Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America Book Review

Title: Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America


Author: Matt Kracht

Genre: Nonfiction, Bird Guide, Humor,

Plot: Birds are beautiful intelligent creatures who provide us with hours of entertainment in various forms. At least, that is what die-hard bird enthusiasts want us to believe. In reality, birds are jerks and in this hilarious field guide, Matt Kracht explains why with very colorful language and pictures.

We'll meet such classics as the White-Breasted Butt Nugget and the Bland Sparrow. Each bird belongings to its own unique group, such as Lump, Long-Legs or Murder Birds. And all of them have their own unique and noisy call as well as annoying habits and migratory patterns. So settle down and prepare to look at birds in a whole new light.

Likes/Dislikes: This book is a riot to read! Sprinkled with plenty of dry humor, sarcastic commentary and adult language, this is a field guide for every bird enthusiast and their bored partner. While reading it, I showed it to my husband (the bird enthusiast) who then proceeded to read almost the whole thing while laughing. I think it passed the test. My favorite are the Murder Birds.

Rating: PG-16 and up, for language.

Date Review Written: January 24th, 2019

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.

Restaurant Weeks Are Murder Book Review

Title: Restaurant Weeks Are Murder


Author: Libby Klein

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Murder Mystery, Food Competition, Romance, Sequel,

Plot: Poppy McAllister is busy opening a cozy little Bed and Breakfast on Jersey Shore with her aunt Ginny while baking delicious gluten-free and other Paleo treats with her Italian boyfriend Gia in his little shop. Thus her hands are quite full, but she still agreed to join her ex-fiance Tim and his assistant in an intense cooking competition meant to boost his restaurant's publicity.

In a convenient twist of fate, the four celebrity judges and two chatty hosts end up staying in Poppy's little b&b for the intense competition week. This gives her some handy publicity as well as some insider clues as to everyone's personalities. On day one, sparks are flying with ingredient sabotage. This only escalates into fist-fights, equipment sabotage and finally, cold-blooded murder. Who could possibly committed such a cruel crime and is anyone else in danger?

Likes/Dislikes: This is a sequel and throws us into the chaos at the beginning, so several characters aren't clearly introduced but we are expected to just roll with them. It was an easy read that had a big enough pool of suspects to keep me guessing while not overwhelming with all the different characters to keep track of. I loved the use of accents to help differentiate the characters. I don't like love triangles though and the cliffhanger was very frustrating, but it added an extra element to the story which was nice. It was hard to tell how old Poppy is. And I loved her aunt Ginny and her cat; they were a riot! All in all, a very entertaining and humorous story. I'm definitely going to look up the prequels now.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for content (hints of affairs, nothing graphic)

Date Review Written: January 24th, 2019

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 in the above review are my own.

Cherry Scones And Broken Bones Book Review

Title: Cherry Scones And Broken Bones


Author: Darci Hannah

Genre: Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Food, Bed and Breakfast, Murder Mystery, Romance, Sequel,

Plot: Whitney went from high powered and stressed out advertising executive to cherry baker and running her family bed and breakfast. All it took for this drastic change of pace was a painfully misplaced ad during the Super Bowl and murder. Now she's firmly settled into a nice baking routine and there are now guests in the b&b, thanks to her advertising skills and price slashing techniques.

To further boost their publicity, celebrated portrait artist Silvia Lumiere has booked a room for the whole summer. She comes every year to spend the summer painting and mingling with the locals who all adore her or simply tolerate her, depending on their personality. While Whitney has high hopes, these quickly evaporate under the never-ending stream of complaints and verbal abuse heaped on her by Silvia.

When Silvia turns up dead, no one is really too surprised. But Whitney must work to clear her name and save the reputation of her little bed and breakfast while she still can.

Likes/Dislikes: This is a sequel and reads like one in several places but can fully stand on its own just fine. I was able to meet all the characters, pick up on the backstory and enjoy this mystery without becoming confused or spoiling the first mystery (which is excellent because now I want to go read it!). The formatting was a bit off and several words were only half there so some translating was required but this will be fixed in editing before publishing, I'm sure of it. One minor annoying thing was that Jack's hair was described as ginger in the first half and then cinnamon in the second half; which color is it supposed to be? During another scene, everyone wades in waist deep water. It is only after doing this that a character decides he needs to completely strip before swimming back to the boat. Other than those little things, this was an excellent book and I look forward to more cherry delights!

