Pallas Poppies
What do a cop, a corrupt ex cop now working for the Mafia and a female Pinkerton Detective have in common? They are all trying to find the notorious axe murderer in New Orleans.
So New Orleans 1919 and there’s a serial killer on loose, sign me up, sounds great!
But I don’t really get into it, it’s too slow, nothing really at stake. No suspense and no thrills. Another book that makes me go meh, has such a promise though. Feels like a book I will forget I ever read before the year is over.
I did like the characters but I think they could have popped more, if the axeman gets them… oh well.
Wait, what? It was THE Louis Armstrong? Why?!
My audio version had an authors notes at the end and he was taking about how he felt about his first draft and he said basically what I’m still thinking, something about how this adolescent tripe and that the MC was stupid.
Bond wish women were in the kitchen and he wants to f*ck Vesper to make sure he dick works after he’s been tortured. He calls her bitch repeatedly but never to her face, he’s such a pretentious douchebag and I did think that this is some old man fantasy about being a guy, gross. Some racism as well because why not. Started early with, “Ears small, with large lobes, indicating some Jewish blood.” It was a stupid book.
Contains spoilers
Amanda is struggling with life after her daughter is murder and her husband kills himself, she wants the man responsible dead. She’s meets Wendy at a support group and they start taking, maybe they can help each other out?
My previous thriller had no thrills, there’s plenty in this one. Maybe the ending escalated a little too quickly for me but all in all I enjoyed it, it was a fun ride.
When it comes to cameras and DNA… I just went with it, not always believable but I decided to just not care.
SPOILER: But why the F did she burn Sparkles? Her daughter would have trusted her to look after Sparkles, she’d be devastated to know what happened to him.
Layla has a normal life but her actor boyfriend is desperate for a break and begs her to be part of a reality show. She accepts and off to tropical paradise, the first night on the island a storm hits and they are now cut off and needs to survive…
“As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla realises that someone is playing this game for real - and they’ll stop at nothing to win. Ten might have arrived, but who will survive to the end?”
I thought it was going to be a thriller but it’s more a physical drama and doesn’t really connect with the blurb.
It does raise some interesting questions about survival and decisions you might make as a group etc but… I was pretty bored. Maybe not sell it as a thriller full of suspense?
The characters felt paper thin and I didn’t care who lived or died. The MC had an inner dialog, something like, “It must have been horrible to have his young beautiful niece dying”. And yes, the death of ugly young nieces are much easier to deal with. And she also gets surprised that a beautiful woman could be in an abusive relationship. Sure, this were issues that could have been addressed if the MC was vain and all about looks but realizing that survival isn’t skin deep but it doesn’t.
I wanted, “And Then There Were None” in a tropical paradise and I feel cheated. It felt uninspired, thank the Gods I didn’t pay for this books. Libraries are amazing!
Ellie Mallory's having a bad day, she’s getting fired after being arrested at a suffragettes protest and when she accidentally comes across a mysterious map an amulet in her bosses office she decides it’s time for an adventure. But when stealing the map she’s soon found out and the villain is after her across the Atlantic…
This is like the cheesy lovechild between The Mummy and Indiana Jones. It’s not perfect but reads like an 80-90’s adventure movie and it’s kind of fun.
Didn’t really buy the love story, the MC throws a few “Why you stuck up, half witted, scruffy looking nerf herder!” his way just because. The first impression and irritation between them feels pretty forced. Both of the MCs are very cliché, we’ve seen these characters before in movies. There’s a lot of mention of how muscular the man is, male flesh etc etc and he’s often missing his shirt. Maybe tell yourself that this is an 80’s movie and you can just roll with it? If those kind of movies are not appealing to you, maybe this is not the book for you.
But I had fun and I will look for the second part in the series and see if it can keep it up for a second book. Just finished it so maybe I’m overdoing it but, eff it, 4 stars!
I saw the cover with the Cloud Cutter and was intrigued and booked it at my library. If it had been an other cover I might never have read this book.
Parts of the book is great, parts of the book is slow, a lot is unbelievable. It’s written in 4 parts and the first part is the best part and after that I was sort of hoping it would pick up again, a little slow build up but no, doesn’t happen.
The ease of travelling and no mention of money is unbelievable to me.
Still enjoyed it all in all and I’m happy I read it. Due to the strong first part I will give it a 4 but most of the book is around 3-3,5.
The murder and mystery is kind of fun but it’s a book of it’s time. You can tell by looking at people if they are foreigners, “The man is a Frenchman—I would take my oath on that—”
And then we have Captain Hastings, a man in his 30’s lusting after a child, “ I judged that she was little more than seventeen…”
Contains spoilers
Jake Livingston is not like the other kids at St. Clair, he’s black and he sees dead people. Seeing ghost has become easier for him but one day a ghost stands out from the rest, it has bad intentions.
It was kind of funny because I picked this book a little on a whim. I wanted to do Blackoween despite half of the month being over, had seen this book mentioned and then I saw it by accident at the library so I grabbed it and liked it!
I haven’t read YA in a long time, might have to change that. It came across a lot more mature than plenty of fantasy I have started and DNF and plenty of cozy mystery.
It’s a pretty dark book and brings up suicide and school shootings. For me the spooky elements were not very spooky but the dark world view was in a way.
There were areas that could have been better, the magic was a little unclear and even the writing at times were a tad confusing but I just thought, “F it” and went with it.
SPOILER: How did he get away with murder/arson tho? After that fire wouldn’t the cashier mention the kid that came in? The kid that later cashed his car possibly not that far from the fire… and there was kerosene all over the place? No? Also wished there had been an resolution between Grady and Jake.
I started reading this in October and then I got a message that books ready to collect at the library and I managed that on time and then when I was going to get back to this book, more books arrived at the library and I didn’t get back to this book until late December. So this stop start reading might have something to do with how I felt about it.
I like some parts, felt like they were interesting and relatable. And then there were things that felt a little vague and unfinished, somethings happening off page that I would have liked to see.
If you have seen Xirans videos (that’s how I found this book) you can hear their voice in the book, same humor and directness.
It was refreshing to have an MC that just went there and being unapologetic about it.
Contains spoilers
Nine people have plans to spend the weekend at a secluded inn up in the Catskills. A snowstorm rolls in and they are more isolated than they hoped for, and on the morning one of the guests are found dead at the bottom of the stairs, but was it really an accident?
I’m a sucker for the snowed in trope.
A quick read, feels a little like fast food in book form. You finish it fast but you don’t feel full or nourished.
Story uses several POVs and feels like a story told before, doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
SPOILER: I found it so funny how they left the body at the bottom of the stairs and walked around it. Reminded me of Clue or similar movies, it was great.
Dee wants to get out of her dwindling career as a screenwriter and falls in love with a small inn, it’s love at first sight and her BFF (and ex husband) joins her as a partner in the business.
A former colleague from Hollywood shows up as their first guest and is soon found dead, not a great start to the new business and Dee needs to solve the case so the dead guy isn’t their one and only guest.
I liked that Dee and Jeff are friends, the idea of an ex husband not being an enemy is great. I also liked that the MC adopted the previous inn owners dog, that was sweet. Other than that it didn’t really do much for me, I wasn’t that invest in who did it, or anything. I’ll try to have a break from cozies and see if I like them more when I return.
There was something missing here for me. The MC reads a little young, she’s 27 and maybe I have forgotten how young that is or she’s a bit immature.
Her mother really wants her to get a boyfriend (I’m so over this trope) and even the MCs best friend wants her to find a boyfriend. Because men solves all problems.
The love interest is detective Trudeau so my brain flashed an image of Justin Trudeau every time he was on the page and it was not good. I found him annoying and obsessive and treated her as a child, they’ve just met a few times and of course he has treated her as a suspect at first and then he’s just telling her what to do and gets angry she doesn’t. One times he catches her and her best friend sleuthing and starts yelling at the MC and when her best friend tells him off, “Don’t even get me started on you, young lady.” Half expected her to shout back, “You’re not my dad, you can’t tell me what to do!” but luckily that didn’t happen.
Not much of a mystery or sleuthing and what I want from a cozy mystery, is a mystery, I’m always looking for a puzzle.
