Review: A Bucket of Ashes

A Bucket of Ashes by P.B. Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A satisfying end to the series.  I'm a marshmallow and love that HEA.

Life can never be simple and straightforward for my girl, Nell.  She is still in love with Will, and dealing with the consequences from the end of book 5.  Her past comes up to stare her straight in the face: Duncan, Dr. Greaves, and her estranged brother, Jamie.  The mystery isn't a particularly mysterious one, but we do get most things tied up in a bow and I am satsified that my favorite governess will go on to live happily ever after.  Girl, you deserve it after all you have been through in life.  

Sad to see this series end, but happy with the epilogue and the hope for the future.  4 stars.

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Review: Cruel Winter

Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maura, I think I might be done with you. Your utter lack of curiosity, your failure to grow as a person, and your complete cluelessness about being an adult is wearing on my last nerve. Seriously. You inherit a pub, but don't have the curiosity to explore it from top to bottom? Here it is, 9 months later, and you are all, "I've never been in the basement. I had no idea we had a working kitchen. What could possibly be in these rooms upstairs?" You are dumb. You have two men interested in you but you try to turn a blind eye. Grow a pair and let them know you aren't interested, for pete's sake, or go out with one of them, or both of them, but stop acting like a doe-eyed innocent, you dolt. You have no clue how to run the pub, you know nothing about the music scene, but just stumble along, letting life happen for you.

Also, this case was ridiculous and Maura is ridiculous, and how it all played out is ridiculous. You'll get one more chance with book 6, but if you can't show some character growth, I'm packing my bags and leaving Ireland.

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Review: The Cat Who Went Underground

The Cat Who Went Underground by Lilian Jackson Braun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Vacation time for Q & the gang. We are going back to the cabin in the woods for the summer.

Qwill and the kitties are "roughing it" in the K cabin. But not really, because Qwill is a freaking millionaire, yo. But he continues to keep it real by staying frugal by eating in diners and riding a mountain bike around. Polly Purebred is living it up in merry old England on a librarian exchange, so Qwill thinks about putting the mack down on various young ladies, but somehow resists. And Qwill decides the historic cabin needs an addition, so he hires some folks off the books and gets the results you would expect. And has all sorts of problems with the plumbing and heating, and of course the young female plumber seems to crush on old man Q. Can't resist those mustachioed bucks, eh? Then a few people disappear, end up dead, and Koko once again solves the mystery while Yum Yum daintily eats from a crystal bowl. Yum Yum, you are dim but pretty.

As usual, three stars. I knew who was guilty from the beginning but was totally wrong about why. On to the next!

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Review: Murder on a Girls' Night Out

Murder on a Girls' Night Out by Anne George
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

New series for me. Two sisters who bicker a lot, and love each other. Charming enough to continue!

Patricia Ann (Mouse) is the cautious, conventional sister. Mary Alice (Sister) is the loud, boisterous life of the party sister. Mary Alice, in her typical "look before you leap" style, buys a Country Western line dancing bar. Then the former owner was found murdered at the bar, and the sisters are on the case.

A pretty well-plotted mystery that kept me guessing along the way. I'll be back to see what shenanigans the girls get into in book 2. Fun cozy mystery series.

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Review: The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare

The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More Qwill and the kitties solving crimes in the sleepy village of Pickax, where there must be a murder every week. Qwill needs to hook up with Jessica Fletcher because they both are murder magnets. Moose County's a rough place to live, people.

The newspaper's publisher has died. Accident, or murder? Well, since it's a cozy I'll let you figure it out. Qwill is on the case, and trying to be a mustachioed ladies man about town, but the cats continue to thwart him. Go, cats. Qwill is ridiculous. Polly is way too good for you. Still the same cast of characters you know and love, with Arch, and Mrs. Cobb, and a million Goodwinters.

A fun, easy series. Really enjoying reading through them all again. 3 stars.

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Review: Chihuahua Confidential

Chihuahua Confidential by Waverly Curtis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pepe and Geri are back on the case. This time they are in Hollywood performing on the new reality series pilot, "Dancing with Dogs" which sounds silly until you remind yourself you are reading a cozy series about a talking Chihuahua. Geri and Pepe stumble onto a mystery involving what might be Pepe's old owner, some murders, and some dogs in danger.

Not to be taken too seriously, this is a fun, light series. Book 2 is better than book 1, so I'll give the next one a shot. 3 stars.

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Review: The Icing on the Corpse

The Icing on the Corpse by Liz Mugavero
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More Stan. She's a bit less annoying in this one. Still not a good listener, though. And totally insecure about her relationship with Jake. And his sister. I'm over their nonsense.

The mystery was a bit ridiculous, as you might expect. I mean, there is a dog wedding on the cover, so you shouldn't go in expecting War and Peace. But if you like animals, cozy mysteries, and don't mind ridiculous hi-jinks, you'll have fun with this series.

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Review: The Cat Who Played Post Office (The Cat Who #6)

The Cat Who Played Post Office by Lilian Jackson Braun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Qwill and the cats are getting settled into the K Mansion, some people are murdered, and Qwill continues to be on the prowl as a mustachioed ladies man. This last part is the least believable.

