Review: A Coin for the Ferryman (audiobook), by Megan Edwards (Narrated by Mark Ashby)

 

Title: A Coin for the Ferryman

Author: Megan Edwards

Narrated by: Mark Ashby

Format: audiobook

Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "In 1999, an elite interdisciplinary team headed by Nobel laureate Andrew Danicek gathered in California to carry out a ground-breaking time-travel experiment. While the rest of the world remained unaware, Julius Caesar was successfully transported from the last day of his life to a specially-constructed covert facility. Four days of conversation with historians and Latin scholars were planned, followed by Caesar’s return to the moment from which he was extracted. But despite the team’s meticulous efforts to maintain secrecy and plan for all possible exigencies, a kidnap attempt plunges Caesar into peril. Fully aware that the future of civilization may hang in the balance, one team member must summon strength she didn’t know she possessed to return Caesar to the Ides of March.

The shocking details of Caesar's visit and its effect on subsequent events have been protected by draconian nondisclosure agreements....until now."

My Opinion: I love books about time travel and books about Julius Caesar and ancient Rome, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this book, and boy was I right! First off, the narrator did an excellent job with the voices and tone of the different characters. It was easy to switch back and forth between them without being yanked from the story, which is a pet peeve of mine. 

As for the story, and I never thought I'd say this, but there was just a bit too much back story for me. Not enough to dislike the book, but enough that I felt sort of bogged down by it. But the characters were written well, so this wasn't a huge problem. The setting was well described and the pacing was good. I absolutely loved Julius Caesar in all of his arrogance because you just have to figure that if you ever met him, that's exactly how he would be! Nice twist at the end, too, although I'll leave it at that.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and can definitely recommend it, especially the audiobook version.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: A Color Game for Chester Raccoon (The Kissing Hand Series), by Audrey Penn

 

Title: A Color Game for Chester Raccoon (The Kissing Hand Series)

Author: Audrey Penn

Format: e-book

Source: NetGalley

"Chester’s Favorite Game provides an activity that will entertain young children anywhere -- finding things in many colors: White, blue, yellow, red, orange, brown, and black."

As the mother of 5 myself, I can certainly attest to the fact that kids get bored very, very quickly, so rather than just playing I Spy, this book would have provided a very nice distraction with the colorful illustrations and the rhyming text. In fact, I haven't met a Chester Raccoon book yet that I wouldn't want to own!

Highly recommend for all parents and grandparents of little ones:

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Horrificata Book 1: School's Dead Boring, by D.I. Russell

 

Title: Horrificata Book 1: School's Dead Boring

Author: D.I. Russell

Format: e-book

Source: NetGalley

My Opinion: "Desmond Kingsley loves football and HATES school – especially science.

So when he’s trapped in detention with outcasts Dee, Craven, Todd and complete lunatic Blob, while someone unleashes chemicals at the school, turning almost everyone into mindless shambling corpses…or worse, he’ll have more than his grades to worry about!"

I love horror stories so when I had the chance to read one with my teenager, I was excited to see if he would love it as much as I did - and I wasn't disappointed! He loved it! He's not a huge reader, so the fact that he read the entire book quickly told me everything I needed to know about it. Of course, I read it myself so we could discuss it (gotta throw some educational conversation in there!), and we actually liked all the same parts. I thought the characters were great and the story was a lot of fun. There was just enough "gross" in there to keep it interesting, and there were some great twists regarding how the zombies came to be and who was behind it. 

This book is recommended for the 12 to 18 age group and I agree with that recommendation. It has enough humor thrown in with the gore to keep that age group interested. Anything that gets kids reading is a good thing, and I think this book fits that bill.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.