S. Jones

Strong Showing

Revisado: 01-10-25

The last few books were enjoyable but fell a little bit short for me on the mystery portion. This book corrects that! Strong characters, local flavor, Gerty- my gawd- always providing top notch reader entertainment; and FINALLY movement on Carters part with his trauma and a few other things.

The one thing that drove me batsh*t in this book wasn’t about the way names were pronounced (a frequent possibly understandable complaint. It doesn’t seem to be changing so let it go or stop listening to the books and read them instead!) It was the culprit- peanut oil. The author relied on the false assumption that people with peanut allergies cannot consume items cooked in peanut oil. I do not have a food allergy nor does anyone in my life- yet I know this is untrue, unlikely as it seems. I assumed the author did her homework but stuck to this anyway. I had hoped she’d correct this later in the book with a plot twist- no such luck. I found her reliance on something like this very disappointing.

I love Ms.DeLeon’s books (including her non cozy series) and this seems so unlike her. She strikes me as an author who does her research and cares about her characters. Yes, she takes liberties here and there- as many an author does. But this really bugged me. It’s no reason to stop you from buying and enjoying this book tho. I docked it a star and I will be buying her next one.

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Tidy but…

Revisado: 01-10-25

When I started this series. I didn’t know it would be a limited series. I suspended a LOT I’d disbelief and really came to enjoy the characters. And I enjoyed the series and this book.

It leaves you with a completed main plot, and satisfying progress of Poppy’s life. However, while large chunks were put in place, there was 1 beat that were inexplicably missing for me.

The book was short, under 5 hours. That means that there was space to add a vignette from Poppy’s bio family. After the ordeal she and Ophelia went through at the beginning/towards the end of this book (or even the previous book)- not ONE call from a sister or her mom? A full reconciliation? Nice but unnecessary. If the ordeals I mentioned above were unpublicized, it still might’ve been nice if Poppy had some sort of positive interaction with ANY family member. A text from a sister, “I’m proud of you for going your own way. Kudos on your book!” Something like that leaves space for possibilities. Instead we got an ignored attempt at communication. This was the main thing missing from the book for my liking. I get going “no contact” with a self involved parent can be necessary. But this book gave no room for her mom to evolve or even begin to “see” who Poppy really was.

As an aside, it may have been nice to see Poppy’s former bestie get her just desserts- dropped by publisher, struggling with her second book, jealous AF of the TikTok, etc. any one of those (& likely others) would have satisfied me.

Overall, a fun jaunt, and mostly satisfying conclusion with a tidy ending but left a smidge to be desired.

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It was Light(ish) AND Satisfying!

Revisado: 08-26-24

Like another reviewer already wrote, I thought this would be a light read in between other books. And that was mostly true! However, it dealt with some serious matters – none too heavy mind you – that I wasn’t expecting. The way that the author did this, made it gentle, palatable, and enjoyable! Though this was a standalone book, the offer took such good care of the reader by providing us vivid portraits of each of the characters. I don’t recall feeling like I was giving information that I didn’t need or enjoy. I also found the ending to be very satisfying!

One quibble about this book is that I was really hoping it was going to be the sort of a series! I can see from the authors work that that’s not really how she rolls. But if she ever considers going back to one of her standalone stories to expand that world, I hope that she chooses this one.

Strong recommend!

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Audiobooks Shouldn’t Feel Like A Jon

Revisado: 07-10-24

TLDR: For my two cents, I would skip this one.

Wooooo- this was rough. Many others have already made similar comments so I will keep my review short. This book is a slog. It takes seven chapters to takeoff and actually get interesting. The world building in the first six or so chapters was very detailed, very well done, but I didn’t like anyone or care much about these people.

On the plus side, once the book does really get started, it moves along nicely with a slow, deliberate pace. The murder and all of the details of the individuals does get wrapped up nicely and cleverly. The crimes and the motives of the individuals involved were well camouflaged; I did not find it to be predictable for the most part.

Finally, I will say the datedness this book is apparent. Archaic thoughts about just about everyone, including women, those of African descent, etc. are sprinkle throughout. I only mentioned this as a heads up. I think you can still enjoy the book.

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What a Fun Ride!

Revisado: 09-26-22

This was such a fun little romp to go on with these two adorable couples. Admittedly, anyone familiar with Jolenta and Kristen from their other podcast “By the Book” has a bit more context into their relationships and personalities. However, you don’t need that to enjoy this podcast. Jump right in here!

The concept of the show is novel, gives the husbands more of a voice, and has the charming hosts to guide us smoothly through the experiment they’re conducting. They never fail to make me laugh and I appreciate that they share the successes and fails; and the snippy moments as well as the loving or silly ones.

