Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge discussion

I will be doing Level 4-B. So looking forward to this!!

Have a great time with the challenge!

Part 1 [FINISHED]

1. A Culinary Cozy
A. Eggs on Ice [Cackleberry Club #8] - Laura Childs
B. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder [Hannah Swensen #27] - Joanne Fluke

2. An Animal Related Cozy
A. Big Little Spies [Paws and Claws #7] - Krista Davis
B. A Trail of Lies [Jazz Ramsey #3] - Kylie Logan

3. A Craft Related Cozy
A. Murder in a Scottish Garden [Scottish Shire #2] - Traci Hall
B. Fatal Family Ties [Ancestry Detective #3] - S. C. Perkins

4. Paranormal Cozy
A. The Automaton's Wife [Society of Paranormals #2] - Vered Ehsani
B. One Poison Pie [Kitchen Witch #1] - Lynn Cahoon

5. Cozy Based Outside of the USA
A. The American Agent [Maisie Dobbs #15] - Jacqueline Winspear
B. In at the Death [Mordecai Tremaine #4] - Francis Duncan

6. A Career-Based Cozy
A. Here Comes the Body [Catering Hall Mystery #1] - Maria DiRico
B. Lemon Drop Dead [Amish Candy Shop #6] - Amanda Flower

7. Holiday-Based Cozy [Christmas/4th of July]
A. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder [Catering Hall #3] - Maria DiRico
B. Gone with a Whisker [Bookmobile Cat #8] - Laurie Cass

8. A Cozy Where They Travel
A. A Sinister Service [Lady and Lady's Maid #6] - Alyssa Maxwell
B. Murder at Wedgefield Manor [Jane Wunderly #2] - Erica Ruth Neubauer

9. Historical Mystery
A. An Impartial Witness [Bess Crawford #2] - Charles Todd
B. A Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds [Dizzy Heights #1] - T E Kinsey

10. Cozy of My Choice
A. Ink and Shadows [Secret, Book, and Scone Society #4] - Ellery Adams
B. The Fatal Flying Affair [Lady Hardcastle #7] - T E Kinsey

Part 2 [FINISHED]

1. The Mitford Trial [Mitford Murder Mystery #4] - Jessica Fellowes

2. A Deadly Chapter [Castle Bookshop #3] - Essie Lang

3. Loch Ness Papers [Scottish Bookshop #4] - Paige Shelton

4. Word to the Wise [Library Lovers #10] - Jenn McKinlay

5. The Stolen Letter [Scottish Bookshop #5] - Paige Shelton

6. Scorched Eggs [Cackleberry Club #6] - Laura Childs

7. Deadly Editions [Scottish Bookshop #6] - Paige Shelton

8. Deadly Ever After [Lighthouse Library #8] - Eva Gates

9. Murder at the Lakeside Library [Lakeside Library #1] - Holly Danvers

10. Egg Drop Dead [Cackleberry Club #7] - Laura Childs

11. A Tale of Two Cookies [Cookie House #3] - Eve Calder

12. Murder in the Cookbook Nook [Book Retreat #7] - Ellery Adams

13. Pumpkin Spice Peril [Cupcake Bakery #12] - Jenn McKinlay

14. Peaches and Schemes [Georgia B&B #3] - Anna Gerard

15. One for the Books [Library Lovers #11] - Jenn McKinlay

16. Death of a Wandering Wolf [Hungarian Tea House #2] - Julia Buckley

17. Death of an Irish Mummy [Dublin Driver #3] - Catie Murphy

18. Death on the Night of Lost Lizards [Hungarian Tea House #3] - Julia Buckley

19. Murder at Keyhaven Castle [Stella and Lyndy #3] - Clara McKenna

20. The Cider Shop Rules [Cider Shop #3] - Julia Anne Lindsey

You are way ahead of the game with already knowing what books you are going read. Happy Reading.

Britney wrote: "You are way ahead of the game with already knowing what books you are going read. Happy Reading."


Thank you!!
I have always been a list maker and planner and with as many books as I typically read, I like having a general idea beforehand. That's not to say the list won't change, but its nice to have a plan in place.

Jeezopete!! I've already added a couple of TBRs from your list!!

Good luck.

Karen wrote: "Jeezopete!! I've already added a couple of TBRs from your list!!

Good luck."


Oops? LOL
I hope that whatever you have picked end up being awesome reads for you!!

Good planning for next year and good luck with your challenge! I will be off adding some of these to my TBR as well. :)

Dawn Michelle wrote: "Britney wrote: "You are way ahead of the game with already knowing what books you are going read. Happy Reading."


