After I read book one in the author's Paige Comber series, I signed up to receive her newsletter and also received this short story. In this, two workers are finding the last 15 minutes of work to be 15 minutes too many. Can they break out? Well-written and humourous.  4/5.

How can you not love Chicken Soup for the Soul?! Some heart-warming stories, some tear-jerkers, and proof that there are genuinely good people in the world.  5/5.

If you're a fan of Snoopy and the Gang, you won't be disappointed with this collection of comics. Why are you still reading this?! Go pick up this book right now! Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC.  5/5.

Mia Jensen has had a horrible day. She's wondering how she got to this point in her life when she hears a noise in the kitchen. She's brutally attacked and left for dead and as she's dying she experiences some of the lives she could have lived if only she made a different choice. This anthology tells the many lives Mia Jensen could have lived. If only. In my opinion there's not one bad story here. They're all strong, interesting and they all have the same flavour.. they all seemed like Mia. Contributors include Catherine McKenzie, Kaira Rouda, Kimberly Belle and Kate Moretti, but like I said every one of these stories is great. They felt complete. I know I've wondered "what would have happened if I did that?" and "if I hadn't of done that then this never would have happened." A unique and thought-provoking read that brought out a lot of emotions both for me and Mia Jensen. Thank you to Netgalley and Two Tales Press for an ARC...

This had an interesting premise - newly single Conrad Blunt has his secretary find an escort for him to take to the charity ball.. his sister doesn't like that idea and has her best friend done up to accompany him which he doesn't know and he doesn't remember Emma anyway. But this was boring. It was repetitious. It was like the author went through the thesaurus and used weird words to describe the anticlimactic sex scene between these two. Ugh. Thank God it was short and it was free. I won't be reading more in this series or looking for more from this author. 2/5.

Appel's stories are always quirky, fun and imaginative. In my opinion though these were not his best. It felt like there was something missing from most of these stories to make them truly stand out and be great. The big reason I chose to read this was because of the woodchuck on the cover. A failed television producer wants the woodchuck in his yard gone, so he has it relocated only for it to send him written letters begging to come back. I did enjoy that one as well as the long story at the end in which the title of this collection comes from. In it two ethicists writing for rival newspaper columns answer questions such as 'If you’re going to commit a murder, is it worse to kill when the victim is sleeping or awake?' I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Vandalia Press for an ARC. 3/5.

This is a collection of eight short stories. Each one is solid and thought-provoking. They're tales about the frustrations of romantic love. For me, nothing seemed to be missing from any of the stories. I really liked "Prisoners of the Multiverse" which tells the tale of a suicidal physicist and his top student, and "The Summer of Interrogatory Subversion" which is about a young girl turning eighteen and her mother renting out their basement to a graduate student who looked like a medieval shepherd and who was deemed creepy by the girl's best friend. Thank you to Netgalley and Black Lawrence Press for a copy of this book. 5/5.

Box of Terror contains four stories. The first one immediately drew me in. I liked the writing and the content was interesting - a man finds himself inside a supermarket that sells a different assortment of food than other supermarkets and it was too late to escape the second he entered the store but he will stop at nothing to return to his family. Then I found the story dragged on and I wasn't as invested as I was at the first, but overall this one was good.  The second story started off good, I liked the concept - a family has just moved to the middle of nowhere and they keep losing their power and the man stays and waits for the repairman while his wife and child go to stay with her mother before it gets dark. But then the author started to lose me with those made up words and I also found this one too long.  I did not like the third story - a man hides himself away from the world and is obsessed with numbers. In no way did this one interest me.  I did like the fourth ...

Tom Hanks has written seventeen stories all of which have at least one typewriter in them. Sadly, for me, most of these stories were VERY boring. They're long and filled with nothing memorable. I loved the first story, "Three Exhausting Weeks" which is about friends who have known each other since high school who suddenly take things to the next level. I thought it was jam-packed with adventure and I did like the characters (who are in two other stories as well). And I liked "A Month on Greene Street" which is about a single mother and her three children moving into a new house and at first she thinks her neighbour is weird, desperate and unemployed and she does whatever she can to avoid him, but it turns out she was wrong about him. I found all the other stories extremely painful to get through and I'm so happy I'm done! I won an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to Knopf for my copy. 2/5.

Sinful Pleasures consists of eleven steamy short stories. The good thing about short stories about sex is that things don't get stale and repetitious. Of course there's probably going to be at least one you don't like but all in all it's fun to read something different and get a glimpse inside someone else's imagination. I really enjoyed The Dream Feeder - I thought it was well-written. The story was weird but in a good way; it was creative. I also enjoyed On The Line - I thought the writing was really good and I liked the two young characters who were inexperienced with each other but were a little bit bolder through the phone. And I also enjoyed Lazy Sunday - there was a lot of depth to their relationship. They don't take what they have for granted, and they're spontaneous and fun even after fifteen years together. And I love that cover!  Thank you to Sinful Press and LibraryThing. 4/5.

