January Thaw

Recently I participated in the 41st Midwest Writer's Workshop and had an intensive session with the author of this series. In preparation, I decided to read one of her books in the series and this is the first one that was available at my local library. I believe that this is book 9 of the Murder a Month series that Jess Lourey is writing, but I did not realize that at the time that I read this.

With regards to the novel, I was a little disappointed in it. Maybe if I had started with the first one I would have seen the character growing, etc. For me, I thought that the main character was a little static. She was far less interesting to me than her cohort in crime Mrs. Berns. That old broad was fun and I couldn't help but laugh whenever to came onto the page. Definitely a scene stealer, at least for me. Also, her main character Mira and her boyfriend seemed almost like stock characters in a way. They were way too familiar and were felt type-casted. I would have liked to have had the characters have an idiosyncrasy of some kind that would have made them more interesting.

What I thought that Lourey did well was setting development. You knew that it was Minnesota and that it was in the winter. Sometimes while I was reading the skin on my arm would break out in goose bumps in empathy for the characters in the book. Battle Lake, since it is a real place, helped ground the book a little as well and made it easier to imagine what the little town looked like and how the people there behaved.

Some things that I had issue with was that the murderer wasn't really a secret and there were quite a few clichés strung throughout. For me, I need to be challenged when trying to figure out who the villain or murderer is. In this book, it seemed like Lourey didn't try to give any red herrings. I knew who it was rather quickly. The other thing is that even if you change a single word in a clichéd phrase, it is still a clichéd phrase. There was too much of that throughout.

In terms of the Midwest Writer's Workshop, I thought the intensive session with her was wonderful. She is extremely nice with a great sense of humor. In those few hours I learned more about the writing process than most of the writing classes I have taken. What I took away from it was not matter what, stay focused and don't give up on getting published. Even if you get 400 rejections, it may be accepted on the 401st, query.

If you like a cozy type mystery set in the Midwest, then this one is for you. If you need a mystery with a little more mystery and lot more action, then this probably isn't the one for you.

Rating 3 out 5

I borrowed this book from my local library; I was not paid to do a review of this book. The image is taken from Good Reads.

Longbourn

I seem to punish myself with reading books that are either sequels or extensions of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, but when I read the synopsis for this one, I was instantly curious. What would the story have been like through the eyes of the servants of the Bennett household?

The first thing I had to tell myself before reading this is that I could not in any way shape or form be expecting the beautiful writing style of Austen. What I was hoping for was something a little more raw and even rough in style. Jo Baker did not disappoint! The servants were so deliciously bitter that I found myself amused and did not miss the characters of one of my favorite books.

Baker did an exceptional job of developing the characters and capturing the hard life that they had back then. It read a little bit like a historical fiction and had some interesting twists in turns, especially with the storyline of James, the new footman. I found myself wondering more about his back story more than any of the others and almost wish that it been told more through his eyes instead of Sarah's. Her writing style was beautiful as well and everything flowed from one page to the next smoothly.

My one main criticism is that Mr. Darcy was not really in the book. Alas, it would not have made much sense to make him a main character here, but how I do love that literary man!

If you are expecting a novel that is full of P&P then this book will be very disappointing. If you like a piece of fiction that has familiarity to another piece, but maintains its own storyline with love and loss then this book is for you. I should think that some other diehard Austen fans would be able to appreciate this book for what it is and not for what they wish it was.

Rating: 4 out 5

I borrowed this book from my local library; I was not paid to give this review. The image was take from Good Reads.

The Witches Revenge

I was given a copy of this book by the author and thought that the premise for it was interesting. It is written like a folk tail of sorts and I was hoping that if I thought about it in the format I would begin to like it as I read it. However, after about 50 pages into it, I had a very hard time going forward to finish the book.

I think that Danny Odato's idea for the book was a great horror story. A small village is terrorized by some sort of evil force that is taking the lives of the children and pregnant woman. However, there was a great deal of telling where some showing needed to happen throughout. I wasn't really given the ability to imagine anything for myself since everything was handed to me.

Even though I knew that it was a horror story going into it, the fact that there were some very graphic scenes regarding children either dying or injuring themselves, really bothered me and I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Some of the dialogue and scenes felt choppy or shortened like they needed a little more fleshing out to be interesting to the reader. There seemed to be maybe a little too much tension and climax happening and I never really got to build with the sensation of fear. Instead, it felt overwhelming and I did not want to continue turning pages. The only other thing is that there were some general editing issues, which seem to be standard with novels that are self published by the author.

