For the Love of Reading....What's On Your Bookshelf

Welcome to my What's On Your BookShelf post. The #WOYB link party is hosted by Deb, Jo and Sue....all gals I follow on a few other link parties. I love their blogs. Go check them out. #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge

My rating system:

⭐ DNF (which there's a reason), story lacking any depth, grammatical or spelling errors (too many), just did not enjoy it and enough to it that I wouldn't recommend. Don't bother reading

⭐⭐ Story line is a bit all over the place, struggle to read it but maybe it had some redeeming parts. Characters  or story line weren't believable or too unrealistic. I wouldn't want to read it again. Too many storylines going on at the same time. Read it or don't read it.

⭐⭐⭐ Solid story line and characters. I liked it but didn't necessarily LOVE it, but I didn't HATE it either. I may have felt that it dragged on, or had parts that weren't necessary to the story. Maybe was a little hard to follow. Probably wouldn't recommend but it wasn't a total disaster.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ A really great read that I enjoyed picking up each time. I enjoyed it from front to back. The characters and storyline were really good.  As someone said "a truly good book, but missing the cherry on top".  Go ahead and read it

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book knocked it out of the park and I couldn't put it down. OR it was a book that really opened my eyes to something or taught me something about someones life. One I have bookmarked and even taken notes. It left me wanting to read more by the author or more in the series. Definitely go read. 

You guys....I realized on December 31st that I never posted for December. December is a busy month at work and I often feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. So, because I missed, I will recap both November and December book reads. 

I'll start by saying I did hit my Goodreads goal for 2024 which was 64 books. I actually read 65. I think my goal for 2025 will be 70. I don't want to increase by too much and I think 6 extra is a decent goal. Listening to audiobooks definitely helps. 

I am taking part in a couple fun challenges this year. I'm not doing my 12 months, 12 books, from 12 friends. I decided to give that one a break.

* I'm doing a pass along bookclub with a gal I follow on IG. She started it last year and I was able to get in on it this year. There are maybe 10 participants. We each choose a book to read in January. When we're done, we write a review inside the book and mail it to the person under our name. We'll get one from another reader...we do this every month, and at the end of the year there is a zoom call to discuss it. I'm excited. 

* 52 book challenge. I decided to give this one a try. We'll see how it goes. Some of the categories are not very appealing to me, but I'll see what I can get creative with. My goal has been to read what's in my kindle library and bookshelf this year. 

* Murder They Write is a FB page I follow and they have a fun challenge someone shared so I'm working on that one as well. 

Let's start off with November: 

November was my "cozy mystery" month. Along with one audio book. I love me some good cozy mysteries. 

I am part of a FB group called Murder they Write and I've found some fun new authors.

Welcome Home to Murder (Hometown Mysteries Book 1) by Rosalie Spielman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you love cozies, this was a great series. It follows Tessa Treslow who returns to her small hometown after serving in the Army for twenty years. Her plan is just to visit, to be with family, to heal from a heartbreak, but those plans might change as she falls into a routine of helping at the family general store and helping out with her aunts auto mechanic business. Then she stumbles upon a body and her aunt is of course, a possible suspect. There is an ex-boyfriend in the mix, a possible new interest and lots of sleuthing. Her aunt is quite the character. The family dynamics are fun. 

Home is Where the Murder Is (Hometown Mysteries Book 2) by Rosalie Spielman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The same crew from book one. This time Tessa is home to stay and goes into business with her aunt. While settling into small town life she also stumbles upon a dead body in the park..this time her best friend is a possible suspect (who is also a deputy on the police force). 

Murder Comes Home (Hometown Mysteries Book 3) by Rosalie Spielman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the third installment, celebrities come to town in the form of "antique pickers", but someone ends up dead. A connection is made between Aunt Ednas farmhouse and something found on the dead man. Thew crew is at it again to help solve the mystery. Which of course always involves someone telling them to stay out of it. 

