Author Archives: rachelauthorbarnard

Book Review: Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

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Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French

A Fantasy Novel published by Clockwork Dragon (03/11/16)

Summary:

“Everything about her was different from every other Knight. She had a different build, a different weapon, a different sprite, and different challenges.” (Kindle Locations 2034-2035).

Claire is a Spirit Knight and even though she still isn’t accepted by everyone in the male-dominated group, she wants to show them that she is really a Knight. After she gets a dragon as her sprite and has won a weapon from the Heart of the castle, Claire is ready to begin training. But, before she can truly prepare, things start to go wrong. There are mysterious things going on and Claire and Justin must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Keywords:

Spirit Knight, Fantasy, POV Change, Fighting, Responsibility, Unsafe, Strange Things, Horse, Trust, Hope, Death, Problems, Taking Charge, Discovery, Personal Sprite, Dragon, Friendship, Family

My Review:

I found the pacing good, the tension good and storytelling solid, but there were a few characteristics of this book I didn’t like. Justin felt almost like a villain when he was supposed to be supportive of Claire. There were a few scenes where his thoughts about his family were less than positive and that made me uncomfortable. I thought he was supposed to be the hero passing the torch to the new girl? I believe that there are outside forces that influence how he perceives the things he loves, but I wish he had remained the underdog hero instead of the villain’s assistant. Justin is your average knight, but even so, he was easily manipulated and seemed to get caught in the simplest of traps that Claire was able to figure out immediately! How can one be a Spirit Knight, when one is so easily undone! This did let Claire be the hero and this is her story. I did like that there were average knights like Justin and that he tries to be valiant, that he tries hard all the time.

I liked most everything about Claire. The scenes between her and the Heart of the castle were awesome! I loved how in every situation she found herself in, she didn’t give up, even if she had no real weapon. She wasn’t afraid to use her fists!

Dragons. Super cool. I liked how the dragon actually had his own backstory and personality.

I found the twist of the main plot to be obvious. The clues were so good that I guessed what was going to happen quickly. All new information led directly to this obvious ending, which was still satisfying even though I knew it was coming. It was the logical ending.

This novel was published by Clockwork Dragon on March 11th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Lee French on Facebook

Lee French on Twitter

Goodreads

Book Event at Third Place Books with Tiffany Belcher 03/12/16

by in Local Authors, Local Events, Miscellaneous Mondays and tagged ,

What an exciting author event this past Saturday! I’ve read Tiffany Belcher’s first book, Sara Supernatural, and loved it and now the second in the series is available. I observed the event to get good ideas for my own Third Place Books event in June.

Here’s what I learned: The Den seats about 26. They have a projector and screen available. They have a nice podium and sound system. People can’t see this area from the door, so a big sign and arrow would be handy.

Here are some neat pics I took from the event. I loved seeing Tiffany Belcher again and she had quite the lovely, entertaining, and useful presentation.

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Throwback to when I first met Tiffany and bought her first book at St. James Espresso in Kirkland… 04/15/2015

20150415 author signing with Tiffany Blecher

 

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Daddy’s Donuts

by in Foodie Fridays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Eats, Rachel Barnard and tagged | 5 Comments

Daddy’s Donuts

Kenmore, WA

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7018 Bothell Way NE, Kenmore, WA 98028

(206) 496-3670

Website: http://www.daddysdonuts.net/

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Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: Straw-bella

Signature shop donut: Caramel apple

Most popular US donut: glazed (not available)

2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème (not available)

Donut Hole: Only mini-donuts are made/sold

 

What I tried:

Daddy’s Original, Original with cinnamon sugar, Original with powdered sugar, Straw-Bella, Coco-Loco, Caramel Apple, Funky Monkey, Robot Roberta, Happy Camper, 12th Man, Tayo Tornado, Confetti Eddie, Al Capone

I’ve also tried their mocha, hot chocolate and steamed flavored milk (hazelnut)

 

What to expect:

Daddy’s specializes in mini-donuts that are all based on the cake donut. They are fresh and made to order. Each order takes a couple of minutes to put together. They make their own cream and use fresh fruit (organic or local when possible). You will not find most of the “typical” donuts in this shop.

 

Perks:

If you like cake donuts, these are the best in the area that you’ll find. They are perfectly bite sized and come out fresh and warm, ready to eat. The cream, for the varieties with cream on top, is handmade and won’t instantly melt from the warm donuts. The fruit is fresh as well. The owner combines his love of robots and donuts in this store and the place is covered in both! It’s a wonderfully fun shop for kids.

