11. Murder on the Red River by Marcie Rendon

#1 Cash Blackbear

listened on Libby

320 pgs.

2017
Adult Mystery/Historical Fiction 
Finished 2/28/2026
Goodreads rating: 3.7
My rating: 4
Setting: 1970 1970 Fargo/MN state line

My comments: Cash is 19; smart, feisty, Native American, and really close to being an alcoholic, which is hard to watch.  She spends her life driving trucks for the local farms during the day and playing pool each night.  She drinks and smokes hard, has no friends except for the local sheriff who first met her when she was three years old, and lives a pretty solitary, empty life.  Then there's a murder nearby, and she helps the sheriff investigate.  Making it even more interesting, it's set in 1970. At only 6 hours long it was the perfect length, didn't drag on and on, and I enjoyed all the indigenous information.

Goodreads synopsis:  Set in 1970s along Red River Valley, Marcie R. Rendon's gripping new mystery follows the life of a young Ojibwe woman as she struggles to come to terms with the callous murder of a Native American stranger, bringing to life the gritty, dark reality of a flawed foster care system and the oppression of indigenous people.

Renee "Cash" Blackbear, a 19-year-old, tough-as-nails, resilient Ojibwe woman, has lived all her life in Fargo, sister city to Minnesota's Moorhead, just downriver from the Cities. Her life revolves around driving truck for local farmers, drinking beer, playing pool, smoking cigarettes, and solving criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, who's also her guardian and helped her out of the broken foster care system. Together they must work to solve a murder across cultures in a rural Midwest community layered in racism, genocide, and oppression.

10. The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen

#1 Ellery Hathaway

listened on Libby

274 pgs. (8:58)

2017
Adult mystery/thriller
Finished 3/1/2025
Goodreads rating: 3.81
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary small town central Massachusetts

My comments: Ellery had been the victim of a serial killer, saved in the nick of time by a young FBI agent named Agent Reed Markham. Years later she's a top in a small Massachusetts town where no one knows her identity.  However, for the past three years she's been receiving ominous anonymous birthday cards, and there has been three annual disappearances, all at the beginning of the month of July.  She knows something is awry.  So she gets in touch with that FBI agent from fourteen years ago and more problems ensue.  This is good storytelling and kept me quite attentive.  Sick minds.  Very sick minds. A very bad guy and his equally-as-bad copycat. 

    Note:  Abrupt ending

    Another note:  I never really liked or trusted the protagonist, I'm not sure why.....

Goodreads:  Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only one who lived.

When three people disappear from her town in three years―all around her birthday―Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer all those years ago.

Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he's washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them...with a killer who can't let go.

32. Home Fire by Kamala Shamsie

listened on Chirp
276 pgs.

2017
Adult realistic fiction
Finished 4/10/24
Goodreads rating: 4.03
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary Massachusetts, London, Syria

My comments: I started this once, ages ago, but restarted from the beginning in one of my trying-to-fall-asleep sessions.  And it didn't go in any sort of direction that I thought it would.  This is a story that makes you think.  And tremble.  Terrorism.  Families.  Religious beliefs, and religious fanatics.  Patriotism.  Governments.  This is a tragic story, but what I'm sure is very, very real to thousands of people in our world.  I keep going back to thoughts about religious beliefs.  I look at what's going on in America right now, the huge differences between conservatism and liberalism.  Just like the hug differences between Hasidic Jews, reformed, and cultural Jews, and the vast differences between ultra religious Muslims and more liberal Muslims..... Political beliefs and religious beliefs all lumped together.  REALLY tough story, hard to rate.  I usually like stories that flip-flop between points-of-view and though I did not particularly care for it in this case, but to see all the different sides is definitely the best way for this story to be told.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Isma is free. After years of watching out for her younger siblings in the wake of their mother’s death, she’s accepted an invitation from a mentor in America that allows her to resume a dream long deferred. But she can’t stop worrying about Aneeka, her beautiful, headstrong sister back in London, or their brother, Parvaiz, who’s disappeared in pursuit of his own dream, to prove himself to the dark legacy of the jihadist father he never knew. When he resurfaces half a globe away, Isma’s worst fears are confirmed.

