Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Goodbye Sea Angel by Anne Shillolo When Detective Constable Holly Towns agreed to serve as security on the Sea Angel party boat, she never expected to end up in the middle of a storm. Or that one of the passengers would leave in a body bag. Or that she would be in charge of the investigation because the rest of her team is too busy dealing with a sniper back on the mainland. As if that wasn't enough, she's still haunted by a cold case: the death of her parents. Will she be able to solve any of these cases before any more lives are lost? Although this is the third book in the series, it is the first one I have read and I fell in love with the main character. She was very relatable and I loved the fact that, despite being a police officer, she was far from perfect. I loved watching her grow and working on being a team player. Although the two main cases had satisfactory endings, I was not thrilled with the cold case story. I loved its progression, however t...

Better Beginnings by Cyprus Hart After breaking up with her boyfriend, Leigh just wants to get as far away from LA as possible. Small town Maine seems like the perfect place. After being surrounded by fake people looking out for themselves, she is shocked by the realness of her new neighbors, who seem to look after each other. Except Ulysses. The bearded lumberjack just doesn't seem to like Leigh, and that doesn't sit right with her. Can she win him over, or will finding out his secret be too painful? For both of them. I'm not sure if it was the author's intention, but I really did not like Leigh. Like Ulysses, I found her shallow and egocentric and vain. I only kept reading beyond the first few chapters because I was convinced she would change. I hope it's not a spoiler to say that, in my opinion, I did not see much growth in her character. While she does eventually show she is capable of caring for one other person, I would have lik...

Chase: The Boy Who Hid by Z Jeffries Chase is angry. While everyone believes his grandad is dead, he knows the truth: Grandad is just missing. Since no one believes him, it's up to him to lead the search. Unfortunately, that means taking his spot in a top-secret government game of hide and seek, gaining the trust of the team, and maybe even interviewing the enemy. All without getting himself killed. Piece of cake, right? While I found this book entertaining, the worldbuilding was a little confusing. I understood the need to keep the descriptions of the Lack vague, but there were other elements I would have like to have explained a little more. For example, if the ball was for only the team captains, who were all the other people present? And, I was confused by some of the technology used by other teams during the game. I would have liked if the author had spent a little more time describing that for me. I would have also liked to have seen a little more...

Roosevelt Banks and the Attic of Doom by Laurie Calkhoven illustrated by Debbie Palen Ten-year-old Roosevelt Banks can't wait for summer. Mom will be working, his little sister will be at day care, and it will be a SUMMER OF DAD. Unfortunately, his father already has plans -- remodeling THE ATTIC OF DOOM into Roosevelt's new bedroom. Can Roosevelt convince them this is a bad idea? Or will he be forced to move in with the ghosts that want to take over his body? I just could not put down this book! I loved watching Roosevelt trying to find solutions to his ghost problem. I found the characters very relatable and enjoyable. My only real comment is that I would have loved to have seen Roosevelt's story as it's own chapter, with the narrative stuff tacked onto the end of the previous one. I also wanted to know what happened to his story. Did his parents ever read it? Did he end up using it to apply to the program at the library? If so,...

Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly After the death of her husband, Carly has moved back to her small Vermont hometown to pursue her life-long dream: opening a restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese. Despite the fact business is booming, her new landlord decides not to renew her lease. When her best employee becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Carly embarks to prove her friend's innocence, maybe saving her shop in the process. The first chapter of this book is a huge backstory with a lot of information that will be repeated later in the book. However, once I got past that, I found this story fairly enjoyable. I liked the characters and I found myself trying to solve the mystery along with Carly. While I did figure out the whodunit before her, I didn't catch the motive until just before she did. I did have a few issues with the book. There were times when the dialogue felt a little forced and not natural. There was also the scene where Carly share...

Cyn & the Peanut Butter Cup Pru Warren When a nonagenarian steals an FBI agent's gun in the middle of the grocery store, Cyn and Rhys both wonder if their jobs are on the line. Cyn loves being Maddy's caregiver, but the old woman with short-term memory loss is proving to be more of a challenge than she expected. Rhys has wanted to work for the FBI his entire life, but he keeps screwing up. When Maddy's past comes back to haunt her present, Cyn and Rhys must help her, possibly finding some romance along the way. While I found the spiciness of this romance a littler more intense than what I am used to, I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job with the voice. I loved that Maddy's chapters were in the present tense while Cyn and Rhys were in the past. I only had two minor issues with the book. The first is the abrupt change in the story around chapter fifteen. We go from a leisurely day of volunteering to a different voice in a dif...

Mr. Monk on the Road by Lee Goldberg After finally achieving a relaxed clarity he hasn't known since the death of his wife, Mr. Monk decides it is time for his brother to address his agoraphobia. After putting sleeping pills in his birthday cake, Mr. Monk and his assistant, Natalie, move Ambrose into an RV and set out on a tour of California. Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation if Mr. Monk doesn't assist in a few homicides along the way. But will his brother appreciate his efforts or is it too much for him to handle? Having been raised by someone who owns more Lysol wipes than Mr. Monk, I have always been a fan of the television show and was thrilled to learn about this book series. The first chapter of this book is mostly background information, which I didn't mind too much because it reminded me of all the major characters, since I haven't seen the show in over a decade. (Actually, it made me question whether I even watched the final season...