A Most Extraordinary Pursuit: First-To-Read Review

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     I love a good historical mystery as much as the next person.  However, A Most Extraordinary Pursuit by Juliana Gray was NOT a historical mystery!

A Historical Mystery -by definition- is a sub-genre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder).
     I did find the plot a little convoluted and scattered, involving almost too many elements.   A Most Extraordinary Pursuit is too long, too slow paced and too confusing. The story did not make any sense at all. The author had too many ideas that were thrown together but did not work with one another. All different ingredients: historical mystery, time travel, ghosts, and Greek mythology were thrown in the pot but the stew that came out was hardly digestible. The story nor the characters, mystery, or romance worked for me. This book is 450 pages of confusing, convoluted story that bore me to death. This could have been a great story if only execution was better. Verdict: too many competing ideas made for a confusing story.  It was difficult to understand at first that the mini story related directly to the story at hand. It made the story difficult to get into.The names of characters alone remind me of a poorly written meladrama (Maximilian, Emmeline Truelove, Silverton?).
GAG!!!!!!

    A Most Extraordinary Pursuit  is NOT an historical mystery but a very silly book! I think there was a story in there, plodding along, but the writing was so over the top in an attempt at levity, that I felt as if I was sitting in a music hall watching talentless actors mug across the stage.  If you hunger for a good historical mystery, this novel will leave you famished. It's all empty prose calories that I gagged my way through with each page-turning swallow.
    Thanks, I think, to Penguin Random House for the free copy in exchange for a review. Thanks for saving me the expense of buying a book I'd regret wasting the money on.  I had high expectations for this book because I love historical mysteries and the blurb was very promising, so I was very happy to get my hands on an early copy. Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations.  

I give THIS book ♥♥(2 of 10) hearts and a "D" grade.  This book is not the best I've ever read, but I begrudgingly finished it. 

Death at a Fixer Upper - A Home Sweet Home Mystery: Review

Real estate agent Sam Turner loves her quaint town of Arlinda, Northern California and is excited to be working at the Home Sweet Home real estate agency. When 13 Aster Lane, an old fixer upper is put on the market, Sam is happy to show it to some interested buyers. There is something hinky going on at 13 Aster Lane, and before long Sam is not only facing eviction, but losing interested buyers as well. Sam is counting on a big sale to help her finance her new home for her and her son Max, now is not the time to be losing buyers or commissions!I read over 600 books a year, but somehow I missed this author Ms. Hobart uses highly descriptive prose, almost to a fault, but she certainly paints vivid pictures, and her dialogues are snappy, quirky and fast paced. Her characters (of which there are almost confusingly many) are complex, and the plot of this delightful tale is fresh and unique. I didn't really feel the love loss between her and her ex (who walked out on her and her young son), nor do I understand the weird supposed relationship with her and her ex-brother-in-law. It wasn't an annoying story, where the main character is a dip, but she clearly makes some odd choices here and there. The son is more of an after thought at times, in my opinion. Death at a Fixer Upper is the first in the Home Sweet Home mystery series. Lastly, there were a few moments in the book where it seemed like it was recapping an earlier book in the series. I was surprised when I found out this was book one. It didn't detract from the story or confuse me however. All in all, I give this book ♥♥♥♥♥♥ (6 of 10) hearts and a "B" grade.  There were some noticeable flaws and I don't know if I'd ever read it again.  However, it was a good one-hit-wonder. I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review

The Skeleton Garden - A Potting Shed Mystery(#4): Review

    This was a solid little cozy mystery! This is the fourth in Marty Wingate's Potting Shed series, and it's a mystery to me why I haven't read the previous three.
    The clues were provided, the characters were interesting and I loved them and I enjoyed the historical background. I adore anything that is set in WWII era or past, as background. The story was entertaining and fun to read.   There is a lot of British history in this book. 
The storyline is fast-paced. It's never gory and there isn't any potty mouth (for those of you who love mystery stories but are faint-of-heart or squeamish). The characters are engaging: smart and interesting and people you'd want to hang out with (except maybe the bad guy!). There is even a very sassy duck. I heartily recommend this to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, especially one set in the lovely English countryside.
Despite it being the fourth, it's so well-written you can read it as a stand-alone. But I won't deprive myself. I plan to read the first three as soon as possible!

All in all, I give this book ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥(9 hearts of 10) and an "A" for effort grade.


   I was selected to be a Chatterbox participant and I received free e-book in order to give an honest review.

My Book Reveiw Rating Scale 1-10

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
10 hearts: I'm speechless; this book is an extraordinarily amazingly wonderfully fantastically marvelous masterpiece (x)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
9 hearts: Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf (x)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
8 hearts: An engaging read; highly recommended (x)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
7 hearts: Not perfect, but overall enjoyable (x)

♥♥♥♥♥♥
6 hearts: Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back (x)

♥♥♥♥♥
5 hearts: Doesn't particularly light any of my fires; I feel indifferent about this book (x)

♥♥♥♥
4 hearts: So-so; reading this book may cause wrinkles (from frowning so much) (x)
♥♥♥
3 hearts: Not a fan; I don't recommend this book (x)

♥♥
2 hearts: Not completely a lost cause, but could not finish; I did not enjoy this book (x)

♥
1 heart: Could not finish and have nothing positive to say; use this book to see if your pens still have ink (x)


OR


A+ = This book is as close to perfect as it gets! I love it and will probably reread it a billion times.

A = This book is terrific and I really enjoyed reading it! It does have some minor flaws that take away from the story, characters, etc.

A- = This book is excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It does have a few flaws.

B+ = This book is good, and I enjoyed reading it. However, there are some flaws.

B = This book is good, and I enjoyed reading it. There are a few very noticeable flaws.

B- = This book is good, and I liked it okay. There are several noticeable flaws.

C+ = This book is okay, but certain aspects really grabbed me/kept me interested.

C = This book is okay, and I finished it relatively quickly. It didn't blow me away, and something was definitely lacking (characters, plot, dialogue, etc.)

C- = This book is okay, and I finished it in a decent amount of time. I didn't enjoy it very much, and two or more things were definitely lacking.

D = This book is not the best I've ever read, but I begrudgingly finished it. It was lacking in almost every aspect.

F = I hated this book. I finished it, but was not happy with it. It was lacking in every aspect.

First Line Fridays: Feb. 22nd, 2013

Welcome again to FLF!
Sadly, February is a short month, so (for now) with this post the Dickens theme will come to a close. Yes, there are plenty of other books he's written and ALL good! I shall get to them in my time.
For now, enjoy this Classic Opener we ALL should now in one form or another from Tale of Two Cities!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

Again, I have sadly not read this Classic yet. I have seen a condensed stage form of it (as it was a one-act entrance for high school)and I do know that there is a musical out there too. However, I'll get to those after I read the novel.

First Line Friday: Feb. 15th 2013

And welcome to the 3rd week of FLF and our February theme: Dickens!


"My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip."

So starts Great Expectations! Yet ANOTHER novel focused on the rags to riches of a boy.
Again, I haven't read the book itself, but being here on FLF it certainly is on my List.

First Line Friday: Feb 8th, 2013

Welcome back to FLF!
To continue with our monthly love Dickens, I bring you another story of another boy.  David Copperfield


"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

I'll admit, I have yet to read this Classic fully as I do most of Dickens' works but it comes HIGHLY recommended by my mother of all people. Therefore, it shall follow suite RIGHT after Oliver Twist.