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Sue (5 KP) rated Vlad-Handing (Silver Hills Cozy Mysteries, #5) in Books
Apr 23, 2018
Vlad-Handing is book 5 in the Silver Hills Cozy Mystery series. It is set in a singles/retirement residency (think 55 and older) filled with an eccentric cast of characters. This time around, Flo and Agnes find themselves trying to prove that manager Vlad Newsome, who many consider a reprehensible creature of the night, is innocent of murder. The only problem is that these ladies are a not 100% sure that Vlad isn’t the murderer.
Flo and Agnes are two ladies that you would love to call your friends. They are laugh out loud funny adding comedy to a terrific cozy mystery that will have you in stitches until the end. I highly suggest starting out with book 1 Dose Vidanya and reading the books in order. While these books can be read stand alone, the cast of characters build as each book in the series continues.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Flo and Agnes are two ladies that you would love to call your friends. They are laugh out loud funny adding comedy to a terrific cozy mystery that will have you in stitches until the end. I highly suggest starting out with book 1 Dose Vidanya and reading the books in order. While these books can be read stand alone, the cast of characters build as each book in the series continues.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sue (5 KP) rated Vlad-Handing (Silver Hills Cozy Mysteries, #5) in Books
Aug 13, 2018
Vlad-Handing is book 5 in the Silver Hills Cozy Mystery series. It is set in a singles/retirement residency (think 55 and older) filled with an eccentric cast of characters. This time around, Flo and Agnes find themselves trying to prove that manager Vlad Newsome, who many consider a reprehensible creature of the night, is innocent of murder. The only problem is that these ladies are a not 100% sure that Vlad isn’t the murderer.
Flo and Agnes are two ladies that you would love to call your friends. They are laugh out loud funny adding comedy to a terrific cozy mystery that will have you in stitches until the end. I highly suggest starting out with book 1 Dose Vidanya and reading the books in order. While these books can be read stand alone, the cast of characters build as each book in the series continues.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Flo and Agnes are two ladies that you would love to call your friends. They are laugh out loud funny adding comedy to a terrific cozy mystery that will have you in stitches until the end. I highly suggest starting out with book 1 Dose Vidanya and reading the books in order. While these books can be read stand alone, the cast of characters build as each book in the series continues.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Wanderers (The Wanderers, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Kate Ormand takes a unique twist in <i>The Wanderers</i>, following a group of nomad shapeshifters traveling under the guise of a circus. Flo has been part of the circus ever since she was young but has always thought of what the world would be like if she were not a part of the circus. When she accidentally reveals what the circus really is to the public, shapeshifter hunters attack and take away everything she has ever known.
There aren't a lot of shapeshifter books out there all the ones I've come across so far typically have characters that shift into wolves (<i>technically</i> werewolves are like shapeshifters. They're interchangeable). <i>The Wanderers</i>, on the other hand, don't really have wolves (I don't think there are any here). Ormand takes the concept and expands the idea of shapeshifter to include all kinds of animals bears, seals, tigers, horses, etc. It's a breather to have all kinds of animals instead of the usual furry four-legged ones. Have I mentioned there's a shapeshifting parrot? Uber-cool.
Flo (I started imagining her as that Progressive chick) has elements of a good character she's realistic and brave, even though she's watching her back constantly for hunters. She has a constant inner battle with a desire and curiosity to see the world outside of the circus but has no clue if she wants to take that opportunity when she's old enough to be offered a life outside. But Flo is a bit of a mystery to me, and so are most of the shifters.
<i>The Wanderers</i> feels more like a discovery book no one aside from the "elders" know how the circus originated in the first place. Flo and the other shifters seem as though they've been there all their lives they all have a similar past and their way to the circus are all similar. The book becomes more of a survival book after the attack and the remaining shifters work together (albeit the tolerable tension some have towards Flo) to escape the clutches of the hunters going after them. In the midst of it all, Flo discovers a disturbing plot and sets about breaking it before other shifters get hurt as well.
