Book Review

Book Review: Trust + Follow

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Trust + Follow
by Maddie Joy Fischer

My rating: 4  / 5
Genre: Christian devotional

This book has 60 devotionals, which I read as intended, over the course of 60 days. The focus is on learning how to completely trust and follow Jesus, presuming that the reader is already a Christ-follower. I don’t have a lot to compare it to, since I haven’t read a lot of devotionals in the past (I generally prefer a more self-driven reading/studying of the Bible). I was surprised by how short the devotionals were, generally requiring only about 2 minutes to read each entry, but that might be common and certainly might be what some people prefer. They also seemed a bit shallow and repetitive for my taste. There were some here or there that hit home, though, so I don’t mean to sound like I didn’t appreciate the devotionals overall. Not that it’s her fault, but the author is a lot younger than I would expect, considering how much she talks about her experience and difficult things she’s gone through. I had no disagreements with any theology found in these pages, and overall, I’d say it would be a good daily devotional for a newer Christian or one looking to deepen their faith in Christ. I would, however, suggest supplementing it by reading more of the Bible yourself, maybe using one of the verses contained within each day’s devotional as a launching point.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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November in Review

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I read 13 books last month, and I’m 10 books away from my Goodreads goal for the year of 150 books. I should definitely reach that during December.

Here are the books I read in November:

Seven
Carpenter 8
39-5
Conway
Lemoncello finale
Anne 6
Imposters 3
WoW3
ND7
KK1
Poirot 9
Cahills vs 3
Carpenter 9
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The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore (5 / 5)
Dog Tags by David Rosenfelt (4 / 5)
The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (4.5 / 5)
What’s So Funny? by Tim Conway with Jane Scovell (5 / 5)
Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale by Chris Grabenstein (5 / 5)
Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (4 / 5)
An Honorable Deception by Roseanna M. White (5 / 5)
World of Warcraft, v. 3 by Walter Simonson & Louise Simonson (4 / 5)
The Clue in the Diary by Carolyn Keene (4 / 5)
Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson (3 / 5)
Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie (4.5 / 5)
The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis (4.5 / 5)
One Dog Night by David Rosenfelt (review pending)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 2 re-reads. My favorite book from November was really hard to pick, so I’m going with a tie between Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale and An Honorable Deception, with an honorable mention for What’s So Funny? (which, being non-fiction, is difficult to compare to fiction). I started 1 series, continued 7 series, and finished 3 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: The Dead of Night

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The Dead of Night
The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers #3
by Peter Lerangis

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

Amy and Dan Cahill finally get a chance to take the fight to Vesper One, though somehow he still always ends up ahead. With seven of their loved ones still being held hostage and Vesper One making impossible demands of Amy and Dan, Dan is more determined than ever to create the Cahill serum so that he can stop the Vespers.

I enjoyed the main 39 Clues series, but I’ve been liking this one all the more. It’s a little darker, and our heroes have a seen-too-much kind of maturity. They’ve grown and changed since the original series in a way that’s completely realistic. I love the allies they’re picking up along the way, though I could do without the love triangle…or square? There are some questions and mysteries that come up or advance in this book that have me really engaged. I’m halfway through this series now, and I don’t have any theories about what’s going on or what might happen. This book ends with with a shocking moment, and I can’t wait to continue. I can really see this book (and series) being a fun read for anyone who enjoys mystery and adventure for a younger audience, no matter their age.

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Book Review: Lord Edgware Dies

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Lord Edgware Dies
Hercule Poirot #9
 by Agatha Christie
read by Hugh Fraser

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this Poirot novel. As Poirot fixates on five questions that he thinks, when answered, will solve the mystery, I’m way too easily carried along for the ride. I actually did suspect the correct murderer early on, but it wasn’t much of a win, since I had no idea how it worked out. I think the guess was more about having read a few of these books now and getting a feel for how Christie wrote. I liked this book more than most of the others in the series and didn’t feel it was as bloated as many of the others are. Huge Fraser, as always, does a great job narrating, and I’m a little nervous about the next book (Murder on the Orient Express), which is almost definitely the most famous Poirot story. I hope it lives up to the hype.

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Book Review: Disney After Dark

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Disney After Dark
Kingdom Keepers #1
by Ridley Pearson

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Due to some fictional technology, five kids whose likenesses were used as holographic hosts in the Magic Kingdom start “crossing over” and waking up as their holographic selves, in the park, when they sleep at night. They find out that various characters from different Disney media have started coming to life and are threatening the park. Worse yet, if they grow stronger, they might threaten the world outside of the park. And only the five hosts can stop them.

I think someone’s status as a Disney buff probably greatly affects their enjoyment of this book, for better or for worse. I’ve only been to Disney World once, many years ago, and I haven’t actually watched very many of the classic Disney cartoons. If there was anything about this book that was relying on the reader to know more about either of those things, it may have affected my understanding or enjoyment of the book. Even with that limitation, the premise of the book captured my attention. I may not know the park well, but I can imagine the excitement of wandering a magical park after hours.

However, it fell short in execution. The book just wasn’t written all that well in general. The dialog is often stilted, and the prose is clunky and even non-sensical at times. There are continuity issues, even within a single page. And the characterization is lacking. Any book with this many characters working together to defeat the villain(s) has a heavier burden making sure that the different characters don’t blend together and that there is at least some development for each. In this case, basically none of the characters were developed, and for the most part, I couldn’t tell the four kids that weren’t the MC apart.

By the time I read this first book, my husband had already gotten almost the entire rest of the series for me, as we’ve seen the books at thrift stores and such. For that reason, I had more desire than even normal to really like this book, and so I was disappointed that it was mediocre at best. However, since I do own most of the series, and I can see that the rating on Goodreads goes up a little with each book, I will continue on in the hopes that it gets better. In the meantime, I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone, but if it does sound intriguing to you, certainly check out other reviews at the link below, as others have liked it more than I did (and others liked it less).

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Book Review: The Clue in the Diary

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The Clue in the Diary
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #7
by Carolyn Keene
read by Laura Linney

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic mystery

Nancy again stumbles onto a mystery when a house she’s driving by explodes. But it’s all good, because she’s able to save a mother and daughter whose husband/father is blamed for the fire. Coincidences and Nancy-is-the-best moments aside, I enjoyed this story more than most of the previous books in the series. It didn’t feel as bloated, and I can’t pretend to not have liked the introduction of Ned Nickerson. He seems to be a bit of a stereotype himself, but I’d imagine that was on purpose. Giving the young readers these books were intended for ideals in the main characters seemed pretty important to the creators. Linney does a great job bringing Nancy to life, and I’m sad to learn that this is the end of those that were narrated by her.

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Book Review: World of Warcraft, Vol. 3

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World of Warcraft, Vol. 3
written by Walter Simonson & Louise Simonson

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Fantasy graphic novel

I found the continuing storyline after King Varian Wrynn was “re-united” more interesting than I expected. New characters and locations that I remember from my earlier WoW days were brought into the story, which I’m sure had a lot to do with my interest. It didn’t hurt that both the Alliance and the Horde are now beginning to make plans to go to Northrend and fight the Scourge. WotLK was my favorite expansion, so I can’t pretend that didn’t make a pretty big impression on my reaction to the book as well.

I also enjoyed continuing to see Prince Anduin stretch his peacemaking muscles. Other new arcs and characters that came up in this book had me running to the Wowpedia website to try to remember what I should know about these characters and situations from the game. I’m now finding myself wanting to know more about the backstory and things that I’ve forgotten or never knew. I have a feeling this graphic novel series will be a launching point for me into diving into more WoW lore, but in the meantime, I will again say that those who do or have played the game, especially back in vanilla days, this might be worth checking out, but I really couldn’t say whether anyone who hasn’t played WoW as much as me would appreciate this graphic novel series at all.

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Book Review: What’s So Funny

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What’s So Funny
by Tim Conway with Jane Scovell

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Autobiography

In this book, Tim Conway discusses his life, both before and after he broke into show business. Though his time in show business is most likely what most people want to know about, the chapters about his home life and his time in the Army were enjoyable to read about as well. Conway’s depiction of his father as a well-meaning but somewhat clumsy/dangerous man and his mother’s Romani ways are fun to read about, and it’s great insight to what made Conway the funny man he was.

I may be a bit too young to have watched The Carol Burnett Show, but I’ve seen clips, and I saw Tim Conway in movies and other things, especially growing up. I’ve always felt he was a true comic, and I loved reading about how he would purposely go off-script during The Carol Burnett Show just to make the others crack up. He even mentions a similar moment in the movie The Private Eyes, which holds a special place in my heart, since I watched that movie many, many times when I was younger. Conway manages to strike a balance between modest, kind, and funny in this autobiography that made it a joy to read. I recommend it for all of his fans, as well as anyone who is interested in celebrity memoirs in general.

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Book Review: An Honorable Deception

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An Honorable Deception
The Imposters #3
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance

When a young socialite who seeks the Imposters’ help in finding her missing ayah is subsequently shot, Yates knows there’s more to this case than it first appeared. And since two of his team are semi-incapacitated, it’s easy to accept help from his old friend Lady Lavinia, who is still reeling from the betrayal uncovered in her family in a previous Imposters case.

Yates was a semi-side character in the previous two books, but there were always sections from his POV, giving us a chance to get to know him as an Imposter, brother, and earl. In this book, he’s in the forefront, and his history with Lavinia shown in the first book is expanded upon. I always liked Yates, so I was happy to see more of him. And though his sister Marigold is married now, I love their sibling relationship in this book.

Besides Yates, this book has two other POVs—Lavinia and Lady Alethia, the woman whose ayah has gone missing. Alethia has her own dark past, and the way Lavinia and Alethia help each other through their healing is one of my favorite things about this book. There was one quote in particular that I found very moving:

“‘Whoever made you think you’re not worth it— they’re wrong. So very wrong. And you let them win when you keep thinking those thoughts. You are precious….You must not take any unnecessary risks. Your life matters.’”

After reading the first book in this series, I already knew I needed to read other books by Roseanna M. White, and after reading the author’s note and finding out that some characters from another series of hers appeared in this book, I’ll definitely be starting with that one. The ending makes it seem like there’s more to come in this series, though I don’t know if that will be the case, or if it will spill into a different series like the Shadows Over England series did into this one. I’ll definitely keep an eye on White’s future books, but in the meantime, I highly recommend this book for fans of Christian historical mystery (this is set during the Edwardian era in London).

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.
Publication date: November 19, 2024

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Book Review: Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale

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Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library book #6
by Chris Grabenstein

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s adventure

Thirteen 13-year-olds compete to win Mr. Lemoncello’s biggest competition yet. As Mr. Lemoncello prepares to name an heir to his billion-dollar empire, his rivals attempt to take him down once and for all.

This ending to a fun series is just what I wanted it to be. Mr. Lemoncello hasn’t gotten any less eccentric or generous, and Kyle Keeley is back at the center of things, with some new and returning side characters. Though I was able to predict a lot of what happens at the end of the book, younger readers will most likely be surprised by twists and turns. There is less of the puzzle-y goodness that first got me into these books by this point in the series (there are still puzzles, but not as many or as difficult to solve as I remember), but I still think this series as a whole is a good one to draw in reluctant readers, especially boys.

I recommend this book, and the entire series, to readers 10 and up, and I definitely recommend starting at the beginning. I also suggest reading the prequel, Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game, before reading this book, as characters and backstory from that book come up a decent amount in this one. 

The author’s note at the end of the book was a nice added bit of information, and I was very happy to read that the rest of this series will be made into graphic novels like the one that’s already come out for the first book. It’ll be a fun way to relive the series.

I received an eARC of this book, but then I pre-ordered a copy and sent in for the “titanium” bookplate with my name and my daughter’s name (who first introduced me to the series), signed by Chris Grabenstein. I was a little sad that some of the marker had smeared or scraped off in the envelope, and I’ll probably cover it with packing tape after I apply it to the book, but it’s still a nice collector’s item to have.

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