Book Review: Naughty Neighbor

7 Days of Romance

Valentine's Day Reading

Naughty Neighbor is one of Janet Evanovich's early romance novels, which she originally wrote under a different name. Just like her famous Stephanie Plum series, this book offers a humorous mystery and features a spunky and likable female protagonist. 

Louisa Brannigan is a smart and independent woman working on Capitol Hill. She has everything together and her life may be somewhat dull, but it's mostly pleasant. Except... there's her neighbor, Pete. The smells from his kitchen seep down to her apartment, he parks in her spot, and steals her newspaper. When her car is mistaken for Pete's and vandalized, she's drawn into a mystery Pete has been attempting to solve. A mystery involving a missing pig whose disappearance may be linked to a sketchy politician. 

This romance was cute and fun. The book itself is short and I wish it were a bit longer and maybe the mystery was built-up a bit more. However, it was still a light, easy read with a touch of romance, mystery, and humor. It seemed almost like the characters and story from the Plum novels sort of got their start here. Louisa was a bit more successful and less clumsy than Stephanie, but seemed like she could definitely be related to the Plums. There was even a crazy grandma, though she was definitely a bit more crotchety than Grandma Mazur, though every bit as out spoken. 

Naughty Neighbor was a fun read and I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars and I have now passed it on to my mom who I am sure will enjoy it.

Book Review: The Weight of Silence

Mini Review:

This book first came on my radar several years ago when I was on in Border's while in between shifts at a restaurant where I was working. I had walked over there and was browsing the shelves and one of the employees started raving to me about how great this book was and how I should definitely read it. I didn't take her up on her recommendation then, but I always kept it in mind for future reference. Flash forward about six years later and here we are, I finally read the book. 

This book... oh my God... it was AWESOME. I haven't read a book in so long that kept me on the edge of my seat like this one. Sometimes I was almost shaking with anticipation. I had to know what was going on. I had to know whodunnit. I absolutely loved every minute, it was never dull and the mystery both about why Calli went mute and the reasons behind the girl's disappearances were both so intriguing. Even all the characters were so interesting and I loved all their narratives.

I very highly recommend this suspenseful thriller set in a small-town in Iowa. I am giving The Weight of Silence 5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Expats

I've been wanting to read this book for a really long time and I finally got around to listening to the audiobook, which I downloaded from Audible. I certainly enjoyed it and it was worth the wait. This novel is a stylish spy thriller about a regular American family living abroad in Luxembourg. Okay, scratch regular. This American couple is far from regular even though outward appearances would make you think they are. One worked for the government in the past and the other... hmm... we're really not sure what his deal is. Apparently, he works for a bank doing IT work involving security.

Or does he?

While listening to this book, I really felt like I could trust no one. Everyone is suspicious and all the characters have their own personal agenda which makes them suspect, though most of them are actually pretty likable. No one really is a bad guy. 

I enjoyed reading about life in Europe for an American couple. What it's like to be an expat. This book was really interesting and the author keeps the reader guessing about what's going on. My only complaint is that I don't like how the book jumped around with timeframes. One minute it's 10 years ago, next it's 2 months ago, then it may be present day. Maybe while reading the physical copy of the book it wouldn't be so confusing, but on the audiobook I kept losing track of the setting.

At times the story also seemed almost a bit sloppy, like the author had all these ideas, but he didn't really think them out so well. It just seemed like he had many things he wanted to include, but didn't quite know how to execute them. It wasn't that big of a deal, where it ruined the reading experience, but it was enough that it was at least obvious.

I am giving The Expats 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Flavia de Luce is my new favorite sleuth! This British 11-year-old is brainy and witty. She's a chemist with a soft spot for poison and she is perfect. Who doesn't love a sleuth with a bicycle named Gladys? 

I love a good mystery and this one definitely kept my interest. I must admit I am one of those people who never figures out who the killer is before the detective does, but this mystery I did find to be just a bit predictable, which is rare for me to say. I did find the mystery to be well thought out though and very unique. At times, it's hard to believe Flavia is only 11, but if she were an average 11-year-old I probably wouldn't want to read about her. 

I found the family dynamics between the de Luces absolutely hilarious and I loved reading about Bishop's Lacey and all its colorful inhabitants. This book was entertaining, cozy, and charming the whole way through.

I am giving The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Gods Without Men

Short Review:

This novel was really deep and confusing at times. Gods Without Men is a New Age-y tale with multiple narrators and main characters. Some of the characters lived a hundred or more years ago while many of them are modern day people. The one thing that all the characters have in common are visits to a set of mysterious and possibly mystical rocks somewhere in the Mojave Desert. Much of the book revolves around one family in particular, The Matharus. The Matharus are a mixed-race couple, Jas is of Indian descent and his wife is Jewish. Their son, Raj, is autistic and doesn't speak, focus, and responds negatively to touch. He's known for having loud outbursts and tantrums. When the family is kicked out of a fancy resort because of Raj's behavior they end up in a shady motel in the California Desert. On a trip to see The Pinnacles, the odd rock formation, Raj disappears seemingly into thin air. 

Gods Without Men is a really great book, especially for anyone with an interest in New Age topics. There's a heavy focus on UFOs. I loved the multiple narratives and how many of the characters lives would intersect. I don't feel like the ending was fully explained, where exactly did Raj go? I guess not fully explaining does add to the esoteric-feel of the book, it leaves your mind open to ponder and draw your own conclusions. I am giving 4 out 5 stars to Gods Without Men. It's been on To-Read list for a while and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

Book Review: The Other Typist

The Other Typist is a novel set in New York City during the roaring '20s. The main character, Rose, is a stenographer in a police precinct. She leads a fairly boring and uneventful life until a new typist starts at her job. The new girl, Odalie, is coquettish and fashionable and a total enigma to Rose. How does she afford her expensive clothes? Where did she learn French? Was she really in the movies before she was a stenographer? 

Rose is an orphan and desperate for love and attention, so when Odalie takes her under her wing, Rose eagerly accepts her friendship. Soon, Rose is invited to live in Odalie's fancy Park Avenue apartment and is given a glimpse of Odalie's private life. As the details about who Odalie may really be slowly reveal themselves, Rose is both perplexed, shocked, and intrigued. Despite who or what Odalie is, Rose still feels protective of her closest and only friend.

This book confused me a bit. We soon find that Rose is not the most trustworthy narrator. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I feel a bit incomplete now that I've finished the book. What is wrong Rose? Is she really crazy? Is Odalie innocent? We are told the story from Rose's perspective and she of course, is biased in her favor. It became clear while reading the book that the reader can't be sure if Rose is the protagonist or the antagonist. I didn't know if I should root for her or not.

The book was pretty good and the story was different. I especially enjoyed reading about a stenographer, ssince I went to school for stenography. The profession has changed a lot since the '20s, but Rose's descriptions of working on the steno machine brought back memories of my time in school. Stenography is really fun and challenging and court reporters sort of pride themselves on their quirky careers. I think the author expressed the steno attitude pretty well.

I am giving The Other Typist 3 out of 5 stars.

Throwback Thursday: The Baby-Sitters Club: Baby-sitters' Christmas Chiller (Super Mystery #4)

Christmas Reading

1997

I love Ann M. Martin. She is definitely one of my favorite authors. I still look forward to her new books that come out as an adult. This is my first Baby-Sitters Club mystery and oh man, it was good!

This book is basically three mysteries in one. First, there's a series of break-ins in Kristy's neighborhood. Second, Mallory finds a woman wandering around Elm Street who can't remember who she is or where she came from. Third, Stacy and Claudia are in New York City for the holidays and it seems like they're being followed and strange things begin happening in Stacy's dad's apartment building.

The mysteries were very well thought out. Even as an adult, I was intrigued by them! Stacy and Claudia's mystery alone was like something out of a Lifetime movie. Are all the BSC mysteries this crazy? I look forward to reading more!

I am giving Baby-sitters' Christmas Chiller 4 out of 5 stars. It was fun holiday reading and the baby-sitters exhibited detective skills that would make Nancy Drew proud.

