Books from the Backlog - Ghosts of Greenglass House

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:  Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Blurb:  Welcome back to the irresistible world of Greenglass House where thirteen-year-old Milo is, once again, spending the winter holidays stuck in a house full of strange guests who are not what they seem. There are fresh clues to uncover as friends old and new join in his search for a mysterious map and a famous smuggler’s lost haul.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  It's a bit spooky and a bit Christmas-y so it seems like a good read for October since all the holiday reads are coming out but it's spooky season!

Sugar Plum Poisoned - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Sugar Plum Poisoned (A Cupcake Mystery #15) by Jenn McKinlay

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  When up-and-coming singing sensation Shelby Vaughn arrives in town for two weeks of concert dates, she hires her old friend Angie and the rest of the bakery crew to supply cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge every night.

After overhearing Shelby in a heated argument with her manager, Mel is concerned, but she and the crew decide to make the best of their time working with the star. Just as the bakers fall into the rhythm of the job, Shelby's manager is found dead, clutching a bit of fabric from a Santa suit and a cupcake. With the bakery crew and Shelby's backup dancers all dressed in similar Santa costumes, it's impossible to say who is the killer. When all suspicions lead back to Shelby, Mel and Angie stand up for their friend, determined to prove her innocence before she's frosted for a crime she didn't commit.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  This is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors and I usually enjoy this series  

My Impression: This was a fun quick read with yummy cupcakes and an entertaining mystery.  This is a series that I read the first book then missed a few and came back to the series in the middle somehow so I am missing a bit of history of the characters.  Part of this was when Angie was dating the Rockstar but that wasn't an issue and I had no issue catching up with how Angie and Shelby were connected.  

I enjoyed getting a peek into the music industry as Mel and Angie work with Shelby and have to deal with her controlling manager.  There's a lot of backstabbing and secrets and hidden agendas so it's no big surprise when Mel stumbles on a dead body - and it's no surprise who the dead body is!

The murder didn't occur until about 30% into the book but the pacing was quick as McKinlay shows the tension building up.  Even when I had a guess as to who the murderer was I wasn't quite sure until the very end.  The conclusion is a touch rushed but it didn't detract from this being an enjoyable light read from beginning to end.  Now I must go find a cupcake!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I have really enjoyed all the cozies I've read by this author.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy light cozy mysteries this is a great series to try.  I think I do prefer her Library Lovers series but this one is a reliably enjoyable read.

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

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Book Characters Who Have Jobs I Would Love to Have

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 Bookish Jobs I Would Do For Free.  I couldn't really think of anything that fit that category so I decided to list ten jobs that book characters have that I would love to do.  I'm sticking to fairly recent reads.  

1.  Librarian - Sayuri Komachi from What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyami - Sayuri Komachi comes up with exactly the books that people need to read to start them on the journey of self reflection.  

2.  Antiques Appraiser - Sasha from the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series by Jane K. Cleland -  Josie Prescott has to run the antiques business which I don't really want to do but Sasha gets to fall down various rabbit holes researching all kinds of antiques.  

3.  Crime Fighter Extradordinaire - Angela from the Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham - I love all the paranormal crime fighting but I really would want Angela's job.  She's not normally in the field but instead is able to locate just about anything when it comes to the online world.

4.  Bookstore Manager - Shelby Cox from the Castle Bookshop Mystery series by Essie Lang - Just like I wouldn't want to own the antique business in #2 I also wouldn't want to own a bookstore.  I WOULD, however, like to manage one and hang out in one all day.

5.  Baker - Harper from The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis - I love baking and I really love that Harper uses recipes that are important to her.  

6.  Researcher - Cybil from The Sign of Seven Trilogy by Nora Roberts - Cybil can find anything online which absolutely fascinates me.

7.  Jeweler - Meg from Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels - I'm not sure Meg is actually a jeweler but she does know a lot about jewelry and gems and that sounds really interesting.

8.  Vintage Shop Owner - Phoebe Sanders from A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff  - I love vintage clothes and getting to find them and research them sounds really interesting.

9.  Paranormal Research Librarian - Prudence Ryland by The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick - If you can't tell researching really appeals to me and through in Prudence's interest in the paranormal and that seems doubly appealing.

10. Historian - Jaya Jones from Jaya Jones' Treasure Hunt Mysteries by Gigi Panidan - Jaya is like Indiana Jones without a fear of snakes and with slightly better luck.

What jobs from books appeal to you?

