Seven Deadly Zins

Title: Seven Deadly Zins

Author: Nancy J. Parra

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Wine,

Plot: Taylor O'Brian lives in Sonoma County with her aunt at her aunt's vineyard and she has her own business where she arranges tours of vineyards and other interesting sights in her local district. She used to be in advertising in San Francisco but this new chapter in her life seems to suit her considerably better.

That is, until a body is discovered at her friend Tim's vineyard while she is conducting a tour there. Convinced that Tim is innocent, Taylor and her friends team up to clear his name but the mystery deepens as they unearth clues and Taylor begins to wonder just what kind of man her friend really is.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved the cover, the promise of recipes and the idea of a wine themed murder mystery to curl up with. But unfortunately for me, the first couple chapters weren't interesting enough to draw me further in. We get plopped in the middle of a wine tasting room with several characters thrown in and interested fairly well, followed immediately by a seance. I don't do seances. I skip them on TV shows and skim read them in books. And the writing style is first person which is always hard for me to read. At least its not first person present tense. Oh well. The author has numerous other mysteries so maybe one of those will be more to my liking.

Rating: PG-13 and up, it's a murder mystery.

Date Review Written: August 27th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and wasn't required to write a positive review. the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Little Book Of Thanks Book Review

Title: Little Book Of Thanks

Author: Jean Fischer

Genre: Children, Christian, Gratitude, Precious Moments, Board Book, Autumn

Plot: With the changing seasons come cooler weather and a focus on gratitude and being thankful for what we have in life. We can be thankful for the big things like a roof over our heads and the little things like toys to play with and fuzzy socks. The habit of being thankful for what we have is a healthy one and we can start at any time. We are never too young to begin expressing gratitude for what we have.

This adorable board book uses the classic Precious Moments children to illustrate the lesson of being grateful to God for what He has provided us with. Little readers will delight in the pictures and rhyming stories of things they can find in their own little worlds to be grateful for. The perfect book for autumn and the Thanksgiving season.

Likes/Dislikes: This is such a cute little book! I didn't know it was a board book when I saw it but I love that it is one! And Precious Moments are adorable. The words flow really well. My only observation is that it is about six pages too long for the 2 yr. old's attention span but with some practice she will get there.

Rating: G-all ages, highly recommended

Date Review Written: September 25th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Booklook Bloggers for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Emotions Explained With Buff Dudes Book Review

Title: Emotions Explained With Buff Dudes

Author: Andrew Tsyaston

Genre: Fiction, Comics, Art, Humor, Millennial,

Plot: Once we reach adulthood in this day and age, everything is overwhelmingly overwhelming and many of us have a hard time coping with the realities of life on our own. Mondays suck, our job is grudgingly completed each day and someone forgot to buy milk this week. Coffee is our best friend and no one has a name for that weird emotion we're feeling right now.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel and along the way, little spots of humor and stress relief which help us get to the end goal. Enter this humorous and colorful outlook on life and emotions depicted as buff dudes who rule the life of the skinny protagonist. We'll all find something in here which we can clearly relate to.

Likes/Dislikes: I love reading these comics online whenever they show up in my feed so finding a whole book of them in one place was a treat. I'm thinking of buying a copy for my husband. Loved this book.

Rating: PG-13 and up, mainly for content (adult life but pretty clean all things considered).

Date Review Written: August 27th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Decluttering At The Speed Of Life Book Review

Title: Decluttering at the Speed of Life

Author: Dana K. White

Genre: Nonfiction, Organization, Self-Help, Inspirational, Cleaning

Plot: Minimalism is the trend right now and many of us can clearly see why. But for the rest of us, all that open space and lack of stuff feels intimidating, hard to achieve and discouraging when we are surrounded by our clutter. Maybe we've read the books, bought the shiny new containers and thrown out a bag or two of unwanted items but still find ourselves stuck with no floor space and a sense of overwhelming stuff. Maybe we have kids or a shopping addiction.

Regardless of why we have so much stuff, we can agree that we'd like to be a bit more organized and could probably use some tips on how to get to the point in our head where we can actually use the dining table for eating instead of laundry storage. But we don't necessarily want to live on the bare minimum of stuff either. This book is the answer to our struggle. So settle down and start realistically decluttering your life today.

Likes/Dislikes: I read a lot of organizational books, including The Magic of Tidying Up and this particular book held potential for being neat and unique but fell flat, sadly. The only real revolutionary idea it contained was the idea that a container sets a limit on just how much of something you can actually own. Beyond that, it was excruciatingly painful to read because it was so incredibly repetitive. We understand that you had so much stuff that you couldn't live in your house and probably should've been on the hoarders show. Now please stop reminding us every paragraph.

Rating: PG-13 and up, mainly for reading level. It's a nonfiction book on organizing so very clean.

Date Review Written: August 27th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and wasn't required to write a positive review. The opinions in the above review are my own.

A Sherlock Holmes Devotional Book Review

Title: A Sherlock Holmes Devotional

Author: Trisha White Priebe

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Devotional, Spiritual

Plot: In a world filled with devotionals for everyone in every walk of faith at every age and written for every schedule type, there are a few that stand out as unique and this is one of them. Using the classic mysteries which have entertained and fascinated us for over a century, Trisha Priebe delves into the mysteries of God with a detective's enthusiasm and comes up with some surprising insights into our favorite detective as well as some words of truth and encouragement which have stood the test of time.

And since this is such a unique devotional, it is perfect for the novice Sherlock reader and the die-hard fan alike as well as fitting in perfectly with a season of time with the Lord or a unit study on Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian era.

Likes/Dislikes: While I didn't finish this book (I had a baby which can really take away from book reading, sadly), I did enjoy the first half and fully intend to revisit it again. And when my kids are older, I'm going to go all homeschool mom on them and incorporate this into their Sherlock Holmes/Victorian era faze for maximum benefits. I liked how there were new insights into Sherlock which I missed or didn't remember when I read the mysteries. So cool.

Rating: PG-12 and up, mainly for reading level. Geared more toward teens and adults.

Date Review Written: August 24th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and wasn't required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Past Due For Murder Book Review

Title: Past Due For Murder

Author: Victoria Gilbert

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Fairies, Library, Treasure Hunt, Sequel, Series

Plot: Library director Amy Webber has had a busy year landing herself in trouble with one thing after another. She's hoping that this spring things will finally settle down but unfortunately for her, things aren't going according to plan in that regard. Instead, a student mysteriously vanishes for several days following a bonfire and a folklore storytelling session which sparks a resurgence of interest in the local fairy stories. The missing student was involved in a library research program with passionate Professor Mona Raymond who has a beef with a local talented musician who recently lost his girlfriend in a tragic accident.

When the missing student is finally found beside the dead body of Mona Raymond, things get interesting and Amy finds herself involved in yet another murder mystery in her tiny quiet little town, along with boyfriend concerns and someone snooping through her meticulous archives looking for something. What else could possibly land on her plate before the week is out?

Likes/Dislikes: While the first two chapters were completely confusing and introduced a jumble of main characters in a very slap-dash way, the rest of the book was very intriguing. The pace flowed evenly and fairly quickly, the plot was expertly interwoven with town history, Amy's friends and personal life, and the two murder mysteries along with hints of other interesting happenings. While I would've definitely had more description in the first two chapters of all the important main characters and introduced them better than just flinging them at the reader and hoping we sort them out later, all in all I rather enjoyed this book and will definitely look up the prequels as all the hints of the previous mysteries sounded interesting.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for reading level and content (annoying hints of pro-gay and bi characters, murders, some hints at romance but nothing beyond kisses shown).

Date Review Written: August 24th, 2018

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.