Saturday, February 1, 2025

Happy Black History Month! The Sunday Post

 


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. you can write 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.


Happy Black History Month! I read that the administration is trying to cancel the celebration of Black History. Now IMO, Black History is America's history and it can't be canceled. This week I'm sharing some of my favorite Black authors and their books. 



Wishing you a good week in these trying times.










Wanna Read A Bodyguard Romance? BETRAYED by Eveline Rose

Do you enjoy Bodyguard romances? Enjoy a damsel in distress theme?  If you really crave a nice opposites attract, BETRAYED is one to read! BETRAYED is the fourth book in the Shepperd and Sons Investigations series. Each book features a member of the SSI staff saving someone. 

This is a standalone series. The series features found family--something I love! The romance happens behind closed doors. In this book, there is a big action-filled climax. We end the book with a nice HEA. I give this five stars based on me wanting to pick it back up as soon as possible every time I was interrupted and had to set it down!

Happy weekend reading! As always, if you read a book take a quick second when you are done to rate and/or review! It makes a big difference! Then tell a friend!

Here is a link for more info or to purchase: https://a.co/d/eKNaVgQ
 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Book Birthday Today! It App-ened One Night!


Out into the world, it goes! I hope people like it. I write stories I'd like to read, so hopefully there is a nice bunch of people out there who enjoy reading the same things I do. I also hope that we caught the typos between my editor, my proofreader, and my reviews!

When I was writing this book in October and November, there were days when I didn't think I'd ever finish it! Then I had it finished a week before it was due. 

Sometimes authors talk about their book babies and I didn't understand why until I was revising my first book. Writing a book is like being in labor. Once it's done and the baby has arrived you quickly forget the finer points of how arduous the whole process was to endure! 

So now the drafting process is almost a warm fuzzy memory and the finished version is ready for everyone! 

Here is the link to my website if you'd like to get any of my books or become a subscriber for bonus scenes, ARC opportunities, and other special perks. 

 

Sunday, January 26, 2025

This Month Has Been Years Long, But We're Finally In The Last Week!

 Time for the January Cozy Mystery Book Club on YouTube!


This is my first time reading a book by author Olivia Blacke. Vinyl Resting Place, like all of the book the club reads, is a first in a series. First in the series books can be tricky, the author has to introduce us to characters and setting plus have a whole murder mystery on top of it! 

This book is about sisters who open up a vinyl record store outside Austin, Texas. When they are having their soft opening night a body is found! Their uncle is suspect, so the sisters have to clear him. Since the youngest sister Juni's only job is to work at the new record store, that is now a crime scene, she is the main character who is trying to solve this mystery. 

If you've read this book, come join us for the live stream on Tuesday. I had a 'wait, what?' moment in the book and I'm looking forward to seeing if I was the only one! 

It's going to be warm enough as this week continues that I won't have to wear my fleece-lined snow boots to work, which will be nice! 

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Say There, Would You Like A Bunch of Free Books? The Sunday Post

 


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. you can write 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.

On Tuesday, over 1,000 romance ebooks will be free. Some are free on Kindle and some are free on a bunch of different places, so if you don't do Kindle but you do Nook or Apple Books or Kobo, you are in luck! You can go to https://romancebooklovers.com and pick what books you want to grab on Tuesday.



My first book No Gouda Without You is free under the small-town romance section of the website. If you plan to pick up some books let me know!

I have a cold or a sinus infection--to be determined, so I've been laying around hoping to feel better and trying to read. Here is what I've been reading:








Sunday, January 19, 2025

Surviorship and a Blue Apron Meal I made my own.

 

I like Lynn Cahoon's Kitchen Witch series. I also loved the idea of this series since it is supposed to be about a cancer survivor starting a book club for survivors of cancer. Being diagnosed with cancer, cancer treatments, and losing friendships and romantic relationships as a result of the cancer experience are talked about early and often in this book. That can be triggering for some people who are looking for a cozy mystery. 

I listened to the audio version of this book. I liked the narrator's voice but I didn't like when she changed her voice for the main character Rarity or the sidekick Sam. Overall I liked characters in the book. I wasn't sold on the killer, I thought I knew the motive, but I was off a bit. This is a book worth reading and I will pick up the second book in the series. I almost always like the second book in a series better than the first!

A couple of years ago, I got an order from Blue Apron and one of the meals was baked eggs and kimchi. It was so good! I make this dish often now, especially in the wintertime. It's good any time of day and it's delicious if you add gochujang sauce on top! 

Preheat oven to 430 degrees F.
Use cooking spray to coat a 9x9 baker or an oven-safe skillet
Then add these ingredients to the pan:
2 tbsps minced ginger ( I use the frozen ginger that is minced already.)
2 tbsps minced garlic (or more if you love garlic)
3 green onions chopped
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
6 oz of baby spinach
2 tbsp sesame seed oil
3/4 cup of kimchi
1 cup of rice 
2 cups of water.
Mix that all up and cover the pan or skillet with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and mix everything up.
Then make 4 wells in the kimchi rice, crack an egg in each well. 
If you want--add rinsed sugar snap peas on top wherever you don't have an egg.
Put back in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the eggs are set!

Then enjoy! If gochujang sauce is too spicy, try a little drizzled hoisin sauce on top. 

Saturday, January 18, 2025

The Sunday Post. I'm Ready For a Day Off, How About You?

  


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. you can write 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've been trying something new to better organize my writing/author time. I get up at 4:45am. I started participating in Monday through Friday Zoom that's called the Five a.m. call.  On the call, each person says a win for the previous day and shares three things they will accomplish for the day. Just saying out loud what I plan to achieve makes it about 85% more likely to happen. 

Do you have any tricks to get things done?

Yesterday I was a guest on the podcast Skip to the Good Parts


Here is a bit about the podcast:
We interview your favorite romance authors! Join your co-hosts, Cara Lockwood/Cara Tanamachi, a USA Today bestselling author of more than 35 books whose first novel, I Do (But I Don't) was made into a Lifetime Original movie, and her co-host, husband, and real-life romantic hero, PJ, (co-host of the Braving Business Podcast) as they get to know the writers behind your favorite Happily-Ever-Afters. 

We'll skip to the good parts - of new books, backstories, and inspirations. Join us and add a little more Happily Ever After to your day! 

It was really fun and when the episode comes out, I'll let you know. 

I'm currently reading Cara's book The Second You're Single it's a really fun rom-com that takes place in February, so a perfect mood read! 


Thursday, January 16, 2025

Do You Know How To Read Cursive?

 I came across this information in a news story and had to start sharing it with everyone I know!

Cool Thing I Must Share With You!

Do you know how to read cursive? It has become a skill that fewer and fewer people have, and that means you are special! The National Archives needs volunteers to help transcribe documents. All you need to do is go to their website, create an account, and pick your mission! Here are a few missions I saw that looked interesting:

If you are a history buff or made a resolution to try new things, here is something you can do, and then you can say you are a part of the historical record! This is the link to the website to sign up: https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/get-started-transcribing


What do you think? If I do this, can I add it to my resume? 

I hope you are having a great day! I'm working on my goal to read books I own. Here is this week's read! 



Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Can You Ever Have Enough Notebooks?

 Meet my new notebook. My husband was very befuddled that I need a notebook to write down recipes when I could just save the links to the online recipes I like. He's not wrong. I don't need this...


In my defense, look at these pages!

There are little boxes you can check and lines for lots of ingredients and there is a big box to make future notes! I can't wait to fill it up with only the best recipes! I recently made a tomato soup from Blue Apron and it was very tasty so now I'm working on making some changes to it and adding a few ingredients. I'm thinking of adding zucchini and maybe orzo pasta to the soup. I will keep you posted! 

