Saturday, July 5, 2025

"Chaos we Unravel" by Chelsea Michelle

About this book:

  “A woman’s scream. A mysterious fire. And an entire town of suspects.
    Fourth of July is a day twins Chelsea and Michelle look forward to every year. In Maple Springs, it means a day of community, celebration, and family fun.
    When chaos erupts in the heart of the town picnic, Michelle cannot resist the urge to straighten it out. While she starts to chase down leads, Chelsea tries hard not to be drawn into the chaos.
    As sunset falls, Michelle is determined to unravel the chaos before the real culprit escapes. With each clue she discovers, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, turning an ordinary Fourth of July into an adventure that Chelsea didn’t sign up for.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Watson Twins Mini Mystery” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers & praising God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A mention of church; 
             *Note: Chelsea & Michelle share a twin connection where they can have internal conversations with the other; The phrases “hotter than blazes” and someone running like the “devil himself” was after him are both said once; A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crap’, a ‘duh’, a ‘geeze’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘suckers’, two ‘drat’s, and four ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Pain, Injuries, & Blood/Bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); All about & many mentions of a fire, thieves, stealing, & stolen money; Mentions of guns & gunshots; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; 
             *Note: A mention of brand names (Under Armor); A mention of Scooby Doo.
 
 
Sexual Content- A bit of touches & fluttering (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Women are called “chicks” (by main characters’ and their brother); Michelle is concerned that she might fall out of love again and wants chemistry with a guy; A comment about college girls being “notorious” for falling in love with older men, but another says “Wrong. they fall in love with hunky college professions”; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, interest in someone, break-ups, & exes; Mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of winks; A mention of cheating.
 
-Michelle Watson
-Chelsea Watson
                                1st person P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        114 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

It was fun to read a mystery set on the Fourth of July on the Fourth of July. ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ðŸ§¨ ðŸŽ†

 

As far as the story, I liked how this mystery was a bit low-key and had no murders. It took a little bit for me to remember the characters and their backgrounds—and I pretty got Michelle and Chelsea mixed up a few times at least, but it eventually came back to me. There were enough suspects that could have felt overwhelming, but the authors did well on making it easy on my brain to keep straight. I will say that I’m finding Michelle a little annoying though, particularly because of her messy dating life and wanting chemistry with a guy. I’m going to need her to get it together or it’s going to be difficult to read the next book in the series. ðŸ˜…

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 





*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

Friday, July 4, 2025

"A Will and a Way" by Johnnie Alexander

About this book:

  “Spring has arrived, and Harriet Bailey teams up with wildlife rehabilitator Garth Hamblin on an intriguing quest—tracking down an injured European pine marten. No one has seen more than a glimpse of the elusive endangered species for many years. Garth hopes that together they can find and protect it. But can they do it quickly and quietly before someone else finds the creature?
    Meanwhile, Harriet is happy to meet White Church Bay’s newest arrivals, Elena Hunter and her son, Jack. When the two move into a neglected seaside cottage, the local gossips invent outlandish stories about them. But then the newcomers’ lives are threatened, and Harriet rallies to their defense…although she cannot deny that she is curious about them. Why are they in town in the first place? Why is Elena so cagey about her past and Jack’s? And will their secrets put Harriet and her loved ones in danger?”


Series: Book #11 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, and Book #10!


