Adventures at Lake Omigosh Virtual Book Tour, Book Activity and Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

Adventures at Lake Omigosh
Written by Scott Sollers
Illustrated by Bryan Janky
Ages: 4-8 | 39 Pages
Publisher: Mascot Kids | ISBN: 979-8891381742

Publisher’s Book Summary: Felix and Harry, two best friends, are super excited to go away for the summer to Camp Horizon, a sleepaway camp in the woods of New Hampshire. There, they can bike, hike, and ride canoes on Lake Omigosh. But something mysterious lurks in the depths of the lake.

For many years, people have claimed to have spotted a mysterious creature drifting on the surface of Lake Omigosh. One day, when Felix and Harry decide to go canoeing, a bad storm arrives, putting the two in real danger. Who will come to their rescue when their canoe flips over and the boys are left stranded in the middle of the lake? Fuel your imagination with Adventures at Lake Omigosh.

Available for purchase on Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Having worked as an investment banker in the municipal securities industry for decades, Scott Sollers created this and other nighttime stories for his daughter, Stephanie, when she was a youngster. Originally, he handwrote and illustrated these stories and finally had the inspiration to get them published. Scott still works, is an avid golfer, and leads a not-for-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children. He currently resides in San Mateo, California, with his cat, Charlie.

For more information, visit scottsollersauthor.com or https://www.instagram.com/scottsollersauthor/.

BOOK ACTIVITY

Looking for a fun activity to go along with the book? To go along with the book, have your kids/students draw a fun summer adventure that they would like to go on and then write about it. 

This will help kids work on their storytelling skills, artistic skills, vocabulary, and developing sentences. They can make it into a story like the author of Adventures at Lake Omigosh.  Here's the link for the file here.

GIVEAWAY 

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a hardcover copy of Adventures at Lake Omigosh and a notebook. 

Adventures at Lake Omigosh: Book Giveaway

This post is sponsored by Expound Publicity. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.

Casters and Crowns Book Review

About the Book 

When Crown Princess Aria sees her kingdom on the brink of war with the magic-wielding Casters, she takes it upon herself to speak with Widow Morton, the most dangerous Caster in the realm. If successful, Aria will not only ensure peace but also prove to her father that she is a worthy heir. But when her negotiations fail, Aria is dealt a terrible curse: Over the course of one hundred days, she will be unable to sleep, her body and mind doomed to waste away. And then the curse will pass to her sister, until every member of the king’s line is dead.

Aria’s best hope for breaking her curse is to seek help from another Caster—the handsome and charming Baron Reeves. He may be entitled to a place at the court, but as a magic user, can he truly be trusted? She vows to not be fooled by his dimpled smiles or his devotion to his brothers, but as she spends more time with him, she discovers that her heart has other ideas.

Baron has no desire to see the princess suffer—especially since she might be the key to changing the king’s opinion on Casters—but he has secrets to protect and ghosts of his own. The last person he tried to save using his magic died, and he’s not willing to risk harming someone he loves again.

As the curse continues its deadly countdown, both Aria and Baron must risk their lives and their hearts to save each other and unite a kingdom.


About the Author

Elizabeth (Liz) Lowham dreams of a future house that is seventy-percent library with at least three lavish window seats. Her reality is five bookshelves and a rocking chair, which isn’t so bad. A fan of all things fantasy, she has a BA in English from BYUI.

My Review

Aria's kingdom is on the brink of war. Despite her father's warnings, Aria visits the Widow Morton to try and broker a peace agreement. Instead of finding peace, the Widow Morton curses Aria. Aria must find a way to break the curse before it harms her and her sisters. Aria seeks the help of Baron Reeves, a magic caster. Baron and Aria get to know each other and begin to fall in love even as dangers increase around them.

Casters and Crowns is fun romance/fantasy for YA to adult audiences. This story is a great one for readers that are just moving away from Middle Grade. The book has clean language, a little bit of kissing, and little very violence. The story moves quickly, and the characters move it forward as they try to deal with the struggles, curses, and challenges around them. The characters are likeable and grow as the story evolves. There are several themes running throughout the book from learning to stand up for yourself, standing up against discrimination, learning to believe in yourself and more. It reminded me of a creative new fairy tale. The world building is interesting, creative, and unique. The world shows a division between magic and non-magic users. The magical users are disdained and treated like second-class citizens for their magic. There was one instance that I felt was a little bumpy in how the author presented information, but overall, it was a fun fantasy to read. I wanted to dive into the world a bit more and see it from other perspectives. I could see the author doing additional books. I look forward to reading more books from this author. 

To learn more about this book, click here.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. Please note that I also received a free ARC to review this book. This post is in cooperation with the publisher; however, all opinions are my own.

The Mystery of Mystic Mountain Virtual Book Tour, Review, and Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Mystery of Mystic Mountain
Written by Janet Fox
Ages: 11-14 | 288 Pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books (2024) | ISBN: 9781665956666

Publisher’s Book Summary: A girl tackles a summer filled with mystery, treasure, and learning to be her true self in this middle grade adventure that’s a modern-day Holes set on a dusty dude ranch in Montana.

Becca Soloway’s perfect summer goes up in smoke when her mom flees a looming divorce by dragging Becca to a Montana resort. To make matters worse, her mom’s hasty booking lands them not at a spa, but an aging dude ranch called Far Away.

Becca is miserable until she meets the wrangler’s son, Jon, who shows her what might be the first clue to a century-old mystery: the lost treasure of a Robin Hood–like outlaw known as Pearlhandle Pete.

As they slowly uncover the true history of Pete, venture into the mountains, search haunted ghost towns, and are threatened by a treasure-hunter-social-media star, Becca discovers that treasure is in the eye of the beholder and the important things in life are always worth fighting for.

Available for purchase on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Barnes and Noble.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janet Fox is an award-winning author with a deep passion for the magic of storytelling. Her writing journey began at age 8 with a poem published in the town newspaper, setting the stage for a career dedicated to writing captivating tales for young readers.

As a writer, Janet strives to create books to help grow young hearts and minds. Her 12 award-winning books span the spectrum of picture books through young adult, in a broad variety of genres.

As a mentor and book coach with 25 years in publishing, Janet’s mission is to guide writers through the twists and turns of their creative odyssey, turning struggles into triumphs. She has helped scores of writers achieve their dream of writing, revising, and, yes, publishing their children’s books.

For more information, check out the author's website, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest. 

REVIEW

In The Mystery of Mystic Mountain, Becca and her mom find themselves at a Dude Ranch instead of a luxury resort. Becca is miserable until she befriends Jon, a wrangler's son, and Liam, another guest. Jon enlists Becca's help to solve a mystery at the ranch based on stories that he heard from his gran. As Becca, Jon, and Liam uncover the mystery, they discover that they're not the only ones looking for it.

This book is a good mystery for upper middle grade readers and younger YA readers. The characters learn valuable lessons in friendship, being kind, putting technology away to experience the "magic" of life, and the value of having a good character. The characters' friendship builds gradually overtime as the mystery starts to unfold. Readers will enjoy the twists, adventure, riddles, and spooky scenes in this story. I liked the story and felt like it was very age appropriate for readers. It's also a book that would appeal to both boys and girls. Overall, I thought it was a cute and fun book.

GIVEAWAY

Enter the giveaway for your chance to win a signed hardcover copy of The Mystery of Mystic Mountain, some fun swag, and a signed copy of Carry Me Home!

The Mystery of Mystic Mountain: Book Giveaway 

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to share my opinion. This post is sponsored by Janet Fox. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.