Shannon

I still have my copy of this book, which actually belonged to my mother as a child. As you'd expect it's a fairly old hardcover book. I loved Betsy's Little Star and read it many times, including the times my mom read it to me. It was published in 1950, and as a child of the early 1980's there were many things about the time period that intrigued and enchanted me. It only enhanced my love of red shoes. Until recently, I didn't know there were any other books featuring these characters and to date this is the only one I've read that I know of, but I loved it.

Due to family visiting, it took me a while to get finished with this book. I really liked it. If you liked the first three, this is another fun and exciting read.

My Contrary Mary was a delightful expansion of the Lady Janies series to include Mary. The book is wonderfully funny with its combination of historical fact, fiction, and humorous commentary. I particularly enjoyed the “future predictions” that were actually movies. The characters were likable, and I enjoy how the arranged marriages actually contain people who like each other.

I highly recommend My Contrary Mary, along with all of the Lady Janies series. I look forward to the next Mary as well!

I was intrigued when I saw Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch described as Bringing Up Baby, in the style of Jane Austen. I love Bringing Up Baby, which is a 1938 movie starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and a Leopard. I grew up watching it, incorporated the song from the movie(I Can't Give You Anything But Love) into my wedding ceremony, and had a framed Bringing Up Baby poster in my living room. I also like Jane Austen books.

In Every Duke Has His Day, an eccentric, scientifically minded Duke is watching his aunt's pet poodle. He's taking the poodle for a walk when a young woman's near-identical poodle runs at them, knocking the duke and his poodle into a stream. They accidentally switch dogs, dogs are stolen, and adventure and romance proceed from there. The story takes place during the summer in London during the “Season”.

It was a bit slow to get into, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. The dialogue and banter were funny and engaging. It had multiple points of view, giving the reader a full picture of what was going on. There was also a Gaston-level villain, and a bonus commoner romance for a bit of upstairs/downstairs action. Good “swooniness”.  Happily Ever After for everyone except the villain, even the pets. It had a 101 Dalmatians vibe too. It didn't really have a Bringing Up Baby plot, though it had screwball comedy elements.

I couldn't put it down and had to finish it before I could go to bed.

This is a “sweet” or “clean” romance with no “spicy” scenes.

Despite having read lots of classics throughout my youth, this may actually be the first contemporarily written “regency romance” that I've read. I actually had to look up British nobility rankings, because I wasn't sure about the difference between, say, a marquis and a viscount. I'm glad I looked it up instead of just wondering if I had it right the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There were some stories that I loved, some that I just liked, and some that I skipped.

The funniest thing is that I finished this book on August 5. :)

Another great read from Rick Riordan. The Apollo POV was so funny! Answered a couple questions left at the end of Blood of Olympus too. I'll have to look back at the quotes I highlighted. I look forward to the next installment!

Christian POV note: This book also reminded me of how awesome Jesus is. Though He was God, He humbled himself as a human by choice, served, and gave His life for us willingly.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was wonderful. It was gently paced. Leisurely, but didn't feel slow. I intend to read the next Monk and Robot book, but I don't feel in a rush to do so. 

I didn't like it quite as well as the first one, but I'm still anxious to read the last installment. I thought some of the language was a little mature for a young adult book, though that's a problem I had with the first one too. It was a bit weird at the end, but I'm hoping it will pay off in the third book.

Got this book as a wedding or shower gift, and I didn't really use it when we were first married. Now I think it might be packed away, or I'd probably be ready to try more of the recipes.

I think this was the best of the series so far. I liked the use of angels, it's one of the best in fantasy fiction I've seen.

I loved all the different locations. I had also recently been to Palm Springs in July(for my daughter's dance competition) and really enjoyed all the jokes about how hot and ridiculous it is. A fun summery “rom-com”. 

Really fun book. I was a theatre major, so I enjoyed the theatre/acting story, the hotel was a great setting, and the characters were likable. I liked the writing style too. It wasn't a fantasy story, but it had the sort of crazy situations that made it just a little fantastical at times. It reminded me a bit of the Shopaholic books in that sense.

I liked it. I didn't like it as much as the third book in the series, but I really enjoyed it and the Irish setting and lore made it really fun and different.

This is my favorite book from the Shopaholic series. I liked all the others, but this is the one that I love and I've read it several times.

A good finish to the series.

A cute book that happened to take place really close to where I live.

I just saw this book show up while browsing my kid's “Kindle Freetime” library options. I suddenly remembered reading it as a kid.

Haven't checked yet, but I'm pretty sure this is the book where they overflow the dishwasher and bubbles go everywhere, and make snowballs out of ice cream.

Mixed

I loved the creative world and treatment of the “upside down” kids. I was a bit shocked at the behavior of Nory's father and siblings, though. Mostly good. Parents aren't perfect, and maybe that will be addressed later in the series.

I liked this one. It did seem practical, it wasn't politically correct, and most of the advice seemed to match up with what I've seen in my child care experience. The only part I didn't like was the section about self-actualization. I believe we can only really be fulfilled with Jesus at the center of our lives. I liked the emphasis on the importance of the husband/wife relationship in raising children, and that is something that definitely had an important place in my own childhood. In fact, as a child I remember my dad telling me that he loved God first, then mommy, then us. I did not think this was strange or that he was somehow telling me he loved me less. I also liked the section about respect, which was really more about discipline. It's such an important thing, but with the “self esteem” push it seems to be going by the wayside.

Last night, I read a short story by Lucy Maud Montgomery(author of Anne of Green Gables) from 1903 called The Strike at Putney. 
It's about a group of church ladies who are told by their church elders and minister that a missionary woman cannot speak in the church, because a woman cannot preach from the pulpit.
So they go on strike. They stop organizing socials to raise money, don't set fresh flowers out in the church, or clean and dust the church. The organist doesn't play, and no women sing in the choir.  “You know if a woman isn't fit to speak in the church she can't be fit to sing in it either.” The Strike at Putney by L. M. Montgomery The men last two weeks.
I was delighted to read this story from 120 years ago about women opposing patriarchalism in church.

I really liked this one. I pretty much read this series all in a row, and this is the last book so far. I'm glad there's one more of these books to look forward to. The story was great; magic, adventure, and I like all the characters. I was genuinely surprised by the twist at the end.

I liked this book, it was a good continuation of the series. I read it quickly and enjoyed it.

Fun and easy read. I liked the new main character and her family with the portrayal of adult America and Maxon.

SpoilerI was surprised about the ending! I saw that there wasn't much space in the book left and figured that we weren't going to get a completed selection in the end and prepared myself for being upset about that. I wasn't upset, though. I thought the ending was really lovely. Also, my feelings were as mixed up as the princess'. I wasn't shipping any one selected boy, there were good things about many of them. I guess that was the point.

Wonderful

Different than what I expected from the description. This book felt modern and relevant to the times, but was also fantastic with sci-fi and fantasy elements. Fun and weird, but dealt with serious issues as well.

I had not heard of this book/series until someone asked if I had it. It was a really fun read. Maybe nothing earth-shattering, but very enjoyable.