Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...
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Book Review: You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mysteries, #5) by Linda Reilly

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NetGalley ARC Book Review You Feta Watch Out by Linda Reilly
You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mysteries, #5) by Linda Reilly was published on November 19, 2024. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. When I started hearing some buzz about this book on Threads and Instagram from people who had received an ARC, I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy, so I am thankful for NetGalley providing me a copy.

This is the first book I've read by Linda Reilly, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I loved the fact that it revolved around a Christmas play and the holiday season. Despite a murder taking place in the story, it was still full of holiday cheer, which is helping put me in the mood for the upcoming holidays.

There were quite a few characters, and it took me a bit to keep them straight, especially when it came to Gina and Nina. Most of the characters were quite likable. Reilly did a fantastic job of throwing suspicion on quite a few people and making me second guess myself. I did end up incorrectly guessing who was the murderer, but I was able to figure out the connection between the cosmetologist and the murder victim.

As far as dislikes, I had very few of them. One dislike was that there were a couple of points that were reiterated a time too many. Other than that, it bugged me that instead of describing the characters taking off their coats, gloves, etcetera, the author kept mentioning that the characters took off their outerwear.

Those two things aside, I really enjoyed the story and gave it four out of five stars. I do plan on reading the rest of the series at some point.

Synopsis: The town of Balsam Dell is preparing to watch the dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol when the lead of the play is found dead in his dressing room. Restaurant owner Carly must exonerate her friend Gina as the main suspect as she helps the police investigate on her own time. Can Carly solve this crime?

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