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whimsicaljune's review
4.0
A sweet story that makes you want to curl up with a cup of tea and spend the afternoon reading. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this first book as a mystery. Perhaps the other books in the series are different.
ainwena's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
matildathebookdragon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jgintrovertedreader's review
4.0
It's been a while since I read this, but I remember it as being very cute and well-written. Fans of Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown should enjoy these.
tlctbr's review
1.0
Not my kind of book at all. I'm so glad it was short because I wanted to finish it, but hated the process of getting to the end. I think I might have liked it ok when I was about 11, but even then I would have chosen Dr. Doolittle ANY day over this one. Definitely will not be finishing the series...
tiu_reads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Really cute. I love the small village life and all the descriptions and dialogue between the characters. Some of the animal scenes with Beatrix’s pets were a bit dry but I enjoyed everything else. Also- the recipes at the end of the book were a nice surprise! I’m definitely going to be making some of them!
what_ella_reads's review against another edition
3.0
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
This was a cute, if simple, cosy mystery. Though the mystery is lackluster, the setting and characters are charming.
I loved that the animal characters played integral parts in the main plot. Josey the rabbit and Tabitha the cat were the two most fun characters in the whole book.
Beatrix, of course, was the most intriguing of the human characters. This book takes place at a really interesting, albeit sad, point in Ms. Potter's life.
As for the other human characters, some were nice and some were unnecessary. I wish the author hadn't introduced so many characters in the first book. I kept forgetting who was who.
Though this book was a nice relaxing read, it isn't one that grabbed my attention. For that reason I'm not sure if I will continue "The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter," or not.
This was a cute, if simple, cosy mystery. Though the mystery is lackluster, the setting and characters are charming.
I loved that the animal characters played integral parts in the main plot. Josey the rabbit and Tabitha the cat were the two most fun characters in the whole book.
Beatrix, of course, was the most intriguing of the human characters. This book takes place at a really interesting, albeit sad, point in Ms. Potter's life.
As for the other human characters, some were nice and some were unnecessary. I wish the author hadn't introduced so many characters in the first book. I kept forgetting who was who.
Though this book was a nice relaxing read, it isn't one that grabbed my attention. For that reason I'm not sure if I will continue "The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter," or not.
hidekisohma's review against another edition
2.0
All right. So...pfff. This book was a thing. So let me ask you a question. Do you like High class british dialogue? Do you like people having tea? Do you like small mysteries and uptight people? well in that case you might like this book. Otherwise...probably not.
There's a few "big" (and i use the term loosely) mysteries here. 1. lost money. 2. lost book. 3. lost painting. They all, along with the dead lady, turn out with a resolution as interesting as an old, moldy potato.
This book was so bogged down with descriptions i felt as if i were skimming through half of it. Every time there was a "the house was filled with trinkets, long since-" I would literally just skip over it and move to the next part whre stuff actually happened. you don't have to describe every single thing in a room. we get it. it's a cottage. thanks. The balance of description to stuff actually happening is not very good. However, the problem is, when stuff DOES happens, it's about people talking over tea. Whew. watch out Sherlock. We've got Beatrix Potter on the case.
One of the things that separates this mystery series from other series is the inclusion of animals. The animals talk to each other, but frustratingly, not to the humans. This becomes very irritating in several parts when it would have been really handy. I was honestly hoping that the series would have Beatrix ABLE to talk to the animals, and have them help her solve the cases. You know, something that would have been actually interesting. Instead, they're off doing their own thing while the humans go "d'aw they think they're people." Which is frustrating and stupid. I was VERY mad at this aspect of the book. Having the animals only talk to each other and not the humans to tell them of any clues they find is INCREDIBLY frustrating and, in my opinion, a very bad literary choice on behalf of the author.
Pretty much every character in this book annoyed me. The worst being this family called "The Jennings". i HATED these idiots. So beatrix buys this propery and the Jennings, who keep popping out kids are living in the house she bought. Beatrix shows up and they're like "oh, you going to make us move now?" And i'm sitting here, reading this book and i'm like "um..yes?" I mean, could you imagine you buying a house, showing up to the house and the previous tenants are living there and get indignant that you want to start living there? I just...and Beatrix is ACCOMODATING to them! I'm just like..what? The fact that they were so indignant REALLY pissed me off.
