“Sensitive Reader Alert”- Frequent sexual references by the main character who is a playboy. I tried to overlook the references, but the final straw for me was when the main character says that their is a member of the nobility who is known to take young boys to bed with him. The casual and flippant attitude, especially in regards to sodomy (main character’s words not mine), is something sensitive readers will find repulsive. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it past the first several chapters.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first book in the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke. It is one of the best mysteries I’ve read since the Harriet Gordon Mysteries by A.M. Stuart.
I did not want to put Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder down and finished it in a couple days. (I would have finished it sooner had the responsibilities of adulthood not prevented me.) Since originally writing this review, I have actually read the first four books in the series. I will be starting book 5 – Coconut Layer Cake Murder – shortly.
The well written book has engaging, likeable characters. The main character is a baker, and the book even includes the different recipes that Hannah, the main character, makes.
Overall, the book is clean. I don’t recall any profanity, but there are a few sexual references which are brief and relatively tame. However, the references are brief, not graphic, and are not huge part of the story. (This book just wouldn’t be appropriate for pre-teens because of the references.)
Regardless, I highly recommend the series for adults who enjoy murder mysteries.
Purrfect Murder is the first book in The Mysteries of Max series by Nic Saint.
Max is a chunky – pardon me, “big-boned” – orange tabby cat who lives with his human, Odelia. Odelia is a news reporter who enjoys writing articles on local crime, and she has the most unusual sources – Max and his feline friends. Like the other women in her family, Odelia has the ability to communicate with cats. So, when a murder occurs in Hampton Cove, Odelia and Max take it upon themselves to investigate and solve the murder, much to the frustration of the new detective in town.
Purrfect Murder is an easy read and fairly clean as far as stories go. There are a few instances of profanity and some innuendoes, but nothing that would make sensitive readers balk. Max’s commentary as well as several of his interactions with other cats will make you chuckle, especially if you are a cat owner. The author, Nic Saint, did a pretty accurate job depicting cat personalities.
If you are looking for an easy read to pass the time or escape reality, check out The Mysteries of Max series.
It took me a few chapters to truly become engrossed in Mark of the Fool by J.M. Clarke. This series creates a very vivid world, complete shark men, minotaurs, half-ram people, and all sorts of fictitious creatures. The series could have done with less profanity (frequent use of the word shit”), but if you can ignore that, you will find an entertaining story with well-developed characters and some good humor. I am looking forward to the release of the audio version of book four.
Book Description
The gods chose him. He said no.
Book description from Amazon.
After his parents died, Alex Roth had one desire: become a wizard. Through hard work, he was accepted into the University of Generasi, the world’s greatest academy of wizardry…
Fate, however, had other plans.
On his eighteenth birthday, he is Marked by prophecy as one of his kingdom’s five Heroes, chosen to fight the Ravener, his land’s great enemy. But his brand is ‘The Fool’. Worst of the marks.
Rather than die or serve other Heroes like past Fools, he takes a stand, rejects divine decree…and leaves. With his little sister, his childhood friend, and her cerberus, Alex flees for the university, hoping to research the mystery of the Ravener. He’ll make lifelong friends, learn magic from mad wizards, practice alchemy, fight mana vampires and try to pay tuition.
There’s one small problem. The Mark insists on preventing the Fool from learning and casting spells, while enhancing skills outside of divinity, combat, and spellcraft…
…that is, unless he learns to exploit the hell out of it.
Explore a coming of age magic academy fantasy with a weak-to-strong progression into power, a setting inspired by D&D, detailed world building and magical science, action, comedy, slice-of-life, and GameLit elements.
With nearly 10 million views on Royal Road, this popular web-serial has been completely revised and relaunched into this definitive version now coming to Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible, narrated by Travis Baldree!
My favorite dessert is cookies – fresh, hot, and soft. I stumbled across this book – Colossal Cookies by Wendy Kou – at Ollie’s. Naturally, I had to purchase it. There is a picture for every cookie! When I got home and searched through the book, I was overwhelmed by all the choices and couldn’t decide which one to make first. So…I didn’t make any. Almost a year later, I had a work carry-in, and I was tasked with making dessert. We were celebrating a co-workers birthday, and she loves Crumble Cookies, so I decided I would make my own “Crumble Cookie”. I pulled out the Colossal Cookies book that had been collecting dust and chose two cookies to bake. I made the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Pretzel cookie and the Double Chocolate cookie. It was a little intimidating at first. I hate cooking but enjoy simple baking projects. These cookies were a little bit more labor intensive than I was used to. But I soon got the hang of it. The cookies were AMAZING, and my co-workers loved them. They told me I have to bring in a new cookie every week. 😊 Since trying those two recipes, I have made three more types of cookies. They’ve all been a hit. So, if you are a cookie-holic like me as well as a timid baker, I highly recommend this book. If I can bake them…so can you!
*I didn’t have all the ingredients which is why this one doesn’t look anywhere near close to what it does in the book. However, it still tasted DELICIOUS!
Reading4Fun 