Dear Readers, November was an okay month for catching up on my TBR. I read 4 books this month. I read 1 romance, 1 young adult, and 2 mysteries. Out of the 4 books I read this month I rated, 1 four stars, and 3 three stars. I read all books that are part of a book series.  

Four Star Reviews:

The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore by Laurie Gilmore is a cozy romance in the small town of Dream Harbor. The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is the 2nd book in the Dream Harbor series. The book is cute and cuddly but still has the spicy moments. I read and enjoyed the first book in the series (The Pumpkin Spice Cafe) mostly due to the townspeople. The couple, Logan and Jeanie was a little annoying and felt like they belonged in High School instead of being adults. Noah and Hazel’s relationship is so much better. They don’t have love at first sight but there’s an attraction there. There’s a good reason they cannot be with each other and it takes the book for them to get over that issue, and at the same time slowly build their relationship and fall in love. The romantic element in this book works so well. There’s not a big sweeping gesture of romance at the end, there’s a small one that fits the characters perfectly. The end made me tear up and my heart fluttered at the clever way the couple both said I love you.The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is nominated in The Goodreads Choice Awards of 2024 in Romance. The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore was published on August 29, 2024.

Three Star Reviews:

Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell is a Jessica Jones mystery. Jessica Jones is a hard-drinking former low-level superhero turned private investigator. Her powers are super strength and rapid healing. Breaking the Dark is the first book in the Marvel Crime series. The series has a mystery writer teamed up with a hero. Breaking the Dark has Jessica Jones investigating two twins who came back from England changed. The mystery of the book is good. The story is told in the present and has flashbacks that involve the villain. The flashbacks lead up to the present-day events. A big reason the mystery works is the flashbacks. As Jessica investigates the reader gets flashbacks that sometimes enhance what is going on with the added information and background. The mystery up until the ending is good, but the ending stinks. Breaking the Dark was published on July 4, 2024.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is a cozy mystery that is inspired by Agatha Christie. This whodunit is the first book in The Castle Knoll Files. The basic plot is a niece is called to her rich great aunt’s estate to talk about her possible inheritance. When she arrives the great aunt is dead. Her will stipulated that her immediate heirs will have a week to solve her murder. If they succeed in solving the murder, they get the whole estate. “The game is afoot” to quote Sherlock Holmes. The novel is in the present but we get a diary of the past from 1965-1966. We are lead to believe early on that the aunt’s murder is tied to a disappearance in 1966 of a childhood friend. I was hooked at the beginning which starts on a creepy fortune in 1965 that was about the eventual murder of the great aunt. The murder is almost impossible to solve with the main character holding her thoughts close to the vest. But the disappearance gives you little hints. How to Solve Your Own Murder was published on March 26, 2024.

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell is a what-if story set in the world of Disney’s Aladdin. The story is what if at the Cave of Wonders Aladdin gave Jafar the lamp. A Whole New World is the first book in the Twisted Tale series. The tone surprised me a little since it starts as the rated G (for general audiences) then the twist happens and it turns PG-13. Jafar straight-up murders the Sultan. Someone’s head gets pulled off my magic. Which is a gruesome scene. The story leans into themes the original movie explored about the poor and rich classes but expands upon them. Jasmine comes to realize that her father the sultan was a horrible ruler that did not do anything for the poor. When Jafar is in charge the novel turns into a revolution and the resistance story. Jasmine takes a Princess Leia’s role in running the resistance, while Aladdin takes the role of Robin Hood and leads a gang called the Street Rats. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell was published on September 1, 2015.