Elle Hartford
A great cozy mystery!!
I loved the friendship between the main characters, the setting, and of course, Sully. :) Rick was so awful, and I found myself wishing Beth had had more of a chance to confront him. But overall this is a great start to the series, and I'd definitely recommend it to cozy readers.
Definitely read the Villains series in order! If you're used to mysteries or other series where it doesn't really matter, that isn't the case here.
I'd give 3.5 if I could. (I am a POV snob. I'm sorry, I wasn't always that way! But these days I can't help but get pulled out of the story when narratives randomly switch POV.)
This book was harder to read than I expected, and in part that's because it captures the Queen's turmoil well. (The end killed me, especially as someone who dealt with emotional instability in others growing up.) There's a lot of tension: the story moves slowly at the beginning and the end comes in a rush.
My major complaint was that it's the kind of villain story that passes the blame on to someone else: that is, instead of just portraying the Queen as flawed or as the hero of her own story, she's mostly being manipulated by people more evil than her. It leaves you wondering what the deal is with those people and if they're evil just “because,” which seems antithetical to a villain-as-hero story. Maybe that's just me though. xD
That said I really did feel for the characters, and the imagery was strong. If you're into fairy tale retellings, it's worth taking a look at this one!
A wonderful and adventurous cozy! Having grown up outside of Seattle, I very much enjoyed reading a cozy set in my home state. Crystal is really relatable and Connor is just the best. The mystery had a good twist, too! Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who loves Washington, being outdoors, snowstorms, or cozies!
Such a fun and inventive mystery!! I would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cozies, fantasy, or both.
Emily is a fun protagonist who knows the value of keeping her friends close, which is good because discovering a huge secret about your family could be very isolating. Her friends (and frenemies!) are all interesting, but I have to say, I adored Rabbit most of all. The mystery has several layers and the ending is very satisfying, while still leaving room for sequels. I'm definitely looking forward to more!
I enjoyed the banter in this book and the peek behind the scenes of conference organization! ;) And of course I adored Scout. About halfway through I guessed the culprit but the motive was obscure until some last-minute sleuthing, which I probably would have done much earlier. . . to be fair though there was a lot going on prior to that point. Overall it was a fun read!
As I was reading, I would have given it 4 stars maybe, but the end caught me off guard and left me feeling a bit frustrated.
First of all, I adored the treasure they were after, and I enjoyed the basic idea of the library (anyone who's watched The Librarians or read other recent magic-library books will be familiar!). However, I had trouble with the 1st person pov character, Neith. She tells us that she is super tough and reckless and Indiana-Jones-esque, but she doesn't show herself being that way very often. Mostly, she's just a concerned & frustrated leader of her team – which is fine, but she kept making really bold statements that threw me for a loop each time.
Also – this is minor, but stuck in my craw – Neith's opinion about death/murder/morals was very confusing. She talks a big talk about not caring about eating meat despite most of her culture being against it, and about shooting people, etc. But then she never really shoots anyone, and she clearly feels super superior over everyone in “beta earth” (our world) for being so violent. She also says that “morals are optional for curators” about 75% of the way through the book after acting – again, not talking, but acting – as the noble hero up to that point.
In any case. I had expected the book to be a fun artifact-finding adventure, but the end was more of a political drama. Plus, the real culprits do not get caught! Honestly I wouldn't have picked the book up if I had known about the internal drama aspect – that's just not my thing. Twist endings are fine, but I'm not the right reader for political stories. Plus, Neith was pretty hardheaded and ignorant about it all, which was hard to read. I know it's setting up another book, but personally I hate having so much of the plot unresolved.
And I must admit – as some other reviewers have pointed out – there were some editing issues that I found distracting. Mostly it's head-hopping in 3rd person pov. Not a big deal, but it did throw me out of the story, especially because the book is structured almost like a professional report, so such errors are out of place.
All in all, the set up was interesting, but the characters and narration could have used some more work. Until the last few chapters it's a fun read for a quick escape, but I'm not sure I'll trust the next one.
A sweet modern fairytale! The romance between the main characters is tender, but I have to admit it was the side characters who really stole my heart (love Evie!!). I also really appreciated the importance the characters give to reading. All in all it was a nice adventure through well-loved libraries and the Irish countryside!
I'd give it 3.5 if I could. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in Dublin!
I think my problem was mainly that it was the kind of mystery where you really can't have any idea who the murderer might be until they've already revealed themselves. It was an interesting expat story, but throughout the actual mystery, the clues were a bit too thin for me to enjoy trying to solve the puzzle.
So, this one was my mistake! I knew that this book was the 3rd of a series, but I thought that the books in the series were only loosely related, since the films are all different. I was wrong!
In my opinion, you definitely need to read the other two books first for this to make sense. I was constantly wondering why certain characters were in the narrative at all, but I think they must be through-lines from the other books! I do think I'll go back and read the first two and then give this one another try.
An enjoyable romance with lots of banter! If you're reading it after the show, it's very similar, but with fewer storylines and a slightly different timeline (the Duke's backstory comes first, so maybe if you're reading this and watching the show, finish the show first). Sometimes the point of view can get a little confusing, and the timeline does move pretty quick, but overall this was a fun beach read.
