Melissa Storm

As I have said before, I am not a big fan of cozy mysteries, but I am a huge fan of anything with four feet and fur...and I found that this series while boarding greatly on the ridiculous and totally impossible side...is high on the side of out and out cuteness. Angie has the unusual ability to converse and understand OctoCat, her cat. OctoCat has an even more unusual ability, as it seems he owns, and can use, an iPad. When you think about it, that's kind of scary since that is more than some humans can do:) Angie tries to keep all this quiet but now she's been caught by the new lawyer at the law firm where she is a paralegal. When everyone is supposed to have gone to a lunch, she gets a face time call from OctoCat. He tells her that there is a fly in his Evian and she needs to come home NOW, to remove it and clean and refill his water dish. While she is arguing and telling him she will ask a friend to come take care of it, Charles, the new lawyer comes in and catches her carrying on a diffident conversation on facetime, with her cat. I didn't see why he found that so strange since I think my cat could have easily used Facetime if she had wanted to. He now knows that she can talk to and understand the cat and he asks her help on a case... if she can speak cat maybe she can also speak dog??? The dog in question may have seen his owner murdered and can tell them who did it. She says she can't understand the dog, but OctoCat who speaks fluent dog can be an interpreter for them. Angie doesn't believe their client was the murderer and persuades her mom, who is a television reporter, to not air the planned special on the murder with the promise of an exclusive later. OctoCat also reminds her that she "owes" him a big, huge, gigantic favor for putting up with and talking to the dog in the first place. It gets rather wild for a bit toward the end. Charles comes up with valid proof of who the murderer is while Angie is trying to get a confession from who she thinks the murderer is. If you just need a quick fun read, this series so far has been that.… (mere)

I'm just going to list all the things I didn't like about this book:

1) The title bears no relation to the story except there are dogs in the book. Wednesdays don't figure into it. Whyyyyy?

b) Quote: ""'Cilantro is the leaf of the plant. Coriander is the stem.'" Uh, no.

iii) There is zero chemistry between the two main characters and no relationship development; we hardly see them together; and then abracadabra, they are in love.

Fourth) Quote: "... and even her dogs -- for animals were people, too" No, they are demonstrably not people.

42) It was so short, I felt like I might as well just finish it, and it wasn't even a satisfying hate read.

2 stars… (mere)

We talk to our pets everyday but how cool would it be to really understand the conversation? Okay ...maybe "cool" and "curse" would both be the right term here. This is a delightfully amusing story about how a woman achieved the ability to not only talk to but understand every single word her cat said...and oh the things she learned! Angie Russo's life was just fine until she experienced a near-death experience, and she suddenly found she could understand and talk to animals. Her cat, Octavius Maxwell Ricardo Edmund Frederick Fulton... or Octo-Cat", was a typical feline...well, as typical as a cat can ever be... who thinks humans are the lesser, but necessary, creatures, that were put on this Earth to serve and deliver each and every feline desire. By the way...this is the opinion shared by ALL cats, everywhere in the world, just in case you haven't realized that yet. If you are owned by a cat, you soon will. Together, Angie and Octo-Cat manage to find a murderer. There is lots of humor, interesting characters and a few unexpected twists in this story. The ending was unexpected. It was a fun story even if it was a bit on the ridiculous side...but that's my lowly human opinion. Angie's not Sherlock Holmes by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm sure that her skills will grow in the future since she has a top-notch teacher. Of course, Octo-Cat was great. He's spoiled...as he rightly should be, but he's so hilarious and sweet as only a cat can be, and he says that Angie is his best friend in the world.... now come and work this can-opener.… (mere)

***I received this ebook from NetGalley****

This is the story of four women - Bridget, Amy, Hazel and Nichole - who met while each had a parent in the cancer ward of the local hospital. During that time, they started the Sunday Potluck Club which would be hosted at one woman's home weekly and everyone else would need to bring something.

Amy recently lost her mom and is getting ready to get back to work as a second-grade teacher. One of her students is extremely withdrawn when she arrives as a new student to the school. Bridget volunteers at a local animal shelter and decides to do a Valentine's Day Adoption Event.

For the most part, the book seems to revolve around Amy and Bridget's stories while Hazel and Nichole are interspersed throughout. It was a good, quick, lighthearted read once you get past the first 50 pages or so.… (mere)