Date with Death
by Julia Chapman
Date with Death, and in fact the whole Dales Detective Series, was recommended to me by a Twitter friend. And then when I got the book and posted about it on Twitter, the author was lovely and responded. All of which made me want to read through the book quickly, but not too quickly. As it happened, life kind of got in the way and my reading time was interrupted so I had plenty of time to read and consider the book.
First off, let me say I know very little about English geography. For example, I’m pretty sure Manchester is on the coast near Liverpool, unless it’s really over where the maps say Newcastle is. And I was sure that Leeds was a quick drive from London, 90 minutes tops. So the book was a challenge for me from the beginning, at least in figuring out where places really are. Thank heaven for the atlas!
And while I’m here, let me mention the very nitpicky thing I noticed about the book. I couldn’t decide whether Tolpuddle was a Greyhound or a Weimaraner. He was referred to as both, which was difficult because they are not really similar looking dogs to me; their faces and heads are quite different. The illustration on the cover of my edition features a Weimaraner, so I think that’s what he is, but I’m still not really sure (illustrations are not always accurate). As I said, it’s nitpicky, but it is one of those things that bothered me reading the book.
Anyway, to the book. I instantly liked Delilah and I think I like Samson, but I’m not sure. Much of that will depend on what might or might not be revealed in later books in the series. I’m hesitant to really like him because I don’t want him to turn out to be a first-class jerk when the backstory is finally explained. So for now, Samson is nice enough to talk to in the Fleece, but I’m not going to be anywhere alone with him just yet.
The mystery itself was interesting. I was on the right track through the book, but I was not quite right in the end and that’s the best kind of mystery for me to read...the ones where I’m almost correct in my guess, but still not exactly right. It was a fun read, a bit more harrowing than most of the cozy mysteries I read, but certainly nothing that would give me nightmares or keep me awake if I stayed up too late to finish it.
The gang in Bruncliffe is a friendly bunch of characters, even though I might need to deck one or two of them if I met them in person. But most seem really nice and would be fun to have over for a game night. I am looking forward to the other books in the series. I hope they are just as good as this one.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five Cups of Strong Tea, and a big slice of only slightly squashed cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Sunday, July 14, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Murder on Trinity Place
Murder on Trinity Place
by Victoria Thompson
Ahh, I've caught up with the series. It's always a bit sad to finish the last book in a series and have to wait for the next one to come out. The wait is so much longer when there is not a book to read in between. I try to set the series up so that I am one book behind so I always have one to read while waiting for the next, but I was so excited by having two new books in this series that I read them both back-to-back. It meant a nice long visit with Sarah, Frank, Maeve, and Gino, but now there will be a long time between visits.
The Century has turned in Sarah's world (or has it?) and someone got murdered during the festivities. That's the set up for the book and it was a fun ride to the end.
I had the murderer picked out pretty early, but it was fun read along and discover how and when Sarah and the gang figured it out as well.
The information on "swill milk" was interesting, and I wish the author have done an epilogue to follow up with that plot point.
But the real star of this visit with the Malloys, et al. was the sub-plot. No spoilers here, but it's a fun and rewarding part of the story. Read this for the sub-plot if nothing else.
One Bear's Opinion: Five glasses of brandy and a plate of funeral potatoes
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Victoria Thompson
Ahh, I've caught up with the series. It's always a bit sad to finish the last book in a series and have to wait for the next one to come out. The wait is so much longer when there is not a book to read in between. I try to set the series up so that I am one book behind so I always have one to read while waiting for the next, but I was so excited by having two new books in this series that I read them both back-to-back. It meant a nice long visit with Sarah, Frank, Maeve, and Gino, but now there will be a long time between visits.
The Century has turned in Sarah's world (or has it?) and someone got murdered during the festivities. That's the set up for the book and it was a fun ride to the end.
I had the murderer picked out pretty early, but it was fun read along and discover how and when Sarah and the gang figured it out as well.
The information on "swill milk" was interesting, and I wish the author have done an epilogue to follow up with that plot point.
But the real star of this visit with the Malloys, et al. was the sub-plot. No spoilers here, but it's a fun and rewarding part of the story. Read this for the sub-plot if nothing else.
One Bear's Opinion: Five glasses of brandy and a plate of funeral potatoes
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Murder on Union Square
Murder on Union Square
by Victoria Thompson
Sarah Brandt Malloy and Frank Malloy are some of my favorite characters. I always enjoy my visits with them. This one was a fun outing with them. Saying too much will spoil it for readers who have not read the rest of the series, so I won't say too much.
It was obvious this mystery was crafted specifically to plug a plot hole from earlier books in the series, but that does not make it any less enjoyable a read. It was a fun visit to the world of turn-of-the-century Broadway theaters with all the sniping, jealousy and grease paint that brings with it.
This is one series where it really is important to read them in order, so if you haven't started from the beginning, I think it's best you check out Murder on Astor Place and come back to this review when you have read the intervening 19 books. You won't regret it.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with some popcorn at the theater
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Victoria Thompson
Sarah Brandt Malloy and Frank Malloy are some of my favorite characters. I always enjoy my visits with them. This one was a fun outing with them. Saying too much will spoil it for readers who have not read the rest of the series, so I won't say too much.
It was obvious this mystery was crafted specifically to plug a plot hole from earlier books in the series, but that does not make it any less enjoyable a read. It was a fun visit to the world of turn-of-the-century Broadway theaters with all the sniping, jealousy and grease paint that brings with it.
This is one series where it really is important to read them in order, so if you haven't started from the beginning, I think it's best you check out Murder on Astor Place and come back to this review when you have read the intervening 19 books. You won't regret it.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with some popcorn at the theater
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Over My Dead Body
Over My Dead Body
by Rex Stout
I had seen an adaptation of this book as part of the Timothy Hutton Nero Wolfe Mysteries series before I read it. That is both good and bad.
Seeing it first meant I knew the plot and whodunit before I read the book so the denouement was not as surprising as it would have been otherwise. But it also meant I could pick out the parts the adaptation chose not to include. And I understand that tv adaptations cannot include every minute point in the book, but the parts that were left out or adjusted left me scratching my head.
Seeing it before reading it meant that I had someone's idea of what the characters should look like before I could meet them and imagine them on my own. Having seen the Timothy Hutton productions before we started reading the series did influence my mental image of Archie and Saul, though my image of Nero Wolfe and other other characters does not necessarily match the casting director's.
Anyway, about the book. Over My Dead Body filled in some background on Nero Wolfe before the reader meets him in Fer-de-Lance. That portion of the story is interesting but secondary, or even tertiary, to the main plot. That teaser bit of information just serves as the impetus to get the story moving. I am hopeful that it will come back around in future books, but I am not sure it does.
The mystery was quite interesting, and if I had not already seen the production, it would have been clever. But knowing the ending going in meant I read it on the lookout for information that led to the ending, rather than trying to solve it along with Nero and Archie.
On the whole it was an enjoyable read, and much better than the television production made it seem that it would be. Nero Wolfe mysteries are always worth a read (or a watch), and this one is no different.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Bottles of Beer and followed by one of Fritz's dinners, including a chocolate cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Rex Stout
I had seen an adaptation of this book as part of the Timothy Hutton Nero Wolfe Mysteries series before I read it. That is both good and bad.
Seeing it first meant I knew the plot and whodunit before I read the book so the denouement was not as surprising as it would have been otherwise. But it also meant I could pick out the parts the adaptation chose not to include. And I understand that tv adaptations cannot include every minute point in the book, but the parts that were left out or adjusted left me scratching my head.
Seeing it before reading it meant that I had someone's idea of what the characters should look like before I could meet them and imagine them on my own. Having seen the Timothy Hutton productions before we started reading the series did influence my mental image of Archie and Saul, though my image of Nero Wolfe and other other characters does not necessarily match the casting director's.
Anyway, about the book. Over My Dead Body filled in some background on Nero Wolfe before the reader meets him in Fer-de-Lance. That portion of the story is interesting but secondary, or even tertiary, to the main plot. That teaser bit of information just serves as the impetus to get the story moving. I am hopeful that it will come back around in future books, but I am not sure it does.
The mystery was quite interesting, and if I had not already seen the production, it would have been clever. But knowing the ending going in meant I read it on the lookout for information that led to the ending, rather than trying to solve it along with Nero and Archie.
On the whole it was an enjoyable read, and much better than the television production made it seem that it would be. Nero Wolfe mysteries are always worth a read (or a watch), and this one is no different.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Bottles of Beer and followed by one of Fritz's dinners, including a chocolate cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, June 30, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Road to Granschester
The Road to Grantchester
by James Runcie
The story of how Sidney Chambers got to be Sidney Chambers, this is a prequel to the Grantchester mysteries. And I am glad I read it, but disappointed by the fact that there were no mysteries in this story. I can see how mysteries might not have worked in some parts of the story, but I did miss the mystery aspect of the other Grantchester books.
What appealed to me about the Grantchester books was the mysteries. It was fun to try and solve them along with Sidney. This book tells the story before Sidney got to Ely and it was an interesting tale of becoming the Sidney Chambers I know from the other books, but there was still the disappointing lack of mysteries.
I'd like more adventures with Sidney Chambers and friends, though it seems now as though the author has written the stories from beginning to end. Re-reading is an option, but still, I'm greedy enough to want new adventures and visits with Sidney.
The Road to Grantchester is definitely worth reading, and it's always nice to get "the rest of the story," but be warned, there is no mystery element to this so while it's the Sidney we know from the Grantchester mysteries, it's not at the same time.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Glasses of good white wine over dinner with Amanda
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by James Runcie
The story of how Sidney Chambers got to be Sidney Chambers, this is a prequel to the Grantchester mysteries. And I am glad I read it, but disappointed by the fact that there were no mysteries in this story. I can see how mysteries might not have worked in some parts of the story, but I did miss the mystery aspect of the other Grantchester books.
What appealed to me about the Grantchester books was the mysteries. It was fun to try and solve them along with Sidney. This book tells the story before Sidney got to Ely and it was an interesting tale of becoming the Sidney Chambers I know from the other books, but there was still the disappointing lack of mysteries.
I'd like more adventures with Sidney Chambers and friends, though it seems now as though the author has written the stories from beginning to end. Re-reading is an option, but still, I'm greedy enough to want new adventures and visits with Sidney.
The Road to Grantchester is definitely worth reading, and it's always nice to get "the rest of the story," but be warned, there is no mystery element to this so while it's the Sidney we know from the Grantchester mysteries, it's not at the same time.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Glasses of good white wine over dinner with Amanda
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Poirot's Early Cases
Poirot's Early Cases
by Agatha Christie
This volume was a collection of short stories, including my all time favorite Poirot story, The Affair at the Victory Ball.
Visits with Poirot and Hastings are always fun and worthwhile, and this visit was exceptionally satisfying. There are 13 short stories, 3 of which I had read previously as stand alone volumes. It was a nice mix of plots, including current cases and Poirot relating earlier cases to Hastings.
I like short story collections because they are easy to dip into and out of, especially for when you have just a little bit of time to read, like when you are standing in line, or in a waiting room. The quick stories are perfect for limited attention spans.
I definitely recommend this volume for any Poirot fan. Downloading it to your Kindle App on your phone would be an excellent idea, so you always had some Poirot handy for those moments when you need a quick visit with friends.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tisane and a big box of chocolates
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Agatha Christie
This volume was a collection of short stories, including my all time favorite Poirot story, The Affair at the Victory Ball.
Visits with Poirot and Hastings are always fun and worthwhile, and this visit was exceptionally satisfying. There are 13 short stories, 3 of which I had read previously as stand alone volumes. It was a nice mix of plots, including current cases and Poirot relating earlier cases to Hastings.
I like short story collections because they are easy to dip into and out of, especially for when you have just a little bit of time to read, like when you are standing in line, or in a waiting room. The quick stories are perfect for limited attention spans.
I definitely recommend this volume for any Poirot fan. Downloading it to your Kindle App on your phone would be an excellent idea, so you always had some Poirot handy for those moments when you need a quick visit with friends.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tisane and a big box of chocolates
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, June 23, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Sleeping Dogs Don't Lie
Sleeping Dogs Don't Lie
by Chloe Grace
I did not like this book.
Let me repeat, I did not like this book.
I realize it was a short story to fill in the back-story for the characters in a new series, and in that, it did fairly well. But I did not like the story. And the way this short story finished, I have no real desire to seek out the new series, despite liking the main character.
On paper, this book had everything going for it for me to like it: a lovable canine detective character with an owner who loved him, a set up for a murder, and a good number of suspects. And then, the story took a turn and I did not like it. All the good things that drew me in were wasted or not used to the best of their ability to advance the story. And in the end, I did not care one bit what happened to any of the characters with the exception of the dog.
The set up for the first-in-series book was not intriguing enough and I just don't care. For that I'm sorry, because I wanted to like this series. I wanted to find a new series with friendly animal characters. But alas, for me, this is not the series.
One Bear's Opinion: Two Glasses of Lukewarm Water and a couple of bland, boring, mass-produced, generic cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Chloe Grace
I did not like this book.
Let me repeat, I did not like this book.
I realize it was a short story to fill in the back-story for the characters in a new series, and in that, it did fairly well. But I did not like the story. And the way this short story finished, I have no real desire to seek out the new series, despite liking the main character.
On paper, this book had everything going for it for me to like it: a lovable canine detective character with an owner who loved him, a set up for a murder, and a good number of suspects. And then, the story took a turn and I did not like it. All the good things that drew me in were wasted or not used to the best of their ability to advance the story. And in the end, I did not care one bit what happened to any of the characters with the exception of the dog.
The set up for the first-in-series book was not intriguing enough and I just don't care. For that I'm sorry, because I wanted to like this series. I wanted to find a new series with friendly animal characters. But alas, for me, this is not the series.
One Bear's Opinion: Two Glasses of Lukewarm Water and a couple of bland, boring, mass-produced, generic cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot is on holiday, but as usual it turns into a working holiday when there is a robbery he is asked to assist in solving.
I had seen the David Suchet adaptation of this story before I had read it, which means I knew the plot of the short story, and whodunnit as soon as I read the set up. This was one of the rare ones in which the adaptation was better than the original, in my opinion. But maybe because with short stories, I always want there to be more, I want a longer visit with my friends, and the television adaptations can flush out the visit a bit longer and make it feel more satisfying.
This short story was a quick, fun read, even knowing what was going to happen. Visits with Poirot and Hastings are always fun. I'd definitely like to have tea and a chat with Poirot, if not a whole dinner's worth of conversation.
It's definitely worth keeping a few short stories on your Kindle or App for reading when you're out & about and there are few better than Poirot for taking your mind off the dental appointment you're about to have or the inane breakfast show television in the hospital waiting room.
One Bear's Opinion: Four cups of tisane, with a tray of sweets
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot is on holiday, but as usual it turns into a working holiday when there is a robbery he is asked to assist in solving.
I had seen the David Suchet adaptation of this story before I had read it, which means I knew the plot of the short story, and whodunnit as soon as I read the set up. This was one of the rare ones in which the adaptation was better than the original, in my opinion. But maybe because with short stories, I always want there to be more, I want a longer visit with my friends, and the television adaptations can flush out the visit a bit longer and make it feel more satisfying.
This short story was a quick, fun read, even knowing what was going to happen. Visits with Poirot and Hastings are always fun. I'd definitely like to have tea and a chat with Poirot, if not a whole dinner's worth of conversation.
It's definitely worth keeping a few short stories on your Kindle or App for reading when you're out & about and there are few better than Poirot for taking your mind off the dental appointment you're about to have or the inane breakfast show television in the hospital waiting room.
One Bear's Opinion: Four cups of tisane, with a tray of sweets
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: The Corpse at the Crystal Palace
The Corpse at the Crystal Palace
by Carola Dunn
It's time for an adventure with Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher. And it was a great fun adventure!
Daisy took her family and friends out for a day at the Crystal Palace in London. And knowing Daisy, only one thing can result from that: murder. This time it was an attack on Daisy's twins' nanny and the murder of another nanny (or was it?) and Daisy's step-daughter Belinda was caught up in the action, too.
All your favorite friends from Daisy's world were there, and some new ones. It was an intriguing murder, and the solution was ingenious. But there was a long, round about investigation to get to the conclusion, with many, many red herrings and many, many false starts. In short, it was a Daisy kind of investigation.
It would have been more fun if Belinda and the boys had more of a role, and maybe have less of a role for some new characters, who I hope hang around as friends. I hope that there will be more Daisy adventures, especially after this one took a long time to come out (or so it seemed to me). And I think there are some plot points that I'd like to know about. I'm hopeful the author will wrap those stories up in the next adventure; I do so hate to be left with questions. But mainly I just want more adventures with my friends.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Strong Russian Tea, and some snacks while checking out the Monsters at the Crystal Palace Gardens
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Carola Dunn
It's time for an adventure with Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher. And it was a great fun adventure!
Daisy took her family and friends out for a day at the Crystal Palace in London. And knowing Daisy, only one thing can result from that: murder. This time it was an attack on Daisy's twins' nanny and the murder of another nanny (or was it?) and Daisy's step-daughter Belinda was caught up in the action, too.
All your favorite friends from Daisy's world were there, and some new ones. It was an intriguing murder, and the solution was ingenious. But there was a long, round about investigation to get to the conclusion, with many, many red herrings and many, many false starts. In short, it was a Daisy kind of investigation.
It would have been more fun if Belinda and the boys had more of a role, and maybe have less of a role for some new characters, who I hope hang around as friends. I hope that there will be more Daisy adventures, especially after this one took a long time to come out (or so it seemed to me). And I think there are some plot points that I'd like to know about. I'm hopeful the author will wrap those stories up in the next adventure; I do so hate to be left with questions. But mainly I just want more adventures with my friends.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Strong Russian Tea, and some snacks while checking out the Monsters at the Crystal Palace Gardens
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: At Legend's End
At Legend's End
by Diane Moody
This is the fourth in the Teacup Novella series by Diane Moody. I enjoyed this one more than "Home to Walnut Ridge," but still felt the story was a bit lacking, or rather, not lacking. There was too much going on in the story.
The older characters were different, but the story felt as though the author wanted to make it more dramatic than it needed to be. It would have been a perfectly good story without the dramatic element. There was enough tension without it. The unnecessary plot point changed the story into something I didn't like or enjoy as much.
On the whole it was a good read, but it just needed a bit of pruning. It's not necessary to throw every possible idea into the same story.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with a plate of cookies to bring to Book Club
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Diane Moody
This is the fourth in the Teacup Novella series by Diane Moody. I enjoyed this one more than "Home to Walnut Ridge," but still felt the story was a bit lacking, or rather, not lacking. There was too much going on in the story.
The older characters were different, but the story felt as though the author wanted to make it more dramatic than it needed to be. It would have been a perfectly good story without the dramatic element. There was enough tension without it. The unnecessary plot point changed the story into something I didn't like or enjoy as much.
On the whole it was a good read, but it just needed a bit of pruning. It's not necessary to throw every possible idea into the same story.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with a plate of cookies to bring to Book Club
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Thursday, May 30, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Friends in High Places
Friends in High Places
by Marne Davis Kellogg
Another great visit with Kick Keswick, international jewel thief and gourmet.
I love visits with Kick. I love the idea of a life that glamorous and filled with beautiful things. I don't want that kind of life, I just like to dream about it and enjoy reading about others who have that kind of life.
The book was a great adventure and fun to read. I enjoyed spending time with Kick in London and the Italy. The characters in this book were fun, and the kind of people I would have as friends. They were fun people and it made the book easy to read because it was such a great visit with friends.
It's hard to say much more about the book without spoiling it. But as a warning, I would read this series in order as there are some spoilers in this book for previous ones.
If you've read other Kick Keswick books, you will love this one. If you haven't why not? Start with Brilliant and you too can come to imagine life as an international jewel thief.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Brandy Alexanders and a molten chocolate lava cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Marne Davis Kellogg
Another great visit with Kick Keswick, international jewel thief and gourmet.
I love visits with Kick. I love the idea of a life that glamorous and filled with beautiful things. I don't want that kind of life, I just like to dream about it and enjoy reading about others who have that kind of life.
The book was a great adventure and fun to read. I enjoyed spending time with Kick in London and the Italy. The characters in this book were fun, and the kind of people I would have as friends. They were fun people and it made the book easy to read because it was such a great visit with friends.
It's hard to say much more about the book without spoiling it. But as a warning, I would read this series in order as there are some spoilers in this book for previous ones.
If you've read other Kick Keswick books, you will love this one. If you haven't why not? Start with Brilliant and you too can come to imagine life as an international jewel thief.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Brandy Alexanders and a molten chocolate lava cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by J.K. Rowling
Okay, okay, I know I should have read this years ago, when the series first came out or anytime between now and then, but I just didn't think I would enjoy the series. Fantasy, wizards, magic, and dragons have never been my thing, so the book was really not appealing to me. And I have a thing against reading THE books everyone is reading when they are reading them. I avoid best-sellers like the plague. Nothing puts me off a book faster than everyone talking about it.
So, I LOVED IT!
I was given my copy by someone who said I am the best example of a Hufflepuff he knew and because I love the person who gave the book to me, I had to read it. Interestingly, other members of my household had never read it either, so we decided to read it aloud as part of our weekly story-time. We only read a chapter a week, so it took far longer to read than it would had we been reading it on our own, but I'm kind of glad we shared discovering the book on our own.
I had managed to avoid spoilers about the series, so it was really exciting to read the book and find out everything on my own. It was hard, because so many of our friends are fans and fans enjoy sharing with others.
I don't have any other books in the series yet, but when I get them, we will read them. Harry Potter is as much fun as I had heard. Sometimes the hype is true. I'm glad I finally read the book, but I am not glad I waited until I was ready to read it.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Cups of Tea in the common room and a plate of Chocolate Frogs for sharing
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by J.K. Rowling
Okay, okay, I know I should have read this years ago, when the series first came out or anytime between now and then, but I just didn't think I would enjoy the series. Fantasy, wizards, magic, and dragons have never been my thing, so the book was really not appealing to me. And I have a thing against reading THE books everyone is reading when they are reading them. I avoid best-sellers like the plague. Nothing puts me off a book faster than everyone talking about it.
So, I LOVED IT!
I was given my copy by someone who said I am the best example of a Hufflepuff he knew and because I love the person who gave the book to me, I had to read it. Interestingly, other members of my household had never read it either, so we decided to read it aloud as part of our weekly story-time. We only read a chapter a week, so it took far longer to read than it would had we been reading it on our own, but I'm kind of glad we shared discovering the book on our own.
I had managed to avoid spoilers about the series, so it was really exciting to read the book and find out everything on my own. It was hard, because so many of our friends are fans and fans enjoy sharing with others.
I don't have any other books in the series yet, but when I get them, we will read them. Harry Potter is as much fun as I had heard. Sometimes the hype is true. I'm glad I finally read the book, but I am not glad I waited until I was ready to read it.
One Bear's Opinion: Five Cups of Tea in the common room and a plate of Chocolate Frogs for sharing
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Home to Walnut Ridge
Home to Walnut Ridge
by Diane Moody
Another novella read. I'm on a roll with novellas/short stories lately.
