Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder

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NetGalley ARC Book Review of A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder
A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder opens with Hope Early preparing for the annual Jingle Bell Stroll. When the person playing Santa Claus is murdered, Hope knows she must find out how and why it happened. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just the one I needed to read to help me get in the mood for Christmas. I know that it sounds weird since it's a cozy mystery where people are murdered, but it was full of holiday activities including caroling, a holiday market, making wreaths, picking out a Christmas tree, and more. The caroling event especially made me think of my childhood when the neighborhood kids along with a few adults would go door to door around the neighborhood to sing Christmas carols. We would have luminaries lit on both sides of the street as well.

All of the characters, minus one or two of them, were very likable, and despite me not having read any of the other books in the series, it wasn't hard to keep them straight. Additionally, the friendliness of the characters drew me into the story, and I felt a sense of community if that makes sense. I guess it reminded me of all my neighbors where I grew up. Even though the main character, Hope, does a lot of things with her church, it doesn't come across as too religious, as in the story doesn't push any religion down your throat, which is a plus. 

As for figuring out who the culprit of the murders was, I had a couple of characters in mind, but I ended up being so completely and utterly wrong. Debra Sennefelder did a fantastic job of misdirection and throwing suspicion on other other people. Overall, I loved the sense of community in this book and will likely read other cozy mysteries by this author. Four out of five stars.


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