Sleepyhead Shares a Secret by Maureen Reil BOOK REVIEW

Sleepyhead Shares a Secret by Maureen Reil
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book through the Goodreads First-Reads program.

I sat down with it when I first received it and tried to read it, really I did. The main character is just so whinny. I ended up having to put it down. And of course there I let it sit for the longest time.

Last week I was looking through some books, and realized I had a couple of books from the First-Reads that I had not reviewed yet, so I sat down and tried to read the book again.

I confess, I only got about half way through before I threw the book across the room. Not only is the main character whinny, she talks about having Sleep Apnea (note to the author...it is spelled APNEA not APENOA) like it is some horrible dreaded thing that will ruin her life. I for one have sleep apnea, and I have never experienced anything like this character does, nor have I ever went through any treatments like she describes or tests. The more I read, the less I liked the book, and the harder it was to keep reading.

Even the blossoming friendship or whatever it will be between Sabrina and the Dr can not save this book.

Maybe if I came at the book with no knowledge of sleep apnea, maybe I could have read it, but then again i would hate knowing it was out there and people are thinking this of me.

It's well-written, the grammar and structure is great, but I can't do the story. sorry.

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Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur BOOK REVIEW

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at the Book Fair thinking it would be good for my daughter, and of course that means that I need to read it first. I like to know what they are reading so that if they ask me something I can talk with them about it.

This is a coming of age story about a girl, Elsie, who is entering middle school and turning 12, and all the horrors that come with that. My daughter entered the junior high school last year, and this book captures some of that girl drama perfectly, although there is so much more in real life.

It is also about her finding herself, and who she is in a unique way since her parents are not around and she lives with her aunt and uncle. It is a really well written story. I enjoyed it even as an adult. I have passed it on to my daughter and I look forward to discussing it with her. I am hoping that the story will help her to deal with some of the girl drama at school that she has had to deal with this year.

I would recommend it to any girl to read the summer before they move up to the middle school or junior high school. Not to scare them, but to let them know, if this happens, it's ok. This is what you do, not this. I think it is the perfect book to help get parents and girls talking about the troubles and bullying at school and issues of who am I and what is my purpose that this age brings.

Well done!

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The Roar (The Roar #1) by Emma Clayton BOOK REVIEW

The Roar by Emma Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at the Bookfair thinking it would be something my kids would like, and of course that means that I am going to read it before I pass it on to them. I like to know what they are reading and to be able to discuss it with them.

The Roar takes place on Earth in a future time when all the people on Earth live on 1/3rd of the planet behind a huge wall because of something called the Animal Plague. The world is all concrete and buildings and depressing really, and this is just the way it has to be, or so they think.

Ellie, Mika's twin sister disappears one night, and the family is told she died, while being her twin Mika refuses to believe that. We follow Mika as he tries to carry on, and we learn that he is right, Ellie is alive, but life isn't any more fun for her.

It's a young adult, teen book in that the main characters are 12 to 13 year olds. They are dealing with issues of life that are probably older than they should be dealing with, but they have grown up in a strange world. It is well written for that age group, and I definitely think anywhere from the 8 to 15 age range can read this and enjoy it.

As a parent reading it, I was able to understand it, I also was able to remember my childhood and the distrust of adults that lead to some of the issues that we see in the book, but I think everyone has done that at some point in life, and I think it makes the book real and believable. I got the story and understood it.

It has a message beyond the story about life and character and what we do with what we have, morals and values and friendships. And I thought it was kind of a bummer of an ending until I got on to do the review and found there is a second book. I think it is well worth letting your child read.

I have already passed it on to my kids.

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Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth BOOK REVIEW

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Insurgent is the follow-up to Divergent, and I am ever so happy that I picked both up at the store the day I got Divergent. I finished Divergent in one day and was ready to move on and see what happened next.

Insurgent follows Tris and Tobias, along with some others as they continue the fight between the factions, trying to figure out what is really going on and why the fighting is occurring. What is the real truth. There are hints at more than what meats the eye to their lives as they know them, but this book is a little slower and harder to read than the first. I was so into the first, but there is so much misunderstanding and mistrust between Tris and Tobias that the relationship is really fractured and it is hard to read at times. Other relationships all seem to be fracturing as well, because of the fighting or the unknown, but it really slowed the book and made it move less.

The factions are fighting, at least three are and the factionless are in the battle, but they have their own motive, they want to take over and make a completely new government. There is still the underlying cause, why was the fighting started in the first place, and why the mystery of the Divergents anyway. Why do the Eurdites dislike them and think they are something to be afraid of?

As this book moves along, things have a way of working themselves out, answers are found and the fighting ends, but the answers are not what anyone in the society would have ever thought they would have been. This book ends on a cliffhanger, in that the truth is revealed, but how will everyone react to that truth is another story, and I am eager to find out in the third book. Luckily I started this series late, so I don't have long to wait for the last book.



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Breakfast Green Smoothies by Terry Hatfield BOOK REVIEW

Breakfast Green Smoothies 40 Easy Delicious Green Smoothie Recipes for by Terry Hatfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Breakfast Green Smoothies is written by Terry Hatfield. Terry is a culinary trained chef, who has worked in a number of upscale restaurants, and has been focused on healthy eating for the past 15 years. He is currently a personal chef and has two other healthy eating books published.

The first major plus of this book is that Chef Terry explains why we all need to eat more green, leafy vegetables. Not just the plain bullet points you hear on the news, but explains the different vitamins and nutrients that we get from them, and why they are important. For instance, the fact that our body can not make or absorb the vitamins from any other source. It is a great start to the book, and focuses on why this is important, which is better than any book out there I have seen.

The second major plus is that Chef Terry explains the different leafy greens to you, what you get from them, and differences in tastes. I really loved this part because I am not familiar with some of the greens, and this really helped me to know which to start with and which to save for later. He also explains about starting slow, with things you are used to eating and then branching out. This is good advice, too many people jump into the smoothie revolution with both feet and find it hard to swallow. Taking small steps makes it a lifestyle change for good.

The recipes and pictures were great. The pictures done well, making you want to try them. In fact there are a couple I think I might be able to sneak in on the kids tomorrow. Although the title says breakfast smoothies, these can be drunk at anytime of the day. There is an apple pie one that would make a great desert after a meal.

This is the first smoothie book that has made me want to try them, and since I have kids, this is something that is important to me. Getting a better, more healthy diet into my children. Couple that with the fact that it was written by a real chef, and this is just an overall winner in my book.

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James Potter and The Morrigan Web (Book #4) by G. Norman Lippert BOOK REVIEW

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James Potter and The Morrigan Web by G. Norman Lippert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


James Potter and the Morrigan Web is the 4th book in the series. It is in a genre called fan-fiction, which means that is is based on the ever-popular Harry Potter series, but not written by the same author. This being the case, Norman Lippert does a wonderful job staying true to the charcters and the places of the original book.

Now, for my little soapbox speech, since this is fan-fiction, you can not buy these books. They are only available for free on his website. Yep, he doesn't get a dime for writing them, just our love of them. Anyone who knows writing or reading books, knows what it takes to write a book. Now, Norman is honest in that he would like to write the 5th book, already has a title, but is just not sure he can. My plea to everyone, if you have read any of the James Potter series, you read this review and you like it, buy some of this guys other books. They are all good. Let's support this guy though the works that he does get paid for so he can continue to write the ones that he gives us for free.

This book begins with the veil of secrecy being torn. when that happened the great Wizard city of New Amsterdam, which would be like New York City and just happens to be about fifty feet in the air above New York, so when the veil is gone, all the sudden, all these Muggles see this great city above them. Of course it freaks them out! Now, this of course brings out the different factions of people, the ones who want to repair the veil quickly and return to a world apart of wizards and muggles seperate, another that wants to make use of the tear and try to live together in harmony, and then the age old group that wants to enslave the muggles even if it means acting like they want harmony first.

I find this a history repeating itself theme, it happened in the Harry books. Voldemort rose, the next generation cme along and he was able to rise again, now with the next generation of James, the threat is rising again. But don't think it only happens it books, it happens in real like all the time. Let's see, Slavery in United States, Holacaust in Germany, genocide in Africa and on and on the list goes, we never seem to learn from our mistakes. The same things happen over and over again.

As a parent, this was one thing I loved about the Harry Potter and now the James Potter books. I could read them with my kids, and we could enjoy the stories and another world, but at the same time, the themes, the issues could be brought back and related to current events and things that are going on in our world today. It was a wonderful way to have a conversation with my kids. I think it is a great tool for any parent, and everyone knows that parents need all the tools they can get in keeping communication open with their kids.

It's really hard to give much about the book without giving it all away. Just know that all your favorites are there. Professors Longbottom and McGonnal, James, Albus and Lily, Rose and Scopious, Ralph and Zane. Of course it would be a Potter book without a visit from the old guard, Harry and Ginny, Ron and Herminoe and even Haqrid.

The story is well-written, it's captivating and entertaining. It keeps you wanting to read, and although it is completely different than the Harry Potter series, it doesn't feel that different, it seems natural that things would have grown and changed, although not much in the time that Harry has been away from school. It all just works well together.



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Seeking Philbert Woodbead (Fairweather Sisters, #2) by Anya Wylde BOOK REVIEW

Seeking Philbert Woodbead by Anya Wylde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seeking Philbert Woodbead is the second in the Fairweather Sisters series by Anya Wylde. This book follows up a few months, give or take after the end of the first book, Penelope. Now, although this is a series, you could actually read this book without reading Penelope and still enjoy the book, but it is just more fun if you have read the first book before you start, but if you find yourself needing to start with this book, by all means do. It is a delight.

Celine Fairweather jumps at the chance to leave home and run to London to help her not that long ago married sister Penelope, who is now confined to her home, all because she had the misfortune of getting pregnant in a time when they had no idea what was going on! The book is hilarious. Celine is reading the "Proper English Ladies" book, and trying to be one, and Penelope could care less what society thinks, and the adventures and madcap fun just continues.

I loved the first book, which saw Penelope descend on London to try to find a husband. Now we see her sister descend on London, and although she tries to be more proper than Penelope did, she bungles it just as much if not more. It is zany and funny and every bit as much fun to read, in fact I sat down to read the book, and just had to finish the whole thing!

I love this author's style of writing. It is fun and light and just leaves you feeling happy, especially with everything going on in the world these days, it is so nice to escape into a light-hearted book and laugh and enjoy myself. It was such a good read.

As there are a number of Fairweather girls still at home, I hope this means that we can count on the author to bring us a number of more Fairweather sister books! I'm already looking for the next one!

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City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare BOOK REVIEW

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


City of Ashes is the follow-up to City of Bones, which has just been released as a movie called The Mortal Instruments, which is what the whole series is titled. I am a book person, so I have no desire to see the movie, and I not comment on it further.

City of Bones left us all at a loss for words after finding that all time bad guy Valentine, unlike the holiday of the same name, is still alive and that he is not only Clarey's father, but wait for it, yes Jace's father too. Shock or all shocks, horror of all horrors, and after they had their first kiss too. Hate that. Worst of all their mother, Jocelyn is in a trace, coma like but other-worldly induced and no-one and nothing seems to be able to bring her out of it.

Jocelyn is put in a mundane hospital, oh yeah, that is the name for ordinary  humans, mundane's. It actually fit's, and I find the humor in it quite pleasing. So she is at the hospital and Luke, poor Luke, so in love with her, but never telling her, is holding watch at her side hoping beyond hope that something will happen.

All the while, Jace and Clarey have to figure out how to act like brother and sister, when they were feeling alot more than that just a few minutes earlier. Simon still wants a relationship with Clarey, even if he is only a mundane, and then Isabella and Alex's parents are home and that brings a whole new can of worms, because it seems like "someone" has decided they don't believe the kids!

The last book, I felt a lot of de ja vue, but not in this book, in fact I found this book much easier and faster to read, and I am even more excited to move on to the next book. I felt the storyline flowed a little better, less of the backstory and history, and more of the teens trying to figure things out, but a lot, and I do mean a lot of unanswered questions in this book, so the next book has a lot to answer and tell the readers.



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City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

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a href="http://www.goodreads.com
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


City of Bones is the first book in the Mortal Instruments Series and involves another world of Downworlders, demons, half-humans, witches and warlocks, vampires and werewolves, Shadowhunters and more all trying to co-exsist in a human world, the treaties and accords and uprisings and overthrows and defeats.  But the main characters are teenagers trying to understand adults and themselves in the midst of all this, with each adult twists the truth of the history to fit themselves, making things only muddy for the the teens to figure out.

For parts of the book, I could swear I had read it before, or read something almost the same, but for most of it. it seemed like a new book.  The beginning and the, here before thought to be a normal human girl Clarey is able to "see" the ShadowHunters at a club seems so familiar, and the interest between Cleary and Jace, and the dislike that Isabelle and Alec feel toward her seems over the top teenage angst, but it so much feels like I have been there before.

I guess that the Shadowhunters and their marks might remind of Lara Adrian and the Breed, or many of the novels I have read, but it is more of a feeling, that although I know I have never seen this book before it feels familiar.

The twists and turns, the bits of History that Cleary learns from each adult she meets, and how each adult twists the history and their owe involvement in it to make them look less bad, and more a victim of place or timing, than really planning to do bad, is thoughtful and well laidout. The Ultimate twist that turns Jace and Cleary's world on it's head is kinda expected and I really hate that card played in the story, but I still want to continue reading and hearing more.

I am intrigued by the world, I want to read more and see how they figure out their struggles, how they decide who and what needs to be protected and what needs to be allowed to life free and left alone. Just keep a clean mind that you are going to be dealing with teenagers throughout and sometimes the throught processes and thinking aren't what you would expect from adults.



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City of Bones Giveaway

So I bought this book on a whim, read it and loved it, and now am working on the rest of the series. When I like a book, I tend to go "whole-hog" and read the entire series of it and everything else that author has written. Which is what I am doing, and since they are making this book into a movie, which I highly doubt that i will see, because the movie is just never as good as the book, I thought I would give away a copy of the book to get someone else interested in the series. I love to read, it is my favorite thing in the world. As much as I love to read, I love to review the books I have read and share them with people. which you can clearly see from my blog, so what better thing to do, than give away a copy of a book on my blog, especially one I liked! Look for my full review of the book coming soon, here and on Goodreads.com!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Book 1)

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some days you just have to go back a read a good book again, and that has been me in the last couple of weeks. I watched the Harry Potter movies on tv with the kids, and it just gave me a desire to go back and to read the books, so much is edited from the movies, and I understand that, but that is another reason I love the books so much more that the movies.

Everyone knows that this is the first book in the Harry Potter series, and it begins with some brief information about how Harry came to be living with his Aunt and Uncle, and not so much as to why they hated him so much, but a little. It also starts the story of Harry learning more about his parents and the truth about who he was and what he was, a wizard. I really love the beginning sequence with the Durdsley's trying to prevent and latr run away form the owls that are delivering Harry's school letters. That is one of my favorite parts.

This book also introduces Ron Weasley, his soon to be best friend, and Hermoine Granger to Harry. It builds that bond between the three that will continue to course through all the books, growing and changing and they grown and change. Harry mets the Weasley family quite by accident, and yet it is probably the best family he could have hoped to met. Could imagine how the book might have been different had it been a different family that helped Harry onto the train, say the Malfoy's for example?

Another thing I really like about reading the books, is the backstories, the filling in of facts, what happened before that is in the books, but only skimmed over and revealing the bare minimum in the movies. I love hearing that. In fact, I know the author is done with this series, but I would love to have a book on the whole series from Hadrig's view with his backstory included, and one from Snape, and Dumblevore and even Professor McGongall, and how about Mr and Mrs Weasley, now that would be a story!

This is a great book series for kids and adults alike. If you have a child that doesn't like to read, says books a boring, then sit and read this story with them, even if you are the one doing all the reading, that is what I did with my son, reading it to him a little at a time, and he became so engrossed in the books, that by the time I finished reading them to him, he went back and checked them out of the library and read them to himself! And this was a child that struggled with reading! This book has my full endorsement!

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Just One Look by Harlan Coben

Just One Look by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not long ago I discovered the author Harlan Coben through the First-Reads program here on Goodreads, and I was blown away by his writing and story-telling abilities. So much so, that I began a mission to find more books by him and to read them. I found this book at my local Goodwill store and was so excited, I was thrilled to read another Harlan Coben book.

Let me start by saying that this book did not fail to live up to my high expectations! I was engrossed in the book from the very beginning, and haunted by the innuendoes and twists that this story took, never realizing the final outcome until I read it, and even then, I went back to re-read some places to see if I had missed something that would have lead me to the ending, which I never found. It was so well-written and encaging. I can't say enough about the author and his ability. I have recommended this book to a number of people already.

Grace and Jack Lawson seem to be a normal, average middle American couple with two children until the day that Grace picks up some pictures at the photomat, and in the pictures is an old pictures, maybe 20 years old, that seems to have her husband in the group. Where did that come from? And why? The picture changes everything, recalling a time about 20 years earlier when Grace was involved in a life changing event, and somehow, this picture seems to be mixed up with that. As Grace questions, Jack disappears, and as an investigation continues, the former lives of Jack and Grace are uncovered and intertwined into a wild and unbelievable set of happenstances.

I found some characters that I had read in another book, and yet this is not a series, it's just that the books seem to be set in nearby locations and towns, so some characters carry over from one book to another, mostly backgrounds, but others as well, and it becomes like watching real life in that you meet a person and come to find out that they know someone that you know from another event. It is actually neat, and it really makes it that much easier to connect with the books, and the story and the characters, they seem so real!

If you have never read this author, you have just got to try one book. I have found that if I have no idea what to read next, all I have to do is pick up one of his books and I have an a perfect fit. He is an amazing writer and story teller.

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A Crafty Killing (A Victoria Square Mystery, #1) by Lorraine Bartlett

A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Crafty Killing is the first in the Victoria Square Mystery series, and if the first book is as good as the rest, this is going to be one wonderful series.

Katie Bonner is young, and had big dreams, dreams of a bed and breakfast for her and husband Chad, and he was on board, then he got into Artisan's Alley, which was an antique and craft market, although some vendors wanted no crafts and others did, it wasn't doing too well, but Chad saw visions for it. It created some in fighting between Chad and Katie, and just when it looked like she might be starting to listen to his thinking, he was killed in a car crash. Katie inherited Chad's part of Artisan's Alley and didn't really do anything with it, until the fateful day that Ezra, the owner of Artisans Alley was found dead, now Katie, still in shock and grief over losing Chad, is confronted with owning a whole building she resents, still feeling it caused Chad's death, and having to take over that building and make it work.

Along with trying to make the store profitable and a success, she has to mend some bridges with the community that Ezra burned, and she starts understanding Chad and his desire to get into this now, instead of waiting for the time when they could open a B&B, and trying to figure out what really happened to Ezra, only to find another dead body in the building. Now she really needs to know what is going on, and the one person that befriends her only turns out to be more and more involved in it all as she goes along. When will it end, will she ever figure it out, and will she quit resenting the building and let it become her dream?

I just wanted to hop in the book and hug Katie at times and at other times wanted to slap the whining little girl. I felt she was so wrapped up in the dream of the B&B, that she couldn't or wouldn't listen to Chad about other options and things that might actually be more their style and to their advantages than a B&B. I loved the twists and turns in the plot and how it all turned round in the end, it was not who you ever expected in the beginning, and still to the end it was not who I expected.

It was well-written and I found myself feeling like I was there, rooting for this town and the creative area of town, and just really even dreaming myself of where it could go and what it could become. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, really wanting to see where it goes and how it changes.

