Roberta Reads

Wisteria Wyverns by Angela Pepper My rating: 4 of 5 stars 🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧 A very enjoyable mystery, with all the usual magic, sass etc. The narration was excellent, as always. View all my reviews

Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident by Gail Carriger My rating: 5 of 5 stars 🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧 An excellent book. It was so much fun to finally find out what happened when Alexia and Conall first met - the Hedgehog Incident. As the author warns us, you definitely won’t get as much out of this if you’ve not read at least Soulless, but if (like me) you’ve read all the author’s books, there are so many wonderful references and little nuggets about well loved characters. The narration was excellent, and the result thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely one I’ll be listening to over and over! View all my reviews

The Case of the Blue Violet by Robin Stevens My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fun, very short case in this excellent series. It was great to see things from a different point of view as well, it did make me chuckle. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re a fan of the series. I’m not sure how well it would work if you haven’t read any of the full length books though. View all my reviews

Betwixt by Darynda Jones My rating: 5 of 5 stars I had so much fun with this book. Defiance (aka Dephne) is such a great character. She’s clearly been through a rough time, but she’s not going to let that stop her. She’s moved to a new town, to a house mysteriously left to her, and discovers new abilities. I love the chapter headings (that’s not the right word, but the little quote at the top), I love all the characters, and the character development. I love the magic. I’m so looking forward to reading the next book in the series, and getting to know the characters even more, this book just wasn’t enough! View all my reviews

Starfell: Willow Moss and the Forgotten Tale by Dominique Valente My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have not read the previous book in this series, but the cover and description looked fun, so I decided to go for it. I am therefore reviewing this book as a standalone. I enjoyed this book, it is a fun, magical adventure, with lots of interesting characters. I thought it worked well by itself, though it is clearly part of an overarching story too. I liked Willow, she’s very accepting of people who are different to her. The world was an intriguing one, I loved the magical plants particularly. It’s clear that dark forces are gathering in Starfell, and I’ll be on the lookout for the next book, to find out what happens. A fun adventure that is well worth reading, full of interesting and unusual characters. I’d definitely recommend this book. I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own. View all my reviews

Spring Tides at Swallowtail Bay: The perfect laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for summer! by Katie Ginger My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed this book, it was pleasant and easy to read. The romance was gentle, and didn’t really start until half way through the story. I thought the friendship between Stella and Lexi was lovely to see, and there were many interesting characters. Not to mention Frank (the dog). I’d love to read another book set in the same place, focussing on other characters. The guests that Stella had staying in the holiday lets gave me a good few chuckles. Although a couple of phrases (too handsome to be single, and feeling guilty being every woman’s default mode) annoyed me, this book was an excellent and relaxing way to while away a few hours. I’d definitely recommend it. I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own. View all my reviews

The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was excellent. It’s all about 5 orphans who are just a little different to everyone else, and how they find their place in the world. It mostly centres on Milou trying to find her parents, but there’s so much more to this story! It’s a fun adventure, it’s just a little bit creepy, and the ending is so satisfying. I love the relationships between the five children. I adore the illustrations, which are so perfect for the story, and a delight to look at. I really hope that there will be sequels to this book, detailing how the other children came to be at the orphanage. I would be particularly interested in reading Egg’s story. If you love tales of found family, exciting adventure, and finding your own place in the world, with just a little gothic creepiness, this is the book for you. I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own. View all my reviews

Watchful Wisteria by Angela Pepper My rating: 3 of 5 stars 🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧 I did not enjoy this book quite as much as the previous ones in the series. It had all the things I love about the series - the mystery, the magic, the sass, the relationship between Zara and her daughter Zoe. However, although the narration was, in general, excellent (as always), the voice assigned to Zara’s father really, really grated on me. I think it’s meant to be Irish, and I can’t speak to its accuracy (I’ve not heard enough different Irish accents), but as it was a large part of this story, it rather detracted from my enjoyment. I will persist with the series, as hopefully he’s not in all of them, but I might read this one as an ebook next time around! View all my reviews

A Quiet Life in the Country by T E Kinsey My rating: 5 of 5 stars 🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧 I had so much fun with this audiobook. Having read and enjoyed the ebook of Death Beside the Seaside (Book 6 of this series), and had the audiobooks recommended to me, it was an easy choice to get this and book 2 when I saw them in an Audible 2 for 1 sale. I definitely have not regretted it! The story itself is a fun and lighthearted murder mystery, and fits well into the cozy crime genre. The banter between Lady Hardcastle and Miss Armstrong was so entertaining, and speaks to a deep and long lasting friendship. I enjoyed the mystery itself, and didn’t guess the culprit right near the start, which is definitely a bonus for me. I thought the portrayal of the inspector was great (apologies, I cannot remember his name). He appears to be the cliched policeman who leaps to conclusions initially, but there’s a lot more to him. By the end of the book, I really liked him...

The Cornish Cream Tea Summer: Part One – All You Knead is Love by Cressida McLaughlin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a promising start to the second book set aboard Gertie, the Cornish Cream Tea Bus. I enjoyed it a lot, and look forward to reading the following three (I assume) parts. Delilah is an interesting character, although a little irresponsible (leaving before the day is over on her first full day at the film set), she seems warm hearted and lovable. I really hope she will be able to keep her promise to herself to be more responsible with her cousin’s livelihood. It’s lovely to return to the familiar place and people from the previous book in the series, though we haven’t seen a huge amount of them so far. If you like a fun summer romance, this looks like it’s set to be a good one. I was given a free copy of this book. My opinions are my own. View all my reviews