A Thread of Darkness, by Sally Goldenbaum

A Thread of Darkness by Sally Goldenbaum

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay.

Book 2 in the series.

Book 2 was more engaging than the first, but I am still having a little trouble connecting with the characters. I thought Po was going to be the "main" character, but really, it's coming off as though the whole quilting group is at the center. That's... different and a little confusing. I don't feel as invested in them as I do the group in Ms. Goldenbaum's other series.

I have book 3 in my queue, so I'm ready to give it another go, and wait until I've read it to decide if I'm going to continue on with the series.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.*


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Strangled Eggs and Ham, by Maddie Day

Strangled Eggs and Ham by Maddie Day

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

Book 6 in the series.

Maddie Day's series is always a fun read, and this one didn't disappoint. It was a fun, fast read with an interesting mystery at the heart of it. And I still love the fact that Robbie actually runs her business as she solves the mysteries, rather than spending most of the book snooping elsewhere.

I enjoy spending time in South Lick, with Robbie and her friends and look forward to more.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

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Down in Flames, by Cheyl Hollon

Down in Flames by Cheryl Hollon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

Book 6 in the series.

While the story in this book could be a stand alone, there are so many personal turning points for the main characters in this book, I'd suggest not starting here.

I was glad to be back in St. Pete's with the whole group after the previous book in the series. As usual, the glass working information in the book was interesting. For me, the mystery took a backseat to all the personal issues of the main characters, and I was okay with that. This book is about growth, and is high on emotion.

The murder itself is charged with emotion, the victim being personally known to all of them. It comes off looking like an accident at first, but eventually it becomes apparent that the victim was targeted. After that, the mystery takes off, woven smoothly throughout all the other happenings in the book.

I enjoyed this book, and look forward to more from the Webb's bunch.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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Murder's No Votive Confidence, by Christin Brecher

Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

First in the series.

This was a good start to the series, but I definitely think the main characters need to be developed a bit more. And it annoyed the heck out of me that this one seems to be falling down the love triangle hole of doom.That's an automatic lost star for me.

I liked the mystery, and I loved the candle making part of the story.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and will look forward to the next book in the series. I just hope the author wraps up the love triangle pretty darned fast.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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Manor of Dying, by Kathleen Bridge

Manor of Dying by Kathleen Bridge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars, I really liked it.

Book 4 in the series.

This is another series that was saved from the Berkley purge by a new publisher. It's good to see some of these series that I thought were dead coming back.

This is actually probably my favorite so far in the series. I loved the setting, the spooky old sanitarium on an island in the middle of a snow storm. And I really love Meg. The fact that she's hard of hearing makes her all the more real to me.

The only thing that keeps this book from being perfect is the love interest. Or should I say love interests? I don't like Cole, the constantly gone boyfriend, who obviously cares more for sailing then Meg, but I really dislike the hinted at love triangle. That needs to be resolved one way or another (Although I admit, I favor Patrick over Cole). Either way, the dreaded love triangle trope results in an automatic 1 star downrate from me.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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Digging Up History, by Sheila Connolly

Digging Up History by Sheila Connolly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars, I really liked it.

Book 8 in the series.

I was so glad when I saw this book was coming out. I was afraid that the series had succumbed to the big Berkley purge.

Sheila Connolly did not disappoint. Nell and Marty are still nosy when it comes to preserving the history of Philadelphia, and this time they're handed not one, but two of Philly's history mysteries.

James is as always, a bit of a steadying influence and I enjoy his relationship with Nell. The new intern, Dylan, is sweet and obviously loves history.

The story was fast moving and fun, and full of history this time around. There's no modern day murder to solve, no real danger to Nell and her friends either, just kind of a gradual reveal. That's one of the things I really enjoyed about this book. There were no, "Wow, I can't believe she was that stupid!" moments in this book for me.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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A Crafter Hooks a Killer, Holly Quinn

A Crafter Hooks a Killer by Holly Quinn

My rating: 1 of 5 stars, I didn't like it.

Book 2 in the series.

First off, the description on Goodreads was so hokey with bad crafting puns I almost gave the book a miss. And then the S.H.E. thing that annoyed me so much in the first book was back, and the grown women were still acting like children. It still feels like Liam and Sam are mismatched.

All in all the pace felt slow, and I finally gave it up and left it as a DNF. This series and I are just not a good fit.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*


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The Black Cat Steps on a Crack, by Kay Finch

The Black Cat Steps on a Crack by Kay Finch

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars, I quite liked it.

Book 4 in the series. It's nice to see Sabrina and Hitchcock picked up by a new publisher.

This book started off a bit slow for me, but once the pace picked up, I didn't want to put it down. The story was well written and I love the cast of characters. Hitchcock is, of course, my favorite character and helpfully sneaks out of the house to dig up clues for Sabrina.

Looking forward to more Hitchcock and Sabrina.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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A Plain Vanilla Murder, by Susan Wittig Albert

A Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars, I mostly liked it....

Book 27 in the series. Please, don't start here! Start at the beginning of the series.

I love this series. That said, this was not at all my favorite book. It was a lot heavy on descriptions and veered in to tedious at times because of it. Also, the switching points of view, as well as tense changes with each POV, were weird.

And could Smart Cookie just have the baby already?

I will keep reading the series, and hope that this one was just an experiment for the author.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*


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A Patchwork of Clues, by Sally Goldenbaum

A Patchwork of Clues by Sally Goldenbaum

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay.

Book 1 in the series.

I enjoy Ms. Goldenbaum's knitting series, so I decided to give this new series a try. As the first book in the series, she does a good job introducing all the characters, but it slowed the pace of the book down so much that I really struggled to maintain interest. I ended up putting this book down several times. before finally the characters started actually working on solving the mystery.

Once it got going, things moved fairly quickly and I enjoyed the story. I will look forward to the next book, and hope that all the long intros are out of the way.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book given to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*

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