Spiritual Content- 1 Corinthians 13:13 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Talks about God & those and events in the Bible; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, children’s church, Bible studies, & a pastor; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of faith & having faith; A mention of miracles; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck; A mention of a movie showing a cat going to the “feline afterlife”
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘dumb’; Some eye rolling; A fire, Trying to rescue someone in a fire, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone faint & another trapped in a fire (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of injured animals, mistreated animals, blood/bleeding, broken bones, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including her doing surgeries & a dog that was hit by a car, a cat that was rescued from a burning trash can, and dog being left to starve to death, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including from a boating accident & cancer; for wives, siblings, & parents); Mentions of accidents (including a biker being hit by a car and someone being trapped in a fire), injuries, pain, passing out, & it being touch and go for someone due to injuries; Mentions of poisons & someone being poisoned by someone who wants them ill; Mentions of crimes (including a hit-and-run), criminals, & arrests; Mentions of a break-in & intruder; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of the events in Book #4 that involved sibling rivalry and a near tragedy; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a pub; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of car accidents; A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of a woman hiding from her abusive husband; A mention of being bullied;
             *Note: Harriet thinks about women she knew that had relationships with others that were full of competition and backstabbing rather than the “unconditional love and support that characterized healthy friendships”; Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters and events (The Brontë Sisters’ books); Mentions of a movie (The Three Lives of Thomasina); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of comedians (The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, & Jerry Lewis); A mention of BBC; A mention of Queen Elizabeth; A mention of a horror movie. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; A bit of touches, embraces, butterflies, smelling, & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Harriet thinks about her broken engagement and is concerned that she could be mistaken again about being in love; Mentions of dates, dating, break-ups, & a broken engagement; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of being smitten; A mention of a woman throwing herself at a man; A bit of love, being in love, & the emotions; 
             *Note: Harriet has a moment of self-consciousness when around a glamorous woman.
 
-Harriet Bailey, age 34 (?)
                                P.O.V. of Harriet 
                                                        240 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Book eleven in this cozy mystery series introduces new characters, some familiar faces, and also a couple mysteries with a lot of details to keep up with. I will say that it did take me a bit to get into this mystery, but I kept reading and found the plot interesting as different things were revealed. 

 

It was interesting to learn about the pine marten which aren’t actually endangered but are adorable. This book had a lot more of Harriet being a veterinarian and fixing up hurt animals, probably the most out of the whole series so far. There was a some suspense at the end too that I wasn’t expecting and I look forward to seeing what happens next for these characters.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

"The Mermaid's Tale" by L.E. Richmond

About this book: 

  “A Tail Could Tell a Tale
   Locklyn Adair has never fit in. The legs she inherited as a result of her great-great-grandmother’s curse make it impossible for her to belong under the sea. When her niece is also born without a tail, Locklyn is determined to save her from similar rejection by sending her to the only place in the Undersea Realm where legs are acceptable—the Lost Island of Atlantis.
    Darin Aalto would do anything to protect his family, even spearheading an impossible quest to find treasure that has been lost for over a hundred years. But when his best friend, Locklyn, joins his crew, his ability to keep her safe—and his shot at winning her heart—comes perilously close to being swept away.
    A family curse, lost treasure, unrequited love, and a race against time intertwine as Locklyn and Darin seek to save their family, their kingdom, and eventually the entire Undersea Realm without losing each other.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Chronicles of the Undersea Realm”.


