Category: Book Review

Book Review: Tell Me No Lies

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 3 Comments

Tell Me No Lies is the much anticipated sequel to Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger. Ok, well, I’ve highly anticipated it. LOL. I’ve actually gotten into a few twitter discussions about what really happened at the end of book one and where book two would go. Which is seriously meta considering how much of book one is all about communication on twitter. LOL.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

No one knows what happened to pop icon Eric Thorn. His Twitter account? Frozen. His cell phone? Cracked and bloody, buried in the snow.

Agoraphobic fangirl Tessa Hart knows the truth, but she’s finally left her #EricThornObsessed days behind. She has no intention of ever touching her Twitter app again. But Snapchat… That’s safer, right?

After months of living under the radar, Tessa emerges from hiding, forced to face the deadly consequences of her past. But in the interrogation room, answers only lead to more questions in the pulse-pounding conclusion to the Follow Me Back duology.

My Thoughts:

It wasn’t pulse pounding. LOL. It just isn’t that kind of thriller for me. However, I will say when I got this book it sat unread for weeks because I knew the second I opened it, I wouldn’t be able to stop reading until it was done. And I had things that needed to be higher priority. Of course, that is exactly what happened, one day read. And now I’m sad because it’s done.

I feel like I can’t talk about the book at all without spoilering all over it. Every sentence I start to type, I have to take back because it reveals too much. So how can I…if you have read the first one, this one is just as good. Just as well written. Just as interesting a take on human psychology. Just as fun. Read it and enjoy.

If you haven’t read the first one, go flipping get it and read it. LOL. Then read this one and appreciate that you could get the two back to back, you didn’t have to wait months to find out.

Book Review: Mother’s Day, Muffins, and Murder

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Sara Rosett’s Mother’s Day, Muffins, and Murder turns in a fun mystery that makes me glad I home school. LOL

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

With summer approaching, Ellie Avery s schedule is ruled by attending end-of-the-year events at her kids school and avoiding run-ins with her arch competitor. When a murder disrupts the core curriculum, can the two women form an alliance to teach the killer a lesson in justice?”
As a regular volunteer at North Dawkins Elementary, Ellie would never miss the annual Mother’s Day breakfast even if she has to tolerate the likes of Gabrielle Matheson. The rivals aren’t exactly sworn enemies, although Ellie still thinks there’s only room for one professional organizer in their small Georgia town.
But when Ellie sees Gabrielle in the hallway, she s a mess. It looks like Gabrielle s seen a ghost or, as she explains, a dead body inside the supply closet. Before Ellie can get help the body vanishes . . . only to mysteriously reappear later at the school.
Little is known about the victim, a secretive snoop with a nosy nature and a penchant for keeping quiet about her own past. Ellie will leave no desk unturned to protect her kids and expose the cunning criminal s identity. Because if she doesn t, the killer may chalk up another textbook case of murder . . .

 

My thoughts:

I was having a few low energy days when I read this. Even so, I really enjoyed it. I could relate Ellie, a mom trying to take good care of her kids, while juggling a career that isn’t always following the most direct route. (cough – cough, hello)

There was a good plot, some red herrings (no, I wasn’t fooled but that means very little), a nice supporting cast. Ellie figures out who dun it and the author lets you figure it out too, which I love. I hate the whole “I didn’t tell you information” method of suspense building.

The “additives” we’re evenly space every other chapter and were super short and easy to skip if you had no interest in them. I liked that fairly well. The additives at the back is my favorite method because it interrupts the flow of the book the least but this was fine.

This is book number ten in the series and I will be circling back around to try out some of the early installments.

Book Review: Death of a Cookbook Author

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Yes, another cozy, whatever, get over it already.  I was at the library with the kiddo telling myself no new books until I finish camp Nano when what do you know 6 new cozies fell off the shelf and into my bag. oh, well.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Amazon):

Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell will be cooking alongside top chefs at a cookbook author’s party. But a killer plans to ruin her appetite . . .

When Hayley’s idol, cookbook author and TV personality Penelope Janice, invites her to participate in a Fourth of July celebrity cook-off at her seaside estate in Seal Harbor, Maine, Hayley couldn’t be more flattered. She just hopes she can measure up. With a who’s who of famous chefs whipping up their signature dishes, this holiday weekend has all the ingredients for a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience.

Instead, Hayley gets food poisoning her first night and thinks she overhears two people cooking up a murder plot. The next morning, a body is found at the bottom of a cliff. Tragic accident or foul play? To solve a real cliffhanger, Hayley will need to uncover some simmering secrets—before a killer boils over again . . .

My thoughts:

I finished this book and then let it sit a few days. I couldn’t decide whether to review it or not. If I don’t finish a book because it stinks, I won’t review it because there’s enough unhappiness in the world. I don’t want to add to it. I finished this one. So I should review it right?

But I really didn’t like it. It laid there. No intrigue, no mystery, no connection with the main character. Recipes and stories from the main character’s column in the local paper were stuck in at intervals where you were supposed to feel tense suspense, to extend the suspense I’m sure, but it didn’t work for me. Yawn.

