Book Review: Warped on a Moon Trek by Diane Vallere (Sylvia Stryker #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great scenes for Sylvia, lots of fun

Cons: Plot warps the brain a bit too much

The Bottom Line:

Back on the space case

Sylvia jumping through time

Loved seeing her here

Sylvia Races Through Time to Save the Day

I always enjoy reading cozies with slightly different settings.  Or, in the case of the Sylvia Stryker series, a majorly different setting.  You see, Sylvia is part alien, and her adventures take place on cruise ships that are cruising between the planets.  And she’s back for a fifth adventure with Warped on a Moon Trek.

Sylvia and her mentor, Neptune, are on the latest Moon Trek ship, which is on a test cruise just going between the Earth and Moon.  The company wants to make sure everything is working right before having passengers.  It’s a good thing they are doing this test since some of the systems aren’t working quite right, and Neptune is quick to figure out that the problem is a fault with the chip.  The best way to fix it?  Go talk to the engineer that designed it originally and get her to fix it.

So Neptune sets out to do just that, leaving Sylvia with a couple of bombshells.  The scientist?  Someone in her family.  How does Neptune plan to contact the scientist?  Go back in time through a worm hole that has opened up near the ship.  When Sylvia figures out what he is up to, she goes after him to try to prevent him from altering history.  Will she be able to?  Or will she make things worse?

You’ll notice so far, I’ve teased a familiar science fiction plot line and not much about a mystery.  That’s because, to be honest, the mystery was probably the least important part of the book.  Yes, there is a murder that Sylvia gets involved in.  But it’s not the main focus.

And I was perfectly okay with that.  I was caught up in the story from the beginning, and, as things spin more and more out of control, I was even more concern with how Sylvia would be able to fix things.  Yes, the book does leave us with a plot hole or two, and if you are familiar with the type of stories being told here, you can probably guess what they are.  Or maybe my brain got too warped to see how things worked out.  But I was enjoying the story enough that I really didn’t mind.

Part of that was because this is the fifth book with Sylvia.  It may have been a few years, but I was quickly back in her world, reconnecting with her and her friends.  As this book unfolds, she really gets some opportunities for growth.  Those scenes are very touching, and I enjoyed them.

And we had some fun along the way as well.  The situations and Sylvia’s reactions to them lead to some great laughs.

If you’ve read Sylvia’s previous adventures, you’ll definitely be glad to see her back in action.  Just go wherever Warped on a Moon Trek takes you, and you’ll have fun.

Blast off with the rest of the Sylvia Stryker Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Marry Me in Yosemite

Stars: 1 out of 5

Pros: The scenery looks wonderful

Cons: Everything else

The Bottom Line:

Yosemite shines

Despite lackluster story

A movie to skip

Bad Movie Amidst Beautiful Scenery

I’ve noticed Hallmark has a series of National Park romances.  Since I love our National Parks, I thought these could be fun.  While the others call out that they are part of a series in their titles, Marry Me in Yosemite, which I believe is the first, flies a little more under the radar.

The story features Zoe (Cindy Busby), a photographic journalist, who is heading to Yosemite for her latest book.  She’s attempting to capture the way the park looks now, but she’s also looking for something new, including a photograph that will really capture her as an artist.

While there, she manages to get the extremely reluctant Jack (Tyler Harlow) to agree to be her guide.  He is a former climber who lives in the park year-round.  He leads her to the famous photography spots as well as some lesser known ones.  Will they find the perfect spot for her signature photo?

You’ll notice the one thing I left out of that teaser.  For a romance, this movie really forgot the romance.  Yes, we’ve got the reluctant people pushed together trope, and they do start to act like friends fairly quickly.  But the writers seem to forget that this movie is supposed to be a romance until well into the second half.  Even then, it’s a very subtle part of the movie.  And the complications they have in the second half?  Seriously, Jack was acting like a baby.

So just what does this movie fill the run time with?  Ecological lessons.  History of the region lessons.  Jack is a scientist, and the writers use this to give us lots of exposition.  We also meet a couple of Native American characters who give us the history of the region from their perspective.  The problem is, both of these things devolves into lectures that really don’t do much to advance the story.

Then there’s the fact that we seem to get a hint about something in Jack’s past, but we never find out what it is.  They sure seemed to set something up, but there was no significant payoff.

I’m placing the blame for this squarely on the writers.  I have a hard time believing someone actually greenlit this script instead of sending it back for another draft.

Not that the acting is top notch.  Granted, the actors don’t have much to work with, but there are plenty of moments that made me cringe in that department, too.

Which is a shame because there are moments that are great because the writers actually wrote something good, and the actors delivered it wonderfully.  If only those scenes weren’t the exception in the script.

The movie was filmed on location in Yosemite.  With how iconic the scenery is, it would have to be, wouldn’t it?  From what I’ve read, that helps account for the low cast count, but it also means we have some wonderful scenery.  Of course, I had to laugh at how easily the characters get the permits they need considering how far in advance you actually have to plan if you want to go to the park.

Honestly, the scenery is really about the only thing to recommend Marry Me in Yosemite.  I’m usually fairly lenient with it comes to Hallmark movies, but even by those standards, I can’t recommend this film.

Podcast Review: 1 Degree of Andy

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Interesting interviews with Christian musicians from a bygone era

Cons: Any cons are more than one degree away

The Bottom Line:

Music history

Fun, interesting stories

Listeners will love

Telling the Stories of Christian Music

I’ve been listening to Christian music all my life, but really got into it as a teenager.  It was the early 90’s when I spent the most time and money keeping up with the new releases from my favorite artists.  That’s why, as soon as I heard about the 1 Degree of Andy podcast, I knew I had to listen.

This podcast is hosted by Andy Chrisman.  If that name doesn’t sound familiar to you, he was one of the members of 4Him.  And anyone who listened to Christian music in the 1990’s and early 2000’s immediately places him since 4Him was a huge music group in the Christian market at the time.  Even if you weren’t a fan, if you were into the genre, you know who they are.

As a result of his career, Andy knows many of the players in the Christian music genre from the time.  Some better than others, obviously, but he has connections with so many of them.  And he decided to spend time interviewing them for us to learn more about what the industry was like at the time but also how God lead them into and out of their careers.

Most of the interviews of are fellow Christian artists.  Yes, the guys from 4Him have been on the pod.  In addition, we’ve had interviews with Wayne Watson, Al Denson, Geoff Moore, Susan Ashton, Eddie DeGarmo, Wes King, Steve Camp, Point of Grace, and so many more.  He’s also interviewed song writers, an A&R director, the man behind CCM Magazine, and he’s taken listener questions.  The pod focuses on the Christian music of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.

As someone who grew up listening to the music of that era, I love every second of the podcast.  Even if the artist being interviewed isn’t someone I listened to regularly, I still recognize the name and a song or two they talk about.  And I really enjoy hearing the behind the scenes stories or what life was like.  It definitely brings the reality of touring to life – like most jobs, it’s a mixed bag.

Since the artists being interviewed are Christians, I also really appreciate that aspect of their stories as well.  It is amazing how God moved them into the Christian music industry and then how He has led them after their career ended.  I find my faith encouraged as I listen.

The episodes average about an hour.  Andy and his guests tend to get sidetracked, so, while Andy has some questions ready to go, they often go off on tangents.  That helps give it the feel or friends catching up, and I find it charming.

The episodes drop each Monday, and each Monday morning, I can’t wait to see who is going to be interviewed next.

If you are a fan of that era of Christian music, you owe it to yourself to listen to 1 Degree of Andy.  You’ll find yourself listening to songs you love with a new appreciation afterwards.

June 15th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – We’re taking three weeks off?  With the Olympics coming to preempt the show later in the summer?  Yikes!  Okay, back to what we watched this week.  Good runs by quite a few of the contestants.  Not sure anyone stood out to me in positive or negative ways.  Always happy to see Sean Bryant do well.

The Weakest Link – They actually got further than I thought they would based on some of those rounds.  Definitely a nice chunk of changes.  I do agree that hearing he’s putting it into stocks is a little off putting since most people have plans for that much money.  Then again, if he can invest it wisely, that will pay off well for him down the road.

Race to Survivor: New Zealand – All that drama and no one really left this week.  And how many teams got stuck right before the finish line of the leg?  I think it was three over two days.  I would have been frustrated, too.  I’m over the two teams that are constantly fighting.  They can be eliminated next as far as I am concerned.  And I had to laugh at the captions.  At one point, they were saying the teams had completed race 1 when this is race 2.  Oops.

The Acolyte – Obviously, everyone and their brother has thoughts on this episode.  And I get it.  Even from someone who isn’t a super Star Wars fan, I can see how what they did here goes against the franchise.  I’m just going to focus on how poorly it was written.  Seriously, some of that dialogue!  And they tried to set up the Jedi as being evil people.  I might have understood if they had explained who these witches are and what they want.  Oh, and if Mae hadn’t tried to kill her sister.  Seriously, that was over the top.  Plus, I’m not a fan of flashback episodes.  Give me the story, and don’t interrupt your story to tell me the background I need to know.

Book Review: Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman (Leaphorn and Chee #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery, Leaphorn coming into his own

Cons: Pacing at times, usually due to tribal customs lore

The Bottom Line:

Search for missing boys

Leaphorn has stronger presence

Series progresses

Murder Crosses Tribal Lines

Since I’m finally diving into Tony Hillerman’s books, I was anxious to get back to his series and see just how it develops.  Dance Hall of the Dead is his third novel and the second in his most popular series.  And it’s a decent mystery.

This book returns us to the Navajo reservation in early December.  Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, who works for the Navajo Tribal Police, has been called to work on a case involving two missing boys.  There is a huge pool of blood at the last place they were seen.  One of them, a Navajo, was seen the next morning and is wanted as a witness, although some suspect he might be the killer.  The other is a Zuni youth, and that just complicates the case for Leaphorn since that tribe has their own police department.

As Leaphorn investigates further, he finds many things that just don’t add up for him.  Can he make sense of it, find the missing boys, and catch a killer before the killer strikes again?

Unlike the book that introduced him, Joe Leaphorn is much more of a focus this time around.  The story is mostly told from his point of view.  We still don’t see much of her personal life, something that is a staple of detective fiction today.  It’s interesting to watch not just the series evolve but also how expectations of the genre were different back in the 70’s when this was written.  We still haven’t met Jim Chee; he’ll enter the series in another couple of books.

I do find I miss seeing Leaphorn outside of work, but I still feel like I got to know him better as a character.  Much of that came from his frustrations at dealing with some of the people he met along the way along with his passion to solve the case, especially as the danger mounts.

The book has a solid mystery.  Sadly, an official description kind of spoiled part of it for me, but much of the suspense comes not from who done it, but can Leaphorn figure it out in time, so I was still on board.  A part of the climax left me unsettled, but I think it was supposed to.

For those who shy away from children being in danger, know that the boys in this book are twelve and fourteen.  You’ll have to judge for yourself where that line would be.  The crimes in this book are rather brutal, too, although we don’t spend too long on the details.

