Review: The Time Garden Coloring Book

Review:

A Magical Journey and Coloring Book The Time Garden (Paperback) - Common - Daria Song

  Yes, I am a grownup! Yes, I am reviewing a coloring book! Why? Because, I don’t always want to be a grownup! I want to be a little kid coloring and watching Disney movies! I actually find coloring very relaxing, so when I found The Time Garden by: Daria Song I got really excited. I started coloring in it the very night that I got it! I have colored in it off and on now for quite some time, I even had my boyfriend coloring in it a little bit! I really like it!

 My only complaint is that some parts of it are too intricate, I use a marker with a really small tip and I still had trouble coloring in some parts of it. But, other than that this is a really creative coloring book that I would suggest to coloring enthusiasts of all ages!

 

For more information click here

 

* I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review*

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Yours truly, signing off!

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1293795/review-the-time-garden-coloring-book

Apologies!!

Let me start this off with a huge apology! I disappeared for about two months and I had no intention of doing so! Life has been a bit hectic as of late and I hope to be back to blogging regularly pretty soon.

 

I’m going to start this off by telling you why I stopped blogging. At the beginning of October I had big plans for reading. I was trying to complete my yearly goal. So, I was mainly focused on reading, not blogging. I had planned on doing a monthly Wrap-up but, that was about it for the month. About mid-October I would say, I hit a reading slump. It wasn’t the small kind that I could get rid of by switching genres. It was a beast of a slump! When this kind of thing happens I usually just stop all things bookish to give myself a bit of break! After so many feels, and tears, and giggles my mind and heart just need a break from all those fictional characters that wear on the emotions!!

During the last week of October, when I would normally post a Wrap-up I was out of town visiting family. The next weekend, I headed to Universal Studios with one of my best friends. So, time sort of got away from me. All throughout November I have been dealing with this reading slump! I think I am on the brink of coming out of it. At least, I hope I am! I do plan on trying to pick up where I left off but, the holidays are right around the corner! Everyone knows there is never enough time to do what one wants to do during the holidays!

 

I know this is a book blog and I will get to the bookish things soon enough but, here is a brief update on my life during my hiatus!

 

-I found out I am going to be an aunt again! Another little niece for me to spoil rotten!

-School decided to start kicking my butt!

-College applications are in full swing!

-Spending quality time with family!

 

Alright, back to the bookish things!

 

Currently reading: Falling Kingdoms by: Morgan Rhodes

 

Last read: Life and Death: Twilight Re-imagined by: Stephanie Meyer

 

My thoughts on those will be posted soon!

 

I’m gonna go ahead and wrap this post up now! Expect a combined Wrap-up for the past two months, I will have it posted as soon as I can! Thank you for reading!

 

Yours truly, signing off!

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1293646/apologies

October TBR + Currently Reading

Hey guys! I just wanted to tell you what I am currently reading and tell you all of the books that I would like to read in October. Word of warning, I have so many books that I want/need to read this month so there is a good chance that I won’t get to all of them but, I am gonna try my absolute best!

 

Currently Reading:

 

Doon by: Carey Corp

Northanger Abbey by: Jane Austen

The Neverending Story by: Michael Ende

 

 

TBR for the month of October:

 

Library: 

The Forsaken by: Lisa M Stasse

Ink and Bone by: Rachel Caine

Seraphina by: Rachel Hartman

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by: Laini Taylor

 

3 books for review + 1 coloring book for review (So excited for the coloring book!)

 

Nonfiction pick of the month:

I Remember Laura by: Stephen W. Hines

 

TBR Jar pick of the month:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by: Mark Haddon

 

Random book pick:

The Memory Book by: Penelope J. Stokes

 

So, that gives us a grand total of 10 books, one coloring book, and all of the books that I am currently reading. What I don’t finish will be carried over to next month. Thanks for reading!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1265676/october-tbr-currently-reading

September Wrap-up!

The Fairy-Tale Detectives - Peter Ferguson, Michael Buckley The Unusual Suspects - Michael Buckley, Peter Ferguson Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs Sapphire Blue - Kerstin Gier Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke Diary of a Jackwagon - Tim Hawkins, John Driver, Bubba Watson My War: A Love Story in Letters and Drawings - Tracy Sugarman The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh Owls: Our Most Charming Bird - Matt Sewell

Hello friends! 🙂

 Here is what I read for the month of September! Also, my apologies for forgetting to write an August Wrap-up. Lets do this:

 

12 books total

 

 

The Sisters’ Grimm Series (Books 1 and 2): The Fairy-Tale Detectives, The Unusual Suspects by: Michael Buckley- This is a middle grade fantasy series. It is about two sisters who are descended from the Grimm brothers. Their parents go missing and they are sent to live with their grandmother in a city where all of the fairy-tale characters are forced to live. The girls must solve mysteries in this town in order to find the group that kidnapped their parents. I loved these books. They were quick to read and they were really funny! The plot is well developed but, the characters need work. One in particular is very inconsistent. Other than that, I really enjoyed them. I will be continuing on with this series at a later date!

 

Red Queen by: Victoria Aveyard– I already reviewed this book in a previous post which can be found here. I won’t get into all of the details but, this book just didn’t live up to my expectations. There wasn’t enough originality for me in fact, up until now, I forgot I even read it.

 

Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by: Ransom Riggs– I also did a review for this book, it can be found here. Once again this book just fell short of my expectations. I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like how slow the story moved. This was just the wrong book for me.

 

Sapphire Blue By: Kerstin Gier– There is a review up for this book, found here. I have loved this series so far! Love everything about it! The characters are great and the books are just hilarious!

 

Strawberry Shortcake Murder by: Joanne Fluke– This is book two of the Hannah Swenson mystery series. I love, love, love these books! Humorous, mysterious, addictive. They are always what I go for when I feel like reading a mystery. It’s like Nancy Drew but its for grownups!

 

Diary of a Jackwagon by: Tim Hawkins– I received this book in exchange for an honest review. The review can be found here. This is a hilarious book written by a famous christian comedian. It is a collection of some of his skits and it gives a little background information on how he comes up with his skits!

 

My War: A Love story in letters and Drawings by: Tracy Sugarman– This is a nonfiction account of WWII through the letters that an American naval officer wrote to his wife. During his deployment he also painted and drew some of his surroundings. This was a great book! I had never read a first hand account of someone who was involved in the Normandy invasions, it was quite and eye opener!

 

The Wrath and The Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh– This is probably going to be one of my favorite books of the year! I enjoyed it so much! I gave it a five out of five stars! So much mystery and the characters are great, and the plot is absolutely fantastic!

 

Owls: Our Most Charming Bird by: Matt Sewell– I received this book in exchange for and honest review which can found here. This is the cutest book! It has the cutest owl illustrations and witty little descriptions of each owl. It is cheeky and creative!

 

A Heart’s Home by: Colleen Coble– I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which can be found here. This turned out to be the continuation of a series, which I wasn’t informed of until after it arrived. So, I went in knowing nothing about the character’s and I was very confused through most of the book. That caused my rating to be lower than it might have been had I read the whole series previously.

 

The Importance of Being Earnest by: Oscar Wilde– This was a fantastic book! I had to read it for school, and I think it is probably the funniest book I have ever read for school. I would compare the humor in this to the humor in Jane Austen’s books. Jane Austen’s comedy mostly focuses on manners in a much more subtle way, whereas Wilde blatantly pokes fun at the manners represented in both his time period, as well as his own social class. Phenomenal read!

 

 

Thank you so much for reading this Wrap-up! I love writing these because, I like looking back at what I read each month and bringing back all of the feelings associated with each book.

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

 

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1265660/september-wrap-up

Review: A Heart’s Home by: Colleen Coble

Review:

A Heart's Home (A Journey of the Heart) - Colleen Coble

*I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God*

 

Publishing Information: Thomas Nelson, August 2015

 

Safety rating: PG (Suggested age 13+) (This book is 100% clean, I am just not sure children under 13 would understand all of the character interactions.)

 

 

     When I received this book, my first thought was, “Wow, this is really small!” It is 99 pages long. After reading the back I thought there was no way they would be able to fit in everything that needed to happen. They did but, lets just say it wasn’t what I was expecting.

     First thing, this is book 6 of a series, I didn’t notice that until the book was in my hand. I hoped that everything would make sense anyway. To some extent it did but, there was lots of context I was missing for most of the characters.

     That being said, the premise was good, and I did enjoy what I read. I just felt like I didn’t have enough background information. It is like walking into a conversation between your friends, you may know what they are talking about but, you don’t know what they have said about it. I wasn’t that impressed with the ending either. I would like to read more from Colleen Coble, just not in this short story type format. Thank you so much for reading!

 

*I received this book from BookLookBloggers in exchange for an honest review*

 

For more information click here.

