Review: Death on Tap

Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

wonderful first in a new series. I enjoyed how strong of a MC Sloan is. Her back story is intriguing and will provide fodder for side storylines throughout the series if i had to guess. The mystery is full of possible suspects and it wasn't obvious who the guilty party was until the very end of the story. Beer lovers will enjoy all the details of brewing and flavor profiles. There is a large amount of detail on the German town of Leavenworth, WA included as well so those interested in Germanic details will enjoy those tidbits. I look forward to the next installment in the series to see how Sloan's life evolves.

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General Tracking Challenges

 Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  # 34  

Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023  #    33

TBR 25 in 25  #38

Back List Reader  #Backlistreader   # 34

Genre Specific

Cruisin thru Cozies  Free Choice #13

Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal   #      30

Craving for Cozies   #CravingCozies  #  24 

Six Shooter Challenge    Shot # 5

Medical Examiner Challenge-   1 Toe Tags

Prompt Based Challenges

Cover Lovers   #  50. A flag, pennant, or banner

 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2024  #  13) Title is ten letters or less

Board Game Prompts   #  37. Rummikub Face on the cover

Beat the Backlist  #BeatTheBacklist   # 37 silhouette on the cover

HP Professions   #  33 Leaky cauldron.  Bar/pub

Nerd Daily #thenerddaily #nerdreading2024 #  25 Book you've been putting off:

Pick your Poison    #69  Cheers: A book set in a bar

Monthly Criteria

Connect 5  challenge  Jan  Feb  Mar Book 3

Review: Pleading the Fish

Pleading the Fish by Bree Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fabulous ending to a fun series. The mystery was well constructed and I never suspected the guilty party. The story wrapped up the relationship between Everly and Grady. The epilogues provided a cool way to finish the stories and learn of their futures.

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General Tracking Challenges

 Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  #   33 

Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023  #  32  

TBR 25 in 25  #37

Back List Reader  #Backlistreader   # 33

Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  Islands

Finishing the Series  #FinishingTheSeries2025    yes

Finishing the Series travel theme  #FinishingTheSeries2025     yes

Genre Specific

What an Animal     #19

Cruisin thru Cozies  Free Choice #12

Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal   #  29    

Craving for Cozies   #CravingCozies  #   23

Six Shooter Challenge    Shot # 3

Medical Examiner Challenge-   8 Toe Tags

Prompt Based Challenges

Around the Year in 52 Books    #  4. A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld

HP Professions   #  30 Curse breaking-Includes the breaking of a curse or a cycle

PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge    #  16 Set in or around a body of water

Pick your Poison    #  50 A book by an author whose name is an occupation

Read with Allison  #readwithallison2025     #  46 Book you've been putting off:

Monthly Criteria

Monthly Motif #motifreadingchallenge⁠   APR- “Spring Cleaning”

Review: The Next Deadly Chapter

The Next Deadly Chapter by V.M. Burns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

always enjoyable

The series is so much fun especially given there are 2 mysteries within each book due to the books being written as part of the plot. In this book we meet the future mother in law. The meeting of the family is a common theme between the main book and the novel and its subplot. The crazy supporting cast is as crazy as ever and make a fun set of detectives I love how the series gives older protagonists a strong role


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General Tracking Challenges

 Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  #   32

Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023  #31   

 Literary Escapes  (Destination)  MI

Alphabet Soup #AlphabetSoupChallenge   N

Finishing the Series  #FinishingTheSeries2025    y

Finishing the Series travel theme  #FinishingTheSeries2025  y   

Genre Specific

Bookish Books challenge   #    11

What an Animal     # 18

Cruisin thru Cozies  Free Choice #11

Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal   # 28     

Craving for Cozies   #CravingCozies  #   22

Six Shooter Challenge    Shot # 2

Medical Examiner Challenge-  1 Toe Tags

Marathon Challenge- 273

Prompt Based Challenges

Let's Play Cards  # black or red on cover

 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2024  #  4) Title starts with letter “N”

Around the Year in 52 Books    #  11. A book set in a fictional location

Board Game Prompts   #  44. Sorry A book you wish you hadn't read

Bookworm    #  33 Read a book with a title that starts with the letter "N."

BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenchallenge25 # 45  2025 new release

Beat the Backlist  #BeatTheBacklist   #17 companion novel

Nerd Daily #thenerddaily #nerdreading2024 #  47 #ownvoices: 

Pick your Poison    #  48 A book cover that reminds you of one of the seven deadly sins

Chapter Break Bingo Mar 25

  We’re starting a new feature here on Chapter Break to play a little bookish BINGO! We’ll have a new card each month and the goal is to get the most squares filled in, blackout style.

Rules:

• You may use the same book to fill multiple squares
• You must have read (finished) the book in that month to count for that particular month’s card

Share your bingo card at the end of each month and list the of books you used to fill in each of the squares. Link up your post and we’ll plug the winner for each month’s bingo card. For funsies, we’ll also do a quarterly raffle for all participants.

