A Murder Yule Regret by Winnie Archer

A Murder Yule Regret by Winnie Archer

by Carol2 Comments
A Murder Yule Regret is the 7th in the series, but the first I read. It worked fine as a stand-alone, but I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I knew the characters better. Ivy is a good character, curious, caring. She's a freelance photographer and an assistant in the bakery. Her photos are important to solving the case, but to be honest I was more interested in the bakery and the bread than I was about her photography business. I'm not sure if that's because I haven't read earlier ones in the series or not. Or because I really love bread and this book has inspired me to try some baking of my own - or at least plan to try some baking of my own. I have a recipe and ingredients, just haven't started yet. The first victim is a "journalist" found dead at the bottom of a cliff during a party held by film...
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2022 Nonfiction Reading Challenge

by Carol6 Comments
I’m joining the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book’d Out again this year. The hashtag is #ReadNonFicChal. The challenge is to read nonfiction books from twelve different categories. I’m going with the Nonfiction Nipper option reading three from any three categories. The categories are: 1. Social History 2. Popular Science 3. Language 4. Medical Memoir 5. Climate/Weather 6. Celebrity 7. Reference 8. Geography: On the Trail of Sherlock Homes by Stephen Browning 9. Linked to a podcast: Wine for Normal People by Elizabeth Schneider 10. Wild Animals 11. Economics 12. Published in 2022...
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Best in Snow by David Rosenfelt

Best in Snow by David Rosenfelt

by Carol2 Comments
Best in Snow is the first Andy Carpenter mystery I've picked up. I couldn't resist the adorable cover and Grover Gardner as narrator. It worked fine as a stand-alone for me, although I'm sure I would have known more about Andy and the other recurring characters had I read the series from the beginning. At 24 books, that's not going to happen. This time around, Andy finds a dead body while walking his dogs. A former reporter for Andy Carpenter is an almost retired defense attorney with more than enough money, so he can pick and choose his clients- unless his friend and newspaper editor asks him to help out a former reporter charged with the mayor's murder. Then he doesn't get much of a choice. Andy is clever and sarcastic and downright funny, all of which Gardner pulls off perfectly. The dialogue is entertaining and the dogs are all adorable. The plot was well-done, with plenty of twists and turns,...
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Half-baked Holidays by Kat Bastion

Half-baked Holidays by Kat Bastion

by CarolNo Comments
Half-Baked Holidays is a collection of novellas full of romance and holiday fun. They're short and pretty much rely on love at first meeting, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. All of the characters are charming or adorable or sexy. The stories are light, with attraction and flirting and learning about themselves and each other, but no major complications, no major tensions, just sweet stories. There's no cheating on each other, no love triangles. There's also no sex, just plenty of kissing and holding hands and cookies and hot chocolate. I don't know that I had a favorite story - they all made me smile....
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Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

by Carol8 Comments
The Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off cover is absolutely adorable and honestly may have been the reason I picked it up. It's the second in the Beacon Bakeshop series but worked fine for me as a stand-alone. Lyndsey wants a perfect Christmas, she's got tons of lights for her lighthouse bakeshop, her family is coming, and her bakery is filled with all kinds of goodies. Then, of course, things start to go awry. The town announces a Christmas cookie contest with a celebrity judge, hoping to draw more tourists and their money. Every business that wants to participate, and everyone does, must have a signature cookie set out for visitors, then there's voting and a live finale. Except, most business owners don't bake or don't have time to, so Lyndsey's phone starts ringing off the hook for "signature cookies." She is overwhelmed until Carol Nichols arrives out of the blue and takes over most of the baking. And then the...
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Completed Reading Challenges

by Carol1 Comment
I did complete a few reading challenges this year. For the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book’d Out, I read three books in three different categories. All three were interesting, but Four Hundred Souls was excellent. Essay Collection – White Negroes by Lauren Michele JacksonInventions – Strange Frequencies by Peter BebergalPublished in 2021 – Four Hundred Souls edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain I completed all twelve months for the Calendar of Crime challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block. January – The Old Fox Deceiv’d by Martha Grimes (takes place in January)February – God Rest Ye, Royal Gentleman by Ryhs Bowen (couple on cover)March – Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle (title has word starting with “M”)April – The Three Locks by Bonnie MacBird (church/minister/religion has major role)May – Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz (title has word starting with “M”)June – A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie (original publication month)July – Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett (takes place in US)August – Shucked Apart by Barbara Ross (month related item on cover – beach/water)September – The Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths...
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