The Emerald Ring (Cleopatra's Legacy) by Dorine White

5 STARS

The Emerald Ring is the first book in Cleopatra's Legacy. It is a paranormal, fantasy, action book. I thought it
was a fresh idea. I would read the next book if one comes in this series.

Sara found a emerald ring in her grandmother's attic and put it on. It shocked her. She tried to get it off and she could not get it off. It was on pretty tight. Sara's grandmother tried butter, cold water but still could not get it off.

That night Sara had nightmares that seemed real to her and she slept with the light on the rest of the night. Sara started middle school. Her first day was interesting. She got to take the new kid around. His name is Kainu Nehru from Nigeria, Africa.
Then in her first period she thought the girl behind her was talking to her and called her name. Sara reacted and got sent to Principle office.

Heidi is Sara's best friend. Her house got broke into during the day and was searched. Heidi and her mom got to spend the night at Sara's house because her father was out of town. Sara told her of the voice she heard and other things she noticed. Heidi had a hard time believing her. So they did a experiment and proved that now Sara could smell really good and identify items just by smell. Sara could also hear animals speaking sometimes.

Then things got weirder and Sara ended up in the hospital with a high fever. They could not figure out what was going on with her but Sara figured it out. She had a new power that would shock anyone if it happened to them.

Their new friend told them about what brought him to their town. He was after a thief who stole something from his family that had been with the tribe for years. He overheard them say where they were going and that they were after a emerald ring. Kainu told them he guessed it might be the ring that Sara wore.

The Emerald ring was Cleopatra's. The emerald was part of a necklace with other stones that had powers. The thief was part of a group that has been searching for the stones. Kainu's father had one of the stones. He is now in a coma after the thief surprised him and hit him in the head. Now Sara could be in danger.

This is aimed at Middle school age. I liked it even though I am way older than that by a few decades. It is a very entertaining story. Lots of action and a little bit of history.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give a honest review of it when I finished by Netgalley.

Expected publication: May 14th 2013 by Cedar Fort, Inc. 192 pages ISBN 1462111335



BOOK DISCRIPTION TAKEN OF GOODREADS.

Ordinary tween life turns upside down when Ancient Egypt intrudes on modern middle school life. Twelve year old Sara Guadalupe Bogus reads about adventures, but unexpectedly is drawn into one when a mystical emerald ring that once belonged to Cleopatra becomes stuck on her finger.
A series of burglaries spook Sara’s small Ohio hometown. Concluding that the root of all the crimes is the emerald ring, Sara realizes it’s up to her and her friends, Heidi and African exchange student Kainu, to save the town and protect Cleopatra’s legacy. Filled with magic, the ring thrusts Sara into a world filled with nightmares, allows her to shape shift into an Egyptian cat and battle assassins.

The Lady and the Unicorn by Iris Johansen

3 STARS

I remember reading The Lady and the Unicorn when it first came out years ago as a Loveswept book #29. In fact I still may have it in a box in the attic. I still like it. The plot is still good. I still like the characters. Their is still too much sex in it.

Janna Cannon is a very caring person. She works at a wildlife that has just lost it's lease. If they don't find a big enough land for the animals they will have to be sent to different zoos. They found some land but they can't get a hold of the owner Rafe Santine to see if he would donate the land for a new wildlife park.

Rafe is a rich businessman. He has women that stay with him that he buys them expensive jewelry and clothes. He has a temper. A A personality, always wanting to go. Now he is stuck at his mansion while he recuperates for 2 months. He is bored.

Janna decides to scale his 12 foot wall to get the chance to talk to Rafe. The estate has guard dogs at night and they will attack strangers on the property. Janna has the dogs under her control and stops them from going after their handlers.

Rafe is curious that Janna wants to meet him so badly that he has her escorted to him. He thinks she is a hooker.
Rafe decides if she will stay their for the rest of his time their he will give the land worth over 2 million dollars. Janna agrees.

One thing I learned about was tigers and how many tigers it would take to make a fur coat. It really brought it too my attention. How we need to take care of wild animals.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.
05/13/2013 PUB. Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept 284 pages ISBN 9780345546111

Description below taken off of Netgalley.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen gives readers a scintillating story of captivity and freedom, love and longing.

