Last Books of November
This has been an alright week so far. Thanksgiving actually went really well. We went to my husband's great aunt's house and had a great time. It was so stress free. There was good food and awesome conversation. I really missed holidays that were fun and lighthearted. After Thursday I just basically relaxed and read and hung out with family. So it was a good much needed break. This weekend promises to be much more busy but in a good way. Hopefully it all goes well.
This week I read one thriller, one mystery, one romance, and one action/adventure.
An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox
Another good mystery in the Literary Pub Mystery series. I continue to enjoy both the setting and the main character, Sadie. This time around Sadie's pub business is going well and drawing in customers, especially with the winter carnival in the town square. One of the draws to the carnival is the annual ice sculpting contest, unfortunately, a very irksome contestant is killed and one of Sadie's employees is accused so, of course, Sadie has to investigate. The mystery was satisfying, and I am still enjoying the tentative flirtation between Sadie and Greyson. All in all, I loved the book, and I can't wait to read the next one.
Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen. With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending. ~Goodreads description
I greatly enjoyed this YA thriller. I hadn't read anything by the author before this, but I had heard really good things about her writing. I loved the setting. I could totally picture the small coastal town the author described. Cecelia felt like a real teenager which isn't always the case in other books with teenage povs so kudos to the author. The mystery was interesting and although I had some ideas about the solution only some of them were right, I was missing a good-sized chunk and was pleasantly surprised. All in all, a really good mystery!
The Romanov Ransom by Clive Cussler
This was another fun adventure novel with Sam and Remi. While listening to the audiobook I finally figured out who Sam and Remi reminded me of, Jonathan and Jennifer from the old tv show Hart to Hart. I always enjoyed both couples' relationships and how you can tell they love each other deeply. The mix of action and adventure is as always well done. All in all, good story and I will continue on in the series.
Finding Lexie by Susan Stoker
Probably closer to a 3.5 but I rounded up. This was an enjoyable sequel to Finding Elodie and although I don't think it was quite as good, I still really enjoyed myself. Lexie and Midas were good characters, and their chemistry was believable and well-written. Why didn't I like it as much as FE? Well, that is probably because the villain felt artificial and from time-to-time, Lexie was a bit too chipper for me. Having said that I still really liked the book and want to continue in the series.
Reading Challenges 2022:
TBR: Finding Lexie, The Romanov Ransom
Cloak & Dagger Challenge: Pretty Dead Queens, An Ales of Two Cities
50 State Challenge: Finding Lexie (Hawaii)
The Jellybean Challenge: An Ales of Two Cities, Pretty Dead Queens, The Romanov Ransom
How's your week going so far?
This week I read one thriller, one mystery, one romance, and one action/adventure.
An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox
Another good mystery in the Literary Pub Mystery series. I continue to enjoy both the setting and the main character, Sadie. This time around Sadie's pub business is going well and drawing in customers, especially with the winter carnival in the town square. One of the draws to the carnival is the annual ice sculpting contest, unfortunately, a very irksome contestant is killed and one of Sadie's employees is accused so, of course, Sadie has to investigate. The mystery was satisfying, and I am still enjoying the tentative flirtation between Sadie and Greyson. All in all, I loved the book, and I can't wait to read the next one.
Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen. With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending. ~Goodreads description
I greatly enjoyed this YA thriller. I hadn't read anything by the author before this, but I had heard really good things about her writing. I loved the setting. I could totally picture the small coastal town the author described. Cecelia felt like a real teenager which isn't always the case in other books with teenage povs so kudos to the author. The mystery was interesting and although I had some ideas about the solution only some of them were right, I was missing a good-sized chunk and was pleasantly surprised. All in all, a really good mystery!
The Romanov Ransom by Clive Cussler
This was another fun adventure novel with Sam and Remi. While listening to the audiobook I finally figured out who Sam and Remi reminded me of, Jonathan and Jennifer from the old tv show Hart to Hart. I always enjoyed both couples' relationships and how you can tell they love each other deeply. The mix of action and adventure is as always well done. All in all, good story and I will continue on in the series.
Finding Lexie by Susan Stoker
Probably closer to a 3.5 but I rounded up. This was an enjoyable sequel to Finding Elodie and although I don't think it was quite as good, I still really enjoyed myself. Lexie and Midas were good characters, and their chemistry was believable and well-written. Why didn't I like it as much as FE? Well, that is probably because the villain felt artificial and from time-to-time, Lexie was a bit too chipper for me. Having said that I still really liked the book and want to continue in the series.
Reading Challenges 2022:
TBR: Finding Lexie, The Romanov Ransom
Cloak & Dagger Challenge: Pretty Dead Queens, An Ales of Two Cities
50 State Challenge: Finding Lexie (Hawaii)
The Jellybean Challenge: An Ales of Two Cities, Pretty Dead Queens, The Romanov Ransom
How's your week going so far?