Reading: HONEY ROASTED - Cleo Coyle

1st Line: " 'Well, what do we have here?' "

Review: Especially as they are set in New York City - which will always have my heart - I have always wanted to try Cleo Coyle's "Coffeehouse Mystery" series. Though the newest, volume nineteen, might not have been the ideal place to start, I was intrigued by the premise when I got my hands on a copy.

Clare Cosi, who runs the Village Blend in Manhattan, is trying to balance her personal life (finding the ideal honeymoon spot for herself and soon-to-be-hubby, Detective Mike Quinn) along with her work (including test-driving her new Honey-Cinnamon Latte), when that very evening her coffeehouse is besieged by a swarm of exotic bees. After tracing their origin back to the penthouse home of none other than "Queen" Bea Hastings - close friend of Madame, Clare's mentor and owner of Village Blend - Clare and her ex discover Bea herself, hurt and unconscious after taking a fall from her rooftop hive. Was she pushed? The cops find "evidence" of an attempted suicide that Clare doesn't believe for a minute. But with the iconic beekeeper still out of commission in her hospital bed, fighting to survive, Clare must track down the old lady's attacker among a shifty chef, a fellow urban beekeeper seemingly not above stealing Bea's formula for success, and a lot more, all while trying to help Mike solve a string of murders ... and find out why, suddenly, he seems to have grown cold about their wedding plans.

Honey Roasted is well-written, with a gutsy heroine and a strong cast of supporting characters; Clare's continued frenemy-ship with her ex-husband - whom she will always remain connected to, via the coffeehouse - is particularly engaging. But in all honesty, this book took me longer to read than the majority of cozy mysteries I enjoy, and part of that is because of the incredible amount of research and factoids and information about bees, beekeeping, and honey (and all connected to it) that shows the author (actually a couple) did the research - but, for me, came off as way too much exposition and/or info-dumping, slowing the book to a crawl at times and making me not too anxious to pick it up again. Keeping things spoiler-free, I also have to admit that the crime/mystery wasn't very impactful for me either, it's very "vanilla" and sorry I can't say more - which meant the ultimate stake in solving it wasn't vital enough to keep me turning pages.

At 360 pages, it just felt too long and bloated, even sometimes ignoring the crime element of the book in favor of Clare and Mike's relationship issues. So while certainly well-written and meticulously researched, I'm thinking maybe this is just not the series for me?  2/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: SIGGY THE SOCCER DOG - Brian Frederick (author), Vivien Sárkány (illustrator)

1st Line: "Sigmund the dachshund lived in the little hamlet of Hope in the English county of Somerset."

Review: Siggy's young owner finds her dog napping in his bed, twisting and turning in the midst of a dream. A dream, it turns out, where Siggy is the star player on the Manchester United team! What plays out then, in this fun and action-packed picture book, is how Siggy and his team (all made up of different breeds of dogs) work together to win the championship game, with Siggy leading the pack! Kids who love sports or more active stories will love this especially, with full-color illustrations that are all over the page as the game gets closer and closer to its finish, Sarkany's stylishly exaggerated renderings of the dog players on both teams only adding to the feel of speed and movement to the story. Part of a series of picture books about Siggy, and even at my age will be checking out more!  4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THE IDHUN CHRONICLES VOL. 1: THE RESISTANCE - SEARCH - Laura Gallego & Andres Carrion Moratinos (authors), Studio Fenix (illustrator)

1st Line: "I've had this sense of foreboding all day."

Review: This is a review of the graphic novel - haven't watched the Netflix anime series yet - and the story itself is about Jack, a young boy from Earth whose parents are killed by an assassin (creature?) from another dimension, who himself is about to dispatch of Jack in the same way before the boy is rescued in the nick of time, taken away by a pair of young rebels and hidden away from harm in another realm. In time, Jack realizes he is caught in the middle of a war over Idhun, a magical world under threat of being taken over by some very, very bad guys, and though hotheaded and quick to act emotionally, Jack undergoes training to help the fight, everyone secure in the knowledge that there is something within Jack that may be the key to winning the war. 

The art is really nice here, but rarely have I read a graphic word so overpopulated with text, it actually overshadows the art. Sadly, the plot here is almost all tell and no show, past conflicts depicted in a panel or two if that, otherwise told by one character to another in huge passages of dialogue that bring both story and interest to a crawl. At only about 120 pages the book seems twice as long to slog through with all the dialogue (the book could have easily been longer, depicting conflict via art instead of text, and it would have been a much more exciting read), and by the end of the book it was disappointing to realize I was relieved to be done more than anything else. Hopefully the anime actually plays out most of the action on-screen, so will give it a go, but the graphic novel was a disappointing bust for me.  1.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: GALLANT - V. E. SCHWAB

1st Line: "The master of the house stands at the garden wall."

Review: A rebellious young orphaned girl named Olivia, who cannot speak and has the ability to see partially-formed ghosts, lives at the Merilance School for Girls (pretty much a rundown orphanage), her mother's journal (a complex book of writings and drawings essentially chronicling her mom's descent into madness) her only connection to the past. She's bullied by the nastier girls - though stands up for herself and gets her revenge in her own way - and in general has a tough go at the school until a letter arrives from her uncle, telling Olivia she has a family awaiting her, and a place at their home, named Gallant. A home - a family - a connection to others and the hopes of find out more about what happened to her mother and father, it's all Olivia's ever wanted, so though her mother's journal outright warns the young girl to stay away from Gallant, when the school sends her off Olivia is eager to learn of her new family and life.

