This Week in Reading - September 11

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:

Death and the Gravedigger's Angel by Loretta Ross - This is the 3rd book in what is becoming a series that I really anticipate the next book.  In this mystery there's an abandoned house and some kind of story from World War I.  Can't wait!  (NetGalley)

The Holiday Gift by RaeAnne Thayne - RaeThayne's Christmas books are so delightfully Christmas that I always look forward to them.  And this one comes out in November which is an appropriate time to actually be thinking about Christmas so that makes it even better!  (NetGalley)

The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries - Somehow I have yet to read the 2nd book in this series but that didn't stop me from getting this one!  Sabrina Jeffries is one of my favorite historical authors so I can't wait to read this one! (NetGalley)

Love From Boy by Donald Sturrock - This is a collection of letters written by Roald Dahl to his mother.  I know almost nothing about this author so I'm excited to get a little bit of insight into who he is.  (NetGalley)

Currently:

Reading:  Still reading Before the Fall by Noah Hawley and just started Body in the Bayou by Ellen Byron

Listening:  I finished the 1st Percy Jackson (loved it and it's fantastic in audio) and am now listening to podcasts while I wait for my next hold to come through.  Right now I'm really enjoying Thinking Sideways about weird mysteries.

Watching:  We've been watching season 3 of Blacklist which just showed on Netflxi and have been enjoying it!  I've also started watching Catfish on Hulu.  It's an MTV show about online dating where they go see if the person is who they claim to be (Spoiler - usually no) and it's crazy addictive!  The funny thing is I had zero interest when it came on originally because I'm not really the target market for MTV shows but I cannot stop watching it now!

Off the Blog:

This week was crazy.  Not because of anything that happened but because NOTHING happened.  I'm pretty sure I was abducted by aliens because that is the only thing that can explain how little I got done this week and how short it happened.  Part of that was because of the holiday on Monday and then the fact there was no school on Tuesday but after that I have no excuses.  I didn't even get all that much reading done this week.  Seriously, alien abduction is the only explanation!  I have high hopes for next week though.  

On the Blog:

What Happened:

Monday: Every Frenchman Has One - Nonfiction Memoir Review
Tuesday: Top Ten Things I Learned from Television
Wednesday: Closed Casket - Mystery Blog Tour Review
Thursday: Finding Libbie - Fiction Review
Friday: Friday Linkups featuring My Name is Lucy Barton
Saturday: Hometown Girl - Review + Cupcake Recipe

What's Coming Up:

Monday: Secrets of Wishtide - Mystery Review

Tuesday: My All Time Faves in My Favorite Genres

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: Linkups with Current Book

Saturday: TBD

And hopefully having my act together so I won't have as many To Be Determineds next week!

Have a great week and happy reading!

Hometown Girl - Review + A Cupcake Recipe

Hometown Girl by Mariah Stewart (Amazon)

This is the 4th book in the Chesapeake Bay Diaries by Mariah Stewart.  It's a small town series that splits the difference between women's fiction and contemporary romance.  There is a love story and each book does focus on a particular couple but their friends and family do make up a large part of the story and with each book we get a little better picture of the town of St. Dennis, Maryland.  Hometown Girl focuses on widow and cupcake baker Brooke Bowers and attorney Jesse Enright.

I've been a long time reader of Mariah Stewart's romantic suspense series but I've had a somewhat inconsistent relationship with this series.  The 2nd book was a DNF because I just didn't care, the 1st, 3rd, and 7th books were pleasant but not memorable, and then I really enjoyed the 8th and 9th book.  So going in I wasn't quite sure what I'd think about book number 4.  Thankfully I ended up really enjoying it.  I think it landed in the 3.5 to 4 star range.  It was enjoyable read with likable characters but not necessarily one that really hooked me and will stay with me.

What I Liked

1.  The characters - this is a character driven book (and series).  I love seeing how everyone relates to each other and revisiting some of the series regulars like Grace and Curtis.  I liked that Brooke and Jesse were such hard workers and were really trying hard to be not only to accomplish what they wanted to accomplish but be the people they wanted to be.

