phoenix2's reviews
1251 reviews

'The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year' is a mystery- romantic comedy that takes place in the Christmas Season.

The story isn't that Christmass-y, but there were some mentions of the season, so it wasn't all that out there.

Also, though intriguing at first, the mystery wasn't that compelling. But, the characters were mystery-driven, so at least it wasn't left out.

In addition, the romance was enjoyable, mostly due to the guy's POV. However, this isn't an enemies to lovers romance, not even a rivals to lovers romance, as the one sides hatred was simply based on a misunderstanding...

The continuation of the story finds the main character growing more mature and standing up for herself, while our male lead is growing more and more annoying.

Big Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy!!!

'Yayoi Kusama' is a book of the 'Little People, Big Dreams' series that introduces kids to important figures.

The book is very colourful and a fun read, with cute character drawings and bright colours. 

As a fan of the artist, I have read her story before and so I've found the book true to the original, and I could see that it would be easy for a kid to understand it as well.

However, I am not sure if it will keep the kids entertained enough to care, as it is quite short. But, I would definitely buy a copy to gift to my family.

Big Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy!!!

'A Deadly Walk In Deavon' is the first book of the 'A Walk Through England Mystery' series. It follows a retired detective, as he goes for a walking trip to the English countryside, only to be encountered with a new mystery to solve.

First of all, I enjoyed the main character a lot. He was the serious type, while struggling with his age and the new stage in his life (retired and questioning whether his skill should retire as well, and struggling to accept the death of his loving partner). The author actually did a good job blending the detective's personal issues with the solving of the murder, with the latter being the main focus of the book.

The mystery itself had many suspects and it wasn't easy to figure out who had done it. The many interesting characters helped as well. 

Also, the book had that Agatha Cristie feel to it, with the rich countryside, the cozy atmosphere, and the menacing weather.

Finally, the audiobook was enjoyable and the narrator did a good job with his narration, especially when it came to the accents.

'Everyone this Christmas has a Secret' is the third book of the Ernest Cunningham series and it works as a Christmas novella, with less of a Christmassy mood and more mystery focused, with the well known humor and fast paced narration that Stevenson has been known for.

'The Mistletoe Mystery' is a Christmas novella with a romantic twist. This time, it doesn't focus that much on the mystery, which was also easy to figure out, but it was cute and sweet.

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' is a coming-of-age tale about friendship, family, and battling depression, though the story doesn't really dwell much into the main character's and narrator's mental health problems. I do think it should have focused more on that, rather than rushing through many core incidents, but, there were a lot of sweet moments, especially when it came to Charlie and his family.

The second 'season/volume' of the story gets a bit better, with the female lead character growing and getting some confidence, while the male interest still being patronizing. 

'The Answer is No' is a short story with a humourous plot. The characters were enjoyable and the story was nicely paced and kind of sweet in the end.