Cake on a Hot Tin Roof by Jacklyn Brady

 ★★★

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: family dynamics, surprise visits, infidelities
Setting: New Orleans, LA
CHARACTERS: Rita Lucero, Miss Frankie, Uncle Nestor, Aunt Yolanda, Big Daddy Boudreaux
DATE READ: June 27 - June 29
NO. OF PAGES: 297
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, my shelves

PLOT:..............................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.................3.00
TOPICS:..........................................3.00
STYLE:............................................3.00
ORIGINALITY:.................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.........................3.00
OWNERSHIP:.................................3.00
Threshold Quality............................3.00
Average................................................................3.00

Using the backdrop of preparations for the annual Mardi Gras to increase the stress of the unexpected visit from her relatives, Rita's investigation to clear her Uncle in the murder at her party, keeps Rita hopping and the reader.  FUN!

Lord Carew's Bride by Mary Balogh

 ★★★

GENRE: Romance
SUBJECT: deformities, inner strength
Setting: London, England
CHARACTERS: Samantha Newman, Hartley Wade, Jennifer Thornhill, Gabriel Thornhill, Lionel Kersey
DATE READ: June 25 - June 26
NO. OF PAGES: 282
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, my shelves

PLOT:.........................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:............3.00
TOPICS:.....................................3.00
STYLE:.......................................3.00
ORIGINALITY:.............................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:....................3.00
OWNERSHIP:............................3.00
Threshold Quality.......................3.00
Average...............................................................3.00


Samantha Newman was heartbroken in the "Dark Angel" so when we find her at the start, 6 years later, she is still unmarried but with a swarm of suitors at her feet.  While visiting her cousin at Thornhill, on a solitary walk she meets a young man with a withered hand and a limp.  They become friends over several weeks of clandestine meetings and so when Samantha meets hi in London she is pleasantly surprised to find that he is the Marquis of Carew and accepts his proposal without hesitation feeling that their friendship will protect her from the past.

There were few surprises in this book but it was a pleasant read.

The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel by Julia Stuart

★★½

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: Charity pensioners, 
Setting: Hampton Court, England
CHARACTERS: Princess Alexandrina, Pooki, Dr Henderson, Mjr. Gen Bagshot, Mrs. Bagshot, 
DATE READ: June 16 - June 25
NO. OF PAGES: 313
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Giveaway prize

PLOT:...........................................2.50
CHARACTERIZATION:..............2.50
TOPICS:.......................................3.00
STYLE:.........................................3.00
ORIGINALITY:..............................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:......................2.50
OWNERSHIP:..............................2.50
Threshold Quality.........................3.00
Average................................................................2.75

Princess Alexandrina (Mink) finds herself destitute when her father the Maharajah dies suddenly.  Before she can be evicted from her home, she is granted a "grace and favor" apartment at Hampton Court Palace.

Barely before you gets settled in her new "home" one of the other residents dies of arsenic poisoning  at a picnic casting suspicion on Mink's faithful servant Pooki.  She is determined t o find the true cause and sets out interviewing the other residents.

I didn't really care for the characters in this book (Mink was too flighty and snobby, others too 1 dimensional)  and the writing seem to lack a steady flow. 

The Second Rule Of Ten by Gay Hendricks, Tinker Lindsay

 ★★★½

GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: Hollywood murder
Setting: Los Angeles, CA  Tibet
CHARACTERS: Tenzing Norbu, Marv Rudolph,  Julius Rosen, Mike
DATE READ: June 18 - June 22
NO. OF PAGES: 340
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, NetGalley ARC

PLOT:......................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.........4.00
TOPICS:..................................3.50
STYLE:....................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.........................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:................3.50
OWNERSHIP:.........................3.50
Threshold Quality....................3.00
Average.............................................................3.50

What fascinates me about this series is the cross of western and eastern philosophies and the ability of the main character to utilize both while searching for the bad guys and defending himself and others.

Tenzing is an ex-Tibetan monk/ex-homicide cop turned PI who in this installment is trying to discover who killed an old film producer,  calmly manages to uncover who would be involved while put the clues together and protecting another old film producer.  His team of contacts are diverse and entertaining. 

I've gotten this book (second in the series) and the first through NetGalley and really enjoyed both.  It's interesting to see how the cenral character uses his previous experiences and practices as a Tibetan monk and homicide detective in his investigations as a PI. Hope to see another one soon.

Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman

 ★★★½

GENRE: Memoir
SUBJECT: widowhood
Setting: New York City, Morroco
CHARACTERS: Becky, Leslie, Tara, Marcia, Dawn, Denise, Bob, Lily, Craig
DATE READ: June 11 - June 17
NO. OF PAGES: 334
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, ARC from publisher

PLOT:..............................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.................4.00
TOPICS:..........................................3.50
STYLE:............................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.........................3.50
OWNERSHIP:.................................3.50
Threshold Quality.............................3.00
Average......................................................3.50

Until I read this book I never really thought about how we stereotype different people with titles or words and how it could affect their lives.  Widow - is word that is supposed to simply identify a woman who has lost her spouse through death.  But do we not, in this day and age, still think that a "widow" is older, wears black, remains isolated from others mourning a man who has died.

The author recounts how when she lost her husband to cancer at an early age, that she was unable to find a widows support group that would acknowledge that she was still young enough to move forward n her life.  She was even told by a support group that she didn't fit in.  So, Becky set out to find other women like herself that were still somewhat young (less than 50) and needed positive support from others.