Things don't go well from the start; Olivia arrives to find her uncle has passed away, and his son - her cousin Matthew, not that much older than Olivia - wants her gone. But a pair of older servants remind their young master that they can't send Olivia away after dark (cue creepy music in the background), and Olivia ends up hanging around the big, cold, decrepit Gallant the next few days, during which she discovers, beyond the garden, a large stretch of broken-down garden wall, complete with a gate, that no one in the house seems to want to talk about. With good reason, as it turns out, when Olivia ends up beyond the crumbling wall ... to find an alternate version of Gallant, dark and sinister and with a very different master, who has his own plans for Olivia. 

Though I have several of her novels, this was my first time reading V. E. Schwab and Gallant definitely has its moments; true to al I'd read and heard, Schwab's characters and writing style draw you in with atmosphere and suspense. Olivia is a sympathetic heroine with heart, and you want her to find answers even though they might not be good ones, and the alternate Gallant is beautifully envisioned and downright creepy. Yet through it all, I couldn't connect as much as I wanted with the characters, and at times the writing came off a little florid or over-done. Also, the ending felt a bit hurried, things resolved way too quickly/easily compared to the set-up, and overall - with as much YA as I've read - this is the first time I felt a YA novel I was reading was "written down" to or for a younger audience, which was a distraction. So, good enough that I look forward to reading more of Schwab's work, but overall this was a hit or miss for me.  3/5 stars

Reading: HARLEM PART 1 - Mikaël

1st Line: " 'With you, everythng is like the Model T.' my grandma would say."

Review: This gritty, engrossing graphic novel, set in Harlem in 1931, centers around Queenie, a French Antilles immigrant who's been running a lottery for over a decade that's made her into somewhat of a local legend ... and boss. A strong, intelligent woman determined to hang onto her own neighborhood, Queenie's story is one of everyday survival; never more than when, with Prohibition on its way out, up-and-coming gangster Dutch Schultz seeks to diversify both his business and hold over New York City, his harsh gaze falling to Harlem and the one thing standing in his way of acquisition: Queenie. This is only volume one, but after a bit of a slow start Queenie and the residents of Harlem - not to mention the neigborhood itself - blaze to life on the page, whether in the machinations of friends turned to enemies, steamy/forbidden sex, or the violence that explodes on the streets by way of showing who's in control. Dark in tone and with more depth than expected for a short graphic novel, the unfolding of Harlem in the wake of its birth is enthralling - and makes for a bloody good read.  4/5 stars

NOTE: I receied a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Reading: THE PARIS APARTMENT - Lucy Foley

1st Line: "His fingers hover over the keyboard."

Review: After that ending to The Guest List, little could keep me away from Lucy Foley's next book - and starting right off on the creepy/claustrophobic side, The Paris Apartment opens with a young woman named Jess, newly-arrived in Paris from England, who's escaping from both life in London and the not-so-brilliant circumstances under which she left her last bartending job. She's shown up at the Paris apartment house of her older half-brother Ben, contacting him on very short notice so he couldn't exactly turn her away, and upon her arrival Jess feels something's more than a bit wrong. For one, Ben doesn't answer her attempts to enter the building gate, not her texts or calls. Then the tenant she does manage to sneak in behind anyway comes off even more creepy than the dark, foreboding four-story apartment building itself. Worse, when she finally makes her way to Ben's apartment on the third floor (it's just one apartment per floor), Jess soon learns that Ben is missing - and the more she digs into the situation, his neighbors, and Ben's too-quiet apartment itself, the more she realizes that something very, very bad might have happened to her half-brother ... and she might be next. Foley is an expert at creating super-creepy atmosphere, which was crawling up my neck by page 10, and though sometimes you may want to yell, "Woman, what are you DOING?" to Jess as she seemingly puts herself in harm's way, that's also a sign of caring enough about the character to feel that way at all, right? The other building tenants have their own secrets to hide - and, in some cases, will go to extraordinary lengths to hide them - and yes, the plot builds into one big twist I didn't see coming, partway through, that made the book, at least for me, hard to put down from then on. Though I was able to guess the end "twist" a bit early, and the finale itself comes off maybe a tiny big anti-climactic at first, it's a satisfying ending that, overall, makes this one a bit stronger, I think, than The Guest List. Shut your brain off for a bit, and just enjoy this suspenseful, more complex-than-expected thrill ride that's as fun as a rollercoaster, with nearly as many curves.  4/5 stars

Reading: DISNEY MANGA: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - THE BEAST'S TALE (FULL COLOR EDITION) - Mallory Reaves (author), Studio Dice/Gabriella Sinopoli (illustrator)

1st Line: "Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France ... "

Review: Disney Manga's re-release of full-color versions of their retellings of Beauty and the Beast (based on the 2017 live-action film version) continues with this volume, told from the viewpoint of The Beast himself (volume one, as told through Belle's eyes, is also reviewed on this blog; just scroll down a bit). Whereas Belle's version was told with bright colors and optimism overall, beginning with her life in her quiet village with books as her favorite companions, this version starts with The Beast's decadent lifestyle and cruel rule as a monarch ... right up until he's punished for his vanity and bitterness by being turned into a beast for all eternity, once the magical rose loses its petals, unless he can find true love. Though both books are great and need to be bought/read as companion volumes, I preferred The Beast's tale, told in dark blues and blacks befitting his own mindset and temper ... even as Belle arrives and slowly but surely brings out the human in him again. As even the film put viewers more into Belle's line of vision/viewpoint, here it was really nice strictly seeing what unfolds solely through the eyes of the jaded, forlorn beast, up to the very end when ... well, you know what happens. Both book are bursting with color and life, telling this timeless and (for many) most favorite of love stories, but The Beast's pain and subsequent redemption resonated more with me - hence the extra half-star, much as I enjoy both books.  4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.