Book Review: Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys (Mrs. Claus, #4) by Liz Ireland

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Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys (Mrs. Claus, #4) by Liz Ireland is the fourth book in the Mrs. Claus book series and is about a turkey that was ordered for Mrs. Claus by the elves that work for her and her husband Nick, also known as Santa Claus, for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday that Mrs. Claus has introduced to Santaland.  Chaos breaks out when the turkey has been kidnapped and Nick's cousin has been murdered. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys (Mrs. Claus, #4) by Liz Ireland.  When my request to read this book was approved, I was happy to receive this novel for free in exchange for my honest review. My first foray into this series was a novella that was a part of collected works, and I thought the story was just okay, so I was happy to see that the series does get better.  It still is a cozy mystery and a bit young for my taste, but it was a lot more interesting.  This is a series that I
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Book Review: Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

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Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau is a coming of age novel taking place in Baltimore, Maryland. During the 1970's, fourteen year old Mary Jane is caught in the middle of her family's conservative ideals and the progressive ideals of the Cone family where she is a summer nanny. Mary Jane is a sheltered teen who enjoys cooking with her mother, listening to Broadway Show Tunes, and singing in the church choir. On the first day of work, she is shocked at the mess in the Cone's home and introduces them to home cooked meals and keeping the house clean. In return, Mary Jane gets a front row seat to sex, drugs, and rock & roll.

This novel was the selected for the book club I belong to. Again, this is a novel that I likely wouldn't have chosen to read on my own, but I was glad I did. Mary Jane is the first novel I've read by Jessica Anya Blau, and I was impressed with her storytelling. 

Touching on race, class, and stereotypes, along with drugs and infidelity, it reminded me that there are people who still hold the conservative beliefs that many held in the 1970's. I loved the fact that Mary Jane was exposed to different viewpoints that she normally didn't hear and began to question the world around her, eventually leading to her developing her own opinions. Jessica Anya Blau got the tone and perspective of a teenager perfect in my opinion. Although the story is told from a child's perspective, it is not suitable for young children to read.

Some might find the beginning of the story a bit slow like I did, but as the story developed, I found it to be more interesting and couldn't wait to find out how the tale would unfold. The majority of the characters were likable and most were well developed. I found myself caring what would happen to them, even the ones I didn't particularly like. I wasn't sure if Mary Jane would have an ending I would enjoy, but surprisingly, I was satisfied with how the author wrapped it up.

All in all, I gave Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau four out of five stars. I will likely read other novels written by this author, and I would love to see her write a sequel to this book.


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