This is book three of five in the Teacup Novella series. This one was interesting, but not as much as the first two were. The story-within-a-story was not as fun to read, and the main story did not have as much action as I would have liked.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it, and I'm happy with the way it ended, but I wanted more. It was good, but I'm being selfish with my friends and I wanted more for them.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea at the end of a fancy dinner
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Diane Moody
Another novella read. I'm on a roll with novellas/short stories lately.
This is book three of five in the Teacup Novella series. This one was interesting, but not as much as the first two were. The story-within-a-story was not as fun to read, and the main story did not have as much action as I would have liked.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it, and I'm happy with the way it ended, but I wanted more. It was good, but I'm being selfish with my friends and I wanted more for them.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea at the end of a fancy dinner
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Strike the Match
Strike the Match
by Diane Moody
Another book read in between other books. I was in a waiting room and needed a book and this one came up on my Kindle. It was a great read. I really like the idea of this series of novellas - basing the story on a teacup. It's a fun read and I will be sorry to read the last one.
The idea of a story in a story is very similar to the story-within-a-story in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. It's a fun way to weave multiple stories into one.
This one was a fun story, even though the main character of the teacup story was a bit of a brat. I enjoyed the way the story-within-a-story came together. And I am looking forward to the end of the main character's story.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea and a plate of fresh, warm doughnuts
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Diane Moody
Another book read in between other books. I was in a waiting room and needed a book and this one came up on my Kindle. It was a great read. I really like the idea of this series of novellas - basing the story on a teacup. It's a fun read and I will be sorry to read the last one.
The idea of a story in a story is very similar to the story-within-a-story in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. It's a fun way to weave multiple stories into one.
This one was a fun story, even though the main character of the teacup story was a bit of a brat. I enjoyed the way the story-within-a-story came together. And I am looking forward to the end of the main character's story.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea and a plate of fresh, warm doughnuts
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: The Cornish Mystery
The Cornish Mystery
by Agatha Christie
This was a quick read in between other books. I enjoy reading the Hercule Poirot short stories as individual books rather than in a larger volume. I always feel reading a collection in a book means I should read the whole book, rather than dipping in and out. Individual books mean I don't have to feel conflicted about not finishing the book.
All while I was reading this story, I had a feeling I had read this before, but I knew I had not. I may have seen it with David Suchet as Poirot, but the feeling was not of this exact story, more just the plot. That is one of the hazards of coming to discovery Christie after having read a good number of other mysteries, the plots are reused and re-worked. As a result when I finally read the original, it feels like it is a copy of so many other things.
It was an interesting story and I always enjoy visits with Hercule Poirot. As I said, I have a feeling about having read this plot before so I knew the solution going in. It was a fun read though, and a great way to end a night before drifting off to dreamland.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea at a lingering Cornish Cream Tea (Jam First!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Agatha Christie
This was a quick read in between other books. I enjoy reading the Hercule Poirot short stories as individual books rather than in a larger volume. I always feel reading a collection in a book means I should read the whole book, rather than dipping in and out. Individual books mean I don't have to feel conflicted about not finishing the book.
All while I was reading this story, I had a feeling I had read this before, but I knew I had not. I may have seen it with David Suchet as Poirot, but the feeling was not of this exact story, more just the plot. That is one of the hazards of coming to discovery Christie after having read a good number of other mysteries, the plots are reused and re-worked. As a result when I finally read the original, it feels like it is a copy of so many other things.
It was an interesting story and I always enjoy visits with Hercule Poirot. As I said, I have a feeling about having read this plot before so I knew the solution going in. It was a fun read though, and a great way to end a night before drifting off to dreamland.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea at a lingering Cornish Cream Tea (Jam First!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Review of Eurovision 2019 Grand Final
It's finally Eurovision 2019 Final Night here in Australia. And yes, I could have stayed up after election returns to watch it at 5am, but I was cold and my people needed cuddles, so we stuck with the plan of watching the Prime Time re-broadcast.
But the excitement has built to its crescendo and I am tightly wound spring of bounces ready to explode around the living room. I am hopeful that the 6 entrants I have not seen before will bring some happy songs & performances tonight. The Semi-Finals were fun, but a bit angry and lackluster in the performances. I'd like a bit more fun and excitement. If you can't bounce and be silly at Eurovision, where can you? And, come on, truthfully the world needs some fun bounces and silliness now. You all know I'm right about that!
Things I liked about this year's telecast: I really liked the idea of the video postcards from Eurovision (filmed in Israel) rather than postcards to Eurovision (filmed in the contestants' home countries). And it may have been because I watched the Prime-Time re-broadcasts rather than the live coverage, but I liked there wasn't too much down time or filler in the Semi-Finals. I hope that continues tonight with the Final. I don't really need to see too much of of either the on-stage hosts or the local commentary team. The backstage interviews are great for refilling the snack bowl and answering calls of nature, but the on-stage/commentary booth banter I can do without. Titles on screen and/or voiceovers reading out the program take care of what viewers want and need to know, the hosts are a bit superfluous. (Aside, isn't superfluous a rather bouncy wound to say? It just naturally bounces. Well, it does to me anyway.)
Tonight's review will follow the format of the reviews of the Semi-Finals, where I'll score the performance out of 5 flags and then at the end I'll list my Top Ten. So far this year, I'm batting .500 for picks in my Top Ten moving on. I don't expect that to change too much with the Final. I have a fairly bad track record in having my favorite song be the ultimate winner. I still say Denmark got robbed last year! Higher Ground still gives me goosebumps when we watch the YouTube video. It was much, much, much better than Toy. I'm bouncing off on a tangent. On to tonight's Grand Final:
Malta
Michela
Chameleon
🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹 (4/5)
I like the bounces. It's not a winning entry; but thanks for the pops of color and happy song, Malta.
Albania
Jonida Maliqi
Ktheju tokës
🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱 (3/5)
This staging of this song has an angry feel, even if the song is not strictly angry. It's not one of my favorites, but it was a good performance.
Czech Republic
Lake Malawi
Friend of a Friend
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿 (4/5)
There is nothing wrong with the song, it's catchy and poppy, but the inability of the performers to successfully mime playing the instruments is distracting to me. Good effort, but it's not going to be a winner.
Germany
S!sters
Sister
🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪 (3/5)
First new entry tonight. They look like very nice people, but the performance is not grabbing me. This one is probably not going to win.
Russia
Sergey Lazarev
Scream
🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (3/5)
His voice is good, but neither the song nor the performance are stand-out to me.
Denmark
Leonora
Love Is Forever
🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 (5/5)
I like the fun, bouncy feel of this song and the happy performance. Unless something changes with the new-to-the-final entrants, it's my Number 1 for the night. I do not expect this to be the overall winner. My favorites have never won.
San Marino
Serhat
Say Na Na Na
🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲 (4/5)
The bouncy upbeat feel is nice, but it's not going to be a winner
North Macedonia
Tamara Todevska
Proud
🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰 (3/5)
I like the message but not the song. Tamara does a great job in the performance, it's just not a favorite of mine.
Sweden
John Lundvik
Too Late For Love
🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 (5/5)
The roller skating in the postcard is fun. I want to give him 5 flags for just that! But this is my second favorite so far. It might move down later in the night, but it's a solid favorite.
Slovenia
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl
Sebi
🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮 (5/5)
I like this one. It's not my top pick, but a definite Top Ten. And the performers look happy and nervous. It feels real, not practiced to be down pat.
Cyprus
Tamta
Replay
🇨🇾🇨🇾🇨🇾 (3/5)
The performance and feel is upbeat, even so this is not a favorite.
The Netherlands
Duncan Laurence
Arcade
🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱 (5/5)
The announcers say this is the favorite. It's a Top Ten for me, but not a favorite.
Greece
Katherine Duska
Better Love
🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷 (4/5)
The staging is light and bright, and she's doing a great job. A solid performance, but not a winner for me.
Israel
Kobi Marimi
Home
🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 (4/5)
New for tonight. It's a nice soft, simple, solid song.
Norway
KEiiNO
Spirit in the Sky
🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 (5/5)
I can't explain it. I really like this one. Definitely Top Five.
United Kingdom
Michael Rice
Bigger Than Us
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 (3/5)
Another new-for-tonight song. It's a safe, middle of the pack song for the UK, nothing special, but nothing that would make me turn the channel if it came on the radio.
Iceland
Hatari
Hatriò mun sigra
🇮🇸🇮🇸 (2/5)
I do not like this one. I didn't really like it in the Semi-Final and it has not grown on me since. I hate to give performances lower than 3 flags, but I am going to in this case.
Estonia
Victor Crone
Storm
🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪 (5/5)
I like this song. It's a Top Ten for sure. I like it even more because he looks like he's having such a good time just being there.
Belarus
SENA
Like It
🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾 (3/5)
I didn't really like it in the Semi-Final and it hasn't grabbed me any more tonight.
Azerbaijan
Chingiz
Truth
🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿 (4/5)
The robots are still cool, but the song is nothing really special to me. There's nothing wrong with it, just nothing stand-out about it either.
France
Bilal Hassani
Roi
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 (5/5)
New tonight. It does not surprise me in the least that France is singing in French. And I love the plus-size ballerina. The message the performance sends is great.
Italy
Mahmood
Soldi
🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹 (4/5)
Two new-to-tonight songs in a row. It's kind of catchy. I like it.
Serbia
Nevena Božović
Kruna
🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸 (3/5)
I know she's giving a great performance, but it's not one of my favorites.
Switzerland
Luca Hänni
She Got Me
🇨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ (4/5)
I remember this from the Semi-Final. I didn't like the red lighting then and I don't like it any more now, but the song is kind of catchy and bouncy fun.
Australia
Kate Miller-Heidke
Zero Gravity
🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 (4/5)
I still like it more at Eurovision than I did in the Australia Decides, but it's suffering from overplay and I'm kind of over it. And the bendy sticks are still making me nervous, humans do not have bottoms made out of rubber and tops made out of springs.
Spain
Miki
La Venda
🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸 (4/5)
Last song, and last new song for the night. I'm glad they are ending on a peppy, happy, catchy, bright song.
My Top Ten:
1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Estonia
5. Slovenia
6. The Netherlands
7. France
8. Italy
9. Australia
10. Israel
Thanks for joining me for my reviews of the Eurovision 2019 Song Contest.
If my favorite can't win, I hope yours did.
Tigger
But the excitement has built to its crescendo and I am tightly wound spring of bounces ready to explode around the living room. I am hopeful that the 6 entrants I have not seen before will bring some happy songs & performances tonight. The Semi-Finals were fun, but a bit angry and lackluster in the performances. I'd like a bit more fun and excitement. If you can't bounce and be silly at Eurovision, where can you? And, come on, truthfully the world needs some fun bounces and silliness now. You all know I'm right about that!
Things I liked about this year's telecast: I really liked the idea of the video postcards from Eurovision (filmed in Israel) rather than postcards to Eurovision (filmed in the contestants' home countries). And it may have been because I watched the Prime-Time re-broadcasts rather than the live coverage, but I liked there wasn't too much down time or filler in the Semi-Finals. I hope that continues tonight with the Final. I don't really need to see too much of of either the on-stage hosts or the local commentary team. The backstage interviews are great for refilling the snack bowl and answering calls of nature, but the on-stage/commentary booth banter I can do without. Titles on screen and/or voiceovers reading out the program take care of what viewers want and need to know, the hosts are a bit superfluous. (Aside, isn't superfluous a rather bouncy wound to say? It just naturally bounces. Well, it does to me anyway.)
