Tag: Reading

Books!, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (10)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to another Wednesday.

Sadly I wasn’t very productive this past week of reading. I got pretty sick over the weekend and even ended up missing work. Normally a sick day is a good reason to just lay around reading, but I pretty much just ended up doing a whole lot of sleeping.

One of my most recent reads is Vox Machina Origins #6, which is the final issue of the Critical Role comic (for now). Seeing as how it was ranked one of the top comics in 2017, I’m sincerely hoping that Dark Horse decides to order more of them. This issue actually just came out today, but they are only like 20 or so pages so they read really quickly. I’ll have a review up soon.

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My current read is still Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett. I’m not getting into this story as quickly as her other books, but I’m still quite hopeful that things will get really good soon enough.

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What I’m hoping to start reading soon is…well, same as last week. I still want to read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg.

That’s it for now. When I’m feeling back to normal I’m sure my post schedule will ramp up again so I can catch up on all of these backlog reviews, as well as keep up with some of my new ones.

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Book Review, Books!, Manga, Signal Boost

Manga Review: One Punch Man Vol 1

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

So, as I was going through my written list of all of my backlog reads that I wanted/needed to write up reviews for, I realized that a large number of them were manga. My plan for the next couple months is to review one of the volumes each Monday…so welcome to my first Manga Monday. Based on the schedule I wrote up, these reviews will last me until the end of August, and that’s if I don’t skip weeks or read more manga. But since I like using manga, especially for readathons, I predict that this will just be a regular segment on my blog for a while.

Pretty much right now it is looking like Manga Monday, What I’m Reading on Wednesdays, and a whole bunch of randomness on Fridays, but I’ll likely also slip in some more book reviews on Tuesdays or Thursdays since I have a bunch of those as well.

Anyway, let’s just jump into the review.

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Summary

A manga series that packs quite the punch!

Nothing about Saitama passes the eyeball test when it comes to superheroes, from his lifeless expression to his bald head to his unimpressive physique. However, this average-looking guy has a not-so-average problem—he just can’t seem to find an opponent strong enough to take on! Every time a promising villain appears, he beats the snot out of ’em with one punch! Can Saitama finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

I started out just half-watching the anime of this manga while my fiance was watching it and then I slowly got pulled into the story. So now I’m picking up the manga series to read as well. This sort of thing seems to happen to me a lot. Because of my fiance I’ve gotten into My Hero Academia and One Punch Man, as well as Overlord. We have watched Blue Exorcist as well. Even with having already watched them, I really don’t mind reading the same story over again. I pick up more details and I can imagine the characters’ voices in my head while I read. Plus, it is just really cool to look at the artwork.

This is such an amusing story. Saitama is not the typical protagonist and I actually enjoy that. I mean, I get that that is sort of the whole point of it. Saitama doesn’t look like he should be a hero, and then he defeats every enemy he faces in only one punch. And I actually also really enjoy that he didn’t start out that way. He didn’t get superpowers from some sort of chemical accident or magical event or anything like that. No, he trained his body and his mind, and honed them both to get where he is now.

Plus the detail in the fight sequences is fabulous. Seriously, I stared at the art for a couple minutes, just taking all of it in. I’m going to enjoy reading these, especially with Saitama now taking Genos in to teach how he got so strong/became a hero.

Pretty much if you like superpowered type reads and are okay with a series that sort of pokes fun at them at the same time, this is probably a good choice for you. If I remember correctly, this series was originally started online as a parody or satire of the genre, and it ended up gaining enough popularity for a manga series and then an anime series (though I wish there were more episodes of the anime; it was fun to watch).

Where to Buy

You can buy your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

Review: Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Okay, so my book review for today is one I received in my OwlCrate box…I think it was the December box. I definitely like the OwlCrate exclusive cover’s color choices better than the original, but they are both nice to look at. Anyway, this is a book that I probably would have put off getting, or might have borrowed from the library, if I didn’t get it in a subscription box. But now that I’ve read it, I can say that I did enjoy it, and I’m glad to have a copy in my personal library.

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Summary

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn’t know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they’re both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia’s ever seen. As Claudia’s world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

This was a cute, somewhat geeky, contemporary read. I actually really enjoyed having Claudia and Iris be forced together in both a school project and then also for the school production. The developing female friendship was one of the strongest aspects of the book, for me. I like that we are starting to get more books that have female friendships that have more substance to them. It is nice that not all friendships are just because of being in the same clique or just because of participating in the same extra-curriculars. And I liked that Claudia and Iris didn’t always agree. Friends can still be friends even if they have differing opinons. Since it was a newer friendship too, they had some bumps in the road to get through, and I think those strengthened their bond, which was also really cool.

However, it is that somewhat geeky part that caused me to lower the rating. I believed Iris in her fangirling over the band TION, because it was very clear that she was an unapologetic fan of theirs. I loved when she would gush about a music video, or an album, or a band interview or show DVD. It was adorable to see how excited she was about it all. But when it came to Claudia and the MMORPG she plays, it felt more like someone rattling off facts trying to sound like a fan instead of someone who is clearly passionate about the game. And that was disappointing to me. Perhaps Emma Mills isn’t a gamer. Or maybe she is. I don’t know. I just wanted to feel that same passion and excitement for this hobby that Claudia spends so much time with, especially since she gets her new friends to play as well. But maybe that’s just me.

I still enjoyed the book. It was a nice contemporary read, and it didn’t take me long to finish it. Sometimes it is nice for me to read something like this, where I don’t have to fully invest myself in figuring out the worldbuilding and the magic systems and the politics of a fantasy realm. So, I can honestly say I would recommend this book if it sounds interesting to you.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Look everyone, it is an ARC review. I feel like a cool book blogger now. Just kidding, I usually feel like a decently cool book blogger, and that’s because I have so many of you wonderful people following my blog and enjoying my posts. I haven’t been doing as many book reviews as I would like lately, but that’s okay. Sometimes we need to step back a bit. But, I’m actually spending some time scheduling and writing up reviews of all of my backlog books, so you can expect a lot of reviews coming over the next couple months.

Anyway, let’s stop rambling and start talking about this awesome book I devoured. Oh, I almost forgot, I also need to say thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC of this book. This did not affect my review in any way; Sky in the Deep was one of my most anticipated releases for 2018 because it sounded amazing.

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Summary

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Okay, so on the back cover of the ARC this book is described as part Wonder Woman and part Vikings. I have not watched Vikings so I can’t exactly speak to how true that statement is, but I can say that what I got was a story about a badass female warrior who goes through a journey that tests how she thinks of both family and loyalty.

Literally this book opens with the characters going to battle, so it is a pretty action packed beginning. That aspect alone quickly grabbed my interest,and I just wanted to keep reading. Then Eelyn was taken by the Riki, the enemy clan, and the story really started to fly by from there.

I was seriously so hooked by this book. I didn’t want to go back to work and I didn’t want to have to put the book down for hours at a time. But being a proper adult and having a job and chores and errands to run sometimes gets in the way of reading time.

I very much enjoyed the characters and seeing how the relationships changed and developed as the story progressed. This might be one of my favorite reads of 2018 so far. I guess my only complaint is that everything wrapped up in just one book. When I got 30 or so pages from the end, I started to convince myself that this had to be the first book of a duology, and I would have been completely happy if that had been the case. But everything ended up concluding in the remaining pages, and so now I am left wondering what Adrienne Young will write next, because I am definitely adding her to my list of authors to keep an eye on.

Where to Buy

You can pre-order this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore. It will be released very soon, on April 24th.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (9)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Wow, it is Wednesday again already. It feels like the weeks are just starting to go by faster and faster. Soon enough I’ll be working on my favorite reads of January-June 2018, and that is crazy to think about.

Anyway, today I’m here with my short weekly post where I talk about what books I have finished in the past week, what books I’m currently reading, and of course, the books I’m hoping to start very soon.

I’m actually liking this little weekly post series. In some ways I feel like it is helping me finish off books a bit faster. Plus I have a day each week where I know what I’m blogging about, so I don’t have to stress about which post to plan or write or whatever.

Let’s just talk about books now.

Okay, so in the books I’ve finished reading in the past week category, I have Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi, and Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy.

 

As for what I am currently reading, I have just picked up my copy of Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett. I’m in a bit of a contemporary mood at the moment, but since I don’t have many of those waiting to be read at the moment, I’m sure I’ll be back to fantasy after I’ve finished this.

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Finally, what I am hoping to start soon, provided I can finish my current reads quickly, is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. With everything I’ve heard about this book, and how interesting it sounds, I’d really like to read it soon. Of course, I don’t think this is a book I want to take with me to work. I think I’ll end up getting so lost in it that I’ll really forget that I have to get back to work.

Then again, I also really need to read The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg. It isn’t a very long book, so I imagine I won’t need too long to read it. We’ll see what happens.

All right, well that’s all I have for today. Let me know what books are at the top of your recent reads or your TBR. I’d love to chat about books in the comments.

Book Review, Books!, Readathon, Signal Boost

Review: The Glass Magician by Charlie N Holmberg

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

I hope you all are having a lovely day. Right now I imagine that I am figuring out where to go for dinner with my fiance, and then we’ll settle down in our hotel room and enjoy our jacuzzi tub. (Honestly, this might end up helping me with my writing project for Camp NaNoWriMo…I’ve written fantasy or paranormal stories with elements of romance, but this is my first actual romance). My series review for The Paper Magician series continues now with the second book, which I read recently during a 24 Hour Readathon–the latest session of Readathon by Zoe, actually.

