The Murmuring Mirror (Amberwood Hall Ballet School Book 5) by Eleanor Dixon

 

The Murmuring Mirror by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have really enjoyed this series! The author has a wonderful way of weaving together a beautiful story full of mystery, intrigue, a scattering of romance, and a little bit of paranormal activity.

Lauren and her friends are competing for the one and only scholarship available for summer school in New York. There is a mirror that is very intriguing and seems to be trying to send a message. Lauren finds herself dancing as if her life depended on it...and maybe it does.

This is a young adult novel that will capture the attention of any dancer who enjoys a great mystery!

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Tally and the Angel, The Sands of Time (Tally and the Angel Series) by Eleanor Dixon

 

Tally and the Angel, The Sands of Time: Thrilling Middle Grade fantasy adventure where Greek Myths come alive! by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great adventure awaits for Tally and her Angel Jophiel. This is such a fun series to read and I highly recommend reading them in order to better understand who the players are. This time, Tally is travelling to the Greek Islands. There she will encounter lots of adventure, mystery, action, challenges, and more!

Tally kinda reminds me of a female Indiana Jones in a way. She loves adventure and usually finds some pretty intricate mystery that involves solving a puzzle or two along the way. There is some humor infused as well, as Jophiel can be a bit funny at times.

Overall, a great read!

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Triple Trouble at Amberwood (The Amberwood Hall Ballet School Series) by Eleanor Dixon

 

Triple Trouble at Amberwood: A fast-paced middle-grade story set in a ballet boarding school haunted by friendly ghosts by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I dove into book 4 of this series having not read any of the previous books. This book is geared more towards 8-12 year olds but most, if not all, age groups would enjoy this book. It took me a minute to get into the story and I think it's because I did not have a back story going into it since I skipped the first three books. However, I found this to be an enjoyable read.

There are ghosts lurking around Amberwood Hall. Some are friendlier than others and it's up to Lauren and her friends to figure out what's causing things to go awry at different times. When the big production at the end of the year is cancelled, there is suspicion as to who might be behind the reason.

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Tally and the Angel: Book Three, Japan by Eleanor Dixon

 

Japan by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tally's adventures have taken her, her dad, and her guardian angel Jophiel to India, Canada, and now Japan. I was most looking forward to this adventure! While it's still really enjoyable, it's not as exciting of a read as I was anticipating. However, there is a cursed drum, sumo wrestlers, and a ghost queen who will really keep you wondering what she's going to do next!

Tally meets Miyu and Yoshi when she arrives in Japan. They are just as excited as she is to have a new friend. They speak amazing English and really hit it off pretty quickly. Tally learns that Miyu's family used to own a museum and Miyu knows a lot of the family history. Yoshi comes from a long line of sumo wrestlers and he's going for his interview to be accepted into the academy. They spend time outside of their schoolwork playing with a drum that seems to have some sort of special powers.

I was really sad when Jophiel started to act the way he did in this book. I wanted to smack some sense into him!! Overall, I do think he might be my favorite character in all the books that I've read in this series.

I do highly recommend reading these books in order, although one could skip around. It would bring about some confusion as to Jophiel's backstory if you don't read them in order and some of the character names would be a mystery. I've really enjoyed reading this series and I'm hoping that we'll have more adventures with Tally and Jophiel to read about soon!

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Tally and the Angel: Book Two, Canada by Eleanor Dixon

 

Canada by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I do believe this is my favorite book of the series. I also recommend reading them in order although the author does a good job of catching the reader up to speed on how Jophiel came to be.

Tally and her dad have had their adventure in India and now it's time to move on to Canada. They are in need of a doctor up there and since Tally's dad is a doctor, they make the trek there. While there, Tally is excited to learn how to run a sled dog team. As a matter of fact, on the first day there, she gets to drive them for a small bit! Tally's struggling to adjust to the massive temperature differences between India and Canada too. Here she can't see anything but eyeballs on the people she meets!

There's this man named Earl and his daugther Amka who come to take Tally and her dad to the place where they will stay. Something is pretty sinister about Earl, at least to Tally and Jophiel. Then Tally learns about a curse and the Gold Rush and things, well, just aren't as they seem.

This book was so much fun to read and as previously mentioned, is my favorite in this series. There is a lot of mystery in this one, as well as adventure. This is a middle school level book but I thoroughly enjoyed it as a middle ager!

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Tally and the Angel: Book One, India by Eleanor Dixon

 

India by Eleanor Dixon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fun adventure story!! This book is geared towards middle grades, ages 7-12, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult!

We meet Tally at a really bad time in her life. She's just lost her precious mother, whom she loves so dearly. Before taking a trip, her dad gifts her with a pendant. In that pendant lives a guardian angel named Jophiel. Tally is thinking that she's going to be sent away to boarding school but instead talks her dad into letting her join him on his journey to India. It's there that Tally makes two really great friends but they had no idea the horrible adventure that awaited them!

I LOVED this book!! There is mystery and adventure, cultural changes, grief and loss, as well as bravery and compassion in this book. I devoured this book pretty quickly as it was just that exciting! My heart broke for Tally and honestly, I struggled reading this book because I too, just lost my mom recently. I love how this book focuses on having a friend(s) nearby to help in times of sadness. This would be a great book for summer reading!!

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