Friends Sharing Book Love discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Book Reviews
>
Books You’re on the Fence About - 2023
Dying For Chocolate – Diane Mott Davidson – 3***
This is book two in the popular Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery series. It has all the elements of a successful cozy mystery series: an amateur sleuth whose career puts her in contact with a wide range of people (whether victim or suspect), a home situation with added tension, a love interest, and some great recipes. I have to admit that Goldy is pretty resourceful when getting herself out of a jam and doesn’t always rely on the big strong detective to save her. On the other hand, if she kept her nose out of business that isn’t hers … well we wouldn’t have this series.
LINK to my full review
Taken To the Cleaners – Dolores Johnson – 3***
The first book in the Mandy Dyer cozy mystery series gets the dry cleaner involved with a local bag lady brings in one of the cleaner’s signature laundry bags, inside of which is a bloody suit. I figured out the killer long before either Mandy or the police, but it still held my attention. This was first published in 1997 and it shows … limited computer use, no cell phones. Still, I’d be willing to try another in the series.
LINK to my full review
The Violin of Auschwitz –Maria Àngels Anglada– 2.5**
I really wanted to like this book … no … I wanted to love this book. But it missed the mark for me. The basic story line is engaging and what kept me reading, but there were huge gaps that left me hungry for more detail. So, while the author played the reader’s heartstrings like a violin virtuoso, I felt that the book was unfinished.
LINK to my full review
Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities
If only I liked YA-style writing more, this could have been a great anthology.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Second-Worst Restaurant in France – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
This is the second book featuring Paul Stuart, the “renowned Scottish cookbook writer.” He’s struggling with his latest book so jumps at the chance to accompany his cousin, Chloe, to France, where he hopes to find his muse, or at least a few great meals. There is not much plot to move the story along. Rather, Paul just stumbles into situations in the village as he meets new and interesting people. What I like about this book and several of McCall Smith’s other works are the characters. I enjoy peeping into their lives for a bit and watching the goings on from afar.
LINK to my full review
The Night Masquerade – Nnedi Okorafor – 3.5***
The final book in the Binti trilogy, has Binti trying to broker peace between the Meduse and the Khoush. I really marvel at the world-building that Okorafor has achieved here. The imaginative alien species are a marvel. And because I had come to trust her writing, I went with the flow and didn’t question the abilities of Okwu or New Fish. I really like Binti, and since the ending is somewhat of a cliffhanger, I have to wonder if the trilogy is really over, or if Okorafor will write more about Binti.
LINK to my full review
California Golden
didn’t live up to its interesting premise. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A little "Christmas in July" ...
A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe – Jessica Clare – 3***
This is the second book I’ve read in this series set in and around Painted Barrel, Wyoming. It is, of course, a holiday cowboy romance. Sage Cooper is the nicest gal in town but nobody’s girlfriend. Jason is a veteran of Afghanistan trying to run from his PTSD by working on a ranch (something he’s never done before). I’m sure you can guess the plot. It’s a fast read and there are the requisite hot-and-steamy sex scenes. Not to mention a great dog, Achilles.
LINK to my full review
Coffin Cemetery - Ron Ripley
Tormented Souls series book #1
Genera: Paranormal
3★
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Love, Loss, and What We Ate – Padma Lakshmi – 3.5***
I don’t read a lot of celebrity memoirs, but when a friend recommended this one I had to see what the fuss was about. From what she relates of her early adulthood (into her 40s), I got the impression that she identified herself by the man she was attached to, which irritated me. But I liked the portions of the book that took us back to her childhood in India, to the cultures, foods, sights, sounds and smells that helped form her. By the end I grew to appreciate the woman she has become.
LINK to my full review
Upright Women Wanted – Sarah Gailey – 3***
I picked this up because I needed a book to satisfy a challenge and this was readily available at the library. What an interesting plot! Set in a future America under a fascist regime, the Librarians are a network of lesbian spies. It has all the hallmarks of a traditional Western, but with a fresh new twist.
LINK to my full review
3* for The Trap, I just couldn't connect with the characters and had trouble with the story being believable. Just me I'm sure
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Loyal Character Dancer – Qiu Xiaolong – 3***
Book two in the Chief Inspector Chen Cao mystery series set in Shanghai. I like this series. Chen is a complicated man. Educated and a poet, he walks the tightrope between political correctness and professional police duty. This makes for a more slow-moving work than is typical for mysteries. But I didn’t mind that so much. I appreciated the time spent on the history of this complex culture.
LINK to my full review
Whose Samosa is it anyway?: The Story of where 'Indian' food really came from by Sonal Ved
Not exactly like the title suggests. But a good read for (food) history lovers.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
This made me realise that heist stories are better watched than read. A decent debut though.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Eight Hundred Grapes – Laura Dave – 3***
This piqued my interest because of the setting in the Sonoma Valley, and the book jacket blurb led me to believe it would be a lighter, romantic read. There IS some romance involved … but … Georgia turns out to be a bit more complex that I originally gave her credit for. The resolution of the difficulties has to wait for a few complications to be ironed out, but the ending is still satisfying in a chick-lit romance sort of way. Not exactly tied up in a pretty bow … but the ribbon is there.
