Mama Bear Reviews

I finished reading Eleanor by Jason Gurley last night. I have been finding myself thinking about it all day. Honestly, when I closed the book after reading the final page I wasn't really sure what my thoughts were. I kind of still feel that way. I'm not saying that this was a bad book because it wasn't. Not at all. I enjoyed the story, it truly is well crafted. I also enjoyed the characters and how the novel ties the whole family together. The fantasy element of the book was so trippy though that I am sure I will still be thinking about this one for weeks. Eleanor is a story that crosses generations within the same family. It starts off with the story of Eleanor who is the grandmother of the main character. We then get a bit of the story about the mother, Agnes and then the story of Eleanor as a teenager. Eleanor has had very difficult life as has the rest of her family. One day she walks through a doorway and finds herself somewhere unfamiliar. She also finds that wh...

I received my March Bookish Box . This is always exciting for me because they have such awesome products every month. This month the theme was sidekicks. Here is a picture of all of my awesome loot: My favorite items out of the box are the Sherlock socks which I am actually wearing right now and the Java Jones candle. The socks are from Out of Print  and they are so comfy. While I love the socks, it would have been great to have something Watson themed to go with the theme of the box. The candle is from Cherry Pit Crafts  and smells amazing. This is based on Simon from the Mortal Instruments Series. I received some butterbeer bath salts from Cherry Pit Crafts last year and they smell amazing as well. They have a lot of really neat products that I am definitely putting on a wish list. The tote bag in the upper right of the picture is a quote from Marlee Tames of the Selection series. This box inspired me to read the series and I devoured it in a few days. I will share my ...

I follow all of my favorite author's on Facebook and just saw a post by Lynda Cohen Loigman  that The Two-Family House will be releasing in paperback format on March 21st and I wanted to share this with everyone because it is a wonderful story. The Two-Family House takes place starting in the 1940's in Brooklyn. The story revolves around the lives of two families that share a split house. The men are brother's and their wives become good friends while living in such close quarters and raising their families together. The dynamic of these relationships all change during a snowstorm when the women make a slightly crazy decision that changes their lives forever. The story shows how the lives of these women and their families are affected by that decision. This story has stuck with me since I read it over a year ago. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think. You can find out more about the author here .

Ok, so my last book was chosen as an error on my part. However, I am really glad that I mistakenly pushed it ahead on my reading list. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon is an amazing story. I thought that this was one of the inspirations for the Bookish Box that I will be receiving this week but it is actually part of next month's box that has a topic of diversity. I have to agree that this is a great pick for that topic. You can find out more about that Bookish Box here . This month's Bookish Box theme is actually sidekicks and I will post my unboxing later this week. The Sun is Also a Star was a beautiful story about fate. It also tackled the topic of diversity and immigration. Charlie and Natasha meet on the day that her and her family are being forced out of the country because they are undocumented. It seems that fate has meant for Charlie and Natasha to find each other this day and change each other's lives as well as those of some of the people they meet. The ...

I want to share a book that I just finished reading. The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life that Matters by Emily Esfahani Smith. Honestly, when I received this book I wasn't sure that I would like it. I was however hooked after just a couple of pages. This isn't a self-help book that is trying to beat a message into the readers brain. It is instead filled with stories of the author's travels and observations as well as studies and historical information. For the most part, this book is separated in sections by what the author calls the four pillars of meaning. These pillars are belonging, purpose, storytelling and transcendence. Each of these pillars has its own chapter with stories of individual's and how they fulfilled these areas in their own way. For example, the section on purpose has a story about a zoo keeper that spends 80% of her day cleaning up after animals. The zoo keeper has however found her purpose in working with animals and believes that part of takin...

I loved the duology that is made up of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. You can find a synopsis of these books and where to purchase them here . I had previously read the Grisha trilogy and love that these two stories stay in the same world. A few of the characters even make an appearance in the Crooked Kingdom. The pace that the author achieves in the second half of the Grisha trilogy carries on through both of these books. I also loved that the viewpoints change between multiple members of the main crew. Oh, and check out the beautiful coloring on the edges of the pages. The story starts with Kaz and a few of his closest confidants and members of his gang going on an adventure to break into the ice court and retrieve a person that has been taken hostage. It is an impossible task but his group is up for anything. Through both books, the plot and deceptions grow bigger and more complicated. The character development is also really great for all of the friends. I...

I have two boys that love to read just as much as I do so I can't believe that I have made it this long without reviewing any children's books. I recently fell in love with Usborne books. I saw a booth at an event and decided to have a party. My boys have loved all of the books we ordered from the party but the favorites have been the Lift-The-Flap, See Inside and the Shine-A-Light books. These are so much fun! I also love that you can go to their main webpage here  and search for a local consultant. I am not going to personally push a consultant but I recommend that you find one locally that you can support. You might even want to think about having your own party because they have some terrific benefits. There are a lot of great videos on YouTube to explore as well so you can really get a feel of how the books work and what is inside of them prior to ordering. Here is a fun video on the Shine-A-Light books. The big winner with my boys has been the See Inside Your ...

A few weeks ago I reviewed the third book in the Heartbreaker Bay Series by Jill Shalvis here . It wasn't until I started reading that book that I realized I had somehow missed the second in the series. I just finished The Trouble With Mistletoe. I am so excited that this is going to be made into a movie ! I knew that this was going to be a movie going in to reading it so that changed my perspective on it a bit. I found myself mentally reviewing how it would play out on screen. You know what? I think this will be an awesome Christmas movie next year! As I was reading through the story of Willa and Keane, I could see the whole thing playing out very well in a movie. Jill Shalvis does a great job of adding humor to her stories and she especially exceeds at this when there are animals in the book. The main character, Willa, is a pet shop owner so there is no shortage of furry antics. Another great story by Jill Shalvis .

I was inspired by the February Bookish Box to read A List Of Cages by Robin Roe. There is an option to receive a book with the box and this was the book that was chosen for the month of February. While I did not receive a book with my box, the title was included with everything else that I received. I have not cried this much over a book in a long time. It is so heartbreaking. I think this story fit very well with the theme of friendship. Julian lost his parents when he was 8 or 9 and was put into foster care with Adam and his mother for 8 months. After that he was taken to a long lost uncle by marriage who was very abusive. Adam and Julian reconnect after Adam is asked by the school psychologist to hang out with him and find out why he is missing class. They end up building a beautiful friendship. Julian who does not feel worthy of anything finds a place among Adam's group. I feel like there were still a lot of loose ends at the ending but it ends on a hopeful note. The story end...

I posted last week  that I had started the Grisha Trilogy. I just finished the last two books, Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising both by Leigh Bardugo .  I have to admit that I was about ready to give up during the first half of Siege and Storm. The book just started to feel very similar to other books I had read such as the hunger games. I will say that Alina is a much stronger character than Katniss and the story did pick up speed halfway through and the last book was fantastic. I think the difficulty with the second book was that the characters really had to be put to the test as happens with every great struggle. Relationships had to be broken down and true intentions had to be evaluated. With Ruin and Rising, I really loved all of the strength that all of the characters showed. I also love all of the friendships that came about through all of the hardships. This story had a lovely ending as well and I cannot wait to jump into Six of Crows which is set in the same u...