Disis19 Hearts...

We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was more like a 3.5 and was #Book1CoziesClub Bonus Book of the Month I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one. Not sure if it was due to the fact that there were more dislikeable characters or if it was something else. I also didn't care for Merry's investigative style in this one. Maybe my tastes have changed since a year ago, but the style in which she was questioning people and obtaining information didn't sit right with me and I found myself shaking my head or being irritated with her approach a lot of the time. I do like this town, and Merry's relationship with her parents and friends is great. I also appreciate how this novel left things with Merry in the romance department. I am looking forward to reading the next one during the holidays next year. View all my reviews

A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry My rating: 2 of 5 stars This one was just ok for me. It was my first book by this author and I think most of my disappointment lies in the fact that I thought this was going to be a mystery, and it really wasn't. It is definitely about a journey though and so the title is fitting. It's just not what I was expecting or the type of book I enjoy. Not sure if I will continue to read the rest of the stories in this series. View all my reviews

Show notes can be found after the break ^-^

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for #HolidayBookBingo I'm glad I read this, though I don't feel like it was very different from the story I'm already familiar with. The adaptions I've seen of this story have been a more entertaining experience for me. It's definitely on the shorter side which is a plus and I'm glad to have one more classic under my belt. View all my reviews

The Christmas Mystery by James Patterson My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for the #HolidayBookBingo Even though this is the second book in a series, you can definitely read this as a standalone as I did. I normally don't read books out of order, but this was a holiday installment, and I thought it would be a nice seasonal read. For being so short, I thought the mystery was well fleshed out, yet I didn't understand the extra bit that was told after the reveal, unless it has something to do with the next book. It was an enjoyable read in any case and I have picked up the others to read soon. View all my reviews

I was tagged by my friend Lee over at Totallee.net The Questions: 1. When do you start decorating for Christmas? 2. What style do you decorate in? 3. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition with family? 4. Favorite place to buy Christmas decor? 5. Favorite Christmas movie? 6.Eggnog ,hot cocoa ,or apple cider? 7. Do you leave out cookies for Santa? If so what kind? 8. Real or artificial tree? 9. Favorite holiday dessert? 10. Favorite Christmas cookie? 11.Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? 12. Do you decorate your Christmas tree yourself? 13. Where do you spend Christmas day? 14. Favorite Christmas smell? 15. What is your favorite thing to craft or make during the holidays? I tag ^-^: Raul from Latin Lector Shannon Ridler

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub It's been quite a while since I enjoyed a cozy mystery this much! Not sure if it was the setting or the season, but I had a great time listening to this one. View all my reviews

Trying to fill my rucksack for the Bakery Bears #climbeverymountainkal - Finished my set of mittens! Now I just need a hat and to finish my shawl ^-^              Pattern is the A Royal Embrace Mittens from Drops Design (Free Pattern).          Yarn is I Love This Chunky in  Midnight Teal. It is a gorgeous teal color, but the camera won't capture the color correctly.                      

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare My rating: 3 of 5 stars As with the previous two books in this trilogy, I read this one with my friend Shannon. I think of the three books, this one is the one I liked the best. The story definitely moved faster and I was more interested in what was going on. That being said, I can't give it a higher rating as I do not see myself ever re-reading this book or this trilogy. I had so many issues with the love triangle and the way things conveniently happened. There were some inconsistencies between books as well, which truthfully, I may not have noticed had I not read the books consecutively. I have to wonder if I were younger when I read this, would that have made a difference in my thoughts? Would the things that bothered me about this trilogy have bothered me 10 or more years ago? I don't know. The constant references to classic novels as well is confusing, especially if you haven't read those novels prior to reading...

King and Maxwell by David Baldacci My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this series with the World of Sleuths Group. These were my first books by David Baldacci and I really enjoyed them. This installment seems to be the last in the series, which makes me a bit sad and the end felt incomplete as well which doesn't leave the best last impression for me. As usual, I did enjoy the investigation. I did also like that a character from a previous book was tied in. That being said, there is something that happens with said character at the very end of this novel that doesn't make any sense at all. I have listened to most of this series on audiobook. The first 2 were narrated by a different person than the last 4. There was also dramatization added to the last 4 audiobooks that I didn't quite care for. That didn't prevent me from continuing to listen to these books though. As a series, I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading mor...