Chapter Break Bingo  Jan   Feb 

Row 1:

• Column 1:  Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25
• Column 2:   A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/23/25
• Column 3: Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25
• Column 4: Love from Paddington (Paddington #14) by Michael Bond
•  Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/11/25
• Column 5:  A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/23/25

Row 2:

• Column 1:  Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25
• Column 2:   
• Column 3: A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/23/25
• Column 4: A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/23/25
• Column 5:  Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25

Row 3:

• Column 1:  Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25
• Column 2:   The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/25
• Column 3: Free Space
• Column 4: 
• Column 5:  Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25

Row 4:

• Column 1:  
• Column 2:   
• Column 3: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/25
• Column 4: Silent Nights are Murder (Poppy McAllister #9 ) by Libby Klein
•  Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/18/25
• Column 5:  The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/25

Row 5:

• Column 1:  
• Column 2:   
• Column 3:  The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/25
• Column 4: Strangled Eggs and Ham (Country Store Mysteries, #6) by Maddie Day
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/5/25
• Column 5:   The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 3/31/25

Review: The Paradise Problem

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

a romance with layers of emotions

This book is definitely a more graphic romance than the other Christina Lauren books I’ve read but it still filled with characters they inspire emotional responses from me. There are those you love and want to succeed and those that are easy to despise. This book definitely looks at the social classes and examines the way some with money become entitled while others are more grounded. The island wedding feels like something right out of Crazy Rich Asians and makes me want to travel to Indonesia right now. The premise of the story is somewhat cliche but you cannot help root for Anna and Liam to find their happily ever after

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General Tracking Challenges

 Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  #   31

Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023  #    31

 Literary Escapes  (Destination) Indonesia

Prompt Based Challenges

 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2024  #  7)  Genre Two: Set in Summer

Bookworm    #  32 Read a book set in a country you've been to

BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenchallenge25 #  49 Romance

Beat the Backlist  #BeatTheBacklist   # 10 beyond your perspective

Nerd Daily #thenerddaily #nerdreading2024 #  41 Thriller or romance:

PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge    #  27 Set at luxury resort

Pick your Poison    #  A book you wouldn't recommend to a child 

Reporters Challenge   WHERE – Set in a fictional place you would love to live

Read with Allison  #readwithallison2025     #  12 By two authors:

Creative Tracking Challenges

Picture Bingo    Row #4  Column #3  15. A stylized sun with a human face

Chapter Book Bingo  Jan   Feb  Mar

Row 3: sacrifice

Row 4: betrayal; not fantasy

Row 5: not in a series; free book

Monthly Criteria

Diversify your reading #DYRC25   Mar  Contemporary Fiction

Beyond the Bookends 25

 

Hosted by Jackie and Kirsten on the blog BeyondtheBookends.  

1. January – Read a Book Being Adapted to the Screen
• Dog Man (Dog Man #1) by Dav Pilkey
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/24/25
2. February – Read a Second Chance Story
   • Check out Second Chance Romances
3. March – Read a Middle Grade Fantasy
4. April – Read a Book Set in Hollywood
   • Check out Hollywood Novels or Old Hollywood Novels
5. May – Read a Young Adult Book
6. June – Read a Nonlinear Narrativex
7. July- Read a Book with a Food in the Titlex
8. August – Read an Epistolary Novel
9. September – Read a High School Novel
   • Check out High School Romance Books or Books Set in High School
10. October – Read a Mythology Story
    • Check out Mythology Books or Greek Mythology Retellings
11. November – Read a Book with a Neurodivergent Character
12. December – Read a Cozy Mystery

Review: A Girl Like Us

A Girl Like Us by Anna Sophia McLoughlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A thrilling debut The characters are equally part fascinating and despicable. It’s hard to decide if you like or despise them. The main character reminds me of a character from the Holks or other scripted reality shows. The glamour of marrying into a family loosely like the Murdochs is offset by the sinister unknown. The twists and turns are amazing and are not all saved for the end. Bomb shells are revealed throughout the novel. I was sad when it ended

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General Tracking Challenges

 Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  #   30

Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023  #    30

Genre Specific

Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal   #   27   

Medical Examiner Challenge-  5 Toe Tags

Marathon Challenge- 426

Prompt Based Challenges

Cover Lovers   #  34. a piece of jewelry

 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2024  #  43)  Explores social class

BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenchallenge25 # 36 5 star read

Beat the Backlist  #BeatTheBacklist   # 12 can’t be trusted

Nerd Daily #thenerddaily #nerdreading2024 #  1 2025 release:

Pick your Poison    #  14 A book about switching places

Read with Allison  #readwithallison2025     #43  Genre: Thriller:

TBR Scavenger Hunt #9 a new release

Creative Tracking Challenges

Chapter Book Bingo  Jan   Feb  Mar

Row 1:  Assassin;  library book

Row 2: read an ebook;  tragic back story