Scan barcode
sidewalk_pirate's review against another edition
1.0
There is really nothing as boring as a brand-whore.....
local_hat's review against another edition
Way, WAY too much ableism and fat hate, and all in that quirky "just us girls!!" voice. No thanks!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
luffy79's review
3.0
Well well well, it has been some time since I tried a new series in the cozy mystery genre. For most of the book, I had the rating pegged at 2/5. But the story came good in the last few chapters. The book has a few logical hiccups. The behavior of the main heroine, the cops, the murderer, were unconvincing, if not far fetching. Some of the adventures ran into dead ends or were too isolated to belong really to this book. This is the book that most resembles to a Frankenstein novel other than the Frankenstein book itself( which by the way, I haven't, nor will ever, read). It seems to be cobbled from random pieces and seems glued with spit, instead of plain ole elbow grease. I'm still caught unawares regarding the rating of this book. It's way too low. I suspect that most readers have more cons in their reviews of this book than I've had. Fair enough. I'll end my review by saying that, if you're not enjoying the book by the time the murder is committed, drop it like a stone. That's all.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review
5.0
I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I've never thought much about the "antiquing mystery" genre, but I'm so glad I picked this up. The main character is fun, sarcastic, smart, and a really lovable character. Her dysfunctional family really adds to the book and are also characters you can really like (even prissy Peggy-Sue). The mystery was different and very interesting, especially when the main character is first suspected of murder then becomes a target victim. I love the snarky, smart writing style (with many uses of "sidebar" parentheses). I will definitely continue with this series to see more of these characters.
brianajae's review
3.0
I'm a fan of the cheesiest mysteries -- books that feature unlikely heroes and heroines solving crimes. A sassy hairdresser or an elderly cupcake baker that get involved in murder plots? Sign me up. It's a great way to escape for an hour or two. This book wasn't as cheesy as I hoped. Instead it was just ... not very good. I didn't like the characters, I was bored and (while surprising) the plot twist didn't bring me back in.
lorihenrich2021's review
4.0
Brandy heads home to live with mom after her divorce is final. Her mother needs someone to kind of keep an eye on her and make sure she is taking her medication. When she arrives home she finds out that a local antique dealer had swindled her mom out of many of her antiques, taking advantage of her during one of her spells.
Brandy confronts the man at a Red Hat Society event. Shortly after that confrontation the antique dealer winds up dead and Brandy's mom is a suspect. When things start hitting closer to home, Brandy is determined to help the police find out who also wants her dead.
I really liked this story. I love the narrative style and the little asides that the author gives from the characters perspective. I have the next one in the series already and look forward to reading the others in the series.
Fun read!
Brandy confronts the man at a Red Hat Society event. Shortly after that confrontation the antique dealer winds up dead and Brandy's mom is a suspect. When things start hitting closer to home, Brandy is determined to help the police find out who also wants her dead.
I really liked this story. I love the narrative style and the little asides that the author gives from the characters perspective. I have the next one in the series already and look forward to reading the others in the series.
Fun read!
krisrid's review
1.0
I made it through exactly one chapter and 23 pages of this and knew it was not for me. I did not finish it.
The main character spent every moment of the first chapter doing the "poor me" routine - about her broken marriage, about her "crazy" mother, whom she's come home to care for, about her older sister who has been caring for the mother but with whom she has a fraught relationship, about all the "mean girls" who made her childhood rotten, and on and on.
The whole family is medicated which is mentioned throughout the first chapter and felt like a bit much to me.
Basically there was nothing and no one in this that I was ever going to connect with or want to read more about.
Fortunately, I got this from the library and it is going straight back there.
The main character spent every moment of the first chapter doing the "poor me" routine - about her broken marriage, about her "crazy" mother, whom she's come home to care for, about her older sister who has been caring for the mother but with whom she has a fraught relationship, about all the "mean girls" who made her childhood rotten, and on and on.
The whole family is medicated which is mentioned throughout the first chapter and felt like a bit much to me.
Basically there was nothing and no one in this that I was ever going to connect with or want to read more about.
Fortunately, I got this from the library and it is going straight back there.
yonitdm's review
2.0
While parts were funny, I didn't appreciate the breaking of the 4th wall, the casual storytelling format, or the over the top antics of the main character. There are other cozy mystery series with wacky, female, sleuths who are less grating.
expendablemudge's review
2.0
Rating: 2.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Brandy Borne and her mother Vivian find themselves investigating the murder of a crooked antiques dealer who just happened to take Vivian for all she was worth. Now they are in a race to find the murderer before he or she strikes again because they could very well be next!
My Review: ~meh~
Pleasant enough, I suppose, nothing at all wrong with it except that there's nothing to like. It's mildly amusing. It's a mystery about the same way any book is a mystery, in that one doesn't know how the author's going to wrap it up. But...how spoiled does this sound...I expected more. I wanted to chuckle more, even I don't know even laugh out loud once or twice.
A few smiles, one snicker.
~meh~
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Publisher Says: Brandy Borne and her mother Vivian find themselves investigating the murder of a crooked antiques dealer who just happened to take Vivian for all she was worth. Now they are in a race to find the murderer before he or she strikes again because they could very well be next!
My Review: ~meh~
Pleasant enough, I suppose, nothing at all wrong with it except that there's nothing to like. It's mildly amusing. It's a mystery about the same way any book is a mystery, in that one doesn't know how the author's going to wrap it up. But...how spoiled does this sound...I expected more. I wanted to chuckle more, even I don't know even laugh out loud once or twice.
A few smiles, one snicker.
~meh~
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.