Julia Mills

First sentence: I am stuck. I can't seem to get unstuck. Stuck? Try wiggling your feet.

Premise/plot: Turtle, our protagonist, is stuck. In this picture book, many, many animals come by and see Turtle in his stuck-ness. Each offers advice on how to get unstuck. Advice that tends to be specific to their species, and not particularly generally useful advice to help him. But one animal is different. And that difference makes all the difference in the world...

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I love Turtle and Possum. I really love the direction this one took. The illustrations were SO cute and adorable. The story isn't necessarily cute and adorable. Though it could be seen that way, I suppose. I think this one could "hit" readers differently. For some it might be cute. For others it might be funny. For others it may be all too relatable.… (more)

Saw at the Carle. Love, love, love the design and concept of this book. Turtle is stuck, and several other animals come by to offer their advice that works for them when they are stuck ("Try wiggling your feet," says Duck), but it doesn't work for Turtle. Finally, when Turtle retreats into their shell, Possum comes along, and is the first to ask a question: "Does it hurt?" Turtle answers that it doesn't hurt, "But I feel scared, frustrated, and alone." Possum replies, "You don't have to be alone," and they lie there together, even through a rainstorm. Then something funny causes them to laugh so hard that Turtle gets unstuck, at which point Possum throws confetti (stashed in their pouch all along?), and the two wander off as friends.

Back matter includes advice for when you are feeling stuck: Use your senses, Talk about it, Take a deep breath.

See also: The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld… (more)

Her Dragon To Slay was a fantastical, romance novel all about dragons.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! Be warned.

I found this book free on Amazon, so I figured - why not? I loved Katie MacAlister's dragon series, and I wanted to fill my shelf with a few more books about dragons, so this seemed like the perfect fit! And, indeed it was! This book was fun, delightful and full of ooey, gooey romance.

It's definitely your "typical" fantasy romance - they fall in love fast, there's some really hot sex scenes and there's some fantasy and action mixed in as well.

Julia Mills does a great job weaving the dragon half of the story with the romance side. I loved the mythology Julia created for this world, and I would like to see more of it in the future. It can seem a little cheesey if you're expecting an Oscar worthy styled novel, but to me it was fun and entertaining. It kept me interested to the point I devoured it in one sitting.

There are also many funny and comedic moments mixed in. This is not a serious fantasy novel, it's lighthearted and fun.

So, you may be asking at this point - what's the cons?
1. Character development is low (but it's a book that's less than 200 pages and involves a lot more romance involved)
2. Repetitive. Yeah, this book is a little repetitive. If you're just reading it for a fun ride, it's cool. It didn't bug me because I wanted an escape from reality, but to some people this might be a major no-no.
3. Potential rape?... Rayne gets a little to sexual with a sleeping Kyndel, and we're not to sure if she actually "wanted" it despite her body behaving... But later she's madly in love with him in about two seconds, so it could be warranted? I don't even know. That part left me feeling really icky reading it. It just didn't seem right.
4. Male oriented story. This one kind of bugged me, and looking at other reviewers it bugged them too. The woman exists for the man in this story, and it definitely fills some fantasies for some people but in today's culture it doesn't sit perfectly. This can be a con or a pro, depending on how you want to look at the story.

Overall, this book was delightful. It had me whisked away to another world and not worrying about reality. It'd be a great book to read if you love romance, dragons or a sexy read.

Three out of five stars.… (more)