Review: HOUSE FULL OF LLAMAS by Melissa Winn

4 Stars

This is designed as a bedtime story for young children.  I found it creative, but I think too lengthy for bedtime reads and a little too complex for pre-readers or young (early elementary) readers.

Review: TEENY WEENIES: THE EIGHTH OCTOPUS AND OTHER STORIES

5 Stars
Children's

Twelve ventures into the delightfully and gently bizarre for youngsters up through middle grades. Good lessons wrapped in "could that really happen?" types of situations.  My favorite of course was "The Eighth Octopus," but all are good!

Review: THIS BOOK JUST ATE MY DOG

5 Stars

Children's 

Hilarious! Laugh out loud--I can't wait to share with my younger grandchildren.

Review: LEAVE ME ALONE by Vera Brosgol

5 Stars of Delight!

This short Children's book was so delightful.  40 pages of heartwarming,  hilarious,  "yes! That's exactly me!" [No I don't have as many grandkids as this beleaguered Grandmother does, but I can relate. Believe me! 

Grandma only wants to knit in peace. But in a tiny home, with lots and lots of small grandchildren, peace is irretrievable. So Grandma packs up her knitting and her Samovar and steals away [loudly], embarking on a series of exciting (and potentially frightening) adventures,  till she gets life just the way she wants it...for now..

Review: A ROOST AND AN ARREST by Hilary Avis

5 Cozy Clucks

Life Is Good. Flourishing chicken farm, promising relationship, staunch friendship, being part of a close-knit community.  What could possibly go wrong?

Ohho! What indeed! Try murder, and the suspect is a Friend? Oh no.

The best aspects of this Series for me are the older, life-experienced, protagonist; her first-person narrative; and of course that cozy small-town "maybe you really can go home again--sort of" perspective. 

THE EASTER STORYBOOK by Laura Richie

5 Stars

Impressively illustrated and collected, this artistic storybook appropriate for children and families spans the Lenten Season,  beginning with Jesus in childhood teaching in the Temple and completing at the Resurrection on Easter. Although the stories may be too complex for very young children,  they can certainly enjoy the accompanying paintings,  and THE EASTER STORYBOOK is ideal for family sharing of one entry per day.

Review: SHAKE DOWN by Kendel Lynn

4 Stars 

SHAKE DOWN is a comfortable cozy mystery, Book 5 in the Elliott Lisbon Series about the upscale South  Carolina island P.I. in training who moves readily among the upper-class set on Sea Pines Island. Ideal for fans of Julie Mulhern's Kansas-set Country Club Murders series,  Elli polishes her investigative skills while polishing connection with her reunited love interest,  away for two decades in the FBI.

Review: THE ICE MAID'S TALE by Mandy Morton

5 PAWS

The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency #8.

THE ICE MAID'S TALE is the first I have read of this delightful "all cat" series. What could be more entertaining than anthropomorphized felines, with all the recognizable human attitudes,  foibles,  and failings? Well, even better is a sequence of tremendous Winter storms plus a set of puzzling mysteries! This Series ought to delight cat lovers and Cozy Mystery aficionados alike. 

Review: BEYOND THE GRAVY by Mandy Morton

5 PAWS

The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency #7

Cats--cozy mystery--ghosts!! Sheer delight. If you don't love cats, then enjoy the Mystery,  the Spooky aspects,  and the lovely anthropomorphic examples of Felines displaying all-too-human foibles. 

Delightfully humorous and a fun, entertaining,  read.

Review: MAGICAL MYSTERY PAWS by Mandy Morton

5 PAWS 

The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency. #6

Quite a change for this reader, coming from the blizzards and snow-to-the-roof of #8, THE ICE MAID'S TALE  (Smile) to the hot-weather paradisical (not) Road Trip of entertainers in MAGICAL MYSTERY PAWS.  Nonetheless, felines Hetty Bagshot (attitude non pareil) and bestie shy, retiring,  Tilly, of The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency,  are firmly  on the case--er, cases.

Review: MY HAIR-RAISING AND HEARTWARMING ADVENTURES AS A PET SITTER by Christi Grace

5 Stars

Author Christi Grace is a professional pet-sitter of twelve years' duration,  who sees God's love and lessons through the animals for which she cares as well as those animals' human owners and carers. In this well-written memoir,  she illustrates those lessons through her experiences, backed up with apropos Bible passages.  Reading this is a heartwarming and rewarding experience. 

Review: CAT NOEL by Mollie Hunt

5 Cat Stars!

A delightfully cozy all-cats-all-the-time mystery! Sixtyish retired Cat Fancier Lynley, owned by 8 felines and doting grandma, finds herself in the midst of a dangerous Christmastime puzzle--all in order to rescue a Siamese.

Review: 51 Christmas Drop Cookie Recipes

5 Cookie Stars


Wow! I'd like to try out every one of these recipes, starting right now and going thtough Christmas and beyond. Yum!

Review: THE CHRISTMAS WALK CAPER by J.B. Michaels

5 Cozy Stars

I was very delightfully surprised at the additional element that appeared later in the story, which really won it over for me. This is first of a series, a smooth cosy mystery starring an injured former Chicago P. D. Detective, and his new love interest, a banker, and is set in the charming community of Geneva, Illinois.