Tag: Books

Book Review: The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop

On By cherylmahoneyIn Juvenile, Reviews2 Comments

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders is a middle grade novel about magical chocolate—but it reminded me more of cotton candy, light and fluffy and insubstantial,

When Oz and Lily, eleven-year-old twins, and their family move into an abandoned chocolate factory, Lily is delighted to meet Demerara, a magical cat. Demerara tells them about the history of the chocolate factory, founded by three brothers who combined chocolate and magic. One of the brothers, by virtue of an immortality chocolate, is still alive and intent on stealing secrets his brothers left behind, to sell to a terrorist group. Demerara also happens to be a secret agent for the MI6, the British secret service, and needs Oz, Lily and their neighbor Caydon to use their latent magical ability to help on a secret mission.

This really is a cotton candy book, fun and entertaining with no real substance or depth. I don’t think it would have wide appeal for adults, but I can easily imagine middle grade readers loving it. Continue reading “Book Review: The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop” →

Imaginary Illustrations #1

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News3 Comments

“What is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?'”
– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

My books have lots and lots of conversations–but no pictures.  I’ve been thinking about more ways to share bits and pieces of my novels on my blog, so this is the first post of what I plan to be a series: sharing a quote, with a picture that captures the spirit of the words…or that just seemed like fun!  Think of them as the illustrations the book might have had.

This first one comes from The Wanderers, and from Jasper’s firm belief that a wandering adventurer needs rules to survive–so he has a numbered list.

Good Fairies

Quotable C. S. Lewis

On By cherylmahoneyIn Quotable3 Comments

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
― C.S. Lewis

Book Review: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews2 Comments

I seem to have fallen into a habit of listening to British audiobooks (it’s the accent, I admit it!) and my most recent was no exception: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie, which besides giving me a nice accent to listen to, played into my general goal to “read” more of Dame Agatha.

This is a Hercule Poirot mystery, narrated by his friend Captain Hastings. The two encounter Miss Nick Barkley, owner of End House and recent survivor of several strange accidents. Poirot puts the pieces together, convinces Nick that someone is trying to kill her, and sets to work to prevent the murder, investigating all the people around Nick.

This is, I think, Christie in the classical style, with a big cast of suspects, frequent misdirection and re-direction, a final confrontation scene bringing all the suspects together and, of course, a final twist that I must admit I didn’t see coming. I’m going to have to try this one again one day, and watch how the clues fit together now that I know the ending! Continue reading “Book Review: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie” →

7 Deadly Sins (of Reading) Meme

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations6 Comments

I saw this meme pop up on my friend Lynn’s blog recently, and thought it would be a fun one to take for a spin!

GREED – What is your most inexpensive book?

That’s hard, because I regularly go to the Library Warehouse Sale to buy books for 50 cents…  Here’s one, not actually the most inexpensive but the most jaw-dropping “it’s really that cheap?” purchase: A Window in Thrums by J. M. Barrie, 1897 edition, with the lovely handwritten inscription “For Grandmother from Mary Eunice, December 25th 1898,” sold online for the ridiculously low price of…$2.62.  !!!

I kind of feel like Greed should really ask about my most expensive book…which is a massive, two-volume set on my favorite artist, William Bouguereau, one volume of which is almost entirely images of his gorgeous paintings…and it cost me $300.  It was a moment of madness in a museum gift shop–but I’m pretty sure this is THE definitive book on his work.  And I haven’t regretted it yet!

Now I just need to muster up the courage or madness to drop another $300 (or so) on a signed J. M. Barrie.  Signed L. M. Montgomery, sadly, is FAR out of my price range.

WRATH – What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Edgar Rice Burroughs comes to mind.  I love reading his books–I have over fifty of them!  But I sigh a lot about his pathetic heroines, a few of his books have some pretty appalling racism in them, and after reading a biography…yeah, I’m pretty sure Burroughs and I could not have been friends.

GLUTTONY – What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?

I Want to Go Home! by Gordon Korman.  I think by the time I was twelve, I had read it twelve times–and it stayed just as funny.

SLOTH – What book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

I neglected finishing Winston and Clementine, a collection of letters between Winston Churchill and his wife, for years.  And there’s no excuse, since I loved the first part that I read–then got distracted–and didn’t get back to it. But I finally got it read as part of my chunkster challenge last year.

PRIDE – What book do you talk most about to sound like an intellectual reader?

But I never name-drop books to sound intellectual… 😉  Actually, I really don’t, mostly because all my friends like fantasy and sci fi and we have too much shared reading experience to impress each other.  Although if I was going to name-drop, Les Miserables would probably be my best bet.

LUST – What attributes do you find attractive in male or female characters?

Give me a green-eyed book hero and I am lost.  Which is funny, because I don’t particularly look for that in actors or, you know, real life!  It’s strictly a book thing.  I also have kind of a thing for brooding heroes with hearts of gold (in books.  Ahem).

ENVY – What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

Yeah…I don’t know.  I have an Amazon wishlist, but nothing particularly jumps out as MORE desired than any other.  I’d actually really like the soundtrack of Once Upon a Forest, because I love the one song on the soundtrack that Michael Crawford sang but, um, I can’t quite bring myself to spend $25 for basically one song (well, three, I like two of the others…)  I’ll probably do it eventually, I’m just working up to it…but that’s not a book.  Though kind of on the subject, I’d be over the moon if someone gave me an autographed J. M. Barrie book!  And autographed L. M. Montgomery–I would be your best friend for life!

But I’ll feel friendly towards you too if you leave a comment with your answer to any of these questions! 🙂