December 2019 TBR

Since it's the 6th day of the month & I've read 1 book already I feel good about my chances of reading everything I have in the plan this month but we'll see what happens. I managed to make it at least 1 whole month without checking anything out but I broke my streak this month, we'll see if it pays off. Then next year I can focus on getting my TBR down. I have a crazy idea that I might be able to read 3 books this weekend, do you think I can do it? 

Raspberry Danish Murder, Christmas Cake Murder, & Chocolate Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Goodreads
I'm super close to catching up on this series. After I finish these 3 I am going to be done with it except for the new releases, the next of which comes out in February. I'm hoping to read Raspberry Danish Murder & Christmas Cake Murder this weekend. Christmas Cake Murder isn't technically part of the series it's like Christmas Caramel Murder, just a little holiday side story but that one was pretty good so I'm gonna read this one too. 

In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon
Goodreads
This is our Cook the Books book club pick for this month. We'll be having a tea party. 

Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
Goodreads
I actually already finished this book last night & I can't even! I was so shocked compared to the others. Very happy with this series, would highly recommend. Look for my review of this one this weekend.

After by Anna Todd
Goodreads
I saw this movie on Netflix & I was hooked! Then in the credits I saw that is was based on a book & naturally I had to get it. It's sooooo long, like 600 pages I think. I'm hoping to get to it this month since I had to borrow it from another library. 

The Binding by Bridget Collins
Goodreads
I asked for our library to order this book & it's had a few checkouts so I decided it was my turn to try it. I hope it's as good as it sounds. 

Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Goodreads
I own all these books in ebook format. I read the first 4 years ago when they were first coming out but I never read #5. I'm rereading them now so I can finish the series & read some of his other ones. 

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber
Goodreads
I started reading her Christmas books last year, I think I've read 3 others so I decided to try this one this year. They are short & light hearted so perfect for lazy day reading. 

November 2019 Wrap-Up

I read 5 books in November!!! I'm so happy! Most of them were audio or a combination of audio & actual books but still, 5! I'm hoping to read at least that many this month, end the year...excuse me...the decade (WTF) on a good note. Can you even believe it's going to be a new decade in a few weeks because I sure can't at all. My internet is being very stupid & slow (like that's new) right now so I'm gonna try & get this up ASAP. So these are the books I read last month. 

Wedding Cake Murder, Christmas Caramel Murder, & Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Wedding Cake Murder review 

Christmas Caramel Murder review 

Banana Cream Pie Murder review 

Goodreads
I'm so close to being caught up on this series. The plan is to read the rest of them by the end of the year. I think I'm 3 away from that. The newest one comes out in February. 

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

My review is here.

Goodreads 
This was our book club pick for this month & I really liked it. I'd read the author's other books. Which BTW I figured out the author is a man. I spent the entire book thinking it was a woman. 

The Wicked King by Holly Black

 My review is here.

 Goodreads
This is book #2 in the Folk of Air trilogy. I just finished book #3 so wait for the review. This is a must read series, so awesome!

The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King

Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little Brown & Company (Hachette Book Group)
Year: 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Age: YA 13+
Page Count: 322

Audio Publisher & Year: Blackstone HBG/ 2019
Audio Reader: Caitlin Kelly
Audio Length: 10 hours & 22 minutes

Rating:

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This is book #2 in The Folk of Air trilogy.

I now proudly own all of these books because I was super impatient. I remember reading about this series a few years back. Having read several of Holly Black's other books I was excited. But I waited for my library to get the first book. Long story short there was a delay & I didn't read book #1 until the second was almost out. I wasn't thrilled with the first half of The Cruel Prince but then BAM!!! I absolutely could not believe the ending. Well my friends this second book was the same way.

Our story picks up exactly where it left off in book #1. I'm gonna try not to give away any spoilers so bear with me! Jude is living the high life next to her beautiful & cruel prince who has now risen in power. But I'm sure much like in real life with monarchies Jude is the real power behind the crown.

I have to say when I started this book because book #3 was set to come out very soon (it's now been published) based on the title of book #3 I sorta knew what was going to happen at the the end of this book. Then as the story progressed I picked up on a few things that I thought would also happen in the end. I was not surprised by what happened to Prince Balekin, I was very pleased by it. I was also not surprised by Cardan & Jude's bold choice. I was however surprised by 2 things...#1 who betrayed Jude to the Undersea, I'm just so disappointed by that turn of events. It was very cool though that we got to see more of the kingdom in this story. #2 THAT TWIST ENDING! I guess with a title like The Wicked King I should have seen something like that coming??? I purposely didn't read the info on The Queen of Nothing until after I finished book #2 because I didn't want any spoilers beyond what I had already kinda guessed at.

I'm surprised I was able to stick with this book until the end though. About half way in I felt a lot like I did with the first book. I was questioning why I was reading it, was it gonna get better, is it worth reading until the end. All the while in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the first book & how I was so shocked by the ending. I had to finish this book too so I can read #3 & learn how Jude's story ends, right? RIGHT! Now I'm really starting to wonder how Jude is going to come out the victor, she has to win, how could she not after all this?

I took a trip in the middle of reading this so I found it on audio through my library's audio streaming service, cloud library, & it was ok. I don't think I would listen to it on audio on purpose. Some of the voices the reader does are not appealing. The Bomb sounds like Luna Lovegood actually, & Cardan sounds drunk all the time. To each his own.  

If your a fan of fantasy, love a magical story, & can handle a very suspenseful ending this series should be next on your list!

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.