Monday, July 5, 2021

The Year of the Series - Thread the Halls + The Whole Cat and Caboodle

 

After the calamity that was 2020 I didn't want to give myself serious reading goals but I did want to do something to help my book stacks get a little more under control.  I've tried getting rid of the ones I want to read but unfortunately I want to read all the books I own.  So I decided to focus on series.  There are so many I have that I abandoned halfway through or came in halfway and never read the first few.  I made a list of ten series and the next book I had to read in them and will be rolling in new books and series as I go along and catch up.  Here are two reviews from that list that I've read recently.


Goodreads:  Thread the Halls (Mainely Needlepoint #6) by Lea Wait 

My Thoughts:  This was a fun mystery!  I didn't love the last book so I was a little nervous going into this one but I shouldn't have been.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are Hollywood stars and drama, lots of Maine Christmas fun, some kitten hijinks, and a murder mystery.  I had some suspicions as to the who but the why was quite a surprise and I really enjoyed getting there.  I loved catching up with Angie, Sara, and the rest of the Mainely Needlepointers.  This is a great cozy series with a fun Maine atmosphere and a likable community of characters.  I liked Angie and think that Trixie is good for her and keeps her from getting too much in her own head which has been a complaint I've had in previous books.  I'm already looking forward to picking up the next book in the series!  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

Goodreads:  The Whole Cat and Caboodle (Second Chance Cat Mystery #1) by Sofie Ryan

My Thoughts:  I started this series with book 5 and really had no issues jumping in there but I'm so glad I've gone back and started at the beginning.  Sarah is busy running a antique/refurbished shop, getting used to being back home, and corralling her a collection of her grandmother's friends who are like family to her.  Things go a bit off the rails when one of those friends, Maddie, is found with a body in her backyard and the rest of the group dives into keep her out of jail.  This was a fun read.  I loved the characters and found Sarah's story really interesting.  And of course, the cat Elvis is the star of the show.  He reminds me a bit of my cat but way more social and I had to laugh quite a few times at his antics or responses.  My only complaint is that there are a lot of characters and sometimes it's a bit difficult to remember how they're all connected to each other but that really doesn't pertain to the story so that didn't bother me too much.  I'm really looking forward to continuing this series.  My Rating: Really Liked It!

3 comments:

  1. Yay I have read The Whole Cat and Caboodle and enjoyed it too. I would like to read the Lea Wait series.

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  2. I've tried setting a goal for myself to read series but it always has the opposite effect and discourages me from reading them. I've tried starting a cozy before in the middle of the series but it felt like I was missing a lot of the character building. It was a great idea for you to back and read The Whole Cat and Caboodle which is an awesome name btw. Glad you liked both of these so much! The cat being named Elvis is so cute! I used to have a dog with that name.

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