I found the discussions of tribal customs a double-edged sword.  Some of that was interesting and relevant to the plot.  Other times, it seemed to go on too long, and I was wishing there were a faster way to get back to the story.  I know, part of why this series is popular is the look into Navajo customs.  It’s not enough to turn me off, but it is something I hope is more judicially used going forward.

I listened to the audio version narrated by George Guidall.  As always, he’s a fine narrator who brings the story to life without inserting himself into it.

Dance Hall of the Dead takes us more firmly into the series, and fans old and new will find it entertaining.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Leaphorn and Chee Mysteries.

Ornament Review: Sir S'More - Noble Nutcrackers #5.5 - 2023 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun themed nutcracker

Cons: Makes me drool

The Bottom Line:

Summer camping treat

As nutcracker ornament

Delightful combo

Delicious Special Edition to the Noble Nutcrackers Series

I’ve wound up getting more of the Noble Nutcrackers Hallmark ornaments than I originally intended.  So, I pay attention every year to what the entries will be.  As soon as I saw Sir S’More, a special edition ornament for 2023, I knew that I had to get it.

As the name implies, this ornament is themed like the delicious campfire treat.  Sir S’More’s hat is multiple layers of smores with a chocolate covered marshmallow on top.  His shoulders are also chocolate covered marshmallows, and his feet look like them as well.  Most of his outfit is a chocolate brown with white decorations, but he’s standing on melted chocolate over melted marshmallow over graham crackers.  And his scepter is a stick with marshmallows with flames on them.

My first thought when looking at this ornament is YUM!.  Obviously, it’s made out of plastic, so I wouldn’t want to actually eat it.  But looking at how they worked the theme into the small details is so much fun.

Since he is standing on a graham cracker, the base is nice and flat, so you could set this one out to be displayed anywhere you want.  Since it’s a little bigger than a typical ornament, this series could be a fun addition to a nutcracker corner.

Unlike many Hallmark ornaments, this one comes with a white ribbon in the loop on the top of the ornament.  When you go to hang it on your tree, you’ll find that it hangs straight.

Okay, so I’m not sure what S’Mores have to do with Christmas.  It think of them as a camping, summer time treat.  But I’m not complaining.  This is such a fun ornament.  It does make me drool, however, if I look at it for too long.

If you enjoy S’Mores (and what’s not to love), you’ll be glad to have Sir S’More on your tree.

Here are the rest of the Noble Nutcracker ornaments.

Book Review: A Collection of Lies by Connie Berry (Kate Hamilton #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Kate and Tom; strong second half

Cons: Missing regular supporting characters; uneven first half

The Bottom Line:

Dead body turns up

While investigating dress

Uneven but good

Working Honeymoon Turns Deadly

Kate Hamilton’s plans for the future have been up in the air for a while now.  Yes, she got married in the Christmas novella we got in 2023, but her new husband, DI Tom Mallory, was considering a new job offer that would include her.  That plays into the premise of A Collection of Lies, which fans will ultimately enjoy.

If you are new to the series Kate is a widow who met Tom on a trip to Scotland.  The attraction was mutual, and she moved from Ohio to England to see where their relationship would go.  Fortunately, she’s been able to work with a local to help expand his antiques business.  Obviously, her relationship with Tom went well since they are now married and on a honeymoon to Devon.

While in Devon, Kate and Tom have been asked by the company that wants to hire them as professional investigators to look into a dress that has been recently donated to a local museum.  The dress proports to belong to Nancy Thorne, a lacemaker who was rumored to be involved in a murder back in 1885.  The murder was never solved – in fact, no body was ever found.  They’ve been asked to authenticate the dress, but Kate is intrigued by the very cold case.

However, a more modern mystery envelops them when someone fires a gun at a fundraiser for the museum.  No one is hurt – in fact, there seems to be some disagreement as to who the target even was.  Sadly, someone does turn up dead a couple of days later.  While Kate continues to investigate the dress, Tom gets pulled into the murder investigation.  Is there a connection between the two?

Obviously, there is a lot going on here.  Ironically, I felt like the first half dragged even with multiple storylines.  Part of that is because Kate gets distracted by historical detail that I didn’t care about.  And part of that is because Kate and Tom are spinning their wheels.  They learn a little bit, but not enough to feel like the story was advancing.

But this is a book of two halves.  Things really pick up in the second half, and at that point, I was fully on board.  There’s a great action scene, as we often get in these books.  This back half has plenty of twists as well.  They came late, so I felt like things were a little rushed, although the solution to the mystery does make sense.

Since Kate and Tom aren’t at home, we don’t get the normal supporting characters.  I did find I missed seeing them.  On the other hand, Tom was a much more active part of the story, which was great.  And this isn’t to take anything away from the new characters, which are good.

And yes, it does appear we’ve solved the mystery of what Kate and Tom will be doing in the future at the end of this book.

If you are new to the series, I recommend you got back to the beginning before picking up A Collection of Lies.  Fans of the series will find their patience with this book rewarded by the end.

Here are the rest of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Movie Review: Dial 1 for Murder - A Tipline Mystery

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Decent mystery

Cons: One thing loses credibility; Maddie is over the top

The Bottom Line:

A robbery tip

Leads Maddie to dead body

Uneven debut

“I Bet You’re Great at Chess.”

When I saw the previews for the first Tipline Mystery last month, I was really looking forward to this new franchise from Hallmark Mysteries.  However, I found Dial 1 for Murder a bit disappointing.

This movie introduces us to Maddie (Holland Roden), a hotel concierge by day who works at the tip line for the Detroit Free Press at night.  One night, she gets a tip for a jewelry store robbery that is going to happen.  However, since she has nothing else to go on, the police, in the form of new detective Beeks (Chris McNally) doesn’t take her too seriously.

