#TuesdayBookBlog – Page 21 – Rosepoint Publishing

Swamp Story by Dave Barry – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.

Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it. The problem is, some very bad men are also looking for the treasure, and they know Jesse has it.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the “Everglades Melon Monster.” The Monster is in fact an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works, inspiring a horde of TikTokers to swarm into the swamp in search of the monster at the same time villains are on the hunt for Jesse’s treasure. Amid this mayhem, a presidential hopeful arrives in the Everglades to start his campaign. Needless to say, it does not go as planned. In fact, nothing in this story goes as planned. This is, after all, Florida.

My Review:

What a breath of fresh air and a major hoot to boot! I love it when I can get my hands on a Dave Barry book. So much fun you can’t put it down. I also knew this one had to be shared with the CE, so his review is below.

SOOO much to write about, it’d be easy to give away too much, but by the blurb you already know it is about Jesse Braddock and her treasure discovery. She is living in a tiny Everglades cabin with egocentric Slater, a pretty boy who is the father to her infant daughter Willa. Not bad enough she is stuck here with Slater, but now he’s taken in a cohort, Kark, also not large on brains or abilities.

Meanwhile, Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer is busy hatching another hair-brained scheme to lure tourists to the long-since failed business he inherited with his brother, Brad. Only Dave Barry could develop these misfit characters as they concoct yet another fantastic idea to make their millions. The idea is so stupid, so idiotic, that it’s sure to get shut down immediately by their buddy Stu but it seems Stu likes the idea. Ken is going to attract tourists by making a video of the “Everglades Melon Monster” and they already have someone in mind to play the melon monster.

Now it gets even more complicated: There are the bad guys out in the swamp looking for treasure and even worse guys looking for Jesse who found it. Hey, it’s Florida, the Everglades, the swamp, wild boars, alligators. Barry knows how to heap on the absurd with satirical bits of side-splitting observations, LOL analogies, and dialogue dead on to the character; the characters so real you want to either give them a hug or kick some behind. It quickly goes from crazy to wild and dangerous and hilariously tongue-in-cheek.

“That’s Buddy,” said Skeeter. “He’s my emotional support boar.”

This is a book loaded with twists, unique atmospherics, and an outrageously imaginative plot. Engaging, entertaining, and totally recommended. LOVED IT! 5 stars

His Review:

Dumb and Dumber meet the Three Stooges in this slapstick adventure in the Florida Everglades. A struggling business; Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer is trying to drive business to their store. They devise a plan to create a viral video of a “swamp monster.”

Dave Barry is a classic writer who weaves average intellect with personal avarice and jealousy. Between enjoying various illegal substances and devising a script for their story, Ken’s prime motivator is cash flow. Almost losing the store, Ken and his cohorts decide there needs to be a swamp monster that is being investigated by them. The dialogue between these individuals is absolutely hilarious as well as idiotic. A few bucks is all that it takes to motivate the participants.

The plot thickens when a young beauty stumbles across some Civil War gold hidden in Everglades National Park. She is trying to dump the father of her child who turns out to be a real dirtbag. He has already blown through her inheritance and left her nearly barefoot and penniless.

Brad is another character. He is unable to put together a coherent thought when Jesse is around and has fallen head over heels for her. He helps with her daughter while she tries to get the treasure. She is not sure who she can trust.

The video goes viral with the first installment of the search for the swamp monster. I kept laughing as I waded through the antics of the head of the Department of the Interior, the local news agencies, and the instigators. Read and laugh along with this hilarious tale. 5 stars – CE Williams

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from #Simon&Schuster and the author through @NetGalley that in no way influenced either review. These are our honest thoughts.

Definitely a #nottobemissed novel releasing next year, currently on pre-order, and our recommendation for a book that is engaging and humorously entertaining.

