August 24, 2014

Review: How to Fall by Jane Casey


Product Description: 
Sixteen-year-old Jess Tennant has never met any of her relatives, until her mom suddenly drags her out of London to spend the summer in the tiny English town where her family’s from. Her mom’s decision is surprising, but even more surprising is the town’s reaction to Jess. Everywhere she goes, people look at her like they’ve seen a ghost. In a way, they have—she looks just like her cousin Freya, who died shortly before Jess came to town.

Jess immediately feels a strange connection to Freya, whom she never got to meet alive. But the more Jess learns about the secrets Freya was keeping while she was alive, the more suspicious Freya’s death starts to look. One thing is for sure: this will be anything but the safe, boring summer in the country Jess was expecting.


My Thoughts:
How to Fall was easily one of the best YA novels I've read in a while. It had all the elements of a good mystery and what I always feel is lacking in other books, a believable plot line. That's not to say I didn't cringe at Jess' antics half the time because she was the typical teen making bad choices. It was because everything that Jess did was logical for an inquisitive teen dead set on investigating her cousin's death. 

The characters that shared the story with Jess were so well done that I felt like I knew each and everyone of them when I was in high school. I'm definitely putting book two in the series, Bet Your Life, on my to be read list.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this one for anyone who loves YA and mysteries. 




August 23, 2014

Review: Death by Didgeridoo by Barbara Venkataraman


Product Description:
Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, still reeling from the death of her mother, is pulled into a game of deception, jealousy, and vengeance when her cousin, Adam, is wrongfully accused of murder. It's up to Jamie to find the real murderer before it's too late. It doesn't help that the victim is a former rock star with more enemies than friends, or that Adam confessed to a murder he didn't commit. 

My Thoughts: 

I thought that Death by Didgeridoo was a cute and quick read. The mystery was simple and easy to figure out. Jamie has a wonderful sense of humor and there were several lines in the book that made me laugh out loud. She was fun and I really wished that she would have had an opportunity to get to know the prosecuting attorney, Nick, a little better. Hopefully there will be a little more romance in book two of the Jaime Quinn series, The Case of the Killer Divorce.

My review is based on the audio book read by Carrie Lee Martz. Carrie's reading style was a too monotone for me and her portrayal of the PI Duke's southern accent drove me absolutely insane. Each and every word was slow and drawn out in an overly exaggerated manner. I feel that had I read the book, I would have given Death by Didgeridoo a full five star rating.


My Recommendation: 

I recommend this one for anyone who loves cozy mysteries.