Michelle Obama

by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

As and adult, I have read Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, and recommend it highly. Here we have a Michelle for the youngest readers in a new entry in the popular Little People, Big Dreams series. The same qualities come across in both books: Michelle values family, education, health, fitness and helping those who come along behind you.

This title is recommended for both home and school libraries. It simply tells the story of an inspiring American woman.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

From the publisher:

Discover the life of Michelle Obama, the iconic first lady, advocate, lawyer, and author!

On the upper floor of a humble house on the south side of Chicago, a little girl called Michelle was growing up.	Barack became the first African American president of the United States, and Michelle, a First Lady like no other.	And whatever the future brings for little Michelle, she will keep touching people’s hearts and souls.

#TheMinotaurSamplerVolume4 #NetGalley Pub Date 28 Sep 2021

I always enjoy these samplers. They offer good introductions to books that are coming out along with very generous excerpts. Author bios are also included. In this volume there are new novels by Stacy Willingham, Alex Finlay Gigi Pandian, Camilla Sten, Anna Downes and Samantha Jayne Allen.

I already have two of these titles in my TBR pile and I will be adding to that now.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is another title published by my favorite Poisoned Pen Press. It is a cozy mystery with all of the requisite tropes. Our protagonist has a small business (iced tea shop), dates a detective and becomes involved in a murder investigation. Amateur detective Bree will try to solve the case and help a former boyfriend. How do you imagine Detecttive Grady Hays feels about this?

The characters and setting enliven this title. The mystery itself was intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages.

I adore cozy mysteries for when I want to escape my real world problems. I enjoyed the time I spent in North Carolina and look forward to the next entry in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

nyti.ms/3gSeW1u

With 2-Way Sequins!

by Sophie Vaillancourt

#TheSecretHalloweenCostume #NetGalley Pub Date 21 Sep 2021

Charlotte is a young witch. As Halloween approaches, she does not want to follow her family tradition of dressing as a scary witch. Can she do something different? What costumes will she reject? What plan will she carry out? What is the message of this holiday story for young children?

Add this to your list if you are looking for stories about independent girls this October.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

#InKiltumper #NetGalley

When I read this couple’s first book, O Come Ye Back to Ireland, I fell in love. With the couple, with their story and the way in which their story was told. I went on to read the other memoirs about their life in Ireland. These included The Pipes Are Calling and Summer’s in the Meadow. Every one of these was beautifully written and I felt that I knew Christine and Niall.

I was beyond excited to see that this couple had written another book together. (They have each written other titles separately.) It felt like I was being given a wonderful opportunity to connect with old friends after many years.

I adored this book. Its structure allows each author to have a voice. The hardest thing was to realize that, just like all of us, Niall, Christine and their children have gotten older with the passing years. They are no longer the young Irish-American and Irish duo who decided to leave the bustle of the city for their family’s homeland. I was eager to learn how the years have passed for both them, those around them, their farm, their garden and their world.

I highly recommend this title. For the full joyful experience, consider going back to the beginning with them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

nyti.ms/3zLLZMh

Live Well Bake Cookies

75 Classic Cookie Recipes for Every Occasion

by Danielle Rye

#LiveWellBakeCookies #NetGalley

Caution! This book will make you hungry. There are 75 cookie recipes and I want to try all of them. Included are recipes for everything from Chocolate Chip to Oatmeal Raisin to Peanut Butter to Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Snickerdoodles, Shortbread, Chocolate Chunk, Thumbprints and Small Batch Cookies…and that is just the recipes listed in the first column of the table of contents.

Before bakers get to the recipes, there are several helpful sections at the beginning of the book. These cover such topics as Tools and Equipment, Troubleshooting and more.

I was not familiar with the author before looking at this title, She is a blogger and expert baker from what I can see.

This looks like just the book for a baker you know, even yourself!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.