Starting back when he was an itty-bitty baby, Jack and I have been reading every night before he goes to bed. Over the years, we’ve read though dozens and dozens of books. Actually, maybe hundreds of books? Sometimes we take turns on who reads to who, but usually he likes it when I read and he can just snuggle and listen.
I’ve previously shared some of his favorite books, like the Hilo series, the Bad Guys series, the Dog Man series… and now I have another series to add to his list of favorites: Last Kid’s on Earth. If it sounds familiar to you, it may be because it’s also a Netflix Original television series.
The books center around Jack Sullivan, an average thirteen-year-old kid. A monster apocalypse has hit town and Jack and his friends battle and befriend a mix of monsters and zombies. If your kid likes video games and monsters doing funny things, they will love these books! They are written for an age range of 8 – 12 years old (grade level 3 – 7), so they are too advanced to Jack to read on his own. But he LOVES the stories and the adventures that friends go on in each book. In fact, every night he BEGS for me to read more chapters. Every. Single. Night.
I have to admit, even though I’m obviously reading them for Jack… I really like the series too. There are certainly plot surprises and after we read our chapters for the night, I’m interested to see where the next chapters will lead!
Have you or your kid read The Last Kids on Earth series?
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For 2020, I’m trying to do a better job at keeping track of the books I read. As I finish each book, I post it with a few words of a review on my Instagram stories. Then on a monthly basis I update my “2020 Books” saved story with a running tally of all my tiny reviews so far. It was suggested that I also have a on ongoing list on my blog for easy access, so here you go!
Feel free to bookmark this page, as I will keep it updated as I finish the next book. I’ll also stick a link to this post over on the right sidebar for easy access.
If you don’t have Kindle Unlimited yet, you can try it out for the first month free! It’s like an all-you-can-read for books and I’ve been using it for the last few years: Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans
If you’d like to check out my tiny reviews of each book, follow me on Instagram. I post each mini review as I finish each book to my stories, and then I update my pinned story on my main Instagram profile at the end of each month. Find me here: https://www.instagram.com/pocketfulofjoules/ . The first 50 book mini reviews are saved as ‘Books 1’ and the rest are currently saved as ‘Books 2’.
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been reading a bunch of books over the last few weeks. I’ve been using my Kindle Unlimited subscription, borrowing online from the e-library, and also just grabbing books around the house I haven’t read in a while. One day while poking around Kindle Unlimited books, I saw “Batter Up” by Robyn Neeley, which turned out to be the first in a series and I was hooked!
There are 6 books in the Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls series and all the characters are connected. Even with the connections though, each book is really different… it’s not like the author is just following the same recipe again and again. Also, even though each book can totally be read as a stand-alone book, some storylines go a bit further for characters in later books, which is super fun!
Book overview: Bakeshop owner Emma Stevens has a secret. A delicious premonition she shares every Monday evening with the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls as they gather at the Sugar Spoon bakery for Batter Up night. Investigative reporter Jason Levine just found himself as the man candy for a bachelorette party in Las Vegas. Roped into attending the Vegas nuptials, was he hearing things when the groom shares that the only reason he’s getting married is because a small town baker conjured up the name of his soulmate in her cake batter? Sparks fly when Jason tries to expose Emma as a fraud, but reality and logic go out the window as he begins to fall under her spell.
My thoughts: This is one of my favorite books in the group and Emma and Jason keep popping up in each of the books in the series. One of the things I really like is that Emma finally gets closure on something in the last book, which is super nice!
Book overview: Abby Stevens doesn’t know what’s gotten into her, but getting tangled up nightly with the latest bachelor to Buttermilk Falls has to stop. Sure, Brandon Swift’s got rock hard abs and blue eyes to die for, but the Los Angles playboy is not the man for her. To end things between them once and for all, she might need some magical help. Brandon is settling into small-town life thanks to his new bartending gig and the cute redhead sharing his bed. He suspects she might be looking for more than a fling. After a bitter divorce and a few months of playing the field, he might finally be ready, too. But when Abby presents him with an enchanted cupcake that reverses his attraction to her, both discover strong feelings they didn’t realize they had. Is it too late to reverse the spell?
My thoughts: This book centers on the sister from the first book. I actually really liked the addition of more magic into this book and the growing relationship between Abby and Brandon.
Book overview: Perfume chemist Josh Stevens has spent years making a life for himself in New York City and climbing up the corporate ladder of Kiss and Makeup, a global cosmetics company. Though his cousin, Emma, whips up soul mate predictions with their late grandmother’s pink enchanted mixing spoon each Monday during Batter Up night, he’d rather experiment with vanilla perfume oil than vanilla extract any day. Buttermilk Falls and magic are not for him. Caitlin Reynolds just needs a second chance. Sure, she’s done some questionable things in the past, but as the new owner of the Majestic Theater she is determined to turn her life around, contribute to the town’s livelihood, and prove to all of Buttermilk Falls that she’s more than the spoiled rich girl who got pregnant.
My thoughts: I actually thought I was going to hate this one, because the author did such a good job of making Caitlin the ‘bad guy’ in the first two books. I couldn’t imagine her being redeemed to the point I actually rooted for her, but somehow she did it! This one has an addition of some ghostly fun, which I thought was okay but didn’t totally love.
Book overview: Buttermilk Falls bachelor Adam Reed never expected to assume the title of Supernatural Matchmaker, yet thanks to his ghostly distant cousin, Mary Reed, he’s now the recipient of one shimmering blue mixing spoon and a powerful spell that can conjure up the name of any woman’s soulmate–and just in time for the holidays! The only problem: the male names that appear are totally unexpected and causing chaos. Forget about apologies or explanations, these bachelorettes want his head on a Christmas platter. Bethany Wilson has had one wish since she was fourteen: That Adam Reed would one day be her boyfriend. Always on the sidelines, she watched the budding high school romance between her best friend and Adam bloom into something longer lasting. When the unthinkable happens and the two break up, Bethany can’t help but wonder a year later if she can finally reveal to him how she feels.
My thoughts: This book has a Christmas holiday setting, so it was a bit odd reading it in May. But other than that, it had another fun story with likeable characters and a supporting cast that we already know and love. In addition to the magic from the first few books, the ghost plays a part in this one too.
Book overview: For years, renown chef Donovan Foster made his life in Denver, way too busy with making a culinary name for himself to stop and pick up a wife and kids along the way. When he realizes that all of his friends in Buttermilk Falls are settling down, he begins to feel idle. Sure, business is good, but he’s tired of his life. Convinced he’s lost his spark, he decides to change directions straight back to Buttermilk Falls in search of it. Being fired by Donovan Foster two days on the job had been one of the worst days of Zoe Mathews’s life. Humiliated, she’d hightailed it out of Denver, looking for a fresh start, opening up a frozen yogurt shop in Buttermilk Falls. Nearly a year later, she’s licked her wounds, running the Ice Heaven shop on Main Street. Little did she know that Donovan is the town’s golden boy who recently returned home to find his spark.
My thoughts: This was my least favorite in the book series, mainly because of the ghost. It just became really, really, ghosty in this book and I found it pretty annoying. However, by book 5 I was pretty committed to this series, so I had to get thorough it to move on…
Book overview: Living in the town that loves love hasn’t always been easy for consummate bachelor Will Jenkins, but now that he’s hung up his mechanic rags and stepped in to run his mother’s bridal boutique, it’s unbearable. Forget about the brides circling him and constant wedding talk, it’s the beautiful blonde owner of Buttermilk Blooms that he can’t get out of his system after she ended things between them. With a little encouragement from his gal pal, Zoe Mathews, he’s ready to dive back into the dating pool. When Rachel Foster hooked up with Will Jenkins months ago, she vowed it would never, ever happen again. Will was the ultimate playboy. He wasn’t capable of anything long – term and everyone in town knows it. Still, his trading in his dirty overalls for a suit and tie has caught her eye.
My thoughts: In the last book in the series, we finally get to the story of Rachel and Will, which has danced on the sidelines for a couple books now. All in all, I wasn’t totally into their love story after all the lead-up; however, this book tied up some loose ends from the very first book that had been flapping around throughout the series. I feel like it was a strong end to the series, even if I didn’t fall in love with the main couple.
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.
