Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Will someone buy you a book for Valentine's Day? What sort of book? For my husband it might have to be a thriller, Scandi-noir perhaps. For my mum, a cat book for sure. For my sons, maybe a scifi action adventure. For their girlfriends? And for me? If your taste tends toward mystery and/or food and/or animals and/or romance, there's sure to be something here to fit the bill. Gluten-Free Murder by P.D. Workman is the first of a series of small-town mysteries, tinged with romance, and deliciously scented with baking. It's even gluten-free baking, which is bound to appeal to me. Light-hearted, fun, and even moderately informative, it's a good cozy read to enjoy with some easy-drinking two-star coffee. Plus there's a cat! Then there's Cat Café by Mollie Hunt . It's either the 5th or 6th in its series, and I'm gradually catching up after reading the first one some while ago. Set around a cat cafe in Portland, rather like my beloved Purringtons, it'...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Anne Zoet to my blog, and to offer my review of her picture picture book, Purrball meets Burrball in Brazil. If the title itself isn't enough to intrigue you, well ... read on and find out more. Review of Purrball Meets Burrball When Darryl’s family move to Brazil, it’s obvious that Darryl’s cat, Purrball, will come too, and so will readers, enjoying this book. Wise parents have Mom’s phone and charger on hand for the journey, so Darryl can play games. They provide welcome cat treats to keep Purrball content. But neither Purrball nor Darryl can keep smiling when the world rocks and sways. An earthquake is not what anyone expected, and the startled cat runs away. Thus begins Anne Zoet’s Purrball Meets Burrball in Brazil. Bright, lively illustrations invite small readers and listeners to guess what happens next because…well, because poor Purrball has Mom’s phone and charger tangled around his leg. Burrball the Sloth (very pleasingly ...

If you've followed my book reviews, you probably know I have a preference for fiction. I like the order of beginnings middles and endings. I like to know there'll be a purpose revealed between the lines, and that those unknown lives won't hurt, though they'll haunt from the turning of the page. Real life has an awkward habit of being really messy. And I meet real people every day--why should I want to meet a stranger in a book? I was asked to review a memoir recently--not my favorite genre. But this wasn't just an ordinary memoir of ordinary everyday life; this particular memoir was written from jail. I couldn't decide if that would make me like it more or less. After all, this was hardly going to be a character I'd really want to meet. Would I want to spend all the pages of a book in his company. And his world? Wouldn't it be full of complaints and railing against the system? But it did have a cool title. So here are my reviews of some seriously g...

I'm delighted to be part of Online Book Tours celebration of all things bread with J. M. Griffin's A Crouton Murder today. Of course, being celiac, I'm not allowed to eat all things bread. But I love pets, so... I get to host a wonderful guest post about Pets in Stories by J. M. Griffin How perfect is that! Over to you J. M. Griffin, and thank you for visiting my blog. As a kid, I lived in rural Maine with my parents, three much older siblings, and a Beagle. The dog, Waggles, was my never-ending, faithful pal who tramped through the woods alongside me, chased anything that moved, and would bay at four-legged creatures, no matter what they were.   She was my pal, my partner in crime, and never once did I have to worry that she’d “ tell on me” if I did something I wasn’t supposed to.                 So, what does this mean in the grand scheme of writing? It means that I love to toss a pet i...