Review: Snow One Like You

Review: Snow One Like You by Natalie Blitt

Mia can't wait for the Winter Festival - It's what her hometown, Flurry, Vermont, is famous for. Plus, maybe she can work up the courage to show the new boy, Yoshi, how much fun snowball fights can be.

There's just one problem: the weather forecast isn't predicting a single snowflake before the big day. And what's the Winter Festival without snow?

Canceling the festival would spell disaster for the local businesses, including the cozy inn that Mia's family runs. With the town in chaos, Mia is suddenly at odds with Yoshi and her best friend, Lark. Can Mia save the festival in time...or is she in for a wintry mix of troubles?
-summary and cover via Goodreads

Plot: It was fun! I liked reading about Mia and her friends plan to save the festival.

Characters: Mia was a good main character, and I liked all the side characters, too!

The Cover: It's a fun cover!

Overall: This was a fun Middle Grade book that I liked reading, and I know I would have loved it when I was in middle school. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a fun Middle Grade book to read for Winter/Christmas!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher.

Cozy Mysteries! Part 2

Hi, everyone! Yesterday on the blog I talked about what cozy books I love and the ones I want to read. Today, I'm going to talk about what Hallmark cozy mysteries I love watching! My Mom and I love watching Hallmark together, but she also loves Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Earlier this year my Mom got me to watch my first Hallmark mystery, and I became totally addicted to them! I've managed to watch almost every cozy mystery they've released, and I eagerly await each new one. I love the mysteries, the characters, the romances, the settings, and being to able return to the same characters over and over again. Which is why I thought it would be fun to talk about my favorites here! I'm going to talk about my seven favorite series of movie from them. I've watched more than that, but I thought it would be fun to talk about my absolute favorites here today! I am also only listing movie series with at least 2 movies currently out, because there are a couple others with only one movie out so far (Crossword and Picture Perfect are two.) that I've also enjoyed watching, but I wanted to focus on series of movies today. Here we go!

Not listed in any particular order. Links go to the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries website.

Emma Fielding Mysteries

These are the first mystery movies I watched. My Mom thought I would like them because the cases in them have to do with history (Which is I love!), and she was right!

Murder, She Baked

I love this series of movies! And I love that baking plays such a big role in the movies.

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries

My Mom's favorite! I really love these movies, too! If I'm flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch, and see that these are on (They replay these movies a lot.), I always stop to watch them.

Mystery 101

A newer series, but one that is already one of my favorites!

Morning Show Mysteries

My Mom and I just binge watched these movies and they're really good! I'm hoping they make more of them.

Chronicle Mysteries

This series is pretty good!

Fixer Upper Mysteries

Another one my Mom and I just binge watched! Based on how long ago the last movie released, I don't think they're making any more of them, but I hope they do.

Have you watched any of these? What are your favorite Hallmark mysteries? :)

Cozy Mysteries! Part 1

Hi, everyone! Today I wanted to talk about cozy mysteries. One of the things my Mom loves to read is cozy mysteries, and because of her love of them, I've begun to love them, too! I love the stories, the characters, and the settings. There's something comforting about returning to the same characters and places over and over again. And I love mysteries! I mean, have I mentioned how much I love reading Nancy Drew books? (I might have mentioned it a few times.) So it makes sense that I would love cozy mysteries, too.  (I also love the titles of cozy mysteries!) Today I thought I would talk about a few cozy mysteries I've read, and list a few that I want to read. Tomorrow, I thought I would talk about the Hallmark mystery movies I've watched (Another thing my Mom got me into! She is also where I got my love of Debbie Macomber books.).

Here we go!

Books I've Read:

Library Lover's Books by Jenn McKinlay

I've read books #1 through #6, and I hoping to read the rest of the books soon, too. I've really enjoyed reading these books! When I catch up to the current release, I plan on writing a full review for the series on the blog.

Countess of Harleigh Books by Dianne Freeman

I've read the two books that have been released, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book! 

A Wee Murder in My Shop by Fran Stewart

I've read the first book, with plans to read the rest of them.

Books I Want to Read:

Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay

I'm really loving the Library Lover's mysteries by this author, so it makes sense that I would want to read this series by her, too! (Also, my Mom highly recommends this series, too!)

Bookmobile Mysteries by Laurie Cass

This is another of my Mom's favorite series, and she thinks I would like it too, so it goes on the TBR list!

Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlisle

And another of my Mom's favorite series! I think this series sounds really good!

Year-Round Christmas Mysteries by Vicki Delaney

I love Christmas. I love mysteries. This series seems perfect for me!

Coffeehouse Mysteries by Cleo Coyle

I keep hearing good things about these books.

Do you like cozy mysteries? What are some of your favorites? Have you read any of these? And come back tomorrow when I talk about Hallmark mystery movies!  :)

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2019 TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl blog.

Hi, everyone! The topic this week is Fall TBR. All of the books listed here are books that release in October or November. I'll be reading books that released before then this Fall, but for this post I thought I would focus on books that are releasing in Fall! Also, these are not the only books I'm looking forward to that release this Fall, but I was trying to keep to ten (and still ended up with eleven) this week. There's a lot of good books releasing this Fall! Here we go!

