It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Mar 9

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Here we are again on Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend. As I am typing, it's late Sunday, and my eyes are blurry from reading and notetaking all afternoon, but it was a productive week. Here are a few photos:

Made vegetable broth 

The Lil' Princess was home for a quick trip

We visited the new Hobby Lobby, and I picked up a cross-stitch kit

It was nice to have the Lil' Princess home for a few days. She flew in late Thursday and headed back to school Sunday afternoon. I worked Friday morning, but I kept the rest of the weekend for her, and we went shopping for a graduation dress. We each bought an embroidery kit and worked on them Saturday night. 

In my blogging and reading world, I posted reviews of:

The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars by Laura Alary. You can read it here.

The Lost Hummingbird by Janice Blanchett. The review can be found here.

I also posted a First Chapter Review of ZigZag Girl by Ruth Knafo Setton. You can read that review and enter the giveaway here.

I listened to this one in the car this week. I have less than two hours to go with my listening of 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke.

I didn't read Hazel Gaynor's Before Dorothy last week since I am still reading Van Dyke's book. 

I finished Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley. Great book. Most of it was interesting, but it had a weak ending. 

Next up is Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel, for an April review. I am so excited to dive into this one. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

I did not order anything new this week, but I downloaded a NetGalley copy of Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst for my April review. 

Upcoming Events

Women's Freedom: The Dawn of Possibilities by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein - Mar (Review)

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst - Apr 20 (Review)

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luanne Castle - May 21 (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Christmas Year Round's blog has not gotten a new post yet, because I was busy reading. It should be posted today. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

My reviews of the two books I read were posted above. 

Laura's Little Houses

I finally finished my profile of Albert Quinn Ingalls. You can read it here. 

Netflix announced it ordered a second season of Little House on the Prairie ahead of the series' July 9 premiere. I shared that here. Are you planning to watch it? 

That's it for me this week. I have appointments this morning, so it might be the afternoon before I visit your blog. Enjoy your day!

First Chapter Review & Giveaway: Zigzag Girl by Ruth Knafo Setton

 

Today, I am reviewing the first chapter of the mystery/thriller Zigzag Girl by Ruth Knafo Setton, currently on tour with Partners in Crime Tours.

BLURB: Zigzag Girl, by Ruth Knafo Setton, is a twisty contemporary mystery with a touch of magic, set in Atlantic City and the eerie New Jersey Pine Barrens. Lucy Moon, a brilliant young magician with a mysterious past, works in the town’s theatre, staging performances of enchantment and conjure. But one night, during the ‘Sawing a Woman in Half’ trick, Lucy discovers her friend’s body in the box, dead. As Lucy digs deeper, she uncovers a trail of murders and suspects. With the help of a fierce group of female magicians and mystics, she must expose the truth before she becomes the final act.

COVER: What a great cover! Love the colors and images. The font is neat, with that slice through the letters meant to symbolize the sawing trick, and the orange tag line stands out nicely against the green. 

FIRST CHAPTER: After an intense prologue, the story opens twenty-four years later in Atlantic City. On opening night, Lucy and Stormie are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their other co-star, Van, who should have been there two hours earlier. But Lucy knows Van wouldn't miss this night for the world. What has happened to her?

KEEP READING: With tight writing, unique characters, and its cliffhanger ending, the opening chapter of ZigZag Girl is definitely one that makes me want to continue. The prologue has me a bit disturbed about how dark this story is going to get. Still, Lucy is a strong narrator and intriguing. I plan to keep going. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Spring Crime
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2026
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1917788037
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1917788038
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I received a digital copy of this book to review from Partners in Crime Tours. This First Chapter Review includes my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Tour Participants:

Click through the other tour stops for can’t-miss reviews, insider interviews, exclusive guest posts, and more chances to win!

Click here to view the Tour Schedule 

 

Real Magic Awaits: A Giveaway That's Not an Illusion 🎩

This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Ruth Knafo Setton. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

Zigzag Girl by Ruth Knafo Setton | Gift Card

Can't see the giveaway? Click Here! 

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Fictional Things I'm Glad Are NOT Real

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews requests that you share your link in their weekly post on their website (which will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

We have fallen upon Wednesday again. Are you having a great week? We've been talking about fictional things we wish were real. But for this week's Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge, we are flipping the coin to talk about fictional things we are glad are not real. Wow! Just thinking about this topic makes me shiver. Here are a few:

Zombies

A writer for The Harvard Gazette conducted an interview about zombies with Dr. Steven Schlozman, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. This interview captures how frightening these creatures are and why. Schlozman says, "...the really terrifying thing about zombies isn’t that they will bite you and turn you into a zombie; it’s the idea that humans can get robbed of themselves, and that’s really scary. The idea of a person not being themselves, but still recognizable as a person, is a terrifying notion." That sure sums it up for me. 

