Author Archives: Iiiireader

Another great mystery in this fun and funny series

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Iiiireader

Pot Luck (An Elliott Lisbon Mystery Book 4)

By: Kendel Lynn

Rating: 5 of 5

Elliot Lisbon is still striving to get her PI License while being busy running the Ballantyne Foundation. The Irish Spring festival is gearing up when tragedy (in the form of a murder) occurs. Elliot is pressed into figuring out whodunnit even though someone has already confessed. Some old friends from earlier books make appearances and Elliot’s relationship with Detective Nick Ransom continues to progress.

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48 Cute and Iconic Christmas designs by Mary Engelbreit printed on one side of the perforated page

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Iiiireader

Mary Engelbreit’s Color ME Christmas Coloring Book

By: Mary Engelbreit

Rating: 5 of 5

I own both of Mary Engelbreit’s previous coloring books in the Color ME line and am really pleased to now have the newest one, Color Me Christmas. I’ve been a fan of Ms. Engelbreit’s artwork for much of my life. Many of the iconic designs I associate with her Christmas artwork are included in this book especially the Believe Santa (which is the last page in the book and had me worried that it was not going to be in the book.)

There are 48 Christmas inspired designs in this book which includes the title page. There are so many designs that I will want to color in this book. I noticed that there are less of the simple style pages that were included in the last two books. For those few pages, I plan on having my grandchildren color them once they are old enough. My grandson does color in books already but not to the level of detail in even the simplest of these designs.)

This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing the pages with my coloring medium. I will list, in the comments section below, the coloring medium I use for testing and for most of my coloring projects.

48 Christmas inspired designs (includes title page)based on iconic Mary Engelbreit artwork.

Designs are printed on one side of the page

The paper are white, fairly smooth to the touch, heavyweight and perforated

Glue Bound

Designs stop well before the perforations

Alcohol-based markers bleed through the paper

Most water-based markers leave spots of color on the back of the page. The exception I had was that while Stabilo triplus finerliners left colorful shadows on the back of the page, they did not spot through the paper.

India Ink pens bleed through the page in spots.

Gel pens do not bleed through but larger nib pens need a little extra drying time.

Coloring pencils did well except for blending. Both wax and oil based pencils provided good color with both a light and a firm touch. They layered well with both the same color or multiple colors. I found that blending was a little smeary. Hard lead pencils such as Verithins provided good color and crisp lines and did not dent the back of the page.

I suggest either removing pages for coloring or using a blotter page below your working page if you are using a wet medium. That will keep seeping ink from marring the pages below.

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Cute Holiday Romance

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Iiiireader

Broadcasting Christmas

By: The Hallmark Channel

Rating: 5 of 5

“Broadcasting Christmas” is a Hallmark Christmas movie that pits two television news broadcasters against each other in a game of trying to upstage one another while vying for a coveted job.

Veronika Daniels (Jackée Harry) is the host of America’s favorite daytime show “Rise and Shines” and is looking for a new co-host after her current partner leaves the show. Charlie Fisher (Dean Cain), has what seems like an inside lock on the job as he is not only good friends with the show’s producer, Patrice Montgomery (Cynthia Gibb), but also the soon of a television broadcaster who is nothing short of a legend in the business.

While Charlie has the inside position, there is still two other serious candidates for the job. That is, until a fourth dark horse candidate pops up.

Emily Morgan (Melissa Joan Hart), is that candidate. She is also a friend from the past of both Charlie and Patrice. Well, more than a friend of Charlie as the two shared a romance in the past. She still works at the local Connecticut news station where all three started out. She is now a human interest reporter and, at the last minute, videos a plea to have Veronika consider her for the job. When the video goes viral, Emily is added to the list of contenders.

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Memorable Book which I have read repeatedly over the years

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Iiiireader

Dawn’s Early Light

By: Elswyth Thane

Rating: 5 of 5

Reading this book is like peeking into the lives of its characters. From the first time I read it, I felt as if I got to know real individuals rather than the inventions of the author. She deftly reveals more and more about each character – I was left truly caring about what happened to them.

I could have read it in one evening but, instead, I spread it over three days. This gave me time to think about the individuals and what I thought would happen next. It is a truly memorable book – one that my friends and family are lining up to share – I have a wait list for individuals who want to borrow my book. I ended up purchasing this book both in hardcover and for my Kindle. It is a great book (and series) to load up and have available when I have time to read while I am on the go.

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Debut mystery which shows author’s inexperience

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Iiiireader

Protocol (A Maggie O’Malley Mystery) (Volume 1)

By: Kathleen Valenti

Rating: 3 of 5

protocol“Protocol” is the debut mystery novel by Kathleen Valenti. The plot line wanders around quite a bit but which comes back and ends well. The book could have used considerably more editing to tighten it up. For me, the ending brought my original rating of 2 up to a 3 star overall.

In addition, the main character does everything wrong. It seems if you want Maggie to do something right, you need to tell her to do the opposite. While that is okay once in a while, Maggie does it consistently and consistently ends up in hot water because of it. This is true both in her professional and personal life.

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Not a murder mystery, more of a social commentary

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Iiiireader

The Red Queen Rules (A Red Solaris Mystery Book 3

By:Bourne Morris

Rating: 4 of 5

theredqueenrulesI’ve read and enjoyed the two earlier books in this trilogy and from the author’s comments at the beginning of this book, it appears that this is the last book in this series.

The other books have been murder mysteries with a distinct whodunnit vibe. That is not the case with this book. There is a slight mystery which is actually fairly easily solved but on the whole, the book is a commentary about Freedom of Speech, sex trafficking (with an emphasis on underage girls) and white supremacist hate speech and ideology.

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Another fun Hallmark Christmas movie from Debbie Macomber

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Iiiireader

Mr. Miracle

By: Hallmark Movies and Mysteries

Rating: 5 of 5

This is a fun and heartwarming Christmas movie. In this movie, Harry Mills (Rob Morrow) is an angel who is being sent back to Earth in a human body for the first time. He is to be guided by Celeste (Michelle Harrison), an angel who has been a human assistant for many, many years. She is currently working as a barista at a coffee shop near a local college and will be showing Harry how to help his first assignment, Addie Folsom.

Addie (Brittney Irvin) is a young woman who goes to the community college and Harry is to be her new English professor. Addie is very fearful of being in a college class because she has done poorly in school all her life.

Harry is quick to discount Celeste’s suggestions and goes of on his own, despite Celeste’s warning that, should he fail at his task, he will be sent back to Heaven. Harry comes on too strong with Addie and scares her even more.

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Emotional story about starting over and discovering the past

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Iiiireader

The Art of Hiding

By: Amanda Prowse

Rating: 5 of 5

theactofhiding“The Art of Hiding” is the first book I have read by Amanda Prowse, so I had no expectations about how the story would go. Within very few pages, the world of the characters in the book has been turned upside down. From there, their lives get so shaken with further revelations, that they seem to be suffering a tad from PTSD.

The main character, Nina McCarrick, has to deal with the loss of love as well as the lifestyle she has grown used to. The story is about how she and her two boys learn to live again despite their losses.

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Another interesting read in this cozy mystery series

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Iiiireader

Skydive (A Nicki Valentine Mystery Book 3)

By: Susan O’Brien

Rating: 4 of 5

skydive“Skydive” is the third book in this cozy mystery series. It takes on a series of serious subjects with sex trafficking with teenagers as well as drug dealing and even a good look at the foster program for children.

Nicky Valentine is approached to do a bit of pro bono work and find the daughter of a convict. When she and her new partner (and neighbor and best friend), Kenna, take the job on, little do they know what they will have to endure to get to the truth.

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Another funny and fast-paced murder mystery in this Southern series

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Iiiireader

A Composition in Murder (A Cherry Tucker Mystery) (Volume 6)

By: Larissa Reinhart

Rating: 5 of 5

acompositioninmurderCherry Tucker is an artist who is drawn into murder investigations more times than is healthy for her. In this story, Cherry is hanging out at Halo House – a home for the elderly. This is not just any seniors home, it is one that costs a lot to rent/buy your own apartment. Cherry has a part time job teaching art to the seniors who make their home there.

Cherry is pulled into another case when she is asked to be a witness to the signing of a will. Since no one knows what the will contains, it becomes the basis for everything that follows.

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