Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Pixie's Gift by Raven Wolfe Four years after the death of her brother, Stephanie is still tortured by nightmares about the water. Meanwhile, Adam is numb from the recent loss of the woman he loved. They don't know each other yet, but a gift from Pixie is just what they need to begin healing. Despite its short length, the story was a slow read. It contained very little dialogue and there were many times I would have rather been shown information instead of having it been told to me. There were also numerous grammatical and proofreading errors and the book overall was formatted as a webnovel instead of an e-book. That said, I enjoyed this story, although I would have liked to have seen a lot more worldbuilding. I didn't really get a much of a sense of where and when this was taking place. For some reason, probably because of the cloaked woman on the cover, I kept wanting to think this was set in the Victorian era, even though there were pl...

Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade Stella and Nick can't wait to move into their new house in rural Vermont. There's just one problem: a dead guy in their well. Forced to stay in a privative hunting cabin, the newcomers take it upon themselves to solve the mystery so they can finally unpack their moving van. I found the first chapter of this story extremely engaging, especially since it ends with the beginning of the mystery. However, the second chapter then opens by giving background information on two characters that had yet to be introduced to the story. Since a lot of this information is revealed later, I would have much preferred to learn Alma's backstory slowly. I think it would have made her a more interesting character and possibly even a suspect. Instead, because I knew about what happened to her son, I felt about four steps ahead of Stella. Although I found the story enjoyable, there were many aspects that felt as unrealistic as a c...

To Ride a Unicorn Vanessa Westgate A delightful step-by-step guide to catching a wild unicorn. Although I selected this book to read with my young children, I found myself enjoying it as well. The narrator provides exciting, fascinating directions to catching a unicorn in a wild, even including how to ride one. The dialogue felt natural and the story was engaging. My only "complaint", if you can even all it that, is when the unicorn is hiding. My children, even my three-year-old, love to find hidden pictures. In several instances, however, the unicorn was in plain sight. My children would have preferred looking for the unicorn instead. Overall, however, I truly enjoyed this story. I would rate this story four and a half quills and place it on my top shelf.

Let It Snow John Green Maureen Johnson Lauren Myracle This book is a compilation of three intertwined novellas. Though they do all work well together, they can also each be read individually. Story #1: The Jubilee Express It's Christmas Eve and sixteen-year-old Jubilee is looking forward to celebrating her one-year anniversary with Noah. Unfortunately, when her parents get arrested, she is sent to spend the holiday with her grandparents instead. What starts as an irritating inconvenience turns into a major problem when the worst storm in fifty years hits. Determined not to let fourteen rowdy cheerleaders ruin her holiday, Jubilee sets off to make the best of the worst holiday of her life. I really enjoyed this story, though I don't have a lot to say about it. I liked watching Jubilee grow. As the daughter of a Christmas Village collector, I found that storyline riotous (pun intended). I could completely relate to Jubilee's irritation with her parent...

The Amateurs by Sara Shepard One minute, Helena Kelly is celebrating the first snowfall of the year with her younger sister, Aerin. The next minute, she has completely disappeared from their sleepy little Connecticut town. Still searching for answers five years later, Aerin seeks assistance from a cold-case message board. Enter Seneca, a college freshman who has been following the Kelly case religiously from the beginning. When her friend Maddie invites her to spend spring break investigating the case, how can Seneca refuse? But, someone seems determined to keep this case cold. This book was so addictive, I could not put it down. While there are ultimately five sleuths on the case, the book is narrated in turn by four of them. As a result, there is the occasional repetition of information, but I didn't mind it too much because it provided a reminder of some key information. As a mystery enthusiast, I love being able to solve the mystery before the main charac...