Book Review: Buffalo West Wing (White House Chef Mystery #4)

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What happens to the kitchen staff at the White House when a new president takes over? Well, it may not always happen the way this book portrays, but this is a glimpse into that life. In this, the 4th book in the White House Chef series, there is a new family in the White House, which in turn means some new staff, and even new secret service personal. And although we have never seen it get this hairy, it is a good glimpse into that life.

Ollie is the first female executive chef in White House history, but that doesn't mean cooking for a new family is a piece of cake, especially when you have at least two people on the staff pulling for you to fail!  When Ollie discovers a favorite treat of the new first kids in the kitchen, but can't figure out where they came from, she does the only think she can, lets the secret service know and puts the offending treat aside.  The difficulties of cooking for a new family pop up quick when the kids find out about the treat, and are disappointed at not being allowed the treat, and the new First Lady is upset with Ollie.  She hasn't learned the protocols, and as the secret service is quick to remind Ollie, she did the right thing, but the new First Lady has learned how careful they have to be. It causes some friction and dislike from the beginning.

The now history relationship between Ollie and her secret service boyfriend causes some upsets, as they still have to work together, and Tom still hasn't figured out that Ollie doesn't try to put herself in the middle of things, she just happens to look for answers and is well-suited to being a White House employee, because she questions everything to make sure that all is being done to protect the First Family.  The reason she ends up in the middle is that she asks questions and is observant, and it bothers Tom.  Too bad he couldn't embrace her nature, they might have been able to make a fantastic team watching over the First Family.

Another great book by Julie Hyzy, now I just have to figure out what to do until I can get my hands on the next book in the series.



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Book Review: Eggsecutive Orders (White House Chef Series #3)

Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book 3 of the White House Chef Series begins with Ollie being awaken by a phone call telling her the Secret Service is on it's way to pick her up, what? She is confused and the confusion only grows.  She finally finds out that someone at dinner last night has died, but knowing everything her kitchen and staff does, she can't understand why they are questioning her and the staff. Then she is hit with the realzation, that not only are they questioning her and her staff, they are locking them out of the kitchen for the time being, nothing will be cooked, and it's the week before Easter and the White House Egg Roll, not to mention that Ollie has finally talked her Mom and Nana into flying out to visit her.

To make matters worse, her questioning ways have made the Secret Service Agent over the White House Staff dislike her so much, that he is out to get her, along with a couple other people...we met Peter Sargant III again in this book, and he is openly gloating about this turn of events.  So they agent, Craig assigns her boyfriend Tom to watch over Ollie and threatens him that if she so much as asks the wrong questions his job is toast.

This all leads Ollie, not only on qustioning what happened an how it could happen, but also on a quest to answer some questions in her own life. She realizes that she is just the type of person that has to ask questions, she can't ignore her feelings and that just doesn't fit with what Tom needs. it probably isn't a good fit in the White House, at least in the Secret Service's mind, they want to figure things out, but in reality it is probably in the best interest of the White House to have someone like Ollie around, that doesn't just do her job, but loves her job and the people, and refuses to let things just hang, she needs answers!

Another awesome book by Julie that I recommend to all!!!



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Book Review : Hail to the Chef (White House Chef Mystery #2)

Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I discovered Julie Hyzy and the White House Chef Mystery Series not that long ago. I really like it.

In this book, the second in the series, it is Thanksgiving and there are alot of things going on at the White House.  Someone ends up dead, and it effects the staff and family in the White House.

This was a little different in alot of respects, one is that the "boyfriend" of our lead character is not in this book at all. There is none of the relationship tensions that you normally see in a cozy, and that is really nice for a change.

The First Lady's nephew "commits suicide" at the beginning of the book, which throughs everyone off, I mean when has that ever happened, and no one can believe it was a suicide, it doesn't fit or work. So of course Ollie is looking into things, and it's not that she is trying to find the killer or investigate, like alot of cozy mysteries, it's just that she questions what is going on and her mind needs answers, and when the ends don't match up right, she is not the type of person to just walk away and let it go.  She tends to get in trouble with the Secret Service because she refuses to accept explanations that don't make sense.