Sure enough, a jewelry story is robbed that night, and the owner is found dead on the floor the next morning.  With Maddie inserting herself into the investigation at every turn, Beeks reluctantly accepts her help.  Can they solve it together?

I read more than enough cozy murder mysteries that my disbelief is pretty suspended.  I mean, how often is a civilian really going to get involved in a murder, much less solve it ahead of the police.  Yet this movie went too far for me to even believe.  The captain makes Maddie a reserve officer without any background check or anything.  It was just as excuse for her to be officially working with the police instead of sneaking around.

I also found Maddie annoying.  She’s a true crime junky who was always doing or saying the wrong thing.  Yes, it was supposed to be played for laughs.  Unfortunately, it made me cringe.

Please note that I am not blaming Holland Roden, who is doing her best with the script she was given.  In fact, all the cast was fine.  They were under served by the script.

I will admit as the movie went along, I found Maddie toned down, which made her more enjoyable.  I really did like Detective Beeks and found his character grounding with all the antics around him.

And the mystery was decent.  There were enough suspects and motives that I didn’t piece it together early.  Then again, I’m often confused.  I also liked how the duo followed the clues they got to reach the climax.

Would I watch another Tipline Mystery?  Probably.  I’ve stuck with some other Hallmark franchises that weren’t the best.  But I hope they tone down the characters from what we got in Dial 1 for Murder.

Book Review: Fondant Fumble by Jenn McKinlay (Cupcake Bakery Mysteries #16)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters, laughs, subplot

Cons: Mystery could have been stronger

The Bottom Line:

The newest franchise

Football players bring danger

Fun book as always

Murder Stings a Bakery Opening

If I were coming up with themes for a cupcake bakery themed cozy mystery series, I’m not sure I would have picked football to be one of them, but that’s just what Jenn McKinlay did for Fondant Fumble, the sixteenth in her series. As a fan of the series, I figured she would make it work, and I was right. 

Fairytale Cupcakes, the bakery that Mel Cooper DeLuca started with her friends Angie and Tate, has been franchising all over the country for years, but the newest franchise is going to be a little closer to home. Keogh Graham and Tyler Matthews, stars of the local NFL team, the Arizona Scorpions, are looking to start a business to start building for their retirement from the game. Keogh especially is a quick study at making cupcakes, and Mel is enjoying making friends with both of them. 

Their location’s grand opening goes well – that is until the Scorpions’s owner shows up. He’s not at all happy with his star players doing anything that will take their focus off football. The next morning, the man is dead in the middle of the new bakery. With the police looking at Keogh as their prime suspect, Mel once again finds herself trying to figure out who has the ingredients for murder. 

I love these characters. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be back for book sixteen, right? After this many books, I look forward to catching up with these friends. Obviously, some characters get more page time than others, but that’s to be expected. The new characters were just as great, and I loved spending time with them. 

Unfortunately, the mystery could have been a little stronger. A couple additional suspects would have helped, and a few more twists. Now, don’t misunderstand, I did enjoy the mystery, and it is good. It just felt a little under baked. 

Which brings us to the subplot. I figured out early on what was happening there, and I was ready to roll my eyes, but then it took a turn. I was delighted. In fact, it became one of my favorite parts of the book. 

Anyone who reads Jenn’s books knows to expect to laugh. That holds true again here. I laughed multiple times as I was reading this book at the dialogue as the characters bantered with each other. 

If this book leaves you craving cupcakes, you’ll be happy to hear there are four recipes at the end. They sound delicious as always. 

Overall, Fondant Fumble is another fun entry in this long running series. Fans old and new will gobble it down. 

Be sure to enjoy the rest of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries. 

Note: I received an ARC of this book

June 9th's Sunday/Monday Post

Time to check in for another Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
Mailbox Monday

I can not tell you have fabulous last Saturday was.  I missed the Sunday/Monday post because I was out of town for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.  This was the first time they'd had one opened to the public in 5 years (since 2019).  It had become one of my favorite weekends of the year, and I was so happy to be back.  The course was shorter than it had been, but I didn't mind.  Okay, I minded.  I was the oddball who was wishing it had been longer when I hit the finish line.  There weren't a lot of people who signed up, which saddened me.  Hopefully, that won't discourage them from doing it again because I'm ready to do it again!  I was smiling almost the entire time I was on base.

After the run, I stopped on the way home to visit some family friends.  They used to live in Northern California where I grew up, but they've resettled in Orange County.  I hadn't seen them for a while, so it was nice to get to hang out with them.

This week?  It's quarter end close at work, so it was crazy busy.  And I plan to work on Sunday to get a jump on my deadlines for this coming week since I'm off a couple of days at the end of the week.

But I'm taking Saturday off for fun.  First up in the first book festival here in town.  Of course, I had to go check it out.  It was about what I was expecting - fairly small with only one author I was interested in.  Naturally, I bought one of her books, but more on that later.  Still, I was happy to see something like this in town and hope it truly is the 1st annual book festival.

And then comes game day on Saturday afternoon.  It hits at the perfect time for me every month, a chance to relax after the craziness and stress of close.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Book Review: Villains' Realm by Ridley Pearson

Monday - TV Show Review: The Traitors - Season 1

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder in the Air by Various Authors

Wednesday - Movie Review: psych 3 - This is Gus

Thursday - Book Review: Murder on the Med by Nancy Cole Silverman

Friday - Novella Review: A Feast Most Foul by Sarah E. Burr

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Fondant Fumble by Jenn McKinlay

Tuesday - Movie Review: Dial 1 for Murder - A Tipline Mystery

Wednesday - Book Review: A Collection of Lies by Connie Berry

Thursday - Ornament Review: Sir S'More

Friday - Book Review: Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

It's been two weeks.  Of course, I have plenty of books to tell you about.

First, I finally got the two ARCs I was waiting on from Berkley.  I got them one week before one of them comes out, so I'll be posting that review this coming week.  That book?  Fondant Fumble, the sixteenth Cupcake Mystery from Jenn McKinlay.  The other book I got is Requiem for a Mouse by Miranda James.  This is book sixteen in the Cat in the Stacks series.  I'll be starting it this coming week.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the characters are up to.  And I hadn't realized that this is book 16 for both series.  How fun is that coincidence?

Then there's In$sured to the Hilt by Charlotte Stuart.  I don't know much about it, but it sounded like it could be good.  And the Kindle version was on sale for 99 cents, so I snagged it.  It still is on sale as of my typing this, so if it interests you, snag it quick.

Death in St. George's by M. A. Monnin came out recently.  This is book three in her Intrepid Traveler Mysteries.  I enjoyed the first two, so I'm anxious to dive in.  Maybe July?  We'll see.

I got my first September ARC this week - Mrs. Clause and the Nightmare Before New Year's.  I love this series from Liz Ireland, so I'm looking forward to checking in on everyone at the North Pole.

I got another ARC as well, this time an eARC of Three Strikes - You're Dead.  This is a sports story themed short story collection.  I'm looking forward to reading these, especially since one of them involves Ultimate Frisbee, a sport I used to play all the time.

I woke up Saturday morning to see that the ebook version of Richard Osman's The Bullet That Missed was on sale.  I have the other three in hardcover, but I missed this one.  Yes, it's breaking up a set, but I snagged it.  This is book three in the series, so now I need to read book two.

Finally, there's the book I bought at the book festival, Framed for Murder by Marla A. White.  Yes, I pretty much bought it based on the cover and the fact that she was at the festival, so I wanted to support that.  I mean, it is a cozy mystery, so that also grabbed my attention.  We'll see what I think of it when I get to it.

What I'm Currently Reading:

As I'm typing this up on Friday night, I'm currently between books.  I just wrapped up Warped on a Moon Trek by Diane Vallere.  It's the fifth in a series set in space.  This one wasn't as much of a mystery as the others in the series have been, but it was still lots of fun.  Mind bending, but fun.

I'm not sure how far I will get into it given my busy weekend, but up next will be Murder at an English Seance by Jessica Ellicott.  This is book eight in a series about two friends who start a private enquiry agency in England after World War I.  These are usually quite fun, so I'm looking forward to it.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

June 8th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – Not completely thrilled we have the same format as last year, but they didn’t ask me, so I’ll go with hit.  I loved seeing the women who had to overcome such had physical issues get to compete and do so well.  Very impressive.  Glad Daniel Gill is off to a good start.  As always, he’s one of the ones I will be seriously rooting for.

The Weakest Link – After the first round, I was afraid they were going to bank every time they got a question right.  I’m curious how that strategy would have worked for them, but on man, was I tired of hearing them saying bank all the time.  I didn’t know the founders names, but as a huge A&W fan, I loved the last question.

Race to Survive: New Zealand – I wonder how bad that’s guy’s knee was.  It was hard to tell if he was seriously injured or if he was just done with the race.  I get it; that race isn’t worth being seriously injured for the rest of your life for.  And looking at the terrain was bothering my knee.  But still, I’m wondering if he could have pushed further or not.  We definitely have our top teams already.  Top three are the same as last leg.  Obviously, there’s still a long ways to go, but I feel like those three will be the teams to beat for the season.

The Acolyte – I’ve heard lots of bad things about this show, but so far, it doesn’t seem that bad to me.  Not sure how they are going to sustain the show over eight episodes, especially since they gave away the twin twist in the first episode.  There’s obviously more to it than that.

Novella Review: A Feast Most Foul by Sarah E. Burr (Court of Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters

Cons: One or two small things

The Bottom Line:

Tournament with death

Jax must free her intended

Great second entry

Murder in a Neighboring Kingdom

When I listened to the first Court of Mystery novella a couple of months back, I really enjoyed the unique setting and the wonderful characters, so I was looking forward to revisiting them in A Feast Most Foul, the second novella.  It was another wonderful story.

Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier is heading out on her first official state visit since taking the throne.  She’s visiting the neighboring kingdom ruled by her grandfather.  It will not be a warm and pleasant visit, however, since Jax is estranged from the man, who is only looking out for his own kingdom’s best interests.

Her grandfather’s kingdom is hosting a two-week long tournament of champions that will featuring feasting and jousting.  However, the first night, one of the knights is killed in his tent.  Jax’s intended quickly becomes the prime suspect, and Jax’s grandfather seems only too delighted to believe the evidence.  Can Jacqueline prove what really happened?

I’ve mentioned this is a novella, right?  I feel like it’s roughly half the length of a full novel.  As long as you know this when you sit down to read it, you’ll be fine, and honestly, I didn’t feel like the story was missing anything because of the length.

After all, the story has plenty of twists and turns.  We get some conflict outside of the mystery that helps draw us in early, and things only heat up when the murder takes place.  I had begun to suspect the ending, but I wasn’t sure.  Once again, I was impressed with how Jacqueline pieced things together.  I did feel one of the subplots got a little shorted, but I was still happy with where it wound up.

Even though we aren’t at home for this story, we still got to see my favorite characters again, which was great.  I love the relationships we saw in the first book, and I liked getting to see them grow.  We meet a nice assortment of new characters, not all of them suspects, and I hope we see some of them again.

