Why Bernie Sanders Matters by Harry Jaffe

5 out of 5 stars.

I won this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I don’t normally read autobiographies or political books but I entered this giveaway anyway as I was intrigued by Bernie Sanders but admittedly didn’t know much about him. I was surprised that it drew me in so quickly and I finished it in a day, finding it hard to put down. It was well written and had a nice story like flow to it making it interesting as well as easy to follow if you are not politically savvy. I would recommend this book whether you are a big Bernie fan or just mildly curious about who he is, where he came from, and what he stands for.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
Why Bernie Sanders Matters

A Peach of a Murder: A Fresh-Baked Mystery by Livia J Washburn

1 out of 5 stars.

All year round, retired schoolteacher Phyllis Newsom is as sweet as peach pie-except during the Peach Festival, whose blue ribbon has slipped through Phyllis's fingers more than once...Everyone's a little shook up when the corpse of a no-good local turns up underneath a car in a local garage. But even as Phyllis engages in some amateur sleuthing, she won't let it distract her from out-baking her rivals and winning the upcoming Peach Festival contest.

She and all the other contestants guard their secret, original recipes with their lives-and talk a whole lot of trash. With her unusual Spicy Peach Cobbler, Phyllis hopes to knock 'em dead. But that's just an expression-never in her wildest dreams did she think her cobbler would actually kill a judge. Now, she's suspected of murder-and she's got to bake this case wide open.

I bought this book from my local library book sale. I absolutely love cozy mysteries and this one sounded interesting. Unfortunately I had a hard time finishing it. It's very hard to like a book when the characters are so extremely unlikable. I hated the main character, Phyllis, the most. She is just so self righteous and a busy body that it made it easy to despise her. Her "friend" Carolyn is also easy to dislike as she came off as rude and snotty. I'm not sure why they were referred to as friends either as it did not come off that way. They constantly talked down to one another and acted like everything was a competition between them. The rest of the people were just kind of there. As far as the mystery part was concerned, it bothered me that even though there were 2 murders, only one really garnered any attention in the book and the ending left me rolling my eyes. I doubt I will read any others in this series.

Daisies For Innocence (Enchanted Garden Mystery #1) by Bailey Cattrell

4 out of 5 stars.

I won this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I love cozy mysteries and always like finding new authors within that genre so it made sense to enter. Bailey Cattrell has succeeded in making her books part of my regular reading rotation from this point forward. I absolutely loved the book and I finished it in one day because I couldn’t put it down.

The main character, Ellie, owns a perfume store, Scents & Nonsense, where she makes her own concoctions based on her vast knowledge of aromatherapy, which she learned from her Gamma. She also has the Enchanted Garden behind her store where people, while her shop is open, can walk around or sit sipping tea and enjoy what sounds like a breathtaking area. There also seems to be something magical about it and it comes alive when Ellie is gardening or making her fragrances. Unfortunately the body of Josie, her part time assistant, is murdered and her body is found in Ellie’s garden. Ellie becomes the prime suspect and because of one detective, who focuses strictly on her, she starts looking into things with the help of some of her friends.

I liked this book because the main character didn’t come off as one of those women who just start haphazardly looking into a murder and then proceeds to run all over town asking everyone questions without any regards to her own safety. Ellie is actually quite hesitant initially, until she realizes that she doesn’t have much choice if she’s going to clear her name. The mystery wasn’t overly complicated but I think there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. It also talks about aromatherapy and within it, gives some properties of different herbs and oils, which was interesting. A few recipes are included in the back.

Overall, I enjoyed getting to know Ellie, her corgi, Dash and her Russian blue shorthair, Nabby, as well as her friends and some of the other Poppyville CA residents. I look forward to learning more about them in future books.

Available on Amazon at the link below:
Daisies For Innocence

Trick or Treat: A Corinna Chapman Mystery (Corinna Chapman Mysteries) by Kerry Greenwood

1 out of 5 stars.

When a new bakery opens its doors just down the street from Earthly Delights and people flock to purchase their bread, Corinna Chapman is understandably nervous. Her sales start falling. On top of that, her boyfriend, Daniel, has a houseguest....his old friend Georgiana Hope, who turns out to be tall, blonde, gorgeous and up to something. Suddenly, Daniel is making excuses and Corinna is worried about his absences. Also there is a strange outbreak of madness which seems to be centred on Lonsdale Street. What exactly is going on and will Corinna end up losing her business and her boyfriend?

I read some other reviews before I started this book as I bought it at a library book sale for 25 cents and I didn't have any prior knowledge of the series. I think I may have paid too much. I double checked the title to make sure I was, in fact, reading the same book as the other reviewers. Maybe it's because I haven't read anything else in this series, but this book was terrible. It was choppy, sloppy, and had more ramblings and commas in it than I have ever seen in a book before. It was also painfully boring and took forever to actually get to the real mystery part. The characters were mostly annoying and not especially likeable. It has a pagan theme to it and I had hoped, that being a pagan myself, the spiritual part of the story would at least keep me interested. It didn't. I'm actually surprised I was able to finish it. I forced myself in hopes that somewhere along the way it would get better. By the end, I was still waiting.

Murder By Numbers (Sudoku Mystery #2) by Kaye Morgan

1 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Taking on the role of publicist puts Liza in the center of the action on the production of the film Counterfeit, where inflated egos and artistic temperaments clash both on set and off. But when one of the film's major players is found dead, Sudoku Maven Liza realizes that the numbers don't quite add up. Now it's up to her to investigate the cast and crew in order to determine just who wrote this death scene.

I did not read the first one in this series. I bought this book at a library book sale for 25 cents not knowing anything about it, but thought it sounded interesting, and I do like to play Sudoku. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get into this book. I made multiple attempts before I just gave up. I believe it would be helpful to start with book one as this did not come off as a stand alone. The author attempted to give a back story, but it was just so quick and jumbled that I had no real clue as to who most of the characters were and by the time I got to the 8th chapter, I didn't care so I put the book down. The story wasn't very engaging and although I typically wouldn't give a one star rating to a book that obviously requires you to read the series in order, the ebb and flow of this book just wasn't there. I don't think knowing more about each character would have helped.

Milwaukee Summers Can Be Deadly (Beth Hartley #2) by Kathleen Anne Barrett

1 out of 5 stars.

When a prominent CPA is murdered, the pleas of his 16-year-old son draw ex-attorney turned legal researcher Beth Hartley into the case. Beth discovers the victim was a notorious womanizer whose affairs left numerous women, including his wife, with a motive for murder. When the CPA's secretary is also murdered, Beth's talent for finding missing links is put to the test during a Milwaukee summer.

I felt like I was reading a very chronological diary about a woman who loves tea. There is really nothing else to say about this book.