#FriYay! #2021AudioBookChallenge Magic For Liars

 This year I'm participating in the Caffeinated Reader's Audiobook Challenge.   Today's review is an audiobook that I picked up from the Chirp website, it was less than $5.00 USD!  Such a deal, plus if you want to use my referral link you can get 20% off your first order. 

The reason I purchased this book was because I enjoy the reader XE Sands.  Her voice is perfectly suited for telling the tales of world-weary PIs and this book's protagonist is a jaded PI who has spent years investigating fraudsters and cheaters.  Now she's been asked to investigate the murder of a teacher at a school for Mages.   To complicate things, her estranged sister is a teacher at the school.  

Ivy and her sister Tabitha have been avoiding each other for decades. The book is told from Ivy's point of view, so we know she has a deep longing to reconcile with her sister.  Conversely, she is also incredibly angry with her sister over their mother's death.  Their mother died of cancer when they were teenagers.  Trigger warning here, cancer plays a prominent role in Ivy's past and throughout this book. It did not bother me, but if I had started listening to this book during treatment for cancer last year, I probably would have put the book back down (or in this case deleted it off my phone).

What I enjoyed in this book is how magic is a presence that both helps and hinders the investigation. Ivy doesn't have any magical ability and this lack of magic gives her a giant chip on her shoulder, which is an important trait in good PI--a strong sense of lack. 

In my mystery reading, my favorite murder motives are greed, hubris, or unintended consequences, I find these motives always beat boring old jealousy.  In Magic for Liars Sarah Gailey gives us a wide-ranging group of potential suspects with solid motives and not great alibis.  In the end, the murder is solved and Ivy our protagonist, has made in-roads into accepting the possibility that maybe she is enough as she is and worthy of someone's affection. 

The book finishes with Ivy ready to make an emotional leap, but we do not see what happens as a result of her leap of faith. I don't need to know how things turn out because the point is that she's decided to change her script. 

If you like PI mysteries or Contemporary Fantasy- I say give this a read or a listen.  4.5 stars!

This book is a stand-alone book, it's not part of a series! 

Repurposing A Wine Bottle and #COYER Spring Challenge! Join us!

 The other day my other half picked himself up a bottle of wine from Walgreens and I thought to myself, that is a good-looking wine label.  So once the wine was gone.  I repurposed the wine bottle and added it to my bookshelf. I am tempted to find books to put on the shelf that goes with the Firefly theme. 

In case you are wondering what I did, I just took a string of LED lights I got from Aldi over the holidays and stuck the little lights into the wine bottle to get the effect of having fireflies in a mason jar, and then I used some velcro to attach the battery pack on the back of the bottle. Easy peasy, that is the extent of my DIY skills. 

As you may recall this year I am joining reading challenges.  To the right of this post,  you can see the Read a Series in a Month Challenge button which you can click to join!  My post on that challenge is here:  Two Challenges To Talk About.

I am also participating in the COYERS Seasons Challenge, which means it's time for my COYER Spring Challenge post!  You can read all the details and join me in the challenge here.   I'm really excited for this part of the challenge because now that physical books are included it gives me an incentive to read the books I got for Christmas and some books I won in contests. 

In addition to the gentle nudge to read books that I already own,  COYERS offers community! I love being part of the group.  It's nice to read with others, and have a chance to talk about books outside of a traditional book club. 

I hope the beginning of March is going well, the anniversary of when the pandemic began to affect most of our lives is just about here. I hope you are in a good place and soon to be vaccinated or already vaccinated! 

Happy Pulaski Day! A Holiday Only Celebrated in Illinois! #BookReview

 Some local government offices and some schools are closed today in honor of Casimir Pulaski who according to Wikipedia: "is praised for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution and known as "the father of the American cavalry".

And now on to today's book review!  

Today's book is the first book in a new Cozy Series by Elizabeth Pantley (well know non-fiction writer of the No-Cry Sleep solution). This is her first foray into writing cozies and she jumped right in with Falling into Magic a paranormal cozy.  In this book, we meet Hayden who is in her mid-20s, single with her own business.  

