Search
Search results
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2494 KP) rated Irish Soda Bread Murder in Books
Dec 26, 2024 (Updated Dec 26, 2024)
These Loaves of Bread Aren’t Deadly to Your Waistline. They’re Just Deadly
Three cozy mystery authors reunite to again present St. Patrick themed novellas with their characters. Up first, Carlene O’Connor revisits her Home to Ireland characters as Tara gets involved when her aunt’s rival dies from Irish soda bread. Next, Peggy Ehrhart presents a story with her Knits and Nibbles characters when a judge in a contest baking dies after sampling the first loaf of bread. Finally, Liz Ireland takes Mrs. Claus and three of the elves from Santaland to Oregon when April goes to investigate a leak in her inn only to get involved in some shady things going on with her caretaker.
All three stories are entertaining. I read this anthology for the Mrs. Claus story, but I felt right at home with the characters from the first two as well, so if you haven’t met any of them yet, you can easily use this to sample the authors. Given that these are novellas, I felt the authors all did a good job of bringing the characters to life, although I did feel the pacing could have been stronger. Still, I enjoyed all the stories and the twists we did get. I even laughed at that final story multiple times. If you pick up this book now or wait until March to read it, you’ll find yourself enjoying it.
All three stories are entertaining. I read this anthology for the Mrs. Claus story, but I felt right at home with the characters from the first two as well, so if you haven’t met any of them yet, you can easily use this to sample the authors. Given that these are novellas, I felt the authors all did a good job of bringing the characters to life, although I did feel the pacing could have been stronger. Still, I enjoyed all the stories and the twists we did get. I even laughed at that final story multiple times. If you pick up this book now or wait until March to read it, you’ll find yourself enjoying it.
Dad Next Door (Crimson Club #5)
9.0
Rate It
Book
Moving into my first house is step one in starting my new life. Next is setting up my contracting...
Age Gap Found Family Contemporary MM Romance Series
Debbiereadsbook (1669 KP) rated Riding Pine in Books
Nov 12, 2025
super low angst, but super good!
Independent reviewer for Neon, I was gifted my copy of this book.
There is a bit at the front of this book, and I don't usually read those notes but I'm glad I did. It sets the tone of the book beautifully!
Ben lands the job of Slappy, beaver mascot for the Bloomburg Aspens hocky team. he isn't supposed to tell anyone. But he and Lukas are already hooking up, and he doesn't want any secrets. What can go wrong??
And, my dear peeps, is the sum of the angst in this book! What will happen if anyone finds out that Lukas, of said hockey team, knows who the top secret mascot is??
It is SUPER low angst between Lukas and Ben. Super hot chemistry between them. Super sweet as they keep getting together. Super super SUPER!
I loved this book, I really did. I think that note gets you into the mind of Ms Neill when she wrote this and I feel a bit . . .I dunno . . .closer to her. . .maybe?? She is right though, the world has gone to pot. And books like this make it a little bit better, so thank you, Ms Neill!
A short review, but one that needed reigning in before it ran into 6 pages!
5 full and shiny stars, but honestly, I'd give more if I could!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
There is a bit at the front of this book, and I don't usually read those notes but I'm glad I did. It sets the tone of the book beautifully!
Ben lands the job of Slappy, beaver mascot for the Bloomburg Aspens hocky team. he isn't supposed to tell anyone. But he and Lukas are already hooking up, and he doesn't want any secrets. What can go wrong??
And, my dear peeps, is the sum of the angst in this book! What will happen if anyone finds out that Lukas, of said hockey team, knows who the top secret mascot is??
It is SUPER low angst between Lukas and Ben. Super hot chemistry between them. Super sweet as they keep getting together. Super super SUPER!
I loved this book, I really did. I think that note gets you into the mind of Ms Neill when she wrote this and I feel a bit . . .I dunno . . .closer to her. . .maybe?? She is right though, the world has gone to pot. And books like this make it a little bit better, so thank you, Ms Neill!
A short review, but one that needed reigning in before it ran into 6 pages!
5 full and shiny stars, but honestly, I'd give more if I could!
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Merissa (13808 KP) rated Hashtag Holidate in Books
Nov 25, 2025
HASHTAG HOLIDATE is a standalone story set in the Made Marian world, with plenty of mentions of the Marian family to make you feel at home.
Adrian is an influencer who travels from place to place, hoping to make it big with his 'Twelve Holidates' feature. Maddox is the owner of a four-generation hardware store, who dabbles in photography, and has his roots set firmly at home. So, yes, these two are opposites from the very beginning, and even more so if you count the grumpy/sunshine vibe too.
This was an easy, well-paced read that has lots of tension between the two MCs. They obviously get together, which leads to steamy times. I don't say this very often, but while I enjoyed them together, I loved the snark and tension more.
One thing that personally didn't work for me was the use of hashtags at the end of each chapter. I skipped over them to get to the main story, but that's a me thing. I'm sure for others who follow the Insta/influencer lifestyle more, they were a fun feature.
Anyway, an easy Christmassy read that made me smile, and one I definitely recommend.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 25, 2025
Adrian is an influencer who travels from place to place, hoping to make it big with his 'Twelve Holidates' feature. Maddox is the owner of a four-generation hardware store, who dabbles in photography, and has his roots set firmly at home. So, yes, these two are opposites from the very beginning, and even more so if you count the grumpy/sunshine vibe too.
This was an easy, well-paced read that has lots of tension between the two MCs. They obviously get together, which leads to steamy times. I don't say this very often, but while I enjoyed them together, I loved the snark and tension more.
One thing that personally didn't work for me was the use of hashtags at the end of each chapter. I skipped over them to get to the main story, but that's a me thing. I'm sure for others who follow the Insta/influencer lifestyle more, they were a fun feature.
Anyway, an easy Christmassy read that made me smile, and one I definitely recommend.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 25, 2025
Merissa (13808 KP) rated Veil of Mists (Seven Deadly Veils #2) in Books
Feb 26, 2024
VEIL OF MISTS is the second full-length book in the Seven Deadly Veils series and we return to Miranda and her world of paranormals. We begin with her in New Mexico and then travel to France. All the old crew are there, but we also meet the Vampire High Council, who are desperate to get their claws into Valadon.
While I enjoyed this story, I wasn't fully gripped by it. It has multiple layers and deceptions, as well as three or four stories going on simultaneously. While some may prefer it this way, I found it distracting and wanted to skip over parts (Bastien and Josette having s3x for example.)
The (sort of) love triangle between Remare, Miranda, and Valadon is still going on and full of miscommunications that had me rolling my eyes. Some things are blown up out of proportion, while others are just swept under the carpet.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book but I didn't feel as though it moved the series forward much. I still recommend it if you like all of the above and want a richly detailed and intricate saga to keep you entertained for hours.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 14, 2024
While I enjoyed this story, I wasn't fully gripped by it. It has multiple layers and deceptions, as well as three or four stories going on simultaneously. While some may prefer it this way, I found it distracting and wanted to skip over parts (Bastien and Josette having s3x for example.)
The (sort of) love triangle between Remare, Miranda, and Valadon is still going on and full of miscommunications that had me rolling my eyes. Some things are blown up out of proportion, while others are just swept under the carpet.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book but I didn't feel as though it moved the series forward much. I still recommend it if you like all of the above and want a richly detailed and intricate saga to keep you entertained for hours.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Feb 14, 2024
Merissa (13808 KP) rated Sea Glass and Fireflies in Books
Apr 29, 2024
SEA GLASS AND FIREFLIES is an emotional second-chance historical romance.
Elsie and Charles were childhood friends, on the brink of something more, when Charles left, promising to write frequently. This dwindled off and Elsie was courted by Gabriel, also a friend to them both. The story starts on what should have been Elsie and Gabriel's wedding day, as she prepares to live with her uncle for a while, to try and work through her complicated emotions over the loss of Gabriel at sea. Once there, she reconnects with Charles, but is she reading too much into it?
This was a page-turner that kept me gripped from the very beginning. As a reader, you can feel Elsie's emotions and all the confusion she is working through. I do wish I'd have had some from Charles' side, but that made the ending all the more satisfactory.
