Friday Fives - Five Books I've Bought Recently

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  I've been doing some bookshopping and picked up a few things.  Here are the 5 books I've picked up.

1.  The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu - This looks lovely and the whole concept is a bit bananas which I like.

2.  Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor - I have really enjoyed everything I've read by this author and this looks wonderful.

3.  The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sara Beth Durst - I adored Durst's book last year and am so excited about this one.

4.  Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum - This has been on my TBR since it came out so I had to pick it up when I stumbled upon it at the bookstore.

5.  Remember Love by Mary Balogh - I have been loving another series from Balogh and so when I saw this one as one of the offered freebies for Bookstore Romance day on Libro.fm I snapped it up!

What have you picked up lately?

Books from the Backlog - Now and Then Friends

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  Now and Then Friends by Kate Hewitt

Blurb:  Childhood best friends Rachel Campbell and Claire West have not only grown up, but after fifteen years, they've also grown apart...
After her father left, Rachel had to dedicate her life to managing her her two younger sisters, her disabled mother, and her three-year-old nephew. When Rachel’s not struggling to look after all of them, she makes her living cleaning the houses of wealthy families—inclulding the Wests, where a surprise now awaits her. . . .

A lifetime of drifting in other people's currents has finally left Claire high and dry. First it was her parents, then the popular crowd in school, and finally her fiancé. Now she’s returned to Hartley-by-the-Sea to recover. But running into Rachel brings back memories of past mistakes, and Claire wonders if she now has the courage to make them right.

Soon Claire’s brother, Andrew, asks Rachel to keep an eye on Claire, which is the last thing either woman wants. But as their lives threaten to fall apart, both Claire and Rachel begin to realize what they need most is a friend. The kind of friend they once were to each other, and perhaps can be again. . . .

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I read an earlier book by this author and loved it.  I've been meaning to read this one for years and really should pick it up soon!

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective - Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols

Rating: Not For Me (2 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who’s hiding secrets.

The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form “The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective” to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found. Full of eccentricity, humor, community, The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective will keep you hooked until the last page.

Genre: Mystery

Why I Picked This Book:  The title.  Anytime a group of people get together to solve a mystery I am completely in so how could I resist a Murder Collective?

My Impression:  I really wanted to love this and the premise had my expectations pretty high.  I love a found family of quirky unconnected characters and am a big fan of putting together a team to solve a murder.  Extra points for the fact they gave the team a name.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't grab me.  The characters felt very one note - Mrs. B is the meddling landlady, Ocean is the cottage mother + lover of protests and causes, Sophie is high strung and writing a play in her head about the characters of the cottages, and Lily-Ann is fat (her description) and suffers from severe and somewhat debilitating perfectionism.  The men are even a bit more one note.  Anthony looks like a sinister criminal, Nicholas is kind of a jerk, and I never got much on Hamilton other than he liked visitors and doesn't leave the house.  The POV changes with each chapter which I did like but didn't help my grasp of the characters.  I did really like that the detective's POV was included and really liked seeing an outside perspective.

The writing style is very unique and while that contributed to it not working for me I think that could cause it to really work for someone else.  Not every book is for everyone and this unfortunately, is one that isn't for me.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? I might try this author again if I could get a book from the library and the premise really grabs me.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you like quirky stories with mysteries this might be a good pick but I'd try to read a sample or get it from the library before buying.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

Top Ten Tuesday - Books to Read to Try to Beat a Slump

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is a Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump.  I'm not sure I have any guaranteed book slump busters but here are some books that have helped me get out of a slump in the past.

1.  Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q Sutanto - Found family and one of the best main characters I've read in a long time - plus a pretty fast pace - makes this a perfect slump read.

2.  Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish by Dorothy Gilman - The whole Mrs. Pollifax series are quick reads with a likable main character and bunches of hijinks.  You can never go wrong with a Mrs. Pollifax book!

3.  Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - I love this author and her books always pull me in.

\4.  Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels - The Gothic tones of Michaels' stories always grab me and this one involves jewelry and family secrets which makes it one of my favorites.

5.  Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica - I love a fast paced short chapter thriller and this one kept me hooked.  The audio was fanatastic!

6.  Scaredy Cat by Sofie Ryan - I can't have a list without a cozy and this one featuring a cat with some serious attitude and a group of older private detectives is one of my favorites.

7.  How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior - Penguins and a cranky old woman and a hefty dose of found family - what's not to like?

8.  What You are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama - I adore this book in both audio and print and it has such a soothing feel it usually beats any slump I have.

9.  South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber - I love Webber's books and they typically just escape into her magical realism stories.

10. Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie - I can't have a list without a Christie and this is one of my favorites!

What books do you reach for to break a slump?

Authors I've Been Meaning to Read - The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of authors that I've been saying I need to read and commit to reading at least one book by each of the authors in 2025.  Here's my thoughts on one of those books/authors.

Goodreads:  The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Blurb:  Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

My Thoughts:  This was adorable.  I loved Emma and her family.  I loved the premise.  There's a bit of a grumpy/sunshine dynamic as Charlie is a bit reserved and used to doing things his own way.  I really enjoyed seeing them navigate working together as writing colleagues and as people temporarily living together.  I loved the ending, the challenges didn't feel too artificially created, and I really enjoyed how he supported and championed her.  The audio was a delight to listen too and I'm looking forward to reading more from Katherine Center.  My Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars) 

This Week in Reading - August 10

 

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst - I used a Libro.FM credit for this one and am so looking forward to listening to it! (Purchased)

Currently:

Reading:  The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols and Unsolved Crimes by Sarah Herman

Listening:  All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani

It's been a busy week but I was able to get some good reading done which made me happy.  This week I'm hoping to get some medical stuff dealt with that I've been putting off - I'm terrible at getting lab work done!  And of course I'm hoping to get more reading done as well.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Friday Fives - Five Books I Read Because of My TBR Jar

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.   This year I wanted to add a bit of randomness and work on getting through more books I've been neglected so I started two TBR jars - one for physical books on my shelves and one for audio books.  Here are 5 books I've picked from my audio book jar and what I thought of them.

1.  Accused by Lisa Scottoline - This was on my TBR forever so I was really glad when I pulled this title.  I ended up DNF'ing it as I couldn't stand any of the characters so it's really nice to have it off my list.

2.  Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi - I bought this during an Audible sale when we were watching Top Chef a lot (so 2018?) and then it sat on my (virtual) shelf.  I ended up really enjoying it once I listened to it.

3.  The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen - A YouTuber I used to watch recommended this series but I've been a bit scared off because i thought it might be really religious.  And it kind of was - the characters are very devout but I didn't find them preachy or full of over the top mentions.  This is a series I'll continue.

4.  What You are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama - This was a 5 star read in 2023 and so I picked it up on Audible. Then the TBR jar decided I needed a reread of it and the TBR jar was not wrong.  It was perfect for the mood I was in and I loved it just as much.

5.  Renegades by Marissa Meyer - This ended up being a DNF at just over a quarter into it.  I enjoyed the writing style and the story itself and if it had been a standalone I probably would have finished it with a solid 3.5 rating.  BUT it's a trilogy and this one apparently ends in a cliffhanger and when it comes down to it I'm just not interested enough in this world to read 3  books in it.

So not an entirely successful TBR Jar quintet but these are 5 books off my TBR list that probably wouldn't have gone anywhere otherwise so I'm calling it a win!