Violeta

 Violeta by Isabel Allende was a selection for my book club this year and it fit several prompts for different challenges perfectly.  This was my first book by Allende and I will be reading more works by her in the future for sure.  Overall I really liked the way she combines character development and story action.  My only real complaint was the ending of the book felt as though she was throwing as many possible social issues into the story as possible rather than sticking to the main plotline that centered around the Chilean political uprising and the general US involvement in Latin American politics.  The story is an amazing saga of the family and all it underwent over the course of Violetta's lifetime.  

Violeta by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

fantastic epic historical novel

This is such a beautiful mix of description and characters. The history of Chile and S America that is revisited in this novel is an astonishing reminder of how much has changed in the world and how often it repeats in a different manner. The only reason I did not give this 5 stars is the last portion felt as though all the faults in the world had to be thrown into the storyline/Violeta’s reflection letter. It just felt a bit contrived at that point whereas the rest of the book had felt authentic without lecturing til then. I am glad I went back and finished this book after having begun earlier in the year


View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #  101 
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Chile
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #125
4. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #13
5. Around the Year in 52 Books # 38. A book by a Latin American author
6. BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2022  # 23. A Book Everyone is Talking About 
7. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  #30 translated to your native language
8. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2022 #21 a book you never finished 
9. Pick your Poison #97 a book about a pandemic
10. Beyond the Bookends  December- Read a family drama
11. Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  December: Books Spanning Multiple Continents
12. Diversify your reading #DYRC22  Dec Historic Fiction
13. Lifetime of Reading  multi generational
14. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022  #5 hiking

A Pairing to Die For

 A Pairing to Die For is the 2nd installment in the Colorado Wine series by Kate Lansing.  This latest book has a well-developed mystery but its real strength is in the characters relationships.  This story characteristic is very appealing and makes the series very relatable and intriguing.  Wine lovers will especially like this series and may learn something about the winemaking process.  Foodies will also find a few dining references as well but the focus is definitely on wine.  

A Pairing to Die For by Kate Lansing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A cozy that has a well-constructed mystery. In addition to clues that make sense when all are revealed there are some serious family dynamics going in. Both Parker and Reid have some difficulty relating to their family. Reid’s family is just downright dysfunctional and Parker is trying to find her way to gain approval from her mother. Both struggle for acceptance for following their passions and starting their own businesses. Those businesses provide a wonderful backdrop to the story with plenty of delicious recipe descriptions and wine explanations. Overall a great series with complex character relationships that look to have longevity in future books

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book # 91
2. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2022  Series: 49  Book #1
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #111
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #81
5. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #77
6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #104
7. Craving for Cozies  Book #95
8. Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
9. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scene- alley
• Weapon- knife
• Detectives- Parker Valentine
• Victims- Oscar Flores
10. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #49  Shot #2
11. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022 #3 set in a vineyard/wine books
12. Book Voyage  #bookvoyagechallenge  N America

Dead Cert

 Dead Cert is the first book by Dick Francis, written in 1962.  I have read several of his works a long while ago and decided to pick up this one in order to meet some specific timeframe challenge prompts.  I am pleased I made this decision. I really enjoy reading the books set around horse racing.  Francis as a retired jockey and writer has done a wonderful job of capitalizing on both his skills and knowledge.  This book is about  Alan York and is considered a standalone work.   I thought the details about the horse community, horses in general and steeplechase are well incorporated into the story without being too overwhelming.   The mystery itself has lots of layers and intertwines personal relationships with the investigation.  Alan is definitely torn on whether he wants to get to the bottom of what happened to his friend Bill Davidson at times as he is afraid of the guilty party being someone he cares about.  This book is a good balance of character development and action.  Dick Francis captures the stress and adrenaline of a chase and hunt very well and has the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see the outcome.  I look forward to reading more of the books and don't mind rereading the ones I read as I don't remember all the details by any means.

Dead Cert by Dick Francis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always have enjoyed Dick Francis books. I find it interesting to read about the racing world and I am also up for a well written mystery. Francis knows his crafts- writing and horse racing and it shows in his stories. This one has red herrings and a plot full of personal relationships that lead to confusing and suspicion.

