by Little Big Ears (A.K.A. Lina) ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2019
A quick, delightful tale for canine lovers who can never get enough dog stories.
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An irrepressible toy Australian shepherd discusses her human Momma as she chronicles the first two years of their life together in this debut book.
If you have ever wished you could hear what your loving, furry companion really thinks of you, Lina (“pronounced with a long i”) is here to dish the dirt from a canine perspective. Born in Florida and adopted when she was a few weeks old, Lina decided early on that her experiences with Momma were so “fur-raising” that she simply had to blog about them. This journal by Little Big Ears (a.k.a. Lina) is adapted from LinasDogBlog. Much to Lina’s consternation, she learned that her time would be divided between living “on one of the Ten Thousand Islands of Florida” and in Minnesota—the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Lina hates water. And Minnesota is really cold. There are some other issues. Momma gets easily confused, distracted, or otherwise frazzled. She travels frequently and plays a lot of golf. And she is a staunch Republican. Lina, on the other hand, worries about being deported by President Donald Trump because of her “Australian” heritage. Fortunately, Lina has Nanny Becky and others to pick up the slack when things get too tough for Momma to handle. Add in a bevy of playful canine friends in the North and South and Lina, in between the numerous runs to one veterinarian or another and Momma’s embarrassing behavior, is a very happy camper. Despite crossing the red line on the cuteness meter, this little romp of a read is often quite funny, filled with near disasters many pet parents will recognize. After just a few pages, it will be easy enough for readers to suspend all disbelief and enjoy the world according to Lina. Here is her cynical take on Momma’s willingness to dispense “ ‘calming aid’ treats” to deal with thunderstorm anxiety: Nanny should have realized “that Momma would use them to drug me whenever she wanted a little free time. And…I’m pretty sure the aids do not all trickle down to me.” The accompanying family photographs are adorable. Want more? A sequel is in the works.
A quick, delightful tale for canine lovers who can never get enough dog stories.Pub Date: July 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59298-823-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Beaver's Pond Press
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 1995
Thoroughbreds and Virginia blue-bloods cavort, commit murder, and fall in love in Roberts's (Hidden Riches, 1994, etc.) latest romantic thriller — this one set in the world of championship horse racing. Rich, sheltered Kelsey Byden is recovering from a recent divorce when she receives a letter from her mother, Naomi, a woman she has believed dead for over 20 years. When Kelsey confronts her genteel English professor father, though, he sheepishly confesses that, no, her mother isn't dead; throughout Kelsey's childhood, she was doing time for the murder of her lover. Kelsey meets with Naomi and not only finds her quite charming, but the owner of Three Willows, one of the most splendid horse farms in Virginia. Kelsey is further intrigued when she meets Gabe Slater, a blue-eyed gambling man who owns a neighboring horse farm; when one of Gabe's horses is mated with Naomi's, nostrils flare, flanks quiver, and the romance is on. Since both Naomi and Gabe have horses entered in the Kentucky Derby, Kelsey is soon swept into the whirlwind of the Triple Crown, in spite of her family's objections to her reconciliation with the notorious Naomi. The rivalry between the two horse farms remains friendly, but other competitors — one of them is Gabe's father, a vicious alcoholic who resents his son's success — prove less scrupulous. Bodies, horse and human, start piling up, just as Kelsey decides to investigate the murky details of her mother's crime. Is it possible she was framed? The ground is thick with no-goods, including haughty patricians, disgruntled grooms, and jockeys with tragic pasts, but despite all the distractions, the identity of the true culprit behind the mayhem — past and present — remains fairly obvious. The plot lopes rather than races to the finish. Gambling metaphors abound, and sexual doings have a distinctly equine tone. But Roberts's style has a fresh, contemporary snap that gets the story past its own worst excesses.
Pub Date: June 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-14059-X
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
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by Nora Roberts
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by Nora Roberts
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by Nora Roberts
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2008
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
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