Book Review: The Classified Catnapping (Mystery at the Biltmore, #2) by Colleen Nelson

-
Image
The Classified Catnapping (Mystery at the Biltmore, #2)  by Colleen Nelson  is the second book in a a children's book series about a girl named Elodie who has her own detective agency called the LaRue Detective Agency. In this latest edition, a movie is being filmed at the Biltmore in New York City, and the lead actor, a cat named Bijou, is missing. Can Elodie find the missing cat before it's too late? I'd like to thank NetGalley and Pajama Press for approving my request to read The Classified Catnapping (Mystery at the Biltmore, #2)  and providing me an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC). I received a copy of this children's book for free in exchange for my honest review. Oh my goodness! I absolutely fell in love with this book. It's super cute and perfect for children between the ages of five years old and eight years old who enjoy whodunits. Surprisingly, the characters are very well developed for a book targeted to younger children, which isn't something you typica...
Post a Comment

Book Review: Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta

-

book review many are invited dennis cuesta

Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta opens with John Goertz calling a meeting to deal with Y2K, but he bypasses the normal procedures and makes enemies at work, one of them being Steve Galanos.  After awhile, John and Steve become good friends.  After a few years, John leaves the company for a startup, and the two men's lives start going in different directions.  When John gets a windfall of money from a successful IPO, gets married, and buys a house, distrust builds to the two friends.  Yet, it's a housewarming party for John and his wife that leads to a tragic event.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Celestial Eyes Press for the Advanced Readers Copy of Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta.  The synopsis and the cover of the book had me intrigued, so I was ecstatic to be selected to read and review this book ahead of its expected publication of October 6, 2022.

The storyline for Many Are Invited is exactly what I thought it would be based on the synopsis.  The first few pages didn't immediately suck me in, but once I got a few chapters into the book, the tale really became interesting.  I couldn't read fast enough to see what would happen.  I had completely forgotten about Y2K and how many people panicked about it, so there was some nostalgia in reading about that event.

Like most books, there were some characters that were likable and some that weren't.  The character development was great for the most part, and I enjoyed the internal dialogue of the main character, Steve.  I felt like Steve's perceptions of the early to mid twenties crowd compared to his perception of people in their mid-thirties was spot on.  These two age groups are in such different places in their lives.  I felt like Dennis Cuesta did a great job of characterizing how John and Steve talked in private about women.  I've overheard men in passing that discussed women in that same way . . . not to say that all men are like that though.

The length of Many Are Invited was perfect . . . not too long and not too short.  It left me wanting more!  I loved the references to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and some of the similarities between the two stories.  If you've read both of these books, I think you'll see what I mean, and I don't want to give anything away.  The ending of the novel was bittersweet, which is the only thing I didn't care for, but it was concluded in away that didn't leave me hanging.

All in all, I absolutely loved Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta and gave it four out of five stars.  I can't wait to read the other book Dennis Cuesta has written and hope he writes many more novels.  This is a book I will definitely be recommending to the book club I belong to.

Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/youtube the running bibliophile

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

-
Image
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a young adult horror novel about Marley and her friends Atlas, Lucia, and Jesse are seniors in high school.  The senior pranks are fun and lighthearted until Rhett starts doling out dares that are more serious.  Will Marley and her friends survive? A huge thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of The Dare  by Natasha Preston.  The last book I read by this author was so well written, I knew I wanted to give her latest story a try. The first thing I noticed about the story is it's reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which brought back all the feels from my childhood.  Pretty quickly, the storyline shifts and is eerily similar to the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer .  It's at this point that I became disappointed with the book and almost stopped reading it.   Additionally, there were other parts t hat reminded me of The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell.  So, overall, The Dare wasn't ...
Read more

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 mai...
Read more