Ahoy there mateys! I picked this one because I had authors mixed up. Apparently people love this one. It has a super high rating on both Amazon and Goodreads. I didn’t really like this one at all. I thought the main character Jenna was insipid and annoying. The cop, Ray, was being selfish. There was too much focus on his failing marriage and his lust for his younger coworker. In addition there was a subplot involving Ray’s teenage son that served no purpose and could have been removed altogether. The investigation aspects are what I tend to like about this genre and this book focused on other things. I also guessed the twists. The most interesting aspect of this book was the author afterword with a look into the story behind the story. It was sad but I loved this insight.

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Ahoy there mateys! If ye want to be in a crazy person’s head then this be the book for ye. Mike Hayes has loved Verity from the moment he met her. After spending time in America, he comes back to England to begin setting up their perfect life together. He is physically fit, has a great job, and has found the perfect home. Okay so V is getting married to someone else and isn’t answering his phone calls. He knows this is part of an elaborate game they play called the “Crave.” He just has to wait and figure out what V wants him to do. I thought this book was fun, quirky, and well-written. At first I was sympathetic to Mike because of his background but that quickly went out the window. I didn’t find this read to be earth-shattering. I thought V was kind of annoying and silly. But by the end I was sympathetic towards her instead. This does feel like yer readin’ his journal and it ain’t pretty. The consistency of the voice is why I liked this one. I read this in one sitting and would recommend.

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Ahoy there me mateys! This here be the second book in my Scallywagathon 2019 Challenge. Challenge two was: Blow down the man: a book by a female author. The infinite blacktop was a random pick from the library based on the cover and then the blurb. It is not me usual genre but I thought it sounded too good to pass up.

This book follows Claire DeWitt who knows she is the world’s best detective. The story begins with Claire waking up confused and befuddled after a car accident. But as she begins to put the pieces back together, she realizes that the crash was an attempted murder. Who is out to kill her and why?

The story is told in three intertwining stories – two involving the past that both relate to the present investigation. What I didn’t know before beginning is that this be book #3 of a series. Despite that, I had no problem getting into the story and loved the three timelines. The present timeline was me favourite. I loved the set-up for this book. The beginning chapter was enough to capture me fancy.

Of course a lot of that stems from Claire. She is kinda crazy. Aye, she solves cases. But sometimes it be against the will of those involved. She is stubborn, full of grit, a liar, and kinda awesome. Drug use is involved. Heavy drinking is involved. Making lots of bad choices is involved. Ye want to smack her upside the head for stupidity and then get too distracted by cheering her on. Despite meself, I fell in love with her.

I am not getting too much into the plot because it’s a) slightly too complicated to explain; and b) it’s better to experience for yerself. But I am so glad I picked up this quirky, wonderful read. And I have no problem at all with having started with book three. Arrr!

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Ahoy there me mateys! This novel came to me courtesy of me sister. While she is not a voracious reader, she does enjoy the police procedurals and murder mysteries on tv and very occasionally in books. She gave me two Karin Slaughter books, ordered me to read them, and told me the order to read them in. The first was the kept woman and I have to say I loved it. This was the second. My sister said that this was crazier than the first book and was horrifying in its descriptions of what happened to the women. She loved it.

The premise is that there were two crimes that occur twenty years apart. The first was the disappearance of a girl named Julia. It ripped her family apart and her two sisters, Claire and Lydia, haven’t spoken since. Then two decades later, Claire’s husband is killed. But something is off and the sisters have to come together to solve the problem. Because it seems that Julia’s disappearance and the husband’s murder may be connected somehow.

I have to admit that while this be me sister’s favourite of the two, I loved the kept woman better. Perhaps that is because I guessed a couple of the plot twists of pretty girls. Me sister had no idea and was completely surprised.

That said I particularly loved Lydia and she was the highlight of the story for me. I loved her relationship with her boyfriend, Rick. I loved the history between her and her sister Claire. I loved that even though the sisters worked together, their relationship was complicated and fraught with tension. And love underneath it all. I thought Claire was rather naive and useless most of the time but I was rooting for her.

While I enjoyed this one, I thought the pacing overall was haphazard at times. I certainly liked the first half of the book best. Though I do think the author can write compelling characters and certainly can write intense crime scenes. This book is a standalone and was tied up interestingly at the end. If me sister gives me more Karin Slaughter books then I would certainly read them. I just don’t think I be buying any for meself. Arrr!

Ahoy there mateys! I had forgotten all about this book and was reminded of it today. I freakin' loved this book when I was a wee lass. I know the ending was wrapped up tidily but I read it over and over again. So five stars for nostalgia alone. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! I absolutely loved the quirky and hard to categorize sourdough by this author. I thought I would try his other novel. While this had a lot of good in it, ultimately it be just an okay read for me. I think the problem for me was that once the bookstore mystery was “solved” and the action moved to NYC, I was less interested.

The first half of the book really did float me boat. I loved Clay and how he got involved in the bookstore. The bookstore itself was awesome. I wish I could visit. I also loved that notes had to be taken about which books were borrowed from the bookstore and why. If the entire book had been like this section then I would have adored it. And I really did enjoy all of the characters in and around the bookstore.

