Ashleigh's Bookshelf

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...