Semi-Annual Check in Post 2024

 Hey y'all. So it's been a little over a year since I did one of these things, and I did not do a very good job of meeting the goals I set for myself in last years' (I think I only read about 6 months worth of children's books, and I still need to write the reviews for half of them!) But it's been a new year for over a month which means I once again have some motivation to "make some changes and get serious about my blogging!" But like, I've learned some lessons from my mistakes in the past. This year I am not trying to read and review a kids book every single day to work on padding my Netgalley feedback percentage. While it is still a great way for me to make up for my Netgalley hole, it was clearly too much for me to maintain, so I'm not doing it. What I do plan to do this year, with the goal of improving that feedback percentage, is read and review a children's book for every non-children's book I get through Netgalley. That means I'll get at least one review written for every two books I download, and will help me with my goals. But first, I need to get all my backlogged reviews written and posted and uploaded on Netgalley. I don't even know what my actual reading percentage on Netgalley is because of how many reviews I currently need to write, so over the next several days, I hope to make a very serious dent in those. Wish me luck. 

I'm also currently battling my arch-nemesis to read more books than she does. As of about 8 pm this evening, we are tied with 26 books read for the year (she was ahead of me this morning). As the race is currently neck and neck, that may slow down my review writing some, but I'm hopeful that it will not as reading more books just means I have more reviews I need to write, and I will struggle more and more with the reviews if I put them off too long (and I'm already 6 months behind so...) 

Finally, I've been making a more concerted effort to read books that I've won through Goodreads giveaways, but also books that I've purchased at the thrift store. I make those book selections a bit of a game that I may bring to my Facebook page on a more regular basis where I've been having my Facebook friends vote on a selection of 5 books to determine which one I should read next. So far it's been adding an extra shot of dopamine for me as they interact with my post. This has had the added benefit of my husband being less annoyed by my personal library of books since I'm reading more physical books now as well. 

And that is basically what's going on for me bookishly. Do you have any goals, bookish or otherwise, you are working on this year? - Katie 

*Review* The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson

 

Genre: Self-Help

Published: January 1, 2009

Pages: 162

"For the last 20 years I've dedicated my personal and professional life to the importance of self-care by teaching from my own experience," writes Cheryl Richardson. "In the past, I've sacrificed my health and my relationships for work, given to others at the expense of my own needs, and watched my dreams slip through the cracks of a busy life. As a result, I've learned a lot about what it takes to put an end to the madness. . . . From years of personal experience, as well as coaching great men and women, I've come to understand that selfishness leads to selflessness. When we care deeply for ourselves, we naturally begin to care for others - our families, our friends, our greater global community, and the environment - in a healthier and more effective way. We tell the truth. We make choices from love instead of guilt and obligation. And we soon realize that we're all connected and that our individual actions affect a greater whole."

This updated edition of Cheryl's best-selling handbook The Art of Extreme Self-Care brings her message home to readers with a new section about forming and running a successful support group, as well as updated resources so readers stay inspired and motivated. Her practical, action-oriented program outlines 12 strategies to transform your life one month at a time, each one challenging you to alter one behavior that's blocking your path. Chapters include "End the Legacy of Deprivation," "Find Your Passion," "The Absolute No List," and "Does That Anger Taste Good?" (Hint: it really doesn't.)

This is one of the rare books that I read for a reason other than winning it through a giveaway or receiving a review copy through Netgalley or the publisher. It was not a book that I picked up just because I wanted to improve myself though. I was considering joining a group of theoretically like-minded people wanting to meet and improve ourselves. The idea sounded intriguing because I'm a hot mess and could definitely use some work. But this book just isn't the one for me. 

A major issue I had with this book is that the advice comes from a place of serious privilege. Many of the suggestions for "extreme self-care" absolutely require disposable income. One of the examples given was a suggestion made to a coaching client to hire a maid service to clean the house once a week for the man's wife so that he could get laid more. And if you have the income to pull things like that off, great, but most of us do not, and there just weren't a lot of suggestions that don't require financial investment. 

Beyond that, a lot of the advice presumes that the reader has a large and reliable social group, a wide array of people to approach for different issues. Because "don't do this all alone!" And that's not bad advice when you have loads of local friends and family you can lean on. But for an introvert with three kind of close friends, I literally can't be leaning on my friends as much as is suggested in this book without becoming a serious burden for someone else. 

I was also bothered by how many of the resources were other works by the same author. It felt very self-serving to me because the idea really seems to be to go out and get those resources too to help with your extreme self-care, which would obviously lead to further lining the author's pockets. 

All that being said, I don't read a lot of self-help books, so I don't know if this is standard for the genre or not. But for me, this book was a 1.4632 out of 5 star read. It's real saving grace is that it was short and quick. - Katie 

Amazon

Cheryl Richardson is the New York Times best-selling author of several books, including Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers, Stand Up for Your Life, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace, You Can Create an Exceptional Life with Louise Hay, and Waking Up in Winter: In Search of What Really Matters at Midlife. Her work has been covered widely in the media including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, and O Magazine. Cheryl hosts an online community on Facebook at Facebook.com/CherylRichardson, and on Twitter and Instagram under username coachoncall. Visit her website at: CherylRichardson.com

*Review* Jester by Brielle D. Porter

 

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Published: August 9, 2022

Pages: 450

What happens in Oasis, stays in Oasis.

Lisette’s father killed the King. His execution leaves Lisette alone, disgraced, and without the magic he intended to pass on to her. In Oasis, that’s a problem. Glutted with enchanted performers, Oasis is a sin city where courtiers pay in gold to drink, gamble, and above all, be entertained. To survive on its competitive streets, Lisette peddles paltry illusions in place of magic.

Desperate to prove herself, Lisette enters into a deadly competition to be chosen as the highest-ranked magician in the world, the Queen’s Jester. But her rival, the irritatingly handsome Luc, possesses the one thing Lisette does not—real magic. Lisette will do anything to win, but when evidence implicating the Queen in her husband’s murder surfaces, Lisette must choose between redeeming her family name, or seizing the fame she’s hungered for her entire life.

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

This book was a wild ride. As far as I could tell, it seems to be set in fantasy Vegas, so typical laws just don't really apply there, but it's also a place known for it's amazing magical shows. Just imagine trying to survive and thrive in that world, when your family's magic has been taken from you. That's exactly what Lisette is trying to do. Not only that, but her dream is to become the jester for the queen, one of the highest honors in the realm, but to do that, she's got to put on the absolute best show. 

I was cheering for Lisette's success from the get go, because I just can't help to root for the underdog in all things. But she was also just a really fun character and I loved her sass, so I wanted good things for her for those reasons too. Then there was the relationship between Lisette and Luc. Their interactions were always full of the best quips. 

Although the twists in this story didn't take me by surprise, I didn't see all of them coming from the start. Some of them definitely almost snuck up on me, but their footsteps were just a little too loud for me to miss. 

The narration felt perfect for the story and the opposite gendered voices didn't bug me at all. 

Overall I give Jester 4.3067 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Brielle D. Porter decided to become a writer after a well-meaning elementary school teacher told her she had a gift for it. Stolen moments under the covers reading anything from Harry Potter to William Goldman solidified the desire to tell stories herself one day. Jester is her debut novel.

Brielle lives with her husband and three sons on a lavender farm in Northern Idaho. When she’s not writing, she can be found running and beekeeping. Only ask her about her hobbies if you have plenty of time to spare.

*Review* Betty the Yeti Hates Spaghetti by Mandy R. Marx

 

Genre: Children's 5-8 years

Published: July 31, 2023

Pages: 32

Betty and her family of yetis just moved to their new apartment. Betty's never lived around humans before now. When friendly neighbors bring the Yetis dinner, Betty eats spaghetti for the first time and it's nothing like she expected! Will Betty adjust to a new neighborhood, new foods, and new friends?

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

This is a story about a yeti named Betty whose family moves into a new apartment in a building with humans. Betty really didn't want to move because she liked her home and everything was familiar and comfortable there. In the new building, some of the human neighbors come to visit and invite the yeti family to dinner where they're having spaghetti. But Betty has never had spaghetti before, and it's very different from what she usually eats and she just doesn't want to try it. But then she makes friends with the neighbor girl and realizes things in her new home might not be as bad as she feared. 

The illustrations for this book were very colorful and fun. I wouldn't mind reading this book several times because I appreciate the message and it was just a cute little story. Overall I give it 4.738 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Mandy R. Marx is a writer and editor. She lives in a chilly town in Minnesota with her husband, daughter, and a white, silky haired pup. She has a curious mind and stays on the lookout for yetis. In her spare time, Mandy enjoys singing, laughing with friends and family, and walking her pup through what she suspects is a magical forest.

*Review* Sammy the Sasquatch by Claire Marie

 

Genre: Children's 3-7 years

Published: April 18, 2023

Pages: 30

Little readers and their loved ones are invited to the magical world of Crittertopia and introduced to the Critter Elders whose magic helps keep it safe in Claire Marie's new and empowering children's book Sammy the Sasquatch: Welcome to Crittertopia. Readers in the 4 to 8-year-old age group and beyond meet Sammy the Sasquatch and her friends in Crittertopia who gently teach us all about doing lockdowns, locks, lights, out of sight, and how kids can be empowered to keep themselves safe.

In Sammy the Sasquatch, Sammy and her Forest Friends show readers around Crittertopia and help teach them how they can keep it safe from curious humans who accidentally wander in. The Critter Elders teach kids how to do a lockdown, "locks, lights, out of sight," and normalize this practice in a trauma-informed (non-scary) way.

With a delightful blend of informative content, magical setting, and adorable illustrations, Sammy the Sasquatch is the first children's book to clearly teach the steps of doing a lockdown through an imaginative yet relatable story. This book also provides a four-page learning guide to support parents and caring adults on how to have trauma-informed conversations with kids on emergency preparedness.

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

This is a story about a sasquatch named Sammy who is taking your children on a tour of her hometown. They end up at her school, which is very much like a human school when an unexpected human shows up and they have to enact their special human security protocol. They talk about being very quiet and turning off the lights and hiding, and it was at about that point that I realized this was basically describing a lockdown drill, which just made me sad, because I hate that that is a thing students in America have to do on a regular basis for safety. But I can see how this book could help teachers of very young students explain it to their classes to make the drills themselves less scary. 

The illustrations were very bold and colorful, and as fun as they can be considering the subject matter. I wouldn't want to read this book more than one as the subject matter makes me angry, but I also came to the book after my kids were old enough to not need this kind of coddling to practice for a potential school shooting. So in spite of my feelings on the subject matter, I give this book 4.328 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

School Emergency Management Expert, Trauma Informed Practices Consultant, and former Reserve Law Enforcement Officer, Claire Marie has led efforts to support community and systems level trauma informed and resilience practices through education, implementation, and evaluation since 2015. Her work spans across K-12 school emergency preparedness & management, school safety & prevention systems, community service agencies, and law enforcement mental health and wellness. She is passionate about approaching emergency preparedness through a trauma-informed lens and supporting others to do the same.

Working as a leader in K-12 school safety and emergency management, Claire Marie often hears about young kids and adults struggling with lockdown drills. In her new book, Sammy the Sasquatch: Welcome to Crittertopia she hopes to support adults in lifting the veil of secrecy and silence around practicing lockdown drills through trauma-informed stories along with a magical world that safely introduce kids to different practices that empower them to keep safe, every day, regardless of what is going on in the world around them.

Connect with Claire Marie at www.SammyAndFriends.org, on Facebook at Sammy & Friends, and on Instagram @WelcomeToCrittertopia

*Review* The Boy King's Tale as Told by Geoffrey Chaucer by Michael January

 Genre: Historical Fiction

Published:

Pages: 209

The true adventure of young King Edward III. In The Boy King’s Tale, two entwined love stories, young and old, lead to betrayal, murder and the near overthrow of a kingdom in this epic story of son and bride, mother and lover, in the extraordinary tale of the earliest days of one of England’s most revered kings, Edward III. Parts of the story have been glimpsed before, the folly of a king and the beautiful queen who raised an army to defeat him and place her young son on the throne in his place, but here is told of the queen’s plot with her lover to murder her son and his young queen bride, to place their infant prince on the English throne that they might rule in absolute power. The dark and twisted world of medieval politics, war, glory, love, sex and romance, and the fate of the future are in the balance on one fateful night when rescue or death was held on the turn of a confession to a faceless monk. Told by English court poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, as one of his tales, on the day death bells toll from the steeples of Westminster.

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

This story was told as a story within a story, much like The Princess Bride, it just uses a very well known English author as the main storyteller. It seems to tell the true story of King Edward III, but I don't know enough of British history to even begin to guess at how accurate the story is. I'm also not really sure what was gained from writing the story as if it were being told by Chaucer. 

All that aside, I was absolutely engrossed in the tale. The intrigue of court and a woman conspiring against both her husband and her son in an attempt to wield her own power over the land. It honestly felt like she was just up there conspiring to kill everyone who might possibly be against her and her new man. 

The narration was mostly pleasant, although I did have a small issue with the opposite gendered voices feeling a little bit like caricatures, but only slightly as there wasn't a real heavy emphasis on them. 

Overall I give The Boy King's Tale 3.9743 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Michael January is a writer for film and television as well as a travel writer and photographer. His "Favorite Castles" book series is in its fifth edition with "Favorite Castles of Germany" and "Favorite Castles of Switzerland" as well as England, Wales and the Castles of Ireland. He regularly writes of historical connections and has followed in the literal footsteps the Romantic writers. "The Secret Memoirs of Mary Shelley: Frankenstein Diaries - The Romantics" was his first historical novel. Next followed the WWII adventure and love story of pilots in the Battle of Britain, "Aces". He also appears in the screenwriting documentary and companion book from Harper Collins "Tales From The Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters".

*Review* The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

 

Genre: Fantasy

Published: September 28, 2021

Pages: 348

A deeper magic. A stronger curse. A family lost...and found.

Persephone May has been alone her entire life. Abandoned as an infant and dragged through the foster care system, she wants nothing more than to belong somewhere. To someone. However, Persephone is as strange as she is lonely. Unexplainable things happen when she’s around—changes in weather, inanimate objects taking flight—and those who seek to bring her into their family quickly cast her out. To cope, she never gets attached, never makes friends. And she certainly never dates. Working odd jobs and always keeping her suitcases half-packed, Persephone is used to moving around, leaving one town for another when curiosity over her eccentric behavior inevitably draws unwanted attention.

After an accidental and very public display of power, Persephone knows it’s time to move on once again. It’s lucky, then, when she receives an email from the one friend she’s managed to keep, inviting her to the elusive Wile Isle. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. However, upon arrival, Persephone quickly discovers that Wile is no ordinary island. In fact, it just might hold the very things she’s been searching for her entire life.

Answers. Family. Home.

And some things she did not want. Like 100-year-old curses and an even older family feud. With the clock running out, love might be the magic that saves them all.

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

I was excited to dive into this book after enjoying another witch book by Paige Crutcher, and The Orphan Witch did not let me down. In fact, I enjoyed it even more. Although I was not immediately sucked into the story, having no issue putting the book aside to do housework, by halfway through, prying my Kindle out of my hands to get me to stop reading was looking like a serious necessity. 

While there was one major mystery that needed to be solved, it felt like there were several minor connected mysteries as well that kept me guessing about what role exactly different characters would play in the solution to the main problem. And not everyone that Persephone interacts with is what they seem to be, in both good and bad ways. 

Overall I give The Orphan Witch 4.185 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Paige Crutcher is the author of THE ORPHAN WITCH. She is a former journalist, and her work appears in multiple anthologies and online publications. She is an artist and yogi, and when not writing, she prefers to spend her time trekking through the forest with her children, hunting for portals to new worlds.