The Sunday Post for Mid April

 

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 

Well, we had a wonderful preview of summer, and then today, back to mid-April reality.  Possible Flurries tonight. I am glad I put my lettuce seeds in a container that is easy to move into the house. Hopefully, we are almost done with freezing temperatures at night or the day.  Have you watched anything good on TV? We watched Transatlantic on Netflix. I liked that it didn't sugar-coat the American position of neutrality during WW2 prior to Pearl Harbor, especially the lack of American support for refugees. I also finished watching Unlock My Boss which was very enjoyable. 

This week I am working on reading and reviewing these books:

The Least Amount of Awful, Definitely Not an Awful Book!

 

If you asked me to describe this book in ten words or less I would say: "It's a Hallmark Movie with benefits."  We have a small town, we have a girl coming from the city in a fancy car, everyone is attractive and has a good job, Jake is a single dad with abs for days, Colbie owns a series of barre studios. Jake is quite rude to Colbie in the beginning, but it is overcome.  The angst level and pining is low in this book.

The main characters are great communicators and Jennifer Millikin is a very good writer, the sex scenes were picture perfect, the right amount of description and heat level. She also ties in the title of the book in a pivotal way throughout the story. 

Overall I enjoyed the book, I did feel that Jake and Emmett (Colbie's dad) were 'too perfect' for me, and Colbie's mom was unsympathetically awful.  But hey this is a romance, and the main story is quite well done. 

4 stars! 

Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases

I chose to read this book because it was included in my Audible subscription.  It's not a book that I would have spend my monthly credit on--those credits are like gold! So I save them for books I *really* want badly. Cook County ICU is a fairly short book and it reads like a collection of columns. As if Cory Franklin had a weekly column in the Chicago Tribune where he shared notable events and people at Cook County hospital-- a Mike Royko or Studs Terkel slice of hospital life column. 

I enjoyed his stories and seeing the perspective of a doctor as someone who has only hand medical experiences as a patient. My favorite stories in the book were when Dr. Franklin talked about the 1995 heat wave we had, I was very surprised to learn that Cook County Hospital didn't have central air in 1995--BONKERS! Can you even believe it?  My goodness. It was so hot that summer.  I need to go see if there is a good book or podcast covering the story of the heatwave. 

Secondly, there was a story about a nurse and I knew early on in the story that this was a case of Munchhausen. Munchhausen is something that fascinates me.  I get why a person might go to those lengths for attention. Now that being said, I don't understand Munchhausen by proxy, hurting someone else to get attention, ick. 

Overall 3.5 stars an interesting read! 

 

Crying in H Mart

 

I don't read many memoirs and have been of the opinion that people under 40 haven't lived enough life to truly write a memoir. Based on this book and I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I've decided that was a ridiculous opinion. 

Crying in H Mart is a book about food, families, the immigrant experience, and how much cancer sucks.  It's a beautiful book and I'm so glad that Michelle Zauner wrote it. She has a beautiful writing style and it makes sense that she is a songwriter and musician.  I steered clear of this book for quite a while because I didn't want to read about someone dying of cancer. 

However, recently I felt ready to give it a go, and I wasn't super triggered over it. This is because the book is about a daughter who is with her mom as her mom undergoes cancer treatment which isn't successful. If I had lost my mom to cancer, I don't know if I could read this book.  

As I was reading the book Michelle's writing simultaneously made my mouth water with her descriptions of food and cooking, and moments later I was ready to cry with her because of how unfair so much of life can be from one day to the next. 

The story doesn't end with Michelle's mom's death, we see how Michelle works through the grieving process and then how she flourishes as a musician. In the last chapter of the book Michelle talks about a song her mother loved when she was young, and I had to look it up on YouTube.  It's a bop! Listen to it below: 

 

Happy Easter! 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. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

We are heading out to see youngest child at college today since she has to work, so I'm not cooking a tasty ham today.  Since I have tomorrow off, I'll be making an Easter Monday dinner. We also have eggs to decorate, which we will do tonight. 

 Me hanging out with the Easter Bunny last weekend

Baskets I made for the husband and the boys!

It's going to be nice and warm here this week so I am going to put some lettuce and kale seeds in a couple of containers, place them on the exposed Southern side of our house and cross my fingers. 

I'm in the midst of reading and listening to the books below and will be sharing my thoughts this week.

What are you up to this week?

Say Victoria, Why Did you Read Romancing the Beat?

That's a great question! For as long as I can remember I've wanted to write and when I was a child and a teen I did write, then life got in the way and I spend my 20s thinking I needed to have experiences worth writing about instead of writing. Then I got married and had kids and well, that was a lot. To be fair, I did some blogging and I wrote a bit, but mostly I didn't and then I thought should I go back to school and get an English Degree or study creative writing? Then I thought, how can I even consider spending money on going back to school when we have three kids to put through college? After thinking on that for a while, I decided maybe writing doesn't need to be me creating a best seller or the next great American novel, maybe I could write a cozy mystery.

So I did that, and right when I was getting something together and ready to be at the editing stage, then I found out I had cancer. Then when that was done and my brain was mush, then Covid happened. Oh sure that could have been a really good time to go back to writing, but as you can see I'm quite good at pushing off my dream to write stories other people want to read. 

So lately, I've been thinking about writing again and writing in the romance genre. This time around, my plan is to get to the point where I can self-publish via Kindle Unlimited. I've started listening to podcasts and following smaller successful romance writers who share how they do the business side and based on my past work experience, I think self-publishing would be something I could manage--once I have something to publish.  Plus I'll need to save up money to pay to have someone edit my book. Here is my process and timeline (I'm posting all this so I have some accountability for my writing dream)

Now thru end of May:

Listen to podcasts for writing and publishing romance. 

Work on a very detailed outline as well as character sheets 

June: 

Participate in the #1000wordsofsummer writing challenge and draft 1,000 words per day for the first two weeks of June. 

Then assess--ideally be in a writing groove and finish my round draft by end of summer - or fall. 

*****

I enjoyed reading Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, it's a short book that breaks down the plot points that make a good romance so good. For me, I need to plan to be creative, so this book is perfect for me to start with as I begin writing from an idea I had a few years ago!

 

Happy to be back in New Bison! #MurderisaPieceofCake #NetGalley

When I saw that the second book in Valerie Burns's series called A Baker Street Mystery was available on Net Galley, I quickly requested an ARC. Fortunately, my request was accepted and here we are!  I enjoy the setting of this book as I know it is based on the lovely, western Michigan town, of New Buffalo. 

We are back in town with Maddie who is almost ready to re-open Baby Cakes Bakery after the unfortunate events of the last book. April, Michael, Miss Hannah, and Leroy are back and once again trouble comes to their doorstep. I found this to be a good mystery, I wasn't sure who was doing the murdering and given the ending, the killer may very well still be out there. PLUS this book ends right before Maddy's Navy Admiral Dad is supposed to show up, so you've got me, Valerie Burns, I'm gonna pre-order the next book just as soon as I can!  

In between the murders, Maddy spends time with Michael at a winery that is very on-point for the area, there are lots of wineries! She also expands her small baking repertoire and I was really happy to see the recipe for her lemon meringue pie as well as her entry into the Spring Fling Festival.   

5 Stars, Thank you Net Galley for the ARC! All the opinions are mine! 

 

Light and Fluffy Romance Listening for a Spring Afternoon

I downloaded this book for a listen because I have been following the author Rebekah Weatherspoon on Twitter for quite some time, so when she tweeted about this book, I had to give it a listen.  It's a real bummer how Twitter is falling apart because it was a great place to follow authors easily, esp. since my email boxes are so full of emails all the time that author newsletters get lost by me. 
 

This is a novella, a short and charming read, a very nice listen for a day when you are feeling down and want a pick-me-up, or when are in a slump and aren't ready to dive into a novel. Rebekah Weatherspoon gives Andre and Janelle a super cute and creative Meet Cute. I'm not even going to tell you about it because it is such a fun idea, now if you go to GoodReads, you'll see it in the book description, so there you go. 

