Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Lillie wrote: "I thought it was just me with Witch King and I’m only at the beginning of book and already lost. Maybe I need to switch from audiobook to print.

Maisie Dobbs is a good series but I think I stalled..."

Not just you with Witch King. I started with print and switched to audio when the ebook went back to the library. I didn't really feel like one was better than the other.

I'm loving Maisie. I don't know why it took me so long to discover this series.

What??!! there are 5 Murder Club books?! I have to get over to my library app immediately. I'm pretty sure I'm only in line for 3.

I hope my liking Hidden Palace does not depend on me re-reading. I don't believe in re-reading series books just because it has been a while between books. I just forge ahead. A good author will tell me everything I needed to know. At least that's my theory. I do reread occasionally but for different reasons. Usually because I really liked(or hated) a book and I want to see if I still like(or hate) it as much as I did before.

The Man Who Died Twice Mystery solved!

The Thursday Murder Club is back at work. This time trying to find out who killed Elizabeth's ex-husband and where he hid the diamonds he stole. As always with these four senior sleuths there are plenty of twists and hi-jinks along the way to solving the mystery. All of the old favorite characters are back along with Ron's young grandson Kendrick. The baddies won't escape this crew.

I enjoyed this second installment of the series. I thought this storyline was a little more straight forward but still contained all the humor of the first book. I do enjoy the zany characters in this series and senior citizens solving the crime trope. On the whole I might have enjoyed this second book more than the first.

4 Senior Citizen Justice stars.

Quotes I liked:

“More women are murdering people these days,” says Joyce. “If you ignore the context, it is a real sign of progress.”
― Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice

“And if one is never lost in life, then clearly one has never traveled anywhere interesting.”
― Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice

“I’m involved about as much as I want to be with the Thursday Murder Club. If they can plant cocaine in someone’s cistern, I don’t want to think about what they’d do with my love life.”
― Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice

#81 Maisie Dobbs First in the series and I loved it. Maisie is such a great character getting all her background information was a treat. I didn't even mind that the book was a little soft on the mystery part. I can't wait to read more Maisie. 4 Upstairs/Downstairs stars. Audiobook. Mystery/Historical Fiction.

#82 Witch King I don't want to be too hard on this book because it wasn't bad fantasy, but it was something of a muddle. Names and places and who was what kind of being and what were those kinds of people anyway - too obscure. There were two storylines one current and one historical. I appreciated both of them, but I would have liked the book better as a whole if it had just stuck to one or the other. It was all just too confusing to enjoy. I will admit though that the biggest problem for me was that this wasn't Murderbot. Martha Wells created such a wonderful character in her Murderbot series and well, this was no Murderbot. 3 Was the witch king (who seemed to be actually a prince) really a witch or something else stars. ebook/Audiobook. Fantasy.

#83 Zero Days Another intense thriller from Ruth Ware master of suspense. Unlike many of her other books I actually liked this main character. That is really irrelevant to my enjoyment of a Ruth Ware novel though. I just like the way she builds a story. 4 stars. Audiobook. Mystery/Suspense.

#84 The Man Who Died Twice The Thursday Murder Club is back in action, solving the latest case with all their usual flair. I love this series. Zany characters and even zanier twists. Lots of fun. 4 stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

Star Tally 2023

5 stars - 11
4 stars - 38
3 stars - 31
2 stars - 4

Current:
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot ebook for RL book club
Dead Man's Hand ebook Not bad so far.
The Hidden PalaceAudiobook. Just started.

Reading Dead Man's Hand and listening to The Man Who Died Twice and loving them both.

I hope you enjoy them both Alondra. Happy reading!

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Glad you liked the Book Eaters. It was a weird book but I did enjoy it. I would check out a sequel too."

I'm still thinking about this book. I do hope the author pens a sequel."

Same. It was one of those books that just doesn't fit a mold or go the way you expected but leaves you thinking about it from so many different angles. Sorry to hear that you didn't like The Road to Roswell. I was looking forward to that one. Now I will probably just skip it.

I'm still working on Dead Man's Hand and I've got a vacation coming up in a couple of weeks so hopefully I can knock off a couple more of these.

Adding Maisie Dobbs to the completed column and another favorite series to the old TBR.

In the post WWI years, Maisie Dobbs, a former army nurse, builds her new investigations business. Her current case brings back bittersweet memories of the war. With the successful conclusion of the case she not only provides closure for some veterans and their families but is able to make peace with a part of her own past as well.

I read The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear earlier and knew then that I had to give the Maisie Dobbs series a try. I am really enjoying this author and I loved the Maisie Dobbs character. I look forward to continuing this series. While this book seemed to be soft on the mystery portion, I would say that Jacqueline Winspear is the queen of the backstory. Normally I wouldn't have enjoyed such a long and complicated flashback section but I enjoyed the character so much in this book that I couldn't get enough of it.