Thank you!!
I have always been a list maker and planner and with as many books as..."

I love your lists...so many new possibilities for me!
I love the planning as much as the reading!
Have fun!

1. The Mitford Trial [Mitford Murder Mystery #4] - Jessica Fellowes
Read 1.5.2021 1 Star

Susie wrote: "Dawn Michelle wrote: "Britney wrote: "You are way ahead of the game with already knowing what books you are going read. Happy Reading."


Thank you!!
I have always been a list maker and planner and..."


Thank you Susie!!!

2. A Sinister Service [Lady and Lady's Maid #6] - Alyssa Maxwell
Read 1.16.2021 4 Stars

Karen wrote: "Jeezopete!! I've already added a couple of TBRs from your list!!

Good luck."

I was thinking the same! :) It looks to be a great list!

Hi, Dawn Michelle! Your list is inspiring! It looks like you'll have a really fun year of reading! I hope that you make and even beat your challenge!

Anastasia wrote: "Hi, Dawn Michelle! Your list is inspiring! It looks like you'll have a really fun year of reading! I hope that you make and even beat your challenge!"

Thank you Anastasia!! It was fun to make this list and I look forward to reading all the books!! LOL

3. An Impartial Witness [Bess Crawford #2] - Charles Todd
Read 1.19.2021 4 Stars

4. Ink and Shadows [Secret, Book, and Scone Society #4] - Ellery Adams
Read 1.20 - 1.23.2021 5 Stars

5. One Poison Pie [Kitchen Witch #1] - Lynn Cahoon
Read 1.24 - 1.26.2021 3 Stars

Dawn Michelle wrote: "4. Ink and Shadows [Secret, Book, and Scone Society #4] - Ellery Adams
Read 1.20 - 1.23.2021 5 Stars"

Yay! I have ups and downs with series written under the Ellery Adams pseudonym (for J. B. Stanley/Jennifer Stanley). I have this series TBRed. It sounds good, but...

I love her Storyton series and Books by the Bay was what hooked me to begin with, but I am currently reading Ink and Shadow and having a hard time with it. This series is not my favorite and this book in particular seems very dark.

Karen wrote: "Dawn Michelle wrote: "4. Ink and Shadows [Secret, Book, and Scone Society #4] - Ellery Adams
Read 1.20 - 1.23.2021 5 Stars"

Yay! I have ups and downs with series written under the author:Ellery ..."


I have tried/read all of her series but the antique one and this is hands down my favorite. I will say it is more adult* than other cozies; bumps right up to the edge of that line that is between a cozy and a regular mystery. I absolutely loved Books by the Bay [again a more "adult" cozy] and was so sad when that one ended, so was so happy to find this one and have it be as spectacular as it is. I hope that you give the series a chance and if you do, that you love them. I do know that not every book is for every person though so if you don't, that is also totally okay. I have series' that I love that my friends hate and vice versa. It is [for me anyway] ALL good in the cozy world. Or at least it should be.

*Adult for me means: the MC [and crew] have jobs that they HAVE to work and cannot pass off on other people so they can go sleuthing, they don't actively seek out murder and mysteries, they don't think they are better than the police in their town and unless asked, don't actively seek to help with the investigation etc etc. And they may or may not use more colorful language than most cozies have and their adult relationships are also more meaningful, more colorful, deeper and more complex. It wasn't until Books by the Bay that I realized that there could be cozies like that series and I loved and reveled in it. Hence my love for this series.

Susy wrote: "I love her Storyton series and Books by the Bay was what hooked me to begin with, but I am currently reading Ink and Shadow and having a hard time with it. This series is not my favorite and this b..."


For me, this one was very sad [and sadly relatable as I grew up in a church where censorship was and still is rampant, and where people who are different are looked upon badly], but not dark. That said, every reader is different and it is tough when you are struggling with a book. Especially when you have loved other series by the same author [I went through this with her Pie Shoppe Series. I still wonder how in the world this could be the SAME author as I find those books barely tolerable]. My advice to you is, if it is really bothering you, don't finish it, and then be done with the series. Storyton is a great series and it looks like she is going to incorporate Books by the Bay into that one [and wasn't THAT a great series? I still lament it ending]. But it is NEVER worth it to read a book that is not moving you or making you uncomfortable [and not in that "it is SUPPOSED to make you uncomfortable way].

6. Here Comes the Body [Catering Hall Mystery #1] - Maria DiRico
Read 2.7 - 2.10.2021 4 Stars

THIS was a great cozy. Gosh I miss NYC now.

