Tag Archives: Cozy Mystery

June 2023 Recap: Summer has arrived!

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Hello again, my friends and other assorted random readers. I’m glad you’re here, as always!

And suddenly we are halfway through 2023, and for once I am on pace to complete the full reading challenge. Here’s hoping that I don’t go through a reading slump this fall… In June, I finished 5 books. Let’s talk about them!

The first book I finished in June was Exiles by Ashley and Leslie Saunders – you may notice that the photo here is not my usual photograph of the book cover… mostly because my Kindle is black and white, and I wanted to show off the fun colors on this one – which made it my choice for prompt #28, Read a book with a neon-colored cover. This was an interesting YA dystopian sci-fi story, set in Los Angeles after a devastating earthquake, when a tech billionaire has set himself up as the “savior of the city”, and is pulling promising young people from abject poverty to an exclusive boarding school and a life of privilege.

The book was written by twin sisters and features a pair of twins as the main characters, as well as some fascinating uses of nanotechnology. There is a sequel to this story that I’m quite interested to read. [3.75 stars]

Next up, I read the book I chose for prompt #23, Read book 3 in a trilogy – Red Country by Joe Abercrombie. This was the third in a trilogy of novels set in the same world as the First Law series, and features some familiar faces from the First Law trilogy, some undercover. Each of these “World of the First Law” books could be viewed as a standalone story, I guess, but there are references to the other stories and events in addition to some characters who pop up in more than one of them. As all of Abercrombie’s novels, this one was gritty and brutal, and the characters were all very grey. The writing is engaging and the characters so interesting you can’t help but root for them – at least some of them – even if they are kind of terrible people. [4.25 stars]

After that, I picked up a fun little cozy mystery with a punny title – fitting for prompt #51, Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative. Murder’s No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher is the first in a cozy mystery series featuring a candle maker in Nantucket, Massachusetts. This was an engaging story, well written, and the setting was interesting – plus, the details about candle making were a nice bonus, since I’ve considered taking up the hobby in the past. I’m interested in continuing with the series for sure. [3.75 stars]

I jumped from the cozy mystery vibe into something entirely different – The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. I’ve had this one on my TBR for quite a while – this is the last of 3 books by the author that I picked up nearly 20 years ago. This novel is a trilogy of shorter stories, set in New York City, which are thematically connected. All are ostensibly detective stories – with some overlap in the profession of detective and writer – and explore identity and obsession. And while quite well written, they are at the end unsettling and disturbing. Auster is a talented writer that always makes me feel just a little too shallow to enjoy them as much as I think I ought to. It worked well for prompt #27, Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends. (Hi, Paul!) [3.5 stars]

The last book I finished in June was for challenge prompt #30, Read a middle grade book. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones was recommended by Linz and I did not expect it to be so adorable. I’ve never seen the film adaptation so I had no idea what to expect, but the blend of fantasy and adventure, with a sweet little romance thrown in for good measure, was just perfect. I loved the development of the main character and was enchanted by the slow reveal of who Howl really was and the mysteries of his moving castle. [4 stars]

Aside from reading, in June I finished up my Memorial Day week visit to my mom with a memorial service for my brother. I returned home to find the ceiling fan in my bedroom had mysteriously had one blade snapped off (and my cat hiding guiltily under the bed). She’s developed a taste for fresh flowers, which I bought on a whim at the grocery store, and we tried out Cat TV on YouTube, which she seems to like. Best photos of June are included below.

In other media, I continued watching a couple of shows along with reaction channels (Ted Lasso, which is absolutely wonderful… and Profit, which is less of an amazing show but fun to discuss with the reactor, especially the extremely dramatic voiceovers), and started watching Veronica Mars – only 3 episodes in but I am having fun. I’ve been keeping up with new episodes of How I Met Your Father (and was very excited when Clark Gregg made a couple of guest appearances), and started Secret Invasion on Disney Plus. So far I’m very intrigued by Secret Invasion, I can’t wait to see more.

No new music to share this month – hopefully I can make up for that in July and get back on top of some goals. For now, I’m looking forward to a trip up to see my bestie and her kiddos, the start of Arizona monsoon season, and seeing what the month brings.

As always, come chat with me! Tell me, what are you looking forward to in July? Read anything interesting lately? What movies or TV shows would you recommend I add to my list? Your turn!

The Linzthebookworm/Logophile 2023 Reading Challenge

Level 1: Book of the Month Club [11/12 complete]
1. Read a book recommended to you on social media or by a friend – Recursion – Blake Crouch
2. Read a book under 300 pages – The Courts of Chaos – Roger Zelazny
3. Read a book with a female main character – Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson
4. Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant – Seven Blades in Black – Sam Sykes
5. Read a book that was written by an author from your home state
6. Read a book you meant to read for last year’s challenge – Have We Met? – Camille Baker
7. Read a book with a basic shape on the cover (examples: circle, square, heart, star, diamond) – Call It What You Want – Brigid Kemmerer
8. Read a book you got from Project Gutenberg, a library, or another nonprofit source – The Blue Castle – L.M. Montgomery
9. Read a book about a hobby you enjoy or want to pick up (fiction or nonfiction) – The Bullet Journal Method – Ryder Carroll
10. Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name – Daughters of the Lake – Wendy Webb
11. Read the next book in a series you haven’t read in a while – The Lost Metal – Brandon Sanderson
12. Free Space – Pick any book! – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England – Brandon Sanderson

Level 2: Casual Reader Club [10/12 complete]
13. Read a book by Mary Faulkner (or one of her aliases)
14. Read a book of short stories or a novella – Ford County: Stories – John Grisham
15. Read a book that involves a lot of traveling – Swan Song – Robert R. McCammon
16. Read a book published in 1998 (25 years ago) – Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb
17. Read a book with a yellow cover – The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock – Jane Riley
18. Reread a book you have recommended to someone else – The Imperfect Disciple – Jared C. Wilson
19. Read a book by Dean Koontz – Intensity – Dean Koontz
20. Read a book with a one-word title – Slayer – Kiersten White
21. Read book 1 in a trilogy – The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
22. Read book 2 in a trilogy – A Heart so Fierce and Broken – Brigid Kemmerer
23. Read book 3 in a trilogy – Red Country – Joe Abercrombie
24. Free Space – Pick any book! – Mad Ship – Robin Hobb

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club [7/12 complete]
25. Read a book that takes place somewhere you’d like to live – Revenge of the Nymph: The Faeries Vol.2 – Ramon Terrell
26. Read a book recommended by whatshouldireadnext.com
27. Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends – The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
28. Read a book with a neon-colored cover – Exiles – Ashley and Leslie Saunders
29. Read a book that has under 1,000 reviews or ratings on a website or app – Joshua: Man of Fearless Faith – W. Phillip Keller
30. Read a middle grade book (8-12 age range) – Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
31. Read a book with the word “Time” in the title – The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
32. Read a book about a famous criminal(s)
33. Read a movie novelization book (movie to book, instead of book to movie)
34. Read a fiction or nonfiction book that motivates you to be a better version of yourself – Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are – Shauna Niequist
35. Read a self-published book – Duel of Fire – Jordan Rivet
36. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 4: Speed Reader Club [2/12 complete]
37. Read a book that is over 600 pages
38. Read a book from ListChallenge’s Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge – The Art of War – Sun Tzu
39. A book by an author named David/Dave
40. Read a “Dark Academia” novel
41. Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V – Vanishing Acts – Jodi Picoult
42. A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture
43. Read a book with a cat on the cover
44. Read a folklore book or book based on folklore
45. Read a book where the main character is a dancer
46. Read a book by a new author
47. Read a book that involves a conspiracy
48. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 5: Overachiever Club [2/12 complete]
49. Read one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022 (any category)
50. Read a book where the main character is a villain or anti-hero
51. Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative – Murder’s No Votive Confidence – Christin Brecher
52. Read a “found family” story
53. Read a book that has a letter Q in the title
54. Read a book that has an illustrated cover – Naomi and Her Daughters – Walter Wangerin, Jr.
55. Read a book that takes place in at least two different decades
56. Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional)
57. Read a book that takes place in Alaska
58. Read a book with the word “Justice” in the title
59. Read a book involving dinosaurs
60. Free Space – Pick any book!

[2020 Reading Challenge] March Update

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Well now. That was a month.

On the bright side, I actually enjoy being a hermit – it’s my usual Saturday routine in normal circumstances, since that was the only day I could legitimately avoid leaving the house and interacting with other human beings. And after a full day at work being social, my home was my sanctuary and I didn’t really want to go out and do things – so other from working from home, my life hasn’t actually changed much aside from cancelled travel plans.

As a consequence, I didn’t spend more time reading than usual – still, “usual” for me is a fair amount of time unless I’m in a reading slump (looking at you, summer of 2019). In the month of March, I finished 9 books – which put me at a total of 23 for the year so far.

Let’s talk about what I read!

Continuing my binge from the month of February, I completed the 6th book in James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series with Babylon’s Ashes. This one met #50 on the challenge list, A book with two or more authors (James S.A. Corey being the pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).

The Expanse book #7 was next, Persepolis Rising. I’d originally slotted this as my book over 600 pages, but when I went to mark it off, I realized that I’d somehow gotten the wrong page count, so the plan changed slightly and I put it as #56, A book that takes place in outer space or on another planet.

And then I rounded out the currently available books in the series with Tiamat’s Wrath, which I dropped in as my last free space, #60. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and am looking forward to book 9, due out this year sometime. The TV adaptation on Amazon Prime is also awesome, for those who haven’t watched it.

After a bunch of thick sci-fi/space opera novels, my next choice was shorter but highly emotional. For my book with a blue cover (challenge prompt #3), I picked up Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer. I could NOT put this down, stayed up far too late reading it, and I can’t count how many times it brought me to tears. Wow.