View all my reviews

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #58
2. What an Animal Book #38
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #68
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #55
5. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #45
6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #67
7. Craving for Cozies  Book #62
8. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
9. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scene- horse track
• Weapon- wire; knife
• Detectives- Alan York
• Victims- Bill Davidson;  Joe N  
10. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 86 Shot #1
11. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #27 Includes a map
12. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2022 #44 released before you were born
13. Pick your Poison #79 a book set within 10 years of your birth
14. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022 6 set in Mexico
15. Century challenge  1960s

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

 I will admit time travel/ sci fi novels are not generally my cup of tea (or in this case coffee) but I was pleasantly surprised by Before the Coffee Gets Cold.  I think it is because it was more speculative fiction versus fantasy sci fi.  The character development and the intricacies with which they overlap was wonderfully constructed.  Thus, my first 5 star review of the year.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

amazing story striking an array of emotions

This book is one that definitely gets the reader thinking. There’s the logical thoughts of how does it work, then the raw emotions of what the characters feel and finally there are philosophical thoughts on life the book stirs up. I thoroughly enjoyed this book even if I did struggle to keep the characters straight as I read it


View all my reviews

 

Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #6
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Japan
3. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  T
4. 2022TBR  #2022ReadingChallenge  # 20 Book originally written in a Foreign Language
5. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  #5 book featuring time travel
6. Around the Year in 52 Books #9. 3 books set on three different continents - Book 2
7. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #23 Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name
8. BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2022  #5. Speculative Fiction
9. Bookworm #14 Read a Speculative Fiction
10. Nancy Drew #1 The Secret of the Old Clock (1930) - read a time travel book
11. Nerd Daily  #NERDREADING2022 #6 NYT bestseller
12. Nerdy Bookworm  #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO #17  A book that makes you think and contemplate life
13. OWLS 22  #1 A book in translation
14. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #39 An #OwnVoices SFF
15. Pick your Poison #22 a book about time travel
16. Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO  y new to you author
17. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2022 time travel
18. 52 books in 52 weeks  #35 Science Fiction
19. Unruly Reader Bingo  #1 timely title

Uncorked Reader

 This is my second year doing this challenge at Uncorked Librarian  It is a monthly prompt based challenge with bonus prompts each month.  They are very good about providing lists for ideas for the prompt.  

 #UncorkedReading2022

January’s Reading Challenge Theme: Time Travel Books

• My selection:  
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 1/23/22

January Uncorked Readers Bonus Challenge: Books we love but critics don’t

Reading List: Best Books For Time Travel Lovers

February’s Reading Challenge Theme: Books set in or about South Africa

• My Idea:  

February Bonus Challenge: Books from your hometown, state, country, or where your ancestors are from

Home state/near hometown  

1. Murder of a Sweet Old Lady by Denise Swanson
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 2/4/22

Reading Lists: Best Books About South Africa & Books Around The World

March’s Reading Challenge Theme: Wine books/Books set on a vineyard

• My Idea:  

March Bonus Challenge: Books with your favorite color in the title

Reading Lists: Best Books About Wine & Books Set On Vineyards

1. A Pairing to Die For (Colorado Wine #2) by Kate Lansing
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 11/6/22

April’s Reading Challenge Theme: Baltic books (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)

• My Idea:  

April Bonus Challenge: Books with your favorite foods

Reading List: Baltic Books To Love

May’s Reading Challenge: Hiking books

• Violeta by Isabel Allende
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 12/9/22

May Bonus Challenge: Books by an author you think you don’t like but have never actually read

June’s Reading Challenge Theme: Books about or set in Mexico

• My Idea:  

June Bonus Challenge: Books by indigenous authors from a continent other than your own

June’s Reading Lists: Best Books About & Set In Mexico

Extra Fun: Top Mexican Films To Teach You More & Take You There

July’s Reading Challenge: Dark academia books (usually set at a prestigious university or boarding school)

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 10/20/22

July Bonus Challenge: Books where you next want to travel

Reading Lists: Books About The World and Books Set On Islands

Extra Fun: Movies Across The Globe

August’s Reading Challenge Theme: Books set in or about Australia

• Death Under The Stars (Murder Mystery Book Club 3) by CA Larmar
• Blog Post and Goodreads Review 12/18/22

August Bonus Challenge: Books that have been sitting in your TBR (to be read) pile for ages

Reading List: Best Australian Books

September’s Reading Challenge Theme – Road Trip Books

• My Idea:  

September Bonus Challenge: Books published in the decade or year you were born

October’s Reading Challenge Theme: Books set somewhere haunted

• My Idea:  

October Bonus Challenge: Books from a nearby Free Little Library, library sale, or you received as a gift

Starter Book List: Seriously Spooky Books

November’s Reading Challenge: Books about or set in Thailand

• My Idea:  

November Bonus Challenge: Book about an inspiring career change that interests you

December’s Reading Challenge: Books set in or about Ecuador

• My Idea:  

December Bonus Challenge: Books set in an environment you’ve never experienced (i.e. jungle, desert, mountain, deserted island, volcanic area)

December’s Reading List: Books About Ecuador To Teach You More

Extra Fun: Ecuador-Set Movies To Watch (coming soon)