Category: Blog Series Page 133 of 220

As the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through.

A Man With One of Those Faces

by Caimh McDonnell, Morgan C. Jones (Narrator)

Book Blurb:

The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.

The second time was deliberate.

Now Paul Mulchrone finds himself on the run with nobody to turn to except a nurse who has read one-too-many crime novels and a renegade copper with a penchant for violence. Together they must solve one of the most notorious crimes in Irish history…

…or else they’ll be history.

I’m at the 48% mark—and this is just ridiculously fun. A great mix of dark humor, some silly humor, gritty crime drama, some fascinating characters, and three very different kinds of police detectives.

For me, this experience has been like the first time I read one of Jay Stringer’s Sam Ireland books—Ways to Die in Glasgow

I get the impression that Detective Bunny McGarry is who I’m supposed to be the most focused on, but he rankles me. Poor, incredibly ordinary-looking, Paul Mulchrone and the nurse, Brigit Conroy, who got him into this mess are who I’m the most invested in. But the DI Jimmy Stewart is the star of this book—I could listen/read to a five-book series about him starting tomorrow.

I can’t think of a way to sum up the plot or even speculate about what’s going to happen next—like I normally do in these posts. I just can tell that whatever happens next that I’m going to have a blast listening to it, and I’m prepared for just about anything to happen.

A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator): Secret Agent Pug? A Spy for the House of Love?

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2021

In Book Tour, Dogs, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs

by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator)

PDF, 39 pg.
Sunshine Stories, 2020

Read: May 12, 2021

What’s A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs About?

Ahh, pugs. Over at SheldonComics.com, you’ll see them described as “God’s Little Wierdos.” But in A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs, they’re some of the Universe’s “Secret Agents” here to spread love (through a varieety of means). Both ideas work, really, if you’ve ever spent time around them.

In particular, this book is looking at Pugini and her person, Sophie. There’s not really a narrative arc here, it’s a series of vignettes looking at the things that Pugini and Sophia do as these Secret Agents to brighten the lives of those they come into contact with and spread love.

It could be argued that Pugini’s method of spreading her message of love—via “tuneful toots” created from her “happy belly” which is “only sometimes SUPER smelly”—is pretty crass and not worthy of some of the elevated subject manner. But I can’t imagine anyone’s going to bother—particularly because it’s hilarious to a kid who’s still having picture books read to them.

The Illustrations

Croker provides some dynamic art. It’s very distinctive and attractive (although I thought the colors seems a little muted). I thought she nailed the art for Pugini—who is fairly cartoonish—especially the art revolving around Pugigini and hunting for snacks. It’s cute stuff that’s going to appeal to the target audience, I can assure you.

The, um, odor cloud depicting one of Pugini’s “fabulous farts” on one page is a great touch.

Okay, Sure, Maybe I’m Biased

A few years ago we adopted a senior pug/beagle mix, and I could see a little/lot of her in Pugini—her “squidgy face”, the “snorts and toots,” and the “hungry little monster nibbling on absolutely everything.” So, I’m an easy mark for this book—then again, how often do I have something less-than-complimentary to say about a Dog Book?

So, what did I think about A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs?

Sure, I’m not that wowed by the spiritual message of the book, but how many kids are going to grab on to it when they’re at the picture book stage anyway?

It’s a little saccharine-y, a little heavy-handed (but how many picture books are noted for their subtlety?). But ultimately it’s a cute book, with a nice premise, and some distinctive art. I’m not sure what else I have to say at this point, it’s a winner.

Get your hands on it had after a little fun with one of the goofiest critters around.

3.5 Stars

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator)

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2021

In Book Tour, Dogs, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book tour for the children’s book, A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs by Sophie Loosveldt and illustrated by Isabella Croker. After this post, I’ll be giving my take on the book here in a little bit. But let’s start by learning a bit about the book.

Book Details:

Book Title: A Tale of Wonderful Whiffs by Sophie Loosveldt, Isabella Croker (Illustrator)
Publisher: Sunshine stories
Format: Hardcover
Length: 39 pages

Book Blurb:

Pugini
Pug on a mission

This is the story of little Sophie and Pugini.

Everyday adventures of whiffs and wonders.

Together they explore the mystery and beauty of the natural world.

There is more to life than meets the eye. With a heart full of hope and a furry friend overflowing with love little Sophie ventures on a bright journey into the magic of every new day.

We are surrounded by Secret Agents helping us understand that love is all and we are all part of it. Never alone, but all one.

About the Author:

I am a control freak by nature, which suits me very well as an air traffic controller at Gatwick. I would have never classified myself as creative. Having moved from Belgium to London, opening my horizons, I now realise we all are; naturally inventive, expressive and imaginative. All children are born with this creative seed waiting to sprout. It took a long time for my seed to crack and for me to bloom into myself.