Caught on Camera (Camera Club Mystery #1) by Kara Lacey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bobbie Brooks moves to southern Vermont after the sudden death of her husband to be closer to her sister. As a photographer, she starts up a camera club and is looking forward to what the future holds, until one of her club members is found dead...by her. Something found near the body points brings the suspicion on Bobbie, though many don't believe it and with the help of her fellow camera club members they set out to solve the mystery.

 

Surrender: 40 songs, One Story by Bono ⭐⭐⭐

If you love U2 and Bono you might like this. I like both, but the book was a struggle. The book is the story of his life, the challenges he's faced, and the people who shaped him. I listened to it on audio which he narrates. It was good, but it is VERY long, and sometimes I feel like things can be condensed so much more and be even more effective. 

Escape To Curlew Cottage by Joanne Tracey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jo was coming out with a Christmas themed book and I wanted to read this one first so I knew what the back story was. While many books can be stand alones, I like to read previous books if possible. This book follows Claire Mansfield who hosts a popular British TV reality show. A secret from her past sends her running to Brookford where she left 20 years prior. It also includes a man who broke her heart years ago. Misunderstandings, food and redemption. It was a great read! 

On to December: I'll start by saying I was sooo close to my goal that I did pick a novella in order to finish...hey, my challenge, my rules right! 

 

I read more books than I thought I did. Two were audio books, which I have come to love, especially historical fiction or non-fiction.

Christmas at Fountains Hall by Joanne Tracey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved the friendships that developed between Claire and the cookbook club ladies. I wanted to be their friend too. In this book cookbook club members Tallis and Gail are the more highlighted characters, struggling with friendship strain and infidelity. This had me feeling for the struggles, chuckling, and rooting for each of them. Well done Jo!

Home for the Homicides by Rosalie Spielman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The fourth book in her Hometown Mysteris series, this is why I binge read the other three in November, to be ready to read this one. This time it's Christmastime in New Oslo and Tessa is planning a Running of the Grinches event with her boyfriend and aunt. She has become involved in a local veterans group to help with some PTSD. Unfortunately a series of incidents that involve burglary, vandalism, arson, AND you guessed it a dead body, have them trying to figure out who's behind it all. Their small community's businesses are at risk. This one had me guessing (and guessing wrong several times). 

The Bible Tells Me So (why defending scripture has made us unable to read it)  by Peter Enns ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I listened to this one on audiobook. I didn't care for the narrator, which wasn't the author) but it was an interesting book. From Amazons description: The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study. It was enlightening to me because so often we just want to take it all at face value, how dare we question the motives of each books author and we almost always fail to think of the context of the time it was written. I had several things highlighted. 

A Cold Christmas (Susan Wren #5) by Charlene Weir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book had me all over the place! I couldn't figure out the whodunit. Single mom Caley is just trying to make ends meet. Her ex is a loser, she's sick with the flu, AND her furnace dies. Why not throw in a body in her basement too. Police chief Susan Wren must figure out what's going on, how did the man die, and is Caley being framed. I wouldn't call this a cozy mystery, though it is along the same lines. Usually for me, a cozy would involve Caley helping out. This book had equally 3-5 star ratings and I haven't read others in the series. I'd like to read them from the beginning in order to get more of a feel for the authors writing style. 

A Christmas Candy Killing (Killer Chocolate #1) by Christine Romeril ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one was fun. Twin sisters Alex and Hannah are co-owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that also sells their famous poison themed chocolates. However, now there's a real murder of one of the locals. Their chocolates are found at the scene and Alex becomes a suspect. She finds the body, witnesses someone running away and suspicions run all over the place. With the help of her friends, she jumps in to clear her name. 

Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery #1) by Leslie Meier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lucy works at the famous Country Cousins mail order store. She's a busy mom and wife who works to bring in a little extra money. However when she discovers the body of the stores wealthy founder in his car, dead from an apparent suicide questions arise. Was it really suicide or something more sinister. Lucy sets out to figure out what really is going on. Love the relationship she has with the people around her. This one had me guessing the guilty party and changing my mind a few times. Sheesh! I would read more in the series. 