Then Eamonn enters the sisters’ lives. Son of a powerful political figure, he has his own birthright to live up to—or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? The means of Parvaiz’s salvation? Suddenly, two families’ fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined, in this searing novel that asks: What sacrifices will we make in the name of love?

The suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences.

22. Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life with OCD by Allison Britz

listened on Audible
368 pgs. (9:58)

2017
YA & Adult Memoir 
Finished 3/21/24
Goodreads rating: 3.92
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary anywhere, USA

My comments: Wow.  Although the protagonist is a 15-year old sophomore, this book would be very appropriate for a middle school.  A memoir, it gives a deep examination of how a seemingly normal, average, pretty-much-happy young girl can slip totally into OCD.  I was very sad, depressed, and frustrated through the first half of the book, but it also discussed getting better.  It was difficult, and she did it without meds - and knows that she will have to live with symptoms for the rest of her life.

Goodreads synopsis:  A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder—and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side—in this powerful and inspiring memoir.

Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.

But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.

It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.

Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.

Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.

18. The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir

listened on Audible
1:17 audio - 9 VERY short stories.....50 pgs.?
2017
Adult SciFi Short Story

Finished 3/2/24
Goodreads rating: 3.96
My rating: 3

My comments: Nine very short stories.  My favorite was the first, "Access."  Am man goes to work early one day and discovers a 23-year-old in his office.  They have an interesting conversation and the last sentence of the story, the twist, is a hoot.  That's what really stood out, the twist at the very end of each of the stories.  Some were better than others, of course.

Goodreads synopsis:  Collected for the first time anywhere, the nine tales in The Egg and Other Stories highlight Andy Weir's trademark wit and unexpected twists. For the few who have yet to experience The Martian, it's a perfect appetizer. For passionate Weir fans, it's a delicious dessert.

Stories included in this audio-exclusive collection are:
"Access"
"Antihypoxiant"
"Annie's Day"
"The Real Deal"
"Bored World"
"The Midtown Butcher"
"Meeting Sarah"
"The Chef"
"The Egg"

48. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

listened on Libby
389 pgs.

2017
Adult HistFict
Finished 4.02
Goodreads rating: 4.02
My rating: 5
Setting: California

My comments: I've read lots and lots of rave comments about this book but was skeptical.  And then, I couldn't stop listening!  To create a personality with so many nuances must be done by a highly skilled writer.  Not only was the plot extraordinary, but the writing was pretty flawless.  I had no idea it was LGBTQ2+.  I'm guessing this will be one of the stories that I might remember much more than so many that I so quickly forget.....

Goodreads synopsis:  Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

26. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

listened on Chrip (although I started on Kindle)

2017
262 pgs.
MidGrades/YA Crf/Myst
Finished 4/16/23
Goodreads rating: 4.31
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Phoenix, AZ

My comments: I've wanted to read this for a long time - it's set in the Arizona desert and has cacti on the cover and in the title, for cryin' out loud!  So sorry it took me so long, because this was an amazing story. It should be required reading for everyone! The way it looked at and handled Tourette's Syndrome was particularly special...heartbreaking and informative at the same time.  Great characters, interesting setting, wonderful plot.  What more could one want?

Goodreads synopsis:  Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

4. Unpunished by Lisa Black

#2 Renner & Gardiner

listened on Audible

2017
320 pgs.
Adult Police Procedural
Finished 1/9/23
Goodreads rating: 3.60
My rating: 2.5
Setting: Contemporary 

My comments:  If you're interested in the newspaper publishing business and how it's dying and want to be lectured ad nauseam about it, this is the book for you.  It wasn't particularly the book for me.  The other half of the book, the actual mystery, was okay.... 

Goodreads synopsis:  Maggie Gardiner, a forensic expert who studies the dead, and Jack Renner, a homicide cop who stalks the living, form an uneasy partnership to solve a series of murders in this powerful new thriller by the bestselling author of That Darkness.

It begins with the kind of bizarre death that makes headlines--literally. A copy editor at the Cleveland Herald is found hanging above the grinding wheels of the newspaper assembly line, a wide strap wrapped around his throat. Forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner has her suspicions about this apparent suicide inside the tsunami of tensions that is the news industry today--and when the evidence suggests murder, Maggie has no choice but to place her trust in the one person she doesn't trust at all . . .