The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse by Leann Sweeney My rating: 2 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub This one was just ok for me. I never owned pets, so I couldn't really connect with these characters. I did learn a lot about cats though including a breed I hadn't heard of before. The main character's investigative style bothered me. She threw out some snide comments about people's appearances in her head that I didn't appreciate. Threats are thrown about unrelated to the case, but nothing is done about it and that didn't sit well with me. Seeing how long it took me to get through this one, I think it's highly unlikely that I will read the next one. You never know though. View all my reviews

Generations by Steve Alten My rating: 3 of 5 stars Truthfully, I was a little disappointed in this one. First of all, there was so much going on in this book! I kind of wish we just stuck to a couple story lines instead of all that we encountered here. Can Terri just get a break for a second? Not only with Terri, but a lot of the personal story lines brought the pacing down a bit for me in this one. The jumps in time made things confusing as well. There were sections about the animals, which truthfully is what I enjoy most in these books, but there are just so many species now. The last few chapters of this book were my favorite. Full of action and the animals, which is what really hooked me on this series in the first place. That ending though, seriously?!? While I'm glad there will be more to look forward to, I hope there is not long to wait. View all my reviews

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this story. It was moving, magical, and it really captured my attention. I found myself constantly trying to get one more page or one more chapter in. We get a lot of glimpses into what Isabeau's family is up to while she is with the Beast, and I really enjoyed that. The magical aspects to this story were interesting as well. I'll definitely be reading more of this author's work in the future. Thank you to the Penguin Random House First to Read Program for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. View all my reviews

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt My rating: 3 of 5 stars Not sure how I feel about this story. It was strange and some things I'll need to think on for a while because I'm not quite sure what happened in certain places. Maybe because I listened to it instead of reading it is why I'm having a bit of confusion? I do have a hold on an ebook copy, so I will be revisiting this when it becomes available to me. For right now though, I'm left feeling a little unsatisfied. View all my reviews

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro My rating: 3 of 5 stars Not what I was expecting. I thought it would be scarier, but this definitely did not keep me up at night. I'm sure if I watched the TV show, that would though. Not sure what it was that didn't hold my interest, but I also feel like I didn't really connect with any of the characters. The cast list is very large, which had me wondering who, other than the characters that show up regularly, should we be concerned with? I did find the vampires in this story interesting, as far as how they turn and the physical changes that occur. Other than that though, I'm not feeling the need or want to pick up the next one at this time, even though I do own it. View all my reviews

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare My rating: 3 of 5 stars This installment had much better pacing than the first one for me and though I feel I enjoyed it a little better, it wasn't enough to bump my rating up. There were things that bothered me about this story and I do find that I'm not enjoying this series as much as The Mortal Instruments. That being said, I don't feel like this book suffered from "second book syndrome" as I have found with other second books in series I've read in the recent year. I was much more interested in what was going on and I'm looking forward to seeing how this story concludes. View all my reviews

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read with the World of Sleuths Readalings Group. Another entertaining installment in this series. This one kept me guessing until the end. Though I'm sad that there's only one more installment in this series, I can't wait to see how it concludes. View all my reviews

My first pair of Halloween Socks! I knitted these as part of the Der Rabe Creations Halloween Make a Long. This is the first time I worked this heel and toe. I did end up ripping out my first try as it was too big, but I'm very happy with the end result. Yes, one of the socks has a little belly button on the toe, but that's ok! I can't see it when it's on my feet, even if you can LOL Yarn: Night Owl Fibers Strong Twist in Block Party Pattern: Heather Socks featuring Strong Heel by Nicolette Kernohan with the Umbrella Toe from Kay Jones' Jemima Sock Pattern My Ravelry Project Page Der Rabe Creations Podcast

Catacomb by Madeleine Roux My rating: 3 of 5 stars Again, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one, but I can't exactly tell you why. These books are really fast reads and I am glad that I finally read them. As far as this particular installment goes, I almost feel like it doesn't quite belong with the other two though. Sure, we're following the same characters and there are connections, but the main thing that I feel ties the first two stories together, doesn't really apply to this one. I did enjoy finding out more about Dan. The elements were interesting also, but I feel like this is more like its own story. I think this is what throws me off when I think of this installment as part of a series. The end was a little abrupt for me as well. I fully expected for there to be more when I turned the page, but there wasn't any more. Regardless of this, I did like these books and am looking forward to the other books in the series, as we...

My Flax Sweater is complete! I knit this for the Flax Sweater Knit-a-long with The Budget Knitter. Finished it just in time as the deadline was the end of September. I really like it ^-^ If you'd like to see more photos, check out my Ravelry project page linked below. Pattern: Flax Sweater by Tin Can Knits Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala in Genie My Ravelry Project Page

The Lies We Told by Camilla Way My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was my first ready from this author and I had high hopes for this book as the synopsis sounded very interesting. Unfortunately, this book and I didn't get along. I wouldn't say that I disliked it, just that it was ok. The story was very slow to grab my interest and I almost put it down without finishing it. When things finally started to click into place, the story did pick up, but the end portion of this book I feel was either misplaced in the story line or wasn't quite necessary. I knew going into it that we would be bouncing between at least two different story lines, but that still confused me a bit. I wasn't curious about any of the characters, and I didn't find the story suspenseful at all. Maybe it's because I read a lot of mysteries that this didn't quite grab my attention, but I'm beginning to think that psychological suspense is just not a genre for me. Tha...

Finally finished this blanket! It took much longer than I thought it would, but I'm happy with the end result. It is a wedding present for my cousin and his new wife, and I hope they like it even if it is a bit delayed. They're family, so they'll understand, right? Pattern: Mitered Colors Mitered Blanket by Caron Design Team - available for free Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have to be honest and say that I didn't care for this book as much as the first book in this series. Not unusual for me and second books in a series though. I did still find it an entertaining listen/read. Some of the situations were definitely creepier and I again really enjoyed the pictures included in the book. Curious to see how this trilogy ends. View all my reviews

Asylum by Madeleine Roux My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read this as part of #OurLostLibrary #Lostathon - Logging this for Book that starts with A and Booktube find I thought I'd get an early start on some spooky reads this year and this fit the bill nicely. The momentum in this book was great and though I listened to a majority of this on audio, I definitely recommend the print book. There are pictures from actual asylums included that gave a different feel to the story for me. I am excited to see how this story continues and have already started the next installment. View all my reviews

First Family by David Baldacci My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read with World of Sleuths Readalongs. Also counting this for #OurLostLibrary #Lostathon for the Audiobook, Golden Leaves, and Over 400 Pages Squares. I liked this one much better than book 3. I again listened to a majority of this one on audiobook, but the narrator is different than the previous installments. It's a little jarring when you're used to a certain voice for a character and then it gets changed up on you. It probably wouldn't have bothered me as much if I didn't listen to them so close together. I did still enjoy listening to the narration. They started adding sound effects at the ends of chapters and during suspenseful sections, which I'm not sure I like, but I still thought the story was interesting. It does touch on things that were brought up in book 3 and there is a separate case that I didn't quite put together why it was a part of this story, until we...

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware My rating: 3 of 5 stars Hovering between a 2.5 and 3, this was a disappointing read for me. I had picked it up because I was going to go to a real life book club to discuss it, however after I started reading it, the story didn't grab me and I ended up putting it down for a period of time. That being said, I didn't finish the book in time to go to discuss it at the book club. This was probably a good thing, looking at how I feel about the book now that I've finished it. This was not suspenseful or thrilling for me. That's probably where a good portion of my disappointment is coming from, as I had set myself up for something of that nature when I first began reading this. This was mostly family drama. Though there was a little mystery element in it, it wasn't enough for me to be curious or invested in the story at all. I had expected the mystery element to be bigger than it came across to me. I ended up figu...

