The Spice Box Letters by Eve Makis | Book Review #170

The Bookish Island's Book Review:

The Spice Box Letters by Eve Makis 

Are there spoilers?

Maybe.

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Title: The Spice Box Letters

Author: Eve Makis

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Pages: 320

Published: 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Adult

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Date Read: September 28, 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads

Katerina inherits a scented, wooden spice box after her grandmother Mariam dies. It contains letters and a diary, written in Armenian. As she pieces together her family story, Katerina learns that Mariam's childhood was shattered by the Armenian tragedy of 1915.

Mariam was exiled from her home in Turkey and separated from her beloved brother, Gabriel, her life marred by grief and the loss of her first love. Dissatisfied and restless, Katerina tries to find resolution in her own life as she completes Mariam's story – on a journey that takes her across Cyprus and then half a world away to New York.

Miracles, it seems, can happen – for those trapped by the past, and for Katerina herself.

The Rating:

My Review:

The Spice Box Letters was a book that got sent to me by the publishers YEARS ago and I never picked it up which always made me feel bad because deep down I thought I wouldn't like it but here I am totally kicking myself for not having read it earlier. Cause damn. It's so not what thought it would be. Every page was heart wrenching and sad and I totally wanted Katarina and her family to find each other and see that they weren't alone in all of what they went through cause they went through so much.

I think this is one of the first Historical Fiction that I actually really liked.

This book isn't scary or anything but the way the author wrote about these characters terrifying stories was so that my heart was racing during certain scenes. And my heart hurt for the suffering of Katrina's grandmother and her brother.
This was such a beautiful story about sacrifice, and family.

 I am happy that I finally got to it. And I just so happen to have read it on a rainy day too.

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The Bookish Island

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The Chase by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg | Book Review #163

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Chase by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Are there spoilers?

Nope.

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Title: The Chase 

Author: Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Series: Fox and O'Hare #2

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Pages: 304

Published: 2014

Publisher:  Bantam 

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Crime

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Date Read: May 2, 2019

Rating: ★★★☆☆

An internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox runs daring cons now teams undercover for FBI with the agent who caught him, Kate O'Hare. Together they catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals, next to Carter Grove, former White House chief of staff, now the ruthless leader of BlackRhino private security for a rare Chinese rooster from the Smithsonian.

The Rating:

My Review:

The Chase didn't catch and hold onto my attention like The Heist did but it was still a good read. This one had a lot of the same elements that the first one had too.

I love how Kate and Nick's relationship is still going on like a slow burn. they obviously have a lot to sexual tension between them and they flirt with each other so it's all there. And I can't wait to see when it starts to get more official.

Kate's father is still my favorite character. He's just so cool. And I still think that Sylvester Stallone or Bruce Willis or even Jean-Claude Van Damme could play him. Or maybe a little bit of the three of them in one. Crazy but smart, and a loving father, and a good fighter/sharpshooter. But also I don't think he'd be old. Like I know he's retired but I don't think he's old-old. Ya know?

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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Penne Dreadful by Catherine Bruns | Book Review #157

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Penne Dreadful by Catherine Bruns 

Are there spoilers?

None.

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Title: Penne Dreadful

Author: Catherine Bruns

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Pages: 416

Published: July 30, 2019

Publisher:  Poisoned Pen Press

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Food

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Date Read: March 7 to March 13, 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tomato sauce isn't the only thing that runs red...

Local chef Tessa Esposito is struggling to get back on her feet following her husband's fatal accident. And when the police knock on Tessa's door, things just get worse. They've discovered Dylan's death wasn't an accident after all, and they need Tessa to start filling in the blanks. Who would want her beloved husband dead, and why?

With the investigation running cold, Tessa decides it's time to save her sanity by reconnecting with her first love-cooking. And maybe the best way back into the kitchen is to infiltrate Dylan's favorite local pizza parlor, which also happens to be the last place he was seen before he died. But the anchovies aren't the only thing that stink inside the small family business, and with suspects around every corner, Tessa finds that her husband's many secrets might land her in hot water.

The Rating:

My Review:

Penne Dreadful is was a twisty cozy mystery with a food theme.

Tessa's husband had recently passed away in a car accident. But later she finds out that it wasn't an accident after all. She takes a job at her husband's last job in order to snoop around and find out whatever she could. In the process of learning that her husband was keeping a lot of secrets from her. Leaving her with many questions.
Together with her cousin, Gaby, who owns a bookstore, they get themselves into dangerous situations.

This story was a fun, well-crafted cozy mystery. With well-developed characters and a strong plot.
And I totally didn't see who the main suspect was till the end.

The author also included recipes at the end. For pizza, sauce, and stromboli.
🍕🍝🍅

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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Deja Who by MaryJanice Davidson | Book Review #155

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Deja Who by MaryJanice Davidson

Are there spoilers?

A little. Maybe.

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Title: Deja Who

Author: MaryJanice Davidson

Series: Insighter #1

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Pages: 304

Published: 2016

Publisher:  Berkley

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery, Humor, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

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Date Read: March 4, 2019

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Leah Nazir is an Insighter. Reincarnation is her business. But while her clients' pasts are a mess, Leah's is nothing short of a tragedy. She's been murdered. A lot. If left to that bitch, destiny, it'll happen again. Leah wants to know who's been following her through time, and who's been stalking her in the present...

P.I. Archer Drake has been hired by Leah's mother to keep an eye on her. But the more time he spends watching, the more he finds himself infatuated. Before long, he even finds himself agreeing to help find the person who wants her dead. Over and over again.

Now going full-on "rewind," Leah hopes it can stave off the inevitable. After all, she's grown fond of this life - and even fonder of nerdy Archer. But changing her pattern means finding out who her killer is today. And as Leah fears, that could be anyone she has come to know and trust. Anyone.

The Rating:

My Review:

Deja Who was a weird read for me. I didn't know if I should find the characters and situations funny or weird. Weird because I felt that if the author intended it to be a serious story then it was not good. But if it was meant to be a funny story and I just didn't get it I'm at fault and need to rethink my opinions. So here they are.

I didn't expect to read a funny book when I bought it or when I started reading it. It was only when I finished reading it that I paused and had to think if it was all meant to be funny.

I liked the concept of Insighters. A mystery where the main character was someone who could see peoples past lives and help them deal with their present life based on what happened to them in the past. Still, it felt like the concept was only superficial. Instead of the main concept.

Leah changed so much but maybe that was the humor in the story. She changed so much from the beginning to the end. And while that often means character growth, in this it felt too much. And childish. I mean, she wasn't my favorite character and neither was Archer.
Their relationship was weird too. But again maybe its meant to be funny. Archer would just blurt out whatever weird thought he had. And it made him way younger than he was. He was acting like a high schooler and not a 30-something-year-old, which he was.

And the story, although like I said was a good concept, it went above and beyond what I expected. Background characters got more detailed and were given more backstory than I would have preferred.
If more was established with the main characters or how they were portrayed rather than having overly detailed background characters I think that I would have enjoyed this more.

Still, I'm not gonna lie. The concept was good. And the explanations and stories about the people with past lives were detailed and well written. But I'm not meant to like the background characters more than the main characters. So in that, I ended up giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.

But now I don't know if I should re-read it or be satisfied with it. Or if I want to read the second one in the series or not.

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg | Book Review #154

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Are there spoilers?

I may have written down too much but that's how much I liked this book.

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Title: The Heist

Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Series: Fox and O'Hare #1

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Pages: 295

Published: 2013

Publisher:  Bantam

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Romance, Humor, Thriller

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Date Read: March 17 to March 21, 2019

Rating: ★★★★★

From Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, and Lee Goldberg, bestselling author and television writer for Monk, comes the first adventure in an electrifying new series featuring an FBI agent who always gets her man, and a fearless con artist who lives for the chase.

FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years, the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.

Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: he convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first.

The Rating:

My Review:

The Heist was so good.

