#CozyMysteryBookClub #FebruaryReview Crime & Punctuation!

It is almost time for the February meeting of The Cozy Mystery Book Club! This coming Tuesday, Feb 23rd on YouTube at 7pm EST,  you can join in the live stream discussion of this month's book Crime & Punctuation by Kaithlyn Dunnett.  As you can see in my picture from an Instagram post I made, I borrowed the book from my local library. The cover of the book is a bit of an optical illusion,  looking like four-book spines. This is the first book in the Deadly Edits Series and after this book, there are two additional books so far--and the covers that look like book spines continue on book two and book three's covers. 

Mikki Lincoln, the protagonist of this series, is a retired school teacher. Additionally, she is a recent widow who has moved back to her hometown.  Mikki edits books on the side to help pay for renovations to her hundred-year-old home. If it weren't for The Cozy Mystery Book Club, I don't think I would have picked up this book.  I have so many cozy mysteries yet to read on my kindle and on my bookshelf.  Of course, that is one of the reasons I like to participate in the club, I wind up reading stories I would not have read otherwise. 

As I began reading Crime & Punctuation,  I realized I don't think I have read any book told from the POV of a woman who was in her late 60s. I've read plenty of books in my life and many of them are from a woman's POV but the vast majority of those books take place with characters who are under 40.   It would seem that the cozy mystery is a subgenre that allows for women who are older to be protagonists! I hope as more cozy mysteries are published, that the subgenre continues to broaden the types of people that get to be protagonists. I want more cozies told from the POV of Black and Brown women of all ages and also from members of the LBGTQIA community.  As a reader, I value stories written by and about people living completely different lives than me. 

Alright, back to the book. Mikki uses her skills as a former teacher and an editor to discover who killed Tiffany and why.  I enjoyed how Kaitlyn Dunnett uses a book manuscript as the central clue in this plot. In the book, Mikki talks about how new writers make mistakes in their writing and as I was reading  Mikki's critiques, I thought Kaitlyn Dunnett must have to be very careful in her writing so the character she created wouldn't tell her to fix her writing! The book takes place in the fall in a small town in the Catskills. Once again, which is very 2021 of me, I add the Catskills to my long list of places I would like to visit after the pandemic.

4.5 Stars to Crime & Punctuation a solid start for a mystery series: small town, curious sleuth, cat companion, a bookish job, and a big old house in a scenic area --and a cornucopia of townspeople! 

*****

My weather app says that Chicagoland should be getting temps in the 30s this weekend. I hope so, I want some of this snow to melt! 

This is how much snow we had on January 30th! 

This is how much snow we have now.

I think that's enough snow, I'm good with temps too high for snow moving forward!  

 

#Recipe and #ChickLit #BookReview & Spicy Chicken with Polenta

 

So my polenta was not as creamy as it should have been. I think I should have added more broth? All in all the meal was enjoyed by the family.  I will definitely make it again. I did have to change the cooking times on the chicken because I didn't have any chicken thighs when I decided to make this and I substituted a giant split chicken breast and chicken legs.  I also couldn't find berbere seasoning so I used a chili powder blend with cinnamon in it and added some ginger powder to that.   As you can see I found this recipe in my physical copy of Real Simple Magazine.  Paging through an actual magazine is a nice relaxing way to unplug in my estimation. 

Another way to relax is with a light-hearted book.  Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman is one such book.  This is the third book in her Class Mom series.  You can read this book as a stand-alone, but it is more fun to read it knowing the previous adventures of Jen and her family and friends. 

In the first book "Class Mom"  we met our protagonist  Jen Dixon when her son started kindergarten and her older daughters were first venturing out into the world as young adults.  Jen is an 'old' mom who's been around the grade school block. Each of the books takes place over the school year. In this book, Jen's now a 5th-grade Class Mom *and* in charge of the PTA fundraising committee.  If you have been a parent involved in raising funds, you know what a tough job she has ahead of her. 

In addition to trying to raise $10,000 for tablets for the school, Jen is beginning a new career as a spin instructor, spending several days a week providing childcare to her new grandchild and also helping her parents by going with them to run errands, cooking for them, etc.  Jen is an avatar for many women who find themselves trying to raise their own children while also helping their parents.  She's a sandwich mom in the middle of life in the middle of America--literally, as she lives in Kansas.  

If I knew Jen Dixon in real life, I would probably think she was fun but also kind of obnoxious, but in the books we know her internal monologue which shows her kindness and empathy. If you are looking for a book that will feel like you are spending time catching up with a friend over coffee, this is your book. 

This book comes out July 13, 2021, you can preorder it now or put it on your Goodreads shelf. 

4 Stars! 

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, all the options are mine. 

In the end, Jen's youngest child Max is headed off to Junior High, and that means the class mom days are over. I hope that this isn't the end of the stories from Jen Dixon's life--her granddaughter will be going into kindergarten in just three years, maybe Jen will be pulled out of retirement to be a class parent again! 

#YogaPantNation #NetGalley 

Presidents Day Today, Paczki Day Tomorrow and #BloodHeir by Ilona Andrews

 Should you feel like celebrating Presidents' Day, I suggest a viewing of Hamilton on Disney Plus--that is if you enjoy a good musical.  Or you could one of the many, many biographies of our many presidents, OR you could dive into President Obama's biography. Since President Obama's biography which is a part one biography, is over 700 pages, if I read it I'm thinking I'll do the audio.  I like his voice. When I was a kid we would sometimes have cherry pie for Presidents' Day because of the old legend that Washington was asked if he chopped down a cherry tree and he said he couldn't lie and admitted he chopped down the cherry tree. 

These days there will be no pies on Presidents' Day, but this year the day after is Fat Tuesday and that means Paczkis!  Basically, Paczkis are Polish jelly or custard-filled donuts.  Interestingly, according to the internet while we here in Chicagoland call the day before Ash Wednesday Paczki day, in Poland Paczki day is Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday).  Moving forward I'm going to try and have a Paczki week. I like the raspberry-filled the best.  Custard filled dough of any kind is not my thing. 

*****

Today's book review is for a new book from the husband and wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews. Blood Heir is a new book in a familiar world. Julie, who got to know previously is now a grownup- with a new face and a new name, Aurelia Ryder. 

She's finally home, but if she visits her family, they will die. We are in a very new territory. This book can be read on its own.  If you have not read the Kate Daniels series, you can enjoy all those books after this one, as you wait for the next book in this new series. As a reader who comes to this book after years of enjoying the Kate Daniels series, my reading of Blood Heir is enriched as someone who has spent time in Ilona Andrews' post-shift world.  

The book is filled with ancient mythology and failed technology.  Aurelia holds her own against very powerful foes and we learn a little bit about her old crush, who is now a very different kind of Wolf. The transformation of Derek is as big as the transformation of Julie and I am really looking forward to what happens next.  

The first time she was called Knight Ryder I chuckled and then later in the book I see this exchange. So Night Ridger existed in this world too! 

Happy Valentine's Day! #TheSundayPost Feb 14th!

 

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

Happy Valentine's Day to You! 

I recycled a Cheryl's Cookies box to package up the Hubs Valentine's Day present.  I got him Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee we will see if it lives up to their ad which says it doesn't taste like mushrooms...

The halfway point of February is here and this is the point of winter where my attempts to find the beauty in Winter fades away.  Ugh. snow, slush, sliding, cold air, cold wind, cold face, cold feet, and dry inside air. If I could go somewhere warm and sunny for a week to recharge I would go but that is definitely not going to happen this year--maybe in 2022?  That would be so refreshing. 

Well back to Valentine's Day, I hope you feel the love today!  I plan to give some chocolate to the kids and eat some myself! 

Upcoming this week-

Tomorrow I'll be talking about Paczki Day and reviewing Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews

Wednesday I'll be sharing a recipe from Real Simple for Spicy Chicken and Polenta along with a review of a fun upcoming book called Yoga Pant Nation.

Friday I'll be sharing a Cozy Mystery Book Club review of Crime & Punctuation

Are you celebrating Valentine's Day today?  What about Mardi Gras on Tuesday?  

An Actually Easy Bread Recipe! And #APocketInTime #NetGalley Review!

 We were out of potatoes and I didn't feel like making brown rice again, and I thought it was a good day to try and make fresh bread. I did a search for easy bread recipes and I found one to try that lives up to the description of the World's Easiest Homemade Bread.  This is a real five-star recipe and I am here to recommend it to you.  You don't even knead this dough! 

I recommend eating the bread slathered with butter. Life is short! 

And speaking of recommendations, let me share a review for a new time-traveling romance by Lexi Post.  I received a copy of this book from Net Galley, as always the opinions are mine.  Do you like Bridgerton or Outlander?  If so, give this book a read, A Pocket in Time is the second book in the Time Weavers, Inc. series.  So you can read the first book and then this one or just read the second one, whatever works for you. 

In the Author's Note, Lexi Post writes "A Pocket in Time was inspired by Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist."  I thought that was a unique place to start this book and as a fan of time-travel and romance, I knew this was a book I would have real fun reading.  Katz Almira is the heroine of this story, she is going back to Regency England to steal something that can change the course of history. Among her skill set is pickpocketing so she is perfect for this assignment.  She only has two weeks to complete this task or it will be too late to fix the timeline in the present day.  

The construct of Katz Almira being in a time and place she doesn't belong in and can't stay in without putting the entire world in peril really raises the stakes on the HEA. How are Jack and Katz going to overcome the literal obstacle of time and space?  That is the central mystery of this book and I applaud Lexi Post for making it so hard for these two to get together.  

If you like me enjoy characters with hard cynical outsides and gooey marshmallow insides, you'll love Katz and Jack.  It's nice to read a story where the male lead is more willing to dive off the deep end and profess his love without the certainty that the female protagonist will return his affections. 

4.5 stars to this book.  Really great read! 

#APocketInTime #NetGalley 

#ReadAlong Caressed By Ice #ParanormalRomance

This year I am participating in a Read-Along organized by Anne at Booksofmyheart.net. You can click here to read about the Read-Along and Giveaways. 

I've just finished reading the third book in the series and we will be having a group discussion about it on January 21st.  Books are even better when you get to talk about them with other people! 

And now here's my review of book #3, Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh. 

Writing a series of books is hard. Juggling characters and plots and settings has to be harder than hearing cats. Knowing this, I appreciate how well Nalini Singh has crafted the Psy-Changeling series.  As I read book three, I continue to see how the book's universe is slowly expanding. Characters that were just mentioned in book one or two are moving into prominent positions.  New details about how the Psy-Changeling world is continuously added like brush strokes of different shades of color to a landscape being painted.

Each book in the series so far, like many other romance series, focuses on a different couple. This book is the story of Judd and Brenna.  Unlike the first two books, Judd's conditioning to Silence protocol isn't failing. He has been out of the PsyNet and with the Changelings for months before things heat up between him and Brenna. The timing of this book in the Read-Along is perfect as in the book it is also winter so we read descriptions of snow in the mountains near Tahoe.  

This book deals with trauma, specifically the sexual trauma Brenna has experienced and slow imperfect healing from that trauma.  Even in this paranormal world, there aren't shortcuts and magical overnight healing for Brenna. Having started this journey into the Psy-Changeling world two books ago, by this book I think we as the readers are ready for Brenna's gut-wrenching struggles and are able to understand that this story will not have steamy sex scenes until Brenna is ready. 

We also learn more about the Psy-council who are the big bads of this series and about an unknown character "The Ghost" who is leading a nascent revolutionary group. I'm staying spoiler-free for this series so totally speculation on my part here when I say, I wonder if Ghost is Kaleb the new member of the council.  There are so many threads to pull on in this series, it's such a delight to read! 

How sad would that be!  I wonder if at some point some of the Psy characters we are learning to love will begin to sing? 

Thanks for reading! Happy Wednesday! Do something nice for yourself today! 

  

Valentines Day Week! Let's Start with Chocolate Covered Murder! #BookReview

This book is the 18th book in the series and was published nine years ago. I have found that with this series, you don't have to read the series in order.  Lucy Stone is a favorite cozy sleuth of mine. She's a mom of four kids and who grow up during the series and lives in an old house in the small town of Tinker's Cove located in Coastal Maine.  In earlier books, Lucy used to say things like "how could this happen in our quiet town, this is the sort of thing that happens in cities.  (cue eye roll from me).  Fortunately, by this point in the series, Lucy has realized that bad stuff happens everywhere. Her husband is around but mostly know for watching sports, working, and sometimes saying the wrong thing to his wife. This book is no exception as he tells Lucy "a few extra pounds is sexy" when Lucy is feeling bad about a weight gain.  

Lucy is often crabby and frequently nosy, the nosy part comes in handy since she is a reporter at the local Penny Saver and also because there are many a murder in Tinker's Cove. I imagine it is second only to Stephen King's Derry, Maine in murders per capita.

This series is known as a cozy series, but I have found it really doesn't match up with the typical cozy conventions. As is typical for this series Leslie Meier is going to talk about heavy topics, this one deals with opioid addiction and sexual consent.  There is some really outdated thinking highlighted in this book about women's behavior and fortunately, as the book goes on, Lucy does change some of her earlier judgemental inner monologues. 

If you are looking for a Valentine's Day-themed book with a potential serial killer,  look no further! 

Much to my dismay, the book didn't include chocolate recipes--or at least the e-version from my library didn't so here is a Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Recipe from Food Network. 

 

#TheSundayPost Love is in the Air? Or is that Football?

 

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

Will you be watching the football game today?  I'm a commercials person. My husband likes the game. I'm sure he'll be watching and I'll be reading a book!  

Today 2/7/2021 is the one-year anniversary of my last radiation treatment.  I sure do hope I live a nice long rest of my life into my 80s and beyond and never need any sort of cancer treatment again. For what it's worth, radiation is a walk in the park compared to surgery and chemo, but it is still rough.  My skin will never be the same, but the trade-off was hopefully very worth it. 

I plan to spend some time today in the kitchen with the microwave reminiscing about the good old radiation days. Ha!

Coming up on 2/9 a book I reviewed The Rakehell of Roth is being released. If you liked Bridgerton on Netflix, I think you'll like this book even more than that!

So how about you?  Do you have plans for the big game?

#CozyMysteryDebut! The Guest is a Goner and Valentine's Day Talk

 

Look at this old cute picture of how cute is that kid and how colorful are the clothes.  The shirt has a great reminder for all of us Love Yourself!  Anytime is a good time to celebrate love, but it's almost Valentine's Day so let's talk about that, do you have any tradition you observe, a special dinner or night with your loved one? Is it all about the romance or the friendships?  Oprah Magazine has put together a list of 35 different ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2021.  I like to use seasonal decor to celebrate the holidays so as I posted about a couple weeks ago, I have my DIY Valentine's day decor and as you know I like to cook, so a chocolate dessert is in order. 

And lastly, if you like flowers, get yourself some flowers! Don't wait for someone to do it for you, give yourself the gift of beauty in your home! 

Now on to my book review!

The Guest is a Goner by Carly Winter My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I Need to Know The Answer To The Cliffhanger at the End!

I have to say right up front that the cliffhanger I am talking about is outside the central mystery of the book. Don't worry you'll know why the guest is a goner and who did it! The Cliffhanger is the answer to something I was curious about as a reader and for that reason, I'll be sure to pick up the next book in the series.

This book is the first book in the Sedona Spirits series and is a spin-off of the author's "Tri-town Murders" series, but you don't have to be familiar with that series to start this book. I was drawn to read this book because I thought the title was a hoot and I enjoy paranormal cozies. Bernie and Ruby are a likable duo, grandma Ruby is a free spirit and Bernie is very straight-laced. Their lives have both been affected by Ruby's hardnosed parents and it's interesting to see how Bernie's great-grandparents have had a hand in Ruby's, Bernie's Mom's, and Bernie's personalities and decisions. In the book, Bernie does some important self-reflection and that's a real plus, it's so good to see characters focusing on their mental health.

One of the main components of a cozy mystery is the town and the townsfolk. In this book, it turns out that Bernie is surrounded by terrible townsfolk. At the end of the book Bernie really only has her grandma and a potential love interest and that was rather sad. I hope in the next book Bernie makes new friends with people who aren't murder suspects.

When the killer is revealed it is done Scooby-Doo style, which I *loved* So fun! I also learned that in the Sedona area there are wild boars and they are called javelinas. Lastly, I highlighted one line from the book to share: "The bowling alley smelled like oil and feet."--What a great line!

Overall this is a short cozy, has a quirky duo to root for, and paranormal elements and I will read the next book to see where we go!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

View all my reviews

Two Challenges To Talk About!

 My local grocery store had a very good deal on Eye of Round Beef Roast, So I said challenge accepted, let me see if I can cook that.  I didn't know that eye of round roast is tricky to cook since it doesn't have that handy fat marbling that allows you to throw it in a slow cooker and forget it.  In other words, Eye of Round Roast isn't like Chuck Roast.

I did some Google searches and found this recipe from the A Family Feast blog which I followed. I did marinate the roast overnight before cooking it today.  I will say that my oven runs hot and I should have turned the heat down from the 500 the recipe used to 475. The fat cap on my roast was overdone. Otherwise, the roast turned out. For sides, I made roasted potatoes as well as cabbage, carrots, and cipollini onions. 

Here is how it looked going into the oven. I put it on a little rack in a roasting pan, but there wasn't much in the way of grease and I don't think the rack was essential. 

This is the plate of food I prepared and brought up to my husband to eat since he was on a work call. Isn't he lucky to have such a nice wife? 

The second challenge I want to talk about is a book series challenge that I'm going to participate in this March.  The challenge is called Can You Read A Series In A Month? My plan is to use this challenge as an opportunity to read the Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole.  The series is a contemporary romance series of three books and two novellas. 

Join me! Let's read a series in March, and then when March is over it will be time for springtime!