 

Don’t Worry:

The shop is tiny, fitting around ten people at a time. There is a bathroom on location. Parking is limited to around 8 spots. It’s right off the highway, so make sure to keep your eyes out for the little single story shop and get into the turn lane/bus only lane in time to make the sharp right. (there is no left because they are on one side of a divided highway). If you’re getting groceries at Safeway, a sandwich at Subway, hitting up the ATM at Bank of America or making a quick stop at the UPS, be sure to walk over and snag some mini donuts, you’ll be glad that you did.

 

My favorite:

The owner is such a sweet person. He is enthusiastic and inviting and will remember who you are! He wants the customer to be happy as much as he wants his shop to succeed. My favorite combo at his shop is the straw-bella.

All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!

by in For the Love of Donuts, Rachel Barnard and tagged ,

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You don’t have to wait until June 3rd to experience donuts and challenges. You can get your copy of Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things by Rachel Barnard right now!

This little accompaniment book to Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) has a lot of super cool (awesome) things in it.

This book has: The Food Challenge, Tips to Help You Win a Food Challenge, 10 Challenges at 10, Facts About Corgis, 20 Challenges at 20, The Secret of Tree Beach, Fat Boy Run, 30 Challenges at 30, Your Local Hangout, 40 Challenges at 40, Reasons to Bask in a Sea of Puppies, 50 Challenges at 50, Kale is Not a Curse Word, Doughnuts Recipe, Object Scavenger Hunt, Photo Scavenger Hunt, To Do with Donuts, Yes or No?, Top Ten Worst Donut Flavors, Top Ten Donuts You Have to Try, For the Love of Donuts Books, Donuts in an Empty Field Chapter One, About the Author

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From Vanessa’s Book of Awesome Things – 20 Challenges at 20:

How many have you done?

1 Gallop on a horse  Yes
2 Fast for a day  Yes
3 Donate blood  Yes
4 Swim with dolphins  Not yet
5 Ride a Segway  Yes
6 Ride in a limo  Not yet
7 Stay awake for 48 hours straight  Not Sure
8 Participate in a headphone dance party  Yes
9 Spend 3 hours in a Walmart  Yes
10 Go night swimming  Yes
11 Wrestle a friend in the sand  Yes
12 Attempt a world challenge  Not officially
13 Make up your own lyrics to a popular song  Yes
14 Participate in a zombie walk  Yes
15 Hide a geocache  Yes
16 Learn a magic trick  Yes
17 Take your parents on a date and pay for everything  Yes
18 Dress up and go out on any day but Halloween  Yes
19 Write a positive note and leave it in a library book  Not yet
20 Dumpster dive  Yes

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Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1)

Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.

Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.

A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.

Book Review: Master of Machines (The Antigone’s Wrath Series Book 2) by Starla Huchton

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Master of Machines (The Antigone’s Wrath Series Book 2) by Starla Huchton

A Steampunk-Adventure Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (02/16/16)

Summary:

“Regrets are the realm of humanity, capitaine, not of machines.” (Kindle Location 3331).

The crew of the Antigone’s Wrath is almost all new, all with deep seated hate for the Brotherhood. All who are left are the Captain Rachel Sterling, Danton the Master at Arms, and one other sailor. To pick up this story, Rachel will need to get help from Silas Jensen again. It isn’t for her that she needs Silas, or is it?

Keywords:

Ship, Magic, Ship, Female Captain, Strength, Fighting, Ring, Gear Head, Lover, Danger, Killing, Technology, Secret Sect, Steampunk, Manipulation, Race, Romance

My Review:

Captain Rachel Sterling was as strong as ever in this second book, but she doesn’t always know herself. I love the way she was commanding as a leader, a true pirate, and able to use every resource available to her to get what she wanted (even wearing a corset!).

This is a steampunk story that doesn’t throw difficult language in your face or too much in the way technically/scientifically. This is a steampunk story for everybody. It truly has a story because the Antigone’s Wrath must race time to get what they want and there are plenty of obstacles in the way!

I appreciated how Huchton acknowledges the shortcomings of the culture while still staying true to the world that we’re familiar with and showing an ideal female role model and how we would like our world to be even if it is not. For example, Captain Sterling says, “The world is filled with misogyny. I find it’s more useful to appreciate and reward kindness than acknowledge and battle every insult.” (Kindle Locations 898-899).

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on February 16th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Starla Huchton’s Website

Goodreads

All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!

by in Author Thursdays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged

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Don’t forget about the donuts… Because it’s all about the donuts!

I’m putting together a fantastic month of fun filled donut-themed parties in June. Why June? Because, Dear Reader, June 3rd this year is National Donut Day. My upcoming release is not all about donuts, but it does feature donuts and food and challenges. Don’t miss Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) coming June 3rd, 2016.

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Here’s a summary of the book for you:

Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.

Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.

Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.

A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.

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Here’s some facts about the book, in case you aren’t yet convinced:

1. Vanessa owns a corgi
2. Vanessa’s dad tries to beat the world record for most powdered donuts eaten in 3 minutes
3. Vanessa and Nichole live in Sarasota, FL
4. There’s a list of challenges the girls must complete
5. There is a local food challenge the girls try to beat

Book Review: The Reaper (The Children of Wisdom Book 2) by Stephanie Erickson

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The Reaper (The Children of Wisdom Book 2) by Stephanie Erickson

A Fiction Novel that will be published (03/06/2016)

Summary:

“We only fail if we give up.” (Kindle Location 2005).

Penn is back, but it is Michaela the Reaper who tells the story in this second installment of the Children of Fate. The “surprises” that have shown up on the Reaper’s lists for weeks now, keep on coming. Who is cutting lives short? Michaela found these surprise souls in a limbo prison in hell and not in heaven where they belong. She can’t fix this by herself, so she gets Penn and the other Fates to help her get to the bottom of the mystery. Is it too late to save these souls? Will there be more lives cut short? Who is to blame? Why isn’t G-d doing something about it?

Keywords:

Fate, Life, Death, Order, Chaos, God, Humans, Immortals, Banishment, Punishment, Love, Love Sick, Friendship, Heaven, Earth, Hell, Tough Choices, Tapestry of Life, Demons, Escape

My Review:

The Reaper continues where The Fate left off, but through the eyes of Michaela and not of Penn. The cliffhanger and less than satisfying ending in The Fate is replicated in book two. Loose threads were not tied up, but they are beginning to unravel to their tips. We get more of the story behind the main love story found in book one.

The end of the Reaper is like that of a serial episode and not like that of a full novel. The cliffhanger is more abrupt. The final scene is more abrupt. The pacing of this overall series is not predictable. I would have liked to see the Children of Wisdom not as multiple books, but as serials or one book.

I like how Stephanie Erickson shows us heaven, hell, and the places in between. The worldbuilding is just enough to show us everything the characters see and know and feel. I also love her ‘rules’ for the Fates and the various types of people who live and work in this afterlife (beforelife?). Demons are not to be trusted. Reapers are compassionate. Fates can work wonders with their hands.

Overall it was a fun book and I look forward to reading the third book in this series.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author and this is an honest review.

This novel will be published 03/05/2016 and will be available on Amazon.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Miscellaneous Mondays – Author Platform – Newsletter!

by in author platform, Miscellaneous Mondays, Rachel Barnard

Hello dear readers!

If you want to receive a monthly newsletter instead of subscribing to all posts from this wordpress blog, please signup to my new newsletter! Simply click this link to go to my last newsletter and signup in the top left hand corner.

What my will newsletter contain:
  • Upcoming events
  • All about the donuts section featuring something super cool about my upcoming release Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1)
  • All about the donuts local donut shop review
  • Summary of the month’s book reviews
  • Important updates about Rachel Barnard and her books

Check out my February newsletter here, let me know if you want to see anything else in my newsletter! I love getting all your comments.

All About the Donuts: Local Donut Shop Review – Henry’s Donuts in Monroe, WA

by in Foodie Fridays, For the Love of Donuts, Local Eats, Rachel Barnard and tagged , , | 1 Comment

Henry’s Donuts

Monroe, WA

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19191 State Rte 2, Monroe, WA 98272

(360) 794-8088

Website: https://www.facebook.com/HenryDonut/

 

Review criteria:

Most popular donut at the shop: Maple Bar

Signature shop donut: Bacon Maple Bar

Most popular US donut: Glazed

2nd most popular US donut: Boston crème

Donut Hole: Glazed Donut Holes

 

What I tried:

Maple Bar, Bacon Maple Bar, Glazed, Bostome Crème, Old Fashioned, Donut Holes

 

What to expect:

Henry’s has a great location in Monroe with their storefront facing the main road. They are open for lengthy hours, so don’t worry about getting there before they close! They also make their donuts more often than just in the morning so you can enjoy fresh donuts at any time of day. Their dough is to die for on the fresh donuts and the shop smells wonderful, like newly made donuts of course! They have a selection of all your favorite donuts, but nothing out of the ordinary more than the bacon maple bar (is this a classic yet?).

 

My favorite:

The hours! How grand that a donut shop stays open so late! My favorite donut so far is their donut hole.