Sailor Twain or The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The charcoal drawings were appealing as well as the storyline. Taking place in the late 1800's, the story was about a ship's captain and his love and obsession with a mermaid in the Hudson River. I really enjoyed the development of the plot as the reader learned about the mermaid as well as the myths surrounding her kind. I don't want to discuss too much because I feel that it would spoil the story for others.
    I was captivated by the story and art and actually a little surprised of the ending.
    I rated this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

    
     This is a story of a young boy who is left to live with his undesirous extended family after his father and mother die when he is one year old. His upbringing is not a pleasant one but does not affect Harry Potter negatively. When Harry is older he is whisked away to a school that will teach him wizardry and help him connect to his past. While at school Harry learns skills that help him fight an evil that is forever present. This book was full of adventure, mystery, and entertainment that pulls the reader into the story.
     I rated this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

Give Save Spend with the Three Little Pigs by Clint Greenleaf

This is such a great book for children that are at least 5 years of age. Younger than that, they may not understand. This was a great way to introduce financial ethics with characters that are familiar and loved. This presented a great message and story with wonderfully appealing art. I rated this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

A Bed for Fred by Lori Zoss

I absolutely loved this little book! A story of a growing pup who cannot find his bed. We follow along as he searches all day to find it. This book is written in a poetic way that I know that my son would fall in love with this book. With this being an ARC e-reader copy there were no pictures which makes me sad because I would love to know what the art would be like that went with this story. I rated this book 4/5 stars for the words and may have been 5/5 if there had been pictures.



***EDIT***

I am excited to be able to edit this review. The pictures for this book were supposed to be included in this copy but technical error interfered. The publisher sent me a new copy that included the artwork.
This book is highly recommended by me! The words along with the artwork are fabulous! The artwork is so colorful and entertaining! I found myself  full of "aw!" and laughs as I re-read the story with the pictures. This is such a great book for little ones.
I now rate this book 5/5 stars for the beautiful word flow and artwork.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

    A different take on vampires is evident in this book. Rose is a dhampir, which is a guardian to the Moroi who are vampires. Rose is Lissa's guardian, and they have shared a bond for many years that allows Rose to feel and even experience Lissa's feelings and environment. These two have been on the run from an unknown enemy, but are caught and taken back to the St. Vladimir's Academy from where they have escaped. While back at the academy they become engulfed by the world of teen life, popularity, parties, and relationships, but not all is as it seems. There is a danger lurking closely and seems to rear its ugly head as time goes on.
     I'll admit that by the end of this book I actually liked it, but it wasn't until the last 70 pages that my opinion changed. I wasn't too impressed by the story at the beginning. I couldn't figure out what all the hype was about when it came to this series. I made myself continue to read and I'm glad that I did because the last 70 pages were great. They were filled with action and danger that pulled me into the story. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.
    I rated this book 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Easy by Tammara Webber

     This is a book about a young man with a dark past and a young woman with a future on which she placed all of her faith. Lucas hadn't known Jacqueline, but he had watched her from a distance. Jacqueline didn't even know that Lucas truly existed until one night he saved her from a horrible incident. Now it seems as if she keeps running into him. Jacqueline can't get him out of her head. Lucas is the "bad boy" with the tattoos to go along with that stereotype. He is sexy in every way. He's good looking, has tattoos, is mysterious, and knows how to teach a girl how to defend herself. Jacqueline can't seem to keep herself away from the mystery of him. This book is full of angst and passion, and takes you through the journey of falling in love and lust.
     I fell in love with this book! I enjoyed the mystery that surrounded Lucas and the love/lust that Lucas and Jacqueline shared. This was a book that was written to emulate real life, which was a nice break from all the fantasy I have been reading. I thought this book was going to just be a love/lust book with not much else going on, but there was an adventure presented by the incidents that happened as well as deception. I was entertained through the whole length.
     I found out that there will be a second book, Breakable, being released May 6, 2014. You better believe that I have already pre-ordered it!
    I rated this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

Vixen is the Bee's Knees

Can I just say that I fell in love with this book from page one? Jillian's writing pulls you in to a place where you feel like you are sharing the experieces of each character. I loved how she gave us the view points of three different girls which extended the story line perfectly. Each character grew into themselves in some way by the end of the book. You get to see some realize that there is goodness within themselves and others see that they should just give in to the darkness inside. I don't really know what else to say about this book without giving it all away. This was a wonderful book about the 1920's flapper style of living!