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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Another enjoyable cozy mystery set on Nantucket. This one has an unearthed skeleton from the 1800's as well as a more modern plot to follow, but they intertwined nicely and was a well written whodunnit. I continue to enjoy all of the characters including Stella, Peter, her friend Emily and the ladies who attend her candle making classes. This catches me up with this series, and I'm not sure if it's over or if there are more coming.
Enjoyed this more than I expected! Excited to see what Stella gets up to next! I wonder if
Spoiler
Stella and Andy are going to get together in a future book. It seems like it’s heading that way!
Another entertaining installment in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries. I continue to be pleased by this series overall, even if it took me a while to get through the book due to the busier season of Christmas preparations.
What I liked about 15 Minutes of Flame:
The circumstances of the murder case - Sometimes, with all the foul play that occurs around a series protagonist in a relatively short period of time, I question a) why someone would stay friends with the main character and b) why they continue to live in the series location at all! (Yes, I do realize this is the nature of a cozy mystery series and I am using my sarcasm font.) Dropping the snark, I liked that there is some variety among the first three books in the "how and why" of the victims.
Seasonally chilling - Given that there was a Halloween theme to this one, the creep factor was the perfect blend of spooky and cozy.
Stella's personal life - One detail I has me very happy. Another has me a little concerned. And the final one leaves me a somewhat ambivalent, but I am willing to see how this plays out.
What I didn't care for:
An abundance of characters to dislike - I took an immediate dislike to Solder, Leigh, Old Holly, Fontbutter, and Bellows. It didn't even matter if I thought them guilty or not, they were merely dislikable and it made my dislike feel stretched too thin.
Editing issues - More excessive use of 'said', a couple of random words missing from sentences, and one major inconsistency in the last chapter. It doesn't turn me off the series, but I notice. I always notice.
A dangling thread - We never did get to know exactly what the specific identity of the treasure contents were! I thought there might be one last big reveal but nope.
Well, we're left with a bit of a cliffhanger here, and I am relieved that book four is in the works because I need to know what's going to happen. I know what I'm rooting for!
What I liked about 15 Minutes of Flame:
The circumstances of the murder case - Sometimes, with all the foul play that occurs around a series protagonist in a relatively short period of time, I question a) why someone would stay friends with the main character and b) why they continue to live in the series location at all! (Yes, I do realize this is the nature of a cozy mystery series and I am using my sarcasm font.) Dropping the snark, I liked that there is some variety among the first three books in the "how and why" of the victims.
Seasonally chilling - Given that there was a Halloween theme to this one, the creep factor was the perfect blend of spooky and cozy.
Stella's personal life - One detail I has me very happy. Another has me a little concerned. And the final one leaves me a somewhat ambivalent, but I am willing to see how this plays out.
What I didn't care for:
An abundance of characters to dislike - I took an immediate dislike to Solder, Leigh, Old Holly, Fontbutter, and Bellows. It didn't even matter if I thought them guilty or not, they were merely dislikable and it made my dislike feel stretched too thin.
Editing issues - More excessive use of 'said', a couple of random words missing from sentences, and one major inconsistency in the last chapter. It doesn't turn me off the series, but I notice. I always notice.
A dangling thread - We never did get to know exactly what the specific identity of the treasure contents were! I thought there might be one last big reveal but nope.
Well, we're left with a bit of a cliffhanger here, and I am relieved that book four is in the works because I need to know what's going to happen. I know what I'm rooting for!
This book was just ok for me. Sadly I wasn’t interested in the mystery and I still don’t feel connected to the characters.
Book 3 in the series.
I somehow missed book 2, but that's okay, I was able to read this is a stand alone story.
This one was a Halloween story, so right up my avenue, since that's my favorite holiday. It was fittingly a bit creepy, but also a little kooky, with a touch of cheese, haha. My only concern is that Stella seems a bit harder in this book than she did in the first one. Did something big happen in book two that I missed? She was almost a b%$& at times.
I'd definitely like to see Stella go back the way she was in book 1. Also, my pet peeve with most cozies is that the main character rarely spends much time at their job, so I'd like to see more of Stella's candlemaking business.
That said, I loved the setting of Nantucket and island life, and I am looking forward to more.
*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*
I somehow missed book 2, but that's okay, I was able to read this is a stand alone story.
This one was a Halloween story, so right up my avenue, since that's my favorite holiday. It was fittingly a bit creepy, but also a little kooky, with a touch of cheese, haha. My only concern is that Stella seems a bit harder in this book than she did in the first one. Did something big happen in book two that I missed? She was almost a b%$& at times.
I'd definitely like to see Stella go back the way she was in book 1. Also, my pet peeve with most cozies is that the main character rarely spends much time at their job, so I'd like to see more of Stella's candlemaking business.
That said, I loved the setting of Nantucket and island life, and I am looking forward to more.
*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.*
I really liked this book, I liked the mysteries (both the one in the past and the one in the present). The one in the past was underdeveloped as a mystery but since it's in the past it makes sense. I read it all at once like the first two.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
4.5 stars ⭐️ this was for me, a big improvement from book 1. I may go back and read book 2. The first one does introduce you more to the characters, but this one is such a better story! From the spooky beginning of a mystery corpse - and then another murder (poor Nantucket, I’m afraid it may have a lot of murders per square foot by the time this series is over), there were a lot of characters who weren’t telling their whole story!
