The Cone Stories by Stuart Real

A clever and funny idea which made me smile from the onset. Absolutely loved how the ‘characters’ were portrayed and so believable! Great line, “…they (the cones) are naughty, in fact they are very naughty…”

A fun and delightful read.

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Certainly very knowledgeable about Role Playing Games, Nick Smith engages the reader at once with this fast paced particular genre. The graphics are excellent and the switch between narrator and character pick up the pace even more.

Clever – and I would say a delight for ‘gamers’ everywhere.

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A Sprinkling of Thought Dust by Steven and Margaret Larson

Nobody could ever be disappointed with the Larson books.

This one is full of wonderful descriptions, fabulous characters and packed with action. Its charm oozes fantasy and magic with lines such as, ‘Spilling thought dust on the wind’, and Electrum inhaled the Tween World night air as he flew behind Silverthorn’.

Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

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Awkward Places by SR Dupree

I could see at once that this account was a very personal and heartfelt journey. It is written in an easy to read style and embraces questions we all, at one time or another, ask: ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What is the meaning of life?’

SR Dupree sets out the explanation for these beliefs in an honest and direct way.

Thought provoking at the very least.

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And look at how the industry itself has changed! We’ve witnessed the Amazon Kindle grow and change (which was first released in November 2007, sold out in 5 hours, and was out of stock till April 2008), and B&N hopped on board the Ereader train with the release of their Nook Ereader just last year. Even I’m reading books for review on my own Kindle now.

What’s next, you might ask?  I’m not sure.  For us or for the industry.  I think Ebooks will continue to grow, but I don’t see the paperback book going away anytime soon.  It’s a lot like the never ending search for cancer.  Think of how many people, not just bookstores, that would lose their job if the physical book went away – publishers, agents, artists, marketing, sales, editors, and printers to name a few.  It could happen one day, but I don’t think that’s anytime soon. As for LLBR, we’re going to keep doing what we do best too.  Review books!

My personal goal this year was to spend less time on the soap box and more time reading and reviewing.  I’m actually growing tired of being a cheerleader for the industry, and I’ve been on the playing field of it since 2003.  I love it that our blog has been an outstanding and constant resource to new authors who are considering self-publishing.  But often at times, I feel like a broken record.

But the information is out there, not just here on LLBR, to help you succeed.  You just have to find it.  It’s what I did as an indie author myself.  I learned from my mistakes and got better and better at it as time went on. But the reward in the end was totally worth it – having someone read and review my books and provide feedback.  That meant more to me than anything!

After all, a book is a waste of time and paper (or e-ink) if no one reads it, right?  And that’s where I’m going to devote my energy going forward.  I can’t speak for my fellow reviewers here, but you can expect more reviews from me than anything else going forward.  That doesn’t necessarily mean the number of books I review will increase, but you can expect the books I review to be of the utmost quality when it comes to indie books.

This is the LL Book Review, and I want to concentrate on that “book review” part of our name.  We’ve reached almost 200 reviews in just 3 years.  Wow!  Here’s to the next 200 or to the next 3 years!

And thanks to all of you – our readers, reviewers, and authors – who have been a part of it!

-Shannon Yarbrough

LLBR Founder

Sometimes we want to just send out a quick message that may not be worthy of a full length post, or we don’t have time to develop it into a full post so status updates on Facebook seem like a good way to get the news out to our readers.

We’d also love to catch up with authors we’ve reviewed over the past 3 years, so send us a shout out or let us know how your book is doing.

Have other news to share with the indie community?  Post it on our Facebook page.

Questions and comments are welcome too.  Heck, send us your book event photos too.

It’s just another way we want to support the community and hope you’ll support us too!

As of October 1st, we are proud to announce that we are back open to accepting queries for book reviews.

To submit your book for a possible review, just click on Pick Me! at the very top of this page.  This is where you will write a short public query requesting a review and also give your book information. Also visit the Pick Me! page to see what genres we are not currently accepting.

We’ve got new reviewers joining us this Fall who are eager to see new self-publishing books in the industry!  All self-published books are welcome, no matter who you published with!

All of the pumpkins in Pumpkins Ville are disappearing and the pumpkin farmers are worried about not being able to support their families because unless they find the pumpkin thieves, they will have no crops for sale. Lilly overhears her father and is determined to do something to help him capture the pumpkin thieves. So, Lilly waits until her family has fallen asleep and then sneaks out of the house and goes down to the pond where the largest pumpkins are to wait for the pumpkin thieves. Her plan is to wait until they show up and then scream for her father to come and catch them.