I hope that I was able to share enough to get you interested in the book, but not too much as to spoil the story for you, but I do hope you will take a chance and read this one, you won't be disappointed. Thanks!

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Deadly Notions (A Southern Sewing Circle, #4) by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Deadly Notions by Elizabeth Lynn Casey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Deadly Notions is the fourth book in the Southern Sewing Circle Series, which is a cozy mystery series. One of my favorite feel-good type of books to read when I am down is a cozy mystery, and when it is set in a small town in the south, even better; add in a little sewing and I am in a wonderful place.
This summer I set down one rainy afternoon, while the kids were playing games together on the computer and read this little number.

I have loved this series from the start, and am always anxious when I get ahold of the next book in the series, and it just happened to come in the mail from a swap so I was able to spend the time involved in the book, while it rained.

Tori is the head librarian at the Sweet Briar library, and transplant from Chicago. The Sewing Circle took her in the minute she arrived and have been helping her learn the souther ways to her new home town, like never, ever bring lemonade to a meeting, even if you did squeeze if by hand, all southern ladies drink sweet tea. But this time, the sewing circle has it's hands all tied up helping Melissa with a birthday party for her daughter Sally, but this can't just be a normal birthday party, no it has to meet the high standards and expectations of one mom in the group, Ashley Lawson, who just happens to be a wonderful dress designer, and would do anything in the world to make her daughter, Penelope, the net big thing. She has a way of talking down to all the other moms, and their party attempts, and heaven forbid you don't invite her child, well lets just say she has power in that tongue of hers. The bigger problem is that all this worship of her small daughter has lead to a massive chip on Penelope's shoulder, and none of the kids really like her, but they are forced to deal with her, or worse her mother.

With the Sewing Circle's and Tori's help, including the use of the library as a location it turned out to be quite the party after all, and everyone went home happy. Hummm, I wonder if our local library would be willing to let people use the reading room for dress up and book reading for a party? It actually sounded like a really cute and fun party idea for a seven year old. Until the next morning, when there are police at the library and Ashley Lawson is dead. The problem, there wasn't a soul at the party that didn't say something negative about the Mom, but none of them would have wanted to hurt her would they? Now it becomes Tori's job, along with those wonderfully helpful and noisy ladies of the sewing circle to find out who really killed Ashley and protect Melissa, one of their own and host of the party.

I am telling you, this is a delightful book. Lots of touches of southern charm, mystery, intrigue, twists and turns, followed with more southern charm. As the series continues, the relationships of the women of the sewing circle are deepened, even Rose and Tori and getting along better, and understanding each other better. And then there is the relationship between Tori and milo, even that is growing, in spite of some miscues and sabotage in this book. It was so much fun to follow the twists and turns and the rocks and bumps and finally to the end, where everything worked out for the best.

I just love this series, and I hope I didn't say too much about it to spoil the reading, but yet enough to encourage you to take a chance a try the book. I love to share good books I have found, and I hope you find it enjoyable too. Now, off to find the next book in the series!

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A Blush with Death (A Bath and Body Mystery, #2) by India Ink

A Blush With Death by India Ink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Blush with Death is the second book in the Bath and Body Mystery series by India Ink. I read the first a long time ago, then found the second and third at a used book store the other day, so now I can move on.

Venus Envy is a bath and body shop in Gull Harbor, WA. Auntie owns the shop and employes her niece Persia Vanderbilt as her custom fragrance blender.
Persia has a sensitive sense of smell that allows her to pick up on subtle undertones in a fragrance. This works well in her Aunt's shop where she custom blends fragrances for her customers. but also for the line of body products, lotions, oils, bath salts and such that they sell at Venus Envy.

