This remains the original manuscript, penned in 1883 by Carlo Lorezzizi ( aka C.Collodi), which inspired the 1940 animated Disney masterpiece. Delightfully written with rich details of Italian provincial life, this book significantly differs from its whimsical cinematic counterpart in both tone and characterizations; however, youngsters of all ages will surely enjoy this simple tale of a mischievous wooden marionette whose growing appreciation of his father Gepetto's love, transforms him into his real-life son. *For those parents who cherish bed-time storytelling for their children, a word of caution is advised; some chapters are graphic in both violence and dark imagery, and literary discretion is necessary for the very young sleepy set toddlers.*

I completed my first manga as part of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. And, I have to say, I enjoyed it! There were a lot of Japanese cultural concepts that were unfamiliar to me, but the footnotes and endnotes helped a lot. I didn't realize manga were read back to front either, so that was a little hard to get used to but was routine by the end of the book. I'm not sure I'll continue with manga, but I'm glad the challenge exposed me to something different! It was nice that the characters were single women with passions that society deemed unusual.

Great, unique world building. Plot with some interesting twists. Sometimes the plot moved slowly, but then the end went too quickly. Seemed like parts could have been cut out.

The Twisted Ones takes the horror up a level. It’s intense, creepy, and full of nightmare fuel. The animatronics are scarier, horrific, the mystery is deeper, and Charlotte’s past won’t let her go. It’s fast, freaky, and had me hooked from start to finish.

I love Alice Oseman's other series, Heart stopper, so I thought it would be interesting to read another one of her books, a novel, this time. The novel is also in the POV of a character in Heart stopper, Tori, so I wanted to learn more about her life. Even though she is Charlie's sister, we don't learn a lot about her in Heart stopper. This book was pretty good and fun to read.

I don't normally read lighthearted, true crime type thrillers, but this book was exactly the fodder I needed to get me engrossed in a story during a time of loss. Many of the criticisms I read in other reviews talked about how the story was predictable, but this is what I liked about it. I don't do well with suspense, so reading a Jane Eyre reimagination (one of my favorite books) was good, predictable comfort reading.

This book was well-written. I enjoyed the characters and the stories. And, I enjoyed learning more about Palestinian-Americans. My one criticism is more about personal preference - this book read like a collection of short stories, with each chapter penned from the perspective of a different character. The stories didn't connect together all that well - sometimes, we'd see some of the same characters show up in multiple stories; other times, a major character from one story would show up as a minor character in another. I prefer a more congruent narrative. Some of the stories were more interesting than others or cut off right where there was potential to get more interesting. It was also a little confusing to follow the threads given the number of characters and the different timelines involved. I understand this format is a stylistic preference, but it's not my favorite. Still, there was a lot to appreciate here, and I would look forward to reading more from this debut author.

This book was a surprise for me, not quite what I expected. Revolves mostly around 4 women, very different backgrounds, yet they bonded and became friends. You get to know each woman and their families, and how woman's rights, or lack of them, affected each family. I got some insight into things that happened in my lifetime, but that did not affect me directly. I recommend this book for all women and men who like to read and have an open mind. Thumbs up to this author.

Children's Book Book 2 of Kingdom Keeps Cool story of the animatronics in Disney World coming alive after dark. Part 2 in a series based on Animal Kingdom. Evil villians try to take over the park.

This is the second book of the Ruinous Trilogy. If follows Lachlan and Lark's story. I couldn't understand all the glitter obsessions' from Lark.. but hey, to each its own. Brynne Weaver writes in a modern, funny, sweet yet steamy way that will have you asking for more (and there is more!).