Normal People

Wow,  this was an intense book on many different fronts.  I don't know what I was expecting but this was a thought provoking book.  Once you get past the lack of quotation marks around dialogue it is a fairly straightforward read.  Definitely made me examine the definition of "normal" and to think about how lucky I have been in life.  Made me feel a bit shallow at times though, thinking I didn't have deep philosophical discussions in college and young adulthood like the characters do in the story.   Overall a good thought provoking book



Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting observations of human behavior

I definitely think this book got me to think about human behavior and what is defined as normal by society. Marianne is a damaged girl and Connell has issues of his own. The book follows them through very influential times of growth in their lives and examined the dynamics of their relationships with themselves, each other and others. There are a one very thought provoking interactions and behaviors in the book. At times I wish the reader got more answers particularly what had happened in Marianne 's childhood. Things are alluded to but not specific stated. I would like to have known more about her father and her relationship. There are some disturbing topics covered by the book but at the same time it made me appreciate my life and family that much more. It was interesting to see how people become "damaged" in the eyes of society

Overall I liked the book. Definitely left me thinking but I would have liked a few things tied up so that's why i didn't give it a 5 star


View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 11
2. Monthly Book Award-   #GXOAwardReadingChallenge  Costa 2018
3. Literary Escapes- Ireland
4. AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge "N"
5. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge "S"
6. Around the Year in 52 Books- #33 A book about a non-traditional family
7. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #41  Author in their 20s
8. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #7  Book about mental health/dealing with mental illness
9. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #26 A strong “friendship” theme
10. Book List Queen #9 2019 Bestseller
11. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  #25 a book set in another country 
12. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #16 Set in different continents- Europe

Hear ye Hear ye #2020AudiobookChallenge

Well, since I have been enjoying Audiobooks so much this year, I thought I would join a challenge to track what I am actually "reading".  I am trying to listen to the audiobooks when I am driving to and from school and activities.  It's also a great way to distract yourself while working out or walking.

There is an audiobook challenge hosted by Caffienated Reviewer and Hot Listens

Basically it is just a tracking challenge where you will check in twice during the year.  First on June 30, 2020 and then again on December 15, 2020.

Sign up here and then pick a level to try to achieve:.  If you talk about your audiobooks on social meida use their #2020AudiobookChallenge tag.

• √ Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5  
• √ Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15  I think I will aim for this
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
• Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+
• The 100 Club (Audiobook Elite) 100+

Here are the details of the challenge

• Runs January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020. You can join at any time.
• The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2020 than you did in 2018.
• Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
• ANY genres count.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
• If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweet about the challenge.
• Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. The first update will be June 30, 2020, and the last update will take place on December 15, 2020.

So come listen with me.

Progress    

 7/12 audiobooks read

So far I have completed 7 books.  I am looking for my next book to listen to while waiting on the sequel to Winter in Paradise from my library hold.  The library is a great resource for this media using Overdrive or Libby to listen to them.  Additionally, Chirp is a great newsletter to sign up for and they will send you daily deal emails with specials to purchase audiobooks.  Audible is a great subscription if the library isn't an option for you.

Books Completed

1. Garlic &  Sapphires by Ruth Reichl  NY Times Food Critic memoir  1/14/20 
• blog post;  goodreads review
2. Let's Fake a Deal  by Shelly Harris  1/16/20 
• blog post and Goodreads review
3. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty 2/4/20
• blog post and Goodreads review
4. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano 2/27/20
• blog post and Goodreads review
5. Winter in Paradise by Elin Hildebrand 3/9/20
• blog post and Goodreads review
6. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil delGrasse Tyson  4/8/20
• blog post and Goodreads review
7. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler 5/11/20
• blog post and Goodreads Review
8. 
   

Books in Progress

1. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett- narrated by Tom Hanks
2. Wizard : The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius by Marc Seifer 
3. Shrill  by Lindy West reading on hold until book available at library again

Stone Barrington is Stealth in the UK

Another quick read finished today.   Always a fun and mindless read when I delve into the adventures of Stone Barrington.   This is definitely the book that falls into my guilty pleasure box-  no real brain power needed and deep thinking involved.   I just kind of get lost in the story and chuckle at the absurdity of some of the escapades he finds himself in.   



Stealth by Stuart Woods
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A very typical Stone Barrington novel, actually a little less death than normal in this one. Plenty of intrigue and plot twists. Stealth finds Stone in the UK for the entire book, no Turtle Bay house visits and minimal interaction with Joan. He does visit with Holly, Felicity, Dino, Viv and CIA director Lance Cabot. Not suprisingly, Stone ruffles some feathers and lands in the bedroom repeatedly in this current title. He meets his newest romantic partner as well as his nemesis for this installment while laid up in a military hospital following a car wreck. From there the intrigue, espionage, and plot turns commence.

Overall a fun enjoyable quick read.


View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts 

These are the prompts for the different challenges that Stealth covers.

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 10
2. TBR Book #8  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
3.  Cloak and  Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal : Book 7
4. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020 Sept #7 Book that has a title beginning with S
5. Six Shooter-  1 shot for Stuart Woods
6. Mystery Bingo:  
• Weapons card :  Poison, Bomb
• Crime Scene:  Sidewalk
7. Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge   "S"
8. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  "W"
9. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #49 book from a series with more than 20 books
10. Book List Queen #39 A Book You Haven’t Read by an Author You Love
11. Around the Year in 52 Books- #6 A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
12.  Wizarding World Tour Beauxbatons -  Read a book Involving Horses
13. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #14 one word title
14. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020 #7 one word title
15. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  #15 a book by a favorite author
16. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #12 A “guilty pleasure”

Sophie Kinsella continues to entertain with Undomestic Goddess

I recently finished reading Sophie Kinsella's Undomestic Goddess.  I read it over the course of several dreary winter days and found myself in a cheery mood each time I read it.  Like many of Kinsella's books, it felt like I was reading a happy, chick flick movie.

In the book, Samantha Sweeting's escapades entertain us as she goes from London to the Cotswolds.
Without giving too much plot detail away,  a series of events- some more comical than others, leads Samantha to find her way to the home of Lee and Trish Geiger in the Cotswolds.  As she adapts to her new life there, there are many comical moments and the requisite romantic tensions. The story does have a few twists and turns, some more predictable than others, and is overall very entertaining.

There is some soul searching by Samantha as well.  Her relationship with her mother and brother give pause to how we raise our children and the messages we send through our actions while they live under our roof. There are also components of deciding what makes a fulfilled life and how we each define it.

The thought provoking aspects of the story are there if you chose to think about them.  If you just want a lighthearted read that's there as well. 

 All in all I would recommend it as a fun read by the fire or on a summer's day at the beach.


The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Delightful lighthearted read

I enjoyed this book , it was a fun read. There are some serious moment when Samantha is trying to deciding direction her life should follow. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and romantic components too. All in all i'd say it's like reading a chick flick. Definitely a cherry read does gloomy winter day or a perfect beach read


View all my reviews

Challenge Tracking

The book fulfills prompts for several challenges:

1. Library Love (Book 9)
2. TBR Book #6  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
3. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge  #9  NY Times Bestseller (2005)
4. Literary Escapes- England
5. AtoZ  and Alphabet Soup #AlphabetSoupChallenge  "U"
6. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge-  "K"
7. Book List Queen #6 A Love Story
8. While I was Reading #12 a romance novel
9. Wizarding World Tour  
• Hogwarts:  Harry Potter Universe reference
10. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020 #1  genre mashup
11. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #15 Book with romance 
12. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #50 main character in their 20s
13. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #8 a humor book 

sentimental read for Jan #GXOAwardReadingChallenge

Did a quick read of this book today as I was sorting books and putting the last of the holiday decorations away.  I realized this was a Caldecott Medal Winner in 1986 and as such counted for my monthly book award challenge.  I felt a bit like it was cheating to read a children's book but as I don't think I will get my originally scheduled award book read before the end of the month, this will have to be an acceptable stand in.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

always a heart warming read and sentimental. the illustrations in the book are very pretty as well. read it as i was putting the last of the holiday decorations back away for the winter


View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts:

Monthly Book Award  #GXOAwardReadingChallenge -  Jan;  Caldecott Medal 1986
Alphabet soup Author-   "V"

52 Books in 52 weeks  prompt #34  A book with Illustrations
NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  prompt  #14 

20 in 20:  #Read20in2020  #17 An illustrated book

Another Women's Murder Club book down

A quiet weekend withe only one hockey game to be in attendance.  Plus we got our new Sactional couch on Thursday and put it together on Saturday am.  What better excuse to sit and read than to test the new couch out, oh yeah we also watched a few episodes of the Mandalorian.  All in all a relaxing weekend.  What a great way to spend a winter day.

I logged some hours for the HPOOTP-Flourish and Blotts Hogwarts Castle Cozyathon.  Didn't make the targeted 12 but probably put in a good 6 hours.



