Ashleigh's Bookshelf

I Don't Date Superheroes   by S.D. Rogue To the world Hana is an army medic. Not even her closest friends and coworkers realize that she treats superheroes for the Enhanced Humans Agency. One night, after a long day at work, a patient breaks into her apartment seeking help. After nearly being killed by the people following him, Hana joins his quest for safety. Unsure of what is happening or whom to trust, Hana must figure out why someone is kidnapping superheroes without forgetting her mantra: do NOT fall for a superhero. One of my biggest problems with this story was the editing. There were many places with excessive dialogue tags, repetitive words, and shifts in tenses or point of view. There were also misused or missing words. I found these editing errors distracting and it was difficult to get through the first chapter. Once I was able to overlook these issues, I found I liked the story. There was a decent plot, a decent subplot, and strong backstories. However, it all moved a

Is This Me?   by Tricia Copeland Amanda cannot wait for the first day of college, where she is immediately introduced to her friend's fraternity. By the end of orientation, she is spending more time at the frat house than at the dorm, especially two seniors. All her friends think something is going on, but she keeps insisting their just friends. After a series of mishaps, Anna finds herself lying to her friends about her health and her feelings and must find true self again. By the end of chapter one, most of the key players had been introduced, although I must admit I was a little confused with the large cast of characters. However, the light prose made it easy to follow Amanda's exploits as well as her roller coaster of emotions regarding a certain frat boy. As the book went on, I found myself rooting for Amanda to be with one specific frat boy and was disappointed when it didn't work out. Overall, I found the characters very relatable and the story engaging. I am lookin

The Baker's Man Jennifer Moorman After discovering the recipe her grandmother used to bake the perfect man, Anna decides to try it herself. She never believed it would work. Now that he's here, what is she supposed to do with him? The only thing I didn't like about this sweet romance was the fact that after all the references to baked goods I felt a deep desire to bake some cookies of my own. Some warm, gooey ones, right out of the oven. By the end of the prologue, I was extremely hooked, even though it described a scene two generations before the events of this story. I found I could not put this book down. The characters were extremely relatable and the prose was light and easy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. Ultimately, I would rate this book five quills and place it on my top shelf.

Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets   Sherrill Joseph When an ancient Egyptian treasure goes mission, it's up to four young detectives to help solve the case. I love a good mystery, especially when I have NO IDEA whodunit. This story definitely fell into that category. I thought I had figured it out by the second chapter, only to have been horribly wrong. (Although, when the guilty party is initially introduced, I did get a feeling that person might be the culprit. But, I was still voting for my first choice until the very end.) This novel had a great storyline and reminded me very much of Nancy Drew. I really wanted to be engaged. However, I found the story very difficult to read. Despite the line acknowledging the children were brighter and more mature than their age, the dialogue felt very forced and there was an excessive use of dialogue tags, often poorly placed. It was very difficult to relate to the characters, both the children and the adults. Additionally, a lot of backstory

The Executed Executive by Gena Webb Set in 1957, Mary likes her uncomplicated life. During the day, she is the secretary to an old man who tends to fall asleep when dictating notes. At night, she curls up with her cat to watch detective shows. Life is good. But when a murder at her office puts her job in jeopardy and makes her friend a suspect, she puts her detective skills to the test. One of the first things to draw me into this book was the fact that the main character loved to watch Perry Mason. I grew up watching the reruns of my mother's favorite show. It was very easy to relate to Mary and I really enjoyed the world the author created and the romantic subplots. By the end of the first chapter, I knew the story would be about a secretary named Mary and there was a hint as to who the "Executed Executive" would be. However, there was not much of a hook and, while I was intrigued, I wasn't dying to read the next chapter. As the book continued, however, I was draw

Kingdom of Embers   by Tricia Copeland Alana just wants her senior year to be as normal as possible. Well, as normal as it can be for a half-witch/half-vampire. One of the forbidden creatures. She's also a Child of Light, although she has no idea what that means. All she knows is that she wants to be able to attend parties and date boys. Which boy turns out to be a problem. There's her study buddy who wants to be more than a friend. There's the other half-witch/half-vampire whom she meets on a blind date. And then there's her imaginary friend who turns out to be a real human being. I am going to start this review by saying I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I found the the prose light and very appropriate for a young adult audience and I could really relate to the main character. By the end of chapter one, we learn that Alana's mother is on some sort of secret quest and Alana wants to know what that is. She also wants m

Deyn's Promise   by Robert Jacob Brontsema Upon the death of his daughter, Key meets a small boy, Deyn, who promises he will never leave Key. Over the next few years, he learns the boy is evil, possibly even a demon. At first, Deyn is a mild annoyance, but his escapades soon escalate until he attacks someone else Key loves. Key then sets himself on a mission to figure out who Deyn is and how to get rid of him. In doing so, he learns about himself. Without giving away too much, I must say I was really impressed when I discovered Deyn's true identity. It made a lot of sense to me and I loved the way the author portrayed him. The author has a great penchant for similes and metaphors that really helped see the world he was creating. That being said, I had a difficult time finishing this book. Although the imagery was excellent, there was a dependence on metaphors, some of which I did not wholly understand and some of which I found somewhat offensive. By the end of chapter one, I d

This month, I included several book recommendations in my monthly newsletter. Although I was not able to read the entire book, but I did read the sample chapters provided by the authors. Below are my mini-reviews for the month of November. Introducing Fate by Keelan Storm This is the prologue to the Tied by Fate series. Twin sisters Isabel & Annie are learning to live their life after the death of their father. Pros: I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but I had tears in my eyes when the twins opened their birthday presents. Cons: This book is not a clean YA romance. It contains swearing, underage drinking, and graphic foreplay. Song of the Siren by J. Leigh James This one of many tales in the Grimmly Woods series. In this short story, Ariel must confront her inability to sing.  Pros: This is an imaginative retelling of a classic fairy tale with a modern twist and I definitely want to read more of this series. Cons: The ending felt