Ormand pulls off an ending similar to <a title="Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-killer-of-enemies-by-joseph-bruchac/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bruchac's in <i>Killer of Enemies</i></a> there's a solid ending, but it's very open-ended and lots of things could potentially happen. The ending to <i>The Wanderers</i> feels very fitting with the story considering the title and the concept. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this book, Ormand has certainly left a mark with just the entire idea.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-wanderers-by-kate-ormand/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Kate Ormand takes a unique twist in <i>The Wanderers</i>, following a group of nomad shapeshifters traveling under the guise of a circus. Flo has been part of the circus ever since she was young but has always thought of what the world would be like if she were not a part of the circus. When she accidentally reveals what the circus really is to the public, shapeshifter hunters attack and take away everything she has ever known.
There aren't a lot of shapeshifter books out there all the ones I've come across so far typically have characters that shift into wolves (<i>technically</i> werewolves are like shapeshifters. They're interchangeable). <i>The Wanderers</i>, on the other hand, don't really have wolves (I don't think there are any here). Ormand takes the concept and expands the idea of shapeshifter to include all kinds of animals bears, seals, tigers, horses, etc. It's a breather to have all kinds of animals instead of the usual furry four-legged ones. Have I mentioned there's a shapeshifting parrot? Uber-cool.
Flo (I started imagining her as that Progressive chick) has elements of a good character she's realistic and brave, even though she's watching her back constantly for hunters. She has a constant inner battle with a desire and curiosity to see the world outside of the circus but has no clue if she wants to take that opportunity when she's old enough to be offered a life outside. But Flo is a bit of a mystery to me, and so are most of the shifters.
<i>The Wanderers</i> feels more like a discovery book no one aside from the "elders" know how the circus originated in the first place. Flo and the other shifters seem as though they've been there all their lives they all have a similar past and their way to the circus are all similar. The book becomes more of a survival book after the attack and the remaining shifters work together (albeit the tolerable tension some have towards Flo) to escape the clutches of the hunters going after them. In the midst of it all, Flo discovers a disturbing plot and sets about breaking it before other shifters get hurt as well.
Ormand pulls off an ending similar to <a title="Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac" href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-killer-of-enemies-by-joseph-bruchac/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bruchac's in <i>Killer of Enemies</i></a> there's a solid ending, but it's very open-ended and lots of things could potentially happen. The ending to <i>The Wanderers</i> feels very fitting with the story considering the title and the concept. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this book, Ormand has certainly left a mark with just the entire idea.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-wanderers-by-kate-ormand/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Murder She Typed
9.0
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Izzy Greene, a widow of a certain age, joins a writing group in an attempt to actually finish one of...
cozy mystery mystery cozy food chiclit
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated If You Were Here in Books
Oct 2, 2020
“If You Were Here” by Alice Peterson is an emotional story about Huntington’s Disease, a disease that affects your brain & movements and it gets worse as it progresses, without any cure for it yet.
Peggy has lost her husband to this disease, and now her daughter as well. But what she needs to do now is tell her granddaughter Flo that the disease is hereditary and she might be at risk.
Flo is about to get married and move to the US, but the news change everything. How do you even deal with such news, right? How do you process it? Through Flo’s character, you can clearly see her confusion and struggle to accept the fact – something that is so common for a human to do. Her fiance is not ready for the risk and will probably never will. The only support Flo has is her roommate James, his sister and her grandma Peggy. Flo needs to make the hardest decision of her life: does she take the test or not? Is she at risk of getting the disease too? What if she is tested negative? But, what if she is tested positive? Or would she just rather not know and live every day experiencing as much as she can? With her mother’s diaries helping her on this journey, she finds hope and strength she never knew she had before.
I loved Flo’s character. Despite the whole world turning upside down, she picked herself up and was always thinking on the positive side. Sure, there were ups and downs, but damn, that persistence was incredible.
”If You Were Here” is such a sad, but positive and powerful story about what we can do with our lives, and how we should live every day of our lives like it’s our last. Because – that is the truth: you don’t know whether you’ll wake up in the morning. You don’t know whether you’ll be going through troubles until it happens. You don’t have a map of your life, and that’s completely okay. Try to achieve as much as you can today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring.
