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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This is the first in the series featuring Zoe Faust, a 300-year-old retired Alchemist and vegan. Zoe has left Paris to start a new life in Portland, Oregon, where she has purchased an older fixer-upper house. Her hired handyman is discovered murdered on her front porch. Zoe has discovered a stowaway in one of her crates from Paris, a gargoyle named Dorian, who not only is sentient, but a gourmet chef as well. Thus starts a fascinating, well-written, and fun book full of interesting characters, a couple of mysteries, and a race to save Dorian’s life.
There is a cast of well-drawn secondary characters, some eccentric and all with a story of their own. There’s even a tea shop every reader will wish were in her/his neighborhood. Pandian even gives us fascinating and little known details about Portland, like the Shanghai Tunnels.
Overall, this is a fascinating and easy read suitable to every age group, from young to old. There is two additional books in this series and both are sitting on the top of my very tall to be-read pile.
There is a cast of well-drawn secondary characters, some eccentric and all with a story of their own. There’s even a tea shop every reader will wish were in her/his neighborhood. Pandian even gives us fascinating and little known details about Portland, like the Shanghai Tunnels.
Overall, this is a fascinating and easy read suitable to every age group, from young to old. There is two additional books in this series and both are sitting on the top of my very tall to be-read pile.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tolle Story, furchtbares Pacing!
Zeitweilig etwas angestrengt und in 2 Teilen (mit einer wochenlangen Unterbrechung, habe ich endlich diese schöne Geschichte fertig gelesen.
Zuerst das Positive:
- Schön geschriebene Charaktere
- guter Plot
- Reale Geschichte vermischt sich mit Fiktion
- viele Storylines die Zeitgleich laufen
- Kochen zwar als Thema für mich zu prominent, aber doch immer wieder gut in die Geschichte mit eingebunden
- einen kleinen Einblick in die persönliche Verbindung der Autorin zu ein paar Themen im Buch (sehr ergreifend)
- gute Darstellung von Teenagern und allgemein mehrere 3-dimensionale Charaktere
Zum Negativen:
- leider ist das Pacing mir erst viel zu langsam (Achtung Timing Spoiler: das meiste der 380 Seiten passiert in einer Woche, fühlt sich aber an wie 3) und dann geht es viel zu schnell mit der Auflösung ALLER Storylines
- obwohl es auch eine für mich sehr spannende Zeit im Buch gibt, war schon ein Kapitel vorher klar wer's war. Also erst super slow und dann am Ende dauernd super vorhersehbar
- hier und da kleine Plottwists, haben mich aber meistens nicht aus den Socken gehauen. Und bei mir geht das eigentlich schnell.
- die verschiedenen Storylines kommen auch irgendwie nicht so gut zusammen, es ist vielleicht auch eine zu viel, so dass man (ob Lesepause oder nicht) manche vergisst und dann bei der Auflösung verwirrt ist
- die kleine Lovestory ist leider sehr sehr sehr lauwarm, fast schon kalt
- der wichtigste Sideplot wird irgendwie aufgeschoben bis auf den leitzen Drücker und ich hätte gerne mehr alchemistische Prozesse begleitet, als die tausendste Beschreibung zu lesen, wie jemand kocht
Empfehlung für jeden, der 400 Seiten eh easy findet bzw. langsames Pacing mag und einfach Lust hat auf eine teils leicht spannende Geschichte mit wirklichen tollen Charakteren
Zeitweilig etwas angestrengt und in 2 Teilen (mit einer wochenlangen Unterbrechung, habe ich endlich diese schöne Geschichte fertig gelesen.
Zuerst das Positive:
- Schön geschriebene Charaktere
- guter Plot
- Reale Geschichte vermischt sich mit Fiktion
- viele Storylines die Zeitgleich laufen
- Kochen zwar als Thema für mich zu prominent, aber doch immer wieder gut in die Geschichte mit eingebunden
- einen kleinen Einblick in die persönliche Verbindung der Autorin zu ein paar Themen im Buch (sehr ergreifend)
- gute Darstellung von Teenagern und allgemein mehrere 3-dimensionale Charaktere
Zum Negativen:
- leider ist das Pacing mir erst viel zu langsam (Achtung Timing Spoiler: das meiste der 380 Seiten passiert in einer Woche, fühlt sich aber an wie 3) und dann geht es viel zu schnell mit der Auflösung ALLER Storylines
- obwohl es auch eine für mich sehr spannende Zeit im Buch gibt, war schon ein Kapitel vorher klar wer's war. Also erst super slow und dann am Ende dauernd super vorhersehbar
- hier und da kleine Plottwists, haben mich aber meistens nicht aus den Socken gehauen. Und bei mir geht das eigentlich schnell.
- die verschiedenen Storylines kommen auch irgendwie nicht so gut zusammen, es ist vielleicht auch eine zu viel, so dass man (ob Lesepause oder nicht) manche vergisst und dann bei der Auflösung verwirrt ist
- die kleine Lovestory ist leider sehr sehr sehr lauwarm, fast schon kalt
- der wichtigste Sideplot wird irgendwie aufgeschoben bis auf den leitzen Drücker und ich hätte gerne mehr alchemistische Prozesse begleitet, als die tausendste Beschreibung zu lesen, wie jemand kocht
Empfehlung für jeden, der 400 Seiten eh easy findet bzw. langsames Pacing mag und einfach Lust hat auf eine teils leicht spannende Geschichte mit wirklichen tollen Charakteren
4.5 bumped up to 5 stars because the Blue Sky Teashop might be the most amazing place i have ever read in a novel!! Fun light mystery with a cozy but engaging atmosphere.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A lovely, mystical mystery set in beautiful Portland, OR. Pandian makes us fall in love with the city and our protagonist Zoe throughout the Accidental Alchemist. This mystery has the perfect combination of history, good vibes, and suspense. I ate up our French gargoyle chef and wished I was eating up all of his delicious vegan treats!
The mystery kind of came together quickly and wasn’t the most incredible of well thought out, but by golly it was fun! a cozy mystery I would recommend to all.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book basically leaped off the shelf into my hands. A cozy mystery, set in Portland? With a hint of magic and an Asian-American love interest? Recipes in the back? Written by an author during her year of breast cancer treatment? Featuring Portland's Shanghai tunnels?
Seriously. No brainer.
Zoe Faust has decided to stop her traveling life and settle down in a tight-knit Portland, Oregon community where she will fix up a house and continue selling antiques.
However, the community holds some surprises for Zoe. First a teenager tries to break in, a surprise stowaway from Paris shows up, and then her contracter ends up dead, and then the friendly owner of the teashop where Zoe (and everybody else) hangs out is framed for the murder.
Zoe knows something strange is going on, because while the police say the contracter was stabbed to death, Zoe's sensitive nose detects poison. Not just any poison--alchemical poison. And Zoe just happens to be a centuries hold Alchemist attempting to make a fresh start in Portland.
There's also some glimmering interest in one of the police officers assigned to the case (at first, he then is put on administrative leave, and basically disappears for large portions of the book) but it is barely a flicker, really.
Mostly the book, while attempting to solve a murder, is mostly the story of Zoe and her tea/dietary preferences. The book obsesses over herbs, fragrances, and the ingredients and preparation of Zoe's meals by her culinary gifted stowaway. Plant-based meals are made, ingredients obtained, and even the teen aged boy thinks it's all incredibly delicious. There's even recipes at the end of the book.
But....and here's the rub. It's blurry. Yes the recipes are cool. Yes the historical alchemy bits were cool. But there's a lot of teenage boy disappearing and being found, and going into the tunnels without any trouble whatsoever, and cool love interest basically checks out of the investigation and the book for major portions when it would have made TOTAL LOGICAL SENSE for Zoe to confide/use him. And there's a whole blurry section in the middle where they're trying to figure out who poisoned who and why. Portland details don't shine through as much as I would like.
And then there's the kind of vague sense that Zoe just isn't as gung ho as she ought to be to find the magical MacGuffin book of alchemy to save her stowaway chef Dorian at times when she seems much more interested in just heading down to the local teashop. I mean, in the end, one of the teenager's friends finds the book on the internet in like two seconds flat-- why couldn't Zoe do that? (or Dorian for that matter)
I don't think this is one of those "too high expectations" kind of dealios, either. I think the concept was ultra-cool, but the author spends too much time with the weird murder plot and Zoe being proud of how delicious her vegan food is instead of developing the potential of Zoe's relationships.
I would pick up a sequel, if there is going to be one, to check out recipes and maybe give the author another chance to dig deep into the juicy details of Zoe's relationships, but it would have to step up its game a bit.
So if vegan recipes, alchemy, and Portland cozy mysteries aren't your catnip, this one is a safe pass. If that sounds delicious and healthy to you, you'll probably enjoy this one despite the blurriness.
Seriously. No brainer.
Zoe Faust has decided to stop her traveling life and settle down in a tight-knit Portland, Oregon community where she will fix up a house and continue selling antiques.
However, the community holds some surprises for Zoe. First a teenager tries to break in, a surprise stowaway from Paris shows up, and then her contracter ends up dead, and then the friendly owner of the teashop where Zoe (and everybody else) hangs out is framed for the murder.
Zoe knows something strange is going on, because while the police say the contracter was stabbed to death, Zoe's sensitive nose detects poison. Not just any poison--alchemical poison. And Zoe just happens to be a centuries hold Alchemist attempting to make a fresh start in Portland.
There's also some glimmering interest in one of the police officers assigned to the case (at first, he then is put on administrative leave, and basically disappears for large portions of the book) but it is barely a flicker, really.
Mostly the book, while attempting to solve a murder, is mostly the story of Zoe and her tea/dietary preferences. The book obsesses over herbs, fragrances, and the ingredients and preparation of Zoe's meals by her culinary gifted stowaway. Plant-based meals are made, ingredients obtained, and even the teen aged boy thinks it's all incredibly delicious. There's even recipes at the end of the book.
But....and here's the rub. It's blurry. Yes the recipes are cool. Yes the historical alchemy bits were cool. But there's a lot of teenage boy disappearing and being found, and going into the tunnels without any trouble whatsoever, and cool love interest basically checks out of the investigation and the book for major portions when it would have made TOTAL LOGICAL SENSE for Zoe to confide/use him. And there's a whole blurry section in the middle where they're trying to figure out who poisoned who and why. Portland details don't shine through as much as I would like.
And then there's the kind of vague sense that Zoe just isn't as gung ho as she ought to be to find the magical MacGuffin book of alchemy to save her stowaway chef Dorian at times when she seems much more interested in just heading down to the local teashop. I mean, in the end, one of the teenager's friends finds the book on the internet in like two seconds flat-- why couldn't Zoe do that? (or Dorian for that matter)
I don't think this is one of those "too high expectations" kind of dealios, either. I think the concept was ultra-cool, but the author spends too much time with the weird murder plot and Zoe being proud of how delicious her vegan food is instead of developing the potential of Zoe's relationships.
I would pick up a sequel, if there is going to be one, to check out recipes and maybe give the author another chance to dig deep into the juicy details of Zoe's relationships, but it would have to step up its game a bit.
So if vegan recipes, alchemy, and Portland cozy mysteries aren't your catnip, this one is a safe pass. If that sounds delicious and healthy to you, you'll probably enjoy this one despite the blurriness.