Month: May 2025

Review: War at the Ice Cream Store 1 and 2

Title: War at the Ice Cream Store Mustachio Pistachio vs. Bully Vanilli AND War at the Ice Cream Store 2 Rocky Road vs. The Sundae Storm
Author: Cheryl DaVeiga, Dave Gibson, Nate Fakes (illustrator)
Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Waterhole Productions LLC
Source: iRead Books Tours
Format: Ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis: Mustachio Pistachio vs. Bully Vanilli:

Action, laughter, and silly puns… this ice cream epic has it all!In the Frozen Frogg Ice Cream Shop, Bully Vanilli is the most popular ice cream and self-proclaimed king of the flavors. Lonely Mustachio Pistachio sits at the back of the freezer. No one ever picks him! Every night, after the store door is locked, Bully Vanilli begins his bullying and Mustachio is his favorite target. One night Bully kicks Mustachio’s bucket. Poor Mustachio falls SPLAT on the floor and it’s… War at the Ice Cream Store! And as the The War at the Ice Cream Storesong goes…🎵🎵 Biff bam booza, yowza wowza wooza, It’s a milk-shakin’ cone-breakin’ yabba dabba dooza! 🎵🎵A big scoop of action with sprinkles of laughter makes for a delicious treat in this story about kindness and acceptance. Read with your kids for a non-stop giggle fest and don’t forget to follow the author for more hilarious content and to access the song.

Goodreads Synopsis: Rocky Road vs. The Sundae Storm:

The Ultimate Ice Cream Showdown! 

It’s a perfect sunny Sunday in July—the ultimate ice cream day! But—trouble is brewing at the Frozen Frogg Ice Cream Store! A swirly, twirly, category-five ice cream twister is out of control, threatening to turn this sweet day into a sticky disaster.

Could this be the first-ever summer Sunday without ice cream? (Say it isn’t so!) Or can the flavors and toppings team up to whip up a plan before it’s too late?

Packed with laugh-out-loud puns, daring dessert heroes, and nonstop action, this funny and flavorful adventure is a must-read for kids who love humor, teamwork, and of course—ICE CREAM! A delicious sequel to the fan-favorite and award-winning War at the Ice Cream Mustachio Pistachio vs Bully Vanilli (now available in a Collector’s Edition–reillustrated, with an enhanced story and bonus content).

This fast-paced and colorfully illustrated (by celebrated cartoonist Nate Fakes!) tale will have kids cheering for their favorite flavors and begging for an extra scoop of fun! Get ready for the wildest ice cream showdown yet!

Review:

These two books are fun, rhyming picture books about ice cream that comes to life in the ice cream store!

In Mustachio Pistachio vs. Bully Vanilli, the vanilla ice cream is a bully because so many people love him. He particularly bullies the pistachio ice cream because he is the least favourite flavour. All of the ice cream flavors and toppings have to work together to defeat the bully. 

In Rocky Road vs. The Sundae Storm, there is a storm inside the ice cream store, preventing anyone from getting ice cream on a hot summer day. The ice cream flavors have to figure out how to stop the storm so the store can reopen. 

Both of these books made me laugh out loud. I think kids and their parents will love them! They’re both available now!

War at the Ice Cream: Mustachio Pistachio vs. Bully Vanilli and Rocky Road vs. The Sundae Storm are fun picture books!

Thank you iRead Book Tours for providing copies of these books as part of a paid campaign!

Have you read War at the Ice Cream Store? What did you think of it?

Review: The Web of Time

Title: The Web of Time
Author: Flavia Brunetti
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Blue House Literary
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Far beneath the ground, a web quietly spins.The threads are keeping time, marking history. What’s done is done. Until now.

Protected by the gods and powering the three Great Portals of Kindness, Art, and Language, The Web of Time re-arranges itself as humans change their minds, fall in love, or cause empires to rise and fall. When the Great Portals close from the world, time begins erasing itself, histories start to disappear, Earth falls into chaos, and the gods don’t know how to stop it-until Jack meets Anna. 

Anna is a passionate and solitary writer who is protected by her companion, Nafusa of Libya, the cat god. When Jack, a young painter harboring a traumatic past, falls through the Great Portal of Art in Tunis, he stumbles into Anna, and his fate. 

Helped and hindered by a rotating cast of deities, the two embark on a journey that connects three ancient cities in different times: Rome, Tunis, and Tripoli. They realize that it is Anna’s gift for healing words and Jack’s natural talent for drawing places as they were that can reinstate the Great Portals and restore the world’s balance, but some of the darker gods who thrive on chaos will stop at nothing to derail their quest. As time tears faster than they can heal it, Anna and Jack must come together in time to save history, and the possibility of a future.

Review:

This is a beautiful story about the way that time works in the world. The gods interacted with Jack and Anna, who were stuck going through portals to different places and time periods. They showed how interconnected everything is throughout history. If one moment changed, it set off a chain reaction and changed all of history. I really liked the characters of Jack and Anna, and I would love to see what happened to them after the story ended. 

The Web of Time is a beautiful story about time. 

Thank you iRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death of parent (off page), child abuse

Have you read The Web of Time? What did you think of it?

Review: Cursed Princess Club, Vol. 2

Title: Cursed Princess Club, Vol. 2
Author: LambCat
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Just because you’re cursed doesn’t mean you’re not special.

Gwendolyn, the youngest of the King’s three daughters, is living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. She isn’t like a typical fairy-tale princess, or other princesses in the Pastel Kingdom. Gwendolyn, with her big heart and love of baking, isn’t particularly attractive. Unlike her sisters who have woodland creatures do their hair and makeup, or have flowers blossom wherever they sleep, Gwendolyn is a bit…different. So when her father proposes marriage for her and her sisters to make an alliance with the Plaid Kingdom, it breaks Gwendolyn’s heart to hear that Prince Frederick thinks she’s “really ugly.” Overwhelmed and ashamed, she runs away into the forest and encounters the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, where her life will never be the same.

The Cursed Princess Club are a ragtag band of outcasts, misfits and cursed princesses who have created an incredible friendship circle. It is among these friends where Gwendolyn learns to embrace her uniqueness and find her people.

In this second book of the series, we learn low self esteem isn’t just for girls! Meet the Princels―princes who have shunned society not because of curses (although one has to wonder…) but because of their own insecurities about their physical appearance and their inability to find romantic partners. And then we have Prince Frederick, who starts to worry if he even deserves Gwen. Plus, you too can learn to be as pretty as a Cursed Princess!

Review:

This series is so fun! Gwen has joined the Cursed Princess Club because she is always treated differently from her traditionally beautiful sisters. Now, when Gwen looks in a mirror, she can’t see her face, so she has to figure out how to fix this problem. Even though there are some serious and emotional parts, with the way Gwen is bullied, there were many laugh out loud moments too!

Cursed Princess Club, Vol. 2 is a fun graphic novel!

Other books in the series:

Have you read Cursed Princess Club, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?

Review: Acception, Vol. 1

Title: Acception, Vol. 1
Author: Coco Ouwerkerk
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, LGBTQ
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 27, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

For fans of high school comedy drama with quirky, lovable characters, this is a comic from debut author Colourbee about love, acceptance, and surviving high school (while keeping your secrets intact).

It’s the start of a new school year at Apollo High and Arcus just moved from England to the Netherlands. With his rainbow-colored hair and love of all things fashion, Arcus is anything but your average teenager.

He’s an upbeat independent thinker, proud fashionista, and like the rest of us, is looking for a few fiends to call his own. This won’t be easy for Arcus, because his best options for friends are prickly goth Maud and self-centered queen bee Iris.

Review:

This graphic novel is about Arcus, who doesn’t follow the status quo in his new school. Other students make assumptions based on his appearance. Arcus and his new friend Maud had opposite styles, with Arcus having rainbow hair and Maud dressing all in black, but they had a lot in common. They were both bullied by other students and they had to deal with some serious family issues at home. There were some funny moments though with students mishearing things when they eavesdropped or making completely wrong assumptions. 

Acception, Vol. 1 is a great graphic novel with a mix of serious and funny moments!

Thank you Wattpad Books for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: bullying, transphobia, homophobia, alcoholism, cancer

Have you read Acceptation, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?

Review: Higher Love

Title: Higher Love
Author: Joanne Kukanza Easley
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Red Boots Press
Source: iRead Book Tours
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 12, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Higher Love—a captivating new novel from Joanne Kukanza Easley, the multi-award-winning author of Sweet Jane, Just One Look, and I’ll Be Seeing You.

Set against the eclectic backdrop of Austin, Texas, in 1986, Higher Love introduces sixteen-year-old Stephanie, a teenager scarred by a turbulent past, who steps into the quiet life of sixty-two-year-old Lauren, her uncanny resemblance cracking open a buried past. Stephanie claims to be the granddaughter Lauren never knew—the daughter of the child she relinquished for adoption forty-five years earlier. Her arrival disrupts Lauren’s carefully rebuilt world, already strained by her recent remarriage to Brett after years of separation. Reeling from the revelation that her adoptive grandmother hid the truth about her mother’s adoption, Stephanie carries the weight of tragedy and self-harm, yet her vulnerability forges an unexpected, fragile bond with Lauren and Brett, two people grappling with their own regrets.

As Stephanie integrates into their lives, her aspirations for college are shattered when the 1987 stock market crash obliterates her trust fund, leaving her future in jeopardy. For Lauren, haunted by the loss of her child decades earlier, Stephanie represents a chance to rewrite her story. Fueled by fierce, unconditional love, Lauren sacrifices her financial security and emotional reserves to give Stephanie a path forward only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything, reshaping their understanding of family, trust, and forgiveness in profound, lasting ways.

Higher Love is a sweeping, heart-wrenching family drama that explores the enduring weight of secrets and the transformative power of love. Through its richly drawn characters, the story delves into the courage it takes to face painful truths, the resilience found in embracing the present, and the unexpected joy of building a family from broken pieces. At its core, Higher Love celebrates the messy, redemptive beauty of human relationships, delivering a deeply moving tale of loss, healing, and the unbreakable bonds that define us.

Review:

This book is a powerful story following two generations of a family. The story alternated between the perspectives of Lauren, the grandmother, and Stephanie, her granddaughter. There were some emotional parts about adoption, loss of parents, and a second chance at love. The ending had a couple of twists, and I would have liked to see how they affected the characters’ futures. 

Higher Love is a powerful and emotional story!

Thank you iRead Book Tours for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warnings: adoption, death of parents, sexual assault, alcoholism, self harm, cancer, teen pregnancy, miscarriage

Have you read Higher Love? What did you think of it?

Review: Last Prom Standing

Title: Last Prom Standing
Author: R.H. Bird
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 21, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

After surviving the most insane prom day ever, Luca and Piper are madly in love. Only one problem. She’s going off to college while he’s still in high school. They swear to weather the challenges of a long-distance relationship. But on her first day, Luca notices the college guys already circling. When his senior-year starts, the new girl has her sights set on him. Meanwhile, he needs to win a state championship against an unbeatable opponent or kiss his wrestling scholarship good-bye.

Will Luca and Piper be dancing under the stars at his prom, or will the pressures of love and life tear them apart?

Review:

This book is a great sequel to Promposal. Even though it’s a sequel, it could be read as a stand-alone. I liked that these two stories are told from the perspective of the male love interest. I haven’t read many straight romances that are from the male perspective, so it’s an original POV. 

Last Prom Standing is a great YA romance!

Thank you The Wild Rose Press and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Other books in the series:

Have you read Last Prom Standing? What did you think of it?

Review: The Duke’s Denial

Title: The Duke’s Denial
Author: Carolkina Prescott
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 31, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

What do you do when your almost-fiancé forgets all about you? You go as far away as you can, bury yourself in work, and try to forget about him—at least that’s what Lady Genevieve Richards is determined to do. Eve has heard nothing from Hill, the Duke of Camberton, since he was called back to London, but rumor has it that he’s back to his old philandering ways. In truth, Hill is on a secret to uncover the identity of Monsieur Jones, Napoleon’s notorious spymaster and set a trap for his capture. But Jones has set his own trap—for Eve. Hill is desperate to find Eve and warn her, but when he does, will she ever trust him again?

Review:

This was a spicy historical romance! It’s part of a series but it can be read as a stand-alone, as I haven’t read the rest of the series, and I understood and enjoyed it. The events of the past books were briefly referred to by the other characters. It was a short and fast paced story with some spicy scenes towards the end!

The Duke’s Denial is a great spicy historical romance!

Thank you The Wild Rose Press and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death, gun violence, knife violence, death of parent (off page)

Have you read The Duke’s Denial? What did you think of it?