2.  The development - Brooke was a total mean girl in high school.  She was beautiful and popular and it didn't really bring out the best in her.  I really liked that not only had she grown out of the mean girl role but she was really embarrassed about her behavior without dragging up the past too much.  Jesse's relationship with his Grandfather is still a little strained as they try to repair the damage done by Jesse's very black sheep father.  It's not just an easy reunion which felt fairly realistic.

3.  The timing - For starters Brook has been a widow for several years.  She misses her late husband dearly and still grieves for their lost future to some extent but it's not fresh grief and the growing relationship between Brooke and Jesse felt genuine.  Also, Brooke and Jesse had been friends for sometime before it developed into anything more so it wasn't insta-love which is nice.

What I Didn't Like:

1.  There's a shallowness to the books.  The characters all have hearts of gold even if they're somewhat cranky on the outside.  They're all incredibly talented and financially well situated.  This makes for fabulous reading when you're in the mood for something light but leaves a little something to be desired if you're wanting more substance.

What I Loved:

The Cupcakes!  Did I mention Brooke is trying to start a cupcake bakery?  I really enjoyed that she isn't just buying a storefront and setting up shop to instant raves and epic sales.  Instead she's trying to cater parties and sell her cupcakes at a coffee shop and an ice cream shop to gain a following before she starts an actual business which was a nice shot of realism.

And Brooke spends a lot of time making cupcakes and when she's not making them she's talking about them or someone else is talking about them.  I'm a big cupcake fan as it is but by the end of this book it was all I could do not to go whip up a batch of cupcakes immediately but since it was late at night I restrained myself.  That next morning is another story though!  My cupcakes aren't going to be as pretty as Brooke's but they're pretty tasty - especially when I use this recipe from The Cookies and Cups Cookbook by Shelly Jaronsky.

While this book didn't have any of Brooke's more unusual cupcake flavors this recipe for Banana Cupcakes is definitely calling my name!

Banana Cupcakes

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 heaping cup mashed banana (about 3 very ripe medium bananas)

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners

 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and both sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the eggs, vanilla, mashed banana, and buttermilk, continuing to mix until evenly incorporated and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.  With the mixer still running, add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined.   (I'll be using my hand mixer for this)

Turn the speed to low and add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full with batter.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.  

Jaronsky lists several different frostings to try with the cupcakes but I'm going with a classic Cream Cheese Frosting because it's my favorite!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (I'll be using a mixing bowl and my hand mixer), mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Turn the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar.  Once incorporated, turn the speed back up to medium and continue mixing until smooth.  Add 1 tablespoon of the milk or cream and continue mixing.  If necessary, add an additional tablespoon of milk until the desired consistency is reached.

That is how I'm getting my cupcake fix today.  Any food a book has made you crave lately?  

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Friday Linkups - My Name is Lucy Barton

It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
When you set a yearly reading goal, do you set it high to force yourself to meet that goal or do you keep it low and normally go over that goal anyway?

My Answer:
In the past I've made goals on the high side in order to push myself into reading more.  But I've noticed in the last few years that what it ends up doing is keep me from taking any risks bookwise and keeps me from picking up chunkster books because I'm worried about making my goal.  This year I set my goal pretty low and have been trying to push myself to take more risks and hopefully get at least 1 chunkster read!

This week's book is one that has been on my TBR forever but isn't one that I thought was typically a "me" kind of read.  But after a few really positive reviews I couldn't resist My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout - especially when I saw my library had it on audio.  I'm almost done with it and while I have enjoyed it I'm not 100% what I really think of it.  It's a short simple book but it's also so complicated that I'm really having to think about it!

The Beginning: 
There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks.

My Thoughts:
I can't imagine staying in the hospital for 9 weeks.  The longest I've ever stayed in one was 3 nights and that was in the maternity ward!

The 56:
Immediately he swooshed the curtain around me and this separated me from my mother.

My Thoughts:
I can imagine how much of a comfort it would be to have the doctor make some privacy for an exam. Privacy is not an easy thing to come by in a hospital!

So what do you think?  Keep reading?  What is your goal for the year and what are your reasons for setting it?  Or not setting it?

Finding Libbie - Fiction Review

Finding Libbie by Deanna Lynn Sletten (Amazon link)

Rating: Good
Source: NetGalley

Description:  Poring over a dusty hatbox of photographs in her grandmother’s closet, Emily Prentice is shocked to discover her father was married to his high school sweetheart before meeting her mother.

In the summer of 1968, Jack and Libbie fall in love under the spell of their small town, untouched by the chaos of the late sixties. Though Libbie’s well-to-do parents disapprove of Jack’s humble family and his aspiration to become a mechanic, she marries Jack a year after they graduate high school. But soon their happiness crumbles as Libbie’s mental state unravels and she is drawn to alcohol and drugs. Despite his efforts to help her, Jack loses the woman he loves and is forced to move on with his life.

Now that Emily’s mother has passed away, Jack is alone again, and Emily grows obsessed with the beautiful woman who had given her father such joy. Determined to find Libbie, Emily pieces together the couple’s fragmented past. But is it too late for happy endings?

Genre: Fiction

Why I Picked This Book:  I love the visual of finding a hatbox hidden in a closet full of photographs and old secrets

My Impression:  I absolutely love books that focus on secrets in the past - especially if that past is discovered through a long forgotten packet of letters, or a hidden document or in this case a box full of photographs.
Right off the bat we are introduced to Emily who is kind of in a crossroads of her life and helping her Grandmother clean out the old farm house that has been in the Prentice family for generations.  I really enjoyed seeing Emily's relationship with her grandmother and could understand her sadness that the land would soon be gone even if she understands why.  Shortly after the discovery of the photos we meet Jack (aka Emily's father) as a junior in high school helping decorate for the prom because the decoration committee is run by the girl of his dreams - Libbie.  Libbie is beautiful, intelligent, funny and from one of the most prominent families in town and it was lovely watching the romance grow.  Jack is such a good guy.  He's kind and thoughtful and a seriously hard worker.  He tips the balance at a little too perfect but not in a way that annoyed me.
The book stayed in 1968 for the bulk of the story.  While it was heartbreaking watching how Jack and Libbie's life spins out of control I was expecting more focus on the search for her and was a little disappointed in that element.  Of course, that is purely personal and based on the fact that I love nothing more than a book that contains research!  As well there is a lot of conversation and not as much doing which at times slowed the pace a little.
There were a few more serious notes than I expected but not in a way that ever strayed into overwrought and melodramatic.  Sletten tackles mental illness, addiction, and class issues.  How the mental illness and addiction was treated in the late 60s and as the book progressed was shocking and I couldn't help but be sympathetic to the characters even when they sometimes made it difficult.
This was an interesting read and one I enjoyed despite a couple of flaws.  I especially loved the ending.  While it is a little rushed I really enjoyed seeing what the future holds for all the characters.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  I would!

Would I Recommend this Book?: If the premise grabs you I wouldn't hesitate to jump right in!

Closed Casket - Blog Tour Review

About Closed Casket

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (September 6, 2016)

"What I intend to say to you will come as a shock..."
With these words, Lady Athelinda Playford -- one of the world's most beloved children's authors -- springs a surprise on the lawyer entrusted with her will. As guests arrive for a party at her Irish mansion, Lady Playford has decided to cut off her two children without a penny . . . and leave her vast fortune to someone else: an invalid who has only weeks to live. Among Lady Playford's visitors are two strangers: the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Neither knows why he has been invited -- until Poirot begins to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murder. But why does she seem so determined to provoke a killer? And why -- when the crime is committed despite Poirot's best efforts to stop it -- does the identity of the victim make no sense at all?

 

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Review:

I don't think it's a secret that I'm a HUGE Agatha Christie fan and so when I heard Sophie Hannah was writing more Poirot books I was more than a little nervous.  What if they weren't good?  What if she didn't understand Poirot?  Or even worse - what if she made him a figure of mockery?  I felt a little better when I read how closely she had worked with the Christie estate - including Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard.  I did pick up The Monogram Murder and while it wasn't my favorite read - the end especially felt a little convoluted - I did enjoy it and felt that Hannah caught the basic personality of Poirot.  

