Tag Archive: Kindle



The Witch and the Englishman (The Witches Series #2)The Witch and the Englishman by J.R. Rain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hate when I don’t review within the day of reading a book. I am always already reading other books and find it hard to get back into the mindset of the previous book.

Let’s see, I finished this two nights ago. I was able to have the Whispersynch audible to listen to as I read. I must admit for Francesca Townes, narrator, this book seemed much better than the first one. She was able to handle all the voices male and female with great acting skills. Each character had their own voice and, well, character. The only voice I don’t like is the one of the detective. But he isn’t around so much so we don’t have to put up with that voice very much. Reading with her voice is so important for me now that I just don’t want to get into book three without it. So even though I want more of this series, I will wait to pick up the next book.

Meanwhile, the character Allison Lopez is gaining ground in her experience as a witch. It’s a good thing as the challenges she faces in this book seem harder, nearly impossible to solve. I love that she gets a new friend out of the deal. I love that we got to know her old friends in more depth. But is she ready for the demon realm?

This book was very intense in places but moved along quite well between. I look forward to more in this series, but please, add Francesca Townes’s narration soon!

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Homesteading Handbook vol. 1: The Beginner's Guide to Becoming Self-Sustainable (Homesteading Handbooks)Homesteading Handbook vol. 1: The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming Self-Sustainable by Michelle Grande

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was free when I picked it up. I expected another light overview of homesteading, like the ones I read before. No. This one was a surprise. It was so full of everything a person might need to get started on your own self-sustainable farm. Does it go into depth of all these topics? No. But it does give you an introduction on every aspect I could think of living out on your own. I would suspect that many of our forefathers and foremothers started with less information than this.

The first half of the book is devoted to gardening and the types of gardening styles there can be. But Michelle Grande (author) doesn’t stop with a light introduction. She includes pictures and charts and lists of tools and plants for each way of producing vegetables, herbs and flowers. The pictures are beautiful, the charts well written, easy to understand. All are clickable to enlarge to a suitable size.

Animals fill the next bit of the book, from chickens to llamas. Again, Ms. Grande was thorough in teaching the greenhorn the types of each animal that work best with what type of land you live on and includes husbandry for each. Of course, there are some that are left out, probably for brevity sake, but this gets one started.

Crafts, compost, solar and wind energy, recipes, canning and other storing of foods, even toilets that compost. This book is so full of so many topics! All with plans and recipes, charts and illustrations to get one started. I know I will need to read this over and over.

I didn’t read every word. Since I am not on the land I hope to buy, there is little I can do until I get there. Then it will be Fall and I won’t be able to do much of it then. But that is when I will pull this book out again and start making lists and reading in detail how to do everything. Then I will know what to read in depth. I may even try to buy this book in tree form so that I can keep it out on the table to refer to often.

This book is still free if you have Kindle Unlimited. I suppose if you need to give it a quick review or preview that would be the way to go. But I find that the $2.99 is well worth it. It is worth much more!

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Destiny Interrupted: Sweetly Romantic Time Travel Mini-Adventures (Eternal Time Shadows #1)Destiny Interrupted: Sweetly Romantic Time Travel Mini-Adventures by Lisa Shea

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given this book for an honest review.

And there lies the uncomfortable truth I must deal with. So let me kindly say, I saw no editing errors in the story. It was well written, according to my low standards.

BUT… I hate short stories. I wish I would have known. I wouldn’t have jumped for a chance to read this. In a day when binge watching of a series is the best way to watch something, I feel the same for my reading. I want to read everything in a series non-stop. Except romantic chic-lit. I can tolerate it in some stories, but for the full reason to read something I find it demeaning to womynkind.

The saving grace, and probably the reason I jumped at the chance to read this story: time travel. But this story didn’t include that until the end. Just when you get to know the characters (weak and swoony) we are left with a cliffhanger that includes waking in another time. Oh, yeah, what else do I hate? Let’s say it all together: Cliffhangers.

Look, there are a lot of high ratings for this book. If you see yourself as able to handle this kind of writing, you will probably love this one, too. It is free. The rest of the series seems to be $.99 an installment. Not bad for snippets of story. Enjoy!

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Clone Three (Clone Chronicles, #1)Clone Three by Patti Larsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have I read too many Young Adult/Dystopian books? I feel like at some point in my reading I would have loved, loved, loved this book. But instead I found myself wishing for another Maximum Ride book instead of this one. Sorry. I kept telling myself to let go of the similarities (and differences–no wings) and accept this on its own merits. And maybe this goes over very well with the targeted audience. And not so much with old ladies.

It may be that I wasn’t in love with the main character, Clone3. She wasn’t horrid, she just hasn’t developed her spunk enough. Maybe by book two she will. She is learning about her abilities and starting to be more of a leader instead of a loner. After all, she can’t remember anything from her past and has no clue who or what she is.

Another thing I had a hard time with is the constant tension. Maybe the YAs love this. But I find I like moments of self-revelation or learning of the place you are at, etc. rather than one crises after another.

Still I did like it and plan to read the rest of the series someday. Since I have a move in the works, I am trying not to add to my ‘need to read soon’ pile.

I’m sorry, Patti Larsen, for taking so long in reviewing this book. I hope your promotional goes well. I admire you and your talent. I hope YA/Dystopiats come out of the woodwork for this series!

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The Witch and the GentlemanThe Witch and the Gentleman by J.R. Rain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an unexpected surprise. First of all, it came to me as a Kindle freebie. I did pay $1.99 for the whispersynch audio which made the book even better. But my goal is that I read mostly books by lady authors with strong fem main characters. Occasionally, there will be a book with an author name that only has initials and a last name. Those can be tricky as the author is of undetermined gender. I picked this book up just hoping it was a fem. It is a guy.

So, there are things I look for if it is a male writer. How well does he portray his fem lead? How do the secondary characters react to the lead? And for either gender writer, I look at how realistic the fantasy person and world is.

In this case, I didn’t have a lot of problems with the fem lead, except…crying. Geez! Planning to go take a cry? Crying a lot! A real lady doesn’t respond to a person dying in front of her by planning to cry later. She might not cry at all. Shaking, maybe, but goodness gracious! For the rest of the book I think JB Rain got it right. Don’t be putting anything on a gentlelady that you wouldn’t put on a gentleman.

Apart from the gender issue is the realism of fantasy. Allison Lopez, the main character, is a psychic hotline operator. As one who already possesses some psychic talents, why have her so afraid when the ghost appears? Not just an initial reaction but over and over it is stated how scary this is. I think a true psychic wouldn’t have been afraid once the initial introduction happens.

BUT overall, this is a fun book with a main character I could relate to. (I have been a psychic hotline operator. I have encountered a ghost or two.) What I loved was the amount a truth in developing these talents and bits about Wicca and its practices. From what research I have done, most of these practices were well done.

Oh, a word about the narrator, Francesca Townes. I did enjoy the addition of her voice to the story. Her interpretation of the male voice wasn’t the greatest, but it worked once I got used to it.

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Mini Farming: Mini Farming For Beginners: DIY Guide To Build A Self Sustainable Backyard (Backyard Farming - Homesteading - Backyard Chickens - Handbook - Backyard Gardening - Mini Farming)Mini Farming: Mini Farming For Beginners: DIY Guide To Build A Self Sustainable Backyard by Anders Svensson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been my recent mission to read as much about self-sustaining farming as possible so that I will know as much as I can I when move out to the country and start living in a more ecological and healthful way. So here is yet another sampling of what I’m reading.

Though this book has no clickable references, this is still full of a lot of interesting ideas as to run a small farm. I will come back to read it again once we are moved in. Remember, though, it is for beginners. For those who have been farming for a while this is not for you.

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Homesteading for Beginners: 33 Awesome Tips That Will Show You How to Become a Perfect Homesteader Without Having to Count on Others (Homesteading for ... homesteading survival, urban homesteading)Homesteading for Beginners: 33 Awesome Tips That Will Show You How to Become a Perfect Homesteader Without Having to Count on Others by Jessica Flippo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For someone who is thinking, hoping and planning on having a self-sustaining life, like me, this is a great starter book. Not only does it remind you of what you want to try to do, it has many clickable references for deeper research.

Though it was quite readable, in others words, not full of dry verbiage, there still were a few places an editor would help. My favorite one was in the chapter about needed skills. Under knitting and crocheting, the author suggests making sweaters for the cold moths. I had to laugh out loud at the picture that created in my mind. Well, how cute if all butterflies and moths wore sweaters? They might live through the winter if they had warmer garments!

But the editing issues are small, at least to my eyes. Which is why I still have no books of my own published. I get too involved in the creative end.

By the way, I picked this one up for free. It still is for Kindle Unlimited. Still, it is only $2.99 for now and that isn’t bad for those who need a primer.

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Homesteading: How to Live a Self-Sustained Lifestyle: Homesteading, Homesteading Book, Homesteading Guide, Homesteading Tips, Homesteading TechniquesHomesteading: How to Live a Self-Sustained Lifestyle: Homesteading, Homesteading Book, Homesteading Guide, Homesteading Tips, Homesteading Techniques by Lori Shawn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In my last review, I mentioned reading a lot of books lately about gardening and farming. I also mentioned how there seem to be a lot of books (let’s call them booklets or brochures, okay?) that can be read in a short time, like a hour or so, that have very little information, and minimal editing. If I see a problem, it is a big one. I am a horrid editor for that reason. But this is an example of those kinds of booklets.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If you have never thought about the word ‘homesteading’ this may be the book for you. If you have read many, many issues of Mother Earth News and the like, this is pre-school. For those who may be more newbie than I, this is a great book (if you can overlook the editing issues aforementioned). This may be a good booklet to start to learn how a person might be able to live in a self-sufficient way. Before you run out and try homesteading, do your homework. There is this cautionary tale: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homest…

This booklet was and is still free. A great primer should be. Enjoy!

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Fall and Winter Gardening 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant andFall and Winter Gardening 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and by R.J. Ruppenthal

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With a move from a tiny apartment to a nice sized home on a little land, I have been not just collecting but actually reading books about gardening and homesteading. I am more than a little excited that this may very well happen. And so it was that I read this book. After all, if it happens it will happen in the early Fall. Whether or not I will be able to follow through with a cool weather garden remains to be seen. Even so, I think this has been the best book on gardening I have read so far. It doesn’t just cover the cool weather work, it covers gardening in general.

Mr. Ruppenthal has written a book that is easy to read, easy to follow, edited much more than most. He not only covers the getting down and dirty in the yard, but covers how to eat or store what you may grow using his advise. And he has illustrations, charts and many clickable URLs to take you to websites and sales sites for so many things most greenhorns like me might not know how to find. Such a bonus!

This Kindle book will remain on hand as I get ready for putting my shovel into the ground. I will probably reread it again and again. Oh, and this wasn’t a book that took a couple hours to read. It took me a few days to get through. This was well worth the $3.99 that is being charged currently. I was lucky enough to find it for free. I highly recommend this to those who want to garden, especially using the Fall and Winter to extend growing time.

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Gardening: Gardening Techniques for Beginners: Secrets to Start You Organic Garden: (Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Gardening Techniques)Gardening: Gardening Techniques for Beginners: Secrets to Start You Organic Garden: by Mike Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this one just before going to sleep last night. It was a VERY quick read.

This is so little to this book that it felt like a magazine article. Well, what do I want for free? As much of a greenhorn as I am, I felt I knew most of the information in this article. So, if you are looking for an overview of what organic gardening is all about and some minor ways to achieve it, here is a place to start.

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