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: Let It Crow! Let it Crow! Let It Crow! (Meg Langslow Mystery #34) by Donna Andrews

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Meg has been roped into participating in a weaponsmithing competition, a Forged in Fire wannabe organized by a blacksmith friend. Meg originally turned down an invitation to participate, but the night before the filming starts, someone attacks Faulk, her blacksmithing mentor, breaking his arm and eliminating him from the contest before it begins. Meg agrees to step in as his replacement to keep the project from failing. She's not thrilled that the filming will take place during December – Christmas is already a crazy time for her. Since the competition is taking place on Ragnarshjem, the picturesque estate that her friend Ragnar, the retired heavy metal drummer, is turning into a Goth castle, Meg won’t have to spend Christmas alone and gets to bring Michael and her twin sons with her.

So Meg joins the cast, to the dismay of several old-school blacksmiths who think women have no place in the profession anyway. And if the show's producers were hoping for drama, they're in luck. The blacksmithing world is a small one, and some of the contestants arrived already laden with grudges and feuds.

It's a high-stakes, cutthroat competition between people who wield large hammers and make swords and have forges full of fire at their disposal. What could possibly go wrong?

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  This is one of my favorite series and I always enjoy seeing the titles and what bird puns they come up with.

My Impression:  This has long been a favorite series of mine and this might just be one of my favorite books in quite some time.  As well, while I usually hesitate to recommend jumping in to this series because of the large cast of characters, because almost all the characters in this book are new to Meg herself if you have been wanting to try this series but don't want to go back to the beginning this would be good choice.

I really loved that this one focused more on Meg's blacksmithing than the last few books.  As Meg's life has gotten more chaotic with family and animals and other projects the blacksmithing has fallen to the side so it was nice to "see" her in action.  

The mystery was a good one and I'm not sure I've ever come across a more despicable victim.  Motives abound and there are so many possible suspects that it really kept me guessing.  Add in the reality show element and it made for a really fun cozy mystery read!  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series and going back to the very beginning and reading the early books in this series that I've missed.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would!  This is such a fun series and this would be a good one to try if you've been wanting to sample the series.

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

This Week in Reading - October 8

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:

Double Grudge Donuts by Ginger Bolton - I really enjoyed the previous book in this series so I'm really looking forward to reading this one.  (Publisher)

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian - This is another series I've really been enjoying and I'm looking forward to reading more about the adventures of Tempest.  (Publisher)

Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley - I've heard great things about this series so when I was offered this one I couldn't resist it!  (Publisher)

Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews - I loved the previous book in this series so of course I had to pick this one up! (Publisher)

Currently:

Reading:  Sugar Plum Poisoned by Jenn McKinlay and Beer and Loathing by Ellie Alexander

Listening:  Killer Green Tomatoes by Lynn Cahoon

We are back from vacation and had such a wonderful time!  We did a Disney cruise to the Bahamas and then the Halloween party at Disney World and both were fantastic.  I was really impressed with how clean the ship felt and the service was absolutely wonderful.  Will had such a good time and got used to unlimited pizza and ice cream very very quickly!  The Halloween party was really fun and we focused on the rides  Will discovered that he really enjoyed roller coasters that don't have drops so we did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 6 times and really I think he could have gone again.

It was so fun to be on vacation after so long and we enjoyed every minute of it.  We got back earlier this week and have been scrambling to get all the laundry and whatnot done before real life starts again on Monday.  I have a new round of obedience classes to teach starting Monday which I'm mostly excited for - especially puppy class - but not sure I'm quite ready to get back on a schedule.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Reading Recap - September 2023

 

Monthly Breakdown

Monthly Total: 14 (and honestly I'm surprised it was that many as it was a busy month!)

Print: 3

Ebook: 4

Audio: 7

Mystery:  10  

Fiction:  3

Nonfiction: 1 

Favorite Books of the Month:

Favorite Book: 

What You are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama - This one was an absolute delight and I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it.

Favorite Audio:

Color Me Murder by Krista Davis - This was a nice start to a fun cozy mystery series.  

Least Favorite Book of the Month:

Murder in the Manuscript Room by Con Lehane - I don't think this author is for me.  This book just didn't quite work for me.

Bookish Armchair Travel for September

Domestic Travel:

No new states this month but I did visit New Hampshire, Alaska, Oregon, South Carolina, New York, Washington, D.C., and Arizona.

International Travel:

I visited Japan, Scotland (twice), England (twice), and France this month!

How was your reading in September?

Friday Fives - October TBR

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  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 October I'm picking out 5 books I'm looking forward to reading.

1.  The Fatal Folio by Elizabeth Penney - This is the third book about a family owned bookstore in England and I can't wait to read it!

2.  Michelangelo's Ghost by Gigi Pandian - Treasure hunting and ghost stories sound perfect for October!

3.  The Reef by Nora Roberts - I love romantic suspense and we will be on vacation in the Bahamas at the beginning of month.  This seems like the perfect book to read either during or right after vacation.

4.  The Unseen by Heather Graham - Tis the season that just seems to call for romantic suspense for me!

5.  The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - This  creepy book has been on my TBR for years and years and this is the October I'm going to read it!

What are you hoping to read this month?