Egg Drop Dead

 This is the 5th book in the Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien.   I always enjoy reading about Lana Lee and her crazy family.   Lana has a knack for stumbling into crime scenes and then having her curiosity suck her into the investigation.  In this case she is called upon by Donna Feng to help investigate what occurred at her birthday party which Lana was catering.   

Character development continues to be a strength of the series and many of the players from previous books reappear in this story as well.  Lana's relationship with her roommate, Megan and her friend, Kimmy, play a central role in this story. We also see Pete again in his role as chef and a "brother" to Lana. We get a glimpse at her growing romance with Adam.  Their relationship is shown to be strong when a  person from Lana's past reappears and causes her to be anxious.  Everyone needs an Adam in their corner.  

All in all this was a great cozy mystery and I cannot wait for the series to continue.

Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Continue to love this series. Lana Lee is a great character and her adventures are fun and nerve wracking. Cannot wait to read more in the series 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 89
2. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge "V"
3. Finishing the Series-  #FinishingTheSeries2020   up on the Noodle Shop mysteries as of Aug 20
4. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  76
5. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice 25
6. Medical Examiner-  1 Toe Tag 
7. Six Shooter- new target # 33

Danger at the Dive Shack

 

Reading this cozy by Donna Amis Davis made me want to travel back to Palawan in the Philippines all over again.  I had the opportunity to visit there in 2013 and it was beautiful.  I would love to go back there and spend an extended period of time there.  At the time I visited I didn't know how to Scuba but now I am certified and would love to dive there.  The snorkeling was amazing so I can only imagine our spectacular the diving is there.  

The resort that Shelby and Jesse are staying at reminds me of the location we visited for the day.  Davis' writing captures the laid back spirit of the area and absolutely portrays the Filipino people as the wonderful, friendly culture they are.   The mystery that surrounds the Shelby was well written and leaves your trying to solve the mystery along with her.  The character development of her growing circle of friends is well done and makes the reader wish they could join in on the coffee chats they have.  The emotions and vulnerability Shelby experiences are realistic and I could easily envision feeling that same way if I was in a new home trying to meet new friends.

I cannot wait to read more in the series.  I highly recommend this book if you are at all a beach person and a lover of a good group of girlfriends.    

Danger at the Dive Shack by Donna Amis Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

A great cozy mystery. Loved the characters of Shelby and Jesse. It is fun to read about her budding friendship with the ladies she meets in Palawan. The characters are easy to relate to and feel very much like real people. The mystery was a good one with several twists

This book really intrigued me as I am a recent PADi certified diver and I became even more excited when I read it was set in Palawan. I have visited and cannot wait to return someday. 
I look forward to reading more in the series 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Literary Escapes-  Philippines
2. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  75
3. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice 24
4. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
5. Six Shooter- new target 32

Murder in the English Countryside

 

This is the first book in the Murder on Location series by Sara Rosett.  I have previously read works by Sara Rosett from her Mom Zone series.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Kate Sharp who is a movie location scout who happens to be a Jane Austen aficionado.  The level of description in the story was a perfect balance.  Enjoy details to let the reader visualize the scenery and envision it as a setting for a movie based around Pride and Prejudice but not so much detail that you lose interest in the story.   

Kate is an endearing character and you cannot help but like her.  She is very relatable and you feel as though her feelings and emotions are ones you would personally experience if you were in her place.  The mystery portion of the story was a nice mix of clues and red herrings to keep the reader guessing until the end.

I cannot wait to read more in the series and I am tempted to go read Pride and Prejudice as well.  

Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Charming English cozy

This is the first in the location scout series. Enjoyable characters with a nice dose of description of the countryside. This book is especially appealing if you are an Austen fan, particularly Pride and Prejudice. The book has great character development and a guilty party that is believable but not obvious 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

Possible prompts

I will decide as the year goes along which prompts I use it for on several challenges since it meets multiple criteria within the challenge.

1. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  74
2. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice 23
3. Medical Examiner-  1 Toe Tag 
4. Six Shooter- new target 31
5. Mystery Bingo: 
   • Red Herring :  Inquest held

Rescued by a Kiss

 This is a fun and quirky book by Colleen Mooney that is the first in a series called New Orleans Go Cup.  It is part mystery, part romance and funny all around.  There are plenty of dog loving moments and you cannot help but smile at Brandy's love for Schnauzers.  There are some pretty funny laugh out loud moments and even the drama/crime piece of the story is down played.  The heart of the story is the characters and their interactions.  They feel like real people with real life relationships and the ups and downs that go with them.   I really enjoyed them and cannot wait to read more in the series. 

Rescued By A Kiss by Colleen Mooney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

I enjoyed reading this first book in the series and plan to read more. There were parts of the story that were a little annoying. Mooney writes the book in a manner that is similar to having a high speed conversation. At times things are bit too staccato and make it difficult to follow the writing. But it is definitely a fast paced story with interesting characters.

I enjoyed the interactions of the characters. Brandy, the main protagonist, her friends, Suzanne and Julia, are all quite entertaining. The whole story of how she meets Jiff and the ensuing chaos and drama is quite crazy but fun to read. The story is part mystery, part romance and just pure fun. Oh yeah there's lots of cute Schnauzers so what's not to love about that. There are some outlandish scenes in some Bourbon St clubs that make for fun reading. I look forward to reading more in the series. 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:

1. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  73
2. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice 22
3. Six Shooter- new target #30
4. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #44 recommended by Amazon
5. Monthly Keyword-  #MonthlyKeyWordChallenge-  Kiss

Next Level Basic

 I selected this book by Stassi Schroeder on a whim just to see what she had to say.  I admit I have watched a few episodes of Vanderpump Rules.  It is kind of a like a car wreck you cannot help but look to see what is up and then it sucks you in.  