I adore fairy tale retellings so I was excited for this one. It wasn't quite what I was expecting though. I understood pretty quickly that it was going to be from the “villain”'s point of view (the queen who goes after Snow White) but the narrative didn't make me sympathetic to Rapunzel or anyone she knew. The only really likeable character for me was the girl Snow White, but when she grows up she goes through a pretty rude phase.
Now, all that could be understandable. But then the end of the book took several very dark turns. Overall it left me kind of wide-eyed, thinking, “did that really have to happen?”. So that left a poor taste in my mouth.
Overall I like the witchy take on the tale and how the two stories weave together. But the extra darkness in the story didn't add anything for me.
I really liked the premise of this book and the interplay of the different nations' histories. However, I struggled a bit to keep up with the present-tense omniscient narration.
For example – sometimes I couldn't tell which character was the central point of focus (and I know sometimes that was on purpose, but other times it was just confusing). And though the story is in present tense, it jumps around (especially at the beginning) so the start of some chapters is actually in past tense as it catches you up to speed . . . which felt unnecessarily complicated to me. But maybe those are things I notice because I spend so much time writing!
There are also some pretty dark backstories for all the main characters, so I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who can't stand child endangerment or violence (I have a friend who is that way!).
All that said, this could be a good beach thriller for folks interested in historical puzzles and conspiracies!
So, to be fair, I am a Washington State native and because of that I was over the moon to find a cozy set in & around Seattle! :D It highlights all of the things I love about my home state: the rainforest, the lakes, the ferries – perfect. :)
Gushing about Washington aside, I had a lot of fun with this cozy. The characters are great (I especially loved Suzie and Connor) and they get into some crazy situations! The mystery itself kept me guessing and wrapped up very well.
MILD SPOILERS! I did get a little frustrated with Crystal at one particular relationship-related point (come on, have some faith! haha), but her thoughts were understandable, I suppose. :)
All in all, I really enjoyed this read and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in cozies or the Pacific Northwest!
I would've gone with a 3.5 rating if possible. I love Amanda Flower's series, but so far this one isn't my favorite. I had a hard time connecting with Shiloh and many of the people around her were pretty unlikable, at least at the beginning.
That said, I did adore Huckleberry! And the mystery contained a clever twist. I also enjoyed the subplot with Esmeralda :)
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves cozy mysteries, NYC, or the world of PR! Jill's voice as narrator is really entertaining and relatable, and the way her friends come through for her is perfect. Plus, the romance is fun and compelling too! I adore this series and am eagerly looking forward to the next one.
This was more of a 3.5 for me if I'm honest. I loved the setting and the cats! And I liked the characters, aside from their sleuthing. My problem was they made a lot of decisions that were super audacious or risky, and the main character in particular frequently made the same mistakes (going off on her own when she's repeatedly been set up, etc). I just found her behavior baffling at times, enough to throw me out of the narrative. And the conclusion felt a bit abrupt.
All in all, I did enjoy the story, but it didn't quite live up to my hopes. I'd recommend this to folks who love bees, cats, or the Pacific Northwest because it still has a lot of great cozy feel, but you have to be forgiving with the heroine. :)
I love Amanda Flower's other series, though this is the first Amish cozy I've read. It was very enjoyable and even as an outsider (Englisch!) I was able to follow along! The protagonist was super likeable, and the goats are really fun. I had a suspicion about the murder, but didn't figure out how all the pieces fit together until the very end. All in all, it was an interesting mystery!
I really enjoyed the magic and mermaid aspect of this mystery – it was well thought out and very fun. One of the best parts of the book was seeing how Alex's family came together, too!
[mild spoilers!] My two issues were that Alex's aunt bothered me at first, and I struggled to feel attached to her. However, her attitude is explained well later in the book. I also felt terrible for one of the romantic interests most of the time, but I am a softie that way.
Aside from that, I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes some magic in their cozy mystery!
I'd probably give it 3.5 stars if possible. It's an interesting read if you like that time period (19-teens) and all the banter is witty, but the danger (which is supposed to be a driving force of the book) never felt very immediate to me, maybe because of the narrator's style. Also, she really is quite mean to Watson! I understood her point, but at times it felt unnecessary.
My real issue with the book, though, was the relationship between Mary and Holmes. I'm completely fine with mentor relationships, and mentor-to-romantic relationships, and just romantic relationships in general. The problem was that the narrator said they had a mentor relationship, but then little details would point to romance instead and the conflict was never resolved. It felt like the author couldn't make up her mind, or maybe she really wanted a romance but had decided at the last minute not to write it that way. That indecision made me a bit uncomfortable. Not least because I worried the characters weren't on the same page!
I liked the setting and the sense of community! However, I had trouble relating to any of the characters. I hate to be this person, but I think it was because of an editing issue. The author tends to write two complete sentences connected with a comma rather than a conjunction/semicolon/period etc. To me, the comma splice sounds like an excitable person talking without pausing for breath. It didn't affect my understanding of the story, but it did make all the characters sound the same when they talked.