Reading Books Again
Book reviews of mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels with a smattering of non-fiction books.
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
The Body in the Boot
12 Days of Mistletoe
I, Bonnie Miller, am no troublemaker. I’m just an anxious girl trying to keep my emotional support pup in a no-pets apartment building. But my downstairs neighbor is determined to be my personal Grinch and get us both evicted.Just when I think things can’t get any worse, Elliot Eaton offers me a deal I can’t refuse. Suddenly I’m playing girlfriend and giving mistletoe kisses to my sworn enemy, all to keep my home.Who knew that breaking one little rule would lead to a fan-mistletoe-tastic holiday?12 Days of Mistletoe is a closed door, laugh out loud, warm your wintery heart romcom. If you need a book with all the feels, some mistletoe kisses, and lots of holiday spirit, look no further!
I don't usually like romance novels but this one was super cute. It has all the ingredients of my beloved cozies with a meddling grandmother and one of the main characters, Bonnie, uses a service animal; A nice touch in my mind. The story is told in an alternating format, from Bonnie and Elliott's perspectives. The pace is fast and every chapter provides embarrassment for both of them.
A little more detail concerning plot is in order. Elliott is planning on buying this apartment building from his grandmother and managing it by himself. Bonnie has lived in her apartment for three years and has broken the rule prohibiting dogs. Elliott wants to evict her but his grandmother won't hear of it. She likes Bonnie. Grandma thinks the two of them would make a great couple and gives Elliott an ultimatum: be at her house every day for 12 days with Bonnie or she will not sell him the building. Elliott offers Bonnie a deal: pretend to be his girlfriend for two weeks and he will pay her rent in the next month. She takes him up on the offer.
Of course, they are attracted to each other but do their best to resist temptation. Their initial meeting was awful and each had built up a hatred for the other. Well, it wouldn't be a romcom if they did not become an item. And they lived happily ever after.
5 out of 5 stars.
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
White Mulberry
Inspired by the life of Easton’s grandmother, White Mulberry is a rich, deeply moving portrait of a young Korean woman in 1930s Japan who is torn between two worlds and must reclaim her true identity to provide a future for her family.1928, Japan-occupied Korea. Eleven-year-old Miyoung has dreams too big for her tiny farming village near Pyongyang: to become a teacher, to avoid an arranged marriage, to write her own future. When she is offered the chance to live with her older sister in Japan and continue her education, she is elated, even though it means leaving her sick mother—and her very name—behind.In Kyoto, anti-Korean sentiment is rising every day, and Miyoung quickly realizes she must pass as Japanese if she expects to survive. Her Japanese name, Miyoko, helps her find a new calling as a nurse, but as the years go by, she fears that her true self is slipping away. She seeks solace in a Korean church group and, within it, finds something she never expected: a romance with an activist that reignites her sense of purpose and gives her a cherished son.As war looms on a new front and Miyoung feels the constraints of her adopted home tighten, she is faced with a choice that will change her life—and the lives of those she loves—forever.
Redbone
Experience the riveting, powerful story of the Native American civil rights movement and the resulting struggle for identity told through the high-flying career of West Coast rock 'n' roll pioneers Redbone.You've heard the hit song "Come and Get Your Love" in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, but the story of the band behind it is one of cultural, political, and social importance.Brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas were talented Native American rock musicians that took the 1960s Sunset Strip by storm. They influenced The Doors and jammed with Jimmy Hendrix before he was "Jimi," and the idea of a band made up of all Native Americans soon followed. Determined to control their creative vision and maintain their cultural identity, they eventually signed a deal with Epic Records in 1969. But as the American Indian Movement gained momentum the band took a stand, choosing pride in their ancestry over continued commercial reward.
Monday, December 2, 2024
The Baku Inheritance
The shadowy world of nineteenth century Baku, Azerbaijan, is the backdrop to this thrilling tale of oil spies, treachery and a mysterious Faberge egg. Two characters: Anton - bereaved and bankrupt, and Klara - suspicious and secretive. Forced to tolerate each other in a deadly game, both must come to terms with what they are hiding from.Anton knew something was wrong the moment he stepped ashore…1890: The ancient city of Baku on the outermost edge of the Russian Empire.Anton Sabroski has come home. But the once-beautiful mansion on the shores of the Caspian Sea is silent and dark, a decaying relic in a bustling city. Upstairs, his father lies dying, his oil empire in ruins, his friends gone, his only bequests to his son a jewelled Faberge egg containing a coded message and the care of Klara, a mysterious, hostile girl.Unable to accept that his father was responsible for the loss of his family’s fortunes, Anton begins to investigate. But Baku is a city of many faces.
The story is a historical mystery that moves slowly. The time period is during the first oil boom at the turn of the last century in an oil town along the Caspian Sea. The novel captures the essence of Baku with it's details on architecture, traditional foods and customs. The oil business in Baku was thoroughly described as were the wealthy international oil barons who held sway. During this time period Azerbaijan was a part of the Russian Empire.
It seemed that every other page had someone smoking a shisha pipe. I had to look this up and Wikipedia states that Shisha is the Arabic name for a type of pipe for burning tobacco, in which smoke passes through a container of water before it is breathed in. Many people think that drawing tobacco smoke through water makes shisha less harmful than cigarettes, but that's not true. In a shisha session (which usually lasts 20-80 minutes), a shisha smoker can inhale the same amount of smoke as a cigarette smoker consuming over 100 cigarettes. I was expecting the pipe to be used for smoking opium but I was wrong.
The plot was intriguing but I felt that there was something off in its execution. I was expecting it to be a historical thriller but it's not, which is not the author’s fault. The book is a historical mystery. Despite my genre rumblings I felt that the pace was slow. I read the book in one sitting but cannot say I was riveted while I read it's pages. Given that the mystery to be solved was how Anton lost his inheritance and not the usual murder, I was not too engaged in the plot reveal.
3 out of 5 stars.
The Infinity Particle
Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of work, Clem meets Dr. Lin’s assistant, a humanoid AI named Kye. Clem is no stranger to robots—she built herself a cute moth-shaped companion named SENA. Still, there’s something about Kye that feels almost too human.When Clem and Kye begin to collaborate, their chemistry sets off sparks. The only downside? Dr. Lin is enraged by Kye’s growing independence and won’t allow him more freedom. Plus, their relationship throws into question everything Clem thought she knew about AI. After all, if Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn’t he be able to control his own actions? Where is the line between AI and human? As her past and Kye’s future weigh down on her, Clem becomes determined to help him break free—even if it means risking everything she came to Mars for.
The plot premise is timely. We are just beginning to discuss the challenges AI poses as well as how it can be used to improve life on Earth. In this story, the author had secondary characters that were Asian, Muslim, disabled, African and white. She covered most of the protected classes! There was only one male character and he is the AI created robot that Clem fell in love with. All the inventors were women.
Clem had disagreements with Kye's creator Marcella concerning whether robots are their own people who should be treated with respect and allowed to have their own thoughts and interests. Marcella I was not happy about the romance between Clem and Kye. I loved that one strip showed a character walking down a staircase and another person in a wheelchair using an adjacent ramp. None of the characters suffered any discrimination on Mars but they did talk about the challenges of life on Earth.
The art in this book is breathtaking and really pops in its minimal blue color palette. The pace was nice and fast but I expected that the plot would be more sci-fi with discussion on creating AI creatures. However, it was predominantly a romance story. That part was a disappointment to me.
Sunday, December 1, 2024
2025 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge
The Carol's Notebook blog will once again be hosting the Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge again.
Challenge Rules:
- You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime/true crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.
- You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.)
- Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge.
- Books need to be at least 100 pages long. Please no short stories.
- Crossovers with other challenges are fine.
- The Challenge will run from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends March 15.)
We still have our facebook group so if you haven’t joined we would love for you to! Here’s the group’s link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/350512171977943/. It’s a closed group so just ask to join and we’ll let you in.
There will be a monthly link-up so we can see what everyone’s reading – and probably add some to our own tbr lists. At the halfway mark and at the end we will have a giveaway for those participating.
We’ll continue to use the hashtag #CloakDaggerChal.
Levels:
5-15 books – Amateur sleuth
16-25 books – Detective
26-35 books – Inspector (my personal challenge)
36 – 55 books – Special agent
56+ books – Sherlock Holmes
To join, add a link to your sign-up post or Goodreads shelf here.
Death at a Scottish Christmas
Sea Isle, Scotland, is magical during the holiday season, and Dr. Emilia McRoy can’t wait to enjoy everything her village has to offer. But when the lead singer of a famous band is murdered in the village, just as they were about to launch a world tour, her holiday instantly comes to a halt.As the band’s future hangs in the balance, Emilia discovers that the victim was working on new music that has since disappeared. Were these new lyrics worth killing for? And if so, who is the culprit? It seems more than one person wanted this music star dead. Shockingly, beloved constable Ewan Campbell becomes the prime suspect in the investigation, putting a damper on the town’s festivities.With an ever-growing list of suspects, Emilia will need all the help she can get to figure out who is framing poor Ewan. Between a secret Santa that wants her dead, stalkers, and killer holiday celebrations, Emilia must see the devil in the details and discover the truth before it’s too late.
When I read the first book in the series I had some difficulty with the Scottish slang terminology. Now I not only understand it but look forward to reading it. The series has become a favorite. The quirky characters are adorable. The banter between Emilia and Ewen is hysterical and I love how they feed off of each other. It's amazing how the townspeople have organized for their needs during the long winters when supplies cannot be delivered to this remote island. Instead of worrying about the situation they got organized but you can tell they are a happy group of people who can slough off the cares of the world.
With Emilia serving as both physician and coroner, the reader sees a viewpoint different from most cozies when she has to investigate a death. Ewen serves as mayor and constable and is the wealthiest person on the island. He has a grumpy persona but makes sure that all of the villagers have everything they need. Of course, this means that he knows everyone's business.
The howdunit was fascinating. When the band leader's corpse was discovered it was determined that he died from air entering his brain which caused an embolism to form and then burst. How did the air get in the brain? A corkscrew was used to puncture his head. The puncture wound was described as small and I just couldn't picture it as being small. The author was creative in dreaming up this method of killing though. Also, the mystery surrounding the lost notebook with musical scores was entertaining. Resolving this issue was just as gripping as determining the identity of the killer.
I loved this new installment of the series and recommend it to cozy fans. 5 out of 5 stars.
Neptune
Saturday, November 30, 2024
2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge Author Edition
2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
11) Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.
12) There is also a very active group on Facebook where you can share your books read and converse with others taking part in the challenge. Alphabet Soup Challenge
13) Sign up using Google Forms. Sign Up Here.