Carole Reviews: The Christmas cats chase Christmas rats - Constance Cocoran Wilson

Author: Constance Cocoran Wilson

Title: The Christmas Cats Chase Christmas Rats (Christmas Cats #1)

Genre: Child's book, fantasy

Pages: 32 pages

First Published: October 22nd, 2013

Where I Got It: Given to me for honest and unbiased opinion by the author/publisher

"The Christmas Cats Chase Christmas Rats is a Seuss-ical tale for young children which builds upon the moral of the first Christmas Cats book to once again teach children a valuable life lesson. 

In this second Christmas Cats adventure the lesson to be learned is: In life, always keep an open mind. Don't accept stereotypes as true or let the unfounded opinions of others prevent you from finding out the truth for yourself. We all need to act without prejudice and learn to accept each other as individuals.

The Christmas Cats learn that rats, too, should be judged as individuals. Another message: all of us should try to help others.

Written for the author's four-year-old granddaughters, Ava and Elise Wilson, with the assistance of talented professional illustrator Gary McCloskey, The Christmas Cats continue to have adventures while attired in their familiar silly hats from Book One (The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats).

Learning to accept others in a non-judgmental, open-minded fashion is a lesson we all must learn. If children can internalize this behavior while young, learning to help others and to do good works, the world will be a better place"

Like earlier stated I read this for the publisher/author for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I couldn't help myself when I seen this book. Just the cover and title had me drawn in like a bee for honey. Yes, it's a kid book and I don't have any rugrats of my own yet, but I do like to check out an occasional kid book. There are little kids running amuck in my life and I love them. I like exploring the books and seeing what would and wouldn't make a good book for them. After reading this, I would say this would be for 4+, so it's a little old for my "nephews". But it would be perfect for my cousin's kids.

This was super, duper cute. It was very short, but you can only keep a kid's attention for so long. I loved the rhyming and Dr. Seuss feel to it. However, there were no made up words (darn), but it was more realistic. Which is good, I suppose. The pictures were very adorable too. Ah, I miss picture books. *sighs*

Such a good way to get to children the good ol' moral lesson of loving those who are different then you. The author used cats and rats (which not only rhyme), but are sworn enemies! The cats aid the rats and it was cute. I especially loved the hats that the cats had to wear (again, rhyming at its best). 

One thing did lift my brow a wee bit. The glorifying testing on rats. Some would argue that testing on rats is a good thing, because it has helped us with many cures and etc...but the story makes it seem that rats chose this life of saving us. Meh. Luckily it wasn't the main thing of the book, because I would have had major issues on this. Poor, nasty, rats...

ANYWAYS....this was a cute read and I would recommend that children 4+ be read this book. The story was cute (besides for the mentioning of the "goodness" that rats do while being tested) and the pictures were adorable. Out of five stars I shall stamp this with 3...it's more like 3.3-3.4, but I don't give decimals, so I rounded. 

Favorite Character(s): The kitties. :)

Not-so Favorite Character(s): The Lab testers

Carole owner of caroleraesramblings.com

Author Interview and Giveaway: Margaret Kaine

Today I welcome author Margaret Kaine to my blog and there is a giveaway the end of her new book :)

Welcome!

1. Tell me about yourself.

I had to wait a long time to achieve my dream of becoming a writer, only putting ‘pen to paper’, once my children had left home. Then after joining a writers’ workshop, my short stories were published widely in women’s magazines in the UK, Australia, Norway, South Africa and Ireland. Feeling more confident to attempt a mainstream novel, I wrote Ring of Clay which won the Romantic Novelists’ New Writer’s Award, and also the Society of Authors’ Sagittarius prize - at that time sponsored by Terry Pratchett, who I was lucky enough to meet. I have now written seven romantic regional novels set in the Potteries (Staffordshire), where I was born and grew up. 

2. Your new book is called Dangerous Decisions. Tell me about the book too :) 

Dangerous Decisions is completely different from anything I’ve previously written. Set against a cosmopolitan background and in the Edwardian era, it tells the story of Helena, a young and sheltered debutante who is courted by the wealthy, handsome and enigmatic Oliver Faraday. Despite a sense of unease and being haunted by the image of an attractive young doctor, she mistakes infatuation for love and accepts Oliver’s proposal. But he is deeply flawed and I would describe Dangerous Decisions as both romantic and full of suspense. 

3. What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always been fascinated by the Edwardian era and used to love the TV series Upstairs/Downstairs. The beautiful clothes, the pampered life of the aristocracy, the widespread poverty and drudgery of the working classes, the servant culture, all drew me like a magnet. And I was half-way through the book when Downton Abbey hit the TV screens. Naturally, I’m hoping that its fans will enjoy reading my own Dangerous Decisions.

4. Why is Helena and Nicholas the couple of the season? 

Theirs is an instant and bewildering attraction that defies class barriers. It seems unbelievable nowadays but being a member of the medical profession, Nicholas would have been regarded as being of an inferior class - certainly not acceptable in Edwardian society. And their love, being secret and honourable, had a special poignancy.

5. What is coming next from you?

Having enjoyed so much my research, I’m writing another novel set in the same era. I don’t have a title yet - I nearly always have to wait until the last chapter to hit on the right one. The opening chapter begins within the harsh conditions of a workhouse - I write organically but already am intrigued by the mystery developing. And of course there are scenes of wealth and privilege where to spend one’s days - if only in the mind - is a joy. 