Things were going great until Bebe Wilcox moved to town and opened a competing shop. The problem with Bebe is that she doesn't want to play by the rules, she wants to be top dog right now, and the only way to do that is to run Venus Envy out of business, which she works hard at by spreading rumors about the products at Venus Envy, that the are inferior and shoty materials were used to make them, which is not true of the Venus Envy products, but is true of Bebe's products. Then the roses are sabotaged. Auntie and Persia grow their own roses, and in fact went to all the trouble to make sure that they were certified as organic, but the gardner finds pesticide residue on the roses, so he rushes samples to a friend at the University lab and he gets results back quickly and to Auntie and Persia, someone deliberately put a strong pesticide, and a large amount on the roses. In fact so much that all the roses will have to be dug out, and at least three feet of soil under them and all replace, but it will take two to three years before the roses are mature enough to harvest their petals for the Rose Water that is a hugh seller at Venus Envy!

There isn't enough proof to get police chief, Kyle to do anything, so Auntie and Persia take matters into their own hands by staging a public argument and Persia moving out for show, then getting a job at Bebe's to snoop!

This is just an awesome book. There are recipes in the book for a number of the oils that are talked about in the story. It's a well-written book and the characters are real and easy to relate to in some ways, and different than people you might know in your own life, but at the same time you can relate to them. I really enjoyed the book, and the concept of the upscale Bath and Body shop in a small town. It's a fun read.

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Sentenced to Death (A Booktown Mystery, #5) by Lorna Barrett

Sentenced to Death (A Booktown Mystery #5) by Lorna Barrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Booktown Mystery is probably one of my favorite series, and so when I was able to get my hands on book number 5, Sentenced to Death, of course I was all over reading it!

It;s Founder's Day, a celebration that Bob Kelly had cooked up to drive more tourist traffic into town and promote the town. Of course Bob couldn't be bothered to do the leg work or give the opening speech, so Tricia's good friend, Deborah Black is doing it all. There is a plane pulling a banner behind it that is circling all around the town square, some loops are pretty low, and it has Tricia worried. Then Deborah climbs into the gazebo to give her opening speech, but she has to stop three time for the noise of the low flying plane to move out before she can go on. As she is talking Tricia notices the plane looks to be nose-diving the gazebo, and there isn't any sound, the engine is dead, and before anyone can say or do anything, the plane crashes into the gazebo. The pilot and Deborah are both gone in the blink of an eye.

As the days pass on, and Deborah's husband David sells his wife's store even before she is buried, refuses any help from his wife's family aside from leaving his young son with his wife's mother and never having a thing to do with him, then plans a funeral within days of getting his wife's body only for people to show up and realize there is no service, just a mingle time. Tricia has had enough, and she proceeds to give David a piece of her mind about his behavior, then she decides that something is wrong with this picture. She begins to investigate, and it takes her on a multi level trip through the lives of the pilot and his wife, Deborah and David, and the daycare center were little Davey broke his arm just a couple weeks prior.

Another in the series of well-written and enjoyable books by Lorna Barrett. I find myself wanting to be in a town like Stoneham, to be a part of the lives of the people around there. It just draws you in and makes you want to read and enjoy the books. looking forward to the next book in the series.

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Chapter & Hearse (A Booktown Mystery, #4) by Lorna Barrett

Chapter and Hearse by Lorna Barrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really like this Booktown Mystery series. So I picked up books 4 and 5 of the series, and finished them as quickly as I picked them up!

Book 4, or Chapter & Hearse, starts out with a launch party of Angelica's new cookbook, but no one shows up, except this larger than life cut-out of Angelica. Bob Kelly, Angelica's boyfriend since she moved to Stoneham, is suppose to be there, but his car is parked in from of History Repeats Itself, and never shows up for the party. Tricia has never really like Bob all that much, so she finally decides that she is going down to History Repeats Itself and give Bob a piece of her mind, but before she can get there, she hears a loud whoosh, and the next thing she knows she is lying on her back, in the street with the firefighters and paramedics helping her up and moving her away from what used to be History Repeats Itself, it was the victim of a gas explosion, the store is gone and worse yet, the owner Jim Roth is dead. Bob Kelly is being carted away to the hospital, but he is being uncharacteristically tight lipped and refusing to talk to anyone, including the police.

