Disis19 Hearts...

Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read as part of #MarchMysteryMadness It's been a while since I read the previous book in this series, but it was very easy to get back into it and it was nice revisiting the characters. Of course the recipes all look and sound yummy. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it, but the love lines are getting on my nerves. Three books in and we still have a love triangle. I'm not a fan of that because it seems like she's just stringing both guys along with no intention of making a decision. It sure seems, at least to me, that she likes one more than the other, but she shares romantic gestures more with the other guy. Not sure how long this is going to keep up, but I hope she makes a decision soon. View all my reviews

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. In every chapter we have 2 points of view: Tea in the present, telling her story to a bard, and Tea in the past learning to become an asha . The premise is interesting and immediately as you start reading, you wonder to yourself about Tea's situation. You will not get an answer to the question that forms in your head in this installment, just so you know. The end of this book really pulls you in, but I wish the momentum that I felt at the end started a bit earlier in the book. The story is very slow building. We follow Tea in her studies, which is very similar to a geisha or gisaeng, I think. She learns how to sing, dance, play instruments, but she also learns self defense and attack skills as well as ways to hone her magical abilities. Men hire her at tea houses for conversational and artistic...

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub and #MarchMysteryMadness I enjoyed this book. I could relate to Bubbles being a single mom and having struggles to find her place in life. I also enjoyed seeing her successes as the book progressed. She and her mother are pretty funny too. This book is pretty dated to me. There were several references to bands I believe are 80's Hair Bands, but I'm not entirely sure. I think you definitely need to be a certain age to get all the references. It probably would've made the book more enjoyable for me as well. This does come with a few skincare recipes that I may try and a makeup tutorial that again, is dated, and I will not be trying ^_- Something I did not enjoy was Bubbles' infatuation with a certain character, especially because we don't see this character very much during the entire book! Not InstaLove, but InstaLust for sure. That being said, I did still en...

So, I think we may be pushing the Cozy genre a bit with April's selection, but it is a mystery so we'll roll with it! Check our Goodread's Group for the discussion thread closer to the beginning of April. Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iBooks Mystery Madness Goodreads Group

Pretty Poison by Joyce Lavene My rating: 4 of 5 stars Probably more like a 3.5 This was one of January's picks for #Book1CoziesClub and I also finished it as part of #MarchMysteryMadness which I am co-hosting. This was enjoyable and I found the gardening tips and information on the flowers at the beginning of each chapter interesting. I do not have the gift of growing plants, but I may try some of the tips included in this book. I enjoy where Peggy Lee is in her life and how this story also shows the growth of her relationship with her son in the aftermath of her husband's passing. For a little bit, I thought her interrogation style was going to be similar to another set of older sleuths that didn't quite agree with me. I'm glad that her interrogation style was different. I am finding that several cozy mystery sleuths are very stubborn LOL. Not sure I enjoy that and since I've been reading a lot of cozies, it may be bothering me more than it sh...

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien My rating: 3 of 5 stars After several attempts to read this during my lifetime, I can finally say that I have read this book. I listened to some of it on audio and could've done without the singing (I'm pretty sure all the songs had the same melody too). I had always thought that The Hobbit was the story of how Bilbo acquired The Ring, but it wasn't until I saw the movie trilogy that I realized there was more. This book was different than the movies, as they usually are, but unfortunately I have to say that (and I know this will be an unpopular opinion) I enjoyed the movies more. Even though there are some unnecessary differences in the movies, I will watch those again and again but I will probably not ever re-read this book. I am looking forward to seeing how I feel about The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as I will be picking up The Fellowship of the Ring next month. View all my reviews

So, I went from not wanting to read anything to wanting to read all the books! That being said, I didn't complete too many in February, but I should have several books to talk about in my March Wrap Up including the books I completed for #MarchMysteryMadness Janie's Channel Bookworms Buddy Mystery Madness Goodreads Group March Mystery Madness Twitter

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris My rating: 4 of 5 stars Probably more like a 3.5, read for #MarchMysteryMadness This was a pretty fast read, though fairly predictable. I think if you are interested in this one, it's best to go in blind. Even reading the synopsis on the front cover puts too many pieces together for you, I feel. That being said, the format is interesting as you go back and forth between past and present, so you do get the full picture of what is going on as you read. Grace was a bit too naïve for me at times and I did actually laugh out loud at some of her actions that weren't well thought through. I really enjoyed how this book wrapped up and since one of the blurbs on the back of the book references Gone Girl, I will tell you that I enjoyed this book a lot more than Gone Girl. I hesitate to say anymore as I will end up giving things away. I'll wrap this up by saying that I am interested to see what other stories this author brings us...

This past weekend I finished work on this comfy Cocoon Sweater! I followed YARNutopia's video tutorial here . Using Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Linen and Black, with a little Vanna's Choice in Taupe and Charcoal Grey, this came out super squishy and soft to the touch. It's been a while since I made myself anything and I absolutely adore this! Have you made one of these sweaters? If so, please share it with me below. I hope you are all doing great! Until next time, Take Care & Smi-Le Always!     ^ (   "   ) /___\     Di