Sunday, April 11, 2010

Book Blogger Hop!

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Review - Kelly's Chance by Wanda E. Brunstetter


Kelly's Chance (Brides of Lehigh Canal Series #1)Kelly’s Chance
BY: Wanda E. Brunstetter
PUBLISHED BY: Barbour Publishing
PUBLISHED IN: 2004
ISBN: 978-1-60260-890-0
Pages: 218
Reviewed by Billy Burgess
Ages: Adults

I check out “Kelly’s Chance” at my local library. I have read several books by Wanda Brunstetter but mostly Amish books. This books is short at just over two-hundred pages. The story is et around the Leigh Canal during the late 1800s. A young woman named Kelly McGregor is helping her family by driving her father’s mules as they pull the loads of coal to the city. There is no love in her parents’ marriage, and she is determined never to get married.

Kelly is saving her money so she can make her dream of becoming an artist come true. A shopkeeper, Mike Cooper, has a crush on Kelly. He offers to hang up some of her drawings in his store. The story gets a little predictable here, as of course, Kelly starts to have feelings for Mike.

Despite the cliché formula that most Christian romance writers use, “Kelly’s Chance” is a sweet, likeable tale.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Book Blogger Hop - Friday, April 2 - April 8

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!


Pretty please - Your blog should have content related to books, including

Review - Indian Summer

Indian SummerIndian Summer
BY: Tracy Richardson
PUBLISHED BY: Luminis Books
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935462-25-5
Pages: 200
Reviewed by Billy Burgess
Ages: Middle Grade

In “Indian Summer,” Marcie Horton is a twelve-year-old who loves to win competitions, especially bike races. She’s not looking forward to her summer vacation this year. She spending the summer at her grandparent’s lake cottage on Lake Pappakeechee.

Kaitlyn Swyndall is the only other girl she knew there, but Kaitlyn is a rich, snobby girl. Marcia befriends some other kids at the lake, and is looking forward to the upcoming boat race.

The woods, James Woods, surrounding the lake is going to be torn down by a wealthy developer, Mr. Swyndall. He is the president of the university where Marcie Horton’s parents teach, and he is also the father of Kaitlyn. Marcia is starting to like her, so things start to get complicated.

Marcia begins to have strange visions of a mysterious spirit. Could it be Indians?

“Indian Summer,” is a easy, fast read. I read it in one sitting. The author likes to “tell” more often than “showing” in her writing. The plot is simple - a pre-teen girl tries to stop a wealthy developer from destroying the centuries-old forest. I’ve read dozens of similar plots before, this is nothing new. The ending of the book is predictable. The main character, Marcia, is fun, energetic and likeable. Despite the book’s downfalls, I still enjoyed reading it.

Note: I would like to thank the Author for sending me this complimentary copy to review.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Review - The S.T.A.R. Powered Twins

A Law of Attraction Book for Children "The S.T.A.R. Powered Twins Discover the Secret of Words" (1)
A Law of Attraction Book for Children: The S.T.A.R Powered Twins
BY: Dorothy A. Lecours
ILLUSTRATED BY: Chrisann Zaubi
PUBLISHED BY: DragonPencil
PUBLISHED IN: December 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60-131-063-7
Pages: 88
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

“The S.T.A.R. Powered Twins” is to help develop and encourage young children to read. Adults are to read a ten page segment of the story per day to the child. The child needs to retell the events of the story, before the adult will continue with it.

The book starts out with the birth of Grace and Jace Star. Their parents and grandparents teaches them about nature, cooking, imagination, designing, and art. Grace and Jace learn about the words Never Allowed, Don’t, Can’t, No, and Not. Grace and Jace learn how to read, and over time they became excellent readers.

The Illustrations in “The S.T.A.R. Powered Twins” are beautiful. There are hidden words in the pictures for the young readers to find. There is a wonderful message of “I Am” that ever parent should teach their children. This is a great book to help your children learn how to read before they start school.

Note: I would like to thank the Author Marketing Experts, Inc. for sending me this complimentary copy to review.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Review - How to Train Your Dragon



Kid Konnection is a a weekend feature related
to anything about children books.


How to Train Your Dragon
BY: Cressida Cowell
PUBLISHED BY: Little, Brown and Company
PUBLISHED IN: 2003
ISBN: 0-316-01098-7
Pages: 214
Ages: 9-12
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

In the first book in the series, on the island of Berk, eleven-year-old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of the Viking chief, must follow the rite of passage and capture a dragon from a cave. Hiccup, along with other children, are led by Gobber the Belch to catch their own eggs. Whoever can’t find an egg and train a dragon, will be kicked out of the tribe forever.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Review - Fear Street Nights: Darkest Dawn

Darkest Dawn (Fear Street Nights #3)
Fear Street Nights: Darkest Dawn
BY: R.L. Stine
PUBLISHED BY: Simon Pulse
PUBLISHED IN: 2005
ISBN: 978-0-689-87866-4
Pages: 182
Ages: Teens & Up
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Several months have passed since “Midnight Games,” and the night people have gone on with their lives, no longer in fear of Angelic Fear. Jamie is the only one who still believes that the curse lives on. She still has nightmares of being possessed by Angelic Fear. She runs across a mysterious bracelet that is similar to the Fear amulet.

More deaths start to the occur. Jamie’s cousin, Dana, starts to wonder if she has lost her mind. After awhile Jamie starts to wonder the same thing, especially after she starts seeing the Fear Mansion that was demolished over a year ago. Is it Angelic Fear back from the grave again? Or is it someone else?

Jamie becomes the main character in “Darkest Dawn,” the third and final book in the “Fear Street Night” trilogy. Die-hard fans from the original books will enjoy the continuation and conclusion to the Simon and Angelic Fear storyline. I was disappointed that the character Dana Fear didn’t have a bigger part. She is a much stronger and likeable character than Jamie. The plot is a little darker than the first two books. Overall, I did enjoy the exciting ending to the series.