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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book so much. I liked all of the references to books.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I am a fan of this author's writing as Vicki Delany and so I decided it was time to start this series. This is a 3 1/2 star read for me. It is a very solid beginning to a series. I love that this is series involves books and a library located in a lighthouse. It makes for a setting that really calls to me, as a book lover. The characters are solid. I liked Lucy and thought that she has the potential to become a favorite main character for me. In this first book, she is still finding her footing in a new place and a new job, but based on this author's writing, I can see her growing and getting stronger. There is a nice cast of secondary characters that round out the story nicely. My only issue with this series was the pacing. I felt the plot dragged a bit in some places, but that is not uncommon in the first book of a new series as the author tries to balance the backstory with the mystery.
I thought the mystery was well done. There were many viable subjects, each with varying motives. I had a hard time trying to decide who was actually behind the murder and the thefts. I found the mystery to be engaging and loved trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together.
I will be continuing with this series and look forward to seeing what the author has in store for the characters.
I thought the mystery was well done. There were many viable subjects, each with varying motives. I had a hard time trying to decide who was actually behind the murder and the thefts. I found the mystery to be engaging and loved trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together.
I will be continuing with this series and look forward to seeing what the author has in store for the characters.
Digs at hip-hop aside, this was a fun first book. Usually cozy mysteries get better gradually, so I'm going to pick up the next book or two to see how I feel about the series.
I enjoyed this one, so I'm optimistic.
I enjoyed this one, so I'm optimistic.
By Book or by Crook is a fun and enjoyable cozy mystery, but failed to fully impress me. I enjoyed the book while reading it, but didn't really have the urge to pick it up again and I never fully felt engaged to the plot or story. There's nothing obviously wrong with this book, but nothing that really stood out either.
I really like the original concept and setting. The library in a lighthouse was such a fun concept and I liked reading about this cozy lighthouse library. The setting in the Outer Banks region so close to the sea was also great. Then there is Charles the cat who is adorable and has his quirks and cat behaviour that made me smile. And he looks so pretty on the cover! I also liked reading a bit about how the ran the library.
Then there was the mystery fell a bit flat for me. The main character doesn't really get much involved, she does a bit of her own research, but it was mostly awkwardly talking with people. She mostly focusses on her work in the library and while I enjoyed that part I had hoped for a bit more focus on the mystery. I didn't predict the murderer, but then again there were almost no hints to that. I usually prefer there are some clues or that at least looking back it makes sense, here there was none of that and even with the explanation of the murderer it didn't make much sense to me. The main character did figure it out, but more by accident and she didn't really have proof, except for that it made sense and then the murderer came after her. It was just a bit meh.
Next to the murder mystery there's also the mystery of books that go missing. And it's unsure whether it's connected or not to the murder. There's a lot of focus in the book about the Jane Austen exhibit they are doing and I just couldn't relate as much to everyone's enthusiasm about those first editions. I haven't read any of Jane Austen her books and never felt the urge to, so it felt like I missed a part there and I think that part of the book would've been more fun if you are a fan of Jane Austen her books.
The character were okay. At first I had a lot of trouble keeping them apart, the book starts literally at a party and the main character is meeting new people and I can honesty say I might have been even more overwhelmed than the main character herself. I am not good with names ad having a lot of them dumped at once didn't help. After that it did get better and I at least got a feel for who was who. I would've liked a bit more depth concerning the side characters. We did got a reasonable feel for the main character and her life, but the side characters stayed a bit flat. And ugh I seriously disliked Louise Jane, I am not sure what it was about that character but she rubbed me wrong so badly.
To summarize: This was a fun cozy mystery, but I couldn't fully get into the book. I did enjoy it while I was reading it, but didn't really care or feel the urge to pick it up again once I put the book down. The lighthouse library made for a fun concept and the Outer Banks area was a great setting. I also loved the cat the Charles, who was my favourite character. I liked reading about the library, but didn't really get all the excitement about the Jane Austen books as I haven't read nay of her books myself. The mystery fell a bit flat, with little involvement from the main character, little hints to who the murderer was and the reasoning behind it was unsatisfactory to me. I had some trouble keeping the characters apart at first, but that got easier after a while. The side characters lacked some depth, I liked the main character well enough and disliked Louise Jane. Not sure if I'll be continuing this series yet.