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare My rating: 4 of 5 stars I always wonder what takes me so long to come back to this series! I enjoy this world and these characters so much, and this read through was made even more enjoyable because I buddy read it with my friend Shannon. Really looking forward to finally making my way through the rest of the books in this world. View all my reviews

The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi My rating: 3 of 5 stars An entertaining and enjoyable series. I highly recommend the audiobooks as I think Mark Hamill does a great job. So glad to have finally read this series. View all my reviews

Simple Genius by David Baldacci My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read with the World of Sleuths Readalongs Group. Not my favorite in this series so far. Though I did enjoy the investigative parts, the parts about Michelle I could've done without. Not sure why we needed that information as readers and I didn't see anything leading up to this installment that would require that information. Anyway, I'm still enjoying this pair's partnership and am looking forward to the next one in September. View all my reviews

Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub. This one is hovering between 3.5 and 4 for me, but I'm rounding up. I enjoyed this one and really want to attend a book retreat now. It definitely sounded like a lot of fun, minus the murder of course. The story surprised me with a second story line that I wasn't expecting and on retrospect, the last half of the book was more about that second story line than the book retreat which took away from the story for me. Of course with first books, there's always the setup that we need to get through so hopefully now that all that has been laid out for us, the next one will be smoother. The only thing that bothered me about this book was the fact that the author kept mentioning Aunt Octavia's weight, in what I wouldn't consider nice references. There would be the mention of how much they loved her or something to that effect after the mention, ...

Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis My rating: 3 of 5 stars An interesting story of love and loss and how it affects these characters in a place that is being ravaged by a plague. This was my first book by this author. When I started, the story was very slow to build for me. I was almost uninterested in Nedra and Grey. It took me more than a quarter of the book to finally be swayed by their story and what was happening in the world.By the halfway point, I was hooked and needed to find out not only what would happen with these two, but what was going on in their world in general. So many twists that I didn't see coming towards the end, and an ending that leaves you wondering what happens next. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment. Thank you to the Penguin Random House First To Read Program for giving me the opportunity to read this as an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. View all my reviews

I'm still reading a lot of manga! Finished a manga series, started a new one, and read two novels in July. Links after the break.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a re-read for me. I read this many years ago, but never read any of the other books in this series. Decided to listen to the audiobook this time around and surprisingly enough, I remembered a lot of what happened in this book. My daughter has read most of the books in this series, if not all. Because I hadn't read past this first one, I wasn't really able to talk about these books with her at the time. Now she's several years older than the target audience for this story, and I do wonder what she thinks of this looking back. It was definitely an entertaining listen and I'm looking forward to reading the sequels. View all my reviews

The heat makes it really hard for me to film, so thanks for your patience! Links after the break.

The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi My rating: 3 of 5 stars I enjoyed this one a little bit more than the previous one. I again listened to this on audio even though I do own a physical copy. Narrated by Mark Hamill, this is an entertaining listen. I don't remember if I read this one in the past, but I do remember some of the scenes from the movie. I'll need to go back and re-watch that now as it's been a long time. Will be looking to continue with the next installment soon. View all my reviews

The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Entertaining. Truthfully for me this was a re-read. I read it many years ago before the movie was released, but I didn't remember it. Listened to it on audio this time and it was a fun listen. Moving on to the next one. View all my reviews

Hour Game by David Baldacci My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read as part of World of Sleuths Readalongs Another enjoyable read. Been listening to it on audio through Hoopla and I do enjoy the narrator. Lots of twists and uncovering the reason behind the murders was interesting. Each puzzle piece fit together well and I was surprised with the outcome. The murders were much more violent in this one than the previous installment, but I think I did enjoy this mystery just a touch more than the first one. I do enjoy seeing how King and Maxwell work together as private investigators. Will definitely be continuing on to the next installment and am interested to see what mystery that one brings. View all my reviews

So delayed, I know. The heat made it impossible for me to film at home, so I had to borrow a co-worker's office. The #MangaReadathon was super fun and has made me want to read manga more often! I also kind of feel like I'm heading towards another slump, but manga is helping me to keep reading. I also have a Facebook page now, so please feel free to follow me there as well! https://www.facebook.com/disis19 ^-^ Mentions: Laura from Manga Hoarder: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAY1gTTfWCZLWYVrirBq3Jw Jen from Shelf Space Fleeting: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3IHsgBU80TZjrSst9R9Zrw Manga Readathon Twitter: https://twitter.com/mangareadathon Tim from World of Sleuths: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6HnShtKqQySiYKAC5ORpw World of Sleuths Readalongs Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/602824-world-of-sleuths-readalongs

Fairy Tail 63 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 5 of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this series. I'm really going to miss these characters and the adventures that they go on. This final volume had enough closure for me that I am not left with questions and it really emphasized what I loved about this series in the first place - the friendships. View all my reviews

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco My rating: 4 of 5 stars I definitely enjoyed this much more than the first installment, as I had suspected I would. The pace was much better. I still do not enjoy bouncing back and forth between past and present though. This time I listened to the audiobook and that did help me a lot, especially because the past is narrated by a female and the present is narrated by a male. It eliminated all the confusion I had while reading the text in the previous book because I knew in what time the chapter I was reading was taking place. Looking forward to when we finally get entire story of what happened to Tea and how she got to where she is at the beginning of The Bone Witch . View all my reviews

Nightmare Inspector: Yumekui Kenbun, Vol. 9 by Shin Mashiba My rating: 3 of 5 stars After enjoying the other volumes in this series a lot, this volume and the end of this series was kind of a letdown if I have to be honest. The setup to this last volume was also very different from the previous volumes and I would've preferred if the series ended with volume 8. I really didn't feel the need for the story this conclusion brought. Maybe if I hadn't stepped away from this series for so long before I was able to obtain the last 2 volumes, I would've felt different. I'll definitely be re-reading in the future to see if my thoughts have changed when absorbing the volumes in succession. While I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others, I do still recommend this series as it was very interesting and some of the stories had me thinking about them long after I read them. View all my reviews

A Magical Match by Juliet Blackwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoy this series and this installment was no exception. I was a little disappointed that a certain event hasn't taken place yet, but this installment was still very enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next one. Definitely one of my favorite series over the last few years. View all my reviews

Split Second by David Baldacci My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read as part of World of Sleuths ReadAlongs This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It had a good amount of mystery and action that kept me interested in the story. It was a good introduction to these two characters and I'm curious to see where the following books in this series goes. View all my reviews

I read three novels and three volumes of manga in May. I also unofficially participated in #MiddleGradeMay You can find my written reviews on the novels mentioned in previous posts below.

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read this for #MiddleGradeMay My daughter read this when she was younger, but I just got around to it. Let's just say that it's been hanging out on our shelf at home for a while. This was an enjoyable read but I think if I read it around the time my daughter did, I would've enjoyed it more. Things about Henry's family really irritated me, especially the way they handled the situations that came up. I'm not sure that those things would've bothered me as much if I read this when I was a few years younger. I listened to a majority of this on audio from my library's offering of RB Digital. The narration for me was just ok. I don't know that I would've lost any of the experience of this story if I had just stuck to a physical copy. We do have the subsequent novels on our shelf, and I will read them eventually. View all my reviews

Show Notes: LuLa Throw by Jessica LoBue The Campfire Cardigan by Jess Coppom All is Calm Socks by Kay Jones of The Bakery Bears Podcast Knot Forgotton Owl by Milena Rufato with Knit Wings from pattern by Jennifer Wang For more info on this organization or to become a maker, please visit https://knotforgotton.org Sesame Street CAL - Elmo Sesame Street CAL - Big Bird Sesame Street Beginners Crochet Along from the CGL Crochet Graph Lobby Strawberry Sparkle Shortie Socks Onion Knits Nettle Sock Yarn at Fairlight Fibers Night Owl Fibers on Etsy

The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read as part of #MiddleGradeMay I really enjoyed this installment, even if Sophie got on my nerves more often than not. I do think that is a big part of why I can't give this installment 5 stars. The twist towards the end was very interesting and even though this book was rather lengthy, it kept my interest and made me keep coming back to it and thinking about it. That's something a book hasn't done for me in a while. Apparently this was the close of this arc, which I did find nicely wrapped up. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next arc in this series brings. View all my reviews

Hear my thoughts on the books and manga I read in April. Find out more about #MiddleGradeMay from the creator, Akossiwa K here See my written reviews on the books mentioned in the posts below.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read this for the first time a very very long time ago. So long ago that I only remembered one detail in this story and it had nothing to do with the crime at all. I listened to a majority of this on audio this time around. While I thought this book was interesting, it was just that for me...interesting. I do enjoy the futuristic take of the future in regards to gadgets and coffee, but this story does deal with tough issues. I will be continuing with the series eventually because it is one of the series my Mom reads and I am interested in the relationship between our main characters. View all my reviews

Mother's Day is just around the corner and since it's the last day of the month, I have a special going on in my Facebook group today only! Help me reach my goal and give the gift of gorgeous nails ^-^ Join my group to see the special, U.S. only. If you just want to shop, click here

I'm back with another Yarnie Update! I'm going to try to get a Yarnie Update posted at least once a month. Hopefully I'll be able to show you some finished objects in each video, but I am a pretty slow knitter and crocheter just so you know ^-^ Show Notes: Sesame Street Beginners Crochet Along from the CGL Crochet Graph Lobby here Elizabeth Coat by Tatyana Zhigalkovich SewVirgo's Transcribed Pattern for the Elizabeth Coat here Novel-T by Laura Nelkin Novel-T Knit Along with The Grocery Girls from Off Our Needles on Craftsy The Bakery Bears Podcast (Kay Jones) Bakery Bears Cottage on Etsy Otterly Adorable Knits on Etsy

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop My rating: 4 of 5 stars Really enjoyed being back in this world! Though the character focus was different, the world itself was just as interesting. Though I really tried not to compare how I felt about this book to the first set of novels, I do feel like this one didn't have the same draw for me as the books set in The Courtyard. That being said, I still enjoyed this one a lot and I'm curious to see where the following books will go. It doesn't seem like we'll stay with Vicki for multiple books, but that won't bother me because I think companion novels will be great for future installments. View all my reviews

Off Kilter by Hannah Reed My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub What an enjoyable read! Took me a bit to get around the accent but I really enjoyed the landscape. Looking forward to the next one. View all my reviews

I'd say #MarchMysteryMadness was a success! In this video, I talk about what I thought about the books I read during March, as well as the books that I'm currently reading. Thank you to all the participants and hosts. I look forward to the 4th Annual March Mystery Madness in 2019! Don't forget that just because March Mystery Madness is over, that doesn't mean that you have to stop reading mysteries ^-^

The Dollmaker by Mary Burton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Really enjoyed this one, about as much as I did the first book in this series which is a rare thing for me. Second books usually let me down, but this one surprisingly did not. Though the characters this installment follows are different, the beginning of this book has an appearance from characters in the previous book so I thought that made a good transition. This story kept my interest all the way through and as pieces start to click into place, it just got more interesting for me. I will need to check out this author's other works also as these stories really have caught my attention. Looking forward to getting into the next one in this series. I did receive a copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway, but that did not affect my opinion or review at all. View all my reviews

My first Yarnie Update! I've always meant for this space to encompass all things that I enjoy, but so far it's mostly been about books. I'm finally posting something about another of my hobbies, and I hope you enjoy it. If it's not your cup of tea, that's ok! Stay tuned for more bookish content soon. Mentions: Granny Cocoon Shrug How to Crochet a Granny Square Cardigan Tutorial from YARNutopia by Nadia Mercury Pullover by Patti Waters Cascading Colors Mitered Blanket by the Caron Design Team All is Calm Socks by Kay Jones of The Bakery Bears Podcast Otterly Adorable Knits Etsy Shop

