Murder Takes the Cake finds Daphne Martin caught up in a whodunit regarding the murder of one of her clients for her new cake baking business. As Daphne investigates with the help of the newspaper editor (a once and current love interest), she uncovers more secrets than she expected—her own mother’s past may hold the key to figuring out who killed the town’s notorious gossip.
Being that Daphne is a baker, it makes sense that Murder Takes the Cake is full of baking scenes, but it’s a little too full. Now I’m someone who loves baking as well, but even I felt Gayle Trent went a little overboard with some the precise descriptions of cake decorating. Here’s an example: “I put a cake icing tip into a sixteen-inch featherweight decorator bag and added a generous amount of thin-consistency icing.” That is the opening sentence of the third paragraph of baking and decorating description. Nowhere in these three paragraphs does the plot move forward.
Now onto that plot. The murder mystery was good. I liked how Daphne slowly put the pieces together with a number of red herring stumbles, but the subplot with her mother didn’t do much for me. After Daphne discovers her mother had an affair, Daphne is all sorts of upset. She laments about the affair constantly and frequently calls her uncle (on her father’s side) to find out more. It seems to be a major factor in both the plot and Daphne’s life; then it’s just over. Daphne finds out that the affair has nothing to do with the murder, so the whole thing is just dropped. Just a little more fine-tuning and Murder Takes the Cake actually could take the cake.
3/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Gallery Books.
I made one the cakes from this book! Read about it here.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
review: murder takes the cake by gayle trent
This post contains affiliate links.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
review: the ice princess by camilla läckberg
I fell in love with The Ice Princess right away. The story of a woman seeking the truth about the death of a childhood friend absolutely captivated. Erica’s characterization was one of the elements I particularly enjoyed. Instead of saying flat out that Erica’s concerned about her weight, Camilla Läckberg writes, “With a flourish, she plopped twelve Weight Watchers points onto a plate in the form of two cinnamon buns.” Little touches like that always heighten my interest in a novel.
While there are many positives to The Ice Princess such as an intricately woven plot that held my interest every step of the way, I did find a few faults. Some might be chalked up to the fact that this a translation, but others likely come down to the author. Many of the minor characters (the police superintendent who is fat, sexist, etc.) are overly clichéd. Fortunately this didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the mystery, the romance, and the scandal. And speaking of scandal, at one point while telling what happened to his daughter years ago, Karl-Erik thinks, “How could anyone have imagined something so awful?” Except the story he told was exactly what I thought as soon as the results from Alex’s autopsy were revealed. A further annoyance here was that the autopsy and Karl-Erik’s story were among the few times the reader was actually let in on a revelation. Too many times someone (usually Erica or her cop love interest Patrik) would discover a lead, but that clue was kept secret. The one benefit to not being clued in to any of this was that the killer was a shocker when finally revealed.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Free Press.
While there are many positives to The Ice Princess such as an intricately woven plot that held my interest every step of the way, I did find a few faults. Some might be chalked up to the fact that this a translation, but others likely come down to the author. Many of the minor characters (the police superintendent who is fat, sexist, etc.) are overly clichéd. Fortunately this didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the mystery, the romance, and the scandal. And speaking of scandal, at one point while telling what happened to his daughter years ago, Karl-Erik thinks, “How could anyone have imagined something so awful?” Except the story he told was exactly what I thought as soon as the results from Alex’s autopsy were revealed. A further annoyance here was that the autopsy and Karl-Erik’s story were among the few times the reader was actually let in on a revelation. Too many times someone (usually Erica or her cop love interest Patrik) would discover a lead, but that clue was kept secret. The one benefit to not being clued in to any of this was that the killer was a shocker when finally revealed.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Free Press.
giveaway winners: the revenge of the radioactive lady and kathy cano-murillo books
Congrats to the winners!
The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady: nfmgirl and Carol M
Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing and Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: melydia and Cheryl F.
The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady: nfmgirl and Carol M
Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing and Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: melydia and Cheryl F.
Friday, March 25, 2011
review: get energy! by denise austin
With Get Energy!, Denise Austin provides some great tips for how to move from a sluggish, couch potato lifestyle to one where you actually have enough energy and motivation to lead a fulfilling life. She starts off with an overview on energy, then has a checklist that guides the reader to the area he or she should focus on in order to optimize energy levels.
One area where I did dispute Austin was in sleep patterns. She believes everyone’s body clock tends toward early-riser. While this isn’t practical for all (which she does acknowledge in one of the vignettes from a 911 dispatcher), I believe people have different body clocks. I never had an energy problem when I worked the late night news. I didn’t even set an alarm clock. Now that I work mornings and middays, I have to set multiple alarms and never want to get out of bed even though I still get the same 8-10 hours of sleep. Because of that, I’m putting some of Austin’s tips to use. Many of the (illustrated) stretches were ones I was familiar with from Pilates, so I can attest that they really are helpful. I always feel great after Pilates. Time in the sun is another recommendation that most people can easily fit into their schedules. Austin also provides a list of foods that can boost energy levels. She suggests staying away from too much caffeine and sugar, which can lead to crashes. So while those are all the familiar tips for a healthier life, Austin does lay it all out in easy-to-follow pieces with short pull-outs such as “Revive in 5!” and “Peace Pockets.”
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Center Street.
One area where I did dispute Austin was in sleep patterns. She believes everyone’s body clock tends toward early-riser. While this isn’t practical for all (which she does acknowledge in one of the vignettes from a 911 dispatcher), I believe people have different body clocks. I never had an energy problem when I worked the late night news. I didn’t even set an alarm clock. Now that I work mornings and middays, I have to set multiple alarms and never want to get out of bed even though I still get the same 8-10 hours of sleep. Because of that, I’m putting some of Austin’s tips to use. Many of the (illustrated) stretches were ones I was familiar with from Pilates, so I can attest that they really are helpful. I always feel great after Pilates. Time in the sun is another recommendation that most people can easily fit into their schedules. Austin also provides a list of foods that can boost energy levels. She suggests staying away from too much caffeine and sugar, which can lead to crashes. So while those are all the familiar tips for a healthier life, Austin does lay it all out in easy-to-follow pieces with short pull-outs such as “Revive in 5!” and “Peace Pockets.”