I really like the original concept and setting. The library in a lighthouse was such a fun concept and I liked reading about this cozy lighthouse library. The setting in the Outer Banks region so close to the sea was also great. Then there is Charles the cat who is adorable and has his quirks and cat behaviour that made me smile. And he looks so pretty on the cover! I also liked reading a bit about how the ran the library.
Then there was the mystery fell a bit flat for me. The main character doesn't really get much involved, she does a bit of her own research, but it was mostly awkwardly talking with people. She mostly focusses on her work in the library and while I enjoyed that part I had hoped for a bit more focus on the mystery. I didn't predict the murderer, but then again there were almost no hints to that. I usually prefer there are some clues or that at least looking back it makes sense, here there was none of that and even with the explanation of the murderer it didn't make much sense to me. The main character did figure it out, but more by accident and she didn't really have proof, except for that it made sense and then the murderer came after her. It was just a bit meh.
Next to the murder mystery there's also the mystery of books that go missing. And it's unsure whether it's connected or not to the murder. There's a lot of focus in the book about the Jane Austen exhibit they are doing and I just couldn't relate as much to everyone's enthusiasm about those first editions. I haven't read any of Jane Austen her books and never felt the urge to, so it felt like I missed a part there and I think that part of the book would've been more fun if you are a fan of Jane Austen her books.
The character were okay. At first I had a lot of trouble keeping them apart, the book starts literally at a party and the main character is meeting new people and I can honesty say I might have been even more overwhelmed than the main character herself. I am not good with names ad having a lot of them dumped at once didn't help. After that it did get better and I at least got a feel for who was who. I would've liked a bit more depth concerning the side characters. We did got a reasonable feel for the main character and her life, but the side characters stayed a bit flat. And ugh I seriously disliked Louise Jane, I am not sure what it was about that character but she rubbed me wrong so badly.
To summarize: This was a fun cozy mystery, but I couldn't fully get into the book. I did enjoy it while I was reading it, but didn't really care or feel the urge to pick it up again once I put the book down. The lighthouse library made for a fun concept and the Outer Banks area was a great setting. I also loved the cat the Charles, who was my favourite character. I liked reading about the library, but didn't really get all the excitement about the Jane Austen books as I haven't read nay of her books myself. The mystery fell a bit flat, with little involvement from the main character, little hints to who the murderer was and the reasoning behind it was unsatisfactory to me. I had some trouble keeping the characters apart at first, but that got easier after a while. The side characters lacked some depth, I liked the main character well enough and disliked Louise Jane. Not sure if I'll be continuing this series yet.
Did not finish. I like Vicki Delaney's Sherlock Holmes Bookstore series and thought that I might like this this series under another pen name. I was irritated from the start when the main character went on about using white cotton gloves to handle old books. This is a practice that has been mostly abandoned in favor of handling books with clean, dry bare hands for over 15 years. Apparently wearing white cotton gloves causes more damage to old paper materials than using clean, dry hands.
Later in the book she and the head librarian are shocked when a volunteer handles an old book with her bare hands. Other reviewers have mentioned the lack of proper library security. Sigh, it would have been nice if Ms. Delaney has done more research into library best practices before making them prominent in the book.
These things kept pulling me out of the story and I abandoned the book about 30% in.
Later in the book she and the head librarian are shocked when a volunteer handles an old book with her bare hands. Other reviewers have mentioned the lack of proper library security. Sigh, it would have been nice if Ms. Delaney has done more research into library best practices before making them prominent in the book.
These things kept pulling me out of the story and I abandoned the book about 30% in.
mysterious
Coy mystery with some characters that were more like caricatures. There are so many things wrong with how the way Jane Austen first editions are loaned to and cared for in this public library in a light house that I won't even list them all. But they are unlikely to bother people who aren't librarian/archivists like I am. Despite all this, I enjoyed the book. A good beach read.
Reading the first two books by Mia Manansala I was ready to read more cozy mysteries. I love libraries AND I love lighthouses, so this one sounded like a winner. My mom and I both read it and greatly enjoyed it. It was a fun mystery, great for literary lovers, and also great for people who want to imagine living in a lighthouse. I got wrapped up in the mystery and the ending wasn't obvious (at least to me). The only thing I didn't like is the way the author chose to describe one of the characters and the assumptions she made about the character based on that description.