- Is this podcast gonna SAVE a failing relationship? Absolutely not!
- Will it give you a few ideas that you might want to try out in your own relationship? Yep!
- Will you have insight about why seemingly good ideas “fail?” Yes! And if you’re thoughtful, you’ll realize the execution of the idea may be a fail. But the idea creating a memorable experience for those involved can be viewed as a huge win.
- Will listening to this make you more primed to find the fun (lunacy?) when experimenting with your partner? I think so! Everything in life doesn’t have to be so serious.
- If you don’t want to learn much of anything and just be entertained, will this work? Hell yeah; I had a great time!

- NOTE 1: While the couples featured here are hetero, I sincerely believe that those who are in other kinds of relationships can learn a thing or two OR just get a kick out of hearing what these couples get up to!

- NOTE 2: One of the hosts is currently dealing with an autoimmune disease. (Both hosts have had health challenges in the past.) This may be especially helpful for listeners in a similar position. There is life after an unexpected diagnosis!

All you need to enjoy this podcast is a pair of headphones, a little curiosity and a sense of humor.

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It’s a SCREAM y’all!

Revisado: 10-11-21

This is an interesting take on a couple of familiar elements: woman communicates w/ ghosts, there’s a will they/won’t they love interest. Also, shes got baggage, fur kids, snappy clever dialogue, sassy friends and a granny. Then the author gets creative with the characters and the storyline. The author also sprinkles in enough diversity of thought and experience that I appreciated. (Often these elements in a small town are overlooked or whitewashed.)

All throughout, the narrator’s very expressive voice is along for the ride. Half the time it sounds like she’s having a fabulous time. But there’s an intense 20% of the time when she screams (In fairness it’s the character screaming) WAY TOO DAMN MUCH! I have had to pull out my headphones more than once, got embarrassed by The Screamer as I picked up food (I turned it down enough for regular dialogue but hadn’t anticipated the $&!#ing screaming) and later had to turn down the Bluetooth speaker for fear of waking the neighbors.

I am intrigued by this series. However our main protagonist repeatedly and disturbingly jumps to the wrong conclusions throughout. I found this at odds with the intelligent person she was supposed to be. I enjoyed the book, and the narration- except for about 20% of the time. I may continue with this series. If the items in the first paragraph check your boxes, check this book out.

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What fun! Is that it?

Revisado: 07-19-21

(Friendly warning: This book centers around the use of “magical” alcohol and has a small bit of “all Asians are the same” shtick. Either of those may be an emotional/psychological trigger for someone.)

I really enjoyed this book!! From the beginning the author crafts a world with rich details and for a refreshing change of pace a non-white protagonist! I loved it- the humor, the history, and some unexpected twists in the plot and with characters.

It honestly felt as though the author was building a world for a series but alas, as of mid 2021 there don’t appear to be any additional entries. I hope this changes. I’d love to see how Bailey deals with the “Tokyo Rose” situation, the further adventures of the group, and Bailey’s friendship with one of the characters from the Ale-Chemist group. All that being said, as a single book, this is still worth the read and does stand on its own.

This is a slightly predictable but mostly off beat, fun, romp of a story. If you need a distraction from this dumpster fire called 2021 (or whatever year you read this in!), this will be enjoyable!

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Well sometimes....

Revisado: 01-31-21

Sometimes the first book in a series isn’t the best. This is the case for me and this book. This is a ‘sister’ to the Witchless in Seattle series, and the Nun of Your Business series. (Both series are a lot of fun and I recommend them!)

This book left a lot to be desired for me. Because the same narrator narrates the Witchless & Nun series too, having her speaking voice in this series, where the characters are less defined, was disorienting. For some reason this story didn’t have that same snap that I’m used to from this author. I had a hard time connecting to the main character and her sidekicks. A lot more background would have helped.

That being said I’ll continue to read her books- at least for the other two series I mentioned. However, when book two in *this* series comes out, I’ll wait for others to buy it first and review it. Not feel in’ it.

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Just right!

Revisado: 08-23-20

This was a very satisfying conclusion to the series. This was a well paced, well written story about a young boy dropped on the doorstep of our protagonist. If you have not read the first two books, please do so before jumping into this one. (While you could still follow the story without the benefit of having read the first two books, you will miss out of two compelling stories that add depth to the characters and their relationships!)

Also, I understand that this was always intended to be a trilogy, I wouldn’t mind this series going on a bit longer as I’ve come to care about the characters.

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A Juicy Full Throated Story!

Revisado: 02-24-20

I’ve enjoyed this series for a while now and though I felt a few of the earlier books in the series didn’t have enough of a payoff for me, this book DELIVERED! Most unanswered questions were answered- except for the identity of one of cloaked men (no spoilers!) I think there could be plenty more story here to tell if the author chooses. I, for one, hope she does!

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