My only thing is: I still probably don’t understand why people open up or trust Stella so much... I don’t get how or why she has the credibility to discuss personal and revealing things with people - or demand them (since she isn’t officially on a case). Several other reviewers mention this, too... and she does seem more demanding in this book than the first one. I don’t think that people would confide in a busybody or that the police would work with her. She needs an official role :)
I loved all the spookiness - the bones, the map, the skeleton, the fall mood, as well as the small-town Nantucket vibe. I feel like I know the coffee shop and all the fun spots (even though Brecher announced The Bean closed this summer). Brecher’s comments in the cozy mystery book club chat were fun, too. I got this book from the Halloween box from Once Upon a Bookclub, which made it extra fun. For 2020, I’m all in for fun, seasonal books!
My only thing is: I still probably don’t understand why people open up or trust Stella so much... I don’t get how or why she has the credibility to discuss personal and revealing things with people - or demand them (since she isn’t officially on a case). Several other reviewers mention this, too... and she does seem more demanding in this book than the first one. I don’t think that people would confide in a busybody or that the police would work with her. She needs an official role :)
I loved all the spookiness - the bones, the map, the skeleton, the fall mood, as well as the small-town Nantucket vibe. I feel like I know the coffee shop and all the fun spots (even though Brecher announced The Bean closed this summer). Brecher’s comments in the cozy mystery book club chat were fun, too. I got this book from the Halloween box from Once Upon a Bookclub, which made it extra fun. For 2020, I’m all in for fun, seasonal books!
Super cheesy cozy mystery but still a fun read. Very clean as far as language. It's the third in a series so there's probably some background of a few things I missed by starting with this book before reading the previous two in the series, but it still stands alone well without needing to read the previous books. Stella tries to solve a cold case mystery when she finds a skeleton of a Quaker woman from the 1800s in an outbuilding of the house she's helping her local Girl Scout troop decorate for their Halloween haunted house fundraiser, leading to another old mystery and then a current murder. The author keeps you guessing on who the present-day murderer is up until the very end, but there's a lot of jumping to conclusions as fact without any evidence and some other things (skipping of police procedure, her cousin telling her things that are entirely against HIPAA and other laws) that made it not as believable as a book for me. It's still a fun, easy, cute read, so read it for the fluff aspect not for the "this is how it goes down in the real world" aspect, because it doesn't have that! ha ha!! I was intrigued by the concept of candle clocks and think it would be fun to buy some to use!! Cute characters with a bit of a romance going on that spills over from the previous book and looks like it's going to continue into the next book or more. If you're a big fan of the cozy mystery genre, this is a fun, entertaining one with the candle theme.
Bonus: There's a recipe at the end of the book for a Nantucket-style clam chowder using Quahog clams, from The Homestead in Nantucket that I'm excited to try! (as soon as I can find dry quahogs?? ha ha ha!)
***Spoilers for Once Upon a Book Club Box***
I received this book from Once Upon a Book Club, which includes gifts to be opened as you come upon certain spots throughout the book. This book was a sweet Halloween edition mini box, not part of the regular subscription program. For this book, the gifts were as follows:
p. 204: A single slim gold/brass candlestick and a set of pushpins with books on them. The candlestick represents the candle clock that Stella is using, but I'm not sure what the significance of the book pushpins is in relation to the book??? Just a fun random gift?? (Edited: I finally realized there are instructions printed on the inside of the box top -- not a great place for those since I totally missed them? Maybe on a sheet of paper instead?? Anyway, it says to use two of the exact same (taper-style) candles and time the burning of one candle to mark off the unused candle in 30-minute increments with the book push-pins and then to mark how long you want to time your reading and when the book falls, you know your time is up!! Such a fun idea!!! I was really hoping for a true-to-life candle clock, so this is fun!)
p. 240: A reusable hot beverage cup with a lid, decorated with books on bookshelves, representing the coffee cup Stella is drinking from
p. 283: A black lace spiderweb/cobweb design cloth, representing the silk cobwebs that the Candleers made to decorate for the Girl Scouts haunted house (great Halloween decor piece!!)
(No printed quote included in my box.)
Bonus: There's a recipe at the end of the book for a Nantucket-style clam chowder using Quahog clams, from The Homestead in Nantucket that I'm excited to try! (as soon as I can find dry quahogs?? ha ha ha!)
***Spoilers for Once Upon a Book Club Box***
I received this book from Once Upon a Book Club, which includes gifts to be opened as you come upon certain spots throughout the book. This book was a sweet Halloween edition mini box, not part of the regular subscription program. For this book, the gifts were as follows:
p. 204: A single slim gold/brass candlestick and a set of pushpins with books on them. The candlestick represents the candle clock that Stella is using, but I'm not sure what the significance of the book pushpins is in relation to the book??? Just a fun random gift?? (Edited: I finally realized there are instructions printed on the inside of the box top -- not a great place for those since I totally missed them? Maybe on a sheet of paper instead?? Anyway, it says to use two of the exact same (taper-style) candles and time the burning of one candle to mark off the unused candle in 30-minute increments with the book push-pins and then to mark how long you want to time your reading and when the book falls, you know your time is up!! Such a fun idea!!! I was really hoping for a true-to-life candle clock, so this is fun!)
p. 240: A reusable hot beverage cup with a lid, decorated with books on bookshelves, representing the coffee cup Stella is drinking from
p. 283: A black lace spiderweb/cobweb design cloth, representing the silk cobwebs that the Candleers made to decorate for the Girl Scouts haunted house (great Halloween decor piece!!)
(No printed quote included in my box.)
Fabulous read, couldn't put it down bought the rest of series after I finished it as I love the authors voice, positive feminist history and strong women portrayed