Book Details:

Genre: Dark Humor, General Humorous Fiction, Humorous Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ASIN: B0BHTPVBCY
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: The New York Times has pronounced Dave Barry “the funniest man in America.” But of course that could have been on a slow news day when there wasn’t much else fit to print. True, his bestselling collections of columns are legendary, but it is his wholly original books that reveal him as an American icon. Dave Barry Slept Here was his version of American history. Dave Barry Does Japan was a contribution to international peace and understanding from which Japan has not yet fully recovered. Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys is among the best-read volumes in rehab centers and prisons. Raised in a suburb of New York, educated in a suburb of Philadelphia, he lives now in a suburb of Miami. He is not, as he often puts it so poetically, making this up.

Dave’s most recent books are “Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland,” and “Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog.” His next book, “A Field Guide To The Jewish People,” which he co-wrote with his friends Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel, will be published September 24. Dave is not Jewish, but Adam and Alan are, so it’s kosher.

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

“…Presbyterian church, where some folks go to get right with the Lord and others go to be seen going.”

Book Blurb:

From Jeannette Walls, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, comes a riveting new novel about an indomitable young woman in Virginia during Prohibition.

Most folk thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who’d amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans.

Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.

Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger.

You will fall in love with Sallie Kincaid, a feisty and fearless, terrified and damaged young woman who refuses to be corralled.

My Review:

The 20s was such a tumultuous time in our country, flappers and Prohibition playing a major role until the Depression hit. Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of a wealthy land and business owner. He doesn’t just rule the home roost but the rural Virginia county folk as well.

Sallie Kincaid lost her mother when she was very young and was quickly sent away by her step-mother to live with a destitute aunt after an accident involving her little half-brother. The existence was hand to mouth during which time she did what she could to help her aunt buy food including scrubbing soiled sheets. When at last she is allowed to return to the family home nine years later following her step-mother’s death, she is blown over by the opulence, the size, and the enormity of the Kincaid holdings.

It’s not a bed of roses for Sallie, however, when additional family members make it clear she is there to help care for her brother. Unfortunately, given Sallie’s proclivities and her natural forthright habits and strong opinions, she appears to be more comfortable in an enforcer/collection position than that of nurturing. Through a series of unforeseen tragedies, she is suddenly thrust into the position of heading the Holdings.

The Holdings of course are driven by the illegal sale of spirits and who does a better job at making whiskey than these mountain people with their stills? But the mountain people have a stranglehold on their grudges as well as their illegal activities. (You’ve heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys?)

The novel tackles a number of issues from complicated family secrets and the woman’s position in the family to moral and religious passion, bootlegging, and gang wars. Sallie is a strong female protagonist. I applauded her triumphs and understood her attitude but hoped it would soften. It didn’t. It’s a complex and classic study of a culture peculiar to the area. I hoped for a better conclusion and was disappointed.

Nonetheless, the narrative is engaging and highly entertaining, the voice authentic not just to the time but to the geographical area. I loved hearing a few of those words I heard as a child—fun words like hifalutin. You just don’t hear those descriptive, clean words anymore. A couple of my favorite quotes:

“…the whiskey makers were always the heroes and the revenuers were always the villains.”

“…folks call it firewater, mule kick, tangle leg, ruckus juice, rise-n-shine, hooch, preacher’s lye, and panther piss…”

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. Currently on pre-order.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Scribner
ISBN-10: ‎ 1501117297
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1501117299
ASIN: B0B3Y5Q75C
Print Length: 368 pages
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Jeannette Walls was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in the American Southwest and Welch, West Virginia. She graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York for twenty-five years, writing for New York Magazine, Esquire, and MSNBC. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years, has been translated into more than thirty languages and was made into a film starring Brie Larson. She is also the author of the best-selling novels The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review. Her new novel, Hang the Moon, will be published by Scribner in March 2023. Walls lives in central Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.

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The Sandcastle Hurricane by Carolyn Brown – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Family, wounded hearts, and a Texas bed-and-breakfast are in need of repair in New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown’s inviting novel about down-home comfort and second chances.

Cousins Tabby and Ellie Mae are due for a change. Running their aunt’s beachfront bed-and-breakfast in Sandcastle, Texas, is just the thing to shake things up…though their lives spin out of control in more ways than one when a hurricane barrels into the coastline. It’s a miracle it didn’t carry them off to Kansas. Not so lucky are the assisted-living center and a small eclectic group of local folks who take shelter with the cousins.

