No Spoiler Book Review ![]() To say this book is complicated is a massive understatement. Paperback mysteries are complicated. This is Agatha Christie on Groundhog Day with body-swapping. It made my brains fall out. 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is set at a crumbling, remote estate in 1920s England. The house is full of guests and servants that would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else. The story takes place on an eight-day, eight-body loop that has repeated an indeterminate number of times.
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New Release Books ![]() After wading through hundreds of upcoming titles, I have narrowed the list of July New Release Books to these eight exciting titles. I flipped through book review catalogs, book blogs and library chat forums to ensure that I found the most interesting and original new books. I try to include a variety of Fiction, Non-Fiction and even Young Adult books. This month’s selections include a dark fairy tale, a cutesy romance, and zombie horror, to name a few. Hopefully there is something for everyone! I exclude sequels and anything that will not have broad appeal. No Spoiler Book Review ![]() Breaking the Lore is a snarky urban fantasy novel. It starts with one dead fairy and before you know it, you are up to your eyeballs in magical creatures. One quirky and clever detective, an elf, a troll, a witch, at least seven dwarfs, centaurs, and the rest. All introduced with a tone of hilariously disbelieving sarcasm. The characters are thrown together when a war in the magical world spills over into the gardens of Manchester. Let’s just say, the gardens of Manchester are ill-prepared to handle a magical skirmish. Luckily, the quirky and clever detective, Nick Paris, is on the case! While the plot of this book is entertaining and the characters are fun, what I really love is the writing! This book is packed full of that dry British humor that tickles your brain. I laughed the whole way through this book. ![]() Karin Slaughter is one of those intense thriller authors that fans can’t seem to get enough of. Every book she publishes leaves her readers begging for more. Luckily her fans never have long to wait as she publishes about a book per year. Between her popular Will Trent series and her standalone books, she always has a new book on the horizon. Her upcoming book, Silent Wife, is the tenth Will Trent book. I know it can be daunting to see that a series is on #10 if you haven’t started it, but stay with me. You have options! The Will Trent series can be read as a standalone and out of order. So you could read, Silent Wife, and then go back and read book three, if you wanted. However, fans recommend starting at the beginning and binge-reading the series in order. Cookbook Review ![]() Release Date: October 06, 2020 Tara Teaspoon is an experienced chef with a passion for her craft. She has worked with Martha Stewart and was the food director of Ladies Home Journal Magazine. She credits her mother with her creativity and enthusiasm in the kitchen. Tara worked alongside her mom in the kitchen since she was old enough to reach the counters. Through her work Tara has access to the best equipment and ingredients, but she understands that home chefs often have to make-do with what they have. ![]() I love the idea of finding my next favorite author by following the book awards. Unfortunately, the reality is a little different. Most well-known book awards are published on unwieldy websites that are damn-near impossible to navigate. In addition to being difficult to track down, the winning books are often selected by critics for critics. These are books that critics read and then congratulate each other for reading. They are just too unpleasant and pretentious to attract most readers. I created this list in an effort to find the award winning books that people actually want to read. I started with the 30 most well-known book awards and narrowed the list to these eleven. Many of these awards are still listed on websites designed by MC Escher, but the books tend to be well rated and widely read. No Spoiler Book Review ![]() Carry On begins in Simon Snow’s final year at Hogwarts, errrr I mean Watford. Simon is just trying to make it through his last year without being obliterated by Voldemort, Dammit! The Insidious Humdrum! He’s faced Dragons, Ghosts, Foster Care, and his *suspected* blood sucking, vampire roommate. What will this final year bring? What will he do when he leaves Watford? Assuming he lives that long… Carry On is Harry Potter Fan Fiction. I don’t have a lot of experience with fanfic, but Carry On was inspired by and will be loved by fans of Harry Potter. ![]() Every year libraries host Summer Reading Clubs for all ages, including teens. The main goal of the program is to help reduce the loss of knowledge that occurs every summer, known as the “Summer Slide”. Studies show that students lose about 20% of their school year knowledge during summer break (Austrew, 2019). As you can imagine, this year will be particularly bad because of the early school closures. Luckily, Summer Reading Clubs have shown to help prevent and reduce the Summer Slide. Libraries are operating a little differently this year. No Spoiler Book RevieW ![]() Willowdean Dickson, aka Will, aka Dumplin’, is the plus-size daughter of a former Texas Bluebonnet Beauty Queen. She has always been confident and always had strong relationships with her friends and family. Willowdean’s mother remains an important part of the local pageant planning team and committees. For a few months every year, the pageant takes-over life at the Dickson household. Will has never had an interest in the pageant and seems to just stay out of her mother’s way, when it’s pageant season. After a few interactions rub her the wrong way, Will decides to enter the pageant to prove a point. |
AuthorAlison Kelly Archives
September 2020
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