Monday, January 30, 2023

*Top Ten Tuesday* Freebie/Historical Fiction Request Roulette (Jan 31)



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is freebie, and I'm horrible at coming up with my own ideas so I ALWAYS default to Netgalley Request Roulette for these topics. Since I just played a game of YA Request Roulette three weeks ago, I'm going to have to pick a different genre, and I've never played in another genre before, so this will be interesting. I'm also building this post two weeks in advance because I'm going to be traveling next weekend when I would normally build my post for TTT, so I expect to have more results from my requests at the time the post goes live. 

I have elected to play this round of request roulette in the historical fiction category on Netgalley. It's a genre that's been hitting the spot for me lately. Let's go. 

Title: In Feast or Famine
Author: Mesu Andrews
Publisher: Waterbrook & Multnomah
Release date: May 9, 2023
Setting: B.C. Egypt
Request: Approved

Blurb

Thrust into an arranged marriage, the daughter of ancient Egypt’s high priest plays a pivotal role in Joseph’s biblical narrative in this powerful novel from the award-winning author of Potiphar’s Wife.

After four-year-old Asenath’s mother is murdered by Egypt’s foreign rulers, the child is raised to be a priestess by her overprotective father—high priest of Egypt’s sun god. For fifteen years, Asenath is sequestered in the upper levels of Ra’s temple, convinced it is her destiny to heal the land by becoming queen to the next Egyptian
pharaoh. But when Egypt’s foreign king instead gives her as a bride to the newly appointed vizier—a Hebrew named Joseph—her entire world is shaken. 

Beyond the walls of her tower, Asenath discovers treachery, deceit, and conspiracy that force her to redefine her destiny and weigh where her true loyalties lie. Can she still trust the gods of Egypt? Or is Elohim, the foreign God of her husband, the one who will heal her nation during the feast and famine to come?


Title: The Air Raid Book Club
Author: Annie Lyons
Publisher: William Morrow
Release date: July 11, 2023
Setting: WWII England
Request: Approved

Blurb

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett comes a heartwarming story of found family, love, and making connections through books set against the bombing of London during WWII.

London, 1938: The bookstore just doesn’t feel the same to Gertie Bingham ever since the death of her beloved husband Harry. Bingham Books was a dream they shared together, and without Harry, Gertie wonders if it’s time to take her faithful old lab, Hemingway, and retire to the seaside. But fate has other plans for Gertie.

In Germany, Hitler is on the rise, and Jewish families are making the heart-wrenching decision to send their children away from the growing turmoil. After a nudge from her dear friend Charles, Gertie decides to take in one of these refugees, a headstrong teenage girl named Hedy. Willful and fearless, Hedy reminds Gertie of herself at the same age, and shows her that she can’t give up just yet. With the terrible threat of war on the horizon, the world needs people like Gertie Bingham and her bookshop.

When the Blitz begins and bombs whistle overhead, Gertie and Hedy come up with the idea to start an air raid book club. Together with neighbors and bookstore customers, they hold lively discussions of everything from Winnie the Pooh to Wuthering Heights. After all, a good book can do wonders to bolster people’s spirits, even in the most trying times.

But even the best book can only provide a temporary escape, and as the tragic reality of the war hits home, the book club faces unimaginable losses. They will need all the strength of their stories and the bonds they’ve formed to see them through to brighter days.


Title: The Big Sugar
Author: Mary Logue
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Release date: May 23, 2023
Setting: 1880s American West
Request: Approved

Blurb

A grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881
 

After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood, Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly mystery—beginning with her discovery of a neighbor’s body on the plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two men in Ella’s life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive, her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local’s charms, and the sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella’s fate, it falls to Brigid to investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs of one of Cheyenne’s cattle barons, called “big sugars” in these parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling, soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming—and maybe, just maybe, she wants Padraic—but life, it seems, has other plans: this young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her.

Loosely based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue’s celebrated mystery The Streel, which introduced a “gritty, charming, clever protagonist” (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a keen eye for suspense, and a poet’s way with prose, Mary Logue all but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible.



Title: The Lady of the Loch
Author: Elena Collins
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Release date: February 23, 2023
Setting: 1300s & present day Scotland
Request: Denied

Blurb

Although I believe I will die here in this castle, my spirit will never be silent.’

Ravenscraig Castle, Scotland. 1307

When the castle she works in is sacked by the army of Prince Edward of England, kitchen maid Agnes Fitzgerald manages to escape north of Inverness to throw herself at the mercy of the Lord and Lady at Ravenscraig Castle. Although safe for now, the people of Scotland are fighting hard for their independence, and the threat of the English hangs heavy over the land.  But when Agnes spies Cam Buchanan swimming in the loch, her mind turns away from war and towards love.  Agnes even dares to dream of a happy future, until she learns that Cam must go and fight alongside Robert de Brus.

Present day

Twins Leah and Zoe need a change, so caretaking at Ravenscraig Castle is the perfect opportunity to get away from it all. Surrounded by rugged Highland countryside, and bordered by a loch, the picturesque setting is everything they dreamed of. But the locals are reluctant to visit Ravenscraig, and there are whispers of ghosts and lost souls. The sisters quickly dismiss such superstition, but soon the overwhelming sadness they feel coming from the tower grows too hard to ignore.

Can the sisters finally right the wrongs of seven hundred years of heartbreak, seven hundred years of betrayal…


Title: Alchemy of a Blackbird
Author: Claire McMillan
Publisher: Atria Books
Release date: July 11, 2023
Setting: WWII France
Request: Pending

Blurb

For fans of The Age of Light and Z, a mystical, historical novel based on the true story of the 20th-century painters and occultists Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington, each beginning as the muse of a famous lover and then breaking away to become an icon in her own right through a powerful friendship that springs from their connection to the tarot.

Desperate to escape the Nazis, painter Remedios Varo and her lover, poet Benjamin Peret, flee Paris for Villa Air Bel, a safe house for artists on the Riviera. Along with Max Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, and others, the two anxiously wait for exit papers. As the months pass, Remedios begins to sense that the others don’t see her as a fellow artist; they have cast her in the stifling role of a surrealist ideal: the beautiful innocent. She finds refuge in a mysterious bookshop, where she stumbles into a world of occult learning and intensifies an esoteric practice in the tarot that helps her light the bright fire of her creative genius.

When travel documents come through, Remedios and Benjamin flee to Mexico where she is reunited with friend and fellow painter Leonora Carrington. Together, the women tap into their creativity, stake their independence, and each find their true loves. But it is the tarot that enables them to access the transcendent that lies on the other side of consciousness, to become the truest Surrealists of all.

From an author with “an enchanting, intoxicating voice” (Cristina Alger, author of 
The Darlings), Alchemy of a Blackbird is about a dynamic female friendship that became a historic artistic collaboration between two giants of the art world.


Title: Lady Tan's Circle of Women
Author: Lisa See
Publisher: Scribner
Release date: June 6, 2023
Setting: 1400s China
Request: Approved

Blurb

The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snowflower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. 
No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? 
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.


Title: The Stolen Twins
Author: Shari J. Ryan
Publisher: Bookouture
Release date: February 14, 2023
Setting: WWII Poland
Request: Approved

Blurb

Auschwitz, 1944: “You can’t leave me,” I whisper, my hand trembling as I reach for her cheek. “You can’t. We’re in this life together, always, just you and me.” This utterly heartbreaking yet beautifully hopeful World War Two page-turner tells the story of identical twin sisters in Auschwitz. Born minutes apart, Arina and Nora have never left each other’s side—until now…

The cattle car is dark, except for the light filtering through the boarded windows. There are too many of us to count, crushed up against each other. The air is stuffy, carrying the scent of our terror—none of us know what awaits us when this train stops. I cling onto Mama’s hand and Nora, my twin sister, clutches Papa’s.

After what feels like forever, the train stops. We spill out of the carriage, the sun blinding us after being imprisoned in darkness for so long. There are people everywhere, soldiers separating children from their parents, husbands from wives.

We’re in some sort of queue, and a man in a dark-green SS uniform walks by, glancing at everyone he passes. “Twins, twins,” he shouts. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach.

“Right here,” says Mama, hesitation in her voice. “My daughters are twins.” My eyes widen, and Nora trembles. Papa tries to tell Mama to be quiet, but it’s too late.

The Nazi catches sight of us. “Twins,” he says again, pausing to inspect Nora and me. “Yes, you are, aren’t you? You two are going to come along with me.”


Title: The House of Lincoln
Author: Nancy Horan
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release date: June 6, 2023
Setting: Mid-1800s America
Request: Approved

Blurb

An unprecedented view of Lincoln's Springfield from the acclaimed and bestselling author of Loving Frank.

Nancy Horan, author of the million-copy New York Times bestseller Loving Frank, returns with a sweeping historical novel, which tells the story of Abraham Lincoln's ascendance from rumpled lawyer to U.S. president to the Great Emancipator through the eyes of a young asylum-seeker who arrives in Lincoln's home of Springfield from Madeira, Portugal.

Showing intelligence beyond society's expectations, fourteen-year-old Ana Ferreira lands a job in the Lincoln household assisting Mary Lincoln with their boys and with the hostess duties borne by the wife of a rising political star. Ana bears witness to the evolution of Lincoln's views on equality and the Union and observes in full complexity the psyche and pain of his bold, polarizing wife, Mary.

Along with her African American friend Cal, Ana encounters the presence of the underground railroad in town and experiences personally how slavery is tearing apart her adopted country. Culminating in an eyewitness account of the little-known Springfield race riot of 1908, The House of Lincoln takes readers on a journey through the historic changes that reshaped America and that continue to reverberate today.


Amazon


Title: The Castle Keepers
Author: Aimie K. Runyan, J'Nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan
Publisher: Harper Muse
Release date: May 2, 2023
Setting: 1870, 1917, and 1945 England
Request: Denied

Blurb

Leedswick Castle has housed the Alnwick family in the English countryside for generations, despite a family curse determined to destroy their legacy and erase them from history.

1870. After a disastrous dinner at the Astor mansion forces her to flee New York in disgrace, socialite Beatrice Holbrook knows her performance in London must be a triumph. When she catches the eye of Charles Alnwick, one of the town’s most enviably-titled bachelors, she prepares to attempt a social coup and become the future Marchioness of Northridge. When tragedy and scandal strike the Alnwick family, Beatrice must assume the role of a lifetime: that of her true, brave self.

1917. Artist Elena Hamilton arrives in Northumberland determined to transform a soldier’s wounds into something beautiful. Tobias Alnwick’s parents have commissioned a lifelike mask to help their son return to his former self after battle wounds partially destroyed his face. But Elena doesn’t see a man who needs fixing—she sees a man who needn’t hide. Yet secrets from their past threaten to chase away the peace they’ve found in each other and destroy the future they’re creating.

1945. Alec Alnwick returns home from the war haunted but determined to leave death and destruction behind. With the help of Brigitta Mayr, the brilliant young psychoanalyst whose correspondence was a lifeline during his time on the Western Front, he reconstructs his family’s large estate into a rehabilitation center for similarly wounded soldiers. Now Alec’s efforts may be the only chance to redeem his family legacy—and break the curse on the Alnwick name—once and for all.


Amazon


Title: Stone Blind
Author: Natalie Haynes
Publisher: Harper
Release date: February 7, 2023
Setting: Ancient Greece
Request: Pending

Blurb

The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.

They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. 

The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge—on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.

Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman—injured by a powerful man—is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.


Amazon


There we have it. Ten books in the historical fiction category that I hope to get approved for on Netgalley. You may have noticed that three of the books are set exclusively around WWII, and I absolutely could've filled this entire list with WWII fiction book requests. I wanted to try to feature other eras though in spite of WWII Europe being my favorite historical fiction era to read about. So now we just wait to see how successful I am with all these requests. 


Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? What's your favorite historical fiction book you've read recently if so? If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your freebie post below so I can see what you choose this week for a topic (so that maybe next time we have a freebie I can avoid playing another game of Netgalley Request Roulette!) - Katie 


*B Movie Monday* Evils of the Night

 


Welcome to another installment of B Movie Monday, where I watch a low budget film and tell you all about it. These posts will contain spoilers, so if you think you might want to watch the movie without knowing what happens, quit reading now. 


Watched on: Vudu
Duration: 1 hour 24 minutes
Directed by: Mardi Rustam
Starring: Neville Brand, Aldo Ray and Tina Louise
Please see IMDb for full cast and crew information. 

Synopsis

Vacationing teens are systematically kidnapped and taken to a strange, rural hospital, run by a mysterious group that needs their blood.