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Summary

Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.

When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.

The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

Wow, this was a great second novel. Before the announcement of the fourth book, I would have praised this for being a fantastic middle novel to a trilogy, but now it is just properly a series. And I’m not going to complain at all about that, because I am really enjoying the magic system and the characters.

Ceony’s journey gets so very interesting with this installment. There are consequences from the previous book that come up in this one. Also, the potential relationship between Ceony and Emery Thane develops further, in a way that it really couldn’t in the first. Ceony being in Thane’s heart really helped her develop feelings for him, but I wanted to see more from his side. Though the story is focused on Ceony, I do feel that I got that development.

I flew through this book as well. Obviously I read it during a readathon, so I’m reading at a fairly fast pace anyway, but I feel like this book did maintain a faster pace, which is excellent after the steady building of the world from the first. There is more paper magic, and we learn more about some of the other magic forms as well, particularly glass magic. I was so intrigued by all of the new magical details.

Needless to say, I am super excited about reading the third book very soon, and then I’ll be ready to read the upcoming fourth book before it is released in May.

Where to Buy

You can pick up a copy of The Glass Magician from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (8)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are all having a great week. Just as a heads up, I am pre-writing my next couple of posts right now because I won’t be on my phone or computer much over the weekend. My fiance and I are celebrating our one year anniversary by having an overnight in a hotel with a nice dinner and all of that. I’m pretty excited about it because our room has a jacuzzi tub and that just sounds really nice. So if I don’t reply to any comments over the weekend, it is because I am spending my time offline with the amazing man in my life.

Anyway, welcome back to the post where I talk about the books I have recently finished reading, the books I am currently reading, and the books I am hoping to start reading soon.

As for the books I’ve recently finished, I made it through Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston, and I will have a review up pretty soon. I also managed to finish reading my ARC for Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, so again, there will be a review up soon. Seriously, I feel a great need to talk about both of these books.

My current read is Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi. This is the first book from Rick Riordan’s new imprint, and I’m hoping this will give me some slight Percy Jackson vibes, but with Hindu mythology instead of Greek. And soon I am hoping to start reading The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg, so I can be ready to read and review my ARC of the upcoming fourth book in the series.

Oh, and I suppose I should do a brief Camp NaNoWriMo update here as well. Currently I have written 1,742 words out of my goal of 10,000. According to my stats page for Camp, to reach my goal I need to write 334 words each day, so for today I am supposed to be at 1,336 words. By this time next week I should at least be at 3,674 words, so with any luck I’ll be able to stick to all of this. Right now it is easy enough. The middle/end of the month always seems to be the hardest. Honestly right now I think I have about half of a chapter finished, but that is still more writing than I’ve done in months (er…a year or so…I don’t know it’s been a while).

One of the main reasons I’m including the Camp NaNoWriMo progress here is that I think it will keep me more accountable for actually writing each day and trying to keep up with an overall wordcount.

That is about all from me today. Let me know if you’re reading anything interesting in the comments because I would love to know. Also, I’m always looking for books to add to my never-ending TBR. I’ll be back soon with more posts.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

March Wrap Up and April TBR

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Wow, where did March go? Seriously. I am trying to figure out how we are 25% through 2018 already. Time is flying by so quickly now, and that is crazy to me.

Anyway, let’s just jump into what I read in the month of March. As always, if I have a review already posted on my blog, I will include the link to that post just in case you missed it or want to check it out. I’m working on clearing out my backlog of reviews so expect many more in the upcoming months.

The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg (4.5 stars)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (4 stars)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (4 stars)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (4 stars)

Vox Machina Origins Issue #5 by Matthew Colville, Matthew Mercer, Olivia Samson, and Chris Northrop (5 stars)

The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace (3 stars)

My Hero Academia Vol 11 by Kohei Horikoshi (5 stars)

Love & War by Melissa de la Cruz (5 stars)

Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen (5 stars)

Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner (4.5 stars)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (5 stars)

Overall not a bad month, though I probably could have and should have read more Middle Grade novels.

All right. Well with the wrap up complete, it is time to move on to my March book haul. There were a lot of great releases in March, so obviously I ended up getting quite a few books, but overall I didn’t go overboard and have a massive haul, which is nice. This is the part where I share my book haul photos and then show off my monthly OwlCrate unboxing–and spoiler alert: I loved this month’s box.

Seriously, I managed to get through the month only buying a handful of books. That is pretty impressive.

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I’ve always wondered if I would like an infinity scarf or not, and now that I have one, I can honestly say that I rather like it. Oh, and this OwlCrate edition of Heart of Iron is so lovely. I mean, did you see the purple stained pages? So awesome. I got the Hanna Donnelly candle, but apparently there was a Kady Grant one as well. The mug is pretty great too; I’m excited to have another mug in the same size/style as the Harry Potter one from a couple months ago. Oh, and the book is actually signed this month, instead of just being a signed book plate. OwlCrate, you guys are doing wonderful things with your subscription box. I’m glad to be a subscriber. And I’m looking forward to the April box as well, because yet again the book is one on my highly anticipated list, which is excellent.

Finally, I suppose it is time to share my April TBR. Now I’ve done okay with my TBRs so far this year, reading typically around half or so of the books I mention, so I’m feeling decent about continuing to share the books I’d like to read in the month. Plus, the next session of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon will be taking place on April 28th, so I’m thinking it should be a pretty good month of reading. But as usual, the readathon TBR will be up closer to the event, because I may change my mind on what I’m reading for the day. Actually I’m kind of hoping I can convince my fiance to participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon with me.

Anyway, here is my tentative April TBR.

Of course the TBR can always change, grow, and/or shrink based on my reading mood. But there are a few of these that I really want to read, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to do it.

Then again, I’m also trying to get back into writing, so I am doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April as well. I’ve set a really low goal of writing 10,000 words on my novel over the course of the month, and hopefully I’ll be able to accomplish that while also keeping up with my reading.

I hope you all had wonderfully productive reading months in March. And if you feel like talking books with me in the comments, let me know what book you are most looking forward to reading in April.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (7)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to the middle of the week all over again, and my weekly post where I talk about the books I’ve read recently, the books I am currently reading, and the books that I am hoping to start very soon.

I’ve actually accomplished some pretty decent reading since my post last week. I finished re-reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and I flew through Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner. I’ll probably end up doing a book/movie review for RPO fairly soon, and I’m already working on writing up a review for CG, so expect those and various other reviews in the next days/weeks/months (because my backlist of reviews will keep me busy for a while).

My current read is Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston. I have been waiting on this book for so long, and I even had to wait until a couple weeks after the release day because this book was the one included in my March OwlCrate, so expect photos of this beautiful book in my March Wrap Up post coming soon.

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And what I am hoping to start reading soon is probably The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, though I might start Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi first. I’m not sure. I’ll see what kind of mood I’m in after Heart of Iron.

Well, that’s all for me today. I’ll be back soon with another post. Until then, what books have you read recently and what are you currently reading? Let’s talk about books in the comments.

Book Review, Books!, Diverse December, Graphic Novel, Reading Challenge, Signal Boost

Review: Lumberjanes – Unicorn Power by Mariko Tamaki

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to another Middle Grade March review post. Was this a book I read in March? Well, no. Technically this isn’t even a book I read in 2018, but it is still a Middle Grade book, and I’ve also been trying to play catch up on a rather large stack of to be written reviews, so this will help me out with all of that.

Technically I read this book during Diverse December, a reading event hosted by my buddy Kathy over at Books & Munches. As always, I recommend checking out her blog because she is awesome, and the munches photos she puts on her posts always make me hungry.

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Summary

Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counselor Jen . . . and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella’s, where the woods contain endless mysteries.

Today is no exception. When challenge-loving April leads the girls on a hike up the TALLEST mountain they’ve ever seen, things don’t go quite as planned. For one, they didn’t expect to trespass into the lands of the ancient Cloud People, and did anyone happen to read those ominous signs some unknown person posted at the bottom of the mountain? Also, unicorns.

This hilarious, rollicking adventure series brings the beloved Lumberjanes characters into a novel format with brand-new adventures.

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

I saw another blogger I follow review this book around the time of its release, and I remember that she raved about how great it was. Even with that glowing review, I was still a bit wary going into the book. Honestly, as someone who loves the comics/graphic novels, I worried that this novel format with the same characters would try to alter them in some way for the middle grade novel.

I don’t know why I worried. It had the same diversity and the same weirdness that I’ve come to expect and love from the Lumberjanes. Not to mention, actually, the adventure the group goes on in this book references earlier adventures from the comics. So this isn’t a reboot or anything like that. No, this is just another way to enjoy the world and the characters, which I really loved and appreciated.

Now for me it was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the format, because I’m so used to the visual experience of a comic, but I think it would still be a fun story for someone who doesn’t already read Lumberjanes, and perhaps this would inspire them to check out the previous adventures as well.

I enjoyed that Ripley was still the fun wild child she typically is–to be honest, Ripley may be my favorite, though I like all of them. And I love how wonderfully distinct each girl is. They all have their own style, their own interests and specialities, their own fears and hopes, etc.

So pretty much I will be waiting to read the next Lumberjanes novel installment, because the second book isn’t set to be released until May. Of course there’s always the graphic novels to keep me busy until then…plus all the non-Lumberjanes reads I have waiting for me.

Where to Buy

You can pick up this Lumberjanes adventure at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.