For the Love of Reading......#WOYBS and #Shareyourshelf

Welcome to my What's On Your BookShelf post. The #WOYB link party is hosted by Deb, Jo, Jennifer and Bernie....all gals I follow on a few other link parties. I love their blogs. Go check them out. #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge You can link up on the third Thursday of the month.

I also decided to link this with #shareyourshelf hosted by some great bloggers I follow, like Joanne. I'll link it on the week they post theirs, which is the first Thursday of each month. 

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 because maybe it wasn't my type of book. If I can't get into it after 1/4 of the way (or less), I don't want to waste my time. 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. Grammar wasn't "realistic". 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. 

I've probably already said it....I love my rating system, but I'm not always great at following it. I hate leaving low ratings...lol.

What I read in January:

Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries (Campers & Criminals, #1) by Tonya Kappes ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my first read of 2026 and my first read by Tonya. I like to try and figure out the "whodunit", but this one had me stumped til the end and I still didn't guess it. This series is slated by Hallmark (I believe) for a series. I look forward to reading more in the series. The main character finds herself divorced and penniless after her husband is arrested for ponzi schemes. The only thing to her name is an old RV and a run down campground, in Normal, Kentucky, that her husband had put solely in her name. There is not only one murder, but two, and she sets out to solve the crimes and redeem her name in the community, it appears her husband took advantage of a lot of people. They give a few glimpses into her childhood and it would be interesting to see if anything comes of those glimpses.

Beach Blanket Homicide (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective) by Maggie March ⭐⭐⭐

This also was a first in the series and while I didn't hate it, I didn't particularly love it. I might read the next installment just to see what develops with a few of the characters. The main character, Lucy is co-owner of a local bakery and specializes in muffins, in fact she's entered a recipe in a cooking contest. I was hoping there would be a muffin recipe at the end, but nope. No recipe. She's also a "human lie detector". She can usually tell when someone is lying to her. 

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes ⭐⭐⭐

I was excited to really love this one, but I didn't. I also didn't hate it, but I didn't look forward to reading it but was far enough into it to finish it and it held me enough to make it worth it. I also listened to it and it was well done as far as narration. The underlying plot was good and interesting, but then the parts that were more than likely fictionalized I found difficult to read and I found myself feeling like it was a jab at current political climate and a comparison to the nazi regime (which I've seen both parties compare the other to). That alone turned me off. 

A Christmas to Dismember by Addison Moore ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a cute cozy, if you could call a murder mystery cute. Our protagonist can hear peoples thoughts (most of them), as well as animals (her pets), which makes this kind of fun. Bizzy Baker manages an inn and it's Christmas time. The owner of the inn is throwing a huge gala for the whole community....someone ends up dead and Bizzy begins to look for clues. When it comes to cozies, I honestly like them clean, focus on the investigation, etc...this one felt like there was just a bunch of horny women..lol. Everything was just a mention and assumed, but I was like "sheesh, come on ladies". Maybe I would read another in the series, but won't rush out to do so. 

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my book choice for my passalong book club. I really enjoyed it. I know it got mixed reviews on Goodreads, but I liked it. I was always curious about the title, so it was fun to hear how it came about. When her granddaughter (who is 16) becomes a suspect in a murder,  Lana decides she can't just sit around doing nothing (she's left her high power job to recover at her daughters home) so she sets off to try and figure it out...it's also a story of broken relationships mended, which I enjoyed. 

Living in Bliss by Sara Isabelle ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was the first in the Lyssa Jones series. I won it in a giveaway. It was a great read. Another cozy with a touch of paranormal (she hears her dads voice). I love books that include the older generations. Lyssa moves home after a divorce, and the passing of her father (seems like they had an interesting relationship). Her mother left when she was little and her aunt Maybee moved in with them. She goes back to stay with her aunt and figure out her life, never figuring she'd be trying to clear her aunt of a murder.

The Menu of Happiness (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #3) by Hisashi Kashiwai ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's always funny to see what peoples reviews are of books. I loved this series. It was like a warm hug. In a curious, obscure restaurant, the food is divine, and if there's a dish you need to have again, the detective agency will track it down. Filled with stories of the dishes long gone but not forgotten, the memories needing to be remembered. Recipes are recreated from a persons treasured memories, often holding the keys to their past or future. This is a feel good series that is worth reading, or in my case listening to. LOVED listening to this. 

The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I finally finished this book! I've only been reading it off and on for the past 2 years. I know, sad, because it is such a good book. But it was one of those books that I didn't want to rush through, I have so many spots underlined. No matter what our beliefs, there is something that everyone has to share with us. Something we can learn. This one will stay on my shelf.

Chicken Scratch (The Sisters, Texas #1) by Becki Willis ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed this book. There are 19 in the series...yikes, that's a lot. I think I'll read another one and if it grabs me, I'll continue. Another cozy of sorts (I figure a cozy is when a non professional law enforcement decides to step in and figure out the crime)..In this case, Maddy returns home to her small town after the death of her husband leaves her and her two teenagers with nothing. Moving in with her 80ish year old grandmother and starting her own Temp business seems like a step in the right direction...until her first job ends up with a dead boss...that she finds. She's then hired by the main suspects mother to help clear his name. This one wasn't slow, kept moving along and the characters were fun. 

What I'm Currently Reading:

Crux by Gabriel Tallent

This is for my passalong book club. It's a long one. A story of friendship and grit, following two teens in their senior hear of high school, both with a common interest in rock climbing but also couldn't be more different from each other, more than the fact that they are male and female. The book takes you through their final year and change becomes inevitable, it seems like we'll see how it affects their futures and friendship. As I type this, I've only read one chapter and it was filled with so many "dudes",  and "f-bombs" we'll see if I finish it. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

This book is for my in person book club. Another long one. We went with a Sci-fi genre this time, which I haven't read in a long time. When a young woman makes a faustian bargain (deal with the devil for anything they want in exchange for their soul) to live forever, the cost is to be forgotten by everyone she meets. It follows centuries and seems as though she regrets that decision and vows to leave a mark  on the world even if no one will remember her. 

The Coral Conspiracy (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Book 24) by Rosalie Spielman

I enjoy this cozy mystery author, and had this book in my Kindle library. I decided to read it for the February challenge prompt on her Cozy mystery 2026 reading challenge. The series is written by several authors, so instead of a book co-authored, I went with a series co-authored. Nelly O'Hare is looking forward to studying coral reef in Hawaii, but ends up with a murder on her hands. I've only been to Hawaii once, but it will be fun to see if I recognize any phrases, or foods, etc. 

Death of a Dispatcher (A Becky and Rufus Cross Country Mystery #1) by Sheryl Ickes

I decided to read this one because it's been on my bookshelf and I had promised to loan it to a friend. I also recently started a new puzzle and this same friend wants to do the puzzle when I'm done. I thought "okay, I'll read the book and then can give her both at the same time". We'll see how I do with that since the two book club books are so long. Becky and Rufus (I thought it was a dog..nope, it's a man), are a cross country trucking team. After returning to their company in Tennessee after a run and a new merger, Becky finds one of the disliked dispatchers dead and becomes a suspect. She sets out to clear her name.

I am waiting for a few audiobooks to come up for me to listen to. February might be a short reading month.

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin