Book Review of The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats, and Other Pollinators by Kim Eierman

Title: The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats, and Other Pollinators 

Author: Kim Eierman

Source: Netgalley

The passion and urgency that inspired WWI and WWII Victory Gardens is needed today to meet another threat to our food supply and our environment—the steep decline of pollinators. The Pollinator Victory Garden offers practical solutions for winning the war against the demise of these essential animals.

Pollinators are critical to our food supply and responsible for the pollination of the vast majority of all flowering plants on our planet. Pollinators include not just bees, but many different types of animals, including insects and mammals. Beetles, bats, birds, butterflies, moths, flies, and wasps can be pollinators.

But, many pollinators are in trouble, and the reality is that most of our landscapes have little to offer them. Our residential and commercial landscapes are filled with vast green pollinator deserts, better known as lawns. These monotonous green expanses are ecological wastelands for bees and other pollinators.

With The Pollinator Victory Garden, you can give pollinators a fighting chance. Learn how to transition your landscape into a pollinator haven by creating a habitat that includes pollinator nutrition, larval host plants for butterflies and moths, and areas for egg laying, nesting, sheltering, overwintering, resting, and warming. Find a wealth of information to support pollinators while improving the environment around you:
 •  The importance of pollinators and the specific threats to their survival•  How to provide food for pollinators using native perennials, trees, and shrubs that bloom in succession•  Detailed profiles of the major pollinator types and how to attract and support each one•  Tips for creating and growing a Pollinator Victory Garden, including site assessment, planning and planting goals•  Project ideas like pollinator islands, enriched landscape edges, revamped foundation plantings, meadowscapes, and other pollinator-friendly lawn alternatives
 The time is right for a new gardening movement. Every yard, community garden, rooftop, porch, patio, commercial, and municipal landscape can help to win the war against pollinator decline with The Pollinator Victory Garden.

I look for ways to help win the war for the decline of our pollinators because I really need those pollinators for my vegetable garden. When I started my raised beds over 6 years ago I had tons of bees in my garden so I had a great harvest but over the past couple of years I am lucky to see one lone bee on my vegetable flowers so I know there is something wrong.

I work in a garden center and I have increased my flowers over the past few years, I have increased in butterflies, birds and I even have some hummingbird months each year but my bees are just not increasing. I was hoping this book would help and I think it has, I have failed to add house for the bees so this is my project for this year.

This book does not give you a list of each flower that will attract each pollinator, this book is to help you make better choices. We see a pretty flower and just automatically think it will attract pollinators but they don’t. This book will help you chose better flowers that they will like, better water sources and housing sources. 

Book reivew of How Birds Behave: Discover the Mysteries of What Backyard Birds Do 365 Days of the Year Paperback – by Sharon Sorenson

Title: How Birds Behave: Discover the Mysteries of What Backyard Birds Do 365  Days of the Year Paperback 

Autor: Sharon Sorenson

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Bird Fields Guide 

Rating: 4 

A well-documented, beautifully photographed, year-long daily account of what 150 common backyard bird species do and how their behaviors change over the course of a year. Guided by an experienced birder, you'll know what to look for and how to attract and observe birds in your own backyard and by watching and chronicling how they behave, you'll begin to understand them better. You'll see how their actions change season to season, month to month, sometimes day to day. By peeking into their secret lives and unraveling the mysteries of their daily behavior you'll find your bird-viewing pleasure enriched.

This book is really hard for me to review, I was expecting something I just didn't get. As a birder and backyard bird feeder, I really found nothing to help me advance by backyard bird habitat, but I can say the work she put in this book is priceless. 

This lady has spent a lot of time journaling her backyard birds, but not everyone lives in her climate and not everyone has the land that she describes seeing all of the backyard birds she has, so keep this in mind when you are reading. 

