Guest Post by Sasha! Book Review : Midnight On the Moon

Hello Dear Readers! Today we have a guest post from my daughter Sasha. She is ALMOST seven years old and just like her mom she loves reading! I suggested that maybe she would like to do a review on the Bookinista. She was so excited about it – it was beyond adorable. Anyway, I went ahead and typed her review for her (word for word). I think she did a pretty good job for her first endeavor. Thanks Sasha!!

Title : Midnight on the Moon

Author : Mary Pope Osborne

Publisher : Random House Books for Young Children

Publish Date : June 15th, 2010

Pages : 80

Stand Alone or Series : #8 in the Magic Tree House series

Red Flags : none

Summary (from Sasha): Jack and Annie are brother and sister. They go to a magic tree house in the woods belonging to Morgan. Morgan is a ghost librarian. In this book, Jack and Annie go to the moon. They are trying to find four things that will save Morgan and the last thing is on the moon. Will they be able to do it??

(from Goodreads) Jack and Annie are ready for their next fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!

Three . . . two . . . one . . . BLAST OFF!

The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie off to the moon—and the future. Their mission? To find the last “M” thing that will free Morgan from the spell. Can they do it before the air in their oxygen tank runs out? Will the mysterious moon man help them? And why is Peanut the mouse acting so strange?

Sasha’s Take  : I thought that it is a cool book. Also, they tell you stuff about the moon like the moon has no rain or wind so footprints will not go away naturally. They just stay there. I liked how they wrote it like it was in a notebook because Jack was writing it in a notebook. I think other people should read it because it is adventure stories and I like adventure stories.

Sasha’s Rating : Eight shoes

Guest Post by Sara: Book Review – Painted Faces

Title : Painted Faces

Author:  L.H. Cosway

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date Published: December 16, 2012

Pages: 358

Stand Alone or Series: Stand alone

Three Words: Romance, Cross-dressing, hilarity

Red Flags: some sexual situations, some language and did I mention there was cross dressing?

The Blurb (from Amazon):

Come forth with an open mind, for an unconventional tale of love…

Dublin native Freda Wilson considers herself to be an acquired taste. She has a habit of making offensive jokes and speaking her mind too often. She doesn’t have the best track record with first impressions, which is why she gets a surprise when her new neighbour Nicholas takes a shine to her.

Nicholas is darkly handsome, funny and magnetic, and Freda feels like her black and white existence is plunged into a rainbow of colour when she’s around him. When he walks into a room he lights it up, with his quick wit and charisma. He is a travelling cabaret performer, but Freda doesn’t know exactly what that entails until the curtains pull back on his opening night.

She is gob-smacked and entirely intrigued to see him take to the stage in drag. Later on, Nicholas asks her if she would like to become his show assistant. Excited by the idea, she jumps at the chance. Soon she finds herself immersed in a world of wigs, make-up and high heels, surrounded by pretty men and the temptation of falling for her incredibly beautiful employer.

In this story of passion and sexual discovery, Nicholas and Freda will contend with jealousy, emotional highs and lows, and the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime.

My review:

I can admit that I am a walking cliché.  I am the stay at home mom of two kids and I read a LOT of romance novels.  A ridiculous amount that I think I’ve not even admitted to Trina, but she must know (or does now!). However, it is books like “Painted Faces” that allow me to go forth and state loudly and proudly that I do, indeed, read romance novels.    That’s right folks…it’s not all tawny skin, muscled perfection and huge members, it can be a multi-faceted and nuanced tale of two people who fall in love.  It can be unconventional and it can be entertaining and hilarious.

Freda (aka “Fred”), our heroine, is delightfully irreverent.  I can’t tell you how many times I had to highlight her monologues throughout the book, and I’m not normally a highlighter.  She’s pudgy – yet sexy –, self-deprecating and just real.  Her take on life is fresh, witty and I have to say that I felt comfortable and invested in her story from the get go.  She’s a very well-crafted character.  She meets our Hero, Nicholas (aka “Viv”), when he moves into the flat (yes, it’s a tale from Ireland that uses great words such as “flat”, “crisp”, “posh” and “snogging”) next door to her.  It’s not one of those “love at first sight” tales.  Fred and Viv meet, form a friendship, are wildly attracted to one another, but take their time to truly know each other…all the darkness and light that makes a person who they are.

Nicholas is a cabaret performer, and here’s the twist – he’s a drag queen.  He’s not gay…but he dresses up in women’s clothes to perform.  That is part of what makes this story so refreshing…he’s an unconventional hero, and I think the stories that challenge our preconceived notions of ideas of convention and societal norms are some of the best.  This book really kept me engaged and engrossed in the story to see where it would go and how it would all work out.  One of the most surprising books I have read in a while and an 8 shoe read for me!

Rating : 8 shoes

This sounds like such a different and surprising read! I’ve definitely put it on my TBR list. Thanks for another awesome review- Sara!

Guest Post!! Book Review : A Song for Julia

Today’s book review comes from my first guest poster and one of my best friends in the world : Sara!! Sara is an amazing SAHM to two sweet little daughters and reads as much, if not more, than yours truly. She also happens to be one of the funniest people I know. Hopefully she will be posting regularly here at the Bookinista.

Title : A Song for Julia

Author:  Charles Sheehan-Miles

Publisher: Cincinnatus Press

Date Published: December 2, 2012

Pages: 376

Stand Alone or Series: Series, but you don’t have to read the first to read this one

Three Words: Romance, Mental Illness, Politics

Red Flags: some sexual situations, some language and sensitive political issues

The Blurb (taken from Amazon):
Everyone should have something to rebel against.

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job.The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father’s career and dominating her family’s life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she’s haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

My Review:

Once in a while you read a book that just leaves you thinking (or accidentally expressing out loud and frightening your family) “Holy Crap!”  This is one of those books…in a very good way.

First off, I loved “Just Remember to Breathe” (the first book in this series), and this book was just as good, if not better. It deals with serious issues, but the characters are constructed so well that you just have to keep reading to find out what happens. It’s a story of loss of innocence, frustration, anger, hope, love and finally joy. The author is so talented in constructing a world that sucks you in, tosses you around, mesmerizes you and makes you wish by the end there was MORE.

Crank, the hero of the story, is awesome. He’s a talented bad boy musician with a rocky past and a complicated family life (let’s be honest, who doesn’t love that?!?!). But he and Julia just go so well together, even with their outward differences you can’t help but hope they work it out. It helps that he’s also hella hot. He’s my book boyfriend of the week…love him!

Julia is smart Harvard student, but wounded. She’s closed herself off from everything and everyone, just going through the motions, trying to fulfill expectations and angry about her past. She’s been betrayed by those she trusted in horrible ways. Her family life is a nightmare, and her mother makes me feel, even in my bad moments, as if I’m mother of the freakin’ year. Julia meets Crank and he changes her whole world, helps her out of her self-imposed exile, and helps her to be who she truly wants to be.

All in all, this is an excellent book. It’s emotional and captivating and just sticks with you well after you have finished it. I became very invested in the characters and their stories; it’s just so rich and deep and takes you places that you wouldn’t have expected when you started.  I highly recommend this book, it’s a 5 star (10 shoe) read for me!

I’m really pleased to know that this author is going to write stories for all the Thompson sisters. BRING IT!!!
This one sounds amazing and is going on my To-Read list. Thanks Sara!!!!!