Stassi writes like she is having a conversation with her girlfriends.  It sounds a lot like she is when she's on the reality show.   Overall it is a decent book with some definite light humor mixed into her message to be true to yourself.  She basically divides the book into sections about dating, clothing, makeup, social media, food and drinking advice.  She is all about finding what you like and owning it versus just doing stuff to go with the flavor of the day.  I will say it fits with her personality as it comes out on the TV show.   She speaks her mind and stands by it.   Her book definitely comes off less shallow than her presence on TV does at times.  

Overall the book was enjoyable, it definitely made me glad I am past the 20 something social scene and dating.   It also reinforced why I was happy to leave CA and the superficiality of so many people there. I'll take the Midwest any day, not that there aren't fake people here, just seems like less of them.  

Next Level Basic: The Definitive Basic Bitch Handbook by Stassi Schroeder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

This is an enjoyable book that sheds some deeper light onto Stassi Schroeder. She basically advises her readers to own their choices and to do/be things because that is what you want and it makes you happy not because others say that is what you should do. This book made her seem less shallow than she often seems on Vanderpump Rules 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #88
2. Book List Queen #52 self improvement book
3. Wizarding World Tour  possible categories
• Uagadou:  self help book
4. Memoir    #26  greater than 300 pages (works for others as well)

The Woman in Cabin 10

 So,  I have to admit this book kept me up way to late into the night to finish reading it.   I just had to know how it ended.  It was very worth the lack of sleep.   

This was the first book I had read by Ruth Ware and I was a bit worried it would be over rated since so many people have been talking and writing about it.   I am glad it wasn't.   

Ware does a masterful job at weaving the story and clues through out but the ending is quite a shock. The story is told in such a manner that you feel all the stress and anxiety that the main character, Lo, is feeling.   It is easy to believe her but to also readily understand how others doubt the situation as she presents it.  

At first I wasn't totally sure about the opening scenes and their relevance to the story.  Upon finishing the book I think there might have even been more to the apparent random nature of the incident.   Given a similar experience by another prospective guest, I wonder if it is just truly a coincidence or was actually part of the bigger plan to ensure an empty stateroom aboard.  

This story is definitely similar to an Agatha Christie locked room scenario and Ware does a wonderful job of using the closed environment to create suspense and fear.   That being said, she has enough twists to keep you on edge and makes it more pyschological thriller thus keeping the reader from feeling it is too formulaic.    I look forward to reading more of her works in the future.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

This book is intense all the way through to the end. The story weaves so many threads and events that generate suspicion on the different passengers and also call into question our narrator, Lo. There is a pretty dramatic surprise that continues to build into more twists. The book seems to wrap up the story but then you cannot help but wonder if there is still more plotting going on. 

Ware tells a story that creates such suspense and drama that you cannot help but feel much of the anxiety and frustration that Lo experiences. All in all the character development and plot are very well written and there is enough of a twist to not feel formulaic 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #87
2. Literary Escapes-  Norway
3. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book  #72
4. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
5. Six Shooter- new target #29
6. Mystery Bingo: 
   • Clues:  lipstick
7. Around the Year in 52 Books- #3 prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
8. Book List Queen #50 book you saw someone reading
9. TBR Book #48  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon

Under a Summer Sky

 This was a wonderful novel by Nan Rossiter.  It has been sitting on my Kindle Unlimited feed for quite a while now.  I finally decided to read it for my Around the Year challenge to read books with binary opposites in the titles.  I must admit I was expecting a beach read and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the characters and the spiritual content included in the novel.   There were definitely some hard hitting events in the book, but it felt like a story that most people could relate to in some aspect or another.  At its heart it's a book about family and the everyday aspects of life but also the major challenges and events we encounter as part of life as well.  It reflected on how different events effect different people. 
I also felt it did a wonderful job of addressing faith and how people's belief and trust in God can be shaken when bad things happen.   There were several sermons given by Noah Coleman, the father, who is a pastor.   He discussed how we can reconcile the seemingly bad things in life with having faith and still believing there is a God.  All in all the religious component was an aspect of the story, but was not so much so that it was the constant aspect of the book.  Basically it was intertwined nicely. 
As an added bonus, Grandpa Coleman had a tradition of reciting poetry.  Therefore, there are several poems contained within the text and this allowed me to check off a prompt in my  52 books in 52 weeks  challenge.
This book turns out to be part of a series written by Rossiter so I plan to go back and read the first book , The Gin and Chowder Club, which is about Noah's grandparents and his father, Asa. 

Under a Summer Sky by Nan Rossiter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Very touching.story

This novel is a heartwarming story about fami!y and faith. At its heart is the message to be a part of daily living. Life has its ups and downs but God is there to love and support is through it all. The story follows the Coleman family through the course of a summer preparing for a family wedding. Rossiter weaves a wonderful story about this family of 7 and their love for each other and their extended family. It is an emotional roller coaster at times.but all in all a wonderful read 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are: 

1. Around the Year in 52 Books- #38 A pair of binary opposites
2. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #33 a book containing poetry
3. Book List Queen #47 you own but haven't read
4. While I was Reading #7 on your shelf for more than a year