Having found 5 other women the BLOSSOMS worked together to broaden their experiences and share their understanding of their losses and future.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

 ★★★★½

GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: Trojan War, Ancient Greek society
Setting: Greece, Troy
CHARACTERS: Patroclus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Hector, Thetis, Briseis
DATE READ: June 9 - June 13
NO. OF PAGES: 416
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Kindle gift card

PLOT:.......................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:..........4.50
TOPICS:...................................4.50
STYLE:.....................................4.50
ORIGINALITY:..........................5.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.................4.50
OWNERSHIP:..........................5.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:.........4.00
Average.........................................................4.50

A love story with just soldiers and war?  How can that be?  However, even though the backdrop of this story is the Trojan War, this truly is a love story just not the typical one that we expect.

From the very beginning the narrator Patroclus takes our hand and leads us to an ancient time when what was taught to young boys was the art of warfare.  Those that did not excel were fated for servitude.   But Patroclus was fortunate enough to be taken as Prince Achilles companion when he was fostered into exile in Phthia. 

There the love story of Achilles and Patroclus takes us on a journey through their youths and education - Achilles destiny lives in warfare as the stories have always told us, while Patroclus, at Achilles' side learns the art of healing.

The war with Troy brings Achilles and Patroclus to the site where the prophecies of Achilles' glory and death are twisted among the horrors of war.  "Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another. We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory."

Throughout this story we see how these two young honorable men lose their innocence while their destinies are intertwined causing their sacrifices and suffering fueled by pride over honor.

I've always been fascinated by mythology and this story combined a touch of history along with the wrath of the gods. 

Imperfect Pairings by Jackie Townsend

  ★★½

GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: corporate mergers, Italian vineyards
Setting: San Francisco,  Italy
CHARACTERS: Jack(Giovanni), Jamie
DATE READ: June 5 - June 9
NO. OF PAGES: 320
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, NetGalley

PLOT:.............................................2.00
CHARACTERIZATION:................2.00
TOPICS:.........................................3.00
STYLE:...........................................2.50
ORIGINALITY:................................2.50
ADDICTIVENESS:........................2.50
OWNERSHIP:................................2.50
THRESHOLD QUALITY:..............3.00
Average............................................................2.50

Jack and Jamie have been in a relationship ever since they met when their companies were in the midst of a merger.  Now Jack's visas have run out  so they get marred while Jack is trying to decide what to do - get a new job in the US or return to Italy and take up the family business - winemaking.

I had a really hard time with this book - the characters kept going back and forth between US and Italy, there was dialogue in Italian that wasn't translated and I kept asking myself throughout - where is this story going.

The Diva Takes the Cake by Krista Davis

 ★★★★

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: weddings, double crosses
Setting: Alexandria VA
CHARACTERS: Sophie Winston, Hannah Bauer, Mars Winston, Natasha Smith, Craig Beacham
DATE READ: June 5 - June 7
NO. OF PAGES: 320
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Nook stockpile

PLOT:............................................4.50
CHARACTERIZATION:...............4.00
TOPICS:........................................3.50
STYLE:..........................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:...............................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:......................4.00
OWNERSHIP:..............................4.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:.............4.00
Average....................................................................4.00

I loved it all!  The nutty bride, the sister trying to rescue her from a bad marriage before it takes place, the rescued dog who was afraid of everyone!

Sophie Winston's rivalry with Natasha Smith over who is a better cook/party planner/advice columnist is still going strong so when Sophie's sister Hannah turns to Natasha about her wedding after Sophie has everything already in the works, things start to fire up with Sophie finding a dead body in Natasha's backyard (they're neighbors and share not only time with Sophie's ex-husband and the dog too!).

Natasha changes the venue, color scheme, and then starts in on the food as the investigation begins with the identification of the dead body being none other then Craig's, Hannah's fiancé, ex-wife.  This puts a halt to Sophie's romance with the homicide detective and makes things a bit awkward as Craig's family unexpectedly appears from out-of-town for the wedding.  Craig's not happy, Hannah's not happy, and the problems that arise from fireworks exploding (literally) at the rehearsal and the last minute relocation to Sophie's backyard have the wedding falling apart with cracked ice sculptures, melting cake, and another dead body.

The mystery was well-written, filled with quirky characters, unusual circumstances, and just plain fun. I can't wait for the next one.

The White House: An Illustrated Architectural History by Patrick Phillips-Schrock

 ★★★
 
GENRE: Non-Fiction
SUBJECT: The White House 
Setting: Washington DC
CHARACTERS: Benjamin Latrobe, Charles, McKim, James Hoban
DATE READ: May 31 - June 4
NO. OF PAGES: 226
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, LT ER

PLOT:...........................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:..............3.00
TOPICS:.......................................4.00
STYLE:.........................................2.00
ORIGINALITY:..............................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.....................3.00
OWNERSHIP:.............................4.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:............3.00
Average..............................................................3.13

The book is full of diagrams of the current White House as well as the showing pre-renovation versions.  It also documents the floor plans and changes that have been made over the years.

I found it interesting to see the changes that have been made over the years as well as differences to the exterior that I had never seen before.  However, IMO the book was a bit jumpy because of the layout of text versus diagrams/pictures and felt it would have been better served to have all the text together and then reference the diagrams.  Often I lost my place in the text because of the placement of the diagrams/pictures on the pages.