The Medical Examiner by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable quick checkin with the Murder club

Always a fun visit with the ladies of the Murder club. This shirt novella focuses on the supporting cast while Lindsay is off on a much needed vacation. There are several shocking twists to the story with a happy ending. Easily finished this in an afternoon


View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts:

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 8
2. TBR Book #7  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
3.  Cloak and  Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal : Book 6 
4. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
5. Six Shooter-  1 shot for James Patterson
6. Mystery Bingo:  Crime- Hotel
7. Finishing the Series-  #FinishingTheSeries2020   
8. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #9  book from an author you chose for another category in this challenge
9. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge  #35 with a 3 word title
10. Book List Queen #3 Less Than 200 Pages
11. Around the Year in 52 Books- #50 A book with a silhouette on the cover
12. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020  August #3 primary action takes place this month
13. 52 Books in 52 weeks #46 By an author used in an earlier category
14. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020 #21 book that shares your zodiac sign (Cancer)
15. Wizarding World Tour  possible categories
• Mahoutokoro Read a book under 150 pages

Possible prompts 

I will decide as the year goes along which prompts I use it for on several challenges :

1. #Backlistreader 
• #4 book with less than 200 pages;
•  #15 the 4th+ book in a series

The Orphan's Tale

I am just catching up on some reviews of books I previously finished and only put on the Goodreads site.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Pam Jenoff book- The Orphan's Tale.  It was a very compelling and creative read.  It was a fascinating story and a different perspective on Nazi occupation and the impact on the civilian's lives.   I cannot wait to read more by Pam Jenoff.


Here is my review from Goodreads

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazing story telling

This is the first book by Pam Jenoff that I have read. I cannot wait to read the Lost Girls of Paris after reading The Orphan’s Tale. The story is an amazing tale told during the height of WWII. It gives us a glimpse of the circus life and a perspective on how the rise of the Nazis invaded everyday life in Germany and beyond. This is a story of survival as well as sorrow. Jenoff is an amazing storyteller that keeps you wanting more
I enjoyed the format of having 2 narrators and learning the story from both their perspectives. I appreciate that the storyline is given closure to the characters lives in the Epilogue. It’s nice to know what happens to everyone


View all my reviews

Challenge Tracking

The book fulfills prompts for several challenges:

Library Love (Book 4)

Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge - "P"

AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge -"O"

Historic Fiction (Book 1)

TBR Book #1  Backlist Reader

Beat the Backlist #11 Wish you had read it sooner

Literary Escapes-  France

What's in a Name 
#5  Reference to Children

2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge
#20 Historical Book

NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020
#20  A book by a new to you author

20 in 20:  #Read20in2020
#18 a wartime book

52 Books in 52 weeks:
#47 Takes place on a form of transportation

Booklist Queen
#21  About a war

Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #27 with at least a 4 star rating on Goodreads

Possible prompts

I will decide as the year goes along which prompts I use it for on several challenges :

Around the Year in 52 Books:
#4 set in a time you wouldn't want to live- Nazi occupied France;
 #6 transportation- train
#11 book originally published in a year that is a prime number (2017);
#27 historical fiction
#43  book related to one of the four horseman of the apocalypse-  war


Wizarding World Tour  possible categories

• Beauxbatons: set in Spain or France
• Durmstrang:  Major combat
• Hogwarts:  Involving a train

Let's go garage selling

At least let's do it in a book.  This is a fun cozy based around Sara Winston and her garage sale business.  She is an ex air force wife and currently lives near a base in Mass.  The plot definitely has some twists and turns.  The author does reference previous stories but not so much that you have to have read them in order.   The garage sale items and research are a fun side note to the story as well.

The story line definitely contains military references which I could relate to as a military dependent.  I grew up on Navy bases around the US for the first 15 years of my life.  I didn't live in the same place for more than 4 years until I had graduated college.  I'm guessing this is where my love of travel originated.  It wasn't a life everyone would enjoy but we have some great memories of places we would never have lived otherwise-  like Hawaii. 

All in all I enjoyed the book and plan to read more of the series





Let’s Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book i have read in this series. I enjoyed the story with its numerous plot twists.
Sara Winston is a well developed character. I felt like there was more to her than many of the cozy mystery characters. You got to see more of her thoughts and emotions than a typical cozy.
I will definitely go back and read the rest of the series.


View all my reviews

Challenge Tracking:

Be sure to check out my Challenge tracker tab at the top of the page to see how I am doing on my different challenges.

1. Library Love-  Book 7
2. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge "H"
3. AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge "L"
4. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger: Book 5 
5. Cruising through cozies -  career #2
6. Calendar of Crime-  May #9 Military figure has a major role
7.  Cloak and  Dagger: Book 5 
8. Literary Escapes-  MA
9. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
10. Six Shooter-  1 shot for Sherry Harris
11. Mystery Bingo:  
• Weapons card :  Motor Vehicle and Fire
• Clues:  Disguise; muddy clothing
12. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #13 written by a woman
13. Book List Queen #10 Clever Title
14. NJM-  #20  Author new to you
15. Wizarding World Tour   Beauxbatons-  Someone breaks the law 
16. Color Coded:  #2  Red
17. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge  #20 with a pun in the title
18. Around the Year in 52 Books- #34 A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name---Cozy mystery
19. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #2 A book set in the country where you are residing
20. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020 # 20 new to you author

Garlic and Sapphires

Calling all foodies or wannabe foodies.  This is a fun memoir written by Ruth Reichl.  Ruth was the New York Times food critic for many years.   This book talks about her experiences starting with how she landed the position through her decision to leave the post.  It is a great behind the scenes look at what is involved in reviewing a restaurant.  There are many funny stories of her adventures dining at the restaurants as well as other aspects of her career.  She details the disguises/alter egos she used to fool restaurant staff and shares the actual reviews she wrote for the paper.  There are also some recipes included for those who would like to try there hand at some new dishes.

All in all I found this to be a fun book.  My only complaint was with the inclusion of the recipes in the Audiobook format.  They were difficult to skip through and would have been better served as an appendix in this format since it isn't really conducive to listen to a recipes rather than reading it.  All in all a great read by an author with lots of storytelling skills

Here's my link to my Goodreads review as well


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3133496645

Challenge Tracking

The book fulfills prompts for several challenges  I will decide as the year goes along which ones I use it for where it covers more than one prompt within a challenge.

1. Library Love-  Book 6
2. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge " R"
3. AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge  "G"
4. Memoirs-  #4  Food Memoir
5. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #8 a humor book
6. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  #2 a non fiction book
7. Color Coded:  #1  Blue cover
8. Booklist Queen  #13 makes you laugh
9. Literary Escapes- New York
10. 52 Books in 52 weeks #21 Written by a blogger or journalist
11. Wizarding World Tour 
    • Hogwarts:  a book with a gem in the title or on the cover
12. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #38 book by or about a journalist
13. Around the Year in 52 Books- #15 A book set in a global city

A cozy little Jack O Lantern mystery

Over the weekend we were quite busy running to different sport activities.  I decided to take along a paperback cozy instead of the hardback copy of the Ninth House that I am reading.

I read my library copy of Death by Jack O'Lantern by Alexis Morgan.  This is the 2nd book in the Abby McCree series.  I enjoyed this one as much as the first one I read in 2019.  My review is linked below.

This meets the October #8 category for the Calendar of Crime challenge.  I have completed my 3rd cozy of the year for my Craving a Cozy challenge and my 4th Cloak and Dagger mystery.  I also submitted another toe tag for the Medical Examiner challenge.  I have also journeyed to Washington for the Literary Escape challenge with this story. 

Death by Jack-o'-Lantern by Alexis Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the second book in the Abby McCree series set in Snowberry Creek,WA. The book was a typical mystery set around the Halloween season. There were the typical clues and false leads found in cozies. The relationship between Abby and her tenant, Tripp, continues to develop awkwardly. This book did have a bit of a thought provoking undertone about how veteran are often misunderstood and the sad realities of the suffering some of them experience due to their times on active duty. All in all an enjoyable book


View all my reviews

Challenge Tracking:

Be sure to check out my Challenge tracker tab at the top of the page to see how I am doing on my different challenges.

1. Library Love-  Book 5
2. TBR Book #5  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
3. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  "A"
4. AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge "D"
5. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger: Book 4 
6. Cruising through cozies -  Holiday Cozy 
7. Medical Examiner-  1 Toe Tag 
8. Mystery Bingo:  
• Red Herring :  Dog didn't bark
• Clues:  Rain storm
9. Color Coded:    #8  Other color-  Orange
10. Finishing the Series- Book #4 -the Abby McCree series as of Jan 2020
11. Literary Escapes-  Snowberry Creek, WA
12. Calendar of Crime-  October #8 month related item on cover- scarecrow
13. Beat the Backlist #15 author who writes multiple genres
14. Around the Year in 52 Books- #18 A book by an author you've only read once before
15. 52 books in 52 weeks-  #8  Orange on the cover 
16.  Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #12  passes the Bechdel test
17. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  #9 a book with a sassy heroine
18.   Wizarding World Tour  Uagadou-  Read a book that includes an animal

Books becoming movies in 2020

Today I was clearing out old emails and doing some prep work for my challenges.  I came across a post that is relevant for some challenges.  The Booklist Queen has a blog post about the books being turned into movies this year. 

