Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Release Date - October 2015 Jennifer Crusie St. Martins Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Short and sweet, Hot Toy is perfect for filling in time between holiday baking sessions and errands, The thing with Hot Toy is that it is really short. It's a novella that appeared in 2006's Santa Baby anthology. I read it in half an hour. Trudy is determined to get the hot toy of the season for her nephew, especially knowing his lousy father promised the boy and then put no effort into finding one. Not only is this toy turning out to be impossible to find, but Trudy's former date, a man who never called her again, shows up seeking the exact same toy. Miracles do occur and with some determined searching, Trudy finds one toy left, but that leads to more chaos than she could ever imagine. Chaos that threatens to put her in the middle of a major investigation. Jennifer Crusie's story contains plenty of humor, sparks of romance, and lots of fun. It's just so short

Release Date - July 2015 Amanda Panitch Random House Book Review by Jessica Maguire I'm guessing that young adult readers, ages 14 and up, will enjoy this novel as much as I did. Lucy Black is an interesting and intriguing protagonist. Sure, she's just an ordinary teenager, living with her parents, going to school, and catching the eye of the school's hottest guy. Or so it seems. Nothing in this novel turns out to be quite what it appears to be. Lucy didn't start out life as Lucy. In another time, another place, she was Julia Vann and Julia had twin brother. But a tragedy left Julia an only child. Just as Julia is finally getting used to being Lucy and getting settled into her new life, a person from her past shows up and starts following her. Lucy is terrified and wants to know why this figure from her past has returned. But what is Lucy so scared of? What horrible secrets does her past hold? I won't tell you! But what I will tell you is

Release Date - October 27, 2015 Craig Johnson Penguin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Longmire fans who have already binged on the latest season and all the books will be delighted by this collection of stories from the sheriff's life. Wait for Signs features a dozen short stories based on Walt's past and present, and each one is a delight. I admit I only discovered Longmire this summer, and I binge watched every season, including season 4. The chemistry between the characters is sublime. Those same relationships carry through in the books, though there are differences between the television show and the books. I found those differences easy to adjust to, however, so it wasn't that big a deal. With a dozen short stories, it didn't take long to work my way through Wait for Signs. While I could mention them all, I wanted to focus on my favorites. Hands down, Ministerial Aid was my favorite story in the collection. This story captures the very essence

Release Date - February 2015 M. Evonne Dobson The Poisoned Pencil Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Chaos Theory is the first in a teen mystery series featuring 17-year-old Kami, her best friends, and a "bad boy" who was sent away after his sister overdosed. In addition, Kami's beloved grandmother died, and that's left Kami reeling. She sees the opportunity to figure out what really happened to Daniel's sister and clear Daniel's name. There are things I loved about Chaos Theory . Each of the characters was well developed and likable. Yet, I often found myself questioning the reality. As a parent of a 19 year old, there's no way at 17 that I would have let her put herself in harm's way to go undercover and find a drug dealer. I just can't imagine parents like Kami's agreeing to that. That said, that's not something that most teens will think about when reading this story. I think it will have great appeal with readers who are l

Release Date - September 2015 Joe Pulizzi McGraw-Hill Education Content marketing is something I have spent years doing. Not for myself, but I work with website design and management firms to create SEO content for their sites. Therefore, I was interested to hear what Joe Pulizzi, CEO of CopyBlogger, had to say. First off, I love his approachable, honest writing style. That drew me in. The book is broken into eight main parts: Starting the Journey The Sweet Spot The Content Tilt Building the Base Harvesting Audience Diversification Monetization Next-Level Content Most of his advice is spot on and I learned a thing or two along the way. Personally, I prefer working with another company, so I'm happy where I am. But if you want to do it all yourself, this is a must-read business guide. I found myself taking notes along the way, especially with guides to helpful calendar apps and programs, I've yet to find one I love, so I stick to Google's calendar, bu

Release Date - May 2015 Michael Buckley HMH Books for Young Readers Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth At 16, the last thing any teen needs is to fear her entire family being arrested. For Lyric, that is her biggest fear. The world she's living in isn't the world that used to be, not since a huge number of sea people called Alphas, came out of the ocean at Coney Island and prove to be the biggest threat the world has ever faced. Even worse, the President has made it clear that this new race will be allowed into schools, and that's not going over well. Things couldn't possibly get more dangerous, until Lyric is forced to befriend the Alpha prince attending her school. Now taunted by her peers for being a "fish lover," she does what she can to do what she's been told to do without getting killed by the humans who are most adamantly against Alphas being part of their community. When she begins falling for Fathom, she realizes that she's in way o

Release Date - May 2015 Jeanne Willis Joel Stewart Candlewick Press The Cow Tripped Over the Moon offers an unusual “take” on traditional familiar nursery rhymes. Where most readers might see just a child’s nursery rhyme, Jeanne Willis envisions a medical emergency, which means that in this picture book the Storyland ambulance and medics must rush to the scene to take care of the characters with bumps and bruises. For example, when the cow tries to jump over the moon, she trips and falls, grazing her knees and chipping a hoof. Then there’s a little mishap involving Rock-a-Bye -Baby. The wind breaks the branch she is rocking on and Baby and her rocking bed falls into a compost heap. She isn’t hurt, fortunately, but the infant now needs a bath. And so it goes. Humpty Dumpty takes a fall and Little Boy Blue is taking a nap when a stack of hay topples over onto him. It seems to be just one thing after another, but the ambulance crew is always able to take ca

Release Date - May 2013 Sandra D. Bricker River North Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth If the Shoe Fits is meant to be a take of the classic Cinderella tale, but it has a bit of a twist that makes it unique. Prince Charming in this case is a mystery man. Julianne is on her way to court when she almost hits the car in front of her, and before she knows it, some tall, handsome man is running into the road to rescue a dog that's just been hit. She's certain he could be her knight in shining armor, but he's in his truck and driving away before she can even process things. All that's left behind is the man's tool box and one work boot. Will has been Julianne's best friend since they were 10. He's fallen for her, but she considers them friends and business partners, nothing more, nothing less. As much as Will would love to be so much more to Julianne, her new goal is to find the mystery man and prove that he is Mr. Right. Much to Will's dismay, i

Release Date - October 13, 2015 Cynthia Ruchti Worthy Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth An Endless Christmas kicks off my start to the holiday reading season. This is a very quick-to-read, heartwarming tale of love, family, and the holiday spirit. Meeting her boyfriend's entire family in one shot is stressful enough, but Katie never expects Micah to propose to her as soon as they walk in the door. Surrounded by strangers, Katie has to break Micah's heart and tell him no. Surprisingly, Katie still finds herself taken into Micah's family's home and treated to one of the most memorable holiday seasons ever. This is a charming story, though it did turn a little too preachy for my own personal tastes a couple of times. It is a religious novel, however, so I can't blame it. I just have this thing with having religion thrown into the story in a manner in which it pulls me from the story.

Release Date - August 2015 Sophie Hannah William Morrow Book Review by Bob Walch Thanks to the Internet you can create a fantasy world and relationships with individuals you never expect to actually meet in a face to face situation. For Nicki Clements this provides the opportunity to enjoy a secret life quite different from the one she lives with her husband and children. Nicki’s online email “connection” is with a man who wants her to share a secret or two she’s never divulged to anyone else. Perhaps because of the anonymity of the situation or because she has an urge to unburden herself , Nicki agrees. Granted this is perhaps not a sound idea, but once the emails begin flying back and forth, Nicki is hooked and becomes quite candid with information that’s been locked away for quite some time. Then disaster strikes in a way Nicki never imagined. She is arrested for the murder of her correspondent, a man she has never met face to face. Although she isn’t guilty

Release Date - October 6, 2015 Lizi Boyd Chronicle Kids There's something to be said about a children's picture book that captures both an artistic and educational aspect. The text sizes and simple word choices make it easy for a child to read without even knowing they are reading. Words like "big" and "bear" are paired with illustrations that clearly demonstrate exactly what those words are. This makes it an ideal choice for the child just learning to read. The artistic nature is what impressed me just as much. The author/illustrator sticks to three colors in Big Bear Little Chair - red, white, and black. The white and black may combine to form gray, but generally those are the three colors you'll find. It becomes very pleasing to the eye and made this book stand out. Usually, I'd say if my children were still little, this would be a definite addition to my shelf. In this case, I can say that my daughter who is studying graphic design at

Release Date - August 2015 Barbara Taylor Sissel Lake Union Publishing Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth A devastating fall left Lauren Wilder with injuries and a dependence on pain killers. Numerous counseling sessions later, Lauren believes she has ended her dependency on these drugs, but memory lapses often have her doubting herself. All of this becomes a focal point when Lauren almost hits a young man while driving. She stops to make sure he's okay, and his response, while slightly unusual, makes her call the police to do a welfare check. When she spies him getting into the car with a woman he clearly knows, she thinks all is okay. Days later, Lauren learns the young man is missing, and she's the last person police can confirm he spoke to. Lauren's memory gaps become alarming to her. As police start eyeing her as a suspect, she urgently looks into the case on her own to discover the truth behind everything she saw that day and what really happened to Bo Laugh

Release Date - September 2015 Betsy Snyder Chronicle Kids Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth I Can Play and I Can Dance are two new releases from Betsy Snyder. These board books have holes where parents and their children can put their fingers to act out the action taking place on the pages. Whether they're dancing the ballet, showing off their disco moves, kicking a soccer ball, or running a race, little fingers keep moving with each page. Illustrations are bright and colorful, definitely something kids and their parents will appreciate. The story itself is enjoyable with easy phrases for beginning readers and not too many words that children will become bored before the story ends. Purchased separately or as a set, these books are ideal for children who are nearing the age where they are ready to read.

Release Date - August 2015 Nina Laden Chronicle Kids Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Small and very sturdy, Peek-a Boo! is the latest toddler/board book by Nina Laden. The narrative is very short and ideal for the target age group - preschoolers. Plus, it's perfectly timed for the arrival of Halloween that's just a few weeks away. Ghosts, bubbling cauldrons, jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treaters, and more take place in this book. Each page begins with the words "peek-a" and then embraces what is behind the cut out, all while celebrating autumn's and Halloween's typical decor. Celebrate the season with this gem that's perfect for the child who is just about ready to start reading.