A word of warning – by necessity, this book hints at what happened in the first book.  If you don’t want to be spoiled, I recommend you read it first.  But since I loved it, I’d recommend you read it anyway.  I am very impressed with how the author gave us the background we needed without outright spoiling things.  That was a very tricky dance that she pulls off well.

I listened to the audio again with Melissa Green narrating.  She does a good job, although her voicing for one character annoyed me.  Overall, that was a minor irritant, and I understand why she was doing what she did.

These books have a slight fantasy setting.  No, we aren’t dealing with magic or anything like that, although unicorns were mentioned again.  I enjoy it for something different.

A Feast Most Foul is a worthy second enjoy in this charming series.  If you are looking for something a little different, you’ll be glad you picked up this cozy series.

Enjoy the rest of the Court of Mystery stories.

Book Review: Murder on the Med by Nancy Cole Silverman (Kat Lawson Mysteries #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Kat and a great story in a great location

Cons: A couple of minor niggles

The Bottom Line:

Kat in Italy

A relaxing assignment

That turns dangerous

Kat Finds Sailing with Seniors Dangerous

As I mentioned in my review earlier this week, it’s summer time, and, in addition to planning real vacations, it’s important to plan some virtual vacations.  That makes the release of Murder on the Med perfectly timed.  No matter what your summer plans are, you’ll want to go on this dangerous Mediterranean cruise.

This is the third book in Nancy Cold Silverman’s Kat Lawson series.  Kat is a former reporter who found a new job working for Travel International.  The magazine is a front for a branch of the FBI that investigates art fraud.  Yes, Kat is really tasked with writing articles, but she is also under cover on most assignments.

Except for this time.  This trip is just to spend a week on a luxury ship getting material for an article.  The ship is a little different, it’s designed for seniors to live on full time as they sail off into their sunset years.  Kat will definitely be the youngest passenger on the ship.  She’s subletting a resident’s two-bedroom unit for the week, while that resident, Dede, is off the ship.  After all, people need vacations from their vacation, right?

However, Kat’s only been on board for a few hours when another resident tells Kat she suspects Dede didn’t actually get off the ship but instead fell overboard.  The crew doesn’t take that theory seriously, but Kat can’t help but wonder when she finds Dede’s purse and phone in it in the unit.  Then she finds a hidden gold coin.  A very valuable coin.  Can she figure out what is really going on?

Fans of the first two books might be disappointed to learn that Kat is the only character who really returns.  I wasn’t too surprised given the setting, a luxury ship sailing off the coast of Italy.  On the other hand, if you’ve missed the first two books in the series, this is the perfect place to jump in.  And, given all the people we meet on board, we really don’t have time to miss those we’ve met before.  I had to work at it to keep these new people and their relationships straight, but it was worth it.  And Kat gets plenty of time to shine.

This book isn’t a traditional dead body and five suspects type of mystery.  That’s a great thing.  Ms. Silverman does a great job of keeping the suspense going even when Kat begins to piece things together.  I was wondering where the book was going to go, and then it gave me some great twists and had me turning pages even faster.

My only real complaint is the timeline seemed a little lax at times.  But you know me, that’s something I’m often looking at when I’m reading a book.  It’s nothing that really impacts the story, however.

On the other hand, I am more ready than ever to jump on a plane and explore Italy.  The ship spends the time on the Amalfi Coast, and I now want to see it for myself.

The series started out in the late 1990’s, which makes sense given the plot of the first book in the series.  We are now up to June of 2000.  While the book states that in the first chapter, I had to remind myself of that a couple of times with some of the things the characters reference.  Amazing what a difference twenty years makes, right?

Murder on the Med is another fun addition to this series.  Pack your virtual bags and enjoy this vacation with Kat.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

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Movie Review: psych 3 - This is Gus

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun seeing the characters again; laughs

Cons: Climax is very anticlimactic

The Bottom Line:

Gus getting married

Plenty of laughs and banter

Ending needed work

“I Haven’t Heard it Both Ways.”

When I first took a great deal on Peacock’s streaming service for a year, I immediately knew I’d be watching psych 3: This is Gus at some point over those 12 months.  Turns out it took me almost the entire year, but that was because I decided to watch it with some friends who are also die-hard fans of the show, and it took us a while to arrange our schedules.  While the company was great, and the movie had some laughs, it could have been much better.

This movie picks up months after the second movie ends.  Gus (Dule Hill) is now an expectant father and his fiancée, Selene (Jazmyn Simon) is due any time.  She wants them to be married before the baby comes, and Gus has thrown himself into planning it.  However, there’s just one little snag – Selene is already married and has to track down her husband to get a divorce.  She insists that she can take care of it, but she doesn’t seem to be making any progress.

Enter Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) who starts trying to track down this ex himself.  However, he keeps hitting snags, like the fact that Selene doesn’t appear to actually exist.  Can he figure out what is going on before the big day comes?

Given some of Gus’s disastrous love interests over the years on the TV show, Shawn’s concern for his friend is well founded, and it is a great hook to pull us into the story.  For most of the movie, things progress well, with some interesting twists that made me want to find out what was going to happen.

And there are also some nice laughs along the way at Shawn and Gus’s antics.  They still have great chemistry together.  We all enjoyed their banter as we were watching.  There are funny meta jokes as well; I’ve got to admit, I didn’t catch all of them until I was thinking about them later.  That’s how fast they come.  And they finally make a reference to The Princess Bride.  About time!

