L-L-L-Little Reviews #49: April 2023

Here are the books I read and/or finished this past month that were not part of scheduled tours or requests from authors/publishers.

One For All by Lillie Lainoff

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff
Narrator: Mara Wilson
Published by RB Media on March 8, 2022
Genres: YA Historical Fiction, YA Retelling
Length: 08:45
Source: the publisher
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
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8 Hours, 45 Minutes
A smart, OwnVoices historical adventure and gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness secretly trains as a Musketeer and discovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.
Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her dizziness makes her just “a sick girl," but she wants to be a fencer like her father, a former Musketeer. Then Papa is mysteriously murdered, and as his dying wish, he sends Tania to finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées is so much more. It’s a training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but who seduce men into giving up secrets—and don’t shy away from swordfights. Tania finally feels like she's found her sisters, a place where she belongs. But when she's torn between duty and dizzying emotion, she must decide where her loyalties lie . . . or risk losing everything. This is a whirlwind debut about found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the power of self-love.

My Review:

This was a fun historical retelling with a reimagining, or extra storyline added to the musketeers of history. It made me dig into some French history comparing what time period this was based on what I knew from other stories. So that is a positive. The audio was a neat way to read/listen to this story for sure, because the narrator did do a great French accent and pronounced the French words very well. However at times the accent/pronunciation did get me confused as I listened because sometimes the words sounded close and if I’d been reading the print book I wouldn’t have been confused. It was mostly having to do with the names of people. The narrator did also leave big pauses between parts of a conversation, but then no pause at all often at where I know there had to have been a space or something in the book to represent a new section/scene beginning. Otherwise it was a great story! I received a hardback copy from the publisher to read for the library book award committee I’m on, but I ended up fitting in the audio version from my public library in the end.

The Dachshund Wears Prada (Paws in the City #1) by Stefanie London

The Dachshund Wears Prada by Stefanie London
Series: Paws in the City #1
Published by HQN on May 3, 2022
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
My Rating:
Goodreads
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How do you start over when the biggest mistake of your life has more than one million views?
Forget diamonds—the internet is forever. Social media consultant Isla Thompson learned that lesson the hard way when she went viral for all the wrong reasons. A month later, Isla is still having nightmares about the moment she ruined a young starlet’s career and made herself the most unemployable influencer in Manhattan. But she doesn’t have the luxury of hiding until she’s no longer Instagram poison. Not when her fourteen-year-old sister, Dani, needs Isla to keep a roof over their heads. So, she takes the first job she can get: caring for Camilla, a glossy-maned, foul-tempered hellhound.
After a week of ferrying Camilla from playdates to pet psychics, Isla starts to suspect that the dachshund’s bark is worse than her bite—just like her owner, Theo Garrison. Isla has spent her career working to make people likable and here’s Theo—happy to hide behind his reputation as a brutish recluse. But Theo isn’t a brute—he’s sweet and funny, and Isla should not see him as anything but the man who signs her paychecks. Because loving Theo would mean retreating to his world of secluded luxury, and Isla needs to show Dani that no matter the risk, dreams are always worth chasing.

My Review:

So, I was really excited for this one, I mean, there’s a dachshund on the cover and in the title! And while the story was good, it wasn’t one that grabbed me and made it so I couldn’t put the book down. I do really prefer first person when I’m reading romance, especially when we do kind of get both characters’ sides of the story. Overall it was a good enough read, but I don’t know that I will go on with the series.

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
Narrator: Tom Felton
Published by Grand Central Publishing on October 18, 2022
Genres: Biography
Length: 06:36
Source: Purchased, the library
Format: Audiobook
My Rating:
Goodreads
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They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage door, having 'a breath of fresh air', as we referred to it. There would be painters and plasterers and chippies and sparks, and among them all would be me and Dumbledore having a crafty cigarette.

From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton's adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time. He tells all about his big break, what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished.

Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.

My Review:

So, I bought the hardcover of this when it came out. But as always, my review schedule kept me from getting to it right away. Then I realized that Tom Felton was the author and that he was going to read his own biography and knew that was going to be the best way to read/listen to it. And it was. So I borrowed it from the library’s digital audiobooks. I was on a long waiting list, because everyone of course wanted to read/listen to it. I enjoyed hearing about his pretty normal upbringing. Of course all the Harry Potter world talk was so fun to hear as well. He had a word he mentioned that was meaning falling asleep as soon as he got in a car: carcoleptic, and that totally describes how I used to be when riding with my family just about any trip over an hour long. So many things to go back and watch for in the movies now as well after listening to this. A lot of things I never thought about, how really there wasn’t any scandal around any of the actors for these movies like there always seems to be around any kids’ movies. Also his struggles at the end were good to read about as well. And of course I was left remembering the time I got to meet him at a local Comicon, and so I have to share that picture here!

Never Vacation With Your Ex by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on April 4, 2023
Genres: YA Sports Romance
Pages: 336
Source: the publisher
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads
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Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she'll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, there’s only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him.
Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: she’s going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kaylee’s got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kaylee’s family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison… and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones.
With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing what’s expected and taking a (second) chance on love.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall meets Crazy Stupid Love in a YA second chance romance from fan-favorite author couple #Wibbroka!

My Review:

I won a copy of this through the Bookish First website, but then it didn’t get to me until after the pub date, so I didn’t get the review done as a separate post, especially since my life kind of went to heck the first couple weeks of April. But in the end I ended up enjoying it just as much as I’d hoped I would! I’ve wanted to read something by these authors for a while, but this was the first chance I got. And I am sure that I will be reading more in the future. I liked how both characters had their own take on what the deal was going to be, she thought she’d teach him how to get over her, and he thought he would convince her they should be together. The family dynamic between the two families was really great as well. Another great book I can’t wait to share with my students!

The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison

The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison
Published by Inkyard Press on July 13, 2021
Genres: YA Contemporary Romance
Pages: 405
Source: the library
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads
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He’s never met a rule he didn’t break… She’s followed the rules her whole life… When they meet, one golden rule is established: stay away. Sparks fly in this edgy own voices novel, perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon, S. K. Ali, and Kristina Forest.
They were supposed to ignore each other and respect that fine line between them…
Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He’s done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks…and maybe more.
Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her “perfect” relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can’t ignore her feelings anymore.
The disapproval is instant. Being together might just get Guillermo sent away. But when it comes to the heart, sometimes you have to break the rules and be a little bit reckless…

My Review:

This is one of the nominees for the Gateway Award for the 23-24 school year. I had to read it in order to present about it at the Missouri Association of School Librarians spring conference, which I then didn’t get to go to because of my parents’ health issues popping up right when I was supposed to go. However it was a really good book, and I look forward to sharing it with my students. I liked how the characters had to realize what they needed to do for themselves. I liked that Guillermo didn’t immediately just become perfect right away. How he got into a bit of an altercation at one point, but was able to figure out when it really mattered, how to keep himself from going that way. I liked how Regan finally was able to tell her family what she wanted. I liked her storyline and how she didn’t let the pressure get to her. A really great book and definitely one deserving to be on the award list next school year!