Ashleigh's Bookshelf

A Town Called Potato by Gary Blaine Randolph When computer expert Gabriel Lake meets with a new client, he expects them to ask him to develop a new app. He doesn't expect them to ask him to help find a missing person. Not just any missing person. Someone who doesn't belong on Earth. And that's just the beginning of the adventure. This book felt like A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy crossed with Sherlock Holmes . Throughout the book, the main character admits he has no idea what he is doing, but he is drawing his knowledge from the noir mysteries he loves to read. Set on several other planets, this book required a lot of worldbuilding. And the author did not disappoint. Perhaps it was his likening it to science fiction shows I had seen, but I could really picture each new location, as well as the aliens who lived there. I also really enjoyed not only the explanation of how the chrono drive worked, but also watching it in motion. The author used ...

Back to School Murder by Leslie Meier It's the first day of school in a peaceful little Maine town. For Lucy Stone, this means a few childless hours to work at the local newspaper and contemplate night classes. However, when she gets reports of a bomb in her children's school, Lucy starts to wonder who put it there. When her prime suspect ends up dead and an innocent man is arrested, Lucy becomes determined to clear his name and discover the truth. This book jumped out of me because Lucy Stone is a mother of four--three girls and a boy, just like me--who lives in a small New England town. I really wanted to like this book and, although it was a little dated, I must say, I did enjoy it. This is an older story, written in an era before 9-11 and the Columbine school shootings. The story opens with a bomb in the elementary school. In case readers find such a scenario disturbing, I will put this spoiler: No one is killed in the explosion and there is only one...

The One Great Gnome by Jeff Dinardo illustrated by Jhon Ortiz When eleven-year-old Sarah is transplanted from New York City to rural Connecticut, she has no idea how she will survive. Never could she have imagined that a garden gnome come to life would lead her to an underground adventure to save the entire gnome race. I listened to the audiobook version of this story and absolutely loved the addition of sound effects to enhance the story. Looking at the printed version, I saw the addition of illustrations with the text as well. I thought these nice additions. However, while my seven-year-old daughter found this story enjoyable, I had a difficult time getting into the story. Although it is geared toward a younger audience, I was frustrated by the overuse of dialogue tags and, at least in the second half of the story, the near absent use of pronouns, leading to names being repeated many times in a short period. An example of thi...

Publishable By Death by A.C.F. Bookens It's opening day for St. Marin's newest -- and only -- bookstore and owner Harvey can't be more excited. Books are on the shelves, coffee is in the cafe, a dead body is in the stockroom. While no one seems too upset by the loss of one of it's residents, Harvey wants to find the murderer before bad publicity ruins her reputation. I found this book to be extremely entertaining. I enjoyed watching the romance unfold between Harvey and a certain mechanic. I loved working with Harvey to figure out the identity of the murderer (although I have to admit I figured it out long before she did). I also loved learning the history of the bookstore. I look forward to reading more about St. Marin. Overall, I would rate this story four quills and place it on my middle shelf.

Live and Let Diet by Morgana Best After a messy divorce, Sybil can't wait to get a new start on life. Before she gets a chance to settle into into a small town in nowhere Australia, she discovers a dead body in the boarding house neighboring her cottage. Being the newest arrival puts her at the top of the suspect list. Can she clear her name before she ends up being the next victim? This story begins with an Australian glossary at the front, although I found myself familiar with many of the terms, either because they were ones I used here in America or because I watch lots of Australian shows on Netflix. I am also pretty sure there were terms in the glossary that were not in this particular book, making me question why they were included in the first place. The story started a little slow, with a lot of background information that I would have preferred to have learned later. Since Sybil is a new person in a new town, there is plenty of opportunity for her ...