William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher

Inspired by one of the greatest creative minds in the English language-and William Shakespeare-here is an officially licensed retelling of George Lucas's epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ’Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearstome Stormtroopers, signifying...pretty much everything.

Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter—and complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations--William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for. (Goodreads)

This one had my husband's name written all over it.

Sean's Guest Review:
I blazed through this book in one day. It is exactly what you think it would be, the basic story of Star Wars A New Hope, written in the parlance of the Bard. Though I had difficulty comprehending the real Shakespeare, I found this tale most enjoyable and understandable, as I am overly familiar with the movie, so was able to extrapolate the meaning of the archaic terminology employed herein. At times funny, at times sad, always an adventure; I really enjoyed this book.It helps that there are many parallels between some Star Wars characters and some Shakespeare characters. Knights, good hearted scoundrels, complex father-son relationships and student/mentor relationships, even fate and destiny. All in all a fun, light hearted romp "in time so long ago begins our play, in star-crossed galaxy far, far away." Genius.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Backlog of Books, Missing Blog and Winter blues

The last few months have been kind of a whirlwind of activity. First, I live in Minnesota and there were moments that we all thought it would never stop snowing or that the bitter cold would eventually eat us all. Second, because of the cold there were many missing school and work days which led to very little free time for me to read the backlog of books I had so enthusiastically agreed to review (see picture to the left). Third, I stupidly let my domain renewal lapse and it was like entering a portal to hell to try and get it back.

So that leaves me here trying to start clean. I will not get to the books in the photo any time soon. They all look amazing so this is there moment to shine. I figured they atleast deserve a feature post.

The Orphan Choir by Sophie Hannah
Louise Beeston is being haunted.Louise has no reason left to stay in the city. She can’t see her son, Joseph, who is away at boarding school, where he performs in a prestigious boys’ choir. Her troublesome neighbor has begun blasting choral music at all hours of the night—and to make matters worse, she’s the only one who can hear it.

Hoping to find some peace, Louise convinces her husband, Stuart, to buy them a country house in an idyllic, sun-dappled gated community called Swallowfield. But it seems that the haunting melodies of the choir have followed her there. Could it be that her city neighbor has trailed her to Swallowfield, just to play an elaborate, malicious prank? Is there really a ghostly chorus playing outside her door? And why won’t they stop? Growing desperate, she begins to worry about her mental health.

Against the pleas and growing disquiet of her husband, Louise starts to suspect that this sinister choir is not only real but a warning. But of what? And how can it be, when no one else can hear it? (Goodreads)

North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo
A gripping literary thriller, North of Boston combines the atmospheric chills of Jussi Adler-Olsen with the gritty mystery of Laura Lippman. And Pirio Kasparov is a gutsy, compellingly damaged heroine with many adventures ahead. (Goodreads)

By Blood We Live by Glen Duncan
From the author of the best sellers The Last Werewolf and Talulla Rising, the hair-raising conclusion to the saga that has galvanized readers' imaginations: an electrifying, startlingly erotic love story that gives us the final battle for survival between werewolves and vampires, and one last incisive--brilliantly ironic--look at what it means to be, or to not be, human. (Goodreads)

Thirty Girls by Susan Minot
Esther is a Ugandan teenager abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army and forced to witness and commit unspeakable atrocities, who is struggling to survive, to escape, and to find a way to live with what she has seen and done. Jane is an American journalist who has traveled to Africa, hoping to give a voice to children like Esther and to find her center after a series of failed relationships. In unflinching prose, Minot interweaves their stories, giving us razor-sharp portraits of two extraordinary young women confronting displacement, heartbreak, and the struggle to wrest meaning from events that test them both in unimaginable ways. (Goodreads)

Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong
Protect the innocent. If there is any one principle that drives hit man Nadia Stafford, it’s this. In her own mind, when she was thirteen, she failed to protect her older cousin Amy from being murdered. Now she fails again, disastrously, when she botches a hit. To help her find her equilibrium, her mentor, Jack, brings her a gift: the location and new identity of the predator who killed her cousin and disappeared after the case against him failed.

