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Zeus: Water Rescue
Zeus: Water Rescue
by W. Bruce Cameron
Do you know a kid who loves dogs? They just might be interested in Zeus: Water Rescue. Written for Middle Grade children, this book shares the story of Zeus, a puppy who watches his littermates find new homes while he is left desperately wanting a person of his own. It is charmingly told from Zeus’ point of view as the puppy tries to understand what the people are doing and to please them.
In Hawaii, Marco pieces a living together between jobs focusing on Search and Rescue and as an Emergency Responder. He especially needs the income he receives when he trains a dog in water rescue and sells it in Europe. Not many dogs are right for the job especially when they are given the final test—jumping from a helicopter.
Kimo lives with his dad Marco and his grandmother and wants a puppy of his own as much as Zeus wants a boy of his own. Because of the financial need to sell a trained dog, even if Kimo can train the rambunctious Zeus, there doesn’t seem to be a way forward for the pair to stay together. Kimo’s cousin Giana is smart and not intimidated by adults. She helps Kimo in his efforts to keep Zeus. Their banter is fun and lightens the sadness that naturally occurs as the impending separation looms on the horizon.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Children’s Fiction
Notes: #1 in the series Dogs with a Purpose
Publication: September 26, 2023—Tor Publishing Group
Memorable Lines:
“Giana’s the only person in history to be kicked off the debate team for arguing,” Kimo informed me.
I could feel some of the fear leaving her as I lay there, so I didn’t try to change position. Having a dog nearby always makes things better.
I did not know why he had shouted Bear’s name. Bear obviously wasn’t here. Anyone could smell that.
A Novel Proposal–one more chapter!
A Novel Proposal
by Denise Hunter
I have read other books by Denise Hunter. I have read other clean romances. A Novel Proposal, however, is one of my favorites from both perspectives. The format of the book appeals to me so much. The author tickles my writing and reading sensibilities with her plot dilemma in which the protagonist Sadie, a budding author, has written several good western novels at a time when no one is buying westerns. Her contract is cancelled, and she will owe the advance money she received. Her publisher likes her writing, however, and gives her a chance to redeem her career with a romance. Romances are totally out of the comfortable range for Sadie, both in her personal life and in her writing experiences and goals. So, what makes A Novel Proposal unique? Each chapter begins with a quote from Romance Writing 101. These quotes summarize the steps in romance writing and reflect what is happening in each chapter. For example, Chapter 2 begins with “A meetcute is a charming encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship.” In this chapter Sadie meets the handsome, apparently broody Sam who shares half of a beach duplex with her when she travels from NYC to South Carolina to write a romance. She is gifted a stay there by her best friend’s mom. Sam is staying there to escape from a romantic disaster while continuing his job working for the family landscaping business. Supporting characters that you will enjoy include Caroline, Sadie’s best friend, and Rio, Sadie’s Maltipoo and constant companion. Hayley, Sam’s teenage sister, and the rest of his extended family add depth to the novel.
Sadie and Sam both have trust issues that hinder their relationship. Sadie is fun loving and blossoms in South Carolina where she starts a Free Library on the property and discovers something valuable in one of the books. She exchanges time as a “plus one” with Sam for his help in tracking down the owner. With publishing deadlines pressing, Sadie begins to write her novel based on her developing relationship with Sam using the old adage “write what you know.” Sadie and Sam are both characters with reader appeal. The reader knows that, as a romance, there will be a happily ever after, but how will the characters arrive at that end? Going along on the journey and watching the characters develop is such a fun reading experience. I had trouble putting the book down as each chapter led into the next in such a way that my mind kept say “One more chapter, one more chapter…”
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: standalone, clean
Publication: March 21, 2023—Thomas Nelson
Memorable Lines:
A jet went streaking over their heads, reminding her of her noisy apartment, just a stone’s throw from LaGuardia with thin walls and thinner windows. Not to mention the construction project that had been going on next door since the Revolutionary War.
She was using a saw. A circular saw if his ears hadn’t failed him. What in the world was she doing? The ear-shattering noise stopped as she finished the cut—or sliced off a finger. He had a hard time believing a woman who couldn’t navigate porch steps might be handy with tools.
Maybe he needed space to figure things out. Just because her day had lasted eight decades didn’t mean his had too.
Murder, She Edited–problematic inheritance
Murder, She Edited
by Kaitlyn Dunnett
Mikki Lincoln is a character I can immediately identify with. She has retired from teaching but is earning extra money as a freelance editor. She is good at identifying punctuation and grammar errors and feels a compulsion to correct them. When running out on an errand she trades her “lightweight sweatpants and somewhat ratty T-shirt for jeans and a clean T-shirt with no holes.” Sounds good to me!
The cozy mystery opens with Mikki receiving a letter from a law firm informing her that she has inherited land from an almost forgotten friend of her deceased mother. There is an odd stipulation that to receive the inheritance she must locate some diaries in the farmhouse, edit them, post them on the Internet, and produce an e-book with them—all in a short amount of time. Finding the diaries is a difficult and eventually dangerous task.
I like Mikki. In spite of beginning her marriage in a time when a woman could not get a mortgage or other credit in her own name, she is a strong, independent woman. She is very intelligent, and she approaches this challenge with the same tenacity as a dog with a bone. The puzzle of where the diaries are and who wrote them leads to a potential cold case of murder and the uncovering of secrets from the past and present. Someone was willing to kill to prevent their discovery. Mikki has several concerned friends who help and protect her, and she achieves the grudging respect of the law authorities.
There is also a subplot about a steamy romance author who was a teaching colleague of Mikki’s. She wrote under an assumed name. A fan of this author wants to meet her and wants Mikki to make it happen. This addition to the story provides a little comic relief and distraction from the intensity of the main plot.
I liked Murder, She Edited from start to finish. A cozy with the main character in her early 70’s appeals to me, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #4 in the Deadly Edits Series, but can easily be read as a standalone. I missed one of the books in the series, but it did not hamper my enjoyment of the others.
Publication: July 27, 2021—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
I bestowed what I call my “sweet but dithery little old lady smile” on him, the one I usually save for security officers at the airport and policemen who think I’m meddling where I shouldn’t.
I wondered what would happen if I didn’t correct all those silly errors. Would the Friends of the Library vote to replace me as editor? I doubted it. No one else wanted the job. Besides, I didn’t think I had it in me to spot a grammar, punctuation, or usage error and not fix it.
Ordinarily, I don’t like to badger people, but I was fed up with the runaround I’d been getting. I leveled my best former teacher’s glare at the young woman and waited for her to cave. She burst into tears.
A Fatal Fiction–editing can be dangerous
A Fatal Fiction
by Kaitlyn Dunnett
Mikki Lincoln is a retired middle school English teacher in Kaitlyn Dunnett’s A Fatal Fiction. In order to remodel her childhood home that has been neglected for many years, she supplements her retirement income using her skills as a copy editor. She lived in Maine for about fifty years, but has returned to her hometown, Lenape Hollow, NY. While stopped at a gas station, seventy year old Mikki is verbally attacked by a very angry businessman who has cheated a lot of people over the years by luring them into failing investments. Video of the encounter goes viral, even though Mikki never understood the cause of his anger. Mikki is the prime suspect when her attacker, CEO Greg Onslow, is found dead on one of the properties his company is developing.
Mikki is determined to discover who killed Onslow, but he was not a very nice man, so there are multiple suspects. Friends and family discourage her investigations as they seem dangerous at times.
The editing aspect of the story revolves around Sunny Feldman, last of the owners of a famous resort in the Catskills. She has hired Mikki to edit her semi tell-all memoirs of the celebrities who frequented the resort when she was a teenager. Onslow has bought the property for a development venture. Could their interests be colliding to cause these problems? Could Onslow’s ex-wife or even his second wife have killed him? There are some interesting locals who may have been involved as well. Most importantly, will the murderer set his or her sights on Mikki to cover up the crime and stop the investigation?
I would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #3 in the Deadly Edits Mystery Series, but will work as a standalone.
2. At the end of the book, there is a section that will especially appeal to those who love language. It is composed of several pages of language and grammar tips including warnings on split infinitives, dangling modifiers, and usage of the terms swearing and foul language. The tips are interesting and often humorous.
Publication: June 30, 2020—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
Warmth crept up my neck and into my face. I was torn between feeling a sense of pride for standing up for myself and enduring acute embarrassment because I’d lost control.
Since I used the “teacher” voice I’d perfected over decades of dealing with junior high students, he caved, but he wasn’t happy about it. I’d have said he was sulking, except that there was a definite look of panic in his eyes.
Unfortunately, to properly put on the airs of a grand dame one really needs to be sipping tea from a delicate china cup. I was drinking my coffee out of a Star Wars mug, a Christmas present from my great-niece.
education pathways 