A Bookworm's Book Reviews

We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat – Syou Ishida

This is book 2 in the Cat Prescription series. Book 1 is We’ll Prescribe You a Cat

Title: We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

Author: Syou Ishida

Translator: E. Madison Shimoda

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Short Stories

Plot: Return to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Join three more people on their journeys with the cats that are prescribed to them by the doctor and nurse at the clinic. Each person has issues going on in their lives. They’re given a cat, sometimes two or three, to help them. They say they’re not ready for a cat, or already have a cat. Sooner or later they realize that the cat is there to help them with the things going on in their lives. Each person learns about what is really important to them thanks to the cats. Some find purpose in finding cats their forever home. Others helping a lost cat. But will everything work out for the better? Or will the people realize things are at an end? Will they be able to help the cats in need?

Rating: 4.0 – a cute collection of short stories about the importance of animal and human relationships

Opinion: This was another set of cute stories. I really enjoyed seeing how cats can help people feel better. Sometimes all it can take is a pet to change someone’s outlook on life. I liked how the people in this one were more connected to each other. There were stories of friends and family in this one. They helped each other figure out what was going on with their cats. A new cat owner got help finding the right food and litter for her cats. The cats were able to help families reunite and couples start over and communicate better. The banter between the nurse and doctor at the clinic got me laughing again. I liked the messages in the stories a little more in this one. Though some were sad, there was still a hopeful ending in the short stories. One of them made me tear up a little with what the cat and owner went through. It made me sadder because my cat was snuggling with me while I was reading it. I wish there’d been more stories in this book. I liked seeing more of the Japanese culture in this book. I always love seeing how important family, friends, and pets are in different cultures. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a quick, lighthearted book for all pet lovers.

11/22/63 – Stephen King

Title: 11/22/63

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Historical Fiction, Science Fiction

Plot: Jake Epping is a high school English teacher who teaches GED classes on the side. After one of his oldest GED students passes all the required courses, Jake takes him to a local restaurant. The owner, Al asks Jake to return in the morning. He has a surprise for Jake. Al tells Jake about a tunnel that takes people to the summer of 1958 in the alley outside his restaurant. Against his better judgment, Jake goes through the tunnel. He’s amazed that at the same city almost fifty years before. When Jake returns, he and Al talk about Al’s plans to save JFK. Al really wants Jake to take over his plans. Reluctantly Jake agrees, so long as he can help his former GED student in the past. Al agrees and Jake returns to the summer of 1958. There Jake assumes the identity of George Amberson. He goes through the next six years, to save his former GED student and find a way to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and save JFK. But things are not as simple as they seem. There are things that can change in the present because of Jake’s actions in the past. There are people he can meet that will change his life forever. But what things in the present day will change? Will the people he meets stop or help him along the way? Is it even possible to stop the JFK assassination?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting take on time travel and the butterfly effect

Opinion: I’d heard good things about this book. A couple other people I know have read this book and liked it. The first half of this book was interesting. Then it started getting slow and seemed to drag on forever. There wasn’t a ton of action and seemed to focus more on the day to day of the characters than anything actually happening. Though it helped me understand Jake’s actions at the end of the book, I really didn’t care. I feel like some parts could’ve been cut out and I still would’ve seen how connected the characters became and how close Jake became intertwined with the cities he stayed in and friends he made along the way. I did admire Stephen King’s attention to detail with the historical facts and life in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Part of me wished he would’ve explored more with the alternative future after Jake changed the past. It would’ve been more satisfying for me if he’d been in the alternate future for a little bit longer and realized it through experience rather than the quick summery of what was changed at the end of the book. The mechanics of time travel in the book are interesting. I liked that things reset to the original timeline every time you time travel through the entrance. You would’ve had to redo everything every time. While only two minutes passed in present day, no matter how long you spent in the past. That made me hope there’d be more resets throughout the book. But nope, Jake only took a few shots at it in the beginning. Which is one of the reasons it felt so long and drawn out. I felt like it would’ve been better as a series instead of one giant 850 page book. Bonus little fun fact, this book connects to Stephen King’s book IT. This was a good book, but a slow book. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s got lot of time to plow through this historical fiction book.

The Phantom Stallion Series – Terri Farley

Title: The Phantom Stallion Series

Author: Terri Farley

Genre: Kid’s Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction

Plot: Join Samantha after she returns home to her family’s Nevada ranch after a bad horse riding accident. She learns to navigate ranch life while trying to protect her former mustang, Blackie. Samantha’s upset after she learns Blackie escaped back into the wild. Then she see that he’s in charge of his own herd. Her new mission is to protect her horse and his herd. During the series, she runs across other bands of horses, friends in trouble, rich ranchers who think they know better, and helping find good places for good horses. Samantha also learns lessons in friendship, family, and doing what’s right.

Rating: 4.0 – a great series for young horse loving girls

Opinion: I grew up reading this series. I think I found the first book or two in my school’s library and was bound and determined to find the rest. It was perfect for my horse obsession when I was younger. I still love horses today, but as horses are ridiculously expensive, I can enjoy them from afar. I do remember that the series had some good life lessons in them. The series also taught me about good old fashioned ranch life. I still remember that the books make a distinction between the average ranching family versus the rich family trying their hand at ranching. I also remember the series talked about Samantha’s family Buick and wondering why it was so important to distinguish it as a Buick, versus the non ranching car. I think this series that I remembered that talked about the local Native American people outside of a historical fiction setting. From I remember, the few Native people that are in the book are talked about respectfully and some of their traditions are included in the book. I had wished the author had wrapped up the series sooner. It started getting repetitive towards the end. But everything was wrapped up nicely and everyone got a happy ending. Overall, I do remember loving the series. I highly recommend this series for any horse loving young reader.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife – Anna Johnston

Title: The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

Author: Anna Johnston

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: 82 year old Frederick Fife is down on his luck. He’s been lonely since his wife, Dawn, passed away. Now he’s short of funds for his apartment. His landlord gave him until the end of the day to move out. Frederick decides to take a walk through the local park. There he sees a group of old folks from the senior care facility. A man in a wheelchair is away from the group as they’re heading back. Frederick tries to help the man to his group. After some mishaps, Frederick is mistaken for the other man, called Bernard, and is taken back to the care facility. Frederick tries his hardest to protest that he’s not Bernard at first, but his protests fall on deaf ears. There Frederick finds a new sense of community and purpose. He befriends fellow residentAlbert and Viv. He finds a ‘daughter’ in Hannah. And he helps the nurses in unexpected ways. But the truth has a funny way of coming to light. Will Frederick be able to make peace with his past and present? Can he help others find some peace, too? Or will the truth cause everything to come crashing down around him?

Rating: 4.0 – a sweet story about second chances and found family

Opinion: This was a very sweet book. The side stories confused me for a moment but I figured they connected to Frederick’s story. It gave a great back story to the characters and how they reacted to Frederick pretending to be Bernard. Some of the things that happened to Frederick along the way were pretty hilarious. It made me happy that through all of the things that happened to Frederick along the way didn’t make him bitter, that he remind kind to everyone. I’m glad that Bernard and Hannah were able to find peace and forgiveness despite all of the bad things that happened to them. It was so heartwarming to see how Frederick was able to help so many people during his short stay at the senior care facility, even if some of those moments turned bittersweet. One or two chapters of the book had me worried that some of the characters would do something rash towards the end, but I’m glad it turned out differently. Despite all of the character’s tragic back stories are revealed, I’m glad they were all able to find their happy endings. It’s easy to see after reading this book how different actions we take can affect us later in life and how they affect others. As hard as it can be, some people in our lives do deserve forgiveness. It doesn’t have to be too late to ask for forgiveness. Though I know it’s not real life, I’m glad everyone in the book got their forgives and happy endings. I wish some of the characters had stuck around longer to see more, but they got their endings and left in peace. A funny thing is that after I realized the book takes place in Australia, I tried to read the dialog in an Aussie accent, but decided to read it normally. Overall, I really liked this book. It’s a great story about forgiveness and finding peace. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves found families books.

Tears of the Wolf – Elisabeth Wheatley

Title: Tears of the Wolf

Author: Elisabeth Wheatley

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Plot: Sorceress Brynn has asked for a divorce from her husband, Paega, after the death of her child. Divorce is rare in Hylden, but King Aeglar grants it. He also has another man, for he to marry, alderman (leader) Cenric of the northern territories, unbeknownst to Brynn’s mother, Selene, and high ranking Sorceress of the Istovari group they’re a part of. Cenric and Brynn are wed before the king and other nobles. They leave the next morning for Cenric’s home. Both have had past hurts and guard themselves closely so they’re uncertain of each other at first. Brynn learns how to take charge of the household and Cenric has disputes to settle. Over time, they start to trust each other. But they learn of others in the kingdom trying to worm their way into power, will their marriage last? Or will someone find a way to break them? Will the local thanes trust a sorceress? Can Brynn help Cenric keep his title as alderman? Or will everything come crumbling down around them?

Rating: 4.5 – an interesting type of fantasy romance

Opinion: I’d seen some humorous videos the author posted about book related things this past fall. I finally thought I’d give her books a try. I wasn’t disappointed. Though the book was slow to start, it was still a good read. There was a point where I was wondering if there was ever going to be a plot, because the book was focused more on the characters than moving plot forward. While the book focuses more on the character development, it did a great job setting things up for future books in the series. It gave a good sense of what the characters had gone through before the series started so we could focus on what was going to come next. It’s clear the author thought beyond the first book with her character development. Everything was pretty spaced out throughout the book. There’s not a lot of info dumping. The one thing I’d like to know more about is the magic system in the book. I get that it’s based on energy of all living things. But how much it is required for spells? Can you overexert yourself? Is there a limit of how much energy you can use? Maybe the author will explain the magic system more in later books. I did find it a little funny that some of the characters remind me of the Bene Gerest (a cult of people pulling the strings from behind the fences) from the Dune books. Overall, I really liked this book. I’m really interested in where the author is taking the series. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a different style of magical fantasy romance.

Katabasis – R. F. Kuang

Title: Katabasis

Author: R. F. Kuang

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Plot: Professor Jacob Grimes is dead and it’s Alice Law’s fault. Now she’s going to hell to save him. Not before Peter Murdoch joins her. He says he wants to save Professor Grimes, too. Both are his students, studying different aspects of magick. Together they use their magick to travel to and through hell to find the Professor. As they travel, they see why their plan might not be the best idea. Alice and Peter meet shades how help and hinder them along their journey. Then they learn about the Krepkies. They hunt any living person who’s traveling through hell. Their beasts taunt the shades living in hell. And they now they’re hunting Peter and Alice. Can Peter and Alice find Professor Grimes? Or is finding the Professor really what they’re searching for? Will the shades stop their journey? Or will the Krepkies put an end to their journey?

Rating: 4.3 – an interesting tale of finding what you’re really searching for

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I really liked the idea that hell appeared different for all the people who’ve journeyed through it. I thought it fitting that Alice and Peter had to suffer through university and that the shades were writing dissertations and thesis papers. Even in hell, they couldn’t escape graduate student life. That really does seem like hell in real life. The plot of the book was different than what I’ve been reading lately. It starts with the tragedy and as the characters travel through hell, you learn why they’re doing what they’re doing. The beginning of the book starts with them going to hell, too. While I don’t usually read a ton of journey books, the author does a good job with pacing and keeping the flow going. It kept me interested in the book and the characters. I liked the character growth in the books. They learn and grow from their travels. There’s even some side characters who learn a thing or two from the main characters. I found their changes of heart about their original intentions changed slowly throughout their journey. There was a lot of growth for the characters. There was a lot of ‘is this really what I want?’ moments. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s a great story about finding what you really want out of life. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a fantasy journey.