And yet there are ten of these things by Lee Hollis, published by Kensington Mystery. So it must work for someone right?

Book Review: Pawprints & Predicaments

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I like Bethany Blake books. She writes an amusing main character and overly anthropomorphizes her animal characters in a way that is almost believable. You can’t go wrong with a basset hound that thinks he’s actually Socrates reincarnated.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

The Tail Waggin’ Winterfest is the highlight of the season in the famously pet-friendly Pocono Mountains town of Sylvan Creek. But despite attractions like an ice sculpture display, a dogsled race, and gourmet hot chocolate, Daphne Templeton finds herself annoyed by TV producer Lauren Savidge, who’s filming the festivities. She’s critical, controlling, and as chilly as the January air. Daphne would like to tell her to go jump in a lake–and as a matter of fact, that’s exactly what they’re both going to do . . .

It’s the first-ever polar bear plunge in Lake Wallapawakee, and Daphne and Lauren are among the eighty or so people who charge into the frigid water to raise funds for animals in need. Daphne makes it back to shore–with the help of a mysterious St. Bernard–but Lauren is dragged out stone cold dead. Now, with her trusty basset hound Socrates at her side, Daphne intends to assist Detective Jonathan Black in his investigation–whether he wants her to or not . . .

My thoughts:

Daphne is as amusing as ever. We get a bit of character growth, she leases a building to open a store, thus putting down some roots, big step for the perpetual rolling stone.

I didn’t like this book as well as the last two. And I think I know why. There is a new “love” interest for Daphne. And anyone who’s read the first two books knows she belongs with the Detective. Bethany wrote out Daphne’s lame previous boyfriend in book two and now in book three rather than move Daphne closer to a satisfying relationship, she hooks her up with another idiot. sigh.

Also, the murder motive was pretty weak. I won’t give it away though.

I still really enjoyed the book and I wanted to know how it would end bad enough that I brought my ipod in from the car, where I had been listening while driving about, so I could finish the story.

Book Review: Royals

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 3 Comments

I’m not sure who recommended Royals to me, I’m reading so many book review sites now. But the library notified me that my hold number had come up, so I picked it up and prepared to hate it. LOL.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

My Thoughts:

That description does not do the book justice at all. I was prepared to make fun of it. Barring that I was prepared to read it just so I could complain about the tripe that gets published these days. Ha-ha, the joke is on me. I loved it.

Daisy is the rare teenager who knows herself, knows her limits, knows her strengths, and just what she is willing to do. She talks a lot to herself about how she hasn’t found her “thing” yet but that seems so unimportant compared to what she does know about herself. This book is an amusing romp of a strong woman refusing to lower her standards – very Jane Austen.

As a side note, this book is so flippin’ funny I actually woke my hubs several times when I was trying to quietly read it late at night with a book light, because my laughter was so loud. Oops.

Well done Rachel Hawkins, you created a fabulous Jane Austen pastiche without screwing it up. Whether that was your intent or not, you did Jane proud. I’ll have to see what else you’ve written and take a gander at that.

Book Review: Magic Hours

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It was really the subtitle that persuaded me to grab this book by Tom Bissell, Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation. Who could pass that up?

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Amazon):

In Magic Hours, award-winning essayist Tom Bissell explores the highs and lows of the creative process. He takes us from the set of The Big Bang Theory to the first novel of Ernest Hemingway to the final work of David Foster Wallace; from the films of Werner Herzog to the film of Tommy Wiseau to the editorial meeting in which Paula Fox’s work was relaunched into the world. Originally published in magazines such as The Believer, The New Yorker, and Harper’s, these essays represent ten years of Bissell’s best writing on every aspect of creation—be it Iraq War documentaries or video-game character voices—and will provoke as much thought as they do laughter.

What are sitcoms for exactly? Can art be both bad and genius? Why do some books survive and others vanish? Bissell’s exploration of these questions make for gripping, unforgettable reading.

My thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were a few essays that I declined to finish, but for the most part they were humorous and interesting. I’m not sure how much they “provoked as much thought” and I wouldn’t call it gripping reading. The book took me better than 6 weeks to finish. LOL.

I did note down some books to read and movies to see based on things Bissell wrote though. I found his take on the publishing world hopelessly outdated in some ways and crushingly apt in others. I can’t say my world view was altered, my breadth of knowledge about mankind increased, or my craft improved by this series of essays (what I usually look for in non-fiction) but my brain was occupied happily while reading it.

Book Review: The Reckoning Stones

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I adore Laura DiSilverio’s work. She writes a couple of really fun cozy series and some stand alone thriller stuff I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. The Reckoning Stones was one of many books I downloaded for my recent road trip with the kiddo.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

After accusing the pastor of her close-knit religious community of molesting her, fourteen-year-old Mercy Asher is branded a liar and publicly humiliated. She runs away on the night someone beats the pastor into a coma and kills his wife.

