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: You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mysteries, #5) by Linda Reilly

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NetGalley ARC Book Review You Feta Watch Out by Linda Reilly
You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mysteries, #5) by Linda Reilly was published on November 19, 2024. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. When I started hearing some buzz about this book on Threads and Instagram from people who had received an ARC, I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy, so I am thankful for NetGalley providing me a copy.

This is the first book I've read by Linda Reilly, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I loved the fact that it revolved around a Christmas play and the holiday season. Despite a murder taking place in the story, it was still full of holiday cheer, which is helping put me in the mood for the upcoming holidays.

There were quite a few characters, and it took me a bit to keep them straight, especially when it came to Gina and Nina. Most of the characters were quite likable. Reilly did a fantastic job of throwing suspicion on quite a few people and making me second guess myself. I did end up incorrectly guessing who was the murderer, but I was able to figure out the connection between the cosmetologist and the murder victim.

As far as dislikes, I had very few of them. One dislike was that there were a couple of points that were reiterated a time too many. Other than that, it bugged me that instead of describing the characters taking off their coats, gloves, etcetera, the author kept mentioning that the characters took off their outerwear.

Those two things aside, I really enjoyed the story and gave it four out of five stars. I do plan on reading the rest of the series at some point.

Synopsis: The town of Balsam Dell is preparing to watch the dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol when the lead of the play is found dead in his dressing room. Restaurant owner Carly must exonerate her friend Gina as the main suspect as she helps the police investigate on her own time. Can Carly solve this crime?

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