LINK to my full review
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones 🎧 4-StarsDark humor take on the Grim Reaper and other paranormal entities
My Review
Last Rites by Sharon Sala 4-StarsPope Family Ties are Strong
My Review
Mod
Jade O'Reilly and the Mysterious Musician by Tamara Wardhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blue Moon II - This is Reality - A.E. Via
Blue Moon Trilogy Book #2
Genera: M/M Romance/Action/Military - (Virginia)
3.5★
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was in no way a bad story. it was just difficult to keep up with. If that had not been the case it would have received 5 stars.
In the Lives of Puppets - T.J. Klune
Genera: Fantasy/Science Fiction/ Fiction/ Humor, Gay Fiction/ M/M Romance.
3★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Candy And Me – Hilary Liftin – 3.5***
Hilary Liftin has had a lifelong addiction to candy. I can relate. As she recalls her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, she reflects on the many candies she consumed, adored, sought, hoarded and absolutely without guilt enjoyed. We have, both of us, learned to live with a sweet tooth, and moderate our consumption. But it was sure nice to take a walk down memory lane, when penny candy was plentiful, and I had a whole DIME to spend on it!
LINK to my full review
Hondo – Louis L’Amour – 3.5***
An iconic work of American Western genre, featuring a strong, rather taciturn, loner who lives, and is willing to die, by his principles, and a vulnerable but equally strong woman determined to keep her family home and protect what she holds dear. The setting is practically a character: the southeast corner of Arizona, populated by rattlesnakes, gila monsters, coyotes, jackrabbits and pumas, not to mention the various Apache tribes fighting to regain their historic lands.
LINK to my full review
Into The Water - Paula Hawkins - (England)
Genera: Suspense/psychological thriller
3.5★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is my 3.05 rounded to 3 stars review of Until It Hurts
by Polly Whitney:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
While it has a decent mystery plot and is amusing at times, it is also somewhat forgettable.
Call of The Alpha - A.E. Via
Blue Moon Series, Book III
Genera: M/M Romance/Military
3★
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Owl & Moon Cafe – Jo-Ann Mapson – 3***
Four generations of women work hard to support themselves with their small café, while giving to the community in their northern California town. As happens in real life, things get messy. Major illness, loss of a job, bullying and strained budgets are stressing all the Moon women. Not to mention a couple of men added to the mix. Secrets will come out. Fights will be had. Tears will be shed. At the end, I’m certain the Moon women will find a way to deal with whatever life throws at them.
LINK to my full review
The Hour of Land – Terry Tempest Williams – 3***
Subtitle: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. This is a book I would not have picked up were it not for being a book-club selection. Williams is a good writer, and there are times when her descriptions take the reader straight to the park she is visiting. Some of these passages are downright poetic. However, Williams spent less time on the park itself and its natural and/or historic wonders than she did on a political agenda. I don’t even disagree with her point of view, but it wasn’t what I expected or wanted from this book.
LINK to my full review
Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge
was mildly entertaining. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Frozen Souls - Rita Herron - (Georgia)
Detective Ellie Reeves series Book #4
Genera: Mystery& Suspense/Thriller
3.5★
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I Am the Mau and other stories
by Chemutai GlasheenMy review 3★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished my 1st graphic story Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Department of Sensitive Crimes – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Gosh, but I enjoy visiting with Alexander McCall Smith’s characters! This is somewhat of a farce of police procedurals. Detective Ulf “the Wolf” Varg and his team certainly have “interesting” cases. There is no case too strange or confusing for this team. I particularly liked the case of the missing imaginary boyfriend!
LINK to my full review
Prom Mom was more miss than hit for me. My three star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is my 3.01 rounded to 3 stars review of Goodbye Paris
by Mike Bond:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Political Thriller
While the story is action packed, I never truly connected with the main character. It was entertaining and interesting, but I'm an outlier with just 3 stars. If interested in the book, I recommend reading some of the 4 and 5 star reviews.
Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed
An Arabian Nights spinoff centred on Scheherazade (or Shaherazade, as she is called in this version.) A great attempt, but too ambitious for a debut novelist. You might fare better with it if you don't know much about the original. I did.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Friends Sharing Book Love
Books mentioned in this topic
Christmas at Applemore (other topics)Two for the Dough (other topics)
Something from Tiffany's (other topics)
The Busy Body (other topics)
Our House (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rachael Lucas (other topics)Janet Evanovich (other topics)
Melissa Hill (other topics)
Kemper Donovan (other topics)
Celine Keating (other topics)
More...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...