Two estranged sisters, rowdy as a circus, need a referee for a battle that goes back decades. And a pair of veterans, best friends for years, hash out bittersweet old times. There’s also handyman Alex LaSalle and his business partner, Ricky, experts at repairing the hurricane’s damage—and at making Tabby’s and Ellie Mae’s hearts beat a little faster.

As unpredictable, crowded, and stormy as it gets, the Sandcastle B and B is still the perfect harbor for healing past wounds, finding romance, and making up for lost time. Add in Tabby’s homemade pecan pie, and the Texas shore feels like a little slice of paradise.

My Review:

Ah, a novel of damaged souls bound together in the face of nature’s forceful notice that there are worse things out there. Time to count the blessings and coincidentally this is the perfect time of year to do that.

Cousins Tabby and Ellie May have had their full share of tragedy and the timing is right for their Aunt Charlotte to sign over her beachfront B&B to her nieces and split for drier pastures. Heaven knows they have ideas on what to do with the property which will require some updating but the relocation for both of them to the south is a great time for them to band together, start over, and do it.

Unfortunately, they barely unpack their bags before they are notified of an impending hurricane and dear ole auntie calls to tell them he’s sending Alex to them with four assisted living persons who could not be evacuated—no place to go.

Well, at least Alex and his partner Ricky can provide some eye candy as well as a built-in repair crew after the hurricane.

Hurricane Delilah is taking her old sweet time decimating the formerly peaceful village and it appears their elderly guests will be forced to stay until everyone is bosom buddies. The two old sisters are like a couple vipers while the two old veterans swap war stories. The cousins manage to make it work without B&B experience or electricity and discover the group is a family in itself.

Nothing like a feel good Hallmark type novel to set a reader up for the upcoming holiday season. Not as syrupy sweet as Hallmark, as there might be some objectionable language and implied sexual activity, but it is a lesson in coming together for the common good. There are themes of kindness, loss, grief, and recovery. Fresh starts are a good thing, families are a good thing, pets are a good thing, and so are romances but these are just too convenient to be very realistic.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Women’s Romance Fiction
Publisher: Montlake
ISBN: ‎ 1542038383
ASIN: B09S37L4Q7
Print Length: 315 pages
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon and #1 Washington Post bestselling author. She is the author of more than 100 novels and several novellas. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, Montlake Romance’s prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and also a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Brown has been published for more than 20 years, and her books have been translated 21 foreign languages.

When she’s not writing, she likes to plot new stories in her backyard with her tom cat, Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, who protects the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, locusts, and spiders.

Visit her at http://www.carolynbrownbooks.com.

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More Harm Than Good: The Kilteegan Bridge Story-Book 3 by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

“He always joked that in other cultures, there was a lot of talk and very little action, whereas in Ireland the reverse was true.”

Book Blurb:

Kilteegan Bridge, Ireland 1974

For each member of the O’Sullivan family there are turbulent times ahead.

Eli’s need to do his best for his patients is a cause for a bitter divide in the community. Emmet seems hell bent on going down a path in life his parents dread but they’re unable to stop him. Jack’s life and liberty are in grave peril as his secret faces exposure, while Emily’s troubles are, it seems only just beginning with the return of someone she would much rather had disappeared forever. And Maria must decide, is blood really thicker than water, and should family always come first, no matter the cost?

In More Harm than Good, the Kilteegan Bridge Series continues, as the modernity of the 1970’s challenges Irish traditional ways, and generations clash, sometimes with deadly consequences.

My Review:

Master Irish storyteller Jean Grainger adds Book 3 to the emotional family drama Kilteegan Bridge series. Book 3 has progressed to the mid-70s (from the 50s in Book 1) to a strong climate of changing Irish attitudes. It’s hard to change and change doesn’t come easy.

Eli and Lena have seen their little ones become teens and the teens are exploring and rebelling as teens are wont to do. Some of the rebellion is serious and will spell major upheaval for both Lena and Eli as well as the extended family, all of whom face desperate problems of their own.

