Bedtime Story: Nate the Great Talks Turkey by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Sharmatm and Marc Simont & Illustrated by Jody Wheeler

 

Read for: Borrowed Books & Read with Munchkin

Synopsis: "A giant turkey is on the loose! And everyone is on the case—Nate, his cousin Olivia, his dog, Sludge, and even his friend Claude. But from talking turkey to stalking turkey, will every detective come out a winner?"

My Review: Munchkin loves the Nate the Great books so we thought this would be a fun book to read for Thanksgiving. Turns out it isn't set during the fall, but it is about turkeys. This was a bit of a different book because Nate the Great is not on the case. We also get a bit of a peek into another series about a young girl detective Olivia Sharp which might interest other readers. I like how the clues are dropped in this book, you have to pay attention to not only the words but the illustrations as well to figure it out. There are also some great extras included in the end of the book, some turkey facts, turkey jokes and an article on turkey calling. While it wasn't about Thanksgiving, this still turned out to be a great book to read over the holiday break!

My Rating: We have read many of the Nate the Great books (not really in order) and they never seem to be quite the same, they always seem to have something new going on so they don't get to repetitive. We give this one a rating of Four Paws!

Good Night! Sweet Dreams!

Can't Wait for . . . The Hiding Place by Paula Munier

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hoste at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you're continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.

This is something I never expected at the beginning of 2020, to fall in love with mysteries and have one land on my most anticipated list for 2021 but here we are! I really enjoyed the first 2 books in the Mercy and Elvis Mysteries series and can't wait for another one.

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier

Release Date: March 30, 2021

Synopsis: "Mercy and Elvis are back in The Hiding Place, the most enthralling entry yet in USA Today bestselling Paula Munier's award-winning Mercy Carr mystery series. When the man who killed her grandfather breaks out of prison and comes after her grandmother, Mercy must unearth the long-buried scandals that threaten to tear her family apart. And she may have to do it without her beloved canine partner Elvis, if his former handler has his way….

Some people take their secrets with them to the grave. Others leave them behind on their deathbeds, riddles for the survivors to solve.

When her late grandfather’s dying deputy calls Mercy to his side, she and Elvis inherit the cold case that haunted him—and may have killed him. But finding Beth Kilgore 20 years after she disappeared is more than a lost cause. It’s a Pandora’s box releasing a rain of evil on the very people Mercy and Elvis hold most dear.

The timing couldn’t be worse when the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and a fellow Army vet turns up claiming that Elvis is his dog, not hers. With her grandmother Patience gone missing, and Elvis’s future uncertain, Mercy faces the prospect of losing her most treasured allies, the only ones she believes truly love and understand her.

She needs help, and that means forgiving Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner long enough to enlist his aid. With time running out for Patience, Mercy and Elvis must team up with Troy and his search-and-rescue dog Susie Bear to unravel the secrets of the past and save her grandmother—before it’s too late.

Once again, Paula Munier crafts a terrific mystery thriller filled with intrigue, action, resilient characters, the mountains of Vermont, and two amazing dogs."

Have you discovered a new author, series or genre this year? What made you decide to pick it up? What new book are you looking forward to next year?

Review of The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White

 

Read for: Requested Review/ Netgalley/ Anticipated Release

Synopsis: "Everything is as it should be in Camelot. King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.

Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.

When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?

The second book in a new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, exploring the nature of self, the inevitable cost of progress, and, of course, magic and romance and betrayal so epic Queen Guinevere remains the most famous queen who never lived. "

My Review:  This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I love the way White is able to twist something so well known and give it new life with a different perspective. I was a little hesitant with this one though with the added element of the sister but I ended up really enjoying it. I definitely feel like Guinevere lost a bit of her footing after the last book and it was great watching her confidence grow throughout this book. Of course, Kiersten White once again got me hoping for everything to work out for the characters even though I know the various legends, so it was a bit bittersweet with the events involving Arthur near the end. All in all, this was a bit of a slower book but I really enjoyed the developments the characters made and the progress of the story.

My Rating: I really appreciate what White has done with this familiar story, she has created that found family/friend unit from the ground up and instead of surrounding Arthur, it is being built around Guinevere. I am really enjoying watching this happen on the page.  I give it a rating of Four Paws.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley (I also purchase my own physical copy and audiobook). The above is my honest review and opinion.

You can find out more about Kiersten White and her books on her Goodreads Page or Website.

The Camelot Betrayal just released on November 10th, so you can pick up your own copy in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or request it at your local library or independent bookstore. 

Monday Reading List

    It is Monday again and it is time to update with what I read last week, what I am currently reading and what to look forward to next week.

Reviews Posted Last Week:

Links will take you to my review

 Books Finished Last Week:

Reviews will be posted at a later date

Camelot Betrayal

Pumpkin Soup

Bread & Wine

Christmas in the Rockies

Nate the Great Talks Turkey

Christmas Cookie Day

Currently Reading:

A Dog's Perfect Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron - on page 85 of 288

An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe - on page 44 of 192

Pages Read/ Time Listened
876:41 Hours Listened (5:39 listened this week)
27,873 Pages Read (707 This week)

Books Added to Shelves Recently: TBR
The Eyes of Tamburah (gift)
The Wolf in the Whale
~~~~~~~~~~March Birthday Waiver Books ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rain Dragon Rescue
The Order of the Unicorn
All the Wandering Light
Life on the Leash
Phoenix Unbound
The Caged Queen
The Mum Who'd Had Enough
The Voyage to Magical North
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Birthday Waiver~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scavenge the Stars - UNHAUL
Beefcakes
Hades & Persephone
Dark Skies
No Country for Old Gnomes (gift) - UNHAUL
About That Kiss
The Girl and the Stars
A Choir of Lies
Loving Cara
Girl of Fire & Thorns (gift)
Fury of a Phoenix
Homicide in Hardcover (gift)
Unravel the Dusk
Ruthless Gods - UNHAUL

A Touch of Stone and Snow (gift)

Ember and the Ice Dragons

Midnight Sun

On the Hunt

Tis the Season

An Almost Perfect Christmas

The Christmas Quilt

Captive Heart

Sword of the Six

Sacrificed to the Dragon

Guenevere Queen of the Summer Country

Knight of the Sacred Lake

The Unicorn War - UNHAUL

Lady of Light and Shadows

Anxious People

Piranesi - UNHAUL

Her Lucky Cowboy

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

Holiday Murder

The Forgotten Kingdom

Blind Search - READ

Selling Christmas (gift) - READ

Death in the Stacks

The Cranky Mom Fix - UNHAUL

Kingdom of the Wicked

Camelot Betrayal - READ

From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another hectic week around here, chaos in the office, prepping for potential lock down again, preparing for our first Thanksgiving on our own and Hubby got called into work both weekend days. I did get a decent amount done at home just can't listen to audio books while Munchkin is home (either chattering at me or playing outside). I guess Tome Topple is going to be a flop for me this time around, I just can't seem to get to those books. But I have been taking a good hard look at my TBR shelf upstairs and thinking about the shelves downstairs and have started thinning out the ones I will probably never get to, ones that don't pique my interest as much as others and won't get priority over new releases.

Can you believe that my annual Advent Reads event will start next week?! Luckily I have been working hard on this for the past couple of months and have read over half the books I will need for the event! I am so excited for all the books I get to share with you this year, a lot of new releases and a bunch of new to me authors.