Tray (female) lives with her parents and her maternal grandmother. She's at a gangly stage and feels like an outsider--at least until Lori befriends her. Then her father wins the lottery (with a ticket he was gifted by a man whom he drove to buy his own tickets--and who feels he's owed some of the winnings). Tray is impatient for life to change and her father is cautious about not wanting to waste the money. Meanwhile, Tray's mother appears to be mentally ill.

A friend (AC) introduced me to this series a while back and I've read books in the series, though not always in order. I found this one in a lending library (and plan to return it there now that I've read it).

Goldy's catering business is booming! One of her clients is a college friend who now manages a local mall. Back in college they used to get coffee together and he liked creating scavenger hunts. Before he dies, he hints at needing to tell Goldy something--then ends up sending her on a scavenger hunt to find the proof he gathered. (I'm with Goldy on this one--there were probably better ways to get the information to her than a scavenger hunt.)

This was an Amazon pick.

Time travel--it's not made clear in this book exactly how the tunnels were discovered or how they work or how it was discovered to use them--or if it is, I missed it.

Time travel agents take a planned trip only to find their destination in flames. In addition to their agency, a sub group called Elementalists emerges as well as another group who opposes both of these groups.

Molly seems to be a key player for both sides though at this point we aren't fully sure why.

A letter in a family time capsule throws a widow for a loop and makes her wonder if she really knew her husband after all.

This book is basically an overview of types of crafts available with a small amount of information on what you might need to start the craft and a lot of encouragement to make sure to stick with it as your early efforts may only be part of the learning process.

I expected a bit more than what was in it though.

This is probably on par for the series and the genre.

I've always thought I was a pet lover but . . . compared to Maddie, Adele, and Katrina, maybe not. There seems to be a lot of judgement from all of them on a hoarding situation. Several people also judge a police officer's methods of doing his job.

As per recent entries in the series, there are two murders, not that far apart, that interconnect.

This is an Amazon pick.

The book opens with the end of a murder trial though the main story is the trip to New Zealand and that someone who's convinced Miles got away with murder is pursuing him.

I suspected which group the stalker would emerge from. I also suspected that the real killer would be someone from a certain group--though I did not guess which one.

So I guess allegory isn't my favorite genre to read.

The story is true to life in that we advance and regress and sometimes have to learn the same lesson multiple times or in different ways . . . but I was ready for the allegory to end (or to move on) long before it did.

I got a second copy to share!

These are not the most "in depth" devotional readings you'll get, but I found it interesting to see what they took away from each state and how they related their trips/visits to Biblical principles. Each state contains a short story, a reflection question, a Bible verse, and prayer suggestion/direction.

I look forward to going back and spending more time with the reflections and prayers.

I received a copy through LibraryThing Early Reviewers which asks for but does not require an honest review in return.

I rate this between a 3 and a 4 star book.

Despite the back cover blurb indicating that this is a stand alone book and it isn't necessary to have read the first 3, I felt lost at the beginning. I wasn't sure who was who or what was going on.

What I liked:
*the Christian mindset--a church that isn't caught up with all the trappings or the offering but who just want to study the Bible.

What I disliked:
*To my mind, Malachi did have an "emotional affair" (or whatever Annie called it). To be fair to Malachi, he didn't act on his feelings or thoughts--but he also didn't "flee" them like I would have expected him to. Maybe this is just a difference in male vs. female perceptions. He might not have meant to do so, but he did and I didn't see him repent of it very much.

*The songs--I'm one who likes songs but I like to be able to hear the music along with the words and there's lots of words but no music to relate them to. Sometimes it was easier to skip over the song lyrics--even though I'm sure the author chose to put them there for a reason.

This is about on par for the series. There are several "mysteries":

*What was Jillian up to with the league?
*Who killed Jillian?
*Who injured Marco?
*What's up with Peyton's cat that has the tabloids so interested?

