Tulle Death Do Us Part (A Vintage Magic Mystery #6)

I was very frustrated with rating this book. It’s a GREAT read, but the author pissed me off so badly in one area I almost didn’t finish reading the book. So, I’m giving it 3.5 stars but rounding up in good faith that she’ll quit screwing around with Mad!

 

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Madeira and Nick finally get their acts together and declare a commitment to each other in a previous book, after making the reader love him for his charm and his obvious adoration of Maddie. Only to have him act like a complete ass at the beginning of this book – off stage! – by just up and leaving her without any explanation, and when she does finally get in touch – he not only completely blows her off, but he lets a woman answer the phone (a character from the last book)! WTF?!?! And then midway through the book, sends her a text message we’re all supposed to embrace as a kindness. Again, WTF?!?!

INSERT SPOILER TAG HERE

 

I really like Werner and I always loved the banter and the chemistry between him and Maddie, but I did not appreciate the emotional slap-fest the author puts this reader through. The really good series (and this has been one up to now) – I get emotionally invested and attached to the characters. And well, the way this book started was just crap.

 

Ok, rant over. As I mentioned, Tulle Death Do Us Part is a great read once you get past the bitch-slap the author gives her readers. An old mystery involving the upper crust of Mystick Falls and secret scavenger hunts. And secrets. I’m so attached to these characters, and it’s such fun to see them in their element, sleuthing away and trading witty dialogue the entire time. Pure entertainment. Werner has come into his own and he and Maddie have great chemistry, working together to figure out what happened all those years ago.

 

I can’t say whether the mystery itself was well done or not. I freely admit to being completely distracted by what was going on with the characters. The ending was climatic for so many reasons; the decades old mystery only one factor.

 

I’ll read the next one – I’m too hooked on this series to stop now. But I really hope the author cools it and shows Maddie some compassion (or her readers – I’m not sure Maddie is all that fussed).

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

I’ve always known I’m an off-the-chart introvert, but I’ve spent my life being told ‘No way! You are totally extroverted!’ by my employers, so I wanted to learn more about the dynamics of introvert vs. extrovert.

 

This is a great book. As I’ve said, I’ve always known I’m an introvert, but I had no idea what that meant in terms of showing affection, conflict resolution – even my nervous system! Reading this was a great breath of fresh air for me – I’m not ‘broken’ because I can’t ‘fight’ the ‘right’ way and I can’t always control my need to run in the opposite direction from social events larger than 4 people. Other themes that struck a chord: guilt, the need to please, the feelings of devastation at the slightest sign of disapproval, amongst so many others.

 

From a management perspective – well, I wish this book was required reading for anyone managing a number of people. I work in an ‘open office plan’, and while I’m an introvert, I’m not shy, so it’s a daily battle not to turn around and yell at everybody to shut the hell up – or run screaming out of the room myself.

 

I don’t have children, but the last part of the book did a wonderful job touching on the subject of introversion in children and their experiences in the educational system. I never got the standard ‘do you speak English’-type comments growing up (see above about not being shy), but my mother had to deal with 12 years of ‘your daughter is extremely bright but has an attitude problem’ – until I read this book I NEVER understood this as all I ever wanted to do was please my teachers.

 

All in all, a very eye-opening read. For Introverts, it’s an affirmation. For extroverts with introverts in your lives, hopefully reading this book will make understanding us a bit easier.

 

I listened to the audio and while the narrator was excellent (she spoke very quietly – on purpose do you think?), I think this might be a book I’d like to own in print for easy reference in the future.

Mama Sees Stars (A Mace Bauer Mystery #4)

3 stars because I’m just not a fan of the premise – a murder on a movie set placed in the middle of Florida. Murder mysteries within a series, where a whole new cast of characters are introduced are my least favorite; I figure out who’s who in a series and then suddenly I have another passel of characters to figure out and keep straight.

 

Usually this happens when the main character of a series encounters murder and mayhem on vacation, at a conference, etc. But hollywood setting up shop in Himmarshee results in the same thing.

 

I love these sisters although Mama was just too ditzy and narcissistic. I guess her narcissism can be excused though, as Hollywood was there to bring out her worst. The drama between Mace and Carlos started to feel exhausting and I just wanted to yell at the book ‘sit down and have a damn conversation with each other instead of stomping around!’, but I loved the ending and so forgave the frustration.

 

The mystery wasn’t quite as well done as in books past; I guessed the murderer pretty early on. The author left holes in this plot as well (what was up with the whole Raccoon thing?) and I didn’t appreciate AT ALL the use of animals dying as a plot device in this story. I do not like reading about animal death in any way, shape, or form. VERY unappreciated in a cozy mystery, although I will say these deaths were not due to abuse, or characters otherwise taking joy in harming the animals.

 

All in all, not the best book in this series, but the series still shines as a very funny, entertaining look at a side of Florida few people experience and I am looking forward to September’s new release.

A Cursed Embrace: A Weird Girls Novel #2

3 stars only because I’m not in any way a fan of demons in my stories. They’re just too one-dimensional/single-minded for me to find them interesting, but they make good adversaries, I guess.

 

This book is quite a bit darker (see demons, above) than the first book, but it kept me riveted because of the characters. The sisters are that perfect dynamic – each with their own very unique personality and gift and their wolves, the same (I think Koda is my favorite). I can’t say I really much cared for the ending although, way to stop my heart re; Shayna!!! VERY well done!  Although I knew a conflict was coming, the author has set it up in a way that if feels like a happy ending of some kind is inevitable, and that’s what will keep me reading. In the meantime, I’m loving Misha – his name, his looks, his attitude – and I’m looking forward to seeing how the dynamic between Celia and Misha plays out.