After that I really needed something lighthearted and easy, so I picked up a cozy mystery. Last year I’d read the first Jaine Austen mystery by Laura Levine – the series had been recommended by one of my best friends several years back (hi Anji!). As the main character is a freelance writer, this worked perfectly for #45 (a book about a writer). Last Writes is the second book in the series and was a fun yarn featuring a script writing gig for a television comedy.

Next up, I decided to tackle prompts 15 and 16 – to read a classic fairy tale and a retelling of the same. For #15, I picked up a copy of the original Beauty and the Beast story by Mme. de Villeneuve, translated from the French. I had heard pretty good reviews of a retelling of this particular tale, which was why I went that route. Brigid Kemmerer’s A Curse So Dark and Lonely was a fun read, nowhere near the emotional impact of Letters to the Lost, but it was worth my time.

I’ve been collecting a list of recommendations from my sister-in-law whenever we talk about books, and one of her previous recs fit well for this year’s challenge – well, more than one of her suggestions fit #25, a book with the word “book” in the title. The one I decided to go with was The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George – this was a sweet story about a bookseller who considers himself a “literary apothecary”, prescribing books to meet the emotional needs of his customers, and about the power of stories to help us change our lives. Thumbs up, definitely recommended.

And my final read for March was the replacement for my “over 600 pages” book (prompt #31). Linz was thrilled that I picked up one of her favorites for the year so far (she used it for #10) – Shadow of Night, the second book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I read the first in the series on my sister-in-law’s recommendation last year, and liked it a whole lot more than I expected to, so I knew I wanted to read the rest of the series eventually. This one was on my shelf waiting for an opportunity, and she’s a chunker at 709 pages. Perfect!

So what have you been reading? Any stand-outs for you so far this year?

Check page 2 for the State of the Challenge Report, and stay tuned for more!

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[2020 Reading Challenge] January Update

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Happy February, friends, family and random Internet followers! January was a busy month for my reading goals, and I’m pretty happy with my progress toward the annual Linzthebookworm/Logophile Reading Challenge. Let’s take a peek, shall we?

As 2019 ended, I started a re-read of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles series – I’d read most of them in 2015, back in the days when I was getting 100+ books a year regularly and retained very little of what I read. I had picked up the final two books and was in the mood to read them, but honestly had a sketchy memory of the beginning of the series, so the re-read was in order. Hence, the first several books of 2020 were finishing the re-read, and checking off a couple from my unread books tracker, all from this fun urban fantasy series.

First up was Hammered, the third book, which I used to check off #26, for the challenge: Read an urban fantasy novel. I used book four, Tricked, to meet #13 (a book under 400 pages), as the Kindle version clocks in at 370 pages.

After that, I had to stretch just a little bit to find a category for book 5, Trapped, but I settled on #11, because I truly have recommended the whole Iron Druid series to my Dresden Files-loving friends. And it was a re-read. Hey, it works.

After that, I ran out of good options, since most of my 2020 Reading Challenge categories are tentatively assigned to other books on my giant list of unread books (remind me to talk about that in a future post), so I just started burning through free spaces like there was no tomorrow: Hunted filled slot #12, Shattered for #24, Staked for #36, and the series finale Scourged was slotted in at #48. I still have one more free space to use if I have a random urge to read something unplanned. I must use it wisely.

After burning through that series, I was on a roll, but I figured I should get to one of the paperbacks I picked up specifically to meet a challenge category (also, because I promised Linzthebookworm that I’d send her some of the ones that I had in physical form if she needed something for that category as well). Since I was the first to get an order in for a book by Julie Garwood (#14 on the challenge list), I burned through the copy of The Secret that I’d ordered from Paperback Swap in order to forward it to her early in the year. It was surprisingly tame for a romance novel, and had a nice Scottish Highlands setting for my Outlander-loving heart.

Next up, a book that’s currently got a lot of buzz – the first in Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series – The Last Wish. This one could have worked for the “book that was turned into a movie or TV show” category, but I’ve reserved that for another option that I’m excited to get to, plus this one was perfect for #8: Read a book of short stories or a novella. Based on the number of YouTube channels I follow who adore this series, I figured I’d like it. I figured right. Of course, with that introduction to the world out of the way, I had to jump straight in to watching the Netflix series, which I really did enjoy. The other short story collection is on my wish list, I’ll definitely be continuing with the series as I’m able to pick up the volumes.

But so many books, so little time, and I needed to move along to my next paperback – Murder is Binding, by Lorna Barrett. This delightful little cozy mystery I’d picked up in 2018 thinking to use it for a reading challenge category of some sort, but hadn’t gotten around to squeezing it in. This year I was happy to realize it was one of a small handful I already owned that would fit category 19: Read a book with a building on the cover. As an interesting aside, while browsing the Phoenix Public Library’s website for staff recommendations to meet #23, I discovered this would have also met that category. But I’ve found another on my unread list that was recommended on my library’s website, so all is well.

And that’s that for January – check below the jump for my State of the Challenge report, and onward we read!

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