4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, Goldy Schulz, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.8 REVIEW – Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson

Tara

Dying for Chocolate
by Diane Mott Davidson

Copyright: 1992
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 11 – Feb. 16, 2011
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011 ; Take a Chance Challenge 3; TBR Dare
Yearly Count: 8
Format: Print

First Line: Brunch is a killer.

Blurb: Meet Goldy Bear: a bright, opinionated, wildly inventive caterer whose personal life has become a recipe for disaster. She’s got an abusive ex-husband who’s into making tasteless threats, a rash of mounting bills that are taking a huge bite out of her budget, and two enticing men knocking on her door. Determined to take control of her life, Goldy moves her business and her son to the ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club, where she accepts a job as a live-in cook. But just as she’s beginning to think she’s got it made – catering decadent dinners and posh society picnics and enjoying the favors of Philip Miller, a handsome local shrink, and Tom Schulz, her more-than-friendly neighborhood cop – the dishy doctor inexplicably drives his BMW into an oncoming bus. Convinced that Philip’s bizarre death was no accident, Goldy is soon sifting through the unpalatable secrets of the dead doc’s life. Her sleuthing will toss her into a case seasoned with unexpected danger and even more unexpected revelations – the kind that could get a caterer and the son she loves … killed.

Review: This is the second in the Goldy Schulz series. I really enjoyed this one too. Cozies are not my normal fare, but for whatever reason, I like Goldy’s character. I’m interested in seeing where she goes from here. The plot in this book was really something, I honestly had no clue as to who the bad guy really was until it was revealed. That’s always a nice feeling for me. I did have a slight issue with this Philip Miller making an unexpected appearance as a boyfriend only to be killed off within the first couple of chapters. I am a slight emetophobe (weird, I know), so I like how Ms. Davidson refers to that as “being sick” in her books, that makes it much easier than the v-word for me, which can turn my stomach just seeing the word. I know, I’m really strange. Anyways, I’m definitely looking forward to progressing with this series and see where Goldy and Tom end up, and how Arch turns out, and the “Jerk” (ex-husband) too. I love finding a new series! It’s almost like the first date all over again!

Meme, WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays – Feb. 16, 2011

Tara

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?

  • Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson

* What did you recently finish reading?

*What do you think you’ll read next?

  • I’m not 100% sure. Whatever strikes my fancy, I suppose. I’m going to have 3 review books to read between now and April, but I’ve got a little bit of time before I need to start on them, so I probably have time for a couple more from my TBR shelf – just not sure which ones yet.
Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday – Feb. 14, 2011

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Monday is still on tour, with February’s spot being at Library of Clean Reads.

Here’s what I got:

Deed So by Katharine A. Russell
     A young girl struggles to understand a tightening web of racial and generational tensions during the turbulent 1960s. All 12-year-old Haddie Bashford wants is to leave the close-minded world of Wicomico Corners behind, in the hopes that a brighter future awaits elsewhere. But when she witnesses the brutal killing of a black teen, Haddie finds her family embroiled in turmoil fraught with racial tensions. Tempers flare as the case goes to trial, but things are about to get even hotter when an arsonist suddenly begins to terrorize the town. Can Haddie help save her town, and herself?

Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story by Mark L. Shurtleff
     An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, “Ain’t I a man?” Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.” Dred died not knowing that his unfailing courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Dred Scott’s inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Sunday Wrap-Up, Feb. 13, 2011

Tara

I suppose I was a little bit MIA on this blog that I have been in the past few weeks. I didn’t schedule as many things as I had been trying to do and life proceeded to get in the way, so there was three days with nothing posted. Sorry about that.

I had my first DNF for 2011. I was kind of disappointed, okay, actually I was really disappointed. But I moved on.

I posted one review: Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson.

The only meme I participated in was Mailbox Monday.

And I had to give my own, if brief, opinion, on a certain author and her outburst. (The delete button is sometimes your best friend).

Right now I’ve just started Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson, the second in the Goldy Schulz series. I’m such a serial series reader! But I love them!

Here’s to another great week of reading and blogging!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, Goldy Schulz, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.7 REVIEW – Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson

Tara

Catering to Nobody
by Diane Mott Davidson

Copyright: 1990
Pages: 310
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 6 – Feb. 11, 2011
Challenge: Criminal Plots Reading Challenge; Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011 ; TBR Dare; TwentyEleven Challenge
Yearly Count: 7
Format: Print

First Line: Catering a wake was not my idea of fun.

Blurb: Catering the wake of her son’s favorite teacher is not Goldy’s idea of fun, especially when her former father-in-law is nearly killed by a cup of poison-laced coffee. Investigating officer Tom Schulz, though smitten with Goldy and her food, is forced to shut down her business – forcing Goldy to root out the person responsible for attempted murder. As Goldy follows the wicked recipe to its logical conclusion, she discovers some very unsavory ingredients flavoring the neighborhood – and poisoning her own family with the bitter taste of deceit and revenge…

Review: This is the first in the Goldy Schulz series. I do not read a lot of cozy books. However, I wanted something fun to read after getting bogged down with a DNF book. So I picked this book up. I really enjoyed it! I like Goldy as a character – she’s likeable and believable. I found the storyline to be interesting, I only had one part of it figured out at the end. And to be completely honest, I don’t even know how Goldy figured out the other part of it! I must have missed some clues somewhere, because it was a surprise to me. I am a serial series reader, so I’ve already picked up the second in this series to begin reading. I’m sure I’m like the last person on the planet to pick up this book and start this series, but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.