 

Thankfully, the next book will be out in just 7 months or so, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

A Custom-Fit Crime: A Magical Dressmaking Mystery #4

First of all, I love this series. It ticks all the boxes for me: good mysteries, great characters, great setting, humour, quirkiness, ghosts and charms. I love the ever evolving backstory of Bliss.

 

What to say about this book in particular? I’m not sure. It was a good story, with really clever plot-lines (although the primary plot line murderer was the one I suspected). I love where Harlow and Will are heading and I really get a kick out of his daughter. But for some reason, this book just felt flatter than the others and I can’t really say why.

 

Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, though not as much as the previous ones. Would I recommend this series? Have done and will continue to rave about it. But I wouldn’t recommend that anyone read this book as an introduction to the series (although if they do, they can look forward to all the rest of the books being even better!

 

On the plus side, the next one comes out 9 months from now, instead of a year. Woot!

Mama Gets Hitched (A Mace Bauer Mystery #3)

Excellent read, but really, in comparison to the first two books, I’m calling this a 3.5 star read.

 

If you haven’t yet dived into the Mace Bauer series, the characters are great, sassy, smart, witty, but still, old-time Florida – and most definitely not the postcard Florida one thinks about when thinking about a beach vacation.  This is cattle country.

 

The plot of this one was well done; the author does a very good job keeping the reader too busy to really speculate too heavily about who the killer is. At least one plot twist kept me from being at least entirely right when I did guess.

 

So what cost it the half star? Mama got on my last nerve with the Bridezilla bit and the constant one-track song she played about Mace’s looks, about her ability to keep a man, about her sister Maddie’s weight. She went on and on and ON, and she wasn’t ever listening to anything anyone else tried to say. She was too busy listening to the sound of her own voice.  Mama came off vain, shallow and narcissistic instead of eccentric, quirky and charming as she has in previous books. Still it was a small blip on in otherwise entertaining read. We see more of Carlos in this book and that was a definite bonus – I like learning more about this man and I like his less antagonistic interactions with Mace. The scene on the lake was the best part of the book for me.

 

I’m looking forward to reading Mama Sees Stars.

One Dead Cookie (Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery #4)

Meh.

 

I really like to the two main characters, Olivia and Maddie. And Olivia’s mother is a joy. The dialogue between these three is really well written and there are more than a few good one-liners. Del is sweet and I think he could be a great character if he was around more.

 

The plot of the mystery, at it’s bones, was well done. Old clues, new clues, lots of suspects and an ending that wasn’t the total cliched ‘cozy ending #2’. I liked the ending.

 

So what was the problem? The story just didn’t flow well at all. It felt disjointed and clunky; disorganised. And while I’m an animal lover to an extreme, if I had to hear one more time about Spunky’s days on the ‘mean streets of Baltimore’ or his begging eyes I was gonna scream. It was too much.

 

If the next book came out right now, I wouldn’t pick it up. We’ll see how I feel X months from now when it does come out.

Tarnished and Torn: A Witchcraft Mystery #5

An excellent read I didn’t want to put down until it was over. The characters feel like friends at this point and it’s nice to ‘visit’ with them at Aunt Cora’s Closet.

 

The plot line is a big one – maybe a teensy bit too big even for the suspension of disbelief – but a fun one. Even though the ‘bad guys’ are clear from the beginning, the villain of the murder wasn’t at all and surprised me a bit.

 

I’d have liked to see a bit more of Sailor but at least he puts in his appearance eventually.  Some explanations of behaviour would be nice too. But I can’t wait until I get to visit the gang again. I’m only sorry I’ll have to wait another year to do it.

Murder and Mischief in the Hamptons (Hamptons #2)

This is a fun, fast, entertaining SPA read. 3.5 stars, but only because the murder mystery plot wasn’t truly central to the story, with 99% of it occurring in the last half of the book.

 

Still, the characters are a lot of fun; likeable, funny, with great dialogue. The ghosts are a hoot and they often steal the scenes with the best lines. I’ll be looking for the release of a third book in this series.

Final Sentence (A Cookbook Nook Mystery #1)

The beginning of this book started off clunky for me – I really struggled the first few chapters to figure out the characters’ voices and as a result, the dialogue really didn’t flow at all. And the first half of the book was overly peppered (ha! cooking reference!) with specific examples of how Jenna was an ace marketing executive in her previous career. Yeah, I get it.  Enough. These stuck out and felt horribly awkward to me and were quite a turn-off.

 

But about half to 2/3 of the way through the book, the story found it’s groove, the dialogue started flowing better, the awkward horn-blowing stopped and I found myself really interested in the book. I’m withholding judgement on the characters until the next book, as their personalities didn’t feel established. The two exceptions being Rhett and Tigger – both charmers from the get-go! Oh, and someone needed to drown Pepper before the book even started.

 

The plot of the murder mystery was well done: some symbolism, a few red-herrings, lots of suspects. I wasn’t able to guess the murderer until the author wanted me to – right along with Jenna.

 

I’ll also say that I found there to be too much internal dialogue, but I think that’s just my personal cross to bear since I think just about every book has too much internal dialogue. I’ll be looking for the next book to see where things go from here.