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snacksandstacks's review
3.0
I'm going to pause here on this series. It's enjoyable and fun quick read in the background, but I think it's missing something. First, the love triangle is not really my cup of tea. Mike underestimates Hannah all of the time, and his only saving grace is handsome-ness? Yeah, no thanks. It's all a bit lack luster, and it makes me hungry the whole time I'm listening! So, I'll pause it here and maybe pick the series back up when I need something quick and fun.
cabbage_patch's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
1.0
Book # 6 in the Hannah Swenson series has our heroine / amateur sleuth coordinating the Lake Eden Christmas Potluck supper. Everyone will be bringing the dishes they’ve offered for inclusion in the latest community cookbook, and Hannah’s mother has offered a beautiful antique cake knife to cut a very special cake. This is Minnesota and a snowstorm isn’t about to keep the residents of Lake Eden away from the Community Center, so the place is packed. But before the desserts are even set out on the buffet tables, the valuable antique goes missing, and Hannah finds it embedded to the hilt in the latest murder victim.
This novella (168 pages of the 341 total pages in the book) is a barely concealed attempt at interesting us in the recipes which take up more than half the book. And it’s a failed attempt at that. The mystery is weak, Hannah and her sisters run around like fools jumping to conclusions and keeping notes on the backs of napkins (and Fluke gives us a description of every napkin’s design), while Mike is holed up in a small office “interviewing and investigating.” Of course, Hannah solves the crime – on page 151 – and Fluke fills another seventeen pages with a side story dealing with sister Andrea.
It’s just a waste of time (and paper). I’ve read several of the books in this series and at least they usually have some good cookie recipes in them. This time all the recipes are in the second half of the book, and like a community cookbook they’re arranged from soup to “extras” (including catfish bait – I kid you not). Most of them require a slow cooker and most of them include canned mushroom soup. Several had serious errors in the recipe instructions or ingredients list.
Like I said, a waste of time. Well, it fulfilled a challenge requirement … and there were a couple of dessert recipes that look worth the effort to try them, so they earned 1 star.
This novella (168 pages of the 341 total pages in the book) is a barely concealed attempt at interesting us in the recipes which take up more than half the book. And it’s a failed attempt at that. The mystery is weak, Hannah and her sisters run around like fools jumping to conclusions and keeping notes on the backs of napkins (and Fluke gives us a description of every napkin’s design), while Mike is holed up in a small office “interviewing and investigating.” Of course, Hannah solves the crime – on page 151 – and Fluke fills another seventeen pages with a side story dealing with sister Andrea.
It’s just a waste of time (and paper). I’ve read several of the books in this series and at least they usually have some good cookie recipes in them. This time all the recipes are in the second half of the book, and like a community cookbook they’re arranged from soup to “extras” (including catfish bait – I kid you not). Most of them require a slow cooker and most of them include canned mushroom soup. Several had serious errors in the recipe instructions or ingredients list.
Like I said, a waste of time. Well, it fulfilled a challenge requirement … and there were a couple of dessert recipes that look worth the effort to try them, so they earned 1 star.
damusicalpoet's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
syringaflower's review
3.0
A fun atmospheric christmas story
Spoiler
But the murder not being a murder was disappointing. I know, I know, Christmas spirit and all that. Mike was also kind of a jerk and he becomes less likable every book. The whole pregnancy thing is also starting to tire me out.allyzins's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
robinsversion's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the twist and the ending (though Mike is SUCH a sexist pig (in more ways than one, acab) and this book firmly cemented me in the camp of #teamnorman)