrenaline rush of a thriller on the high seas thingy. I’ll let Her Momness fill ya in:
The Wind Rises“The things that really matter are those that only one or two people know.”
Once up on a time there was a valley. Lines of elephants dotted its distance. Wind rippled its grasses. Singing insects and swaying giraffes crowded its plains. Hidden by treacherous cliffs, the valley saw the birth of three children: A girl, Alma, and her two brothers, Lam and Soum. There was also a zebra with no stripes. And a little boy who runs away.
“The only reason everyone else in this game are winners is because they’ve lost everything. Everything down to their names and the names of their villages that no longer exist. They’ve lost their children. They have nothing left. And yet they pay for everything.”
Loose on the Landscape: An Ecologist Looks for Meaning in the Wildest PlacesNote: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Pssst! Buddy, can you keep a secret? Good. Cuz I’m about to let you in on one. Sort of. Here it is:
One of Mom’s favorite movies is A River Runs Through It. Not necessarily because of the story, although the movie parallels Norman Maclean’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novella pretty close. But the movie is a Mom fave for two other reasons: 1) Mark Isham’s masterfully moving musical score, and 2) The spectacular landscape and scenery of Montana.
Maybe that’s why Mom had the movie’s musical score in her head on auto-play when she opened this book. I’ll let Mom fill you in:
Blanco and the Starry NightNote: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blanco is a thirteen year-old graffiti artist in Los Angeles. He’s a ward of the state. In foster care. Blanco loves art. Paintings. Sculptures. And Van Gogh’s Starry Night, aka: Swirly Sky. All he’s ever really wanted, from as early as he can remember, is a family that wants him. Will a mysterious underground art community fill the bill? And what about the kids in this community who are “saving” art from the evil Master of Shadow? (Think Voldemort and Inkheart’s The Shadow.) Is the “forbidden wing” really haunted? By whom? Why? And what’s up with Smirk?
Mystery at Sea Edge: A Monterey AdventureNote: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Most of you already know how Mom loves the mountains. All that fresh air. Nature. Hiking. Peace and solitude. Good smells. But Mom also loves the beach and the ocean. Crashing breakers. Squabbling sea gulls. Salt air. And one of her most favorite-ish ocean-ish places in the whole wide world is California’s Monterey Peninsula. (I hear they serve a mighty good clam chowder thereabouts. Remind me to make a note of that, okay?)
Chillin’ at the beach!
So when Mom found this young adult novel that combines Monterey, the beach/ocean, mystery, history, and surfboard loads of adventure, it was like, Cowabunga Dudes and Dudettes! (Don’t tell her I said that, okay? Let’s just keep that our little secret.) I’ll let Mom fill you in. Like this:
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Some books are meant to be sipped and savored slowly, like fine wine. NancyStordahl’s EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic is one of them. Profound and powerful, Emerging takes readers on a deep dive into the lifelong process of healing and self-acceptance as learned by a self-described “average sort of worrier.” It’s a terrific read!
Keeping the Watch: Caretaking The Hidden Value of a Family HeirloomBooks are amazing. Sometimes they’re exactly what you expect. Sometimes they surprise you. You can’t always tell what’s inside by looking at the cover. Perusing the book blurb. Or even reading other reviews.
Memoirs can be especially tricky in this regard. Cuz let’s face it, Cupcake. Unless you’re famous, a celebrity, a Big Name or have an uber compelling life story with a transcendent theme that’s gonna resonate with lotsa folks, most people who don’t know you and have never heard of you aren’t gonna care. Sorry, Toots. That’s just the way it is.
Keeping the Watch is one of those. To be clear, Watch isn’t a “bad” book. It’s pretty well written and is a history of the Blau family. It’s based on true historical figures in the author’s ancestry. But we just could not get into it. We tried and tried and tried. Gave it so many second, third, fourth and more chances, we got whiplash.
We put off reviewing this book for so long, our cerebral hard drive sprouted cobwebs. On the cobwebs. But we finally got down to brass tacks today. So here ya go:
If you’ve been reading Pages and Paws for very long – say, twenty minutes or so – you know that Mom and I are pretty picky about what we do and don’t accept for review. We get tons of review requests. We accept less than half. Those that color outside our Submission Guidelines typically go straight to the Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky.
But every once in a while we might be willing to bend if the review request is for a children’s book. Emphasis on might. That was the case with the Maji Muki Storybook for Children.
We knew when we got it that the requester hadn’t read our Submission Guidelines. (You’d be surprised how obvious this is. We always know who has and who hasn’t read our Guidelines. Always.)
Getting a request addressed to “Dear Children’s Books Aficionado” was a clue. Ditto the subject line: Something New in Children’s Books. Someone didn’t read our Submission Guidelines. And sent the whole book before we greenlighted it for review. Another No-No. But, hey. It’s a children’s book, right? So we decided to flex a bit.
Here’s the 4-1-1:
Dead by ProxyNote: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Most people don’t get to attend their own funeral. Or hear their eulogy. But criminal defense attorney Byron Douglas does both in this gripping legal thriller by Manning Wolfe. Indeed, it’s a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire for Byron Douglas in this riveting read that expertly teams courtroom drama and legal maneuvering with imminent danger, spine-tingling suspense, a touch of romance, and non-stop action. Talk about an adrenaline rush!
Byron Douglas is a New York defense attorney. He’s counsel for Irish mobster Killian Tyrone. Tyrone is accused of murdering a confidential FBI informant at the say-so of his mobster boss, Tua Dannon. When the jury returns a guilty verdict for Tyrone, Dannon and” his gang” blame Douglas for the verdict. And they aim to settle the score. Permanently. Byron thinks he’s in the clear because Tyrone has fired him and secured other legal counsel. So Byron’s no longer the attorney of record.
Not so fast. Or easy.
Pages & Paws 