MMGM: Celtic Run by Sean Vogel

About The Book: While in Ireland on a class trip, Jake stumbles upon the first clue to a treasure missing from the Spanish Armada. Jake sees the riches as his chance to buy back the family sailboat and restore a piece of the life he enjoyed before his father was critically injured in an accident. Desperate to find the treasure, Jake teams up with Zach, his nemesis and class bully, and two girls in a clue-hunting chase across the Dingle Peninsula. Dodging would-be thieves, exchanging wisecracks with Zach, and concocting ingenious devices to get them out of scrapes, Jake leads the team as they connect piece after piece to the more than 400-year-old mystery. Jake, a 14-year-old gadget whiz, didn't plan on a summer full of treasure, thieves, and danger. He just got lucky. —Goodreads

First Line: Jake clenched his fists.

What Other's Are Saying: "Romance, danger, intrigue, and personality clashes between peers—all make Celtic Run a vivid coming-of-age novel, drawing direct connections between life's changes, opportunities, strife, and the process of maturity. Teens—and many an adult—will find Celtic Run a vivid, memorable adventure story."  —Diane Donovan, eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

"I was very impressed with Vogel's writing - it was engaging and full of adventure, mystery, humor, and even a little romance." —Kari on GoodReads

Awards: The Mom's Choice Awards and The Globe Award

What I Thought: Take one gadget-crazy fourteen-year-old, a trip to Ireland, a couple of villains, hidden treasure and mix in some jealous romance, quick get-aways and spidery caves and you have the perfect combination of high-adventure and mystery-solving action. This Indiana Jones-like tale is another great boy read that anyone, young and old will enjoy. And guess what? It's only the beginning of this great adventure series.

About The Author: Sean Vogel

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Publisher: MB Publishing

Growing up in a small town in Michigan during the 1980s, Sean was provided with an excellent garden for cultivating his writing career. With only a few simplistic video games and three television channels, he became an accomplished daydreamer and a creative outside adventurer.

A son of a garbage truck driver, Sean often received “gently used” items from his father’s route. With a bit of imagination and a little tinkering, these items were reborn as tools for battles against backyard bandits. These childhood experiences would later serve as the foundation and inspiration for Jake McGreevy’s gadgetry expertise.

Seeking his own adventures, Sean joined the Army via an ROTC scholarship at Colorado State University. Living in Germany for several years gave him the opportunity to travel extensively in Europe. During his time in the Army, he served in the Field Artillery and Signal Corp, rising to the rank of Captain and receiving the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq.

Sean started drafting novels to fill downtime during long deployments in the military; a pen is easier to carry than a guitar. But he soon fell in love with the frustrating yet satisfying science called writing and has been hard at work ever since.

When he’s not helping Jake get out of tangles, Sean is a department manager for a large aerospace company. He lives in Denver with his wife, daughter, and their two dachshunds.

There are some pretty incredible reviews this week, be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday bloggers. You can find them in my sidebar!

Was That It? Really? (More on Heron Haus)

The "breakfast" in Bed and Breakfast would imply that it's role in your experience should be memorable. If not memorable, at least adequate. We were told that the gourmet breakfasts were exceptional. If by gourmet you mean small portions on big plates than yes, it was right on the mark. We were first served a handful of mixed berries with a dollop of plain yogurt. There was coffee, juice and a large assortment of teas. Our next course was a skinny wedge of quiche garnished with three bites of a beet and two tiny triangles of toast. We were always graciously told where the ingredients were from. After waiting for 15 minutes, thinking that these were tasty appetizers we realized that this was indeed the end.

The next day we were met with the same small bowl of berries and plain yogurt. This time we were prepared for the lack of substance and had grabbed a few cookies from the night before to eat in the morning. (These are oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip cookies the size of a half dollar. Same cookies, each evening, left on an uncovered plate.)  A two or three bite muffin with jam accompanied an elegant southwestern fritatta served in individual 3x5 shallow dishes, not quite an inch deep. On the side were three bite sized pieces of breakfast squash, garnished with a mint leaf. Again, juice, coffee and tea were available.

So the last morning we hardly saw the point of rising early when we knew we would be in search of a more substantial breakfast elsewhere. When my husband did venture downstairs an hour later, our hostess said, "Oh there you are, you missed breakfast." He told her we were both very tired and needed to sleep in a bit. There was still several travelers finishing up their breakfasts, the kitchen was still open. She made no offer of breakfast to us. After we were packed and ready to check out, maybe 20 minutes later, I knocked on the half open door of the kitchen.  Two lonely fruit and yogurt bowls sat on the counter. When I handed her the keys she again made no offer to give us our (paid for) breakfast. There is a difference between a light breakfast and a skimpy one. I should know, I learned how to make a slice of bread feed 6 children.

Note to Self:
1. Gourmet actually means meagerly servings of mildly tasty creations on large plates.
2.You are only served when you are seated at the place setting, no wandering.  (I witnessed a poor elderly women be told that she wouldn't be served until she sat down at the place setting where she took her coffee mug from.)
3. If you snooze, you lose, literally. Breakfast doesn't start at 8:30am it IS at 8:30, no exceptions.
4. This bed and breakfast would be more aptly named, bed and snack.

Next:  The Room

Back From the Stratosphere...

Ok, maybe not that far but I wanted to use the word. I just returned from a great little get away to Portland, Oregon. What a fun city to hang out in. So this week I am going to try my hand at reviewing restaurants, our bed and breakfast and points of interest. I have always wanted to try my hand at travel reviews so this could be fun!

Some reviews to look forward to:
Heron Haus Bed and Breakfast
Serratto Restaurant
Pine State Buscuits

Paley's Place
Portland Farmers Market
Japanese Garden
Multnoma Falls

Have you been to Portland?