Jack Renner is a killer with a conscience, a vigilante with his own code of honor. In the past, Jack has used his skills and connections as a homicide detective to take the law into his own hands, all in the name of justice. He has only one problem: Maggie knows his secret. She insists he enforce the law, not subvert it. But when more newspaper employees are slain, Jack may be the only person who can help Maggie unmask the killer-- even if Jack is still checking names off his own private murder list.

68. The Chalk Pit (#9 Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

listened on Audible

2017
374 pgs.
Adult mystery series
Finished 11/22/22
Goodreads rating: 4.14
My rating:  3.5
Setting: Contemporary King's Lynn, England

My comments: So many characters it was hard to keep them straight, but an interesting story about the possibility of (homeless) people living underground.  Somehow, though, much that happened was at least one step away from believability....and it ended with a huge question mark.  Michelle is pregnant.  Ruth and Nelson just happened to fall into bed together once again.  Very little build up for that.  I think too much was left for the imagination in this one, but my fullest attention wasn't on the story.  I kept listening when I got into bed and falling asleep....over and over again.  So this may have impacted some of my enjoyment.

Goodreads synopsis:  Boiled human bones have been found in Norwich's web of underground tunnels. When Dr Ruth Galloway discovers they are recent - the boiling not the medieval curiosity she thought - DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands.

Meanwhile, DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper. The only trace of her is the rumour that she's gone 'underground'. This might be a figure of speech, but with the discovery of the bones and the rumours both Ruth and the police have heard of a vast network of old chalk-mining tunnels under King's Lynn, home to a vast community of rough sleepers, the clues point in only one direction. Local academic Martin Kellerman knows all about the tunnels and their history - but can his assertions of cannibalism and ritual killing possibly be true?

As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. A local woman goes missing and the police are under attack. Ruth and Nelson must unravel the dark secrets of The Underground and discover just what gruesome secrets lurk at its heart - before it claims another victim.

21. The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni

#4 Tracy Crosswhite

listened on Audible

2017
424 pgs.
Adult murder mystery, police procedural
Finished 3/14/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.38
My rating: 4.5
Setting:  Contemporary Seattle & other parts of Washington state

My comments: A woman's body is found in a crab pot in Puget Sound, off Seattle, and has jurisdiction flip flopping back and forth, with Tracy never fully giving up looking for answers...   An excellently plotted mystery that keeps you guessing and figuring things out along with Tracy.  Dugoni is great with creating his characters, setting, and plot....liked this one a whole lot.  (Tracy ends up getting married to Dan at the very end so it's going to be interesting to see how that changes things.)

Goodreads synopsis:   When a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD’s Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. So who was she running from?

After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister’s unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman’s past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she’ll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won’t go down without a deadly fight. Once again, New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni delivers a taut, riveting thriller in the fourth installment of his acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite series.

81. The Pants Project by Cat Clark

listened on Audible

2017
272 pgs.
MidGr CRF
Finished  7/28/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.09 - 2106 ratings
My rating: 4.5

My comments: Another story about a trans middle schooler.  Live is starting a brand new middle school where she has to wear a uniform and for girlss that means a skirt every day.  She hates this.  nd of course there are two (female) bully sidekicks that treat her horribly, especially when they discover she has two moms.  Her best friend abandons her completely to be popular, but she meets a terrific young man, Jacob, who becomes her best friend.  Her mom and mama are terrific, as is her little brother Enzo.  It's a great story of a loving family in contemporary times and a young person who begins to trust herselfand the choices she makes.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Whoever wrote the uniform policy decided (whyyy?) that girls had to wear skirts, while boys were allowed to wear pants.

Sexist. Dumb. Unfair.

“Girls must wear a black, pleated, knee-length skirt.”

I bet I read those words a hundred times during summer vacation. The problem wasn’t the last word in that sentence. Skirt wasn’t really the issue, not for me.
The issue was the first word. Girls.

Here’s the thing:
I may seem like a girl, but on the inside, I’m a boy.

77. I Temporarily Do by Ellie Cahill

listened on Chirp

narrated by Stacey Glemboski - great job

Unabridged audio (6:11
2017
220 pgs.
Adult RomCom
Finished  7/21/21
Goodreads rating: 4.0 - 2817 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Irvine, CA, eastern small-town IA, and Phoenix

First line/s: "The guys were all in the living room."

My comments:  Great narrator, I love the way she is able to do a male voice without changing her natural voice very much, but making it work perfectly.  I loved the story.  It was a feel good, very cute, fun-feeling story.  Not high steam at all.  It had plenty of meat and was actually somewhat believable...maybe because I wanted it to be that way, lol.  Two great protagonists with lots of other interesting characters.  Very much enjoyed it.

GoodReads Synopsis:   A little white lie. A little white wedding. A pair of roommates in over their heads.

        Days before she's set to move across the country and start a prestigious graduate program, a con artist leaves Emmy with no where to live and less than zero dollars in her bank account. But her day doesn't seem quite so bad compared to Beckett's--his fiancée called off their wedding just days before they tie the knot. Now he's single and ineligible for his place in married student housing.
        So what are a girl without a home and a guy without a wife supposed to do? A quickie wedding in Vegas will solve both their problems. It's a business arrangement, and no one even needs to know. They'll just get an annulment in a few months. What could go wrong?
        Only Beckett forgot to mention his new apartment is a one-bedroom. And neither of them counted on their new friends at Middlesex University thinking they're a great couple.
        The platonic newlywed game might be harder to play than Emmy thought. Especially when it starts to feel less than platonic.
        I Temporarily Do is a Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy.

61. Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons

#3 Gibson Vaughn

listened on Audible/KindleUnlAud

narrated by James Patrick Cronin

Unabridged audio (9:29)
2017
318 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/10/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.16 - 6208 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Rural Washington, DC

First line/s:  "The door would never open.  The prisoner accepted that now."

My comments: Number three in the series, I think this was my favorite so far.  Sure, there were many unbelievable parts - maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much, lol!

Goodreads synopsis:  After a period of brutal isolation in a CIA black-site prison, former Marine and gifted hacker Gibson Vaughn is free—but with no idea where he was or how much time he’s lost. Struggling to maintain his grip on reality, he races to return to the life he left behind. Angry and disoriented, his thoughts turn to vengeance and the man responsible for his rendition. But Gibson’s drive for retribution and the ghosts of his violent past plunge him back into a world he wants only to escape.

            As old enemies and once-trusted allies resurface, the architects of a murderous conspiracy will beat a sinister path to Gibson’s doorstep. In discovering the shocking truth about those he thought he knew best, only one thing is certain: those responsible must be made to answer…and pay.

37. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

listened on Libby/borrowed from the Library

narrated by Helen Duff - wonderful (three different accents, male, female, child seamlessly)

Unabridged audio (10:12)
2017
359 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Thriller
Finished 4/11/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.04 - 266,495 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary America

First line/s: "Those months, the months before she disappeared, were the best months.  Really.  Just the best."

My comments: Even though you knew pretty much exactly what had happened from very near the beginning of the book, I did enjoy listening to the story unfold in its various voices.  Yes, very sad story for everyone involved, but watching Laurel move through this decade of heartbreak from her point of view was particularly well done, I think.  The only character I didn't feel was as completely created as the rest was that of Floyd, and his part in the story didn't quite make sense to me.  I couldn't put this down.  Wonderful reader who could switch accents from British to Irish to American seamlessly, as well as adjusting voice to male, female, child.

Goodreads synopsis:  THEN
          She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.
                    NOW         

          It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.
          And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
          Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.
          Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.
          Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.
          What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
          Who still has secrets to hide?