Spiritual Content- Matthew 8:17 at the beginning; Prayers to the “Wave Master”; A couple talks about the Wave Master; ’H’s are capital when referring to the Wave Master; Darin isn’t afraid of death because “death is just a door, leading to the realm where we will see the Wave Master face-to-face”; Darin hears/feels the Wave Master talking to him about resting in Him; Mentions of the Wave Master; Mentions of prayers, praying, & praising and thanking the Wave Master; A few mentions of a prophetess at a Wave Master’s temple telling someone about an event that will happen (which comes true); A couple mentions of the Wave Master’s Realm; A mention of a hymn about the Wave Master; 
             *Note: Fictional phrases are said and exclaimed like: “What in the Wave Master’s name” once, “Master of the Waves” once, and “Wave Master knows” twice; Locklyn is called a “witch” thrice (because of her legs and being able to sing); Most Crura (mermaids or mermen that are born with legs instead of a tail) have a “Land Dweller” in their ancestry, but Locklyn’s legs are a result of an ancestor crossing the Sea Enchantress; Locklyn’s ancestor made a deal with the Sea Enchantress to gain legs for her tail and was supposed to give her voice to the enchantress as a payment, but the ancestor didn’t keep her end of the deal and so the enchantress cursed her lineage; Locklyn is able to sing spells and it affects wild creatures or merfolk to sometimes do what she wants (such as singing them a lullaby to force sleep or calm them from attacking); Falling in enchanted sleep (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of magic, the Sea Enchantress, her cursing a mermaid for not keeping her part of a deal, her dark magic, spells, enchantments, & sorcerers; Mentions of Locklyn and another singing to control or influence other merfolk or wild creatures; Mentions of sirens (described as a torso of a woman and has the bottom half of a squid); A few mentions of evil; A mention of another kingdom who “worship” science.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’, a ‘suck-up’, two forms of ‘blast/blasted’, and eight forms of ‘stupid’; Fictional phrases are all said and exclaimed like: “why/how under the sea” nine times, giving or not giving “two periwinkles” about something four times, “for the love of everything under the sea” once, and “great blue whales” once; Mentions of curses (said but not written, including by Darin); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Eavesdropping; Lots of Fighting (including for the characters’ lives and against dangerous predators), Being choked, Being held at knife-point and holding others at knife-point, Knocking others out, Being attacked, Being tied-up and arrested, Being drugged, Grief, Major pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Passing out, & Near-death situations (semi-detailed); Seeing others killed (including by dangerous creatures, merfolk, and magic), attacked, slapped, beaten, killing creatures, & bleeding (semi-detailed); Finding skeletons (semi-detailed); A nightmare (that includes being chased by a merman who means her harm and being squeezed by a giant squid); Main characters imagine the other hurt or other worst case scenarios (including being killed, unconscious, attacked, or grabbed by those that mean ill, up to semi-detailed); Locklyn doesn’t know if she could kill a person and recalls weeping over having to kill a squid; Darin drinks, hopes to get drunk to avoid reality for a moment, and has a hangover (when Locklyn finds this out, she nags him about it); Many mentions of deaths & grief (including a ship wreck and the skeletons, a giant crab being able to shear someone in half with it’s claws, a monster instantly killing someone, & an explosion killing and injuring others; up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of fights, fighting, weapons, threats and threatening others, dangerous creatures and predators, killing, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of slave traders & kidnappings/abductions; Mentions of a possible war & attacks; Mentions of criminals, crimes, arrests, exile, & death sentences for breaking laws (including being worked to death in a dangerous place & being locked in a chamber with a poisonous octopus);  Mentions of stealing, stolen items, & thieves; Mentions of poison, poisonous creatures, & blow darts sedating others; Mentions of fighting, injuring, and killing dangerous creatures (including sharks); Mentions of a rumored monster that devours merpeople; Mentions of having to sacrifice dolphins for a plan; Mentions of explosions & explosives; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of gambling & betting on fights; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, getting drunk, hangovers, & tavern/bars; A few mentions of someone seeing their sibling violently killed (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of vomit; A few mentions of being bullied; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of murder and assassinations; A couple mentions of hunting; A mention of someone starting to consider taking their life (suicide) because of a past decision; A mention of a story about a Crura baby being kidnapped and fed to sharks; A mention of a concern that a baby died (she did not); A mention of a woman running away from home because of her abusive father; 
             *Note: Locklyn was abandoned by her parents when she was born with legs & faces a lock of prejudice because of being a “Crura“ (a mermaid with legs); Along with others calling her these names, Locklyn also calls herself a “freak” and a “social outcast” a few times; Many scenes of prejudice towards Locklyn and others like her who are born with legs & many mentions of it and hatred towards them (many of the negative comments and snide remarks are written out such as calling Crura “spindle-shanks” (derogatory name), a monster, and freaks; Locklyn is very concerned about her niece being hated and having to fight her way through life; A merman says Locklyn should have died when she was born and some of his comments poke at her insecurities (she says he is bigoted and “small souled”); A few mentions of another kingdom hunting Crura for sport); A couple mentions of historical figures (Sosthenes & Plato).
 
 
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss; Remembering a forehead kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Tingles, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering touches & embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including muscles and his bare chest, barely-above-not-detailed); Jealousy; A merman often leers and at Locklyn & it’s said that prior, he tried to “come on to” her and propositioned her in her hut; He later asks her for a kiss which disgusts her; When Locklyn comments that he doesn’t even see her as a person, he comments that it doesn’t matter because “you can be a lovely creature without being a person, can’t you?” (implying she does not have a soul and is a mutant of their kind); A man sneers about Darin having a “spindle-shanks” like Locklyn in his bed (untrue); Locklyn is concerned that a guard would let someone into her room to take “their way” with her; Locklyn says that romance is off the table for her until she can “bring a child into the world without being terrified they would be better off never entering it” (a guy grins at this news and says that “all the ladies” come looking for him eventually, implying she will as well); Locklyn is concerned that a guy is interested in her for something she has no interest in giving him without a ring on her finger & doesn’t want to fall for him if he only desires a fling; Darin has a worst case scenario moment where he imagines Locklyn being jerked into a building by a faceless merman; A mermaid flirts with Darin; Locklyn and Darin are hiding their feelings for each other (they’ve know each other since Locklyn was born, but Darin started to fall for her when she was sixteen and he was twenty-four); Mentions of a man leaving his wife for another woman whose older husband wasn’t giving her “the marital satisfaction she craved”; Mentions of unwanted advances & a merman “coming on to” Locklyn; Mentions of lovers; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of crushes/feelings for the other; A couple mentions of a king having a “fling” with someone that resulted in a child; A couple mentions of a teenage son leaving home to be with a mermaid; A mention of an affair; Love, being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A few mentions of labor (pain and moans, barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a mother dying in childbirth; A mention of a queen being “unable to produce an heir”.
 
-Locklyn, age 20 (?)
-Darin, age 28 (?)
                                P.O.V. switches between them in 1st (Locklyn) & 3rd (Darin)
                                                        286 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I had pretty high hopes for this book and really wanted to like it, but I ended up not enjoying it as much as I hoped for a lot of different reasons. We’ll get what I didn’t care for out of the way first. ðŸ˜…

 

For the first third of this book, I did struggle quite a bit with the plot because there is a lot of information thrown at the reader, but also backstories and history of all the mermaids and other countries and such. Which was interesting because there were also some parts I don’t think were explained quickly enough—like the idea of Atlantis and what is means for mermaids with legs like Locklyn. I definitely just had to keep reading to try to figure everything out and also to learn about the setting. 

 

While usually one POV being in 1st person and another in 3rd person wouldn’t usually bother me, I didn’t care for seeing Darin’s POV because of the writing style change. For his first few chapters, they felt a little clunky and awkward because of it, but it either eventually got better or I got used to it. I couldn’t quite picture what was happening in the action scenes, which I think was due to the writing style as I had a harder time when those scenes were told in Darin’s POV chapters. 

 

I didn’t personally love the romance as it felt strange to me due to Locklyn and Darin being in-laws and growing up together. I kept seeing him more as a big brother figure than a love interest and then their hemming and hawing over telling the other about their feelings got to be a little too “woe is me” for my tastes. I wanted to smack them to get it together or just forget about the other (oops, foreshadowing), I really didn’t care about the end result with their not-yet-a-romance relationship. At one point, she wants to apologize to him for being a “melodramatic, self-absorbed little fool” and I was honestly proud of her self-awareness in the moment because I had been basically calling her that for the majority of the book thus far. 

 

There were more sexual innuendos and suggestions than I was expecting in this book because of mermen who don’t see Locklyn as someone worthy of respect or even as another merperson. It was honestly pretty disgusting how one was always taunting and leering at her and I was just waiting for him to die, if I can be bluntly honest. 

 

Some scenes felt a little dark, particularly the mentions of mermaids being cut in half by a giant crab or a person witnessing their sibling’s death. 

 

I will say that once I was able to follow along, the book went by quickly—partially in part because of the page length being under 300 pages, but also because the author didn’t add filler to the plot. Everything mentioned had it’s importance and matter to the story, which I appreciated.

 

This book does end on a cliffhanger most readers would probably be upset about and be eager to read the sequel, but it didn’t bother me too much. I might continue to the next book, however, my library doesn’t have it, so I don’t know when that will be.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

Monday, June 30, 2025

"Miss Victoria" by Taylor Paige

About this book:

  “In England, 1820, Miss Victoria Fletcher wants nothing more than to be a spy along with her two older siblings, and she knows she could do it…if she could just be given the chance. Instead, she’s stuck at home, lonely, bored, and impatient as she waits for her chance to come. When it does finally arrive, she’s tasked with finding an insurrectionist and sent to the last place she ever wanted to a finishing school. Trying to find the rebel amongst all the students and teachers proves much more difficult than she first thought, and all of the deception is starting to bother her immensely. But she needs to hurry and find the enemy…before the enemy finds her. As she realizes there’s more to spying than just scaling walls, the thrill of getting an assignment quickly fades—but Victoria finds that God can still work this disappointment into something wonderful.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Savantor Spies” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Psalm 27:11 at the beginning & Ephesians 1:3 in the author’s acknowledgements; A few Scriptures are remembered, quoted, & mentioned; Prayers & Thanking God; Asking for help and forgiveness & Feeling peace; Church going & some of a sermon; A hymn is sung; Talks about God, Jesus, going to Him, & praying; Victoria wishes she had faith like her sister; Victoria feels pleased with the praise of others (noting that she knows that the Bible said pride was wrong, but couldn’t help it); After listening to a sermon about honoring Christ, Victoria wonders if there is a way to show God and bring Him honor through her art; Halfway through, Victoria feels guilt at the sudden realization that she hasn’t been praying for assistance or guidance; Victoria’s roommate talks to her about praying to God and feeling an answer from Him within her spirit; Victoria asks for God to forgive her for her lies; Mentions of God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, a rector, & sermons; Mentions of faiths & believers; A few mentions of Heaven & angels; A mention of a painting of Baby Jesus; A mention of Biblical morals and principles; 
             *Note: The phrases “Heaven forbid” and “heavens, no” are both said once; A few mentions of a story with a magical fairy and a magic world; A couple mentions of a painting having a “fictitious unicorn” with swirls of magic around it; A mention of young boys idolizing an older brother.
 

Negative Content- Fighting with knives (self-defense), Holding someone at knife-point, Being tied-up, Being abducted, Being drugged, Passing out, & Pain (semi-detailed); Eye rolling & Sarcasm (one time Victoria rolls her eyes, her uncle gives her a silent rebuke about it); Some eavesdropping; Victoria and the others lie because of their spying and she feels guilt about it, disobeying orders, & trespassing/invading people’s privacy while snooping (*Spoilers* At the end, Victoria tells her uncle and his boss that she does not think she’s meant to be a spy yet and that neither the sneaking about or lying came naturally to her and did not feel comfortable *End of Spoilers*); *Major Spoilers* Towards the end, Victoria is abducted by those apart of the insurrection and they try to convince her to help them by telling her about their peaceful goals, which gives her pause and concern that her family would be disappointed in her for failing her assignment; She wonders why she she cares for her family’s opinion when she’s her own person, but recalls a roommate telling her to pray about it and does; Victoria does not help the insurrectionists *End of Spoilers*; When Victoria learns about a criminal being hanged, it doesn’t sit well with her and she prays for God to have mercy on the person’s soul; All about & many mentions of insurrection, violence, & smuggling guns; Mentions of wars, fighting, & battles (including Napoleon and his exile); Mentions of deaths (including from murder and illnesses); Mentions of kidnappings/abductions & being drugged; Mentions of stealing & stolen items; Mentions of injuries, pain, & possible torture; Mentions of Victoria’s father leaving their family; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of a woman being married off to a cruel man and his verbal abuse; A few mentions of nightmares of violence; A couple mentions of possible hangings; A couple mentions of prison; A couple mentions of gambling & gamblers; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of murder being messy; 
             *Note: Victoria struggles with changes happening with her family/siblings and feeling lonely (once she calls herself selfish because of wanting to siblings to stay near and that is one of her flaws; *Spoiler* At the very end, Victoria is no longer afraid of change and knows that God is with her *End of Spoiler*); Victoria gets homesick and cries herself to asleep; Victoria snorts at the idea of being how society wants to see her (elegant, poised, proper, and dainty; none which are things she thinks she is); Mentions of books, fairytales, & authors (including Pride and Prejudice & Grimm fairytales); A mention of a man having an “exotic” appearance.
 
 
Sexual Content- A couple blushes; Uncle Jared dislikes Elizabeth’s suitor because of being protective of her (Uncle Jared tells Victoria to never get older and stay with their family forever, but Aunt Mercy says to do “whatever makes you happy”); Victoria notes that romance is far from her mind (partially because she’s fine where she is and also partially because of gaining her uncle and older brother’s approval of a suitor); Victoria witnesses a roommate and teacher (who is slightly older then the girls) blushing when around each other & another roommate blushing over a young man; Mentions of couples, crushes, & being smitten; Mentions of blushes & winks.
 
-Victoria Fletcher, age 17
                                1st person P.O.V. of Victoria
                                             Set in 1820 
                                                        331 pages


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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

It’s been seven years since the events in the first book in this series and now we’re following feisty Victoria, who is seventeen. I would definitely make sure you’ve read that prior book as this book references to events in that book and the ending quite a bit! I think you would be pretty confused if you didn’t. 

 

I will say that I found a few parts to be a little confusing, but I think that was because of all the new characters and keeping them straight. I made use of the search feature in my Kindle copy, which helped a lot! 

 

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the first book of the series more personally, but I do think this would be a good option for younger girls that have a higher reading level, but you still want the content to be very squeaky clean. There is a few side romances that we see glimpses of between Victoria’s older sister Elizabeth and her fellow, and then her roommates have apparent crushes on two men (one a teacher near her age), but there is no actual romance or such feelings for Victoria.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

Friday, June 27, 2025

"Mystery in Crooked Creek Woods" by Amanda Cleary Eastep

About this book:

  “Something fishy is going on in Crooked Creek Woods. Does it have anything to do with the weird lights coming from Ruthie’s neighbor’s yard? Or are the kids’ imaginations running away with them? After all, Jack and Ellison have been hard at work writing a mystery. The Tree Street Kids decide to investigate. Not only do they discover what’s been hidden for centuries in the woods, they also learn about placing their trust in the adults who love and care for them . . . but not before placing themselves in peril.”


Series: Book #4 in the “Tree Street Kids” series. Review of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, and Book #3 Here!


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted and thought over; A couple prayers; A couple talks about God & Jesus; 'H's are capital when referring to God & Jesus; Jack realizes he’s good at “praying in a pinch” but needs to “remember to pray more often the rest of the time”; Mentions of God & Jesus; A few mentions of praying; A couple mentions of a church’s trunk or treat event (on Halloween); A mention of a church’s VBS program (Book #2); A couple mentions of a Christian school; A mention of a youth pastor; 
             *Note: Midge buys a trilobite at a festival & while the fact note about them does not mention evolution, it says that “these creatures lived in shallow seas long ago but are now extinct” (mentions of trilobites after this as well): To avoid taking about a beloved pet fish’s death, it’s said about the fish going to the “big fish bowl in the sky” (twice); A boy calls his mother “Mothership” as her code name over walk-talkies (twice); A (teasing) mention of UFOs.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘duh’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘holy moly’, and two sassy ‘whatever’s are also exclaimed; A mention of a bully saying words that Jack thinks would get him grounded until 1996 if he said them; The bully also calls Jack and the others “goofuses”, but Jack’s mom hears this and clears her throat “at the mean word”, so Buzz mumbles a sorry; Jack is chased by a man in a clown mask when he is trying to solve a mystery (he notes that being chased by clowns is every kid’s bad dream and when his parents find out about him being in the woods at night, they give him a look that says he is grounded until 2022); Jack is taunted and chased by the neighborhood bully and his goons; Jack feels sorry for a second when he sees one the bully’s goons’ father elbows him hard; Mentions of a bomb shelter from a war; Mentions of thieves, stolen items, & a possible kidnapping (of a pet fish); Mentions of the possibility of people poaching artifacts and selling them illegally; Mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; Mentions of bullies (which Jack calls the neighborhood bully his arch nemesis and thinks that he deserves that title even though “Buzz [the bully] never seemed to get in trouble for all the mean things he did to the kids in the neighborhood”; Later, he wishes that Buzz was guilty so he would have to pay for being a bully, but *Spoilers* Jack realizes that while Buzz may be his enemy, he is also his neighbor and helps clear his name from being involved in the poaching that is happening in the forest as Buzz wasn’t involved in it; The adults say that Buzz needs better friends and are disapproving of another father who got his son involved in something illegal *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of a bubble pipe & smoking (with a note that actual smoking is really bad for your lungs); Mentions of the possibility of a cat eating a pet fish; A few mentions of a possibly corrupted forest ranger; A few mentions of Jack being chased by the bully and his goons in Book #3; A couple mentions of when Jack and Midge got lost in the woods (Book #2); A couple mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of how to kill a bear; A mention of a boy feeding frogs to his pet snake (Book #2); 
             *Note: Jack’s parents want him to call them on his way home from a friend’s house at night, but he forgets and ends up following someone the opposite direction and has to run back home (but knows he’ll get a “good talking-to” from his mom about the missing call and being late; He gets grounded from video games for a week because of not coming straight home; Later, he feels guilt over not telling his parents the full story about that night); Jack doesn’t want to include his sister as a character in the story he and Ellison are writing, but she comes up with her own character (the crazy villain) anyway (he comes up with an “anti-little sister force shield” in the book that is fumes from a gym bag and an old cheese sandwich); Mentions of a Native American tribe being forced to leave their home by the government in the 1830s (which Jack asks his dad about and if it’s because they were enemies and is told that “Sometimes we’re enemies because we don’t live out Jesus’ second greatest commandment, ‘Love your neighbors as yourself.’ And He said we’re supposed to love our enemy.”); Mentions of books, authors, & fictional characters (‘The Boxcar Children’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, Agatha Christie mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, ‘Encyclopedia Brown’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’, & ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’; Also quotes from C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie characters, & ‘Anne of Green Gables’ are said); Mentions of brand names & items (Popsicle, Tootsie Roll, Lunchable, Snickers, M&Ms, Pixy Stix, Sourhead candy, & Bit-O-Honey) Mentions of Halloween (and also passing skeletons and fairies); A couple mentions of other fictional characters (Power Rangers & G.I. Joe); A couple mentions of Sea World; A couple mentions of a car brand.
 
Sexual Content- N/A.
 
-Jack Finch, age 10
                                1st person P.O.V. of Jack 
                                           Set in 1995
                                                        180 pages


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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

One thing I really appreciated about this mystery was that even if Jack and his friends are able to solve the mystery by the end, there are still consequences to their actions and groundings from their parents for doing something like sneaking into the forest at night which they know their parents probably wouldn’t allow. Rather than some middle-grade books that have the result out-way the actions (even if they are actions that parents wouldn’t usually allow) and there’s no mentions of punishments or such, this book shows that even though a mystery is solved (which is a good thing!) it’s not good to keep secrets from your parents. 

 

This wasn’t my personal favorite in the series, but it was overall enjoyable.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.