Angelica leaves on a promotion tour of her book, and strange things keep happening to her, and finally Tricia can take it no more and starts investigating on her own. The twists and turns, and two different yet intertwined stories are going on at the same time, and it turns out that they all are related to Jim's death, actually his murder, turns out the gas meter was tampered with, it was no accident.


Another awesome story, well-written and enjoyable by Lorna Barrett. Will review the 5th next, then I can't wait for the next to come out!

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Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett (A Booktown Mystery, #3)

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the third book in the Booktown Mystery Series, Angelica has opened a diner in addition to her bookstore, the Cookery. Tricia's friend from college is in town, out-staying her welcome, and the local food panty is moving into a new home, only Tricia never knew the town even had a food pantry.

This was well-written, as Tricia realizes that she has no idea what is going on in her new town, that she spends so much time in the bookstore, she had no idea there was a food pantry, or anything, and she finds herself exploring this world of other people in order to find out what happened to her college roommate, who is found dead behind the diner.

Sheriff Wendy Adams is missing in this book, in fact she never appears to investigate the murder, she sends a new police officer, and finally Tricia feels that maybe the sheriff's department might be capable of handling this investigation on their own. But then again, she ends up getting drawn into the investigation, not out of fear that the new guy won't do his job, but just the past experiences won't let her relax and let it go, she has to figure it out.

This was another great book. I loved getting to know more about Stoneham and the people there and the history and events of the town. It was a lot of fun, I really enjoy these books!



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Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett (A Booktown Mystery, #2)

Bookmarked For Death by Lorna Barrett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Bookmarked for Death is the second book in the Booktown Mystery Series by Lorna Barrett. I loved the first book, and this second one did not disappoint me at all. I enjoyed reconnecting with Tricia and her sister, Angelica, coming back to Stoneham, or otherwise known as Booktown.

Tricia owns and runs a mystery bookstore called "Haven't got a Clue", while her sister owns and runs the bookstore next door called, "The Cookery". Although Tricia and Angelica haven't had the greatest of relationships, it is nice to read along and watch them discover new things about each other and bond and build a better relationship than what they had before.

The town of Stoneham, that was dying out, but revitalized when its focus on book sellers and tourist trade was shaped. It just sounds like a place I would love to visit! A town full of bookstores! I mean really, what could be more perfect for someone who likes to read?

Tricia talks a local author into a book signing at her store, but before the night is over finds the author dead in her bathroom. Of course, Sheriff Wendy Adams is still mad at Tricia, and has alot of problems looking past those issues into the murder, wanting to find Tricia guilty, even when he isn't so of course that just means that Tricia will be doing some investigating. What she turns up, shakes her and the town. The best selling books were not written by the author, but by another woman, with a mystery in her life.

I loved this book. I love the idea of Booktown and I enjoy going there in the books. I enjoyed meeting the townspeople, learning more about ones I already knew and growing the town. It has been a blast. I find the mystery and Tricia to be pretty believable as a person and that makes it easier to get into the story.



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Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Last fall I picked this book up at the school book fair, at a discounted price, but I thought it sounded interesting. This weekend, I picked the book off the shelf and sat down for a few minutes and read the book. Just a quick read.

I loved the story. I loved how it was based on actual events that really occurred, although the dialogue and story are fiction, the camp out, the earthquake and the original people are all real.  maybe it was the fact that the author was related to one of the original people in the event, but he was able to wind a story around this event, but he was able to build up the story, give us a glimpse into the lives of some boys and the Boy Scout Troop on the Island, some history and beliefs of the original island people, and wind all that around to the event. It was not the center stage moment, it just was something that occurred and changed everything they thought and how they acted, but without the front story you wouldn't get how much it changed the lives of the people involved. It was just a well-told story that made you want to know what happened, made you want to root for the underdog, and to hold your breathe till the end!

I loved the book. I am so glad I picked it up. I originally got it for my son, but I am going to have my daughter's read it also. I think the story is well worth all kids reading and realizing that life is bigger than you or me, and that petty differences have to be put aside sometimes and we have to work together for the good of the team at times.


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