Throwback Thursday: The Secret of The Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #1)

1930

I feel sort of misled. Why did I think Nancy Drew solved murders? I thought she was like Scooby-Doo... but a person. Oh well. Now that I think of it Scooby-Doo doesn't really solve murders either. So I guess he and Nancy do have some things in common.

This is obviously the first Nancy Drew book I've read. Even though she didn't solve a murder like I expected, she did help find a missing will. If you haven't guessed by the name of the book, the will was hidden in the old clock. But, Nancy goes on quite an adventure to find the clock.

Even though the book was predictable it was still charming. Nancy has her stuff together. This girl right here can change a flat tire and fix a boat motor while stranded in the middle of the lake. Now I know why so many women look up to Nancy as a feminist heroine. She's super smart and always polite and tactful to boot. Not to mention she's fashionable.

I enjoyed this book and was able to read it one sitting, while trying to put a baby to sleep. The book was cozy and probably paved the way for the cozy mystery genre that is so popular today. I say probably just because I really don't know anything about the history of cozy mysteries. 

I am giving The Secret of The Old Clock 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

"This is why you must love life: one day you're offering up your social security number to the Russian Mafia; two weeks later you're using the word calve as a verb"

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is probably one of the most hilarious fictional books I've read thus far. It's hard to describe this book in a few sentences because there's just so much going on. However, it's far from sloppy and confusing. Everything is so nicely tied together. The story line is just as quirky as all the colorful characters.

When Bee Branch aces her middle school report card she is rewarded by her parents, Bernadette Fox and Elgin Branch, with a trip to Antarctica. As the trip comes closer and closer, the life of Bernadette- who is somewhat of a recluse- spins slightly more and more out-of-control thanks to a series of unfortunate and misunderstood accidents. These accidents range from anything from being accused of running over another mother's foot in the school car line to erecting a massive billboard which in turn causes a mudslide which destroys her neighbor's home. The book is comprised mostly of emails, notes, faxes, and letters that describe these events that led up to Bernadette's disappearance. 

I really loved this book, my only complaint would be that Bee's character seemed much younger than 14/15. Despite her intelligence, I kept having to remind myself that she was a teenager and not a child. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and the narrator's chosen voice for Bee didn't help. Even if it weren't for the voice given to Bee by the narrator she still comes across as somewhere between 9 and 11-years-old to me. 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is still one of the best books in the fiction genre I've read in quite a while, so I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, light, and hip read.

Book Review: Relatively Dead

Relatively Dead is about Abigail who has just moved to the Boston-area with her boyfriend. She goes on a house tour one day and begins seeing what can only be described as flashes of the past. Not only does she see them, but she feels what the people in her visions are going through whether it be sorrow, joy, or whatever. With the help of her new friend, Ned, she sets out to find who these people are and what the visions mean to her life.  

I can't really decide how I feel about this book. There wasn't anything wrong with it other than I feel like something was left out or I missed something. I'm just not satisfied with the outcome or lack of explanation about why Abigail sees these things or why these people and events were showing themselves to her. I have a hard time even classifying this book as a mystery, even though Sheila Connolly usually writes in the cozy mystery genre. It's like, sure there were mysterious elements there, but they really didn't propel the book. Abigail does spend a big part the book trying to solve the issues at hand, but it just didn't have the tensity of "this needs to be solved" like most mysteries do. This book could have actually been really great if there was more background story about the people in her visions. 

Sheila Connolly is kind of a so-so author to me, but I do think this book was a little better than the other two that I read from her. When I say so-so, I just mean she's a good author and storyteller, but for some reason I never really make a connection with her characters. The other books I read from her were One Bad Apple (Orchard Mystery #1) and Through A Glass, Deadly (A Glassblowing Mystery #1) which she wrote under the name Sarah Atwell. When I read those books I didn't realize that both authors were the same person, but I read them close together and remember thinking both main characters seemed like the same person. So, it makes perfect sense both authors are the same person. 

So, I don't know, I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars even though I am leaning more towards 2 stars. But, I'm going to give that extra 'pity star' because I'm just nice like that and this book wasn't horrible and it did have an unique premises, I just wish it was executed in a slightly more intriguing manner.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Beyond The Page in exchange for an honest review.