REVIEW: "The Bloated Goat" by Manley Peterson

Oh, no! Bloated Goat has little black Xs where his eyes should be! Now it's up to his best friend, Cocky Doodle, and Cocky's grandma, Granny Hammy, to take Bloated Goat home to be buried. Along the way, Bloated Goat becomes the desired target of a cast of zany characters, including a lovesick skunk, a family of rats, and wild and crazy mushrooms. Will Cocky ever get his friend to the right place, or will Bloated Goat permanently end up on someone else's dance card?

"Bloated Goat" is, at times, witty and clever, but some adults may find its wackiness to be over the top. The narrator sometimes talks to the readers, and refers to upcoming chapters. The obvious is often stated by the various characters, in a very amusing way. The short length of the story is perfectly fitting to this particular genre; any longer and the silliness would likely become annoying.

The characters are fun in their absurdity. A wolf, married to a vegetarian, can't help but gnaw on his delicious mother-in-law. A skunk, crazy for love, is looking for the perfect husband- the smellier the better. Fun characters and zany conversation when you least expect it adds to the cleverness of the story. A few pictures along the way would really add a lot to the story, but there is something to be said for imagining the happenings on your own. Overall, this is would be a good bet for the middle-grade age, where the sillier the conversation and the nastier the smelly imagery, the better the fun to be had in a book!

4 /5 stars

Available at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

REVIEW: "The Goblin Brothers Adventures" by Lindsay Buroker

Malagach and Gortok are brothers. Goblin brothers, that is. Smart and literate, they are quite unusual in their village, and often the target of Zakrog and his gang of bullies. Gortok is the inventor of the two, always coming up with amazing new tools to use. Malagach is a bit of an "idea boy," and he makes a great assistant for his younger brother. Together, they find themselves in some crazy dilemmas, and it takes every bit of knowledge and ingenuity they have to get themselves right back out!

Written as a middle-grade book, this collection of adventures by Lindsay Buroker is entertaining and fun for all ages. The writing style offers a good combination of easy-to-understand language along with higher level words that will challenge younger readers. It's the type of story that will entice reluctant readers to learn new vocabulary while providing an engaging story for more advanced younger readers. The mix of simple sentence structure with more complex structures is a great technique to appeal to many levels of reading. Some middle-grade books feel a bit mind-numbing to an adult, but that was not true in this case. I know my own kids would enjoy it as much as I did. The world that is presented to us is an adventure in itself. We are able to explore the relationships between goblins, humans, orcs, and other creatures, enticing our imaginations while providing entertainment.

The brothers themselves are utterly engaging and fun, with good characterization. The dialogue between them really helps establish each brother's personality. I really liked the fact that the brothers were always on the lookout for new books, and were interested in new math and science facts. Other characters are brought in as concerns the plot, and each personality presented is quite distinct and well-defined. Although all the stories are about the brothers, there isn't a lot in the way of continuity between stories. Each adventure stands alone nicely, which can be a draw for this age group. Some chapters provide a little more backstory into the brothers' lives and some are much more adventuresome than some others. Each story presents a challenge for the brothers to overcome. I found myself more engaged in some of the stories than in others, with one story in particular much less appealing to me than the rest.

Overall, a wonderful adventure with universal appeal!

4.5 /5 stars

Available at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

You can read more about the Goblin Brothers and their Adventures on their website!

GIVEAWAY! Enter to win a FREE ebook copy of "Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town" by Scott Neumyer

JIMMY STONE'S

GHOST TOWN

By Scott Neumyer

For Jimmy Stone, life in "Boredsylvania" has been pretty tough. His mom's died, his dad's completely checked out, and he spends his days running from the Coogan Boys, the local bullies. It isn't long, however, before "Boredsylvania" gets a lot more exciting. With his new friend, David and his dog, Trex, by his side, Jimmy discovers that the woods beyond his backyard hold the key to a world he could never even imagine. Soon, he ends up in Ghost Town, where he’s greeted by his ghost guide, Gasp, and receives an ominous prophecy.

“Seven things you must find.

One thing for each day. 

Seven things you must find. 

Or else they all will pay! 

Suddenly Ghost Town becomes as scary as it sounds, and Jimmy Stone realizes that he's in way over his head.

To view a Teaser Trailer, visit www.whoisjimmystone.com.

To enter: 

1. Leave a comment on this post with your name and email address.  Please specify whether you’d prefer to receive the book as an ebook from Amazon.com (for Kindle owners) or as an ebook from Smashwords.com (for all other ereader owners- including Sony and Nook). 
2. Up to 5 winners will be randomly selected after the Giveaway closes on January 17th! Winners will receive their FREE ebook information via mail from the author himself!

(If you aren’t comfortable leaving your email address on the post, you can send it to me via email after you leave a comment. If you do not share your email address, you will not entered in the drawing as I won’t know how to get a hold of you should you win.)

You do not need to follow me in order to win, but followers are always appreciated! Feel free to link to, tweet, or mention this giveaway!