Book 97, 2020

Nightcat by Celesta Thiessen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Last night I read the ebook novella Nightcat, the first installment in the "Kitty Castle" series by authors Celesta and Keziah Thiessen. I hadn't realized it was meant for a...shall we say 'younger audience' until I began reading it. I waffled over whether to count it or not, but it was chaptered, so I'm including it.

In this story, the princes and princesses of the realm (what realm, we don't know) are left in the care of their tutor while their parents, the king and queen, go forth in an effort to stop dragons from destroying the kingdom. When following their night cat (named, appropriately enough, Nightcat) one evening, the children discover the secret of night cats and dragons. Will it enable them to help save their kingdom?

So, yeah. The story was simplistic and didn't feature much in the way of characterizations or plot. I mean, it was cute, but not really what I had in mind when I downloaded it.

Favorite line: "I remember that she had lots of cats!"

I'll give it a generous score of three.

Book 98, 2020

Tiles and Tribulations by Tamar Myers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



During my lunch break, I finished reading Tiles and Tribulations by Tamar Myers. It's the 10th book in the "Den of Antiquity" mystery series, featuring 40-something Abigail Timberlake Washburn. Abby owns a successful antique shop called Den of Antiquity. I believe I've read one other book in the series, so I'm obviously not reading them in any semblance of order. Fie on that.

When Abby's BFF and employee, Jane Cox (aka Calamity Jane aka CJ) wants to hold a seance to rid her recently-purchased home of its resident haunt, Abby reluctantly agrees to attend. After the medium, Madame Woo-Woo, drops dead, Abby is determined that CJ won't take the fall for murder. She needs to find out who else may have had a motive, and discovering several priceless antiques and fixtures in CJ's house may be a big clue. Abby takes it upon herself to visit and question everyone else who had attended the seance, but when she gets too close to the truth, Abby may find herself joining Madame Woo-Woo on the other side.

This story was hilarious! I love Abby's sarcasm and quick wit. Characters were fully realized, from Abby herself to her gay friends, the Rob-Bobs, her pearl-clutching mama, and even the nosy lady who lives across the street from CJ's house. Abby manages to talk her way into and out of several predicaments, and the plot clipped along at a fast pace.

Favorite lines:
♦ ...she is a radish or two short of a relish tray.
♦ She looked like a sheep that had been given the task of cloning a human.
♦ No doubt he'd never seen a bigger bunch of babies outside a Pampers commercial.
♦ I stepped inside a house that was as dark as a stack of black cats.
♦ "I wasn't planning on doing anything this evening except roll my hair and conjugate Chinese verbs."

Ah, too funny! Loved the book, and I will certainly seek out more in the series. Five stars!