Two decades later, Mercy has become Iris Dashwood, an emotionally troubled but brilliant jeweler. She thinks she’s in control of her life until news of Pastor Matt’s miraculous awakening broadsides her and leaves her unable to design. Iris returns to Lone Pine, Colorado, determined to confront her past to restore her creativity.

Iris reconnects with her mother, best friend, and boyfriend who harbor secrets she must unearth to find a killer. In the final reckoning, the truth may cost more than she anticipates. Will it bring redemption…or devastation?

 

My thoughts:

I am torn on this book. As usual Laura has a brilliant take on what makes people tick. I love that about her writing. On the other hand, I had trouble connecting with the main character of this book. And it was so dire and sad most of the time, that while I felt compelled to see it thru, I didn’t feel the love. Part of me wants to expand on what bothered me but it would be giving away parts of the plot. So I’ll just say I hated how few people did the right thing.

Book Review: The Uninvited Corpse

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More cozy mysteries. Seems like ten new ones get published every day. The Uninvited Corpse by Debra Sennefelder is the first in a new series.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Amazon):

Leaving behind a failed career as a magazine editor and an embarrassing stint on a reality baking show, newly divorced lifestyle entrepreneur Hope Early thought things were finally on the upswing—until she comes face-to-face with a murderer . . .

Hope’s schedule is already jam packed with recipe testing and shameless plugs for her food blog as she rushes off to attend a spring garden tour in the charming town of Jefferson, Connecticut. Unfortunately, it isn’t the perfectly arranged potted plants that grab her attention—it’s the bloody body of reviled real estate agent Peaches McCoy . . .

One of the tour guests committed murder, and all eyes are on Hope’s older sister, Claire Dixon—who, at best, saw Peaches as a professional rival. And suspicions really heat up when another murder occurs the following night. Now, with two messy murders shaking Jefferson and all evidence pointing to Claire, Hope must set aside her burgeoning brand to prove her sister’s innocence. But the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer intent on making sure her life goes permanently out of style . . .

My thoughts:

Sigh. I suspect this is simply a style mismatch for me. The author is repetitive in her writing, which some people probably like as a reminder of what has already happened. It just rubbed me raw. I felt like putting the book down every time I reread the same phrases. Then, the amateur sleuth didn’t actually solve the crime. She survived several attacks by the killer and one large confrontation where she had to be rescued by a dog and eventually the police. I don’t like that kind of mystery. If you don’t have the brains to figure out the solution, at least have the balls to rescue yourself. But I can imagine this will be a very popular series. The protag is a reality show failure, divorced because her hubs cheated, and now making it as a blogger. People will love it.

Book Review: Quiet

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 2 Comments

With all the trouble I’ve been having getting traction in a saturated book market, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain was very appealing on the shelf.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Amazon):

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

My Thoughts:

So much of this book read like a pep talk: Introverts – you are ok! Gee, thanks. I knew that already. What I wanted was to hear about my supposed power and how to use it. Cain took quite some time meandering through really intriguing and interesting research. If you like to geek out about how people think and why they act the way they do, there is much to enjoy in this book. But I’m not sure I walked away with much new information on how to leverage my introversion to get people to read my books. LOL. But I had a good time reading it and that alone is worth the effort.

 

Book Review: Murder, She Knit

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

Another cozy just happened to fall into my book bag at the library. It’s a dangerous place the library. Murder, She Knit by Peggy Ehrhart is the first in a new series by an established author.

Basic Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads):

Since her only daughter left for college, widow Pamela Paterson has kept busy as associate editor of a craft magazine and founder of the Knit and Nibble knitting club in quaint Arborville, New Jersey. Now, she’s trying out a new hobby—solving murders!

Pamela is hosting the next Knit and Nibble meeting and can’t wait to liven up her otherwise empty home with colorful yarn, baking, and a little harmless gossip. She even recruits Amy Morgan, an old friend who recently moved to town, as the group’s newest member. But on the night of the gathering, Amy doesn’t show. Not until Pamela finds the woman dead outside—a knitting needle stabbed through the front of her handmade sweater . . .

Someone committed murder before taking off with Amy’s knitting bag, and Pamela realizes that only she can spot the deadly details hidden in mysterious skeins. But when another murder occurs, naming the culprit—and living to spin the tale—will be more difficult than Pamela ever imagined…

My thoughts:

I seriously can’t decide if I liked this book or not. It has a slow flair, think Jane Austen’s long descriptions of the world around her characters. But there were mistakes, there always are. And I’m not sure I connected at all with the main character. She just seemed boring. LOL. Maybe I’m jealous because her only child is off in college and she can indulge in her hobbies? Maybe. Maybe not.

Anyway, this was not the kind of mystery where you get the clues and if you fail to put it together too bad for you. The author hides the critical facts until the main character gets caught investigating and almost killed. Surprise, surprise. And the killer is never discussed as a possible suspect, no clues eve point to her. I think that’s what I didn’t like.