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Adam Ant recommended For Sarah, Raquel and David: An Anthology by Legendary Stardust Cowboy in Music (curated)
Gold Like the Sun (Sol #2)
8.0
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From New York Times bestselling author Erin Kellison, Gold Like the Sun is the second book in the...
Science Fiction Romance
Midwinter Mysteries
Linda Stratmann, Cora Harrison, David Field, Graham Brack, Marilyn Todd, J. C. Briggs, Keith Moray, Seàn Gibbons, Gaynor Torrance and Kim Fleet
5.5
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Eleven authors. Eleven stories. One festive collection! Perfect for fans of crime fiction, short...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Halloween Cupcake Murder in Books
Aug 23, 2023 (Updated Aug 23, 2023)
Grab a Treat to Read with These Three Novellas
Kensington is back with another Halloween anthology for us, this time featuring three different authors. Up first, Carlene O’Connor takes us Home to Ireland as a trip trying to find Halloween decorations for Tara Meehan’s shop leads her to find a dead body. Our next stop is the North Pole with Liz Ireland’s Mrs. Claus. It’s the second Halloween in Santaland, and April Claus is dealing with missing candy corn, the themed ingredient for the bakeoff, and a murder in a bakery. Finally, we travel to Salem to spend time with Carol J. Perry’s Lee Barrett. The town’s favorite baker is missing, and Lee can’t help but get involved, especially when her visions show her where he might be.
As if often the case with these anthologies, I only read one of the authors. I love the Mrs. Claus series, and this was easily my favorite in the book. The other two were good, although they did leave me with some small questions I wish had been answered. Still, they were good introductions to the characters, as I had no problem following who all the characters are. All three stories kept me guessing until sleuth figured things out. While there’s obviously a culinary theme to the collection, we only get one recipe at the end. If you are looking for some new series, this is a fun way to try three new to you authors. If you are already a fan of these series, you’ll enjoy these between books check ins.
As if often the case with these anthologies, I only read one of the authors. I love the Mrs. Claus series, and this was easily my favorite in the book. The other two were good, although they did leave me with some small questions I wish had been answered. Still, they were good introductions to the characters, as I had no problem following who all the characters are. All three stories kept me guessing until sleuth figured things out. While there’s obviously a culinary theme to the collection, we only get one recipe at the end. If you are looking for some new series, this is a fun way to try three new to you authors. If you are already a fan of these series, you’ll enjoy these between books check ins.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Easter Basket Murder in Books
Jan 25, 2024 (Updated Jan 25, 2024)
Here’s to a Deadly Easter
Kensington has called on their go to trio for three new holiday themed mysteries, this time featuring Easter. Up first, Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone gets involved with a promotion for the local businesses leads to the theft of a golden Easter egg. Then Lee Hollis’s Hayley Powell finds the Easter Bunny dead at a community Easter egg hunt. Finally, Barbara Ross’s Julia Snowden’s Easter on the family island off the coast of Maine is interrupted when she finds a man in coat tails dead in the garden. Then, a few minutes later, he’s gone.
All three stories have fun with the theme, and present it in some clever ways. As is often the case, I found the first story the weakest, but the mysteries in the other two stories are strong. Still, I was engaged no matter which story I was reading. All three have some great Easter elements that made me feel like it was spring. And I love the community aspects we get. I’m only a regular reader of Barbara Ross’s series, and I was interested in the updates we got on the characters there. If you are looking for some new dishes to serve this year, you’ll be interested in the recipes we get with the second and third story. Each story is roughly 100 pages, so you can read them in a sitting or two. Overall, this is a fun anthology you’ll be happy hopped on to your to be read pile.
All three stories have fun with the theme, and present it in some clever ways. As is often the case, I found the first story the weakest, but the mysteries in the other two stories are strong. Still, I was engaged no matter which story I was reading. All three have some great Easter elements that made me feel like it was spring. And I love the community aspects we get. I’m only a regular reader of Barbara Ross’s series, and I was interested in the updates we got on the characters there. If you are looking for some new dishes to serve this year, you’ll be interested in the recipes we get with the second and third story. Each story is roughly 100 pages, so you can read them in a sitting or two. Overall, this is a fun anthology you’ll be happy hopped on to your to be read pile.
