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The Boys Volume 6: Self Preservation Society
8.0
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The sixth Dynamite collection of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys is here, with The Boys,...
Merissa (13952 KP) rated Muted Chords (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022) in Books
Nov 7, 2022
MUTED CHORDS is one of the Rocktoberfest 2022 books and we travel with Josh and the rest of his band to the festival itself. Eradicate Apathy has had some problems with their replacement bass player, so much so he is sacked. This is where Bran comes into play. He has wanted to play with them for quite a while but has his own baggage to contend with. When given the chance though, he can't say no. And once he meets Josh, all stops are pulled out.
The pacing of this story is fast and felt a little rushed to me in places, but you will be drawn into the close-knit relationships between the band members. You also get a look at some people who are not so nice, who have let fame (or the lack of it) sour them.
Overall, this was a sweet love story between Josh and Bran and brilliant relationships between the rest of the band members. However, there is some derogatory language, plus some angst near the ending, so consider yourself warned.
** 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, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The pacing of this story is fast and felt a little rushed to me in places, but you will be drawn into the close-knit relationships between the band members. You also get a look at some people who are not so nice, who have let fame (or the lack of it) sour them.
Overall, this was a sweet love story between Josh and Bran and brilliant relationships between the rest of the band members. However, there is some derogatory language, plus some angst near the ending, so consider yourself warned.
** 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, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Bake Offed
9.0
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In the new installment of beloved author Maya Corrigan’s Five-Ingredient Mystery series, join Val...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2536 KP) rated A Fatal Groove in Books
Jul 27, 2023
Murder is Anything but Groovy
It’s the weekend of the Bluebonnet Festival in Cedar River, Texas, and Juni Jessup and her sisters are looking forward to fun while also selling coffee and introducing the bands on the main stage. Their first customer of the first day is Mayor Bob. When Juni goes to drop something off at his office a little later, she finds him dead. With their reputations once again on the line, the sisters try to figure out what is happening. Mayor Bob was popular because he didn’t make any waves, so who would want to kill him?
After an initial strong start, the book stalled a bit introducing some sub-plots before it really got started again. I did guess the killer a little early, but I needed Juni to fill in most of the rest. Once again, there are some odd uses of they/them pronouns, and Juni’s first-person narration comes across as judgmental a few times. Overall, I do like her and I love her relationship with her sisters. The love triangle is still in play, although it takes a back seat to the rest of the happenings. There are lots of smiles and some laughs along the way as well. If you enjoy music and are looking for a fun mystery, this is the series for you.
After an initial strong start, the book stalled a bit introducing some sub-plots before it really got started again. I did guess the killer a little early, but I needed Juni to fill in most of the rest. Once again, there are some odd uses of they/them pronouns, and Juni’s first-person narration comes across as judgmental a few times. Overall, I do like her and I love her relationship with her sisters. The love triangle is still in play, although it takes a back seat to the rest of the happenings. There are lots of smiles and some laughs along the way as well. If you enjoy music and are looking for a fun mystery, this is the series for you.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2536 KP) rated Claws of Death in Books
Aug 16, 2023
Who is Crabby Enough to Commit Murder?
After getting out of rehab, Jackie Norwood is looking for any way to rebuild her life, and professionally, she is taking her celebrity chef name on the road, judging food festivals. Her first one is a crab festival in Texas. She is horrified to realize that her fellow judge is her nemesis, Heather Curtis. Then disaster strikes when Heather drops dead after tasting their first dish – a dish prepared by Jackie’s ex-boyfriend. With the police looking at the two of them as suspects in Heather’s murder, Jackie has to jump in and find out what really happened. Can she do it?
Author Cathy Wiley has introduced Jackie in some short stories in the Destination Murders series, and I’m thrilled to see Jackie get her own novel finally. I liked getting to know Jackie better, and the rest of the cast, introduced here, are fantastic. The story starts quickly and never lags. I enjoyed how Jackie pieced things together at the end. Throw in some humor, and this was a book I never wanted to put down. It was over all too quickly. Those who enjoy crab will be interested in the recipes at the end. If you are looking for a fun new series, you’ll be thrilled you got your claws into this debut.
Author Cathy Wiley has introduced Jackie in some short stories in the Destination Murders series, and I’m thrilled to see Jackie get her own novel finally. I liked getting to know Jackie better, and the rest of the cast, introduced here, are fantastic. The story starts quickly and never lags. I enjoyed how Jackie pieced things together at the end. Throw in some humor, and this was a book I never wanted to put down. It was over all too quickly. Those who enjoy crab will be interested in the recipes at the end. If you are looking for a fun new series, you’ll be thrilled you got your claws into this debut.
French Quarter Fright Night
9.0
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The third in the fabulous cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and...
Eurovision: A Plea For Respect
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Discover the hidden treasures of Europe's greatest music tradition - The Eurovision Song Contest: A...
history
A Touch of Maple (Love in Maplewood #3)
10.0
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After being traded numerous times over the course of his pro hockey career, all Bellamy Jordan wants...
Contemporary MM Sports Romance Found Family Hockey
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2536 KP) rated Claws Out in Books
Sep 17, 2025 (Updated Sep 17, 2025)
Taking the Cafe on the Road for a Cat Lit Fest
Maddie James and her family and friends are taking their cat cafe on the road thanks for a giant food truck donation. They are heading off island to Provincetown to a literary festival that focuses on cats in fiction. But Maddie keeps hearing things that show not all is well behind the scenes. On the second morning, one of the headlining authors is found murdered. Who killed her?
I love how the author came up with such a creative way to take the cat cafe on the road. The murder took a bit of time to happen, but there was enough set up I didn’t find my interest waning. Maddie seemed to abandon her responsibilities a bit more than normal to investigate, but we got some good twists along the way to a logical if rushed climax. I was bothered by a couple needless misandrist comments that were irrelevant to the story. There were also a couple of glitches that I couldn’t tell if were poor editing or unclear writing. I appreciated how many series regulars we got, although one subplot with them wasn’t developed as well as it felt like it should have been. While there were lots of small things that annoyed, overall, I did enjoy this entry in the series.
I love how the author came up with such a creative way to take the cat cafe on the road. The murder took a bit of time to happen, but there was enough set up I didn’t find my interest waning. Maddie seemed to abandon her responsibilities a bit more than normal to investigate, but we got some good twists along the way to a logical if rushed climax. I was bothered by a couple needless misandrist comments that were irrelevant to the story. There were also a couple of glitches that I couldn’t tell if were poor editing or unclear writing. I appreciated how many series regulars we got, although one subplot with them wasn’t developed as well as it felt like it should have been. While there were lots of small things that annoyed, overall, I did enjoy this entry in the series.
Louise (64 KP) rated He Said/She Said in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I was lucky enough to win an unfinished copy of this book on a Goodreads giveaway.
The year is 1999, Kit and Laura are down in Cornwall at a festival held for eclipse chasers, this will be their first one together and the start of many more to come. Kit has all the future eclipses planned out, he has been doing this his whole life and wants to share it with the woman he loves and future children. With it being cloudy the odds of a total eclipse is minimal, to try and get a better viewing angle the couple move out to the edges of the festival, but what they do witness changes their lives forever. Kit and Laura are embroiled in a rape case, Jamie Balcombe was witnessed attacking Beth Taylor – Will Laura’s testimony be enough for a conviction?
He Said/She Said is told from alternating point of views from Kit and Laura. They are also told from past and present, so will get a chapter from Kit in 2015 and 1999 and the same from Laura. This allows the stories to be interwoven and tells what happened and how it has affected them now. This is another slow paced book that feeds you small amounts of information at a time and when you think you know what has happened it takes an unexpected turn.
Laura in present day is an unreliable narrator, she suffers with anxiety and is extremely paranoid. We don’t find out for a long time how she has become this way all we do know that it’s related to ‘Beth’. In 1999, Laura has her whole life ahead of her, she has just met Kit and has this outgoing nature to her. As the story progresses you begin understand why she is so paranoid and why she is so anxious.
Kit seemed like a super relaxed guy that takes everything in his stride, Laura is his soulmate and have been together for 15 years and will protect her to no end. At points he could be very meticulous and other points very sloppy regarding their change of identity. I must admit that Laura is the stronger character of the two and her POV was much more enjoyable.
I felt this book especially the first half was very slow even when there were parts that really appealed to me. The story line was good not something I have read about before and I didn’t think it was predictable but when the twist happened it wasn’t anything majorly startling for me.My actual reaction was ‘oh’! but the second half was much better than the first and had more action to it.
There is a trigger warning of Rape, so if this is something you are uncomfortable reading about then this might not be the book for you.
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars
The year is 1999, Kit and Laura are down in Cornwall at a festival held for eclipse chasers, this will be their first one together and the start of many more to come. Kit has all the future eclipses planned out, he has been doing this his whole life and wants to share it with the woman he loves and future children. With it being cloudy the odds of a total eclipse is minimal, to try and get a better viewing angle the couple move out to the edges of the festival, but what they do witness changes their lives forever. Kit and Laura are embroiled in a rape case, Jamie Balcombe was witnessed attacking Beth Taylor – Will Laura’s testimony be enough for a conviction?
He Said/She Said is told from alternating point of views from Kit and Laura. They are also told from past and present, so will get a chapter from Kit in 2015 and 1999 and the same from Laura. This allows the stories to be interwoven and tells what happened and how it has affected them now. This is another slow paced book that feeds you small amounts of information at a time and when you think you know what has happened it takes an unexpected turn.
Laura in present day is an unreliable narrator, she suffers with anxiety and is extremely paranoid. We don’t find out for a long time how she has become this way all we do know that it’s related to ‘Beth’. In 1999, Laura has her whole life ahead of her, she has just met Kit and has this outgoing nature to her. As the story progresses you begin understand why she is so paranoid and why she is so anxious.
Kit seemed like a super relaxed guy that takes everything in his stride, Laura is his soulmate and have been together for 15 years and will protect her to no end. At points he could be very meticulous and other points very sloppy regarding their change of identity. I must admit that Laura is the stronger character of the two and her POV was much more enjoyable.
I felt this book especially the first half was very slow even when there were parts that really appealed to me. The story line was good not something I have read about before and I didn’t think it was predictable but when the twist happened it wasn’t anything majorly startling for me.My actual reaction was ‘oh’! but the second half was much better than the first and had more action to it.
There is a trigger warning of Rape, so if this is something you are uncomfortable reading about then this might not be the book for you.
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars