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Spark of the Resistance (Star Wars)Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this kids' Star Wars story. It was a fill-in the gaps sort of story about Rey, Poe, Rose and BB8 on a mission on the Falcon and getting diverted to a planet with inhabitants that looked like green bunnies. Of course, they came up against an arrogant, ambitious and not so bright First Order officer and a spy. The book did not candy coat things as one might expect a book for young readers and there were monsters who ate First Order Soldiers, which was quite fun, to tell the truth.

If you like Star Wars, you might take a look at this one - it's fast and fun.



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Star Wars: Resistance RebornStar Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


It was okay. I especially enjoyed the bits with Wedge Antilles. Of course this book happens right before the Rise of Skywalker and they never really seem to have an idea what to do with Rey. I have to be honest and say that I really am not a big fan of the Disney canon because it is uncharacteristic of the original characters and the new ones are sort of not fleshed out enough to really care about them at all.

It's a decent read.



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Scone Cold Killer (All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery #1)Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This one was short, but I really liked it for some reason. Gia moves to Florida to escape her ex and his legal troubles, but trouble follows on her heels when that ex is found in the dumster behind her new breakfast cafe. I liked Gia and her puppy, Thor. It could have been more detailed in many places, but I still liked the writer's style. A pretty good cozy. I might read more in this series eventually.



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Marvel's Captain America - First VengeanceMarvel's Captain America - First Vengeance by Fred Van Lente

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a compilation of the prequel comics to the CA: First Avenger Movie and it elaborates the tale of Steve Rogers a little more. We learn more about him as a kid, more about Erskine and it ends with the movieverse beginning. I enjoyed it. The illustrations were gorgeous as well. I love the really nice artwork in modern comics!



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Booked 4 Murder (Sophie Kimball Mystery, #1)Booked 4 Murder by J.C. Eaton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This one was funny and cute. It's not really a murder mystery as much as just a mystery. Phee is likable and so is her mother. It takes place in her mother's senior living community in Arizona. After several members of her book club die whiel reading a 'cursed' book, she calls Phee in to solve the crime even though Phee is a just an accounts clerk for a police force in Minnesota. Much cuteness and funniness ensue!





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A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was fantastic!

If i have read Le Guin before, I do not remember it.

This was the FIRST fantasy novel of its kind written expressly for teens though I see it as more universal than that. It is the story of Ged, a young sorcerer who learns how little he knows when he attempts things beyond his skill or knowledge and creates a shadow that he must deal with before he can do anything.

several people at the book group that I am in found it old fashioned but I found it wonderful without all the flowery and useless language of modern fantasy.

Loved it and will read more Le Guin.



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The House on the Cliff (Hardy Boys, #2)The House on the Cliff by Franklin W. Dixon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


These boys lead action packed lives! Helping their father catch smugglers this time, Frank and Joe with the help of their school pals, take on drug smugglers who use an old pirate's hideout to evade the authorities.

These are a simple, fast reads and the stories are action packed! I think they are a bit dated but if people can read about vampires and zombies, then a couple of straight laced boys shouldn't be too much of a challenge!





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The Secret, Book and Scone SocietyThe Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This one was excellent. It was a non-cozy cozy. I had not read any Ellery Adams before and I had some coupons I needed to use the last time I was in B&N. This one I had seen in new book lists. It was about a woman with a bookstore in North Carolina so I decided to try it.

It was a much more involved book than most cozies. The characters had depth and became someone you cared about, someone you were curious about. The mystery was full of suspects but who was the actual killer? It was not an easy one to solve completely.

And as any good book does, it left you wanting another one SOON!





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FangirlFangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Someone on Dreamwidth mentioned loving this book so I decided to give it a try. It's about a girl, her freshman year at college, writing fanfiction and boys.

I don't remember ever being so young at 18 and I'm not entirely sure I was. They seem so young and silly in some ways. I guess part of that is I never had all that dorm and sorority junk. I went to a Community college for 2 years, got married and went to a university the other 2 years as a 'townie'. I was a grown woman with a home and a husband. I had no time for much else.

The fanfiction bit is about a story that is a knockoff of Harry Potter, which I never really got into. Never saw the charm of grown women writing stories about a bunch of kids and their very strange teachers... and never could see Harry as anything more than a child.

So I did not actually identify with Cather OR her fanfiction so much, but it was still a nice book. The characters were sweet and so young and adorable.



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Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're Canning Demons (A Toad Witch Mystery Book 4)Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie We're Canning Demons by Christiana Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I adore Mara and Gus and was thrilled that they have a new adventure. They get called back to LA to house and store sit for Mama Lua and they run into way more trouble than they bargained for but then they always do. Demons!

We meet some new people including a vampire and a homunculous, both of whom help our heroes get rid of the nasty demon. And of course, Aunt Tillie goes along too.

These are very funny and actually quite graphic in some ways too.

I look forward to more.



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Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates (A Chocolate Covered Mystery #1)Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates by Kathy Aarons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not a bad cozy... a chocolate/book store! What more could a person want than coffee, chocolates and books? Michelle and her best friend own this store and end up being amateur sleuths as well when the neighbor is murdered. It has the obligatory 'town like Mayberry' which amuses me since I live near, Mount Airy, the town that Mayberry was actually based on. There are LOTS of secrets in the tiny town and we get to find out several of them.

This one moved fast and kept me turning pages right up until the end. Oh and it has recipes in the back.

Wonder if Coco shows up in the other two?





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To Helen Back (River Road, #1)To Helen Back by Susan McBride

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While I liked this one, I didn't love it. I have whole series and will probably read it anyway because many do improve after book one. The mystery was okay but the character of Helen was simply not fleshed out very much. She was a nosy old lady. Period. She is compared with Miss Marple by the sheriff and she seems to like that comparison.

The plot: a nasty man in their town is murdered by a whack on the head. Everyone hated him pretty equally so who did it? Helen does figure it out and the sheriff does seem grateful for her help.

It was a quick read so that's a plus. I like quick mysteries sometimes.



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Murder in an English Village (Beryl and Edwina Mystery #1)Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was a complete delight! It was set in the UK in the 1920s. Beryl is an American adventuress who decides she needs a little quiet and shows up at the home of her old school friend, Edwina. Ed is as staid and steady as Beryll is wild and unfettered and the two fo them set about solving mysteries. They are sweet and funny and so is their little town, Walmsley Parma. The characters are delightful and some are even more than delightful - wait'll you meet the 'gardener'!

Jessica Ellicott is a new author to me but I am certainly going to read more of her books. She writes under several names and has several different types of mysteries!

I can't wait for the next one!



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Bless Her Dead Little Heart (Southern Ladies Mystery, #1)Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book much better than the first book in the Cat in the Stacks series, though Diesel is in this one as well. Charlie's neighbors are cat sitting when an old school pal shows up and murder and mayhem ensue. Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce are nearly 80 and full of vim and vigor as they play host to at least one murderer. Their friend swears her children are out to kill and then all her family shows up at the front door of the Ducote home, forcing the sisters host the rest of the family as well.

We see some old friends from the Cat in the Stacks series as well as some new ones. I sure do wish I could sit down to some of Celemintine's roast beef and sweet tea!



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A Man Called OveA Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I knew this book would break my heart... I just had no idea how many times. It's a simple book about a simple man and the complicated life he ends up with. It's about love and loss and mostly about life. Ove is man who wants few things, but mostly he wants to be left alone by everyone.

When new neighbors move in, it become obvious that he will not be left alone. Ever again.

I laughed and cried as his story unfolded slowly, weaving the past and present into the story of a A man called Ove.

Read it. It's worth the time.



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The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2)The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was my second Nancy Drew and it was a little more in depth than the first one. Nancy was her sunny AND daring self though the bad guys were a little badder than in the previous one. I have to say that I am hooked! I even ordered the first Hardy Boys book as well.

I think they may still make delightful mysteries to young readers. They are, perhaps, a little dated but they were dated in the 1970s, when I was of the age to read them.

I wonder why children in these books never had mothers....





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A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1)A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this book when I was a kid. I think perhaps in elementary school and it changed my life. I loved sci-fi before I knew what it was. My dad and I were avid Star Trek watchers and I loved the thought of other planets and such then I read this book and a light went on. The depth of this story amazes me even today... the tesseract and the dimensions... Oh my!

I have to admit that I had forgotten much of the details but it was as great as I remembered it being 45+ years ago.

Meg's father is simply gone. He worked on Classified missions for the government and one time he simply did not come home. He stopped writing and no one knew what happened. Meg knew her schoolmates said he left with another woman but Meg knew this could never be true...

She, her little brother, Charles Wallace and Calvin are whisked away on an amazing adventure to find her father and oh what a story!



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The Secret of The Old ClockThe Secret of The Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I am evidently anomaly among readers. I skipped all the preteen and teen detective and romance stories and went straight for Wuthering Heights and Poe as a kid.

So, inspired by my teen detective aficionado friend, Shirley, I read this first Nancy Drew story. It was certainly quite bright and shiny, with perfect characters and a world of black and white but then, it was originally published in 1930 so there is that. The mystery was nice with no dead bodies or pure evil at all.

So I think i might even read more of these. They are fast and quite entertaining as Nancy hurries about in her convertible!



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Deck the Hallways (A Fixer-Upper Mystery, #4)Deck the Hallways by Kate Carlisle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was our December selection at my Facebook cozy club and I really liked it. I have not read any Kate Carlisle before though I have seen a couple of Fixer-Upper movies on the Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel, starring Jewel as Shannon Hammer.

This was fast paced with one murder mystery and another mystery as well. I liked Shannon and the other characters: her dad, Mac, Eric, Lizzie... Books with a nice cast are fun to read as well. You get a sense of family and community and that comes through fairly well in this one.

Maybe the description of all the work in remodeling was a bit much sometimes, but it was still interesting all the steps it takes to remodel and restore an old building.

I would certainly be glad to read more of this series.





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Drizzled with Death (Sugar Grove Mystery, #1)Drizzled with Death by Jessie Crockett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
Not a fan of maple syrup but the industry is very interesting and I remember seeing a film about maple syrup gathering in grade school and finding it very fascinating.

Dani, being so tiny and so wealthy and so everything was a tad annoying at first but she grew on me as I read. Would like to see more of Piper and perhaps less of the the unpleasant townspeople. All the men seemed quite horrid, with the exception of Graham.

The mystery was pretty good. I did pick up on some clues and wasn't the least surprised at who the murderer was, but it felt like that person deserved a medal!

I might read some more of these.



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