It’s been way too long since I reviewed any books – that isn’t because I’ve not been reading, but simply due to lack of time to get around to reviewing what I read – bad, bad reader.
ALWAYS remember to REVIEW what you read people, reviews are the lifeblood of authors – they give us visibility on Amazon and help prospective purchasers to make up their mind if this book is for them.
WE NEED YOUR REVIEWS!
Point made?
So I plan on getting back to being more conscientious about doing just that.
One thing that has knocked my enthusiasm is that I can now no longer review on Amazon US because their new eligibility criteria require you to spend $50 a year on the site before they will accept your review. Now clearly, being in the UK, all my Amazon purchases are on the UK site, which does mean I can review on Amazon UK, but the biggest fish in the pond is obviously the US site, and that’s where it’s most critical to get (and leave) reviews.
Sorry authors, I am now restricted to Amazon UK and Goodreads.
Oh, Amazon, why do you have to make everything so difficult?
Anyway, here is my review of a new series I’m enjoying, posted on the two sites above, and on here.
A Thrift Shop Murder by N.M. Howell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Thrift Shop Murder is the opening book in the Cats, Ghosts and Avocado Toast series – and that tagline captures the gist of it well.
Price (Priscilla, but don’t call her that) has just arrived in Salem, Oregon, to discover that the old lady who hired her as an assistant to run her thrift shop has just died. Strangely, the shop and all its contents are now Price’s problem, even though she never met the former owner, Agatha Bentley.
Price comes with a history – an ex-fiancé who drained her life savings and probably torched her business premises for the insurance money. Heartbroken, and just plain broke, Price has no option but to embrace her new situation, which apart from the shop and the flat above it, includes three huge moggies and (once she finally accepts she isn’t going insane) the rude and belligerent ghost of the witch, Agatha.
Snarky Agatha wants Price to find out who killed her, as she’s convinced her death wasn’t natural causes.
Thus starts a great fun romp, with witty dialogue, well-drawn characters, and the most unusual reverse harem I’ve encountered yet, as the witch’s three moggies go beyond talking to Price, and start shifting into three gorgeous, hot men. Randomly. Shifting. Without clothes…
I will admit, the randomness of the shifting was a distraction I was a bit annoyed about at first as no one seemed to question it, but this is a theme that has carried over into the second book (which I’m currently reading) as they try to figure out why it happens, so fair play to the author.
Fast paced and well written, I’d happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light supernatural read with humour and harem. Oh, and a vegan protagonist – hence the avocado toast.
Any one else annoyed about Amazon’s new reviewing strictures?
deborahjay 
On Amazon’s policy . . .sorry. I got distracted thinking about “avocado toast.” Urk. . . . back to Amazon. While it is annoying and inconvenient for some (in the extreme, I’m sure), I do understand that they are struggling to stop the kajillion phony reviews that have been skewing the entire system, to the detriment of we writers. I’m not sure this is the best answer, but I do think they are desperate, and it beats dropping the review system completely. I’ve read a lot of articles on this problem, and for some reason, they’ve decided it is one way to keep some of these wretched enterprises from sending masses of phony reviews. I suppose that means they don’t expect the “review mills” to pay $50 for every phony user they submit. On the plus side, I think they’ll come up with a better plan. Fingers crossed.
Lovely review for what sounds like a pretty solid cozy mystery. Except maybe for avocado toast. *shudder* Of course, randomly shifting naked men MIGHT make up for ruining what would otherwise be a nice slide of bread. 😀 I’m just sayin’ . . .
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Ha ha – I actually LIKE avocado toast, so it wasn’t such a turn off for me, but I understand where you’re coming from…
Re Amazon, I reckon most people spend that much with Amazon on unrelated products over a year, so although I sort of get the argument, I don’t believe it to be a well thought out approach. Roll on a better idea!
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Yes. There has to be a better way to stop the frauds. I trust them to come up with it, eventually. They aren’t dumb. Just stymied for now. And pretty much anything is better than losing the review/ranking system altogether, which I read HAS been considered. 😯
As for the toast thing, I simply detest avocados, even though I live where they are often grown as yard trees. Blecch. I can barely tolerate guacamole, even with all the added spices. The thought of taking a perfectly nice piece of toast and even putting it in the VICINITY of avocados is more than I can stand. I’ll take orange marmalade, any day, thanks. 😀
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😀 The funny thing is, I don’t like guacamole, but I love avocados!
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Oh, the infinite variety! 😀
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😀 😀 😀
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I have a love-hate with Amazon. Between my seller and consumer side. I’m sure you can figure out which is which.
This book does sound delightful. You’ve peaked my interest.
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I totally understand!
And it is fun, as is the second, which I’m reading just now. Sometimes Price is a bit too slow noticing suspicious goings on for my taste, but that’s obviously necessary for the plot, and doesn’t detract from the fun interactions between the characters. 😀
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[…] Find my review of book #1, A Thrift Shop Murder, HERE […]
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