Book reviews – Page 2 – BUBBLE BUBBLE BOOKS & TROUBLE

Reading slumps are never fun. 😦 That’s why I’m starting this off with some good news! I have added a new editorial assistant to my staff. Meet Princess Belle! She comes to the Bubble Bubble Books and Trouble Publishing House by way of Pflugerville Pets Alive. Adopt, don’t shop, folks!

Now for the bad news…it’s been a year of DNFs and one-star books. There’s been a few stellar reads sprinkled in the mix, which I’ll get into in a later post, but for now I must bring you my biggest flops of 2024 thus far.

The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb

I read this all the way through because Wendy Webb’s characters are always interesting, and her atmospheric descriptions of Wharton, Minnesota transport me to such a lovely place. I’ve been to Duluth (Wharton’s neighboring town) a couple of times to run the Grandma’s marathon (well, half marathon for me since I’m only half crazy…har har har), and I just fell in love with the idea of living in such a beautiful, yet sometimes spooky town right on Lake Superior. Anyhoo, I enjoyed the escape, but the story left much to be desired.

The mystery of the haunted artist studio took a backseat (we’re talking waaaaay in the back of a bus) to the romance between Tess and her new boyfriend. Apparently, he can do a little bit of everything, including assisting the resident ghost hunters next door. How convenient! So yeah, this is a sloooooooow, meandering read, yet I didn’t hate it. I did. However, the big reveal was vastly underwhelming. It was tacked on at the very end of the book in an info dump. Clearly, Miss Webb had a deadline and needed to hastily wrap things up!

If you’re looking for a gothic ghost story with a twist, give this a pass. But this might be a good read for someone who needs an escape to a quaint, wintery town full of kindly neighbors, good food and ice skating parks!

The House on Royal Street by Karen White

Karen White has quite the following for her “Tradd Street” series and hundreds (maybe thousands?) of glowing reviews. Clearly, she appeals to many readers who enjoy her meandering writing style. Me? Not so much.

Yeesh…this was bad, guys. I mean, where do I begin? We’re dealing with a cast of white-bread characters; the only people of color are construction workers who are nicknamed “the two stooges.” I don’t know if I’m being overly sensitive here, but that left a bad taste in my mouth. The ghostly mystery plot goes on all thesase meandering twists and turns that have nothing to do with the cold case mystery that needs solving to send the ghosts to the beeamign white light! Somebody, please call the Ghost Whisperer already!

And then there’s the antiquated “Southern Belle” attitude that harkens back to the bygone era when women were trained to sit up straight and act like “ladies.” A plucky, feisty Southern Belle side character keeps dropping patriarchal bits of wisdom like, “women should wear clothes tight enough to show off their figures, but not tight enough to no longer look like a lady.” And then there’s the main character…sigh.

Nola, has a lot going on. She’s an architectural engineer, a home renovator, a recovering alcoholic, a lover of spreadsheets, and a vegan living in the Big Easy—land of sausage jambalaya and crawfish boils. Readers will continuously be reminded of her vegan diet because she’s constantly picking food out of her plate, ordering tofu or avoiding eating altogether. I fully support veganism, but do her dietary restrictions need to be drilled into our heads in every chapter?

The author also wants to make it very clear that Nola is thin, beautiful and the object of desire for every man who crosses her path. I don’t have much to say about the haunted historic cottage because there’s not much to that cold case mystery. But I will say that this series is a one-and-done for me. Nola really got under my skin, especially when she micromanaged her contractors on her stupid spreadsheet by scheduling potty breaks. No wonder she couldn’t keep anyone on staff. Woof.

All Hollows by Christopher Golden

This was my second ho-hum Christopher Golden horror novel, and sadly it is my last. The man comes up with some great concepts but can’t deliver a good, campy horror story. This one checks all the boxes: Halloweenie book cover with a glowing jack-o-lantern: check! Halloween night slash-and-stalk horrors: check! Good old-fashioned 1980s trick-or-treating vibes: check! But yet, nothing about this book worked.

Here’s what went wrong: The book is 80% domestic drama (cheating spouses, money troubles, teenage crushes, etc.). Adding to the ick-factor is some pedophilia. Yuck. I could’ve done without that bit of grossness.

The characters weren’t very likeable or relatable, probably because there are too many narrators. I just couldn’t root for any of them, so it wasn’t a big deal when the “Cunning Man” and the evil costumed ghost children started knocking them off. If you’re looking for something spooky for Halloween, pick up a classic like “Something Wicked This Way Comes” or “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

The Haunting by Natasha Preston

WTH? I thought this would be a slam dunk five-star read because “The Lake” was such a fun thriller, and surely I found a new favorite YA horror author. Nope! I’m failing to understand why this is titled “The Haunting.” Someone—anyone—please explain! There are no ghosts or paranormal happenings, just a gaggle of teenagers running around from one place to the next with a masked killer on the loose.

This is “Scream,” but without the snappy dialogue and interesting characters. With all the frenetic scenes of car crashes and fires, I’m still bored. The main character constantly gets scolded by her sort-of boyfriend for not eating. Why is this a constant thing throughout the book? We get it; she’s not good at self-care and throws herself in danger with reckless abandon. I wish I cared for her welfare, but nope.

I enjoyed a few atmospheric Halloweenie scenes, like being stalked by a killer in a haunted forest, but those thrills were few and far between. If you’re looking for a ghost story, this isn’t it. Don’t be fooled by that title!

Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

I must confess, I had to DNF this at the 40% mark, so I have no idea how it all ended. There could very well be a very meticulously plotted twist, but I just couldn’t waste any more of my time on this turkey. I’m a good three hours into this audiobook, and nothing important is happening on this dang cruise ship. It’s just middle school-level drama with a lot of “he said, she said” drivel. Jade, the MC, is stuck on a “semester abroad” cruise ship with her cheating BFF and BF. Oh boo hoo, how horrible it must be to explore Western Europe on a luxury liner while getting academic credit.

Anyhoo, she has been mysteriously shunned by the two lovebirds, and throughout the cruise, they all cast each other dirty looks. Jade is confused as to why they hate her with a burning passion. Clearly, she did something terrible, and maybe we’ve got ourselves an unreliable narrator. Who knows? I guess they couldn’t stand her incessant whining. There’s an equally annoying cast of secondary characters who all have their own little gimmicks. One is trying to be a YouTube star (insert eye-roll emoji here), another is a glamorous, wealthy influencer, and then you’ve got the brooding bad boy with mysterious secrets.

They’re all supposed to be in college, but they seemed very middle-grade to me. I guess I’ll never know who killed Jade’s former bestie and why, but that’s cool. There are plenty of whodunnits on my TBR that might actually follow a cohesive plot! So there you have it! If you’re looking for a good YA mystery on the high seas, skip this and try “Death Sets Sail” by Robin Stevens.

GrrrrrRUFF! Merry Christmas to one and all! As you may know, I’m a dog rescue enthusiast (adopt don’t shop, people!), and there’s nothing I love more during this time of year than curling up with a good, Christmassy book with furry sidekicks. Here are just a few of my selections from this year’s holiday reading list:

Up on the Woof Top by Spencer Quinn

The gist: Chet and Bernie are at it again! This time it’s Christmas in the chilly desert, and they are tasked with finding Rudy the missing reindeer for a client who writes a popular cozy Christmas mystery series. Soon they get wrapped up in an unsolved murder cold case! Oh how I love cold cases! Everything about this synapsis was a yes for me when I found this gorgeous hardback in the bookstore.

What I liked: This series always puts me in a good mood. I absolutely love that everything is narrated by Chet the dog (aka Chet the Jet!), who often goes on tangents about table scraps and how much he adores Bernie. I’m just going to say it! Chet is my favorite character in contemporary literature. Bernie comes in at a close second. He’s the best dog dad, and he cares about the environment to boot! Officer Weatherly is a lucky lady.

What irked me: I can’t think of anything to critique here. I just loved every morsel of this book!

Overall: If you love mysteries and dogs, this series is a real double-whammy. Also, I really love the desert setting, especially in the winter. Not many of the books I read are set in the American Southwest, so this is a fun departure from the norm. There’s just something about the wintery desert that sparks my imagination.

Christmas at Corgi Cove by Annie England Noblin

The gist: Small town Texas girl is on a quest to save her aunt and uncle’ s beloved Corgi Cove Inn and falls in love with the big city boy who is working to buy the inn and turn it into a soulless resort for a company that’s taking over the town. Corgis make appearances here and there, and the townsfolk all came out of central casting for a run-of-the-mill Hallmark holiday movie.

