Friday Fives - Five Short Reviews for Books I've Read Recently

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random fve lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. This week I'm sharing 5 quick reviews for books I've read recently

1.  An Inconvenient Wife by Karen E. Olson - This was an interesting murder mystery with a clever take on Henry IIIV's story complete with beheaded wives and "fixers" and all the other people who surrounded Henry in his life.  Seeing the Tudor court in modern day New York was interesting and well done.  The pace of the story was well done and I was intrigued by all the different characters and found the diary entries so interesting.  My only complaint is that I would have liked the ending to be a little more fleshed out.  I would have liked to see a bit more of the killer's motives and what happened.  Overall, this was an interesting and very clever mystery and I will look for this author's books in the future.  My Rating:  Really Liked It (4 Stars)

2.  Holmes, Marple, & Poe by James Patterson - I haven't read anything by Patterson in literally decades but this one had me intrigued.  There was a lot I liked about it.  I really liked the three main characters and what is revealed about them.  I enjoyed the way they investigated and worked together.  There are several supporting cast members who added quite a bit to the book.  That said the mulitple plot points kept me feeling a bit distracted and I never felt like I was fully hooked on the story.  I will read more of this series but it isn't on my top reads list.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

3.  Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans by Jules Howard -  This was an interesting read if you're interested in the evoloution of theory on how dogs think and on how dogs think in general.  It's definitely on the techinal side and can be disturbing at times as the history of scientific experiments is not always the most ethical.  It's  a bit dry but the information is solid.   My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)

4.  The Troublemaker Next Door by Marie Harte - This is the first romance I've read by this author and it was a fun read.  I like the setup with the three women roommates and how they have a strong friendship despite the fact they frequently drive each other crazy.  I liked how the romance between Flynn and Maddie developed.  They have their issues - especially Maddie - but both are nice people and it was nice to watch their relationship progress.  I also liked Flynn's brothers and their relationship.  My main issue with this one is that it was a bit too spicy for my taste.  I'm more of a closed door romance reader and this was a doors and windows wide open romance.  I'm looking forward to reading more from this series.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

5.  Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire - I have had this series on my TBR since this book came out but since I'm not much of a fantasy reader I kept putting off picking it up.  It was definitely weird but kept me absolutely hooked and was a story and a world that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Nancy is the perfect main character for the first book as she is coming into the school new and is just as confused by all the new terms as I was.  I enjoyed meeting all the different (in all senses of the word) characters.  While I did guess the who well before it was revealed the ending still had my jaw dropping a bit and I definitely want to pick up the next book.  Despite the characters being teenagers, the language and level of violence does not make this a middle grade or even young adult book.  This was a weird but wonderful read and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.