ENJOY THE POODLE SKIRT by Kate Willis | A Delightful Little Short Story

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★★★★☆

Kate Willis's middle-grade short story, Enjoy the Poodle Skirt, is the tale of Canary and her siblings, who have gone to spend the week working at their newlywed aunt's vintage diner. But when an oddly titled map finds its way into Canary's hands, she is determined to find its owner... and solve the mystery that is at large.

My, what a fun, fast-paced, delightful little tale this was! It brought me back to summers in which my bestie and I would go to my grandfather's house and ride quads, practice archery, go jar "fishing," and, of course, eat ice cream! (Now I want to write a short story of my own... and wear a poodle skirt!) Four stars!

You may want to know: This book was completely clean, and seemed void of anything questionable. :)

Click here to read my Goodreads review.

❤, the Book Dragon

FOR ELISE by Hayden Wand | A Delightfully Light-Hearted "Spook" Novella

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★★★★☆
(4.5 stars)

When the narrator of For Elise buys a supposedly haunted mansion, he is disappointed to find it, well, lacking... at least in the sense of inspiration for his novel. But the tides turn when an invisible, Frank-Sinatra-loving grammar Nazi finds a red editor's pen and takes to revising and commenting on his work.

I adore Hayden Wand's books, and For Elise was certainly no exception! With a rich, classic prose, Hayden delivers a fun and light-hearted novella on relationships of all sorts. The characters were positively delightful, each with their own little quirks. Though I was unsure where the plot was headed, at first, the characters soon took me by the hand and pulled me into a mysterious, boundless world of friendship, love, romance, and redemption. Go and read For Elise -- you won't regret it!

You may want to know: There is some reference to drinking (and, possibly, getting drunk).

Click here to read my Goodreads review.

❤, the Book Dragon