★★★¾
GENRE: Fantasy YA
SUBJECT: shyness, insecurity, magic
Setting: Midnight Gulch, TN
CHARACTERS: Felicity Pickle, Frannie Jo Pickle, Holly Harness Pickle, Boone Harness, Cleopatra Harness, Jonah Pickett, Threadbare Brothers, Iasbelle Thistle, Oliver Weatherly
DATE READ: March 27 - March 30
NO. OF PAGES: 311
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI
SOURCE: Publisher for Review
PLOT:....................................................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................4.00
Threshold Quality.................................................4.50
Average..............................................................................................3.81
This is an entertaining story of a young girl who finally thinks that she has found home - a place with family and a friend but also magical. Felicity Pickle arrives in Midnight Gulch with her little sister and her mother. Felicity is a word gatherer - she sees words everywhere but she is so shy is unable to articulate them.
Felicity feels a connection with Midnight Gulch and sets out to find out why her mother is a wanderer and works to free her from the family curse.
I really enjoyed the story - each character has their own kind of magic and the solution to the curse is simply magical!
★★★★½
GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: marital relationships
Setting: Atlanta, GA & Charleston, SC
CHARACTERS: Leslie Carter, Wesley Carter IV, Charlotte Carter, Holly Carter, Harrison Katz, Dannette Stovel, Cornelia Street, Lisette Katz, Jonathan Rae, Harlan Green
DATE READ: March 18 - March 23
NO. OF PAGES: 497
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, Group Reads
SOURCE: MCL Audio
PLOT:....................................................................4.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................5.00
TOPICS: ...............................................................5.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................4.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................4.00
Threshold Quality.................................................4.50
Average..............................................................................................4.50
Okay, who sneaked in and planted listening devices in my house? I swear that somehow Ms. Frank has been listening in on comments made by my husband of 40 years and that's where she got the inspiration for this book. Not only is Wesley a bad imitation of my husband (all his faults but none of his virtues) but I actually believe that I have heard the same words attributed to Wesley come out of my husband's mouth.
This story was so much fun - I laughed so hard at times that I actually cried. I was proud of Leslie for standing up for herself and showing that it's never too late to stand up to a bully.
★★★¼
GENRE: Classic
Setting: Oz
CHARACTERS: Tip/Ozma,Pumpkunhead, Glinda, Mombi, Scarecrow, TinMan
DATE READ: March 20 - March 22
NO. OF PAGES: 90
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI
SOURCE: Nook
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.00
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.00
Threshold Quality.................................................3.00
Average..............................................................................................3.25
Tip escapes the witch Mombi after taking a box of magic items. He creates Jack Pumpkinhead and a Sawhorse who come to life with special powder from the box. They are his companions as he travels to the Emerald City where he befriends the Scarecrow. The adventures and revelations that follow are worthy of Dorothy and the original story.
★★★★
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: wine distribution
Setting: Charleston, SC
CHARACTERS: Theodosia Browning, Drayton Conneley, Jordan Knight, Andrew Turner, Tanya Woodson
DATE READ: March 17 - March 18
NO. OF PAGES: 320
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Signed ARC from the Author
PLOT:....................................................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.50
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................4.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................4.00
Threshold Quality.................................................4.00
Average..............................................................................................4.00
Just because Theodosia and Drayton run the Indigo Tea Shoppe, that doesn't stop them from enjoying other beverages even when murder is involved. Visiting a friend's winery, Theo and Drayton are present when a body tumbles out of a wine cask and because of Theo's special talents at uncovering answers, she sets out to expose the villain and help her friends.
Reading a tea shoppe mystery is like visiting some of your favorite friends while enjoying your preferred activity. I keep wishing that there was a real Indigo Tea Shoppe in Charleston. I'd be there in a heartbeat just to meet these characters.
My sincere thanks to Laura Childs for the signed ARC - I loved it anyway.
★★★½
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: Opera memorabilia, revenge
Setting: Quaker Hills Pennsylvania
CHARACTERS: Eve Angelotta, Maria Pia Angelotta, Arlen Mathur, Joe Beck, Alma Toscano
DATE READ: March 11 - March 17
NO. OF PAGES: 208
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, GASTROCAT
SOURCE: NOOK
PLOT:....................................................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................3.50
Average..............................................................................................3.50
Eve Angelotta was a dancer who after an injury returned to her hometown to work at the family restaurant with her somewhat forceful grandmother (Nonna). However, when Eve discovers a body (later identified as her Nonna's boyfriend) in the restaurant's kitchen and all signs point to Nonna as the murderer, Eve has to take charge and save Nonna and the family business.
This was a fun read with the Italian flavor both in food and family!
★★★★
GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: unsolved mysteries, homelessness
Setting: New York City, NY
CHARACTERS: Alexandra Cooper, Mike Chapman, Mercer Wallace
DATE READ: March 11 - March 13
NO. OF PAGES: 496
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: MCL, AUDIO
PLOT:....................................................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................4.00
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.50
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................4.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................4.50
Average..............................................................................................4.00
A young woman is found floating in the lake in Central Park and Alex Cooper works with her regular buddies, Mercer Wallace and Mike Chapman to uncover who she is and why someone would kill her.
