Andrea Ward

There is so much in this book! There is her personal story, advocacy advice, ways to shift your personal mindset and ways to shift your church's mindset. I sat in church this past Sunday and took notes about how to make it accessible to everyone. This book really has changed my life.

There were some hilarious and some heartwarming moments. There was some great research happening.m, which is to be expected from Paisley. I thought I knew where the ending was going and it went in a different way that seemed rushed. But the memorable moments were really wonderful.

I have not heard anything of Japanese Breakfast before, so I enjoyed being surprised by her unconventional path and her rise to fame. I also thought the way that was a background story was really well done. The focus was on her mom and how her mom tied her to other family and culture. It made the role of her mom loom so large. So this felt like it was so much more than a story about her and her mom.

I love the way Morgan approached her investigation. Her back story with her parents was more brutal than I expected. It did give her character depth. I'm glad we found out some of Jon's story as well. Part of the solution was obvious. The who was a surprise, but there weren't any good suspects. Overall I really enjoyed the way Morgan investigated and I liked the details about the living on an island. This book was better than I expected.

Great Suspects!

It was hard to guess who the murderer was because there were so many great suspects. The investigating was earnest and very amateur, but it fit in perfectly with the story. It was just what was needed. The stationary theme was a unique touch, but so are North Dakota and a buffalo.
This was a quirky, fun mystery

Cute Quick Story

The story is very fast, but we get to know the sisters very well in just a little time. The constant rememberings helped to make the characters more real. The actions happen almost too quickly though.

I love Mukesh and his character arc in this story. And his character arc is perfect for Aleisha and what she needs. Aleisha's family issues are not as specific as some people would like, but I didn't feel the specifics were necessary because the real life stuff she is dealing with is something a lot of people have to deal with. So that realistic atmosphere was the important part, not the details. Mukesh will be a character I remember for a long time.

Totally surprised

I enjoyed getting to know Gemma and Cassie. Gemma's mom grew on me through the story. There were a few secrets to be uncovered and they kept me guessing about what had happened. It ended up that I was completely wrong.
It does seem like a love triangle is building. I don't like that. And there were a couple attitudes that seems odd to me as well.
Overall, I really liked the setting of being near Oxford and Gemma is an interesting character.

I am not generally a person to notice or be affected by beautiful writing. Then I read this book. The writing is beautiful! Mars is a unique character with a really distinctive voice. He was a realistic cynic and the prose written around him is beautiful. As Mars is growing and learning, the prose changes as well. I am really stunned by the amazing writing.
As to plot, there were times that the plot seemed to go along with expected tropes, but the characters made the expected tropes feel refreshed. But there were significant parts of the plot that were unique and unexpected. And the cottagecore vibes were so strong! It was a vital part of the book.

I like the way that Brooklyn and Derek worked together. I had most of it figured out halfway through, but there was still one more important detail that I didn't see coming. Good addition to the series.

Whoa! Amari really started growing into who she wants to be. There are big decisions and stressors, but she is unwilling to give up who she is. I can't wait to see how everything comes together in the last book.

I loved Ropa and her friends. We don't get a clear explanation how the world got the way it is, but I'm fine with that. I liked how much Ropa did to help her family and other vulnerable people.
The plot jumped around more than I expected. The magic system was a little confusing. The ending felt rushed. And there wasn't enough library in it. However, this is book 1, so a lot of that could be worked on in book 2.

I had was surprised my most of the twists! I had mo clue that so many people were holding so many secrets. The ending really got to me. It is both happy and sad. This was a good first foray into Alex Finlay novels.

This was a wonderful introduction to Ryan, Lexi, Joe, Hazel, and her mom and grandma. Ryan got better as the book went along. I am pleased with their solution to the coffee shop dilemma. The solution to the mystery was clever and compelling. I am excited to read more from this series.

I loved seeing Lila fight for her family, but still being willing to listen to others. Also there were so many secrets!! I guessed one secret, but another one was a really good red herring. As we got closer to the end, I figured out part of the solution, but mot all of it. So I was definitely surprised by the solution. This is such a great series and I am so glad that there will be more!

This was a slow creeping haunted house book. The ending was better than I expected and made up for some of my annoyances with Margot and Leafell. I am glad I finally got around to reading a Darci Coates book.

Heartwarming Christmas Mysteries

We see a few different parts of Italy in these 3 stories and we also get to see 3 different mysteries. None of them are murder mysteries, which is good because there were so many lovely characters. The last story in the Italian Alps was the most intense, but I think the second one in Venice was my favorite. All in all 3 wonderful short winter mysteries.

Again there is a perfect balance of humor and heart! This series has moved up to my top 5. It is so good! But there seems to be a live triangle in the works and I don't love that. So we will have to see what comes next.

This was my first read in the series, so there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I only got confused a time or two. I love the cold case trope which is why I started with this one. This wasn't my favorite with that trope as there wasn't enough research for my preference. However I can see some people thinking the investigation progressed more normally the way it was written. In the end the solution made me pretty sad.

This one felt a little different than the other Chloe Jackson mysteries. We weren't in the Sea Glass Saloon as much as we were in the previous books, so we weren't around Vivi and Joaquin and the Heritage owners as much as previously. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. However, we did get to learn a lot more about Ann and that was interesting. It also provided a good reason for Rip and Chloe to grow closer together. The mystery and the solution were compelling and full of heart. So even though it felt different, it was very well done.

There was so much packed in this family story, magic realism, civil war, colonization, trauma, and love. The things that lead a family to where they are and how they are can be pretty complicated, but there is hope that they find a way through it.

As I have come to expect with this series, ACF Bookens tackles another difficult topic as Harvey solves a mystery, mental health. The solution was pretty straightforward, but the strength of this book was the character development of Rocky and Marcus. That was my favorite part. Some other things seemed a bit rushed, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

This is a wonderful balance between ridiculous and heart warming. I enjoyed this more than I expected and I am so glad the bad guy turned out to be that one.

I loved the experience of reading this book because it feels so different from books set in and written by and written for people in the United States. The way the people were characterized and the way they interacted felt different. For me that was enjoyable.
The dialogue felt a little too simplistic at times, but it has been translated. So that feels like a nit picky issue. The other parts of the prose are very well done and I felt like the dialogue got better as the book went along.
This book is hard to categorize as a specific genre. There is a bit of magic realism that is presented as an alternative way to see reality. There is some romance and some thriller parts as well. My recommendation is for you to read it if you want to fell like you are in a very different place with very different people showing you their lives.

I was so wrong about who did this! I was certain that I knew who it was about halfway through and I was just waiting for the clue that would confirm my theory. That clue never came because I was totally wrong. I enjoyed getting to know more about the stores and owners around Curds & Whey. I thought Willa's relationship with Baz was realistic considering her investigation style. This has quickly become a favorite series of mine.