Murders And Metaphors Book Review

Title: Murders and Metaphors


Author: Amanda Flower

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Bookshop, Sequel, Winter,

Plot: Violet Waverly does not like winter and January in the Niagara Falls region is known for harsh and bitterly cold winters. Since she can't spend the cold season curled up indoors with a book, she helps her grandma Daisy run their magical bookshop while she secretly cares for the magical tree living inside the bookshop. On top of that, she sits in on the local writing group and teaches two days a week at the nearby college while procrastinating on her dissertation.

So it would seem that her hands are pretty full. Throw in a murder and now Violet is busier than ever. Charming Books and the Mortons' vineyard cooperate to host a book signing for local celebrity author Belinda; but when Belinda is found dead, old wounds reopen and Violet must dig deep to prove that her friend is not the killer. And this time, the bookshop's hints are not very helpful at all.

Likes/Dislikes: This is the third book in an enchanting series which I've just discovered. It is obviously a sequel but stands well on its own without confusing the newbie reader or spoiling any previous mysteries. It is also very unique. The bookshop is magic with the books flying around and popping up in odd places, there is a talking crow and an adorable kitty cat. The chief of police is a Native American which is not something we see everyday and the author is a Christian which is rare where murder mysteries and magic are concerned. I loved it! I would've picked someone else as the killer because it felt too obvious to me but the whole mystery kept me intrigued and following along happily. While the idea of the bookshop trying to help and using Little Women to provide clues was neat, I felt that it ultimately distracted from the whole mystery and did nothing to provide any clues at all. A different book would've been a better choice. All in all, a good mystery.

Rating: PG-14 and up,mainly for content (it's a murder mystery)

Date Review Written: February 1st, 2019

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

Pie Hard Book Review

Title: Pie Hard

Author: Kirsten Weiss

Genre: Murder Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Food, TV Reality, Sequel

Plot: Val Harris has her own little cozy pie shop that is doing well. It's not going to make her rich anytime soon but she's not living on the street either and has employees so that's a plus. She lives in a little converted shipping container and her landlady is her friend and employee, Charlene. Together they form Baker Street Bakers and stick their noses into trouble whenever trouble comes around. Detective Grumpy Cop supports her meddling - with the argument that she needs a PI license first.

Val has her hands full when Charlene surprises her with a reality TV crew to film their little pie shop for their show, Pie Hard. Uncertain but lured in with the promise of publicity, Val reluctantly goes along with the scheme. When producer Regina turns up dead, Val decides that TV reality might not be so hot for business after all.

Likes/Dislikes: A pie shop isn't something you hear about every day and a murder mystery with a reality tv crew always sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, this mystery never quite gripped me like previous mysteries. I didn't feel connected to or interested in the characters (I don't really know how old they are or what they look like either). And I really would've had Maureen be the killer because it would've stumped my husband. But I liked the pies and the recipes at the back of the book and I liked Grumpy Cop (whose name eludes me because of reasons), and I thought it was a well-constructed mystery that kept me guessing till the end. It just won't top my favorites list.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for content (it's a murder mystery).

Date Review Written: February 1st, 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.

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.