books – Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Valentine’s Day: Week 2 – Cupid

03/05/2019 traci

Cupid refers to a cozy mystery that has to do with the paranormal.

Defending the Dead (Relatively Dead, #3)

Defending the Dead by Sheila Connolly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this installment of the Relatively Dead series, Abby has moved in with Ned. Since she lost her job at the museum, she has more time on her hands. She decides to see if any of her relatives were part of the Salem Witch trials in 1692 and 1693.

Meanwhile she has to mend a broken relationship with Lindsey, the curator at the museum. Will she allow her to spend time with Elle, Lindsey’s daughter? Oh, did I mention Elle has the same abilities to see ghosts of people from the past?

My Review: I enjoyed the historical aspect of the story. I was a little confused with the whole moving in with Ned and Elle but that was because I had only listened to part of the previous story. In order to get the whole picture, you need to read the stories in order. They build upon each other.

View all my reviews

Have a magical day,
Traci

books

Valentine’s Day Bingo – Free Space

02/26/201902/25/2019 traci

Lethal Licorice (Amish Candy Shop Mystery, #2)

Lethal Licorice by Amanda Flower

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great book by Amanda Flower.

There is an Amish candy competition going on in Harvest, Ohio. One of the contenders is found dead. Meanwhile Aiden Brody’s mother’s pet pig, Jethro, is missing. Could there be a connection between the death and the missing pig?

Bailey is an Englishwoman competing in the Amish candy competition which is upsetting to some of the Amish. In the meantime, she is also investigating the death of the contender. Can she discover who the killer is before she herself is killed.

View all my reviews

Have a magical day,
Traci

books

Valentine’s Day Bingo – Week 1 – Secret Admirer

02/19/2019 traci

I’ve been doing a cozy mystery bingo off and on for the past 3 years.

So what is it? Goodreads has different groups you can join. One of which is the cozy mystery bingo. If you decide to join a bingo, you are assigned a group. Each week, you are given a topic to read about. It is up to you to find a book that fits the topic.

This round of bingo is related to Valentine’s Day.

Continue reading →

books

A Teenager, More Family Secrets, and a Dollhouse

08/13/2017 traci

I’ve now listened to the third book in the Tradd Street Series. (Family Secrets, a Mysterious Reporter, and More Ghosts and Romance, Ghosts, and Mystery)

The Strangers on Montagu Street begins with Jack dropping off his daughter, Nola, on Melanie’s doorstop. Yeah, Jack has a teenage daughter.

Nola and Jack were constantly fighting so he thought it would better for Nola and his relationship if they did not live in the same house. Nola had been estranged from him for all of her 13 years so they were not off to a good start.

Melanie took Nola to Jack’s parents’ antique furniture store. While they were there, Nola took interest in a dollhouse so Jack’s mother gave it to her as a gift. Suddenly strange things began to happen in the house. Angry ghosts are now haunting Melanie and Nola. Except Nola does not realize it yet because she does not realize ghosts are real. All she knows is the dolls in the house keep moving around.

It is up to Nola, Melanie, Melanie’s mom, and Jack to find out the identity of the ghosts and what message they were trying to relay. During the course of the book, you will meet Julia Mantego (spelling) and discover how she is related to those tortured souls.

Meanwhile there is another ghost hanging around. This ghost is more benign than the other ghosts. Who is this wandering lost soul? Why is she still hanging around? As I always say, you need to read the book to find out about this ghost.

Do Jack and Melanie eventually get together? I’m not going to say. You’ll have to read the book to find out.

There is a big cliff hanger at the end of the book. Makes you want to know what is going to happen next.

I enjoyed the book. There was a different feel to the book with more emphasis on the relationships between the characters being the primary focus of the story. The ghost story with the dollhouse was a secondary story at different points in the book unlike the first two books.

In the beginning, I did not really enjoy Nola. She was a moody teenage girl. During the course of the book, she matured and became more likable.

At one point in the story, the story mentions the Circular Church’s Graveyard and this exact sign. I had taken this photo during our visit in June.

Have a magical day,
Traci

books

A girl at the crossroads in life (Book Review)

08/04/2017 traci

In June 2016, the boys had Vacation Bible School. I opted not to drive home because I would turn right around to go and pick them up. So I went to the local outdoor mall.

The bookstore at the mall had Mary Kay Andrews speaking about her newest book Weekenders.

From her talk, I knew I would want to read/ listen to one of her books. She was put on my want to read book list. It took me a year until I finally listened to one of her books.

When the Imaginative One and I were on our way home from our road trip, I had finished listening to The Girl on Legare Street and Brownies and Broomsticks. We still had almost 3 hours to go so I opted to borrow one of Mary Kay Andrews books from Hoopla to listen to for the remainder of the trip.

In the beginning of Beach Town, Greer Hennessey was on the look out for a classic Florida beach town for a movie location. Greer is a movie location scout.

When she enters the town of Cypress Key, she realizes she has found that classic Florida beach town. However, she did not know that Cypress Key will change her life.

She meets residents Ginny (spelling) and Eb. Eb is the mayor of Cypress Key plus the owner of the grocery store and a realtor.

Greer and Eb have a love hate relationship throughout the book. You have to read/ listen to the book to find out if love or hate wins.

Greer’s mother had died two months prior to the beginning of the book. Her more Lees had been in contact with Greer’s estranged dad, Clint. Clint lives an hour or so away from Cypress Key. Greer has to make a decision on whether to contact Clint or to have any type of relationship with him.

Once the movie production team and actors arrive in Cypress Key, it adds an interesting dynamic to the book. There is Bryce who is the abrasive movie director. He is demanding and does not let the word no stop him. The main lead in the movie was Kregg. Kregg is a famous rapper who wants to be an actor. He is a true bad boy.

Cypress Key has an old casino that is about to collapse. Once Bryce finds out about the book, he wants to use the casino in the movie and then blow it up. Throughout the book, Greer attempts to get permission to use the casino from Eb. This adds an interesting twist to the story. So what happens to the casino? I’m not going to spoil it for you. You need to read/ listen for yourself.

Greer was at a crossroad in her life. Going to Cypress Key changed her life.

I loved the book. I kept wanting to know more about Eb and Greer’s relationship and what was going to happen with the casino. However, some of the movie details went on and on which made the book longer than it needed to be.

My favorite character is Eb. He is described as looking sort of like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island. Eb is a jack of all trades, a good guy, and a family man. He only wants what is best for his home town.

If you want a good summer read, this book would fit the bill.

Happy reading,
Traci

books, Random

Family Secrets, a Mysterious Reporter, and More Ghosts

07/23/2017 traci

I just finished listening to the second book in Karen White’s The Tradd Street series – The Girl on Legare Street.

I have already done a book review for the first book in the series – The House on Tradd Street.

This book begins soon after The House on Tradd Street. Melanie’s estranged mother comes back into town and wants to buy the family home on Legare Street.

Melanie and her mother have a strained relationship but must work through it while restoring the house.

Meanwhile a sunken boat is found off shore. The boat sunk in the late 1800’s and had belonged to Melanie’s family. Once the boat was brought up, there was a shocking discovery of a body on the boat. Melanie and her mother work on their relationship while trying to figure out who the identity of the person on the boat.

A mysterious reporter wants to do an interview with Ginnette, Melanie’s mother, because she bought the house on Legare Street. As the story progresses, Rebecca, the reporter, becomes more and more suspicious. Who is she? Why is she so interested in the history of Melanie’s family?

Yes, there is more ghosts in this book. There is the protector of Melanie. He was there for her when she was a child and now is there when she is an adult. Who is he? Why is staying around the house? Does he have anything to do with the mysterious body in the boat?

There is also an evil ghost in the house. Does this ghost have anything to do with the mysterious body in the boat? Why is the ghost unsettled?

Jack is still around in this book. His relationship with Melanie is on and off through out the book.

I enjoyed listening to this story. The cliffhanger at the end of the book makes me want to read the next book in the series which I have started to read. To be honest, I don’t really like Rebecca. When you read the book, you will discover that her motives were good but she wasn’t honest when she was dealing with Ginnette and Melanie.

My belief is that Jack and Melanie belong together. Everyone can see that but there is a few obstacles in the way. That’s another reason I want to read the next book so I can find out if Jack and Melanie every get together.

The Hunley is mentioned in the book. While we were in South Carolina last month, we actually went to see the Hunley so once again this made me relate to the book.

Here are some photos from our visit to see the Hunley.

Have a magical day,
Traci

books, Random

Romance, Ghosts, and Mystery

07/13/201707/13/2017 traci

4. Book review!

{This post is edited. While typing it up, it was storming so my dog wanted my attention. Meanwhile our bird was trying to help me type up this post. I reread what I wrote so I’ve got to revise and edit what I typed up.)

When I was in New York last month, I was introduced to a new author.

My friend, Molly, and I were at Barnes and Nobles looking at Chick Lit books. I finally decided on purchasing On Folly Beach written by Karen White.

Once I began reading the book, I could not put it down. The book flipped between present day (2009) and World War II. This book has both romance and mystery. Most of all it had the beach.

However, this review is not about On Folly Beach, it’s about another book written by Karen White.

After finishing the book, I decided to find other books written by her because I really enjoyed her writing style.

That’s when I discovered the Tradd Street series that takes place in the historical area of Charleston near the Battery.

I borrowed the first book in the series The House on Tradd Street on Hoopla so I could listen to the book while driving and cooking. I completed the book yesterday.

Hubby and I traveled to the Toledo Zoo yesterday. I wanted to finish the book so we listened to it on the 2.5 hour drive. We pulled into the parking lot as the story ended. Talk about perfect timing.

Now onto the review about the book:

Melanie has inherited 55 Tradd Street. The house needs to be renovated because it is in disrepair. Melanie does not want the house because she is able to see and communicate with ghosts. This house has ghosts – both benign and evil.

In the meantime, she meets Jack, an author, who wants to discover what has happened to one of the former inhabitants, Louisa, because she suddenly disappears at the same time as another citizen of Charleston, Joseph.

Meanwhile the mysterious Mark shows up. Should Melanie trust him or not? Jack believes she should not trust him. He has a feeling that Mark is up to no good especially since he is the grandson of the Joseph. Even though Jack warns Melanie not to date him, Melanie begins to date him. How does the relationship turn out? I’m not going to tell you. You need to read the book to find out.

There is also some missing treasure. Jack, Melanie, and her dad set out to find the treasure while trying to find out what happened to Louisa and Joseph.

I enjoyed listening to the story.

A couple of weeks ago, we traveled to Charleston, SC. While there, I visited some of the places mentioned in the book. I’m glad I got to see those places.

Here are some photos of the places mentioned in the book: