Book Review: The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch—and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of—a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people’s deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow’s job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: The Black Book of Secrets.

Ludlow yearns to trust his mentor, who refuses to disclose any information on his past experiences or future intentions. What the pawnbroker does not know is, in a town brimming with secrets, the most troubling may be held by his new apprentice.

*Excerpt from Amazon

This book was an interesting read to say the least. At the beginning of the book I had no idea what a "secret pawnbroker" was. And, to be honest, most of the way through the book I still didn't know. This book keeps you going until the end because you just have to find out what's going on. I enjoyed this quick read. It's geared towards middle school kids I would say.

Higgins does a great job with his character and plot development. The only criticism I would have is that there were a few parts where villagers were telling their secrets that got a bit repetitive. The secrets were all different, but the way the book read was repetitive, if that makes any sense. There were a few twists and turns that I was not expecting, which made for a good read.

If you are looking for a quick read to pass a weekend and you are into middle grade literature then this would be a good book for you to pick up. I believe it is part of a series as well so I'm sure I will end up reading the other books in the series.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Casting Stones by G.M. Barlean

First of all I would like to thank Gina Barlean for sending me this book for review. Having said that, lets get to the review.

It has been a very long time since I have had an emotional investment in a book. Casting Stones had me in it's grip from the beginning of page 1. There were times when I was reading that I wanted to literally yell and scream at the characters in this book. There where times where I felt sad for some of the characters in the story. There were times when I had to set the book down and come back to it because I couldn't stand to read anymore about what was going on. This book was a masterpiece when it comes to getting you invested in the characters and the story.

Speaking of the characters; they were so well crafted! James, one of the main characters was a prime example of this. In the beginning of the story I felt sorry for him, then there were parts that I was so angry at him that I probably would have tried to deck him if I met him in real life, then I went back to feeling sorry for him. There was just an emotional connection with all of the characters in this book.

I'm not going to go into the plot because I don't want to give anything away. You have to read this book to fully appreciate what goes on it it. My retelling of the plot would not do it justice. If you would like to see a trailer for the book you can click here.


This book is a must read for any and all readers. It doesn't matter what genre you like; I believe you will like this book. Thank you again Gina for sending me this book. I can't wait for your next book to come out! You can find this book here.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Review: The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw

A haunted mansion.
Six dead children.
A garden of statues.

With every step he takes around the carefully manicured grounds of Minerva Hall, Jim is haunted by the ghosts of children, long dead, whom no one else can see. Urging him to "find the Seventh," the children leave him cryptic clues pointing to a devastating ancient prophecy that only he can stop from being fulfilled.

Jim befriends another boy--Einstein, who lives at the Hall. Einstein is autistic and very, very smart. If anyone can help Jim find the Seventh, perhaps he can--Einstein clearly knows more than he is saying. At the same time, the dead children seem to be leaving Jim some sort of macabre treasure trail.

If Jim doesn't figure out the clues, innocent people will die. But how can Jim find the answers while the dangers of the Hall grow ever more threatening? And even if he can, the real question is--is Jim already too late?

Linking ancient rites with modern mystery, Christine Morton-Shaw has crafted an eerie thriller that will keep readers guessing until its startling conclusion.

*Summary take from Goodreads

Review:
I just finished up this fascinating read by Christine Morton-Shaw. The Hunt for the Seventh was a wonderfully written book. There were many times in the book that I had no idea where the plot was heading so that makes it a great thriller I suppose.

The characters and plot of this book were excellent. The characters were well developed, but not over developed. I never found myself bored with an over explanation of what was going on, as some authors are prone to doing. The plot had sufficient twists and turns to keep you reading all the way to the end. Morton-Shaw did a fantastic job in crafting this story.

This book is written for middle school aged kids I would say. If you are a parent and you don't like the idea of ghosts, witches, and magic then I think it would be best if you steer clear of this book. If you don't mind those things then this as a fantastic, and quick, read.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Daddy Dates by Greg Wright

Daddy Dates by Greg Wright is a thought provoking and often humorous book about a father raising 4 daughters. In this book Greg lays out his road map for what he calls "daddy dates". The concept behind it is so simple that it's beautiful. He calls his daughters and sets up real live dates with them. He picks them up from their house (which is also his house), takes them out for a date, and then brings them back home. This probably sounds pretty simple, but there's so much more.

The genius of his idea is that during the date he actually spends time listening to his daughters and learning about them as people. You may be thinking to yourself that that's stupid because everyone should do that, but they don't. Many times we just lay out a list of rules for our kids and leave it at that. He has taken a hands on approach to learning what his daughters like, who they hang out with, and a host of other things. All the while he is shaping and molding his daughters into wonderful women who are well grounded and well balanced.

I applaud Greg for his approach to raising his daughters and I would recommend this book to anyone that is raising kids (sons and daughters both). Not only would I recommend this book; I would recommend adopting Greg's approach of "daddy dates". I know that I'm going to be doing this with my 18 month old daughter when she gets older. Thank you for the wonderful book and ideas Greg.

This book is a must read!

Watch for my next post; which will be an author interview with Greg.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Kill the TBR Pile Challenge

This is a challenge put on by Lindsay Mead over on her blog. Click here to be taken to the challenge page or you can click on the button that is on my challenges page to be taken there. The basic goal of this is to read the books in your TBR pile. I know for most of us book blogging type folks that is unheard of. What are we going to do without our precious TBR piles??? Well, I like this challenge and I'm throwing myself into it with reckless abandon. Since by TBR pile is large and I don't want to list all of the books in it; I will be posting the books as I read them in a panel over on the sidebar to the right. So, you will be able to see the books that I knock off of my TBR mountain throughout the year of 2012.

Thanks for the great challenge Lindsay!

Books Read So Far:
1. Daddy Dates by Greg Wright
2. The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw
3. The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

First post of 2012

Happy 2012!

I am going to be placing high expectations on myself for this year and this blog. I don't feel like I committed enough time to this blog in 2011. Thank you to those of you who still continue to check in on the blog even though there isn't a lot of new content. I hope to change that in 2012. I'm going to try and read many more books and have many other non-review posts during the 2012 year. So, whether your a new reader or an old friend I look forward to hanging out in 2012.

New Book for Review!

Hey guys, I'm happy to announce that I have received my second book for review from the fine folks at Blueprint Austin . The book is called "Daddy Dates". Here is what it looks like:

In addition to a review of this book there will also be a Q&A with author Greg Wright. So, be on the look out for these posts here in the near future.