Coached to Death (The Life Coach Mysteries #1) by Victoria Laurie

Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After going through a terrible divorce, Catherine Cooper is ready to dive into her new business and settle into her freshly build home. Unfortunately, things are not going as smoothly as Cat hoped. Her life coaching business is off to a rough start and one of her new neighbors, Heather, despises her. Cat is determined to dig up some dirt on Heather and air her dirty laundry, but someone beats her to the punch. Literally. Heather is dead and someone beat her over the head with Cat’s punch bowl. Determined to knock her name off the prime suspects list, Cat finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery that is much larger than she could’ve imagined.

I have been a long-time fan of Victoria Laurie’s books, so I was very excited when I heard that she was dropping a spin-off series following Cat and Gilley. I’ve read the Psychic Eye mysteries as well as the Ghost Hunter mysteries, so I was very excited to see how these two characters were going to come together and create a whole new series. This time around, we primarily follow Cat as she finds herself in the middle of a supernatural free murder mystery.

I thought I’d love a book that primarily follows Cat but quickly discovered that is not the case. I found Cat to be too naive to be believable, especially given how much of a successful businesswoman she’s been in the past. I just found many of her choices and thoughts to be unbelievable and found myself raising an eyebrow very high in response. I found myself a bit embarrassed for her as well during some of her exchanges with her love interest. I know that she’s newly divorced, but it’s hard to believe that she’d say or think some of the things she did. She came off as a very sheltered and naive person who has never dated and never pegged Cat as any of these things.

That said, I did enjoy the story and all the characters that surround Cat. I’m particularly excited to see Gilley again and hope that he has a bigger role in future books. I would like to see more of Cat’s new life as a life coach have a bigger role in the future, but I can’t complain too much about how life coaching took shape in this book. The mystery itself was very strong and compelling so that was a plus.

I loved many of the new characters that are here to stay and I’m excited to see where this series will take us. I hope that Cat will be less naive in the next installment because that was my primary problem with her and the book in this series opener. It’ll also be fun to see Gilley take on a bigger role as well as seeing Cat’s new business become more integrated in the story. It’ll also be great to see the new characters develop as well as see what kind of mystery Cat and Gilley will find themselves investigating next.

Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena

Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena

My Rating: ★

When Kiyomi Nagashima is declared brain dead after a serious car accident, her husband’s world is changed forever. Shocked and upset, Dr. Toshiaki Nagashima is suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to keep his wife alive. Rather than keeping her alive through his memories of her, he decides to start experimenting with her liver cells in his lab. Toshiaki is so enthralled by the progress he’s making that he doesn’t see that there is something very wrong with this experiment, especially when Kiyomi begins to seemingly speak to him through the harvested cells. Unfortunately for him, he only realizes the grave mistake he’s made when his experiment takes on a life of its own.

My younger brother recommended this book to me because he thought it’d be up my alley. He’s played the video games that are sequels to this book with the same title, but he’s never picked up the book himself. I decided to check out the book since it did sound like something that I would be interested in.

Unfortunately, much of the book is detailed scientific and medical information. Eve, or She as she calls herself, is mitochondria so there does need to be at least some scientific information to make the story work. However, most of it reads as a textbook rather than a science fiction novel. I think it would’ve read much better if the scientific and medical information was scaled back a bit. Getting blow by blow details of kidney transplants and a lot of science was a bit much, even for a science fiction novel. I might’ve been more interested in the attention to detail if I was really into mitochondria and lab experiments.

In the middle of all that technical information, we follow a group of rotating narrators throughout the story. Toshiaki is our primary narrator and he seemed to be a bit off from the start. Unfortunately for him, he comes to his senses when it’s too late because Eve/She is out of control and on the loose. Sachiko Asakura, my favorite character, is a student working under Toshiaki and she notices something is wrong right away but she doesn’t know what, exactly, is going on until she’s targeted. Mariko is a teenager who receives one of Kiyomi’s kidneys and finds herself targeted by Eve/She. I wish that Mariko was better developed because she was a great character. We also follow a few other characters including Kiyomi through a series of flashbacks, but the most startling perspective is Eve/Her.