It’s the last act where things fall apart.  Yes, I was rather expecting some of what happened in it, but those events took over.  There were some great jokes, but they kept milking those jokes.  It was time to move on already since they weren’t funny any more.  Then there’s the fact that, because this took so much time, several storylines were left unresolved, including a couple of sub-plots.  Actually, I think one of those “sub-plots” was only in my mind since the character who was involved in it really only had a cameo.  Maybe it was just designed to allow us to see him?

And in case the “to be continued” wasn’t obvious, there is a mid-credits scene that shows where they plan to go with the fourth movie.  Considering this movie came out about 3 years ago, who knows when we might get that movie.  I get it, everyone’s schedules are crazy, and the strikes didn’t help.  But I hate not knowing if we will get any resolution.

On the plus side, all the acting is strong.  I really enjoyed seeing the characters again.  I love what they are doing with Timothy Omundson’s Lassiter.  His subplot gave the movie the serious grounding it needed to counter the antics in the main story.

Fans will enjoy seeing the gang again in psych 3, but if you are a casual fan, there’s no need to rush out and watch this movie.

Book Review: Murder in the Air by Various Authors (Destination Murders #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun short stories with characters you’ll enjoy

Cons: One story ends poorly

The Bottom Line:

These murders take flight

Mystery travels again

Eight fun short stories

High Flying Murder

Now that we are in June, everyone is in the summer frame of mind.  Once again, that means it is time to start planning vacations.  It also means it is time for another volume in the Destination Murders short story anthology.  This year, we get Murder in the Air, and it’s another winner.

Naturally, when I first heard the title, my mind went to airplanes, and we do have three stories that revolve around air travel, one commercial airline and two private jets.  But we also have a zipline, a gondola, a blimp, and a hot air balloon.  And then there’s the creative story set in space.  And there is a creative take on the theme I will let you discover on your own.  (No, the space setting isn’t it.)

As is the case with these collections, we have authors who have participated before and some that are new to the series.  Most of the authors are featuring characters they have written about in cozy mystery novels, but a couple are featuring characters they’ve been writing about for these collections, and one features what I believe is a new character.  Either way, you get the introduction and background you need for the story presented here.  And I enjoy getting to connect with these characters whether I’ve read a series with them or not.  After multiple stories with these characters in these anthologies, I feel like I know them.

 

So what happens in these eight stories?  Along the way we get:

A trip to Costa Rica for Barbara Marr could mean trouble since her mother is coming, too.  But it’s not her mother who winds up dead.

Jackie Norwood is thrilled that she has finally avoided a murder at a food festival she is attending only to have the passenger next to her on the ride home get deathly ill.

Samantha Kidd’s trip to Vegas for a sneaker trade show with her husband is dampened by murder.

Davis Way finds danger on a flight to participate in a diamond auction for her employer.

Sorrel must find out what happened when she is accused of murdering her space ship’s captain.  The biggest problem?  Sorrel blacked out and doesn’t know what happened herself.

Unlucky honeymooners Ross and Caroline try their third honeymoon only to have someone die on their gondola.

Lucy Berberian and Katie Watson are excited for their girl’s weekend on a modern blimp only to have the owner die.

Finally, Lorrie and her friends are off to a murder mystery event in Tennessee when a real dead body shows up.

As you can see, there is a wide variety of variations on the theme, which is always fun.  I look forward to seeing exactly how the authors will handle the theme and give us a great story.

Since I read short stories so seldom, I do have to put myself in the mindset again.  These often have fewer suspects, especially with all the recurring characters the authors are trying to juggle.  They also just don’t have time for as many twists.  These are minor complaints since I still had fun along the way.  Having said that, there was one story that had an abrupt ending.  But one story out of eight isn’t bad at all.

Because these are short stories, there isn’t time for tons of character development.  However, the characters all felt real enough for me to care about them and the outcome of the story.  I enjoyed my time with them, and it reminded me why I want to pick up the author’s novels I haven’t gotten to yet.  If only there were more hours in the day for reading.  It’s always fun to connect with the characters when I read one of these books.

The eight stories here are on the long end of the short story spectrum, which means they add up to a full length book.  You’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

If you are looking for a fun way to sample new to you authors or want a chance to connect with your favorites while waiting for the next book, Murder in the Air is the book for you.  Pack it in your suitcase for you vacation and enjoy.  Just maybe save it for reading when you are safely on the ground.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

 

Included Stories:

“Done with the Wind” by Karen Cantwell

“Sugar High, Sugar Low” by Cathy Wiley

“Tread Man Walking” by Diane Vallere

“Double High Stakes” by Gretchen Archer

“(H)airless” by Rosalie Spielman

“Airlift” by Shawn Reilly Simmons

“A Contest Win to Die For” by Tina Kashian

“Hot Air and Good Times at Shelly’s Share Shed” by Eleanor Cawood Jones

TV Show Review: The Traitors USA - Season 1

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Intriguing premise

Cons: Bogged down by drama in the middle

The Bottom Line:

Trust and betrayal

Intriguing premise for game

Bogs down in middle

All Fair in Murder and Banishment

When I first heard about The Traitors, I immediately wanted to check it out.  It sounded a lot like The Mole, which I loved.  Sadly, the execution for season 1 didn’t quite satisfy.

The show brings 20 Americans to a Scottish castle.  They are a mix of reality show vets like Rachel from Big Brother/The Amazing Race, Arie from The Bachelor, Kate from Below Decks, and Cirie from Survivor and “civilians,” aka people who haven’t been on a reality show before.  17 of them are the faithful, but 3 are traitors.  Each night, the traitors “kill” one of the faithful.  During the day, the remaining group completes a challenge to try to add money to the prize pot.  In the evening, the group meets to try to banish someone.  The faithful are trying to banish the traitors from the game.  If, at the end, there are no more traitors, then the remaining faithful split the prize pot.  If, however, they haven’t rooted out all the faithful, then the remaining traitors get the prizes.

Cue the backstabbing and drama.

The show tells us from the beginning who the traitors are, so we get to watch the season unfold, and the strategies of both sides.  That was interesting at first, but it became less interesting as the faithful were clearly so focused on a couple of targets they weren’t thinking of who else it might be.

One different from The Mole was that everyone was invested in getting money into the prize pot.  So, really, there are only a few moments that the traitors might give themselves away.  That makes it really hard for the faithful to figure anything out.

And it makes the middle of the season rather boring since we know what is going to happen.  Oh, the producers try, but it wasn’t enough.

Instead, we get lots of drama, especially between a couple of characters who didn’t like each other.  I’ve got to say, I was familiar with one of the people involved, and I almost didn’t watch when I realized they were involved here.  My opinion didn’t improve from previous times I’ve had them on a reality show I’ve been watching.

As to the end, I will say I get it.  But I also think it was a pretty low thing to do, and it showed a lot of character from someone else.

There are ten episodes plus a reunion.  I can’t imagine binge watching this show.  The drama got to me enough as it was.

I will say that host Alan Cummings was a delight.  He added some levity to the proceedings.  And some fun outfits.

When I finished this season, I was debating about watching any more.  I did wind up watching season two and enjoying it.  But season 1 of The Traitors is for die hard reality show people only.

Book Review: Villains’ Realm by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers Inheritance #2)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The magic of the premise is always fun

Cons: Weak entry in the saga overall

The Bottom Line:

Trilogy middle

Weaker entry in saga

Still has some magic

Enchantment Creating New Lands

Last year, Ridley Pearson revisited his Kingdom Keepers fantasy world, and this middle-aged guy jumped in.  Yes, these are technically middle grade fantasy, but I love Disney, and the premise of these books has always intrigued me.  Villains’ Realm is the middle part of this new Inheritance trilogy.  Sadly, it needed a little work.

If you are new to these stories, you really shouldn’t jump in here.  There is a lot of backstory you will have missed.  But a brief primer.  The Kingdom Keepers are a group of middle school kids who fought Disney villains in the parks at night in an effort to keep them from taking over and destroying the Disney magic.  There is so much to it than that, obviously; this is book twelve in the overall saga, after all.  The Inheritance trilogy picks up twenty years in the future as a new threat to the Disney legacy emerges and the kids of the original Keepers must now pick up the fight.

Which brings us to Eli, the focus of these new books.  The action here starts when Eli learns that Disney’s CEO has completely changed his mind about opening a Villains’ Realm in each park.  The man was opposing it because it was a clear threat, giving the villains a foothold.  But now, he’s greenlit them, and constructions has started immediately.  In order to stop them from being completed, Eli and his friend Blair are going to have to team up with Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.  Can they stop it in time?

When this series is on, there are a lot of fun and imagination in them that makes the magic come alive.  Sadly, this is the middle book in a trilogy, and it knows it.  The story moves along well, but we don’t have the epic battles against the villains and their henchmen that the series is best known for.  Instead, we get Eli and Blair moving from one area to another on their quest.  There are a few standoffs, but that’s really all they are.  And the ending is pretty abrupt, even if you are reading it as a cliffhanger for the next book in the series.

Of course, my complaint about the characters comes into play here as well.  They’ve always been thin, and that’s the case again.  I have a hard time connecting the kids to their parents, which doesn’t help.  Eli, as the main character, is a little better.

And the book needed a bit of an edit since I got confused a couple of times about what park the action was supposed to be taking place in.  I feel like some of the locations were changed, but not all of the edits were caught.

Not that I’m sorry I read the book.  There are some developments fans will need to know to follow what comes next.  And the fun of imaging all that is happening inside the parks is always great.  The idea of these characters interacting with classic Disney character still makes me smile.  The fact that much of the action takes place at the California parks added to the fun.

But I did have to laugh when the characters were dealing with the humidity when visiting California.  We rarely have humidity here.  Again, a minor thing that should have been caught in the edits.

Am I sorry I picked up Villain’s Realm?  No.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this is all going to play out in the final book.  But this could have been a much stronger entry in the series.

Enjoy the magic of the rest of the Kingdom Keepers saga.

June 1st's Weekly TV Thoughts

Summer is here, and you can tell by how little TV I'm watching.  All of it is on Monday nights, too, although I don't watch it all on Mondays.

American Ninja Warrior – Now, I’m not knocking the athletes who do this show in the slightest.  But I definitely feel like there is a bit of luck involved, especially when you start racing.  One little slip, and you are out of the season, or you lose a competition.  We see this with people who have a save on stage one in the finals and mess up once but come back to finish with no problems.  I say all this because seeing last year’s winners lose like they did was hard.  But I am also happy to see new winners crowned.  And they certainly deserved to win.  And I do like seeing new winners come through all the time.  It would be boring if the same person/team won every year.

Weakest Link – I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a team complete a chain.  It’s certainly rare.  And right off the bat, too, no missed questions in that first round.  Of course, I called it that they wouldn’t bank in the next round, and sure enough, they got zero.  Overall, a solid performance with a larger amount of money.  And the contestants were fun.

Race to Survivor: New Zealand – I’ll be interested to see how these finishes hold over time.  Right now, I feel like we’ve established a top tier and a bottom tier, but there could have just been some luck involved in this first race.  Wasn’t surprised at the team that went home.  Rather expected them to be out early on, actually.