A friend gave this book to me. It combines two of my favourite things - reading and ducks! On these pages are beautiful illustrations and embossing which only add charm to a cute little story of a duckling who gets lost and hatches alone after his egg rolls away from his family. He comes across many animals who lead him in the right direction, except for the mean old rooster. Soon enough the duckling finds his brothers and sisters and his mommy! Be sure to be kind to people and animals especially to those who need help! 4/5.

I love these Chicken Soup for the Soul books. There are 101 stories about traditions, decorating, miracles, memories, giving and family that will make you laugh, cry, find inspiration, be grateful for what you have, and add to that cozy feeling the holiday season seems to bring with it. It's nice to read about the good things in the world - people helping people whether they're family, neighbours, strangers. My absolute favourite story was My Crazy Dad - I felt so bad for the father because his teenage daughter thought he was "losing his mind" but what he did was so cute. I also loved A Gift From the Heart, and The Mean Old Man Next Door. Thank you to Mom for a great Christmas present!   5/5.

This is a short story prequel to Pretty Girls which was one of my favourite reads of 2016. Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes takes us through the day Julia Carroll went missing. She did things a typical nineteen-year-old would do - went to classes, went out that night with her roommate and best friend, Nancy. She thought about her younger sisters and how she should look out for them more and what they would do together that weekend. Although she had lots of different things going on in her life, her mind always came back to Beatrice Oliver. She went missing five weeks ago and it terrified Julia that a girl her own age could walk out the door and not return and can't be found. And really, it became repetitious for me. Same with what happened with her boyfriend that night. It became repetitious especially in a short story and it just felt bogged down. This was a disappointing read for me. It didn't have the same feel as Pretty Girls at all.

The unnamed narrator is leaving her old job of pro hand job giver and moving on to fortune teller. As a fortune teller she meets a mousy woman named Susan Burke. Susan hires the unnamed narrator to cleanse her old house of evil. But she may be in over her head. I liked the main character; actually I liked all of the characters. I loved the creepy old house and all that went with it. The story kept me guessing. But the ending didn't work for me. It was weak and disappointing and left just a few too many questions unanswered.

Kate is a designer/decorator for a large interior landscaping company. She works her magic in the offices, homes and malls in St. Louis, making everything beautiful and spreading happiness. Her work keeps her from spending the holidays with her family but it also gives her less time to face the pain of a breakup just before Christmas the previous year. Kate's world is about to be turned upside down when she's asked to decorate the home of a widowed single dad.  I loved The Charm Bracelet so when I saw this on Netgalley I had to read it. Sadly this story wasn't for me. It was too fluffy and Kate's heart was always leaping into her throat. I did like the setting and what Kate does for a living and I do enjoy this author's writing and look forward to reading more. Anyone looking for a cute little romantic, heart-warming Christmas story should definitely check this out!

Lots of different heart-warming Christmas stories. It's nice to read about the good in people, the traditions, the sharing, giving and celebrating with family. Thanks to mom for the Christmas present, I loved it :-)

Matthew Stanyer's childhood was not a happy one due to his mother's compulsive hoarding. Now as an adult he's still reluctant to return to the house but his mother's dementia is getting worse. After not hearing from his father for several days after he said he'd call, Matthew goes to their house and finds a note from his father saying he and his wife can't go on this way. The police find their bodies near Blackwater Lake and their deaths are ruled a murder-suicide. Now Matthew has the daunting task of going through the mountains of his mother's hoard. He's taken back to their past - one neither parent ever spoke of - and discovers what may have started his mother's hoarding and why his father chose Blackwater Lake to end their lives. A quick read with some twists and turns.  

This is a cozy story about a widowed woman who has been taking her three-year-old son to the beach every year instead of celebrating Christmas. It's a hard time of year for Tiff, the time of year when her husband was killed. But when an innocent flyer about a Christmas celebration at Sandy's Seashell Shop comes into their lives, Tiff realizes she isn't being fair to her son. It's here that Tiff finally finds hope for the future. Not only do you get a great read, you get a tongue twister in "Sandy's Seashell Shop" :-)  

Phil Pendelton is picking up chocolate for his girlfriend at Wal-Mart when he hears an ear-piercing scream from a little boy. He never thought that little boy would turn out to be his son. I didn't enjoy the ending as much as the rest of the story, but, as always, great imagination and great writing from KPB.  

A very short story about Abby's first Valentine's Day as Mrs. Maddox.