I think the premise was interesting. The idea of something that has existed since before any life forms on Earth has been lurking within us and biding their time is very scary. However, the execution makes it far less scary because we’re caught up in so much technical detail that the story doesn’t start going anywhere until halfway through the book. There are also two rapes that occur in the book and both should’ve never happened and ultimately seal the fate on this book as a big miss.

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol

Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol

My Rating: ★★★★★

One woman just wants to knit in peace, but it’s too noisy so she yells for everyone to leave her alone. Of course, life is never that easy, so she embarks on a journey to find a nice and quiet place to get her knitting done. Traveling to forests, snowy mountains, and even the moon, there’s always someone bugging her until she finds the ultimate location to knit a plethora of sweaters.

This is such an adorable children’s book that follows a frustrated grandmother who just wants to knit alone so she can concentrate. As a knitter myself, I understand why she wants to sit in peace. Depending on the pattern, you need absolute silence to concentrate on what the pattern calls for. I’m someone who likes to have background noise and have conversations while knitting, but I totally understand this character. Sometimes you just need some peace and quiet to knit!

I think this is such a cute and funny story that’s perfect for small children. The artwork is beautiful and complex in its own way, so it’ll keep kid’s attention. It’s a funny and simple tale that will crack kids up as they watch the grandmother’s journey continue. My favorite sections are when she encounters a bear and of course when she encounters extraterrestrial beings on the moon. I could relate to her when a group of goats started eating her yarn because I have two cats that try to munch on my yarn if they spot me knitting. It’s a great book and it was the light and fun kind of read that everyone needs.

Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall (Honeychurch Hall Mystery #5) by Hannah Dennison

Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

My Rating: ★★★★★

Kat has finally gotten into a groove and is enjoying life. Her romance life is heating up as she gets closer to her neighbor, Piers, and she’s finding new ways to drum up business for herself. Life is good until Cassandra shows up and makes sure it’s known that nothing will come between her and her man, Piers, even though he swears they’re like siblings. Determined to keep her head held high, Kat continues like everything is normal and that she’s not jealous. Not a smidge! Of course, things start to heat up once a badly photoshopped image of Kat appears in the newspaper and she gets accused of trying to swindle a retired veteran out of a set of collector’s items. Just when things can’t get any worse, Kat finds herself caught up in another murder mystery and the killer is a lot closer than she could’ve ever imagined.

Five books in and this series is just as good as when it first begun. I loved seeing my favorite characters, especially Iris, in this brand-new installment full of wonderful and hilarious moments. It’s great to see these characters continue to develop, bond, and butt heads. This time around, Iris has a new friend and in addition to secret admirer. Jealously rears its ugly head in new ways for Kat, and most of it isn’t even her. We see a new side of Shawn that, quite frankly, is neither flattering nor cute. I absolutely love seeing this great cast of characters come together yet again.

One of the things that I love about this series is the humor. This time around, the joking around that occurs between Kat and Iris reminded me of how my mom and I joke around. It’s such a small thing but it really resonated with me. I also love how well balanced this series is. It’s never too serious, too humorous, or too history based. It has a perfect medium that keeps the story rolling without a hitch.

I love the way that the love triangles are handled in this series, especially this book. It’s great to watch Kat slowly recognize that she deserves better and figure out what it is that she wants. This time around, she sees new sides to a few characters that impacts how she wants to continue her relationship with them and I think that’s a powerful development on her part.

All in all, I absolutely love this book and I’ll be keeping an ear out for news on the next installment.

The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Algonquin Young Readers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Clementine has been groomed to become the next Dark Lord since her birth, but she’s always felt lonely and not exactly what her father imagined his heir would be like. One day, her father is cursed by a powerful rival and starts wasting away. As soon as he’s not strong enough to run his own lands, Clementine takes over as the temporary Evil Overlord. She quickly discovers that she can’t do things by herself and very stubbornly makes new friends and discovers that these friendships have considerably brightened her life. The more she’s left to her own devices, the more she discovers about herself and her family, and she begins to wonder if she’s a good person and not evil at all.

This is such a wonderful and heartwarming book following a lonely pre-teen who has been learning how to be the best Dark Lord she can ever be for her whole life. Never having been truly evil, she doesn’t have a single happy memory and has always been fascinated by the townsfolk who are absolutely terrified of her and her father. She may not be evil, but she’s still not perfect, and that’s okay because she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love that this story brings up that being good doesn’t necessarily mean being perfect. Being bad is not straight forward like she’s been led to believe, and this is a good topic for middle schoolers who are at that weird age where they’re trying to figure out who they are and how they fit in with their peers. At this age, it’s easy to think that one mistake means you’re not a good person and stories like this show them that life is more complex than that.

In this case, Clementine believes she’s evil and she’s been raised to be the next Dark Lord, but she discovers that she possesses light magic and doesn’t like to hurt people. She wonders if she’s secretly been good this whole time, but then thinks that she can’t be because she also likes to do some bad things. There’s a town full of people who are terrified of Clementine and her father, but then she makes friends with a group of kids and they discover that Clementine isn’t so bad just as Clementine discovers that friends are a wonderful thing to have.

This book is just full of so many wonderful and complex characters that each bring a lesson with them. I love how cute, charming, and full of character the story is and I highly recommend it.

Mulberry Mischief (A Berry Basket Mystery #4) by Sharon Farrow

Mulberry Mischief by Sharon Farrow

My Rating: ★★★★

It’s the week of Halloween and that means big business for Oriole Point. At least it usually does, but Piper has temporarily steered business away with her health fair. While business is down, Marlee gets caught up in a brand-new murder mystery shortly after doing business with an eccentric woman living in her small town, Leticia. Better known as the Lake Lady, Leticia orders enough mulberries to cover her entire home because of their protective qualities. Marlee is confused by the request and doesn’t believe that Leticia has anything dangerous to worry about until a mysterious man turns up looking for Leticia. When that man turns up dead and Leticia goes missing, Marlee jumps on the case an discovers that Leticia has deadly past just caught up with her.

The third installment of the series was a little bit of a miss for me, but I’m happy to say that I’m fan of the latest book. I was excited to be on board with Marlee and company again this time around, including her new beau, Kit. I do think that she moved on pretty quickly from her last relationship, but I’m willing to overlook this because they seem like a much better match than her ex-fiancé ever was.

The mystery itself was pretty good this time around. I liked Leticia and felt bad for her, especially with her sad and complex life story. Each of the suspects could easily be the killer on the loose in Oriole Point, and majority of those suspects are not happy with Marlee poking around their personal business. I thought that the mystery was handled very well, but I do think that the way Marlee suddenly connected the dots before getting confirmation toward the end was farfetched. It’s funny because we could’ve done without that little bit of her randomly connecting dots since she was about to get the answers. Otherwise, I think the mystery was handled well.

As always, I love the returning cast of characters and I’m excited to check out the next installment when it eventually drops.

Of Ice and Shadows (Of Fire and Stars #2) by Audrey Coulthurst

Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

My Rating: ★★★

After faking her death, Denna and Mare are finally back together and seeking help with Denna’s magic abilities. After concocting a cover story, Denna must pretend to be Mare’s maid during their long journey to Zumorda. Once they arrive, they discover that Zumorda is very different from the world they’re from. Magic abilities are prevalent and used open in everyday life, which is something Denna and Mare are not used to. While Denna hopes to find someone willing to train her, Mare has started to wonder if they could just strip Denna of her abilities. Unfortunately for them, the political climate starts heating up as they start to discover their personal differences.

I have been a fan of this series since the first book, so I was very excited when we got a release date for the official second installment in the series. I absolutely love the characters from the first book as well as the prequel, so it was great to see Denna and Mare encounter one of the characters from the prequel.