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Center Street.
Friday, March 18, 2011
giveaway: welcome to last chance
To celebrate the release of Hope Ramsay's debut, Hachette is offering two giveaway copies of Welcome to Last Chance.
My review can be found here; Publishers Weekly's is below:
"Starred Review. Ramsay's delicious contemporary debut introduces the town of Last Chance, S.C., and its warmhearted inhabitants. Down to her last five bucks, beautiful runaway Wanda Jane Coblentz heads to the town watering hole and picks up local fiddler Clay Rhodes, figuring that a night at the local no-tell motel beats sleeping on a park bench. When Clay catches her going through his wallet, he dumps her purse out and discovers ID for somebody named Mary Smith. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot! Jane, aka Mary, reveals that she's on the run from a shady, possibly dangerous past. Despite her sketchy behavior, Clay falls in love with her, and soon he and his mother are scheming in fine style to give Jane a last chance of her own. Ramsay strikes an excellent balance between tension and humor as she spins a fine yarn."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower (one extra each for the blog and Twitter) or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on April 2. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
My review can be found here; Publishers Weekly's is below:
"Starred Review. Ramsay's delicious contemporary debut introduces the town of Last Chance, S.C., and its warmhearted inhabitants. Down to her last five bucks, beautiful runaway Wanda Jane Coblentz heads to the town watering hole and picks up local fiddler Clay Rhodes, figuring that a night at the local no-tell motel beats sleeping on a park bench. When Clay catches her going through his wallet, he dumps her purse out and discovers ID for somebody named Mary Smith. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot! Jane, aka Mary, reveals that she's on the run from a shady, possibly dangerous past. Despite her sketchy behavior, Clay falls in love with her, and soon he and his mother are scheming in fine style to give Jane a last chance of her own. Ramsay strikes an excellent balance between tension and humor as she spins a fine yarn."
The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower (one extra each for the blog and Twitter) or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on April 2. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.
review and tour: welcome to last chance by hope ramsay
This post contains affiliate links.
When Last Chance’s local matchmaker predicts that Clay’s “soulmate [will] arrive on the nine-thirty bus from Atlanta,” he didn’t expect that three women would do so. There’s two of his exes (one pregnant with another man’s child) and Jane, who has a secret past. Although the two exes provide some complications, it’s clear from the moment Clay and Jane immediately get into bed that these will be the “soulmates.” But there are further complications involving what Jane’s hiding.
There are some cute moments as well as bits of danger when one of the bad men from Jane’s past comes after her. Overall, it was a sweet love story that kept me entertained. The one distraction was the business of the angels. First there’s Clay’s young niece seeing angels while her grandma hears the gossip about Clay hooking up with Jane, then it’s revealed that seeing angels runs in the family as Clay’s father (a very minor character) sees them too. This could’ve been something, but it just wasn’t really developed thus making it a very odd plot point.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Forever Romance.
There’s a giveaway with this tour! Plus, check out the other participating sites:
foreveryoungadult.blogspot.com
libslibrary.blogspot.com
threeboysandanoldlady.blogspot.com
simplystacie.net
rannthisthat.blogspot.com
paranormalromanticsuspensereviews.blogspot.com
cuzinlogic.wordpress.com
bridget3420.blogspot.com
justanothernewblog.blogspot.com
masoncanyon.blogspot.com
novelreaction.com
onebookshy.blogspot.com
bodicerippernovels.blogspot.com
thebookgirl.net
saveyspender.com
theromancereviews.blogspot.com
myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com
booksoulmates.blogspot.com
urbangirlreader.com
marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com
fredasvoice.blogspot.com
bookwormygirl.com
teddyrose.blogspot.com
simplyali.blogspot.com
j-rabbits-corner.blogspot.com
thebooktree.blogspot.com
kballard87.blogspot.com
kittycrochettwo.blogspot.com
bookslikebreathing.blogspot.com
iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com
renees-reads.blogspot.com
asthepagesturn.blogspot.com
bfaos.blogspot.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
review: the bridge of peace by cindy woodsmall
The story of Ephraim, Cara, Lori, and the others in the Amish community continues with the second book in the Ada House series though the focus is shifted to another set of characters. While I thoroughly enjoyed The Hope of Refuge, The Bridge of Peace wasn’t quite as entertaining. I looked forward to the scenes with the familiar characters, but felt the story dragged whenever the focus was on Lena, the protagonist of this novel. Lena is a headstrong teacher who feels she’ll never find love because of her birthmark. Complicating matters is that the one man she thinks she could love is already married. (Now I was interested in how the Amish would deal with this issue, but Cindy Woodsmall took the easy way out here.) And if that wasn’t enough to distress Lena, there’s also the fact that a newcomer to the community despises her (for truly ridiculous reasons) and wants her dead.
I could have done without the Lena story, but the book was still enjoyable because it showed how Cara continues to struggle to adapt to the Amish way of life. There was also a bombshell cliffhanger with Cara’s story that will make me read the third and final book of the series, The Harvest of Grace.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, WaterBrook Press.
I could have done without the Lena story, but the book was still enjoyable because it showed how Cara continues to struggle to adapt to the Amish way of life. There was also a bombshell cliffhanger with Cara’s story that will make me read the third and final book of the series, The Harvest of Grace.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, WaterBrook Press.
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