For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle An interesting collection of origin stories and side stories focusing on the villains of the My Little Pony series. Each had their own style and emphasis, from dark to heartbreaking.  My personal favorites were Jeremy Whitley's (no surprise there) story about King Sombra and Christina Rice's about Tirek. The Queen Chrysalis one by Katie Cook had a very dark feel to it. It was a bit all over the place with the multiple stories within it, but I did enjoy the story overall.  Some of the stories were a little too dark for very young fans, but good for those who want more from the series. It was interesting to see some of the villains' beginnings. I don't think I'll ever get over that Sombra story.

Barbour has a great concept with The Daughters of the Mayflower series. Covering some of America’s most auspicious historical events, the characters all descend from two Mayflower passengers, and yet each story stands alone so that they can be read in any order. Add to that the wholesome Christian perspective and you have a compelling series that addresses true periods of history from a fictional viewpoint. Having read each book as it releases, I have enjoyed every one of them, but some have left a deeper impression than others.

Kimberley Woodhouse’s “The Express Bride”, The Daughters of the Mayflower book nine, ranks among my favorite installations in this series. To begin with, it focuses on a brief but fascinating interval in American history, one that I have always found rather enthralling. Upon reading the author’s note at the end, I was surprised to learn that the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, better known as the Pony Express, actually failed financially during its short-lived run. The brevity of its existence makes it all the more interesting to me, and I was quickly drawn into the tale.

“The Express Bride” offers a glimpse into the routine and way of life of a combined express and stagecoach station in 1860. Located in the isolated wilderness of what was then the Utah Territory, the Carson Sink station serves as a tiny town unto itself. More remarkably, a young woman named Jacqueline “Jackie” Rivers runs the station and takes care of the riders who live there. As she adjusts to life without her recently-departed father, she finds herself embroiled in helping James Crowell root out a counterfeiting operation while also assisting a man named Elijah Johnson in the search for his employer’s heir.

Several aspects of this story appeal to me. The main characters are endearing, and the residents of the Carson Sink station have an easy camaraderie that adds depth to the narrative. Jackie is tender-hearted but also has admirable strength of character as she shoulders many responsibilities while still dealing with her grief. With a prominent Christian element, this story highlights the virtues of forgiveness and loving one another, and I appreciated that the author points out that two of the characters had been unequally yoked because one had not truly accepted Jesus into his heart. Not being much of a fan of romantic angst, I also enjoyed the fact that intrigue and discoveries dominate much of the narrative, with the romantic thread serving as an overall small portion of the book. Containing an inspirational message throughout, historical details about the unique Pony Express venture, and mysterious happenings, I highly recommend “The Express Bride” as a stirring western adventure.   

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

My spouse heard a piece of music on the radio by Aaron Copeland that had apparently been composed for a movie version of Steinbeck's novella. Well, I'd never heard of this book, so naturally, when I discovered my library had a copy I could snag, I downloaded it.

Basically, this is a series of four short stories with a common set of characters. The main character is a 10-year old boy, Jody Tiflin, who lives on a ranch in the Salinas Valley in California, with his father, a rather stern disciplinarian named Carl, his mother, and a ranch hand, Billy Buck, a grizzled old character with a knack for dealing with horses.

The first story involves a red pony for which Jody is supposed to learn to care. On the second story, Jody interacts with a drifter. The third story has another pony in it, or rather a pregnant mare. I've already forgotten the fourth. I dunno, this book didn't do much for me (maybe 2½ *s?).

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle A nice adaptation of the MLP episode. As with any of the MLP stories, this one has some good messages about friendship and having fun. The writing is well-done and there is a nice flow to the story.  Nice pictures. This one is especially fun because of all of the costumes.

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle Overall, I liked the stories in this book better than some of the previous volumes. As with the other books in the series, I preferred the artwork that was more consistent with the show. Brenda Hickey and Jenn Blake had the best artwork in my opinion (sorry, Agnes Garbowska).  I also think Jeremy Whitley and Bobby Curnow did a good job capturing the characters in the books. I could definitely see any of these stories happening in the show and the characters' reactions felt true to form. Some of the other stories in previous books seemed out of character, but I think all of these stick pretty closely to the show.  Good graphic novel for fans of My Little Pony.