Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Banana Cream Pie Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books
Year: 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age: 18+
Page Count: 355 (including recipes & an excerpt)

Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren
Audio Publisher & Year: Recorded Books, 2017
Audio Length: 10 hours & 20 minutes

Rating:

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This is book #21 in the Hannah Swensen series. I'm SOOOOOO close to finishing this series. I think I'm gonna make it by the end of the year. 

This book...let me tell you...CLIFFHANGER! I was shocked. Normally these books are fairly calm & predictable. But not this one! I immediately got the next book & I'm starting it today because I have to know what is going on. I won't give all the specific details because I don't want to ruin it, but let's just say I'm actually happy with how it ended even though it was crazy! I feel bad for Hannah because she has turned her life upside down for Ross & she is trying to get into the swing of things as his wife. She is struggling a little bit which is why I'm sticking by my opinion of she should have picked Norman! The murder in this book was interesting. I thought it was a bit of a stretch as far as the storyline goes including the murder, how it happened, & who done it. I had to remember who the person that died even was that's how far of a stretch it was. The recipes however were excellent as usual. I'll include a nice festive one down below. The next book takes place at Thanksgiving so it's the perfect time for me to read it.

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Sourdough

Author: Robin Sloan
Publisher: Macmillan
Year: 2017
Genre: Fiction
Age:Adult 18+
Page Count: 215

Audio Publisher & Year: Macmillan Audio, 2017
Audio Reader: Therese Plummer
Audio Length: 6 hours & 47 mins

Rating:

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This book is our Cook the Books pick for the month of November. We are meeting a week earlier than normal because of the holiday. I am shocked I finished the book before the night before the meeting. Last month I didn't read the book because it was one I had already read. I'm doing pretty good I think, making some progress on my reading goals. I'd also like to point out that I have read 3 books in the first 10 days of the month. I don't know what makes these ups & downs happen. I guess it's just life. I think that's a good sign considering I only read I think 1 book last month.

I don't think I would have normally picked this book up if it wasn't for book club, I feel like a lot of the books we read are like that. I'm happy to find different books through this awesome group that I started a little over a year ago. This book in particular makes me want to read more books about food & not like the cozy mysteries.

This book was great! It was funny & the story was very charming. There was times when I was laughing out loud & just shaking me head at others. I find Lois very relatable. I think the ending was a little weird but maybe I need some more time to process it. Lois is a typical young girl out of college trying to find her way in the world, but also I feel like she's trying to discover what makes her happy. That can be a very hard task when you are just working constantly to keep food on the table & money in your pocket. So I guess in her own way she discovers what makes her happy & how to get a little money along the way.

I was also surprised by the "mysterious benefactor" Mr. Marrow, I guess I should have seen who it was all along but I was actually shocked in the end. Is there really places like this out there? I've been to little hometown farmers markets, but is there places that are so cut throat & stressful but also full of discovery & life? I hope to find a place like that one day if they exist.

I feel like the ending of this book brought us closure but also is open ended enough that maybe there is going to be another book? I'd love to read about Lois & her continuing adventures. I'm also interested in reading other books this author has written. The audio reader was also very good. Her slight accent was interesting. It's not a British accent but it's definitely there. She also did well with expressing the characters emotions when she was reading which I really like to hear. I'd listen to other books she has read as well. There is no recipes in this book like the ones we normally read but I wish there was! I've never made bread but this makes me want to try. I can't wait to see what our "host" bring to the meeting next week.

Christmas Caramal Murder by Joanne Fluke

Christmas Caramel Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books
Year: 2016
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 204

Audio Publisher & Year: Recorded Books/ 2016
Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren
Audio Length: 4 hours & 30 mins

Rating:

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This is Hannah Swensen mystery #20. It's also the 2nd book I've read this month & it's only the 6th! That is insane considering I read like 1 book last month. Needless to say I think I'm for sure going to finish this series this year. There is one more book that is like this book out of 4 I think left in the series that I have ti finish. I was calling it a little fake Christmas book. I don't mean that in a bad way & I don't mean it's not a real book. I think Joanne Fluke is going to become like Debbie Macomber. She will have her regular series & other books, but then she'll also have her little Christmas stories, ya know? So even though this wasn't apart of the "regular" story line I still enjoyed it. I'm also happy I was able to get through it in 2 days! The ending of this book was a little sad because the killer gets murdered herself but I wasn't so sure about her being all there either.  It'll be interesting to see where our story picks up in the next book. If we continue where we left off Hannah & Ross should be going on their honeymoon, or maybe they will skip that part & they will be coming back. I still don't like him so I was happy to see he was pretty much absent in this book. Even though this book was much shorter than the usual ones there was still recipes & I will include one for you down below!

Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Wedding Cake Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington Books
Year: 2016
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age: Adult 18+
Page Count: 256

Audio Publisher & Year: Recorded Books 2016
Audio Reader: Suzanne Toren
Audio Length: 9 hours & 53 minutes

Rating:

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This is book #19 in the Hannah Swensen series. I'm so close to being caught up with all of these! There is 5 left that I need to read. There is a new book coming out in 2020 so at least I have that to look forward too if I am able to catch up by the end of the year.

I have to say this one wasn't my favorite. I am so happy Hannah finally did it! She got married! But I HATE Ross. I'm sorry if you like him but I have some issues. I'll explain it for you. First of all I hate that he doesn't call Hannah by her name, hardly ever. He always calls her cookie. How unoriginal is that! She's the owner of a cookie bakery I know but still, come on man. Can't you think of anything better than that? I think having a little pet name is fine but don't only use that for peets sake. The other problem I have & this is big...he's weirdly rich. Like Hannah isn't poor by any means, especially as much as she shops & goes to the grocery store but still. A limo & the fancy private hotel, & the first class air fare, it's a little much. At one point near the end of the story I honestly thought it was Ross who was the killer & I was really happy. Unfortunately him & Hannah really do get married. In true Hannah fashion she gets caught with the killer & is late to her own wedding after she takes a disgusting ride in a garbage truck. HAHAHA!!! It was great. The one thing I did like about this book was Hannah being in the bake off competition. I have to say it was a little predictable with her winning but that's ok. We'll see what the next few stories have going on. I don't know if I can continue with the series with Ross being around. It should have been Norman! I'm just saying. There was a lot of great recipes in this book again so I picked a unique one for you guys & I've included it below.