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read this for #MarchMysteryMadness This book took me on a very interesting journey. It was a much slower paced mystery than what I thought it would be. The investigation seemed very leisurely. Everything kind of seemed to unravel at its own pace, which was refreshing for me. Things were wrapped up nicely in the end as well. The long nature of the chapters in this book (there are only 6), made it very hard to switch back and forth between the physical book and the audiobook so I stuck with the audiobook and listened to it from Hoopla. Though the narrator did a good job, the British and Irish accents that were used threw me off a bit. I noticed while I was browsing Hoopla that there was a TV series released in Sweden based on this series. I'm very interested to watch it to hear the language. I will definitely be continuing with this series and look forward to seeing if the investigations continue to ...

Original Tag was created by Elizabeth @ LizzyFayeLovesBooks For this tag there are two prompts for each word in the name of our readathon. March #1  Pick a book that has green on the cover or the word green in the title. March #2  Pick a book with Irish elements or that features a leprechaun or other tiny character. Mystery #1: Recommend a mystery that you loved. Mystery #2: Show a mystery that you are greatly anticipating. Madness #1: Pick a book featuring a psychopath. Madness #2: Pick a book that features a sporting event or recreational activity. I tag Lee @ Totallee.net

When I visited my library to pick up one of my holds for #MarchMysteryMadness, I found some gems at in the Used Book section!

Feel free to scroll below for the individual reviews and links to the books mentioned ^-^

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting, very interesting. I read this for #MarchMysteryMadness I've had this book on Kindle for a very long time. I picked it up free but never read it, so March Mystery Madness was the perfect time to dust it off. There were a couple twists in this book that I didn't see coming and the twist at the end was super surprising. You learn a lot about Karen throughout this book too. This book does contain more gruesome crime scenes and violence than I'm used to reading, but it's not unfamiliar for me as I do watch shows like Criminal Minds which contain similar themes. I listened to a majority of this on audiobook and thought the narrator did a good job. I'll definitely be checking out other books in this series in the future. View all my reviews

I'm finally doing the Try a Chapter Tag! This one features the books I have planned for March Mystery Madness, excluding When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman (since I am still waiting for my copy from the library). I was tagged by Elizabeth at LizzyFayeLovesBooks Original Tag was created by Malia at Book Paradise

Ok, I know this is super late, but I figured I should share this anyway. This was the last video I filmed before I hit The Reading Slump of 2017 and stopped filming altogether!

Ninth Key by Meg Cabot My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's been a while since I read a book this fast. This one takes place about a week after the incidents of the first book in this series. Though it's been a while since I read the previous book, it wasn't hard to get back into this series at all. Really enjoyed it and highly recommend if you like Young Adult Paranormal Mysteries. View all my reviews

These are the books I'm planning to read to fulfill the challenges for the 3rd Annual #MarchMysteryMadness ^-^ My March Mystery Madness Goodreads Shelf Mystery Madness Goodreads Group Mystery Madness Twitter

The Brightest Embers by Jeaniene Frost My rating: 3 of 5 stars Good conclusion to this trilogy. As always with this author's books, I had no trouble getting into it and it kept my interest. Though this story had lots of predictability to it, I still enjoyed it. The ending was definitely abrupt and I think there could've been more exploration into a particular situation. Maybe that will come in a subsequent novella, but the story had enough finality to me that I am satisfied with the end if there isn't more to the story in the future. View all my reviews

Announcing March's Selection for the First in a Series Cozy Mystery Book Club! Come chat with us in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group and don't forget to join in on #MarchMysteryMadness ^-^ Will you be joining in on this read? Links to the book are after the break!

The Beast Is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale My rating: 0 of 5 stars DNF at 14% I've had this book on hiatus since January 2017 and have not thought about it once since then unfortunately. I do remember a little of what happened in the section that I did read, but I'm not curious about where the story is going at all. Nothing really grabbed me and I've decided to just put it away for good. I did receive a copy of this book from Jellybooks in exchange for my participation in their test reading campaign, but this does not affect my opinion of this book. View all my reviews