Book Review: A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder

-
Image
A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder opens with Hope Early preparing for the annual Jingle Bell Stroll. When the person playing Santa Claus is murdered, Hope knows she must find out how and why it happened.   I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. This book was just the one I needed to read to help me get in the mood for Christmas. I know that it sounds weird since it's a cozy mystery where people are murdered, but it was full of holiday activities including caroling, a holiday market, making wreaths, picking out a Christmas tree, and more. The caroling event especially made me think of my childhood when the neighborhood kids along with a few adults would go door to door around the neighborhood to sing Christmas carols. We would have luminaries lit on both sides of the street as well. All of the characters, minus one or two of them, were very likable, and despite me not having r
Post a Comment

Book Review: Time's Convert (All Souls Universe, #1) by Deborah Harkness

-

Words cannot begin to describe how excited I was when the novel Time's Convert (All Souls Universe, #1) by Deborah Harkness came out in bookstores, and I pre-ordered the newest edition to the book series from Barnes and Noble. I prepared for the new release by rereading the original trilogy to refresh my memory of what happened. The original All Souls Trilogy includes A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life. However, when Time's Convert arrived in my mailbox, I was in a bit of a reading slump, and it took me all this time to actually read it. Boy, am I mad at myself for not reading it right after I finished rereading The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3).
At first, I did have a little trouble getting into Time's Convert because I felt like I knew the least about Phoebe, Marcus' mate. Once the other character's story lines were interwoven into the book, I really was able to get into the book, and I even began to like learning more about Phoebe's transition into a vampire.
I loved the fact that we got to read about the early childhood of Marcus and how he grew into a man . . . and eventually was turned into a vampire during the American Revolutionary War. I enjoyed how the Marquis de Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier), Thomas Paine, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the Liberty Bell were all woven into the story as well. It definitely made me me interested in learning more about some of these real life characters.
As we learned that Marcus and the de Clermont family was also involved in the French Revolution, it also sparked an interest in learning even more about that as well. We all know that Marie Antoinette and Louise-August were sentenced to death by the guillotine. I never knew that it was named after the person who invented it (Joseph-Ignace Guillotin). Even though I learned about the French Revolution in high school, I really had no idea that is happened so closely to the American Revolutionary War. Who says you can't learn something factual from a fiction book?
Time's Convert doesn't have as much going on in it as the original trilogy, and I didn't expect it to knowing that this was the backstory of Marcus. With that being said, there was a bit of action in it and unexpected secrets revealed. I loved the fact that I didn't entirely know what was going to happen either. I expect that some people would be disappointed with this book because it has a lot of history included in it, and some might find that boring and unexciting. I am glad to say I'm not one of those people; I loved this book. I give it four out of five stars just because I did have a little trouble getting into it at first.
Synopsis of Time's Convert: During the battles of the American Revolutionary War, Marcus MacNeil meets Matthew de Clermont. When Marcus is offered immortality, he readily agrees, and the transformation is not easy for him with all these new rules. Fast forward to the present day, Phoebe Taylor, an employee at Sotheby's, has fallen in love with Marcus and decides she wants to live an immortal life with him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Product Review: Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist - Gain Scent

-
Image
One particular weekend night, I was watching television, and a commercial came on advertising Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist. In the ad, it mentioned that it would take off grime and dirt after spraying it on the surface and wiping it off with a simple swipe. It went on to mention that it could be used in the bathroom, and I thought, "I really need to try this product on my bathtub." Excited, I couldn't wait to buy it and looked for it at the grocery store the next day while I was getting my weekly groceries. I wasn't expecting to actually find it in stores yet because it usually takes the stores in my area a few weeks to get products in stock after I see it advertised on television. Much to my surprise and delight, my local Kroger Grocery Store actually had the Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist in stock and in no less than two scents. I grabbed the Gain Scent bottle and stuck it in my grocery cart. Eventually, I decided to use it to cle
Read more

Book Review: Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross

-
Image
Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross is the story about Julia and her mother Jacqueline attending a memorial service on Chipmunk Island for Ginny, who was an old friend of Jacqueline.  When something seems off at the memorial, Julia decides to delve into the cold case of Ginny, and in the process of the investigation, a murder takes place on the island. Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for the Advanced Readers Copy of Hidden Beneath (Maine Clambake Mystery, #11) by Barbara Ross in exchange for my honest review.  I first became familiar with this series and author while reading a collection of short stories that included one from the Maine Clambake Mystery series.  I was excited when I was approved to read this newest book and was not disappointed. This newest edition can be read as a stand alone as the author does a fantastic job of recapping the backstories of the characters from previous books in the series.  I found all the main characters to be
Read more

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

-
Image
Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich is the latest installment in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Joe Morelli asking Stephanie to dog sit his dog Bob while he is out of town testifying at a trial.  The typical chaos ensues when Stephanie has to bring Bob along to apprehend all of her FTAs and has her asking herself if she wants to be married. Each book in this series typically follows the same formula and is wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  It's because of this that I enjoy the series . . . I always know that Stephanie is going to get herself into some sort of trouble and need Ranger or Morelli to help her, and the bad guy is always caught.  Sometimes, I just need something familiar and predictable to read.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way either because it allows me to escape reality and gives me a few chuckles along the way.  It's like the comfort food of books for me. The last few books I felt like someone had ghost written
Read more