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for content (lots of talk of sexual harassment from an older female character but nothing graphic)

Date Review Written: January 24th, 2019

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.

Six Cats A Slayin Book Review

Title: Six Cats A Slayin


Author: Miranda James

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Christmas, Cats,

Plot: Charlie Harris has a nice routine down with a cozy schedule. He and his fluffy Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are getting set to rock Christmas and settle in for the holidays. But they weren't expecting a basket full of new arrivals for the holidays. With curious kittens wandering the house in need of a permanent home, Charlie doesn't think he needs anything else on his plate right now.

But when curiosity over the suspicious new neighbor turns deadly, Charlie and his friends find themselves knee-deep in a murder mystery. And all he wanted to do was a nice quiet Christmas and enjoy his new grandbaby.

Likes/Dislikes: I gave this book a really good try but the writing had a disjointed jarring feel to it and the conversations between the characters were all clipped and short. I really enjoyed the references to other books I've read and the adorable little kittens, but I don't think Charlie and I will be solving any mysteries together for awhile.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for reading level.

Date Review Written: January 19th, 2019

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

God Bless Our Christmas Book Review

Title: God Bless Our Christmas


Author: Hannah C. Hall

Genre: Christian, Children, Christmas, Series, Animals, Board Book

Plot: Christmas comes only once a year. With all the anticipation, sometimes we can get a little too wrapped up in waiting for it and then enjoying to remember what it is supposed to be about. So here is a little book to help with that.

From the polar bear family to a fluffy little owl, each family gives thanks for their own special Christmas day as well as the greatest gift of all. From gift wrapping with care to snow angels and hot cocoa with friends and baking delicious cookies with grandma, Christmas is a magical time for everyone.

Likes/Dislikes: This is an adorable book and my kids loved it! My only complaints are that on the very first page, a line is written in red ink and then highlighted in white to make it look special but it just makes it hard to read, and the whole story takes place on Christmas day rather than having a couple of pages leading up to it. But all in all, adorable and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Rating: G-all ages

Date Review Written: January 8th, 2019

The Devoted Life Journal Book Review

Title: The Devoted Life: A Creative Devotional Journal


Author: Marjorie Jackson

Genre: Christian, Nonfiction, Journal, Devotional, Spiritual, Creative, Self-Help,

Plot: The market for devotionals is a very large one. We can search and find just about any type of devotional for every walk we might find ourselves on. There are devotionals for teen guys and girls, young adults, senior adults, kids, moms, for busy people, for the dark days of our lives, for gratitude and many other areas of life. Some of these devotionals come with built-in spaces for journaling our thoughts - usually just a few lines at the end of the chapter. Some come with companion journals but that is an extra purchase.

Enter Marjorie Jackson's little creation. Here we have, in a gorgeous dusty rose faux leather cover, a complete devotional journal. There are thirty-one sections with their own unique cover picture for us to color followed by a brief story or encouraging thoughts. Then come the fun journal prompts. After that comes another hand-drawn picture for us to fill in. At the back of the journal are some creative pages for us to do with as we please. And finally, what journal isn't complete with a lovely ribbon marker to keep our place?

Likes/Dislikes: I love journals. I have something of an addiction to smelling them, touching their gorgeous blank pages whispering of potential and hunting down the loveliest covers. So getting a hold of this extra special journal was a must for me. I really like the journal/coloring book combo that is going on here; it is unique and really makes me want to color all the pictures in. The introduction was admittedly two pages too long in my opinion and I feel like the space for each journal prompt is not enough. I like the 365 Questions journals even though the spaces are tiny in those, but I wanted longer journaling space with this. All in all, lovely but not really the journal for me.

Rating: G-all ages, geared more toward teens and adults.

Date Review Written: January 5th, 2019

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.