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...

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...

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...

Down with the Dance by C. T. Walsh Nerdy Austin just wants to survive middle school. Unfortunately, with his popular older brother in his grade and a new principal who has marked him as a troublemaker, surviving is easier said than done. When the Halloween dance is put in jeopardy--more than once--Austin starts to take matters into his own hands to save his school year. I enjoyed this story, finding it perfect for middle grade readers and even found myself laughing at times. However, this book is poorly edited, full of many typographical errors that make it difficult to read. Additionally, there were some scenes that were split between chapters or scene break characters, while other times scenes flowed from one to another when symbols or chapter breaks should have been used. I was also not thrilled with the constant changing of tense and voice, although it did at least make the narrator feel as if he were speaking directly to me. ...

The One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo illustrated by Jhon Ortiz When eleven-year-old Sarah is transplanted from New York City to rural Connecticut, she has no idea how she will survive. Never could she have imagined that a garden gnome come to life would lead her to an underground adventure to save the entire gnome race. I listened to the audiobook version of this story and absolutely loved the addition of sound effects to enhance the story. Looking at the printed version, I saw the addition of illustrations with the text as well. I thought these nice additions. However, while my seven-year-old daughter found this story enjoyable, I had a difficult time getting into the story. Although it is geared toward a younger audience, I was frustrated by the overuse of dialogue tags and, at least in the second half of the story, the near absent use of pronouns, leading to names being repeated many times in a short period. An example of thi...

Snowed Inn: The Beginning by Eliza Harwell In 1969, hippie Iris has no idea what she wants to do with her life. So when the opportunity arises to learn how to work an organic farm in rural Virginia, she figures she has nothing to lose. It's been a year since Vern has returned from Vietnam, but he still remembers the trials of war. When his advisor suggests he spend time researching his doctoral thesis in rural Virginia, he welcomes the opportunity. Little do Iris and Vern realize they will find their futures in the woods. This novella is a prequel to Eliza Harwell's Snowed Inn series and tells the story of how the innkeepers, Iris and Vern, met. When I read the blurb, I expected the story to remain in the past, but it not only begins in the present time, but it continues to interrupt the story with flashes back to the present. I would have much preferred a story that was set in the past and stayed there. The story begins with an des...

Death on Tour by Janice Hamrick Texas high school teacher Jocelyn and her cousin Kyla have always been interested in Ancient Egypt, so when presented the opportunity to spend her spring break touring the Great Pyramids, Jocelyn isn't about to say no. She's not even going to let the death of one of her more annoying companions ruin her trip. But, when strange things keep happening to their group, Jocelyn begins to wonder if the trip was really worth it. Unlike most cozy mysteries, this book begins with the murder on page one. For me, this was a definite turn-off. When reading mysteries, I like to have a chance to know my characters before someone dies. I believe it was also possible that I knew the name of the victim before the name of the main character (although I have already returned the book to the library, so I cannot be certain). With such a large cast, I had a very difficult time remembering who was who and sometimes felt I knew everyone else'...

Arrowed Avery Daniels When Julienne arrives at the Enchantment Canyon Resort, she expects to spend her days training the staff and her nights with her boyfriend. But, someone has other ideas. First, a high-powered executive is executed with an old-fashioned arrowed, literally grabbing Julienne to utter his final words: "The curse got me." Now, the new owner wants her to focus her attention on finding the killer and saving the resort's reputation. As if that wasn't enough, her boyfriend's ex checks in, determined to rekindle their lost romance. Will Julienne be able to solve the mystery before it's too late? Although this is the fourth book in the Resort to Murder series, this is my first time reading this series. After a brief scene to provide the setting for this book, there is a lot of background information in the first chapter, some of which was repeated, either within the chapter or in later chapters. Having not read the previou...

Second Chance Option by Elizabeth Spaur Tess graduated from college when she was thirteen and has always found herself helping others more than she cares for herself. When her little brothers sign her up for America Ninja Warrior, she realizes it is time to put herself first for once. Enter Cade. A third generation navy man, Cade never thought he would ever settle somewhere permanent. But, when his college football coach asks him to help rebuild the team, he finds he cannot say no. When he learns about Tess's competition, he can't help himself from volunteering to train her. He never expected to fall for her. I enjoyed this story, but parts were very confusing. Although this is the first book in a series, there were many times where I felt I was dropped into the middle of the story without knowing what happened in the beginning. Both of the main characters, as well as many of the minor ones and an entire football program, suffered some very traumatic...

Derailed Plot by Summer Campbell After finding her husband in bed with another woman, Astrid decides to accept an offer to review a transcontinental train across Spain while she reexamines her life. However, when she becomes the prime suspect in a murder, she finds herself trying to find the real culprit before she is handed over to the Spanish policia. Although this book claims to be a cozy murder mystery, the murder does not happen until chapter 6 (out of 15). The beginning of the book focuses more on Astrid reexamining her life and getting to the train. It is also very difficult to feel immersed in the story. Beginning on page one, the book is full of scenes where the narrator tells us what has just happened during the scene break instead of showing it as it happens. Combined with the occasional errors in grammar and tense, I had a difficult time being engaged in the story. And the scene where Astrid goes clothes shopping with a complete stranger in a Madrid ...

Switched by Amanda Hocking Seventeen-year-old Wendy has not had an easy life. Her father died when she was five. At her sixth birthday party, her mother decided she was not really her child, but a monster who had assumed her child's life. Her aunt and older brother have done their best to raise her, but she hasn't exactly been the easiest child to live with. Now, a strange boy at her new school has taken an interest in her and the things he says makes her wonder whether her mother was right all along. I found this book while clearing my virtual bookshelf and I couldn't remember anything about it. When I checked goodreads, I found I had rated this book 3 stars in 2015 but left no review (how dare I!), so I decided to reread the entire trilogy. This review is actually for all three books. I have read several stories of changlings and one of the questions I always have is what happens to the human baby that was switched? I was pleased to see that this b...

Murder in an Irish Village Carlene O'Connor Since the death of her parents a year ago, Siobhán has been trying to get by. Running her parents' bistro. Caring for her four younger siblings. Keeping an eye on her older brother. When the brother of her parents' killer is found dead in the back booth, her own brother becomes the prime suspect. Of course, that's the night her brother breaks six months of sobriety to go on a bender. With everyone in town, even her brother, wondering whether he did it, Siobhán decides its up to her to determine the identity of the true killer and clear her brother's name. This book opens with a glossary and pronunciation guide and I was proud of myself for knowing most of the terms and sounds. During the readings, however, the terms were explained in the text, somewhat unnecessarily, either because their meaning was obvious or because they were already explained in the glossary. While I am aware the author spen...