Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge discussion

I will not quite hit the 20 mark for my 2016 Level 3 challenge, so I am going with Level 2 for 2017...looking forward to it!

Link to my shelf for planning and tracking this challenge:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Level 1 books:

17/20

1. ✔ Culinary (anything dealing with food: restaurants, baked goods, etc.) - Dying for Danish 1/19/17 ☆☆

2. ✔ Animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.) - Gun Shy 4/22/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

3. ✔ Craft related (any kind of hobbies - knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.) - Threads of Evidence 4/1/17 ⭐⭐⭐

4. ✔ Paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.) - A Familiar Tail 8/22/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. ✔ British cozy mysteries - A Quiet Life In The Country 6/13/17 ⭐⭐⭐

6. ✔ Career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.) - Murder on Bainbridge Island 6/21/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

7. Holiday based (set during any holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.) - Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen 12/22/17

8. ✔ Travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.) Chorus Lines, Caviar, and Corpses 11/20/17 ⭐⭐⭐

9. ✔ Historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present) - A Useful Woman 8/30/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

10. ✔ My choice! (freebie!) - Foal Play 5/21/17 ☆☆☆☆


Plus 10 more:

11. ✔ A High-End Finish 2/21/17 ☆☆☆☆

12. ✔ Limoncello Yellow 5/3/17 ***

13. ✔ The Swallow's Storm 6/24/17 ***

14. ✔ Key to Savannah 9/19/17 ⭐⭐⭐

15. ✔ That Old Flame of Mine 11/5/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

16. ✔ Murder in an Irish Village
12/9/17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

17. ✔ Death and the Redheaded Woman 12/30/17 ⭐⭐⭐

18.

19.

20.

Good Luck this year. Glad someone else is going me at this level.

Welcome Susie. Have fun with the challenge!

Good luck on your challenge, Susie! I saw your challenge shelf and I like the books you have picked out!

Creeping along...finished 2 so far...

1. by Leighann Dobbs.
Read in January for my Culinary Cozy and gave it 2 stars. This is #2 in the series and I said I would give it another try, but I'm done...shallow on all levels and I didn't really like any of the characters...bleh... :)
But I do like a few of this author's other series...alot!


2. by Kate Carlisle.
Finished yesterday for a 'wild card' pick and gave it 4 stars. Main character is Shannon, who runs her own remodel/refurbish business. The story is good...just enough info to engage you and yet it keeps moving along. Also no real annoying characters either! I will definitely read more from this series...

3. by Lea Wait. Gave it 3 stars.

This is second in the series centered around a Needlepoint shop/group that takes place in Maine. Solid read, nothing earth-shattering... ;)

4. by Donna Ball. Gave it 5 stars.
I really enjoy this series about a Forest Ranger who does Search and Rescue (SAR) with her Golden Retriever, Cisco. Some details are a bit more graphic, but I think it still qualifies as a cozy. Any others read this series? Thoughts?

Susie wrote: "4. by Donna Ball. Gave it 5 stars.
I really enjoy this series about a Forest Ranger who does Search and Rescue (SAR) with her Golden Retriever, Cisco. Som..."

It sounds interesting--I'll have to give the series a try soon.

Donna, I like the change of pace from some of the more typical type cozies...this is # 3 in the series and also centered around a personal assistance dog, in addition to the SAR dogs, which I really enjoyed :)

5. by Traci Andrighetti. I gave it 3 Stars.

It is first in a series about Franki, who quits her policewoman job and moves to New Orleans to join a friend in her new PI business, Private Chicks, Inc. That name alone should give you some indication about the book ;) Yes, it is a little cutesy and and even innane in a few parts, but I actually liked the storyline and thd characters grew on me. New Orleans, a great setting, that is definitely interwoven into the story, is a bonus imo...
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I have the second one and will read it before passing final judgment... :)

6. by Kathryn O'Sullivan. I gave it ☆☆☆☆.

This is first in a series, set in North Carolina (popular state for cozy's!) The main character is Collen who is fire chief in a small coastal town that has it's own herd of wild horses. Lots of interesting characters and pretty fast moving. Good start to the series!

Glad to hear you liked it. It's been on my TBR for a while

Susie wrote: "6. by Kathryn O'Sullivan. I gave it ☆☆☆☆.

This is first in a series, set in North Carolina (popular state for cozy's!) The main character is Collen ..."

This one sounds good. I will have to check it out. I am finding that some of my favorite cozies have animals in them. Doesn't matter what kind!! :)

7. by T E Kinsey. I gave it 3 stars.

This was for my British themed cozy slot. This is a new theme area for me and it was different...moved a little slower but had a good ending with a couple of surprises. It is centered around 2 middle aged women with an independent streak (especially for the times), the early 1900's.
I have the second one too, so I will see how it goes... :)

I really like the cover!

8. by Dianne Harman For my career themed slot - main chatacter is starting up a catering business - I gave it 4 stars.

My review:
I chose this book mainly because it is located in the NW...Seattle to be exact. I have family there and love to visit!
This 1st one did not disappoint... Good storyline, no annoying characters, grabs you early so an easy read. I am familiar with the author but this is a new series for her.
I just bought the 2cd one!

9. by Ruby Loren. I gave it 3 stars.

This caught my attention because it involved horses and a riding school and was cheap! Not the the best cozy, but it is geared more for YA audience I believe, which is not really my thing ;)
I did like the storyline and the main characters were ok, but some of the second tier characters were annoying i.e. shallow...
It is short...I read it today! The second one was a free download (maybe tells you something) so I did download it...we'll see...

I've been keeping track of my progress on the list above, but here is a quick update...


10. byDelia James 8/22/17 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I used this one for my paranormal cozy and while parts of it were a 'little out there', for me, I enjoyed the characters and the story line. Woman returns to her hometown, discovers she's a witch, gets adopted by Alistair, a paranormal cat who belonged to someone who was murdered and now attached to...guess who? 😉

11. byDarcie Wilde 8/30/17 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I used this one for my historical cozy, which is a whole new area for me, and I liked the change of pace. I picked this one because it takes place during the time of Jane Austen and is met to connect to those times.

12. by Hope Callaghan 9/23/17 🌟🌟🌟
I picked this one because it takes place in Savannah, Georgia, which like many others, I fell in love with when I visited! The story is pretty light, but they are a cheap read! Mother and daughter move from New Jersey to Savannah after mob husband/father dies under mysterious circumstances and there is now missing gems and cocaine and the mob wants it back!

13. byJ.J. Cook 11/5/17 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


This has been on my tbr shelf for awhile and well worth the wait! Loved all the characters and the storyline. Also well written to keep my attention, even though it took awhile for me to read!

Highly recommend!

Susie wrote: "13. byJ.J. Cook 11/5/17 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


This has been on my tbr shelf for awhile and well worth the wait! Loved all the characters and the story..."

I have this on my TBR as well. Sounds like its a great read.

There is a ghost involved but he's actually just like a regular character so for folks who don't usually like that genre, this one might work!

15. Murder in an Irish Village
Another first in a series for me and the Audible was great with an Irish accent!


16. Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen 12/22/17
First in a new series about Christmastown, where it is Christmas year round.
Solid first in a series...interesting and fun characters, a St Bernard puppy(!), and good story that kept me guessing!

Also this finishes Part 1 of the Challenge for me...read one for each topic!
I know some don't care for the genres part, but for me it's a great way to 'sample' many different series to see what I like!

Maybe time for 1 more? 😉

Great job on finishing your challenge.

Congrats on finishing your genre challenge!

Finished Part 1 of the challenge, but adding my last one for Part 2, bringing my total to 17...for 2017!

17. by Loretta Ross. Gave it 3 stars and while it is listed as a cozy, it is on the edge I think...some foul language and a lot of sexual references. Any one else read this? What do you think?

But I liked the story overall, and really like the characters...
#2 is in the queue, cozy or not!