One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four

It is Spring Break in my part of Nevada and it is beginning to feel like Spring. I can’t wait to start planting my garden. Last year we planted fruit trees and they survived the winter and our dogs. My husband and I will be spending as much time dog proofing the garden as we do planting it. One of the benefits to working for a school, is that I get Spring Break off with my kids. I always love the first few days, until trying to keep up with the 50 meals a day my boys think they need and the phrase ” I am Bored” becomes to come. Thank goodness for great books to read

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead ( A Farm to Fork Mystery)

I love the writing style of Lynn Cahoon and enjoy her Tourist Trap series, yet I simply adore her Farm to Fork Mystery series. I think the titles are some of the most cleaver and the characters and setting of Idaho feel warm and cozy while I am reading.

In One Potato, Two Potato Dead, the women are having issues with the men in their lives. Our favorite dishwasher and college student Hope has a crush on the new Professor and when he is found dead in his home. Hope is one of the main suspects. Angie wants to clear her name fast, but when Ian leaves the country, with not even a good bye, Angie has to balance finding a killer, worrying about her boyfriend, and running the Country Seat. Can Angie keep Hope safe and find a killer in time?

This book might be my favorite in the series so far. I enjoyed how the mystery and what was going on in everyone’s personal lives was weaved together. I think the characters really shined in this book and the mystery almost took a back seat to the other storylines. This book was a little light on the investigation of the murder but the introduction of character who was stalking Angie solved that and helped tie everything together. Ian got off the hook way to easy, for leaving the country with out telling Angie. She seemed so mad and then when Ian came back it was like she forgot she was mad. I wanted a argument or something. Felicia shined at the end of the book telling off the boyfriend, and I can not wait to see what happens with her and new suitor.I highly recommend this book and if you have not read the first two, you can read this book and not be lost but I would read the first two books because this series is just that good.

Found Hannah

I posted awhile ago about my disappointment in the Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. Hannah was not her usual self and I was left feeling not so good about this series. Well I am here to tell you Hannah is back!

Raspberry Danish Murder

In the latest Hannah Swensen book available on February 28, 2018. Hannah is getting used to life without Ross and wondering where her husband disappeared to and when he will return to her. It is November and the Cookie Jar is busy baking for the holidays. Michelle has returned from college to help Hannah and work with the theatre group in Lake Eden. Ross’s assistant helping Michelle with commercials for the upcoming show, when he is poisoned by chocolates left on Ros’s desk. Were the poisoned chocolates meant for P.K or Ross? Can Hannah solve the mystery of who killed P.K and find Ross?

Review

 I was a little worried starting this book, because I didn’t want to be dissapointed again. This book was a great treat, Hannah back to her old self. As you would imagine, with the way the last book left off, there are two mysteries in this book. Both Mysteries had great twists and turns, that had Hannah and her group really looking for clues. Hannah had some interesting nightmares, that had alot of hidden meanings, that had me smiling and saying I knew it. You will understand when you read it. I caught on to who the killerwas with only a chapter to go before the book ended, which is always a treat because I hate knowing in the middle of a book. The best part however is in the storyline about Ross, and what he left Hannah, and what they discovered about what happened to Ross. I was completely shocked. I recommend this book to all Hannah fans. I would not recommend you read this book before reading Banana Creme Murder, because you could get lost. I am so happy that Lake Eden is back to normal.

Introduction Time

Happy Monday! That is if Mondays can be happy. For me it is back to work after being off for Spring Break with my boys.

I realized that I haven’t introduced myself for awhile. My name is Kory and I started this blog to share my love of reading. As a lover of books I think it is important to share reviews and great books and authors.

My family and I live in Northern Nevada. It is a great part of Nevada to live in. I am under two hours away from The Biggest Little City of Reno Nevada and Lake Tahoe. I know that many people only think of Las Vegas when they think of Nevada but Northern Nevada is amazing. My favorite place to visit is Virginia City Nevada, one of the oldest and haunted towns in Nevada, I even got married in Virginia City.

Nevada is not my home state, I was born and raised a California girl. Growing up off Hwy, 1 with majestic pine trees and the ocean breeze. I left California when I married my husband 11 years ago.

I have two boys that pretty much run my life. My oldest has Autism, so life is always changing and interesting. My youngest is a sweet handful and keeps me on my toes. Being a boy mom means I know way to much about Superhero’s and trucks.

Reading is not just my hobby but my job, I am a school librarian and spend my days reading to children and trying to keep books shelved in the correct place. Which is a never ending job. I love being surrounded by books and children.

If you didn’t think I was busy enough, I am also a college student. I am finishing my Bachelors in Early Childhood Education. It has been a very long road but I will finish my classes in July and I am very excited to finally be done.

Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy the reviews and find some great new books and authors.

Kory

Chocolate Pie and Questions

I love chocolate, but who doesn’t? I have found myself in the last few years favoring dark chocolate. There just seems to be more depth and richness in dark. So when I saw that the new Joanne Fluke book was titled Chocolate Cream Pie Murder, I knew I was going to read it. Even though I am having a love hate relationship with the series.

There isn’t going to be much of a summary with this book. Because it is pretty easy to summarize. The truth about Ross has come out and now he is in Lake Eden, needing money from Hannah and then he is dead. Who besides the residence of Lake Eden want Ross dead? See how simple that was.

This book opens with Hannah confessing to her Church, because she didn’t tell them the truth about Ross. Insert my eyes rolling, I felt like Hannah didn’t need to play up being a victim of a sleaze and was a little out of character. I loved how all the residence of Lake Eden rallied around Hannah and wanted to protect her. There is a lot of cooking and sitting out a blizzard in this book, I loved all the recipes and I am going to try a few. Joanne Fluke has a great writing style and I have loved this series for years. But this series in the last few book has lost its mojo. So many storylines need to be ended and Hannah and the other characters never move on in life. Nothing changes and after twenty plus books its getting old. I will read the future books in hopes that the end is near and Hannah and readers like me can feel happy again in Lake Eden. If you have never read a Hannah Swensen book please, starts in the beginning because you will fall in love with this series

Look Alive Twenty-Five

Look Alive Twenty Five by Janet Evanovich, is the latest installment in the wildly delicious Stephanie Plum series. I absolutely love this series and I get the books as audiobooks whenever I can. Lorelei King is the Narrator and she is unbelievable at telling Stephanie Plum Hijinks and Stories.

This book begins with Stephanie not being in sink with being a Bounty Hunter. While Stephanie and Lula contemplate what to do, her cousin Vinnie throws them a curve ball. He has promoted Stephanie to Deli manager to a local Deli that his Father in Law Harry has taken over. Of course this isn’t any ordinary Deli. The managers have been disappearing while taking out the trash, and one shoe is left behind. Will Stephanie be the next manager to be taken? Why is Wolf back in town? and can Stephanie survive chickens and a cat named Ms. Muffy?

I loved this book, It had me cracking up and trying to untie the mystery. The Deli with Raymond and Stretch had me laughing and I loved Lula’s creative sandwiches and wardrobe malfunction. I enjoyed that there was a lot of Ranger and I actually liked Wolf in this book. The only thing I missed was more of Grandma Mazer. The ending of this book was beyond amazing and I cannot wait to read the next book, seriously I can’t wait.

I highly recommend this book and this series. I have never been disappointed reading a Stephanie Plum book.

Pie for Everyone

Live and Let Pie by Ellie Alexander

This is the Ninth book in the delightful Bakeshop Mystery. Torte is by far the best fictional bakery in Cozy Mysteries today. Plus Ellie Alexanders descriptions of food and coffee will have you drooling.

In Live and Let Pie we find Jules in the middle of renovations so Jules and her mom can expand the bakeshop. Helen and her new husband are looking for a new house, and ask Jules to come along. While enjoying a nice picnic by the lake they uncover a body of a man that went missing in the 60’s. Now Jules has to hire new employees, house hunt, run a business and its renovations, contemplate her relationship with Carlos and solve a mystery. Just another day for Jules.

I always love returning to Torte and seeing what Jules and her mom are up to. It was about time that the bakeshop expanded and I loved the descriptions of the renovations. The mystery was intriguing and I liked how it incorporated Ashland history of the flood and thought it added a lot of depth to the story. The mystery had lots of great clues and it took awhile to figure out who the killer was and why. The biggest down point was me was the Jules Carlos storyline, Jules decide already. It has been drawn out so long that it honestly makes me roll my eyes, while I am reading, This book is a must read,

Mystery and Namaste

Murder Likes It Hot by Tracy Weber

This is the sixth book in the Downward Dog Mystery series. This series has great covers and as you can imagine by the name a Yoga theme. I like this series because it is different than other series. The Yoga element makes it unique and Kate deals with personal issues you don’t always find in Cozy Mystery.

In Murder Likes It Hot Kate has a lot of personal feelings and things happening or in Kate’s case not happening. She is struggling with infertility and has to explain to her BFF, who just opened a baby boutique why she has been avoiding her and learn how to deal with disappointment. All of this while trying to keep Some Like It Hot Yoga Studio financially a float and starting up a Yoga class for homeless youth. Kate is juggling it al best she can until a employee at the center is murdered

Can Kate and Bella uncover a killer?

I enjoyed this book a lot, not has much as Pre- Meditated Murder, but it was good. The beginning of the book focused so much on Kates infertility that it took awhile for the mystery part of the book to start. But when it did it had lots of twists and turns and had a great ending. If you haven’t read other books in the series you can read this as a stand alone but you will find yourself wanting to go back and read the other books in the series. Murder Likes It Hot is a great quick read

Cowboys and Seniors

Cowboy Brave by Carolyn Brown

Cowboy Brave is the third book in the Longhorn Canyon series. It is the first book I have read in the series and I am kicking myself for not knowing this fabulous series was available. I have already got my hands on the first book and have plans to devour it this weekend.

In Cowboy Brave we meet Emily Baker who works at a retirement home and is in charge of five spunky seniors, who call themselves the fab five. Four of the fab, five long for the days when they lived on ranches, and want nothing more than a week on a ranch. Emily decides to contact the owners of the Longhorn Ranch, who have youth visit their ranch in the summer, so why not seniors. Justin Maguire has no idea what is in store from him when he meets the beautiful Emily, and gets the family to agree to host the Fab Five for a week.

Can Emily and Justin survive the antics of five seniors? and deny the sparks that fly between them?

I loved this book so much, it has a wonderful ranch setting and endearing characters. The Fab Five are hilarious and had me laughing through the whole book. I enjoyed the chemistry between Emily and Justin and was really pulling for them. Even though I hadn’t the other books in the series I didn’t feel lost at all. I highly recommend this book and you will definitely be seeing more reviews for this series and author from me.

Cowboy Brave is released tomorrow January 8, 2019 and I highly recommend you buy it, you won’t be disappointed.

Hitting The Books

Hitting The Books by Jenn McKinlay

 This is the ninth book in the Library Lovers Mystery Series. This is one of my all time favorite series and authors. I had the pleasure of meeting Jenn McKinley at a convention over the summer. She is as delightful as her books. I have been waiting for this book for a while and it did not disappoint.

Lindsay Norris the Briar Creek Librarian and part time sleuth is the witness to a hit and run. When the driver of the hit and run is found dead in the car with a bag with library audio books, Lindsey can’t help but get involved.

There are so many suspects in this book it was hard to choose just one, I thought was the killer. I loved that there was so many suspects and that McKinlay made it easy to distinguish between them so I didn’t get confused.

The mystery as always in this series has great twists and turns and I was not sure who or why the killer did it. Although I was very close to the why of the murder. This is definitely one of the top two in the series.

Of course I cant review this book without talking about the romance between Lindsay and Sully. I don’t want to give to much away, but I am so happy with the direction their romance went in this book and it left me smiling.

If you have not read any of the books in this series then go out and buy it or get it from your local library, because it is a amazing series. If you want to read this book as a stand alone then you can, but you will miss getting to know the characters and how they got to this point in the book.

Happy Reading!

 

Green Tomato Pie

Today I had the privilege of having my book review for Killer Green Tomatoes by Lynn Cahoon featured on Brooke Blogs. It is the second book in the Farm to Fork series. It is such a great book, you will find a link to the review over at Brooke Blogs at the end of this post. You have to check it out.

I thought how awesome would it be to post a recipe that went with the book Killer Green Tomatoes. I had one problem, I have only eaten them once (tried a bite actually). I have no memories of my grandmother or mom making fried green tomatoes. I did however find my grandmothers recipe for green tomato pie.

So I hope that you enjoy the recipe and go over to Brooke Blogs to see my review of the delicious second book in this amazing series. Plus you can find my review of Who Stole My Goat Cheese? Here at My Cozy Chaos.

Green Tomato Pie

1 1/3 Cup Sugar                       6  2/3 TBS Flour (yes 2/3)

1 1/3 tsp. salt                       1 1/3 tsp. Cinnamon

mix the above ingredients together in a bowl until combined

4 Cups Sliced Green Tomatoes     4 TBS. Lemon juice or 1/1/3 tsp. mild Vinegar

1 1/3 tsp. Lemon Zest                Pie Crust ( store-bought or homemade)

1 1/3 TBS. Butter

Preheat oven to 425. Then combine all ingredients together in bowl and toss lightly just until tomatoes are coated and filing is combined. Butter a baking dish or pie pan with the butter and put in tomato  filling. top with pie crust. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

• recipe is hand written and does not mention a bottom crust. I personally use a bottom crust, but I love crust, so its your choice. TBS means Tablespoon and tsp. means teaspoon.

 

Thank You so much for visiting me here and you can look forward to more recipes and book reviews. Here is the link to Brooke Blogs for my review

http://bit.ly/2J2QoyQ or visit brookeblogs.com

Till Death Due Us Tart by Ellie Alexander

Who doesn’t love a good wedding? I got married in the oldest hotel in Nevada in Virginia City. It was a small wedding but so amazing. I planned it in 3 months. Every wedding in my opinion has to have a cake. Mine was chocolate with raspberry filling and it was not white. It was covered in chocolate fondant and covered in Fall colored flowers. Enough about weddings I have an amazing book to share.

Till Death Do Us Tart is the eighth book  in the Bakeshop Mystery. As always Ellie Alexander transports her readers to Ashland Oregon was her amazing description and details. Whenever I read a book in this series I want to plan a trip to Oregon.

Jules is planning a surprise  Elizabethan wedding for her mother and the professor. All is going surprisingly well until a family mystery is brought to Jules for help and poisoned wine is served.

This book was so good. I was glad to see Carlos again and Jules reminded me why she is one of my favorite slueths. I couldn’t put the book down. The mystery was fast paced and the characters and settings were a delight as always. You can read this book as a stand alone but why would you with a series this good