Also, a mystery I created--a book or two ago, there was talk of opening a branch of the juice bar on the island--this book, no thoughts about or mentions of it. So what happened? Did the location not work out? Did they decide to focus on the cafe for now and once that's more established move forward with the juice bar idea? It just seems to disappear with no explanation.

This is about on par for the genre. I did think there were too many episodes of people not talking to each other about important things.

Maddie's friend Katrina gets into hot water over a feral cat community in/near an exclusive area.

Leo's trying to help investigate that but not discussing his findings with Maddie--is that because of Leo's preferred method of investigation (which Maddie references at least twice) and Maddie's impatience or something more?

Lucas returns after a month-long unexplained absence. Maddie pretty much refuses to talk to him or even listen to an explanation. I get she's been burned in the past but . . . she's got family and friends who are vouching for him being "a good guy" and encouraging her to at least hear his explanation.

Katrina hides an episode from her past and why she was meeting Virgil and that she's dating.

The residents of Turtle Cove and Sea Spray Lane seem to be hiding a bunch of things.

I got this when it was free on Amazon and have read other holiday brides books.

I guess based on the title, I should have guessed what would happen on Valentine's Day, but I didn't.

I'm giving it 4 stars because of the Biblical life lessons involved.

I'm still having trouble believing that it took 4 years for one or the other to approach the other one. Apparently there was attraction on both sides but neither knew of the other's interest. But then when they do start talking to each other, they end up married within a couple weeks so that he can protect her without damaging her reputation.

And it's all because her friend (a cop) gets arrested on trumped up charges that she refuses to believe.

The Hollister family travels to Sea Gull Beach to participate in a kite contest and to help look for a sunken ship.

I've enjoyed the Cat Cafe mysteries I've read so far.

This one takes place in winter, when the island is mostly long-timers. The cat cafe is slow but an author uses it as a workplace until he is killed. But that's not the only mystery! Ava Rose claims that the yacht club is missing ship replicas and draws Val and Maddie into the case with her.

Looking back, there are some clues as to who killed the author that I missed because they didn't seem important at the time.

Also, the title reminds me of an Edgar Allen Poe short story, but that story doesn't seem to have any relation to this one.

I'm currently going back to read titles in the series that I missed. That said, if I'd read this in publishing order I might have rated it slightly higher than I do now.

Oddly, the book lets us think one person is the apprentice of another and then changes that at the reveal. Another apprentice idea is Dallas using some of her Master Wu lessons--not that she's really his apprentice but she apparently is learning some things from his lessons.

I've not ever been good with historical timelines--I'm not sure if this was written before, during, or after some of the early school shootings--it's just very hard to read about a 15 year old being involved in death.

I was introduced to this series quite a few years ago in a book group and I've been going back to read titles I missed in the series.

Overall I didn't like this one as much as some of the titles in the series. With reading the title, I kept wondering which male character from the series had a brother. Roarke, as far as I know, does not have a biological brother though he might consider some of his childhood mates like brothers. Peabody (a female) has brothers but not sure she'd be included in "brotherhood". Most of the other males in the series (McNab, Feeney, Jenkinson, Reineke, Baxter, Trueheart, Whitney, Morris, Mira, Berenski) haven't had brothers mentioned that I recall.

The brotherhood in the title refers to a group of men, one of whom is Dennis Mira's cousin. And while I did appreciate learning a little more about Mr. Mira, the rest of the book was a series of sad events.

Somehow, although I managed to read most of this series in order, I skipped this one without realizing it until recently.

I enjoyed the book but felt the ending was a bit rushed. Stephanie (and Ranger) hit wall after wall trying to figure out who sabotaged the Bogart Ice Cream factory, then all of a sudden it all falls into place because the bad guy thinks she's put together what's going on (when to that point no one had) and tips his hand. Might Ranger have gotten there eventually? Probably.

I also feel like the author has given up on finding unique ways/humorous ways to have Stephanie lose vehicles. Running a car into a tree/telephone pole isn't very unique. And blowing up vehicles has been used in the past in this series.

This appears to have been written to include in a collection of stories based on Lewis Carroll's works. I don't really like these shorter ones as I feel much of the feel of the series ends up cut to allow for the length. I also didn't really see much connection to the Lewis Carroll stories--there were symbols used that are the same, but I also got the sense that Robb could have used imagery from a completely different literary work and the story would have been similar.

I was introduced to this series in a book club and have read other titles but not in publishing order. I'm currently going back to read titles I missed.

Trueheart's detective exam happens.

After a disposed dead body with a carved heart with initials ends up in Dallas's lap and a search discovers like crimes, a deputy from the Midwest turns up with additional information, and Dallas and her group get to work to find the serial killer couple.

3.5 stars--I enjoyed the background plots moreso than the main plot.

I'm currently going back to read titles in this series that I missed. Dallas and Peabody catch a case just a few days before the annual Christmas party. The victim is a personal trainer--later found to have operated several side hustles.

I didn't see the twist about who killed him coming.

I actually enjoyed the subplots about the preparations for the party and the party itself more than the homicide plot.

This novella appears to have been written for a collection loosely based on fairy tales--Hansel and Gretel in this case.

It was an interesting modern adaptation of the idea.

I was introduced to this series in a book club and now am going back to read titles I missed.

This one differs somewhat in that we know the identity of the killer early on.

The tie part appears to start in earnest in this book--something that I look forward to seeing in later novels in the series.

I was introduced to this series in a book group and have read others in the series though not always in publishing order. I'm currently going back to read titles in the series I missed.

Calculated--apt since the book starts with an accountant's/auditor's murder.

This book alternates between the main plot and the premiere of the Icove video--a nice dichotomy.

I wanted to like it. I mean, it's about a published author who's struggling to finish the final book in her series. I even felt a bit sorry for Libby, who finds out she has early onset dementia.

But after a while Libby's anxiety, quirks, in combination with her dementia symptoms bogged down the story--at least for me. I was ready for the plot to move on long before it did.

It's been a while since I read a romance that I would say put Christianity at the forefront.

Lauren is a Christian. She's not presented as perfect. She has a past she regrets and struggles at times to believe it's forgiven. She's bipolar and struggles with that. She's got a "plan" but isn't sure where her job should be. She's got self-doubts and self-esteem problems.

Lauren meets movie star Tyler Stevens when she has to pick up her dad from Tyler's house. Tyler introduces her to Adam Riley (musician).

From the start Adam and Lauren seem to have more in common than Tyler and Lauren. But Lauren seems hung up on Tyler (even though he's not a Christian), despite warnings from her dad.

There's a lot of twists and turns to the story. And yes, it's a bit "Cinderella"-ish ending.

American Sign Language Finger Spelling alphabet and numbers 0-9.

Not meant to be a full course on ASL but does contain some helpful hints. Even though I thought I knew the alphabet (except for p and q), I learned I was mistaken on a few finger placements.

It's a good reference book even though finger spelling has limited uses.

This short story was an Amazon First Reads extra.

One theme seems to be "fame is fleeting". No matter what you do, the likelihood is that someone else is going to become the next "it" person. Some adapt more gracefully than others. Some people do still maintain a level of fame long-term, even if they're not the one on the magazine covers.

Another theme seems to be "what goes around, comes around". Veronica set up a scandal to derail Gloria's career and won an Oscar in the process. Sienna does the same to Veronica. Luca fell in love with Veronica when she was leading lady on his film (even though he wasn't married at the time) and repeats the event with Dakota (while being married).

First book in a series (and an Amazon First Reads pick).

Emily Tizzano is a former Chicago police officer who now takes cold cases (missing persons?) that she wants to take. This installment takes her to Stockton, Ohio where 12 years prior a recent graduate went missing while hiking in a national forest.