What I liked: Being the Texas girl that I am (born, but not bred), I liked this fictional town set outside of Austin that’s full of old Victorian houses and mom-and-pop shops. It made me think of Wimberley, and I adore that town!

What irked me: The destined-to-fail romance was just soooooooo cliched. I’ve seen this time and time again, and it’s getting to be such a bore. Also, I could’ve used more dogs and less humans. The corgis make brief appearances in just a few scenes, so it’s really not a dog story at all.

Overall: This book is waaaaaay too long for what it is. I kept putting it down and not really caring what happened next because the climax was just so glaringly obvious. The romance aspect was a snoozefest, but I did rather enjoy the mother-daughter side plot that was thrown into the mix toward the very end, which added more depth to the formulaic love story. This wasn’t my favorite Christmas read, but I do highly recommend picking up the author’s other book, “Pupcakes,” which was fantastic!

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Susan Wiggs

The gist: An unlucky-in-love woman reluctantly accompanies her friend on a road trip to deliver twelve shelter dogs to their new homes (site unseen!!!). How does this fly, exactly? As a shelter volunteer, I can see this going 50 shades of wrong. But I digress…she gets into a wreck on a snowy night and falls for her hunky first-responder. Romance ensues, and I’m sure you can figure out the rest.

What I liked: The dogs, of course! I love a good rescue story, and the idea of dogs being transported to their perfect little homes at Christmastime just warms my heart! Also, I really liked the secondary character who was leading the expedition. She genuinely cares about dogs and goes out of her way every Christmas to transport them to their happy forever families. I think this would’ve been a much more interesting story if she was the main character, but oh well.

What irked me: The main character—and her Christmas-phobia—was annoying from the get-go, and she just kept getting increasingly obnoxious. First, I felt a little salty about her vehement reluctance to help out her friend and be her copilot. I mean, she has nothing going on in her life other than a shallow but hunky boyfriend, so why is this such a problem? And don’t get me started on the boyfriend situation. Did the author forget that she had one? How am I supposed to care about this character when she’s two-timing her big city boyfriend while pursuing a romance with the hunky EMS hero?

Overall: This is my first book by Susan Wiggs, and I’m sad to say it’s my last. Her stories just aren’t for me. I can’t believe I did this, but I DNFed it with only two more chapters to go. I have a feeling the author had to figure out a way to create conflict toward the very end, so she turned the main character into an incessantly whiny brat. She has everything: the perfect man who knows exactly what to say and do, a wonderful new community of friends, the perfect life laid ahead of her….but yet she can’t stop bitching and moaning about her commitment issues and Christmas-phobia. It just got to be a little much. Bah Humbug!

Santa’s Little Yelpers by David Rosenfelt

The gist: Lawyer Andy Carpenter is on a quest to exonerate his friend and fellow dog volunteer from murder charges. Murders and kidnapping ensue—and all clues lead to a dangerous mob!

What I liked: Andy is a quirky guy, and I rather enjoyed his snarky humor—especially his jabs at his own job. He can’t wait to retire, and I gotta say, that makes him a relatable character in my book! He’s also passionate about rescuing dogs and putting the bad guys in jail—all commendable qualities. Also, I liked the mystery plot, which had me guessing for quite a while. Andy and his team of crack-shot investigators had to do a LOT of digging to figure out who would want to frame a man for murder—not once but twice! The stakes kept getting higher with mafia threats, but they bravely stayed the course on thier quest for justice. If I’m ever in a pickle, I’m calling this guy!

What irked me: I wanted more dog action! I’m looking at a bundle of puppies underneath a Christmas tree on this glossy book cover, and there were very few puppies involved in this story!!! Also, Christmas ended halfway through the book, so this really wasn’t much of a holiday story. Aside from the false advertising, I got very confused with all the names of people that were dropped on me at the very end. I had to flip back to see who was who because it just go so messy. It would be great if authors could stick with just one name and not flit back and forth from a characters’ first and last name. It’s crazy-making!

Overall: This is a solid series with a lovable main character. He’s kind of a smart-ass, but I’ll let it pass because he rescues dogs and puts the baddies in jail. If you’re looking for a heart-warming dog story, this isn’t it. But if you like a puzzling mystery involving the organized crime and secretive small town cults, give this book a whirl.