Jamie (131 KP) rated Nasty Women in Books
May 24, 2017
A timely collection of personal and political essays
It was really cool to get to see the world through the eyes of women coming from walks of life entirely removed from my own. There were many whose struggles I couldn’t even begin to imagine dealing with, while others I found comfort that I wasn’t alone in the issues that I have faced. The anthology really does cover a wide range of topics by authors from drastically different backgrounds.
The one essay that stood out the most to me was “Choices” by Rowan C. Clarke, which discussed the author’s difficult relationship with her mother and that never ending struggle to please. While the underlying messages in all of the stories were political and feminist, they were also very personal and down to earth which is what made this collection pretty emotional.
I did have a few issues with the anthology, however, that I need to address. The first was that the quality of each essay varied pretty wildly. The version I read was an ARC so it’s difficult for me to judge the final product, but there were several that weren’t well structured or were rife with grammatical and formatting errors. There were citations (I love citations!) that weren’t formatted all that well for my ebook version (cutting into the middle of paragraphs) that perhaps would’ve been better placed at the end. As for the actual content, most were incredibly well written and heartfelt, a few felt like angry rants that were more alienating than empowering, then there was one that just felt stiff and spent more time with the preface rather than the story.
While on the subject of alienation, despite the rather diverse sets of authors and essays, I feel like there were some missing pieces still. It’s obvious from the title what many of the authors thought about the last election and I didn’t like how black and white things were with barely any room in-between. In cases like this, I’m sure most of the readers would be those looking for confirmation of beliefs that they already share, which is fine except that it closes the door on discussion with the other side which is truly unfortunate.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that what was already here was pretty great. I see what they were going for and I appreciated it. I love to see discussion about politics and social issues, but I worry when the tone leans too far toward one extreme it only invites backlash from the other extreme. It’s a difficult balancing act between maintaining one’s own core beliefs while also trying to open things up to the other side so that perhaps they could engage in the conversation and, ideally, listen and have their own perceptions changed.
But I digress, despite the complaints I had about the book, I found it to be a pretty quick and enjoyable read. It gives a voice to groups of women that aren’t often heard in the greater narrative of the feminist movement. The experiences of these many women enrich that narrative and there’s a lot we can all learn from each other especially in these troubling times.
The one essay that stood out the most to me was “Choices” by Rowan C. Clarke, which discussed the author’s difficult relationship with her mother and that never ending struggle to please. While the underlying messages in all of the stories were political and feminist, they were also very personal and down to earth which is what made this collection pretty emotional.
I did have a few issues with the anthology, however, that I need to address. The first was that the quality of each essay varied pretty wildly. The version I read was an ARC so it’s difficult for me to judge the final product, but there were several that weren’t well structured or were rife with grammatical and formatting errors. There were citations (I love citations!) that weren’t formatted all that well for my ebook version (cutting into the middle of paragraphs) that perhaps would’ve been better placed at the end. As for the actual content, most were incredibly well written and heartfelt, a few felt like angry rants that were more alienating than empowering, then there was one that just felt stiff and spent more time with the preface rather than the story.
While on the subject of alienation, despite the rather diverse sets of authors and essays, I feel like there were some missing pieces still. It’s obvious from the title what many of the authors thought about the last election and I didn’t like how black and white things were with barely any room in-between. In cases like this, I’m sure most of the readers would be those looking for confirmation of beliefs that they already share, which is fine except that it closes the door on discussion with the other side which is truly unfortunate.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that what was already here was pretty great. I see what they were going for and I appreciated it. I love to see discussion about politics and social issues, but I worry when the tone leans too far toward one extreme it only invites backlash from the other extreme. It’s a difficult balancing act between maintaining one’s own core beliefs while also trying to open things up to the other side so that perhaps they could engage in the conversation and, ideally, listen and have their own perceptions changed.
But I digress, despite the complaints I had about the book, I found it to be a pretty quick and enjoyable read. It gives a voice to groups of women that aren’t often heard in the greater narrative of the feminist movement. The experiences of these many women enrich that narrative and there’s a lot we can all learn from each other especially in these troubling times.
