Category: Reviews

REVIEW: The Body in the Backyard by Lucy Score

REVIEW: The Body in the Backyard by Lucy Score

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Riley and Nick are working their most obnoxious case yet. Riley’s horrible ex-husband thinks someone is out to kill him. Nick thinks he’s faking – and Griffin IS a total narcissist. But evidence starts to pile up that he really is on someone’s hit list.

The problem is that Griffin is so awful, there’s no shortage of people who want to see him dead. How can Nick and Riley weed through so many suspects to find the most dangerous one before someone actually succeeds at killing their client before they can get paid?

Review

What a hoot! Once again, Lucy Score delivers a laugh-riot of a paranormal mystery/romance. I’m noticing  how other stories billed as “rom-coms” are suffering in comparison to this series which makes me laugh out loud all the time. I need more Lucy Score books in my life!

Griffin has been “the worst” from the start of this series, but this book puts all of his worst on full display. And wow. This is the sort of character who can tank an otherwise terrific story because he is just so awful. But the author deftly shows all of Griffin’s deplorable choices while keeping the reader on Nick and Riley’s side, hoping they’ll get their fee in the end. I think Griffin is such a narcissistic buffoon that he’s almost too “cartoonish” to be believed.  And that makes him awful AND funny. I was thrilled with how it all worked out in the end. The sheer number of suspects here kept me from having any shot at figuring things out for myself. And I was fine with that. I loved the “not another one” ploy here.

All of the series regulars, including Nick and Riley’s families, are back for this book which is part of the series’ charm. Nieces’ Night is one of my favorite parts of this book. I hope future books include more of the girls because they are a total delight. Nick’s competition with Gabe over their affection is also hilarious and adorable.

This is another fantastic addition to this series which anchored my summer 2024 reading. Series fans should not miss this one. You can read the rest of my series reviews here – I recommend reading these in order for the development of the cast, but I think the stories stand well on their own. (Language, sex, psychic visions)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: The Busy Beaver by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

A careless beaver finally sees the path of destruction he’s left in his wake and decides to make things right.

As I mentioned last week, I picked several of the Life is Wild books up at the library, including this one, before discovering they were going to be released in a single volume. My review for that will post next week, but for now I wanted to post about this story on its own because it is my favorite in the collection. The message here is fantastic! The illustrations are excellent and really help tell the story so there’s minimal text for young readers. This was delightful!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read

REVIEW: Witches Get Stuff Done by Molly Harper

REVIEW: Witches Get Stuff Done by Molly Harper

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Riley Everett has arrived in Starfall Point, MI to meet the aunt she hadn’t known existed before her mother died and Aunt Nora reached out. In fact, Riley had been going through such a string of bad luck, she wrote the woman off as a scammer at first. And now that Riley has finally arrived, she gets word that Aunt Nora has died.

Edison Hold is the head of the library at Starfall Point. And he’s been eager to get a look at Nora’s home, Shadow House. But Nora’s death – and an unfortunate first encounter with Riley – will not help his quest to get in the door.

Once in Starfall, Riley discovers the family legacy her mother never mentioned. They have been the keepers of a house full of ghosts and haunted objects. And Riley is now the new “keeper.”

Riley begins to settle into a routine – with the house, with the ghosts, with some friends who can help her with her magical responsibilities – and even with Edison. But there’s someone who wants the house’s secrets for themselves – and they don’t care what happens to anyone who gets in their way.

Review

This was captivating! I loved the premise and the characters. The magic system is more instinctual than learned, so I’m not as clear on what all Riley and her friends can do as I would like. But watching them do their thing – together – was highly entertaining.

This is funny, with an enjoyable found family core that really touched me. I’m eager to see how things develop for Riley and Edison as well as for the “coven,” although that term seems too formal and witchy for this fun, breezy, ghost-filled paranormal story.

Fans of this author as well as fans of humorous paranormal romance should absolutely check this out. It was a hoot! Book 2 is Big Witch Energy, and it’s on my library list! (Language, sex, paranormal elements include ghosts and magical powers)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great!

REVIEW: Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland

REVIEW: Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

A hug-giving bear who especially loves hugging trees encounters a man who plans to cut down one of the oldest trees in the forest.

This was a lovely story! I adored the illustrations of all of the critters and all the things Bear hugs. It’s a super sweet story – until Bear meets the man with the ax. I love how Bear acknowledges his anger but makes a different choice about his behavior than the reader might expect. This was lovely!

I picked this book up from the library based solely on the cover art. I love it. Turns out this one story is going to be part of a multi-book release later this fall – I’ll be reviewing the whole collection soon.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

REVIEW: Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Marvelous Mansions has come to Caerphilly to remodel the Smetkamp home. And few of the town’s people are happy about it. As the mayor’s “special assistant in charge of nuts and nuisances,” Meg is trying to keep the remodel crew in line so they don’t disturb the neighborhood – or the town – too much.

But disturbance has a way of happening anyway – in the form of over 200 wild turkeys on the Smetkamp property. Probably not an accident. And then the mayor discovers the reality show crew has made such a wreck of the house it’s uninhabitable. And then there’s the dead body.

