The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World

Title: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
Author: Stephen Brusatte
Published: April 24th 2018 by William Morrow
Format: Hardcover, 404 pages
Genre: Science

This is not a quick or easy read, but a book that should be slowly digested. A book that will have you running to your computer for photos or more clarification. A book that opens wonderful watercooler conversations and a craving for further reading and understanding.

Gradually explaining the layers, of both earth and time, Steve Brusatte combines science and personal stories to bring the multiple eras to life. Without preaching or condemning, he helps the reader to visualize what is going on during this part of evolution. Laying out in a scientific approach, he explains what the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods entailed. How the rise and fall of each species brought about a wondrous growth and understanding until, without warning, it all came to a devasting end. An end, yes, in some respects, but also a new beginning that has put us on the path to the sixth extinction.

As the author answers questions, he leaves us with more. A longing to know what is next. What is in store for humans? What is the next step in our evolution? Review Here***

They Call Me the Cat Lady

Title: They Call Me the Cat Lady
Author: Amy Miller
Published: April 26th 2019 by Bookouture
Format: eBook, 266 pages
Genre: women's Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Surrounded by her cats, named after those that she loved best, Nancy’s story is painstakingly revealed and with each devastation, her life comes into sharper focus for the reader.

Being the sort of person that she is, Nancy has always put people and animals before herself. It’s not that she collects the broken, but more along the lines that she wants to be the person that helps other to put their lives back together in a way that she has not been able to do for herself. After the end of her marriage and the death of her daughter, she was broken. She did not have a path or a vision for the future so she shut down her life in a ramshackle home with her cats and a part-time position at the local school.

Not needing anyone to know her business, she kept to herself but when she takes a young boy who is the subject of a bully under her wing and starts a cat-sitting business, which brings her face to face with her daughter’s best friend, Nancy’s life begins to open in an unimaginable way.

As I said, this is a sad book, but hopeful in that you can see the characters growing, accepting, and optimistic for a future that was not obvious from the start. You can feel Nancy’s pain and trepidation as each new situation arises, but at the same time, you can feel her burden lighten and with her, you have hope for her future.

Death Waits in the Dark

Title: Death Waits in the Dark
Author: Julia Buckley
Published: April 2nd 2019 by Berkley Books
Format: Paperback, 304 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Writer's Apprentice #4

Oh gosh, oh gee, oh golly. I swear I was ready to wall bang this book. How can a character come across anymore immature and naïve than Lena London? I understand the need for wholesome characters, but Julia Buckley is taking this one over the top.

Lena has been an apprentice to gothic suspense novelist Camilla Graham for a while now, but still has a problem with living her life on her own. Caught somewhere between the pretend world of Camilla’s characters and the real world, which includes boyfriend Sam West, Lena spends her days dreaming, creating, and sleuthing when bodies tend to find their way to her doorstep.

When Jane Wyland, an old acquaintance of Camilla’s threatens to expose a 40-year-old secret (which honestly no one would care about today) is later found dead, Camilla automatically thinks that she will be considered a suspect. Lena, wanting to protect her friend, decides that they must find the killer, but other ideas are going on when they are run off the road and Lena is left with amnesia and Camilla is no help at all.

This convoluted story of secrets, outdated morals, and likely town gossip, leads nowhere other than to an old-fashion who done it with a less than exciting conclusion.

The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane

Title: The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane
Author: Dee MacDonald
Published: April 24th 2019 by Bookouture
Format: eBook, 314 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

The last thing I want to do is call this book a romance since there is so much more going on, yet the reader is left with a burgeoning question of “is happily ever after imaginable if you open yourself up to all possibilities”.

Tess and Orla, best friends and business partners, decide that they have had enough with their boring lives and after looking into a mirror at their less than svelte figures, decide on two things. Joining a weight-loss club and an online dating service for those over 50.

At 62, Tess realizes that both ideas will be an uphill battle but with her daughter’s wedding quickly approaching, she needs to both lose weight and find a man to escort her. Thus, begins the wacky escapades that bring these two women both excitement and adventure.

There are hard lessons learned and new friendships made, but what resonates on these pages is resilience. There are many times that Tess could have given up, but she was determined. She was going to win her battles with her weight, with a less than honest dating service, and she would make the entrance into the wedding remarkable even if there was no man at her side.

The Diva Sweetens the Pie

Title: The Diva Sweetens the Pie
Author: Krista Davis
Published: April 30th 2019 by Kensington
Format: eBook, 336 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Domestic Diva #12

As Old Town descends into chaos over the annual Pie Festival, a competition that Natasha has been banned from, Sophie Winston steps in when a celebrity judge is murdered.

Not being able to say no when asked, Sophie jumps in when the heads of the festival requested her help. There is no trouble gathering pies from the participants, but when Celebrity Chef Patsy Lee Presley dies during the completion, Sophie and her friends take it upon themselves to solve this peculiar crime. There are many within the baking community that have issues with Patsy and her meteoric rise, but which of them is willing to poison her.

Now add in a young girl that has shown up on Sophie’s doorstep asking for help to exonerate her mother who has been in prison for the last 5 years. A woman, not surprisingly, also associated with the baking world, that has been convicted of murder. As Sophie delves deeper, a realization with lasting effects has come to the surface.

This is a hard series to jump into the middle of since each book circles around a large cast of recurring characters and the reader needs to understand the interpersonal relationships and how each brings their own to the book. Yes, the author does a light dusting of who everyone is, but you need to have a greater understanding to keep them all straight.

Murder in the Reading Room

Title: Murder in the Reading Room
Author: Ellery Adams
Published: April 30th 2019 by Kensington
Format: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Book Retreat Mysteries #5

I cannot help but think that this series has come to an end since Ellery Adams does a brilliant job in bringing all the storylines to a close. Perhaps this will be a new jumping off point for the people of Storyton Hall, but in my heart, I think I am saying good-bye.

Keeping the secrets of Storyton has taken a final toll on Jane and she must now decide if the cost is too high. After the kidnapping of her twin sons, she must hold a tighter rein on those that she holds dear, but as the truth comes out about her deceased husband, and the disappearance of her new love, Jane must make a decision that few will agree with.

Running Storyton Hall in Virginia, a book resort for those that need time away, Jane and her team create an idyllic reprieve from a hectic world. Little do people know of the goings on behind the scenes and even less about the secret passageways that lead to a hidden library.

A library, hidden from the rest of the world, that holds dangerous manuscripts and long-lost treasure that though concealed from the world, should, as Jane believes, be shared. As the body count increases and her guests roam the halls unaware, a war is going on between controlling factions and when they reach their final boiling point, there is one final death that will bring Jane to her knees forcing the end to one part of Storyton’s past.

I love how this series bring a small part of history to the forefront. How Ellery Adams quotes favorite books and involves their authors and stories into her plots without speaking down to the reader. How she makes you care about the intricacies of those that love books but remembers that people will always come first.

The Proposal

Title: The Proposal
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Published: October 30th 2018 by Berkley Books
Format: Paperback, 327 pages
Genre: Romance

This was an “I should have known better” book when what normally would have been the climactic scene happened too early. After that point, the book rolls downhill with the usual let’s try to keep the reader interested bumps. The obligatory -- he was the best guy ever, why did he say that, I will never find another like him, how could he say that, I need to make this right -- hooey that you usually find in a young adult novel.

Nikole Paterson has only been with her boyfriend for a short time when he does the unthinkable and decides to propose to her at Dodgers stadium. Mortified since marriage to a guy that she was still getting to know, and who was more interested in himself than her considering that he had misspelled her name on the Jumbotron, was out of the question. A public ‘no’ was all that she could come up with as the crowd is staring at her. Rushing to her aid is the brother and sister team of Carlos and Angela Ibarra, and therefore setting up the rest of this lackluster book.

Because this would not be a romance without a couple, Carlos and Nik begin to explore their awakening interests. Exploring their likes on both sides of the sheets, they have the beginning of a great friendship. That is until Carlos says those three little words and Nik fleets to the safety of her apartment and tries to get her friends to understand her discomfort in the whole situation.

Jasmine Guillory does her best to throw in outside factors to prevent this book from feeling like you would rather watch the grass grow, but by the end, that is exactly what you would have preferred. Unless you are fascinated by 30-somethings still trying to find themselves, this book is going to be a monotonous waste of time.

The Stone Circle

Title: The Stone Circle
Author: Elly Griffiths
Expected Publication Date: May 7th 2019 by Quercus
Format: eBook, Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Ruth Galloway #11

As Elly Griffiths dives into the series past, the reader will need to be familiar with both the characters and their interactions to grasp the full story. This is what I would call a “remember when” type of book. One designed to reminisce past storylines or parts that had been left dangling or unfinished. Or even as a refresher for things to come.

After receiving a note that has led to a newly found body, the usual characters are reminded of a time when their lives were set on a collision course. This book brings back old memories and relationships which cause DCI Harry Nelson to tackle a long-hidden secret much to the detriment of his overly emotional daughter.

As cases are sorted and another child goes missing, Harry and Ruth need to sort out their relationship and where their daughter fits within Harry's home. There are any number of triangle relationships in this book and the reader, if not familiar with the past, will be hard-pressed to keep everyone and everything straight.