Book Spotlight - Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner: A Novel by Jessica Bull + Giveaway

About The Book:

Title: MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE HAPLESS MILLINER

Author: Jessica Bull

Pub. Date: February 27, 2024

Publisher: Union Square Co.

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 368

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-HAPLESS-MILLINER

A witty, engaging murder mystery featuring Jane Austen as an intrepid amateur sleuth—the first in a series.
Jane Austen—sparkling, spirited, and incredibly clever—is suddenly thrust into a mystery when a milliner’s dead body is found locked inside a cupboard in the middle of a ball. When Jane’s brother Georgy is found with some jewelry belonging to the deceased, the local officials see it as an open-and-shut case: one which is likely to end with his death. Jane is certain that he is innocent, and there is more to the murder than meets the eye. Her investigations send her on a journey through local society, as Jane’s suspect list keeps on growing— and her keen observational skills of people will be put to the test to solve the crime and save her brother. 

Featuring the same lively wit, insightful social commentary, and relatable characters that have made Jane Austen books into perennial classics, this first entry in the Miss Austen Investigates series is perfect for anyone who enjoyed The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl or other historical mystery books based on real people, as well as fans looking to add to their Jane Austen collection.

 

About Jessica Bull:

Jessica Bull grew up in southeast London, where she still lives with her husband, two daughters, and far too many pets. She’s addicted to stories and studied English Literature at Bristol University, and Information Science at City University, London. She began work as a librarian (under the false impression she could sit and read all day), before becoming a communications consultant. Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner is her debut novel.

 

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES: THE HAPLESS MILLINER, US Only.

Ends March 5th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

2/19/2024	Kountry Girl Bookaholic	Guest Post/IG Post
2/20/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Guest Post/IG Post
2/21/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
2/22/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
2/23/2024	anitralovesbooksanddogs	IG Review

Week Two:

2/26/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
2/27/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
2/28/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review
2/29/2024	Confessions Of The Perfect Mom	Review/IG Post
3/1/2024	FUONLYKNEW	Review

Book Review - A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

 

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly is about a woman, Evelyne Redfern, who finds a dead body at her new job. In England 1940, Evelyne is famously known as the “The Parisian Orphan” because of the nasty divorce between her mother and her adventurer father that unfolded very publicly.  Evelyne wishes to leave her parents’ shadow and move on with her life.

She decides to take a job working on the line at a munitions factory to help out with the war efforts.  During the night, she and her friends at the local boarding house go out for a fun night out. There she crosses paths with one of her father’s old friends, Mr. Fletcher. 

Mr. Fletcher asks if she is interested in taking a new job as he remembers how clever and resourceful she was as a child. Evelyne is intrigued and decides to take him up on his offer. She wasn’t sure what to expect of the new job but now she is working as a secretary for the Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.  She feels that this job would have more of an impact with the war efforts than working in the factories as it would have a “more” direct impact.

As Evelyne tries to find her way around the underground bunker, she comes across a person she thinks is sleeping at the desk. When she goes closer to the person, she realizes the person is dead and it was someone she knew and worked with. Evelyne is determined to find the killer. She loves reading detective novels, and she believes that she can find the culprit, but her plan puts her directly in the path of David Poole. 

Evelyne doesn’t know much about David other than he is sketchy and always seems to turn up wherever she is. She hopes that they will stay out of each other’s way until she finds out that David has been tasked to find the mole that has been selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. Evelyne feels that their missions are connected and begrudgingly agrees to team up with David. Will the pair be able to find out who is behind the murder? 

I thought the book was an interesting read but it wasn’t as enjoyable to me as I would have expected. It took me a bit of time to get into the author’s writing style. I found myself going back and rereading the same thing over again because I couldn’t grasp what the author was trying to communicate. There was also a large cast of people that it was difficult to keep everyone’s motive and story straight. It felt like tons of information was given about minor characters who didn’t really add anything to the story. Then at other times, I feel like we didn’t really get to know many of the characters other than their basic cursory backgrounds.

I felt at times the pacing was a bit off. The book was boring and plodded along slowly towards the middle and the ending came out of nowhere. It felt a bit unexpected on how the book ended but not unpredictable. I did find it odd that the only qualification that Evelyne had to solve the murder was that she was a fan of murder mystery novels. She had one job prior to being a secretary, and she had minimal office experience. I can understand her being considered clever but there weren't really any facts or reason to back that up. I didn’t like that the author made it seem that she knew more than other people because she was an amateur sleuth that liked murder mysteries. If you like cozy mystery reads, then this book might be enjoyable to you.  I would be open to read more books from the series but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find or read it.

