Thursday, May 7, 2015
Throwback Thursday - Big Shot Chocolate Syrup
Daily Vintage - Wonders of Nature by Eloise Wilkin
Book Review: Aoleon, The Martian Girl - Part Five by Brent LeVasseur
Aoléon, Gilbert, Bizwat, Helios, and Zoot make it to their final destination - Cydonia where Aoléon’s parents are being held captive. They infiltrate a secret underground base and are confronted by a small army of sentrybots.
Bizwat lends Aoléon and Gilbert some of his advanced combat skills via a psionic brain dump. However, this may not be enough to save them from overwhelming hostile forces that will do anything to stop them.
They finally meet Pax - the Martian who originally set them out on the mission to discover the truth about the Luminon and his plans to invade Earth. However Pax is not who he seems to be, and through a turn of events, they uncover the true power behind all that has been happening on Mars.
Will they be able to rescue Aoléon’s parents and save Earth from invasion? Read part 5 to find out!
My Review:
I looked forward to another visit with Aoleon and Gilbert in Aoleon, The Martian Girl - Part Five. I have enjoyed reading this entire series (thanks, iRead Book Tours and Brent LeVasseur!). This is the first science fiction series I have enjoyed. These books are so much fun.
Part Five concludes the Aoleon series. Aoleon and Gilbert have grown in strategy and courage, and they face their biggest challenge yet, as they work with their friends to save Aoleon's parents and also stop an invasion of earth.
The descriptions and details in this book are vivid and interesting. Crystal formations are compared to rock candy. Tiny lizards appear out of nowhere. The underground base has tunnels and chutes and many surprises. Gilbert is fascinated by the holographic shapes that Aoleon creates with psionic energy: "Through the darkness of the voice, an orb of pulsating white light formed and hovered in midair before them, illuminating the entire room. A steady humming tone resonated from within. Forces of light manifested themselves in various three-dimensional geometric shapes, each with its own corresponding musical tone."
The illustrations are colorful and vivid. They add a lot to the story, and are best seen in color. I like the spectacular scenes on Mars, but I also like the detail of faces and expressions.
I have really enjoyed seeing the storylines and characters develop over the series of five books. As the characters matured, the challenges they faced became more intense and required more courage. The books are well written, with a nice mix of dialogue and description, and they move quickly. I think all the Aoleon books, including this last book in the series, will appeal to young readers.
Book Trailer:
Meet the
Author:
Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.
Connect with Brent: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Aoléon: The Martian Girl
I received a copy of this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.
Connect with Brent: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Aoléon: The Martian Girl
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Daily Vintage - Easter Postcard, Baby Chick in a Bird Nest
Found at Birdhouse Books: vintage Easter postcard, chick in nest.
Guest Post and Giveaway: Tillie's Tale by by Mindy Mymudes
BLURB:
Who is the
mysterious ghosty haunting puppygirl Tillie? And why? George, the magical
basset hound familiar is on the trail.
It’s not often a
basset hound puppy is haunted by an unhappy ghost, but George’s packmate,
Tillie, manages to attract one. George and Tillie need to find out how to help
the ghost before she turns into a poultry-ghost.
GUEST POST by Mindy Mymudes: My favorite dog
breeds
Mindy: I think you’re
trying to get me in trouble. I live with a pack of English Springer Spaniels and my muse is a very egotistical Basset
Hound. I’m going to make them all very unhappy if I have to choose any other breeds
besides them or their friends. Unhappy dogs fart in my face, bring me live
squirrels, rabbit, and birds, and steal my food. Oh, wait, they do that anyway.
I love all dog breeds, even though Springers are the breed I’ve lived with most of my life. They are hunting dogs, bred to stay close to hunters and spring (flush) birds out of the grass and retrieve it back to their handler. That means I have Velcro dogs that like to sleep on my head. Or legs. Or chest. Preferable across my head and they like to roll each other off so they can take the spot. Grandmother Chrystal, mother Cera, and Freaky Beak, her daughter, take up more space on the bed than my 6’4 husband. They are very easy to train, very busy (read, they like to play outside and get lots of exercise), and usually settle on the couch or on my foot in the house when I’m doing something that doesn’t include me. Most of the Springers I know have a wicked sense of humor. Or at least think they do.
I love all dog breeds, even though Springers are the breed I’ve lived with most of my life. They are hunting dogs, bred to stay close to hunters and spring (flush) birds out of the grass and retrieve it back to their handler. That means I have Velcro dogs that like to sleep on my head. Or legs. Or chest. Preferable across my head and they like to roll each other off so they can take the spot. Grandmother Chrystal, mother Cera, and Freaky Beak, her daughter, take up more space on the bed than my 6’4 husband. They are very easy to train, very busy (read, they like to play outside and get lots of exercise), and usually settle on the couch or on my foot in the house when I’m doing something that doesn’t include me. Most of the Springers I know have a wicked sense of humor. Or at least think they do.
I’ve been an instructor at obedience clubs for years as well
as an AKC judge, and have found a lot of
breeds I adore. I take care of Whippets for
friends during the day. A smaller relative of the greyhound, they are more
catlike than my spaniels. Very active and smart, they aren’t as close working
as the Springers, and Whippets aren’t really into perfect competition
obedience, either. A lot of fun, and they’re a lot easier to groom.
Papillons are a
small breed of spaniel that I’ve always admired. Very sweet and smart, my
biggest worry is stomping on them. I always thought they’d make a great
retirement dog, as long as I carried it.
The longhaired miniature Dachshund are just plain cute. Short legs, happy faces, they make
me smile. I love to judge them in rally obedience.
Border Collies are
far smarter than I will ever be. While I think they are beautiful and admire
them in competition, it’s likely I’d drive one crazy.
Then there are…
George: Do you really think this is all about you? I hired you for your hands, not for
your mouth. You’re my secret-ary, not my translator. There is simply one breed
that is everyone’s favorite, the Basset
Hound. We’re perfect, soft, cuddly and smart, with great hair. Well, almost
every Basset has great hair. I love my snuggums, but she has had a bad hair day
since we met.
Mindy: That’s because Phoebe isn’t a Basset Hound. She’s a
PBGV.
George: She’s alphabet soup? You really are going
crazy. I should put an ad in the paper for a new employee.
Mindy: Not alphabet soup, stop thinking with your stomach.
She’s a PBGV, a Petit Basset Griffon
Vendéen, pronounced "Puh-TEE
Bah-SAY Gree-FOHN VON-day-uhn.
George: That’s just a fancy way to say Basset. I
know my sweetlips loves me to bark in French to her. Oh, my sweet Bah-SAY.
Shame she can’t do something with her coat.
Mindy:<Facepalm>
EXCERPT
“Wrrrrttttle.”
Tillie’s
tail is spinning in circles. She’s staring at a filmy thing sitting on the
steps of an old, rough-brick building. I know it’s really a large Peeps’ den,
but since it’s bad to be in the dog house, I assume it’s bad to be in a house.
Why don’t they just call it a den if houses are so bad? From the smelltaste of
cooking, Peeps, dust, skin, and the other stuff Peeps like, there are many
small dens inside. Tillie “wrrrrrtttles” again and adds a soft “wuff.” Her
front goes down into a play bow. The thing she’s trying to get to play is
shimmery and clear, with thick and thin spots swimming on the surface.
“Snoof.
Snuffle” I lick my lips. There’s a disturbing smelltaste of
dustmoldlightningozone.
Oh
mousefleas.
It’s
a ghosty.
GIVEAWAY
Mindy will be
awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter
during the tour.
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