Review: The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

I've read a lot of cozies, but this was the first one I've read with an alchemist and a gargoyle as protagonists.

Zoe Faust is an alchemist specializing in plants and herbs. She hasn't been practicing for a while, but now that she has transplanted to Portland, OR, she intends to remedy that. As she unpacks her crates, she comes to realize that she has picked up a stowaway - a living gargoyle! Dorian needs her help to fully understand what he is and to keep from reverting to stone. Together they plan to investigate the book he was born from until it's stolen.

Not only is Dorian's book stolen, but several others as well. And a murder occurs right on her doorstep. This isn't turning out to be the quiet life she envisioned her new digs to bring.

I enjoyed reading about the characters in the book. Zoe is a sympathetic character as is Dorian. I really wanted them to succeed in all they did. Dorian turns out to be an ace chef as well, catering to Zoe's vegan palate. A few recipes are included at the end of the book.

The mystery moves along at a good pace. The bits about the tunnels in Portland are interesting as is that the neighborhoods function like small towns.

One small drawback is the attention to detail about the food. It does mostly go to characterization, but I really didn't need to know each time Zoe consumed a green shake. On the other hand, Dorian is quite creative with his menus and after you read the author's note, it makes a little more sense why so much is included. Plus the cooking and reading that Dorian does help to characterize the dear fellow.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you like your cozies well-written with a touch of the paranormal and unique characters, then you should check out this series. I liked The Accidental Alchemist so much, I immediately downloaded the second book in the series as soon as I finished it.

The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian was published January 1st, 2015 by Midnight Ink. I read the Kindle version that I purchased myself.

Review: The Curses by Laure Eve

In this follow up to The Graces by Laure Eve, the youngest Grace, Summer, is the narrator. Everything is colored by her perceptions and impulses. Family is still the most important thing to the young Graces - Thalia, Fenrin, and Summer. Wolf has become family to them too.

The first order of business becomes getting thrown out of the boarding school they've been put into since the events of the last book. They need to be together and more readily accessible to each other. As a result, they end up back at the same school as River and their other old friends like Marcus. But something funky is going on. Someone has been taking money for wishes and granting them in a way that borderlines on curses. At first, they think it's all River's doing, but as the novel goes on, it becomes clear that there is more to it than meets the eye.

A second subplot involves the curse on the Grace family and examination of whether it is possible or not to break it. There is a third subplot, but spoilers. Each of these plot points receives good coverage, but as the plot winds to a crescendo, things begin to happen quickly and out of control.

Magic is very much a part of the novel. Both in the ritualistic sense and in magical realism sense. Magic occurs whether they want it to or not. It's just more effective when they actually try to create it.

The resolution is well done. I was a little confused about the party and its popularity since the Graces had been somewhat ostracized during much of the book. Still, overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's interesting and well written. Being told from Summer's point of view is a plus. She is a somewhat unreliable narrator, but she suits the story.

The Curses by Laure Eve is due to be released December 31st, 2018 from Amulet Books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Review: My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper

My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a pleasant memoir with a few interesting stories. I think, if she hadn't made a disclaimer early on in the book that some of the stories were possibly made-up, I would have enjoyed the book more. There were cute stories, but not so many laugh-out-loud moments. I give this book 3 stars out of 5.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.



View all my reviews on Goodreads

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #267: The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”

The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters is due out April 16th, 2019 from Amulet Books. 

Why am I waiting on this one? I have enjoyed both Cat Winter's writing and books about Poe in the past. The two together seems like a winning combination. And, I liked the advance praise blurb by A.G. Howard: “A captivating and intensively researched tribute to the famous poet and his gothic muse. Against the tapestry of young Poe’s real-world struggles and tortured relationships, Winters weaves a macabre thread of surrealism through meter and rhyme—at times so dreamy in its rhythms and imagery it teeters between hypnotic and horrifying. I will never look at my own muse the same again, nor will I dare deny it.”

