Book Review: Witchlings: The Golden Frog Games

The Golden Frog Games by Claribel A. Ortega

The Golden Frog Games (Witchlings, #2)
by Claribel A. Ortega 

3 out of 5 stars

Seven and her friends, Valley and Thorn, are excited to participate in the famous Golden Frog Games, but someone is hexing the other participants. The friends start investigating the attacks, but Seven is distracted because she is also hiding a secret that she worries could ruin her magic.

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Book Review: The Secret Starling

The Secret Starling

by Judith EagleJo Rioux (Illustrator)

3.5 out of 5 stars
Clara Starling lives with her mean old uncle in a huge manor on the desolate moors. One day without warning, he abandons her, leaving only a small bundle of cash. Clara decides to live on her own and enjoy the freedom of having no adults around to tell her what to do. Peter shows up at her door, claiming that her uncle arranged for Peter to stay at the manor while his grandmother is sick. The two children explore the manor and discover an old ballet slipper that may have belonged to one of the Starling family. They set out to follow the mystery of the ballet slipper and find that the Starlings have a terrible past full of murder and secrets.

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Book Review: Reawakened

Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Reawakened (Reawakened, #1)
by  Colleen Houck 

Lily is swept away in an adventure when she meets an ancient Egyptian prince, Amon, who has slumbered for a thousand years. His life energy is very weak, so he must rely on Lily to survive. They are magically bonded so that he can siphon a little of her energy and stay alive long enough to find his two brothers and resurrect them. They are in a race against time to complete an ancient ceremony before the evil god Seth can wreak chaos on the world.

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Book Review: Tooth and Claw

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

Tooth and Claw
by  Jo Walton

3.5 out of 5 stars
When their father dies, the younger siblings feel cheated out of their inheritance. The two young sisters, Selendra and Haner, have to rely on their wealthy relatives to support them, but the younger brother Avan decides to sue his relations in an attempt to get back the inheritance. Their older brother Penn is caught in the middle because he is a parson and heard his father’s last words on his deathbed. Selendra goes to live with her brother Penn and his wife at the parsonage, but the noble lady who controls the estate doesn’t approve of her son’s flirtation with pretty Selendra.

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Book Review: The Flirt

The Flirt (1913)
by Booth Tarkington

3.5 out of 5 stars
Cora flirts with anything in pants and overshadows her older sister Laura at every party. When the handsome Valentine Corliss returns to town, Cora immediately gets to work, flirting with him and ignoring her own fiancée. But the fiancée and the whole string of ex-boyfriends are not content to be ignored. Laura and the rest of the family have to put up with an avalanche of men in and out of the house, and their little brother Hedrick decides to get his revenge on his sisters. He is always getting into mischief, but this time he could really cause serious trouble for Cora and Laura.

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Poetry Review: The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil
by J.R.R. Tolkien, Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

This collection of poems set in the world of Middle Earth is a perfect companion to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wrote these poems as if they had been written by Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam and included in the Red Book along with all the stories of their adventures. It’s really interesting to see how each poem is written in a slightly different style depending on who is supposed to have written it.

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Book Review: The Perilous Gard

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope

5 out of 5 stars

Kate Sutton is banished from the Queen’s court and forced into house-arrest at a remote castle with Sir Geoffrey Heron as her guardian. There Kate hears wild rumors about fairy folk and dark magic in the forest and caves surrounding the castle. There is a holy well that seems to grant healing and good fortune to those who drop money into it, but a child was lost down the well and Sir Geoffrey and his brother Christopher warn Kate to stay away from the area. Despite their warnings, Kate begins to suspect that something evil is lurking about the castle and she starts to ask questions about the mysterious fairy folk. She learns of their terrible tradition to commit a human sacrifice in order to gather the power of a human life to sustain their spells.

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Book Review: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

4 out of 5 stars

When the woodcutter’s daughter is born into a large family, her mother is so disappointed at having yet another girl that she refuses to give the child a name. The girl is simply called “the pika” (which means “girl”) or referred to as “the lass”. When she is grown, a mysterious polar bear comes to their cottage and begs her to live in his ice palace for a year. Knowing that he must be under some kind of enchantment, the lass agrees to go with him. She is sure that she can break the curse he is under, and she investigates the mysteries of the ice palace. But every time she asks the servants questions, she is putting herself and them in danger.

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Book Review: Alice Eclair Spy Extraordinaire: A Recipe for Trouble

Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire by Sarah Todd Taylor

Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire: A Recipe for Trouble (Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire!, 1)
by Sarah Todd Taylor 

3.5 out of 5 stars
13-year-old Alice has been receiving mysterious coded instructions to do some spy work. In 1930s Paris, Alice knows that spies are always at work to protect France and counteract other foreign spies. Her own uncle was a spy until his death, and he taught her all about codes and ciphers. Alice receives a mission to board the famous Sapphire Express and steal some papers from a foreign spy. She is hired as a pastry chef on the luxurious train and begins to observe all the wealthy first-class passengers very carefully, looking for any suspicious behavior. Everyone is a suspect, but after some strange clues are revealed, Alice begins to wonder what is really going on aboard the Sapphire Express.

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Book Review: Ghostly Echoes

Ghostly Echoes by William  Ritter

Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby, #3)
by William Ritter 

4 out of 5 stars

Abigail Rook and Mr. Jackaby are trying to solve a murder from ten years ago – the murder of their dearly departed friend Jenny, the resident ghost in Jackaby’s house. Whenever Jenny tries to remember her death, she is overwhelmed by an “echo” and dissolves into darkness. It might take her hours to recover a visible form again after an episode like that. When a new string of murders seems to mirror the same circumstances as Jenny’s murder, Abigail will do anything to uncover the clues, but Jackaby warns that they should be cautious when dealing with ghostly echoes. He is afraid of pushing Jenny too far in exploring her memories. Once again, Miss Rook and Mr. Jackaby are dealing with the supernatural as a greater evil becomes apparent. They have hidden in the shadows for years, but now Jackaby will bring their dastardly plans into the light.

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