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: Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich

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sizzling sixteen janet evanovich stephanie plumIn the latest installment of the Stephanie Plum book series, Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich, Vinnie Plum has run out of luck. His gambling debts caused him to be kidnapped and put his business, Vincent Plum Bonds, in jeopardy. Vinnie's employee and cousin Stephanie ropes coworkers Lula and Connie into helping her find Vinnie.

Although, I thoroughly enjoyed Sizzling Sixteen, the one thing that I was confused about throughout the entire book was that Lula kept mentioning her car (a Firebird), and I thought it was destroyed in Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum, #15). I kept telling myself that maybe she purchased a new Firebird, but she sure didn't act like it. I go back and forth between liking Lula and disliking her. There are some books where she just gets on my nerves, and this is one of them.

With that being said, I did enjoy that Connie was featured more than normal and that we learned a little bit more of her. I hope we get to see Connie featured more as the series goes on. And, I enjoyed getting to know Stephanie's cousin Vinny more as a full fledged character instead of being just a minor player in the series. I'm glad that his character description of being a weasel was expanded to show us how he was a weasel instead of just being told he was one. I think my favorite part was when he was locked out wearing only Stephanie's underwear and her utter horror of the situation. What I loved even more was when Morelli showed up with a replacement pair for Stephanie.

Have I mentioned that I really want Stephanie and Morelli to end up being married? If they got married, I feel like the story line could be advanced a bit without ruining anything.  I've seen it done in other book series, and it really worked out well. Furthermore, as much as I enjoy the character of Ranger, I'm growing bored of him being a distraction for Stephanie and getting in between furthering her relationship with Morelli. And, Ranger's character hasn't grown much since he quit working for Vinny.

All in all, I enjoyed Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich and gave it four out of five stars. I can't wait to see what happens in Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum, #17).

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