Nice Start to a New Series- Dead Man's Hand

This name may look very familiar to you. I took a second take the first time I saw this book.  Then I realized this isn't a new book in the Harry Dresden Series, it's a new book by Jim Butcher's son. Like his father, this book is written in the Urban Fantasy AKA the Contemporary Fantasy genre.  I added this book to my library holds weeks ago and as it often the case, a bunch of my holds came in at once. I might not have had time to read this book if I'd gotten the e-book, but fortunately my hold was for the audio version.

The reader for the book is James Patrick Cronin and he does a wonderful job voicing the various characters and bringing the action to life. The story is engaging it has a nice blend of action and exposition.  The main character is a down on his luck witch who works at a place that sounds like Mideval Times Chuck E. Cheese. His name is Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby--what a fun name! 

The book begins with a different POV character, but soon it is clear that this series is going to be about Grimsby's hero's journey.  He is a scrappy young man with low self esteem who as this book goes along pairs up with a grizzled old guy who was sort of like a cop in this world and then you have Wudge who is a troll or maybe a goblin or maybe Wudge is just a a wudge? Anyway you look at it this trio is fun to read about. The plot involved some shady witches trying to get a very powerful item, and all that stands in the way is our intrepid hero and his buddies. 

I can't wait for more!  I love these sorts of stories.  Found families are so delightful to read! 

5 stars

 

What the Reviews Said, What I thought.

Once again I found myself looking for an audiobook that was included with my Audible membership so I had something to listen to while doing chores. This seems to be a weekend theme for me. This time The husband was off at a golf show, so I had time to putter around the house and listen to this book.

I chose this book because it is narrated by Johanna Parker who voiced the Sookie Stackhouse books and I enjoyed her reading of those books. According to the reviews for this book, some people weren't fans of the audio. 

The beginning of the book is told from Ada's perspective and Ada is a very naive 15-16 year old who has come back home to her horrible abusive father. I was not very into the beginning of the book, I was disappointed that it starts with a clueless girl in the 1920s  with an awful father who needs rescuing.  I considered putting the book down (figurately not literally as I was listening on my phone) and not continuing,  

However, I decided to listen a little longer, and that is when the story switches to the perspective of the other girl in the stilt house, Miranda.  Miranda was a much more interesting character and I enjoyed her backstory. I have not read much fiction taking place in rural areas during the 1920s, which enhanced my reading of this story. 

In the blurbs for this book, The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian is compared to Where the Crawdads Sing and apparently many, many reviewers did not agree with this assessment and that affected their enjoyment of the book.  I have not read the Crawdads book, so this comparison meant nothing to me. 

4 stars

 

Presidents' Day, Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday. #TheSundayPost 3rd Week of February!

  

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 

No spoilers but I've been on a nice roll of enjoyable books! I hope it continues for a nice long time. How was your week? I'm enjoying a 4-day weekend, I go back to work on Tuesday and I'm bringing paczki. When it's Fat Tuesday, you've gotta have a big jelly-filled donut, right? 

How's your reading going?  Read any 5-star books lately?? 

Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne

Oh my goodness how beautiful is the cover!  Go ahead and judge this book by its cover because it's as lovely a read as the cover. 

This book is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice which is one of my favorite stories. In this modern retelling, we have Liza the only DJ who gives a Jam--what a great tagline and Dorsey a rich developer. The book is set in DC and has a diverse cast of characters. I loved how Nikki Payne take the character of Lady Catherine De Bourgh and turns her into a him and make him a misogynist Senator. 

Nikki Payne managing to include all the best lines and scenes from the original tale by Jane Austen but puts her own twist on it in such a wonderful way. This book is really a chef's kiss of a retelling.  As I was reading the story there were many times where I had a smile on my face because this is such a fun retelling . Nikki Payne also brings the heat—unlike

the classic tale we know and love, we get sex scenes between Liza and Dorsey. 

5 stars —if you like the original you must read this and if you are not familiar then I think you will enjoy this enemies to

lovers  romance !

 

Tell Her Story - Reading While Cleaning

It was Saturday morning and I was once again looking for a quick book to listen to while I caught up on laundry, so I scrolled through what was free with my audible subscriptions and I came across this book, Tell Her Story.  The book is centered around a former journalist who starts a podcast. 

I said to myself, oh cool, I like podcasts, I'll give this book a listen.

The reader for this story is the actress Dakota Fanning and she does a nice job as the narrator keeping the story going. This book doesn't have many characters so it is easy to keep people straight while you listened and there are many subplots it's a straightforward mystery covering a cold cast that the main character has turned into a podcast.  Now our main character was fired as a journalist because she wrote a story about someone claiming he was a sexual predator and then it turned out she knew it wasn't true.  That makes her hungry for redemption and also maybe we should believe what she says in her podcast. Or should we? 

C/W part of the story involves a high school teacher sleeping with a student. It's not condoned but it is part of the story. 

Without spoiling the story, I will say my response to the end was, hmm, really? If you listen to the book I'd love to know what you think! 
 

A Wish Granted - Bones POV

I won a ecopy of The Other Half of the Grave from Anne's Read-Along! Halfway to the Grave is a very good first book in an Urban Fantasy series so I was excited to re-read the book from Bones' perspective. 