The Shadow Key – Susan Stokes-Chapman

Title: The Shadow Key

Author: Susan Stokes-Chapman

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Dr. Henry Talbot has recently been dismissed from his position at his London hospital. After months of job searching, he takes a position at Plas Helyg, an English owned mansion in the Welsh countryside. Lord Julian Tresilian is the owner and Henry’s employer. Henry’s job is to care for Lord Julian’s ailing aunt, Gwen, his cousin, Linette, and the Welsh tenants that live on the property. Linette is Gwen’s daughter and has grown up at Plas Helyg. She’s come to know to local Welsh people. She helps serve as Henry’s guide and translator for the Welsh townsfolk. The local people are distrustful of Henry and few are outright hostile. But strange things have been happening as soon as Henry arrived. He was shot at by an unknown person on his way to the mansion. The guest house had been ransacked. Henry finds a strange bottle with unknown contents. Henry takes it upon himself to investigate. His findings lead him deep into the mansion’s past. Then he learns of shady dealings at the mines Lord Julian owns. It adds to Henry’s suspicions that his employer has some unsavory connections. But what does Lord Julian truly want? What is real going on at Plas Helyg? Can Henry find out what’s really going on? Or will whomever’s behind the attacks get the best of everyone?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting historical fiction mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the history of the book. It felt well researched and accurate. The distrust of the local Welsh people made sense if you know even a little bit of Welsh history. There’s lots of local legends and myths that were blended into the book. Part of me was glad some of the mythology in the book wasn’t explained. It left a nice little bit of magic in the book. The over part of me wanted to know more because they glanced over it during the end monologues. That’s one of the things that bugged me. The characters that ended up being the ‘bad guys’ had big monologues and long explanations. It didn’t really fit the story for me. It didn’t fell like the right time or place. I’m all for explanations and reasoning but it felt a little too dramatic for me. There was a bit too many plot twists for me that didn’t have a ton of lead up but gave the characters good motivations. It was still good ‘oh that’s why that it’s like that’ moments. Those things still kind of made it a little too dramatic for me.A fun tidbit is that there’s a little Welsh pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book. But, overall I really did enjoy this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction mysteries.

Book of Temeraire 2 & 3 – Naomi Novik

Book 1 is His Majesty’s Dragon

Title: Book 2 – Throne of Jade, Book 3 – Black Powder War

Author: Naomi Novik

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Plot: Book 2 – John Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, have been summoned to China to return Temeraire to the Chinese royal family. On their journey, they encounter troubles with the French and sea dragons. There’s also some strange occurrences during their travels. Most of the crew brush it off. Once they arrive, someone in the royal family wants to see Laurence and Temeraire separated. It grows less subtle. The pair also learn how different life is for dragons in China than in Europe. Temeraire starts to enjoy his life in China. Laurence still has his suspicions and shares them with Temeraire. But who is really behind the subtle attacks on Laurence and Temeraire? Will they succeed? Or will Laurence stop them before they can do too much harm?

Book 3 – John Laurence and Temeraire have decided to return to England. They want to show Europe that there are other ways to care for dragons. Temeraire is eager to make changes. Laurence is a little more realistic. They receive orders to stop in Turkey to acquire new dragon eggs. But complications soon arise. There are mysterious disappearances of people and money. Officials say the makes their agreement null and void. After asking around, the crew find the missing money and the fate of people. Then they make their great escape and nab a couple eggs. The crew stop in Prussia. The Prussians told Laurence they were expecting help from the British and Laurence will have to do. Then Napoleon’s forces appear and they engage them in battle. Will Laurence and Temeraire’s help be enough? Or will Napoleon’s forces overwhelm them?

Rating: 4.0 – a slow and steady historical fantasy

Opinion: This was a great continuation of an interesting historical fantasy series. There was lots of details in the history of the time period. There were parts in the third book that made realize that Napoleon got super lucky with some of the battles. He was also great at overwhelming his enemies and catching them unprepared. There’s also great details in the different types of dragons. Each country has different breeds of dragons. Each dragon breed has different abilities and tasks. I liked that the author had different ways people and dragons work together in different countries. I liked that the dragons in China had a wider variety of tasks in China than in Europe. I thought Temeriare and Laurence’s plan to bring change to England and Europe after their trip to China was a fun addition. Though, I do applaud the author for keeping that plan realistic. The pace of the stories was a little slow for me. There’s a lot of description to the places the crew visit and creatures they see. The story tends to focus more on the characters in some areas than moving the plot along. The third book also had a lot of mini stories within main story. Though I am glad that one part of the third story came back in the end of that book. The second book had a more straightforward plot. I appreciated that a little more than a bunch of little stories. Overall, I did enjoy this continuation of the series. It was a nice change to the higher action stories I’ve been reading. I recommend this to anyone who loves well planned, historical fantasy series.

Nibbles the Book Monster – Emma Yarlet

Title: Nibbles the Book Monster

Author/Illustrator: Emma Yarlet

Genre: Kids Book, Picture Book

Plot: Nibbles is a cute little monster. Then he escapes his cage and eats his way through the book. Follow Nibbles through the book and try to catch him before he escapes the pages.

Rating: 4.5 – a cute and funny kids book

Opinion: This was a cute book. One of the kids I work with brought it to school and we read it to the class. The kids loved it. They thought Nibbles was hilarious. They wanted the teachers to read it again and again. I thought it was clever how the book has ‘torn’ and ‘eaten’ pages throughout. There were clues and tracks for the kids to find, too. The kids liked finding where Nibbles was hiding or where he’d escaped on every page. As an added bonus, there’s four other Nibbles books for you and your kids to read. I highly recommend this book for your kids. It’ll make them laugh every time.

Good Spirits – B.K. Borison

Title: Good Spirits

Author: B.K. Borison

Genre: Romance

Plot: Harriet York is being haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. His name is Nolan Callahan. He needs to help Harriet find the error of her ways before Christmas. It should be another easy assignment for Nolan. Except Harriet seems to be the opposite of the people Nolan usually helps. She’s kind and caring and full of Christmas spirit. So Harriet and Nolan find a way to work together and find out why they were paired together. Nolan takes Harriet to the past to see why Harriet was chosen to be haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. And the more time they spend together, the more they learn they might be connected. Since they’re working together, the more they help each other become better people. They quickly become more than just friends. But can Nolan and Harriet figure out why they’re connected? Or will their time run out?

Rating: 4.0 – a different take on A Christmas Carol

Opinion: This was a super cute book. I really liked this take on A Christmas Carol. It was a fun idea to make the Ghost of Past, Present, and Future a job of sorts for people who’ve passed away. I liked that the author included the other ghost jobs, like a grim reaper, and management levels of ghost jobs as well. That was a clever touch. I’d love to learn about other ghost jobs and how they work in another book. I liked that Harriet wasn’t the normal ‘Scrooge’ like character. But her and Nolan still tried to work together to find out why they got paired together. I also liked that Nolan helped remind her of her true value beyond her family’s expectations and values. And that Harriet helped Nolan find his purpose and meaning again. The two of them worked hard to help each other and work together to make each other better. I found it interesting that they knew their relationship wouldn’t work out but tried it out anyway. Though I found the relationship revelation in the book was kind of anticlimactic for me. There was this big hidden thing that kind of fizzled into nothing. I wished there’d a little more to it. I also thought that one or two of Nolan’s things with his boss were a little distracting to the plot and weren’t necessary for the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this sweet story. I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs another PG-13 Hallmark Christmas story.