The Year of Projects - A High End Finish + The Bookwanderers

I do love a good list.  It gives a nice sense of order and focus and I love making lists about the books I want to read.  Last year I focused just on series I was behind on.  The project went great and I caught up on a ton of series but I felt like I was neglecting other books on my shelf and books at my library.  This year I have a few lists going - Series, Library, Clear Off My Shelves, and a random TBR Bingo where I pull books off my Goodreads TBR.  Here are a few of my most recent reads.

Goodreads:  A High-End Finish (Fixer-Upper Mystery #1) by Kate Carlisle
Project: Catch Up On Series

Blurb:  Shannon’s home-renovation and repair business is booming, but her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on. Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry’s found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she’s been hired to restore, the town’s attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder.
Determined to clear her name, Shannon conducts her own investigation—with the help of her four best friends, her eccentric father, a nosy neighbor or two, and a handsome crime writer who’s just moved to town. But as they get closer to prying out the murderer’s identity, Shannon is viciously attacked. Now she’ll have to nail down the truth—or end up in permanent foreclosure.…

My Thoughts:  I've read the later books in this series but had missed the beginning books somehow.  This was a quick and entertaining read with a good setting and a mostly likable cast of characters.  The mystery was interesting though I did have a pretty good guess as to the who though not the why before the end.  This is a pretty solid if not the most unique feeling cozy and I liked that the main character is a knowledgeable contractor.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

Goodreads:  The Bookwanderers (Pages & Co #1) by Anna James

Project:  Library List

Blurb:  Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.

My Thoughts:  When I read middle grade books I'm usually looking at it from two points of view - as a reader and as a parent.  From both perspectives I absolutely loved this!  This is a bit of fun, a lot of heart, and a bit of intrigue - all involving books.    Tilly is a wonderful main character that I think a lot of kids could relate to and I love her friendship with Oskar.  This tackles important issues like grief, dealing with divorce, and the difficulty in making friends but in a way that feels like how kids really talk about those kinds of things.   As a reader I did think the story bogged down a bit in the middle when all the rules of bookwandering come into play but that was short lived and necessary.  I'm excited to see how this series develops and to have more adventures with Tilly and Oskar.  My Rating: Loved It! (4.5 Stars)