18. Millionaire at Midnight by Naima Simone

listened on Chirp
narrated by Philip Alces & Ava Lucas
Unabridged audio (7:34)
2017
244 pgs.
Adult Romance w/steam
Finished 3/5/21
Goodreads rating: 4.21 - 452 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: contemporary Boston

First line/s: " 'The prince slipped the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot, and of course it was a perfect fit.' "

My comments: What a stupid name for this book.  It was exactly like the previous six or eight steamy, fake-fiancé books I've read, but for some reason this is a tome that I particularly enjoy.  The joke's on me!  Like a Nancy Drew mystery, they all seem to follow the same format.  This one is set in Boston, but the setting in very insignificant, unfortunately.  Super rich families, idiot fathers, super-mean society "friends," yada yada yada.  But I'm sure it won't be too long before I read another...again, the joke's on me!  An interesting aside:  the super buff, gruff male protagonist loved reading YA, and many are either quoted or reerred to, which was sorta cool.

Goodreads synopsis:  Boston socialite Morgan Lett is having a run of bad luck. Her fiancé just dumped her for her stepsister, the charity foundation she’s given her life to is in danger of folding, and now, the gorgeous man she bid on and won at a masquerade bachelor auction turns out to be a cold-hearted jerk…and her new employer.

          Millionaire Alexander Bishop needs the best wife money can buy. In order to inherit his family business, he must get engaged—fast. And Morgan, with her beauty and pedigree, is the perfect candidate. Her sharp tongue may drive him crazy, but she needs money to save the foundation she loves, and he needs a fiancée. It’s a flawless arrangement—no strings, no love. But soon she has him craving more, and cursing the platonic terms of their agreement.

15. Map of Shadows by J. F. Penn

#1 Mapwalker

Listened on Chirp

narrated by Charlie Sanderson
Unabridged audio (5:23)
2017
208 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 2/18/21
Goodreads rating: 
My rating: 1.5
Setting: Bath, England

First line/s: "Michael Farren sat at his desk in the old map shop, an antique parchment in front of him portraying the ancient city of Bath."

What I posted on Goodreads:  Just didn't do it for me, for some reason.  I DO usually like this type of book...

My comments: Although I listened to the entire book, I really couldn't get into it.  I didn't care about the characters or either of the worlds that were described.  Because it seemed more like they were being described, not shown.  I loved that the main setting was Bath, England.  Other than that, it just  wasn't for me.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A map of skin etched in blood.
          A world under threat from the Borderlands.
          A young woman who must risk the shadows to save her family.
          When her Grandfather is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Sienna Farren inherits his map shop in the ancient city of Bath, England. Once there, she discovers that her family is bound up with the Ministry of Maps, a mysterious agency who maintain the borders between this world and the Uncharted.
          With the help of Mila Wendell, a traveller on the canals, Sienna discovers her own magical ability and a terrifying place of blood that awaits in the world beyond.
          But when she discovers a truth about her past and the Borderlands begin to push through the defenses, Sienna must join the team of Mapwalkers on their mission to find the Map of Shadows – whatever the cost.
          In a place written out of history, a world off the edge of the map, Sienna must risk everything to find her father … and her true path as a Mapwalker.
          This dark fantasy novel is the first in the new Mapwalker series.

156. Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

#1 Christmas Tree Farm mystery

listened on Audible - free

narrated by Allyson Ryan

Unabridged audio (8:16)
2017

311 pgs.
Adult Cozy Mystery
Finished 12/22/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.02 - 2253 ratings
My rating: 2 (Just not a cozy mystery fan)
Setting: Contemporary small town Maine 

First line/s:   " 'I have two cups of Santa's cinnamon tea, one spicy apple cider, and a peppermint twist hot cocoa,' I said, setting the mugs on the table surrounded by rosy-cheeked women wearing matching holiday sweaters."

My comments: Deceiving title, only one murder.  There's a reason I don't read cozy mysteries. Only ready this because it's set in Maine. This was so sugary sweet, silly, and stupid.  Stereotypical everything, a Hallmark movie extraordinaire in print.  How can a whole town's worth of people fit in one living room a dozen times?  Ridiculous!

Goodreads synopsis:  When Holly White's fiance cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime--exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly's family tree farm.

          When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly's father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn't help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list in Twelve Slays of Christmas, Jacqueline Frost's jolly series debut. 