Overall, I thought that the story had really good promise to be scary if it had maybe been written a little more like a folk story being told to warn naughty little children. If you like short horror novels than you might like this. If you are like me and the detailed deaths of children bother you, then you may want to skip this book.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

I was given a copy of this book by the author for my honest review; I was not paid to give my review. The image was taken from Good Reads.

A Discovery of Witches

This book was once again on my library's staff recommendation list and I decided to check it out. Even though this book is quite long, 579 pages, it only took me a couple of nights to read. I could not put this book down, almost like I was under a spell to complete it. Now, I am going to have to read the other books in the series to find out what will happen to the main characters!

What I really loved about Deborah Harkness was her writing style. This book was extremely well written and you could tell that the author is a very accomplished academic. It had a very nice flow to it and its contents were very easy to follow. There was also a great deal of history woven into its contents, which made it read a little like a historical fiction piece. With all of the sensory details that Harkness put into the novel, you get transported to another world and it envelops you. It may even haunt you a little as well.

Normally, a love story would be off putting to me and are things that I do not gravitate to. However, I was drawn in and wanted to see how the love between Diana and Matthew would pay out. This is also why I now need to read the next two books in the series! A union between a vampire and witch seems interesting and one that is rarely done. It brought forth a great deal of questions, which is something that I like while reading. If everything is given to me without allowing me to fill in some of the blanks, I tend to lose interest fairly quickly.

The only complaint that I have is that the point of view shifts between first person for Diana's passages and third person with all of Matthew's passages. I tend to be a little old fashion and would like the point of view to stay the same throughout the piece. For this novel, that had to happen for everything to be explained and worked for it, but I still would have liked it to be consistent throughout.

If you like supernatural romance fiction, then you will enjoy this book immensely. If you do not like romance and feel that it should not have any place in supernatural fiction, then you might want to pass this one up.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I checked this book out of the local library; I was not asked to do a review of this book. The image was borrowed from Good Reads.

Ruby Silver



When I was first pitched this book, I thought that it sounded interesting and would give it a try even though it was a little outside what I tend to read. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into this book and it took me longer to finish than I had expected.

What I thought Randall Reneau did well was the main character development with respect to their professional background. All of the geological terms and mining situations seemed very realistic, which helped me with the overall plot. However, with this being possibly the third in the series, I did get much general character development, which made them all seem very flat. I was able to get an outline of what each character should be like, and I really like the old snake farmer a great deal, but I found myself wanting specific quirks or details about each one explained more or exposed.
One issue that I had with dialogue in this novel was all of the Texan colloquialisms that were used. It seemed rather heavy handed and about a third of the way through the book I began to get annoyed by them all. The main reason for this is that they were all cliques as well. For example, "like a side of beef" or "pardner", and again, overused multiple times throughout the book. I think that if half of them were taken out and something else put in their place that still helps to give a "cowboy" or "cowpoke" kind of feel it would have helped us "city folk" get into the book more.

I also think that there were some added storylines in it that were unnecessary, like the kidnapping and show down at the Forth of July mine entrance. Those types of things could have been cut out and the story would not have suffered from it. That particular example didn't really have anything to do with the main plot of the novel and sometimes you will need "to kill your Darlings" in order to make a stronger tale.

The other thing that I was a little disappointed with was the overall editing of the novel. There were dialogue quotations missing in places along with some general editing oversights. But the big problem, and this is a huge pet-peeve of mine, is the changing of point of view from first person to third person. You either need to have the courage to keep all in first person or just put it in the more common third person. In this book, all of the chapters or sections in the eyes of the main character Trace are in first person, which is a challenge because you are only able to write what he feels, sees, etc. Everything not in Trace's POV is written in third person, which is needed to understand what is going on. Unfortunately, I am an old-fashioned stickler with respect to this issue and was disappointed to see that it was a mixture of POVs.

Overall thought, I did enjoy the storyline with respect to the mob ties, etc. I thought that could have been developed more and that more action could have taken place from the get go. The start moved quite slowly, which also made it hard for me to get to the end quickly. Usually it is a better idea to start your story in the middle of something that grabs the reader and I did not really find that with this book.

I do hope that Reneau continues writing books in the series because there is a good foundation for it. For me though, I just needed a little more description and depth to become completely invested in it.

If you like trying new readers and don't mind a slower moving plot, then this book would be for you. If you need a little more action, faster plotline, and great character development then you may want to skip this book.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through Bostick Communitcations; I was not paid to give a review of this book. The image was borrowed from Good Reads.

Brush With Death: A Gray Whale Inn Mystery #5

This is the fifth book in the series and the first one that I have read, which is unfortunate because I will probably not read any of the others in the series. It had some problems right from the start that made it difficult for me to want to finish it. The only thing that drove me toward the end was the need to know that I was right about the villain.

I did think that Karen MacInerney did a good job with setting and I felt like I was really experiencing the harsh winters of Maine. Since the main portion of this tale is set on an island off of the mainland, I also thought she did a good job of showing what island life was like. For example, you could only travel to and from the island by a ferry and it would depend on the weather whether or not you could even travel that day. The other thing that she set up nicely was the artist community feel. I can imagine how cutthroat it is in the business and that would be enhanced further on a small island.

Aside from the setting, where the problems began were with the characters themselves. They all seemed quite flat and this could be partly because I have not read the other books in the series. I didn't really get a good sense of backstory for anyone except the future mother-in-law. Even then, I found it hard to believe that she would be as brazen as to just barge into people's homes unannounced, especially with how her heritage was set up. Natalie, the inn owner and main character, seemed to be a little too eager to get involved with the crimes on the island and I had a hard time believing that she would be that clueless about putting herself in danger with all of the previous sleuthing experiences she has had. The other glaring issue was with the sexuality of some of the characters. It seemed a little unnecessary to be such a main issue, especially when it did not have anything really to do with the overall storyline.

Another issue was the plot. I think that I knew who the killer was the moment they were introduced and why. That was really disappointing. Some of the little side stories seemed a little uninteresting too like the engagement ring being fake. Unless, MacInerney is setting some of these stories up for future books in the series.

Add to all of that, the numerous editing errors, this book was very difficult to follow through with. It was  a recommendation at my local library and since I am trying to find new authors to read, I gave it a chance.

If you like mysteries that are easy to figure out then you will like the book. However, if you are like me and need a little more of a challenge, then you might want to skip this one.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

I borrowed this from my local library; I was not asked to do a review of this book. The image was borrowed from Good Reads.

Homicide in Hardcover



Review: This book was on the recommended list of mystery books at my local library. I am always looking for new authors to read and add to my "Guilty Pleasures" list, cue Joanne Fluke, but this book was not as exciting as I thought it would be.

First off I need to commend Kate Carlisle for writing this entire novel in the first person. That is extremely hard to do successfully, so bravo to her for that. Having said that, I did find that at times it was hard to read. Carlisle has her main character Brooklyn almost addressing the reader at points which reminds me that I am reading this book and not actually part of it. For a book to keep my attention, I really need to be sucked in and made into an omniscient, but quiet character in the plot. If that doesn't happen, it becomes really hard for me to finish the book.

I did think that Carlisle knew all of her characters well and I loved how there was a diverse cast involved. They ranged from wealthy and conservative to eclectic and free loving. At times, there did seem to be too many characters to keep track of, but they were still all interesting. Also, there were moments when several truths came to light that I wasn't entirely sure if I was sold on the character reacting they way they did. It took away some of the realism for me.

The overall murder mystery is where I had a small amount of trouble with. At the end, I didn't really see the murderer coming, which is good, but it seemed like there wasn't a whole lot of set up for it. There was so much energy involved in developing a relationship of hate between Brooklyn and another character, that I think any subtle clues given were overlooked. Sometimes there can be too much of a red herring and that makes the story suffer a little.

Since the topic of bookbinding was foreign to me, I found that part of the story kept my interest in the plot going. I never would have thought that it would be so cutthroat a business!

However, at the end, I think that my overall feel of the book was average. I was surprised by who the killer and why that individual was the killer, but there were several other instances where I was pulled out of the story or when I had to stop and ask myself if that character would really do that.

If you like cozy little murder mysteries that end fairly neatly, then you will most likely want to check out this book. If you are looking for books that are a little more action-packed with nonstop murder, then you may want to skip this one.

Rating: 3 out of 5

I borrowed this book from my local library; I was not paid to give this review.

Image taken from Good Reads.