What secrets are Jack and Skipper keeping? Emmet and Nellie? Too young to know what they don’t know, too young and naïve to be aware they are being played. Too inexperienced to know what to do or where to turn. But they are family. And family sticks together always and takes care of one their own—in one way or another.

Don’t they?

I love the way the author builds her characters into flesh and blood. The village of Kilteegan so real, atmospheric, the people under the heavy hand of the Catholic Church that governs with an iron fist and manipulates their lives.

I love that daft sense of humor she brings to her tales. The analogies often break the tension just when it’s needed and never fail to bring a smile or chuckle.

“…sometimes you’re as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.”

The narrative needs an occasional break from the serious turn into themes of religious control, homosexuality, unwed pregnancy, and mental illness. A couple issues are dealt with strongly and sympathetically, possibly revealing a more lenient attitude than the issues provided at the time.

I love it when Jean Grainger releases another novel in one of her series. I read both Book 1 The Trouble with Secrets and Book 2 What Divides Us and loved this addition, although it could be read as a standalone. The author can weave a historical chronicle into an Irish family drama that clutches at the heart and leaves ripples of familiarity. Few have not confronted a similar situation and easily understand the impact.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts and I’m looking forward to Book 4. Recommended!

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical British Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
ASIN: B0BFXLYXJK
Print Length: 280 pages
Publication Date: November 15, 2022 – Happy Release Day!
Source: Author contact

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated—please see author’s page for full bio]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

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Is There an Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs?

Surprise, surprise, just as I was thinking of writing about some of my favorite review blogs and extended sources of book reviews, I was emailed a request by Jordan to consider being added to the Kindlepreneur Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs.

Well, timing is everything!

I occasionally get a request to suggest a good book review blog by persons searching Quora for ideas and I’m listed in several directories as well. Of course, I confronted that same question after I published my grandfather’s manuscripts, and certainly for an Indie author publishing a debut novel, it’s a major concern. The first three rules of marketing any book are reviews, reviews, reviews. (Okay, maybe the first rule must be a well-edited novel, but you know what I mean.)

This appears to be the one definitive article that may answer all your burning questions. I particularly love Dave’s video—be patient—there is a lot of good information contained in that video where he goes into detail regarding the Amazon Book Review Rules (explained)!

Seriously, Amazon book reviews still hold a lot of weight whether or not you are in the school of thought that reviews are given less weight these days than they use to be or not. Amazon tends to change its rules, the algorithm by which they allow, or disallow, a book review. If it’s a good review, you don’t want to risk losing it owing to the failure of one of their rules. (I urge you to watch that video.)

According to Mr. Cheechaw of Amazon, “…we will continue to allow the age old practice of providing advance review copies of books.” Really? Maybe, maybe not, watch out for the caveats, and Dave covers many of them. (Don’t be a “gotcha!”)

While authors usually have an ideal word length for their novel review, there is a wide disparity of what just how many words that might be. For instance, one of my authors always reminds me to keep his reviews to a short paragraph—three or four sentences—so he can show more reviews on his first page. I’ve seen an average of between 500 to 1000 words and my reviews generally run between 400 to 800 depending on the novel.

I’m thrilled to be invited to this exclusive list of book review bloggers and would urge you to take advantage of the expertise that Dave Chesson’s website Kindlepreneur will provide you well above and beyond this list.

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Rosepoint Reviews – October Recap—And I’ve Gotta Yell Uncle!

Rosepoint Reviews October Recap

October flew by and it would seem my schedule weighs increasingly heavier. I thought I could relax a bit after achieving the 500 review badge for NetGalley but that achievement coincided with harvest and I got embroiled with juicing, walking trails, and the search for a good used bike. We got our much revered Indian Summer and just couldn’t resist getting out of doors. Now, of course, we are looking at the upcoming holidays—all designed to be time sinks. Let’s face it—something has to give. First, I’ll try giving up one post a week.

Together we read or listened to seventeen books in October, most from NetGalley, but also audiobooks, and several author requests.