This time around, the pair are in a new setting, so we got to meet a whole new cast of characters. I absolutely loved some of the new characters, especially Alek and Fadeyka. I would love to see Tristan and Evie again as well as see them developed a lot more than they were this time around. There are so many great and interesting characters throughout the story that I wish they were real people.

A lot of the story involved Denna and Mare exiting the honeymoon phase of their relationship. I knew they would work through it, but it was still great to see the ups and downs of their relationship and how they would become more solid as a couple in the end. Both characters grew a lot throughout the story, so that was very exciting as well.

Unfortunately, I did find the plot a little clunky at times. I wondered how the prequel was going to take form in the second installment, so that was interesting to see, but it seemed like a few aspects were shoehorned in. Much of the book seemed to be preparing for the next installment in the series, so there was a lot of build up only for it to fizzle out very quickly at the end. I also wish that the world building was a lot better once Denna and Mare got to Zumorda, especially from Denna’s perspective since she was a lot more open and understanding than Mare for much of the book. Regardless, I am looking forward to the next book and I hope that the issues I have with this installment gets sorted out.

Killer Fashion: Poisonous Petticoats, Strangulating Scarves, and Other Deadly Garments Throughout History by Jennifer Wright

Killer Fashion by Jennifer Wright

My Rating: ★★★★

Jennifer Wright spotlights some of the deadly fashion practices throughout history because, even today, fashion has always had a deadly side. Covering everything from flammable clothes to killer hair dye, we get a quick overview of some of the deadliest fashions that is riddled through history.

I love when I come across books that cover some of the lesser talked about topics, so I was excited when I saw that Wright write a book about dangerous fashion practices. While it’s short and to the point, it does present several deadly cases can send readers off to research the fashionable items they didn’t know were deadly. I do think that some of the cases are reaching a bit, such as killer high heels, but I still found the book enjoyable. I also learned about a few items that I didn’t know existed, such as belladonna. I heard it referenced before, but I always thought it referred to a painting and not hazardous eye drops.

I do wish the book was longer and contained more information about each item and its history, but I don’t have any complaints. I was aware that it was going to be short and to the point when I saw the page count before picking up the book, so I didn’t go in expecting a very informative book. Because of the length and overall writing style, I think it’s a great introductory book for people who are looking to learn something new but also want that information condensed.

The Blacksmith Queen (The Scarred Earth Saga #1) by G.A. Aiken

The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Keeley Smythe is enjoying life as a blacksmith. She runs her family forge, helps her parents with her siblings, and spends time with her wide range of friends. Everything changes when the Old King dies and a prophecy names one of her sisters, Beatrix, as the new queen. Unfortunately for them, the Old King’s sons are locked in a bloody battle with one another to make sure that only one of them will become the new king, and anyone who threatens their chances is as good as dead. With the Old King’s sons coming for Beatrix, Keeley and her family must make a run for it and somehow confirm Beatrix as the new queen along the way.

Not only is this a great story, but it also has a lot of badass female characters at every turn. I found myself glued to the pages and ready to see what Keeley and company were going to encounter next. Out of all the characters, I love Keeley and her cousin, Keran, the most. They’re both completely different people, but they care for each other and are totally badass in their own ways. I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop in future books, especially Keran. I think that Keran has room to grow as a character and it’ll be fun to see that happen.

While this book has a lot of great characters, I do have one complaint: there are too many characters. There are so many people coming in and out of the story that it was confusing early in the story. Luckily, they’re all very different from one another so it was easy for me to get a hold on them early on, but it’s something that left my mind spinning for a hot minute. I can see people being confused about sheer amount of characters who make an appearance, especially when are people who could’ve been introduced in a later novel.

That said, I really did enjoy the book. There was never a dull moment and I love how there is a good balance between serious moments, action, and comedy. By the time I got to the end of the book, I felt like I had just finished watching a really good three-hour movie. There’s something for everyone here, including all the supernatural characters that fit perfectly into its world. If action packed novels aren’t your cup of tea, you might want to skip this book because it is fast paced and packed with action from beginning to end.