Books from the Backlog - Surviving Savannah

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:  Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

Blurb: When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I checked this out from the library but had to return it before I read it.  Then I saw it on sale at Audible and I bought it.  It's been awhile and I still haven't read it!

Around the World in Eighty Days - Classic Review

At the end of 2022 Wendy over at Literary Feline posted about these fantastic TBR Tarot Cards she had picked up on Etsy and that sounded too good to resist so I immediately ordered my own set.  So when I'm not feeling strongly about what to read next I pull out my cards and pick a book based on the prompt.  Here is a book the fates chose for me recently.

Goodreads: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Description:  One night in the reform club, Phileas Fogg bets his companions that he can travel across the globe in just eighty days. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, he immediately sets off for Dover with his astonished valet Passepartout. Passing through exotic lands and dangerous locations, they seize whatever transportation is at hand—whether train or elephant—overcoming set-backs and always racing against the clock.

TBR Tarot Prompt:  Pick a book that has been made into a TV show or movie

My Throughts:  This book was on my list of possible reads for this year so when the prompt came up it seemed like a perfect fit.  I've never read anything by Jules Verne so I was a little nervous going in but overall I really enjoyed it.  This is quite the adventure with pretty much every form of transportation available in 1872 at least considered if not used and all kinds of adventures - both good and dangerous.  The prose is a bit cumbersome at times and there are some very dated stereotypes but for the most part this was a lot of fun and I'm so glad that the TBR Tarot picked it for me.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Road Trip Books

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 a freebie and since I have a few vacations planned this year I'm thinking about books I'm going to bring on my upcoming road trips.  I'm not always the biggest reader on vacations but it is always good to be prepared!

1. The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell - This looks Gothic-y and fun with murder and a baking competition.  Perfect to distract me on long car rides but not too spooky that I won't be able to sleep.

2.  I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosby - This is a book of essays so sounds like good reading for travel or for when I'm tired out from my vacationing.

3.  The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James - This looks like a nice creepy read that will keep me interesting if the car ride gets too long or if I have a hard time sleeping in an unfamiliar place.

4.  The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams by Mindy Thompson - Just in case I can't sleep in an unfamiliar place and I don't want anything spooky I think this magical middle grade involving books sounds perfect.

5.  Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life as a Country Vet by Jan Pol - I have a friend who loves Dr. Pol and has enjoyed this book and it sounds like an interesting one that will work great for vacation.  

6.  At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber - I do love a little magical realism and both books I've read by this author have been winners.  This seems like a fantastic book to read sitting by the pool or on a hotel balcony which just the right amount of sun.

7.  Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura - This looks sweet and fun and a bit outlandish which makes it perfect road trip reading!

8.  Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day - I can't go on vacation without a cozy mystery!  There's always space for a nice cozy mystery - especially a foodie one!

9.  The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - I also can't go on vacation without a Christie book and this is the Read Christie Challenge book for April. 

10. Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan - I haven't had the best luck with the last couple of books I've read from this author but this one looks good and looks like a good vacation book.

What books would you take with you on vacation? Do you read much on vacation?

The Clock Struck Murder - Historical Mystery Review

Goodreads: The Clock Struck Murder by Betty Webb

Rating: Just Okay (2 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  One woman's trash is another woman's--lost Chagall masterpiece?!? Expat Zoe Barlow has settled well into her artist's life among the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris. When a too-tipsy guest at her weekly poker game breaks Zoe's favorite clock, she's off to a Montparnasse flea market to bargain with the vendor Laurette for a replacement. What Zoe didn't bargain for was the lost Chagall painting that's been used like a rag to wrap her purchases! Eager to learn whether Laurette has more Chagalls lying about like trash, Zoe sets off to track her down at her storage shed. With no Laurette in sight, Zoe snoops around and indeed finds several additional Chagalls―and then she finds Laurette herself, dead beneath a scrap heap, her beautiful face bashed in. With Paris hosting the 1924 Summer Olympics, the police are far too busy with tourist-related crimes to devote much time to the clock seller's murder. After returning the paintings to a grateful Marc Chagall, Zoe begins her own investigation. Did the stolen paintings play any part in the brutal killing? Or was it a crime of passion? Zoe soon discovers that there were many people who had reason to resent the lovely Laurette. But who hated the girl enough to stop her clock permanently? When Zoe discovers a second murder victim, the pressure is on to find the killer before time―and luck―run out.

Genre: Mystery - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  I absolutely love the in between the wars Paris setting and anything involving art theft also grabs my attention.  

My Impression:  Oh I so wanted to love this.  I love the time period and the independent American artist main character and the mystery itself sounded interesting.  Unfortunately, by about 30% or so I found I just didn't care and the rest of the book was a bit of a slog.

This book is a fairly character forward mystery and we follow Zoe throughout her day to day life and part of that life involves searching for Chagall paintings and trying to figure out just who killed Laurette.  The problem was I just didn't like Zoe and really didn't care what she wore or what she had for breakfast.  As well, the flashbacks from her life in Alabama just seemed over the top and the reading to her lover's paralyzed wife seemed just unnecessary.  

The mystery was good and the author did a great job of setting the scene but in the end I just didn't enjoy it and what's worse is that I didn't care.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Probably not.  While I did enjoy the author's ability to make 1920s Paris come alive for the most part this book just didn't work for me.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you are absolutely obsessed with 1920s Paris this might be worth the read but for the most part I would skip it.

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

Reading Recap - March 2024

Monthly Breakdown

Monthly Total: 20 - This surprised me a bit.  I read a couple of big books and I felt like my reading was so slow but apparently I got more books in than I thought.

Print: 7

Ebook: 5

Audio: 8

Mystery:  11  

Romance: 3

Fiction:  4

Nonfiction: 2

Favorite Books of the Month:

Favorite Audio:  Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

I really enjoyed this book.  The characters were fun and the plot kept me hooked. The narrator voice really worked for Evie.  That said I did listen to it a bit faster than normal because the narrator had lots of pauses so that probably helped.

Homecoming by Kate Morton 

I love how Morton creates atmosphere and this was a fascinating story.  I did guess half the twist but it couldn't wait to see how it all came about.

Least Favorite Book of the Month:
Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott - This has a lot of aspects I enjoy in a cozy mystery - an old house full of treasures, a bookish main character, and a good community of characters.  Unfortunately I have yet to connect to the main character and the mysteries just never quite hook me.  I'm going to give this series a pass in the future.

My Armchair Travel:

Since I read a few nonfiction books and a fantasy I didn't travel quite as much as I normally do but I still got some travel in.

Domestic:  I went to Ariizona for the first time as well as revisiting North Carolina, Alaska, California (twice), and Massachussetts.

Internationally I visited England (5 times), France, Australia, Canada, and 1920s Syria.

What was your favorite book of the month?  Where did your reading take you?

Friday Fives - April 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. This is the first Friday in April so I'm picking out five books I hope to read this month.

1.  Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson - This is one of my favorite historical mystery series and I can't wait to read this one!

2.  Day of Vengeance by Jeanne M. Dams - This one has been neglected on my NetGalley shelf for way too long and I'm looking forward to picking this one up this month.

3.  Death on the Agenda by Patricia Moyes  - I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author and this looks like a nice quick read for this month.

4.  Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub - I'm reading lighter mysteries this month and this looks like a fun romantic suspense.  

5.  Of Literature and Lattes by Katherine Reay - This is my TBR Tarot read for April.  My prompt was "Choose a Book with And in the Title" and this one has been on my TBR since it first came out.  

What books are you hoping to read in April?

Books from the Backlog - The Dancing Floor

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 Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels

Blurb:  For years, Heather Tradescant had dreamed of the journey she and her father would take to England--a pilgrimage to the great gardens of history. Now that her father is dead, Heather is determined to fulfill his dreams. Unfortunately, her request to see the fabled 17th-century garden of Troytan House is denied by the owner. Though unwelcome, she braves the walls of briars and reaches the Victorian manor house beyond. She senses a strange mission of evil lurking, tainting the manor's peaceful beauty. Only then does Heather begin to wonder whether it is only stories of long-vanished witchcraft that haunt Troytan House or whether there is some more modern horror, nearer at hand, and far, far more dangerous.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  Barbara Michaels is one of my very favorite authors but for some reason I've never read this one!