Book Review: All the Ice Cream in the Land by Emmy Kastner

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All the Ice Cream in the Land  by Emmy Kastner  is about a princess, the kingdom she lives in, and her loyal subjects. Full of twists and turns, children will surely delight in this story about ice cream. When I saw the title and cover art of this kid's book, it made me instantly think of my childhood and how I would've loved a book like this one. A huge shout out and thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for approving my request to read this book. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. The storyline is very easy to follow, making it especially suitable for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers, particularly children between the ages of two and six. Its straightforward narrative and clear structure make it an excellent choice for read-aloud sessions at home, bedtime stories, or classroom story time. While there is limited character development, which is typical for a picture book format, the princess is still an intere...
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Book Review: Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman

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Book Review of Knot a Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman

Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman opens with Casey Feldstein meeting with one of the owners at the Vista Del Mar to discuss an upcoming retreat.  Madeline has come up with an idea of combining a murder mystery game with the typical yarn retreat that Casey normally does.  When one of the guests ends up being murdered, things go awry.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and and Beyond the Page Publishing for approving my request to read this novel.  The synopsis including a bit about a murder mystery game that sounded similar to playing the board game Clue really intrigued me.

Having never read a book written by Betty Hechtman before, I wasn't sure what to expect as cozy mystery novels have always been hit or miss with me.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find Knot A Game to be well written, engaging, and an all around fun read.  I enjoyed it so much that I'm looking forward to purchasing all the other books that came before this one in the series.

Most of the characters were likable with only a few being unpleasant, which is nice for a change.  There are so many times where this isn't the case.  I felt like I lived in the little town and knew all the characters that lived there.  The pacing of the story had a nice tempo and didn't seem to drag one bit.  I enjoyed all the red herrings and clues that the author planted throughout the book to keep me guessing the entire time.   

Five out of five stars is what I gave Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman.  This novel includes some recipes of food described in the book along with instructions on how to knit the hand warmers the characters made in the story.

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