Books Aren't For Bears

Books Aren't for Bears
By: Mark Barry
Illustrated by Katy Halford
Release date: August 1, 2023

When Bear finds a book in the woods, his world is changed. His friend Owl teaches him to read, and Bear wants more! Bear decides the city will offer him what he's looking for, but when he reaches the busy streets, he's sad to discover that some people think that "Books aren't for bears!" Can Bear find a place where books are for everybody?

Although I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this story. 

In this story, bear finds a book in the woods. He gets some help from his friends and falls in love with reading. But, since he lives in the woods, there aren't many books around... so, he goes in search of them. The beautiful illustrations capture Bear's journey to and through the city to find books. In each of the places he stops, he is told that "books aren't for bears!" I won't spoil the ending, but it is quite the adorable story. I love the bright colorful illustrations and the simple reading. It would be perfect for an early reader or for a young one with a not so long attention span. 

The Sound of Kindness

The Sound of Kindness
By: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Illustrated by: Teresa Martinez
Release date: June 13, 2023

This heartwarming book touches on the themes of kindness and socio-emotional resonance, and the idea that our words matter.Follow an adult and child as they explore their neighborhood, listening for the sounds of kindness. Words of friendship, gratitude, support, generosity, and love...we can see and hear them if we try. What will you hear if you take a kindness walk?

Kindness is all around us everyday, if we know where to look--and listen!--for it. This book is a gentle and encouraging acknowledgment of how much it matters to be kind...in our families, friendships, and communities.

I loved the illustrations in this beautiful story, they kept the eyes busy even as the short story kept you pushing along. It was short but held lots of meaning. The last page of the story held this quote: we hear the sound of kindness when we listen to the day. We fill our world with kindness with the words we choose to say." I think it is something that both parents and little kiddos will like. One thing I especially loved about this book is the reader's note at the end, it gives several suggestions on walks you could take with your own children and ways you could take the book into your own life.

In my opinion, this book would be perfect for younger children and those who need a reminder to look for the kind in the world.

Hotel of Secrets

Hotel of Secrets

By Diana Biller
Narrated by Carlotta Brentan
Listening length: 13 hours, 31 minutes
Release date: March 28, 2023

My review: 4 out of 5 stars

It’s ball season in Vienna, and Maria Wallner only wants one thing: to restore her family’s hotel, the Hotel Wallner, to its former glory. She’s not going to let anything get in her way—not her parents’ three-decade-long affair, not seemingly random attacks by masked assassins, and especially not the broad-shouldered American foreign agent who’s saved her life two times already...no matter how luscious his mouth is.

Eli Whittaker also only wants one thing: to find out who is selling American secret codes across Europe, arrest them, and go home to his sensible life in Washington, DC. He has one lead—a letter the culprit sent from a Viennese hotel. But when he arrives in Vienna, he is immediately swept up into a chaotic whirlwind of balls, spies, waltzes, and beautiful hotelkeepers who seem to constantly find themselves in danger. He disapproves of all of it! But his disapproval is tested as he slowly falls deeper into the chaos—and as his attraction to said hotelkeeper grows.

Diana Biller's Hotel of Secrets is chock full of banter-filled shenanigans, must-have-you kisses, and romance certain to light a fire in the hearts of listeners everywhere.

Although I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the opportunity to listen to this story!

This was a mystery wrapped in a love story wrapped in some family drama. It is set back in the days of balls and the big fancy hotels that hosted them. The main character, Maria, is the newest family member to be running Hotel Wallner, trying to get it back to its former glory. I love the way that Biller brought the two main characters together. They don't seem to have a real connection, but boy does that change quickly! This definitely has the romance bit down. There are several romantic encounters that are described in detail. Definitely puts this book more into the adult audience. I enjoyed it overall and would love to read more stories about Maria and Eli.

A House with Good Bones

A House with Good Bones

By: T Kingfisher

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Listening length: 6 hours, 53 minutes 

Release date: March 28, 2023

My review: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.
"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

Although I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian audio for the opportunity to listen to this story.

When Sam is forced to take some time off from a dig, she goes home to see what is so "off" about her mom. What she finds surprises her. The longer she stays with her mom, the more she realizes something is most definitely wrong. This story definitely didn't go in the direction I was expecting. Until the last 25 percent or so, I thought I knew what was going on, but boy was I wrong (and kind of glad I was). The ending to this book was so good. Different than anything else I've read. Kingfisher did an amazing job with a different concept for this book and pulled it off beautifully. I would love to read another of her books if they are all this fun! I loved that Sam (the main character) was a "bug lady" and you would get details about insects that a "normal" person wouldn't really know. I also really loved that even as a scientist, she still has the girly "bug freak out" moments that I do. Made her feel very relatable and had me laughing out loud. Love love loved these characters and this fun book!

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Written and illustrated by: Maia Kobabe

Print length: 240 pages

Publication date: May 28, 2019

My review: not rated 

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

"It’s also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand." — SLJ (starred review)


I don't feel comfortable giving someone's memoir about their journey a star rating, so I will just leave it at my personal review. Content warnings taken from common sense media: "Explicit but not erotic illustrations of sexual activity include masturbation, oral sex, sex toys, kissing in an implied sex position, erections, and a fantasy image of a man holding another's penis. There are no violent acts, but there are a few bloody, nightmarish pictures showing fear and trauma surrounding menstruation and getting a Pap smear. Strong language includes "d—k," "c—k," "f—k," and "s—t."

I found this to be a very informative book about one person's journey to find themselves. Kobabe was candid about both eir gender and sexuality. I can see why some parents would want this book banned in schools, but that is the exact reason this book should be available to anyone. 

Can you imagine if this book had been available when Kobabe was young, how it could have helped them to understand a little bit more about their gender and sexual identity. 

The drawings and way that Kobabe illustrated eir thought process in this book was just perfect. I wish there was a way to capture and share them with my family. It would be an easier way to share about gender identity that I wouldn't have thought of before. 

Parents need to be aware of what is in the book and know what is appropriate for their child to read. My 13-year-old has read this book and we were able to have candid discussions about sex and gender as well as sexual identity after reading. I feel more educated after reading this book and feel it is something that should never be removed from a school library.

A Midsummer Night's Scheme

A Midsummer Night's Scheme

By: Harper Kincaid

Narrated by: Renee Dorian

Release date: March 21, 2023

Listening length: 7 hours, 5 minutes 

Just when everything is returning to the calm that Quinn Caine and her sidekicks Ruff Barker Ginsburg and Sister Daria are used to in their beloved town of Vienna, a Broadway star crash-lands into their peace and quiet. Chad Frivole is Vienna’s prodigal son, and the once notorious lothario has returned a Broadway star, ready to make a different kind of mark on his hometown.

But not everyone is celebrating the Tony-award-winner’s return. Chad’s a triple threat—with a cast of characters lining up to seek their revenge on him. So when he turns up dead in his car, trapped with a sack full of snakes, Quinn can’t say she’s surprised—but she promises handsome detective Aiden Harrington that she’s staying out of this local mystery.

But then someone starts threatening her brother’s life. And while it’s true Sebastian used to be a womanizer just like Chad, the killer doesn’t seem to care that he’s not that man anymore. So now Sebastian's in the killer’s sights, and unless Quinn and her crew can find the killer in time, whoever it is will drag her brother into his final act on this mortal coil.

While I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this novel. 

This story was what I call a "cozy mystery." It is set in a small town, with a fun cast of characters. This is book two in the series, but you don't have to have read book one to know what's going on. When a book includes the pets and they have names like Cindy Clawford and RGB, how can it pawsibly be bad (get it!?)? I loved the relationships between the characters, both familial and not. It brings out the small-town values but also the hard parts of being in that same small town. This was a quick read but didn't make it any less enjoyable. I would be more than happy to pick up another of Kincaid's books to listen to.

Infamous

Infamous: A Novel

By: Lex Croucher

Narrated by: Ellie Kendrick

Listening length: 10 hours, 55 minutes

Release date: March 21, 2023

My review: 3.5 out of 5 stars

22-year-old aspiring writer Edith 'Eddie' Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together-climbing trees, throwing grapes at boys, sneaking bottles of wine, practicing kissing . . . Now that they're out in society, Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified. When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet - and rival to Lord Byron - Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to finish her novel and make a name for herself. But Eddie might discover that trying to keep up with the literati isn't all poems and pleasure...

Although I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian audio for the opportunity to listen to this novel.
This book isn't exactly what I thought it was at the beginning. It wasn't even what I thought it was at the middle, but by the end, it didn't matter what it was, I loved it. The only reason this book didn't get more stars from me is that it seemed a bit longer then necessary. I felt like there was quite a lot of "fluff" in the story that didn't add much to the actual plot. The characters were funny and relatable (as much as they could be for the time-period related to ours). By far my favorite part was the ending. I felt it wrapped all things up quite nicely.

The narrator was nice to listen to and didn't try to give too many "voices" to the different characters. I would definitely listen to another book with her narrating again.