Book Review - The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde

  

The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde is about a young woman, Ife Adebola, who is trying to adjust to her new school. Ife knows she should be excited about starting at the prestigious Nithercott School. However, she misses her old friends and school. She felt like she used to belong at her old school but at her new school she feels like an outsider.

As her parents couldn’t afford the tuition on their own, she is placed in the Urban Achievers scholarship program. She feels that this makes her an outsider and she is determined to focus on her schoolwork. However, when another student, Malika, starts acting strange, Ife wonders if there is more going on at the school. She wonders if Malika’s new behavior is related to the disappearance of the older brother of her classmate.

I love horror and mystery books, so I was so excited to read this book. The cover had a lot of spooky vibes.  However, I had a hard time getting into the book. The writing didn’t flow very smoothly for me. It also felt forced and disjointed. I had a hard time liking Ife. She was struggling to make friends but, when someone was interested in being her friend, Ife just used her when it was convenient. For example, she was only interested in talking to one girl, Bee, because Ife wanted to use Bee’s phone. I felt that there were also a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them all. It was a cumbersome process to remember how they all related to the plot. The book was so slow that nothing happened for more than half of the book. I stopped reading towards the midpoint as there wasn’t anything keeping me tethered to the novel.

 

Book Review - Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

 

 

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns is about seventeen year old Marley West, who is trying to find a place to belong. In 1990, Marley and her mother arrived in the small river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. Marley and her mother are constantly moving city to city looking for work. Marley felt like a loner and is looking for a community and a place to belong.

When Marley arrives at Mercury, she sees three men on top of a roof. She isn’t able to make out who the men were as only their silhouettes were visible from the sun. Later, when Marley decides to watch a local baseball game, she runs into one of the Joseph brothers and is later introduced to the rest of the family.

Marley receives an invitation to join the Joseph family for dinner and eventually leads to a standing invite. It started as a simple dinner but it led Marley to be intertwined with the entire Joseph family and eventually she married into the family. Marley finds the connection and family that she has been searching for but, she realizes that it comes at a steep cost.

I thought the book was a dull read. I thought there was going to be a mystery around the dead body but it wasn’t until almost halfway into the book that it was even mentioned. I felt like there wasn’t much going on in the book and a lot of the drama was just drummed up or exaggerated to make it seem like more was going on. I didn’t understand what the point of the book was. Was it to show how consuming a small business is? Or should we be careful about what we wish for? 

While the plot was moving as slow as molasses, I didn’t find any of the characters to be enjoyable. I found it weird that Marley wants a family of her own, when she is barely an adult and has a very supportive mother. Instead, she jumps headfirst into building connections with a highly dysfunctional family and continues to stay with them even though she has her reservations about them.  No one from the Joseph family seemed remotely interesting. Elise Joseph, the mother, seemed to be welcoming, but then cold at times. I wish we were given more information on her behaviors along with the other members of the family. The entire family just seemed selfish and unbalanced. Readers who enjoy reading about people’s everyday lives and family drama, might find this more entertaining than I did.

 

Book Review - The Fury by Alex Michaelides

 

 The Fury by Alex Michaelides is about the murder of a famous movie star, Lana Farrar, and its aftermath.  Lana is feeling a bit under the weather after being surrounded by the dreary rainy weather in London. To escape the weather, she decides to invite her friends, Kate and Elliot, to spend Easter with her and her family on her private Greek Island.

Lana and her friends are settling into the island when news of an incoming storm hits. While the island is being buffeted by high winds and rain, Lana’s body is discovered. Everyone is worried that someone else has snuck on the island and that they might be the next target. However, when it becomes clear that the murderer is someone they might know, will anyone be safe?

I loved the book Silent Patient by the author and have also read his other book, The Maidens. However, I am starting to feel that the author is a one hit wonder. The story was told from a protagonist, Elliot Chase, who breaks the fourth wall. He invites us to sit with him at a bar to share the story of how his friend, Lana, gets murdered.

At first, it was interesting listening to Elliot describe the events that lead to murder and the murder. However, after a while it got tiresome. He jumps around in his narration and fills it with pointless details. He would constantly dangle the proverbial carrot in front of us teasing juicy details, but they led nowhere.

The book plods along slowly with barely enough action to keep you interested. The twists are seen a mile away and are very predictable. The ending was disappointing. I was expecting to have my socks blown off after sloughing through the boring narration. All I was left wondering was, “Is that it”?  The characters themselves are insufferable and I didn’t care for any of them. After reading two disappointing books by the author, I am in no rush to read another one of his books.

 

Book Spotlight - Not the Worst Friend in the World by Anne Rellihan

 

About The Book:

Title: NOT THE WORST FRIEND IN THE WORLD

Author: Anne Rellihan

Pub. Date: February 6, 2024

Publisher: Holiday House

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 272

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/NOT-THE-WORST-FRIEND-IN-THE-WORLD

Can Lou Bennett keep a secret? She’ll do just about anything to prove herself to her new friend—and the best friend she betrayed—in this debut novel that is a modern-day Harriet the Spy with high emotional stakes.

It’s the thirty-fourth day of sixth grade at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Missouri, and eleven-year-old Lou wishes she could rewind time.

Lou wants to go back to the ninth day of sixth grade—the day before she fought with her best friend Francie and said the terrible, horrible things she can’t unsay. Or better yet, she would go back to fifth grade when Francie was still the Old Francie.

Then the new girl, Cece Clark-Duncan, passes Lou a mysterious note. It says she was kidnapped. (!) If Lou can help Cece, maybe she can prove she’s not the world’s worst friend.

But as observant Lou uncovers the complicated truth about Cece’s family, she starts to panic. Can she help Cece without hurting her? Or will Lou end up losing another friend instead?

Anchored by an outstanding voice and a page-turning mystery, this remarkable debut novel honors the powerful middle school friendships that can both break and heal a tender eleven-year-old heart. Perfect for fans of Fish in a Tree and My Jasper June.

About Anne Rellihan:

Anne Rellihan is a former elementary school teacher and an alumna of Teach for America with a master’s degree in education from Columbia University. She lives in Kansas with her husband and four children. When she’s not writing, Anne volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. This is her debut novel. Find her online @AnneRellihan and annerellihan.com.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of NOT THE WORST FRIEND IN THE WORLD, US Only.

Ends February 20th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:
Week One:

2/5/2024	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt/IG Post
2/5/2024	Log Cabin Library	Excerpt
2/6/2024	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
2/6/2024	Fire And Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
2/7/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	IG Post
2/7/2024	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Review/IG Post
2/8/2024	Kountry Girl Bookaholic	Excerpt/IG Post
2/8/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
2/9/2024	@paws.read.repeat	Review/IG Post
2/9/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review
2/10/2024	Callisto’s calling	IG Review
2/10/2024	Avainbookland	IG Review

Week Two:

2/11/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
2/11/2024	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
2/12/2024	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post
2/12/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
2/13/2024	@dharashahauthor	IG Post
2/13/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review
2/14/2024	PopTheButterfly Reads	Review/IG Post
2/14/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
2/15/2024	@anitralovesbooksanddogs	IG Review
2/15/2024	More Books Please blog	Review/IG Post
2/16/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
2/16/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post

Book Spotlight - Extra Innings by Fred Bowen + Giveaway

 

About The Book:

Title: EXTRA INNINGS

Author: Fred Bowen

Pub. Date: February 6, 2024

Publisher: Peachtree

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 144

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/EXTRA-INNINGS 

A baseball book full of on the field action perfect for middle grade readers.

"Strike one is the best pitch in baseball." Mike loves pitching, and he loves knowing his team counts on him to deliver wins. But Mike's father starts to worry that Mike is getting too carried away with baseball and not spending time working at after school jobs and developing a sense of responsibility. Can Mike and his father reach a compromise in order to let Mike play the game he loves and help his team win the league championship?

Read “The Real Story” of Harvey Haddix, who pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves in 1959 and LOST. Baseball fans will love this extra dive into sports history.

 

 

About Fred Bowen:

Fred Bowen was a Little Leaguer who loved to read. Now he is the author of many action-packed books of sports fiction. He has also written a weekly sports column for kids in the Washington Post since 2000. Fred played lots of sports growing up, including soccer at Marblehead High School. For thirteen years, he coached kids’ baseball, soccer, and basketball teams. Some of his stories spring directly from his coaching experience and his sports-happy childhood in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Fred holds a degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from George Washington University. He was a lawyer for many years before retiring to become a full-time children’s author. Bowen has been a guest author at schools and conferences across the country, as well as the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Fred lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife. For more information, check out the author’s website at www.fredbowen.com.

 

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of EXTRA INNINGS, US Only.

Ends February 20th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:
Week One:

2/5/2024	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
2/5/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
2/6/2024	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
2/6/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	IG Post
2/7/2024	Kountry Girl Bookaholic	Excerpt/IG Post
2/7/2024	Little Red Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
2/8/2024	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Spotlight/IG Post
2/8/2024	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
2/9/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
2/9/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review
2/10/2024	Callisto’s calling	IG Review
2/10/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post

Week Two:

2/11/2024	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
2/11/2024	@paws.read.repeat	Review/IG Post
2/12/2024	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
2/12/2024	The Momma Spot	Review
2/13/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review
2/13/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
2/14/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
2/14/2024	@anitralovesbooksanddogs	IG Review
2/15/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Post/TikTok Post
2/15/2024	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
2/16/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review
2/16/2024	Confessions Of The Perfect Mom	Review/IG Post