Big Lunch Wednesday

Big Lunch Wednesday is not my usual type of memoir but my friend is mentioned in the end of the book since she dated the author.

Memoirs are always tricky for me to review since they are a personal experience and not something just thought up. Real life can have plot holes and odd occurrences. That said if not for the fact my friend asked me to read Big Lunch Wednesday I would not have chosen it. The story felt too personal and it seemed like I missed a lot of inside jokes since I do not know the author.

Mechanica

Mechanica was a wonderful find at the bookstore before it closed. While a retelling of Cinderella some new stuff is introduced and it is a bit of fantasy with steampunk. I adored the combination of the two and I really hope that Betsy Cornwell writes a companion book or a second book with the same characters.

 Nicolette, better known as Nick, is a young girl who loses both her parents. After the death of her inventor mother Nick's father gets rid of any trace of her inventions leaving Nick with almost no reminders of her mother. Upon the death of her father Nick is turned into a servant in her own house. Lucky for her she does have some help, a mysterious note appears under her door on the sixteenth birthday leading her to her mother's wondrous workshop. With a chance for freedom Nick will summon all her courage and learning to make the most of her situation. 

I really liked Nick she was strong willed despite years of abuse from her step mother and sisters. Instead of letting it break her she adsorbed it and grew stronger because of it. Nor does Nick depend on someone else to come rescue her, she wants to rescue herself. I did have a couple problems with the story, key elements were left out. This makes me wonder if a squeal or companion story is being written explaining some of the things in the story.  However since Mechanica is an older book I do not feel this is the case. :(

Christmas Carol Murder

Christmas Carol Murder is another Lucy Stone story and it is a lot farther in the series then I realized.

Working at the Pennysaver newspaper Lucy is in on all the news and at the scene of every big scoop. When the local scrooge is blown up with a mail bomb disguised as a festive Christmas package Lucy is determined to find out who is sending deadly mail. The recession is hitting hard and with many suspects all more disgruntled then the last Lucy has to call on every instinct and trick she has learned to stop the bomber before they strike again.

Leslie Meier's writing has improved drastically since the first book in the series. I still do have some issues with too much fluff and filler that I do not care about. Maybe it is because I have not read the series in order that I wince every time a luncheon or gathering with lots of Lucy friends occur. It was a fun fast read to help get my mind on Christmas.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

The super adorable puppies on the cover drew me to The Twelve Dogs of Christmas in the early hours this morning. Sadly the mention of dogs and Christmas was barely existent. If not for the main character complaining about decorating the tree I would never have known it was Christmas time.

Andy Carpenter is a defense attorney and when the local lady, Pups, who takes in puppies to raise until they are old enough to find homes is being harassed by the city for too many dogs in her residence Andy takes up the case. Quickly the tides turn and Pups finds herself the key suspect in a murder case Andy has to figure out what is going on and save an innocent woman from going to prison.

I wanted the story to fit the cute cover which it sadly did not. Andy mentioned walking his dogs several times but still I wanted more puppies and more Christmas. The puppies holding the key to the mystery would have been nice. Lots of ends were left undone and I am not sure if that is because this is a series or the author just did not feel the need to explain. The writing as well done and it never felt like I was reading fluff. Andy had extremely interesting thought processes that were well laid out and fun to read. Despite lacking the Christmas flare I would consider reading another Andy Carpenter mystery I just know now to expect much of the cute details.

Mistletoe Murder

I got sick Sunday and have been sleeping a lot but I woke up around one this morning and was unable to go back to sleep so I checked out a couple books on my Nook. Since Christmas is a handful of days away I was excited to see a Christmas themed book on the main page of the library. Mistletoe Murder did not feel overly Christmassy to me though.

Last year I believe I read a Lucy Stone mystery and did not really care for it. While not really having anything to do with Christmas I did at least enjoy Mistletoe Murder. Working for a local catalogue company Lucy is falling asleep and goes outside for some fresh air to perk herself up. Oddly she hears a car running and finds it odd since it is late at night and all her coworkers are in the building she just left. Rushing to check the car she finds the owner of the business deceased.

My biggest complaint about Lucy Stone stories that I have read is far too much filler. Lots of things I do not care about and I tend to just skim filler chapters since they do not move the story forward in anyway at all. Besides that I did like Mistletoe Murder it was a fun and fast read.

The Stowaway

In October the local bookstore went out of business and I got several books for ten cents. The Stowaway was one of those books.

The whole story is told from Maimun's point of view and he is relating the tale to a pirate captain. Having been found as a baby in some rubble and left with a druid until he was six years old Maimun knows nothing of his parents or how he really survived. It was not until he was six that he was even given a name which means twice lucky. The name suits Maimun well since he always seems to be ins some sort of trouble.

The Stowaway did end on a cliffhanger and I am curious to know more of Maimun's story. The writing was easy to read and the story flowed along comfortably. 

Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery

Sadly Slavery is not a thing of the past and still happens in many different forms. Enslaved tells the accounts of seven different people who were subjected to slavery and one person who was born a slave holder but turned to abolition.

The stories all varied and were on different subjects showcasing the different forms of slavery that exist to this day. At times Enslaved was hard to read and brutally painful to imagine that someone would do those thing to another human being. I choose Enslaved in hopes that I would better understand how slavery is still occurring in the world today and ways I can step up to help stop it. Despite the last chapter being ways to help stop slavery I do not feel that Enslaved was the best choice for learning about ways to stop slavery. It felt more like Enslaved is a starting point on learning more on the subject. Knowing what people have to deal with, even children, have me wanting to read more on the subject especially books that have proactive ways in which I can help make a difference.