Mama Bear Reviews

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres, so I jumped at the chance to read The Midnight Queen . This is the first book in the Noctis Magicae trilogy by Sylvia Izzo Hunter . The story centers around a student at Merlin College named Gray that is sent on a mission by his professor that goes horribly wrong. Gray is forced to go home with his mentor for the summer to his house where he resides with his three daughters. Even though women are not allowed to study magic, the professor's middle child Sophie has been practicing. Together Sophie and Gray unravel a mystery surrounding Sophie's family and a horrible plot against the king. I really wanted to enjoy this book. The premise was really promising and the characters or a few of them at least were pretty interesting. I loved the humor that was added by the youngest sister Joanna and the mystery that surrounded Mrs. Wallis. I also enjoyed that there was a bit of love story included with all of the magic. I also really enjoyed the tim

I just finished Mr. Right-Swipe by Ricki Schultz. This was another book that I was lucky to receive from a giveaway on Goodreads . I love the giveaways on Goodreads because I often find books that I would not have tried otherwise. This is great because I am always discovering new authors and trying out genres that might be out of my comfort zone. Mr. Right-Swipe is about a divorced woman in her thirties who is forced by her friends to try and find a love match using a dating app. She has many hilarious dates and misadventures throughout the novel. She also faces challenges in the relationships of her two best friends who are both at different states of coupledom. This is a fun quick read. The synopsis on the back of the book says that it is for fans of the movies Bridesmaids and Trainwreck. I think this book really fits in well with that description. If you are looking for a fun, goofy, light hearted read then you will want to give Mr. Right-Swipe a try.

I consider myself a pretty creative person. I love photography and am always in the middle of some sort of project. I however have not spent much time on drawing and painting in the last few years. I do really have a love for both and Manga Art: Inspirations and Techniques From an Expert Illustrator by Mark Crilley helped me to remember that fact. This book is packed full of beautiful images. Beside each of the images is a paragraph about why the author has created the image and what medium was used in its creation. Some of the pages also have a little box with a heading that says "your turn" and gives a creative suggestion for the reader to create their own art. Both of my boys, who each have a love for anime, loved this book. They spent the afternoon looking through the pictures and reading about different techniques. They both pulled out paper and started to try their own sketches. I felt inspired by this book as well and can't wait to try some of the techniques.

I received a notice from Goodreads that I had won an advanced copy of The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst. This book is the second in the Queens of Renthia series. The synopsis sounded really interesting so I dove right into the first book, The Queen of Blood. I love the world that Sarah Beth Durst has created. I also love that these stories read like young adult novels even though they are categorized as adult fantasy. In the world of Renthia, there are spirits that control the land and have a lust for killing humans. This is why a queen is needed to keep the spirits in line. The queen has the power to stop all of the spirits in her land from harming anyone and being able to put them to use doing things such as creating new houses and libraries. The first book, The Queen of Blood, primarily follows Daleina first as a child and through her challenges to become an heir to the queen. Daleina struggles with her power throughout the story and only really begins to hone that power

I love travel shows. I especially love when the host visits different restaurants and talks about the amazing food that a place has to offer. I received an amazing book that does just that. Road Food by Jane & Michael Stern lists restaurants from all across the United States. The book is broken up in sections by the different areas of the country and the states that are within those regions. Within the state listings the restaurants are listed with basic information such as which meals they serve and how expensive the meal may be. The authors have also listed which restaurants are loved by the locals and stay open late. With each restaurant listing is a little information about the history of the restaurant and the food that they are known for making. I was very excited to find a restaurant listed from a small town near where I grew up. That however was the only restaurant that I have visited out of the entire book so I am excited to use this as a guide for future trips. If y

I just finished reading White Fur by Jardine Libaire. I honestly started reading this book without reading the synopsis on the back and first thought that this story was going to be a thriller. I was so wrong! This book was a wonderful love story. White Fur is set in the 1980's. I always love books from this time period because I feel that characters stand a better chance of really getting to know each other without the complication that is technology. Elise and Jamey come from very different walks of life. They are both fascinated with each other from the beginning and have to decide how devoted they are to each other and what they are willing to give up. To me, this felt like a very real love story. This was not sugar coated. There are real fears, challenges and a wide range of emotions. White Fur just came out this week so this is the perfect time to go out and pick up a copy! I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.