I love this series because she is just a normal person asking normal questions, and in that course she ends up in the middle of the investigation.





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Book Review: Midnight Crystal

Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Somewhere in the future, on a world called Harmony, life has evolved. Para-senses have developed and life has changed, but mysteries still abound.

There is just something about the world of Harmony, something that makes me wish it really existed. The men are stronger and sexier, the women know what they want and are strong and independent.  It's like a better version of life.

This book fits in the Acrane Society and the futuristic series. It is an awesome read.

We return to the Jones family, founders of the Acrance Society and Jones & Jones, and the Winters family, the biggest rival of the Jones, and almost always on the other side, until they realize they need to work together. Each time a Winter's male needs the Burning Lamp, they find they need to pair with the Jones family. Their ancestors may not have enjoyed each other, and may have worked against each other at times, but the reality is that the wold needs both sides, the chemical and the science sides, to take care of the problems that arise.

I loved this book, but then I have loved every book set on Harmony. There is just something about Harmony. I would love to actually see it, to live on Harmony. Can't wait for another!!



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Book Review: Burning Lamp

Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Normally, I can pick up an Amanda Quick novel, and be into it and reading from the start, but for some reason this book was hard for me to get into.  It didn't feel like he other books, and I didn't feel like I really got to know either of the main characters all that well.

Adelaide is the female main character, and it seemed to take a long time to get a feel for her, the first chapter when she is introduced seems almost out of place, and I didn't get a feel for her.

Griffin, the male lead, is not what he seems. It doesn't seem as polished or as developed as the male characters in her other books, I feel so much of him was still a mystery, and although there is so much more to him than his profession, that seems to be the only thing the female lead an focus on and talk about.

This is the second book in the Dreamlight Trilogy, and personally I didn't feel it gave me anything that I hadn't already learned in the first book of the series.  This is hard to say, it is hard to say something bad about an author that I love to read.



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Book Review: The Irish Cottage Murders

The Irish Cottage Murder: A Torrey Tunet Mystery by Dicey Deere

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Glancing through the shelfs at the library, had a few books, but just was looking when this title jumped out at me. I love anything Irish so I grabbed it and thought it might be good.

The author wrote in a different style. Each chapter was short and slightly choppy. Some chapters wee only one page long. Each chapter was a different person, and not the just two different characters but a large number of different characters. I still am not sure that I have a grasp on each of the characters, and it was the end before I got the murderer, there were just so many twists and turns.

Torry is the main character, she is 27 and a translator. She travels the world, but carries a great deal of guilt with her. As a teenager, she "stole" some dirty money while babysitting. The actions changed the lives of a great number of people.

Desmond is one of he characters, and although we only see him alive in the first few chapters, we learn more and more about him and his character, as it has influenced the lives and actions of other people.  Torry and Desmond has a lot in common in that regard, but they use the events in their lives to different means. 

Torry is accussed of Desmond's murder, and although she didn't do it, and it seems beyond me that the local police actually thought her a subject, she wasn't even in the area when he was killed, they had decided that she was the murderer and it fell to her to clear her own name.



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Book Review ; Fired Up

Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'll be honest. If you give me a book by Amanda Quick or Jayne Castle, I will read it in a heartbeat, but when it came to books written under the Jayne Ann Krentz name, that was another story. 

The same author writes under all three names, but Amanda Quick is historical and Jayne Castle is future, whereas the Jayne Ann Krentz were modern day. There was just always something about them that I could not get into. But, since this was Arcane Society, and I really like those, and this was number One in a trilogy, I figured I was going to have to try.

I am happy to say, that after a few false states, Thursday evening I sat down and really stared the book. I found that once I got past the prologue and into about the 4th Chapter that I really starting liking the book.  It just started slow for me, which gave me a little trouble actually reading the book to begin with.

Although this is the first book in the Dreamlight trilogy, it is actually the 7th book to deal with the Arcane Society, so you will find some familiar names if you have read some of the Arcane books. I have read some of them, but usually only the one under the Amanda Quick or the Jayne Castle names. Now I am going to have to go back and try to do the Krentz ones too.

The book starts slow, and the first couple of chapters have you guessing as to why they are even included, but it starts to pick up and it all becomes clear.



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