When we are introduced to Hayden, we learn that she has been unlucky in love, and has never known her parents as they disappeared when she was a newborn.  That seems odd, right?  

Also, she is certain that sometimes she sees a boy and later,  a man in the mirrors behind her, but it's not a scary situation. She calls this specter her 'guardian angel' --Not to mention at her grandmas' salon a strange man comes in and steals all the garbage?  

Then Hayden falls into a hole and the next thing you know she can communicate telepathically with her cat! This is a fun light, cozy read, easy on the budget, and just a fun escape.  The second book in the series, The Disappearance of Emily is available on Amazon starting March 12, 2021, so now is a perfect time to read book one and then pre-order book two! 

The Sunday Post: Waiting To See if March Will Come in Like a Lion

 

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

How was your week?  Around here the weather took a turn for the good! The giant piles of snow are finally melting.  Lately when I have been running my left leg has been getting sore in a naggy way. I thought it was most likely due to running on side streets vs. running on sidewalks because the street is slanted so water runs off into the gutter so when you run on the street one leg is higher than the other. 

However, today I got my new running shoes and it turns out, I really needed new shoes!  My leg feels so much better it's ridiculous. Next time I will get shoes in 5 months instead of waiting 6 months. 

Here they are in their platinum glory, for anyone who runs, these are Asics Nimbus 22s. I love the cushion of new shoes and these have great heel support. Once the snow is melted not only can I get back on the sidewalks, I can also run some different routes.  Right now some sidewalks are clear, and others have two-3 foot piles of snow and ice. Not great for running or walking. 

What are you looking forward to in March? Any great reads, TV shows, or films?  Comment below! 

Books I will be reviewing include:

and

Happy Sunday! 

How Weird Would It Be To Have Wings? #BookReview

 

This is the second book in the Guild Hunter series and in this book Elena is now an immortal who has been in a coma for a year. The upside to being immortal is that if you spend a year in a coma, you still have all the time in the world after you wake up.  Elena also has wings, which the more I read about the wings the weirder it seemed to me as a lowly human. Can you even imagine?  I can't figure out how I'd put on a shirt and I'd be super bummed that I couldn't sleep on my back. 

 

It does make sense that touching someone's wings without their permission is extremely rude. Like just randomly touching someone's hair except in this case it's feathers. Nalini Singh has such an incredible imagination. This could be just another kick-ass heroine paranormal romance, but instead of settling for that--, she builds a world where Elena gets wings and becomes some sort of hybrid vampire hunter/human/angel.

As she adapts to her new life, she has to figure out how to stay alive since the newly immortal are easy to kill if you are an archangel and most of Raphael's fellow archangels do not like Elena. In this series, Nalini has changed what it means to be an angel. You definitely get the feeling that these angels could more accurately be termed demons. One of the reasons Nalini Singh is a must-read author for me is because she plays with fantasy stereotypes and expands the ideas of what can be done in a story. 

4.0 stars! 

Can You Guess How Much Snow We've Had This Winter? (so far) & #TheSignofDeath #NetGalley

 As you may know, I live in the Chicagoland Area, the heart of the Midwest, USA.  We get snow every winter.  In November and December and into January we were really lucking out in the snow department; as in, we had very little snow.  It's not that I am a passionate hater of snow, it's just that snow makes running more difficult, because not enough sidewalks are cleared for people who need sidewalks. 

If I were to run to be the Queen of Illinois, I would run on a platform that would involve municipalities paying people to shovel the snow so that all sidewalks were cleared within 24 hours of any snow event of over two inches.  I would also love to have heated streets, but mostly I dream of a world where sidewalks are not buried under mountains of snow each winter.  This is on my mind because over the last few weeks it has snowed almost every day and now we have over two feet of snow on the ground!  Bah! 

(https://www.weather.gov/lot/202021_winterevents) 

Over three feet of snow has fallen at Midway Airport!  It was too cold for any of it to melt, but now the forecast is looking up and it hit 45F!   The snow is melting! Maybe we will have a nice St. Patrick's Day this year? 

Cozy Mystery Book Review Time! The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton 

The Sign of Death is a historical cozy mystery and is the second book in the Victoria Book Club Mystery.  There is enough context in this book that you won't feel lost at all if you jump into this book. The story is told from two points of view, Lady Amy who writes mysteries under a pen name, and Lord William her good friend and--maybe more!  This book takes place in Bath, England in 1891. This is the first cozy I have read taking place in this time period, but I have read romance taking place during the late 1800s.  

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and so the exact wording of the book can change between the ARC and the published book so this might be slightly different but I have to share a sentence. I knew I would enjoy this book from the first sentence:

"William, Viscount Wethington starred in horror at the missive in his hand, the blood draining from his head. He read it a second and then a third time, but the words never changed. My dearest son, After much consideration, I have decided to retire from our townhouse in London and take up residence with you in Bath...affectionately, Mother."

My kind of humor right from the start!  Lord William's mom is moving in and she wants him to get married. But he has bigger problems because in the next chapter we find out that Willam's man of business was found drowned in the river, and later we find out he was quite unscrupulous!  

Recently, I attended a webinar for mystery writing and the author who was presenting talked about how important it is for amateur sleuths to be actively searching for clues instead of writers having clues just conveniently plop into their laps.  Callie Hutton does a great job having active sleuths.  Lady Amy and Lord William are like Sherlock Holmes and Watson, they are on the case!

This book a fun historical mystery Lady Amy and Lord William make a great duo and I am looking forward to their future adventures! 

4.5 stars!  

#Romance Review and a Recommendation

 

This month's selection for a book club I belong to was  A Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison. It's a story told from Hannah and Sam's point of view in which they have just finished secondary school.  It takes place over the summer while they are waiting for the results of their admissions tests for university.  In the book Hannah and Sam keep running into each other, being attracted to each other, and then something gets in the way, and they miss their opportunity.  The book has parties and trips and shopping and eating--honestly, reading about the vacations in France, Greece, and the group of friends going to a festival during COVID-19 made me a little jealous.  However, listening to the book definitely didn't make me miss being 18. The book is filled with many miscommunications and drunken decisions, which seem to be right on point for that time of life between the very end of childhood and the official start of adulthood.  

One line from the book that I really enjoyed is when Pax (a male character)  says: "Love her? Love her?  You don't love someone until you are like 23 or something."  That sounds like a solid life plan!

I listened to the audio version of this book at 1.8 speed. Both readers are excellent and make the book that much more engaging. 

3.5 Stars  - If you like first love romances with lots of missed connections, you'll love this book. 

***

And now the recommendation. I was looking for a way to use fewer giant plastic bottles of Laundry Soap and Dishwasher detergent. I decided it was worth it to give Dropps a try.   I've been super impressed.  The boxes the pods come in can be composted and the pods work as good as name brand stuff in the washing machine and the dishwasher pods are super good. I've stopped having to rinse the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.  This link has a referral discount: Dropps if you want to check it out. It's a subscription service but it's very flexible on the timing of orders, and it's so nice to reduce some of the plastic bottles our house goes through each month. 

One Month from Now = Spring! #TheSundayPost

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

Upcoming this week on the blog:

I'll be reviewing:

A Totally Awkward Love Story

Archangel's Kiss

and The Sign of Death

I am also listening to 

If I finish this one I'll review it too! 

Quick reminder tomorrow is release day for A Pocket In Time! You can read my review here

Happy Sunday!  One more week left in February and then March will be here, and you know what March means?  Yep, Springtime!!! The time of year for renewing and refreshing.  Speaking refreshing, how do you like my updated blog design?   I love my new header!  Thank you Michelle of Limabean Designs! Michelle does great work and you can click here to visit her website for info on her services! 

What's going on in your neck of the woods this week?  Any fun plans? 

#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