The Blob

I still remember being scared out of my mind by scenes in this movie. The Blob, as stated on Wikipedia, is a carnivorous amoeboidal alien that crashes to Earth inside a meteorite, landing in Pennsylvania. It engulfs living beings, growing larger and getting more aggressive the more people it envelops. Yuck!

The Hunger Games

Let's just get this out of the way right now. I would be one of the first tributes to die. Though I have a strong survival instinct, I am not athletic, would likely not come close if I had to shoot someone, and my highly sensitive skin just couldn't cope under any of the odd conditions in the Games.  

What are some fictional things you are glad are not real? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Amateur Sleuth Occupations & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Which made-up thing do you badly wish was real?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Happy Tuesday, y'all! So great to see you again. This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a genre freebie, so we pick a genre and come up with a topic. It's been a while since I've read a cozy mystery, despite this genre being one of my favorites. Let's take a peek at my list of...

Top Ten Amateur Sleuth Occupations

1. Real estate agent: You knew this one would make the list. Though there are more mystery series than Karen White's Tradd Street, this was the first time I had read a mystery with an amateur sleuth who sells real estate. 
2. Event planner: The main character of Avery Daniels's Resort to Murder Mysteries series is an event planner. What I love is that this creates a way to have new characters and situations all the time, even when the series is mostly set at the resort where Julieanne works. 
3. Consignment shop owner: The minute I heard about Duffy Brown's Consignment Shop Mystery series, I knew I would love it. Reagan Summerside gets a rundown Victorian and her designer clothes in a divorce, but nothing else, so she opens a consignment shop. Then her ex-husband's new girlfriend is found dead, which means Reagan is trying to keep the lights on, running a business, and solving crimes. 
4. Writer: Who would ever have thought that a middle-aged mystery writer would be able to solve crimes in her small coastal New England town? But doesn't it make sense that someone like Jessica Fletcher, who had to perform research for her novels and make up heinous ways for someone to be murdered, could know a thing or two about crime solving?
5. Clergy: In the Amish Bishop Mystery series by Vannetta Chapman, Bishop Henry Lapp not only tends to the spiritual needs of his congregation; he also uses a God-given talent to solve crimes. 
6.  Vampire: In the Accidental Vampire PI Mystery series by Avery Daniels, Misty is a secretary for a private investigator who goes on the worst date of her life and is changed into a vampire. She winds up using her new skills to follow up on a missing person's case. 
7. Urban planner: In Marty Damon's Cate MacLeod Mystery series, Cate moves back to her hometown of Calvin after losing her job as an urban planner. She works part-time at her mother's shop, but gets drawn into the investigation when a local real estate agent is murdered. 
8. Lifestyle Blogger/Influencer: You know someone had to write a mystery novel with an influencer in it. Little did we know in the early days of blogging how influential we would become. I haven't read Instagoner by Sydney Leigh, but it sounds amazing that the main character can use her skills to help solve a crime. 
9. Librarian and Ghost Tour Guide: How have I not discovered the Haunted Tour Guide Mystery series until now? The main character is a librarian by day and a ghost tour guide by night in her Kentucky hometown. Two jobs and solving crimes, too. Impressive!
10. Beekeeper: The Josiah Reynolds Mystery series by Abigail Keam, which I will never catch up on, features a middle-aged beekeeper trying to keep the lights on by selling honey at the farmer's market. 

Thanks to Freepik for the image

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you can leave your comments in the weekly post when you participate. Check it out if you're interested in joining.

Well, it seems we have a pickle. Last week's Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge asked me to share fictional things I wish were real, which is similar to this week's Tell Me Something Tuesday. Now, I will really need to dive deep into my brain to figure out something to talk about. Hmmm...

I will go with something silly: Inspector Gadget's hat. It has...

• Extra hands (we moms always need those),
• A propeller (who needs drones, just fly above everyone to get a good view),
• Binoculars (always handy for birdwatching or spying),
• An umbrella (never get caught without one again),
• A mallet (you can tenderize meat and have a non-lethal weapon with you at all times),
• A magnifying glass (never worry about losing your reading glasses again),
• Sub-zero refrigerant (you will never need air conditioning, even in the worst heat),
• A spring (to avoid hurting your head if you fall),
• A jackhammer (in case you feel like tearing up your driveway one day),
• Radar (be able to see in even the most challenging dust and snow storms),
• A gas mask (protection is only seconds away),
• A bouquet of flowers (because you never know when you might need to impress someone).