Vengeance, justice? With the predator in her sights, nothing seems more right, more straightforward, more easy. But finding justice is never as simple as it seems. (Goodreads)

I hope you find something that may interest you. They all have something good to offer. I've started them all and are excited to finish (maybe this summer!). For now, I am going to continue to catch up on the books and audio books I HAVE finished and post about those too. I also have a few book club posts to catch up on. And I want to get back to checking out my favorite blogs too. 

Hope you all are well out there in blog land. I am SO ready for Spring (except for all the rabbit poop I have in my yard right now) Can't win!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Book Review: Missing You by Harlan Coben

It's a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she’s ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart—and who she hasn’t seen in 18 years.

Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her.  But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable. 

As the body count mounts and Kat's hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved—her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained. With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there. (Goodreads)

Harlan Coben is amazing. He continues to surprise me with every thriller he writes. I did not figure it out at all and this is a big thing for me when reading thrillers. If I have it down before the end, you probably have bored me.

Coben mixes police and family politics with the mob with kidnappers with online dating with mental illness to get a huge story with lots of secrets. His writing was sharp, and kept me on edge. I really liked Kat's character and her struggles with finding the truth about her father and missing fiance were hard to stomach at times. 

Coben is an author you can pick up anywhere along the line. His writing is pretty consistent and not overly formulaic. With every book you get a new thrilling mystery. Recommended for psychological thriller fans.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Audio Review: In the Blood by Lisa Unger

Lana Granger lives a life of lies. She has told so many lies about where she comes from and who she is that the truth is like a cloudy nightmare she can’t quite recall. About to graduate from college and with her trust fund almost tapped out, she takes a job babysitting a troubled boy named Luke. Expelled from schools all over the country, the manipulative young Luke is accustomed to controlling the people in his life. But, in Lana, he may have met his match. Or has Lana met hers?

When Lana’s closest friend, Beck, mysteriously disappears, Lana resumes her lying ways—to friends, to the police, to herself. The police have a lot of questions for Lana when the story about her whereabouts the night Beck disappeared doesn’t jibe with eyewitness accounts. Lana will do anything to hide the truth, but it might not be enough to keep her ominous secrets buried: someone else knows about Lana’s lies. And he’s dying to tell (Goodreads)

What a creepy, freaking book! Seriously. I had chills while listening to this. Lisa Unger definitely at her finest. I was floored by her first book, Beautiful Lies many years back and this one did it to me the same.

You don't truly know anyone in this book. So much deception, false personalities, mental health issues, loss. Whew. It's a race to see how messed up everyone can get.

But I was hooked. For how dark it was, I wanted to see it through to the end. I knew Lana had many secrets and I kind of guessed the big one towards the end. But the little boy? Well, he had me guessing. Couldn't quite figure him out. 

Overall, Unger tells a pretty complicated, layered familial dramatic thriller. For fans of psychological suspense this would be a good one. I listened to it and the two narrators really brought the craziness to life. Lana's narrator was cold yet inviting. You never truly rooted for her but you didn't want her to be the victim.

Highly recommend for thriller fans. 

Happy reading and listening, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Labor Day movie review

A few weeks back I got the opportunity, along with two of my book clubs, to read Labor Day by Joyce Maynard. For the most part, everyone liked it just fine and felt it was a pretty quick read. I was excited to see the movie because it stars a few of my favorites, Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet. My book club ladies saw the movie at a few different times, a few of here, a bunch of us at another time.
The consensus was the movie was not far from the book and was exactly what we all expected; a Lifetime melodrama (not that that is a bad thing).

Here are few thoughts from my book club ladies:

"I thought the movie was a bit more believable than the book at the beginning in that they made it seem more like a kidnapping and the single mom wasn't just bringing home a random convict to expose her child too. I wasn't very impressed though. All my questions of why and how that I found very strange about the book and made me feel like huge sections of information were missing still existed in the movie. The fact that this all happened over a weekend makes it pretty hard to swallow."

