Carole's Sunday Review: Trial on Mount Koya

Author: Susan Spann

Title: Trial on Mount Koya (Shinobi Mystery #6)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery

Publication: ebook

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Jesuit Father Mateo head up to Mount Koya, only to find themselves embroiled in yet another mystery, this time in a Shingon Buddhist temple atop one of Japan's most sacred peaks.

November, 1565: Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo travel to a Buddhist temple at the summit of Mount Koya, carrying a secret message for an Iga spy posing as a priest on the sacred mountain. When a snowstorm strikes the peak, a killer begins murdering the temple's priests and posing them as Buddhist judges of the afterlife--the Kings of Hell. Hiro and Father Mateo must unravel the mystery before the remaining priests--including Father Mateo--become unwilling members of the killer's grisly council of the dead.

This is the 6th book in the series. I have really enjoyed this series so far. I have not read the first three books of the series...I really must find them and read them one day. 

This would do okay as a stand-alone, but there is a lot of references to the previous book so I would encourage at least reading the 5th book. In this adventure, Hiro and Father Mateo travel to a Buddhist temple on Mount Koya. During their stay there, murder happens and they become entrusted to solve it. They really can't go anywhere without this happening to them I swear! Things become more complex when other murders around the temple start happening. Who did it and why? 

The mystery was good! I had my guess and I was wrong. Kuddos! I honestly did not expect the murder AT all. However, after Hiro explains it...it did seem obvious. 

As per usual, I like our crew. I like Hiro even more because of his dedication to that dang cat. It is honestly cute and very honorable. Father Mateo is such a good soul. He is still so clueless in some aspects even though he has lived in Japan for years now. He means no harm, but he sometimes forgets where he is at. 

The story was waaaaaaaay slower than previously. They are stuck on this mountain so we missed some of the usual political mystery as well. It took me longer than normal to get into this story. It felt like a bridge to the next book. I am excited to see what happens next. So yes, not as good as the previous two books, but it was necessary for the next book to happen. 

A good mystery, but the story was not as good as the others overall. Much slower and missing that political drama/mystery from the previous ones. I am excited to see what happens next! I really need to read the other two books before this next one comes out...maybe I'll just bite the bullet and buy them since I cannot find them at libraries. -_- I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 

2018 Audiobook Challenge Semi-annual Update and Best of June

I am doing amazingly! Omg I adore audiobooks now. Where have you been my entire life! Print is not the same anymore. Audio has my soul. 

Also ugh, not linking all 58 =_= I did not realise there would be this many. Here is GR