The interesting part of the mystery is the background of Central Park as well as the famous Dakota apartment building. The details of their history is cleverly woven around this death as well as a decades old disappearance of a wealthy resident's granddaughter from the Dakota and the resolution to both.
A great Addition to the series
★★★½
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: recipe theft,
Setting: Jewel Bay, Montana
CHARACTERS: Erin Murphy, Francesca Murphy,Kim Caldwell, Claudette Randall, Dean Vincent, Linda Vincent, James Angelo, Chiara Phillips, Landon Phillips, Ted Redaway
DATE READ: March 8 - March 11
NO. OF PAGES: 304
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, GastroCAT, US 50 State
SOURCE: Nook
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................3.50
Average..............................................................................................3.50
Erin Murphy comes home to Jewel Bay to help her mother and shortly after her return convinces the local merchants to plan a festival to start the summer season - Festa di Pasta.
The inaugural event is marred when a returning resident is found dead in the alley behind the party. It doesn't help Erin that the person was her mother's former employee who left with a married man. Fingers start to point in all directions - Erin's mother for possibly being angry a being left in the lurch, the married man, the angry wife - but the police seemed to think that Erin's mother is the prime suspect.
Enlisting her friends and family to help find the answers, Erin delves into the secrets of the town to clear her mother.
I love the character of Erin who is trying not only to help her mother but also her hometown - working to utilize and sell homegrown items as much as possible.
The author has woven a clever mystery while at the same time introduced us to some very interesting characters.
★★★½
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: jealousy, secrets
Setting: Crystal Cove, CA
CHARACTERS: Jenna Hart, Vera Hart, Natalie Mumford, Lola Bird, Sam Sykes
DATE READ: March 5 - March 8
NO. OF PAGES: 283
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MysteryMarch
SOURCE: Signed ARC from the Author
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................3.50
Average..............................................................................................3.50
Jenna Hart had moved back to Crystal Cove to help her aunt Vera with the project of her heart - a cookbook store/café. After weathering the murder of their guest chef in the first installment, now Jenna and her aunt are hosting the annual Grill Fest competition where 8 chefs - amateur and professional grill against each other for the prize.
Things don't start off well this time either - the defending champion is found murdered in the back alley apparently done in by a competitor with one of Cookbook Nook's panini press.
Jenna's dear friend, Lola, is the chief suspect since the victim and she were seen arguing shortly before the victim was found.
The murder at the Grill Fest is not enough however, because at home Jenna has discovered a mysterious key inside a figurine that she received from her deceased husband shortly before his death. What does the key unlock and how does Jenna go about finding the answers to the questions exposed.
This is the second installment in this series and one that I have found to be entertaining and captivating. I'm waiting for the next book impatiently.
★★★½
AUTHOR:
GENRE: Children's, Young Adult
SUBJECT: good vs. evil, family secrets, codes, inheritance
Setting: Boston, MA; Paris France
CHARACTERS: Dan Cahill, Amy Cahill, Allister Oh, Jonah Wizard, Holt Family, Irina Spasky
DATE READ: March 6 - March 7
NO. OF PAGES: 220
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, RandomCAT, MysteryCAT
SOURCE: audio from library
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
Dan and Amy Cahill are saddened when their grandmother dies, but when her will is read, they along with other members of their extended family are presented with an option - $1Million dollars each or a quest that could garner them a power beyond imagining. Seeking the adventure they start on the quest of 39 clues endangering themselves while trying to make their grandmother proud.
Interesting that this series is written by multiple authors. I'm curious to see how the story progresses over time with the different writers.
★★★½
GENRE: Children's, Young Adult
SUBJECT: good vs. evil
Setting: the city
CHARACTERS: Ophelia Jane Worthington Whittand, Marvelous Boy, Alice Worthington Whittand, Miss Kaminski (Snow Queen), Malcolm Whittand
DATE READ: March 1 - March 4
NO. OF PAGES: 220
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI
SOURCE: ARC from publisher
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.00
Threshold Quality.................................................3.00
Average..............................................................................................3.33
Ophelia is in the museum while her father works on a special exhibit. Bored, she starts to explore and discovers a boy who is locked in a room. He tells her his story and she works to free him and find the sword he needs.
The adventures that Ophelia encounters are entertaining and seem to be exactly what an 11 yr old would want to do.
★★★½
GENRE: Children's, Young Adult
SUBJECT: orphans, pirates, stardust, mermaids
Setting: Neverland
CHARACTERS: Peter, Molly, Black Stache, Slank, Smee, Orphans, Fighting Prawn
DATE READ: February 27 - March 4
NO. OF PAGES: 451
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI
SOURCE: Audio stockpile
PLOT:....................................................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.50
TOPICS: ...............................................................3.50
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.50
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................4.00
Average..............................................................................................3.63
Peter and other orphan boys are placed on the ship Neverland and set sail for Rundoon not knowing that they are accompanying Molly Aster, a starcatcher. When the ship is attacked by pirates searching for a trunk filled with starstuff, the adventures begin!
This book was loads of fun, sort of a prequel to Peter Pan showing how Peter became the way he is, why he can fly, how Neverland got its name, and even the birth of Tinker Bell.
Looking forward to the next adventure!