Review

Another fun adventure in Caerphilly! Meg and her friends are a well-oiled machine as they deal with the home wreckers, the feral turkeys, and the other surprises that crop up in this story. As always, I enjoyed spending time with the Langslow family and the community members.

I figured out the mystery really early on this time – even telling my husband how it was all going to play out in the end. Maybe I’ve just read too many mysteries over the years! This might have sunk another book, but for me, I enjoy the characters here so much, I kept reading to see what would happen with them.

Series fans should pick this up – there are some fascinating sections about the turkeys and other critters in the book. And the townspeople – and some outsiders – got to shine in the absence of much of Meg’s extended family in this book. This brought something fresh to this story which is number 35 in this long-running series. Keep an eye out for book 36, Rockin’ Around the Chickadee, releasing later this fall. (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great!

REVIEW: We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang

REVIEW: We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

When three aliens crash land on Earth, they find a kind and helpful community of humans.

This was cute! And not quite what I was expecting. The aliens have answers for all of the questions, insisting they are humans and from Europe. And the community where they crash doesn’t seem to care too much. They kindly chip in to help, even when the folks they help are different and unusual.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ – Good+

REVIEW: Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series by Tom Salinsky

REVIEW: Star Trek: Discovering the TV Series by Tom Salinsky

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and White Owl in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

The author does a deep dive into Star Trek, watching the original series (TOS), the animated series (TAS), The Next Generation (TNG), Deep Space Nine (DS9),  Voyager (VOY), and Enterprise (ENT) in release order, one episode per day for almost two years. Initially his experience was blogged online, but now readers can be part of the journey in book form. This book only focuses on TOS, TAS, and TNG. Presumably a sequel will cover the rest.

The book covers some of the history of the franchise from Roddenberry’s early attempts to get the show produced to the return of Star Trek to television in the 80s with TNG – in addition to the episode reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the episode entries. The “voice” of each one is fun and engaging. The author covers a lot of ground in just a couple paragraphs per episode.

One of the most fascinating pieces is watching the worldbuilding develop on the fly. The author points out things that show up for the first time or things that reflect decisions made later to define how the world of Star Trek will work. It was a cool addition to the episode reviews. I think fans will enjoy this – it would be great to work through this while doing your own episode review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: Spider-Man: Cosmic Chaos by Mike Maihack

REVIEW: Spider-Man: Cosmic Chaos by Mike Maihack

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

While returning a surfboard to Silver Surfer, Spider-Man encounters the Guardians of the Galaxy. Together they work to contain and correct the end of the universe. Ancient talismans with special powers initially help Spider-Man solve small, neighborly problems. But when one villain collects all seven talismans, an unexpected hero has to help save the day.

Review

This is the quirkiest of the stories in the Mighty Marvel Team-Up series! Spider-Man gets to meet – and help – a lot of Marvel characters as well as a variety of aliens as he spreads his neighborly kindness around.

The team-up with the Guardians was fun, and I loved the solution to the talisman problem. This series has been a delight from start to finish. I would love to read more of these if the series expands.

Hand this to Marvel fans and graphic novel fans as well as anyone who enjoyed the earlier books in the series, Animals Assemble and Quantum Quest. I think these are best read in order, but each book can stand alone.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: Take Care of Your Friends by Christina Wilcox

REVIEW: Take Care of Your Friends by Christina Wilcox

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

I enjoyed this new Enneagram resource focused on interpersonal relationships. I’m not sure the author did enough with the “six pillars of friendship” to make their inclusion work out. But the rest is great – I loved the early descriptions of all of the types.

The book includes sections on stress/security (called “health levels” which is different than the way other writers/instructors talk about health levels with the Enneagram), triads, stances, and conflict styles. I felt like the author’s descriptions were fresh and not rehashed ways of describing things. I’ve read a lot of Enneagram resources so it really catches my attention when I read something that feels innovative or insightful in a new way. Her approach makes this the sort of book I would read start to finish rather than just pull out my type info and then move on.

If someone’s really interested in digging into the Enneagram, I would start with other resources to help you determine your type. But this would make a nice gift for someone who has done that initial work, knows their type, and wants to apply the Enneagram to their interpersonal relationships. You can pair this with Suzanne Stabile’s The Journey Toward Wholeness which also looks at the Enneagram and relationships.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: Cat on the Run: Cucumber Madness by Aaron Blabey

REVIEW: Cat on the Run: Cucumber Madness by Aaron Blabey

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Princess Beautiful is still on the run from a frenzied public insisting that she tried to start a nuclear war. A new friend who understands her predicament breaks her out of jail. While she trains to survive on the run, she tells her new friend the full story of how she became known for silly videos which made it so no one now takes her seriously.

While Beautiful and her new friend are searching for answers, they stumble onto a conspiracy no one is ready for.

Review

I didn’t love the pacing of this one. It starts with a commentary on sensationalized news, then goes into a long bit about “scapegoating.” The big reveal was an unexpected surprise, but it felt like I really had to work hard to get through the rest to get there. I think this just isn’t the right fit for me.

I think kids will get a kick out of the “cucumber madness” bits here, but I am still wondering if the book’s content exceeds the experience/exposure of the target age group. Fans of book 1 will absolutely want to pick this one up. And the big reveal will drive them to book 3 when it releases. But I don’t think I will be sticking with the series.

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥ – Solid, fine