Tonight's review will follow the format of the reviews of the Semi-Finals, where I'll score the performance out of 5 flags and then at the end I'll list my Top Ten. So far this year, I'm batting .500 for picks in my Top Ten moving on. I don't expect that to change too much with the Final. I have a fairly bad track record in having my favorite song be the ultimate winner. I still say Denmark got robbed last year! Higher Ground still gives me goosebumps when we watch the YouTube video. It was much, much, much better than Toy. I'm bouncing off on a tangent. On to tonight's Grand Final:
Malta
Michela
Chameleon
🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹 (4/5)
I like the bounces. It's not a winning entry; but thanks for the pops of color and happy song, Malta.
Albania
Jonida Maliqi
Ktheju tokës
🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱 (3/5)
This staging of this song has an angry feel, even if the song is not strictly angry. It's not one of my favorites, but it was a good performance.
Czech Republic
Lake Malawi
Friend of a Friend
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿 (4/5)
There is nothing wrong with the song, it's catchy and poppy, but the inability of the performers to successfully mime playing the instruments is distracting to me. Good effort, but it's not going to be a winner.
Germany
S!sters
Sister
🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪 (3/5)
First new entry tonight. They look like very nice people, but the performance is not grabbing me. This one is probably not going to win.
Russia
Sergey Lazarev
Scream
🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (3/5)
His voice is good, but neither the song nor the performance are stand-out to me.
Denmark
Leonora
Love Is Forever
🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 (5/5)
I like the fun, bouncy feel of this song and the happy performance. Unless something changes with the new-to-the-final entrants, it's my Number 1 for the night. I do not expect this to be the overall winner. My favorites have never won.
San Marino
Serhat
Say Na Na Na
🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲 (4/5)
The bouncy upbeat feel is nice, but it's not going to be a winner
North Macedonia
Tamara Todevska
Proud
🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰 (3/5)
I like the message but not the song. Tamara does a great job in the performance, it's just not a favorite of mine.
Sweden
John Lundvik
Too Late For Love
🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 (5/5)
The roller skating in the postcard is fun. I want to give him 5 flags for just that! But this is my second favorite so far. It might move down later in the night, but it's a solid favorite.
Slovenia
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl
Sebi
🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮 (5/5)
I like this one. It's not my top pick, but a definite Top Ten. And the performers look happy and nervous. It feels real, not practiced to be down pat.
Cyprus
Tamta
Replay
🇨🇾🇨🇾🇨🇾 (3/5)
The performance and feel is upbeat, even so this is not a favorite.
The Netherlands
Duncan Laurence
Arcade
🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱 (5/5)
The announcers say this is the favorite. It's a Top Ten for me, but not a favorite.
Greece
Katherine Duska
Better Love
🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷 (4/5)
The staging is light and bright, and she's doing a great job. A solid performance, but not a winner for me.
Israel
Kobi Marimi
Home
🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 (4/5)
New for tonight. It's a nice soft, simple, solid song.
Norway
KEiiNO
Spirit in the Sky
🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 (5/5)
I can't explain it. I really like this one. Definitely Top Five.
United Kingdom
Michael Rice
Bigger Than Us
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 (3/5)
Another new-for-tonight song. It's a safe, middle of the pack song for the UK, nothing special, but nothing that would make me turn the channel if it came on the radio.
Iceland
Hatari
Hatriò mun sigra
🇮🇸🇮🇸 (2/5)
I do not like this one. I didn't really like it in the Semi-Final and it has not grown on me since. I hate to give performances lower than 3 flags, but I am going to in this case.
Estonia
Victor Crone
Storm
🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪 (5/5)
I like this song. It's a Top Ten for sure. I like it even more because he looks like he's having such a good time just being there.
Belarus
SENA
Like It
🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾 (3/5)
I didn't really like it in the Semi-Final and it hasn't grabbed me any more tonight.
Azerbaijan
Chingiz
Truth
🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿 (4/5)
The robots are still cool, but the song is nothing really special to me. There's nothing wrong with it, just nothing stand-out about it either.
France
Bilal Hassani
Roi
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 (5/5)
New tonight. It does not surprise me in the least that France is singing in French. And I love the plus-size ballerina. The message the performance sends is great.
Italy
Mahmood
Soldi
🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹 (4/5)
Two new-to-tonight songs in a row. It's kind of catchy. I like it.
Serbia
Nevena Božović
Kruna
🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸 (3/5)
I know she's giving a great performance, but it's not one of my favorites.
Switzerland
Luca Hänni
She Got Me
🇨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ (4/5)
I remember this from the Semi-Final. I didn't like the red lighting then and I don't like it any more now, but the song is kind of catchy and bouncy fun.
Australia
Kate Miller-Heidke
Zero Gravity
🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 (4/5)
I still like it more at Eurovision than I did in the Australia Decides, but it's suffering from overplay and I'm kind of over it. And the bendy sticks are still making me nervous, humans do not have bottoms made out of rubber and tops made out of springs.
Spain
Miki
La Venda
🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸 (4/5)
Last song, and last new song for the night. I'm glad they are ending on a peppy, happy, catchy, bright song.
My Top Ten:
1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Estonia
5. Slovenia
6. The Netherlands
7. France
8. Italy
9. Australia
10. Israel
Thanks for joining me for my reviews of the Eurovision 2019 Song Contest.
If my favorite can't win, I hope yours did.
Tigger
Friday, May 17, 2019
Review of 2019 Eurovision Semi-Final No. 2
It's 2019 Eurovision Semi-Final No. 2 tonight. We have been able to avoid all spoilers so we do not know anything about tonight's competitors. I prefer it that way.
(I noticed yesterday when viewing the post on a phone that my flags don't come through on the phone, so tonight I'll mention how many flags I have awarded to each as well as using the flag emojis.)
Ahh, Madonna is going to be at the Final. That's interesting.
Armenia
Srbuk
Walking Out
🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲 (3/5)
I don't like the red lighting. Not a favorite.
Ireland
Sarah McTernan
22
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 (4/5)
It's fun and bouncy. I'll keep it in reserve. I wonder if the milkshakes are real or just props. They look pretty yummy.
Moldova
Anna Odobescu
Stay
🇲🇩🇲🇩🇲🇩🇲🇩 (4/5)
The sand art is really nice, can I vote for the sand artist? It was not bad, but I don't think it's going to win.
Switzerland
Luca Hänni
She Got Me
🇨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ (3/5)
I would like it better without the red lighting.
Latvia
Carousel
That Night
🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻 (5/5)
I really like this one; first favorite of the night.
Romania
Ester Peony
On a Sunday
🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴 (4/5)
I was hoping for a peppier song based on the title.
Denmark
Leonora
Love Is Forever
🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 (5/5)
It's fun, peppy and bouncy. I like it.
Sweden
John Lundvik
Too Late For Love
🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 (5/5)
I like this one.
Austria
PÆNDA
Limits
🇦🇹🇦🇹🇦🇹 (3/5)
It's not bad, but it's not really a favorite.
Croatia
Roko
The Dream
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·ðŸ‡ðŸ‡· (3/5)
Nothing special.
Malta
Michela
Chameleon
🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹 (5/5)
It's a bouncy and happy sounding song, with fun bright staging. On the favorite list.
Lithuania
Jurij Veklenko
Run With The Lions
🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹 (5/5)
I'm surprised but I really like this one.
Russia
Sergey Lazarev
Scream
🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (3/5)
I don't really like it.
Albania
Jonida Maliqi
Ktheju tokës
🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱 (4/5)
Points for the non-English language, but I don't see this as a winner.
Norway
KEiiNO
Spirit in the Sky
🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 (5/5)
More fun than I thought it was going to be.
The Netherlands
Duncan Laurence
Arcade
🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱 (4/5)
It's definitely a pop radio song.
North Macedonia
Tamara Todevska
Proud
🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰 (3/5)
It's a nice message, but not a favorite song.
Azerbaijan
Chingiz
Truth
🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿 (4/5)
The robotic arms are cool. Not bad, but not a favorite either.
Congratulations to all the competitors at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Good Luck to everyone who has moved on to the Final.
My Top Ten:
1. Denmark
2. Latvia
3. Norway
4. Lithuania
5. Sweden
6. Malta
7. The Netherlands
8. Ireland
9. Romania
10. Moldova
Thanks for joining me tonight.
See you on Sunday for the Final.
Tigger
(I noticed yesterday when viewing the post on a phone that my flags don't come through on the phone, so tonight I'll mention how many flags I have awarded to each as well as using the flag emojis.)
Ahh, Madonna is going to be at the Final. That's interesting.
Armenia
Srbuk
Walking Out
🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲 (3/5)
I don't like the red lighting. Not a favorite.
Ireland
Sarah McTernan
22
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 (4/5)
It's fun and bouncy. I'll keep it in reserve. I wonder if the milkshakes are real or just props. They look pretty yummy.
Moldova
Anna Odobescu
Stay
🇲🇩🇲🇩🇲🇩🇲🇩 (4/5)
The sand art is really nice, can I vote for the sand artist? It was not bad, but I don't think it's going to win.
Switzerland
Luca Hänni
She Got Me
🇨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡ (3/5)
I would like it better without the red lighting.
Latvia
Carousel
That Night
🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻 (5/5)
I really like this one; first favorite of the night.
Romania
Ester Peony
On a Sunday
🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴🇷🇴 (4/5)
I was hoping for a peppier song based on the title.
Denmark
Leonora
Love Is Forever
🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 (5/5)
It's fun, peppy and bouncy. I like it.
Sweden
John Lundvik
Too Late For Love
🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 (5/5)
I like this one.
Austria
PÆNDA
Limits
🇦🇹🇦🇹🇦🇹 (3/5)
It's not bad, but it's not really a favorite.
Croatia
Roko
The Dream
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·ðŸ‡ðŸ‡· (3/5)
Nothing special.
Malta
Michela
Chameleon
🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹🇲🇹 (5/5)
It's a bouncy and happy sounding song, with fun bright staging. On the favorite list.
Lithuania
Jurij Veklenko
Run With The Lions
🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹🇱🇹 (5/5)
I'm surprised but I really like this one.
Russia
Sergey Lazarev
Scream
🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (3/5)
I don't really like it.
Albania
Jonida Maliqi
Ktheju tokës
🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱 (4/5)
Points for the non-English language, but I don't see this as a winner.
Norway
KEiiNO
Spirit in the Sky
🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 (5/5)
More fun than I thought it was going to be.
The Netherlands
Duncan Laurence
Arcade
🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱 (4/5)
It's definitely a pop radio song.
North Macedonia
Tamara Todevska
Proud
🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰 (3/5)
It's a nice message, but not a favorite song.
Azerbaijan
Chingiz
Truth
🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿 (4/5)
The robotic arms are cool. Not bad, but not a favorite either.
Congratulations to all the competitors at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Good Luck to everyone who has moved on to the Final.
My Top Ten:
1. Denmark
2. Latvia
3. Norway
4. Lithuania
5. Sweden
6. Malta
7. The Netherlands
8. Ireland
9. Romania
10. Moldova
Thanks for joining me tonight.
See you on Sunday for the Final.
Tigger
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Review of Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final No. 1
It's Eurovision time again, and Tigger is excited to review the Semi-Finals and Final. Due to the time difference, we get the broadcast later than Europe, so everyone who's interested will already know the results by the time they read this, but Tigger has fun reviewing it anyway. We hope all the readers have as much fun reliving the performances.
Oliver
Hello Everyone!
Eurovision 2019 is here and I am a bundle of bounces that cannot be contained! The local Australian station is airing the Semi-Finals on Thursday and Friday nights, followed by the Final on Sunday night. (The 2019 Australian Federal Election is on Saturday, so there will be a break from Eurovision that night.)
Because there is an Australian competitor this year, try as we might, we were unable to avoid spoilers from Semi-Final No. 1. I am sorry I know the result of the Australian entrant, but I am going to review the Semi-Final as though I do not know.
As in past years, I am going to rate each entrant by awarding 1 to 5 flags, then listing my top 10 at the end. Results are available at other sites, including Eurovision 2019, so I will not be listing the final results on my reviews.
Come and join me as we watch Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final No. 1:
Toy wasn't my choice last year, but I do have to say this new staging for the performance seems to fit the song better than the performance when it won last year.
The video postcards are fun but I still miss the ones when the performers made the county flags out of things. I do like that the postcards are all in places in Israel, rather than the performers' home countries. That's a fun twist on them.
Cyprus
Tamta
Replay
🇨🇾🇨🇾
This one is not doing anything for me.
Montenegro
D mol
Heaven
🇲🇪🇲🇪🇲🇪🇲🇪
Not terrible; I like the instrumental parts of the song best.
Finland
Darude featuring Sebastian Rejman
Look Away
🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮
Nothing special.
Poland
Tulia
Fire of Love (Pali siȩ)
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
Singing in the native language always gets extra points from me. It was fun.
Slovenia
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl
Sebi
🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮
Another one in their native language, I'm always happy for those. Not bad.
Czech Republic
Lake Malawi
Friend of a Friend
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
I like that it's poppy and bouncy.
Hungary
Joci Pápai
Az én apám
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡º
I really like this one, absolutely a favorite from tonight.
Belarus
SENA
Like It
🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾
I don't dislike it.
Serbia
Nevena Božović
Kruna
🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
I wish it weren't quite so angry.
Belgium
Eliot
Wake Up
🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪
Not bad, in fact, I really like it.
Georgia
Oto Nemsadze
Keep on Going
🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪
It's interesting, but I don't think the angry tone fits the words.
Australia
Kate Miller-Heidke
Zero Gravity
🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
I like it more now than in the Australia Decides competition, but those flexible stnads make me very nervous.
Iceland
Hatari
Hatiò mun sigra
🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸
Another angry song; it's a bit scary in sound and performance.
Estonia
Victor Crone
Storm
🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪
Ohh, this one is definitely a favorite!
Portugal
Conan Osiris
Telemóveis
🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹
This is weird. The Australian commentators said it was weird, and they were right.
Greece
Katherine Duska
Better Love
🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
I am surprised how much I like this one.
San Marino
Serhat
Say Na Na Na
🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲
It's fun and bouncy, but not my pick for winner.
It's been an interesting combination of musical styles and genres through this Semi-Final. I hope it continues in Semi-Final No. 2.
My top ten:
1. Estonia
2. Hungary
3. Australia
4. Greece
5. Belgium
6. Czech Republic
7. Poland
8. Montenegro
9. Slovenia
10. Portugal
Thanks for joining me.
See you tomorrow for Semi-Final No. 2
Tigger
Oliver
Hello Everyone!
Eurovision 2019 is here and I am a bundle of bounces that cannot be contained! The local Australian station is airing the Semi-Finals on Thursday and Friday nights, followed by the Final on Sunday night. (The 2019 Australian Federal Election is on Saturday, so there will be a break from Eurovision that night.)
Because there is an Australian competitor this year, try as we might, we were unable to avoid spoilers from Semi-Final No. 1. I am sorry I know the result of the Australian entrant, but I am going to review the Semi-Final as though I do not know.
As in past years, I am going to rate each entrant by awarding 1 to 5 flags, then listing my top 10 at the end. Results are available at other sites, including Eurovision 2019, so I will not be listing the final results on my reviews.
Come and join me as we watch Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final No. 1:
Toy wasn't my choice last year, but I do have to say this new staging for the performance seems to fit the song better than the performance when it won last year.
The video postcards are fun but I still miss the ones when the performers made the county flags out of things. I do like that the postcards are all in places in Israel, rather than the performers' home countries. That's a fun twist on them.
Cyprus
Tamta
Replay
🇨🇾🇨🇾
This one is not doing anything for me.
Montenegro
D mol
Heaven
🇲🇪🇲🇪🇲🇪🇲🇪
Not terrible; I like the instrumental parts of the song best.
Finland
Darude featuring Sebastian Rejman
Look Away
🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮
Nothing special.
Poland
Tulia
Fire of Love (Pali siȩ)
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
Singing in the native language always gets extra points from me. It was fun.
Slovenia
Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl
Sebi
🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮
Another one in their native language, I'm always happy for those. Not bad.
Czech Republic
Lake Malawi
Friend of a Friend
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿
I like that it's poppy and bouncy.
Hungary
Joci Pápai
Az én apám
ðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡ðŸ‡º
I really like this one, absolutely a favorite from tonight.
Belarus
SENA
Like It
🇧🇾🇧🇾🇧🇾
I don't dislike it.
Serbia
Nevena Božović
Kruna
🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
I wish it weren't quite so angry.
Belgium
Eliot
Wake Up
🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪
Not bad, in fact, I really like it.
Georgia
Oto Nemsadze
Keep on Going
🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪
It's interesting, but I don't think the angry tone fits the words.
Australia
Kate Miller-Heidke
Zero Gravity
🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
I like it more now than in the Australia Decides competition, but those flexible stnads make me very nervous.
Iceland
Hatari
Hatiò mun sigra
🇮🇸🇮🇸🇮🇸
Another angry song; it's a bit scary in sound and performance.
Estonia
Victor Crone
Storm
🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪
Ohh, this one is definitely a favorite!
Portugal
Conan Osiris
Telemóveis
🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹
This is weird. The Australian commentators said it was weird, and they were right.
Greece
Katherine Duska
Better Love
🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
I am surprised how much I like this one.
San Marino
Serhat
Say Na Na Na
🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲🇸🇲
It's fun and bouncy, but not my pick for winner.
It's been an interesting combination of musical styles and genres through this Semi-Final. I hope it continues in Semi-Final No. 2.
My top ten:
1. Estonia
2. Hungary
3. Australia
4. Greece
5. Belgium
6. Czech Republic
7. Poland
8. Montenegro
9. Slovenia
10. Portugal
Thanks for joining me.
See you tomorrow for Semi-Final No. 2
Tigger
Friday, May 3, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Wakestone Hall
Wakestone Hall
by Judith Rossell
Wakestone Hall is the final Stella Montgomery Intrigue. Stella has been sent off to a boarding school by her aunts and finds an exciting time. As with the other Stella Montgomery books, there is a great adventure as the main part of the story. It's a fun, thrilling kind of adventure, and the story came to a very satisfying ending, but this was not as strong a book as the first one in the series.
I preferred the mystery of this book to the mystery of the first and second ones in the series, but this book did not have the same feel as the first one. On the whole, this book was better than the second adventure, but not as exciting or fun as the first one. I'm having a hard time saying more than this without spoiling the book for future readers, and I do not want to do that.
Stella is an intriguing character, and one I would like to call a friend, but the ups and downs of the adventure make it hard to figure out how to make friends with Stella. It was much easier to make friends with the supporting characters in this book, and unfortunately readers do not have nearly enough time with them.
Ultimately, the Stella Montgomery Intrigue was a fun and satisfying read, but this reader still has some remaining unanswered questions, and really wishes the books were more even and consistent. The series is definitely worth a read, but not as much fun or as engaging as other, similar series I have read.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea, with the leaves kept for reading
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Judith Rossell
Wakestone Hall is the final Stella Montgomery Intrigue. Stella has been sent off to a boarding school by her aunts and finds an exciting time. As with the other Stella Montgomery books, there is a great adventure as the main part of the story. It's a fun, thrilling kind of adventure, and the story came to a very satisfying ending, but this was not as strong a book as the first one in the series.
I preferred the mystery of this book to the mystery of the first and second ones in the series, but this book did not have the same feel as the first one. On the whole, this book was better than the second adventure, but not as exciting or fun as the first one. I'm having a hard time saying more than this without spoiling the book for future readers, and I do not want to do that.
Stella is an intriguing character, and one I would like to call a friend, but the ups and downs of the adventure make it hard to figure out how to make friends with Stella. It was much easier to make friends with the supporting characters in this book, and unfortunately readers do not have nearly enough time with them.
Ultimately, the Stella Montgomery Intrigue was a fun and satisfying read, but this reader still has some remaining unanswered questions, and really wishes the books were more even and consistent. The series is definitely worth a read, but not as much fun or as engaging as other, similar series I have read.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea, with the leaves kept for reading
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monday, April 29, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Market Basing Mystery
The Market Basing Mystery
by Agatha Christie
It's time for another visit with Hercule Poirot. I read The Market Basing Mystery as a palate cleanser between finishing Hotspur and beginning Wakestone Hall.
It was a fun mystery, quickly solved by Poirot and then related to the reader. As with all short stories featuring favorite characters, I felt it was too short a visit. But that was not the fault of the short story, more of this reader's desire to prolong visits with old friends.
The Market Basing Mystery is a locked-room mystery, which are always fun for the reader to try and figure out. I had a guess, but I did not need Poirot to explain it to me. But getting to the end was fun, if too quick.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of tisane with a plate of fancy chocolates
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Agatha Christie
It's time for another visit with Hercule Poirot. I read The Market Basing Mystery as a palate cleanser between finishing Hotspur and beginning Wakestone Hall.
It was a fun mystery, quickly solved by Poirot and then related to the reader. As with all short stories featuring favorite characters, I felt it was too short a visit. But that was not the fault of the short story, more of this reader's desire to prolong visits with old friends.
The Market Basing Mystery is a locked-room mystery, which are always fun for the reader to try and figure out. I had a guess, but I did not need Poirot to explain it to me. But getting to the end was fun, if too quick.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of tisane with a plate of fancy chocolates
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: Hotspur
Hotspur
by Rita Mae Brown
Hotspur is the second mystery in the "Sister" Jane Arnold Foxhunting Mysteries. Before there are objections: yes it is foxhunting, but it's American foxhunting which chases the fox to ground, not to death. And, as with other Rita Mae Brown mysteries, the animals, including the foxes are characters in the mystery and have insight the Humans do not.
The mystery of Hotspur is an historical one, in that the initial murder(s) took place well before the action of the book. It was an interesting mystery, but in the end, neither the historic mystery nor the current one were really enough to make me want to read the book. They were, frankly, lackluster.
My reading this book through to the end was all down to the animal characters. The animal characters are the main reason I read Rita Mae Brown's mysteries. Her weaving them and the animal insight into the story, making them important rather than just background description is magical. I'm always eager to get into the latest, next-in-series to have a great visit with the animals. Those are definitely the best parts. And I am glad this series features as many animal characters as her (and Sneaky Pie Brown's) Mrs. Murphy series.
While I haven't read further into the series and I can't really see how this mystery fits in the series to carry an overarching plot forward, I don't think it is strictly necessary to read. The foxhunting information and glossary are interesting, but the book is not worth it just for that. I will continue to read the series, for the visits with the animals if nothing else.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Cups of warming tea after a cubbing run with a hearty plate at the post-hunt breakfast
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Rita Mae Brown
Hotspur is the second mystery in the "Sister" Jane Arnold Foxhunting Mysteries. Before there are objections: yes it is foxhunting, but it's American foxhunting which chases the fox to ground, not to death. And, as with other Rita Mae Brown mysteries, the animals, including the foxes are characters in the mystery and have insight the Humans do not.
The mystery of Hotspur is an historical one, in that the initial murder(s) took place well before the action of the book. It was an interesting mystery, but in the end, neither the historic mystery nor the current one were really enough to make me want to read the book. They were, frankly, lackluster.
My reading this book through to the end was all down to the animal characters. The animal characters are the main reason I read Rita Mae Brown's mysteries. Her weaving them and the animal insight into the story, making them important rather than just background description is magical. I'm always eager to get into the latest, next-in-series to have a great visit with the animals. Those are definitely the best parts. And I am glad this series features as many animal characters as her (and Sneaky Pie Brown's) Mrs. Murphy series.
While I haven't read further into the series and I can't really see how this mystery fits in the series to carry an overarching plot forward, I don't think it is strictly necessary to read. The foxhunting information and glossary are interesting, but the book is not worth it just for that. I will continue to read the series, for the visits with the animals if nothing else.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Cups of warming tea after a cubbing run with a hearty plate at the post-hunt breakfast
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Friday, April 19, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Wormwood Mire
Wormwood Mire
by Judith Rossell
Wormwood Mire is the second part of the Stella Montgomery Intrigue. In this one Stella is sent by her aunts to an old family house to study and live with her cousins. I'm not certain why she was sent to live with them for such a short period of time, but apparently it was necessary in the world of the book for some unexplained reason, presumably beyond just the aunts' desire to rid themselves of their troublesome orphaned niece Stella.
The book is interesting and continues Stella's search for information about herself, but there is no resolution to Stella's search in this installment of the story. The lack of resolution is both interesting and frustration. It absolutely means that the reader has to read all three books in the series. Many other series I read are written such that each installment has a self-contained element, so that if you read only that book, there is a sense of resolution of the plot, and any cliffhangers are secondary to the main plot of the story of that book. With the Stella Montgomery Intrigues, the orverarching plot is the main plot and the individual installment plots are the sub-plots to the books. This is somewhat unsatisfying and frustrating for the reader. I'm lucky enough to have all three books in the series, but many other readers may not be in that position and the struggle to find the other books may put them off reading this series, or in fact other series by this author.
Overall, Wormwood Mire was an interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying intrigue. The colored print in the copy I have was nice, but on the whole this installment in the Intrigues was not as much fun as the previous one. Anya was a great character and as a reader I would have preferred to get to know her more, she reminded me a great deal of Lyra Belacqua's dæmon Pantalamion, who was my favorite character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. The other characters were interesting, but extremely secondary to Stella. There is no question this series is Stella's story and other characters are only there to assist Stella in her search, which leaves them to be a bit one-dimmensional.
One Bear's Opinion: Three cups of hot chocolate with some toast and jam
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Judith Rossell
Wormwood Mire is the second part of the Stella Montgomery Intrigue. In this one Stella is sent by her aunts to an old family house to study and live with her cousins. I'm not certain why she was sent to live with them for such a short period of time, but apparently it was necessary in the world of the book for some unexplained reason, presumably beyond just the aunts' desire to rid themselves of their troublesome orphaned niece Stella.
The book is interesting and continues Stella's search for information about herself, but there is no resolution to Stella's search in this installment of the story. The lack of resolution is both interesting and frustration. It absolutely means that the reader has to read all three books in the series. Many other series I read are written such that each installment has a self-contained element, so that if you read only that book, there is a sense of resolution of the plot, and any cliffhangers are secondary to the main plot of the story of that book. With the Stella Montgomery Intrigues, the orverarching plot is the main plot and the individual installment plots are the sub-plots to the books. This is somewhat unsatisfying and frustrating for the reader. I'm lucky enough to have all three books in the series, but many other readers may not be in that position and the struggle to find the other books may put them off reading this series, or in fact other series by this author.
Overall, Wormwood Mire was an interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying intrigue. The colored print in the copy I have was nice, but on the whole this installment in the Intrigues was not as much fun as the previous one. Anya was a great character and as a reader I would have preferred to get to know her more, she reminded me a great deal of Lyra Belacqua's dæmon Pantalamion, who was my favorite character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. The other characters were interesting, but extremely secondary to Stella. There is no question this series is Stella's story and other characters are only there to assist Stella in her search, which leaves them to be a bit one-dimmensional.
One Bear's Opinion: Three cups of hot chocolate with some toast and jam
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, April 14, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Math Inspectors #2
The Math Inspectors #2: The Case of the Mysterious Mr. Jekyll
by Daniel Kenney & Emily Boever
The Math Inspectors are back, solving mysteries in Ravensburg. This one was set around Halloween and involved vandalism being done by someone who tagged it as "Mr. Jekyll."
It was a fun mystery to solve and there were plenty of misdirects and red herrings throughout, but not as much math as in the first one. I was a bit disappointed because the first in the series was such fun to play along and use math with the kids to solve the mystery. This one had math, but it wasn't as much a part of the mystery or solution as in the first book. I was really hoping this series would continue as a kind of Numb3rs in print for middle readers. I'm still going to check out the remaining books in the series, but I am not quite as excited about the rest as I was before reading this one.
Overall, it was a fun, easy, quick read, and without much math at all, even nervous math-phobic readers need not be put off by the title/series name. I'm still recommending the series, but with the caveat that it might not be as exciting and fun in terms of math as I had hoped based on the first book.
One Bear's Opinion: Four big glasses of lemonade and a couple of orders of Wiener Pups for sharing
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Daniel Kenney & Emily Boever
The Math Inspectors are back, solving mysteries in Ravensburg. This one was set around Halloween and involved vandalism being done by someone who tagged it as "Mr. Jekyll."
It was a fun mystery to solve and there were plenty of misdirects and red herrings throughout, but not as much math as in the first one. I was a bit disappointed because the first in the series was such fun to play along and use math with the kids to solve the mystery. This one had math, but it wasn't as much a part of the mystery or solution as in the first book. I was really hoping this series would continue as a kind of Numb3rs in print for middle readers. I'm still going to check out the remaining books in the series, but I am not quite as excited about the rest as I was before reading this one.
Overall, it was a fun, easy, quick read, and without much math at all, even nervous math-phobic readers need not be put off by the title/series name. I'm still recommending the series, but with the caveat that it might not be as exciting and fun in terms of math as I had hoped based on the first book.
One Bear's Opinion: Four big glasses of lemonade and a couple of orders of Wiener Pups for sharing
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: X Marks the Scot
X Marks the Scot
by Kaitlyn Dunnett
It's time for another fun visit with Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin and her friends/family. I usually enjoy my visits in Moosetookalook. This one was especially fun because it involved a trip to Nova Scotia, one of my favorite places in the world to visit.
The mystery itself was fairly easy to figure it out. I have the basics pegged pretty early, even before there was a murder! But it was still a fun read and fun to find out I was correct from the beginning with my guess, though I do admit that my guess for the motive was wrong.
I do wish Liss spent more time working, but that is a problem with many amateur-sleuth mysteries. Also, the small-town setting lends itself to the newcomer being either the murderer or the victim, so in those ways the series can become quite formulaic, but it's still great fun to spend time with Liss.
Overall it was a fun, quick read. If you've never read one of the Moosetookaloook mysteries, they are great for escapism reading, nothing too heavy and nothing too complicated as far as the plots; just fun reads with friendly characters.
One Bear's Opinion: Four cups of Scottish Breakfast Tea and a plate of shortbread from an old family recipe
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Kaitlyn Dunnett
It's time for another fun visit with Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin and her friends/family. I usually enjoy my visits in Moosetookalook. This one was especially fun because it involved a trip to Nova Scotia, one of my favorite places in the world to visit.
The mystery itself was fairly easy to figure it out. I have the basics pegged pretty early, even before there was a murder! But it was still a fun read and fun to find out I was correct from the beginning with my guess, though I do admit that my guess for the motive was wrong.
I do wish Liss spent more time working, but that is a problem with many amateur-sleuth mysteries. Also, the small-town setting lends itself to the newcomer being either the murderer or the victim, so in those ways the series can become quite formulaic, but it's still great fun to spend time with Liss.
Overall it was a fun, quick read. If you've never read one of the Moosetookaloook mysteries, they are great for escapism reading, nothing too heavy and nothing too complicated as far as the plots; just fun reads with friendly characters.
One Bear's Opinion: Four cups of Scottish Breakfast Tea and a plate of shortbread from an old family recipe
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Saturday, April 6, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Just Desserts
Just Desserts
by G.A. McKevett
I have been picking up and putting this book back on the shelf for years at the bookstore. I finally got a copy for my Kindle when it was on sale for $1.00. I am now sorry I didn't buy it all those years ago. Savannah is a great character and I have a feeling she will become a good friend.
Interestingly, this is the fourth book titled Just Desserts I have read, and only one was a cookbook! It's a popular title, so let me make sure you know, this is a review of the first book in G.A. McKevett's Savannah Reid mystery series.
I was a bit worried as the book started darker than I thought it would, and it took a while to reveal itself as a cozy mystery. But sticking with it proved to be well worth it. Savannah and her friends are a fun group and I am looking forward to getting to know them better as I work through the series.
The mystery was complicated enough to keep the reader guessing but not so complicated as to put the reader off. There were a couple of subplots, and one of them I thought wrapped up quickly, but sometimes I find that with books that have multiple sub-plots.
Overall it was a solid first-in-series and I am really glad that I finally went ahead and not only bought this Just Desserts, but read it too.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Coffee with a big slice of Black Forest Cake.
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by G.A. McKevett
I have been picking up and putting this book back on the shelf for years at the bookstore. I finally got a copy for my Kindle when it was on sale for $1.00. I am now sorry I didn't buy it all those years ago. Savannah is a great character and I have a feeling she will become a good friend.
Interestingly, this is the fourth book titled Just Desserts I have read, and only one was a cookbook! It's a popular title, so let me make sure you know, this is a review of the first book in G.A. McKevett's Savannah Reid mystery series.
I was a bit worried as the book started darker than I thought it would, and it took a while to reveal itself as a cozy mystery. But sticking with it proved to be well worth it. Savannah and her friends are a fun group and I am looking forward to getting to know them better as I work through the series.
The mystery was complicated enough to keep the reader guessing but not so complicated as to put the reader off. There were a couple of subplots, and one of them I thought wrapped up quickly, but sometimes I find that with books that have multiple sub-plots.
Overall it was a solid first-in-series and I am really glad that I finally went ahead and not only bought this Just Desserts, but read it too.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Coffee with a big slice of Black Forest Cake.
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
by Agatha Christie
This was a one-off version of this Hercule Poirot short story, not a part of a larger novel-length collection.
I had seen the dramatization of this story starring my favorite Poirot ever, David Suchet, so I knew what was going to happen as I read it, but it was still fun to read the original story. I can report the adaptation was mostly faithful to the story as written, which is always nice when you are reading something after you have seen the dramatization.
It was a quick mystery, that does not actually involve a murder, so it’s a fun, non-violent read. It would be perfect for a waiting room or an airport departure lounge; the kind of story it’s easy enough to get lost in, but not so long that you’ll miss hearing your name/flight called.
Hercule Poirot is always a good read and this one is no different.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five cups of tea with a hearty serving of Christmas pudding, without the ruby
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Agatha Christie
This was a one-off version of this Hercule Poirot short story, not a part of a larger novel-length collection.
I had seen the dramatization of this story starring my favorite Poirot ever, David Suchet, so I knew what was going to happen as I read it, but it was still fun to read the original story. I can report the adaptation was mostly faithful to the story as written, which is always nice when you are reading something after you have seen the dramatization.
It was a quick mystery, that does not actually involve a murder, so it’s a fun, non-violent read. It would be perfect for a waiting room or an airport departure lounge; the kind of story it’s easy enough to get lost in, but not so long that you’ll miss hearing your name/flight called.