Thanks!

GIVEAWAY

1 copy of Dangerous Decisions

1- Open to everyone in the world

2. Ends Dec 21st

3. Just enter :)

And be free to ask questions if you want

Review: One dance with a Duke - Tessa Dare

A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members—yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing “Duke of Midnight.” Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke—until Lady Amelia d’Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke’s dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother’s debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club’s founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

My thoughts:
Ok let's just do this some other way

Hero

He has hidden depths and when I understood them I liked him so much. But before that he seemed cold.

Heroine

Our spinster who also have hidden things and when I understood those I understood her. But before that...

Romance

They lust, but he wants her to want it. And when she does, fireworks.

Plot

First there is the whole them together which I liked. Then there is a murder and mystery and accusations (that did not get an ending in this book.) And last her brother Jack who is a scoundrel and in debt. Well Jack made his bed and must lie there.

I was not blown away as I was with her other book. But it was like any other HR book I read then instead. Romance, passion and struggle. Cute.

Cover

Ok

Paperback, 384 pages
Published May 25th 2010 by Ballantine Books (first published January 1st 2010)
Stud Club #1
Historical romance
Own

Author Interview and giveaway: Kathryne Kennedy

Today's interview is with Kathryne Kennedy and there is a giveaway too :)

Welcome!

1. What is new in your life? :)

Kathryne: So glad you asked! I have a new puppy named Pikachu. She’s a Chihuahua mix, although I’ve been told she’s looks like a purbred Chi, but  sometimes I think she has a bit of dachsund in her. I have been working on teaching her manners. She had a bad habit of biting, which I think she learned because she only had her three brothers to keep her company, and they just tussled all day play-fighting. She’s full of energy and so smart. I’m so lucky to have found her, and grateful to those who rescued her. 

2. What is your new book Everlasting Enchantment about?

Kathryne: In the Relics of Merlin series, readers enter a Victorian England where magic has never died, and aristocratic titles are based on levels of magic. The lowest ranking baronets are spies for the prince and despised for their shape-shifting abilities…and seek Merlin’s fabled relics, the only magical artifacts that can threaten the aristocracy’s rule.

In Everlasting Enchantment, Sir Gareth Solimere, a Knight of the Round Table, seduced Merlin’s lover and in retaliation, the great wizard trapped the knight in a magical relic, cursing Gareth to imprisonment until the knight can find his one true love. After centuries of searching, Gareth falls deeply in love with a were-panther, Millicent Pantere, but the spell does not lift, and he realizes it may require Millicent loving him as much as he loves her…a task he fears may take more than just his powers of seduction. 

3. Will there be more Relics of Merlin books?

Kathryne: I don’t have any planned at the moment, but I think I will get the urge to visit this world again in the future.

4. What is the most fun thing about writing these alternate earth/paranormal romance/fantasy books? Kathryne: Creating the world. I love love love world-building, creating new realms that produce characters specific to that environment…and new love stories that couldn’t exist without them.

5. Make my readers swoon over Sir Gareth, tell us something good... 

Kathryne: Heavens, he’s all goodness, probably the most honorable, chivalrous hero I have ever written about. Which makes sense, since he was once a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. But since he’s been trapped in a relic for centuries, destined to seduce one woman after another until he finds his one true love, he’s had rather a lot of practice at charming a lady. In Everlasting Enchantment, he manages to make quite a few young ladies swoon…including the rather infamous Lady Chatterley. You’ll have to let me know if Sir Gareth manages to make a twenty-first century modern woman swoon as well.  

6. And last, what are you working on right now?

Kathryne: I’m brainstorming another novel in The Elven Lord’s series, and fiddling with a young adult fantasy series. I hope to make some progress on both after I finish the blog tour and after the holidays. In the real world, Christmas is a most magical time for me. 

Thanks!

Giveaway

1 copy of Everlasting Enchantment

1. Open to everyone in the universe

2. Ends Dec 18th

3. Just enter and you are in

But if you want, be free to ask questions

EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT BY KATHRYNE KENNEDY – IN STORES DECEMBER 2013 

Powerful Magic is Afoot …

Millicent Pantere has lived her entire life in the notorious London Underground. She cares nothing for the problems of the crown or the intrigues of society. But the ladies of the realm are acting strangely, and Millicent is coerced into tracking down the rumors of a mysterious man—a magic man who comes in the night and disappears at dawn. 

And So the Hunt Begins…

Millicent's search leads her to one of Merlin's legendary relics and the seductive knight whose fate is bound up with it. Centuries ago, Sir Gareth Solimere made the mistake of seducing the wrong woman, and he has been trapped ever since by a diabolical curse. He's looking for the one who can break the enchantment—but in this world, there is no love without betrayal...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathryne Kennedy is a critically acclaimed, bestselling, award-winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives with her wonderful family in Glendale, Arizona. For more information and ongoing contests, please visit www.kathrynekennedy.com.

To Purchase Everlasting Enchantment:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-a-Million

Chapters/Indigo

IndieBound

iBookstore

Sourcebooks

Discover a New Love