Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell, which was narrated by Xe Sands. 

Secondhand Spirits is the first novel in the 'Witchcraft' cozy mystery series and Juliet Blackwell is a new to me author. I love cozy mystery novels and Secondhand Spirits was a delight!! I loved that this novel is set in the San Francisco Bay Area as I live the San Francisco East Bay. I enjoyed hearing local details featured in this cozy mystery novel.

The writing was really good. I liked the pacing of this novel, the characters, the storyline, and more. The only major complaint I have is the narration for this book... This is the fourth novel I've listened to that has been narrated by Xe Sands. I've either loved the way Ms. Sands has narrated the book I've listened to OR the narration has been a complete bust. I simply wasn't fond of the way this book was narrated.

Below is the publisher's summary for Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell, which I discovered on the author's website:

Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco….

Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora’s Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion—she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry—her store becomes a big hit.

But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it’s not easy—especially under the spells of sexy “mythbuster” Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily’s witchy ways be forced out of the closet?

I look forward to reading other novels from the 'Witchcraft' cozy mystery series.

I am giving Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley

 

It's no secret that I enjoy reading cozy mystery novels... And with the holiday season well underway, who wouldn't want to eat cupcakes or candy around the holidays? However, it just so happens, it isn't the Halloween Holiday! 

Nonetheless, I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley and narrated by Meg Price. Listening time is 5 hours, 21 minutes. 

Cutthroat Cupcakes is the 1st novel in the 'Cursed Candy Mysteries' and is nicely narrated.

I liked the sweets/candy treat theme for Cutthroat Cupcakes. The plot/storyline for this novel was pretty good and so were the characters and the writing. Not a bad start to a cozy mystery series. 

Below is the publisher's summary for Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley I discovered on Chirp's website:

Killer cupcakes?

Seems improbable to Lina, but when an attractive detective snaps cuffs on her and accuses her of witchy crimes she’s forced to reconsider.

The murder weapon? A cupcake topper sold in Lina’s shop, Sticky, Tricky Treats.

The method? A killing curse.

The curse’s origin? Lina…sort of.

Except Lina hadn’t a clue that she was a witch, and certainly didn’t know she’d accidentally cursed some of her confections.

She’s got to catch the killer who used her magic to murder or possibly face a conviction as an accessory.

Now, if only the wizard detective assigned to the case weren’t such a distraction.

I am giving Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey

 

I've heard Anne McCaffrey's name mentioned over the past several decades. But I had never read any of her novels until this year when I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Rowan, which was published in 1990 and narrated by Jean Reed Bahle. The Rowan is a science fiction/romance novel and is the first novel in 'The Tower and the Hive' Series.

I was partly inspired to read a novel by Anne McCaffrey because she became the first woman to win a Hugo Award and also the first woman to win a Nebula Award. I figured that if she had won both of these prestigious literary awards, then she must be an excellent writer.  So why not give one of Ms. McCaffrey's novels a try? 

It wasn't until Chirp Audiobooks had a sale for The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey, that I downloaded and listened to this audiobook. It's plot sounded somewhat intriguing and the book seems to be well liked overall by readers.

Ugh, The Rowan's plot is bland, flat, and boring! It is such a one dimensional read. I don't understand it's appeal. Most of the character's were over the top dramatic in their interactions and it seemed like they were (almost) constantly bickering amongst each other when it came to the primes... And the romance between Jeff and the Rowan wasn't much of a romance, in my opinion.

The audio production for The Rowan was lacking. I don't know if it was originally recorded in the 1990s or when exactly, but the sound production is bad. Plus, the sound effect used to make it sound like the characters were communicating telepathically was annoying.

I didn't like The Rowan and I will not be continuing with the series. I doubt I'll be reading another novel by Anne McCaffrey either.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey found on Chirp's website:

Told in the timeless style of Anne McCaffrey, The Rowan is the first installment in a wonderful trilogy. This is sci-fi at its best: a contemporary love story as well as an engrossing view of our world in the future.

The kinetically gifted, trained in mind/machine gestalt, are the most valued citizens of the Nine Star League. Using mental powers alone, these few Prime Talents transport ships, cargo and people between Earth’s Moon, Mars’ Demos and Jupiter’s Callisto.

An orphaned young girl, simply called The Rowan, is discovered to have superior telepathic potential and is trained to become Prime Talent on Callisto. After years of self-sacrificing dedication to her position, The Rowan intercepts an urgent mental call from Jeff Raven, a young Prime Talent on distant Deneb. She convinces the other Primes to merge their powers with hers to help fight off an attack by invading aliens. Her growing relationship with Jeff gives her the courage to break her status-imposed isolation, and choose the more rewarding world of love and family.

I am giving The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey a rating of 1 star out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!!

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

 

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill is the first novel in the 'A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery' series. I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill, which was narrated by Clive Chafer.

I enjoy reading mystery novels. I also enjoy discovering new to me authors and new to me mystery series. So, I am pleased to have discovered The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill for these reasons. 

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill!! The novel itself is set in 1975 in communist Laos. The main character, Dr. Siri Paiboun, is a 72 year old doctor who has been appointed the national coroner. Dr. Siri Paiboun does not want this job as he hasn't been trained as a pathologist and also because he wants to retire after living a long life. However, the Laos government has no other trained candidates besides Dr. Siri Paiboun as most of the educated class has fled the country. So Dr. Siri Paiboun is stuck with working as national coroner.

Dr. Siri Paiboun is a wonderful character! He's smart (brilliant actually), witty, compassionate, and interesting to say the least. Dr. Siri Paiboun also dreams/receives communications from the spirit world, which makes for interesting reading and plot development. I would definitely say that Dr. Siri Paiboun is my favorite character from this novel. I also enjoyed most of the other characters as well.

The writing for The Coroner's Lunch is solid and so is the storyline. I may just continue on with this mystery series as I liked the characters and the writing so much!

Below is the publisher's summary for The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill from Chirp's website:

Laos, 1975. The Communist Pathet Lao has taken over this former French colony. Dr. Siri Paiboun, a seventy-two-year-old Paris-trained doctor, is appointed national coroner. Although he has no training for the job, there is no one else: the rest of the educated class have fled.

He is expected to come up with the answers the party wants, but crafty and charming Dr. Siri is immune to bureaucratic pressure. At his age, he reasons, what can they do to him? And he knows he cannot fail the dead who come into his care without risk of incurring their boundless displeasure. Eternity could be a long time to have the spirits mad at you.

I am giving The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!