Review: Egg Drop Dead (A Noodle Shop Mystery #5) by Vivien Chien

I picked up this mystery series on a whim when it first came out. I had no idea what to expect but I was craving ramen noodles and when I saw the cover of the first book, I felt like I could enjoy ramen noodles without actually having to eat ramen noodles (spoiler, I still ate ramen).

What I found with this series was a refreshing colorful series with lots of fun and quirky characters. When I pick up a cozy to read, so many of them are set in small towns and are full of baking or cat owning characters. Does this series have that? Well yes—-and no. I mean Lana Lee works at a Chinese restaurant, so baking—check. And she owns a dog—so owns animal, check. And it’s set in Cleveland Ohio—not so small town, small town. Basically, this series manages to tick the cozy boxes while still being different and memorable.

I fell in love with Lana Lee and I get ridiculously excited when I see a new Noodle Shop Mystery coming out because I feel like Lana still fits the cozy mould but she also manages to stay young hip and relevant for the 30 something readers. Continue reading “Review: Egg Drop Dead (A Noodle Shop Mystery #5) by Vivien Chien”

Review: The King’s Justice (Maggie Hope #9) by Susan Elia MacNeal

When I first stumbled on Maggie Hope, it was early 2012. I was one of the first people to read and review Mr Churchill’s Secretary and I fell head over heals for Maggie right then and there!

I have adored many of the books in the series thus far and I can’t believe we are on the 9th book already!

Obviously when this book came up for review, I was thrilled to be reading more about Maggie’s journey and checking in with many of my favorite characters in the series. After the last book, I had high hopes for this one as well! Continue reading “Review: The King’s Justice (Maggie Hope #9) by Susan Elia MacNeal”

Take Two Review: Why Kill the Innocent (Sebastian St. Cyr #13) by C.S. Harris

When I first read this book, it was only the third book I had read in this series. I read book 1 and then book 12 before reading this one and that was it. I went into this one feeling a little lost in the series in regards to the principle characters, but tried to keep my focus on the mystery itself.

Then back in Dec, I decided to bit the bullet as it were and read the entire series again from beginning to end as it was intended and what I have discovered is this series is positively unputdownable!

While I might not love every book in the series, I have found that I now can fully appreciate the detailed nuances of the character connections, changes, and relationships much better than when I picked this one up originally! Continue reading “Take Two Review: Why Kill the Innocent (Sebastian St. Cyr #13) by C.S. Harris”

Take Two Review: Where the Dead Lie (Sebastian St. Cyr #12) by C.S. Harris

I was first approached to read this series in 2017. At that time I hadn’t heard of Sebastian St Cyr and was hesitant to read the twelfth book in the series, so I read the first book with the intention of reading the series before this one, but sadly that was overly ambitious and I only had time for book 1 and then moved right into this one.

At that time I enjoyed the mystery and didn’t feel lost in the mystery itself, but definitely felt lost with some of the other plot points threaded through out the series. As a result, I felt that it was a worthy while read but I missed the nuances of the narrative and didn’t focus on the mystery as much because I was trying to figure out what had changed since the first book.

Now that I am re-reading the entire series from beginning to end, I am finally back to where it all began, with the twelfth book and I was eager to see if I enjoyed it more or less this time around. Continue reading “Take Two Review: Where the Dead Lie (Sebastian St. Cyr #12) by C.S. Harris”

Review: When Falcons Fall (Sebastian St. Cyr #11) by C.S. Harris

Now that I have completed this book, I am caught up with the series however I decided to keep reading and re-read the other books in this series so that I could read the later books with a more complete view of the larger narrative.

I was excited for this one because it was going to take us out of London and into the country with the promise of finding out more about Sebastian’s history. That was the big draw for me with this book, but I have to admit, I sort of missed foggy old London.

If you haven’t read this series, this would be a difficult book to pick up and read as a standalone. This one focuses a lot on other treads of Sebastian and Hero’s narrative so if you are thinking of starting here, pick another book. Even the next book in the series would be easier to pick up and read than this one. The series is excellent and I highly recommend reading them all as a series in order but there are some that can read as standalones but again this book isn’t one of them. Continue reading “Review: When Falcons Fall (Sebastian St. Cyr #11) by C.S. Harris”