Not listed in any particular order.

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2019 TBR List

Star Wars: Creatures Big & Small by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy, illustrated by Katie Cook

I love these Star Wars picture books!

Gross as a Snot Otter by Jess Keating, illustrated by David DeGrand

The World of Weird Animals books are really fun!

Snow One Like You by Natalie Blitt

I have an e-ARC for this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it!

Frozen 2: Forest of Shadows by Kamilla Benko

It's Frozen, and it's by an author whose books I love. Of course it's on my TBR list!

Conceal, Don't Feel: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita

Again, Frozen and an author whose books I already love? Obviously on my TBR list!

A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

This sounds like a fun book!

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

I keep hearing good things about this one!

DC Super Hero Girls: At Metropolis High by Amy Wolfram, illustrated by Yancey Labat

The TV show this new one is based on is really fun! And I liked the previous DC Super Hero Girls graphic novels I've read.

Disney: 365 with Winnie the Pooh by Disney

This looks cute!

History's Mysteries: Legends and Lore by Anna Claybourne

The other books in this series are really interesting!

Spies, Lies, and Disguise: The Daring Tricks and Deeds that Won World War II by Jennifer Swanson, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley

I have an e-ARC of this book, and it looks really interesting!

What books are on your Fall 2019 TBR list? :)

Random Fridays: Travel Bucket List: The Rest of the World

Random Friday is hosted by Awkwordly Emma.

The last Random Friday was Travel Bucket List: North America. I wrote a pretty long list for that one. The post today will not be any shorter! I'm just going to list the countries, not particular cities for most of this list, just because there are too many places I want to visit in each country. These are not listed in any particular order.

England

The #1 place I want to visit.

Italy

Rome. Venice. Tuscany. I mean, who wouldn't want to visit here?

Paris, France

I feel this is an obvious choice.

Ireland

I would love to go there!

Japan

There are a lot of  places I would like to visit there.

Scotland

I think it would be fun.

Barcelona, Spain

It looks beautiful there!

Australia

Again, there's a lot of places here I would like to visit.

Where would you like to travel? :)

Top Seven Favorite Things to Drink While Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl blog.

Hi, everyone! The topic this week is Top Ten Favorite Things to Eat/Drink While Reading. I don't eat food while reading, because I'm too worried that I'll drop crumbs into the book (One of the grossest things with a book is when you open it and someone else's food falls in your lap.), but I do drink while I read! So here are seven things that I love to drink when I'm reading a book.

Top Ten Seven Favorite Things to Drink While Reading

Water

This is the #1 thing I drink the most.

Apple Juice

Ever since I was a little kid I've loved apple juice.

Orange Juice

I've gotta have my vitamin C!

A Slush From Sonic

THESE ARE THE BEST. Seriously. I have so many favorites from them. If you haven't had a Sonic slush, I highly recommend them!

Hot Chocolate

My favorite drink in Winter! I really love dark chocolate hot chocolate.

Orange Soda 

My #1 weakness when it comes to soda.

Strawberry Soda

Almost tied with orange soda, honestly.

What do you like to drink while you read? :)

Mini Review: The Singing Rock & Other Brand New Fairy Tales

Review: The Singin Rock & Other Brand New Fairy Tales by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and Simini Blocker

A genie just wants a chance to grant a wish to the frog who accidentally let him out of his lamp—meanwhile, the frog just wants to be left alone. A witch is tormented by the cheerful (and awful) singing of a persistent bard, but when she finally snaps and turns him into a rock, he just keeps on singing—somehow the power of terrible music overcomes all magic. A wizard wants a pet. An ogre just wants to make beautiful art. Four original, wry, and utterly charming fairy tales comprise this new collection for young readers.

With a deft, lively text from Nathaniel Lachenmeyer and eye-popping, painterly art by Simini Blocker, The Singing Rock is the perfect read for kids who love a good yarn—and good comics!
-summary and cover via Goodreads

Mini Review: I love anything that has to do with fairy tales, so as soon as I heard about this graphic novel, I knew I needed to read it. I'm happy I did! This was a delightful collection of new fairy tales, and I enjoyed reading all of them. My favorite was probably The Sorcerer's New Pet, but they were all good. I really loved the art in the book! I would love to read more graphic novels with this artists work. Overall, I highly recommend this book!

I checked this book out from my library.

Picture Books On My TBR List

Hi, everyone! Today I thought I would talk about a few Picture Books I want to read. I love picture books! I think you're never too old to read them, and I love not only the stories, but the art in them, too. My Mom and I read them together for fun! I thought I would list a few picture books that our on our TBR list. Books that have already released, and books that don't release until later this year. Here we go!

Not listed in any particular order.

Unicorn Day by Diana Murray, illustrated by Luke Flowers

Turtle and Tortoise Are Not Friends by Mike Reiss, illustrated by Ashley Spires

Pick a Pumpkin by Patrica Toht, illustrated by Jarvis

The Halloween Tree by Susan Montanari, illustrated by Teresa Martinez

One Big Heart: A Celebration of Being More Alike Than Different by Linsey Davis, illustrated by Lucy Fleming

C is For Christmas by Disney

Bruce's Big Storm by Ryan T. Higgins

Frozen: Let It Go by Disney

Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival

The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Ross MacDonald

Star Wars: Creatures Big & Small by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy, illustrated by Katie Cook

Gross as a Snot Otter by Jess Keating, illustrated by David DeGrand

Do like reading picture books? What are some on your TBR list? :)

Discussion: How Do You Organize Your Bookshelves?

Hi, everyone! Currently I'm trying to redo my bookshelves, and I was wondering how other people organize their shelves. I've seen people organize multiple ways.

By author. 

I think the most popular way to have the shelves organized.

By genre. 

At one point I did this.

By color. 

I think this is a really pretty way to have your shelves!

Also, do you add decorations to your shelf? Like funko pops, candles, postcards, etc.

And I'm sure there are more ways people organize their shelves. Personally, because I have too many books and not enough shelves, my books are pretty much just shoved anywhere on the shelf there's room. I try to keep all the books by one author together, and I keep all my library books in a milk crate (Which was my Mom's idea, and I love how it keeps them all together! Plus, I think it looks good.). But that's about the end of how I organize my shelves. I would love to have lots of bookshelves eventually, and to be able to organize them better, but I'm happy with how they look right now! I add decorations to my shelf, too!

Once I'm finished with redoing my shelves, I'll instagram a photo of they look.

How do you organize your bookshelves? Tell me! I would love to know. :)

Review: Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray

Review: Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray by Jess Keating

"Let the official record show that, I, Nikki Tesla, did not intend to destroy the world."

There are only so many times a kid can invent an instrument of global destruction without getting grounded. So when Nikki's death ray accidentally blows up her bedroom (if you can call a pet ferret with an itchy trigger finger an accident), she's sent to the only place that can handle her. Genius Academy is a school for history's greatest brains. Leo da Vinci? Charlotte Darwin? Bert Einstein? All extraordinary. Yet even among her fellow prodigies, Nikki feels like an outsider thanks to a terrible secret she can't let anyone discover. Ever.

But when her death ray is stolen, Nikki must stop worrying about fitting in and learn to play nice with her new classmates. Because it doesn't take a genius to track a thief around the world, outwit the authorities, and keep a French fry fanatic ferret happy. It takes all of them.

-summary and cover via Goodreads

Plot: This was really fun! I really liked reading about the adventures the characters went on.

Characters: I liked all the characters! Nikki was a good main character. I liked the other students. It was fun that they were all based on real people from history!

The Cover: The cover is really fun! And I think the little ferret (Pickles!) is adorable.

Overall: This was a really fun read! I loved reading it now, and I also know I would have loved it when I was in middle school! I look forward to reading more books about these characters in the future! :)

I checked this book out from my library.

Random Fridays: Travel Bucket List: North America

Random Fridays is hosted by Awkwordly Emma

The topic this week is travel bucket list, North America. I'm going to stick to the US for this post, because it's going to be long enough as is. :)

Route 66

I would really love to road trip route 66!

New York City

I mean, I think most people at least want to visit here at least once? I would love to visit during Christmas time!

Every National Park

I think it would be amazing to go to all the National Parks.

Grand Canyon

I know this is a national park, which I already mentioned, but this is one in particular I really want to visit!

Disneyland

I love Disney!

New Orleans
I would love to visit this city (and honestly, eat a lot of food)!

Roanoke, VA
The history is fascinating! I would love to visit there.

California
I think it would be fun!

The Outer Banks of North Carolina
It looks beautiful!

Vermont
I would love to see the colorful leaves in the fall!

Salem, MA
Another place I think the history is fascinating!

A Lighthouse Tour of the US
I think it would be really cool to go and visit a bunch of the most beautiful lighthouses.

What's on your travel bucket list? :)

Upcoming Middle Grade and YA Books With Illustrated Covers

Hi, everyone! I really love illustrated covers. I think they're unique looking, and I think they really catch your eye when they're on the shelf. And I'm not saying that I don't love covers with photos on them, because I do! Illustrated covers just really have a place in my heart in terms of what I particularly love. While I was adding books to my TBR list the other day, I noticed there are a lot of upcoming Middle Grade and YA books coming out with covers like that, and I thought it would be fun to write a blog post sharing a few (and by a few I mean 13) of my favorites!

These are listed by MG and YA, and by the authors last name. Here we go! :)

Middle Grade:

Fire in the Star (The Unicorn Quest #3) by Kamilla Benko

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter

Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling (Elements of Genius #2) by Jess Keating

Hidden Pictures (Nancy Drew #19) by Carolyn Keene

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim

The Copycat by Wendy McLeod MacKnight

YA:

Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Geir

Nancy Drew Files Vol. 1 by Carolyn Keene

It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood

The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

American Royals by Katherine McGee

Do you like illustrated covers? What are some of your upcoming favorites? :)