Please pick this book up. It’s powerful, it’s incredible, it’s sad and it’s motivational. But above everything else, this book is bloody real!
Peggy has lost her husband to this disease, and now her daughter as well. But what she needs to do now is tell her granddaughter Flo that the disease is hereditary and she might be at risk.
Flo is about to get married and move to the US, but the news change everything. How do you even deal with such news, right? How do you process it? Through Flo’s character, you can clearly see her confusion and struggle to accept the fact – something that is so common for a human to do. Her fiance is not ready for the risk and will probably never will. The only support Flo has is her roommate James, his sister and her grandma Peggy. Flo needs to make the hardest decision of her life: does she take the test or not? Is she at risk of getting the disease too? What if she is tested negative? But, what if she is tested positive? Or would she just rather not know and live every day experiencing as much as she can? With her mother’s diaries helping her on this journey, she finds hope and strength she never knew she had before.
I loved Flo’s character. Despite the whole world turning upside down, she picked herself up and was always thinking on the positive side. Sure, there were ups and downs, but damn, that persistence was incredible.
”If You Were Here” is such a sad, but positive and powerful story about what we can do with our lives, and how we should live every day of our lives like it’s our last. Because – that is the truth: you don’t know whether you’ll wake up in the morning. You don’t know whether you’ll be going through troubles until it happens. You don’t have a map of your life, and that’s completely okay. Try to achieve as much as you can today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring.
Please pick this book up. It’s powerful, it’s incredible, it’s sad and it’s motivational. But above everything else, this book is bloody real!
BB
Boss Babes
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A playful and play-filled ode to strong women, BOSS BABES is a coloring and activity book filled...
The Beggar Maid
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Born into the back streets of a small Canadian town, Rose battled incessantly with her practical and...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Vessel in Books
Oct 2, 2022
179 of 230
Book
The Vessel
By Adam L G Nevill
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Struggling with money, raising a child alone and fleeing a volatile ex, Jess McMachen accepts a job caring for an elderly patient. Flo Gardner – a disturbed shut-in and invalid. But if Jess can hold this job down, she and her daughter, Izzy, can begin a new life.
Flo's vast home, Nerthus House, may resemble a stately vicarage in an idyllic village, but the labyrinthine interior is a dark, cluttered warren filled with pagan artefacts.
And Nerthus House lives in the shadow of a malevolent secret. A sinister enigma determined to reveal itself to Jess and to drive her to the end of her tether. Not only is she stricken by the malign manipulation of the Vicarage's bleak past, but mercurial Flo is soon casting a baleful influence over young Izzy. What appeared to be a routine job soon becomes a battle for Jess's sanity and the control of her child.
It's as if an ancient ritual was triggered when Jess crossed the threshold of the vicarage. A rite leading her and Izzy to a terrifying critical mass, where all will be lost or saved.
I tried my hard not to completely devour this book in one go. It was just absolutely outstanding. I can’t recommend it enough. Got to be the best book I’ve read this year by far.
Book
The Vessel
By Adam L G Nevill
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Struggling with money, raising a child alone and fleeing a volatile ex, Jess McMachen accepts a job caring for an elderly patient. Flo Gardner – a disturbed shut-in and invalid. But if Jess can hold this job down, she and her daughter, Izzy, can begin a new life.
Flo's vast home, Nerthus House, may resemble a stately vicarage in an idyllic village, but the labyrinthine interior is a dark, cluttered warren filled with pagan artefacts.
And Nerthus House lives in the shadow of a malevolent secret. A sinister enigma determined to reveal itself to Jess and to drive her to the end of her tether. Not only is she stricken by the malign manipulation of the Vicarage's bleak past, but mercurial Flo is soon casting a baleful influence over young Izzy. What appeared to be a routine job soon becomes a battle for Jess's sanity and the control of her child.
It's as if an ancient ritual was triggered when Jess crossed the threshold of the vicarage. A rite leading her and Izzy to a terrifying critical mass, where all will be lost or saved.
I tried my hard not to completely devour this book in one go. It was just absolutely outstanding. I can’t recommend it enough. Got to be the best book I’ve read this year by far.