This book has all the comfort tropes, two good people whose hearts are on the mend after a breakup. A super cute shelter dog, a chaotic twin sister, and the open-door sex scene is full of consent and good vibes. Andre and Janelle communicate well and there aren't any contrived miscommunications.  It gets even better in my opinion, they don't resemble fashion models, and there is no third-act breakup! 

The only thing I wanted at the end of this book was more Andre and Janelle content--oh I forgot to mention the narrators are fabulous! 

5 Stars!!

The Sunday Post! April is here, got flowers?

   

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 have to tell you, I think I am developing a case of Spring Fever. Our weather is super uneven with days below freezing and other brief bursts of temps hitting near 60 degrees/15 Celcius. I can't wait for the T-shirt weather and open windows!!! Ahhhhhhhh, yep I've got it bad! 

How is the weather by you? Are you enjoying warm weather? Tell me all about it!

Hexed by Kevin Herne

Let me tell you, while I was listening to this book, it was like I was wearing a shirt that said: please ask me questions.  My family kept interrupting my listening!  This is why I usually do most of my book listening while I'll out running.  However, I have a boot on my foot for likely stress fracture so I was trying to listen around my house, and that is why I listened to chapter 18 three times!  

This is the second book in Kevin Hearne's series and if I had to sum it up in just a few words I would say, it's giving me Harry Dresden, Wizard vibes.  That is, of course, a very good thing. My love for Oberon, Leif, and the Widow continues to grow and I like that Atticus has to navigate solving paranormal problems without getting on the wrong side of the human police.  He also has to work with witches, and that I think is a good thing because he complains in book one about how he can't stand witches and that they are all terrible--well now in this book he is learning not all witches are the same. When I'm reading I enjoy seeing the main characters having to confront their own prejudices; it's a fine area for growth in a character arc.

This was a solid 4 read for me and I am ready to see what happens next! 

Anne's read along are always fun, join us! 

 

Writer and Narrator of his own Book- A mix of cozy mystery and fantasy: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree was a February selection by Ben's Cozy Book Club. Alas, my library hold came up in March.  I listened to the audio version of this book, which is voiced by Travis Baldree, who in addition to being a writer is also an audiobook narrator!  

For your information, I checked on whether this is the first book in a series.  According to Mr. Baldree, there will be at least one other book in this world, but he is writing the books so that they stand alone, which is nice. Legend & Lattes is the story of Viv, an Orc, who retires from fighting to pursue her dream of opening a coffee shop. Now, the thing is that no one in this city or country has ever had coffee before or visited a coffee shop. Coffee/Lattes/Scones don't exist here until Viv arrives. So that aspect adds to the story. Viv is also a stranger in a strange land and she has years of walls built up from her mercenary days. Hence, we are along for this new adventure as she begins a relationship with Tandi who is a succubus and an excellent barista. It's a lovely light Sapphic romance that grows alongside the main story about new beginnings and friendships. Of course, there is some trouble from Viv's past, what is a book without conflict, right? 

Overall this book is fun, light fantasy that is a joy to experience and ends very satisfactorily. 

4.5 stars

 

The Cozy Mystery Club March Edition --Tomorrow Night on You Tube!

 

It seems like I was just sharing the link for February's Cozy Mystery Book Club live stream, and here we are already on the cusp of March's live stream. This month's book is Murder in a Scottish Shire by Traci Hall. You can watch the live stream and join us for the fun in the comments where we all share what we loved (and what left us lacking) in this month's club selection. Angela enters all comments for a chance to win books so it's a good time to chat with your fellow cozy lovers! 

This book is the first book in the Scottish Shire series. The book is written with lots of Scottish dialect, which can be distracting, I got the vibe that the book was not written by someone who is Scottish. Our Amateur Slueth is Paislee who is a single mom of a 10-year-old who owns a knitting shop. There is a nice amount of knitting talk in the book and it factors into the murder, so that is what you want to see when you read a crafty cozy. 

The book was published in 2020, but the sensibilities of our main character were a real throwback. She often talks about the shame and embarrassment she has from having a kid out of wedlock.  She goes on to say that she has not had sex or dated since her son was born and won't do either of those things until he is finished with school. I don't want to go on about how that rankled me, so I'll leave it there.

There are several subplots going on throughout this book, and much is not resolved at the end of the book,  so if you enjoy Paislee or the town of Nairn,  you can go right on to the next book from this one and hopefully find out more about the Knitting Shop and Grandpa's missing son. 

I found the reveal of the murderer and circumstances in the book to be on the darker and more depressing side.  So keep that in mind if you are looking for a cozy, cozy. 

My Spring Break Is Here! #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 

My goodness, the last week of March is here already! I have the week off school and I am looking forward to more reading and more K-Dramas! How about you? Do you have any plans for the upcoming week? 

Last week I didn't do a good job of managing my time so that meant the posts I had planned to post didn't happen -so here is what I'm blogging about this week:

#TheNewTownLibrarian Thanks #NetGalley !

As an avid reader, some of my best childhood memories involve trips to the library and long summer days spent reading in my backyard. So it's no surprise that I am drawn to books featuring libraries and librarians.  I saw this book on Net Galley and couldn't click the request button fast enough.  This isn't my usual genre, and our MC isn't a typical heroine. Nan is a 50-year-old who has been stuck in her life for at least two decades, she is a low-level library at a Philadelphia library branch and has had a string of short-term girlfriends.  Nan likes to spend some of her spare time drinking wine and applying for amazing librarian jobs she knows she will never get, until one day when she applies to work in a small rural New Jersey library and gets the job!

Finally, Nan's life is getting unstuck! Will she make a difference in this small town?  Will she build friendships and will she make better life choices? You will have to read to find out. I found this book to be delightful and so interesting to read about the interworking of a public library. This book is truly cozy--but without any murder mystery.

5 stars! 

 

The Official Start of Spring Is Almost Here- 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. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

Spring is beginning soon but we had snow showers yesterday, March weather is usually doggone cold in the Chicago area, so the snow is no surprise. I am hoping April will be warmer with more days in the 50s (or 10s for Celsius).  As I mentioned last Sunday my husband I and I walked with our Congressman, Sean Casten, in the South Side Parade (Chicago) 

Here is a picture! 

I'm getting a Blue Apron delivery tomorrow so I'll be trying a couple of new tasty recipes. I like to treat us to a Blue Apron delivery once a month.  How about you? Are you treating yourself to something this week?

Books I'm finishing up and planning to write about:

Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi

This is the first book I have read by Mary H.K. Choi. I borrowed the book in part because there is a restaurant in Chicago called Yolk that has a fantastic brunch. I've never eaten there because the wait was always too long when I was downtown. This book is partly based on Mary H.K. Choi's personal life. I have no idea what parts are fiction and what parts are reality. It doesn't really matter.  What matters is that this is an excellent book worth reading --or listening to, which is what I did.

The story is told from Janye's perspective. TW, Janye has an eating disorder. At one point there is a long and detailed binging and purging scene, so bear this in mind if it's something you need to avoid.  Janye is a college student in NYC, though it was unclear to me if she was actually attending school or not during the time frame of this book. She is 19 and she is making terrible decisions over and over again throughout much of the book, but there is growth if you stick with it. The book focuses on the relationship between Jayne (the spare) and June (the heir). I don't have a sister so I don't know how accurate this portrayal of sisters is to real life, but gosh I was really rooting for them. 

This book deals with heavy themes so it's a good book for when you want to feel and think and aren't feeling low yourself.

4 stars

1

 

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

 

This week some of my library holds came through so I bumped down books I was planning to read so I could read these long-awaited books.  The Villa is by Rachel Hawkins who wrote the very, very popular thriller The Wife Upstairs.  I have not read that one, so if you think it is awesome comment below! I follow Rachel Hawkins on Twitter because she also writes fun witchy-rom-com books under the pen name Erin Sterling (ie. The Ex-Hex) 

This book held my attention, I listened to the narration which is very well done and I got some extra work done around the house because I needed to find out what happened! This book has two timelines with two sets of characters and the only throughline is "The Villa" in Italy.  I found this to be quite clever. The Villa contains some nice red herrings and a couple of plot twists. One of our main characters ends the story going from one albatross to another and I think that is what I liked the best. 

Even though this book is centered around The Villa, the story is very character driven. I don't even recall many of the details of the setting because the characters in the 1970s and 2022 are so interesting.

4 stars for this book. I could definitely see this as a Netflix or Hulu limited-time series of 6-10 episodes. 

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

This story of Dora who has lost half her soul to a fairy and as such has little emotions is captivating.  It takes place in regency times only in this version of the world; there are fairies and actual magic, and ways to go between the more mundane world and the faerie realm.  Olivia does a beautiful job of writing a fantasy that shows the struggles of women and the poor as well as the stifling nature of expectations for men and women to marry. 

Half a Soul is easy to get lost in, the characters and scenes are well-written and the ending is satisfying. This book has a complete resolution and a far-reaching epilogue.  That being said there is another book to come from this universe. When the character for the second book is introduced briefly in this book, you'll know that is who will be the main character in this upcoming book. 

This book has one of the best declarations of love that I've read in ages, I don't think it spoils the book to share it, so see it below: 

5 stars, a book worth reading! 

 

Spring Forward! The Time Change is here - #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 

The time change is here, are you feeling a little sleepy today?  It should be an interesting week at school for all the kiddos--will the lack of sleep make them tired or wired as we adjust?  I usually wind up more wired than tired myself.  Me and the Hubs are going to be in a St. Patrick's Day parade today, we are walking in the parade with our congressman.  I volunteered during the campaign, knocking on doors and putting out signs, and mailing postcards.

Hopefully, we will have good weather and a safe day. What are your plans for today and this week? 

Here is what I'll be talking about:

 

Friday, I'm in Love! by Camryn Garrett

 

I borrowed this book from my local library's Libby App. I was looking for a book for the Kensington Book Challenge to fit the category of LGBTQIA joy. The cover exemplifies joy to me, but it was doubly nice that the story was also joyful. 

There is one POV in this book and that is our MC Mahalia, Mahalia is a high school junior who lives with her mom, works part-time, and is stressed about the SAT, going to college, and has a crush on the new girl at school--Siobahn.  So we are along for the ride as Mahalia and Siobahn begin a friendship, Mahalia's mom has surgery, and Mahalia deals with casual racism at school. There are ups and downs in the story but all the main characters have parents, no one is sexually assaulted, or kicked out by their parents because they identify as queer. The book ends with a lovely party and the song this book is titled after is used in the story to lovely effect. 

5 start for this fun fluffy first love story. 

 

Thank you NetGalley for the Latest Lynn Cahoon's Kitchen Witch Series!

 

This is the fourth book in Lynn Cahoon's delightful Kitchen Witch Cozy Mystery series. I was happy to receive an ARC from Net Galley and dive back into Mia's world. I thought this was a pretty good mystery.  This series has a substantial amount of scenes showing the day-to-day life of Mia and her catering business.  If you don't like reading about the interworking of a small business person who is also a kitchen witch, this is not the series for you.  For me, the scenes of daily life focused on the preparation and sharing of food is cozy to read.  I also find comfort in the idea of magic all around us. 

In this book, Mia has become a go-to source for Magical Springs when a mystery needs to be solved, so it is no surprise when Mahogany asks Mia to solve the death of her mother.  The police think her mother died of old age, but Mahogany is certain it is murder. Mia, of course, helps and ultimately solves the murder. Unlike many cozies, Mia doesn't confront the murderer herself in a desolate area, she calls the police. 

I was surprised at the ending point, we don't get any resolution to Mia's job situation and we don't get to see the wedding. I wonder if the next book will take place seconds after this one ends? 

My rating for this book is 4 stars. 

Thank you #NetGalley for this book! All opinions are mine! #FourCharmingSpells 

It's time for the 2023 Read-Along w/Anne! The Druid Chronicles

I started this series a few years ago and I think I only read the first couple of books. I really enjoy Atticus and his canine companion Oberon, but for whatever reason, I can't recall I got distracted and didn't finish the series. So I am excited to join Anne's Read-Along and read this series all year long. 

Hounded is a nice first book in a series. Kevin Herne blends together well-known folklore with actual history and then builds that out with his own creativity to make a world I will enjoy visiting this year. In Hounded we meet vampires, werewolves, fae queens, and other mythical gods all of who are living in the world either unseen by humans or with glamours to hide their true natures. I like that Atticus has to avoid human authorities and run his shop in addition to whatever fae-related drama he gets mixed up in as the story unfolds. 

4 stars! Already have book two downloaded and ready to go! 

 

Hello March! 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. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

March was supposed to come in like a Lion with four to ten inches of snow, but lucky for us, we got some rain and snow showers that didn't stick. This week temps look to be mainly in the high 30s, which is not great, but it could be worse! 

I've taken down my winter decorations and put up some fun St.Patrick's Day decor, I have some green mms left over from Christmas and am planning to make some Peanut Butter MMs cookies sometime this week. Any excuse for peanut butter cookies, right? 

How was your week? Did you watch or read anything fun?  I watched Goblin, a K-Drama this one is basically a contemporary fantasy. We also watched Vagabond, an action-packed K-Drama. And of course, we watched the latest episode of The Last of Us. 

And here are the books I'll be talking about:

ACOTAR - Beauty and The Beast

 I think I would have been better off not knowing this book is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I was too old for the Disney Princesses and not even Anna was into them when she was a kid.  In any case, I do like fantasy, especially if I can listen to it, so I borrowed this book from my library.  

This book is very popular and I think there are over 100,000 reviews on Goodreads. So do I even need to add my two cents? 

Here are my main thoughts:

1. I liked that our MC is a hunter and basically the one keeping her family alive at the beginning. She has skills and isn't afraid to work hard and she knows adversity.

2. This book is long and takes a good long while to get going. 

3. The romance fell flat for me and the actual love scenes were very fleeting.

4. My favorite characters were Lucien, Rhysand, and Feyre's sister Nesta.  

Overall I enjoyed listening to the book. I didn't really like what happens to Feyre at the end, as far as her leveling up so to speak -- I don't want to spoil anything. And I would like to know if I would get more of Lucien's POV in book two? I don't really care all that much about Feyre or Tamlin. So I'm not sure if I will read more.

I googled to double-check the spelling of Nesta's name for this post since I had only listened to the audio, and when I did the first thing listed was a  spoiler for her story. BOOO Google.

My rating is 3.5

If you have read this series, please let me know what you thought of the second book! 

 

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

 

This book was our book club pick for a fairytale retelling. It's a stand-alone fantasy book that is much shorter than fantasy books tend to be. T. Kingfisher does an excellent job of writing concisely and giving the reader a rich world to discover. I listened to the audio version of the book and found it to be easy to listen to and follow. 

The story has a satisfying resolution, and also one could see how the story could continue if T.Kingfisher had an interest in writing a second book about these characters. 

 Key elements of this book that I enjoyed:

The main character Marra, as well as potential love interest, Fenris both feel like they are destined to live a life with more suffering than happiness. 

We have a character who is capable of powerfully evil magic, but they choose not to use that evil. 

Some very creepy scenes involve something known as a tooth dancer and a landlady that has a childhood toy. Both characters and the parts they play are so creative and truly the stuff of nightmares. T. Kingfisher builds a fascinating world of a book that is an homage to the story of Little Red Riding Hood. 

4.5 stars 

This Month's Read for The Cozy Mystery Book Club

 

On YouTube on Tuesday at 6 PM Central Time Angela is hosting our monthly Cozy Mystery Book Club you can join me in the comments there. 

I'm looking forward to chatting about this cozy. I don't think we have read a book where we have a single mom of a teenager in quite a while. I enjoyed the family dynamic. Our Amateur Sleuth is a successful thriller writer so she is a very curious sleuth. In the book, she butts heads with the local sheriff that just happens to look almost identical to her main character. I loved that conceit--especially in the way Tamara Berry has Tess Harrow make notes to use what happens at the cabin in her book to overcome some writer's block.  It's the wink and a nod to us readers of cozy mysteries that amps up the fun while reading this book.

If you like humorous cozies, I recommend giving this book a read, I think you will find yourself laughing along!

4 Stars!