Sharing a funny paragraph that made me laugh out loud:

The phone rang again. Alicia couldn’t come: she’d had a blow out on I-70. Her load of pumpkins had exploded like grenades when they hit the concrete. Two dozen cars had spun out in orange slime … no one was hurt … the road was closed so it could be cleaned … traffic had backed up for six miles. With significant understatement, she added, “You can’t imagine the mess.”

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Not to Get Too Involved, But….

Tara

I can’t not say something. There’s been rumblings about a certain blog post on a certain author’s blog about certain “unprofessional” bloggers. I don’t want to get too involved in this entire thing, however, I think that the name calling and royalty check reference might have been slightly unprofessional. Just sayin’. Now, this particular author does not write books that I am necessarily interested in, so I can’t say anything about her books. However, I can say that I now know her name and will never give her any of my money.

I think that’s all I intend to write about this whole topic.

Tara – who is off to write her grocery list (oh, and a book review, too).

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday – Feb. 7, 2011

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Monday is still on tour, with February’s spot being at Library of Clean Reads.

This week I only had one book come into my mailbox (pretty much a good thing judging by the state of my bookshelves!) Here’s what came:

  

Lieutenant Davenport’s sanity was nearly shattered by two murder investigations. Now he faces something worse … Two killers. One hideously scarred. The other strikingly handsome, a master manipulator fascinated with all aspects of death. The dark mirror of Davenport’s soul … This is the case that will bring Davenport back to life. Or push him over the edge.

DNF Books

2011 DNF #1 – A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Tara

A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 291
Format: Print

Blurb: He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for a “reliable wife.” She responded, saying that she was “a simple, honest woman.” She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving herself a wealthy widow. What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own.

I wanted to love this book. So bad. And I couldn’t even get through it.  290 pages and I could only (barely) tolerate 100. I’m still kind of curious to know what happens in the end of this book, but not curious enough to suffer my way through the rest of this book. The characters are unlikable, the writing is way too lyrical for my taste, and it’s overall just boring. I searched for some other blogger book reviews for this book and noticed that people either loved or hated this book. Unfortunately, I am on the negative side in my opinion on this book.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Sunday Wrap-Up, Feb. 5, 2011

Tara

This week my reading has been hit or miss. I was able to finish Divine Justice by David Baldacci. I really enjoyed it – it will be interesting to read the most recent installment of this series (Hell’s Corner) in the coming months. Now I’ve started reading A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. I’m only about 50 pages into it, and it’s been good so far, but it’s much slower reading than what I’m really used to.

I met my brother-in-law’s new girlfriend this week, she’s really nice and I think she’ll be really good for him …. but I don’t really like that we have the same first name – talk about awkward depending on how far this relationship goes…

Anyways, here’s what happened here on the blog this week:

Posted one review: Divine Justice by David Baldacci

I was spotlighted on Jackie’s blog on Tuesday.

I also talked about:

So that’s all I’ve got for right now. I hope that this coming week is a good one, but it’s going to be busy for me at work (I’ve got payables on the same day as my payroll, yuck!). But there’s some snow in the forecast – even though we’ve been lucky and have missed most of the really heavy stuff – so I kind of hope for a snow day this week, hehe!

5/5, AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011

2011.6 REVIEW – Divine Justice by David Baldacci

Tara

Divine Justice
by David Baldacci

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 523
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 28 – Feb. 2 , 2011
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2011 ; TBR Dare
Yearly Count: 6
Format: Print

First Line: The Chesapeake Bay is America’s largest estuary.

Blurb: Known by his alias, “Oliver Stone,” John Carr is the most wanted man in America. With two pulls of the trigger, the men who destroyed Stone’s life and kept him in the shadows were finally silenced. But his freedom comes at a steep price: The assassinations he carried out prompt the highest levels of the U.S. government to unleash a massive manhunt. Yet behind the scenes, master spy Macklin Hayes is playing a very personal game of cat and mouse. He, more than anyone else, wants John Carr dead. With their friend and unofficial leader in hiding, the members of the Camel Club risk everything to save him. Now as the hunters close in, Stone’s flight from the demons of his past will take him from the power corridors of Washington, D.C., to the coal-mining town of Divine, Virginia – and into a world every bit as bloody and lethal as the one he left behind.

Review: SPOILERS POSSIBLE. This is the fourth book in the Camel Club series. I must say: the trouble that Oliver Stone manages to find himself in book after book is just amazing! He might have been on the run in this installment, but no one with luck like Oliver could have ever ended up in a town like Divine, Virginia! I must admit when the entire Divine storyline began, I was confused. I didn’t understand where in the world Mr. Baldacci was going. But in the end, I really enjoyed the storyline. It made the book so much more believable. I loved the introduction of a couple of new characters who could possibly make an appearance in the next book (and possibly more books?). I will be very interested in knowing what happens between Oliver and Abby. I have devoured this series these past couple of months. The latest book, Hell’s Corner, is available at my library (with a small waitlist), but I have vowed to read only from my TBR pile until April, so it will be a while before I can get to the next one in this series, but I’m axiously awaiting that! Definitely looking forward to more of the Camel Club!