The Sin of Certainty (Why God Desires our Trust More Than Our "correct" Beliefs) by Peter Enns ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I gave this one a four for the same reason as his other book. I didn't care for the narrator and sometimes I feel like books could be so much shorter. This one delves into the thing that seems to divide many denominations and even religions...the need to be "certain" and that ones "belief" is the correct and only right one. We often think that defines our faith and is in fact "faith". I enjoyed the stories he told and at times found myself thinking "oh, I never thought of it that way", and also "yes, this is so true, this is how I used to think". My own faith journey has taken quite the road in the last 10 years and it's been hard and beautiful and yet I know there are many who would say we are "wrong" in our thinking. 

Corned Beef & Casualties (A Tourist Trap Mystery) by Lynn Cahoon ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was the novella that got me over the hump of my 2024 challenge. Guys it was a whole 68 pages. But a books a book, no matter how short. The small town of South Cove, CA, is celebrating St. Patricks day....the main character, Jill is the owner of the store Coffee, Books and More. In the beginning we find Jill helping a customer, who a few pages later, ends up dead. And as all cozies go, Jill feels the need to go into sleuth mode. Oh, and her boyfriend happens to be a police detective. I felt like even though it was a novella, it wasn't lacking. I enjoyed the characters very much. Jill's aunt is in business with her and their relationship is fun. I loved how the beginning starts with her "talking to you", introducing herself, and her town and what is happening. 

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a thriller, and boy did it live up to it (at least for me). After a child psychologist has a disastrous TV interview that goes viral, she heads back to the town where she spent her summers to retrieve some items from the home of her aunts who have passed away. There are buried secrets AND secrets that are literally rising to the surface as the town faces a drought and barrels containing human remains are found inside. In a nutshell Willa is set on finding out what is going on, and she's not the only one. There were twists and turns I didn't see coming. All I'll say at the end was "are you kidding me!!" It was disturbing, but not horribly so. 

Currently Reading: 

Frontier Follies: by Ree Drummond

I'm listening to this on audiobook. I'm using it for the category of "character has red hair"...hey, it's her book, and she has red hair. If you don't know...Ree is The Pioneer Woman. I've followed her blog for years, downloaded her editing presets and watched her show before she really took off. This book is a fun listen of stories of her life as a wife, mom and an "accidental' farm girl. It's fun so far. 

Fondue or Die (Cheese Shop Mystery) By Korina Moss

I'll probably find a way to use this as a category for the 52 book challenge...we'll see. Could be "a pun in the title". This is the 5th book in the series, and I really wish I had read the others first. I won this as a giveaway and then after I started reading it I realized it was book #5. I feel like it can be a stand alone, but it refers to past things and I don't know what they are talking about. It follows Willa Bauer (this messed with me because I just read another book with a Willa)..who owns a cheese shop Curds & Whey. It's Dairy Days in the small town of Lockwood and she is excited to be a vendor. Her friends are helping her out and also helping out the Miss Dairy Days pageant...however, things go south when the director of the pageant is found dead by Willa and one of her friends. Fingers are pointing towards her employee and friend Mrs. Shultz who has to step in to help the pageant move forward. I'm enjoying it so far. 

The Zookeepers Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

This is the book I chose to read for the pass along book club. I will also use it as one of the categories of the 52 book club, "has a diary entry". I picked this up at a thrift store last year sometime. It follows the life of Jan and Antonina Zabinski who were owners of the Warsaw zoo. When Germany invaded Poland, bombers destroyed the city and the zoo...the zookeepers began smuggling Jews into empty cages and into their home, cleverly disguising them. I'm about halfway through. I'm not sure what rating this one will get. I did think it was a historical fiction, but it isn't. It's a sort of retelling based on diary entries, interviews, etc. 

Well, Sorry I was so long winded, but like I said, I forgot last month. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin