Book Review: The Little Bee by Nicola Killen

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The Little Bee  by Nicola Killen  is a children's picture book about a girl name Ollie who follows a bee to a magical, secret garden. But, the next day, the beautiful garden was gone, and the little girl misses her new friends. What will she do? This beautiful book has an expected publication date of May 5, 2026. I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Beach Lane Books for approving my request for a digital Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Little Bee . I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. Nicola Killen wrote such a beautifully worded story that I found myself immersed in the story, and I'm not even the target audience. It's a charming tale that should encourage children to explore nature and make them want to plant their own secret garden.  Equally beautiful were the illustrations. I found myself taking the time to actually look a the pictures as I read. It's a great story to read   at bedtime  with ch...
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Book Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

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An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena left me in awe. Written in alternating narratives, the reader definitely gets several points of view of the story line, and you never know if they're being a reliable narrator. I had three people that I suspected of being the murderer, and none of them ended up being the killer. I did briefly have a fourth person I suspected, but I quickly dismissed him / her and that is who it ended up being. 

What I loved about An Unwanted Guest is that it was a bit different from Shari Lapena's other novels, and it was very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, aka Ten Little Indians, and Murder On The Orient Express. In fact, I think Lapena gives Agatha Christie a run for her money with this book. It was that fabulous! There are just not enough words for me describe how enthralling this book was. I ended up staying up into the wee hours of the night to finish it because I just had to know what happened before I went to bed. Thank goodness today is a holiday, and I didn't have to work today!!

Mitchell's Inn is a remote lodge in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. As guests begin to arrive on a Friday afternoon, the weather is becoming quite treacherous, and even though there were a lot of guests booked for the weekend, many decide to stay at home, and several of the employees can't make it to the lodge for work. When the snow turns into a blizzard and cuts off the electricity, the guests and hotel owners settle in for the long haul. But, then the unexpected happens . . . someone dies. It appears to be an accident, but then two other bodies are found, and everyone is a suspect.

The only negative thing, which really isn't a negative, I can say about An Unwanted Guest is that it took me about 15 to 20 pages to really get into the book, so if you struggle at the beginning of the book, stay with it because it is definitely worth the read. Shari Lapena is becoming one of my favorite authors, and I can't wait to read more from her. Apparently, she has another novel with an expected publication of July 30, 2019 called Someone We Know, and I am on pins and needles for it to come out!

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