The Running Bibliophile

The Light from my Menorah, Celebrating Holidays Around the World  by Robin Heald and Andrea Blinck is a children's book about a boy being taken around the world via the light from his menorah. In his travels, he visits different holiday festivals. Thank you, NetGalley, for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book. I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I think it's important for children to learn about other holidays around the world in a fun way. However, I expected a little more description during the actual story to correspond with the illustrations instead of it being included in the author's note. I feel like the adults will have to explain the point of the book to children. With that being said, the writing was absolutely beautiful, and the illustrations are fantastic. Four out of five stars is what I gave The Light from my Menorah, Celebrating Holidays Around the World by Robin Heald and Andrea Blinck for taking the initiative to

A Murderous Plot (The Bookstore Mystery, #6)   by Sue Minix opens with a man covered in blood, stumbling towards the running track where Jen and Eric are running. The man doesn't know who he is or what happened to him. After the unknown man is rushed to the hospital, Eric and the Riddleton Police Department start their investigation, and of course, Jen sticks her nose into it as she wants to find out who the mystery man is and what happened. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was absolutely thrilled to be approved for this book as Sue Minix has become one of my favorite authors. This latest installment was intriguing. I had trouble putting it down because I had no idea who the murderer could be and thought there had to be more than one. There were lots of motives! Sue Minix definitely had me stumped on this book. With that being said, I felt like the ending was a little rushed, which was the reason I ga

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret  by Judy Blume is told from the perspective of Margaret, who has recently moved to New Jersey and is dealing with a lot of things a girl at this age typically deals with. Margaret has to deal with making new friends and is questioning religion. Additionally, she and her new friends are entering the sixth grade and are juggling the trials and tribulations of being a tween and going through puberty, including school dances, boy/girl parties, getting their first bra, etc. Judy Blume does a great job of what a child might experience in these situations and additionally does a great job dealing with how a child might question religion. I thought the story was well written and was handled delicately. I do suggest that parents have a conversation with their child after they read the book to answer any questions they may have. There were some situations that I could relate to, but there were others that I didn't relate to at all. I remem

Sentenced To Murder (The Bookstore Mystery,  #5)  by Sue Minix opens with Jen trying to solve another mystery where a young man named Jaylon is in jail for murdering his brother Ewon, but the body has never been found. Additionally, Jaylon needs a kidney transplant, but he can't receive it while in jail. Can Jen find new evidence to exonerate Jaylon? So far, I'd have to say that this installment is my absolute favorite in the series. There were lots of red herrings throughout the story. One of the people I suspected was Madame Crystal and thought she might be the biological mother of Ewon. Other people I suspected were Ewon's adoptive parents, Detective Conway, Penelope, and even possibly Ewon's third friend. At one point, I even wondered if Ewon was still alive. I finally narrowed it down to one of two people but wasn't sure who was the murderer. You'll have to read the book to find out if one of my suspicions was correct! There was one scene in the book that h

A Cover For Murder (The Bookstore Mystery, #4) by Sue Minix picks up where the last installment ends, and Jen is still working on her next novel but gets some bad news regarding her bookstore. While struggling with how to keep it open, Jen finds out that a woman by the name of Mara is planning on opening another bookstore in town. After having a disagreement with Mara, Jen becomes the prime suspect when Mara is found murdered. Will Jen be able to prove her innocence? This cozy series has become one of my favorite cozy mystery series and gets better with each installment. I am so glad that the author is quickly writing sequels so I don't have to wait long in between each story. Patience is not one of my best virtues! In this installment, I narrowed the culprit down between two different characters and couldn't figure out which one was actually the murderer or if they were working together. There was another character that some suspicion was thrown on, but I never re

Triptych (Will Trent, #1)  by Karin Slaughter is the first installment of the Will Trent book series. GBI Agent Will Trent is assigned to a case where women are being murdered and their tongues bitten off. Is this a case of a copycat or the original murderer starting to kill again? I discovered this series because of the ABC Television Show Will Trent that's based on the Karin Slaughter book series. I already was familiar with the author but hadn't read any of her books, but I fell in love with the television show, so I knew I had to read the books. When I picked up Triptych , I wondered how closely the show would mimic the novels. For the most part, the two coincide quite a bit, but there is one HUGE difference, which I will not be revealing here because it's a significant spoiler to the book. Slaughter provided lots of twists and turns throughout the story and had me second guessing myself. However, I correctly guessed who murdered everyone relatively early on

A Chapter On Murder (The Bookstore Mystery, #3) by Sue Minix opens with the town of Riddleton, South Carolina starting off the Christmas season with their annual Christmas parade along with the town preparing for their annual decorating contest when Jen and her employee, Charlie, find a dead man behind the bookstore. As the local detectives begin investigating the case and pinpoint it on Marcus, Jen knows she has to help prove his innocence. The Bookstore Mystery series has become one of my favorite series. It just has a fun vibe, and I enjoy trying to figure out the who, what, when, and where. In this latest edition, I came close to figuring out who the culprit was but was wrong in the end. Sue Minix did a great job throwing suspicion on several people. I love the characters, especially Jen Dawson. I love how quirky she is and that she's an over thinker because I can relate to her. Brittany, Charlie, and Eric are super likable too.  Even Jen's mom has grown on me.

The Doll's House: A Short Story by Lisa Unger is expected to be published on September 12, 2024 and is about Jules and her daughter Scout moving in with Jules' fiance named Kirin. Like Jules and Scout, he's lost loved ones and wants to make them feel safe and secure. However, strange things start happening in the house and on the property. Is Jules imagining it, or is it real? I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy ARC of this short story. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. Lisa Unger is one of my favorite authors and the cover art is amazing, so I was excited to read this latest story by her. Told from alternating perspectives of Jules and Scout, the story was engaging and hard to put down. It has a familiar feel to it, and I let my mind go wild with different theories of where Lisa Unger was going with it. None of my theories panned out, which I'm glad about.  Since The Doll's House is a short story, the