Blix Windway (yeah that’s her actual name) is off as a travel companion to Egypt, she’s also carrying a book for her uncle that he as promised to a friend.
Crossing the channel, makes her way to Paris, has a car race before getting herself to Egypt, minus her traveling companion but she’s found a new one so no worries. Then she gets into the desert and over to the pyramids and finally she stumbles over a dead body. The local police insist that a native did it and wants the case to just go away, Blix is of an other opinion.
I might be becoming a grumpy old lady but, the MC has a car race through Paris which I assume is fun but all I see is her putting other peoples lives in danger, very little concern for others and I didn’t like it.
The murder happens pretty deep into the book, first in a new series so you do need some space to build it up and present the MC, I get it, but 13 chapters?
Never really warmed up to Blix or her new travel companion. Not getting a proper mystery or sleuthing from this one. Won’t continue the series.
Netgalley read.
I didn’t expect it to be a list of comebacks, I expected a little more text but it made me think of those magazines I bought as a teen, there were always lists like this in those. Feels like a book many will get for their birthday, “Not that you need any help in this area but I thought of you when I saw it.” Did trees deserve to die for this? Not sure. I had the audiobook for this and the author/narrator does a good job but feels that this book should be TikTok videos. He does address that men reacting with angry is a second emotion from something else happening inside, I found that interesting.
I was attracted to this book because I like the painting (which I first saw on Tumblr of course), it’s In a Roman Osteria by Danish painter Carl Bloch.
Contains spoilers
We follow Opaline, Martha and Henry whose lives are circling around a somewhat mysterious bookshop.
This took me awhile to read, parts of Opalines story were hard for me to read and I just hoped for her to turn John Wick but that didn’t happen (there will be fanfic!!). Her story was still my favorite but there were a few things that I didn’t like, because I’m picky like that.
Martha was a bit meek, which is understandable due to her circumstances but she was confusing. I assume her age was maybe 20 but I don’t remember (age wasn’t mentioned much), and she doesn’t know you need a library card. She thinks you walk into a library, grab some books and leave.
Henry, dull, bye.
I liked the magical elements, I liked some of Opalines story but will I ever think of this book ever again? No.
TRIGGER WARNING: Forced institutionalization Not a major spoiler but you will know what happens to one of the characters.
We get to follow a group of women working at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, all under the leadership of Mrs. Skogh. The year is 1901 and things are different, especially for women.
There is a feel good feeling in the book but, everything just chugs along smoothly. Even something bad happens there no really problem that needs to be solved, no big obstacles that they need to figure out, no consequences… It does make things dull.
I really wanted to like this one. Sounded like so much fun, cozy mystery set in Dublins drag queen world. A drag queen cozy and it’s Irish, I’m there, take my money.
But it was poorly written. I started thinking it was self published with all these odd sentences and bad pace and threads here and there feeling so off and ugh. And I didn’t like the characters either, our MC never listens to everyone “Huh, sorry?” whenever someone is talking to here and the fight with her roommate felt like kids.
A drag queen, walking in someone elses heels on a very rainy night slips and falls? No, that could never happen, never, it must have been murder. Okay.
I do believe there’s a decent story there but this is bad first draft that needs work. It was a mess.
Lila is moving back home to her small town to help her auntie with the family restaurant and get away from her failed relationship. Her former high school sweetheart has turned into a nasty food blogger and while at her restaurant he dies right in front of her, face down in the food. Such bad table manners.
Didn’t love this, felt that some proper sleuthing was missing and it was a little slow. And there’s a cute dachshund on the cover but the dog is barely in the story, why write a dog into the story if it’s not actually in the story? Felt robbed. But there were some things I liked so I might give the second book a chance.
Danika is forced to move back home to Long Island for reasons I can’t remember to take over her uncles malt shop. She runs into her old high school boyfriend that broke her heart on prom and is confronted quickly by his wife, so of course she later stumbles over the wife dead in the malt shop…
This was not for me, it read too juvenile for me. She’s 25 but felt like she was a lot younger than that, too stuck up on her ex and it was a little dull. However, there was a little twist to a common scene in a cozy that I really liked.