Mini Reviews! Sherlock Holmes Edition

 

These reviews will be mini, because these are both short stories featuring the BSBs, so here goes! 

A Scandal in Bohemia is where we first meet one Miss Irene Adler, aka The Woman. She's smart, super duper smart and a super duper character. The funsies start when a King in disguise comes to the BSBs to see about getting a photo back from Irene Adler, he knew her as an opera singer a while back and had a little thing with her. Now he's set to marry and doesn't want anything to put a damper on that plan. Though Irene could be a problem. She's got some goods on him (the photo) that could potentially cause said scandal. He just wants the photo back. 

So thusly, the BSBs. 

The plot moves swiftly, the dialogue is on point. The frustration that SH has over being bested by The Woman is immensely satisfying and I loved it very much! This was a great story, and I gave it a 5 star on Goodreads. 

The Red-Headed League  

Okay, so this one didn't really grab me as much as ASIB, but I have to say after thinking a bit more about it I like it a lot more. It's simple, it's unique (for the time) and it was a bit of fun putting the pieces together along with the BSBs. 

So it goes like this. A pawn broker with RED HAIR, answers an ad in the paper trying to enlist men with RED HAIR to join this super selective group of men with RED HAIR. His assistant is the one that shows him said ad and encourages him to apply. So he goes to check it out and what do you know, he gets selected! He gets money every week for showing up for a certain amount of hours per day and doing what he's told..which is pretty sus to be but whatever. It doesn't interfere with his main gig, so he's all about it. This goes on for a bit and he leaves his assistant to run his shop while he's gone..since it's usually slow during that part of the day. Well all of a sudden the RHL is shut down. No word, no reason, just thanks for coming now go away!

So the pawn broker goes to the boys for help and thusly here we are. It's ridiculous, entertaining, and kind of obvious what was going on but also bewildering that no one in the story seemed to question what was going on (save for SH of course). In this one, it's not the "mystery" that was the star. It was the characters themselves and how when it clicked..they all facepalmed themselves..(at least that was what played out in my mind) at the end. 

I originally gave it a 3 star but after thinking about it again, I went back and upped it to a 4 star on Goodreads.  

Melissa Reads Sherlock: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four (Reviews)

 What can I say about Sherlock that's not been said before? He's pompous, arrogant, and 99.9% of the time absolutely correct! I have always wanted to read these stories, but always was put off by false ideas that they were "too dry" or that I would be annoyed as hell by Sherlock's personality. I've watched the TV series based on the character and loved them, but for some reason I always figured that Sherlock in book form wouldn't click with me. I was totally, completely wrong! 

I started with A Study in Scarlet. Where it all begins....We meet John Watson and learn a bit about him first. Then we're introduced to the man himself..Sherlock Holmes. We see how they get to know each other, sus out each other's personalities and how they can work together. I loved this part of the story very much! You get a taste of how incredibly intelligent both characters are in their own ways, and how ridiculous they are as well. 

The plot goes like this. There's a murder, regular ole normal coppers are stumped. In swoops SH with his main man John to help out. They poke around, do some think thunking then BOOM! Murder solved, murderer caught. Simple? Easy peezy? That part yes, but it's the WHY that made this fun. 

You get a little "flash back to the past" that explains the murderer's motive. A little backstory for the wee murder plot to make sense. I did so enjoy this bit. At the time I was like, okay I get it but how will this roll around and connect back to the "present" with the murder and murderer, but it did. It did very well. 

So my first foray into the tales of the Baker Street Bros, kept me happily reading along. Good job and good story! 

I gave it a 4 star on Goodreads. 

Now onto The Sign of  Four

Fans of the Bernadict Bumberbutton series will recognize a familiar name/face, one Mary Morstan. Well Miss Mary stumbles into the BSB (baker street bros..I'm totally calling them that now) bachelor pad needing some help. Her father went missing 10 years ago, and she can't find him. After a bit of years, she starts to get a single big ass pearl in the mail. She can't explain it but she knows it's in connection with her father's disappearance, so who does she call for help? You guessed it! Mr. "I LOVE COCAINE" himself, Sherlock Holmes and his buddy John. 

Now, this was a good story, but the mystery was a bit lacking for me. It was solid as per usual, but it just didn't have the same ooomph as ASIS, to me.  I did enjoy getting a better view into Sherlock's personality. He's got flaws...oh whew boy does this man have flaws! I did think that John and Mary's burgeoning relationship was sweet and cute. I couldn't help but put Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington's faces in my brain when I was reading it. It was adorbs! 

The mystery aspect wasn't the shining star of this story, but the character development and the addition of Toby the wonderdog push this one up from my original 3 stars to 4 stars on goodreads. 

 

Monday Post- Reading For the Week!

 I'm blowing through the Sherlock Holmes short adventures! So I have a smattering of those on the plans for this week! I'm also reading Madame Bovary, and The Shadow of Theron. 

This week you can look forward to a few things on here. 

Tuesday: Review of A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four (sherlock novels)

Wednesday: "Mini" reviews for a few of the Sherlock shorts I've read so far. 

Friday: Blog tour Post for Battlefield Earth

Then starting on Saturday I will be participating in the Spring Into Horror Readathon (see post a few down) and trying to shift things up and read a few horror/gothic books! Any suggestions? 

Tell me about what you are reading this week! 

Weekend Readathon!

 

This might just become a new thing for me! Last weekend was what I would consider a rip-roaring success! So I figured why not try another one? So same thing applies for last weekend. I will have a stack of books I will graze from...here they be!

I have several of the Sherlock Holmes short stories that I am wanting to read as well. Plus, I might also add to the mix a few others. I'll update as I go, of course! I am starting today but it's a somewhat busy day, so I don't expect miraculous progress! 

Friday Update: 

• The Five Orange Pips (SH)-FINISHED
• Started-The Man with the Twisted Lip (SH)
• Started-Madam Bovary
• (Already started) The Shadow of Theron (start page-8)

Saturday Update:

Woke up just a bit later than I had planned, but now I'm caffeinated and ready to dive into some reading before work! I'm working 10-3pm CST today, so a little under 2 hours to spend reading!

Starting with The Man with the Twisted Lip (SH)

• Finished-The Man with the Twisted Lip
• Started-Madam Bovary

Spring into Horror Readathon

 

Starting April 1st and ending on April 30th, I will be participating in the Spring into Horror Readathon! Click the pic above to visit the sign up page! 

Here's the details:

The one main "rule" of Spring into Horror is that you must read at least ONE scary book (which can be a thriller, mystery, Gothic novel, or similar for those who are faint of heart). I hope you will indulge the scary beyond the one book, but that is entirely up to you. It is all about the reading after all.

My as of now, list for this event!

• The Lady in White 
• Dracula
• Pet Semetary
• And Then There Were None

This list might change as the even gets closer but for now this is it! I'm trying to adhere to the theme as well as I can! 

It's Monday! What Am I Reading This Week?

 

I had a great reading weekend, so I plan on keeping the momentum going this week! 

Stay Tuned for a few reviews coming up! 

• A Study in Scarlet
• The Sign of The Four 
• A Scandal in Bohemia
• The Red-Headed League
• The Moonstone

For my books this week:

• A Case of Identity 
• Murder at an Irish Bakery
• The Shadow of Theron

I may mix in a few more SH short stories, they're just so fun and easy to read! But for now this is my proposed selection! 

What are you reading this week? Let me know by leaving a comment or linking back to your own post! 

Weekend Readathon: Saturday and Sunday Edition

 

My lovelies! I've got work today (a 5 hour shift) and then it's FREEEDOOOMMM until Monday. I'm keeping my plate pretty much clear until then, so I can read a bajillion pages! 

To Start I plan on finishing A Scandal in Bohemia, maybe this morning. It is a short SH story after all. Then it's diving back into The Moonstone. 

After that, I'm not sure if I'll keep to the mystery theme with Murder at an Irish Bakery or jump into some fantasy? Who knows! I will update as I go today and tomorrow! 

Saturday Update:

I finished up A Scandal in Bohemia at about 7am. I still have a few hours before work, so I went right into The Red Headed League, another SH short story. 

Finished: 

Continued: Started today on page 53

Saturday Totals: 2 short stories and 21 pages of The Moonstone. 
-My dude and I ordered a pizza and watched a movie. I worked 5 hours of the day, so I am pleased with my progress. No work tomorrow, so I plan on getting a LOT read! 

SUNDAY 

I'm starting my reading at around 7:30 A.M CST. I plan to stay in The Moonstone for a couple of hours, then switch to Murder in an Irish Bakery (gotta keep that mystery theme going, I guess). Then after a bit of that I will flip back to The Moonstone. Yes, I know this just encourages my book A.D.D., but I can't help it!

Starting The Moonstone at page 75. 

Mid-Day Check In:

Loving The Moonstone! I took a short nap around noon, and went back to reading. I'm on page 183 now (as of 3:05 pm CST)

Haven't yet switched up yet. The story is getting soooo good so I may just stick to it all day! 

I did not finish the Moonstone. My eyeballs pretty much crapped out on me at about 935pm. I did make it to the halfway mark of the book! It is a pretty nice mystery/family drama. I think I'll finish it tomorrow!