Review: How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My friends and I have a running joke about our cats plotting to kill us. I mentioned this book in passing and decided it was finally time to read it. Some of the comics were funny, but others not so much.

There were two comics that I really did not care much for: The Bobs and The Raging Homosexual. I just didn't find them all that funny.

This book did, however, make the case for having cats and not kids. This will be my go to for that!

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Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And things start to make sense now! This book is really a history/timeline of what makes Donald Trump tick. With most such stories it begins during childhood and how he was raised.

I wish the author had used more of her psychology knowledge to explain some of the workings in the family dynamic, but in all fairness she does acknowledge in the Prologue that to really assess Donald's (and by extension the family) state of mind he would have to undergo a battery of testing.

Overall I did enjoy the book and it was a fast read.

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Review: Tidelands

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. The book I received through the giveaway was a hardcover review copy, but I purchased a Kindle version of this book for reasons I will explain in a moment.

This is the first time I am reading a book by this author. I have seen some movies and TV shows based on her books, but have not yet read them. I feel so far behind in that series that when I saw the opportunity to start a new series with this author from the beginning I was really excited.

The Kindle story: When I bought my first Kindle in 2009, I quickly learned that I was reading books much faster and retaining more information using the Kindle. As the years passed, I have also found that keeping my Kindle with me is a great way to pass time during lunch breaks at work and for unexpected long waits (doctor's office, waiting for a plane/train, etc).

When I won this book, it was around the time COVID-19 started to take hold. During quarantine I started reading far less than I have in previous years as I hadn't been taking lunch breaks so I could take advantage of not having people coming into the office. I was able to get a lot caught up. My reading progress is already slower than usual because of this.

I ended up buying a the Kindle version of this book for two reasons. First, I don't like to bring paper copies of books with me to work (or anywhere really). Now that I am taking breaks again, I wanted to get back into reading during my down time at work, so now my book is mobile and less bulky. I am not obsessing over whether I am about to ruin it (I'm pretty sure it had to do with my CDO tendencies; only CDO people will understand this.). Second, this book was an insanely slow read. With my book progress already slow, reading the paper copy is worse. I felt I needed the Kindle version to help me pick up the pace, but also give me more freedom with where I could read it (not just on my Kindle while at work, but on my desktop at home while I am working on other things).

Reading on the Kindle did improve the pace of the book, but only slightly. I was somewhat motivated to get through this book sooner rather than later after reading the synopsis of the second book of the series. It sounds like it will be better than the first.

Overall the story itself was okay, but not a page turner. It picked up in the last few pages, which does make me want to pick up the next book. I liked Alys at first, but by the end of the book I was loathing her.

Note to readers: on page 289 there is, I believe, an error. "' Whose baby?' Alinor turned and looked up at her mother." I am pretty sure this should be Alys speaking. I thought maybe it was just the Kindle version of the book, so I checked the review copy. The same error is in both places. Not sure if anyone else has picked up on this, but I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I was following.

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Review: Tsarina

Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let's get the trigger warnings out of the way: this book gets rather graphic when it comes to sex (including rape and incest) and violence (including torture). Personally, I can tolerate this (mostly), but sensitive readers will have trouble with this one.

This book is a historical fiction that follows Catherine I from her lowly beginnings as Marta the serf to her becoming Catherine I, Tsarina of all the Russias. While, I did enjoy this book, there were times where it started to drag on an on about celebration after celebration and Peter the Great's insistence that everyone drink until he says so. The repetition started getting to me after a while.

I enjoyed the way the book was structured. You can almost see a movie while you are reading. The book opens with the death of Tsar Peter in 1725. The rest of the story is told almost through memory or flashbacks of sorts. Occasionally you are brought back to 1725 as the book progresses.

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Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are expecting this book to be attention grabbing and action packed like the trilogy, you will be disappointed. This book took on a more philosophical tone. It is the origin story of Coriolanus Snow and how the games turned into what they were during the trilogy. It examines human nature through Snow's point of view.

I do hope there are other origin stories such as Haymitch or a more detailed story of District 13 and what led to war.

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Review: Murder in Old Bombay

Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley.

I do like a good murder mystery and have not read a page turner in quite some time. The more you read this book, the more hooked you will become.

I enjoyed the time period and setting of India in the 1890's. After watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and reading this book, I would really love to travel to India some day.

The one thing I did not like about this book was Diana's character. At no point in this story could I get myself to like her. The more I got through the book, the more I wished she had less of a part in the story.

I still give this story 4 stars because I did enjoy the story overall.

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Review: Murder on Cape Cod

Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I won a paper copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway; however, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were given the option of an e-book copy until the publisher is able to send out the paper copies. I am reviewing an e-book copy of this book.

Sometimes, I just need a book that does not require brain cells or critical thinking to process. Especially after reading a couple in a row that were rather heavy ready. With that being said, I was really looking forward to this book. On the one hand, that's what I loved about this book. On the other hand, it is also the reason I did not like the book as much as I wanted to.

Even with "stay-at-home" orders in place, I have not done a lot of reading (sadly, for reasons unknown). I was really looking forward to having a break and reading a pager turner, but one that I did not have to sit and think about for an hour to get it.

I do not know if it is because I have been distracted during COVID, but this book was somewhat putdownable and not the page turner I was looking for. I would still read the second book just to see if it picks up now that the character introductions (and some development) have happened.

There are a couple recipes at the end. They sound great and I am interested in trying them!

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