Lucky Lin-Lin series of books by Lyn Lozano Galicia

 

Lucky Lyn-Lyn at Big School: An Inspiring Picture Book About Courage, Confidence, and the Power of Asking Questions by Lyn Lozano Galicia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lyn-Lyn and her sister Bing-Bing have just left the familiarity of their home in Manila and have moved to Happy Island to live on a farm. Gone are the loud sounds of the city and they are now replaced with the more calmer rural life. It's time for school to start and Bing-Bing is going to kindergarten while Lyn Lyn is going to "big school". The sisters are very close and can't image spending the day so far apart. An opportunity opens up and Lyn Lyn becomes very brave and asks an important question.

This book is about having confidence and not being afraid to ask questions. There are some neat activities in the back of the book as well for further engagment from the readers.

View all my reviews Lucky Lyn-Lyn's Big Idea: A Heartwarming Story About Entrepreneurship, Teamwork, and Believing in Yourself by Lyn Lozano Galicia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lyn-Lyn enjoys living in Manila and seeing the people in the marketplace. It gives her an idea to start her own business. The way that she goes about it isn't the most ethical and I wish she would have fixed this before the story ended (I feel like it was an unfinished part of this story that could have easily been fixed). She inspires her friends with her idea and together they begin to do good things.

This story is about having an imagination and not being afraid to try something new. I loved this book except for the unraveled end that I mentioned earlier.

View all my reviews Lucky Lyn-Lyn and the Halloween Mystery: An Illustrated Children’s Halloween Book About Curiosity, Imagination, and Mystery by Lyn Lozano Galicia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lyn-Lyn and her sister Bing-Bing are out on Halloween night. They see 2 people dressed all in white. It's getting to late to farm so the girls become concerned. They follow them for awhile and then suddenly they disappeared. The girls run home as quick as they can!! Over dinner their mother recants a similar story from earlier in the day.

This book is timely for the Halloween season and is all about imagination.

View all my reviews Lucky Lyn-Lyn and the Christmas Coins: An Illustrated Children’s Book About Honesty, Kindness, and Giving by Lyn Lozano Galicia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's Christmas time and Ling-Ling and her sister Bing-Bing love getting coins from Mr. Chu. He's their dad's best friend but ironically looks like Santa Claus. They go to visit him and they are given a Christmas coin. Bing-Bing went in her PJs because she was so excited to go!! Ling-Ling asks if they can go again but this time everyone dresses up. They get another coin from Mr. Chu, even though they'd already received one.

I feel like the mark was missed in this story. Ling-Ling should not have been greedy and wanting another coin. I feel like the message of this book is going to mislead the actions of others to follow in her steps.

View all my reviews Lucky Lyn-Lyn and the Brown River: An Illustrated Children’s Book About Courage, Confidence, and Trying New Things by Lyn Lozano Galicia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lyn-Lyn and Bing-Bing walk to school everyday and they love the sites and sounds of the farmland around them. It's the rainy season so they are sure to take their umbrellas with them to school. One day they come home and the stream that they walk through is brown. It also looks very deep. They become scared until a friend comes along and shows them that it's safe to cross and explains why the water is brown.



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The Nightingale Detective Agency: A 1920s cozy mystery with secrets worth killing for by Denise Devine

 

The Nightingale Detective Agency: A 1920s cozy mystery with secrets worth killing for... by Denise Devine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in a new series by a fairly new-to-me author! I've read one other book of hers but I'm excited about this new series.

This cozy read is set in the 1920's Prohibition era, Charlotte Van Elsberg is determined that she is going to be the first female private investigator. She gets the opportunity when a young debutante is found dead. This story is full of mystery, grit, suspense, and a good bit of tension too.

This was a fun afternoon read!

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The Fortress of Us by Diane Hester

 

The Fortress of Us by Diane Hester
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was no hope in putting this book down for a break once I got started. It grabs you, sits you on the edge of your seat, and holds you there until you reach the end.

Kelsey is a neurodivergent who witnesses her mother's death. She then witnesses another death and ends up on the run. She's on a mission to save her friend while trying to deal with her grief and all the things that come with it. Did I mention she's only 8 years old??

There are so many twists and turns, unexpected and ones you can see coming. All the stages of grief were experienced while reading this and I'm still not quite over it. Just be sure to clear your day to finish this one because you won't be able to put it down.

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Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape by Mark C. Fava

 

Andy the Admiral and the USS Shipshape by Mark C. Fava
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Andy the Admiral takes his reader on a tour of the Navy ship that he is on. He speaks of the ways that a seaman should act, with manners, cleanliness, and more. He does so in a rhyming manner to make it more memorable for the younger reader or listener.

This would be a great book for a family with a new seaman who may be in training. It can give them a brief glimpse into the life of the Navy and might even inspire them to go into the Navy one day as well.

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Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by Paula Peckham

 

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by Paula Peckham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Derek Norton is the lead singer for the rock band The Assassians. They've had a good 20+ year run but if they want to keep going, some things are going to need to change. Derek is told that a journalist will be joining them on this tour to help boost their social media presence and hopefully bring new life to their fan base. After the last journalistic fiasco, this is the last thing that Derek wants to do.

Andi Thompson is a recent divorcee and a newly empty nester. Wow, what a time in her life! Andi has been a journalist for years but her work has been underpaid and underappreciated. She gets an opportunity to tour with one of her favorite bands, The Assassians, and write a piece on them to help boost their audience and bring some new life to their music. However, with Andi, it's bombshell after bombshell in her life and she questions whether she should really do this or not. Trusting her gut on this one, she decides to jump in with both feet, not having any idea how she will be met.

Let's just say that the the initial meeting of Andi and the band was a bit frigid. It takes awhile to thaw out old thoughts and feelings, especially when you feel that this is so unnecessary. Time will prove some things actually are much different though. Will The Assassians be able to hang on to their current record deal and continue to build a fan base? Will Andi get the promotion she's been searching for?

I really enjoyed this story. It was billed to me as an inspirational romance, to which I agree that it is. However, there were some lines that got a little blurry for me in terms of the spiciness of this book. I would not hand this to a younger reader due to the nature of some of the content. As far as inspirational, yes it definitely has a focus on religious thoughts and quotes Bible verses. It is also a clean read in terms of their not being any inappropriate language (save the spiciness and being a little more graphic than most books of this genre tend to be). I don't believe I've read anything by this author before but I will be going back and checking out some of her other titles.

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The Celestial Shot (A True North Murder Mystery #3) by A.J. Ullman

 

The Celestial Shot by A. J. Ullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A.J. Ullman does it again with another great true-crime style book. The setting is in Ohio in the 1970's and there is a murder at a diner where our favorite detectives are trying to enjoy a celebratory meal. So much for that! It's another fabulous who-dun-it story with action, adventure, and so much more!

Be sure to check out the other books in the series too! While each can be read as a standalone, you'd be cheating yourself to just read this one!

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Miz Country Goddess: A Cozy-Spicy, Second-Chance Country Music Romance by Cat Treadgold

 

Miz Country Goddess: A Cozy-Spicy, Second-Chance Country Music Romance by Cat Treadgold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A country music romance for a county music lover for myself was just what I needed. I was looking for an escape for a bit and walking down this road with Henry and Rina was perfect. Also, I'm a lover of second chances!

This book is a bit on the spicy side at times, just like a good country song sometimes happens to be. The ups and downs of the industry are hard on relationships and that's brought out in this story too.

Overall, an enjoyable read that I didn't really have to think too much about other than to just listen to the music the pages were providing.

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