Book Review: Katie and The Cupcake Cure by Coco Simon

At First Sight: Katie wasn't the type of girl to worry about the beginning of middle school... until it happened and her best friend semi-dumped her at the bus stop on the first day of classes. And, as the day wore on, Katie felt more queasy as things began to go wrong: her friend kept ignoring her, her locker would never open, she was always late for class, etc.

The First day of Middle school would have been a complete flop if not for Mia, Alexis and Emma, the girls Katie meets at the bus and during lunch. The girls are impressed with Katie's cupcake - a treat her mom sent her, since they are both cupcake enthusiasts - and so Katie promises to bring them a special cupcake the next time she and her mom make some.

From there they form The Cupcake Club as they become fast friends and help each other navigate middle school.

Second Glance: Katie and The Cupcake Cure is an adorable book, and it launches The Cupcake Diaries series - each one of the girls will get her own book, later this year - and I loved it. 

As a narrator, Katie was very easy to relate to, she was very down to earth and normal, and she just happened to love cupcakes. She got along with her mom and wanted to be a good friend. The other girls had distinct personalities and it was easy to like them too.

I always love a good book that portrays realistic friendship and this book definitely does that. As I said, Alexis, Katie, Emma and Mia are very different but also very accepting of each other, and rather than frown at their differences they rely in each others strengths - even when making cupcakes!

Also, it has a super cute design and chapter titles.

Bottom Line: Katie and the Cupcake Cure - coming out on May 3rd - is a sweet first book in what I'm sure will be a sweet series, I can't wait to read the sequel - Mia in the Mix - and spend more time with these girls. Definitely a sweet book for tween girls, that will leave you craving some cupcake goodness.

Favorite Quote: "My locker is an evil robot in disguise, sent here to Earth to prevent me from finishing middle school. 

Or maybe it's from the future; I'm not sure."

"It's my mom, mostly," I admitted. "She's cupcake crazy."

Mia laughed. "My mom is shopping crazy."

"You're lucky," Said Alexis. "My mom is cleaning crazy."

Emma shrugged. "My mom says me and my brothers make her crazy."

Cover Variations

Book Review: Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath

At First Sight: After spending 5 years in jail for a murder he didn't commit, Austin Leigh is finally a free man, intent on going home, cleaning his name and marrying his sweetheart, who promised to wait for him, and move on with his life. 

But once he gets home, he realizes that everything has changed: his brothers extended their families, his sweetheart Becky married his best friend Cameron, and it seems like there is nothing for him in Leighton.

So Austin decides to find the real killer and clean his name, and he decides to follow his only, tenuous lead to the city of Austin. Along the way he meets Loree Grant, who welcomes him into her home and helps him to get back on his feet after he falls ill.

Loree is the sweetest person Austin has ever known, and she has her own troubled past - the rest of her family was murdered little over five years ago - but she's kind and she doesn't look at him like hes a killer, so he lingers more than he should; and one night, when loneliness gets the best of them, things go a little too far; and eventually Austin and Loree marry, completely unaware that their pasts are more tangled than what anyone would expect. 

Back at his brother's ranch, Austin is determined to make a good life with Loree and their unborn baby, settling on a new 'normal' and finding his place back into his family.

Second Glance: Texas Splendor is the last book of the Leigh Brothers Trilogy and I have to say that this was the one that made me cry the most. I think it was mostly Loree because the poor girl just can't catch a break. Other than that, I really liked the story of Austin and Loree, how they like each other and slowly grow to realize they are in love.

Loree really thinks the best of Austin in the time where he needs it the most, and she's the one who starts to give him back his dreams - and his gift for music which he thought had died while he was in jail. They have their problems but they work things out. 

There is a plot twist - which I actually figured out half way through the book - which requires you to believe in a huge coincidence, but I didn't mind it much.

Bottom Line:A lovely read, and a great conclusion to the series. I really liked where everyone ended up in the story and I highly recommend both the book and the series.

Favorite Quote: “Think there's any chance Romeo and Juliet is a story about a boy and his dog?” Rawley asked.
      Loree fought back her smile. “No, it's a love story.”
      “A boy could love his dog,” he said hopefully.
      Loree's smile broke free. “In this story, he loves a woman.”
      Rawley grimaced. “They ain't gonna do any kissing, are they?”
      “Don't you like kissing?”
      “Ain't never tried it, but can't see where it'd be much fun. From what I can tell, looks to me like the two people are just swapping spit. I'd rather swap marbles.”

1/2

Mini-Review: The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres by Marie LeToureau

The Deal: Chef Marcel runs the best mice bistro in Paris along with his seven sons, and every year they win the Best Cheese soup in Paris award. 

But this year, the judge is coming and he doesn't have his secret ingredient! So he leaves his sons to prepare the base of the soup while he goes to find it. 

As the boys scramble, their sister Petite Michelle saves the day when the judge arrives suddenly.

My Thoughts: The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres is a really cute story for young children - the type of book a parent reads to their toddler or for someone who's just learning to read.

It's short (around 50 pages, mostly illustrations) and it has lovely illustrations and a sort of Ratatouille magic feel to it.

I loved how is the girl who saves the day. 

Lovely book for very young children, not what I usually review but it was cute all the same.

Book Gossip 27 - Best News EVER!!!

Okay, so I'm completely obsessed with the Bard Academy books. I love them, I rave about it, I rage against MTV books for pulling the plug on the most awesome series ever - or I used to.

Just today, Cara Lockwood announced that there will be a fourth (YAY!) and likely last (AW!) Bard Academy book, called A Tale of Two Proms. In her blog she says that:

It's Miranda's senior year and she's about to graduate. But leaving Bard means leaving Heathcliff, possibly forever. Will Miranda find a way to keep Heathcliff in this world? Or will the sudden appearance of his old flame, Catherine, change everything?

I know I'm a fan girl, but it sounds wonderful to me. And it's sort of fateful since I'm spotlighting the first book in the series, Wuthering High for Retro Friday this week.

Anyway, I'm so happy at these news, and I know I'm not the only one.

Book Review: Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

US Cover

At First Sight: Kat Stephenson's family is in a fix. Her older brother Charles has gambled the family into ruin, her father is rarely concerned with much other than his studies, her stepmother is always scowling at Kat's improper behaivor, and her older sisters Elissa and Angeline are keeping secrets from her. 

But Kat is good at digging out secrets, and she soon discovers Elissa and Angeline's. First, Elissa is planning on sacrificing herself for the family and marrying an older, by all accounts nasty man called Sir Neville. And second, Angeline is dabbling with their mother's legacy: Magic. 

Mr. Stephenson's first wife - the girls and Charles' mother - was a notorious witch who caused many scandals in her life, but there was a lot more to her than that. She was not only a witch but also a Guardian - a member of an Order of Magic Workers, more powerful than ordinary witches, who work to keep evil witches from hurting innocent people. 

And, while Angeline might inherited the witch-powers, it's Kat who became the heir to the guardian legacy, which is currently landing her in all sorts of mishaps. 

UK Title and Cover

Throw in a house party, some besotted suitors, an evil witch, and a lot of improper behavior, and Kat is knee deep in trouble.

Second Glance: Kat, Incorrigible is a sweet story about Magic and Sisterhood. I loved the Stephenson sisters, and I think Stephanie Burgis did a great job portraying their bond - how they got on each other's nerves, how different they were, and how much they loved one another. 

The story is set in 1803, and I loved the period and the descriptions, and just the over all feel of time that I got. I could feel Kat's annoyance with proper behavior and how she sometimes felt a little left out -as all baby sisters feel, I think, at some point or another - without ever questioning that her sisters loved her.

This is a story that grabbed me from the first page and it only took me a chapter  to know I was going to love it, it was just love at first sight for me and Kat.

Bottom Line: A great story about sisters and magic, with a dash of romance and an adventurous young narrator. I can't wait to read the second book in the series -Renegade Magic - which will be published in the UK in August 2011.

Favorite Quote: "I couldn't hide the books from Angeline, or keep her from finding out that I'd looked at them. But I had something better than secrecy now. 

I had the perfect opportunity for blackmail."

1/2 

Full Cover of Kat, Incorrigible. Isn't it Lovely? From left to right: Angeline, Elissa and Kat