My list:
Edit: 58: Cowboy Seal redemption  by Nicole Helm

57. Getting Wilde (Immortal Vegas, #1)
Stark, Jenn *

56. The Wrong Stars (Axiom, #1)
Pratt, Tim

55. Love Story
Layne, Lauren *

54. This Could Change Everything
Mansell, Jill

53. Must Love Babies (Must Love Babies #1)
Austin, Lynnette *

52. What Happens in Summer (At the Shore, #2)
Piñeiro, Caridad *

51. Love and First Sight
Sundquist, Josh *

50. Baker's Magic
Zahler, Diane *

49. When Dimple Met Rishi
Menon, Sandhya *

48. Ocean Light (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #2; Psy-Changeling, #17)
Singh, Nalini *

47. The Gate to Women's Country
Tepper, Sheri S.

46. Licks (One Wild Wish, #3)
Siskind, Kelly *

45. You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone
Solomon, Rachel Lynn *

44. Shadows on the Moon
Marriott, Zoë *

43. Born to Love (Night Riders, #3)
Greenwood, Leigh

42. Murder Between the Lines (Kitty Weeks Mystery, #2)
Vatsal, Radha *

41. Caught Up in a Cowboy
Marts, Jennie *

40. Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues
Boyd, Christina *

39. August and Everything After
Doktorski, Jennifer Salvato *

38. I Am Justice (Band of Sisters, #1)
Munoz Stewart, Diana *

37. Time Shards (Time Shards #1)
Fredsti, Dana *

36. One Summer Night
Piñeiro, Caridad *

35. Last Dragon Standing (Heartstrikers, #5)
Aaron, Rachel *

34. A Dragon of a Different Color
Aaron, Rachel *

33. The Chaos of Standing Still
Brody, Jessica *

32. Bad Bachelor
London, Stefanie *

31. Marry in Scandal
Gracie, Anne *

30. Fearless in Texas
Dell, Kari Lynn *

29. Survive the Night
Ruggle, Katie *

28. Starry Eyes
Bennett, Jenn *

27. Summers at Castle Auburn
Shinn, Sharon

26. Hot and Badgered (Honey Badger Chronicles, #1)
Laurenston, Shelly

25. Shadowshaper
Older, Daniel José *

24. Of Beast and Beauty
Jay, Stacey *

23. The Darcy Monologues
Boyd, Christina *

22. Just One Night (Sex, Love & Stiletto, #3)
Layne, Lauren *

21. Rocco
Castille, Sarah *

20. A Perfect Gentleman
Camp, Candace *

19. Highland Dragon Master (Dawn of the Highland Dragon, #3)
Cooper, Isabel

18. No Earls Allowed
Galen, Shana *

17. Home with You
McCoy, Shirlee *

16. To Catch a Stolen Soul (Djinn Haven, #1)
Naquin, R.L. *

15. Love the One You're With (Sex, Love & Stiletto, #2)
Layne, Lauren *

14. No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished
Aaron, Rachel *

13. The Most Eligible Highlander in Scotland
Sinclair, Michele

12. Runaway Groom (I Do, I Don't, #2)
Layne, Lauren *

11. The Dead House
Kurtagich, Dawn *

10. One Good Dragon Deserves Another
Aaron, Rachel *

9. Reed
Bennett, Sawyer *

8. The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall (Dark Seductions, #1)
Smith, Lauren *

7. The Last Wolf (The Legend of All Wolves, #1)
Vale, Maria *

6. Ready to Run (I Do, I Don't, #1)
Layne, Lauren *

5. After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto, #1)
Layne, Lauren *

4. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
Colgan, Jenny

3. Cherish Hard (Hard Play, #1)
Singh, Nalini *

2. Cowboy SEAL Homecoming (Navy SEAL Cowboys, #1)
Helm, Nicole *

1. Busted

Ciocca, Gina *

Levels:

Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30-50
Marathoner (Look Ma no hands) 50+

Happy July!! Here are our Best of's for JUNE!

First, favorite movies:

First, I pick.............Solo (2018)

"Best movie was hard for once. But I will go with Solo cos it surprised me (but Jurassic World was  close second)."

Carole picks is...................Tag (2018(

"Had some good choices this month to pick from. I'll have to say this one because it surprised me in a great way! A good story and funny!" 

Next, Book favorites:

Carole's choice is............When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

"There were some okay books and some even good, but nothing was as good as this one. I listened to the audio version, but I really think even if you read it it will be just as good."

Next, lol, my choice is..............When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

"Here I thought June was a great month, but when I check GR it seems it was only a good month, so thank goodness for When DImple met Rishi then!"

Lastly, best covers:

Here are our picks for best cover...........mine is on the left and carole's is on the right

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Always and forever, Lara Jean - Jenny Han

Lara Jean is having the best senior year. And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.

Life couldn’t be more perfect!

At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks…until she gets some unexpected news.

Now the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to? 

Paperback, 325 pages
Published May 4th 2017 by Scholastic
Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #3
YA fiction
LIbrary

My thoughts:

So this one was good, but, yeah, not great as the previous two. It was kind of the same. The same things happening, except no ex ruining things this time around. And at the end things started to bother me.

Like how people were all, oh I wished you had been out and about earlier Lara. You are so fun! Right...you could still have talked to her when she was not going to parties or games *eyeroll*

My feelings for Peter died a bit, I get that they are teens and that they are insecure, but he was just so distant. Yes this is a troubling time. Going away to College and not seeing each other as much, but still. 

But still, Lara is fun, and I like her love of baking. She and Peter should still be together forever. Her sister Kitty is adorbs, and I liked that her dad is finding love again too.

But, yes another but, I still feel the book should have ended with book 1. I was glad that I got book 2, though this one was not a light read in a day book. It took a long time.

Conclusion:

BUT, it was good, all good :=)

End note. this is the kind of YA i like. Cute and not angsty or mean

Cover

Cute

Abyss and Apex #67

 A&A is a Hugo Award-nominated short story and poetry venue which is published quarterly. It has been in publication since 2004, under the direction of Wendy Delmater Thies.

Many of the authors who have been published in our issues have gone on to become well known and award-winning. In the past A&A has brought you early works of Lavie Tidhar, Rhonda S. Garcia, Lawrence Schoen, Rae Dawn Cason, Aliette de Bodard, Lisa Mantchev, Will McIntosh, Ruth Nestvold, Marie Brennan, N.K. Jemisin, J. Kathleen Cheney, and Tony Pi. A&A strives to find new voices in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Many of the works published in A&A have won awards or have been given honors.

http://www.abyssapexzine.com/ , Facebook page, or Twitter.

I reviewed issue #66 3 months ago, and here we are again. The stories for this quarter are:

Fiction:

"Crossover Point" by Cheryl Barkauskas

This one needed to be longer. I want to know that the main pov does next! But yes it worked as a short too.

"Call Me Fang" by Tom D Wright

I certainly did not expect this...great twist. And after that a great story too. Very unexpected. 

"Ice Monarch" by Michèle Laframboise

Ohhhh freaky. The world ended and then there is this "butterfly". Totally interesting world

"Charity’s Gift" by John M Olsen

This one. No. Not for me. It did not feel well written. But the story could have been more

Flash Fiction

"The Finder" by Yaasha Moriah

I liked this one. It worked great as a short, but I would also love to see it as a book. Like magical realism. That would be wonderful

"Replica" by Pauline Yates

I did not expect that...nice and bittersweet. A really good short story. It was perfect as it was.

POETRY

Last time I tried my hand at reviewing the poetry too. But this time I will just say that This Sacred Earth was my favorite. Hauntingly beautiful and dark.

“The Seeders” by Linda Clarke

“Martian Chronicles The Earth Men” by Brittany House

“This Sacred Earth” by Deborah Davitt

“Neuraweb” by Logan Thrasher Collins

“Upon Living One’s Whole Life in the Wilderness” by Erin K. Wagner

“Dread-Sorrow with the Origami Girl” by Gretchen Tessmer

“Valentine” by Kelly Hanwright

“The Mummy Matriculates” by Noel Sloboda,

SMALL PRESS BOOK REVIEWS