Hercule Poirot is always a good read and this one is no different.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five cups of tea with a hearty serving of Christmas pudding, without the ruby
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
One Bear's Opinion on: The Knight of Maison-Rouge
The Knight of Maison-Rouge
by Alexandre Dumas
Dumas has been one of my favorite authors since I tore through The Three Musketeers in college when we should have been studying for finals. (Honestly, I think I did better on the finals because of the distraction.) The Knight of Maison-Rouge is one of his lesser-known books, and I am glad I were lucky enough to find a copy when I did.
This book is set during the Reign of Terror, after King Louis XVI was beheaded but before Marie Antoinette suffered the same fate. It’s based on the real “Affair of the Carnation” in which notes were passed to the Queen in captivity through a carnation. Putting notes into the carnation was ingenious, though in the book, as in real life, the attempt failed. One of the best things about Dumas’ fiction to me is the fact that he based it on real-life events, so while it’s not an accurate history lesson, it can at least prompt readers to go find out more about the real story. And weaving real people into the narrative is always fun. Many authors before and since have used this device.
Overall the book was very good. Each time I come back to Dumas’ works, I forget what a good story-teller he was and how the reader gets caught up in the story. I guess in some ways that was necessary because of the serialized way the novels were originally published, but this reader finds it engaging and very easy to be drawn through the story.
While I missed my friends from The Three Musketeers, I was happy to make friends of the characters in this novel. Maurice and Lorin were likable, which made me want to root for them to succeed through the book. The villains were completely unlikable and the reader really does want to kick them all, if not run them through with a sword.
I am not sure this qualifies as “great literature,” and I am not sure this should be the Dumas work chosen for required reading, if in fact one is at all, but it’s well worth the read and a galloping good journey through a vicious period in France’s history.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five glasses of wine, followed by another five — just trust me
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Alexandre Dumas
Dumas has been one of my favorite authors since I tore through The Three Musketeers in college when we should have been studying for finals. (Honestly, I think I did better on the finals because of the distraction.) The Knight of Maison-Rouge is one of his lesser-known books, and I am glad I were lucky enough to find a copy when I did.
This book is set during the Reign of Terror, after King Louis XVI was beheaded but before Marie Antoinette suffered the same fate. It’s based on the real “Affair of the Carnation” in which notes were passed to the Queen in captivity through a carnation. Putting notes into the carnation was ingenious, though in the book, as in real life, the attempt failed. One of the best things about Dumas’ fiction to me is the fact that he based it on real-life events, so while it’s not an accurate history lesson, it can at least prompt readers to go find out more about the real story. And weaving real people into the narrative is always fun. Many authors before and since have used this device.
Overall the book was very good. Each time I come back to Dumas’ works, I forget what a good story-teller he was and how the reader gets caught up in the story. I guess in some ways that was necessary because of the serialized way the novels were originally published, but this reader finds it engaging and very easy to be drawn through the story.
While I missed my friends from The Three Musketeers, I was happy to make friends of the characters in this novel. Maurice and Lorin were likable, which made me want to root for them to succeed through the book. The villains were completely unlikable and the reader really does want to kick them all, if not run them through with a sword.
I am not sure this qualifies as “great literature,” and I am not sure this should be the Dumas work chosen for required reading, if in fact one is at all, but it’s well worth the read and a galloping good journey through a vicious period in France’s history.
One Bear’s Opinion: Five glasses of wine, followed by another five — just trust me
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Thursday, March 7, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Inheritance and Gone Before Christmas
The Inheritance
Gone Before Christmas
by Charles Finch
I'm combining the reviews of The Inheritance and Gone Before Christmas together because I read them back-to-back and the stories follow each other in the timeline of the Charles Lenox series.
The Inheritance is a bit of a disjointed mystery in which the subplots feel like them may come together at the end of the book but never intersect beyond involving the characters in the book. As far as the mysteries go, the main one was interesting and did keep me guessing as a reader, though it was not nearly as interesting as the subplot. The subplot was treated as a secondary or even tertiary storyline, but was the far more interesting plot in the book. I do hope the author comes back to that story to wrap it up a bit better, as we felt there were some loose ends.
I liked learning more about Charles and his early life, and perhaps this book was to set the reader up for the next-in-series which are actually prequels to the current story rather than a continuation of the timeline in this book. I have no objection to the prequels, but I do hope the overarching story is brought back to the current timeline soon, as I said it felt like there were some loose ends, not exactly a cliffhanger ending, but definitely some unfinished threads.
Gone Before Christmas was an easy to read short story following on from The Inheritance. It was a fairly easy to solve mystery, but it was fun to read. I was pleased with the story, though I found faults with it as well. Carrying on from the events in The Inheritance, it seemed the author had completely forgotten a bit of the story in The Inheritance which impacted one character greatly. I was disappointed by that. It was a big point in the subplot of the previous novel, and should not have been either forgotten or easily glossed over without mention.
Overall they were fun books, and quite enjoyable visits with friends, which is what I want in series books. And maybe I am being too picky a reader; maybe I just pick out things others miss. I am looking forward to the next-in-series prequels and learning more about Charles Lenox in his early days as a detective.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with a plate of Christmas Seed Cakes
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Gone Before Christmas
by Charles Finch
I'm combining the reviews of The Inheritance and Gone Before Christmas together because I read them back-to-back and the stories follow each other in the timeline of the Charles Lenox series.
The Inheritance is a bit of a disjointed mystery in which the subplots feel like them may come together at the end of the book but never intersect beyond involving the characters in the book. As far as the mysteries go, the main one was interesting and did keep me guessing as a reader, though it was not nearly as interesting as the subplot. The subplot was treated as a secondary or even tertiary storyline, but was the far more interesting plot in the book. I do hope the author comes back to that story to wrap it up a bit better, as we felt there were some loose ends.
I liked learning more about Charles and his early life, and perhaps this book was to set the reader up for the next-in-series which are actually prequels to the current story rather than a continuation of the timeline in this book. I have no objection to the prequels, but I do hope the overarching story is brought back to the current timeline soon, as I said it felt like there were some loose ends, not exactly a cliffhanger ending, but definitely some unfinished threads.
Gone Before Christmas was an easy to read short story following on from The Inheritance. It was a fairly easy to solve mystery, but it was fun to read. I was pleased with the story, though I found faults with it as well. Carrying on from the events in The Inheritance, it seemed the author had completely forgotten a bit of the story in The Inheritance which impacted one character greatly. I was disappointed by that. It was a big point in the subplot of the previous novel, and should not have been either forgotten or easily glossed over without mention.
Overall they were fun books, and quite enjoyable visits with friends, which is what I want in series books. And maybe I am being too picky a reader; maybe I just pick out things others miss. I am looking forward to the next-in-series prequels and learning more about Charles Lenox in his early days as a detective.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Cups of Tea with a plate of Christmas Seed Cakes
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, February 24, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Last Chance Olive Ranch
The Last Chance Olive Ranch
by Susan Wittig Albert
The Last Chance Olive Ranch was an interesting read, if only for the tidbits and trivia about olives and olive oils. I enjoys the visit with friends, but felt the book was unfinished somehow. The mysteries were wrapped up and solved, but because the book dealt with two very different plots, it felt disjointed and incomplete.
The idea of two different storylines and two different leading characters was good, but both fell flat in the execution. Neither storyline felt worthy of their own full books, but they didn't feel like they worked well together. All through the book, I kept waiting for the storylines to be tied together by more than just the characters talking about their adventures to each other. I felt until almost the end that the author really should have woven the stories together rather than running them as independent stories simultaneously.
This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book, I did. It's always fun to visit with China and Ruby, but this one did feel like a rushed visit where the people are distracted, instead of a nice visit with old friends.
Overall the book was good, but there was something missing.
One Bear's Opinion: Four glasses of Shiraz and a hearty slice of Olive Oil Cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Susan Wittig Albert
The Last Chance Olive Ranch was an interesting read, if only for the tidbits and trivia about olives and olive oils. I enjoys the visit with friends, but felt the book was unfinished somehow. The mysteries were wrapped up and solved, but because the book dealt with two very different plots, it felt disjointed and incomplete.
The idea of two different storylines and two different leading characters was good, but both fell flat in the execution. Neither storyline felt worthy of their own full books, but they didn't feel like they worked well together. All through the book, I kept waiting for the storylines to be tied together by more than just the characters talking about their adventures to each other. I felt until almost the end that the author really should have woven the stories together rather than running them as independent stories simultaneously.
This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book, I did. It's always fun to visit with China and Ruby, but this one did feel like a rushed visit where the people are distracted, instead of a nice visit with old friends.
Overall the book was good, but there was something missing.
One Bear's Opinion: Four glasses of Shiraz and a hearty slice of Olive Oil Cake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, February 17, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
I had seen and heard about Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries for a while. Not everything I had heard was good, so it was harder for me to go into the series with an open mind.
I have only read the first book in the series, but that was a good introduction and I am happy to continue with the series, which is good because I have a fair number of them on my Kindle (picked up when they were on sale for $1.99) and I would hate to waste space on terrible books. I am trying not to be influenced by things I have read about the way the author takes the series. I really want to learn that for myself and see if I agree with the comments.
Anyway, to this book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. It was a fun mystery, and the amateur detective has a job, which she seems to actually do more than she investigates. That's very good, as in a lot of amateur detective series, the sleuth spends far more time sleuthing than working at the job they hold. It was refreshing to see the sleuth spend time at work...and more than just popping in to check on how the employees are managing.
The mystery was interesting and while I had the motive picked fairly early, I was surprised by the murderer. It was a fun read, and the cookie recipes were a nice bonus. I may even try one or two.
One Bear's Opinion: Four plates of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies and a cup of good coffee (not tea!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Joanne Fluke
I had seen and heard about Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries for a while. Not everything I had heard was good, so it was harder for me to go into the series with an open mind.
I have only read the first book in the series, but that was a good introduction and I am happy to continue with the series, which is good because I have a fair number of them on my Kindle (picked up when they were on sale for $1.99) and I would hate to waste space on terrible books. I am trying not to be influenced by things I have read about the way the author takes the series. I really want to learn that for myself and see if I agree with the comments.
Anyway, to this book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. It was a fun mystery, and the amateur detective has a job, which she seems to actually do more than she investigates. That's very good, as in a lot of amateur detective series, the sleuth spends far more time sleuthing than working at the job they hold. It was refreshing to see the sleuth spend time at work...and more than just popping in to check on how the employees are managing.
The mystery was interesting and while I had the motive picked fairly early, I was surprised by the murderer. It was a fun read, and the cookie recipes were a nice bonus. I may even try one or two.
One Bear's Opinion: Four plates of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies and a cup of good coffee (not tea!)
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Blood Orange
Blood Orange
by Susan Wittig Albert
It's time for an adventure with China Bayles. Blood Orange was a very good mystery, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought I had the murderer pegged pretty early on, but that guess was incorrect. My second guess was closer, but still not the murderer, so it was fun to read through to the.
I do have to admit to flipping to the end of the book about a third of the way through, because one of the subplots was making me quite nervous about the characters. Even having read the last chapter, I was still in the dark about the murderer, which made it both reassuring and fun to read to the end.
I always enjoy the information at the opening of the chapters about plants. The author, and China Bayles, take great care to research the plants mentioned in the books. I also appreciate the warning at the end to do your own research into using the plants mentioned, particularly in the case of herbs mentioned for medicinal uses.
Overall it was a fun read, but not quite as good as others in the series. I am a bit worried about the paranormal element that has been introduced going forward in the series. I am not a fan of the current trend toward magical/ghost mysteries and I hope that my favorite series are not jumping on the bandwagon, especially when the ongoing series already have their own, unique, draws.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Glasses of Strawberry Shrub with a plate of shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Susan Wittig Albert
It's time for an adventure with China Bayles. Blood Orange was a very good mystery, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought I had the murderer pegged pretty early on, but that guess was incorrect. My second guess was closer, but still not the murderer, so it was fun to read through to the.
