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oashackelford's Reviews (353)
Hope and Grace are two time traveling twins who are trying to survive Salem in 1692 (during the Salem witch trials) so that they can live in their preferred timeline in 1912. There is so much fear in Salem and they could be accused of being witches at any time, especially with their strange time traveling marks on their necks.
1912, in comparison, gives them so much freedom. Hope is allowed to fly airplanes and Grace is a famous journalist helping to shine a light on injustice.
Gabrielle Meyer does such a good job at taking the same premise (time traveling person lives two lifetimes) and making it feel fresh over and over again. I thought I wasn't going to feel suspense during this book, but I ended up flipping through it and reading as fast as I could to make sure that the ending was what I was hoping it would be.
1912, in comparison, gives them so much freedom. Hope is allowed to fly airplanes and Grace is a famous journalist helping to shine a light on injustice.
Gabrielle Meyer does such a good job at taking the same premise (time traveling person lives two lifetimes) and making it feel fresh over and over again. I thought I wasn't going to feel suspense during this book, but I ended up flipping through it and reading as fast as I could to make sure that the ending was what I was hoping it would be.
It's Jane Austen meets a classic murder mystery novel (not quite as tricky as Agatha Christie but still fun.) One of the things that I love about books set in the regency era of England is that propriety often gets in the way of the investigation, which adds another layer of difficulty for the inspector trying to solve the case. I thought that this book was really funny and I laughed out loud a few times.
One thing that I do wish is that the book had covered which things ladies were and were not allowed to do a little better. Sometimes it felt really convenient that a person would yell impropriety just to hold up the proceedings but not really explain why the behavior was inappropriate. There was a newcomer in their area too, so there would have been a perfect excuse to explain the rules to him, but he often just shrugged it off and ignored them.
One thing that I do wish is that the book had covered which things ladies were and were not allowed to do a little better. Sometimes it felt really convenient that a person would yell impropriety just to hold up the proceedings but not really explain why the behavior was inappropriate. There was a newcomer in their area too, so there would have been a perfect excuse to explain the rules to him, but he often just shrugged it off and ignored them.
I don't think that I am the intended audience for this book. I am not a big space fan. I read this for a library reading challenge and I didn't enjoy it at all, however, if you love space and stargazing then I think that this book could be really interesting for you. The pictures were beautiful and the captions had explanations for them and which telescopes took the pictures. I don't think that this is a bad book in any way, hence the four stars, I just don't enjoy space enough to have enjoyed reading it.
Judith Potts, amateur detective and crossword setter, solved a few murders last year and apparently has gained some local fame for it. One morning she receives a phone call from a soon-to-be victim,
Sir Peter Bailey, claiming that he is going to be murdered and would she please come to his pre-wedding party and figure out who is responsible. The only problem is that everyone who would have a motive to kill Bailey also has an airtight alibi. He was also found in a locked room with the only key to that room in his pocket.
I definitely did not work this one out before the end of the book. I think I had some of it right, but I definitely could not work out how he was killed, and so that was really fun to be wrong a little bit. I think that this was a fun mystery, it just wasn't gripping. To be honest, I don't think that these books are meant to be gripping. I think that they are more meant to be fun and twisty, and it definitely delivered on that aspect, but I had a hard time coming back to finish the book when I had been away from it for a while.
Sir Peter Bailey, claiming that he is going to be murdered and would she please come to his pre-wedding party and figure out who is responsible. The only problem is that everyone who would have a motive to kill Bailey also has an airtight alibi. He was also found in a locked room with the only key to that room in his pocket.
I definitely did not work this one out before the end of the book. I think I had some of it right, but I definitely could not work out how he was killed, and so that was really fun to be wrong a little bit. I think that this was a fun mystery, it just wasn't gripping. To be honest, I don't think that these books are meant to be gripping. I think that they are more meant to be fun and twisty, and it definitely delivered on that aspect, but I had a hard time coming back to finish the book when I had been away from it for a while.
Finlay Donovan is behind on her book deadlines and having a very stressful morning when she goes to meet her agent at the local Panera. Unluckily for Finlay, another woman overhears, and dangerously misunderstands the conversation that she and her agent are having and she hires Finlay to kill her husband. Curious about the man she has been hired to kill, Finlay goes to a bar that he frequents to check him out. Things go from bad to worse and now she needs to figure out how to hide a body and hide her involvement in the crime.
I thought that this premise was so fun. I don't think that I have ever read a murder-mystery quite like this and I am pleased at how much I enjoyed it. I thought the last few words in the epilogue were crazy, and now I cannot wait to read the second one.
I thought that this premise was so fun. I don't think that I have ever read a murder-mystery quite like this and I am pleased at how much I enjoyed it. I thought the last few words in the epilogue were crazy, and now I cannot wait to read the second one.
Finlay's life is going a little bit better since she had some money coming in, and it was nice to see Steven knocked down a few pegs, but she still doesn't know who is responsible for putting a hit out on her Ex-husband. Between that and whatever secret Vero is keeping, she isn't really sure when she is supposed to write her hit sequel, the follow up to her hitwoman series. Of course, it is much easier to write when life keeps giving her inspiration through harrowing life or death experiences. She just needs to figure out who wants Steven dead and keep her bills afloat until her life calms down a little bit.
I liked this one, but I thought that it lacked the focus of the first book. I felt like there was almost too much going on at once and it was a little hard to keep track of who wanted who dead, and who had been ruled out as a suspect. I also felt like there were some loose ends that I wanted tied up, but it seems like the author has saved those for the next book.
The last thing I will say is that the romance felt kind of forced. It seemed like Finlay just went with whichever guy was paying the most attention to her at the moment instead of looking at her own life and figuring out what she actually wanted. I actually think I would have liked this book just a little bit more if she wasn't pursuing a relationship at all and she was just friends with the lawyer and the cop.
I am curious how she thinks she can be close to Nick at all, considering he is a good detective (but, I mean, is he though?) and she is hiding some really shady stuff that they could all go to prison for.
I thought that this one had a better and more well thought out mystery than the second one, but I did think that police sleep away camp was really unrealistic. I was also mad that Finlay doesn't get more upset with Steven for doing things like breaking into her house, whether or not he is the landlord, and she didn't confront him for trying to tell other people that they were working on their marriage. If I were Finlay I would get a restraining order against Steven for breaking into my house.
I also want to know what EZ Clean knew about Steven that made him think it would be okay to kill him. I am a little concerned that Finlay wasn't able to find out, and I hope it gets covered in the next book.
I also want to know what EZ Clean knew about Steven that made him think it would be okay to kill him. I am a little concerned that Finlay wasn't able to find out, and I hope it gets covered in the next book.