New Name Fresh Start

I have been away from posting here the way I want to. Neglecting this baby because life happens. I post my reviews from Goodreads. I’m looking to start again and have changed the blog name. It will still be primarily about books with other things tossed in. It is still Alaskan Book Cafe. I still live in Alaska. I still drink coffee. I still read...excessively. I changed the name as I’m trying to coordinate everything. Social media is a jungle. Please stay with me or join me during construction. I’ll still be posting about what I’m reading, thinking of reading, books I’m excited about, Alaska photos & life, coffee, movies, tv series, products I like, yarda, yadda, yadda. You get the picture.

I’m participating in Hooked on Books week long readathon that starts today. Some of my book selections are:

Alone for the Holidays

  

      Aunt Dimity.                          No Exit                    Witch Hunt

        

I am also participating in Castle Macabre’s Something Wicked Fall. The read-a-long is Dr Sleep! 

Dr Sleep

If you haven’t participated in an event on Castle Macabre or Seasons of Reading you should check them out. Michelle does a lot of fun things there. I’m excited for FightFall in October and Christmas Spirit in November. 

What are you reading? Any events you are participating in or hosting? Thanks for stopping by! 

Review: Curses and Cauldrons: A Paranormal Halloween Mystery Anthology

Curses and Cauldrons: A Paranormal Halloween Mystery Anthology by Tegan Maher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am reviewing an arc of Time To Jump by Mona Marple. The story features Felicity from the Witch In Time Mysteries. This time we go back to 1947, New York. I enjoyed reading this story. I thought the author did a great job capturing society at that time. The mystery was excellent, surprising me at the reveal. I loved the ending. I am looking forward to reading the rest, (some of my favorite authors are in this set!), of the stories. I have already preordered it for my fall reading.
Review of an ARC of Battle of the Hexes by Morgana Best. I recently fell in love with a series, (His Ghoul Friday), by this author and now want to read everything she writes. I loved Battle of the Hexes. This story is set in Australia and our sleuth is Adeline Bloomwood. She lives in a town with other magical beings, unknown to the mundane residents. She has a familiar, who I adore, named Pudding. One thing I love is that the author includes an explanation of the different spellings and a list of Australian slang and terms, (some of these are so fun, I’m going to use them). I’m never lost when I read her books. The stories have to be short but don’t let that stop you. I had a fun time reading this mystery. The time flew by as I read. I want to tell you all about it. I’m dying to. But you won’t have any reason to read it if I do. I’m so hoping this isn’t the last we hear of Adeline, Pudding and some other interesting characters I’ll let you discover.
*This review will be edited later to include all the stories.*

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Review: Lavender & Mistletoe

Lavender & Mistletoe by Donna Kauffman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked Avery. I understood here. I’m not as brilliant as she is but I did identify with her in many ways. I loved her curiosity. I’m totally like that. It was exciting for me to read about a character whose mind moves along seeing everything. She isn’t so good romantically. I understand that too. It was amazing for me to read her. Ben, her love interest, was just as amazing. I love the way he understood and accepted her. It just made me sigh in bliss!
I definitely want to read more in this series.
* I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book. The review was written honestly and voluntarily.*

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Review: Frugal Lissa Finds a Body

Frugal Lissa Finds a Body by Ritter Ames
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Frugal Lissa Finds A Body and I find a new series to love. Lissa is married and raising two boys alone while her husband is working overseas. She needs to make her money stretch. She blogs her tips and makes a little money from it. I love that Lissa is a real mom, flawed but loving. I love how her boys are in the story. They don’t just get mentioned at the beginning then disappear only to return at the end. She takes care of them. They have a lab who is called Honey. Delightfully, she is a true member of the family. Dad is away but yet still in the story. Her best friend is Abby. Reading this book, to me, was like being a part of Lissa’s life. I really enjoyed that. I loved the feeling I had while reading. I was truly welcomed into Lissa’s life. The finding of the body doesn’t happen on the first page. The book first gets us comfortable with the family and neighborhood. So when the body is found we are just as shocked as the characters. I think that’s a hard thing to accomplish. After all most cozy mysteries involve a body. We are expecting it. Yet we are surprised when it happens. This was when I got the delicious chill that you get when an author has written a scene flawlessly.
I never go into the book farther than this. If I did you would have no need to read it. I had an entertaining time reading this book. If it weren’t for a family emergency, I probably would have read it in one day. There are money saving tips in the story. Recipes are at the end. Now go read the book.

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Review: Curses and Cauldrons: A Paranormal Halloween Mystery Anthology

Curses and Cauldrons: A Paranormal Halloween Mystery Anthology by Tegan Maher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am reviewing an arc of Time To Jump by Mona Marple. The story features Felicity from the Witch In Time Mysteries. This time we go back to 1947, New York. I enjoyed reading this story. I thought the author did a great job capturing society at that time. The mystery was excellent, surprising me at the reveal. I loved the ending. I am looking forward to reading the rest, (some of my favorite authors are in this set!), of the stories. I have already preordered it for my fall reading.
Review of an ARC of Battle of the Hexes by Morgana Best. I recently fell in love with a series, (His Ghoul Friday), by this author and now want to read everything she writes. I loved Battle of the Hexes. This story is set in Australia and our sleuth is Adeline Bloomwood. She lives in a town with other magical beings, unknown to the mundane residents. She has a familiar, who I adore, named Pudding. One thing I love is that the author includes an explanation of the different spellings and a list of Australian slang and terms, (some of these are so fun, I’m going to use them). I’m never lost when I read her books. The stories have to be short but don’t let that stop you. I had a fun time reading this mystery. The time flew by as I read. I want to tell you all about it. I’m dying to. But you won’t have any reason to read it if I do. I’m so hoping this isn’t the last we hear of Adeline, Pudding and some other interesting characters I’ll let you discover.
*This review will be edited later to include all the stories.*

View all my reviews

Review: She's Got Game

She's Got Game by Laura Heffernan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I came across this book on Facebook. I believe it was in the Between the Chapters Book Club and they were having a chat with the author. I’m a gamer as well as a reader so this book was jumping up and down at me. I had high expectations for it and I’m happy to say that it lived up to them. I like the characters. I loved entering the gaming convention atmosphere. The author wrote that so realistically that I felt like I was there. I now am dying to go to one. It was a fun book to read. I appreciated the slower pace on romance with the mention of swipe right dating craze. I thought it was handled very well. I think this book will especially appeal to the gaming crowd.

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Review: My Dead World

My Dead World by Jacqueline Druga
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started this book and couldn’t get into it so I set it aside. A few days later I tried again and didn’t want to put it down. I’m a mood reader and as one I sometimes need to start a book a few times. It is rarely because of the writing. In this case it definitely was just me. Once I got into the story, I was fascinated. I loved how the virus and what was happening unfolded. I thought it was pretty realistic with reactions. There were a few hard places for me. I had my heart in my throat more than once. I also felt it break more than once. I never heard of this author before coming across the story. Now I need to find more books by her. If you enjoy apocalyptic books you should give this one a try. It is one of the most interesting books I have read lately on a pandemic crisis.

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