Rafe Santine is under doctor’s orders: He needs to stay put in his coastal California mansion for two months to recuperate from the pneumonia that nearly killed him. Despite a retinue of mistresses to keep the powerful tycoon occupied, Rafe struggles against boredom—until a stunning woman literally drops onto his estate. She has high demands of him, but Rafe has even greater demands of her. He knows instantly that he must possess every facet of the enigmatic Janna. But the only thing she’ll give him is her body—and for the first time in his life, that is not enough for Rafe.

Janna Cannon is willing to risk it all to save the endangered animals of the wild animal reserve where she works as a game warden. With the land they depend on pulled out from under them, Janna must take a gambit to convince billionaire Santine to give the reserve the real estate they need to keep the animals free. And she’ll need to sneak onto the man’s vast, highly protected property to do it. Much to her surprise, Santine agrees to grant her the land—if Janna agrees to give him herself in exchange. And what begins as luxurious captivity soon turns into an emotional awakening she never expected.

The Huaca by Marcia Mickelson

4 STARS

This is the first book that I have read from Marcia Mickelson. I liked it. Though I was surprised where the story ended up going. I have to admit to shedding some tears while reading the book. It is a clean read. I really like Ellie and Gabe. They were both likeable, smart, with their own strengths and flaws. Some of the other characters were not so likeable or at least the things they did.

Ellie is in her junior year at school. She is sitting by herself at lunch because her best friend Sarah was mad at the thing that Ellie did. It was all Ellie's fault. She had the nerve to take information Sarah told her about her possible boyfriend committing a crime and report it to the police. So a lot of the teens were shunning her.

Gabe comes up to Ellie at lunch and tell her thank you for helping him. Gabe is shy and different. The rumors around him that he cuts himself, that he lives in a haunted house by himself. Ellie had not really known much about him before, Now all of a sudden he is sitting by her and talking to her.

Ellie's friend Sarah has always told her what to wear and talking her into buying the expensive brand name stuff. So they would fit in. Now Ellie is not ready to fall back into that place. Ellie's mom was murder this past year her killer was never found. Now its just her and her dad. Ellie is good in school except for history she has a hard time understanding the different civilizations like Inca, and Mayan. She has to do a oral report on the Inca and it was worth a quarter of her grade.

Gabe is a loner. He is part of the track team and good. That is why on prank night the seniors broke into his house took their couch outside and set it on fire. Gabe works at a grocery store. No one ever sees his mom or talks to her. His father's family came from Peru and was part Inca. He is willing to share about the Inca to Ellie. He can communicate with the dead. He wants to share with Ellie but scares her.

I was enjoying the relationships with all the different characters and how they were changing as their experiences, wants take them to different places in their lives.
Their is lots of drama, some of it is typical and some is not. It shows a little about the Inca. Talks about depression and how some cope with it. How some grieve and how different it is for different people.

I had a hard time putting the book down till I had finished it. I would like to read other books by Marcia in the future.
I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it when I was done by Netgalley.
publication: May 14th 2013 by Cedar Fort, Inc. Sweetwater 256 pages ISBN:9781462111909



Description below is taken off of Goodreads.

Seventeen-year-old Ellie Cummings just wants to be a regular teenager, but after her mother’s mysterious murder, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever be normal again. Her mother’s death has left Ellie and her father worlds apart. And when her best friend abandons her, Ellie has no one else to turn to—except for the strange boy who says he can help.

Gabe de la Cruz seems to know way too much about everything,
and her instincts tell Ellie to stay far away. But when he claims that he can communicate with the dead through an ancient Incan artifact, Ellie can’t resist the temptation of seeing her mother again. In the hanan pacha—the Incan afterworld—Ellie’s mother sends a message to help Ellie understand what happened the night of the murder—a message that may be better kept a secret . . .

Cozy Classics: Les Miserables by Jack Wang, Holman Wang

3 STARS

This is a nice picture book. Very few words but lots of pictures that tell the story. Very simply told. Good for babies and toddlers who like picture books. It would also help if adults had read the book and can explain more about the pictures.
I was given this ebook for free and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.
publication: May 30th 2013 by Simply Read Books 24 pages ISBN: 1927018218

Description below taken off of Netgalley.


