BY: Laura Lodd
PUBLISHED BY: Dream Books LLC
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
Pages: 187
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Normally a fairy tale is in the point-of-view of the young princess or prince, but not in “My Sparkling Misfortune.” The main character is Lord Arkus, the villain. Lord Arkus, along with his sidekick Shork, captured a gormack - an evil spirit to help him destroy his enemy - Prince Kellemar. To Arkus’s surprise, he didn’t catch a gormack, but he caught a sparkling - a good spirit.

When a sparkling is caught, they are bound to their owners for 6 years. Lord Arkus was stuck with it.

Lord Arkus asks for a new castle, supplies and a army, so he could be ready to battle with Prince Kellemar and his men. Soon, he is befriending King Osmund because the king believes only a good man would have a sparkling.

The King gives Lord Arkus his own castle and men. Arkus becomes engaged to the king’s daughter. Everything is going his way - he has own castle and army. He is read to battle Prince Kellemar, but Shork thinks Arkus is becoming too nice. Will Arkus become a hero?

This is a cute fairy tale with a twist. Each chapter has a wonderful illustration. Both girls and boys will like reading about Lord Arkus and the sparkling.

* I would like to thank Dream Books LLC for sending me a copy to review.

BY: Brian T. Yates
ILLUSTRATED BY: Tielman Chaney
PUBLISHED BY: Mystic Publishers
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-934051-42-9
Pages: 55
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Yalu is a young female golden retriever. Her and her siblings are staying at a kennel, waiting to be adopted by a loving family. All the puppies go to a special place called the Puppy Room. This is where they meet the families looking for a dog.

Yalu is all excited when a family wants her to come home with them. When they pick her up, they are disappointed. They wanted a male dog instead of a female. Yalu goes back to her cage, and her brother is chosen by the family.

One by one, her siblings are adopted. Now, Yalu is the last golden retriever at the kennel.

When a young couple arrive at the kennel looking for a new puppy, Yalu is ready to pick them as her family. But will they pick her?

This is an adorable book for children. Yalu is a sweet and loveable character. The illustrations in the book are colorful. You’ll enjoy reading about Yalu and the Puppy Room.

PUBLISHED IN: 2010
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Honestly, the only thing I know about General Patton is what I saw in the movie “Patton” staring George C. Scott. After reading the introduction to this book, you learn that the way Patton was portrayed was not correct. Patton’s rival General Omar N. Bradley worked as the film’s chief consultant, so all of the facts were not correct.

George S. Patton Jr. was born on November 11, 1885 in Los Angeles, California. Most of his ancestors were military heroes. At an early age, George wanted to continue the tradition. He learned to ride a horse and shoot guns, but he didn’t learn how to read and write until he was twelve years old. This caused a bit of a challenge for him when he started school in 1897. Despite his educational setbacks, he entered VMI in 1903 and later he would attend West Point. Patton studied all of the great military books.

After graduation, Patton joined the Army. Through the years he quickly went up the ranks. First as a Tank Commander and later as a General during WWII.

I enjoyed reading the book. I never knew that Patton was obsessed with perfection. I also never knew that Patton studied and kept track of new technology being developed. Patton was a respected man, who loved his family, his fellow soldiers, his country and God. I recommend this book to historical and military buffs.

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for sending me a copy to review.

BY: Charles Matthews
PUBLISHED BY: Metal Lunchbox Publishing
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-984337-9-9
Pages: 372
Ages: Young Adult
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

In the world of “Pinesport Divide,” you are either a Normal, Lectrol or a Loor. The main character, Greyson Hill, is your typical teenager. He is in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. He starts hanging around with a group of super human strength teenagers - the Lectrols.

The girl Greyson has a crush on, Leara, has been keeping a secret. She is a Loor, a mentally enhanced person. The Loors are the enemies of the Lectrols. The three different races begin to collide with each other. Greyson must make a choose between the Lectrols and his friends.

“Pinesport Divide” has a great premise, but doesn’t go beyond that. The book is too long at almost four hundred pages, when the story could have been told in under two hundred. The dialogue makes the characters seem cartoonish. I couldn’t connect to the main character, or any others. The book is confusing at times, and suffers from too much telling and not enough showing.

I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

BY: Harry McLaughlin
PUBLISHED BY: Zaptoons
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 9780615368542
Pages: 130
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

After crows destroy his crop, Badhat, a prairie dog, drifts around the wild west. He stumbles upon a small town called Dagnabit. Badhat scares off a gang of gophers, and he becomes a local hero. The town offers him a job as sheriff, and he takes it.

A young prairie dog calling himself The Kid, starts following Badhat around. The Kid wants to be a deputy.

Just when Badhat starts to adjust to the sheriff life, Rumpus and his gang of gophers come up with a plan to run Badhat out of Dagnabit.

This is a hilarious spoof of the western genre. The author has done a wonderful job creating fun characters that kids will enjoy reading. Badhat: A Wild Western Legend is a fast read, just under 130 pages. It reminded me of some of the cartoons I watched as a kid. Reading Badhat was a pure delight.

I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

BY: Andy Andrews
PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Nelson
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7852-3103-5
Pages: 248
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

When digging up a withering wax myrtle tree, Author Andy Andrews stumbles upon an old metal container. He finds inside it several Nazi artifacts and pictures, believed to have belonged to Lt. Josef Landermann. Being an author, Andy wants find out more about this man. He discovers that Josef died during WWII when a German U-boat went down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Andy puts his other writing projects aside and begins interviewing people about Josef. Surprisingly, he stumbles upon a startling truth, Josef Landermann is still alive.

Andy Andrews has cleverly written this delightful true story. I was instantly hooked to this intriguing tale of life, sacrifice and forgiveness. This is a must read.


I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for sending me this copy to review.

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