Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Puzzled to Death by Parnell Hall When the Puzzle Lady is asked to host a charity crossword competition, she expresses only one concern: she knows nothing about crossword puzzles. But, that's the least of her concerns when a murder threatens to stop the entire event. Although this was not the first book in the series, it was my first introduction to the Puzzle Lady. I must say that, despite my high rating, I had mixed feelings. Like most cozies, the main character is an amateur sleuth, fumbling her way through the mystery. However, she is also no puzzle expert and spends nearly as much time trying to keep people from learning her niece is the actual puzzle crafter as she does trying to solve the mystery. While this was probably explained in an earlier book, I did find it a little disappointing. Ultimately, while I wasn't in love with the characters, I did enjoy the story, as well as the embedded puzzles, and would consider reading othe...

Around Midnight by Zarina Macha Seventeen-year-old Megan's life is on the right track. A gifted jazz saxophonist, she is confident she will be accepted into the prestigious London School of Jazz. She has made some great friends at her new school, and she even finds a nice boyfriend. Except her friends hate him. And she worries he will leave her if they don't sleep together. While it was difficult to read about this young lady trying to get out of an unhealthy relationship, I feel the story is worth telling. However, the story feels impersonal, written in the third person (with occasional lapses into the second). In my opinion, this book would have made a deeper impact if it were written in Megan's own voice. The poor formatting for the kindle made this book very difficult to read because there were no indentations to indicate new paragraphs. This was especially irksome when encountering dialogue. It often took a moment to determine who was speaking. Overall, I would...

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair Michael Duckett is having a bad day. He hates his job. The woman he likes stood him up. The landlord never received his last three rent checks. The lump on his couch that calls herself his best friend won't take life seriously. And people keep requesting the services of his detective agency. Too bad he doesn't have one. Just when things couldn't get any worse, he gets dragged into a vortex and must crash his way through alternate universes until he finds his way home. This book was very funny and creative. Like the main character, I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out the way the vortex worked, but it wasn't confusing enough to prevent me from enjoying the story. I enjoyed the main characters, even though I did want to smack Stephanie upside the head a few times. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of this series. Overall, I would rate this story four and a half quills and place it on my top shelf.

The Frights of Fiji by Sunayna Prasad Due to the tragic death of her parents five years ago, twelve-year-old Alyssa lives with her mean uncle. But, her world is about to change because of magic. One day, she receives a note telling her so. While I liked the concept of this story, I was not impressed in its execution. I had a difficult time finishing the book. The writing was very juvenile and the editing poor. I had trouble relating to the characters and did not feel any sense of "I want to know what happens next." While some of the storyline and worldbuilding felt ripped from Harry Potter, other parts made little sense to me, despite the fact that everything felt over-explained. Overall, I would rate this story three quills and place it on my bottom shelf.