So when Closed Casket came around I had no hesitations picking it up and diving right in.  I have to say - I was not disappointed.  We catch up with Inspector Edward Catchpool who met Poirot in The Monogram Murders and is a wonderful combination of Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings.  He's a solid investigator with good instincts but lacks a bit of imagination and frequently has no clue where Poirot is going when he goes off on his tangents.  As well, we're treated to a classic Christie setting - the house party.  My problems with her first book were basically gone.  Poirot felt much more like Poirot and I loved how the ending was straight-forward yet wonderful complicated in true Christie fashion.  At the same time Hannah brings a bit of her own to the story.  The atmosphere is more suspenseful and I ended up flying through this one - especially the last 200 pages when I had gotten all the characters straight.

I really enjoyed this new Poirot mystery from Sophie Hannah.  I was very pleased with her portrayal of Poirot and found this new mystery completely engaging. I'd love to read more books by Hannah and hopefully there will be more Poirot books as well!  Rating: Very Good (4 Stars)

About Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976. Learn more about Agatha Christie through her official website.

About Sophie Hannah

Sophie Hannah is the New York Times-bestselling author of numerous psychological thrillers, which have been published in 27 countries and adapted for television, as well as The Monogram Murders, the first Hercule Poirot novel authorized by the estate of Agatha Christie. Connect with Sophie Hannah through her website, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Things I've Learned From Television

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and The Bookish is a TV freebie in honor of all the shiny new shows about to start.  Now it's no secret that I watch a lot of crime shows and I've noticed that there are some themes that are repeated a lot so I thought it'd be fun to catalog them!

1.  It is never a mannequin, a pile of clothes, or trash. (All of them)

2.  Every crime can be connected to either the Navy or Marine Corps if you try hard enough thus making it under the jurisdiction of NCIS (All NCIS franchise shows)

3.  Sometimes the CIA calls in NCIS for retrieval missions in other countries (NCIS: Los Angeles)

4.  All you need to do is type in a few keywords and you'll discover all deaths and strange incidents at a residence along with any rumors of haunting instantly. Also, wifi is everywhere.  (Supernatural)

5.  Armored car drivers have the most dangerous profession on the planet.  From what I can tell in the average career span is about 6 weeks before you either become the inside man in a complicated robbery or are killed or in some way restrained by the inside man.  (Pretty much all of them at what time or another)

6.  DNA takes no more than an hour and is always obtainable.  (All of them)

7.  If you are walking your dog and then said dog suddenly runs into a wooded area and refuses to come out you're about to discover a body. (All)

8.  Just don't go jogging - no good can come from that. (All)

9.  It's not the first scare that gets you it's the second.  If your cat knocks over something on a table and it startles you when you look up from cleaning up whatever it is there will be a serial killer standing there to grab you.  (Criminal Minds)

10.  All forensics experts also carry guns and investigate murders - after they get their results from the DNA matching which took about 20 minutes of course.  (CSI - all franchises)

What has television taught you?

Every Frenchman Has One - Review

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland (Amazon)

Olivia de Havilland is probably best known for her role as Melanie in Gone With the Wind but the movie that I really associate with her is a terrifying movie about a woman in a mental institution called The Snake Pit which still gives me the shivers!  In terms of de Havilland as a person I know almost about her so when I saw that her short tongue in cheek memoir that had originally been published in 1962 had been reissued and was on Blogging for Books I just couldn't resist.

I was a little worried this would change my opinion of de Havilland.  She's always seemed perfectly lovely and oh so lady like but what if she isn't?  Luckily, not only did this book not lower my opinion of her it actually raised it.  For not only is she perfectly ladylike but she also has the sly-est humor and the most delicate touch of snark.

This book is all about her observations of what it's like to be an American mother living in France.  She stumbles over Fahrenheit to Celsius conversions when her son has a fever and quite by accident learns the type of flowers you should never ever send a (living) friend.  She learns French though not without a few bumps and learns what you really ought to serve on Christmas day.  Her telling of her slipups are so funny and I have the feeling she'd be a wonderful person to share lunch or even a cup of tea with.

This is a small little book - only about 143 pages including a recent interview - and one I thoroughly enjoyed.  This is a book I found that is better sipped than gulped.  A chapter or two is absolutely delightful but trying to read it in one sitting feels a little tedious.  I will say next time I watch a movie featuring Olivia de Havilland I'll enjoy it even more after to getting to know her a bit in this lovely little book!