4 retrospective stars

Quotes I liked:

“The feeling inside that she experienced when she saw the books was akin to the hunger she felt as food was put on the table at the end of the working day. And she knew that she needed this sustenance as surely as her body needed its fuel.”
― Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs

“Coincidence was a messenger sent by truth.”
― Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs

Ioana wrote: "Have you read any of her other books?"

No but the new one looks equally tempting.

Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Glad to hear you enjoyed Babel. It was a four star read for me too. There is a lot in there to unpack."

I agree. This reader who generally does not enjoy fantasy, really enjoyed t..."

It's a rare author who can write a unique and interesting fantasy story and still combine it with so much real world social commentary.

Ioana wrote: "Babel: An Arcane History is a lot more than a fantasy story in an academic 1830s Oxford setting. Actually, the setting is the only part of the fantasy. The rest, the social, economi..."

Glad to hear you enjoyed Babel. It was a four star read for me too. There is a lot in there to unpack.

I'm really enjoying Maisie. I don't know why I never read this series before.

Thanks Alondra! Hope you enjoy Lone Women

I'm really loving that one. I can't imagine why I never read them before. Also why aren't we seeing it made into a series. I would definitely binge watch Maisie. I guess she's too wholesome for Netflix but you'd think PBS would give it a go.

Resistance is futile

Glad you liked the Book Eaters. It was a weird book but I did enjoy it. I would check out a sequel too.

I think you will like Going Zero. There was more to it than I expected.

Seems like I'm always trying to bring this list up to date. I guess that means I'm reading/listening faster than I can review so that's all good.

#75 Going Zero This book was surprisingly good. 10 "contestants" try to live off the grid for one month without getting caught by the CIA's new super computer surveillance program. This was a fun one with lots of twists and turns. You may think you know what is happening and then suddenly you don't. 4 stars. Audiobook. Thriller/Fantasy.

#76 Pretend I'm Dead A young housekeeper tells her story. I can't lie. I really did not like this one. It was depressing, unneccessary, and overall uncomfortable. I would not recommend. 2 stars but now that I'm thinking maybe it should have been one. Audiobook. Contemporary Fiction.

#77 Time and Again This time travel classic was interesting enough that I may read the sequel to see what happens but not interesting enough to make me love the characters. I guess that means plot - 4 stars, characterization - 2 stars, averages out to 3 mediocre but not a total loss stars. Audiobook. Fantasy/Time Travel.

#78 The Hidden One Chief Burkholder uncovers old secrets and captures another murderer making Amish country a little safer. 4 war criminals and old sweethearts stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

#79 Dogs of War Despite battle scars and PTSD, Joe Ledger and his war weary team manage to stave off a techno apocalypse. 3 beware AI, robodogs and mosquito spray stars. Audiobook. Thriller.

#80 Lone Women Wow! I'm at a loss as to how to descibe this genre bending piece of historical fiction. The author uses the horror trope to create a very effective piece of social commentary. Enjoy might not be the correct word but I did enjoy this one. 4 stars Audiobook. Historical Fiction.

Star Tally 2023

5 stars - 11
4 stars - 35
3 stars - 30
2 stars - 4

Current:

Witch King Library returned this one so I'm waiting to get this one back from the hold list.
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot ebook.
Dead Man's Hand ebook but I may switch to audiobook.
Maisie Dobbs Audiobook. I like Maisie so much.

I've started both Dead Man's Hand and Maisie Dobbs. Enjoying them both.

Joe Ledger rides again! Dogs of War complete!

Joe Ledger and his team scramble to prevent a new techno-apocalypse. Even while the department neutralized threat after threat some of Joe's arch enemies were fostering a new threat, years in the making. Now Joe and his team battered and drained from previous battles must fight to prevent the ultilmate threat-an AI takeover.

I love Joe and his take-no-prisoners crew. As action thrillers go this series is one of the best. Campy and predictable? Maybe. Loads of fun? Definitely. Bug takes a lead role in this one and I loved that too. I also want to give a shout out to the audio productions of this series. They are spot on. They get Joe's sarcasm and darkness just right but will still make the listener smile. When I do read this series, rather than listen, this narrator's voice and cadence are in my head. Ray Porter IS Joe Ledger as far as I'm concerned.

3 evil robo war dog stars.

Quotes I like:

“Bunny, Top and Cole kept themselves belted in and braced, because Lydia Rose drove like a maniac.
"She's going to kill us all," yelled Cole.
"Don't want to play the man card here," yelled Top, "but woman up."
"'Woman up' is not a thing, you sexist freak.”
― Jonathan Maberry, Dogs of War