I really enjoyed reading her day by day bird count and I love the image she would add each day of a bird most people will never see. I can say I would give anything to live where she is, just to be able to see theses vast bird species she sees, but like normal people, I live in an older subdivision which does give me a bit of land to be able to have backyard birds so I consider myself lucky, but a lot of people don’t have what I have. I was looking for something more in this book, like what bird kind of feed she puts out for the birds, what kind of birdhouses or feeders she uses and I never found it but then I did give up reading when I got to August.

I think I would suggest this book to those that love birds but they live in places where there is wall to wall houses. This book would show them what life can be like on a bit of land. 

The New Gardener's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden by Daryl Beyers

Title: The New Gardener's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden 

Author: Daryl Beyers

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Gardening

Rating: 5 

“Gardeners just starting out will earn a sense of accomplishment and a good dose of knowledge.” —Booklist

Every new gardener has to start somewhere—and the process can be intimidating. Knowing when and what to plant, how to care for the plants once they’re in the ground, and how to keep pests and diseases away is a lot to take on. Luckily, Daryl Beyers—an expert from the New York Botanical Garden—has written what will be a  go-to resource for decades to come. The New Gardener’s Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of gardening, based on the introductory gardening class that Beyers teaches at NYBG. Readers will learn about soil, plant selection, propagation, planting and mulching, watering and feeding, pruning, and weeds, pests, and diseases. The information applies to both ornamental and edible plants. Featuring inspiring photography and helpful illustrations, The New Gardener’s Handbook gives home gardeners a foundation upon which they can grow, and encourages them to apply the lessons they’ve learned in an intuitive, natural way.

This book is a must for any new gardener!

I really enjoyed the detail the author went into for this book, he covered everything including trees. I wished I had this book years ago when I first started out; it would have made things a lot simpler for me.  

This book covers everything from soil, growing plants, pruning plants, to pest control. Easy to understand and I love the images and graphs included.

I consider myself an intermediate gardener, I have raised garden beds, fruit trees and lots of flowers to help bring in pollinators and after reading this book I have found help for some simple solutions I have desperately needed so, even if you consider yourself an intermediate gardener this book might help you advance even more.

Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses: 25+ DIY Birdhouses and Bird Feeders by Chris Peterson

Title: Build-It-Yourself Birdhouses: 25+ DIY Birdhouses and Bird Feeders

Author: Chris Peterson

  Source: Netgalley 

Step-by-step instructions for 25+ unique birdhouses tailored for specific birds—pick the one that fits your neighborhood's birds and get building!

Join home improvement pro Chris Peterson as he shares a variety of creative designs for birdhouses and bird feeders, from the classic bluebird house to a mid-century modern home. While all the designs are handsome, most are also approachable for beginning woodworkers. Squares, triangles, and simple joining are used throughout the book. For woodworkers with some experience, Peterson shares a variety of customization techniques that can enhance the designs.

Every project contains a showstopping photo of the finished house and step-by-step instructions (with additional photos) to take any guesswork out of the assembly. You'll also find mounting instructions and tips, as well as information on the types of birds each birdhouse can accommodate.

Designs include:

Small birdhouses: Chickadee Shelter, Nuthatch Wedge, Songbird PVC Birdhouse, Flycatcher Cinderblock Motel, Purple Martin Boarding House, Tufted Titmouse Cabin, Finch's Pub, a Bat Cave, and more!

Large birdhouses: Mourning Dove Monster Ledge, American Kestrel Lodge, Barn Owl A-Frame, Barred Owl Nest Box, Wood Duck Slat House, and a Woodpecker's Log House.

Creative bird feeders: Telephone Platform Feeder, Porch Swing Bin Feeder, Hanging Man Suet Feeder, Squirrel Proof Feeder, and Zen Feeder.

Looking to bring more birds to your yard in 2020 by building different birdhouses? Well, look no farther this book will give you step by step instructions for your entire backyard friends, but from one birder to another, please take another step by providing not only houses but also the right plants and trees to feed and keep your birds safe too.

Don’t have the equipment to build your own birdhouses? Well, don’t fear, I don’t either but I have a friend that does so he is happy to grab some extra money to build me some from this book. So, even though you don’t have the equipment some you know might or you can find someone in your neighborhood or town that would be happy to build them for you’re for a fee.  

Not only do you get full easy to understand instructions you also get tips too.

Essential Oils for the Whole Body: The Dynamics of Topical Application and Absorption by Heather Dawn Godfrey

Title: Essential Oils for the Whole Body: The Dynamics of Topical Application and Absorption 
Author: Heather Dawn Godfrey
Genre:
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4

A practical guide to the topical application of essential oils for physical and emotional health and healing

• Provides in-depth profiles of 15 essential oils that form a safe and effective “tool kit” for treating a broad range of ailments and conditions

• Examines the body’s many absorption pathways and how applying essential oils indifferent ways has specific influences on the body’s systems

• Offers guidelines for safe application, including recommendations for children and the elderly, along with easy-to-use charts to select the appropriate oil for each situation

Well known for their aromatherapy applications, essential oils also have outstanding healing abilities when absorbed through the skin. Applied topically they work well for wound healing, arthritis, inflammation, and skin conditions. Because all of the cells in the body are interconnected, they also affect underlying organs, systems, and soft tissues, influencing hormone release, gently relieving pain and stress, and offering antimicrobial protection against pathogens, viruses, and bacteria.

Focusing on 15 essential oils that form a safe and effective “tool kit” for treating a broad range of ailments and conditions, from acne, anxiety, and asthma to psoriasis, shingles, and painful periods, Heather Dawn Godfrey explores how these essential oils complement and support each other’s healing properties and can be blended together to offer dynamic, customizable treatments for each unique individual. She examines the body’s many absorption pathways, explaining how even the internal organs have odor receptors and how applying essential oils in different ways has specific influences on the body’s systems. Offering guidelines for safe application, including recommendations for children and the elderly, the author provides easy-to-reference charts and tables to select the appropriate oil or oils for each situation, and she explains which essential oils should be avoided during pregnancy and by those with specific conditions such as cancer.

Presenting scientific profiles for the 15 main essential oils discussed, Godfrey also explores complementary therapies that increase the effectiveness of essential oils, including Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, and she details the colors, chakras, gemstones, and crystals that correspond with each oil. She provides recipes for proper dilution and the best carrier mediums, including creams, compresses, lotions, and ointments.

Written for both healthcare professionals and for self-care, this hands-on guide will allow you to effectively treat acute and chronic conditions as well as incorporate essential oils into daily life for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

This book is a great resource for anyone wanting to dig deeper into essentials oils, you get tons and I mean tons of resourceful information I cannot express how much detail and research this author did just for this book.

You get recipes, for creams, lotions, and perfume oils.

The author doesn’t only use essential oil, but she also gives you a list of gemstones to use every day, you get worksheets and much more to help you in your study and lifestyle.

I requested this book because I found using eucalyptus oil in my diffuser, it helps me breath better with my asthma and I don’t have to use my inhaler as much so I want to dig deeper into that.

The only downside for me was it just reminded me too much of a school health and science book mixed together, so in some aspects, it was very overwhelming in the study of the different oils. 

Book review of Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery #1) by Julie Anne Lindsey

Title: Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery #1) 

Author: Julie Anne Lindsey 

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Length: Novel

Rating: 4

Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year's crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny's beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it's struggling. That's why they're trying to drum up business with the "First Annual Christmas at the Orchard," a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike--until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny's long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . . .

Great winter setting that will get any cozy mystery lover ready for the holidays.

Winnie is smart and is determined to save her granny orchard at any cost. I really enjoyed reading this page-turner that offers readers, danger, whimsical setting, and fun-loving characters and some love interest for Winnie. I really loved the vision Winnie has for the future for the Orchard and she goes over and beyond to try to bring her vision to life as she constantly has to battle solving the murder and the threat that is on her own life.

I recommend Apple Cider Slaying to any cozy mystery reader. 

Urban Aviary: A modern guide to city birds by Stephen Moss, Marc Martin (Illustrations)

Title: Urban Aviary: A modern guide to city birds 

Author: Stephen Moss, Marc Martin (Illustrations)

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Nature 

Rating: 4 

A unique guide to the unusual and often surprising birds that soar above our cities around the world.