Lilly began to feel very sleepy. Snuggling up next to the pumpkin, she had almost fallen asleep when, suddenly, the huge pumpkin began moving and shaking back and forth. Lilly looked around. No one was there, just she and the pumpkin. Shaking faster and faster, it started sinking into the ground! Lilly quickly grabbed the pumpkin stem and, as she did, the pumpkin started to fall into the earth. She held tightly; she was not going to let it go. Down they both went. Deeper and deeper into the Earth they fell. Faster and faster they both fell. Then, all of a sudden, they were slowly falling through a bright blue sky. They landed on a mound of hay, surrounded by tall grass, in a field. The sun shined above and the sky was a deep blue. Lilly looked around and saw two pumpkins that appeared to be running away from her. These pumpkins had legs, arms and faces! They were trying to get away.

Lilly had just fallen into Pumpkin Bunch Land, where the residents are pumpkins, and they live in houses that look like pumpkins, and they are the ones who are stealing Lilly’s father’s pumpkins. One of the pumpkin people, JayJay, who was trying to run away after Lilly fell through the sky, stops when Lilly asks him to and becomes her guide to Pumpkin Bunch Land. Lilly and JayJay set off to find the King of Pumpkin Bunch Land, but JayJay tells her they must hide from the Jaspers or there will be pumpkins to pay. The Jaspers turn out to be giant rats who have taken over Pumpkin Bunch Land and have enslaved the pumpkin people. If the people do not provide fresh pumpkins for the Jaspers on a daily basis, the Jaspers will eat them. When Lilly meets the King, she is hailed as Princess Lilly Pad of whom it was foretold that she would fall from the sky to save their kingdom.

The King sat in an enormous chair made of pumpkin and began to tell Lilly about how it was written that a princess would fall from the sky and save Pumpkin Bunch Land. He said to Lilly, “You must find the four-leaf clover, pluck it from the ground, and save it in your pocket. When you do this, you will have the powers of the Wizard. It is also written that you will be able to restore the kingdom back to the throne, but you cannot look the Wizard in the eyes. If you do, he will know what you are doing and take the magic from you. Lilly, you must overtake the Wizard without him knowing.”

Lilly chooses JayJay as her consort, and they go off in search of the four-leaf clover and the wizard so they can take back the King’s wand. Lilly and JayJay have to overcome many obstacles, including being attacked by Jaspers, in order to free the kingdom of Pumpkin Bunch Land.

I enjoyed the underlying tale of Pumpkin Bunch, however, found some of the writing a little repetitive. While some repetition is good in a children’s book, it is usually better in the learn to read books, and less necessary in the read-to-me books. Peter Tucker used the illustrative talents of MikeMotz.com, who was featured previously on the LL Book Review, and the illustrations help to move the tale along in a marvelous way. I enjoyed the illustrations so much, that I went to the website and checked out the options that were available. MikeMotz.com has a wealth of information available for self-publishing children’s book authors as well as several illustrative styles to choose from. To give you an additional glimpse of the illustrations in Pumpkin Bunch, below is the illustration for the chapter, Lilly Meets the Jaspers.

Pumpkin Bunch is a fast moving read-to-me tale with lots of adventure to delight a young listener.

Tilbee Toadlet’s Trip to Town

We first encountered the delightful writing of P.J. Cowan in March with the review of Michael O’Brien and the Magic Hat. I was pleased to be able to request another book from Ms. Cowan and asked for her selection. Tilbee Toadlet’s Trip to Town was the book she sent stating it is one of her personal favorites. I always enjoy a chance to read an author’s favorite work, and I certainly was not disappointed.

The title alone had me captured. Even the dedication at the beginning gives you a picture of the author as a warm and loving person.

For all parents and children who love small amphibians and protect the friendly creatures by making their yards and gardens a safe place for them to live and thrive.

Tilbee toadlet was captured as a tadpole by Finny Fain, and raised in an aquarium with his brothers and sisters in Finny’s room, until he grew legs. Every night Frances Fain, Finny Fain’s mother would come in and read bedtime stories to Finny. Tilbee loved hearing the stories and his greatest ambition was to be in a story himself. After hearing the story of the princess and the frog, Tilbee became determined that he would leave the Fain farm so that he could be in a story and maybe even turn into a prince one day. After all, he wasn’t much use as a toadlet.

