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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Crime and Parchment in Books

Oct 3, 2024 (Updated Oct 3, 2024)  
Crime and Parchment
Crime and Parchment
Daphne Silver | 2023 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Family and Lost Books
Rare books librarian Juniper Blume is surprised when she gets a message from her ex-brother-in-law claiming he has found a clue to where the covers for the Book of Kells might be. She’s even more surprised to see he thinks they are in the small Maryland town of Rose Mallow. But Juniper is also intrigued, so she returns, even if it means dealing with some complicated family relationships. But when she goes to the meeting, she finds a dead body. Can she figure out what is going on?

This book received lots of praise when it came out, and I can see why. There’s a lot packed into the beginning, but I was able to follow it, and it pulled me into the story. It did make the book feel a little slower later, but maybe that was just my expectations. I was definitely intrigued the entire way through, and the ending answered my questions. I also appreciated that the author did a good job of making us believe that the treasure hunt Juniper found herself on was believable. The characters were good, and the subplot involving Juniper and her family felt realistic. I liked how that played out. I’m looking forward to seeing what is next for these characters soon.
  
    T1

    The 1668

    Peter Sahlins

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    The poet Jean de La Fontaine famously dedicated his Fables in 1668 to Louis XIV's son, declaring in...

Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, #2)
Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, #2)
Janet Evanovich | 1996 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.7 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
Stephanie Plum is at it again. This time she is on the hunt for Kenny Manusco. Kenny shot one of his best friends in the knee and then, he ends up dead. Kenny missed his court appearance for the knee shooting and Stephanie is going to hunt him down. For this case she has a little extra help, some she wants and some not so much. Some of the same characters from One for the Money are back in this second edition. My favorite by far though is Grandma Mazur. She plays quite a big role is this book.

I laughed out loud several times during this book. I'm sure people were looking at my strangely. I really hope that Grandma Mazur is going to keep making her appearances. She adds a great variety to Stephanie's cases. You never know what she is going to do.

So, I'm three books down for my Janet Evanovich challenge. My goal is to read everything she has ever written. She has written over 50 books so I guess this should take me about a year or more to complete.
  
TP
The Passenger
Lisa Lutz | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Firstly I'd like to thanks Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Passenger is thrilling and exhilarating! With twists and turns around every corner, I can assure you, you will not be bored.

While this books plot is overused, Lutz did really well to add her own spark to it, making it unique and fast paced, exactly what I love in a book. Each character presented had their own story to tell and I'm happy to say I found none of them annoying or boring (maybe apart from Domenic's use of the word 'sweetheart' a lot).

Tanya/Nora/Debra's/whatever you want to call her's story is heartbreaking and challenging throughout. I tend to find women found in these predicaments (in books) do all the wrong things and only make their life more difficult, but Tanya does everything expertly and wonderfully. She's such a likeable character that you are backing her the whole way through, even at the times where her actions are questionable.

I will definitely recommend this to friends and family when it is published as I believe it's a fabulous fast paced thriller that thousands will enjoy.
  
TD
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love these books. And the second one does not disappoint! The story continues with Sorrowlynn learning to fight so she can go after Golmarr, her love who now hates her.
After some mishaps Sorrow learns that her life has been predicted and she must choose to follow the path. Gaining new friends and enemies this book continues the epic quest.
I adore both Sorrow and Golmarr. They have a love that is tested again and again. Yet they have to learn to get past obsicales together. The story does a great job of keeping you on your toes while making you read super fast to find out what will happen.
highly recommend to anyone who loves dragons, fantasy, and really good plots.
  
Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, #4)
Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, #4)
Jennifer Estep | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I didn't enjoy this as much as the last though I'm not too sure why. Maybe I was expecting more kick arse-ness in relation to LaFleur. I guess after the last one and Elliot...it was still good but I didn't find her as evil as him so I guess her getting her comeuppance didn't excite me as much.

As for the rest of the plot. The blossoming romance between Gin and Owen is making me all warm and fuzzy. It's too cute!

Bria finally learns the truth in this and unlike Donovan Caine, who's still being mentioned two books after he vanished, I'm hoping that she'll accept Gin and help in bringing down Mab Monroe.

Onto book 5!
  
Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue
Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue
Mackenzi Lee | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.9 (18 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have been eagerly awaiting this sequel to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and it did not disappoint! In The Lady's Guide we continue the story of the Montague siblings, with the book opening on Felicity showing up at her brother's flat in London while she figures out how to get into medical school. I love the sibling relationship between these two, and Felicity's friendship with Monty's partner Percy. The three of them just make an amazing little group, so supportive and understanding of each other.

Felicity strongly hinted at being asexual in The Gentleman's Guide, and through the course of this book, that is cemented. Even when she comes to care for someone, sex just...isn't her thing. Romance isn't really either, making her both asexual and aromantic. It's fantastic representation for an identity we don't see very often in books. Or, perhaps, an identity we don't see explicitly mentioned in fiction. Many books don't have romantic plots and just don't investigate that aspect of their characters, but to investigate that aspect of a character and say NO, they are NOT interested in that is unique.

Similar to The Gentleman's Guide, this is an adventure story. Unexpectedly, we veered into magical realism in this book, with the existence of some fantastical creatures I wasn't expecting to see. Nothing about The Gentleman's Guide had implied that the world they inhabited was not exactly ours, but The Lady's Guide does deviate. So that was a big surprise, and I'm not sure I like it. It felt a little forced. I think the "secret" that someone was protecting could have been written as something real instead of a fantastic creature.

That minor quibble aside, I really loved this book, just like I did the first. These two are GREAT books, and the characters are outstanding.

You can read all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com