How is your week going? Have you gotten any reading in? Here is a quote from On The Edge that I loved. This is from the first book in Anne at Books of My Heart's read along. If you'd like to get in on the read along here is the link: https://booksofmyheart.net/2024/12/01/read-along-giveaway-edge-innkeeper-by-ilona-andrews/





Saturday, January 11, 2025

The Sunday Post- First Full Week of January is Complete

 


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. you can write 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 did your week go? It was busy here, what with the having to go back to work after break and my mother-in-law's funeral. It was also cold and that makes me being able to run more difficult. Not only is it cold, but you have to try not to slip on ice. I don't know about you but I don't like falling down! 

I'm continuing to work on less scrolling and more reading! How are you doing with your New Year goals? 

I've wanted to read this book for a while and when I saw it on Hoopla I grabbed it. 


I read and reviewed On the Edge for Anne's Blog:
And I also read Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke. I'll write about that later this month becuase it's the January read for the Cozy Mystery Book Club! 





Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Where do you read your audiobooks?

 

Our little city put in a new park over the last few years and it has a little pond. Over the summer they put a paved trail around the pond. I love a paved path because it's easier for me to run on and it's accessible for parents with strollers and people with wheelchairs or walkers. 

I took this picture on January 3rd, the temperature was in the low  20s (aka -4 Celcius) but the wind chill was wicked cold!  My ears were freezing under my hat. Luckily I always have a story to keep me distracted from the weather. 

 I picked up a free audio book from the Chirp newsletter. I love a free thriller! Where do you read your audiobooks? 


Sunday, January 5, 2025

I Love This Recipe So Much I'm Putting It In My Book

In It App-ened One Night, Susan makes a butternut squash soup for her mom. It's a soup I love to make in the fall and winter because the veggies are in season and usually on sale and it is vegan as made so a good choice for any diet. You can of course add cheese or a protein to the finished soup.
I'm putting the recipe in the back of my book, this isn't traditionally done in romance books. Those of you who read cozy mysteries know many of the books include recipes.
I think I'd like to include a recipe in the back of each of my romances going forward. It adds to my desire to embrace coziness as my author brand. Is there anything better than enjoying a cozy day? 
And now on to the recipe:

Butternut-Leek Soup

Ingredients:
Peel and dice one butternut squash - Or use a package of precut squash
Slice two leeks, just the white and a little of the light green portion.
Peel and dice one potato or sweet potato 
Peel and slice one parsnip. (optional this is my secret ingredient)
4-5 cups of vegetable or chicken (if you don't need it to be vegetarian) broth 
a tbsp of dried poultry seasoning or thyme
or 1-2 tbsps fresh rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all in a slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours or until the vegetables are soft. Then use an immersion blender to puree the soup. 
Serve with gruyere or Swiss cheese grated on top or add a couple of tbsps of diced ham or crumbled bacon. 
This soup pairs very well with a nice crusty bread. I would pair it with a Reisling if I was having a glass of wine.
The leftovers taste great and this soup freezes well. 
If you try it let me know! 

 

Saturday, January 4, 2025

The Sunday Post- Back To The Old Grind Tomorrow

   


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. you can write 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 just remembered I signed up to bring a dish to the breakfast potluck we have at work tomorrow. It's an institute day so not only do I need to bring a dish, I start work at 8 a.m. instead of 8:45 a.m. On the plus side, we have a three-day weekend coming up. I also reviewed the school calendar and there are only 22 weeks left of the school year and only 11 of them are full five-day weeks. 

This all probably sounds like I don't like my job, but I do! I love it.  It can been draining so I cherish the time off to recharge. One thing I need to do to make life easier is to meal plan for dinners, and better yet, meal prep so I don't have to spend as much time cooking after work. Do you have any easy recipes you make?

This week I'm reading: 









Thursday, January 2, 2025

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

I borrowed this book via the Libby app from my local library. I thought it was a book club selection for January. I was about sixty pages in when I realized it wasn't. This book is part of a longer series and you really don't need to read any of the other books to enjoy it.  I read it over four days and it held my interest even when my husband was watching the new Harlan Corben limited series on Netflix. It was also a good distraction from my itchy face.

Why was my face itchy?  A few years ago I had this goal to set aside money and get a chemical peel for myself for Christmas. But that didn't happen for a couple of years. Then I researched and found out I could get a less intense chemical peel for a lower cost at Massage Envy. Plus unlike my dermatologist, you can join the Massage Envy club and pay for one credit a month for your choice of facials or massages. 

In September, I promised myself I could get a facial once I finished drafting my book. Then I got busy and didn't do that--but on the plus side, I accrued credits and was able to use two to get the chemical peel I'd been promising myself for quite some time! I'm welcoming in the new year with a hopefully more luminous face once the itching subsides. It's not that bad, I'm being a little dramatic. 

The Beast Takes a Bride has some Beauty and The Beast vibes but not too much. Lots of pride getting in the way of love for our leads, which I enjoyed. It doesn't have a true third-act breakup, so if you like books without one, this would be a good one to add to your list. 

Next up I am going to read Vinyl Resting Place which is The Cozy Mystery Club book for January. I was pleasantly surprised to see it is available on KU. 

What are you reading to the start the new year?

 

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Really Not How You Want To Kick Off The New Year

 

Yes, I'm heading over to the funeral home with my husband today to go over a few details for his Mom's funeral. Hopefully, this will be the only funeral we will have occasion to attend this year. My mother-in-law was adamant that there be no wake. We will just have the funeral at the church and then a luncheon.
I didn't think too much of the no-wake situation at the time she decided it, but now that we are in the midst of the preparations, I'm grateful! She has made her send-off so much easier on everyone mourning her. While it is sad, I know that her family will have plenty of smiles and laughs when we celebrate her in a little over a week. We should all be lucky to live into our nineties without needing help until the very end. 

###
This month I'm participating in a JaNoWriMo. (January Novel Writing Month) My goal is to write thirty thousand words. What they are going to be about is up in the air. I have some vague ideas about my next book, but I don't have an outline put together. I usually start my writing process by brainstorming ideas with someone, so this time I will start by brainstorming in a document. Wish me luck! 

I hope your year is off to a funeral-free start! 



Monday, December 30, 2024

It's Official I Have a Website!

 

Once we returned from our trip down South, the hubs made a spiral ham. We had leftovers and I decided to make a quiche. When pie crusts are on sale, buy some. They come two in a package so I keep one set in the freezer and I'm ready when the opportunity to turn leftovers into a fancy and easy to make quiche presents itself!

As you may have noticed today is the last day of 2024. It's been quite the year. I'm ending on a high note by having my author website up and running. Want to see it?  Here it is: https://victoriahamelauthor.com

As part of my new website, I have a blog. I don't know that I can integrate this blog there, but for now, I have my header from here on my website. My new website is built off WordPress, so I think if I want to put posts from here on it I'll have to cut and paste?  This is all above my paid grade and I'm the sole employee of my author business!

I'm cruising my way through The Beast Takes a Bride. It's so good! I'm a sucker for a Darcy-esque hero and Magnus is so Darcy! All his problems are the result of his wounded pride! 

I'm treating myself to a facial today. I'm terrible at rewarding myself for accomplishing goals--but past me prepaid for future me to get a facial once It App-ened One Night was revised! 

I hope you have a wonderful last day of this year! 

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Looking Ahead to Next Weekend

 

On Saturday morning, I meet with the All Write Well group for a 2025 planning session. Hopefully, by the end of it, I'll have my writer's year more fully outlined. When will I be drafting my next book? Stay tuned and we will all find out. 
Then in the afternoon, I get to go to an in-person book club at Love's Sweet Arrow to talk about this book. It's the historical romance book of the month. I enjoyed it! One of the best parts for me was that it's about a duchess who is in half-mourning. I know what that is because I went to a talk all about Victorian mourning customs in October at my local library! I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator was quite good. If you like historical books or if you enjoyed Bridgerton and don't usually read romance, give this a go anyway! 

This is another picture from our recent trip to Georgia. We really lucked out on the view. I wasn't expecting much of one based on our previous cabin rental experience and the pricing of this one. In hindsight, the cabin was a steal of a deal! 

I need to double check and make sure this post is my 70th post for the year. If not, I'm sure I can find enough to say in a another post tomorrow!

Do you have plans for NYE? My plan always involved tasty but not healthy food choices and being in my pajamas before the sun goes down. 

The Sunday Post How Many Times Did I Blog in 2024?

  


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. you can write 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.

According to my blog, I've posted 68 times this year. That doesn't include this post. All I need to do to hit 70 is to blog on Monday or Tuesday. At the moment, I'm halfway through the audiobook The Duchess Takes It All so I think I can accomplish finishing the book and a blog post before the new year is here. 

Each year my goal is to post three times a week and I don't accomplish that goal each year. There is some saying about it being foolish to keep doing the same thing and failing, but I don't care. Once again, my goal for 2025 will be to blog three times a week. As I am sure many of you know, the key to consistent blogging is to work ahead so that if you have to take a break, you've already got posts lined up. Most years I manage to do that for January and by March I've fallen off. 

Are you looking forward to the new year? I am not looking forward to whatever the incoming administration will cook up. I plan to focus on what I can control and the things that make me happy. 

What makes you happy?

For me it's time with family and friends, preferably involving food and live music. Secondly, I enjoy reading a good book and discussing it with a book club or attending free library programs. Thirdly, being out in nature. 

Books I'm reading right now:








Friday, December 27, 2024

Not To Wish Away The Days, One Month from Tomorrow 5pm Sunset

The new year will be here shortly. Do you do resolutions or goals? I have some goals for the new year. My number one goal is to eat more tacos. We have lots of taco places around us, and we are not trying them. Additionally, I think tacos are a reasonably healthy option. This goal is also very fun and do-able. What I'd like to do in 2025 is to have more goals that are fun. Usually, I work hard, reach a goal, and do nothing fun to celebrate. But that changes now! Well, maybe, it changes. I'm terrible at celebrating.

How about you? Do you set goals? Do you celebrate your wins? What is something fun you are looking forward to in the new year? 

Bookwise I'm reading The Beast Takes a Bride which is a very good historical romance. On TV we are watching "Bad Sisters" on Apple TV. This show has an excellent depiction of a terrible villain. I don't know how anyone could watch it and have any sympathy for the fellow who dies. He's awful! 



 

Thursday, December 26, 2024

That time of Year When It's Normal To Ask: What Day is It?

 Happy day after Christmas or Boxing Day to everyone who participates. Looking back, I've always had a fondness for now. The space between Christmas and New Year is still festive, gatherings and cookies are still widely available, and best of all, lots of downtime. 

Today we travel back home from Georgia. We had a good visit with family and our dog tolerated the trip. As far as we can tell, Bowie is very excited to get home since he thought we were going home every time he got in the car during the trip. He refused to get out of the car most of the time when we arrived back at the cabin. 

On Christmas Eve, I got to see my sunset. 


And on Christmas morning, I went for a walk on the hills surrounding our cabin with my daughter. You can't tell in the photo, but it was a steep incline.  She made it to the top of the mountain. I'm happy to report my legs are not super sore today! 

Kicking off 2025, I'm listening to The Beast Take a Bride by Julie Anne Long for book club on January fourth. What are you starting the year reading? 





Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Merry Christmas! A Two Month Wrap-up!

 It's Christmas Eve, and I'm sitting in a cabin in the Appalachian mountains. 

This is the view facing west. All I want this Christmas Eve, is to watch the sunset this afternoon. I know it will be glorious. We got lucky on this trip because it's going to be sunny each day and temps are in the 50s (low 10s Celcius). As always, this picture doesn't do justice to the view it'seven better than it looks here. 

I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. I just received my fourth book "It App-ened One Night" back from my proofreader and will revise it again next week. Then it will be time to send out some ARCs. I hope people enjoy it. It's about a single dad of a teenager and a recently unemployed woman taking care of her mom who broke her hip. It's all about making room for joy and love when you are caretaking! 

Over the last couple of months, when I wasn't working on my book, I did some fun things! My eldest kiddo and I went to see The Nutcracker Ballet, it's our new end of November tradition to kick off the holiday season. Working at the school was very busy, and I picked up a stomach bug--not fun! 

