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Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club in Books

Jul 12, 2018

Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Śenz was a recommended to me by a dear friend. It definitely was an experience.

This book is filled with short stories that take place at the Kentucky Club which is located in Júrez. Each story takes you through the life of someone that is experiences a hardship. The hardships are real, and the stories written between these pages can tug on your heart strings.

I will admit, I had a hard time relating to some of these stories. I found that a lot of the stories in this book were of situations that I had no experience with. I have never questioned my sexuality, nor have I had to deal with death or living in a rough part of town so I had a pretty hard time relating to the characters. With that said, it was fascinating to try to relate to the characters. I wanted to know what they were experiencing and I wanted to be able to relate in some way.

I also had a hard time reading this novel because of the writing. I'm not a huge fan of novels that constantly start their sentences with pronouns. When reading a book I tend to like when the author starts sentences with other words and not just "he, she, it, or the person's name." When I see this happen, I tend to become disconnected with the story.

Ultimately, I give this book 3 cups of coffee due to the fact that I wish that I felt more connected with the characters. It was a good book, but I found it hard to relate with the characters.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2603 KP) rated Murder on Cape Cod in Books

Dec 19, 2018

Murder on Cape Cod

Maddie Day | 2018 | Mystery

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Macenzie "Mac" Almeida has returned to Westham, Massachusetts, after several years away, and she is settling back into the town where she grew up. She's enjoying time with her family, her bike shop is thriving, and she enjoys her weekly meetings with the Cozy Capers, a book club that reads exclusively cozy mysteries. Returning from their meeting one night, Mac stumbles over the dead body of Jake Lacey. Jake didn't have the best reputation in town, and Mac had her own disagreement with the man over a repair he had been hired to do for her. Worse yet, she recognizes the knife as one her brother owns. With the rest of the Cozy Capers jumping in to try to help solve the crime, will they succeed?

Ever since this series has been announced, I've been looking forward to it, and the debut didn't disappoint. I always love vacation destination settings, and this one is fun; now I want to visit Cape Cod. Plus, what cozy mystery fan isn't going to want to read about a club that loves the same sub-genre we do? We are introduced to a large selection of series regulars here, and it took some work to keep them all straight, but I'm sure that will get easier as the series goes along and the various supporting characters get enough page time. The suspects don't have the same issue, and it is easy to remember their motives. There are several secrets and potential motives for murder, but by the time Mac figures things out, everything is clear to us and her. While this isn't a traditional culinary cozy, Mac's boyfriend owns a bakery in town, and we get several recipes at the end of the book.