Second in the Paradise Cafe series, this is another interesting, enjoyable read, with a likable heroine, an evocative setting in Depression-era 1936 Toronto, and not one, but two mysteries to solve. When Charlotte Frayne, PI, is hired to investigate the suspicious suicide of a severely disfigured veteran, she must confront…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A gorgeously illustrated tribute to diversity, this sweet book is as beautiful to look at as it is thoughtfully messaged. Not to mention funny, playful, and oh so charming. When Weasel, a little boy who notices everything in his neighborhood of Lilypod Lane, identifies a strange house with an…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This little book is a hilarious, thoughtful, charming, magical gem of a novel, - part fable, and all heart. As laugh-out-loud-funny as it is pure whimsy, the humor in this read is dry, sardonic and continuous, layered with a silliness born of a sort of sweet, childish, eccentricity and…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟➕ “I am out with lanterns, looking for myself” - Emily Dickinson With perfect alignment, the cover quote (copied above), encapsulates the beauty and the wonder that is this book. Written by the poet Maggie Smith, this memoir details, with incredible candor, what it may take to find yourself, or…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Five stars all the way, - for creativity, ingenuity, and cleverness, if for nothing else. But there is so much else! This, the third book authored by one of this reader’s favorite thriller writers, is narrated in the first person by a character like no other - the self-reflective,…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Quite likely the most heartbreaking memoir this reader has encountered, and without a doubt, the most hopeful. A present-day top-tier Hollywood stunt-woman, as a child, Kimberly Shannon Murphy endured pain and trauma no child should ever encounter. Left vulnerable and entirely unprotected by her parents, Kimberly was targeted by…
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 An engaging, interesting and strangely comforting read, - the first in a series that is historical, absorbing and not quite a cosy, but peopled with characters and a setting the reader can immediately relate to and feel comfortable with, and a plot that beckons one sink right into it,…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Written by a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who is also a classically trained chef, this wonderful collection of wholesome, plant-based recipes is the perfect solution for healthy eating. Targeted to aid those struggling with, or keen to prevent, Type 2 Diabetes, each recipe focuses on balancing great taste with…
🌟🌟🌟🌟 A fascinating premise, which leads into an ambitious and sprawling narrative, spanning several continents and a whole host of challenging themes. Just how far should one ethically go in one’s effort to save the planet, and humankind, - as we know it to be now, and as we are…
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This reader’s introduction to a wonderful new series - combining my very favorite genre (legal thriller) with a wry and playful humor that is irresistible in combination. A sort of Western Canadian “Rumpole of the Bailey”, our hero, Arthur Beauchamp, an aging criminal lawyer enjoying retirement in his BC…