It is important to allow yourself to dream and have trust in the world. As a late bloomer I have a strong desire to empower all children, so they can grow and learn to express themselves freely. Our inner child never forgets about the magic of our world. It is the key to connect to the present moment and to not get stuck inside our heads.

Purchase Link:

https://pugini.com/shop/

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

PUB DAY BOOK BLITZ: Firepower by John Cutter

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2021

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for John Cutter’s thriller Firepower to celebrate its publication today.

Book Details:

Book Title: Firepower by John Cutter
Publisher: Lume Books
Release date: May 13, 2021
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 219 pages
Purchase Link:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

Book Blurb:

White supremacists have climbed their way to the top. It’s his job to bring them down.

Vince Bellator, former Special Services operative, arrives in Dead Springs, Alabama to honor his late friend’s dying wish: to bury his hand under the porch of his hunting cabin.

But on the way, Vince has an unsettling run-in with a group of local heavily armed militiamen.

Sensing that the group is more than just a violent mob, Vince decides to infiltrate their ranks. He discovers that they are an outfit of white supremacists who call themselves The Brethren. But what sets them apart from other such extremists is that they are in the midst of planning an act of national terror.

Not only that, they are also harboring a prisoner – someone with a connection to Vince.

With the FBI unconvinced and government officials colluding with Brethren leaders, Vince realizes it is up to him to put a stop to the would-be terrorist cell. But can he do so before they wreak devastation on America and all it stands for?

Fans of Lee Child and James Patterson need look no further: full-throttle political thrills await you from the first page.

About the Author:

John Cutter is the bestselling author of The Specialist novels, which inspired the Sylvester Stallone movie of the same name. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Blitz.

WWW Wednesday, May 12, 2021

By HCNewton

On May 12, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

I feel like I’ve been stumbling, barely conscious through this week so far—is it just me? Let’s hope this WWW Wednesday perks me up.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the ARC for Moonlighting: An Oral History by Scott Ryan (and all I want to do is take a vacation from life and watch my DVDs now) and am listening to A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell, Morgan C. Jones (Narrator) on audiobook, one of those books I inexplicably kept putting off starting.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Rob Parker’s A Wanted Man and Time and Tide by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audio—the theme of which left me in a funk (great book, though).

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson (which does not promise to be a feel-good read) and I have no idea what my next audiobook will be, DNF’ing something yesterday has thrown off my schedule.

Blank Space

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

Down the TBR Hole (30 of 30): Wrapping Up

By HCNewton

On May 12, 2021

In Books, Down the TBR Hole, News/Misc.

Down the TBR Hole

It’s only been seven weeks since I finished Phase 1 of this project, Phase 2 was a lot briefer. But now we’re at an end to this series (I do want to check back toward the end of the year to see if I maintained my focus on this), and I thought I’d take a quick look back.

Last February, I decided to tackle the monster that is my Goodreads “Want to Read” Shelf, it doesn’t/didn’t represent every book I’m meaning to get to—but it’s a daunting grouping, what I’ve taken to calling my “aspirational” to-read list. As opposed to those that I’ve purchased in one form or another that I’ve yet to get to (I track that on my monthly retrospective posts, and that line isn’t moving in the right direction). But that’s a slightly different kettle of fish.

But thanks to this meme, I’ve done some good with the aspirational TBR. In February 2020, I had 240 books on the list and cut 129 off of it, and then between the time I posted about it on a Down the TBR post and when I got to the end of Phase 1, I was able to cross off another 8. Then I pulled a list of all of those I’d added to the Goodreads list in the meantime, adding 50. I cut 15 off of that Phase 2 list. And I’ve read some from that list during Phase 2:
bullet A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White from DtTH #25
bullet Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo DtTH #26
bullet Evolving Vegan: Deliciously Diverse Recipes from North America’s Best Plant-Based Eateries—for Anyone Who Loves Food by Mena Massoud DtTH #27
bullet I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider DtTH #28 (well, I’ve started it)

And then there are two I have possession of and will have tackled within a week, which is close enough for me for these purposes.
bullet Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir DtTH #29
bullet The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson DtTH #29

So that’s another 6 crossed off, 21 of the 50 Phase 2 books and a total of 158 books cut from my 290 book Goodreads “Want to List.” From 290 to 132, ain’t shabby at all. It’s 45% of the original size. If I was 45% of the size I am now…well, that wouldn’t be healthy. But it’d be closer to it than I am now. That example got away from me, didn’t it?

All in all, I’m calling this project a success. Let’s see if I can maintain the loss, or like most dieters, if I put it all back on in three-six months.