Hope you had a good chuckle. Enjoy your day!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Mar 2

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Welcome to March, everyone! Can you believe it? There are only 18 days until the official start of spring in our hemisphere. We are expecting rainy, but warmer temperatures this coming week. Maybe we will even get to see the grass one day soon. I'm sure the Lil' Princess will be disappointed with the warmer weather once she arrives on Friday for a quick visit. She prefers the snow.

Hope you enjoyed the past seven days. Last week, I appreciated a slightly slower pace than the beginning of the year, and even got to enjoy almost two days off. I attended a paint and sip event with one of my real estate friends, read, made great food, began the process of organizing thirteen pages of story ideas, and even submitted a manuscript to a literary agent. The exciting news is that our brokerage was named the Chicopee Chamber Business of the Year! We attended the awards gala on Friday. Then on Saturday, the husband and I attended the closing ceremonies of a local charity danceathon, which donated money to three local non-profits, including Rick's Place in Wilbraham. 

Here are a few photos from the week:

Travis is looking at who knows what

Paddy and I at the awards gala

Western Mass Charity Danceathon

Theo is adorable when he's playing coy

Thanks to the lighter load this past week, I was able to get reviews written. 

My review of Creepy Kid by Caleb Roehrig was posted. You can read it here. Such a great book!

My review of Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry was posted on Saturday. You can read it here if you missed it. Love this one, too!

I also posted my review of I Heard the Bells on Saturday. You can read that review here. The authors did an amazing job of combining their various genres into one heartwarming collection. 

I listened to this one in the car this week. I have about two hours to go with my listening of 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke.

I didn't read Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor last week. I will likely start it up again once I am done with Van Dyke's book. 

I continued with Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

As you will see below, I am not honoring my promise not to buy new books. I have to ask, does it still count if they don't cost me money? LOL!

I grabbed Love and Christmas Cookies by A. M. Heath as a freebie for my Kindle.

Then I used an Audible credit to snag Taming Lady Temperance by Karen Witemeyer, the first in her Secret Society of Spinsters series. 

Upcoming Events

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst - Apr 20 (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Christmas Year Round's latest "Journey through Christmases Past" takes a trip into the food and confections from my childhood holidays. You can read that here.

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Only my review of Creepy Kid for this week, but I should be posting another review soon, and I hope to post here more regularly. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new at Laura's Little Houses, but if I can complete my Albert Quinn Ingalls profile this week, that will be something to read. 

That's it for me today. I'm looking forward to visiting you and seeing what has been going on in your lives since we last connected. Wishing you a fabulous day!

Book Review: I Heard the Bells by Darlene L. Turner et al.

 

I Heard the Bells by Darlene L. Turner et al. is a seasonal romance collection you'll enjoy no matter what you're looking for. With its theme of peace, love, and joy, within this anthology's pages, you'll find distinct voices and diverse genres, woven together by a meaningful holiday, faith, and the use of the title within the stories. Oh, and there are red trucks, too. Whether you enjoy murder mysteries, suspense, second chances, or dual timelines, you will want to spend time with these characters.

These authors have set these stories in Canada, and they paint pictures for us that are just as stunning as the cover art. Yukon for a wedding mystery, Ontario for a second chance at love, skiing in the Rockies, and a tiny town in Nova Scotia for a Christmas play. 

Sweet, faith-based romances set during the Christmas season is what I Heard the Bells is all about. The stories and settings will captivate you, and you will be just as delighted as these characters with the happy endings. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fab Four Press
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 28, 2025
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 415 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1069326941
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1069326942

I received a digital copy of this novella anthology from the authors. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Book Review: Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry

 

Sweet romance abounds in this short story collection by Evelyn Grace Berry. Chapters and Second Chances is filled with touching, heartfelt romantic stories that make you sigh, chuckle, and feel so good about life and love. Moments of chance meetings, second chances, and faith blend to create beautifully-told stories with happy endings.  

Everything about this short story collection is delightful. The whimsical cover, the creative font for title and chapter headings, the artwork signifying scene or story breaks, the charming settings, and the flawed yet likable characters make for a collection that draws you in from the first story to the last, leaving you feeling happy for the characters and their newfound love. Told in bite-sized chunks, these stories are perfect for those moments when you need a quick pick-me-up, but can also be read one after the other. 

Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry will have you celebrating how wonderful and uplifting love can be!

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FZS93MQR
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Three Strands Publishing, LLC
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2025
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 302 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8993751016
• 
  

I won a paperback copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.