Tag Archive: text-to-speech-enabled



Touching the Clouds (Alaskan Skies, #1)Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After my cruise to Alaska way back in June 2001, I love reading about Alaska. I also love books about women who are pilots of bush planes. I am impressed with their courage and stamina. So when I saw this book about a young female pilot in the early 1930s I had to get it. I expected adventure plus!

As for adventure, that was there. And I did like the main character. She was strong. And in those days a female not tending the home-front was an oddity at best. The author did a fine job showing that part of our history.

Anyone who knows me, has read my reviews, knows I don’t much like romantic books. But if it is part of the story and not the whole arc of the story I can bear with it. My favorite parts of this story were the main character flying, oh, and her dog. But be warned, there is romance. :-/

Another thing I don’t like is reading along enjoying the abilities of human endeavor and have the book suddenly become christian propaganda. Warning, that happens here. But I have to admit that it wasn’t all that annoying. Even atheists tend to foxhole prayers. Yes, there were the occasional scripture. Those were not as convincing as maybe the author thought they might be. Sorry. And in that case it got a little annoying. Instead of dropping the book in favor of others sitting and waiting for me to read, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to know what would happen next. I don’t mind that the main character is a Christian and seems quite strong in her beliefs. I mind that the one who doesn’t believe is being worked at to break him down, belief being the goal, even more than the romantic notions. He had good reasons to believe the way he did. So did she. What they had in common was tragedy. No one’s fault, accept we can’t control everything. That alone is a great storyline. But…

Now I have to admit that midway through the book I went back to the GoodReads page and saw that it was tagged as Christian Fiction. Then I didn’t feel so taken in. Had I not seen that I would have given up the story. But knowing it wasn’t just proselytizing — it was stated pure and plain. So I continued and finished the book. It was okay. I’m not going to pursue the next books. Sorry. It’s beginning to look like too much romance.

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Pages for YouPages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some reviews say that this book didn’t have enough character depth. I want to agree with this, yet it feels rather like a real meeting between real people. When you meet someone that has had a few year of experiences and you only know them a short time, you don’t get to know the person as well as you might like. As House used to say, “Everyone lies.” Everyone keeps secrets, too.

My kids used to tell me that I shared too much. That soon became “TMI, Mom!” Even with someone like me, there are secrets. Sometimes you just don’t want to relive certain situations, or risk hurting someone else, or live through yet another lecture, or other personal reasons. That is what happens in this book. We have a short time with these two people and they both have their own secrets. We only get to know what the characters want to share.

And though I couldn’t relate, age-wise with either of the characters, I’ve never had those experiences, and as ‘old’ as the older one was supposed to be, to me, she was just a child, too. But I think everyone could relate to new romance and the complications of that first love. And that is what makes the story come alive. Watching this young girl come to terms with her first crush and her own sexuality. It is fun to travel within the university and then around the US with these two women.

I believe that many high school or college age, female students, might like this book. They could relate much better than this old lady. Just enjoy the ride.

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The Lonely Little Star & Other StoriesThe Lonely Little Star & Other Stories by Mary Beth Robb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading a few books that were anxiety producing I thought this one would help ease me to sleep. I let my inner child be read to by the text-to-speech as I followed along in the book. Mary Beth Robb writes her stories in an uncomplicated way while covering some deep spiritual issues. I would have loved to read this book to my children when they were young.

Reach out and take a chance, seemed to be the theme of this group of stories. Shy people need this kind of advice regardless of age. I loved the stories about the witch who was shy and the stories about the ribbons of love. How tactile the story was. In fact, all the stories involve all of the readers’ senses as you move in life with the main characters of each story.

Learn about another point of view. If you have been raised in a certain religion here is a chance to learn how others have seen the world and life. Neither way is wrong. There is much to be learned from everyone. This would be a great place to start in learning about Paganism or Wiccan ways of life. These are the “Old Time Religions” the main theme of most religions I have seen is LOVE and acceptance. Ms. Robb’s books seem to teach that is spade!

I was so happy that Kindle has the Kindle Unlimited way of reading books I can’t afford. I hope the author gets a good financial kick-back from this. When I can afford them I will buy them. Maybe I will have them in time for grandchildren? Thanks for some awesome stories, Mary.

By the way, I follow Ms. Robb’s blog: Elfkat.wordpress.com I learn a lot from her point of view and enjoyher sense of humor.

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Beautiful Black Cats: A collection of photographs of black catsBeautiful Black Cats: A collection of photographs of black cats by Precious The Cat

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

AS an animal lover I love looking at picture books about different animals. As a black cat owner I LOVE pictures of cats like mine. Since my black cat was a rescue kitty, we didn’t get to see her as a kitten, so some of these pictures could easily be what she looked like when she was tiny.

The book leaves me smiling. But I think it might have been better to not have the credits right under the picture but tuck it away in the back so that the photos can stand alone. It was the only thing I didn’t like about the book.

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The Horse Book (HC Picture Books 13)The Horse Book by Ben Holden-Crowther

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since my NaNoWriMo is/was about equine people I wanted just pictures for visual inspiration. This book filled the bill perfectly. I might have wanted more, especially of ponies. But these are marvelous photos of horses and landscapes.

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Immutable (Ripple Series Book 5)Immutable by Cidney Swanson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, I am sad. I am nearing the end of a great series. It has been so much fun to read the Rippler series by Cidney Swanson. You may remember her name from the Mars series I went so crazy about.

The Rippler series isn’t space travel but I consider it to be sci-fi rather than fantasy as the condition that causes one to ripple into invisibility is caused by a certain gene, as I understand it. Scientists discover these genes and work with a multitude of medications to control the side effects and or the people that are able to vanish. As in all groups of people there are good scientists and bad/evil scientists. The results push the main characters and plot of this series.

What I don’t yet do like about this series is that even though you have the oldies but goodies from former books, each book or so introduces a new point of view. The reason I like it is because you can travel to new places and see things you might not have had Ms. Swanson kept the same main character for all the adventures. I like getting to know characters in their depth so that is why I don’t like a new character every time. I know, I’m hard to please. ๐Ÿ™‚

At any rate, what I am left with is a case of wonderment. What if one could go invisible, hide in walls or in plain sight? What if one could read another’s thoughts? And how fun would it be to hitch a ride in an airplane anywhere in the world by hiding in the wall? And not only can you be invisible, but you can fly! Or you can take a dip in the ocean with a school of dolphins and not get wet or cold. These are just a few adventures the main characters have in this series.

I’d say try either the Rippler series or the Saving Mars series if you want to have some fun.

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Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2)Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After a bit of research I realized that I read the first book, A Discovery of Witches, in 2011. That reading was a result of a recommendation by my cousin. I loved that book. Yet, I just took the quiz and found I only got 3 questions right out of 10. So maybe I should have read it again before reading this second book, Shadow of Night. I did feel lost at times, but the story kept me engaged and I didn’t want to leave the past to review the first book. Also, on my research I found that I didn’t have the Kindle version of the first book. I must have borrowed the hardback from the library. But I do have the Audible version of the book that I had listened to alongside the hardback.

With both books of the series, I was delighted by the narrator, Jennifer Ikeda. Her voice is exquisite, I love the way she can vary according to each character. I feel she could read the phonebook and make it exciting. But Deborah Harkness’s writing needs no help. Several times I’d have a sleepless night and want to read. I hated donning my headset just for a few minutes of reading. Those few moments lasted for sometimes hours. So yes, I know how well the writing is. With the duo of writer and narrator this story comes to life. And that is when Elizabeth I is queen.

I love time travel stories, but this was different in that it was due to witchcraft that made it happened. And that by a witch who doesn’t understand her craft. Okay, I won’t tell you any more about the story. Needless to say, it is worth the read. The characters alone can grab you. They are well developed, as is the plot. So much so that I couldn’t wait to get the next book and get involved. I highly recommend this series.

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Horses: Amazing Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids (and Parents)Horses: Amazing Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids by Susan Palmer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Because I am writing about equines in my nano novel (NaNoWriMo.org). I needed a little inspiration. This book was free so I thought I’d take a chance.

There were not as many pictures as I really wanted. But there was one at the beginning of each chapter. This seems to be a book for the third to sixth grader who is interested in learning about horses. Though I am not equestrian scholar, far from it, I didn’t expect to learn anything. But I did! So I would say that even though it’s aimed at third to sixth graders, I think anybody could read this and learn something. And if you beating on Kindle Fire or on a tablet the pictures are beautiful. And it gave me the inspiration I needed.

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JUST ANOTHER CASUALTYJUST ANOTHER CASUALTY by Brooke Brouillette

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whew! It has taken me two days to get into a mind frame where I can write about this book. I couldn’t read it at night because of the subject matter. Kidnapping happens. This was realistic. The story was so strong that I didn’t notice any typos or grammar errors. It was all about keeping the main character alive and whole. And Brooke Brouillette, the author, made the character, Savvy, very realistic and likable.

As a parent, this story played on all my strings. One would hope your child would know how to react and stay safe. But that helpless feeling a parent has while trying to find your child, no matter how old they are, just terrifying! The reason I gave this 4 stars is only that the author wrote such a believable novel. I wouldn’t have read this book if I had known its subject matter. Just not my kind of book. There is enough of this on the news. I read for escape. So 4 stars is quite high considering.

By the way, this edition was given to me for an honest review. There you have it. If you like scary and thrillers–this is it. Thank you Ms. Brouillette for allowing me this read.

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Molly: House on FireMolly: House on Fire by R.E. Bradshaw

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love, love, love Decky books. Decky is the nickname of the author, R.E. Bradshaw. I have read many of her stories. Her writing is enjoyable. She brings the reader into her worlds. We sit in on all the adventures. I hope someday her stories will become movies or television series. They are worth it!

What was most exciting about Molly: House on Fire? Characters from Ms. Bradshaw’s previous novels appeared and are there to help out in this thriller. I love when authors do that.

The mystery kept me guessing. I did figure out who but I couldn’t figure out the how or why as I read. The ending was a bit of a surprise. AND it feels like more could be written on Molly and her life. Yay!

This was such and exciting tale that I had to move a couple books from my “to read” to my “currently reading” shelf. Great job, Decky!

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