Book 22, 2025

[chez_jae]

Hazel Raises the Stakes by M.Z. Andrews

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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I completed the ebook Hazel Raises the Stakes last night. It’s the second in author MZ Andrews’ “Coffee Coven” series.

Gwynnie is excited to be invited to Las Vegas to accept an award honoring her for her hard work. She knows she can’t take her elderly mother, Hazel, with her, because Hazel has a habit of going off on her own. Therefore, Gwynnie parks Hazel with their crazy friend, Loni. Hazel is outraged to be left behind. The World Championship of Poker is taking place in Vegas at the same time, and Gwynnie knows how much Hazel loves to play poker. No sooner does Loni take her eyes off of her than Hazel pulls a runner. By the time Loni catches up to her, Hazel is at the airport. She convinces Loni to go to Vegas with her, where the two of them get in more trouble than any two women should. So long as Gwynnie doesn’t catch them, however, it’s all good.

Well now. The story didn’t really seem to have a point. There was no mystery, no romance, and not much of a plot. It basically consisted of an old woman acting like a tantrum-throwing toddler because she wasn’t getting her way. Was this meant to be funny? It just made me want to smack the dentures out of Hazel’s mouth. Hazel is so selfish that she can’t allow her daughter a moment to shine, because it’s all about her and what she wants.

Favorite line: “I’ve got twenty-eight cats running around this place and I can account for each and every one of them by the end of the day.”

This was 10% amusing, 90% annoying. Two stars, and one of them is for Loni’s house full of cats.