Ramblings And What Not ~

Hello Peoples! Woot Woot! July 31st it has been twelve (12) months since I broke my wrist! That is an experience I will never forget and one I would not recommend. *ahem* Below is a photo of my famous broken wrist! Do you remember when I broke the poor thing??? If you do, raise your hand! Ah HA!  I see all those hands. Thank-you.  🙂

Right now ~ I would like to direct your attention to a fun blog. Hop on your Vespa, skateboard, roller blades or dune buggy and speed on over to ~

https://fictionaficionadoblog.wordpress.com/

Aficionado is one busy blogger and she’s a lot of fun. She writes book reviews, a Weekend Book Buzz and a very interesting and fun, sometimes hilarious Word Nerd Wednesday!  Enjoy!

Mary Angela, author of the Professor Prather cozy mysteries had a giveaway on her blog and I won!  🙂  She sent me a package of tea, a nice bookmark and a postcard about her new mystery A Very Merry Murder! Jog on over to her website and check it out!

http://maryangelabooks.com/

Your favorites at the cottage in July ~

~ The Reckoning At Gossamer Pond by Jamie Jo Wright ~ July 6, 2018

~ Classic Movie Friday! Charlie Chan At the Opera ~ July 6, 2018

~ Rambling And What Not ~ July 11, 2018

Enjoy August!

Much love ~

Kathy

 

 

Advertisement

Poisoned Pages by Lorna Barrett

“Tricia decides to host a housewarming party to show off both her new home and her new cooking skills — Chef Tricia has cooked all of the food herself! Proud of her achievements, Tricia is having a great time mingling with her guests — until one of them swiftly falls ill and dies. What looks like an unfortunate accident is declared a poisoning by the police. Tricia and her sister, Angelica, know that her cuisine was not to blame — so who brought death to the party?” ~Berkley Prime Crime

I thought it was interesting that, at the beginning of the mystery, a man is found guilty of second-degree murder and is sentenced to prison. Tricia was the star witness during the trial. The guilty party is not happy with the sentencing ~ to say the least.

Tricia, also known as a jinx, owns the mystery bookstore and she’s running for president of the Chamber of Commerce, against two less than qualified opponents. I personally don’t believe in a jinx! I believe that the characters who called her a jinx were rude! *ahem* And! I would have voted for her.  🙂

Meanwhile, the town of Stoneham is busy trying to discover who is vandalizing their property. And! Tricia’s sister Angelica is being blackmailed.

When I started reading this mystery I was a little confused. This is number twelve in the Booktown Mystery series and I’ve never read any of these cozies! I believe in reading a series in order and this one should be read in order.  🙂  Having said that, as I continued reading, the characters and the mystery started clearing up. By the time I finished reading the book, I liked it. I was especially concerned about Angelica. I don’t think it’s fun being blackmailed and she hadn’t done anything wrong. I was curious to learn the identity of the blackmailer. Overall, I liked the book and I will start this series at the beginning. 4 **** stars!

A BIG thank-you to Berkley Prime Crime for sending this book to me. It came right to my doorstep. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 

Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian

Lucy Berberian resigns her job as an attorney in Philadelphia and returns home to Ocean Crest. She soon finds herself helping out in her parents restaurant ~ the Kebab Kitchen! Her parents have a new hummus bar! Interesting. The new health inspector, Heather Banks, has it in for Lucy and her family. After a less than stellar health inspection, Heather is discovered dead behind the Kebab Kitchen! Well, it soon becomes clear that Heather’s death is not an accident and Lucy is a suspect!

I liked it! My favorite characters were Lucy and her best friend Katie! They were together through thick and thin. All for one and one for all! And then I liked Michael, the good lookin’ bad boy motorcycle dude! He just seemed like a great guy to me. I probably shouldn’t feel that way, but I do.

Lucy’s parents drove me nuts. They were pushy ~ trying to get Lucy married with children! I mean really.  🙂  And! The man her parents approve as a future son-in-law I think is less than . . . well, I just didn’t like him. He was to smooth and I think he has a temper. Just ignore the good looks and the sinewy muscles and move on.  🙂   Good story. I didn’t solve the mystery. I’m going to continue reading this series. I’m looking forward to the next book. 4.5 stars ****!

Happy Reading!

 

I also liked Gadoo!  🙂

 

 

Secret Scouts and the Lost Leonardo by Mr. & Mrs. Kind

Publication Date: October 23, 2018

Publisher: Mokum Media

Complimentary copy from Netgalley through Mokum Media.

Wow! What an amazing adventure! This story is about time-travel, history and friendship . . . there is so much good, educational information in this kid’s adventure story! It all starts with a mysterious sketch. The reader will learn about Leonardo deVinci, codex, orrery, Andrea del Verrocchio and Poveglia, just to name a few. And! The story is great fun and written at a good pace. I had a difficult time putting the book down. There is a small amount of profanity and in the middle of the book it gets a little gross. However, Lisa, Tom Sophie and Jack have an incredible experience they will never forget. 4 **** stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Mokum Media through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 

Classic Movie Friday!

2010 The Year We Made Contact (1984)

Roy Scheider  Helen Mirren

John Lithgow   Bob Balaban   Keir Dullea

Well! Alrighty then! The Americans and the Russians journey through space together on an expedition to determine what happened to HAL and the Discovery.

This is the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is a considerable amount of tension on Earth between Russia and the United States, which causes distrust and less than ideal conditions to work in on the expedition to Jupiter.

This is an interesting film. It’s creepy at times and suspenseful. It does explain what happened to HAL in 2001, however, it doesn’t answer all questions about the monolith or Dave. However, I do have an opinion.  🙂  Dave is the host to an alien species living on Jupiter. They probably need him to understand and communicate with humans. The aliens are never revealed. The monolith is a spaceship for the aliens. Dave exists inside the monolith. I don’t want to reveal the ending, but our solar system undergoes a definite change at the end of this film. I was surprised at the ending.