Tilbee saw his chance when farmer Frank Fain was on his way into town and Tilbee hitched a ride on farmer Frank’s foot. Once in town, Tilbee is captured by Cameron Carter and given to his father, third grade teacher, Carl Carter and taken to school. Mr. Carter gave his class an assignment to write a story about a toad. Tilbee was thrilled. It was his dream come true. He was finally going to be in not only one story, but in many stories. He could hardly wait until school started the next day.

Things didn’t work out exactly as Tilbee had planned as none of the children knew his name and the stories weren’t even about him. And the stories didn’t change who he was. Tilbee realized that he had made a big mistake and wanted to go back home to the farm. Tilbee made it back to the farm and realized there were some lessons learned.

Maybe he did change. He learned that running away wasn’t very smart. He learned that toads can’t become princes. He learned the difference between a story and reality. He learned that the Fain family knew his name; and they really appreciated him. Tilbee Toadlet learned that being a toad isn’t such a bad thing and that he was useful after all.

I truly enjoy alliteration in children’s books which are meant to be read out loud. While I was reading, I could hear the voice of the author in my head reading it out loud. The illustrations come from MikeMotz.com and enhance this delightful story by bringing the words to life with colorful pictures depicting the action. I know that my soon-to-be three year old neice will be enchanted with the story of Tilbee (rumor has it that Grammy may be purchasing it for her soon), and it will be one of the night after night selections for the favored bedtime story.

About The Author

PJ Cowan writes children’s books during fall and winter and is an avid gardener during the spring and summer. She knows Tilbee well, he came to live in her pond three springs ago and stayed to raise a family. She can distinguish his voice from the other amphibians that visit her pond during mating season and hopes he will live a long life and stick around for awhile longer.

Straight into the action and more importantly, into the character’s mind. Blood Of Power Unredeemed, has an open, clear style that creates a fabulous atmosphere, where scenes leap out and grab the reader, pulling all further into the story.

An intriguing idea and certainly a delight to the senses. What a terrific thought – ‘a perspective biography’.

Recommended to those who like the hairs on the back of their neck to bristle.

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70689AD by Aleksander Granger 

Hilariously Brilliant!

From beginning to end I loved this book, with its interesting, eccentric characters and far flung
quest amidst imaginative, fabulously creative worlds.

It is crammed with action from the start and keeps a fast pace from page to page until sadly, it ends.

I loved Jack’s dry humour and attitude, and absolutely adored Antoinette. While its intriguing explanations of current myths and illusions are particularly well done.

Wonderful in every sense. I’m certainly a fan and look forward to more….

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Nut Brown Eyes by Raymond Walker

Set in the first person, readers are immediately given insight into the character, where the simple, everyday train of thought about ‘songs’ make him ‘real’ and likeable, even without knowing his name.

‘I do not wish for adventures just the peace of being alone’, will instantly put into overdrive any reader’s anticipation of what is to come.

Great.

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Crosswords, acrostics, logic problems, word search, all of these were a big part of my youth. I could spend hours with a puzzle book figuring out the answers and filling them in. Sudoku had not yet come into vogue, or I’m sure I would have spent many a pleasurable hour working on those as well. With More Kindergarten Sudoku: 4×4 Classic Sudoku Puzzles for Kids I got my first taste of Sudoku and was able to enjoy for the first time what has become all the rage in puzzle books. For the other Sudoku novices in the audience who have been wondering what this is but afraid to try and learn the rules, fear no more. The classic Sudoku 4×4 has only three rules.

1. Each row must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.
2. Each column must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.
3. Each block must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.

While most of us know what columns and rows are, the Kattans provide clear pictures to help illustrate this for children. If you are wondering what constitutes a block, the block is pictured below.

Also included at the front of the book are two examples of puzzles laid out step by step.

The only thing that I would have liked to see with the step by step solution was a little bit of an explanation that could be provided as the target audience of this book is quite young. Something like, the first step to solving a puzzle is to search for the open cells, where the number has to be a particular one. For example, in the outside colum of step one, the only number that can go into the open cell is the number 1. In the bottom row, the only number that can go in the open cell is the number 4. Having taught preschool and Kindergarten for several years, I found a few words of explanation can help to ward off a great deal of frustration.

The only other aspect of this book that I would change is the organization of the puzzles themselves. There are a combination of Easy, Medium, and Difficult puzzles on each page. For something targeting a young audience, I would have preferred to see them organized by sections, so that while working the puzzles, the child (or adult) can master the easy and slowly make their way to the more difficult.

Each page contains four puzzles, and the back of the book contains a list of the answers – but don’t cheat! More Kindergarten Sudoku contains 96 Classic 4×4 Sudoku puzzles to entertain and provide hours of delight.