Week in Review #124

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

Okay, I like summer and heat but this is just to much heat...lol. I am not a fan of excessive heat. I had to wake my butt up early just to mow before it got to hot blah.

Didn't really do a whole lot this week so nothing much to report. I did watch a few movies, Dante's Peak, always loved that one and Jurassic World, not as great as the OG Jurassic Park but still fun.

Books I added:

Nothing

Books I Read:

• Dismissed with Prejudice - The seventh book in the JP Beaumont series and though not a favorite of the series it was still a lot of fun and enjoyable.

Currently Reading:

• Blowin' Up a Murder - It's been a while since I read a book in this series. I love this series and it's fun being back with familiar characters.
• Changes - Enjoying my reread of Changes, I have forgotten a lot of things!

How was your week? Happy Reading!

Week in Review #123

 

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

So this week there were some highs and lows. So it started out awesome as I spent the day with my aunt and we went thrifting, but then the next day I woke up with the worst allergies every! I have felt awful all week but starting to feel a bit better. Another high note is I have a new used computer and so maybe now I will start posting more regularly as I was having to fight with my old one so much it wasn't worth the effort. I am so excited about this new though used pc that was gifted to me by a lovely couple. 

I didn't read much but I did watch a few interesting movies. Since it's summer I like to watch the campy creature/killer animal type movies. I watched Maggots and it's a slightly newer movie and basically it reminded me of why I would rather stick with my old school killer animal movies. It was over the top cheesy and they couldn't talk without being rude and crude. I also watched Rippy which was about a zombie Kangaroo, kind of slow but interesting...lol.

Books I have added

Nothing

Books I Read

• Tombstone Courage - The second book in the Joanna Brady series and I enjoyed it. This series seems a bit grittier than the Beaumont series.

Currently Reading

• Can't Judge a Book by the Murder - First in a series and it's okay. Reading it for a readalong and really wasn't in the mood for it so my thoughts might be jaded. :)
• Changes - Getting back to Dresden! I love this series.
• Emma - Still chipping away at it, it's just not high priority. 

How was your week?

Week in Review #122

 

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

So besides turning a year older, not a whole lot happened last week. I did receive some really fun gifts from friends, a box of mostly vintage books. (To many to post, but maybe if I think of it next week I will pick out a few favs and post them), a Murder She Wrote tote and some gift cards, etc. So it was a great b-day! 

Hope everyone had a great week and happy reading!

Books I have added

Lots of fun vintage books! :) 

Books I Read

• Fern - Book two in the Seven Brides series. It's one of my retro romances and it was a lot of fun! 

Currently Reading

• Tombstone Courage - Second book in the Joanna Brady series. I really liked book one so looking forward to getting into this one. I am putting it here because I will be starting it today. 
• Emma - Still chugging along on this one as it's a bit longer than her other books.

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Week in Review #121

 

The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

What you might have missed on my blog

Well it has been a while since I posted. I have just been kind of busy and then I would totally forget to make the post. Also been having a lot of problems with my computer and I kind of give up at times, as it is frustrating. Hope everyone had a great week. It's a bit hot but other than things are not to bad here. I mean it could be worse so why complain, right?

Happy reading!

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

• Last Kids On Earth #6.5 and #7 - I really like this series, it's full of fun and action.
• Rise of the Evening Star - Fablehaven #2 - I enjoyed this, though one of the main middle graders Seth still annoys me, but not as bad as in book one.
• South of Nowhere - Colter Shaw #5 and a very good series. 

Currently Reading

• Farewell, My Lovely - The second Phillip Marlowe book and so far it's okay.
• Emma by Jane Austen - This is for Jane Austen July and their group read. It's been years since I have read this one so thought I would go ahead and do so and it's decent. It's nothing new since I have read it and watched the 90s movie several times. :)

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Two Bloggers One Series ~ Cursed At Dawn (Blackbird Trilogy #3)

 

Hi everyone! We are back with the last book in this trilogy. It's kind of nice having a short series...lol. Once you see what I thought go on over and check out what Barb from Booker Ts Farm.

Dracula lives—and he’s hunting for his bride.

Vampires may not walk among us, but FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter know real monsters exist. They’ve witnessed firsthand the worst humankind has to offer. They’re still catching their breaths after the apprehension of two such monstrous killers when they’re met with horrific news. Stephan Dante, the self-proclaimed king of the vampires, has escaped from prison, followed only by a trail of blood.

All too familiar with Dante’s cruelty, Della and Mason know the clock is ticking. But as Dante claims more victims, a chilling message arrives. The vampire killer seeks his eternal bride—Della herself. Playing into Dante’s desires might be the only way to stop the carnage once and for all, assuming they can outwit him. Della is confident the agents have the upper hand, but Mason knows every gamble runs the risk of not paying off, and this time, the consequences could be deadly.

This  trilogy has been about the same couple Mason and Della, they met in book one and romance followed. They have also been after Stephan Dante the "Vampire King" throughout all these books. This trilogy is a spin off of the original Krewe of Hunters and mentions several of the characters from them so if that doesn't bother you then you could start with this trilogy, but the original Krewe is better. Also because they are the international Krewe it also involves ghost which is what Krewe of Hunters is always about. 

Mason and Della can see ghost and those ghost help them try and solve the crime. In this one Dante has escaped killing along the way and Mason and Della our in pursuit. Dante has followers and they kill and Mason and Della have to deal with them plus Dante. In this one Dante has lead them to Scotland and so the two along with their krewe called Blackbird give chase. 

This one was very history heavy as one of the krewe gives all sorts of history facts about all the places they go to while trying to track down Dante. This might be interesting for some and boring for others. I was a bit in between as it could be interesting but also feel like a history lesson and get boring. 

I really like the characters in this trilogy. I like Mason and Della they are a good team. I think I would prefer the spin off series to be about separate stories than one long drawn out one like this trilogy was and as a whole the series was okay but I think this story was the weakest link which is a bummer as it's the conclusion.

3.5 stars

Blog Tour ~ Death at the Highland Loch

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.

Move over, Inspector! Lady Poppy Proudfoot is here to solve her very first case.

Scotland, 1924:
 When Lady Poppy Proudfoot travels to the Highlands for a midsummer party, the last thing she and her fellow guests expect is for a body to wash up beside the loch.

Despite protests that it could have been an accident, Poppy is convinced it’s murder and decides to dust off her law degree and hunt for clues. But when the police arrive, the grumpy Inspector MacKenzie dismisses her evidence, insisting a crime scene is no place for a Lady. The nerve!

With the help of her trusted Labrador, Major, Poppy begins to unpick the case. But she soon has two mysteries to solve, as her host Lady Constance Balfour claims a diamond and emerald bracelet has been stolen. Could the two cases be linked? Was it Freddy the footman, a favourite of her ladyship? Or American actress Miss Cornett, with a keen eye for jewels? Or with such a dazzling guestlist, was someone from the local village tempted into the grounds by the party?

When a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Poppy is attacked, she realizes that someone wants her off the case. Someone connected to Balfour House is a murderer and a thief, but who? And can Poppy solve the mystery before she, too, washes up beside the loch?

My thoughts:

I enjoy the authors other series so I thought I would try her new one and for a first book in a series I thought it was okay. 

Poppy (Lady Proudfoot) is a widow who has a law degree but when she got the degree women were not allowed to be lawyers. Then she got married and never used her degree. She was invited to a midsummer party at her new friend Lady Constance house. There are some American film makers and stars their as well.

While they were having dinner one of the footmen came in and said that he found a dead man by the Loch. In comes Inspector MacKenzie a handsome but somewhat grumpy man who clashes with Poppy quite a bit during the course of the investigation. Poppy seems to think she can figure things out more than the Inspector since she has that law degree. 

Not only is Poppy trying to figure out what happened with the dead man but Constance wants her to look into a missing bracelet. It seems her late husband had bought it and it wasn't paid for and Constance is having to take care of the bill but she can't find the necklace. 

There are a lot of suspects since it's a house party and there are not only Poppy and Constance but her brother and his wife, the American's and the servants. 

This story was decent but I found Poppy to be annoying at times. She seemed to think she was smarter than the detective as if he couldn't do his job and then just did some stupid things.

The mystery was decent and I had a hard time figuring out whodoneit. Overall it was an okay start to a series. 

3 stars

Author Bio:

Lydia Travers was born in London.  She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog.

Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her second novel The Laird's Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers' Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. Mischief in Midlothian won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers' Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaTylerAuthorScotland

https://twitter.com/LindaTyler100

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Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DTHK3MMZsocial

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Two Bloggers One Series ~ Lair (Rats #2)

Last year we read Rats, I thought it was just a standalone till we started it and found out it was a trilogy. So we are back with book two! After you check out what I thought go on over to Booker T's Farm to see what Barb thought. 

The mutant white rat had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair. Now the dark rats were restless, and the white slug-like thing that ruled them remembered the taste of human flesh.

So it's been five years since the first attach of rats that were altered. The rats that have escaped have been laying low and growing into something far more terrifying than before.

The leader of these rats is a white one with two heads! These rats have grown resistant to poisons and are stronger, smarter and more cunning than ever and they are ready to attack. 

This story is set in a small town and Luke who works for Ratkill is called in to make sure all the rats are dead, but he finds out they are not and that something worse is in the place of the old rats. Here he meets Jenny who has seen something and knows there are rats but nobody wants to believe her. Together Luke and her try and make things safe for everyone, but not until a lot of people being come rat food..I mean victims. 

Not a lot of plot but still a fun rat invested creature feature and I thought it was fun. If you like creature books you might find it's fun but just remember it doesn't have a lot in the way of plot...lol.

4 stars