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Sleigh Bells and Sleuthing

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From the novella: "The Claus Killing" by  Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

She blew her nose into the tissue, and it sounded like an eighteen-wheeler horn blowing on Interstate 85 in downtown Atlanta. "I know he's not real, you jerk. I'm not talking about that Santa. I'm talking about our Santa, the Bramblett County one. He's dead." (1% in on my Kindle)

Sleigh Bells and Sleuthing: a Collection of 16 Cozy Mystery Novellas Featuring Female Sleuths was published November 20th, 2018 by Good Fortune Farm Refuge. All profits from this collection go to the Good Fortune Farm Refuge, a No-Kill animal refuge in Alabama.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: Killer Classics by Kym Roberts

Princess aka Charli Rae once again finds herself and the Book Barn in the middle of a mystery in this fifth outing in the Book Barn mystery series. This time around, Charli has organized a book club. The book they're reading has disturbing similarities to people and places in the town of Hazel Rock, TX. But, the similarities don't end there, a murder occurs that could be right out of the book. And Charli Rae's good friend Sugar becomes the prime suspect when her nemesis is found dead.

There are sufficient subplots to fill out the story including some romance. The mayor's candidacy for political office becomes an important part of the story as well.

The characters are interesting and many are well developed especially, of course, Charli Rae and her friends and family. Life in smalltown Hazel Rock proves interesting because of the characters and their actions.

The book moves along at a good pace. Charli's meddling ways move it forward as she investigates to help clear her friend. As it nears the end, the pace picks up and ends on a high note.

I give this cozy 4 out of 5 stars. It's well written and interesting. The pace moves along at a good speed. And the mystery is resolved satisfactorily. I enjoyed the subplots as well. While this is the fifth book in the Book Barn series, enough background is given for you to enjoy it as a standalone. If you like a good smalltown cozy, then this book would be a good choice for you.

Killer Classics by Kym Roberts was published December 4th, 2018 from Lyrical Underground.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Review: Dinner Party by Tracy Bloom

Three couples take turns hosting a monthly dinner party. The three women have been close friends for a long time. Their husbands aren't as close. Unexpectedly there is an unattached male introduced into the group at one of the dinner parties by one of the husbands. The interactions at that dinner party and afterward for up to a year make up the story, the good and the bad.

The book bills itself as a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy. I didn't find it so funny. It seemed more of a dark kind of comedy to me. Overall, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. I liked it enough to read on to find out what happened to the characters, but not enough to seek out other books by the same author.

Dinner  Party by Tracy Bloom was released September 26th, 2018 from Bookouture.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #266: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe returns to the world of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane with a bewitching story of a New England history professor who must race against time to free her family from a curse

Connie Goodwin is an expert on America’s fractured past with witchcraft. A young, tenure-track professor in Boston, she’s earned career success by studying the history of magic in colonial America—especially women’s home recipes and medicines—and by exposing society's threats against women fluent in those skills. But beyond her studies, Connie harbors a secret: She is the direct descendant of a woman tried as a witch in Salem, an ancestor whose abilities were far more magical than the historical record shows.

When a hint from her mother and clues from her research lead Connie to the shocking realization that her partner’s life is in danger, she must race to solve the mystery behind a hundreds’-years-long deadly curse.

Flashing back through American history to the lives of certain supernaturally gifted women, The Daughters of Temperance Hobbsaffectingly reveals not only the special bond that unites one particular matriarchal line, but also explores the many challenges to women’s survival across the decades—and the risks some women are forced to take to protect what they love most. 

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe is due out June 25th, 2019 from Henry Holt and Co.

Why am I waiting on this one? I have The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane on my TBR list. This one looks just as good to me and went right on my TBR list as soon as I read the synopsis. Bonus to me was in a Goodreads question, someone mentioned that it had been a while since they'd read the book about Deliverance Dane and would that interfere with her enjoyment of this book. Good news is that it shouldn't. Katherine Howe says: "My hope is it will be a fun witchy read even for people with zero recollection or awareness of the story in Physick Book. "

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: a second teaser from Killer Classics by Kym Roberts

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"How is it that I always end up in the middle of these media circuses?"

Scarlet smiled. "Because you're Charli Rae."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means life is always interesting when you're around."

(63% through on my Kindle)

Killer Classics by Kym Roberts is the fifth Book Barn Mystery. It's being released today, December 4, 2018, from Lyrical Underground.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Review: Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron

Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron may be #4 in the Cajun Country Mystery series, but it was the first one that I've read.

In this addition to the series, Maggie Crozat is concerned with the identity of a body that washed up behind Crozat Plantation B&B after the recent heavy storms. Then her gran falls ill and Maggie is conscripted to be a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Pageant. When one of the judges also turns up dead, Maggie is convinced that the 2 deaths are somehow connected.

There is also the new exhibit on the Louisiana Orphan Trains to consider. There seems to be some disagreement surrounding it.

I enjoyed the cultural aspects of Mardi Gras in Pelican. I wasn't familiar with some of the customs that some smaller towns follow. And there is a touch of romance as Maggie is involved with one of the local police officers.

Maggie is much more daring than I would ever be as she investigates the goings-on surrounding the deaths and other mysteries in the book. I liked that there was more than one mystery. It has a nice layered feeling giving it some complexity. Still, it is a light read. It's humorous in parts as well. The pace of the story is good. It gets a little fast near the end.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.  It's a good, multi-layered mystery. There is humor in parts. It moves along at a good pace. It includes cultural information about Mardi Gras which has always fascinated me somewhat. And I liked the cover. There is little that has to do with the dog in this mystery, but it does talk about the masks in part. And while you can read it as a standalone, I get the feeling that you might enjoy it more if you read other books in the series. I think the other books would give the characters more depth and history and help you to know what to expect from them. Overall, it's a good read and worth your time if you enjoy cozies.

Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron was published October 9th, 2018 from Crooked Lane Books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions herein are my own and freely expressed.

Review: Naughty on Ice by Maia Chance

This is the 4th Discreet Retrieval Agency mystery and definitely one of the best.

The Discreet Retrieval Agency, made up of Lola Woodby and Berta Lundgren, receives an anonymous commission with an invitation to a holiday party in Vermont. They are to retrieve a ring that was stolen by one of the attendees years ago.

But, while busy with their errand, the hostess keels over. Lola and Berta thought it was a heart attack, but police reveal it was a poisoned cocktail and they are at the top of the suspect list. With no one else to turn to, Lola and Berta must find the real murderer before they find themselves behind bars.

And they work hard to do it. Lola and Berta go from one end of the town to the other following leads in the coldest of weather with Cedric the pomeranian in tow. There are many suspects on their list from family members to household staff (both temporary and permanent). And a cryptid bear that walks on two legs has been spotted in the woods nearby.

It's still prohibition era. That plays a small part in the mystery. After all, where do these people get their fixings for their cocktails from? And where do they get the whiskey to soak the fruitcake in? And Lola and Berta have a wonderful 1920s vocabulary. The culture is 1920s as well.

The biggest mystery. though. is who is the killer or are there multiple killers since there end up being multiple victims. I love watching Lola and Berta figure out what is going on.

The novel mostly moves along at a decent pace as the women go from one set of clues and suspects to the next and sometimes back again. There is a little slow part in the middle, but it's not for long.

I have to admit I thought I knew who was responsible, but I was wrong. It was nice to have a logical surprise at the end.

I gave this mystery 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the mystery as well as the historical aspects of the book. It's well paced and had a surprise ending for me. If you enjoy stories from the prohibition era and slightly humorous cozies, then this would be a good choice for you. It's also a good holiday read since it takes place just prior to Christmas.

Naughty on Ice by Maia Chance was released November 13th, 2018 from Minotaur Books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Teaser Tuesday: Killer Classics by Kym Roberts

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Sugar swallowed hard as if she could make Dean's grizzly secret disappear without anyone being the wiser. But secrets were never secrets in Hazel Rock, Texas, and I had no doubt Dean was going to learn that the hard way. (29% through on my Kindle)

Killer Classics by Kym Roberts is the fifth Book Barn Mystery. It's being released today, December 4, 2018, from Lyrical Underground.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!