Guidebook to Murder (A Tourist Trap Mystery #1)

Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


First of all, you can rarely go wrong with books about books. And while I was hoping there would be more book shop in this one, I still enjoyed this cute cozy mystery.

Jill owns a book shop in small town California. Her friend dies and she inherits her house, but it turns out to be MURDER. Because it has to be murder to get into a cozy groove. Like you would expect, Jill does her best to solve the crime with the help of a sexy cop and a few sidekicks. It's cute. The mystery is a little jumbled up, but it all makes (some) sense by the end and the characters are fun. I will read book 2.



View all my reviews

Love Water Memory

Love Water Memory by Jennie Shortridge

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Amnesia. The power of memory. Love. Family. I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while. I really enjoyed it.

Lucie loses her memories. All of them. I can't even imagine. This book explores what might happen to your life if you had the slate wiped clean. Would you have the same interests? Mannerisms? Values? Would you love who you loved before? Such an interesting concept. Great book--I definitely recommend.



View all my reviews

Color Me Crazy (Annie Addison Mystery #1)

Color Me Crazy by Molly Dox

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Man, this book was dumb from start to finish. Luckily it was a novella that I got for free. Annie is dense and annoying. Stop meddling or you deserve to be thrown in jail. I won't read more of the series.



View all my reviews

11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Wow, wow, wow. Hop on those butterfly wings, because we are going on a crazy ride through time.

What if you could go back in time? Would you do it? I don't think I would, especially to change a major event in history. It's just too risky. King spends 800+ pages exploring how unraveling one thread of time could have impact, both large and small. The butterfly effect says changing one thing changes countless others, as Jake quickly discovers. But the past doesn't want to be changed, and Jake has to make a lot of hard choices to complete his mission.

An interesting look at alternative history, journey with Jake back to the 50s and 60s to stop the Kennedy assassination. Its worth the read.






View all my reviews

A Body at Bunco (Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries #8)

A Body at Bunco by Elizabeth Spann Craig

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I must be in a mood, because the high ratings and glowing reviews of this book disagree with my assessment. And my assessment is this book is bad.

Myrtle Clover is the worst. She's judgmental, and insufferable, and bitchy to everyone. I would never spend a half second with her. She's especially horrible to her hired help and her daughter-in-law. She seems to be less horrible to her only friend, Miles, but not by much. The best thing I can say about this book is I got it for free. So long, Myrtle. Enjoy the rest of your busybody life of meddling and judgment alone.



View all my reviews

Dead Wrong (Blackmoore Sisters Mystery #1)

Dead Wrong by Leighann Dobbs

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This isn't a good book. The plot is ridiculous and doesn't make sense. There is weirdness with the cat that is never explained. And insta-love. Really, I tried to like it but just didn't. The characters are ridiculous. If you have this book, I hope you got it for free.

There are so many good cozies out there to read. Stay away from this one. The best thing I can say about it was it was short.

P.S. They aren't witches, and this isn't paranormal. Again, this isn't a good book.



View all my reviews

A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Murder Mystery #4)

A Secret Killer by Gillian Larkin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Grudgingly giving this 2 stars, but it's really 1 1/2.

Ok, I didn't realize this was book 4 in a series when I got it. The mystery was fine, the main character was not the worst person on the planet, and I liked her dad. However, the amount of typos, grammatical errors, and general need of editing made my brain bleed. It's this lack of attention to detail makes me hesitant to buy self-published books. (I'm making an assumption because if this went through an editor they should be fired).





View all my reviews

Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I just loved this book! Excuse me while I pack my stuff to live on Prince Edward Island.

The characters, the setting--it was great. Anne is whimsical, and eccentric, and lovable. She's a whirlwind of ideas, and drama, and fun. Matthew and Marilla are the balance she needs, and she is the balance they need. It's funny, and sad, and just a true delight. Now I'm caught up in Avonlea and will be headed back to visit in the next book of the series.





View all my reviews

The Library at Mount Char

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Do not listen to this on audio. Just don't. There is too much going on and you will miss things, no matter how hard you try.

I started out not understanding what was happening. It was hard to continue on in parts because the book doesn't really give you a proper setup. I'm clearly not alone in this, as the reviews are filled with "DNFs" and "Abandoned" and "I hated this book because it was frustrating and didn't make sense." But stick with it if you like complicated stories with a mostly satisfying payoff at the end. I will eventually go back and read this one, because I can't be sure I didn't miss something cool or relevant. It's just too complicated of a plot for my work commute.

I'm sticking with three stars because I liked it, but I have reservations about it as well. Fits a lot of genres so if you stick with it you will probably like it by the end.



View all my reviews

The Storyteller

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm a little bit wrecked right now. Excuse me while I gather my emotions to write this review...

Ahem. Yes, this book is wonderful. You bounce between the past and the present. We get to see the awful events of the Holocaust through two different sides, and we learn about them both with Sage as she struggles with acceptance and forgiveness. Forgiveness for herself, and for the past of others. And along the way is a beautiful fairy tale, an allegory of love and guilt, that ties the entire book up with a bow.

This book was great. I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan, and this one did not disappoint. At all.



View all my reviews

A Biscuit, A Casket (Positively Organic Mysteries #2)

A Biscuit, A Casket by Liz Mugavero

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Stan is slightly less annoying in this book. But not by much. At least the ridiculous theme song nonsense from the first book went away, and she wasn't doing quite as much "ooh, look at what I'm wearing" during this one.

This series is ok, but not great. The story was fine--it's a cozy mystery, so how bad can it be? The small town setting is cute. I like Jake, I think, but we don't get a lot of insights into him. We spend more time with his cop sister who clearly is as annoyed with Stan as I am.

But again, I don't love this series, but I also don't hate it. 2 stars. Since I'm a glutton for punishment I will also read book three. Yeah, yeah, I know. But you know I will.



View all my reviews

A Charming Magic (Magical Cures Mystery #5)

A Charming Magic by Tonya Kappes

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I'm out. No more. These books are so poorly written / edited that I can no longer handle reading them.

And June. Oh June. You are so self-centered and completely unlikeable. You think everything should be about you. You are insecure and needy. You hate every new woman who comes to Whispering Falls. If I were Oscar I would be thrilled to have my memories erased because you are just the world's worst person. And this ending was the worst of all. I'm so done.

These plots are dumb, June is an idiot, and the writing stinks. If I hadn't gotten all of these books at once when the series was on sale at Amazon I would have stopped after book 2. I think this is the last one I have, though, so sayonara to Whispering Falls for me!



View all my reviews

Killer Cupcakes (A Lexy Baker Bakery Mystery #1)

Killer Cupcakes by Leighann Dobbs

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Sorry, Killer Cupcakes, but I much prefer to eat baked goods and not read about them.

Lexy owns a bakery and has made a name for herself by selling cupcake tops. Unfortunately someone poisoned a box of her cupcake tops and gave them to her ex. Now she turns amateur sleuth to solve the crime. With her best friend / employee and her grandma. Sounds ridiculous? It is. And that's about all the plot development that happens in this short read.

It hits all the wrong notes for me. Awkward dialogue. Purple, flowery descriptions of everything. Chill with the adjectives! An obsession with expensive shoes. Why do so many books insist on telling me what someone is wearing? I. Don't. Care. Just make with the mystery, lady! And insta-love. Now, I have been fortunate to be out of the dating game for nearly two decades, so maybe I can't relate. But the "romance" was cringe-worthy. So dumb. I'll stick with my beloved Agatha Christie--I'm more of a historical gal than contemporary anyway.

Buy a cupcake and skip this book. You will thank me later.



View all my reviews

Club Shadowlands (Masters of the Shadowlands #1)

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not bad. A bit of unrealistic insta-love in a short book, but decently kinky. I will probably read more in the series.



View all my reviews

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dystopian, but different. No zombies. Nothing weird. Just a terrible flu that wipes out life as we knew it. Be prepared to fight urges to run to the store and stock up in case something happens.

I liked the alternating timelines. I enjoyed the characters. But in the end I was left wanting more. So many unanswered questions! I wanted a resolution.

This is not one to listen to on audio. The narrator is terrible. I believe it is the same person who read If I Stay and she made me hate every single line of that book. Read the book, and skip the audio. I had to switch to fall into the world of Station Eleven.

I'm wavering between 3 1/2 stars and 4, but I'll leave it at 4 for now.




View all my reviews