Qwill moves into the Klingshoen Mansion, as part of his incredibly lucky inheritance. He seems to be dating the town doctor while constantly asking her cousin, the lawyer, out to dinner, drinks, whatever. Really, Qwill? Get over yourself. You are NOT a ladies man. I refuse to believe it.
Anyway, I digress. He discovers one of the former maids left town without taking her things, and he realizes something's fishy. Or at least Koko realizes something's fishy, and leads Qwill to the clues, as usual. Smart kitty! And then lots of things happen, including murders, and the crime is solved. Hooray!

Extra bonus fun: Mr. Q brings Mrs. Cobb up north to be his housekeeper. She's awesome and I'm glad she's back in the series. Now let's get Arch Riker up there permanently (you know it's coming!) and the gang can all live happily ever after.


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Review: Murder to Go (Food Truck Mysteries #1)

Murder to Go by Chloe Kendrick

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Not the worst book I've ever read, but dang, there were some dumb parts. The mystery actually doesn't make sense when all is said and done.

Maeve inherits a food truck from her zany aunt, who may or may not have had a girlfriend after her husband died. So what, you say? Yes, I agree. But apparently that was supposed to be important to the plot, except it so wasn't. Maeve's mom was pretty offensive about the fact that sexuality is a spectrum, not a 50/50 choice. The mystery would have stayed the same without adding this part, so it seemed shoe horned in to make a statement. Anyway. Someone is out to get Maeve, and people's heads are being cut off. CUT. OFF. Again, this part was never explained. Ever. Add in the "millennials are a lazy bunch vs. a victim of economic circumstances" theme and the unrealistic characterizations (see lesbian / not lesbian plotline, grouchy yet sexy male characters) and you might or might not be intrigued enough to read book 2. I am a masochist and will read it if it is free and it fits a challenge. Your mileage may vary.

P.S. Who has a death in the family and doesn't ask how they died? Especially if you are the main inheritor? Really? Selfish, selfish, selfish. And dumb.



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Review: Death of a Perfect Wife (Hamish Macbeth #4)

Death of a Perfect Wife by M.C. Beaton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ah, Hamish. You are such a simple man. Priscilla doesn't deserve you.

More murder and mayhem in Lochdubh. For such a small, quiet village lots of people get murdered. I grew up in a small town of 2700 people and we rarely had these shenanigans go on. The one cop on duty was resigned to setting up speed traps (in the same place!!) to get some action. We didn't even have any stoplights, so I feel like I'm a bit of an expert in small town life. Hamish would have fit in perfectly. Anyway, a busybody newcomer is killed, with a long list of suspects. She was pretty terrible, so anyone could have been the culprit. But Hamish solves the case like we would expect, with no resolution to his relationship with Priscilla. Looking forward to book 5.



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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.



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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).





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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.



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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!



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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.



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Play Dead (Allie Babcock Mystery #1)

Play Dead by Leslie O'Kane

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I really wanted to like this book because the idea of a mystery series with a dog psychologist / amateur sleuth sounded fun, but it just didn't deliver for me.

A couple of things: The mystery was way over complicated and a bit ridiculous. I felt the main character was annoying, yet she had men tripping over themselves to get to her. Her office partner was in all kinds of insta-love for her, her blind date was crazy about her after 5 minutes, etc. I think she was supposed to be smart and plucky, but it did not come across in the writing. And her roommate was written to be a sniveling, needy psycho--basically the world's worst person who no one in their right mind would tolerate. Pretty much every male character was written to be a total jerk. I would never talk to any of these people in real life, ever, except the mom and the cooking class instructor (but only if she promised not to make me eat vegan food).

The depiction of Boulder was pretty spot on, though. Well done, author, for capturing the hippie-uniqueness that is Boulder.



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A Charming Spell (Magical Cures Mystery #4)

A Charming Spell by Tonya Kappes

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I know I said I was done with this series, but apparently I am a glutton for punishment. Plus I own books 4 and 5, so I guess I need to finish up what I have.

June is inexplicably still village president with absolutely no qualifications for the position and is doing the job you would expect. Oliver is still missing his memory of June and the magical world. Why did we hit the reset button in book 3? Oh, right, because the plot wasn't working. Anyway, June is still incompetent, and self-centered, and eating those damn Ding Dongs. And sticking her nose in everyone's business. I can take annoying from my characters. What I can't take is stupidity. She makes bad decisions, puts herself and other in danger, and is consistently selfish. She lost me completely when she chose to pick on Oliver's new girlfriend. Very "Mean Girls", and is the perfect example of why June is a bad character. I pretty much hate her at this point.

Aside from the atrocities of the plot and characters, these books are riddled with typos and grammatical errors that are unforgivable and make the books read like a high school writing project. The dialogue is stilted and amateurish, and the plots are inane. Don't waste your time and money on this series--there are much better options out there.

P.S. Every time I had to read, "Hidden Hall A Spiritualist University" (which was about 100 times) I wanted to gouge my eyes out. The name is stupid and you don't need to write out the full name every. damn. time.



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