Give a kid a classic! Cozy Classics is the popular board book series that presents well-loved stories to children aged 0+ through twelve child-friendly words and twelve needle-felted illustrations. Les Misérables is Victor Hugo’s sweeping French saga about one man’s search for redemption in a world of hardship and misery, and is one of the world’s most beloved classics. Now you can share this classic with children of any age.

Cozy Classics: War and Peace by Jack Wang, Holman Wang

3 STARS

I was expecting a little more of the story. I have never read War and Peace so I thought I could read a Cozy Classics first. This is more a picture book than a story. I love the pictures and this would be good for little little kids. This review alone has more words in it.
I was given this ebook for free and asked to give honest review of it.
Pub Date May 30 2013 Simply Read Books Smith Publicity 24 pages ISBN-10: 1927018226


Description below taken off of Netgalley


Give a kid a classic! Cozy Classics is the popular board book series that presents well-loved stories to children aged 0+ through twelve child-friendly words and twelve needle-felted illustrations. War and Peace is Leo Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece about love and friendship in aristocratic Russia during the country’s struggle against Napoleon, and is often considered the greatest novel of all time. Now you can share this classic with children of any age.

Bubble Trouble by Wanda E. Brunstetter

4 STARS

Bubble Trouble is a good Amish story for young kids about twins who worry a lot about simple and complex things. It is a clean story that can be enjoyed at any age. This is the third book of the series but only the first one I have read. I also love the cover.

Mattie and Mark Miller are nine year old twins. They are normal children who like to play, go to school, love their pets, enjoy their lives but also worry about things. They are a little different in that they don't watch t.v., play video games, listen to radio and drive in cars. They ride a bike built for two or walk to school.

Mattie is good at playing ball, likes her dog, is terrible at spelling.
Mark is smart and likes big words. He is not good at baseball. He enjoys his cats, and teasing his sister.
When they worry or scared they pray for help and turn their problems over to God.

This gives a good look at the Amish life for kids. I enjoyed reading Bubble Trouble and will continue to read books by Wanda E. Brunstetter.
I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it by Netgalley.
05/01/2013 PUB. Barbour Publishing, Inc. 160 pages ISBN:1620291487

Description below taken off of Netgalley.


Twins Mattie and Mark Miller experience Bubble Troubles in their Holmes County, Ohio, community. Whether they’re worrying over lost dogs, scary storms, or falling through the ice, the energetic nine-year-olds just can’t seem to shake their feelings of uneasiness and uncertainty. Will Mattie and Mark learn the value of turning their worries over to God before it’s too late? Eight- to twelve-year-old readers will fall in love with the third book in this brand-new series from bestselling author, Wanda E. Brunstetter.

If I Stayed (Amish Romance) by Becca Fisher

4 STARS

If I Stayed is really two different stories with the main character Hannah Miller. Hannah is of age for rumspringa. Hannah doesn't want to do wild things but she does want to explore the world and learn more. Her parents don't agree with her though, they want her to stay in Lancaster.

So part of the story is her decision to stay and what happens to her at home. The other is do follow her dream and go to collage and learn. Because of that decision all these other things happen to her. The story switches back and forth between the two choices show what happens to her.

It would be nice if we all could see what happens because of the choices we make. It would be easier to live with but maybe not. I listened to part of the story on my kindle and sometimes I would get lost between the story lines. Had no problem with the part as I was reading though. It was interesting to see the difference with her life went. Hannah really did not change that much either way. She stayed close to her Savior and tried to follow his way.

It is a clean read. Entertaining story. It shows also how different choices bring different results. Some are good and some can lead to bad results.

I was given this ebook and asked to give honest review of when finished by author through Librarything.
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. April 04, 2013 94 pages ASIN: B00C7GFF82

Description below taken off of Amazon.

Hannah Miller has always been the curious type. Desperate to explore the world. So when rumspringa comes, she wants to go to the big city. But is she willing to risk losing everything that's important to her when her parents insist that she stay in Lancaster?

"If I Stayed" is an Amish Romance about the decisions we make, and how the consequences of those decisions can change our lives forever.