The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

by Carol10 Comments
I love Penny's Gamache series. I may want to live in Three Pines and be friends with the characters - as long as I didn't get murdered; it's one of those towns where you don't want to be a minor character or a new arrival. Actually, there are a lot of new characters in this one and we know one (or more) is the killer. The Nature of the Beast is set in Three Pines, where Inspector Gamache has now retired with his wife Reine Marie, but of course life can't be quiet for Gamache. A young boy is killed in the village and by not believing what the boy had told him, Gamache feels partly responsible for the death. At the same time, the local amateur theater is planning on producing a play written by a serial killer. As readers, or listeners in my case, we know the two have to be connected, but the question is how. This time, the...
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The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

by Carol8 Comments
I don't read much horror, but Michelle is hosting read-alongs of three of Poe's short stories at Castle Macabre this month and they fit in so well with RIP X that I decided to join her on a couple. My daughter is a huge Poe fan, so I borrowed her paperback copy of Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. I wasn't sure about reading The Cask of Amontillado. Being buried alive is one of my fears, silly I know but that's beside the point. I may have read too many stories like Poe's when I was younger, but the victim here is bricked into a wall, which is somehow different. I don't want to tell too much about the story, it's only 9 pages long and you really should just take the few minutes and read it. A couple of things really stuck me, though. First is, as always, how much good short story writers can cram into those pages,...
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All In by Joel Goldman and Lisa Klink

by Carol2 Comments
All In is a fun, breezy thriller - danger, bad guys, gambling, and a touch of romance. From a New York penthouse to a luxury yacht on the Mediterranean, it's just a fun ride. There's plenty of action and not a slow spot in the book. Both Cassie and Jake are fabulous and will take your money. Cassie because it's her job - and she's very good at her job. Jake because he's a good poker player- not lucky, he just knows the odds and can read people very well. Together, they are quite a team, even if they'd rather not be and are not sure how much to trust each other. And of course there are sparks between them, even though Cassie at first and then Jake want to resist the attraction for their own reasons. Okay, so it's a fairly typical book, one that I could totally see as date movie, but the authors do it really well. The story...
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First Impressions by Charlie Lovett

by Carol2 Comments
I almost quit listening to First Impressions about halfway through, mostly because I had an audiobook waiting in the wings that I was really, really looking forward to, but I stuck it out to the end. I'm not sure if that was a good choice or not. It wasn't torture, but it wasn't great either. The story alternates between chapters focusing on Sophie in now and Jane back then, which worked well really, even if from what I understand a lot of the Jane portion was as fictional as the Sophie part. I knew who the bad guy was - from the moment he showed up; I knew that Sophie would find proof that Jane Austen was not a plagiarist; I was sure Sophie would end up with the right guy and that Jane Austen would become a well-known novelist. And guess what- I was right. What kept me listening was that Sophie, and especially her uncle, love books. The libraries and...
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Intimations of Austen by Jane Greensmith

by Carol4 Comments
Maybe it's been too long since I read most of Jane Austen's novels. I don't remember all of the characters and few of the details, so I think I may have not been the best audience for this book. Out of the collection only two really struck me. The first, "Rainbow Around The Moon," a sequel to Persuasion was a short, touching tale about Captain Wentworth and his daughter. I don't think you necessarily needed to read the original to appreciate it. The other was "All I Do," the last story and longer than the others. In this tale of Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth is not married to Darcy.  The characters are a bit fuller than in the others and I guess I remember the original story better than the others. It was enjoyable, seeing the "what might have been" and how in the end Darcy and Elizabeth still get happiness. The others were neither here nor there for me. They weren't bad, they just...
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A Hot Glue Gun Mess by Mr. Kate

by Carol2 Comments
Maybe I'm too old or maybe I'm just not cool enough, but A Hot Glue Gun Mess didn't really inspire me. There are a couple of cute projects that I may try, like the heels with bows or the mercury glass vase, but I really don't need a feather crown or pom-pom cushion. The photos are all well-done and the layout is nice. It's kind of a memoir meets DIY book. The book is full of short stories from Kate's privileged life, each followed by a craft project that may or may not be related. Most of her stories are from her childhood/teen/college years and though some were amusing, eventually I just didn't care. She drops names and shares more than I really want to know. Actually, I quit reading them and just looked at the pretty pictures. I enjoy crafts and there are a few here I'd like to try.  Maybe I'll just photocopy those pages and send this book...
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