101. Lonely Magnolia by John Isaac Jones

listened on Audible Escape, a novella
narrated by Tom Zainea
Unabridged audio (1:06)
2017, audio only, I think
50 pgs. (just a guess...)
Adult CRF with teeny tiny touch of fantasy...or not....
Finished 6/28/20
Goodreads rating: 4.27 - 15 ratings
My rating: 2

My comments: A founding father of the technology era goes online dating to find a partner for the rest of his life.  It backfires in that - SPOILER!!! - what he ended up with, his choice of mate, was an AI he had created long ago and forgotten about.  It ended up driving him mad, lol.  A decent idea, I wish it had been better executed. 

Goodreads synopsis:  When famous computer genius Dr. Carl Wingate decides to find a new wife online, it not only rocks the very foundations of the digital industry itself, but it turns his personal life completely upside-down. This is the story of Pygmalion for the 21st century.

95. Fiance on Paper by Nicole Snow

listened to audio - Audible Escape
narrated by Jean-Paul Mordrake and Ellie McClendon
Unabridged audio (9:17)
2017 Ice Lips Press
320 pgs.
Adult Steamy Romance
Finished 6/10/2020
Goodreads rating:
My rating: 2
Setting: contemporary Seattle, Washington

First line/s: "Something in his makeup made him an utter bastard, but I owed him my life."

My comments: First of all, I don't think the guy on the cover is attractive at all.  Just saying....
Another kinky, steamy fake fiance romance.  This one's got a lot of background though, because it's been seven years since Maddie and Cal have seen each other, which is really, really weird because they'd adored each other the whole time.  I'm not exactly sure what has motivated him through those years, being so resistant to getting in touch with her even though she sent him lots of letters, etc.  And bad stuff gets fixed way to easily, a dying father who's been nothing but horrible to his son for years and with literally his last dying breath changes his tune?  A particularly aggressive maniac mobster-type backs down after his highly enforced mansion is easily breached?  Lots of trite stuff here which could have been written so much better.  The female reader was just a little too slow, mader her sound dumb.  The male reader was excellent. 

Goodreads synopsis:  ON PAPER, IT'S PRETEND. BUT MY HEART KNOWS WHAT'S REAL
          His proposal came in a little black envelope with thirteen unlucky words:
          You still owe me that favor, doll, and I'm cashing in.
          Marry me.
          In a normal life, I'd never get hitched to Calvin Randolph. Not with his heart-stopping blue eyes, infamous player reputation, and an ego bigger than the part of his anatomy he loves boasting about the most.
          Been there, done that. All except the last part, which he's left to my shameful imagination for seven years apart.
          Of course, the fake fiancée contract I just signed is anything but normal. Neither was the tragic day our schoolyard romance died, when he made an unspeakable sacrifice.
           He saved my life. He paid a terrible price. Now, I owe him big.
          He's come to collect in make believe: the blushing lies, the sideways glances leaving me breathless, the teasing kisses every time his teeth grab my bottom lip in front of the world.
          It shouldn't be this hard.
          It's just pretend. It's just a few weeks. I can totally resist the demanding, cold, obscenely handsome man he's become.
          We have our rules. But the simple one I kept to myself might be harder: don't fall in love.
          I already did that once. I know the risks. I won't let it happen.
          Because if his charm steals my heart again, if I let him go all the way when his lips trace scary promises on mine, this paper engagement becomes real enough to ruin us...

88. What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

Listened to audio on Chirp
narrated by Abigail Revasch and Kirby Heyborne
Unabridged audio (9:04)
2017 Delacourte Press
292 pgs.
YA RF
Finished 6/1/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.07 - 14,465 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: contemporary Mapleview, America

First line/s: "An unprecedented event: Kit Lowell just sat down next to me in the cafeteria.  I always sit alone, and when I say always I don't mean that in the exaggerated vernacular vernacular favored by my classmates."

My comments: This wasn't the lighthearted book that the cover suggests.  It was pretty heavy, actually.  It was the clear, honest voices of the two main characters that grabbed me and pulled at my heart strings.  I could visualize the story unfolding, and felt empathetic and super pissed at the bullying and injustices that David hads endured throughout his life, and the heartbreak that Kit will have to carry with her forever.  I wish I really, truly believed in Karma, because I eally want all the boys depicted in this story to get their due!

Goodreads synopsis:  Two struggling teenagers find an unexpected connection just when they need it most.
          Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.
          KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.
          DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.
          When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?