The Sunday Post! She found the dress!

 

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 Everyone! Did you have a good week? I hope so! I finished reading some fun books, had a doctor's appointment in which the after-visit summary described me as pleasant, and my daughter found her prom dress.

fingers crossed that it arrives quickly and that we have time to get it altered should it need to be altered. The dress she tried on here was a size too big so maybe we'll get lucky and it won't need altering. She also agreed with me that it would be pointless to purchase heels to go with this dress as no one is going to see her feet and she might wind up putting a heel through some of this tulle! 

The color is lovely, don't you think? 

Like A Sister by Kellye Garrett

 

Having enjoyed  Hollywood Homicide immensely, I was looking forward to the day it was my turn to check out Like A Sister from my library. Now this book is considered a thriller, not a cozy mystery, which is fine because I enjoy both genres.

Thrillers are usually tense, and this book does have tension--but there isn't the ticking clock countdown most thrillers have, and this book has more humourous lines than a thriller usually has, Like a Sister contains elements found in cozy mysteries in a thriller situation. 

One example of the descriptive humor in this book:

"Ms. Scott, you beat us." Green was behind me, joined by a standard-issue young white guy. The type who looked like he made daily use of his Planet Fitness membership but never whipped the machine down after. "My partner, Detective Zizza." 

This book was a fast read, I really don't like putting down thrillers if I can help it. I have heard that the audio version of this book is fantastic. As I said above, I borrowed the book from my library after having to wait a month on the holds list. The first option my library had was the physical copy of the book, so I grabbed it. 

This book is good it is entertaining and I rate it a 4.

I will say I have a couple of questions about the how of the murder and the why. I could have really used an additional paragraph or two from the killer explaining how they did it and why they felt they needed to--I think they could have resolved the issue easily without killing anyone. Two of the other suspects could have committed the murder more easily and with good very good motives.

I wonder if Kellye Garrett wrote any drafts with one of the other suspects as the killer but then decided to go with who is ultimately the murderer. This book could really have at least three different very plausible endings. I kind of wish this was a choose your own adventure book with several endings!

In any case, I look forward to what Kellye Garrett writes next! 

One of My Favorite Series Has a New Book Coming out Soon

 Thanks very much #NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy an ARC of the latest book in Allison Brook's Haunted Library Mystery Series-- Dewey Decimated.  This book is the sixth installment of this very enjoyable cozy series featuring a library and a ghost and Smokey Joe the library kitty. This book will be out on September 6th, so if you have not read the series you can start ready it and be ready for this when it is released!

I am finding lately that many of the cozies I am reading feature a cold case,  I don't mind this at all as it is nice to see our sleuths find answers and it reduces the rapid-fire murders happening in their towns. 

As usual, I enjoyed spending time with Carrie and the crew in Clover Ridge.  I could have used more time with Carrie and her best friend Angela hanging out. We have in this book a new character who annoys Carrie--and the reader--the investigative reporter that won't quit.  Then we also have a new ghost AND a major construction project at the library, so Carrie is really pulling her hair out. In the area of overarching mysteries, we learn a little more about Evelyn's situation and Dylan is more forthcoming with Carrie about how he grew up. 

I found the town council aspects of the story to ring true to how politics works in a small town. The mystery and the who and the why of the killer worked for me.  I am looking forward to the next book and have my fingers crossed maybe we will get to see Dylan and Carrie get married!  

Glimmer Lake Trilogy by Elizabeth Hunter

 

I don't remember where I saw this book recommended, but I thought it was worth checking out so I added it to my Kindle. This was my first time reading Elizabeth Hunter. Before I knew it, I was finishing up the third book in this delightful series.  Suddenly Psychic starts off with a major car accident that kick starts the stagnant lives of Robin, Val, and Monica. Robin is an almost empty nester who feels more like a roommate to her husband than a wife. Val is a single mom of two with an ex-husband who behaves more like a teenager than a co-parent. Monica is struggling with her new title of widow.   Sounds like your typical women's fiction right? 

Not quite, as you might guess from the title, Suddenly Psychic the car accident changes these old friends.  Each one develops a psychic ability. Book one focuses on Robin, the second on Val, and the last on Monica. The town of Glimmer Lake features in the series and it is everything you would want in a small town located in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In each of the books, the main character learns how to come to terms with her new ability, and together they are able to solve long-forgotten mysteries that are affecting the town's present day. 

And we get some nice light romance!  The books are short and available for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.  I highly recommend planning a weekend trip to Glimmer Lake.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Elizabeth Hunter, I enjoy her writing and she has books in a variety of genres!

Brigerton, Harry Styles, and Prom #TheSundayPost

  

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 

If you are reading this I might be out shopping with my daughter for her Prom dress. We were supposed to go a couple of weeks ago but then I had the not Covid cold. My daughter says she doesn't have a dress style or color in mind, so that could make this easier? or harder?  Remains to be seen! Wish us luck!  I will report back on what dress is found!

This week I read some good stuff that I am looking forward to talking about--a trilogy by Elizabeth Hunter for example and I watched Brigerton season 2. Have you seen it?  I quite enjoyed it.  I thought the lead couple Anthony and Kate Sharma nailed the Enemies to Lovers trope.  Lots of longing, and a big payoff. I enjoyed it so much that now I can't wait to see what happens next season with Benedict's story so I bought the paperback on Friday at Love's Sweet Arrow Bookstore. 

Also since I live with one of Harry Styles' biggest fans, I made sure to listen to his latest single as soon as it was out this past week.  I quite enjoy it  

How was your week?  Read, watch, or listen to anything you enjoyed?

Coyer Read Along Destined for An Early Grave --Spoilers!

 Join the Read-along HERE

Okay let's talk about Destined for an Early Grave!  

I didn't like about 70%  of this book.

For chunks of this book, I was so annoyed by Bones and Cat, they were being so ridiculous.  Part of it was the lack of communication, I'm not much of a fan of when our main characters have major problems resulting from one or the other not talking something out. For me, I also don't enjoy reading Cat and Bones literally beathing the shit out of each other as foreplay. Also, it was so annoying that Cat assumed Bones was having sex with a ton of people in New Orleans when just a couple books ago he went years without sex when she left him and went with Don.  

And speaking of Don, Cat is going to feel really bad when she finds out he is dying from cancer and she was to afraid to talk to him.  The irony of a half breed vampire being so conflict avoident.  And speaking of the secret government agency group, overall, as a reader I am confused (This is definitely a me problem, not a reflection of Jeanine Frost's writing) about who I should care about in this series when it comes to secondary characters.  We had a couple of books where Cat's goverenment crew was central and we started to get to know them, but now they are mostly missing from this book. Will that continue?  Are we supposed to now learn to care about the vampires and ghouls, is Cat's life now just about fully vampire world? I struggle with as you can see. I mean I like Vlad and more of him is great, but what about the ghoul Liza, am I supposed to care about her? Will she be back or is she basically a red shirt like the random members  of Bones' crew --Band Aid and Hopscotch in this book. 

While I am getting tired of everyone wanting Cat, I did enjoy Gregor, he was a great villian. 

Tate showed up in the book at the 49% point, just went I was remarking to myself that it was great not having him in the book. Ugh. You know how I feel about him!

Fingers Crossed! 

Fortunately for me, things finally took a turn around the 75% mark of the book and Bones and Cat finally had a conversation and got on the same page. Amen!  I am pleased to see that Cat's conversion is wonky that will make for good storytelling, as well as the twist for Justina. I hope the next time I'm reading about Cat and Bones that the stoy doesn't focus on someone once again trying to covet Cat. I hope this time there is a different sort of big bad that they have to defeat. 

Next in the series we are reading First Drop of Crimson which features Cat's friend Denise.  I'm looking forward to a different POV in this series!

What do I rate this book. I'm not sure if I would say it is a 3 because Cat and Bones were so annoying or if it's a 4 because Ms. Frost made them so annoying to me. Good writing is about evoking emotions. 

Sometimes The Audio Reader Makes The Series!

 You may recall that I recently rated the first book in this series a 3, which is low for me when it comes to rating books. Because the book ended on a cliffhanger, and because of the incredible job Jessica Almasy does bringing all of the characters to life. 

I am glad I continued this series.  It's fun, Daisy has shown growth and is becoming a strong protagonist.  The voices Jessica does for the ghosts are fantastic. If you have listened to the Mystic Bayou Series by Molly Harper, I think you will also enjoy this series.  

One of the keys to enjoying this series is to see these books as a true traditional serial. Each book is fairly short and ends on a cliffhanger; you *have*  to read on to the next book to find out what happens next. 

The series is included with a Kindle Unlimited subscription or an Audible subscription.  As I have already gushed, I love the reader, so I do the audio version of this series.  It's a pleasant distraction when I am working out or cleaning the house. 

The growth of character and the fantastic Jessica Almasy moved this series from  3 to a 4!  A fun adventure! 

The Cracked Spine --This Month's Cozy Mystery Club Selection

Have you read this cozy mystery? It's this month's book selection for the Cozy Mystery Book Club! If you have read The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton or if you don't mind spoilers, join us for the book club live stream on Tuesday, March 29th at 6:00 pm EST.  The link is below:

 

I enjoyed this book and will be reading on in the series!  Here are my bullet points of what I enjoyed:

*Great setting, A bookstore in Scotland, what's not to love! 

*There is a budding romance that doesn't involve the sleuth and a police detective. 

*Our sleuth quickly finds a real home and a community that embraces her

*Paige Shelton gives us a plenty of potential suspects but we are able to keep the characters straight.

* Delaney doesn't spend a bunch of time in her head worried about her weight!

*Possible hint of otherworldly happenings as one would expect in Scotland

*Men in kilts!

There is plenty of room for us to learn much more about the characters we met in the story, I liked them and I thought the mystery was good, but I don't feel that connection to Delaney or the other characters that move a cozy from a 4 to a 5. I hope that book two will give me that connection.

Overall a nice, cozy read! 4 out of 5 stars

#The Sunday Post Had a Cold Not Covid

 

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 

I missed some blogging due to a cold. The cold wasn't bad but was stressful for me because I worry about any and all illness stuff. So I was like is it a cold? is it Covid? The rapid tests I took, said it was a cold. 

This week I'm back to feeling better. While I was sick I watched:

*Bridgerton (season 1) 

*The Last Kingdom--It was so good. I highly, highly recommend watching this series on Netflix since it is now 5 completed seasons, trust me! It's fantastic

*Severance on Apple+ This show is very good, it has a unique look that makes it more interesting to watch. This one is out on a weekly basis. We also watched Suspicion on Apple, that one is done being released, Tom liked it more than me.

MOVIES: Fresh, Windfall, and Deep Water. Deep Water is described as a romantic thriller. Let me tell you, it's not romantic at all and I would say it's 4 out of 10 on a thriller scale. Windfall takes place all on this gorgeous estate in Ojai, California.  I liked the movie score and the beauty of the estate. I didn't care very much about what happened to 3 of the 4 characters. Fresh is a horror movie. That one stuck with me the longest. So out of these three, I would say Fresh is the best story.  

How was your week? Read or watch anything too?

Here is what I'll be talking about this week:

Another fun book by Stella Bixby! #FestivalFiasco !

 

This is book number six in Stella Bixby's Magical Mane Mystery series. This series is a witch-focused paranormal cozy series, so if you like magical cozies that are short and reasonably priced, this is a series for you!

Aside from the whole murder thing, spending time in Cliff Haven is always fun. This time around Ellie is in the running for Mayor of a Day and it is a killer competition--pun intended!  Ellie is learning to control her magic, which is wonderful, her fake dad is still looking to get married.  I am still holding out hope that in a strange twist we will learn that fake dad is Ellie's real dad.

I'm still holding out hope that one day we will learn Xander's whole story and that Ellie and Xander will become a couple--but maybe my hopes are misplaced.

There is a big reveal in this book so if you've been reading this series, I think you'll be pleased with one of the relevations. Oh wait, there are actually two big revelations that are pleasing!  

A fun escape from my daily life! Thank you for an ARC of this book Stella Bixby! 

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