Carol – Carol's Notebook

Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by K.C. Grifant

December 10, 2025December 10, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I don't read a lot of westerns but an interesting one will always grab my attention, so a western with fantasy monsters and a female main character made my list. Melinda West and her partner, Lance, make a living killing monsters in a bizarre wild west. The book starts right in the middle of the action. The pair are doing their last job, ridding a town of giant flying scorpions, before buying a ranch to settle down on. Nothing in Melinda's life is ever simple though. After they get paid they head home, but a stone Melinda takes back with her sets off a series of events that puts those most dear to her at risk of losing their souls. She's in a race against time to catch the bad guy and rescue the souls. Melinda is capable, smart, and no nonsense. Lance, when he's feeling up to par, is charismatic and can charm just about anyone. They make a...

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

December 9, 2025December 9, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

I thoroughly enjoyed The Storm. The main story follows Geneva Corliss, owner of the falling down Rosalie Inn in St. Medard's Bay, Alabama. Writer, August Fletcher, books a room at the inn for several weeks while he writes the story of Lo Bailey. Lo was 19 when she was accused of murdering her lover, up and coming politician, Landon Fitzroy, but was found innocent at the trial, with the death blames on a hurricane. Geneva is happy with the income the stay will provide and the possible publicity the book might give the Rosalie. Turns out Lo comes with August - another room rental - and Geneva finds herself wondering if Lo did kill Landon, and what connection Lo has to the inn and to Geneva's family. The story alternates between the present and the past, slowly revealing the connections between Geneva’s mother, Ellen, and her two friends, Lo and Frieda and the murder forty years ago. Now there's another...

The Holly Village Murders by Benedict Brown

December 9, 2025December 9, 2025 by CarolNo Comments

Poor Bella. Her fiancé was recently killed and now her Aunt Adele is dead under mysterious circumstances. Marius Quin, our mystery novelist/ amateur detective, and Bella head to Holly Village, where Adele lived, to figure out what happened. The folks are an interesting lot, mostly older aristocrats, but it's hard for Marius and Bella to imagine any of them as the killer. Marius and Bella make a good team, although I'm a little tired of Marius' "I love her but can't tell her" bit. The banter between the two is fun and their strengths play off each other well. The mystery takes place over about two days. We get plenty of clues and the whodunnit might be a little obvious, but there are plenty of Christmas touches that make this a nice read for the season. It's well-researched and lets you feel immersed in the late 1920s in London. It's the 6th in the series but was written to be...

52 Books in 52 Weeks 2026

December 5, 2025December 5, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

By the end of the year, I will have completed 2025's 52 Books in 52 Weeks main challenge. (I did not do so great at the mini-challenges.) I read a lot of books I enjoyed, some of which I wouldn't usually have picked up, so I'm signing up again this year. Here's the list: Set in an ancient civilization Kangaroo word on the cover Written without quotation marks Has a dust jacket Featuring a conspiracy Title starts with the letter “O” Title starts with the letter “P” A three-syllable word in the title Featuring a natural disaster Spans a decade or more Requires suspension of disbelief A genre-defining read Bookface Includes a character list A subtitle with commas Deus Ex Machina Author’s bio mentions their dog Provokes strong emotion A nosy neighbour character Day of the week in the title Written in the 1800s Spotted in a TV series or movie Grumpy sunshine trope Uneven number of chapters Includes a red herring Title in a serif font Two or more authors, one pseudonym From a series at least eight books long Set in the Arctic or Antarctic Author related to...

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies 2026

December 4, 2025December 5, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

We all know I love cozies, so of course I'm signing up for the Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge again. It's hosted by Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews. I’m aiming at being an investigator, reading 20 cozy mysteries of my choice hopefully including one from each of the categories below. One from culinary – One from animal-related – One from craft related – One from paranormal – One from cozy mysteries based outside the US – One career-based cozy mystery – One holiday based – One travel mystery – One historical mystery – One is your choice! – Books read:...

Nonfiction Reader Challenge 2026

December 4, 2025December 5, 2025 by Carol1 Comment

I am signing up for the Nonfiction reader challenge again this year. It's hosted by Shelleyrae at Book’d Out. The hashtag is #ReadNonFicChal. The challenge is to read nonfiction books from twelve different categories. I’m going with the Nonfiction Nipper option again this year, reading three from any three categories. The categories are: History Memoir/Biography True Crime Science Health Food South East Asia Humour (Humor) Lost or found Television Subculture Published in 2026 Books read:...