Well-written, with lovely descriptions throughout, and with a smooth pace, this book was a delight to read. It is the first by this author I have read, and I look forward to reading more by her in the future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 29, 2024
Elsie and Charles were childhood friends, on the brink of something more, when Charles left, promising to write frequently. This dwindled off and Elsie was courted by Gabriel, also a friend to them both. The story starts on what should have been Elsie and Gabriel's wedding day, as she prepares to live with her uncle for a while, to try and work through her complicated emotions over the loss of Gabriel at sea. Once there, she reconnects with Charles, but is she reading too much into it?
This was a page-turner that kept me gripped from the very beginning. As a reader, you can feel Elsie's emotions and all the confusion she is working through. I do wish I'd have had some from Charles' side, but that made the ending all the more satisfactory.
Well-written, with lovely descriptions throughout, and with a smooth pace, this book was a delight to read. It is the first by this author I have read, and I look forward to reading more by her in the future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 29, 2024
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2494 KP) rated Death Washes Ashore in Books
Apr 30, 2024
Death of a Gladiator
One morning Clark Thomas is awakened by a text from one of the detectives in town requesting his presence at a crime scene. The body of Connor West has washed up on the local state beach. Connor was the star of one of the local tourist attractions, a gladiator themed dinner and show.
Even after Clark is warned away from the case, he can’t help but dig into Connor’s life and his work at the Gladiator Games Dinner Show. With a face from his past as his way into the lives of those Clark wants to interview, can he figure out what happened?
I had an issue with how Clark got involved in the mystery here, but I put that aside and kept reading. The mystery was good with several strong suspects and twists along the way to a logical climax. I appreciated how Clark went about things in the climax, too. We also got to know him and a couple of characters better, although I feel like we have many who hardly had any page time. The writing could have used polish in several spots, but most of the time it was fine. There is a little advancement on the cliffhanger from the previous book, but we’ll have to keep reading to see where it goes next. Overall, this is a fun second book in the series.
Even after Clark is warned away from the case, he can’t help but dig into Connor’s life and his work at the Gladiator Games Dinner Show. With a face from his past as his way into the lives of those Clark wants to interview, can he figure out what happened?
I had an issue with how Clark got involved in the mystery here, but I put that aside and kept reading. The mystery was good with several strong suspects and twists along the way to a logical climax. I appreciated how Clark went about things in the climax, too. We also got to know him and a couple of characters better, although I feel like we have many who hardly had any page time. The writing could have used polish in several spots, but most of the time it was fine. There is a little advancement on the cliffhanger from the previous book, but we’ll have to keep reading to see where it goes next. Overall, this is a fun second book in the series.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2494 KP) rated Welcome Home to Murder in Books
Jan 17, 2025
Retired From the Army Doesn’t Mean the End to Dead Bodies
Tessa Treslow left her hometown in Idaho as soon as she graduated from high school. She’s now spent over twenty years in the army and is ready to retire. Since she still doesn’t know what she is going to do with the rest of her life, she agrees to return to New Oslo for an extended visit. While reuniting with her parents and aunt, she senses that there is something they are keeping from her. But she learns more in the more horrific way when she and her aunt find a dead body in the garage her aunt runs. The police, in the form of Tessa’s high school boyfriend, feel that her family has the perfect motive. Can Tessa figure out what really happened?
This series debut has been on my radar for a while, and I’m glad I finally got to pick it up. It has some twists on the familiar cozy tropes, and I enjoyed those. There is a depth to the characters I appreciated, and I also liked that we got details about Tessa and the others over the course of the book without any data dumps. The mystery had a few pacing issues in the middle, but overall, it was good with plenty of red herrings and a logical climax. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Tessa can find in her hometown.
This series debut has been on my radar for a while, and I’m glad I finally got to pick it up. It has some twists on the familiar cozy tropes, and I enjoyed those. There is a depth to the characters I appreciated, and I also liked that we got details about Tessa and the others over the course of the book without any data dumps. The mystery had a few pacing issues in the middle, but overall, it was good with plenty of red herrings and a logical climax. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Tessa can find in her hometown.
Curious Cameron (Secret Lives of Hot Twinks #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
I married my best friend. My gay best friend. I’ve flunked out of art college. I have a fresh...
Contemporary MM Erotica Romance Military BDSM
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) in Movies
Jun 20, 2020
Why is this even prefaced everywhere with Fast & Furious? Apart from a couple of characters and the fact there are cars with a crapload of action they aren't really the same thing.
Hattie Shaw and her MI6 team have secured a virus that could threaten everyone if it gets into the wrong hands. In a surprise attacked by Brixton, an enhanced "bad guy", her entire team is killed and she has to make a quick decision.
As the story of the missing vial gets out handlers call in their top assets to retrieve it. The trouble is that they hate each other and working together isn't something that's going to work. Hobbs goes looking for Hattie on the streets and Shaw heads to her flat, both set some action they weren't expecting to, highlighting just what they're up against.
As an offshoot from the Fast & Furious franchise you expect the action, but Hobbs & Shaw takes a much bigger step towards comedy, which thankfully both Johnson and Statham are good at. Individually they'll get me to see a film, I might wish I hadn't when I come out of it, but you can pretty much guarantee that they'll give you a consistent result when it comes to the acting.
The two of them together are fun and they bounce off each other with impeccable timing, but there might be just a little bit too much insulting back and forth thrown into this one. It's not that it's bad, it's just that when it happens it can occasionally feel too long. It's almost as if they told them to improvise and they'd cut out a whole load of it and then never did. [One of my favourite bits of them together in the film is at the beginning of the trailer above.]
Vanessa Kirby as Shaw's sister Hattie is a bit more sensible than the leading men, that doesn't mean she's any less engaged in the action though. Right from the off they're showing her as tough and no-nonsense which fits in with the family characteristics. You get some great glimpses of the Shaw kids showing shared traits and it's really nice to see that link on the screen. Outside of the action and the family moments she sadly doesn't feel like a very well-formed character, there are several inconsistencies in her that I found to be confusing. You'd think one of those would be the age gap between her and Deckard, but honestly, until I saw some people mention it online I hadn't noticed it... it's a summer blockbuster... who's watching for those sorts of technicalities?!
Our bad guy Brixton, portrayed by Idris Elba is... yummy. I don't feel like there's much to say about Brixton, he kicks ass, he's got great tech and there's a good history with Shaw... but... he didn't really feel like a bad guy. Eteon certainly felt like an evil empire, but Brixton is just a minion in the grand scheme of things. I have my theories about Eteon, but that would mean major spoilers I'm afraid. I imagine we'll see more of them in the next one.
We get another wonderful pop up from Helen Mirren. Yeeeeeess, Queen! She's brilliant as always. There are a few cameos, and I'm impressed they managed to keep them secret. It was a fun discovery and definitely added to the humour of the whole thing, had you taken them out of the mix then you would have been left a much more "sensible" action film, but they went with it and it was certainly entertaining.
Obviously there's a lot of action, in a lot of different scenes. As ridiculous as it is, I did like the London chase that happens shortly after the jog down the building that you see in the trailer. It includes some good jaw-dropping moments and ends with a particularly satisfying moment. As fun as this sequence was, it does include the most dubious bit of CGI in the whole film... watch for that bike.
My other favourite scene is the finale, the whole thing is kind of long but specifically I'm thinking about Hobbs, Shaw and Brixton facing off. Even before going into the film you know exactly what needs to happen to get to the resolution, so when they get to that point you're sat going "about time!" As the storm sets in we get an amazing sequence with slow-mo of the three of them fighting in the rain. It was immense... some may say daft, but that's totally why I turned up for it. There's also some great glitching of Brixton's tech that I thought worked really well with everything. My only issue is that there's one moment where Jason Statham appears to genuinely smile and it feels completely out of character.
There are some things I want to mention before I finish.
- There feels like a lot of product placement happening throughout, including for things that aren't even real products.
