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I, for one, am glad March is officially over. From being ill and dealing with a lot of stress, I didn't have very much time to focus on writing reviews for this blog. Since today is April 1st, which also marks my blog's 10th anniversary, I'm hoping this month will be more productive for me.

If you've already been following my blog, then you would know I'm a big "James Patterson" fan. Good or bad, I like reading his mysteries and crime thrillers. And I even like reading his co-written books for children, such as the Middle School books.

The eleventh installment of the Middle School series, titled "Born To Rock," was released back in February, which shifts the point-of-view away from Rafe Khatchadorian and lets his little sister Georgia have center stage; though Rafe does appear throughout the story.

Like many kids, Georgia dreams of being a famous rock star! She started a band with her friends, Nanci, Mari, and Patti. They call themselves "We Stink!". The band gets extremely excited when they learn their favorite band Lulu and the Handbags is running a contest for rock bands with members under sixteen-year-old. Bands are to post a music video on the contest website, where people will vote for the best video. The top twelve will be invited to a live audition and the winner will get to be the warm-up act for one of Lulu's concerts. Plus, the winning band will get $1,000!

Georgia is determined to do anything she can to win the contest! Yes, that even means letting Rafe help the band.

Final Thoughts

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I can't believe today is the first day of spring; well, at least the calendar refers as the 20th as the beginning of spring, as Mother Nature still thinks it's winter here in the midwest. To kickoff my first Spring Reads post of the year, I'm reviewing the controversial Christian YA novel Other Bodies by Joel Ohman.

Set in a futuristic Philadelphia where VR technology is used, the novel centers around Hattie Martins, a sixteen-year-old who's just starting to build a new life, which includes a new job at a women's clinic, Managed Motherhood, and making a few new friends. Then she learn she is with child!

Like many pregnant teenagers in real life, Hattie has to make the toughest decision in her young life - get an abortion or keep the baby!

Bethany House; 350 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour

I'm kicking off my first "Spring Reads" post with a few weeks earlier than what I originally intended to do. The book I'm reviewing is Ketunrah, book one in The Sugar Baraon's Daughters series, by Lisa T Bergren.

Set in 1772, the novel centers on Lady Keturah ("Ket") Banning Tomlinson and her sisters (Verity and Selah), whom each received a letter from the West Indies from their later father. It seems he had left his estate the "Tabletop Plantation" in Nevis to his daughters. Against their best judgements, the sisters packs their bags and travel to the Caribbean to cleanup whatever mess their father had left behind.

Upon arriving, they learn their father's legendary sugar barons have declined and they seek out to find a new overseer for the estate. Ket runs into an old childhood friend, Gray, who had moved to Nevis to begin a new life for himself.

This is a romance novel, so you can probably guess that Gray and Ket have some romantic feelings for each other. However, there's a slight problem, as Ket had been emotionally and physically abused in the past, so she's hesitant about trusting another man.

St. Martin/s Press; 281pages; $18.99; Amazon

Today, I'm posting my final "Spring Reads" reviews of 2017, which happens to be a book I read last month, but I'm just now getting around to writing the actual review for it.

What is the name of book?

Well, it's called Give Me A K-I-L-L: A Fear Street Novel by R.L. Stine. I'm sure almost every reader has at least heard of the author's name, as Mr. Stine has over 400 books in print worldwide and his titles have been translated into thirty-five languages. His most popular book series are Goosebumps and Fear Street.

The very first Fear Street young adult novel, The New Girl, was published in 1989. The series was popular with teens during the early 1990s, but the franchise began to fizzle towards the end of the second millennium. R.L. Stine brought back the franchise in 2014 with a revamped "A Fear Street Novel" book series. 

Give Me A K-I-L-L centers on a teenager named Gretchen Page, who has just transferred to Shadyside High School. She was the star of the cheerleader squad at her old school, and she hopes that her talents will win her spot on the Shadyside cheerleader squad. Unfortunately, due to cutbacks of funds, there is only one spot available in the squad.

While the competition to win the open slot should be fun, it actually turns out to be terrifying as somebody ends up dead!

Simon & Schuster; 300 pages; $19.99

My original plan was to read more of  the The Broken Road late last night, but I had to put that idea aside when I noticed I had a few posts that needed to be set up for today. Nevertheless, I awoke bright & early this morning, made a cup of strong coffee, sat in a cozy recliner, and opened The Broken Road to chapter one. After a few refills of coffee, I finished reading the book.

Unlike many Richard Paul Evans' titles that either have a Christmas or romance theme (or both), The Broken Road has neither. Instead this novel is about the journey of finding redemption.

Four years ago, Mr. Evans took a trip on Route 66 to research his upcoming book. Though he had somewhat of an idea of what the plot might be about, he changed his mind after meeting an unique man, who gave him inspiration for The Broken Road.

The novel is written from the point-of-view of Charles James, a Chicago celebrity who struck rich with his 'get rich' seminars and a few bestselling nonfiction titles. Despite all the money and fame, something is missing from his life. After having a few bad dreams, he visits a shrink, and through a few appointments he tells life story up to that point of time.