"Followed the book well... except for making him actually kidnap them. Very " hallmark channel"."

Not a five star rating, obviously. I don't think Kate Winslet deserves any acting nods, for this was not her finest hour. In fact, most of her nervous being bothered me even though I totally understood it. It seemed forced, overly dramatic.

Josh Brolin's character was right on; the brooding, misunderstood, "I've come to save" you hunky handyman. The scenes where his story was told in flashback form I thought would be a bit confusing to those who did not read the book.

I liked how innocent the son was. I didn't think it needed to go into his issues with his sexuality and growing up.

Overall,we had a pleasant time hanging out and seeing something new, something we probably would not have gone to see otherwise.

We didn't love it and we didn't hate it.

Happy reading (and viewing) and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

TLC Book Tour: Brady Needs a Nightlight by Brian Barlics

This book is the first of a series entitled Fundamentales. Through colorful and personable characters, these books will give life to the exciting discoveries and challenges that children face. Through catchy rhymes, each lovable character of each book shares his or her story and provides a brief escape from the real world, a few laughs, and best of all, a fundamental lesson in each tale.  The series includes books about facing fears, being yourself, sharing, safety, eating right and staying active, doing chores, responsibility, and much more! (TLC Book Tours)

Brady Needs a Nightlight is a Mom’s Choice Awards Silver Honoree!

I am always on the look out for new children's books to read. My son is now 6 and is reading himself but we still read three books together every night. I look for all sorts of things; illustrations, writing, message, etc. I'm not always so heavy handed with it but overall, my son likes to read books that he can learn from. He ALWAYS asks questions these days. I love it! So this book spoke to me when it came on board for a tour and like the busy mom that I am, I promptly forgot to review it on time. Not even close...like a month later, here I am. :) (nervous laugh)

Anyway, this book is sweet and delightful. We enjoyed it when it first was introduced. I know my son likes a book when he requests to read it multiple times. Brady is afraid of the dark, a pretty common fear for children at some point during their childhood. How he deals with it is sweet and endearing. The illustrations are pretty simple; bright and colorful.

I'm intrigued by this Fundamentale series and will definitely look into other books with 

different scenarios to learn from.

About Brian Barlics

Brian was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives in Northern California. He is a Pediatrician with a strong love for children and is dedicated to their health and well-being. He believes not only in the physical health of children but also in the enrichment of their minds and building of their character. He is a strong advocate of the well-supported idea that reading to your child encourages a strong parent-child bond, promotes literacy, and helps them tap into their seemingly endless imaginations. He has recently started a new venture as an author of children’s books. 

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Book Review: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for. (Goodreads)

My book clubs were chosen to review this book and also the soon to be released movie. Both my clubs meet later this month but I wanted to post my own review of the book since I just recently finished it.

I really enjoyed it overall. Very easy to read. I have never read Joyce Maynard before and this was smooth writing at its best. At the heart you have a love story; at first between a son and his mother, and then his mother and the stranger and then the son and a girl. It's very honest writing, told in the voice of the son; a son at the age of puberty, ripe with his own thoughts and desires and opinions. You get some back story of his mother and the relationship she had with his father and what brought her to the solitude that she lived in for most of the novel. And the presence of this stranger that they keep in their home is tantalizing, strange, tense and comfortable all at the same time. 

The stranger feels at home right away and the relationship between him and the mother is obvious from the very beginning;love. This book is now a movie with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. I had those actors in mind when I read the book because of the movie-tie-in version that was sent to me. They fit perfectly; mysterious and beautiful. I am very much excited to see the movie and how they bring it to life. So much happens in such a short period of time that the movie will pack a punch, I'm sure.

I spread the copies of the books to both of my book clubs. One meets tomorrow and the other next Monday. I will include in another post their feelings and then eventually our group review of the movie.

I highly recommend this book. It's a fast read, though emotional. The ending is a bit abrupt but I think it had to be for where the story needed to go. 

Overall, a good book club choice.

Author Website:
Joyce Maynard

Movie Website:
Labor Day

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child