- You do not... I repeat... DO NOT drive by a Greggs without stopping for a chicken bake.
Let's face it, if you even remotely enjoy action and comedy together then you're going to be enjoying this movie. You don't need to switch your brain on to watch this, it's just pure entertainment.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/08/hobbs-shaw-movie-review.html
Hattie Shaw and her MI6 team have secured a virus that could threaten everyone if it gets into the wrong hands. In a surprise attacked by Brixton, an enhanced "bad guy", her entire team is killed and she has to make a quick decision.
As the story of the missing vial gets out handlers call in their top assets to retrieve it. The trouble is that they hate each other and working together isn't something that's going to work. Hobbs goes looking for Hattie on the streets and Shaw heads to her flat, both set some action they weren't expecting to, highlighting just what they're up against.
As an offshoot from the Fast & Furious franchise you expect the action, but Hobbs & Shaw takes a much bigger step towards comedy, which thankfully both Johnson and Statham are good at. Individually they'll get me to see a film, I might wish I hadn't when I come out of it, but you can pretty much guarantee that they'll give you a consistent result when it comes to the acting.
The two of them together are fun and they bounce off each other with impeccable timing, but there might be just a little bit too much insulting back and forth thrown into this one. It's not that it's bad, it's just that when it happens it can occasionally feel too long. It's almost as if they told them to improvise and they'd cut out a whole load of it and then never did. [One of my favourite bits of them together in the film is at the beginning of the trailer above.]
Vanessa Kirby as Shaw's sister Hattie is a bit more sensible than the leading men, that doesn't mean she's any less engaged in the action though. Right from the off they're showing her as tough and no-nonsense which fits in with the family characteristics. You get some great glimpses of the Shaw kids showing shared traits and it's really nice to see that link on the screen. Outside of the action and the family moments she sadly doesn't feel like a very well-formed character, there are several inconsistencies in her that I found to be confusing. You'd think one of those would be the age gap between her and Deckard, but honestly, until I saw some people mention it online I hadn't noticed it... it's a summer blockbuster... who's watching for those sorts of technicalities?!
Our bad guy Brixton, portrayed by Idris Elba is... yummy. I don't feel like there's much to say about Brixton, he kicks ass, he's got great tech and there's a good history with Shaw... but... he didn't really feel like a bad guy. Eteon certainly felt like an evil empire, but Brixton is just a minion in the grand scheme of things. I have my theories about Eteon, but that would mean major spoilers I'm afraid. I imagine we'll see more of them in the next one.
We get another wonderful pop up from Helen Mirren. Yeeeeeess, Queen! She's brilliant as always. There are a few cameos, and I'm impressed they managed to keep them secret. It was a fun discovery and definitely added to the humour of the whole thing, had you taken them out of the mix then you would have been left a much more "sensible" action film, but they went with it and it was certainly entertaining.
Obviously there's a lot of action, in a lot of different scenes. As ridiculous as it is, I did like the London chase that happens shortly after the jog down the building that you see in the trailer. It includes some good jaw-dropping moments and ends with a particularly satisfying moment. As fun as this sequence was, it does include the most dubious bit of CGI in the whole film... watch for that bike.
My other favourite scene is the finale, the whole thing is kind of long but specifically I'm thinking about Hobbs, Shaw and Brixton facing off. Even before going into the film you know exactly what needs to happen to get to the resolution, so when they get to that point you're sat going "about time!" As the storm sets in we get an amazing sequence with slow-mo of the three of them fighting in the rain. It was immense... some may say daft, but that's totally why I turned up for it. There's also some great glitching of Brixton's tech that I thought worked really well with everything. My only issue is that there's one moment where Jason Statham appears to genuinely smile and it feels completely out of character.
There are some things I want to mention before I finish.
- There feels like a lot of product placement happening throughout, including for things that aren't even real products.
- You do not... I repeat... DO NOT drive by a Greggs without stopping for a chicken bake.
Let's face it, if you even remotely enjoy action and comedy together then you're going to be enjoying this movie. You don't need to switch your brain on to watch this, it's just pure entertainment.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/08/hobbs-shaw-movie-review.html