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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I have 3 main gripes with this novel
- the character could be a lil fatphobic at times, which is wild coming from someone who owns a cookie bakery and still gave out half a dozen free cookies to everyone she saw that day. BUT this book was written in 2011 which was during the peak of diet culture.
-I don't have close siblings but I'm pretty sure people who do have close siblings don't say their siblings name in every sentence they say to their sibling. Agnes says Hannah's name so much when she's talking to her that its on the verge of being too many times.
- I know this is a cozy mystery where our main character solves the crime but Hannah seemed to have police like authority instantly and it was a little jarring.
other than that, cute book! I loved the recipes in here and will have to try on!
- the character could be a lil fatphobic at times, which is wild coming from someone who owns a cookie bakery and still gave out half a dozen free cookies to everyone she saw that day. BUT this book was written in 2011 which was during the peak of diet culture.
-I don't have close siblings but I'm pretty sure people who do have close siblings don't say their siblings name in every sentence they say to their sibling. Agnes says Hannah's name so much when she's talking to her that its on the verge of being too many times.
- I know this is a cozy mystery where our main character solves the crime but Hannah seemed to have police like authority instantly and it was a little jarring.
other than that, cute book! I loved the recipes in here and will have to try on!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another fun, cozy mystery from Joanne Fluke. Suzanne Toren does a great job narrating this book.
The Hannah Swensen series is a great series to listen to while I am playing games or doing chores. They allow me to sneak away to Michigan and watch Hannah solve a mystery that no one else can solve.
The Hannah Swensen series is a great series to listen to while I am playing games or doing chores. They allow me to sneak away to Michigan and watch Hannah solve a mystery that no one else can solve.
Some of the negative reviews made me feel a bit wary of reading this but I started it and I enjoyed it. Good pace and a nice cosy mystery with the added bonus of cookie recipes included.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
I really like Hannah, she's very entertaining and quite the crime solver. I was craving cookies the entire time! The mystery was good, not overly easily solved. The supporting characters aren't that great - her sister isn't nice until half way through the book, Bill - the actual detective - is totally clueless and did no work, her mom is a big jerk and she doesn't seem to have any girlfriends.
My biggest issue with the book is that it seems really outdated. There's no technology in it. There's some very outdated (potentially racist) terminology and an entire character is fat shamed by our heroine. It's shocking to me this was written in 2000.
My biggest issue with the book is that it seems really outdated. There's no technology in it. There's some very outdated (potentially racist) terminology and an entire character is fat shamed by our heroine. It's shocking to me this was written in 2000.
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. It definitely has cozy fall mystery vibes with a side of cute bakery moments. Personally, having the chapters broken up by recipes sometimes was annoying, but that's because I didn't read this for the recipes and didn't care for them. One thing that I can't fault the book for but that made it a little hard to read sometimes was simply the language and the dialogue between characters. It is very obvious that this was written in 2000 because there are a lot of phrases and sentiments that just wouldn't be said in a more recent book. I can obviously forgive this since it was true to the time it was written but I did find myself cringing a little bit while reading some of the dialogue. I would definitely consider reading some more of this series though it is not super high on my list.