SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Playing Catch Up!

When I got to the end of 2018 and started looking ahead to the books I had read but hadn’t reviewed as well as the new books I wanted to read, I felt overwhelmed. I realized I have some reviews prepared that I am never going to get to. So, today I’m going to do a quick review of some of these books so I can feel caught up once again. So, here are some of the books I read in 2018 (and one from this January), but didn’t get to review until now.

Crunch the Shy Dinosaur – An adorable picture book where the dinosaur “reacts” to the reader. Simple text and a lot of fun. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

 

 

The Dinosaur Expert – I love this whole series of books about a teacher, Mr. Tiffin, and his class. In this book, one of the girls is a dinosaur expert, but one of the boys laughs and questions if girls can even be paleontologists. Kimmy’s reaction to the comment is immediate withdrawal, but Mr. Tiffin, in his firm but quiet way, saves the day. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

 

Princess Pulverizer: Grilled Cheese and Dragons – Princess Serena is nothing like her name, and she’d rather be training with the knights than the princesses. The King assigns her eight acts of service to complete before she can go to knight school. I didn’t find this one as funny as the author’s Magic Bone series, and Serena was a little abrasive for me in this first book, but I’m eager to see how she develops as she completes her Quest for Kindness. Rating: ♥♥♥

 

 

Monsters Beware! – The third graphic novel in the Chronicles of Claudette series about Claudette as she seeks out adventure and monsters and her friends just try to survive their encounters. I got a kick out of all of the books in this series. Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

 

 

Mr. Gedrick and Me – A family suffering through grief is in desperate need of some intervention. Stanley fills out a web ad for a nanny, and his family gets more than they bargained for – and exactly what they need.  This was absolutely delightful! I adored Stanley. This Mary Poppins-esque story is just light enough for a middle grade audience (3rd to 5th grade) while still introducing the topic of grief. Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

 

Crime Rib – Book 2 in the Food Lovers’ Village mystery series. A TV show is in town for the Annual Summer Food and Art Fair including the main event, a Grill Off. But the festivities take a dark turn after a hit-and-run and then a murder. I love the setting for this series and the characters. It’s been awhile since I read the first one, but I fell right back into things easily.  This is a series I want to stick with in 2019. Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

 

Elementary, She Read – Book one in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. Gemma runs the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium in West London Cape Cod, and her best friend runs Mrs. Hudson’s Team Room next door. When a woman stashes something in the bookshop during a busy day and then dies, Gemma is on the case. I really enjoyed this one – Gemma is like Sherlock with a eidetic memory, which is handy for a sleuth but can be annoying in other settings. After reading two of these in a row, I did need a Gemma break. She can be a little abrasive, not unlike Sherlock. But the mysteries have been great fun, and I know I will get back to this series. Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

Snowspelled – I requested this book from the library as the author is a “friend” of mine on Goodreads, and we enjoy similar books. I loved this alternate fantasy world full of magic, but even more I loved the political shifts. In this world, the women are the politicians and decision makers and the men have magic. Add to that a strong main character who once had magic (a shake up in her culture) and then lost it, and an elf looking for trouble, and I was hooked. Frankly, the mystery/elf portion of the story was the weakest part for me, but the characters and the world and the relationships sucked me in completely. Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 

 

Spellswept – After Snowspelled, I read the prequel, Spellswept, and it was even better! This story focuses on the sister-in-law from the first book who is dealing with the fall out of her attachment to this “unnatural” family. This book tells that story, and it was excellent! Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

 

Split Second – Book 1 in the King and Maxwell series. My husband and I watched – and enjoyed – the short-lived TV show based on this book series, so when he challenged me to read the first book, I was looking forward to it.  This is longer than a lot of the books I read, but that just meant there was time for a TON of twists and turns in this mystery. I really enjoyed the characters, so I will be coming back to this series, too. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

 

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome – This reads like a non-fiction book – and it is stellar. I had to keep reminding myself that this is “nonfiction” backstory on a FICTIONAL series. I have already enjoyed the two books in the series – Lock In and Head On (4.5 stars – so good!); I didn’t need this backstory to understand and enjoy the world Scalzi developed for the series. But I’m so glad I have that backstory. It really added some things to the experience. And it made me want to re-read the books again. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles by Leslie Budewitz

[I received an electronic review copy of this from Netgalley and Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Christmas has come to Jewel Bay, Montana. Erin is working on making sure her family business, Murphy’s Mercantile, has a profitable holiday season. She’s also awaiting the arrival of a new niece or nephew and finalizing plans for her Christmas Eve wedding.

When Merrily Thornton returns to Jewel Bay looking for a second chance with her family, Erin sees a woman only a few years older than she is who needs a good friend. As a teen, Merrily went to prison for embezzling money from a local business. Merrily’s parents were so mortified by her behavior, they disowned her. Almost 20 years later, Merrily hoped they might find it in their hearts to forgive her and get to know the college-aged granddaughter they had never met. But Walt and Taya Thornton want nothing to do with Merrily or her family.

Erin invites Merrily to a holiday cookie exchange, but Merrily never arrives. She’s later found dead. It looks like Merrily started up her money tricks again when her employer discovers money missing from the business. But Erin doesn’t believe Merrily would do that. She’s not even sure Merrily did it the first time. Erin will have to pull out her Spreadsheet of Suspicion once again to track down the killer and the truth.

Review


This was terrific! I read book one when it first came out, but I haven’t been able to keep up with the rest of the series. Now I have to go back and get caught up because this was so fun! I had no trouble following the story without having read the previous books, although several references to earlier events did make me want to catch up soon.

The characters are great – and there are LOTS of them. Like any good cozy, you want the reader to care about the whole community. The author does a great job of creating a full, rich cast and setting while keep the focus on the mystery. I loved Erin and her family and friends. They are people I would hang out with, and Jewel Bay is a place I would love to visit.

The mystery was great. I was able to puzzle out the killer, but not until Erin was putting the last few pieces together. The pacing of the mystery was excellent. Things moved at a comfortable rate and there were no lagging spots that made it hard for me to pick the book back up when I had to set it aside. I was always eager to get back to everything – the characters, Jewel Bay, the wedding plans, and the mystery.

This is book 5 in the series. It’s a little earlier in the year than I usually dive into a Christmas book, but it such a fun story, I found it refreshing. I can’t wait to catch up on all of Erin’s adventures that I have missed.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