Welcome to Litsy!

Rainy day reading in the new coffee shop near us.

So, my dog may be a ginormous butthole, but my oldest kiddo is really sweet. I got a package this morning. He'd found me a replacement for the book Poppy ate. 😊 The original one wasn't particularly sentimental to me, but this one sure will be.

I haven‘t taken declarations down yet, so finishing holiday reads still seems appropriate…

I got a pedicure and made cookies for my husband to take to the hospital for his nurses tonight, so this is where you‘ll find me until it‘s time to cook dinner. This is my one day off this week/weekend, so I‘m going to take advantage of at least part of it. Happy Christmas Eve to those of you who celebrate!

+136
#MerryReaders #BookSpinBingo #wintergames2020 #ReadYourWay #ProgressItDecember #DashingDecember
@clwojick @TheAromaofBooks @TheSpineView

Third and last book of the day. #24B4Monday #Readathon #DashingDecember #WinterSolstice #WinterGames2020
#ReadNosedReindeer

So I tried to read it. But I just couldn‘t get into it. The characters were so unbelievable and I failed to really care about their Christmas baking parade thing.. blah. I just couldn‘t ... eh.

Go #TeamNutcracker !!! ❄️ #WinterGames

@Bookworm54 , @Clwojick , @StayCurious

1 point participation

Running total 3,034

So I picked this one because I thought it might be cute but then reading everyone‘s reviews gives me serious doubts! But I‘m listening to it while my hubby watches wresting and I post pics from the last few days.... it‘s a short audio. So.. maybe I can last it?

Go #TeamNutcracker !!! ❄️ #WinterGames

@Bookworm54 , @Clwojick , @StayCurious

1 point participation ⛄️

Running total: 2,887

Tedious descriptions of everyday activities, stilted dialogue, some odd choices of wording, weird recipes, and a HIPAA violation or two thrown in for good measure. Not really much of a “mystery” here, but at least we should have a fun book club discussion! Saved from being a “pan” because I like the idea of a Christmas cake parade.

This book was a horrible mess. No murder until the end, atrocious writing, stomach-churning recipes. But I did it for the points guys! #teamfozziwig #wintergames #holidayread
+21 points

This was a so-so book for me. I liked the premise of the story, however I felt like the actual writing just wasn‘t great. A lot of conversation between characters felt forced, or over explained. I was able to finish the book only because I wanted to know how it would end. #holidayread #wintergames #merryreaders @Clwojick @StayCurious

A pretty terrible picture of a pretty good cake. I made a white cake filled with red fruits jam and frosted with a luscious Swiss meringue buttercream and gold sprinkles. The event was my boss's work anniversary, but we turned it into an impromptu holiday party. I love a festive cake!

#wintergames #tmskellington #festiverecipe @Crimson613 @StayCurious @Clwojick

I don‘t know why, but the style of writing really frustrated me. It was so repetitive, and I‘m so glad to be done with this one. Onto the next!
#wintergames #elfies #holidayread

@Bookwormjillk @StayCurious @Clwojick

This book was a no-go for me. I finished it, but it seemed far-fetched. Everyone was perfect, mom had money to throw at anything, and the main character, Hannah, was boring. I kept waiting for action but didn‘t get it. The recipes in the book sounded good if I actually cooked.

My husband is amazing ❤️ It‘s been a rough few weeks for me, and I was diagnosed with Graves Disease. He knew something was wrong, and to help me feel better he bought me the new Kindle. I may be in pain, but at least I now have my awesome kindle and books (and my hubby) to keep me company. I can‘t wait to start reading on this for the #wintergames

@StayCurious @Clwojick

#elfies

🌟
I just couldn‘t get past the first 30%. The story inside the book is more interesting than the actual book content. The majority of what I read was written is passive voice - which I loathe (writing about past events in active voice is possible and much more engaging). Whenever a plot point is introduced it is then repeated two or three times because the main character repeats herself to other the other characters.

Blech! ?? (and that's generous)

The "mystery" event occurred about 30 pages from the end of the book. I would never have finished this book if it hadn't been so short. As it is I feel like I wasted the 2 hours I spent reading it.

Now to try to finish Children of Blood and Bone for the #24B4Monday.

I think if I rolled my eyes any harder at this book they'd fall out of my head. Hannah is explaining how to turn on a gas fireplace. By flipping a switch. "Do you push the switch down to turn it off?" No Lisa. Pushing it down calls the monkeys. ?

This has no purpose in the plot. It's filler. In a 270 page book. That has about 80 pages worth of recipes. And as of page 62 has no mystery at all. Except for the mystery of why I'm still reading it.

Starting on this one. Mine is a signed copy, and it got me wondering if authors (and other people who put their autograph on lots of things) start out trying to have a nice, pretty signature and just devolve into chicken scratch over time, or if everything they sign looks the same.

A Christmas-time mystery that isn‘t very Christmas-y, this is one of the Hannah Swenson stories that is not sequential. Taking place in the past, shortly after the passing of her father, we learn how Hannah came to have the Cookie Jar. That aspect is interesting for longtime readers, but the story itself (also a story within a story) is rather a downer. I don‘t think this is one I will revisit.

I am addicted to mystery series and follow many different kinds. I am also a completist. If I like the first couple in a series, I end up reading all of them. One doesn‘t expect a series to become unlikeable after 15/16 books but I became annoyed with Hannah and haven‘t enjoyed the series since she got married. This one is short and takes place before Hannah has her cookie shop. The author, I fear, has either lost her way or grown bored.

A few weeks after Christmas and this lovely cover has me nostalgic.Wonderful assortment of books came in the mail today.Thanks @flatironbooks for Birthday by Meredith Russo ,fsg& Kensington books my tbr is so delicious.

My mom LOVES these Hannah Swenson mysteries. Found this signed copy for her Xmas gift

Thank you so much @Theshadedbuffalo for a lovely package! New to me books that are Christmas themed- I can't wait! I always used to open my shoe on St. Nick's- it was wonderful to start the tradition again! Thank you @Avanders you're the best 😘#stuffedstockingswap #sss

My version of a festive read

This one was a pan for me. The characters in this book were to "picture perfect" and lacked any depth to interest me. The story line was flat and very predictable.

I won this sweet little book and it is the prequel to the series that I've been reading. It was fun to go back to the very beginning And see how it all started! Now I will be sharing these books in my Heartland Little Free Libraries 😁📚❤️

I really don‘t know how to classify this one, because the ending was sweet, but the rest of it was such a chore to read. I‘ll call it a so-so because it‘s got that Hallmark Christmas Movie feel-good feeling, but...that doesn‘t mean the writing was good. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ #christmascakemurder #hannahswensen #joannefluke #onlyhereforthecookies

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY I KEEP READING THIS SERIES BECAUSE IT HAS GOTTEN ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE AND RIDICULOUS AND I SWEAR TO GOD THERE‘S A THIRD-GRADER GHOSTWRITER WRITING FOR JOANNE FLUKE. I DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX SHE ISN‘T MOVING INTO. Also, Hannah has done that stupid “parroting what everyone else has just said” thing the whole damned time. 🙄 #christmascakemurder #joannefluke #hannahswensen #wtf

Guess I‘m not done torturing myself with this series...🙄 #christmascakemurder #hannahswensen #joannefluke #cantkickthehabit

I was really anticipating this one, as the previous book in the series ended in a major shocker. But, alas, this is a flashback Christmas story. This one was just meh. Not the greatest in the series, though the recipes sound good. I‘d call this one more of a Christmas story than a mystery.