I have never read a Janet Evanovich book before. I mean I watched the movie for One for the Money but that's about it. Still, I had kept my eye out on her books so when I saw The Heist and The Chase - part of the Fox and O'Hare series - I snatched them up and brought them home a long time ago. But Just this month - for March Mystery Madness - I picked it up and started reading it.

I loved reading this book so much. This was a fun read for me. It was light and had a nice flow to it. The story was easy to follow and the supporting characters were original and cool.
There were character introductions, as it tends to happen in heist movies. And I loved it.

A female FBI agent has to team up with the Conman she has been trying to throw in jail in order to catch a bigger fish.

I loved the banter between Nick and Kate. The whole time I was reading I thought that they were a lot like Castle and Beckett, but also a little like Mulder and Scully.

In my head, this was Ocean's Eleven meets Castle. And I kept thinking "why hasn't this been made into a movie yet?".

One of my favorite characters was Kate's dad, Jake O'Hare. He was so cool!!! I totally see Bruce Willis playing him.

The duo Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg did such a good job with this book.
👍

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen | Book Review #150

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen

Are there spoilers?

Yep, a smidgen of spoilers ahead. 

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Disclaimer:
This book was sent to me by the publishing company(Minotaur Books) in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Vanishing Season

Author: Joanna Schaffhausen

Series: Ellery Hathaway #1
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Pages: 274

Published: 2019

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Adult

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Date Read: March 11 to March 12, 2019

Rating: ★★★★★

Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only victim who lived.

When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago.

Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he's washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them...with a killer who can't let go.

The Rating:

My Review:

The Vanishing Season is just wow.

The Vanishing Season was is such an excellent read. I took it with me to a dentist appointment. And while I waited for it to be my turn I opened this gem and tried to finish it since I had already read a little less than half of it. And I was so embarrassed because it kept me on edge the whole time. I couldn't put it down for a second. I was worried that if I looked up from the book someone would be staring at me wondering what that crazy lady was doing with all her on edge hand movements. Like I kept gripping my knees and murmuring my disdain for a certain cop. I was all over the place. And I hadn't had that kind of experience with a book since I read The Prettiest One and The Body Reader.

It's well written. The writing style flowed so well chapter after chapter. I liked it so much as I wouldn't say no to another book by the author.

Ellery and Reed's interactions with each other were great. They just worked well together. With how they connected the dots and rounded up any evidence that could help them with their case. The evidence leads them to many suspects. That any of them could be the suspect and at the same time, it seemed like it was none of them.

There isn't an ounce of romance. None at all. Though with Ellery and Reed I would not have hated it if there was something more between them.

The mystery and suspense were SO good. Lots of turns and twists and many strategically placed red herrings. There were some pretty creepy scenes that almost got to me with how gruesome they were. But I'm a girl who listens to Last Podcast on the Left. So I wasn't that faced.

Speaking of wish. 

The number of serial killer references did make me think of Last Podcast so many times. Mostly because I knew of them from listening to the podcast.

I feel like Ellery wanted to be a good cop so much. With how she wanted to solve a crime that seemed to be just a disappearance. How frustrated she got when no one saw what she did.
Despite that, it didn't matter that she had been a cop for years because at times she acted and was treated like a rookie.

I would also like to add that this book is the debut of the author. What?!!
So well done.
*round of applause erupts in a dark theater. lights turn on showing a bunch of well dressed beautiful people who keep applauding and smiling brightly*

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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Agent of Chaos by Kami Garcia | Book Review #145

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The X-Files: Agent of Chaos by Kami Garcia

Are there spoilers?

There's are some spoilers but then again its all in the synopsis.
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Title: The X-Files: Agent of Chaos

Author: Kami Garcia

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Pages: 311

Publisher: Atom

Published: 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction

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Date Read: January 24, 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

How did Fox Mulder become a believer? How did Dana Scully become a skeptic? The X-Files Origins has the answers.

The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos explores the teen years of Fox Mulder, the beloved character depicted in the cult-favorite TV show The X-Files. His story is set in the spring of 1979, when serial murder, the occult, and government conspiracy were highlighted in the news.

The book will follow Mulder as he experiences life-changing events that set him on the path to becoming an FBI agent.

The Rating:

My Review:

Agent of Chaos is exactly what you need if you love X-Files and crushed on Fox Mulder.  I didn't crush on him but yeah- ya know what I mean.

Not only did it have a great mystery but the references to the things we know from the show and the characters were fantastic. Phoebe knowing a bunch about murderers and Gimble playing D&D with Mulder. Love it.

I don't know what to say except that the characters are perfect, the creepiness is just right and the feels -ugh!. It's exactly what you should read if you love X-Flies. 

No! Even if you don't watch the show you should read this book.

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal | Book Review #143

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal

Are there spoilers?

There's a spoonful of spoilers.
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Title: My Last Kiss

Author: Bethany Neal

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Pages: 368

Publisher: Square Fish

Published: 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Ghosts

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Date Read: November 24 > December 26, 2018

Rating: ★★★☆☆

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy?

In Bethany Neal's My Last Kiss, Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss—the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died—is a blur. 

Now, Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made—good and bad—that led to her last kiss.

The Rating:

My Review:

My Last Kiss was a strange book for me to understand. But in the end, I truly enjoyed it. 

Its the author, Bethany Neal's debut novel which can explain why it was a little odd for me to get. The parts where Cassidy went between past, present and even between settings were -I don't even know how to explain it. It was just too much for a story that already has too much going on. Maybe thats just me who feels that way but- yeah.

My Last Kiss starts off great. Cassidy wakes up and realizing that she's dead. She just doesn't know how that happened. She goes through a shift in her being that shows her what exactly happened in the days leading up to her eventual death. It alternates between Cassidy now and what happened before her death. And along the way, she realizes that she had done some things she's not proud of. She ends up wanting to fix things for her friends and the boy she loved with the idea that it might help her pass on. Basically, the main character, Cassidy is dead and as a spirit is stuck among the living till she figures out what really happened to her. 

The version of Cassidy before her death did a bunch of things that hurt her friends and her boyfriend, Ethan. And the things she did were a bit much. In other words, she just wasn't the best. At times dumb and too selfish. And the way she treated her childhood friend, Caleb was too much. She basically used him until she didn't have a use for him anymore. 

And I don't even what to talk about her relationship with her friends. They couldn't be any more different and yet so similar. And the fact that none of them really talked or saw what was going on between them was shit. I wasn't that close with my friends from high school but I still knew them. Like knowing what was going on with them, whether it was physically, emotionally or in the family. Or maybe I was just a good listener. 😕

Also, the fact that you can be in a group of so-called friends and don't have the slightest hint of intuition that one of them, or more, are harboring ill intentions is just beyond my understanding. I know it's not like in telenovelas where the bad guys are too obvious with their evil faces but its still an intuition thing. Like an aura you just feel. That's why I always say, trust your instincts.

Goodreads    

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A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle | Book Review #139

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
A High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle

Are there spoilers?

There might be some spoilers but then again maybe not.
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Title: A High-End Finish

Author: Kate Carlisle

Series: A Fixer-Upper Mystery #1

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Pages: 311

Publisher: Berkley

Published: 2014

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Cozy Mystery 

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Date Read: January 13 + January 17 + January 19, 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES! 

In the seaside town of Lighthouse Cove in northern California, everyone knows the best man for the job is actually a woman—contractor Shannon Hammer. But while Shannon can do wonders with a power drill and a little elbow grease, she’s about to discover that some problems aren’t so easily fixed.

Shannon’s home-renovation and repair business is booming, but her love life needs work. On a blind date with real estate agent Jerry Saxton, she has to whip out a pair of pliers to keep Jerry from getting too hands on. Shannon is happy to put her rotten date behind her, but when Jerry’s found dead in a run-down Victorian home that she’s been hired to restore, the town’s attractive new police chief suspects that her threats may have laid the foundation for murder.

Determined to clear her name, Shannon conducts her own investigation—with the help of her four best friends, her eccentric father, a nosy neighbor or two, and a handsome crime writer who’s just moved to town. But as they get closer to prying out the murderer’s identity, Shannon is viciously attacked. Now she’ll have to nail down the truth—or end up in permanent foreclosure.

The Rating:

My Review:

I choose this book as my pick for the Cozy Corner square in Romanceopoly because I had seen the Hallmark movie and I really loved it. But I quickly realized that this book has little in common with the movie series.

Shannon is a tomboy home renovator who is passionate about what she does and fixing houses and preserving their history. But shes also into her physical health and fitness and shes into a whole bunch of stuff that make her a well-rounded character. Something that I really loved because its the first main character form a cozy mystery that it a full character and not just someone who does the specific work the series is about (baker, cook, librarian, etc.) and it just so happens that someone is murdered and they take it upon themselves to solve it. Shannon had her hobbies, her work, her friends and family, and her enemies. What I'm trying to say is that she's one of my favorite cozy mystery characters. I love her and how strong she was with all that was thrown at her.

I was so delighted that the police in this was actively involved. And we're still collecting evidence even after they took away the body was found. And even stayed around the scene of the crime. I've read some that don't do that. The police in those books just show up take the body and don't even bother to have one cop stay at the scene of the crime so no one just walks in and touches everything.

I loved the way the author wrote about the houses and the process of the renovations. I could see what she was writing in my mind and understood it perfectly. Mostly since I've been watching a bunch of HGTV and DIY. My favorite show being, Rehab Addict.

Another thing about this book that I loved was just how female-driven it was for a cozy mystery. How Shannon and her friends ran everything and we're all in to help her figure out what was going on and catch the murderer.

About the crime. The murder victims in this book were not the greatest human beings and so your led to believe that they deserved it. One was a womanizer and a total jerk and the other one was a total jerk and super rude and entitled. And if it wasn't for the fact that one of them did something bad to Shannon, and in no point in the book was it explained and understood as such but rather just an attack, I wouldn't think it was deserved but -yeah. 

Then there was the great at times, odd at other, love triangle that was happening with Shannon and the two love interests.



Having read this book I can now tick off one book read in the Romanceopoly. As a part of my 2019 Reading Challenges.

Goodreads    ||    Amazon    ||    Barnes & Noble    ||    Book Depository

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Strawberries & Crème Murder by Susan Gillard | Book Review #135

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Strawberries & Crème Murder by Susan Gillard

Are there spoilers?

There are some spoilers.

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Title: Strawberries & Creme Murder 

Author: Susan Gillard

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Pages: 150

Published: 2018

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

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Date Read: December 10, 2018

Rating: ★★★★☆

Donuts, deceit and the potential murder of a former assistant find Heather Janke at the center of a mystery in which she is a potential suspect and possibly the only one capable of discerning the truth. 

Was her former assistant Christa murdered and if so, why? 

Follow Heather as she searches for clues to get to the bottom of this sweet caper. 

The Rating:

My Review:

Strawberry Cream Murder is a super short cozy murder mystery with the setting of a donut bakery. Which was something that made me want to eat a donut while I was reading it but that wasn't gonna happen.

I liked most of the characters. Heather and Amy were great.  The detective was kinda cool too.
There were some that were a little annoying and obviously the bad guys but other than that I didn't have a problem with the characters in this story. 

In regards to the actual murder mystery part of this story.
The crime was good. It was a former employee of Heather that stole her recipes and opened up another donut shop nearby. She is found dead with a donut by her side.  And Heather comments that it was fou play because he was a neat freak and would never leave crumbs all over the place.

The one thing that bothered me about Heather and her involvement with the crime, was how she just freely walked into the crime scene without caring about the evidence getting messed up or even fearing she would get accused of being involved in the crime by having her footsteps and fingerprints all over the place. Also isn't there usually a cop watching over the crime scene at the beginning of it being a crime scene just in case situations like that happen. Like their job is to prevent anybody from stepping into the crime scene so evidence doesn't get tampered with. 

I did not know who the killer was despite this being such a short book. Or maybe I just got caught by surprise because I wasn't paying attention when the clues and observations got connected. So yeah 4 stars.

Goodreads  

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