Maxwell by Jeremy C. Gredone #spotlight #childrensbooks #kidlit

 

Children's Book

Date Published: October 5, 2021

Publisher: Mascot Books

Maxwell is a unique children's book that celebrates the power of imagination and dreams. It’s a story about transcendence, and the extraordinary blossoming out of the ordinary. It is about the timeless and ever-expanding bond between parent and child, and the priceless lessons of love they hold for each other. While Maxwell is primarily created for children, parents will be delighted at the extras designed with them in mind. Truly something for all ages to enjoy!

- 40-page children’s book with vibrant and layered illustrations that will encourage many a reading to discover all the hidden magic within.

- Children will become part of this interactive story themselves as they are invited to take part in the “imaginative process,” creating new roles and adventures for “The Amazing Maxwell!”

- Includes a separately bound 28-page “True Story of Maxwell + Time Capsule” attached in back pocket of the book–Read the true story of Maxwell (a wild spider) as the author experienced it AND take part in your very own “Time Capsule” between you and your children–the making of a keepsake that can be handed down for generations!

Purchase Link

Amazon

 

Yaley by L. Vincent #review #ChildrensBook #multicultural

 

Children's Book

Date Published: December 22, 2020

Publisher: Lulu.com

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

Everyone in the village is scared of the deadly elephants that roam nearby. Everyone except for Yaley. So, when King Norman takes her brother along with all the other men in the village as prisoners, Yaley sets out with the elephants and the women of the village to get them back. But how can a small girl triumph against an empire?

A tale of courage, bravery, and the power of love.

MY REVIEW:

Yaley is a book about strength and determination. The book shows that if one's mind is on a specific goal that you can achieve it, if you believe you can. Yaley, the main character of the book, is such a girl. She becomes a leader that a whole village needs. I loved that "love" was the answer for everything! I admired her courage even in the face of diversity. Something we should all attest to.

One thing that bugged me was the written sentences went back and forth from black and white. That is distracting. However, the illustrations in this book were fantastic. I love that cover! I felt like I had stepped back in some of the villages you might have seen in a copy of National Geographic. The colors were brown tones, green tones, and some yellows and blues. Even though the colors were muted, they stood vibrant and engaged me, the reader, more into the story.

I would recommend this book for children who have a good grasp at reading or for story time. The book's overall message is spot on! 

4 1/2 stars! Get those sentences fixed and this would pop up to 5 stars!

Disclosure: I received this book in digital form from the author. This review is 100% my own opinions and may differ from yours. ~Michelle

Purchase Link

Amazon

 

A Pony Named Winds of Springs by LoisPoster #ChildrensBook #Spotlight

Children's Book

Date Published: December 17, 2020

In the follow up to her debut children's book Mom, I Want a Pony, Lois Poster continues to follow Jennifer and Windy through the exciting ups and downs of the training process. Perfect for children and parents alike, A Pony Named Winds of Spring is an entertaining and educational tale of a young girl and the pony she loves.

Purchase Link

Amazon

 

The Mayor's Race and No Halo Required by Travis Casey #giveaway #bookseries #thriller

 

Carolina Callings Book 2

Cory Logan retired from boxing after winning millions of dollars, but he never won a world title. When he dies, all he'll have is a headstone that no one will visit. To live in infamy, he wants a sports facility named after him. The only thing that stands in his way is the mayor of Hilton Head, who insists it be named after an African American.

Yvette Tyson is frustrated since she divorced her cheating husband. She struggles with her new life, embarrassed by her past and unable to gain the respect she once had. Does she really have to spend the rest of her life working the graveyard shift at the supermarket?

When Cory runs into Yvette, their past lives converge. It soon becomes clear that Yvette winning the mayor's office would benefit both of them.

It's a simple case of Black and White.

Goodreads * Amazon

Carolina Callings Book 1

Isaiah Hightower has everything a forty-nine-year-old man could want: respect as a high school principal; admiration as a leader in the black community; and a wife who would do anything for him. Despite his shining public image, Isaiah's life is plagued with indiscretions. When these threaten to unravel his world, he silences the threat by any means necessary. When his wife, Yvette, witnesses her husband's greatest sin, her life is about to change forever. But it doesn't have to. One lie will protect her lifestyle and save her husband's reputation.

Travis was brought up in Midwest America before embarking on a nine year Navy career that allowed him to travel the world and learn about life. He has ping-ponged across oceans moving from mainland United States to Hawaii, to Scotland, to Seattle, to England, to Minnesota, back to England, and back to Minnesota where he currently resides ... for now

He writes easy-reading, light-hearted fiction and true stories about his own experiences that even the best fiction writer couldn't make up. Relax by the beach or curl up on the couch on a rainy day while Travis takes you on fun-filled adventures that let you forget about life for a while and have a laugh.

Website 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Prince of Summer by Miriam Newman #giveaway #spotlight #bookseries #HistoricalFantasy

 

The Chronicles of Alcinia Book 5

Genre: Historical Fantasy Romance 

Jossa of Havacia is an outcast--disinherited. But can a man born to be a warrior ever be anything less? From the snow-bound country of his birth to its island fortress and the mystical kingdom of Alcinia, Jossa’s destiny pursues him like the hand of fate in The Prince of Summer.

Add to Goodreads

Get the rest of the series here!

Amazon

Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. You can see my books at www.miriamnewman.com.

Website

$20 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tripp Unleashed by Darren Simon #MiddleGrade #Fantasy

 

Tripp Unleashed 

Tripp Taylor is a teenager trying to hide his genetic disorder and live a normal life, but that’s hard to do when the smallest morsel of food and the tiniest sip of liquid bring about a change in him—a metamorphosis he cannot control, making him a danger to himself and those around him. At least that’s what he’s been told by his father and the doctor who has devoted his life to finding a cure.

By day, Tripp plays by their rules. By night, Tripp journeys through the city from one convenience store to the next to taste real food (frozen burritos are his favorite). Then comes the night when he chooses the wrong convenience store, for on that night an armed robber enters the store and threatens everyone’s life. From that first transformation come others, and soon Tripp finds himself on a collision course with destiny as a madman pushes him to use his powers, a government that fears him tries to control him, and dark secrets lead him down a dangerous path—one that could make him a hero or twist him into a monster. And that all depends on whether he survives, and the odds aren’t in his favor.

Add to Goodreads

Amazon * B&N 

Darren Simon, who is a longtime college English teacher and former newspaper journalist, is the author of five middle-grade/young adult fantasy, urban fantasy and historical fantasy books and two horror short stories published in anthologies. He writes for younger readers to inspire them as readers the way he was inspired as a youth first by the comic books he read, then the Choose Your Own Adventure books, and then the fantasy and science fiction novels that became so important to him—and still are. He lives in California’s desert Southwest with his family, including his wife, two sons and two crazy dogs.

Website

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bleeder by Christi J. Whitney #giveaway #spotlight #YAFantasy #YA

 

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy 

What happens when lightning strikes?

Seventeen-year-old Selene Windell doesn’t remember. But ghosts of her accident haunt her – fragments of memories, deep-rooted fears, and a freakish electrical curse she can’t shake.

Can one lightning strike change everything?

Phoebus, a trained soldier from the dimension of Threshold, knows something threatens his homeland. In one flash of light, a girl from the Otherside sees his face, and he has to act – not only to protect the secrecy of his world, but also to protect himself.

Selene wants answers, and the mysterious new boy in town has them. Phoebus has a duty, and the strange Othersider girl stands in his way.

But will they be able to navigate their dark pasts and unrelenting connection before sinister creatures infiltrate Threshold and destroy far more than Selene’s small coastal town?

Goodreads * Amazon

Christi J. Whitney is a former high school theatre director with a weakness for sci-fi/fantasy conventions and superhero films. She loves a hot cup of coffee, a plate of sushi, and a good book—though not necessarily in that order.

Christi is the author of the YA fantasy series The Romany Outcasts, which includes the novels Grey, Shadow, and Midnight (published with HarperCollinsUK). Christi lives outside of Atlanta with her husband and two sons. When not spending time with family or taking a ridiculous number of trips to Walt Disney World, Christi can be found directing plays for the theatre, making costumes for both stage and cosplay, geeking out over Doctor Who, defending the house of green and silver, and always pretending she’s a tad bit British.

Website 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sitting On Top of the World by Cheryl King #historicalfiction #YA #spotlight

 

Fourteen-year-old June Baker never in a million years thought she’d be dressing like a boy, sneaking into a hobo camp, and jumping onto a moving freight train to travel across the state of Tennessee. But that’s what she has to do to find work so her family’s farm can survive.

It’s 1933, and the Great Depression is spreading misery throughout America. Where once June was sitting on top of the world, now she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Once she was picking fruit from the pawpaw trees, and now she’s picking up the pieces of a family torn apart. Once she was climbing and falling from trees, and now she’s jumping from moving trains.

June knows the risks. What she doesn’t know is that the railroad bull she’s falling for has a devastating secret that will change the course of her life.