Dawn Michelle wrote: "Adult for me means: the MC [and crew] have jobs that they HAVE to work and cannot pass off on other people so they can go sleuthing, they don't actively seek out murder and mysteries, they don't think they are better than the police in their town and unless asked, don't actively seek to help with the investigation etc etc..."

I like this. By that definition, I read a lot of "adult" cozies. I like "grown up" protagonists. Though, in the end, it's the story that wins out.

Susy wrote: "I love her Storyton series and Books by the Bay was what hooked me to begin with..."

I actually started out with two series written as Jennifer (JB) Stanley, Hope Street Church and Antiques & Collectibles. Both only comprised three books at the time. (Actually, a lot of series I liked were "three-and-dones." It made me sad because I liked a lot of series only to find no more were coming and I was left wanting more.) Both series have since been reissued under the Ellery Adams pseudonym, with new additions and co-authors. (I have them TBRed.)

Stanley and writing partner Sylvia May wrote the first few books in the Lucy Arlington series A Novel Idea (now written by Susan Furlong). I have a few to catch up in that series, too.

Adams was the last pseudonym I got to. I started with the Books by the Bay series. It is one series of hers that I have not really liked for whatever reason. Book 1, A Killer Plot, took me forever to finish because I kept allowing other reads to interrupt it. I have the other "Adams" series TBRed. When I get back to them, I'll start with the Book Retreat series, which look good.

I know I 'll get back to Books by the Bay at some point. When I do, I'll reread book 1. Maybe I was just in the wrong headspace when I first opened it.

I do so know what you mean about the right head space. The fact that the past year has been pretty ugly may be why I am having such trouble with this book. I am going to give it one more day and if I can't finish, then it goes back to the TBR bookcases (yes multiple 8 ft. bookcases - I have a bit of an addition and a complicit spouse).

Susy wrote: "I have a bit of an addition and a complicit spouse..."

I have the same addiction only now I mostly "collect" digitally. They don't look good on shelves, but take up a lot less space (though, I do need external hard drives!). I posted on the boards a Japanese word I learned watching a British game show, tsundoku. It's acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them. I also saw where it can refer to books ready for reading later when they are on a bookshelf (TBRs!!). Though my books are mainly "bits and bytes" these days, I still think of them as tsundoku. I just can't stop myself from add more and more. (If I stopped today, I'd have reading material for years!)

I have so many of my "finished" books bagged and boxed to go back to the used book stores or donated to the library. I just never get around to taking them.

Well my addition is bad in both mediums, though I prefer printed books. My current inventory shows about 2700 (1100 unread) print books and about 2000 digital books. At my current pace of 250 to 300 books per year, I have about a decade of reading available, but that won't stop me from acquiring more. I pity the person who has to clean out my library when I die, but I already know a great charity book sale group where they can be donated.

Ditto!!!

We, too, have a charity that holds a once-a-year book sale benefiting several charities. I'd like to think if my "cleaners" didn't want to deal with getting what they can via resale, they'd donate to the local libraries that served me when I needed them most, to the charity book sale, or to some other charity. I'd rather see them given away that to be tossed out.

BTW... Love printed books better, too. Digital is just easier these days -- and if I don't do the library, can sometimes less expensive.

The price of digital books can be much less than print books if you are buying the books new. I wish they had been available 40 years ago when I was young and poor.

I am curious about what part of the country you are in. I know there are a few book sales, but I don't know where or when. My husband and I have been know to drive hundreds of miles in search of books, so it might be a good road trip (when it is safe again) if not too far from home.

7. Death of a Wandering Wolf [Hungarian Tea House #2] - Julia Buckley
Read 2.11 - 2.15.2021 4 Stars

Karen wrote: "Dawn Michelle wrote: "Adult for me means: the MC [and crew] have jobs that they HAVE to work and cannot pass off on other people so they can go sleuthing, they don't actively seek out murder and my..."


I agree about the story winning out. I can work around a hideous narrator if I love the story. I will overlook minor grievances if the story is grabbing me from the get-go. Though I will say I have given books W A Y more of a chance than most and ended up loving a series. Unless I absolutely hate the book [and even that can be up in the air], I never judge a series by the first book.

I came to Hope Street Church late, and have only read one I think. I liked it, I just never got back to them. I don't own them and they aren't currently on our OverDrive [though I have not checked Hoopla lately, so I need to do that], so I just put that thought away. I need to revisit them. And look into the antique one, though I do remember looking at it once and not loving the premise.

I won't say how I feel about the Lucy Arlington books since you like them [this was an example of me not getting past the first book, which is really rare]. I have a friend that loves them too and that is why there are so many books!! HOW glorious!!

Of all the series she has written, I have really despised The Pie Shoppe Series and The Supper Club books <--those just made me angry. I gave both series several books and just could not anymore. Ugh.

While I loved Books by the Bay right from the get-go, Storyton took me a couple of books to get fully into. NOW I absolutely love them, but this was a case of me hoping they'd get better and being so happy when they finally gelled for me.

HAPPY READING!!!! ♥

Susy wrote: "I do so know what you mean about the right head space. The fact that the past year has been pretty ugly may be why I am having such trouble with this book. I am going to give it one more day and if..."

I think that is the best idea! You never know, you may come back to it later and love it. And you may not. Its all good.

I am EXTREMELY envious of your 8 bookcases. Holy cow I miss those days. I have an ex that was very complicit with me and we had books everywhere, including bookshelves! LOL Now I have two bookcases and books in bags and bags and bags. I long for the day when I can have a full room of nothing but shelves and a lovely comfy chair and a hot cup of coffee next to me.

Karen wrote: "Susy wrote: "I have a bit of an addition and a complicit spouse..."

I have the same addiction only now I mostly "collect" digitally. They don't look good on shelves, but take up a lot less space ..."


I LOVE my kindle. It has been such a boon in having to move from a large apartment to a single room.
I have two large piles of books to go to the used bookstore [where my credit is close to $300!!!] and they are cluttering the LR. The place I go has single shopping hours and I think I will take advantage of that - make a list of ones I want and drop off what has collected.

If I read 100 books a year, currently, it would take me 15 years to read all my TBR [not counting library books and books yet to be written]. I have to keep that list fairly manageable or my anxiety takes over! ;-)

Susy wrote: "I know there are a few book sales, but I don't know where or when. My husband and I have been know to drive hundreds of miles in search of books, so it might be a good road trip (when it is safe again) if not too far from home."

VNSA Book Sale
It started out 65 years ago as a fundraiser for the Visiting Nurses Service Auxiliary. About 35-40 years ago another charity took over. To keep the VNSA name they're the Volunteer Non-profit Service Association. The sale is always held the second weekend of February. Sunday is half-price day. (It was cancelled this year. COVID ruins everything!)

YES! That is my group. Since the sale this year was postponed, I really miss it, but I keep working on the books. Because my Husband has issues, I can't work on the books in the warehouse, so he bought me a pricing gun, and I pick up boxes of unsorted books and bring them home to work on. Helps make staying home easier as I have a variety of things to do, and I can spend the time to check the value of any book I have questions about.

I work in suspense and have cozies as part of my category. Gives me a chance to see what I am going to buy at the sale.

I was kind of hoping you were some place else so I could plan a road trip when it is safe to go out again.

Susy wrote: "I work in suspense and have cozies as part of my category. Gives me a chance to see what I am going to buy at the sale."

LOL!!

8. The Fatal Flying Affair [Lady Hardcastle #7] - T E Kinsey
Read 2.16 - 2.18.2021 5 Stars

Dawn Michelle wrote: "The Fatal Flying Affair [Lady Hardcastle #7] - T E Kinsey
Read 2.16 - 2.18.2021 5 Stars"

Yaaay! Another five stars for Lady Hardcastle and Flo!

9. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder [Hannah Swensen #27] - Joanne Fluke
Read 2.17 - 2.19.2021 1 Star**



** This is officially my last book of this series. There is just too much negative in this one and not enough plusses and that end was just NOT OKAY. Sigh. If you'd like to know more, see my review of this book here on GR.

Anastasia wrote: "Dawn Michelle wrote: "The Fatal Flying Affair [Lady Hardcastle #7] - T E Kinsey
Read 2.16 - 2.18.2021 5 Stars"

Yaaay! Another five stars for Lady Hardcastle and Flo!"


I think this was my absolute favorite of the series so far!! It was just SO good and I love that Harry was in this one more!! SO much fun!!! I just love these books so much!

10. Hitting the Books [Library Lovers #9] - Jenn McKinlay
Read 2.19 - 2.20.2021 4 Stars

11. Scorched Eggs [Cackleberry Club #6] - Laura Childs
Read 3.1 - 3.3.2021 4 Stars


**Never saw this one coming!!! I LOVE IT when that happens!!! ♥

That's a great recommendation. Thank you! :)

12. Gone with a Whisker [Bookmobile Cat #8] - Laurie Cass
Read 3.6 - 3.8.2021 4 [but really 3] Stars

13. A Deadly Chapter [Castle Bookshop #3] - Essie Lang
Read 3.6 - 3.9.2021 2 Stars*




* WHAT a waste of time. This was NOT a cozy mystery. Not even remotely. This was fiction that just happened to also have a dead body in it. I am done with this series.

Dawn Michelle wrote: "9. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder [Hannah Swensen #27] - Joanne Fluke Read 2.17 - 2.19.2021 1 Star**
** This is officially my last book of this series."

I am six books/stories behind in this series now. I read your review, but there was no way for me to comment on it there.

You point out a lot of the reasons I fluked this series down my TBR (and where I coined the term "fluke" for series I back-burner). I had hopes that ending the triangle with, as you put it, hewhomustnotbenamed (Ross) would lead the series in a new direction, breathing new life into it. However, I read reviews and saw spoilers that Fluke did a reversal and put readers right back where we were pre-Ross. Boo!

I agree that Hannah isn't IN love with either Norman or Mike. It's one of the reasons I was glad that old college friend Ross came back into her life. (Though, never being in love means that she ran from her college romance -- and gave up her Masters -- for nothing. But, I digress...) And, if it was just "lust" with Ross, Hannah doesn't do that well either. :o)

You also point out one thing that bothered me before the fluking, Hannah becoming a simp... I bemoaned that, too. Being 6 books behind means the character changed before this entry. I found myself missing the strong woman who stood up for herself, etc. If what you say about the character of Michelle is true, my enjoyment of the series will go down more.

It disappoints me that a series I had such a good time reading started slipping down a slope and hasn't righted itself. I've said before that I'm sure I'll get back to the series at some point. I hope by then it's headed uphill rather than down. Maybe Hannah's inner monologues will trigger an overhaul of her life and take the character in a new direction.

We can only hope...

Karen wrote: "Dawn Michelle wrote: "9. Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder [Hannah Swensen #27] - Joanne Fluke Read 2.17 - 2.19.2021 1 Star**
** This is officially my last book of this series."

I am six books/s..."


Karen, THANK YOU so much for this. It feels so good to be seen and validated. As someone who has also invested a lot of time and money into this series it is so frustrating to see it just crumble around us, the fans.

I wish I could hope that it will get better, but this last one was truly horrible. I am just not sure I have it in me to read another. We will see. You are wise to have bumped these down your list; life is too short to read such crappy books. I wish more people would be honest in their reviews of these; perhaps she would change them if they did.

Sorry about not being able to comment directly on my review. I had too many people I didn't know leaving crappy comments on books that I didn't like, and I got tired of that. :-(

14. Loch Ness Papers [Scottish Bookshop #4] - Paige Shelton
Read 3.10 - 3.12.2021

** Because I was so surprised the second time around, I have included my review here:

What a difference three years and an audiobook [though the audiobook is the weak link here and I eventually abandoned it towards the end because I wanted to get done with the book quicker, but more on that later] makes. I am not sure what or why [even with my review below me] it was about this book or the time frame that made me NOT like this book. It might have been going from listening to them on audio to have to read it and make up the voices myself, it might have been the time of year, it might have been mercury in retrograde. WHO KNOWS? All I know is that apparently I was in a very bad mood when I read this and didn't want to see the magic [though there IS less of that fun magic feel in this one, I will admit], and then just wanted to ignore the rest of the fun magical realism of the book. I don't really know.
I will admit that Delaney NEEDING to go to Loch Ness with her jet-lagged family bothered me, but the rest did not. I admire her for staying in this mystery because to be honest, if a odd little old man wanted me to take "his papers and continue on his research" after only one meeting, I might have run for the hills [or not, because ultimately, I am inherently nosy]. And this time around I had a lot more sympathy for Norvill and the events that shattered his reality and a LOT less sympathy for the killer, who had the option to be open and honest and chose murder and mayhem instead.

My biggest complaint is the audiobook narrator; I really despise when then change narrators mid series. It just throws everything off. And this narrator is currently the narrator of THREE other series I read and she does the same voice for EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. I tend to get confused as to which book I am in at times. Even with a "Scottish" accent, I often thought I was in a cupcake shop in Arizona and NOT in Scotland. NOT really enjoyable tbh.

I am glad that I re-read this in prep for the next two. It was good to revisit this and to find that it was better than I had remembered.

15. The Stolen Letter [Scottish Bookshop #5] - Paige Shelton
Read 3.13 - 3.16.2021 4 Stars

** THIS one was SO SO SO good. I think it was the best of the series so far!!