Sunday Post 143

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves

Readerbuzz, who hosts Sunday Salon

Caffeinated Reviewer, who hosts Sunday Post

The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy 250th Birthday, America! I hope my American friends are having a safe and Happy Fourth of July weekend. If you reside in another country, I hope you are also having a safe and happy weekend!

It's been excessively hot in my neck of the Hundred Acre Wood. We've had consecutive days with "real feel" temperatures of around 116 degrees Fahrenheit. The annual parade that goes down my street on the 4th still happened, but everyone was required to ride in or on a vehicle. No one was permitted to walk this year due to the heat. Our temps were already in the 90's at 9 a.m. when the parade started. Using vehicles helped not only participants, but also spectators because they didn't have to stay outside as long as usual for this event. The parade moved much faster. I did not go outside, but I have a good enough view from my condo. Some of the vehicles were decorated very creatively!

After some storms, we are finally starting to cool down a little. By Tuesday, we'll have highs in the low 80's (but possibly with more storms).

Another event that happened this weekend was Tinker Bell and Fiona observed their Gotcha Day. It was July 3, 2022 when, as kittens, they chose me to be their cat mom. Four years really has flown by. They celebrated with a few rounds of cat and mouse. Fiona played her favorite game of Shadows and Refractions. Bell cannot understand why this game fascinates Fiona so much. Bell just sits and watches her every single time.

Last week, I met with some of my puzzling friends to practice for a competition we're participating in on Saturday. We certainly don't claim to be the fastest puzzlers in all the land, but we do plan on having so much fun trying.

Back at home on the puzzle board, the 1000-piece 80's themed puzzle I recently shared with you is now complete!

This was a really fun puzzle to put together. Instead of sorting (except for the edge pieces and the 1980s label), it was easier to just place pieces generally where they belong. It came together pretty quickly doing it that way.

I have to say, though, I wish Whitney Houston and Murder, She Wrote were included in this puzzle. 

Anyway, it was fun. Here is the info.:

Title: The 1980's

Brand: White Mountain

Artist: James Mellett

Piece count: 1000

Size: 24×30 in.

Sadly, James Mellett passed away on April 12th this year, which happened to be my birthday. He created a lot of cool puzzles like this one. There are several decade puzzles he created, as well as other collage-style puzzles.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

None finished this week.

IN PROGRESS

I read Summer Week 2 in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl. In this chapter, the author describes her struggle to attract frogs to a pond in her yard. As is the case with most of the chapters, her experience was bittersweet.

I'm very close to finishing an ARC of The Masala Chai Mystery Club, by MJ Soni. I'm enjoying the latter part of the book more than the first. The mystery is strong and there is some edge-of-your-seat action in it. It's a definite page-turner (or page tapper in the case of e-books). However, the frequent swearing is a huge turn-off for me. 

I have less than an hour left to listen to in Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake, written by Sarah Graves and narrated by Susan Boyce. I'm enjoying the mystery overall, and the descriptive writing is strong, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series. There is some swearing in it, which if you've been following me, you know that kind of language never appeals to me.

UP NEXT

I picked up an ARC of Tides Wait for No Witch (Spelltide Bay Magic Mystery 1), by Natalie Summers. I love witches (the friendly kind!) and sea otters, so I have to read this one. Also, I simply adore the cover. This is still up next.

I will also start listening to another audiobook, but I haven't decided which one yet.

ON THE SCREEN

• The Brady Bunch - I finished watching season 4, at least all the ones that have aired on television. Next week I'll start on season 5, which is shorter than the rest of the seasons. It's also the final season. I'm already feeling sad that I'm almost done rewatching the series. It's going by so quickly.
• A Castle of Our Own - This was Hallmark's final Summer Nights movie in June. It's one of my favorites of the year. It was such an easy, pleasant watch, and it was so good to see fan favorite Brennan Elliott back after taking a two-year break. I don't spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer, but I do enjoy watching movies where the characters do. There were a lot of fun outdoor summery scenes in this one.
• Catch of the Day - This Hallmark movie premiered last fall, but it's clearly set around the 4th of July. So I decided to re-watch it this past week. I didn't love it. It's pretty slow-moving. I thought maybe watching it during the season would enhance my viewing experience. It did slightly, but not enough to put it high on my list.
• Alice in Wonderland (1999) - I had never seen this version, so I decided to watch it after having watched The Way Home series (which references Alice in Wonderland). I thought the special effects were really good, but it was very slow. I prefer the 2010 version.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 06/27 - Weekly Recap
• Book Review - 07/02 - Witches, Walkie-Talkies, and Warnings, by Emily Fluke
• Puzzle - 07/04 - 4th of July Cupcakes (and Cookies)

Have a great week!

Puzzle 143 - 4th of July Cupcakes (and Cookies)

Happy 4th of July to my American friends and Happy Caturday to all!

My time on this one was 3:22 using 35 non-rotating pieces.

Enjoy!

Witches, Walkie-Takies, and Warnings (Bewitcher's Beach Mystery 6), by Emily Fluke

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Note: While the the book has "Walkies" printed on the cover, everywhere else I look has it has "Walkie" in the title, so I will use the latter in my review.

I always get excited when another Bewitcher's Beach Mystery, by Emily Fluke, is released. This series has really evolved since the first installment, Magic, Movies, and Murder. While Witches, Walkie-Talkies, and Warnings is still very much a cozy series, the mystery aspect is a different than the norm and it's heavier on the magical elements than it was in the beginning.

In this sixth installment, Noema finally meets a long lost family member. Unfortunately, her newly found loved one is kidnapped. It's a race against time to save them and find out who's behind this mystery. Good thing she has a trusty friend (or more than a friend) by her side.

When I recommend cozies, I usually say they are self-contained mysteries, which means the mystery starts and ends in each book. However, I also recommend starting with the first one in the series if you want to follow the character growth and subplots. In the case of The Bewitcher's Beach Mysteries, especially with this sixth one, Witches, Walkie-Talkies, and Warnings, it's even more important to start at the beginning and read them in order. There are several major spoilers in this installment.  If you've read the previous installments, you'll be delighted to see those references, but if you haven't read the earlier books, some of the mysteries will be spoiled if you read this one first.

This is a mostly clean cozy mystery. There were one or two instances of strong language that I prefer not to read in cozies, but it was toned down quite a bit in this installment compared to the previous one. One of my struggles with this book was that the magic was a little confusing to me. I didn't understand the complexities of it all. However, when I stopped trying to figure everything out, I enjoyed the ride much more.

One of the highlights of this series for me is the character development and the eclectic mix of paranormal characters. It is a joy to see them all interact with each other. Noema is a single mom with several pups. There was a love triangle, but this installment has Noema feeling sure that she has romantic feelings for only one of them. One character I really missed again in this installment was Squeaks, the family's pet mouse. Squeaks was mentioned, but I missed seeing more of him.

This series is set in the 1990's. The earlier books are stronger with the nostalgia. It's still present in Witches, Walkie-Talkies, and Warnings, though not as prominent. It was one of the aspects that drew me to the series in the beginning, so I really miss that.

One aspect that has remained prominent is that Noema shifts from human form to wolf form when it becomes necessary. I'm always amused at how this transpires. Emily Fluke's vivid descriptions of this and the setting in general really pull me in. Noema also continues to use her strong sense of smell when she sniffs out emotions to help her get a feel for whether or not characters are telling the truth. It's a helpful gift to have when you're an amateur sleuth. 

Fans of this series will not want to miss Witches, Walkie-Talkies, and Warnings. It's a strong addition to the Bewitcher's Beach Mystery series that moves forward with Noema's journey. It's set in the fall leading up to Halloween, but it can certainly be enjoyed anytime of the year. There will be one more installment to conclude the series and I look forward to reading it when it's released. 

Thank you to author Emily Fluke for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Sunday Post 142

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves

Readerbuzz, who hosts Sunday Salon

Caffeinated Reviewer, who hosts Sunday Post

The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I had no appointments and nowhere to go this past week, which is rare. I had every intention of scheduling some reviews, but I got distracted by...puzzles.

I was craving a small puzzle that I could complete in less than one hour, so I decided to work on a micro puzzle. It has 150 miniature pieces. The completed puzzle will be 4x6 inches. Three hours and two sessions later, I'm only halfway done. The pieces are obviously tiny, but also, this pattern is difficult.

The completed picture will be a bookcase filled with books and even a couple of cats. I've decided that when I finish it, I'm going to glue or tape the back of it, frame it, and display it in my library. I don't ever want to have to put it together again, but I love the picture.

I also worked on this one that was started last weekend. I feel good about the progress on this one. I'm continuing to just place random pieces generally where they belong and it seems to be coming together that way.

I really want to get some reviews scheduled this coming week, plus I have an appointment and a social event (puzzle practice with my speed puzzling team), so I won't have much time to do puzzles at home. But I might be able to get some done.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I finished The Deep End (Country Club Murders 1), by Julie Mulhern. While this is a well-crafted mystery, the frequent use of profanity took me out of the story. I also am not a fan of the adult themes. Although this is marketed as a cozy mystery, I would not consider it a cozy. I looked into the rest of the series and decided this one is not for me.

IN PROGRESS

I read Summer Week 1 in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl. This chapter is a mix of melancholy and cheerfulness. I can say I'm not nearly as much of a fan of thunderstorms as the author is!

I'm about 40% into an ARC of The Masala Chai Mystery Club, by MJ Soni. The format for this is different than what I'm used to (the first several chapters alternate between present day and yesterday), but I'm enjoying the characters and the mystery. The chapters are short, which as someone with a short attention span, helps me a lot. There have been some scenes which really made me laugh out loud.

I was looking for an audiobook that's a cozy mystery first in series set around the Fourth of July and I stumbled upon Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake, written by Sarah Graves and narrated by Susan Boyce. I'm about 20% into the audiobook and really enjoying it. This is a spinoff series, but I don't feel lost at all not having read any of the books in the original series.

UP NEXT

I picked up an ARC of Tides Wait for No Witch (Spelltide Bay Magic Mystery 1), by Natalie Summers. I love witches (the friendly kind!) and sea otters, so I have to read this one. Also, I simply adore the cover.

ON THE SCREEN

• The Way Home - The season finale was a mixed bag. It was emotional and well-acted. Lots of questions were answered, while many were not. It was left-opened ended, so I'm hoping eventually it will be picked up again, even if it's on a network other than Hallmark. Currently, the first three seasons are streaming on Netflix, so maybe they will continue it. It was obvious that they did not find out until near the end of filming the season that the series was ending. They found out after filming eight of the ten episodes in the season, so the last two were rushed. The final episode especially handed us a lot of answers all at once. I'm happy we got those answers, but it's too bad it had to be so rushed. It could have been extended for at least one more season.
• The Brady Bunch - I'm continuing to watch season four. There are some pretty serious topics covered in some of these episodes, but they're well-balanced with light-heartedness.
• Murder, She Wrote - I finished season 5! I think my favorite episodes in this season are the last two, which is a two-episode finale. It's the perfect mix of Cabot Cove (I love the outdoor scenes), familiar characters, and strong emotions. The mystery is well-crafted too!
• The Love Heist - This was a new Hallmark movie that premiered last weekend. I thought it was going to be so funny, and it was in the beginning. But then it fell flat. They had great chemistry and the plot was a little different than the norm, but the female lead's low self-confidence got to be a bit too much.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 06/20 - Weekly Recap
• Puzzle - 06/27 - Seashells

Have a great week!