Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz

Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz ISBN-13: 9780425259542 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: August 6, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Murphy’s Mercantile, known as the Merc, has been a staple in Jewel Bay for over a hundred years. To celebrate their recent makeover as a gourmet food market, Erin has organized a town festival, Festa di Pasta, featuring the culinary goods of Jewel Bay’s finest—including her mother Fresca’s delicious Italian specialties.

But Erin’s sweet success is soured when the shop’s former manager, Claudette, is found dead behind the Merc on the Festa’s opening night. With rival chef James Angelo stirring up rumors that Fresca’s sauce recipes were stolen from Claudette, Erin’s mother is under close scrutiny. Now Erin will have to hunt down some new suspects, or both her family and her store might wind up in hot water...


My Review:
Death Al Dente is a cozy mystery. Erin was generally a nice person, and the characters had realistic reactions to the various situations. However, Erin wasn't very clever.

We had obvious clues about who wanted to buy what shop, but she was blinded by her assumptions. She didn't connect those clues together until she was practically told what was going on in plain language. I also was certain about whodunit before I'd read halfway through the book. Since no one claimed that Erin was clever, I was okay with her not catching on to things quickly.

Erin's vision for the store and the details about running it were interesting. Readers who like romance will enjoy the two hunky guys who are interested in Erin, one of whom provides a vital clue to the mystery. I liked that the detective was a female and an old friend of Erin's, but one who had mysteriously stopped being her friend.

There was a very minor amount of explicit bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer ISBN-13: 9780373834488 Mass Market Paperback: 408 pages Publisher: Harlequin Books Released: 1940; July 1, 2000

Source: Bought from Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When Sir Richard Wyndham, an accomplished Corinthian, comes across a beautiful young woman climbing out of a window in a bid to escape, he finds the ideal opportunity to realize his own escape. His family is pressuring him to marry a women that he doesn't like and who doesn't like him. But he hasn't met any woman he could love, until now.

Penelope Creed is an heiress pressured by relatives to marry to a man she loathes. She's returning in disguise to her country home to contact a man she hasn't seen for years--a childhood friend that she promised to marry. Surely he's still waiting...

Richard and Pen become friends through danger and adventure. Only Pen's uncertain young heart will tell where their destiny lies.


My Review:
The Corinthian is a Regency romance with a grand adventure. A diamond necklace has been stolen, and the police are searching suspicious-looking people. Pen is worried they'll uncover her disguise and send her home to her relatives. After several twists and turns, one of thieves end up dead, and it's up to our hero (and heroine) to set everything straight.

The characters were all enjoyable, and the main romantic couple was well suited to each other. The story was very funny with the many scrapes that the various characters got into. As is fairly typical for Heyer, the novel ended abruptly. However, it was still clear how everything would resolve itself. This is one of my favorite Heyer romantic adventures.

There were no sex scenes. There was some explicit bad language (mostly swearing using "God"). Overall, I'd highly recommend this hilarious romp.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn ISBN-13: 9780670062485 Hardback: 342 pages Publisher: Viking Juvenile Released: October 18, 2007

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Eighteen-year-old heiress Averie Winston travels with her guardian to faraway Chiarrin to reunite with her father, who is the commanding general, and to see her handsome fiancé Morgan. She's excited about exploring the strange new country. Yet Chiarizzi rebels are fighting the invaders. Averie also realizes that Morgan doesn't share her views on the locals, and she finds herself falling in love with Lieutenant Ket Du'kai, who himself comes from a conquered society.


My Review:
General Winston's Daughter is a young adult fantasy. It's a look at how imperialism affects the conquered using a British-like society that has taken over several "more primitive" societies for economic gain. Averie has an increasingly sympathetic view of the conquered peoples.

I enjoyed the world-building as Averie learned about the new culture. I liked Averie even though she was head-strong because she tended to be willful about neutral or good things, like wanting to wear a new dress style or helping care for an injured friend. She wasn't cruel to Morgan, and Ket was an honorable man. I could see why attraction grew up between Averie and Ket.

However, I was disappointed with the ending. I could see the "surprise twist" coming from the start, but my problem was with how it has handled. No real society has such a complete unity in emotion or ability to keep a mass secret. I can't believe that the imperialist war-machine had no spies and didn't catch wind of what was going to happen. I also stopped liking Averie. Her reaction wasn't realistic and was too shallow for what had happened. Rather than becoming more mature and cautious, she became more immature and trusting. I also didn't like how she tried to force someone she supposedly loved to do things her way so she could get what she wanted.

There were no sex scenes, magic, or explicit bad language. Overall, I found the book enjoyable even though the ending was disappointing.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer ISBN-13: 9780373810895 Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Harlequin Released: January 1, 2005

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton, is madly in love with the beautiful Julia Oversley. But he has returned from the Peninsular War to find his family on the brink of ruin and his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt.

Then Adam is introduced to Mr. Jonathan Chawleigh, a City man of apparently unlimited wealth. He has no social ambitions for himself, but he's determined to marry off his only daughter, the quiet and decidedly plain Jenny Chawleigh, to a suitable man who has a title. Adam feels forced to sacrifice his happiness to provide for his family and so cuts things off with Julia, but he feels ashamed by his mercenary marriage.

Jenny has long loved Adam, but can she win--in her quiet way--his love away from Julia, or do too many things stand in their way?


