WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS by Karen S. Bell

WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS

by Karen S. Bell

5 stars

Walking With Elephant is the story of Suze Hall. She is a working mother trying to have a real career, not just make some extra cash for the family. We travel through a few short months with her, and deal with all the trials she must endure. These all come from her husband, kids, boss, and ex-lover.

Suze must deal with 3 kids, while her husband goes to Australia for 6 months. Her ex-boyfriend from college shows up back in her life after 20 years. And her new boss is someone she hates, who also hates her. Everything seems to be going wrong all at once.
I must say I was delightfully surprised by this book. The title doesn't say much about the actual story underneath. It seems like it's just going to be the telling a homemaker turned career woman. But Karen S. Bell puts just enough humor into the story to make it enjoyable but not silly.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a nice change of pace.

Murder At the End of the World by Jonathan Garrett

MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD

by Jonathan Garrett

4 stars

 Illdara, a city on the end of a peninsula. You can only reach it by sea or through a mountain pass. Both are impassable in the cold winter months.

Allison Newberry, a young detective sent to this strange, forbidding city to solve a murder.

During her investigation, Allison finds a lot more going on in this city than just murder. The clues left by the murderer lead her through some of the town's most lecherous areas. And help her uncover a bizarre group of religious zealots.

The plot, characters, and storyline were sensational. There were some grammar errors (possible typos) that need fixed. But all-in-all I enjoyed "Murder at the End of the World" and would recommend to anyone looking for a good murder mystery.

Happy 2025

 Hello,

How's is everyone's New Year going? Hope 2025 is treating you well so far.

For anyone new here, my name is Pam Kaye. I am reviewing mostly books for you. I want to do music, art, tv, movies and other things also.

A lot of my books come from a website called LibraryThing.com. Authors post their books free for you to read. They only ask for a review on Amazon and Goodreads. You should check it out. I have found some really good books here. And have also started following some authors that I have never heard of. Goodreads.com also has some free giveaways, if you want to check them out.

I have plenty of stories to read and review. Yes, I still will be reading some more famous authors and their books. Such as James Patterson, Louis A'mour, and Danielle Steele, just to name a few. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Joanna Lindsey, Janet Evanovich, and Anne Rice are my top 5 favorite authors, so I will be reviewing more from them too.

For now, I have about 30 books from LibraryThing awaiting my attention. So that is what I will being doing for the next month or two.

If you have read any of the books that I review, please leave a comment. I would like to know if you agree with me or not. No judgement or arguments, everyone is intitled to an opinion. There are so many genres of books because there are so many different types of people. Sometimes someone can have an opinion that differs from mine, and if stated why it can make me rethink my own views.

So read, respect, and enjoy.

Thanks for joining me.

Pamkaye 

THE ELSINGHAM PORTRAIT by Elizabeth Chater

THE ELSINGHAM PORTRAIT

by Elizabeth Chater

4****

I received my copy of "The Elsingham Portrait" from LibraryThing, in return for a review.

I enjoyed the story, but was a little let down by the romance part of it. Kathryn falls in love with John's kind eyes, and John falls in love because she is not his real wife, Nadine. Is this right or am I missing something?

Okay, so the premise of the story is Kathryn goes back in time, into another woman's body, Nadine Elsingham. She must try to convince the man who is now her husband that she is not crazy, and he shouldn't send her away. All the while she is trying to escape Donner, who may be a witch and had Nadine under some spell. 

The story was a fun read as far as the adventure and all the events that Kathryn had to go through. The characters were likable (except for Donner and Adrian, of course). You felt pity for John. But I wanted more time between the two main characters. He was only in her presence 4 or 5 times. And John, thinking she was Nadine, was mean and rude. So where and when did they fall in love?

There were also a few errors in word usage throughout the book. Example: "At least you are remarkably consistent. Those are the dates you quoted me last night. There is no coherence in your story...."

Doesn't coherence mean consistency? To have no coherence would mean that she didn't stick to her story.

Overall, if you can overlook some errors and the fact that the romance is not really a romance then you will enjoy this book. It is a fun read and exciting. The action is almost non-stop. 

CHICKENS, MULES, AND TWO OLD FOOLS (OLD FOOLS SERIES BOOK #1) by Victoria Twead

 

CHICKENS, MULES, AND TWO OLD FOOLS (OLD FOOLS SERIES BOOK #1)

by Victoria Twead

5*****

This is the story of an English couple's move to Spain. Vicky and Joe are near retirement age, and are tired of English weather. Vicky loves Spain and suggest moving there. Joe agrees to try it for 5 years, then rethink on whether to stay of come home.

We are invited into their lives during this time. Vicky and Joe go through many trials, tribulation, joys, and hilarious moments. The neighbors, their chickens, the renovating of the house they bought, along with natural occurring issues. 

Vicky has made me want to try a life in a small Spanish village. Although it may be hard without all of modern day luxuries, it seems very peaceful.

I really enjoyed the story, characters, and animal tales in this book. Everyone should like this tale.