Book Review: The Frog In The Tree

Katie June 19, 2015 0 Comments

The Frog In The Tree is about an outcast frog who has been living in a tree.  He thought that others would pick on him because he was different so he instead chose to stay in the tree.  The tree tells him that he should go off and see all there is to see, but he doesn’t want to.  Then he meets a bird who wants to see where he is from and learn about love.  He saved the bird and realizes he is a hero and that he should be at home where he belongs.  When he gets home his family is so happy to see him and they were missing him and loving him the whole time he was gone.  This book is written all in rhyme which is always impressive!

A cute children’s book with some fun illustrations and a great lesson on how your family loves you no matter how different you may think you are!

I received an e-copy in exchange for this honest review.

About the Book

Reminiscent of The Wind in the Willows, The Frog in the Tree is a journey of discovery for both a frog and a baby crow who help each other overcome their fears and doubts. It is a tale of friendship and bravery and finally a family’s love at the end.

Beautifully illustrated, the lilting storyline will carry the reader from beginning to end in a joyous melody of sight and sound.

Book Review: Ollie the Orca

Katie June 19, 2015 0 Comments

Ollie The Orca is about a dolphin named Bubba who finds Ollie stuck in a net. They call on Sammy the Seagull to help free Ollie.  The lesson of the book is to always bring a buddy if you are going on an adventure!

This is a great children’s book with beautiful illustrations. I love dolphins and orcas so I particularly enjoyed this one 🙂

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

About the Book

Grade 1-2 Reading Level

Bubba is out on one of his undersea adventures when he finds a frightened Orca trapped by a fishing net! In this attention gripping yet comical tale, Bubba works with his buddy Sammy the Seagull to free Ollie. Come along and join Bubba the Bottlenose dolphin as he makes a new buddy while sharing a day they won’t soon forget.

Book Review: Go Down Hard

Katie June 19, 2015 0 Comments

Go Down Hard is about Nob Brown an ex-cop who is now a writer trying to make ends meet and pay spousal support to his ex-wife so he doesn’t lose his house. With the 20 year anniversary of Lana Strain, a popular musician who was murdered and the case never solved, coming up, Nob’s best friend Gloria gives him the files to the case and tells him to have them back to her in a week. Nob pitches a story to Playboy and is told they’ll give him $3,000 if he writes it without figuring out who the killer was and $20,000 if he can figure out who the killer was.

Nob is on the case and ends up meeting Lana’s daughter Ginger and asking her about the case and is then introduced to Ginger and her sister Sophia’s father Billy. As Nob begins to try and unravel the story to who kills Lana, things get tense. Ginger ends up dead – a murder that seems to be set up to look like a suicide. Suspects seem to be coming out of the woodwork and things are getting more and more dangerous. Will Nob end up figuring out who did it before they get him too?

I am sure that my synopsis of this book doesn’t do it justice. It is a long book, 77 chapters, and it took me about 4 days to read, but I didn’t really want to put it down (but I HAD to). There are a lot of characters but it’s not too hard to follow along to see who is good and who is bad (most of the time) and you can’t help but root for Nob to solve this murder – not only because he’s getting close to figuring it out but also because he seems like a good guy and he needs the payout!

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

About the book
Nob Brown is a divorced, disillusioned thirty-something ex-cop turned bottom-feeding tabloid writer. His best friend and occasional lover, Gloria Lopes, is an LAPD detective who needs an Excel spreadsheet to chart her sex life. When Gloria slips Nob the confidential file on the unsolved twenty-year-old murder of a legendary rock-and-roll goddess, Nob hopes to solve the crime and propel himself out of the tabloids and into a lucrative book deal. But he pokes into the wrong holes and unearths rotting secrets that give rise to fresh corpses. As the cold case comes to a fast boil, Nob is forced to battle for his own survival.

Book Review: The Doctor Is In

Katie June 19, 2015 0 Comments

The Doctor Is In is an autobiography by Dr. Ruth, most well known for being a sex therapist, but many probably don’t know about the rest of her life. I know I didn’t. This book tells her story on love, life and joie de vivre (translation: joy of life).  The book begins with her family being taken away to concentration camps during the Holocaust, where they ended up being killed.  Ruth (who at that point was known as Karola) ended up taking a bus with many other children to an orphanage.  When she got a bit older, she was trained as a sniper and was actually quite good at it – she mentioned that her skill impressed her grandson when they go to fairs because although those games are often supposed to be rigged, she excels at them and can win lots of prizes!

She ended up getting a job at Planned Parenthood and thought it was crazy that they talked about sex all day.  Little did she know that would end up guiding her career!  This is a biography on Ruth’s life not a self-help book.   It is great reading about Ruth’s life – all 4 foot 7 of her!  The book ends with some questions from the audience.

Certainly a fascinating and interesting read and it’s nice to read about how she still tries to live a life filled with joi de vivre despite all that she has been put up against in her life.

I received a free e-copy in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

America’s best-loved therapist, Dr. Ruth, is known for her wise counsel on all matter of the heart. Here she shares private stories from her past and her present and her insights into living life to the fullest, at any age.

Everyone knows Dr. Ruth as the most famous and trusted sex therapist, but few people know she narrowly escaped death from the Holocaust, was raised in an orphanage in Switzerland, or that she was a sniper during Israel’s War of Independence. After years spent as a student in Paris, Dr. Ruth came to America dreaming of a new life though never expecting the dramatic turns that would take place. And at the age of eighty-seven, she is as spirited as ever.

Through intimate and funny stories, Dr. Ruth sheds light on how she’s learned to live a life filled with joie de vivre. And she shows readers how they too can learn to deal with tragedy and loss, challenges and success, all while nourishing an intellectual and emotional spark, and, above all, having fun! Hilarious, inspiring, and profound, The Doctor Is In will change the way you think about life and love, in all their limitless possibilities.