I am sure that over the years Jeaniene Frost has received thousands of requests for a Bones book as he is who is a beloved Vampire in the Urban Fantasy universe.  He is right up there with the Vampires from True Blood and Anne Rice's vamps so it is safe to say that this book was very wanted.

I enjoyed reading the book and knowing all the events of the first book. Since the original book is told from Kat's anti-vampire perspective, it's good to see what was going on in Bones' head while she was projecting upon him her worst fears. 

If you enjoy urban fantasy or vampire romance, I say go read this book if you have already read Halfway to the Grave or get both books and read either one first --or if you are new to the series, I'd love to see what you think of book two after just reading Bones point of view.

4 stars for The Other Half of the Grave it's a solid read.

 

Super Bowl Sunday Has Arrived - Got Snacks? #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 

Are you having or going to a Super Bowl party?  Tell me all about the snacks! We are going to not go anywhere which is usually what we do. I don't really care about the game, I do like the commercials and I do like snacks.  Nothing like a tasty appetizer if you ask me. 

This week brings us Valentine's Day and that means the month will be half over already.  I wonder if we will get a big snow in my area this month, we've had a good amount of cold weather and plenty of days with windchills below zero but not much to speak of when it comes to snow. 

This week I'll be sharing a few books I read or listened to lately:

Looking for someone to listen to while you work or work around the house?

 

It was a Saturday afternoon in January, I had loads of laundry to wash and fold---a sink full of dishes and I didn't feel like listening to music or a podcast.  What to do?  I clicked on my Libby App and scrolled to find an audiobook that was available and looked decent.   

What I found was The Liar's Wife by Kiersten Modglin.  I listened at 2.0 speed and finished the book by dinnertime. It's an easy listen, there aren't a ton of characters so it's easy to keep people straight when you listen to while you work. 

A couple of things that are done in the book that I really liked. The main character Palmer has just given birth and as the book begins you aren't sure if she is dealing with normal post-pregnancy worries and attachment to her new baby or if her husband is truly up to no good. Up until a certain plot point I was not sure if she was a reliable or completely unreliable narrator.  I am not going to tell you which it is, I don't want to spoil you. 

At the very end of the book is a plot twist that you will either love or roll your eyes.  

Mother of the Bride Murder ARC from Net Galley!

 Here is the tagline from the publisher: "As part-time Tinker’s Cove, Maine reporter Lucy Stone says “oui” to her daughter’s surprise wedding invitation in France, she must also make a different kind of vow—to catch a killer!"

If you've read my blog before,  you know I enjoy the Lucy Stone cozy mystery series. I've read many of the books over the last five years and I was delighted that Kensington and Net Galley provided me with an ARC for Mother of the Bride Murder which will be published April 25th. 

I am of the opinion that sometimes you connect with a cozy sleuth and sometimes you don't and that is A-OK.  I connect with Lucy Stone even though I don't always agree with her.  We live in Lucy's head in these books and so we really get to know her thoughts and opinions. After reading many of her adventures, I find that the reason I will read this series as long as Leslie Meier writes them is that Lucy and the Tinker Cove crew feel like real people. They are written with depth and the dialogue sounds just like you might have in your own daily life. 

Reading this book I was worried about Lucy's relationship with Toby more than I was about the actual murder. I'm glad that by the end of it, they were in a good place.  However because of what happens, now I'm pretty concerned that Molly is never going to want to move back to Maine.  I miss the days when Molly lived nearby. She's a great daughter-in-law. 

I was also reminded in this book that Elizabeth is my least favorite of the daughters, she always seems to be too interested in wealth. See, the characters are normal everyday middle-class-ish people you probably know. I could write a really long post going on about everything in the book like I was telling you about my neighbor, that's how Lucy feels after you read some of this series.

My rating for this book is 4. It's a good solid book, I liked that much of the drama involving the Stone family could have been avoided if Marie and Hugo had been upfront with their guests. I do prefer when the whole book takes place in Tinker's Cove. 

If you haven't read any of this series, you can read this book, you don't have to know all about the other books. 

My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni

Looking for a listen for your commute, or while you are cleaning the house, or walking the dog?  My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni is the first book in a series. The story is one you've likely heard before, Tracy the main character becomes a detective after her sister disappears and works for years to try and find out more about the case. In this instance her sister's body was never found and even though a man (who had been recently released from prison for rape prior to her sister's disappearance) was tried and convicted; Tracy doesn't think the evidence adds up. 

When the sister's body was found, then Tracy has an excuse to try and revisit the case. The sheriff in the small town tries to stop her from doing it. 

If you like courtroom drama and police procedurals you may enjoy this book and the rest of the series. I picked it up because it was on the top of the list of free with membership thrillers. I thought it was decent but I was left at the end thinking most of what happens in this book could have been avoided if some people hadn't decided other people needed protecting. 

Overall, it was a pretty good book and if you listen or read it and you like Tracy, the good news is that there are a bunch more books and I imagine moving forward they are cases she wasn't intimately involved with and that may lead to better twists and turns! 

3.5 stars