The sweet...

As you know, I love cozy mysteries and this year I was one of the guest bloggers for The Cozy Mystery Club's 12 Days of Cozies. Here is a link to my post: Sweet Holiday Treats

The spicy...

I was the guest co-host on the 5th day of Boobsmas episode of the romance podcast Boobies and Noobies. You can listen to me and Kelly Reynolds talk about the very spicy novella, Frosted, A Frosty the Snowman Parody Novella. We had a good time talking about this wild book! You can listen to this podcast on all the platforms 

After the sun sets, I'm looking forward to sharing a charcuterie board with my family and watching a Christmas Movie. I'd like to watch Christmas Vacation!

Enjoy your holiday!  






Sunday, October 13, 2024

One Minute It's September, The Next Minute it's Mid October!


  


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. you can write 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.

This month I have been trying better time management.  I'm getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. planning to get some motif writing done, however it's not happening. The time between when I get up and when I have to leave for work passes in the blink of an eye! I'm trying to tell myself to get up, make coffee, and write for 30 minutes. What happens is I get up, go downstairs to make coffee, unload the dishwasher, feed the dog, check work emails, etc etc. I bet you can relate. 

I went to a program at my local library this past week called Mourning and Spirituality in the Victorian Era. I took notes because it was very interesting and maybe someday I'll have a ghost character from the 1870s who spent most of her adulthood in full mourning. My take away about mourning in the Victorian Era is that is really sucked to be a woman. You had to be in mourning for so many people I don't know how anyone coped. 

I've started drafting my four small town romance book wish me luck! My biggest problem is I procrastinate my writing and get easily distracted. How was your week? Did you read anything good? I just got a refurbished MacBook and I am learning how to use it. 

When you were in full mourning you covered yourself head to toe in black and didn't wear any jewelry You had to wear a veil over your face when you were out in public and depending how you were related to the person who died you could be in mourning for 3 months to two years. Did you know people reenact this era and dress in mourning clothes? I did not. One last fact the fabric for full mourning was crepe and part of the process to dull crepe could involve dousing it with formaldehyde so these women were walking around breathing in some nasty chemicals on top of everything else! 


Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Homicide in Hardcover-- The Cozy Mystery Club September Book!

 


I listened to the audio version of this book. I couldn't find it via Libby so I used an Audible credit so I could listen to the book before the book club. The audio was good. I did get stuck when one character was in the scene.  He sounded so smarmy, I don't know if that was because of how he was voiced or written--but he is the love interest, so I am not sure about that!  
The main character Brooklyn grew up in a commune and is a book restorer.  Her mom and her best friend are quirky. The story has creative red herrings and will keep you guessing about who did it and why! 
One part at the end was in 'too dumb to live' territory, in my opinion. I will leave you to check out this quick cozy read and if you do, let me know what you think! As always with the first book in the series, the book can be a little shaking or have a lot of characters and then things really hit their stride as the series goes on, so if you enjoy the first book, more good stuff to come! 


Sunday, September 22, 2024

Excellent Audio Reader and a Very Unique Thriller!

Add this book to your spooky season TBR!

Alyssa Cole is a writer I enjoy and if she has a book out, I'm going to read it. In this case, I read it with my ears. The narrator for this book is fantastic! This thriller is very unique. The heroine has disassociative identity disorder (known in the past as multiple personalities).  Because of the disorder, she isn't always the person who is in control. She slips in and out consciousness as her other head mates take over. The thriller takes place in a post-COVID world and it starts with the main head mate suddenly waking up in her body after being gone for several years. The next thing she knows she is on her way to start a new job as a castle caretaker on a mysterious island.

How can you not read this book, especially during the spooky season! The book has a low star rating on Goodreads, and I think this is sadly due to the concept of the main character not being in control of their own mind in a thriller is so unique it may have disappointed readers?  I give it five stars, the story really had me enthralled.

Our local grocery store had a great deal on squash this week, so I stocked up! I'll be roasting some very soon!