But there were problems. While I liked how Clay’s relationship with his best friend worked, the best friend’s obsession with boobs was kinda icky and immature at best. No matter that it made the character lots of money. I was also disappointed in how the main romantic relationship in the book turned out because I rather enjoyed the set up. I just didn’t really like or understand its evolution. However the main problem with the book was that the solution to the bookstore mystery was lackluster and the rest of the book bored me. I thought the secret society was lame even if the main concept behind it was ok. I didn’t like the ending at all and really didn’t like any of the Google elements.

I did also like the sections dealing with typography but then I am the dork who adored just my type: a book about fonts. The writing did lead to some beautiful quotes, especially in the beginning, but ultimately I am glad I started this author’s work with sourdough. Had I read this one first, I might not have picked up more of the author’s work. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! Did ye know that in 1793 in Philadelphia there was a yellow fever epidemic? Or that said epidemic killed 10 percent of the city's population in 3 months? Or that there was a Free African Society that helped citizens of Philadelphia in the epidemic regardless of race or class. Or that the first hot air balloon launched in the United States happened in Philadelphia in 1793?

Yup, history can be fascinating and sad and sometimes even unknown when it has happened practically in yer own backyard. The author apparently began this book in 1993 after coming across an article in her local newspaper that discussed the epidemic that had happened two centuries before.

This young adult historical fiction tells the story of 14 year old Mattie whose family owns a coffee shop in the city. Ye follow her story as the yellow fever epidemic unfolds. She is a typical teenage girl with big dreams and fancies who finds herself growing up fast as the city life unravels around her with every passing day of the fever. I thought Mattie was a great character and that this book brought the idea of epidemic to life.

The history of Philadelphia is one that I know very little about and it was fascinating to take this look into one of the city's worse experiences. I found the details in the story to be engrossing. I didn't know that coffee houses were a thing. Also that there were warring factions of French and American doctors regarding treatment.

Looking through Mattie's eyes helped bring this period in history to life in a way that reminds me of why I love historical fiction. And of course as always I love doing further research upon finishing. The appendix of this novel is full of interesting facts. If ye like young adult historical fiction, quick reads, and an interesting time period, give this one a gander.

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Ahoy there mateys! Okay so those old-hands on deck may remember that me introduction to this author was from reading the wrong book, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. It ended up being me favourite book in 2018. I loved that book so much that I wanted to read some of TJR’s older works. I picked her book about the roads not taken and parallel universes. Yay for sci-fi elements!

So I requested it from the library. After a long waitlist, I began reading said book only to realize that YET AGAIN I was reading the WRONG book. I had clicked the wrong title when I went to request it. Seriously I have problems. Once I figured it out, I then requested the correct book with its even longer waitlist. Since I had already started that wrong book, I figured I would finish it. Of course, eventually me sci-fi TJR book came in.

So this was the wrong book but enjoyable nonetheless. It did take me a minute to figure out it wasn’t the right one because there are two timelines in this story. Elsie and Ben meet, fall in love, and get married very quickly. Then 9 days after marriage, Ben is hit by a truck and dies. The first story line is about what happens to Elsie after Ben’s death. The second story line is flashbacks into how their relationship progressed. But really the story focuses on Elsie’s healing process and also that of Susan, the mother-in-law who didn’t know she existed. Apparently this was TJR’s debut and I can kinda see that. The elements that I loved about Evelyn Hugo are there but there was a bit more disconnect in this book despite feeling sorry for Elsie. I know life goes on after a death but the book’s ending just tied up a bit too neatly for me. Plus how the couple fell in love and got married was a bit too cheesy. It was a quick and solid read that I wouldn’t have chosen on purpose but no regrets. Arrrr!

Ahoy there mateys! Okay so those old-hands on deck may remember that me introduction to this author was from reading the wrong book, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. It ended up being me favourite book in 2018. I loved that book so much that I wanted to read some of TJR’s older works. I picked her book about the roads not taken and parallel universes. Yay for sci-fi elements!

So I requested it from the library. After a long waitlist, I began reading said book only to realize that YET AGAIN I was reading the WRONG book, forever, interrupted. I had clicked the wrong title when I went to request it. Seriously I have problems. Once I figured it out, I then requested the correct book with its even longer waitlist. Since I had already started that wrong book, I figured I would finish it. Of course, eventually me sci-fi TJR book came in. So here be me review of the correct book.

This book certainly was the correct one of the two. Another quick read but I was much more attached to the characters. In particular I loved the friendship between Hannah and Gabby. I loved that Hannah was at a loss of what to do with herself and having any life direction (I can still relate). I loved that the defining moment of a fork in the road came down to who Hannah left a party with. The book’s parallel universes were fun because some elements of life were fate driven and others were because of personal choice. It was a nice blend. How certain things, like cinnamon rolls or walks through a park, appear in both paths showcases TJR’s skill. I thought both story lines were compelling and I loved seeing how the similarities and differences worked out. I also enjoyed that TJR played with how Hannah’s outlook on life and personality subtlety changed in each universe. The negative of this story for me came in that the book went on just a little too long. There was a natural stopping point in both timelines that left just enough mystery in what life would entail for Hannah now she was back on track. The author chose to continue beyond that point, especially in regards to Gabby, and there was a philosophical monologue thrown in. Not to me taste but I be very glad I finally read this one. Arrrr!