Sunday Post

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Welcome to my Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. A fairly busy week this week plus it was my birthday! The weather was unusually hot and sunny for my birthday so that was something. It always used to be hot when I was little in the 90s, then in the 00’s and 10’s it was fairly wet. The last couple of years the sun has come out, but it hasn’t been as warm as it was this year. Anyway on the Blog this week:

Goodreads Monday (add your links in the comments section for all to see!) – Killing Dylan by Alastair Puddick

Book Review – Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Palamedes PR – Book Review – Never-My-Name and Isn’t-My-Name naughty fairy twins by Colin Stern

Top Ten Tuesday – May Flowers

Children’s Book Week One 6-12 May 2024

WWW Wednesday – Currently Reading, Finished Reading, Reading Next

It’s My Birthday! Books With A Party/Celebration On The Cover

Happy Publication Day! Hattie Brings The House Down by Patrick Gleeson

Library Book Review – Mog’s Birthday by Judith Kerr

Time Travel Thursday – Birthday Edition!

Book Blogger Hop – A comforting book with Mental Health themes

First Line Friday – Hattie Brings The House Down by Patrick Gleeson

Stacking The Shelves

Happy Mother’s Day To Those Who Are Celebrating!

Book Review – A Mother’s Day Murder by Dee Ernst

I hope you all had a lovely week!

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

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Book Review – A Mother’s Day Murder by Dee Ernst

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Genre: Cosy Mystery

Number of Pages: 200

📖PLOT SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS📖

Mt. Abrams was the kind of small, quiet town where, as any of its residents would tell you, nothing ever happened. That was why Ellie Rocca loved living there, even if her ex-husband did not.

But even small towns had secrets, as Ellie discovered when Lacey Mitchell suddenly disappeared. Ellie caught Lacey’s husband in a lie, and one small discovery led to another until it became apparent that nothing about the Mitchell’s was quite what it seemed.

Mother’s Day was just around the corner. With a sexy detective on the case, and Ellie and her friends getting closer to the truth, can Lacey Mitchell be found in time to enjoy the day with her sons? Or was something more deadly going on?

💭 THOUGHTS 💭

I wanted to read something Mother’s Day related and found this on Amazon Kindle (free at the time of purchase).

It was a fairly short, cosy mystery that was light and entertaining. The only slightly negative thing about it was that there were a lot of characters that I struggled to keep up with, which meant that when the mystery was solved I was a bit confused and had to go back and check something.

The chapters were fairly long so you got a good chunk of the story before moving on. There were lots of little things being added to the story which whilst they made the chapters longer, kept my interest.

There was a good flow to the book and I was able to keep on reading without feeling bored.

The characters were good. I enjoyed reading about the close knit community. It’s not something that I would particularly enjoy in real life, but it is entertaining to read about! The length to which the characters went to get the gossip was extraordinary, which in turn made the answer to the mystery interesting.

Lastly the settings. These were imperative to making the story what it was. Whilst they were only lightly described they were just as important as the narration.

Overall a good story with lots of different elements that I enjoyed reading about.

⭐ Rated 3/5 ⭐

📝 FOR SHORTER REVIEWS SEE 📝

Amazon

Goodreads

Instagram

Facebook – I have also posted in the following Book Groups – Random Things Tours Bloggers Group, Women Reading Great Books and Good Housekeeping Book Room.

Twitter/X

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Happy Mother’s Day To Those Who Are Celebrating!

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Happy Mother’s Day! Here in the UK we had our Mother’s Day back in March, but it’s always nice to honour it again!

Here are 3 books with Mother (and other similar words) in the title (click the titles for my review):

A Mother’s Day Murder by Dee Ernst (review coming later today!)

Cosy Mystery

Book Review – Tinker, Taylor, Schoolmum, Spy by Faye Brann

Cosy Mystery

Library Book Review – Secrets of the Mummy Concierge by Tiffany Norris

Non-Fiction

Happy Mother’s Day!

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Stacking The Shelves

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Welcome to my Stacking The Shelves post hosted by Reading Reality! This week features two books that I got for my birthday:

Signed Hardback:

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Sasha has had it. She cannot bring herself to respond to another inane, “urgent” (but obviously not at all urgent) email or participate in the corporate employee joyfulness program. She hasn’t seen her friends in months. Sex? Seems like a lot of effort. Even cooking dinner takes far too much planning. Sasha has hit a wall.

Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga, and find peace, she heads to the seaside resort she loved as a child. But it’s the off season, the hotel is in a dilapidated shambles, and she has to share the beach with the only other a grumpy guy named Finn, who seems as stressed as Sasha. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on her favorite rock, watching her? Nor can they agree on how best to alleviate their burnout ( manifesting, wild swimming; drinking whisky, getting pizza delivered to the beach).

When curious messages, seemingly addressed to Sasha and Finn, begin to appear on the beach, the two are forced to talk—about everything. How did they get so burned out? Can either of them remember something they used to love? (Answer: surfing!) And the question they try and fail to ignore: what does the energy between them—flaring even in the face of their bone-deep exhaustion—signify?”

Kindle:

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah – against her will and her better judgment – finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…”

What have you been stacking your shelves with this week?

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

First Line Friday – Hattie Brings The House Down by Patrick Gleeson

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It’s First Line Friday! Hosted by Reading Is My Superpower, you write the first line of the book you are currently reading.

Currently I am reading Hattie Brings The House Down by Patrick Gleeson:

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Get ready for a thrilling backstage ride in the world of theatre as seasoned stage manager Hattie embarks on a new production at London’s Tavistock pub theatre. Here, the drama doesn’t just occur on stage.

Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of Hattie’s worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.

Hattie begins investigating both mysteries, all the while trying to keep the dysfunctional cast and crew on track for opening night. As she delves deeper into the secrets behind the scenes, her allegiance to her theatre, cast and crew will be tested to destruction.

Follow this unconventional detective as she delves into the alluring and exquisitely perilous world of the theatre.“

FIRST LINE:

“There’s an old joke they tell backstage sometimes: the circus has come to town, and everyone lines the streets to watch the parade.”

It then goes on for quite a bit. This is the Prologue before the story starts. I haven’t read much past this bit, but I am looking forward to what is coming up!

Would you carry on reading?

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Book Blogger Hop – A comforting book with Mental Health themes

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Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop! Hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer this week the prompt is:

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Are there any books with themes or characters dealing with issues related to mental health that you have found to be enlightening or comforting? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I really struggled with this prompt as it’s not something that normally occurs in the books that I read. I did however find this one that I remember enjoying:

Book Review – Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson

It was the first book by Debbie Johnson that I read and I instantly became a fan! I am not sure if it is entirely what the prompt means, but it was as close as I could get! If nothing else it was an enjoyable read with a character that went on an emotional journey surrounded by love and support.

What book would you pick?

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Time Travel Thursday – Birthday Edition!

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It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by me, this is where you get to relive all those bookish memories! This week I will be taking a look back at what I was reading on this day (my birthday!) in 2021, 2022 and 2023:

2021:

Charles Dickens: His Novels In One Sitting by Joelle Herr

Pandemic Reading List 2021 – The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

2022:

Library Book Review – Spring At Blueberry Bay by Holly Martin

Random Things Tours – Book Review – Twelve Days In May by Niamh Hargan

Book Review – Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Random Things Tours – Book Review – The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

2023:

Published Today! – Netgalley Book Review – Summer Wedding by Sarah Morgan

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Library Book Review – Mog’s Birthday by Judith Kerr

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Genre: Children’s Books

Number of Pages: 24

📖PLOT SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS📖

Share in fifty years of a really remarkable cat… A special birthday story to celebrate fifty years of MOG, everyone’s favourite family cat! It’s Mog’s Birthday and everyone is excited to celebrate! Everyone except Mog. Mog doesn’t like birthdays or parties, and she especially doesn’t like them both together. But will she change her mind when it’s her own special day? HarperCollins created this special birthday story in collaboration with Judith Kerr, using a selection of pictures from across fifty years of illustrating Mog to bring this delightful story to life. Join us and celebrate fifty years of a really remarkable cat! The classic picture book story, Mog the Forgetful Cat , has never been out of print since it was first published fifty years ago, and Mog has been delighting children all over the world ever since with her funny and warm-hearted escapades. Her stories are the perfect gifts for boys, girls and families everywhere. ‘Since her debut in 1970, Mog has become… a national hero.’ Junior Magazine ‘A firm favourite on children’s bookshelves’ The Telegraph ‘Mog is a star, she really is. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Someone should give that cat a medal, or an egg for breakfast.’ The Bookbag.

💭THOUGHTS💭

I wanted to read a children’s book in honour of Children’s Book Week, plus one that was birthday related (due to it being my birthday today!) and this fitted the bill. I have only read a couple of Mog books in my time, but I do enjoy them so will ensure that my son’s get the pleasure of reading them!

The writing had a range of words so could cater for a wide age range and reading ability. There were only a few sentences on each page so the reader didn’t get bogged down and could easily read through the book.

The text was a clear, simple font and black on a white background. To add interest the sentences were in different places on each page, but it was always clear as to what you were supposed to read next.

The pictures were lovely. They were the traditional hand drawn “Mog” illustrations which was a nice touch. They were entertaining and brought the story to life.

Overall a lovely story with an important message that children will enjoy.

⭐ Rated 5/5⭐

📝 FOR SHORTER REVIEWS SEE 📝

Amazon

Waterstones

Goodreads

Instagram

Facebook – I have also posted in the following Book Groups – my personal Facebook page, Women Reading Great Books and Good Housekeeping Book Room.

Twitter/X

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

Happy Publication Day! Hattie Brings The House Down by Patrick Gleeson

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Book Description From Goodreads:

Follow this unconventional detective as she delves into the alluring and exquisitely perilous world of the theatre.“

I am on the Blog Tour for this book on 21 May so keep your eyes peeled for my review on here, Goodreads, Amazon, Waterstones, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

To keep up to date with my Book Reviews, Book Memes, Author Q and As and my Monthly Genre Goal Follow My Blog!

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