The Candy Shop Wars

The Candy Shop War has been on my radar since I finished Fablehaven. Seeing the library had it available I quickly checked it out. My husband had a root canal that took over five hours today so I had plenty of time to read.

Nate is dreading the new town his family moved to. Missing his friends and things that are familiar Nate reluctantly goes outside to meet some local children at the urging of his parents. After a little hesitation Nate quickly becomes friends with Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon. The four kids start school together and are excited to see a new candy shop open up. Upon entering the shop they quickly become friends with the owner Mrs. White who wastes no time getting them hooked on her candy.

The writing was smooth and easy to understand. Despite the book being geared towards middle school age I felt like the story was engaging and even threw in a word at times that most middle school students would have to look up. The only that confuses me this is part of a series yet the story tied up nicely in the end so I fail to see how it will continue.

Sold

Sold has been on my radar for awhile and when I saw the library had no waiting list for it I quickly checked it out. Yes the story was vile, horrible, and made me question humanity but I am a strong believer if you are not aware of what is going on in the world you cannot make anything change.

Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl who lives in a poor mountain village in Nepal and knows hardship. With a cruel and drunken step father Lakshmi is used to him not providing for her mother, younger brother, and herself. Determined to help her family in any way possible Lakshmi is beyond excited when she learns she is to go work in a city as a maid. Thinking she will help her family with the money she is earning Lakshmi eagerly goes with the woman who buys her for a small sum. However none of that is true instead Lakshmi is sold into the sex slave trade and soon true horror is known to the young girl.

The story was written like a diary, all chapters were short and some only one paragraph. However McCormick did not need a lot of words to get the story across. I continue to hope with more education, awareness, and people learning not to take advantage of others crimes that involve children will stop. 

The Cowboy's Christmas Bride

I believe The Cowboy's Christmas was a Free Friday book at one point. Once again I was looking for a Christmas story and found this in my Nook library.

Cassidy is looking for some peace and quiet to recover after a surgery. Deciding her childhood home with her Grandpa is the best place for her Cassidy is shocked when she hits the truck of her ex-boyfriend. Determined to keep things professional while she finishes healing Cassidy does her best to build a wall around her heart locking out Ryder and his little girl Molly.

Ryder never got over Cassidy and when she left to become a music star it broke his heart. Determined to protect his little girl he refuses to get close to Cassidy as she recovers at her family's house. In over his head with little girl duties Ryder focuses on being the best dad he can to Molly.

I tried really hard to read The Cowboy's Christmas Bride but I just did not like it. At around the forty percent mark I just started skimming it. The story was dull to me and too slow of a pace. The writing was average and none of the characters stuck with me.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing was in a big box of books given to me by a friend. The story started out a bit slow but I am glad I continued with it.

Kya has never known anything but the marsh to bring her safety. With a drunk and abusive father she learns to hide in the marsh to keep him for hurting her. Abandoned by her mother and eventually siblings Kya learns to take care of herself. Using the marsh for food and eventually learning to trade at the local shanty town for things like gas and grits Kya scratches out a small existence. Life is good until a local man is found dead.

The second half of the story was defiantly fast paced compared to the first half. I could not put down Where the Crawdads Sing about about the 60% mark and just read straight though. The writing was smooth and transitioned easily even when jumping between two time periods. I did get a bit bored with all the poetry that seemed randomly inserted and eventually just skipped reading the poems.

The Wishmakers

I have been wanting to a read a fun story for awhile but have been putting off checking out a middle school book since I have no children and feel a bit out of place reading middle school stories. However The Wishmakers was flat out a fun story.

Ace is shocked beyond belief when he opens up a peanut butter jar and a kid pops out. After gathering his wits about him Ace learns the kid is a genie and going to grant him wishes. Even better Ace is not limited to three wishes he gets as many as he wants for a whole week as long as he accepts the consequences of the wish. Ace and the Genie, Ridge, develop a friendship and both want each other to succeed. I enjoyed reading about their relationship and seeing the two working together to accomplish things. The consequences for a wish was a great twist with the story, some were hilarious and some really made Ace think about things. Ace grew a good deal as the story progressed and learned to balance out his wishes and choices far more carefully as the plot progressed.

The writing was fun, witty, entertaining, and well done. I am already on the waiting list for The Wishbreaker and hope it will not be a long wait. 

Cooking Spirits

If Cooking Spirits had not opened with a murder it is not a book I would have finished. I did not understand the characters, the overall plot of the characters relationships, and the humor was mild at best.

Angie is getting married in a few months and neither of them have housing that works for two. Determined to find the perfect place to live Angie goes house hunting with her realtor sister. After hours of looking Angie sees a listing for the perfect house and quickly convinces her sister to take her there. Oddly enough the house is perfect and the little things like the candy jar moving can be ignored. Soon Angie finds herself enthralled with the house's history while her fiance works to solve a double homicide.

After I finished Cooking Spirits I found out it is a spin off series with the main series having fourteen books which is most likely why I struggled to understand things in Cooking Spirits. Since the writing came off as average with no real character I feel in love with I wont be pursuing the next book or the books in the previous series.

Stay at Home Dead

Stay at Home Dead is a mystery but I would not classify it as a cozy mystery. What intrigued me about Stay at Home Dead is the main character is a male and I have not read a mystery with a male lead before.

Deuce Winters was an interesting character and I did wish for a few more humorous moments. Some of the humor was clearly pushed a bit too much. Being a stay at home dad for his three year old daughter is a dream for Deuce since his wife makes ample money being an attorney. Getting to do pony tails is the hardest part of his day until he find a dead man in his van after a local grocery store trip. Determined to keep his head down becomes impossible for Deuce when it suddenly seems everyone in town is out to get him for every wrong he has committed since senior year of high school. Unsure who to trust and running out of ways to stay out of trouble Deuce comes to the conclusion he will have to solve things himself.

While I liked the change of pace with a male lead I am not sure Stay at home Dead was overall a genre I would read more of. I guess I relate to the humor of things happening to females more. All in all Stay at Home Dead was a fast and easy read.

All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt

All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt is the second book in the Haunted Vintage Mystery Series. I am really glad I gave the second book in the series a chance since Cookie really grew on me.

Having solved a murder mystery and gotten cozy with a local detective Cookie is happy her life is back on track. Eager to continue promoting her vintage clothing store Cookie is beyond excited when a movie being produced locally asked her to provide the costumes Cookie is over the moon. All that is well and great and until the main actress shows up dead in one of Cookie's vintage dresses. Pulled into yet another mystery Cookie has at least learned a few tricks on how to stay out of trouble but get things done.

Roe Pressey's writing really evolved and I felt All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt read a lot smoother then If You've Got It, Haunt It. I do plan on continuing with the series and since I am still in the mood for the cozy mystery genre I am hoping the library has Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore.