Candy Bunny Reader

Let's talk about an author that became a favorite of mine this year! So Robert Beatty doesn't have as many books as the previous two authors I talked about, but pretty much everything he's written so far that I have read has been awesome! The first book I read from him was Serafina and the Black Cloak . I gave it 5 stars. The sequels Serafina and the Twisted Staff and Serafina and the Splintered Heart were great, too. I gave them both 4.5 stars. I did not like the fourth book, Serafina and the Seven Stars, that much. I gave it 3.5 stars. The main issue I had with this book is that I felt that it didn't tie in with the previous three books. The first three books had mystery stories that tied in well with each other, but book 4 didn't feel like an actual sequel for them. It felt more like a random standalone book that just happened to have the same characters and setting. I wonder if maybe Robert Beatty didn't plan on writing a 4th book and he probably only wrot...

Hey look! Another all time favorite! And that bookmark that matches the book was signed by the author herself.  The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw is a historical fiction book about Yuriko Ishikawa, a 12-year old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan during WW2. The story follows her daily life and other surprises before the city gets bombed, and the aftermath of said bombing. A lot of the "daily life" stuff in this book mostly centers around Yuriko and her family. She grew up living with her single father, and then one day her single aunt Kimiko and cousin Genji start living with them, shaking up the house dynamic, which Yuriko doesn't like. She also doesn't get along with with aunt Kimiko and Genji. Yuriko's father also starts dating another woman named Sumiyo. Aunt Kimiko also starts dating a guy named Akira. The adults then get engaged and have a double wedding. Luckily, Yuriko gets along well with her new stepmom and step-uncle.  Yuriko is also not pop...

I read this book a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it! I loved every single second of it. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a historical fiction fantasy book about Serafina, a young girl who lives with her father in the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Well, he father is one of the workers and they live in the basement of the estate. Except for her father and a couple of the other low-ranking workers, no one knows that Serafina exists, and she wonders why her father has to keep her a secret. So she spends her days catching rats, reading books, and a multitude of other things while keeping out of site of the Vanderbilt family and their elite circle.  But one day Serafina sees a man in a magical black cloak magically swallow up a girl named Clara Brahms, who was visiting the estate with her mother. Eventually more kids of the rich families who visit the Vanderbilts go missing, and as Serafina tries to investigate, she ends up meeting and befriending Brae...