My Review:
A Civil Contract is a Regency romance. It's not highly humorous like Heyer's usual writing. If you believe that a true, lasting love can occur between two people who have decided to honor and behave in a caring way toward each other, then you'll probably enjoy it.

The characters were all nice people who were trying very hard to make things work out so everyone ended up happy. But the characters were also realistic, so they're not always successful. For example, Jenny's father kept trying to give Adam gifts, but they don't have the same tastes or ideas about what makes a good gift. Not to mention that Adam didn't want "handouts."

Most of the suspense came from relationship tensions as Adam, Jenny, and her father learned to appreciate each other for who they are while all hope that Adam and Julia grow disillusioned with each other. The high suspense came at the very end, with Adam's great gamble...perfect.

There were no sex scenes. There was a fair amount of "God" being used as a swear word. Overall, I'd highly recommend this well-written book and count it as one of my favorites.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Prelude by Helen Taylor Davidson

Prelude, A Novel & The 1854 Diary of Adeline Elizabeth Hoe by Helen Taylor Davidson, Richard Davidson ISBN-13: 978-1931807807 Hardcover: 296 pages Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher Released: August 1, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Publisher's Website:
A book in two parts, Prelude, A Novel and The 1854 Diary of Adeline Elizabeth Hoe. In the spring of 1854, a seventeen-year-old girl began to keep a daily diary. Filled with six months of the details of a young girl’s life, the diary itself offers a wonderful window into the mind of an educated young woman from a well-to-do family living in Lower Manhattan in the turbulent decade before the Civil War. Her meticulous record of the elegant music, dances and literature she and her sister enjoyed is juxtaposed with her matter-of-fact relation of epidemics and sudden deaths, conveying a vivid picture of mid-nineteenth-century life.

Adeline was the daughter of a famous nineteenth-century inventor and industrialist Richard March Hoe. Family friends included William Sidney Mount, noted as the first American painter to accurately depict African-American life; William Batchelder Bradbury, the NYC choral director and founder of the Bradbury Piano Company; and Robert Nunns, also of piano-making fame. The Davidsons’ footnotes to the diary explain Adeline's enigmatic references to the events and culture of this time.

Prelude, A Novel, is a captivating thriller about the Underground Railroad inspired by the Davidsons’ research into Adeline’s life and times. Davidson recreates the social milieu of Adeline around the most dramatic movement in the America in which she lived.


My Review:
This book is actually two books: a historical fiction, Prelude, and historical nonfiction, The 1854 Diary of Adeline Elizabeth Hoe. The diary is set in New York and the surrounding areas from May 26 to December 27, 1854. The novel was based on the diary. The author used the entries in the diary as an outline for the story and then added details to fill out entries--like having the characters drying apple slices rather than using the less specific description of helping in the kitchen.

These historical details and the historical notes on the diary were clearly carefully researched and helped to bring the time period alive. Suspense was added in the novel by giving Adeline a romantic interest and providing a secret life of working on the Underground Railroad to her love interest. I liked the characters in the novel, and they reacted realistically to various situations. There were no sex scenes or bad language. Overall, I enjoyed the interesting novel, Prelude.

The diary recorded Adeline's daily activities, like her chores, which friends dropped by, going to a party, or going out for ice cream. She talked about to the illnesses of her family and relations, the books that they read while sewing, and traveling to visit relatives. It was interesting due to the variation in activities from day to day. When she got home from travelling and the days became less remarkable, her diary petered out.

Black and white pictures were included that showed people and places mentioned in the text. There were also notes related to the diary which explained who certain people were or how billiards was played back then, or the story behind a fire in a city that was only briefly mentioned in the diary. Though the diary wasn't written with the intent that descendants might read it one day, it was still an interesting look at the time, place, and her lifestyle.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

And the winner is...

It's time to announce the winner of the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop. Including Twitter entries, we had 16 entries. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is:

Kim Reid (@kimbreid)
who won "In Times of Trouble" by Yolonda Sanders

Congratulations! I'll be contacting you for your address.

For those who didn't win, you can always buy a copy of these books from your favorite bookstore or see if they have them at your local library.

Rubbed Out by Riley Adams

Rubbed Out by Riley Adams ISBN-13: 9780425259993 Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: July 2, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Even Lulu Taylor—proprietress of Aunt Pat’s Barbeque Restaurant in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee—needs to get out of the kitchen now and then. But at the Rock and Ribs festival, she finds more than a taste of trouble…

Reuben Shaw rubs a lot of people the wrong way—including Lulu’s best friend, Cherry, who has the misfortune of being in the booth next to his at the festival. The pigheaded pit master thinks he’s a shoo-in to win the barbeque competition, but he spends more time stirring up trouble than seasoning his spare ribs.

Hours after she gets into a quarrel with him, Cherry finds Shaw dead with a butcher knife in his chest. Now it’s her turn to get grilled—by the police. Lulu sets out to clear her friend’s name and finds Shaw had more secrets than his BBQ recipe. She’ll need to act fast, because the real killer will spare no one…including Lulu.


My Review:
Rubbed Out is a humorous cozy mystery. It's the fourth in a series, but you can follow this story without having read the first novel, and this novel didn't spoil the mysteries in the previous novels.

The characters were engaging and reacted realistically to the situations. The details about the area, the festival, and the people brought the story alive in my imagination without slowing the pacing. Whodunit was high on my suspect list, but so many people had a motive that whodunit wasn't obvious.

There were no sex scenes. There was a very minor amount of fake bad language (as in, one "heck"). Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.