WITCH WAY TO MURDER & MAYHEM by Jane Hinchey

Fiction, Cozy Paranormal Mystery

4****

Blurb: To call Gran eccentric is somewhat of an understatement. She has questionable fashion sense, cough, can anyone say bedazzled Ugg boots and a tutu? But my Gran? She is awesome. So when she suggested I buy The Dusty Attic Bookstore I was all in, after all, what could go wrong? Try finding my high school nemesis dead on the floor of my newly acquired store for starters. Now I’m on the suspect list! Okay, so I just need to find the killer, clear my name, and pass my witches exam. Oh, didn’t I mention that? Yeah, seems the stunt I pulled on my cheating ex-fiancee cost me not only my job but my magic. My name is Harper Jones and this is not how I expected my return to my magical hometown of Whitefall Cove to go.

Thoughts: There are a lot of nonhumans in this book – witches, shapeshifters, fey, etc. This little town is populated with all sorts of beings – including a murderer. Harper returned to her hometown in disgrace. She’d lost her tempter after finding her fiancé with another woman, lost her witch’s license, and her job. Now she’s living with her grandmother, who is beyond eccentric. And has a orange cat familiar. 

And a murder to help solve. One that happened in her newly-acquired bookshop.

This was a fun book to read. Gran was a hoot and a half. Harper was a good character – this is a good start to the series. But… there were quite a few strings left dangling that bothered me – the issue with the female cop, the license, and a couple others – I know it’s a series, but I was left unsettled by some of the threads. 

But the ending was funny! I can’t wait to read more in this series.

Recommended.

REBEL WITHOUT A CLAUS by Abigail Drake

Fiction, Holiday, Cozy Mystery, Romance, 330 pages

5*****

Blurb: Christmas elf Tinklebelle Holly is a screwup. Demoted to a job in the reindeer division after one infraction too many, she hates her job, hates her life, and despises the North Pole. But when a surprise visitor arrives from Elven High Council, and Tink is assigned to show him around, everything changes. Jax Grayson is a dark elf, and unlike anyone she’s ever met. Looking past his obvious hotness, Tink knows he has a secret, and the audit he’s supposedly performing doesn’t feel legit.After an unexpected tragedy occurs, Tink’s life is thrown into even greater turmoil, and it seems like Jax might be the only one Tink can truly trust. Can she help him figure out what’s happening on the North Pole, or will Jax be her worst mistake of all?

Thoughts: This was a rollicking bit of fun. I laughed, then I groaned, then I laughed some more. The world building is amazing. And the characters are wonderful. Tink is the perfect foil for the tight-laced Jax. And she for him. The story takes place in the North Pole and everything Christmas, which Jax doesn’t understand since he’s a “dark” elf and they don’t do things like Christmas elves. All is definitely not well at the North Pole as Tink’s good friend is murdered, and someone tries to kill her as well. Jax and Tink investigate the problems and uncover some things that have been hidden way too long. Not everything is candy canes and hot chocolate good at the North Pole. There were a couple threads left dangling so we know (hope?) we’ll be seeing more of this pair.

This story was a bright spot in my day (and maybe I needed this laugh more than I knew). It was fun, imaginative, and had a satisfying ending. 

Definitely recommended.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC. I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

SHORTBREAD COOKIE PRINCESS by Zelda Benjamin

Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, 257 pages

3***

Blurb: Sophia MacLennan Porter grew up in an environment of wicked duplicity with a stepmother who was nice to dad and mean to his daughter. A series of events brings her to the upstate New York town of Highland Falls and her late aunt’s bakeshop. Highland Falls is a town of Scottish descendants, well-kept secrets, and the best shortbread cookies for miles. No one in this town is immune from the secrets of their ancestors or greedy developers. When Ian Campbell, a handsome Scottish research professor appears in her life, she struggles with the chance to put romance on the menu. Sophia is more concerned with the future of her bakeshop than the lives of her dead ancestors. Reluctantly, she finds herself drawn into his investigation of the history of her family’s clan.

Thoughts: I thought this was a sweet romance. I mean, who doesn’t like a hot Scot in kilts? Ian was a wonderful character and his relationship with his sister was nice. He’s a forensic specialist who is working on research into Highland Falls Scottish descendants. He is charming, intelligent, handsome… everything you want in a romantic hero. Sophia, on the other hand, did not appeal to me. She fought Ian on everything about her past. Yes, she had a nasty stepmother (I really don’t like that stereotype), but I would think she’d want to know more about her past. And what was with the granny? Yes, there are family secrets, but after a while, all of them became a little silly. Plus, it felt like there were a few strings left hanging so I’m wondering if this is going to be part of a series.

I liked the story overall, I just didn’t care for the female main character. But there was a satisfying HEA that left me with a smile. 

Recommended with reservations. 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by anyone or anything.

Birthdays: Selma Lagerlof (1858), Bray Hammond (1886), Alistair Cooke (1908), Nadine Gordimer (1923), John Gardner (1926), Don DeLillo (1936), Rhys Isaac (1937) Deborah Eisenberg (1945), Orlando Figes (1959), Jaime Lowe (?),

Selma Lagerlof was the first female to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She won in 1909 in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination, and spiritual perception of her writing.”

Bray Hammond won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for History for “Banks and Politics in America”

Nadine Gordimer won the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature.

John Gardner is best known for continuing the James Bond series of novels.

Don DeLillo was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Rhys Isaac won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790”

Quote: “A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn’t feel like it.” – Alistair Cooke

Tip: Beware of the “Just because…doesn’t mean…” construction. (Just because I did this doesn’t mean you have to.) – it adds unnecessary words. Better: I did this, but you don’t have to.

Jumpstart: When we first moved into the new house, it was so exciting. But now…

Birthdays: Joanne Kyger (1863), Allen Tate (1899), Jack Schaefer (1907), Sharon Olds (1942), Tony Hoagland (1953),  Annette Gordon-Reed (1958), Charlie Kaufman (1958), Ruta Sepetys (1967)

Jack Schaefer is best known for his western “Shane”

Sharon Olds is the 2013 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Annette Gordon-Reed won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for History (as well as 15 other awards) for her work on the Hemings family at Monticello

Charlie Kaufman has been nominated for four Academy Awards and three of his scripts appear in the Writers Guild of America’s list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written. They include “Being John Malkovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

Quote: “The mission for the day is to encourage students to think beyond traditional career opportunities, prepare for future careers and entrance into the workplace.” – Allen Tate

“I don’t have large blocks of time to sit and write. I snatch bits and pieces when I can, which often means in traffic, on planes, or very early in the morning. I always carry paper and pen with me. I often write dialogue longhand. I’ll see a scene (as if I’m watching a movie) and the characters will just start talking. I recently wrote several chapters of my latest book while sitting on the edge of the bathtub.” – Ruta Septeys

Tip: There are a lot of writing groups on Facebook and Pinterest. Take a look around and see what interests you.

Jumpstart: I hadn’t been down to the basement in years, but I had to, because….

Birthdays: Shelby Foote (1916), Auberon Waugh (1939), Marina Carr (1964), Rebecca Walker (1969), Christopher Paolini (1983)

Christopher Paolini is best known for his “Eragon” series.

Quote: “The real torture with Eragon came in the editing. I discovered that editing is really another word for someone ruthlessly tearing apart your work with a big smile, all the while telling you that it will make the book so much better. And it did, though it felt like splinters of hot bamboo being driven into my tender eyeballs.” – Christopher Paolini

Tip: You’ve just gotten your first edits back from your first editor…and it looks like she marked up everything! Take a deep breath. Look at them, and go through them one at a time. I’ll bet you find most of them are simply grammar things like missing commas, wrong words, etc. You can do this.

Jumpstart: He burst into the room… (finish using: wing tips, disguise, crash)

Birthdays: George S. Kaufman (1889), Joan Lindsay (1896), Jean Fritz (1915), José Saramago (1922), Chinua Achebe (1930), Elizabeth Drew (1935), Rick Atkinson (1952), Robin McKinley (1952), Andrea Barrett (1954), Anne Holt (1958), Tahir Shah (1966)

Jose Saramago won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Rick Atkinson has won the Pulitzer Prize in both journalism and military history.

George Kaufman won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “You Can’t Take It With You” and “Of Thee I Sing”. He also won a Tony Award as director for “Guys and Dolls”

Jean Fritz won a Newbery Award for “Homesick: My Own Story” about her childhood in China.

Quote: “Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit — in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever. It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have – otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.” – Chinua Achebe

“One of the biggest, and possibly the biggest, obstacle to becoming a writer is learning to live with the fact that the wonderful story in your head is infinitely better, truer, more moving, more fascinating, more perceptive, than anything you’re going to manage to get down on paper.” – Robin McKinley

Tip: Ensure vs. Insure: You ensure that something is done (to make certain of); you insure a car. They are not interchangeable.

Jumpstart: What I really want is… (finish this for yourself or your character)

Birthdays: Gerhardt Hauptmann (1862), Marianne Moore (1887), Richmal Crompton (1890), David McCord (1897), Thomas Williams (1926), J.G. Ballard (1930), Daniel Pinkwater (1941), Carole Nelson Douglas (1944), Rick Atkinson (1952), Liane Moriarty (1966)

Gerhardt Hauptmann won the 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Marianne Moore won the 1951 National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “The Poems of Marianne Moore”.

Rick Atkinson won prizes in both History and Journalism.

Quote: “Never argue with a librarian; they know too much.” – Carole Nelson Douglas

“Think of nothing else but your story – not the world of publishing, or what makes a best-seller, or should you self-publish or not, or should it be more erotic or funnier or sadder, or how will you make sure nobody else steals your ideas – just lose yourself in the pleasure of writing your story. Then edit, edit, edit. THEN and only then should you think about all that other stuff.” – Liane Moriarty

Tip: Numbers between twenty and ninety-nine are usually spelled out, and always hyphenated: twenty-one, ninety-nine. After 100, they are usually written as numbers: 101, 199. Note: I said “usually” – there are exceptions, such as when writing an address: 35 North Main Street – and others.

Jumpstart: I stared at the stars overhead. They were amazing. Then, one got bigger…

Birthdays: Frederick Jackson Turner (1861), Astrid Lindgren (1907), William Steig (1907), Eric Malpass (1910), George Bizos (1928), Karen Armstrong (1944), Gary Provost (1955), Nancy Tafuri (1946), P.J. O’Rourke (1947), Cara Black (1951),

Frederick Turner won the 1933 Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Frontier in American History”

Astrid Lindgren is best known for her “Pippi Longstocking” books.

William Steig is best known as the creator of “Shrek”

Quote: “A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy. I want to write for a readership that can create miracles. Children create miracles when they read. That’s why children need books.” – Astrid Lindgren

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with the energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals – sounds that say listen to this, it is important.” – Gary Provost

Tip: Please use the Oxford or serial comma. There has been a lot of debate about this, but it is important to use it to alleviate any confusion: She used pink, yellow, and blue feathers. Not: She used pink, yellow and blue feathers. The second one (without the comma) implies that the second feather was a combination of blue and yellow and not two separate feathers, each a different color.

Jumpstart: It was drawn on the back of an old envelope. I stood there with it clutched in my hand…