Leila (5 KP) rated Black Mirror in TV
Feb 3, 2019 (Updated Feb 3, 2019)
If you're looking for a mini-movie that will leave you wondering if technology is really worth the risk, this series is jam-packed full of them.
Each episode is a standalone, a great concept allowing each story to be told in entirety unconstrained by time requirements or character involvement. Episodes range from an hour and a half to just forty minutes, but no episode feels lacking and no episode feels too "fluffed"; you may leave wanting more but never unsatisfied.
Episode one of season one isn't for everyone and I urge you to look past it and discover those episodes that are for you. There are a wide variety of topics covered and some are cruder than others but never just to be crude, it is always with a purpose. Same goes for any violence or language, all is with a purpose and doesn't seem gratuitous. The "Playtest" episode is probably the most jump-scare frightening, but even then, not without purpose, serving a crucial part in how the story unfolds.
While you don't have to watch them in order, I do recommend you wait to watch "Black Museum" until you have watch all of the first four seasons, in order to get the most of the Easter Eggs hidden throughout the episode. You will also find that there are some episodes that will casually mention things from previous episodes, or have a recurring song you can't help but remember from a previous story. It's these little details that make Black Mirror a great anthology, with a story for everyone just waiting to be told.
Each episode is a standalone, a great concept allowing each story to be told in entirety unconstrained by time requirements or character involvement. Episodes range from an hour and a half to just forty minutes, but no episode feels lacking and no episode feels too "fluffed"; you may leave wanting more but never unsatisfied.
Episode one of season one isn't for everyone and I urge you to look past it and discover those episodes that are for you. There are a wide variety of topics covered and some are cruder than others but never just to be crude, it is always with a purpose. Same goes for any violence or language, all is with a purpose and doesn't seem gratuitous. The "Playtest" episode is probably the most jump-scare frightening, but even then, not without purpose, serving a crucial part in how the story unfolds.
While you don't have to watch them in order, I do recommend you wait to watch "Black Museum" until you have watch all of the first four seasons, in order to get the most of the Easter Eggs hidden throughout the episode. You will also find that there are some episodes that will casually mention things from previous episodes, or have a recurring song you can't help but remember from a previous story. It's these little details that make Black Mirror a great anthology, with a story for everyone just waiting to be told.
Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated An Amish Christmas Love: Four Novellas in Books
Feb 27, 2019
I am always in the mood for a good Christmas story, and it's always a bonus when I get to sit down and read more than one in one book! So, it never fails when I get a new book with Christmas themes, that I fall in love with them. This is no exception!
This anthology contains four heart warming stories centered around the Amish. Each story pulled me in, hooked me and took me on a wonderful sleigh ride through God's amazing graces. These four authors know exactly what their readers like and how to keep them engrossed. Their characters are finely chiseled and real to life and their messages from God are beautifully woven into each story.
I can't pick just one favorite though! All four stories held me captive equally, all four stories ones that I would recommend to all. But, Ruth Reid's and Amy Clipston's stories never fail to bring me so many emotions, from happiness to love. They take me on ups and downs, and ins and outs with their moving stories, and I love their writing styles. Ms. Wiseman and Ms. Irving have beautiful styles too, and their stories are vivid and tender.
If you love Christmas, beautiful characters and wonderful writing, then this book is the one you want to read this holiday season. These authors will hook you! I highly recommend this book with the highest of 5 stars! Hats off to some very talented ladies.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
This anthology contains four heart warming stories centered around the Amish. Each story pulled me in, hooked me and took me on a wonderful sleigh ride through God's amazing graces. These four authors know exactly what their readers like and how to keep them engrossed. Their characters are finely chiseled and real to life and their messages from God are beautifully woven into each story.
I can't pick just one favorite though! All four stories held me captive equally, all four stories ones that I would recommend to all. But, Ruth Reid's and Amy Clipston's stories never fail to bring me so many emotions, from happiness to love. They take me on ups and downs, and ins and outs with their moving stories, and I love their writing styles. Ms. Wiseman and Ms. Irving have beautiful styles too, and their stories are vivid and tender.