From frigatebirds wheeling over Rio de Janeiro to bowerbirds displaying in the suburbs of Canberra, penguins in Cape Town to pelicans in San Francisco, and huge flocks of starlings roosting around the Colosseum in Rome, the world’s cities are home to a remarkable array of feathered citizens.

Through Stephen Moss’s expert knowledge and insight, Urban Aviary provides a beautiful guide to some of the most extraordinary species of city birds that have become native, including helpful spotting hints and fact boxes for each bird, all of which are brought to life by Marc Martin’s distinctive and beautiful watercolours. 

What a unique way to show urban birds.

You will get a brief description of each bird along with a wonderful watercolor photo. This is a good for both adults and children as you read about each bird you’ll read a brief description of each bird along with a wonderful watercolour of that bird.

Book review of The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan: 7 Weeks to Declutter in Any Space by Kim Davidson Jones

Title: The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan: 7 Weeks to Declutter in Any Space

Author: Kim Davidson Jones

Source: Rockridge Press 

Genre Home cleaning

Rating: 4 

Give your home (and yourself) space to breathe with this easy plan.

Clutter invades your personal space—and your mental space. The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan helps you quickly and sustainably transform your home into a calm, orderly safe haven. The seven-week plan walks you through your residence room by room, breaking the work into small daily tasks to make the process simple.

No need to buy or prep anything upfront—you’ll learn to maximize the space you already have set up organization systems to put things back where they belong and donate or sell what you don’t need.

The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan includes:

For every space—This organization system works for any kind of dwelling, from a 6,000 square foot house to a 300 square foot studio. Customize at will—The organization plan can be adapted to your environment and schedule: Take extra time on an area, or skip what isn’t relevant to your home. Step-by-step guide—Get specific guidance on the organization of backyard clutter, shower supplies, wall decor, kids’ toys, and other tricky items.

Start feeling good the moment you walk in your door—The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan will show you how.

This book will help you take small steps each day, with the exception of Sunday by spending from at least fifteen minutes to one hour organizing a different area of your home each day. 

I would recommend this book before others for the simple fact this author lets you know upfront to not run out and buy tons of organization junk that you find at the stores or on places like Pinterest to get started. Let's just say from experience, you don’t need to fill your house up more with large storages bins and other organizing tubs that will end up collecting dust later on. 

This book covers the home, yard, and garage.  

Book review of Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life by Jocelyn de Kwant

Title: Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life 

Author: Jocelyn de Kwant

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Craft, hobbies, nature and outdoors

Rating: 5

Nature Tonic is a beautiful mindful workbook to cherish. It encourages us to connect with nature and grow our own meditative awareness every day. Exploring meaningful ways we can all experience and appreciate the natural world, this precious guide helps us to notice and note nature’s enchanting wonders focus on the seasons, and experience simply being in nature. 

Author Jocelyn de Kwant invites us all to embrace the earthy roots of a beginners’ mind with a daily dose of ecotherapy to soothe our souls. Practical prompts entwine with lengthier meditative notes on the joy of journaling sensory nature, the zen of forest bathing, the simple pleasures of botanical drawing, and ways to reconnect our souls with the soil. This lovingly-illustrated workbook is a timely reminder of the ways in which natural connection can enlighten and enrich our lives. 

Years ago, I would have never picked this book up, not that I hate nature, it’s just life gets in the way of simple natures pleasers, but as I am seeing more of my town taken over by large developers and businesses I am seeing my nature being destroyed and that makes me want to be out there more before it’s all gone and Nature Tonic: A Year in My Mindful Life would help anyone out there today at any age to get out and explore before it’s all gone.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to have some nature time with their kids during the summer this workbook would provide a full summer of fun and learning. I know this is a yearlong workbook, but sometimes we just don’t have everyday time to spend when you work 2 or 3 jobs, so one summer would be great to get some nature in.

I would also recommend this book for us older people who use to spend their days outside having fun exploring nature with their dog, as I did when I was a kid. This book will bring back fun memories and will also provide you with a newfound love of what you’ve lost and hopefully make you fight for what we have left.

A year in My Mindful Life is a workbook, I recommend those who are not a creative artist to grab the paperback copy, those that have artist talent, I would recommend the Kindle edition so you could use this workbook and create your own Nature Tonic journal.

Goldfinches

Our growth rate in Middle Tennessee is becoming unbearable, we are losing our farmland and forest at a great rate to developers daily, it’s sickening seeing all of the wildlife disappear all to bring traffic, and a horrible smell that now habitats my growing city.

Each year I am seeing more and more pollinators despair, birds, bees, butterflies are hard hit because not only do they lose their homes but they get hit by people using chemicals that will kill them to kill the very insects that birds and other animals that keep away, such as, mosquitoes and ticks along with other unwanted insects

Over the next few months, I want to write to you about each and how they benefit us and hopefully, I can reach out so you too can enjoy our pollinators as much as I do.  

I love my American Goldfinches they have a unique chirp that brings my garden to life. I started feeding them about 10 years ago and boy have they populated. When I first started feeding them I would buy one 10 pound bag of feed a month, now I do good to get by on 40 pounds in a month. I thankful they have populated over the years, it tells me one person can make a difference each year.

Goldfinches are very easy to feed all you have to do is buy a finch feeder and I recommend a metal feeder if you have squirrels because they just eat holes out of the plastic feeders to get to the seeds and some thistle seeds. The finches will eat seeds all the way until September then all the sudden they just quit coming to the feeders this is when they start nesting, they will usually come back to the feeder mid-October to start eating again. When they arrive back the males have changed color and will stay a light gray until spring arrives again. They also love to eat sunflowers, zinnias, and coneflowers seeds. 

You can barely see these beauties on the sunflowers 

My camera refused to focus on this juvenile in the background staring at me after I disturbed his feast on my zinnias. LOL

Goldfinches bring color and a wonderful sound as they sing to anyone garden as they feast. 

To learn more about their care please visit these links 

They do require trees for nesting so make sure you have a few large trees for them. To learn more about nesting click on this link.

https://animals.mom.me/goldfinches-nest-boxes-6877.html 

You can learn more about them and their song by clicking the link below.

https://abcbirds.org/bird/american-goldfinch/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_absBRD1ARIsAO4_D3v2WUQQLoHisf1kOtal8GAMmsU-lwrTPJ0woc546N08muGmgNNakEEaArxoEALw_wcB

Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns by Sarah Zimmerman

Title: Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns Author: Sarah Zimmerman

Genre: Crafts

Source: Callisto Media Publisher
Rating: 4

Discover how simple crafting your own crochet plush animals can be. From alligators to zebras, Crochet Cute Critters features 26 beginner-friendly patterns for creating all kinds of cuddly companions.

Amigurumi—the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed toys—might seem intimidating, but this book keeps it

Crochet Cute Critters is full of cute animals for anyone beginner to advanced crocheter. 

You get easy to follow step by step and simple circle patter for each critter, the only downside I see is the hook size seems to be a bit large to get a good tight stitch, but that is an easy fix, just go down a size if needed, not everyone crochets the same way.

Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery by Michelle Eshkeri, Patricia Niven

Title: Modern Sourdough: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Margot Bakery 

Authors: Michelle Eshkeri, and Patricia Niven

Genre: Cookbook

Source: Netgalley

Length: 224 pages 

Rating: 5

In Tahini and Rye, Michelle Eksheri shows you how to make mouth-watering treats from the basics (bagels, sourdough starter, and bread), through to classics with a twist (challah bread and butter pudding, babka, rhubarb, and custard danish, pistachio and flower shortbread). The secrets to the seemingly the complex are broken down in an easy step-by-step guide so that the perfect  sourdough loaf will no longer be a mystery, opening up a world for the sourdough starter to hot cross buns, croissants and so much more. The provenance of ingredients is highly valued, creating seasonal twists such as wild garlic buns and flavor-forward bakes like rye brownies.

With over 100 recipes covering bread, biscuits, buns and cakes, desserts, savory baking and store cupboard essentials, Tahini and Rye is full of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

Holy smokes this book is not only drool-worthy it will make a great baker companion book.

I’ve been baking most of my life and at fifty I have collected hundreds of cookbooks and baking books, but there are only a handful I use every week and I could see myself using this one all the time. I love sourdough and have been using King Arthur Flour method for many years and have been happy with it, but I am limited with recipes I can use my sourdough in so before I know it the sourdough is gone and I have to make it again so I need to broaden my horizon and have more recipes I can use sourdough in and this book would most defiantly do that for me.

Not only does this book offer chapter after chapter of recipes for your sourdough, it also offers specialties recipes for things such as cookies, cakes, muffins and there is also a jam and spreads.

Each recipe offers step by step instructions and wonderful images.   

Book review of Cosmic Crystals: Rituals and Meditations for Connecting With Lunar Energy by Ashley Leavy

Cosmic Crystals: Rituals and Meditations for Connecting With Lunar Energy 

Author: Ashley Leavy 

Source: Netgalley

Genre: arts and crafts 

Rating: 4

Cosmic Crystals shows you how to work with the phases and signs of the moon to energize and amplify the power of your crystals.

Living in sync with the rhythm of the lunar cycle is a powerful way to stay aligned to universal energy. Crystals and moon magic have been used together to this aim for centuries. Crystals are natural amplifiers of energy that can be used to enhance your connection to the moon and its healing energy.

Learn crystal meditations and rituals for each moon phase, as well as which crystals are most potent during New Moons, Full Moons, and other lunar events. Cosmic Crystals shows you how to combine the power of lunar energy and healing crystals to create sacred space, set intentions, and manifest magic and abundance in your life.

For each moon, find information on how to work with its corresponding crystals and energetic qualities, along with lists of its associated herbs, colors, essential oils, animals, and deities.

Written by leading crystal expert Ashley Leavy and including lavish photography, this beautiful book will have a place on every crystal enthusiast's bookshelf.

If you’re looking to match up your crystals and gemstones with the right moon phases this book would be great for you.

In this book, you will find very detailed and had colorful photos which guide you with each moon phases. You get the list of crystals to use, dates, element, keywords and a bit about the crystals or gemstones being used.

The 13 Celtic moons you get alternate names, animals, crystals, colors, deities, essentials oils and more.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about how to use their crystals and gemstones in everyday life.

Cozy Mystery review of Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) by Linda Reilly

Title: Claws of Action (Cat Lady Mysteries #4) 

Author: Linda Reilly 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Netgalley

Length: Novel 

Rating: 5

Purr-suing a killer …

The only thing that could make the High Cliff Shelter for Cats even cozier is a reading room where kids can snuggle up with a furry feline and a book. But as Lara and Aunt Fran prepare for the reading nook’s official opening, the health inspector in their New Hampshire town, Evonda Fray, decrees that the shelter qualifies as a “cat café,” thanks to the free snacks it serves to visitors—and that it must be shut down.

When Evonda’s body is found in her car clutching a copy of the cease-and-desist order, suspicion naturally falls on Lara and Aunt Fran. But there’s a whole litter of potential culprits, including a tenant in one of Evonda’s buildings who’d been ordered to give up his rescue cat, a disgruntled daughter-in-law, and more. Now Lara—with some help from her aunt and her spirit cat, Blue—has to pin the tail on the right suspect.

I have to say this the Cat Ladies Mysteries series is one of my favorites out there today. Each installment just gets better and better. Ever time I think I have a new favorite from the series, the next book I read ends up knocking the last one out of the water.

Claws of Action is a fun fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This can be read as a standalone, but I truly suggest you start from book one and go from there because that way you can really truly appreciate how this series has grown by each installment. In this installment, you read about the same loveable characters with the addition of a couple of more new characters, which I hope will have some cameos in future books.  

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves cozy mysteries.