Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Odyssey: The Reboot by Keith Tokash According to Homer's cousin, the original Odyssey was severely over embellished and this is the real story about the ancient king of Ithaca. As a former Classical Studies student, I am familiar with ancient Greek mythology, especially the story of Odysseus, and looked forward to reading this story. I was not disappointed. Although this book contained many grammatical and proofreading errors, the story was enjoyable. This is the second book in a series, though it is the first one I have read. This was not a problem, however, since the events of the first book were mentioned many times. In fact, some information was mentioned more than once. While I found this repetition slightly irksome, I think it would have been more of an issue had I read the first book. There were a few characters in whom I would have liked to have seen a little more development, but the main characters -- the narrator and Odysseus -- were very well deve...

Murder at the Abbey by Frances Evesham When human bones are discovered in the river, Libby and the rest of the historical society are excited to learn they most likely belonged to a 16th century monk from the nearby abbey. They organize on overnight ghost hunt, which results in the attack of a friend. Now, Libby and Max must try to identify the culprit before someone else is injured. Although this is the eighth book in the series, it is the first one I have read. The story contains a lot of background information, most of which felt as if it were from earlier stories, that continues through most of the book. Much of it felt irrelevant to the story, both while I was reading it and even by the end of the book. Some of the information is repeated multiple times during the first few times and was information I would have rather seen than be told upfront. Some of it was also introduced at awkward times, distracting from the flow of the story. Even many chapte...

Dahlia's Backstage Pass Ethan Cobalt Dahlia has her entire life planned. In a few weeks, she and her on-again/off-again boyfriend will go to college. She will become a nurse, he a doctor. Together, they'll volunteer for Doctors Without Borders and see the world. Most importantly, she'll be able to leave the trailer park she calls home. But when an old friend calls out of the blue, Dahlia realizes she can't turn down his offer to work with his band. Suddenly, her world is turned upside-down and she must question everything from her career goals to her relationship. I enjoyed this story, although I did spend much of the book wondering if Dahlia stepped out of one manipulative relationship just to enter another one. I think this was ultimately because I didn't really get to know the character very well. I would have liked to have seen him developed a little more. I also would have liked to know Finn better as well. I saw some potentia...

Pumpkin Spice by Belle Bailey Marigold can't wait to enter the annual pumpkin pie baking contest, even if it means she will be partnered with a professional chef. However, things get off to rough start when they must first share a vending booth and then determine whose recipe to use for the contest. With the appearance of their rivals, Marigold and Sawyer work doubly hard prove they can make the best pumpkin pie. While this story is cute, it is very short. So short, that it is not even divided into chapters, although there are clear scene breaks. There were also a number of grammatical and typographical errors, as well as inconsistencies in the tense and voice, though not enough to fully detract from the story. Due to it's short length, there was not a lot of room for character development. While I felt there was a little growth and possibly even the beginnings of an attraction, it did not feel like a romance to me. I would have liked to ha...