I do have to admit to flipping to the end of the book about a third of the way through, because one of the subplots was making me quite nervous about the characters. Even having read the last chapter, I was still in the dark about the murderer, which made it both reassuring and fun to read to the end.
I always enjoy the information at the opening of the chapters about plants. The author, and China Bayles, take great care to research the plants mentioned in the books. I also appreciate the warning at the end to do your own research into using the plants mentioned, particularly in the case of herbs mentioned for medicinal uses.
Overall it was a fun read, but not quite as good as others in the series. I am a bit worried about the paranormal element that has been introduced going forward in the series. I am not a fan of the current trend toward magical/ghost mysteries and I hope that my favorite series are not jumping on the bandwagon, especially when the ongoing series already have their own, unique, draws.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Glasses of Strawberry Shrub with a plate of shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: The Math Inspectors #1
The Math Inspectors #1: The Case of the Claymore Diamond
by Daniel Kenney & Emily Boever
Okay, this was a Kindle freebie, and the editing showed that it was. I didn't get notice there was an updated version of the book until after I had read it, so I do not know if the errors I picked out were corrected.
Bad part out of the way, let's move on to the fun bits, because this was a fun book to read. The premise is a group of children from a detective agency, but use math to figure out the mysteries. And the reader cam play along with the kids. The word problems are there and all the reader has to do is figure them out.
I really enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the math aspect and the mystery was clever, though I figured it out well before the kids or adults in the book. On the whole it seems to be the beginning of a fun series. I will have to check out the rest of the series, even if they are not free!
Just in case you're worried about the math, there were no daunting word problems and the characters walk the readers through working them out, so you will not be stumped for long.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Mondo Milkshakes and a giant chocolate cupcake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Daniel Kenney & Emily Boever
Okay, this was a Kindle freebie, and the editing showed that it was. I didn't get notice there was an updated version of the book until after I had read it, so I do not know if the errors I picked out were corrected.
Bad part out of the way, let's move on to the fun bits, because this was a fun book to read. The premise is a group of children from a detective agency, but use math to figure out the mysteries. And the reader cam play along with the kids. The word problems are there and all the reader has to do is figure them out.
I really enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the math aspect and the mystery was clever, though I figured it out well before the kids or adults in the book. On the whole it seems to be the beginning of a fun series. I will have to check out the rest of the series, even if they are not free!
Just in case you're worried about the math, there were no daunting word problems and the characters walk the readers through working them out, so you will not be stumped for long.
One Bear's Opinion: Four Mondo Milkshakes and a giant chocolate cupcake
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Monday, January 28, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: All Fudged Up
All Fudged Up
by Nancy Coco
This was the second mystery in a row I've read that was set around a candy shop. It was hard not to compare the two as I was reading them. This one was set on Mackinac Island, Michigan, which I have heard of, but never visited. And I certainly didn't know it was known for fudge, but I guess it must be in some way, as "Mackinac Island Fudge" was the 6th suggestion when I started typing "Mackinac Island" into the Google Search Window. You learn something new everyday.
Anyway to the mystery. The opening idea for the series is that the main character has inherited a combination hotel/fudge shop and is trying to figure out how she can keep the family business open, which, as it turns out is very similar to the overarching plot of the candy shop mystery I read before this one. It's not a unique overarching plot.
I started out disliking the main character, but I think the author intended readers to start out disliking her. At one point, I was actually rooting for the townspeople to get to her and send her back to Chicago with her tail between her legs. As the book went on, I grew to like Allie a bit more, but the only really endearing character in the book to me was her pet dog, Mal (Marshmallow), and that was only because she was a dog. It's very hard to not like a puppy.
Even though the murder was introduced on the first page of the book, the real investigation did not start until well over two-thirds into the book. It was a long slog to get to the mystery part of the book, and setting up a romantic triangle, haggling with the insular townspeople and historical committee, and crate training a dog were not enough to carry the majority of the mystery for me.
I was even a bit disappointed in the fudge recipes provided in the book. I would have though that a graduate of the Culinary Institute would be able to make real fudge, not just the "foolproof" condensed milk fudge. And I would hope that the Fudge Shop the main character hopes to keep open sells something better than the cheater's fudge anyone can make in their kitchen. Though on further reflection, the easier fudge recipe might be so anyone can make them, but still, I expected better.
I know this is not really a nice review of the book, and I don't want to leave you with the impression the that book was terrible. It was not. there were some good parts of the book. The motive for the murder was rather ingenious. And the author dropped enough hints in the book that I had the murderer pegged relatively early, so it was nice to read to the end and have the satisfaction of figuring it out, even if the motive was not revealed until the end. Overall, I didn't dislike the book, I just didn't really like it either. It's a perfect book to read on vacation and leave at the hotel's paperback exchange.
One Bear's Opinion: Three cups of espresso and a plate of non-alcoholic condensed milk fudge
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Nancy Coco
This was the second mystery in a row I've read that was set around a candy shop. It was hard not to compare the two as I was reading them. This one was set on Mackinac Island, Michigan, which I have heard of, but never visited. And I certainly didn't know it was known for fudge, but I guess it must be in some way, as "Mackinac Island Fudge" was the 6th suggestion when I started typing "Mackinac Island" into the Google Search Window. You learn something new everyday.
Anyway to the mystery. The opening idea for the series is that the main character has inherited a combination hotel/fudge shop and is trying to figure out how she can keep the family business open, which, as it turns out is very similar to the overarching plot of the candy shop mystery I read before this one. It's not a unique overarching plot.
I started out disliking the main character, but I think the author intended readers to start out disliking her. At one point, I was actually rooting for the townspeople to get to her and send her back to Chicago with her tail between her legs. As the book went on, I grew to like Allie a bit more, but the only really endearing character in the book to me was her pet dog, Mal (Marshmallow), and that was only because she was a dog. It's very hard to not like a puppy.
Even though the murder was introduced on the first page of the book, the real investigation did not start until well over two-thirds into the book. It was a long slog to get to the mystery part of the book, and setting up a romantic triangle, haggling with the insular townspeople and historical committee, and crate training a dog were not enough to carry the majority of the mystery for me.
I was even a bit disappointed in the fudge recipes provided in the book. I would have though that a graduate of the Culinary Institute would be able to make real fudge, not just the "foolproof" condensed milk fudge. And I would hope that the Fudge Shop the main character hopes to keep open sells something better than the cheater's fudge anyone can make in their kitchen. Though on further reflection, the easier fudge recipe might be so anyone can make them, but still, I expected better.
I know this is not really a nice review of the book, and I don't want to leave you with the impression the that book was terrible. It was not. there were some good parts of the book. The motive for the murder was rather ingenious. And the author dropped enough hints in the book that I had the murderer pegged relatively early, so it was nice to read to the end and have the satisfaction of figuring it out, even if the motive was not revealed until the end. Overall, I didn't dislike the book, I just didn't really like it either. It's a perfect book to read on vacation and leave at the hotel's paperback exchange.
One Bear's Opinion: Three cups of espresso and a plate of non-alcoholic condensed milk fudge
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Assaulted Caramel
Assaulted Caramel
by Amanda Flower
Assaulted Caramel was recommended by a group of cozy mystery readers. The history of the group's recommendations has been pretty good, so there was no reason not to give this one a try.
It took a while to get into the book, and a bit longer to come to like the main character. Bailey King is not initially a likable character. But as the book goes on, she becomes more and more likeable, which is good, because books where the main character is unlikable are hard for me to read. Nobody wants to spend their leisure reading time dragging themselves through a book where the main character aggravates the readers.
Once Bailey becomes a friend, the book takes off. But there are a few issues with the book, namely that the solution comes from no-where and Bailey figures it out with clues that were not presented to the reader. That is a problem with mystery novels, if only because it's unfair to the reader. It also makes the solution seem to make no sense with the characters as the author has presented and crafted them.
Overall it was an easy read, with some fun parts - the polka dot pig was very fun - but it has some issues as well. I've put the rest of the series on my to-check-out list, but I will probably wait until they go on sale, either at remainder shops or on Kindle.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Cups of Regular Coffee, with a packet of generic shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Amanda Flower
Assaulted Caramel was recommended by a group of cozy mystery readers. The history of the group's recommendations has been pretty good, so there was no reason not to give this one a try.
It took a while to get into the book, and a bit longer to come to like the main character. Bailey King is not initially a likable character. But as the book goes on, she becomes more and more likeable, which is good, because books where the main character is unlikable are hard for me to read. Nobody wants to spend their leisure reading time dragging themselves through a book where the main character aggravates the readers.
Once Bailey becomes a friend, the book takes off. But there are a few issues with the book, namely that the solution comes from no-where and Bailey figures it out with clues that were not presented to the reader. That is a problem with mystery novels, if only because it's unfair to the reader. It also makes the solution seem to make no sense with the characters as the author has presented and crafted them.
Overall it was an easy read, with some fun parts - the polka dot pig was very fun - but it has some issues as well. I've put the rest of the series on my to-check-out list, but I will probably wait until they go on sale, either at remainder shops or on Kindle.
One Bear's Opinion: Three Cups of Regular Coffee, with a packet of generic shortbread cookies
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
Sunday, January 20, 2019
One Bear's Opinion on: Probable Claws
Probable Claws
by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
Reading books in the Mrs. Murphy series is always fun. They really are a great visit with good friends. I could definitely host Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker (and their people) any time. I am sure it would be a rollicking good time!
This installment in the series was a new, contemporary mystery, but a continuation of the historical story that began in Tail Gait. I enjoyed the new contemporary mystery, but I find myself wishing there were more of the historical story, as I am more intrigued by it and where the author is taking that story, and how it will reconnect with the contemporary characters and setting.
The mystery was not too complicated, I had it mostly figured out well before Harry, but it was still fun to read along as Harry arrived at the solution. The animals doing their part, is, as always, the draw of the Mrs. Murphy series.
If you are familiar with Mrs. Murphy and her friends you will already have this on your To-Be-Read pile. If you are new to Mrs. Murphy mysteries, I suggest you either start with the first in the series, Wish You Were Here, and read through to catch up; or if you want to get to the end quicker, start with Tail Gait. Beginning before Tail Gait could leave you confused as to the historical story, and will spoil some parts of that story. I hope you enjoy, or will come to, visits with Mrs. Murphy as much as I do.
One Bear's Opinion: Five steaming mugs of premium hot cocoa with rich whipped cream and a plate of marshmallows
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
Reading books in the Mrs. Murphy series is always fun. They really are a great visit with good friends. I could definitely host Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker (and their people) any time. I am sure it would be a rollicking good time!
This installment in the series was a new, contemporary mystery, but a continuation of the historical story that began in Tail Gait. I enjoyed the new contemporary mystery, but I find myself wishing there were more of the historical story, as I am more intrigued by it and where the author is taking that story, and how it will reconnect with the contemporary characters and setting.
The mystery was not too complicated, I had it mostly figured out well before Harry, but it was still fun to read along as Harry arrived at the solution. The animals doing their part, is, as always, the draw of the Mrs. Murphy series.
If you are familiar with Mrs. Murphy and her friends you will already have this on your To-Be-Read pile. If you are new to Mrs. Murphy mysteries, I suggest you either start with the first in the series, Wish You Were Here, and read through to catch up; or if you want to get to the end quicker, start with Tail Gait. Beginning before Tail Gait could leave you confused as to the historical story, and will spoil some parts of that story. I hope you enjoy, or will come to, visits with Mrs. Murphy as much as I do.
One Bear's Opinion: Five steaming mugs of premium hot cocoa with rich whipped cream and a plate of marshmallows
Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver
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