Reviews written by Jan Farnworth, Staff Reviewer

240 results - showing 16 - 30
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Ordering
December 30, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.8
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Middle Grade Indie
Adventure fantasy

What I liked: Cloudlanders is a witty fantasy debut adventure novel about Kurt and his friends and the place they call home, a magical island called Bastion floating above the ocean. I was in for the adventure from the first page when we meet a diverse cast of...

December 25, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Middle Grade Fiction
It not about the chocolate but the people who share it with

What I liked: A trend in recent years is to tell the backstory of characters we grew up with, and the majority of the time; they are the villains cause the stories we know always tell the story about the hero. How did Wonka become this famous...

December 23, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
What is good is evil and what is evil is good

What I liked: Fall of the School for Good and Evil is the final book in the prequel to the main series and picks up where the previous book ends with a shattered school and two brothers who still don't trust each other the way they should. ...

December 22, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Once a wrecker always a wrecker

What I liked: Thiru's world-building is vivid and detailed that you feel like you're in this rain-soaked world, where all the world's treasures are thousands of feet below the water level and are yours for the taking if you're brave enough to face what dwells below. Jin and...

December 15, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Balance between light and dark

What I liked: Lucero is everything I expected in a book about balancing dark and light and the results when things have gone to the extremely dark side of dark. The evilness that has seeped from Alfie releasing Sombra has returned to haunt in the worst way possible....

December 10, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Who can you trust?

What I liked: Oculta follows the events of Nocturna by a few months, and we are now about to embark on the summit that Dez, the dead brother, was in the works long ago to make peace between Castallan and Englass. In this world, both countries view magic...

December 09, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.8
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Nice intro to KOTLC

Keeper of the Lost Cities is a huge series that encompasses a ton of info and pages in each novel; this graphic novel is just the first part of book one. The author tells you this is not a word-for-word of the original book from the series. You...

December 09, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.8
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
A special day with Corduroy

For over 50 years, Corduroy has been a classic tale for young children, and in this particular board book, we get to celebrate Valentine's Day. Corduroy and Lisa are ready to share unique Valentine's Day treats, cards, and all the love they have for their friends and family. ...

December 09, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.5
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Encyclopedia of everything North Pole

What I liked: Have you ever wondered about the North Pole, where Santa is rumored to live? How the North Pole works is the guidebook to learn all about this fascinating, magical place. You will start with a brief history before diving into facts like population (who exactly...

November 28, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Colorful Creative Magiic

What I liked: Have you read the Darker Shade of Magic series? Are you looking for another fantasy series with the same elements that will leave you with the same fantastic feelings? A Forgery of Magic series will fill the void for you. Though Darker Shade of Magic...

November 21, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
What really is the ivory key?

What I liked: The Ivory Key Duology is a sibling tale and not about two but 4 of them who are determined to try and save each other or uncover something buried in the past. There is a lot of political intrigue, sibling issues, buried secrets, and a...

November 13, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
Dark Academia Lunar Fantasy

What I liked: A unique magic system with the moon phases, a book that several characters are obsessed with finding a missing epilogue for, a college on the sea, and a secret society. Curious Tides is a duology, meaning all the ends should be tied up in...

November 09, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.3
Writing Style
 
5.0
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Indie
5 major characters one prophecy to save the world

What I liked: Five young ladies have one prophecy that says they will save the world, a world they know nothing about, with magic they know nothing about. The Heirs of War series is one I read way back when it was first published in 2014....

November 02, 2023 (Updated: November 02, 2023)
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Middle Grade Fiction
Welcome to peculiar

Welcome to Peculiar is the Collection of the first four books in the Peculiar Witches Series. I review each one below. Book One Double, Double introduces the twin sisters Bella and Donna, who have just started attending Y.I.K.E.S.S. (Yvette...

November 01, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Young Adult Fiction
So much more then just a girl

What I liked: Kalothia is a female, soon to govern the world, which is a strike against her. Women are not meant to rule, not to travel alone, not educated. Kalothia has to overcome this once she learns she is to be queen, though they want...

240 results - showing 16 - 30
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