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Menampilkan postingan dari Juli, 2020

Death of a Wandering Wolf: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery by Julia Buckley

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Cozy mysteries are my go-to books when I need something in between heavy books or when I just need something that easily grabs my attention and takes me away for a bit. This series has quickly become a favorite of mine after only two books.  Death of a Wandering Wolf is the second in this series by Julia Buckley. I'm a bit bummed that now I'll have to wait for awhile before I can read the third. I may check out a few of her previous series while I wait.  The Hungarian Tea Shop Mysteries center around Hana, her mother and grandmother. They own and operate a tea shop in the suburbs of Chicago. They are Hungarian, and many of the folks that live in the community are also either first or second generation Americans. Their tea shop is pretty popular, and  a big part of their community. There's also the interesting angle of Hana's grandmother: she reads tea leaves with eerie accuracy. And that little gift of magic has also been passed down to Hana-which she's quickly beco

The End of Her by Shari Lapena

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This is the second Shari Lapena novel I've read, and wow! she can really spin a heck of a domestic thriller.  The End of Her is about Patrick and Stephanie, a happily married couple and new parents to twin girls. Patrick is a partner in an architectural company, and Stephanie has left her job to stay home with the girls. Both are struggling with having two colicky babies that don't sleep and cry all the time. Stephanie is so sleep deprived she forgets to shut off the stove, and sometimes leaves the front door wide open. She just can't remember doing those things. There's not enough coffee in the world for her to stay functioning normally. Visits to a pediatrician for help don't really go as planned; the girls' doctor simply says they will stop being colicky sometime, and it will end abruptly. Meanwhile, Stephanie, and Patrick, too, are having major sleep deprivation.  One day, a woman from Patrick's past appears, and threatens to blackmail Patrick if he does

The Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyes

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I've read quite a few of Jojo Moyes' novels and haven't been disappointed in any of them. I have to say, however, The Peacock Emporium fell a bit flat for me. It was a novel I've had on my shelf for about a year, and after clearing off my bookcases, I found it again and added it to my summer reading list. But darn it all, it was a struggle to read and I'm still scratching my head over it after finishing it late tonight.  Reading the back cover, I thought this would be about a delightful young woman running a shop and dealing with a mother who is a bit overbearing. The delightful young woman would find her way by being a successful shop owner, and eventually connect with her mother. That's what I got out of reading the back cover.  Oh heck no, I was waaaay off. Honestly, I spent a lot of my time a bit confused as to where this plot was going. It seemed to be a jumble, as if the author couldn't decide which set of characters to concentrate on, so she tried to

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

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Heather Webber has written more than twenty-five novels-most of them are cozy mysteries and light romances. However, she has found her sweet spot in her previous novel Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe , and her newest novel, South of the Buttonwood Tree. I can't say it strongly enough how much I enjoy novels imbued with magical realism.  This is not a sequel, but a stand alone novel about Blue Bishop and the people she calls family. Set in the small town of Buttonwood, Alabama, Blue is a children's author and illustrator, and has a series of books about a bunny that have made her famous. However, her family name has made her infamous in her hometown. Blue and her sister, Persy are the only two left in the Bishop family; her brothers all died tragically and under unhappy circumstances, her father left the family and died; her mother Twyla willed herself to death after losing her sons and husband. Growing up with little money, the family did what it could to survive-often getting i

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Well, I tried unsuccessfully to put my facebook video on this here blog, but it wouldn't play nice. So, I'm writing my review. If you're interested in my video review of Mexican Gothic, head on over to @Bookaliciousbabe on Facebook to watch it.  So, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's previous novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow , was one of my top reads of 2019. I'm always up for a tale of mythology; I loved mythology as a child, and that love has never faded! Now I'm enjoying the plethora of new novels about so many different cultures and their mythology. Moreno-Garcia takes gothic and puts one heck of a spin on it; I tell people this is gothic horror. And not slasher movie horror, but that horror that seeps into your bones and makes it a little hard to sleep at night.  So, onto a brief plot summary: Noemi is a smart, beautiful, upper class Mexican living the good life in 1950 Mexico City. She's finishing college and having fun attending parties. Her cousin Catalina sends a

The Cold Vanish by Jon Billman

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I stumbled on this book late last week as I was working at the library and knew immediately it was something I had to read. Lucky for me, no one else was waiting for it, so I took it home and spent a large chunk of Saturday reading it, finally finishing it Sunday morning.  Author Jon Billman is a writer for Outside magazine, and started the quest that makes up the bulk of this book while working on a story for the magazine. Jon has written about other people going missing in our national parks and vast wilderness areas, but had no idea just how high the number was until he stared looking deeper into it--and found out no one actually keeps track of this disturbing trend. In April, 2017, Jacob Gray takes off on his heavily packed bike to explore the Olympic National Park. He's got plenty of food, a tent, clothing, and survival gear. Yet his bike is found just one day after he takes off, on the side of the road, with no sign of Jacob. What follows is the heartbreaking frustration his

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

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I'm pretty sure I haven't ever read a Susan Wiggs novel before this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, this novel had me at bookshop (as they all do!) and even though I've had an ARC of this book for months, I finally decided to finish it today, after stopping and starting a few times a few months ago.  I'll confess I was cruising along with my books, and suddenly this past week I hit a wall again. Just couldn't get through anything. So I am glad I picked this back up again, because I hit that magical place in the book that had me focusing in and forgetting about anything for awhile. Even though I didn't do anything for July 4th but stay home and cook out, I was still feeling a bit of a holiday hangover today. After watering my flowers outside and getting laundry started, I was happy to just stay inside and read.  This novel really is a nod to booklovers everywhere. Natalie Harper grew up in a bookstore; her mother Blythe operates a family bookshop in a

We've Made It To July! And Cleaning Out My Bookcases: A Tale of Powering Through an Overwhelming Task

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June came and went like so quickly I'm still thinking it's just mid-June. I had to keep reminding myself today was July 1st. Wow. Pandemic has taken away my sense of time, seasons, and I usually can't remember what day it is on any given day. Every day feels like rinse and repeat.  I spent a few days in June cleaning out my three bookcases and my stacks of books that took up space in my living room, my bedroom, my spare room, and my dining room. I just had to do it. Of course I made a bigger mess and at one point was tempted to just lock my door and drive away to escape, but I stuck it out and after a few days I had pulled through the project. I gave so many bags of books to family--I gave my whole collection of true ghost story books to my niece and my sister; a boxed set of Harry Potter books--the whole series in hardcover (still wrapped in shrink wrap!) to my niece (she is one of the biggest HP fans I know), and lots of books to other family members. Goodwill was sick of