Yeah, it’s moot at this point, but I might as well keep the meme boilerplate info:
This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is (still) scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
Read the synopses of the books.
Decide: keep it or should it go?
Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Image by moritz320 from Pixabay)

COVER REVEAL: Meat is Murder (Stonebridge #3) by Chris McDonald

By HCNewton

On May 10, 2021

In Book Tour, Chris McDonald/Frost, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, The Stonebridge Mysteries

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Chris McDonald’s Meat is Murder! (which means we’re about a month away from me having a pleasant day with the book and probably saying some complimentary things about it). Like the first two books in the Stonebridge Mysteries, it looks pretty sharp. But before we get to the cover down below, but before the picture, I’ve got a few words to share about the book.

Book Blurb

McNulty’s Meats, one of Stonebridge’s oldest businesses, is about to be taken over in a lucrative deal that would make brothers Ron and Kevin very rich men indeed. Unfortunately for them, local activist Tyler Love has other ideas. Convinced that the deal would be bad for the town, he burns the place to the ground and inadvertently kills himself in the process.

At least, that’s what the police think.

Tyler’s mum disagrees and pleads with amateur sleuths Adam and Colin to investigate. Although, going up against the psychopathic McNulty brothers, a rival businessman, a group of hippies, and a girlfriend with secrets of her own might not be such a good idea… Someone has something to hide, and will go to great lengths to keep that secret buried.

Meat is Murder is the third book in The Stonebridge Mysteries series of Cosy Crime novellas.

Publication date: June 8, 2021

About the series

Stonebridge is a small town on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Most of its inhabitants are friendly, happy people. Most of them… Because bad things happen even in the happiest of places. It’s a good thing, then, that Adam Whyte and Colin McLaughlin call Stonebridge home.

Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of detective shows, a misplaced sense of confidence and a keen desire to see justice done, these two are the closest thing the town has to saviours. Which isn’t that reassuring…

About the Author

Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime. A Wash of Black is his first attempt at writing a book. He came up with the initial idea whilst feeding his baby in the middle of the night, which may not be the best thing to admit, considering the content. He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs. Whispers in the Dark is the second installment in the DI Erika Piper series, and Chris is currently working on his latest series, The Stonebridge Mysteries, published by Red Dog Press in 2021.

And now…

The Cover

Meat is Murder
The cover designers at Red Dog have done it again.

Again, this book comes out on June 8th, but you can pre-order this now at: Red Dog Press, Amazon, Kobo, or Google (but you should absolutely order from Red Dog directly, the Bezos retirement fund is big enough, help out the publisher).

My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Saturday Miscellany—5/8/2021

By HCNewton

On May 8, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

It felt very strange last night not to write or think about Tom Jones…

I guess I don’t have much else to say. I hope you all had a good week and that the weather where you are (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is becoming as nice as ours is.

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet This survey shows that people prefer printed books – even in the digital age—I don’t think many would be surprised by this, but it’s interesting to see these international stats from the World Economic Forum, which I just casually read all the time… (how did I find this link??)
bullet You Don’t Need To Feel Guilty About Books You Haven’t Read Yet—I’m not sure it helped me get over my guilt, but it helped. And it was fun to read. Steinmetz feels like someone I’d have a lot in common with.
bullet Why do moms get sidelined in SFF?—from Before We Go Blog
bullet My Go-to Authors!—a list that should prompt a lot thought, and compilation (not necessarily posting) of similar lists upon reading.
bullet How to Run a Book Blog… Seriously (Not Serious)—some good advice here, folks. I think I could provide examples of each of these from the last few years.

A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet Fiction Fans: Which Discworld Book Should You Read First?—This is something I probably should’ve listened to a few years ago before I attempted to read the series (although the gentleman who gave the final push did suggest I start with #1). This could be valuable to others.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir—Weir’s latest looks more like The Martian than Artemis, which should help sales, even if it seems like a cheat for him to try (looking at you, Ernest Cline). I’ll get to it as soon as my wife is done.
bullet Robert B. Parker’s Payback by Mike Lupica—Lupica’s got a firm hand on the Sunny Randall series now which results in a solid read, as I discussed recently.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Zeeshan Amin and Cole Rush who followed the blog this week. Thanks for the follow! Don’t be a stranger.

The Friday 56 for 5/7/21: A Wanted Man by Rob Parker

By HCNewton

On May 7, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Noelle Holten, Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from 56% of:
A Wanted Man

A Wanted Man by Rob Parker

We go through all the names quickly, and Jack identifies each one as one of his father’s friends or family members. He can’t identify a couple of them, but the picture is already clear. The first phone is for personal use only – a useful tool for organising the dualities of the life he had chosen.

That poses the inevitable question of the twenty-six names on phone two. Call signs or numeric pseudonyms for twenty-six people who clearly got the special treatment. How best to find out who they are, though? And of course, what was that third phone used for, if not for business or personal? That makes me question if there’s a fourth, that perhaps he had one with him when he was taken. I could ask Jack, but all three phones are identical. ‘IPhone 4S’ in black, ‘32GB’ it says on the back of each. There’s no telling them apart. Even the home screen wallpapers are the same.