If you love Christmas, beautiful characters and wonderful writing, then this book is the one you want to read this holiday season. These authors will hook you! I highly recommend this book with the highest of 5 stars! Hats off to some very talented ladies.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Debbiereadsbook (1440 KP) rated Alphas Of Seduction Anthology in Books
Oct 18, 2018
great box set
Once Upon An Alpha along with 4 Paws for Ability, and these several bestselling authors, bring you this page turning, limited edition, anthology that’s sure to keep you up well past your bed time and craving your own Alpha of Seduction.
I had no idea what this charity does, but there is a little bit at the beginning that describes their work. I couldn't see a common theme running through each story, but I did read them all. Maybe, if the theme was more prominent in each story, I might have enjoyed this set a little more. There wasn't, though, any one story that stood out, for either positive or negative reasons, and I'm struggling to write a review for each story, some only a few pages long.
So, here's a general review, for the entire set!
I found them all well written, some in the the third person, some in the first. Some were sexier than others, some almost clean. I saw no spelling or editing errors in any short to spoil my reading.
All these authors are new to me. After some sorting, my wish list is now many more books longer, as each author has given me a taste of their work, and I want to read longer books by these authors. BY ALL of these authors! Usually, in box sets like this, one or two sneak on to my wish list, but this time, they all did.
A nice way to pass a few lunch breaks, a hours of shutting out the world.
a good solid..
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I had no idea what this charity does, but there is a little bit at the beginning that describes their work. I couldn't see a common theme running through each story, but I did read them all. Maybe, if the theme was more prominent in each story, I might have enjoyed this set a little more. There wasn't, though, any one story that stood out, for either positive or negative reasons, and I'm struggling to write a review for each story, some only a few pages long.
So, here's a general review, for the entire set!
I found them all well written, some in the the third person, some in the first. Some were sexier than others, some almost clean. I saw no spelling or editing errors in any short to spoil my reading.
All these authors are new to me. After some sorting, my wish list is now many more books longer, as each author has given me a taste of their work, and I want to read longer books by these authors. BY ALL of these authors! Usually, in box sets like this, one or two sneak on to my wish list, but this time, they all did.
A nice way to pass a few lunch breaks, a hours of shutting out the world.
a good solid..
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Murky Waters in Books
Mar 14, 2020
Kyra is the youngest of the three mermaid sisters we are learning about in Diane Vallere’s Mermaid Mystery novellas. She has been coddled and babied her entire life. Known for her beauty and her singing voice, she plays into both of those roles, flirting with every merman who shows interest. On her way to music lessons one morning, she finds the Nautilus Vault opened and several squid tied up near the entrance. She frees them, but she can tell someone has been inside the vault. Can she figure out who is responsible?
In many ways, this novella feels like a coming of age tale since Kyra really grows as the story progresses. No, she doesn’t start out as shallow as she may at first appear. I really enjoyed getting to know her and watching the growth happen over the course of the story. Now, this isn’t to say that we don’t get a mystery as well with plenty to keep us engaged. The growth comes directly from the events of the story, and it all feels very natural. There isn’t quite as much background on mermaid culture as there was in the first story, but we do get enough that if you jumped in with this story you wouldn’t be lost. The other characters are interesting, and we see some other sides of them than we did in the first novella. More than anything, I had fun imaging I lived in the ocean as well.
NOTE: This story, along with the stories of Kyra’s sisters, are included in the Mermaid Mysteries anthology. Buy them individually or as a set, but there is no need to buy both.
In many ways, this novella feels like a coming of age tale since Kyra really grows as the story progresses. No, she doesn’t start out as shallow as she may at first appear. I really enjoyed getting to know her and watching the growth happen over the course of the story. Now, this isn’t to say that we don’t get a mystery as well with plenty to keep us engaged. The growth comes directly from the events of the story, and it all feels very natural. There isn’t quite as much background on mermaid culture as there was in the first story, but we do get enough that if you jumped in with this story you wouldn’t be lost. The other characters are interesting, and we see some other sides of them than we did in the first novella. More than anything, I had fun imaging I lived in the ocean as well.
NOTE: This story, along with the stories of Kyra’s sisters, are included in the Mermaid Mysteries anthology. Buy them individually or as a set, but there is no need to buy both.