October reads

Many Are Invited by Dennis Cuesta (CE review)
How the Wicked Run by Annabelle Lewis
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (audiobook)
The Gods of Sanibel by Brian Cook (CE review)
Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas (CE review)
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
Beartown (audiobook) vs The Winners by Fredrik Backman (CE review)
A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley (CE review)
Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni (CE review)
Fries and Alibis by Trixie Silvertale
Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops by Allison Hong Merrill (audiobook)
The Last Summer in Ireland by Noelle Harrison (CE review)
The Quadrant Conspiracy by James H Lewis (CE review)
Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor
Bullet Train (movie) vs Bullet Train (audiobook) by Kotaro Isaka
No Quiet Water by Shirley Miller Kamada
O’Brien’s Law by John McNellis (CE review)

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Bullet Train, but in a head-to-head which one? Would still have to go with the book. The movie, despite a dead-panning and understated Brad Pitt, was just too much flash bang Hollywood. I preferred the psychological study of the great mix of characters in Isaka’s book.

Did you see the movie or read the book? Both? Did you read any of the others above? I saw many thought The Winners was indeed a winner while the CE could not finish it—and as you know—very unusual for him.

Reading Challenges

My usual battle with trying to catch up the challenges. Lost the battle again, but you’ll see—I’ll eventually catch it up and win the war. My challenges for 2022 are all listed and linked in the widget column on the right. Please check out their progress by clicking the Reading Challenges page. I’m now at 92% of the Goodreads Challenge of 180 books at 166. I’ve already achieved the Audiobook Challenge, Historical Reading Challenge, and the NetGalley Challenge with a 98% Feedback Ratio. Phew! I’m feeling a bit like my granddaughter with our great-grandson—see that face? Yeah…

But speaking of getting older; our little Bichon Frisé, Frosty, will have her seventeenth birthday in January 2023. I’m not sure she’ll make that as she is declining before our eyes. Breaks our hearts and we watch her every day for signs she is suffering. So far, so good; eating and drinking her water, getting me up one to three times during the night to piddle. Maybe it’s not the books and blog that have me exhausted, but we love her too much to give up quite yet.

Thank you for joining me if you are a new follower and as always I appreciate those who continue to read, like, share, and comment—especially comment! Let me know if you saw something above that got your interest.

Murder at an Irish Bakery (An Irish Village Mystery Book 9) by Carlene O’Connor – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog @KensingtonCozies

Book Blurb:

The picturesque village of Kilbane in County Cork, Ireland, is the perfect backdrop for a baking contest—until someone serves up a show-stopping murder that only Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan can solve.

In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there’s one thing everyone does agree on—the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they’re about to be featured on a reality baking show.

All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement. Aside from munching on free samples, the locals—including Siobhan—get a chance to appear in the opening shots. As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that’s nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.
The producers decide to continue filming while Siobhan and her husband, Garda Macdara Flannery, sift through the suspects. Was this a case of rivalry turned lethal, or are their other motives hidden in the mix? And can they uncover the truth before another baker is eliminated—permanently . . .

My Review:

It’s so nice to revisit the atmospheric Irish Village again where I can enjoy the countryside and people. I always look forward to the author’s sense of humor, spicing the dialogue, particularly between herself and Macdara with wit and couple spark.

“Drop the attitude and answer the question,” Macdara said. Siobhán’s insides warmed up. She was going to bring him breakfast in bed for the rest of his life. Or at least once.”

This addition to the series is perfect for foodies in that there is to be a reality baking show just outside the town of Kilbane where the locals are expecting to sample the specialties of the contestants of a show held in the old flour mill. More than that, they are expecting to rub elbows with the well-known top contestant soon to release a memoir.

Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan is just slightly distracted by all the delightful smells, the beauty of the confections, and the heavenly tastes she manages to wrangle. And there is another distraction—that of a sugar protestor “sugar kills!” Not until the second day when a very suspicious “accident” happens to the lead contestant does it begin to look as if they have a murderous baker in the group, although to be fair, there are the judges as well as the camera crew.

Garda O’Sullivan must decide if she should shut it down (and watch her suspects split) or keep it going and risk another fatal mishap. Garda Flannery joins the fray and they begin bouncing off all the possible scenarios, which at first flush doesn’t seem to get them very far.

It seems Garda O’Sullivan is still leading the posse with speculation but defers somewhat to hubby than she has before—building consensus. It’s easy to draw your own assumptions among the theories, but not so the culprit this time so I just let it roll out to the conclusion and reveal.

I began this series with Book 4 and have read each now, including Book 8 Murder on an Irish Farm, and Book 7, Murder in an Irish Bookshop; one of my favorite go-to series. Currently on pre-order for a February 2023 release and recommended.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mysteries, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ASIN: B0B358YLW7
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America during the Troubles, and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. Carlene currently divides her time between New York and the Emerald Isle.

http://www.carleneoconnor.com

Fries and Alibis: Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Trixie Silvertale – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Mitzy Moon Mysteries Book 1

Book Blurb:

A gift that’s too good to be true. A murder she didn’t commit. A barista in a latte trouble…

Mitzy Moon believes she’s an orphan, so she’s dumbstruck when a special delivery to her low-rent apartment reveals a family. But her shock turns to awe when she discovers her grandmother left her a fortune and a bookshop of rare tomes brimming with magic.

No sooner does she set foot in the quirky village of Pin Cherry Harbor to claim her inheritance, than the handsome sheriff catches her standing over a corpse. Desperate to prove her innocence, she’s forced to accept help from her granny’s entitled cat and a spirit from beyond the grave.

Can Mitzy and her otherworldly helpers uncover the real killer before the long, sexy arm of the law hauls her to jail?

Fries and Alibis is the first book in the hilarious paranormal cozy mystery series, Mitzy Moon Mysteries. If you like amateur sleuths, small town intrigue, and a dash of the supernatural, then you’ll love Trixie Silvertale’s twisty whodunit.

My Review:

For Mizithra Moon (Mitzy), an early twenty-somethings circumstances couldn’t get much worse. She’s a barista behind on her rent and not eating well. She was orphaned young and bounced from one foster parent to another. She’s learned to tough it out—she’s had to—(“…corollary to the first rule of foster care: never show weakness)” but present circumstances are really getting on her nerves.

When she gets the word that she’s inherited a bookshop (AND money!) from a grandmother she didn’t know she had, it’s hard to believe but doesn’t take a second to pack her few items and hit the road for Pin Cherry Harbor. She’s learned to keep it light.

Pin Cherry Harbor will introduce Mitzy to a whole cadre of characters—most of which the reader will love: Silas the attorney, Odell the owner of Myrtle’s Diner, Twiggy the bookstore “manager,” Pyewacket the caracal (her grandmother’s pet), and shockingly enough, her said deceased grandmother (Ghost-ma). Yes, of course, there is the touch of romance, “Sheriff Too Hot To Handle” Erick.

dance “…leave room for the holy spirit” respectable partners hold.”

Yes, I love the cat—well, sorta kitty—an African lynx. Mitzy is the quintessential feisty female, keeps her thoughts and emotions buried, sketchy history. The town description, location, and people all evoke that great small homey town vibe. Good people, iffy climate location at the northern end of the Great Lakes.

I’m a fan of paranormal mysteries and I don’t think this is a typical cozy. Local law enforcement immediately tags her as a suspect in a murder though—really? Scratching my head trying to find one real reason they’d even look at her twice. I also had a little problem believing the character of Mitzy could so quickly love her long-lost dad, though maybe that’s good as it provides a subplot.

The snarky, snappy dialogue was at times a little over the top—geared toward a younger audience—and I quickly tired of her skinny jeans. With that said, I enjoyed the character-driven well-paced narrative. There was a fascination with the storyline that kept this reader reading and looking for the next in the series following the expected conclusion.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Ghost Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Publications LLC
ISBN: ‎1734022108
ASIN: B07XB6MG8G
Print Length: 302 pages
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
Source: Author and Publisher

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: USA TODAY Bestselling author Trixie Silvertale grew up reading an endless supply of Lilian Jackson Braun, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew novels. She loves the amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries and is obsessed with all things paranormal. Those two passions unite in her Mitzy Moon Mysteries, and she’s thrilled to write them and share them with you.