Come Along for the Read-Along: The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost!

In the way it always seems to go, it feels like just a few weeks ago I joined Anne at Books of My Heart's 2021 Real Along for the Psy Changeling series by Nalini Singh.  Now here we are and this roller coaster of a year is just about over,  and I am ready to journey into a new world with Anne, Berls, Sophia, Stephanie, Kai, Kimberley, and maybe you?  Come join us, it will be fun! 

Prizes, chats, and posts all year long as we delve into this well-known contemporary fantasy series.  I do enjoy vampire stories! 

You can read more about the series and join us via Anne's page here: Join the 2022 Read Along!

I am starting the series off with the audiobook of Halfway to the Grave.  I did read or listen to this book at some point in the last 10 years, so I remember some of the plot. I don't remember why I didn't continue in the series, probably life just got in the way and before I knew it I was reading some other books. 

I'm a couple chapters into the story and thus far, I enjoy the narrator. 

What do you think? Have you read this series? Are you up to joining the Read-Along? 

I Was Thrilled To Get This ARC from Net Galley. I love a good Charlie Donlea Tale!

 When this popped up as an ARC available via Net Galley, I could not have clicked the request button any faster than I did.  A couple years ago I got a copy of Some Choose Darkness via the Kensington's Between the Chapters Facebook group. I enjoyed Charlie Donlea's writing style and since then I have looked forward to each of his releases! 

Avery Mason, our protagonist is whip-smart and has a real can-do spirit.  I like how we get to see her vulnerabilities and the way she deals with her insecurities. Twenty Years Later incorporates September 11, 2001, in a unique and surprising way.  As is the case with any thriller, I am hesitant to be anything but vague about the plot as there are clues everywhere! 

In this book, as I was reading I developed a crazy theory, and then shortly after I developed my crazy theory, Avery had a crazy theory.  Yes, indeed, Avery and I were on the same page.  I find in Charlie Donlea's writings he often writes so that the reader can be one step ahead of the protagonist and the action unfolds. I love it!  I feel like I am part of the action and that is a big part of why I enjoy his books each and every time.

4 Stars to Twenty Years Later! 

Need A Distraction From the News of The Day? This Series Delivers!

 Blue aliens, women kidnapped in their sleep, and a frozen planet.  If you read romance, you probably already know what I'm talking about. 

Ice Planet Barbarians is the sort of reading you can devour.  It starts like this:

"You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet."

With those opening lines, and because the series is free when you have Kindle Unlimited, I decided to give this series a try, even though blue aliens seemed pretty bonkers. I was wrong.  So far I have read the first two books in the series and found both to be good reads.  Ruby Dixon's ability to write steamy sex scenes is only surpassed by her talent at creating this world and the unique rules that apply to this strange land. 

I don't see a point in going into much detail on this series, I don't want to spoil your fun as you dive into this alien world. I do like to read wintery stories in the winter, so my opinion is that this time of year is perfect for ice planet stories.  As someone who usually reads contemporary romance and contemporary fantasy, this series, I suppose, isn't too much of a leap. Ruby Dixon's characters are engaging, the classic romance tropes are there in this strange new land. 

I highly recommend this series if you enjoy fated mate tropes and lots of babies happening. 

4.5 stars to the first two books in this series!  I'm quite confident you'll enjoy it! 

#TheSundayPost Another Christmas Is In The Books-One We Won't Forget!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

How was your Christmas? One of the things I enjoyed this holiday season was the podcast Christmas Countdown Show.  The show is a fun escape for people like me who really enjoy Christmas Time. Eric and Danny the hosts talked about their favorite Christmas movies, music, TV shows, foods, and more.   

Our Christmas took a turn when youngest child tested positive for Covid. Early in the week one of her best friends tested positive, and so our daughter tested negative for a few days, but then on Christmas Eve, she got a bad present--a positive Covid test.  Because we knew she had been exposed, she'd been quarantining since Tuesday night in her room. She had a cough but we had all been hoping it was a cold. Thank goodness we were able to quarantine her before she had that positive test.  If we hadn't we might all have Covid now-- and could have exposed other people

And so we facedtime her in the morning for the present opening. We have the windows cracked and she has a designated bathroom and paper plates and plastic wear and lot of water and other fluids. The bummer of it all is that she got her booster shot last Friday and within a couple days she was exposed via someone who caught Covid from someone else who wasn't vaccinated--the booster didn't have time to boost!  The rest of us got our booster shot in November--she didn't because they weren't available to 16-17 year olds.

So far everyone else is Covid free and hopefully the isolation and the booster works and on New Years Eve we can celebrate the end of her isolation together. 

How was your Christmas? I hope you had a nice one!  

 Bowie with his Christmas Even Present! 

Overdue Review of the November Cozy Mystery Club Review and My Oldest Elf!

 This review is overdue, I like to post about each month's book the day before the live stream. This time it's oh about a month late. 

Things I liked about this book:

1. Good food talk with recipes throughout the book.

2. Sleuther actively sleuthing.

3. The protagonist was a single mom with two kids.

4. Some diversity 

What was not so much for me:

1. Our sleuth was just this side of 'too dumb to live'

2. The male love interests were terrible.  Bad choices!

3. During the whole book, Hayley, the main character, keeps correcting the Sheriff who speaks English as a second language it's a very cringey ongoing 'joke'.  It would be so much better in my opinion if it turned out that the Sheriff was in on the joke and was making the errors on purpose to get his sister-in-law riled up, but that's not how it's played.

Overall I give this book 3 stars, I don't know if I will continue this series--there are just so many books on my list already!

And to finish today's post here is a picture of my eldest as an elf for work at our local Park department!

#

A Spin-Off from the Rylie Cooper Mystery Series! Mistletoe Malarkey, A Shayla Murphy Mystery

 I very much enjoyed this new book starring Rylie Cooper's best friend Shayla Murphy.  This book takes place in Ireland at Christmastime. Shayla is meeting her boyfriend Seamus's family for the first time. There are a couple of surprises for Shayla before we even get to the murder. In fact, I was far enough in that I was beginning to wonder if there was going to be a murder at all--seeing as there was already a few potential non-murder mysteries happening.  But Stella Bixby was just building up the tension and soon enough a body had dropped, literally.

I believe this book is the start of a new series and I will be waiting for book two with much anticipation!  In Mistletoe Malarkey we are introduced to a small Irish town and Seamus's quirky family, it was fun to spend time with them and I look forward to future adventures.  I like that in this series there can be a nice partnership of sorts with Shayla and Molly the constable.

5 Stars!  If you have Kindle Unlimited make sure to add this to your Kindle!

Cozy Novella Great For Christmas Week Enjoyment! From #NetGalley #TheStarlightMintSurpriseMurder

 

This book zips along and has all the elements that I love in Christmas-themed cozy mysteries.  You have a Christmas Festival that has a cookie contest, you have cocoa and coffee, a B&B a cozy little town--this one is in the mountains, there is snow and there is of course a murder.

I read the book in two sittings, I enjoyed that in this story the protagonist Mel is a retired police officer, this makes her sleuthing and her investigating seem second nature.  She has a new business and she needs it to be successful--a common theme in both Hallmark Christmas movies and Cozy Mysteries.

A big mystery for me was the cookies.  I have never heard of Starlight Mint Suprise cookies, not knowing if Marla White made them up whole cloth or if they were a thing, I did my googles and found that they are a thing.

So Retro!  Check out the recipe- Starlight Mint Suprise Cookies from the blog A License to Quill

Overall 4 stars, I liked Mel alright, the Christmas theme was on point, and some nice red herrings were all part of this fast-paced- mystery!

#TheSundayPost Holy Cow It's Less Than A Week Til Chirstmas! Where Have I Been?

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Hi! How are you?  

Everything is good by me, the family is healthy and boosted. I'm healthy and boosted.  I've had a really busy last six weeks with Tastefully Simple work. I sold a lot of bread, cakes, and spices. Which is great! And has been super helpful for paying the oldest child's college tuition. With all that, my reading and my blogging went to the wayside. Hopefully I can get it back on track now, I have a few books read so I can fill this week with posts, and then this week I should be able to read some more for the next week and so on. You know how it goes.

So how have you been? Are you ready for the Christmas holiday?  I suppose I am as ready as I will be this year! I've got about 30 more cards to mail out tomorrow and I think that will put me at about 75ish cards mailed, based on how many stamps I have used.  My goal was to mail 100 cards, but I just ran out of people's addresses.  Or should I say I couldn't find enough people willing to give me their addresses! 

I have also given away all the cookies I made--but I think I'm going to make a batch of my favorite cookies, Spritz Cookies, today or this coming week. 

Books I'll be talking about this week:

This is a novella, really inexpensive,  I'll tell you more about it tomorrow! 

#TheStarlightMintSurpriseMurder #NetGalley

Ohoooo I think this one is going to be the first book in a new series--a spin-off with two characters from the Shayla Murphy Mystery series in Ireland! 

And last of all for the week,

Have a wonderful Sunday! Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you! 

A Cozy Mystery Novella To Kick off Holiday Reading! #HaveaHollyHauntedChristmas #NetGalley

 

This Christmas-themed novella comes after the second book Two Wicked Desserts in Lynn Cahoon's Kitchen Witch series.  

I think you could read this out without having read any of the other books in the series and further, it doesn't spoil Two Wicked Desserts. In this novella Mia our amateur sleuth and caterer is pretty overwhelmed with the holiday season, relatable right? This book is the solving of a cold case, which I thought was fitting for the holiday season, instead of having a serial killer roaming the town, Mia and her crew are trying to solve an old case. 

We see Mia, Christina, and Trent really becoming a crime-solving unit.  Gran is as shady as ever. That lady just keeps too much under wraps, why? Honestly, it would not be shocking if Gran turned out to be a criminal mastermind, she seems to be up to no good far too often!

As far as the food goes, I love to read about holiday food. I will say that the amount of carbs Mia et al eat would put me in a food coma! 

In a nutshell, this is a quick festive cozy read!   4 stars

Thanks again to #NetGalley for the ARC! This book is available NOW so download it today! All opinions are mine! 

********************************************

Speaking of cookies, I'm participating in a Zoom Cookie Workshop on November 28th! If you follow my blog you know I love making cookies and then putting together cookie platters and tins to give friends and family!  (below are 7-Layer Cookies from last year)

Wait, this book was written *before* Dracula?

Before I transition completely to holiday mode, I'm sharing one last spooky season review.  Have you ever heard of this book?  

 Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu was written well before the book everyone knows by Bram Stoker.  This tale, however, isn't about a male vampire.  It's about a young woman who lives on an estate in the country with her father and their servants, she is a little bored and definitely lonely. So when a carriage crashes in front of her and a mother begs them to keep her daughter safe for a few months, she begs her father to let this beautiful young woman stay at their home.

While the local village begins to experience a strange illness, causing the deaths of young women.  The young noblewoman is increasingly drawn to and repelled by her houseguest. She has so much longing for what her guest offers and ultimately falls under her spell. How will the story end?  

Lucky for us readers, this tale can be read in an afternoon or over a weekend, it's one that is very hard to put down.

5 starts to Carmilla 

Get Ready !!The Latest Installment from #ItHappenedOneMidnight #NetGalley

Here is the description from the publisher: 

"Saranna DeWylde brings her trademark mix of quirky charm, sexy comedy, and a touch of magic to the third Fairy Godmothers, Inc. installment, as Ever After, Missouri’s resident fairy godmothers Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet are doing their best to restore their hometown’s deep well of enchantment by conjuring true love, one happy couple at a time. This time, the godmothers set their sights on their very own goddaughter, a romance novelist whose fib about a fake engagement is about to transform into a friends-to-lovers story worthy of the bestseller lists…"

 Part of what keeps bringing me back to this series is I love the godmothers! I mean sure their charges are great and it's fun to see them fall in love--or admit they are in love. But it is just delightful to get to know Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet.  I can't wait for Saranna to give us a book where one of the godmothers has a romance! 

In this book, we see the romance of Juniper and Tomas. This one is a friends-to-lovers. Now even though this is the third book in this series, and I should be certain that a HEA is destined to happen at the end, I still was real worried Tomas would blow his chance for a HEA with the love of his life.  That's good writing.

The humor this series is known for continues and we get to spend time with some of our Ever After favorites. If you haven't started this series yet, now is a great time to start as you'll get to read two books, and then this one will be out!  Put this series on your Christmas List! Then we will all have to wait for the next installment and hopefully a Rumplestilskin sighting! 

4 stars for It Happened One Midnight thank you NetGalley!  I loved the opportunity to read this joyful book! 

The Sunday Post! Happy Halloween!!! - Old Pictures and to #Nanowrimo or not?

  

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Here are some pictures of Halloween past.  I do intermittent fasting so I'm waiting to have a chocolate candy-filled day until 11am. How about you?  Will you be having a few fun-sized candy bars today? Or maybe a spooky cocktail?  In any case, I hope you have a fun Halloween and that any ghosts you meet are friendly! 

I have been pondering Nanowrimo, should I participate this year?  Do I want to write?  I don't know. I think I might write 'just for me' and see what happens? 

This week I'll be sharing reviews of two ARCS from Net Galley and then an old Vampire book Called Carmilla (spoiler alert - it is delightful!) 

Happy Halloween!!!

Snowed: A Rylie Cooper Mystery

 This is a novella-length cozy mystery and is the latest installment in Stella Bixby's Rylie Cooper Mystery series. Rylie Cooper is a Park Ranger so she is an amateur sleuth, but law enforcement adjacent which is helpful in this series since she keeps running into dead bodies. 

This series is available as part of a Kindle Unlimited subscription, so if you haven't already done so, do yourself a favor and start reading this fast-paced cozy series. Stella Bixby pushes the boundaries of 'coziness', which I enjoy but if you are not one who wants any romance or talk of romance, this series is not for you. 

Snowed is a real page-turner, I could not put it down! In addition to finding out if a murder had happened, I needed to know if the wedding was going to happen!  

After a fall filled with above-average temperatures, this week we finally got those cool 50 degrees (or 10 degrees Celcius)  days, reading about a massive snowstorm felt extra cozy as it rained outside my window! 

4 Stars! 

The Hallmark Channel Itself Could Not Out Do This Book For Perfect Autumn Romance Ambiance!

 The Ex-Hex By Erin Sterling is like a perfectly made Pumpkin Spice Latte in Book Form.  This book feels like it was blessed by the Good Witch Cassie Nightingale herself.  

I can't imagine anyone who enjoys Autumn or tales of sorcery who would not enjoy this book.  It really puts you in the spirit of the Spooky season.  As I was listening to this book and really enjoying the story unfold, I realized that when it comes to romance, I enjoy the romance more if there is an obstacle that the couple has to unite to overcome. On that front, like most paranormal romances this book delivers.

We may be too old for trick or treating, but we can still treat ourselves to Halloween treats right?  This book is better than any fun-sized Snickers bar by far! 

Four Stars to The Ex Hex! 

I am lucky enough to be in a book club that is going to have Erin Sterling as a guest! I plan to ask if this book is to be a series. I'm hoping maybe it will be! I would like to return to this town!

Speaking of Halloween-- How cute are these two! (I'm pretty sure this picture is from about 2004)

Cozy Mystery Talk! A New Series! #LiveLocalandDead #NetGalley

A new voice in the cozy-sphere, Live, Local and Dead (A Vermont Radio Mystery)  by Nikki Knight introduces us to WSV radio DJ and station owner, Jaye Jordan. 

Nikki Knight weaves a decent cozy mystery for our sleuth to solve, and in this story, the town really shines. I would like to visit ASAP, even if there is a snow or ice storm.  Nikki Knight gives the reader a real flavor of Vermont from Maple syrup tasting and a friendly moose to that independent spirit of New England. 

This book is more romance-heavy than some cozy mysteries. There is no love triangle, so if you like some nice romance but dislike a triangle, I think you'll be pleased. If you don't like any romance, this is not the book for you. 

Jaye has a dry sense of humor which I enjoy in my reading. Jaye converted to Judaism and the Jewish faith plays a role in this book, I can't think of another cozy that I have read where the sleuth was Jewish and I liked learning about some of the traditions of the faith through Jaye especially when it came to discussion of Jewish Hamantaschen Cookies. 

Where we find the dead body in this book sounds like something another writer dared Nikki Knight to try, unique to say the least. Additionally, the subplot hinges on one of my favorite motives, greed.  Everything comes together nicely at the end and I would like to read more in this series. I'm giving this book 4 stars because of the witty writing, the depth of the characters and because we make it through a whole book wherein the amateur sleuth is not physically assaulted during the sleuthing--- which is far too common in cozies. 

4 stars to #LiveLocalandDead thanks for the ARC #NetGalley! All the opinions are mine! 

Well I did finish the Marathon.. and Cozy Mystery Review #NetGalley #MurderAtTheLobstahShack

My poor toes have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they think I should switch to running half-marathons.  I have to agree with them.  Oh my goodness what a long day! I am glad I can say I finished, that's about all I can say. I looked like I was auditioning for a part as a zombie in the Walking Dead for about the last five miles! 

Here I am before the race started as we stood around waiting to move up to the starting line. I don't know how accurate my FitBit is, but it said I had over 69,000 steps. I was so done at the end of the race, I didn't take advantage of the Mimosa Bar! 

My poor big toes are super sore, I'm not ready for regular shoes, but we have a  wedding to go to on Saturday so hopefully by Saturday I can wear a pair of flats with my dress! 

Now on to a Cozy Mystery book review!

If I had to describe this cozy mystery in one word, the word would be solid.  Solid setting, solid cast, solid plot. They sure do eat a lot of seafood in Westham, MA, but that does make sense since this town is part of Cape Cod.

Mac is a likable and savvy sleuth, she runs a bicycle shop and seems to find dead bodies on the side. The relationship between Mac and law enforcement is more plausible than many other books.  Mac gives the sheriff tips and gossip and he doesn't tell her much about the case. Now, one might think well if I was up to no good in Westham, MA I would definitely steer clear of this Mac person--but that's a problem for another book. 

The book deals with social issues that plague small and large towns alike, including mental illness, addiction, and people who are without housing. Maddie Day does an excellent job talking about these issues and humanizing the characters involved. 

4 solid stars for Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review! #MurderattheLobstahShack #NetGalley

#TheSundayPost Marathon Day is Here! Wish me luck!

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

I'm writing this the night before the long-awaited Chicago Marathon. The weather is going to be really hot for a marathon, so I am not feeling too great about going out in the morning and running 26.2 miles. I was really hoping we could get a nice crisp October day with highs in the low 50s.  Alas, tomorrow is going to be 80ish and humid.  It will be an adventure!  I'll let you know how it turns out! 

Next week I'll be sharing reviews for these books: 

How was your week?  Read anything good? 

When The Lights Go Out by Mary Kubrica ( there will be a spoiler)

 Not since Sally wasted her entire night, losing out on all her tricks and treats, sitting in a pumpkin patch with Linus waiting on the Great Pumpkin to show, has anyone been hoodwinked and cheated as I was by this book. 

On GoodReads the book is described like this: 

"Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined."

So this book is supposed to be a psychological thriller and I enjoy that type of book. As a reader you expect certain things from thrillers or mysteries--just like a romance isn't a romance with out a happily ever after (HEA).  

This book is not as described. As I was listening I thought that the plot and what was going to was getting to be more and more implausible and around the halfway point I thought to myself...

*here comes the spoiler, bail now if you want to read this book for yourself and don't want to know this*

**still here?**

ready?

I thought to myself, this story has become so absurd; is this all a dream the character is having?

Guess what?

It was!  The plot of the book is a dream. That's not a psychological thriller, that's just a mean trick to play on the reader.

BAH! 

A Couple of Short, Seasonal, and Slightly Spooky Listens

I love this time of year, I love the decorating, the food, and of course the ghost stories! I found a couple of short listens via audible and the Libby app from my library. 

The first is an audio play of the famous Agatha Christie book And Then There Were None. The audio play is from the BBC and crams the book into a very digestible hour and about twelve minutes.  It's a great accompaniment to walk in the woods, or while raking leaves, or baking a  pumpkin pie!  The plot of And Then There Were None is clear in the title. There is a group of people and someone is picking them off one by one.  The mystery is not that people are going to die, it's the who and the why. And if you want more Agatha Christie there is a good adaptation of Crooked House streaming right now. 

I also listened to a novella-length book called The House by Raelyn Drake.  It was listed as YA, but I think it was mislabeled The House was definitely a middle-grade story.  Again it was a short engaging listen, perfect for this time of year. The story is about a group of high school kids who spend a few hours in their town's alleged Haunted House. The kids are trying to debunk the myth.  It's fun to see how things turn out. It's a very cozy mystery-type listen, you can picture the quaint town and the kids are determined to figure out the mystery. 

4 stars for sure! 

I picked up googly eyes so I'm ready to make some fun Halloween treats this month! 

I'm going to try to make these brownies or make cupcakes with the same frosting and decorations! 

New Christmas Cozy Out Tomorrow! #MurderattheChristmasCookieBakeOff #NetGalley

 Are you like me?  Do you love cozy mysteries and cookie bake-offs? If so, get this book ASAP!  This is the second book in Darci Hannah's Beacon Bakeshop series.  The setting is a small town on Lake Michigan. Lindsey is our overwhelmed bakery owner and amateur sleuth. Already in book two she has become known as a crime solver. There are nice twists and turns and a false ending--so if you think you know who the killer is, you might be right, or you might be wrong! 

This book doesn't have an overwhelming number of characters, it's easy to follow the story without having read the first novel. There is no love triangle, wahoo!  This book has the perfect amount of Christmas coziness including a visitor from the North Pole. As the book goes on you can see the community of Beacon Harbor really embracing Lindsey as one of their own. 

The cookies themselves were described in the most mouthwatering way, I was so thrilled to see that Darci Hannah has included all the preliminary and final cookie recipes in the back of this book! Because this book does work as a stand-alone and because it has so many cookie recipes in the back, it could be a really fun book to give with a cookie tray as a Christmas gift!  

4.5 stars to Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah!  

Thanks so much #NetGalley for the ARC of this book! All the opinions are my own! #MurderattheChristmasCookieBakeOff

I'm in a Quandary. Not Sure if I Will Finish This Book or Rate It.

 Well, I suppose on the plus side, this wasn't a book that I received an ARC of in exchange for a review.  This is the September read for a book club, and it was part of my Kindle Unlimited program so I didn't have to pay for the book and I  don't feel an obligation to review or finish the book. Right now I'm 60% of the way through the book. have not read other books by this author, so maybe this book is a poor reflection of their overall work. 

In a nutshell, this series isn't for me and that is due to three reasons:

1.  Their is a throwaway transphobic moment at the reunion that is supposed to be funny I assume. It's so unnecessary I'm unsure why it is included in the book at all. 

2. Then their is a jailhouse scene that involves some racial and LGBT stereotypes around drug use and prostitution that seem lifted out of something from the 1970s.  This scene also utilizes a trope known as the magical negro trope.   The trope may seem innocuous, but it's insidious so I am not a fan to put it mildly. 

3. A major portion of the main character's identity is channeled through her weight.  So much centers on how fat she thinks she is, how she has always been heavy, how she can't fit in clothes and on and on and on. Then she goes to see a natrapath practitioner who prescribed a paleo diet for her. There is a long very detailed section of the appointment and then moving forward lots of talk about her and her diet.  Too many books that have first person female characters have inner monologues about how they need to lose weight or how their pants are getting tight or how they don't want to see x, y z guy because they aren't at the weight they want to be--and I'm very tired of reading over and over and over again about women feeling fat it takes away from stories at this point for me, esp when it's a mystery. 

It's a real bummer for me when I read something that I just can't enjoy.  This is only my opinion on this particular book, I do not know how other books in the series are, but given this book I won't continue on this series. 

Everything I Wanted To Happen Happened! Review of Heart of Obsidian- Books Of My Heart Read Along!

The year and this read-along is rapidly coming to a close. I was very excited to read this book. Since the moment Kaleb Krychek entering the series, I've been hoping he'd get a book. And this is his book!  It was so well done, I'd give this six stars if I could. I don't even know how the next couple of books will top this one! Maybe they won't and that will be OK, but I think Nalini Singh has some additional tricks up her sleeve...looking at you Tatiana and Ming...

I loved this!  The perfect reveal! 

It's happening!  They are learning that they have to work together to avoid disaster!  I love this! 

Well, that's all I can really say about the book, I don't want to spoil anything.  I'm so glad I decided to join Books of My Heart's read-along this year! This series has been so enjoyable!  I loved this book so much I'm already a third of the way into the next book, which is building on book 12 in a great way. Again I can't say much, I don't want to spoil! 

I hope you are having a very nice Monday.  Fall is right around the corner!! 

 

#TheSundayPost Fall Starts This Week - And Happy HOCO!

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.  See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Yesterday on my long run I smelled fall. It's coming, slowly but surely the 88-degree weather will be replaced with sweater weather! I can't wait--I want it to be cool on 10/10 AKA Marathon Day! 

This weekend was Youngest Child's last Homecoming!  I can't believe it's her senior year already. At the very least it seems like she started high school five minutes ago.  I was happy that the high school was able to put on the homecoming dance this year.  It was outside under a big tent on the school grounds.  

Here she is before the festivities.  We got to go to the house where she and her friends got ready and I took a bunch of pictures.  Happily, she thought some of the pictures I took were good pictures. 

Reading-wise I was a little behind and finished Heart of Obsidian late Friday night so I am going to put together my review and post it tomorrow.  I can sum up my review for you here: 5 stars, everything I hoped for in a book featuring Kaleb! 

This week I'll be reviewing a couple of cozy mysteries as well, 

I'm reading this one for the Cozy Mystery Book Club live stream on 9/28! 

I rec'd a copy of #Murderatthelobstahshack from #NetGalley, this will be out in November! 

This week I'm doing my second Meals Across Miles Meal Prep Workshop.  I'll be prepping 4-5 skillet meals. I need to put together my script and plan the prep for the prep!  

What are you up to this week?  Ready for fall?