Review

I didn't take nearly as many notes on this movie as have for previous B Movie Monday features. There just wasn't a whole lot that was particularly notable for me, because this was a classic low budget, old school horror movie. The acting was mediocre, the plot was predictable, and the characters made horrible choices for their own self-preservation. Every chance any of the women had to take out the kidnappers, instead of smashing them over the head with a heavy tool and knocking them out, they'd weakly hit them a couple times, presumably on the shoulder, and then need to run away again. And a couple of them struggled to figure out how to open a standard door. It's basically all the things the Wayans Brothers made fun of in the intro to Scary Movie. 

One of the things I did make note of, is that apparently face licking was a huge turn on for these teenagers. Of all the areas on my body that could be licked, my face is probably the one least likely to rev up my engine, but it was a big feature of the sexy times in this movie, and there were several of them, with various couples. In true horror movie fashion, characters that weren't virgins, died. 

This wasn't an awful movie, and I'd probably watch it again to put myself to sleep. But it was also largely unremarkable, neither good nor bad, and not particularly amusing for being bad. I don't even have a favorite quote from this one. 

Buy the Movie

*Sneak Peek Review* Out of the Blue by Alison Bliss

 

Genre: Romance
Published: February 1, 2022
Pages: 369


Alison Bliss shares her funny, charming voice in this small-town romance about a curvaceous heroine falling for her personal trainer—perfect for fans of Susan Mallery and Jenny Hale.

The course of true love was 
never supposed to start on a stair climber…
 
Preslee Owens has never worked out in a gym before. Like truly 
never. Until today. As she struggles to stay upright on the stair climber, she accidentally broadcasts a vlog that lets complete strangers—and even worse, people in her own small town--witness the hilarious start to her fitness journey. To her surprise and mortification, viewers love it.
 
The positive reaction leaves Preslee with no choice but to return—and the discovery that her unrequited crush, Josh, works out in the same gym is a big bonus. It also helps that her new personal trainer is making sure she doesn’t kill herself in the process. In fact, Adam has even offered to pretend to be her boyfriend to help make Josh a little jealous.
 
Having Adam cheering her on brings out a strength and confidence Preslee barely recognizes in herself. And soon she’s enjoying being his fake girlfriend 
waaay too much. But will her newfound courage allow her to face her biggest fear yet and seize the life she truly wants? 


"Don't sniff the woman! What the hell is wrong with you?"


I received a copy of this sneak peek through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

Y'all, I can relate to Preslee so hard. A year and a half ago I joined a gym for the first time ever because I wanted to get healthier just like Preslee does (and I had concerns of gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with both of my children which means I'm more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if I don't keep an eye on my health). I was right there in her shoes looking at the equipment and not knowing what to do with most of it. And all of that is why I was yelling at Preslee to just accept the personal training offer. Although I'm no longer working with a personal trainer myself, because I did for several months, I now have some idea of what I'm doing in a gym (I'd have better results with a personal trainer, but I at least know how to use the various equipment). If I had someone offering me FREE personal training, I would accept in a heartbeat. 

Since I only had a brief glimpse into this story, I don't really have any idea how the relationship between Preslee and Adam builds, but I can make some pretty educated guesses. The way things start out between them definitely leaves a lot of room for plenty of bumps in their road. Things can get even more complicated when you add the bet into the mix. Preslee could absolutely go full She's All That on Adam when Kurt accidentally drops the bomb about the bet they'd made. 

This little peek into the story has definitely whetted my appetite and I see a ton of potential for the romance. I imagine it's a book I could probably fly through, anxious to keep reading in spite of other responsibilities, so it is a book I will be looking into finishing at some point in the future. - Katie 




Alison Bliss grew up in Small Town, Texas, but currently resides in the Midwest with her husband and two sons. With so much testosterone in her home, it's no wonder she writes "girl books." She believes the best way to know if someone is your soul mate is by canoeing with them because if you both make it back alive, it's obviously meant to be. Alison pens the type of books she loves to read most: fun, steamy love stories with heart, heat, laughter, and usually a cowboy or two.

To learn more, visit her at:
http://authoralisonbliss.com
Facebook/AuthorAlisonBliss
Twitter @AlisonBliss2

Saturday, January 28, 2023

*Stacking the Shelves* January 28, 2023


(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Reading Reality in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. All Goodreads First Reads ebook wins unless otherwise specified.

The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey - I bought this book on sale for $1.99 because it's a series I want to own in it's entirety. I first started reading these books in middle school because my mother owns most of them and it's a series I absolutely love, and want to read again because it's been many years. 
The Countess of the Revolution by Lana Kortchik - I paid full price (I think) for this book because I was going to request it on Netgalley for a Top Ten Tuesday post, but when I saw the ebook was already available on Amazon and only $3.99, I decided I just wanted to buy it. 
Disability Nightmare by Robert Peprah-Gyamfi
True Founder: What No One Else Has the Guts to Teach You About Starting Your First Business by Marc Lafleur
Among Shadows by Aline P Mora
Toxic by Lydia Kang - I bought this ebook on sale for I think $1.99 (but I'm not 100% sure as I had credits from the new point system on Amazon that paid for it). 
Christmas Corpse - This is another book I bought on sale and don't know how much I paid for it because it was paid for with credits. I've been tossing around the idea of hosting a Christmas in July reading challenge, and thought this one would be perfect for that. 

So that's all the new books I got this week, and it's a fairly even mix of ebook wins and books that I bought. What new books have you added to your shelves recently? If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can pay you a visit after I get home from visiting my parents. - Katie 



Friday, January 27, 2023

*Book Blogger Hop* Reading Atmosphere Preferences



We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is: 

Do you prefer to read in a quiet or noisy setting? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Yes. That's the short answer because I don't have one specific preference. Sometimes I like having music playing in the background while I'm reading (when I was in school I ALWAYS had music playing in the background while I read, now it's not an every time thing). Other times, especially if what I'm reading is on the heavier side, I do need my environment to be quiet. It's quite frustrating when I sequester myself in the bedroom to read while my husband plays video games, then he decides we need to spend time together and comes in watching reels on Facebook at full volume. Like dude, did you not see me in a completely quiet room here? 

So how about you? Do you like background noise or silence? If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your full answer. - Katie 

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Review: Spring Fun by Anita Bijsterbosch

 

Genre: Children's 3-7
Published: March 14, 2023
Pages: 32


Spring is finally here! Time to go outside and play with your friends!

Join Fox, Mouse, Raccoon, and Owl as they get ready to see animals, take a hot-air balloon ride and have an amazing day! But, wait. They need your help. Get ready to shake, shake, shake, blow hard and move this book all around to make it happen!

An interactive picture book filled with spring cheer! For children ages 3 years and up.



I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a cute little story about a couple of animal friends heading out for an adventure on a spring day. There are periodic action instructions for the audience that would be much more fitting with a physical book rather than an ebook (which is probably why this book is only available as a hardcover). 

The illustrations were very vibrant and crisp, showing the action along the adventure. This is a book I'd be okay reading a few times because it's fun and short. I'm fairly certain it would be a kid favorite as well because of the interactive element of the story. 

Overall I give it 4.2 out of 5 stars. - Katie 




Anita Bijsterbosch was born in the Netherlands and has loved reading her entire life. As a child, she could spend hours poring through books, looking at pictures and hoping one day she could make such beautiful illustrations herself. After high school, Anita took drawing and painting lessons and practiced on her own until she had mastered many illustration techniques. When her children were young, Anita read to them every night and became inspired to write and illustrate her own children’s books. Her first book, Whose Hat Is That?, was awarded the Key Colors International Illustrators Award in 2012, and she has been creating books ever since.

Review: Sally's Big Day by Andrew Larsen


Genre: Children's 3-5
Published: February 14, 2023
Pages: 32


Sally is excited for the first day of puppy school, but it isn’t easy when there are so many new things to see (and sniff!).

It's hard to focus at puppy school when there are all kinds of pups to play with, water to splash in...and so many smells! But Sally doesn't give up and keeps trying, ending the day triumphantly.

Just like children, puppies have a lot to explore in and learn about the world around them. This sweet story will give confidence to young readers as they venture into the world to learn and try new things.



I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a very short book about a young puppy going to puppy school. On the way to school, Sally sees several different pups that are also heading to puppy school. At school she learns how to sit, but it takes a few tries before she really gets the concept down. 

The illustrations were bright and whimsical and finding the hiding bunnies was mildly amusing for me. I wouldn't want to read this story too terribly often, but the occasional re-read wouldn't make me want to claw my eyes out either. And it does have the brevity on it's side for extra re-reads. 

Overall I give it 3.3 out of 5 stars. - Katie 




Amazon had no information about this author.