The ending (spoiler free version) was lame, the only real mystery i believed (the death of the woman in the beginning) had a farted pitter out ending, and the only villains of the book had an EXTREMELY unnecessarily terrible end.
In the middle of the book, i was really looking forward to the reading of the will, and the author kept having random conversations about crap i didn't care about, until FINALLY they go "oh yeah, the will was read. here's what happened." That's right, they read the damn thing off screen. I was so mad. But oh, better make way for more tea conversations and how SCANDELOUS it was for a woman to ride a bike or have a skirt. I just..GAH! this book. Honestly it could have been a lot better, but so many things didn't work when it had every opportunity to. Nearly every character was uptight and annoying, the "mystery" was as interesting as a sack of old diapers, and the descriptions were overwhelming.
If you couldn't tell, i'm done with this series. 2/5. and that's because i was able to plow through it in literally a day and i didn't have to dwell on it. done. peace out.
There's a few "big" (and i use the term loosely) mysteries here. 1. lost money. 2. lost book. 3. lost painting. They all, along with the dead lady, turn out with a resolution as interesting as an old, moldy potato.
This book was so bogged down with descriptions i felt as if i were skimming through half of it. Every time there was a "the house was filled with trinkets, long since-" I would literally just skip over it and move to the next part whre stuff actually happened. you don't have to describe every single thing in a room. we get it. it's a cottage. thanks. The balance of description to stuff actually happening is not very good. However, the problem is, when stuff DOES happens, it's about people talking over tea. Whew. watch out Sherlock. We've got Beatrix Potter on the case.
One of the things that separates this mystery series from other series is the inclusion of animals. The animals talk to each other, but frustratingly, not to the humans. This becomes very irritating in several parts when it would have been really handy. I was honestly hoping that the series would have Beatrix ABLE to talk to the animals, and have them help her solve the cases. You know, something that would have been actually interesting. Instead, they're off doing their own thing while the humans go "d'aw they think they're people." Which is frustrating and stupid. I was VERY mad at this aspect of the book. Having the animals only talk to each other and not the humans to tell them of any clues they find is INCREDIBLY frustrating and, in my opinion, a very bad literary choice on behalf of the author.
Pretty much every character in this book annoyed me. The worst being this family called "The Jennings". i HATED these idiots. So beatrix buys this propery and the Jennings, who keep popping out kids are living in the house she bought. Beatrix shows up and they're like "oh, you going to make us move now?" And i'm sitting here, reading this book and i'm like "um..yes?" I mean, could you imagine you buying a house, showing up to the house and the previous tenants are living there and get indignant that you want to start living there? I just...and Beatrix is ACCOMODATING to them! I'm just like..what? The fact that they were so indignant REALLY pissed me off.
The ending (spoiler free version) was lame, the only real mystery i believed (the death of the woman in the beginning) had a farted pitter out ending, and the only villains of the book had an EXTREMELY unnecessarily terrible end.
In the middle of the book, i was really looking forward to the reading of the will, and the author kept having random conversations about crap i didn't care about, until FINALLY they go "oh yeah, the will was read. here's what happened." That's right, they read the damn thing off screen. I was so mad. But oh, better make way for more tea conversations and how SCANDELOUS it was for a woman to ride a bike or have a skirt. I just..GAH! this book. Honestly it could have been a lot better, but so many things didn't work when it had every opportunity to. Nearly every character was uptight and annoying, the "mystery" was as interesting as a sack of old diapers, and the descriptions were overwhelming.
If you couldn't tell, i'm done with this series. 2/5. and that's because i was able to plow through it in literally a day and i didn't have to dwell on it. done. peace out.
lhornik's review against another edition
3.0
Utterly enjoyable. Beatrix Potter is the detective, and there is a dual narrative as the animals can talk as well. Absolutely captures the tone of Peter Rabbit, etc.