Sarah Kurz

  "I always thought I was pretty remarkable as far as mysterious creatures go." It's been five years since 10-year-old Livy visited her grandmother in Australia.  There's not much she remembers from the previous trip to Gran Nicholas' house despite the efforts of her mother and grandmother.  Just as she is starting to become convinced that she won't remember anything from the last time she stayed with Gran Livy meets Bob, a small green creature wearing a chicken suit and living in the bedroom closet.  He's been waiting for Livy to return for five years and he most certainly remembers her.  Together they uncover Livy's forgotten memories in hopes of discovering who (or what) Bob is and where he came from.   Bob , by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, was such a sweet middle grade book!  I read it aloud with my 11-year-old son and we both really enjoyed it.  Bob is a charming and funny character and we both wracked our brains the entire time trying ...

 "Nikolai had been told hope was dangerous, had been warned of it many times.  But he'd never believed that.  Hope was the wind that came from nowhere to fill your sails and carry you home." Ravka is in trouble.  Its king is plagued by by a demon deep within his heart, its general is desperately trying to rebuild the Grisha army, and its favorite spy has headed north with a heart full a grief and a calling she can't ignore.  The throne is being threatened, Grisha are being used against their will, and a brand new group of worshippers has shown up hoping for the return of the Darkling.   King of Scars is a continuation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse.  If you are unfamiliar with her works they are excellent.  The magic and world building captured my heart instantly.  If you aren't sure where to start I would read the Shadow and Bone trilogy first and then the Six of Crows duology second before moving on to King of Scars , although I rea...

 "I raised my arm to shoot the bitch, but Eli had already hit her with his magic.  I didn't know what spell he was using, but it was effective." Lizbeth Rose is back to doing what she does best, being a gunnie.  She's got a new job, a new crew, and a new slew of problems as she tries to transport a mysterious chest into Dixie.  It's smooth going until someone blows up the train she and her crew are on and steals the chest.  Now Lizbeth is stuck in Sally, a town where women are soft, wear skirts, and definitely don't carry Colt pistols.  It's also a town full of racists who think they world owes them something.  With Eli, her very likable wizard friend, by her side, Lizbeth sets out to recover the chest and help set the backwards town of Sally straight.  A Longer Fall is the second book in the Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris and it's just as fun as the first!  I've been a huge fan of Charlaine Harris' books for many, many years and this...