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1261748/review-a-heart-s-home-by-colleen-coble

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by: Renee Ahdieh

Review:

The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh

*I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God*

 

Publishing Information: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, May 2015

 

Safety Rating: PG ( There were a couple of blush worthy scenes…but nothing graphic! Suggested for ages 15+)

 

 

     One of my favorite genres is the re-telling genre, which is ever growing! I have been wanting to read this book for a while and I am so glad I finally read it because, it is amazing! I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book! I love the Thousand and one Nights element and the Middle Eastern setting! I love how the culture is incorporated into every aspect of the writing, I learned a lot of new words from the culture! The little bit of magic that we got in this book was very well executed and left me wanting more. The next book in this series is now at the top of my Highly Anticipated Releases of 2016! This may just be my favorite book of the year, we will just have to wait until I read Queen of Shadows to know for sure!! Thank you so much for reading!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1259817/review-the-wrath-and-the-dawn-by-renee-ahdieh

Review: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by: Ransom Riggs

Review:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1) - Ransom Riggs

*I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God*

 

Publisher: Quirk, June 2011

 

Safety Rating: (PG-13-There was quite a bit of language! But it was also pretty scary in some parts…suggested for ages 13+)

 

This took me forever to get into, only by sheer willpower did I follow through with this book. I didn’t like the characters very much, not relatable. I will be DNF-ing the series. I will not continue! It was an interesting concept but, I wasn’t happy with the execution.

 

Thanks for reading this very short review!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1259811/review-miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-by-ransom-riggs

Review: Sapphire Blue by: Kerstin Gier

Review:

Sapphire Blue - Kerstin Gier

*I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God*

 

Publishing Information: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, December 2009

 

Safety Rating: PG (There may have been one or two bad words. Suggested for ages…12+)

 

    This is the second book in the Ruby Red Trilogy. I love this series! I love the characters and how they interact. I love the time-travel element it all goes together so well!

     So right of the bad I want to say…Ew! Charlotte gets on my last nerve, she is so rude! And can I please have a read life version of Gideon? He is definitely being added to the Book Boyfriend list! I would say this book is just as good as the first book, no better, no worse! Thanks for reading!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1259806/review-sapphire-blue-by-kerstin-gier

Review: Red Queen by: Victoria Aveyard

Review:

Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

*I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God*

 

Publishing Information: Orion, February  2015

 

Safety Rating: PG-13 (If I remember correctly, a couple of bad words and heavy violence…suggested for ages 13 and up)

 

 

     The one thing that stands out about this book is its similarities to the Hunger Games series by: Suzanne Collins and the Selection series by: Kiera Cass. To me, there isn’t anything that stands out as being unique. If you put the Hunger Games and The Selection into the same world this would be it! The only original element would be the use of magic or powers.

     In the beginning I wasn’t in love with the love triangle. I thought it was strange and a little cheesy but, in the end it really worked for me! (No spoilers, I promise!)

     If it wasn’t for the ending of this book it would not be getting such a high rating but, the ending is what really did it for me! It starts of excruciatingly slow and doesn’t pick up till a little over halfway through, I was so close to putting this book down and DNF-ing it. Now I am proud of myself for pushing through! Thanks for reading this review!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1259804/review-red-queen-by-victoria-aveyard

Library Haul #3

The Unusual Suspects - Michael Buckley, Peter Ferguson The Neverending Story - Roswitha Quadflieg, Michael Ende, Ralph Manheim The Forsaken - Lisa M. Stasse Ink and Bone: The Great Library - Rachel Caine Asylum - Madeleine Roux Seraphina - Rachel Hartman Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy) by Taylor, Laini (2012) Paperback - Laini Taylor

I Love doing these Hauls! They are so much fun! Lets dive right in! I got seven books this trip. The eleven books I grabbed last time were much to heavy to carry around. (By the time I got to the car I thought I pulled a muscle in my shoulder!)

 

*These are supposed to be in the order that I want to read them in but, somehow I never end up going in the correct order!*

 

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects by: Michael Buckley (Book 2 in the Sisters Grimm Series.

 

The Neverending Story by: Michael Ende (I feel like this is a classic and I haven’t read it yet, so here goes!)

 

The Forsaken by: Lisa M Stasse (This is a re-read for me! Fun Fact: This is the first Dystopian book I read. Other than the Giver…So I guess it is my second ever Dystopian read!)

 

Ink and Bone by: Rachel Caine (This looks really good!!)

 

Asylum by: Madeleine Roux (This book look slightly frightening…I don’t know if I am gonna like this but, I am putting my trust in my librarians who suggested this!)

 

Seraphina by: Rachel Hartman (A dragon book…the last dragon book I read didn’t go over well. Eon by: Alison Goodman, I didn’t like it.)

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by: Laini Taylor (My sister loved this series so I thought I would give it a try!)

 

Ladies and Gentleman that is the end of my library haul!

 

Currently Reading:

The Discovery of the Titanic by: Dr. Robert Ballard 

Doon by: Carey Corp

The Importance of Being Ernest by: Oscar Wilde

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Yours Truly, signing off!

 

Kenzie

Original post:
sheleadsmanylives.booklikes.com/post/1259793/library-haul-3