I didn’t trust HAL during the entire movie and when I learned the computer scientist (Bob Balaban) was going to plug HAL back in, I had misgivings. With the exception of HAL, I have just as many questions as I did at the end of 2001. However, I don’t want to discourage anyone from watching these movies. They are interesting and the visual is amazing.

Enjoy!

 

The Legacy by Michael Phillips

The Legacy is the third book in the Secrets of the Shetland Series. I did read all three books in this series and I enjoyed them all. In the first book, Loni Ford lives in America, when she is contacted by an attorney informing her she has an inheritance in the Shetland Islands. She travels to the Shetlands to Whales Reef. Her life changes forever. However, there are struggles and challenges along the way and choices to be made.

I enjoyed meeting and getting to know Loni, David (David was my favorite character), and the people of Whales Reef. Upon her arrival to the community she soon falls in love with the people of the Shetlands and the land. In The Legacy, there is a murder and David’s cousin Hardy is arrested for the crime. A friendly, personable stranger arrives in the community refusing to reveal why he has arrived at Whales Reef, but asking plenty of questions especially about the murder and the man jailed for the crime.

It was interesting and enjoyable reading letters and journals from ancestors. And! I appreciated all the information about the Quakers.  🙂

I recommend all three books in the series and they should be read in order. 5 ***** stars!

  

Scandal Above Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

It all started when valuable paintings disappeared from the home of a baronet and his wife is blamed! Lady Cynthia asks Kat Holloway, the cook, to investigate the missing artwork. Antiquities and artifacts have been disappearing also. Then! An unidentified man is discovered dead in a seedy pawn shop, obviously murder! Is the murder somehow connected to the missing art, antiquities and artifacts?

Whoa! Pump on the brakes readers! Kat Holloway is one busy cook. She meets herself coming and going! She’s creating tasty meals for the family she works for while training a new assistant. She’s respected, dependable, likable and her friends are concerned for her safety. She tends to tread into dangerous situations. But, I should say, there are several great characters in this story. My favorites were Tess, Kat’s assistant in the kitchen and soon becomes her loyal friend. Lady Cynthia, she runs around in men’s trousers and frequents men’s establishments ~ shocking, I know! And! Mr. Thanos. He is smitten with Lady Cynthia! He’s intelligent and very interesting. And then, Kat Holloway and the somewhat mysterious Daniel! All of these characters together make for a good read!

When all is revealed at the end, I was surprised at the identity of that nefarious person. Wow! I didn’t solve that mystery! 4 **** stars!

This is the second book in the Below Stairs Mystery or Kat Holloway Mystery. I plan to read the first book, Death Below Stairs.

A BIG THANK-YOU to Berkley Prime Crime for sending this book to me. It came right to my door! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 

Classic Movie Friday!

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Keir Dullea

Gary Lockwood

Oh my word! Ok all you sci-fi fans out there, I might need your help with this film. A movie ahead of it’s time ~ to be sure.

Earth has a colony on the moon and a strange object has been discovered there ~ a monolith. It gives off a strange, loud ringing sound. Several months after the monolith is discovered, a spaceship, from Earth, is headed for Jupiter with a computer called, HAL, three scientists who are in a cryogenic state, Dr. Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) on board. During the journey to Jupiter, HAL malfunctions and Dave is the only survivor. Dave quickly shuts down HAL and then finds himself in an extraterrestrial experience. There seem to be strong elements of evolution in this film. I don’t want to get into a discussion on evolution at all. Maybe, evolution of the mind??? If this is a story of mankind vs. the computer, I would suggest, even if the computer was successful and killed everyone, including Dave, mankind would still have won because mankind created the computer and programed it.

So! What happened to Dave? Is time travel involved? Is he traveling at the speed of light? Did he die? Is he alive in the monolith? I can think of several questions about the monolith. Until one solves the mystery of the monolith . . . well . . . I do want to add the music in this film is wonderful and the filming (cinematography) is amazing!

Enjoy!

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Publication Date: October 9, 2018

Publisher: Atria Books

Complimentary copy from NetGalley through Atria Books.

When I started reading, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, I thought it was slow going and a little confusing. There are many characters and the story moves across time. It’s a mystery, a mystery involving a valuable jewel, murder, a missing person, love, loss and art. As I continued on in the story, the characters became more clearly visible, engaging and everything came together nicely in the end. I have read a few books by this author and this was not my favorite, however, I did like it. This book took me quite awhile to read, it’s not a story you will zip through. 4 **** stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Rancher’s Second Chance by Brenda Minton

Hello Peoples! Recently Laurie at http://www.cozynookbks.wordpress.com had a giveaway on her blog and I won a book! It was a nice surprise.  🙂  The book arrived safely and I decided to take a few hours from my incredibly busy schedule *ahem* and read it.

Grace Thomas is fleeing from an abusive husband. She’s pregnant and scared. She runs to the one person she can trust ~ Brody Martin.

Brody isn’t physically healthy and Grace hurt him when she married his best friend. Brody is quiet. He doesn’t say much, but he cares and he’s willing to protect Grace and her unborn child. His mother abandoned him and his family when he was a small boy. He’s been searching for his mother. And! He has plans for his ranch.

Grace is a sweet woman. She made a mistake when she married Lincoln. She needs protection, support and she has plans to return to nursing school.

This is a sweet, gentle romance and I thought Grace and Brody had always loved one another. When Grace came to Brody’s trailer, pounding on his door, it was clear the attraction and love remained. I knew everything would work out in the end and I was happy it did. 4 **** stars!

Brenda Minton is a new to me author.