Journey with June in Sitting on Top of the World, a historical fiction tale about family, friendship, love, loss, and hope.
Sitting on Top of the World bridges the gap between middle grade and young adult and is a book that middle school and high school teachers can be proud to include in their classroom library or in reading instruction.

Content warning: Some instances of physical violence, death, mention of suicide, mention of miscarriage, and characters encounter racial bigotry.

Goodreads * Amazon

Cheryl King is a born-and-raised Texan, Harry Potter fanatic, chocolate lover, and word nerd. By day she is a dyslexia therapist, but at night – look out: She enjoys writing flash- and micro-fiction for writing contests like NYCMidnight and has two of her short writing pieces accepted for publication. This is her first published novel.

Website 

Kayla Walsh Trilogy by Karen Randau #giveaway #spotlight

 

Nowhere To Hide

Kayla Walsh Trilogy Book 1

by Karen Randau

Genre: Mystery, Suspense 

A young woman embarks on a dangerous journey to bring a killer to justice.

Kayla is newly-engaged and excited to break the news to her parents during a visit for winter break before her final semester at Princeton. As she enters her family’s living room, a home invader shatters her life forever, ruthlessly killing her parents and putting her in a coma.

Two years later, she still remembers nothing of the attack, just that she kissed her fiancé goodbye before opening her family’s front door. Her fiancé thinks she’s dead and has moved on.

A suspicious house fire convinces Kayla it’s time to dump her witness protection program to embark on a dangerous quest to bring the murderer to justice. She and her best friend Martin follow clues that take them from the mountains of Arizona to Washington, D.C., straight into the killer’s lair. Will Kayla succeed in her quest, or will she and Martin fall victim to the ruthless assassin who stole everything Kayla loved?

Nowhere to Hide is the explosive first book in the Kayla Walsh Mystery Suspense trilogy. This fast-paced read is one you won’t want to put down from beginning to end. If you like the suspense of Willow Rose and the plot twists of Kendra Elliot, you will love Karen Randau’s clever, nail-biting Kayla Walsh series.

Get Nowhere to Hide now to meet Kayla and her gang of quirky characters.

**On Sale for only .99 cents Jan 11-18!!**

Goodreads * Amazon

No One To Trust

Kayla Walsh Trilogy Book 2

She thought she could trust him. Until she became his prey.

Devastated when she learns why and how a brutal home invader murdered her parents, Kayla and her best friend Martin follow clues through Paris and into the French countryside — only to end up in the killer's lair.

After tracking a clue to a mysteriously familiar French rural town, Kayla and Martin fight an attacker who launches Martin from a speeding train. Kayla refuses to believe he's dead and in her grieving realizes that he's become much more than a friend to her. But she knows she'll be the next to die if she gets caught at the train station, so she runs. And she keeps running, at last finding refuge in a homeless community.

Her new friends help her escape, but when she follows yet another clue, she runs straight into the grips of men who have chased her down since she left her home in Arizona.

Can Kayla and Martin survive their misplaced trust, or will they become the next victims? And will their love survive with them?

No One to Trust is the bone-chilling Book 2 in the Kayla Walsh Mystery Suspense series. Buy it now to learn Kayla and Martin's fate.

Goodreads * Amazon

Nothing To Lose

Kayla Walsh Trilogy Book 3

He stalks her wherever she goes, but can she afford not to continue the search?

On the final leg of her journey to deliver justice to the home invader to killed her parents and put her in a coma, Kayla arrives in Australia under duress. She knows who killed her parents and why, and now she fears he'll get to her, her grandmother, and Martin before she's able to find the priceless gem he claims her parents stole. But she knows better.

What she finds in Australia cringes her, but will it gives her the evidence she needs to take down her stalker? It provides yet another clue that takes her back to the U.S.

But will she get there in time to save herself, her grandmother, and the man she loves?

To find out, buy this bone-chilling final installment, book 3 in the Kayla Walsh Mystery Suspense trilogy.

Goodreads * Amazon

Karen Randau authors fast-paced stories with intricate plots, lots of action, and a dash of romance, all told from the point of view of a female amateur sleuth. The Kayla Walsh Mystery-Suspense Trilogy is her third series featuring strong, independent women. Previous series include the three-book Frankie Shep series featuring a modern-day female rancher in Wyoming, and the Rim Country Mystery series, featuring a woman who loses her husband in a movie theater shooting on their thirtieth wedding anniversary. She lives in the mountains of Arizona with her multi-generational family.

Website 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway