The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

Four years previous William Lacey, the new, young, and penniless Earl of Dorset, was kicking Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime, (also known as Ellie) out of his house after her father, ruined the Lacey family s name and fortune.  Now, in the year 1582, the two meet again on different circumstances at the Queen Elizabeth s court.  The Earl seems quite enchanted with Ellie quick wit and exotic looks, not recognizing her for the girl he kicked out so many years before.  If only he could find a bride with the money he needs to bring his family s home to its former glory.  Money - something Ellie was without.  William will have to choose between duty and love, Lady Jane and Lady Eleanor.
This book was absolutely my favorite book Flamingnet has sent me so far.  Eve Edwards s writing is a lot like that of Eva Ibbotson s, who happens to be my favorite author.  I have recommended this book to all my friends and cannot wait to read the next book in this romance series coming out in 2012!  I learned a lot about Elizabethan clothing which was interesting, and the spoken language was old fashioned, but very easy to understand, which made it very beautiful.  I have nothing but praise for this book and hope others enjoy this as much as I did.

Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Gearhart, Oregon United States

Between Two Ends by David Ward

Between Two Ends, by David Ward, is a good book because it s about magical books.  Yeats, the main character, is a 12 year-old boy with a depressed father and a scared mother. He and his parents are visiting his Grandma s house.  He wants to find out why his dad is so depressed, so he asks his grandma. She tells him that 20 years ago, a girl named Shari, disappeared in the library.  Exploring the library, Yeats finds magical bookends that can transport him into any book.  The living bookends also tell him about a girl they transported into the book 1001 Arabian Nights 20 years ago. Shari was his dad' s best friend.  She never came out. So, he goes in after her in hopes of making his dad stop being so depressed.  However, some book' s spells are not easy to break and sometimes the people in the book lose their memory and become part of the story.  This story tells about love, bravery, mystery and humor.  I recommend this book for anyone who likes a good laugh and a great adventure.  Beware!  This book is addictive!
This book is very good with some unexpected twists. It took a while to get me interested,but once I was,it hooked me for good. The author did a good job, accept at the beginning,where he forgets to lay hooks for the reader.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Merced, Ca united states

The Poisons of Caux: Book Two by Susannah Appelbaum

Ivy the prophecy child and her sidekick Rowan have to travel to the guild to face the evil director.  Ivy keeps on healing others and is becoming well known around Caux.  They make many new friends on the way. They also face many hardships.   This book is packed with action from the start to the deadly encounter.


Overall I enjoyed this book. One of the things that I enjoyed about it were the people in it because they are really interesting.  One example is “the errant taster was on the run from the dreaded Tasters’ guild, where he learned his trade, only to practice it disastrously-killing twenty of Kings Nightshade’s men and the man he was specifically charged with protecting.”   The beginning was sort of slow for me but it got into a lot of action by the end. An example of that is “the footsteps were quickening now as she turned instead to  wake Rowan, and she had little time to shake her friend before the unwelcome arrival was upon them.”   I really hope that the third book in this truly frightening series is like the first two. The author did a great job on her second novel. My favorite thing I liked about this book is the main chaaracter Ivy. She is a very smart and courageous young girl. She also reminded me of Violet from the Series of Unfortunate Events.    I recommend this book to people 10 and up.


Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Uxbridge, MA USA

The Lunatics Curse by F.E. Higgins

In a town named Oppum Oppidulum, a twelve year old boy by
the name of Rex Grammaticus is the son of a famous engineer
and inventor.  His father is pronounced a lunatic by his
evil step mother and taken to a high security asylum in the
middle of a freezing lake. This lake is rumored to be the
home of a giant sea monster and diamonds are believed to be
at the bottom of the lake.  Soon after the story gets going,
there is a jail-break and the head warden of the asylum is
replaced by a mind doctor, who uses hypnotism in crooked
ways.  Rex 's father also escaped during the jail-break and
soon enough found Rex locked in his room by his step mother.
From there, Rex enters into various suspenseful adventures
that help him unravel the mystery of the asylum and the
strange Andrew Fey Society that controls it.
The Lunatic s
Curse was my first book to read by this author and I really
liked it. The characters were very interesting and the story
was good, even though confusing at times for me.  At first,
I wasn't sure I' d like it, but by chapter three, I was
hooked.  I hope that others will like this book, too, and I
think that people who liked books like Artemis Fowl should
especially like The Lunatic s Curse.  It has a good plot and
it is full of action and adventure.  There are a few dull
spots, but it gets interesting again fairly
quickly.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and
Country: MEMPHIS, TN USA

Amen, L.A. by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld

Natalie Shelton is in for the ride of her life. She lives in a tiny Minnesota town where her mom is the pastor at their local church. Then out of the blue her mom landed a fantastic job as the new pastor in the Church of Beverly Hills. Natalie is dragged along to California leaving her boyfriend, Sean, behind. Soon Natalie forgets all about her old town and old boyfriend. She's living in a huge mansion, making friends with celebrities, and going to real L.A. parties. But is Natalie adjusting to the Hollywood life too fast? Do her morals even exist anymore?

I thought Amen L.A. was a pretty cute story. I requested it because I just needed a light, fun, book and that's exactly what I got. The characters were very interesting and easy to relate to, especially Natalie. Coming from a small town and being in a long distance relationship myself, her story was very appealing. The plot also kept getting better as new characters kept being introduced. The ending wrapped itself up pretty well, but the authors left plenty of room for a sequel. I really enjoyed reading this book and I am definitely going to recommend it to some of my friends.

Sexual Content, Explicit language, and Use of illegal drugs and alcohol. 

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Hopkins, Michigan United States

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Silla Kennicott had a pretty good life - doting parents, a loving brother, a shot at becoming an actress - until the horrific murder-suicide committed by her father. Silla refuses to believe her father would commit such an atrocious act, and when she receives a book in the mail containing magic spells, she's certain something else is going on. All the spells require blood, but Silla's willing to do anything to find out more about her father's past. That's when she meets Nick Pardee, a transplant from Chicago, and the two might have more in common than they think. This isn't Nick's first experience with Blood Magic, and their shared powers might be needed to defeat evil that's lurking in the shadows of their small town.

I enjoyed Blood Magic and thought it was a decent addition to the Paranormal/Fantasy genre. I haven't read that many books about witches (excluding Harry Potter, of course), so I was intrigued by Blood Magic. Blood Magic was different in that you needed blood to complete any spells, which is a little gruesome but plays into the atmosphere well. The plot was very suspenseful even though it wasn't too hard to guess who the villain was. I thought that Silla was a resilient character because she was able to keep going after her parents died and didn't completely break down. Nick was an okay character; even though part of the book is his point-of-view, I still don't feel like I know that much about him. I'm starting to think that the love-at-first-sight thing is getting overdone, which is what happened in Blood Magic. Silla and Nick have an "instant attraction" but I don't think it was as well-written as it could have been. Besides that, I liked Blood Magic and look forward to the sequel.

Reviewer Age:19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Aston, Pennsylvania United States

Hatshepsut of Egypt by Shirin Yim Bridges

HATSHEPSUT OF EGYPT

Ever since they broke through the walls in Hatshepsut's tomb, people have been wondering about her, and how there could have ever been a female pharaoh. Because weren't pharaohs always males? This story is about a woman who bravely declared herself pharaoh. Why don't we learn more about her in school? You will find out about all of this in this interesting and informative book.


HATSHEPSUT OF EGYPT

Hatshepsut of Egypt is a very good book that I would recommend to GIRLS from the ages of 9-13. The illustrations are well done, and help readers to picture Hatshepsut's times. I thought it was good to learn how she ruled and increased Egypt's treasury. One of the reasons I liked this book is because it shows that women are fit to be rulers. Hatshepsut made plenty of money for Egypt and made peace with others instead of fighting them.

It was fun to read HATSHEPSUT OF EGYPT. It is perfect sized at about 20 pages.



Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockford, MI USA

Bargains and Betrayals

Bargains and Betrayals continues Jessica's and Pieter's story of love, lies, sacrifices, daring rescues and werewolves. Jessica, Jess, has just been unwillingly torn from her true love and checked into an asylum. Now she has to find a way out in order to save Pieter's mother from a life cut short due to their werewolf genetics. Like any sickness there is a cure but one only Jess can provide. In the third book of the 13 to Life series, Jess and Pieter make drastic sacrifices to keep all they love alive.
I loved the first two 13 to Life books and the third installment to the series kept me just as interested. I tore through the book in less then a day with eagerness that was not at any point disappointed. It was a great page turner but took a little thinking and rereading to understand at times. In this book Shannon Delany skipped in between characters demanding that you pay attention to who is telling the story. I can't wait to see what the next book has to offer.
I rated the content a 3 because it made numerous references to sex and at one point vaguely described it.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Glendale, AZ United States

Reel Life Starring Us by Lisa Greenwald

In Lisa Greenwald’s book Reel Life Starring Us, Dina is the new girl at Rockwood Hills Middle School. Rockwood Hills is known for its cliques and for Sasha Preston, the now famous movie star that used to attend the middle school. Dina soon learns that Rockwood Hills is not like her old school and that in this school you’re either in the in-crowd or, in Dina’s case, you’re not. When Dina gets assigned to work on a video project with Chelsea, the most popular girl in school, Dina can’t help but think that she will finally fit in. However, Dina soon realizes that Chelsea’s home life isn’t what you would expect for such a popular individual. Will the video project help these two become friends? Will Dina ever fit in? And most importantly, will anyone ever really be in the in crowd at Rockwood Hills Middle School? 

As I read this book, I felt compassion for Dina as she entered Rockwood Hills. People weren’t very nice to her, and being a new student didn’t help her case. I also felt compassion for Chelsea, due to the situation in her home life and the struggle she goes through in order to keep it a secret. The setting played a major role in this book because Rockwood Hills is a very wealthy community and Dina and Chelsea are very different when it comes down to money. The plot in this book was slow at some points and made it hard to read through some of the pages. I felt like this book took awhile to get to the climax of the story, but the climax and the rising action left led to a well thought out ending. If you are looking for an easy read and a book about true friendship, Reel Life Starring Us would be the right choice. 

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Springfield, Ohio USA

Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler

A tribute to Sense and Sensibility, Sass and Serendipity is a tale of two sisters. Gabby, the older responsible sister, always sees the glass as half empty. She only has one friend, and spends all of her time either studying or at her job trying to support their single mom. Daphne is a junior varsity cheerleader with high hopes and tons of friends. She is always super positive and loves to kick back and enjoy life. The two sisters never see eye to eye on anything. Gabby always wishes Daphne would get her head out of the clouds and come back to reality. Daphne wants Gabby to get off her back and live a little. When some extreme changes enter these two sisters lives, their lives get turned upside down and the girls start questioning their perspectives.
I loved this book. I wasnt sure how difficult it might be, considering one out of the three words in the title I hadnt seen before, but it was an easy read. (Serendipity means good luck, or events playing out in a good way.) Some realistic fiction books dont seem very realistic. This book applies to any two sisters, and is as real as can be. An engaging mix of realistic fiction and romance, I would recommend this book to any girl over 12, especially ones with sisters.  

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, KS United States