Friday Fives - TBR Jar Pick Reviews

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.  Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams - I enjoy Beatriz Williams but this was not the book for me.  I gave it a couple of tries and finally DNF'd at about 11%.  I found I just didn't care.

2.  All the Stars in Heaven by Adriana Trigiani - This author has been on my TBR for at least a decade but I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I hadn't pulled it at random.  It's the story of a young Loretta Young navigating the world of 1930s Hollywood mostly seen through the perspective of her secretary.  It was interesting and I loved seeing Spencer Tracy on the page as well as the other Hollywood stars.  This wasn't a standout but I enjoyed it and will definitely try more from this author.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

3.  Veil of Night by Linda Howard - This was a fun listen with a good premise.  It read a bit like a 1990s romantic suspense (it was published in 2011 - I double checked) which was fun.  The male main character is the worst and it would have had a much higher rating if not for him.   My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

4.  Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena - What a terrible group of people and what a fast paced compelling thriller.  I'm glad I finally tried this author and I will definitely be reading more from her. My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

5.  Flea Market Magic by Bella Falls -  This was a cute and fluffy paranormal cozy mystery.  The main character was a bit annoying but I liked the quirky cast of characters.  The main issue I had was with how the ending was resolved.   My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)

Books from the Backlog - The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits

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:  The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits by Alys Clare

Blurb:  London, 1880
When accounts clerk Ernest Stibbins approaches the World's End Investigation Bureau with wild claims that his wife Albertina has been warned by her spirit guides that someone is out to harm her, the bureau's owner Lily Raynor and her new employee Felix Wilbraham are initially sceptical. How are the two private enquiry agents supposed to investigate threats from beyond the grave?

But after she attends a seance at the Stibbins family home, Lily comes to realize that Albertina is in terrible danger. And very soon so too is Lily herself..

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I have no memory of picking this one up but it looks really good!  I have no idea why I haven't read it yet.

Reading For Fun - Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries

The last few years I've made a list of 10 books - 5 books off my shelf, 5 books from the library - that I'm really wanting to read.  There's no real rhyme or reason.  I just go through my library list and my shelves and pick the books that are calling to me.  Here is one that I've read recently.

Goodreads:  Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Blurb:  Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

My Thoughts:  I wanted to love this one.  I'd heard such great things about it and I had loved The Grace of Wild Things by this author.  It wasn't bad and I did enjoy the last half but getting there was a bit of a slog for me.  I wasn't interested in any of the characters (except Shadow, Emily's dog) or Emily's research.  I had a hard time feeling invested in the story or the characters.  While I did enjoy the last half and was interested in how everything worked out this isn't a series I plan on continuing with.  I will read more from this author but that is based off the previous book I read.  I know this is a pretty unpopular opinion, but this one wasn't a win for me.  My Rating: Just Okay (2.5 Stars)

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books I Enjoyed Outside My Comfort Zone

 

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 Ten Books I Enjoyed Outside My Comfort Zone.  I read pretty widely but I'm a big escapist reader so I tend to stay away from books that don't seem like they're in my comfort zone but here are 10 that I've read and enjoyed.

1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - Years and years ago I was in a mom's group that would occasionally have a book club.  This was one of those picks and I wasn't super excited about but ended up loving it.

2.  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - I typically don't read YA and it still isn't a genre that I typically reach for but I flew through this one and really enjoyed it.

3.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I'm not really a SciFi reader but I love Adams' humor and this book is just so bizarre.

4.  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle - I've never been much of a SciFi or Fantasy reader but this was one of my absolute favorite books as a kid.  I was a bit surprised when I reread it as an adult that I had loved it so much as a kid.

5.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Another outside of my genres but I really enjoyed this one and the second book.  I do need to finish the series.

6.  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - I'm a very firm escapist reader and it was clear that this book wasn't going to have a unicorn and rainbows ending but I ended up reading it anyway.  I ugly cried hard at this one but I did enjoy it.

7.  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - I'm still not 100% sure what was going on with this one but I really enjoyed it. The audio was such a ride.

8.  Before the Fall by Noah Hawley - I don't typically reach for catastrophe books or books where children are in peril and this book had both.  I flew through this one and really enjoyed it.

9.  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Are Gaiman's books in anyone's comfort zone?  This book was bananas but such a good read.

10. Moonraker by Ian Fleming - This may be the worst Bond movie in existence but the book is fantastic.

What books have you enjoyed that are outside of your comfort zone?

The Queen Who Came In From the Cold - Historical Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Queen Who Came In From the Cold (Her Majesty The Queen Investigates #5) by S.J. Bennett

Rating: Really Liked It
Source:   Publisher

Description:  It's 1961 and the Queen is planning her state visit to Italy aboard Britannia. But before she goes, an unreliable witness claims to have seen a brutal murder from the royal train. Did it really happen, and could the victim be a missing friend of Princess Margaret's new husband, Tony Armstrong Jones? The Queen and her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, get to work on their second joint investigation, little imagining that this time it will take them all the way to Venice in a tale of spies, lies and Cold War skullduggery.

Genre:  Mystery - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  I really enjoyed the previous book and the blurb uses the world "skullduggery" so how could I resist?

My Impression:  This is the second book I've read in this series and have really enjoyed both of them.  The concept is fantastic and very well done.  While the primary actors are the people around the Queen she has a pivotal role and is definitely pulling all the strings.  While the first 3 books seemed to be set in more modern time this book and the previous book are set in the late 1950s and early 60s making it very easy to jump in either with this book or the previous book.  

There's a bit of espionage-y setup but while the book doesn't start up with the Queen stumbling over a body it does start with a bit of royal gossip - in this case about Princess Margaret's new husband Tony.  I did appreciate that the gossip never felt particularly mean spirited when it involved characters who were real people.  The fictional characters were fair game of course.

The story was interesting and I love Joan as the primary detective.  It's hard to beat the setting as we wind through multiple means of royal transportation and Venice.  The Queen and her people make for a wonderful investigating team and her world makes for a beautifully complicated setting for murder.  

If you enjoy lighter mysteries this is series is one to look for.  It's a bit unique, truly interesting, and a really fun read.  I haven't read the first three books yet but I'm really looking forward to picking them up.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I'm really looking forward to reading the first three books and will be looking for the next one.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy mysteries this is a great series that doesn't get as much attention as it should.

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

Friday Fives - November TBR

 

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. Since this is the first Friday in November I'm planning my November TBR.

1.  The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts - This is one of the books I've been most looking forward to this year.  I've really loved the previous 2 books in the series and can't wait to see what happens next.

2.   Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey - I have a love/hate relationship with Tey's books so I'm curious to see what side this one lands on.

3.  A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle - This is the next book in the bookbinder mystery series and it's in a series I always enjoy.

4.  Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks - This looks super cute and it's one I've been wanting to read for months.

5.  A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kenney - Not only does this book have a fantastically fall-ish feel but it's one I've heard great things about.

What are you hoping to read in November?

Books from the Backlog - The Book of Candlelight

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:  The Book of Candlelight by Ellery Adams

Blurb:  As the owner of Miracle Books, Nora Pennington figures all the wet weather this spring is at least good for business. The local inns are packed with stranded travelers, and among them Nora finds both new customers and a new friend, the sixtysomething Sheldon, who starts helping out at the store.
Since a little rain never hurt anyone, Nora rides her bike over to the flea market one sodden day and buys a bowl from Danny, a Cherokee potter. It’ll make a great present for Nora’s EMT boyfriend, but the next day, a little rain turns into a lot of rain, and the Miracle River overflows it banks. Amid the wreckage of a collapsed footbridge, a body lies within the churning water.

Nora and the sheriff both doubt the ruling of accidental drowning, and Nora decides it’s time for the Secret, Book, and Scone Society to spring into action. When another body turns up, it becomes clearer that Danny’s death can’t be blamed on a natural disaster. A crucial clue may lie within the stone walls of the Inn of Mist and Roses: a diary, over a century old and spattered with candle wax, that leads Nora and her friends through a maze of intrigue—and onto the trail of a murderer . . .

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I've read the first two in this series and really enjoyed them.  This is a series I really need to read more from.