With All My Heart (Maren Springs #1) by Aasia Khan

Title: With All My Heart

Series: Maren Springs

Author: Aasia Khan

Published: August 1, 2022

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Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis:

Layla Ahmed is in hiding. She has been living a lonely life after losing her parents, and their killers are after her. Her only hope is her unfamiliar foster family in Maren Springs.

For Usman Bakhtiar, it is love at first sight when he meets Layla after twenty-five years. She has many secrets while he has just one; she belongs with him, and he will not let her go.

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My Review:

I got a request from the author to review this book, and didn't waste the opportunity to get it for free on my Kindle.

Halal or not, romance isn't usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this one. The first book in the Maren Springs series follows Layla and Usman, who have been inseparable since they were kids.

I was really impressed with how the author managed to write a really sweet, cute romance without going into haraam. I loved the amazing Bakhtiar family; we all need people like the Bakhtiars in our lives. This book was full of likeable characters. I really loved the beautiful bonding that Asad, his wife Rania, Usman, and Layla shared. I found Rania to be such an amazing sister-in-law, and Layla was such a beautiful, sweet soul, who kind of reminded me of someone I know.

It was intriguing; where was Layla the past four months? Why didn't she go to her foster family after her parents got killed? What is she hiding?

I'm not gonna lie, it did feel extremely dragging in the beginning that I kept wanting to put it down, but as I read on, I started to get really invested in the characters and rooting for them, hoping that Usman and Layla would get the happily ever after they deserved. And it even got intense when the killers of Layla's parents threatened her...

Loved the bit of angst that was added.

Overall, With All My Heart was a beautiful, sweet love story that was completely Muslim-friendly, and I'm so glad I got my hands on it. If you want a clean, spice-free romance, pick this up!

Training For Trouble (The Hardy Boys #161) by Franklin W. Dixon

Title: Training For Trouble

Series: The Hardy Boys

Author: Franklin W. Dixon

Release Date: May 1, 2000

Publisher: Aladdin

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Rating: ★★★★☆.5

Synopsis:

JUDO...FENCING...ARCHERY...BIATHLON...

SOMEONE WANTS TO WIN -- AT ANY COST!

The combat sports training facility has just opened in Bayport, and the Hardys are on hand to check it out. They can practice judo, fencing, archery, and biathlon, and meet aspiring athletes from all over.

But good times turn to bad sportsmanship when Joe's girlfriend, Iola, gets a nasty electrical shock during a fencing workout. Then someone decides to use Frank for target practice on the archery range. Now the Hardys are wondering if the events are more than accidents. How far will world-class competitors go to win?

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My Review:

Another favorite Hardy Boys done rereading.

The new combat sports training facility that just opened in Bayport is being sabotaged in this installment of the Hardy Boys series! First Joe's girlfriend, Iola gets an electrical shock during fencing workout, and then someone attempts to shoot Frank with arrows on the archery range...

Having read that eight years ago, since there were some things I seem to have forgotten about this Hardy Boys book, I was happy to finally have the chance to read it again, especially since I have a lot of favorite Hardy Boys rereading to catch up on.

Training For Trouble was intriguing with intense scenes. As usual, it has all the Hardy qualities that reminded me of why I got into the Hardy Boys in the first place; the brother teamwork and not giving up despite the dangers involved.

I found Joe's concern for Iola after she got zapped in the beginning of the book adorable, and I loved Frank helping Joe after he got stabbed.

Finally, while I loved Training For Trouble, I'm not sure if it was just me, but I felt like there were things that didn't make sense or add up... which prevented me from giving it a complete five star.

Would recommend to Hardy Boys fans.

A Boy Called Bat (A Boy Called Bat #1) by Elana K. Arnold

Title: A Boy Called Bat

Series: A Boy Called Bat

Author: Elana K. Arnold

Release Date: March 14, 2017

Publisher: Walden Pond Press

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Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

The first book in a funny, heartfelt, and irresistible young middle grade series starring an unforgettable young boy on the autism spectrum.

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.

But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

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My Review:

What a beautiful children's story about a boy on the autism spectrum! My first book by this author.

Ever since I bought it, my little sister, who read it for her school before, got excited and kept nagging me to read it, telling me how much I would love it. But, as I'm usually a plan reader, I kept delaying it until my mood-reader side eventually kicked in and I decided to pick it up despite having a lot of books that I still need to catch up on... how glad I finally did!

Elana K. Arnold's A Boy Called Bat was such a beautiful story with the perfect autism rep I've ever seen! As someone who's been diagnosed with minor autism at a young age, there were some things I found myself relating to Bat about.

I LOVED Bat. He is so cute, and a loveable character that readers would love.

I may not be crazy about animals, especially skunks, but it was nice learning about them; I was impressed with how Mrs. Arnold uses her knowledge of animals in this book. Also, I found it really cool how she actually used a real-life world skunk expert in this book!

Loved the illustrations.

Overall, I found A Boy Called Bat to be such a cute story of first friendship and the most unlikely pet. Would definitely recommend to young readers.