I am planning to read the Artemis Fowl book for this category in her reading challenge as well as for the 2020 TBR challenge being hosted by Stacked Reviews  


Partially because I had already intended to read this book and I had seen the preview when we went to see the Star Wars movie.











 I also have been interested in reading the One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  My son actually read this book in elementary school and I have been intending to read it ever since.  Maybe this will be the impetus I need to read this book



Happy Reading

Women's Murder Club

I finally had a chance to read the latest installment in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club.  This means I am all caught up until the next book is published, thus adding another title to my #FinishingtheSeries challenge. 

The 19th Christmas is set back in the usual San Francisco environment and continues to center on Lindsay Boxer and her friends.  Although this story differs from many of the others as there really is minimal storyline involving the friends.  There are some basic attempts to weave Yuki and the others in, the stories were very extraneous compared to the other installments in the series.


The 19th Christmas by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While the main storyline involving Lindsay Boxer and Joe is a good story, it felt at times like a stretch to include the supporting friend characters. Their storylines are much more ancillary this time than in previous books in the series. I did enjoy the book and finished it in a single day. It felt like the authors were stretching to make it a Women's Murder Club versus a Lindsay Boxer story. The main mystery was a good twist and turn story though as always.


View all my reviews

Date Completed:  Jan 5, 2020

Audio Books

In addition to reading lots of books off my To Be Read shelf this year, I am also trying to do more listening.  As the mom of a HS student who doesn't have a license yet, I spend lots of time in the car.  His school is 20+ min from home and he plays multiple sports.  Let's just say I'm in the car a lot.  I have decided to try to listen to audiobooks when driving.  Additionally, I have tried to download books that I only allow myself to listen to while working out.  This, plus only binge watching certain shows, gives me incentive to get on the treadmill/elliptical or walk the track for longer than I would otherwise.

Right now I am listening to





Wizard : the life and times of Nikola Tesla : biography of a genius  by Marc J. Seifer

I think this will end up covering the requirement for a subject I know nothing about.  I will not finish this one too quickly as I have to return the book to the library because someone has a hold but I will get it right back after their loan period so shouldn't be too long til I finish.













Additionally, I received the free Audible for the book Let's Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris.  This is the 7th book in the series about Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries.  This is the first book in this series I have read, although I have watched many of the episodes on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.  So far it is entertaining.

I am planning to sign up for the daily emails from Chirp to seek out deals on the books for future use in case they are not available at the Library.

Back from vacay and got a few books read

Although I spent the time between 12/29 and 1/3 at Universal Studios Orlando, I did manage to get a bit of reading in while there.  I managed to start and finish 2 cozies while there, thus completing 2 books on the Cruising through cozies challenge.  I also began reading the Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff which is definitely keeping my interest.  I will certainly finish it in the next day or so.


The first book of 2020 I read was Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs.  This is the most recent addition to her Cackleberry Club series.  It is set at Christmas time and centers around the small town activities  of at Christmas such as the local actors' production of a Christmas Carol and the Cafe's Christmas Tea.  As always there were several twists and suspicions cast on various parties.  The guilty party was pretty much a surprise to me, although when revealed it is a very logical party, just not one you had any real clue was the murderer.

Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs  (Cackleberry Club #8)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Always a fun and quick read to hear about the events at the Cackleberry Cafe. This one had some fun twists and turns based around the Christmas happenings in Kindred, TN. Lots of old characters return in the storyline. The guilty party was a bit of a surprise. Enjoyable light read as always


View all my reviews

The second book which I read in a single day thanks to a flight home from Orlando was Three Widows and a Corpse by Debra Sennefelder.  This is the 3rd installment in her food blogger mysteries about Hope Early.  You can find my full review of the book here on Good reads.

Three Widows and a Corpse by Debra Sennefelder  (Food Blogger #3)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is always enjoyable to read about Hope Early and her adventures in Jefferson, CT. I enjoy the relationships she has with the different generations of characters from her older friend, Jane, to her relationship with her sister, Clare. The developing story line with her frenemy Meg and her new friendship with Kitty are always interesting to read as well. I did figure out who was the guilty party but Ms. Sennefelder did a good job of keeping the reader guessing through most of the story throwing lots of possible suspects into the mix.

The story had several twists and turns and it is always fun to read the descriptions of her blogging and food photography. The included recipes always sound yummy, even if I will probably never try them.

All in all a fun cozy mystery.


View all my reviews