Alex's This and That

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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Much Ado in Maggody by Joan Hess

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am enjoying this old series... Arly is funny in a deadpan sort of way. Maggody, Arkansas is backwards and tiny - a stereotypical southern hotbed of ignorance, inbreeding and stupidity. And yet, it's funny and we even become fond of some of the denizens of the town - like Ruby Bee and Estelle, the mayor's wife/cousin and her minister, who is always on the lookout for sin, the more salacious the better. And Kevin and Dahlia, the lovebirds...

You get the idea. They're not really all those 'cozy' but they really are quite fun!



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Death by Coffee by Alex Erickson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I really didn't like Krissy. Period. The character made the book a chore to read. I won't be reading any more of this series or author.

Krissy was a negative - she opens a cafe/bookstore with her friend in a town she doesn't know and judges everyone that comes in a bad light. I don't know if it was because a man wrote the character, but I think not. Miranda James (Dean James) writes delightful and humorous female leads.

Give it a pass.



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Marvel'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 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 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 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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Fangirl 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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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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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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