Sprite by Anna B. Madrise | A Book Review

The Holidays are coming and this book is just in time. This felt like a retelling of The Christmas Carol. Remember the story of Ebenezer Scrooge? This story reminded me of Scrooge but only with some twists that make this its own.

I got this from the author's giveaway on Instagram. Can you believe it? I won six paperbacks from the author. Yes, I felt so lucky. This is the third book of that 6-book prize. Thank you again, Anna B. Madrise.

Sprite, not the carbonated drink but a supernatural being. They are similar to fairies but a little bigger, more like a little child. Their most distinguishing feature is the ability to command snow or shower snowflakes. This supernatural creature is one of the major player in this story. Sprite, which is also her name is tasked to change Blaine Frost into a compassionate, giving, courageous and joyful person. Blaine's motivation is to be able to keep the love of his life--Noel.

Like the very popular Christmas story of Scrooge, Blaine's story also started on the eve of Christmas day. He was driving home with Noel on a snowy night when he lost control of his car because he drunk. Blaine woke up to an unconscious Noel on the passenger side and the appearance of a child-like character with white hair and pink lips sitting on his hood. The said character gave her an assignment to perform so he could have Noel back. Failure to do acts of compassion, charity, courage and joy in seven days will lose him Noel for good. 

This is a very modern twist to the classic Christmas story of all time. Blaine represents the modern-day Scrooge but with more good looks and a very nice girlfriend. Blaine is a workaholic and a person who never thought about anyone else but himself. He grew up in a family who never thought about money because it was never lacking. His only redeeming quality is he loves his girlfriend which makes him an upgraded version of Scrooge. At least Blaine is capable of loving someone other than himself.

The story ended with Blaine being able to perform all virtues required by Sprite. He got Noel back and got more friends who became like family to him because of his change of heart. A happy ending. Great! But what I really liked about the story is how it emphasized paying attention to our surroundings. Blaine, if you really look at him, is not a bad person. He never hurt anyone intentionally but he also never cared about anybody else's business. I think his faults were in his omissions. He did not care about his employees spending more hours at work thereby, missing out on family events. He never cared about the homeless person which turned out to be someone he knew in high school. All these minor details added up have major effects in other people's lives. How many of us are just like Blaine? We are all guilty. What I love about this story is it is so unassuming. It even comes as a cute and funny tale because of Sprite's character but it also poses a very heavy reminder of the very small things we try to not see. The things that we refuse to look and turn our heads away because it has no bearing to us in any way. 

I give this book 4/5 snowflakes. Though the story is done in a light way, with Sprite's character who is very playful, it holds a very important and relevant lesson. It reminds us all of doing a random act of kindness everyday. Just because we are so busy with our lives and our own problems, doesn't mean it gives us the license to forget about the rest of the world. A little random act of kindness goes a long way and this was what really hit me in this story. Though, in here, all the acts done by Blaine were not totally done to strangers, the meaning and essence is still the same. If you can't be compassionate and giving to the people you know, how much more to those who aren't? This book is really in time for the holidays but kindness should be practiced all the days of the year. Kindness is not only done during Christmas. It should be given any day. And let's not forget about love. After all, it was Blaine's love that moved him to be a better man.

Being homeless doesn't just strip somebody of the basic necessities, like shelter and food, it also strips away one's dignity. Somehow, maybe not monetarily, but somehow, I will pay you back for your help. Give me that-- my dignity, my self-worth.

- Anna B. Madrise, Sprite - 

Ruffled Feathers (The Shearwater Mysteries #2) by Anna B. Madrise | A Book Review

Here comes book two. Yes, I read this right after book 1 (Chirp No More) and finished this about an hour. Just like the first book it was easy to read and their is another murder here. And again, the Carrier ladies are in the middle of it.

Same with the first book, the cast is introduced before the story starts. Here are another set of interesting characters. This time, they are not the locals of Shearwater but tourists who happen to book the only B&B in town--The Bird's Nest which is owned by the Carrier sisters--Abigail and Evalynn. Along with the guests, is a famous critic who will give their B&B another review, which this time they will make sure that it will be a good one, unlike the last one. This time, Abigail and Evalynn will make sure that The Bird's Nest will reach the outside confines of Shearwater and be known in the whole state of Maryland and in the East Coast, or the whole US in particular, to draw more guests and money in. That's the plan. Until, the plan got derailed and there might not be a B&B at all and they may have to finally close it because of an incident.

And of course, the said incident in this story is no other than a murder. Yes, a murder, again. This time, right in the heart of the sisters' inn. One of their guests was murdered. What would this mean to The Bird's Nest, or the sisters? In the midst of the chaos, Kitty, the sisters' mother, had a vision of a white knight coming for Abigail. Kitty's visions were always on the target. They never fail even if her knees fail her nowadays. Who is this white knight? A lot of interesting things happened in this book and adding in more outside characters is even more going to make this story a riot.

So, so far we have, a murder, a new face in town, and not to mention a storm that isolated the island-town from the rest of the state of Maryland. No cell signals or outside help could intervene. It's up to the Carrier ladies and their men, the sheriff and his not so reliable assistant to figure out who had committed the deed right in the sanctum of the Carriers. Honestly, here my guess as to who the culprit is, was wrong, though at some point, it started to get obvious who it was and I then started to change my hypothesis. The mix of characters surely threw me out and knowing they were tourists, not residents of town added to that. Even our esteemed ladies were unsure how to go about their investigations realizing again, just like the last time, that each guest staying at the inn has it in for the victim also. Everyone, again, had known the victim and each had his/her own motives for killing.

Aside from the new set of characters involved in this story, the difference from the previous one is the arrival of a new face who will likely end up as a permanent resident of Shearwater. That is Lance, the son of Henk the curator of the local museum. A Dutch who is according to Kitty is Abigail's white knight. And he sure did turn out to be, in more ways than one could ever imagine.

There is no way I could choose which of the two stories so far is better than the other. I think they bought entertain me and the mystery was totally puzzling but I think the killer was more obvious in the first story than the first. Saying that, does not mean that Chirp No more is less. And I don't have to decide which one is better because these two have both served their purpose well--to entertain, rouse my curiosity and interest, and of course, to affirm my love for mysteries. The two books did good on all counts.

I give this book 5/5 bottles of prescription pills. I can't wait to read the next installment in this series. It seemed like the Carrier ladies will always find a use for their special abilities. Thanks, Martha Carrier! I can't wait to find out what is the next incident that they will find themselves in the center of. 

For those who are not yet into mysteries and are looking into testing the waters, The Shearwater mysteries is a good start. It is not so taxing that will have you confused and overwhelmed, but a light read. A light read that will almost make it seem like reading about a murder is fun. 

Oh, get ahead of yourselves--I am not getting any younger while I wait around for more grandbabies!

- Anna B. Madrise, Ruffled Feathers -  

Thank you again, Anna B. Madrise for the copy.

Other books by Anna B. Madrise:

Chirp No More (Shearwater Mysteries #1)

Chirp No More (The Shearwater Mysteries #1) by Anna B. Madrise | A Book Review

I won a load of books from the author last summer through an Instagram Author Hop. I got six books from the author. Yes! Six paperbacks. Seemed like I hit the jackpot. Thank you again, Anna B. Madrise for the books. I have two down and four more to go. So far, I have enjoyed The Shearwater Mysteries. Looking forward to reading the rest of your books.

This is my first time to read a book by the author and I do not know what to expect. She seems to be into different genres. I decided to venture into the Shearwater mysteries first as a lot of people commented that this series is really good. And I love mysteries. Here it comes.

This is a mystery with a sprinkling of comedy and supernatural with also a little romance on the side. Yes, this seemed liked a neat little book with almost everything in it. It was so easy to read. I think I finished this within an hour while minding the small fashion store of my sister. I was not surprised to find that I liked the book. I love the characters. The Carrier ladies are really adorable, especially Kitty, the mother. She's an eccentric yet very lovable character. She puts a lot of life and hilarity in this story. I think she brought the word comedy to this story. No, she's not a comedian but her witty retorts are just so hilarious. Right on the mark.

The town itself, Shearwater is a quaint little town. A very perfect setting for very quaint characters with quirky personalities. What I love about the author is she listed all the characters in the story before the first chapter starts. It was like introducing each character to the reader formally. The introductions were done clearly without the possibility of anyone mistaking one character for the other. And of course, the town of Shearwater is introduced too. How it is such a fitting and special town that creates a perfect backdrop for this story.

The story starts with a dead body. Yes, someone died in the first chapter. What turned this peaceful tourist town in a fuss was the fact that the dead woman was not liked by everyone. It seemed like the people who were not in the town meeting, who were considered persons of interest in the murder had each a reason to push the victim to her death. And in the midst of this is Abigail Carrier. A clairtangence, just like her sister Evalynn, who can see a person's memories just by touch. Her abilities came in handy but it was not easy-peasy. Her visions were not straightforward or clear. They are just snatches and it is up to the Carriers to figure out what those visions all mean. Whether they'd lead to the murderer or not, Abigail and Evalynn, with the Kitty pitching in from time to time, would need to do a little sleuthing to piece together facts to identify the murderer.

If I were Abigail, my first suspect would have been Peter Bakerfield. I am a mystery fan and I have read lots of mysteries. As I have mentioned, it's my favorite genre and my bookshelf is filled with varying mystery authors. So, I sort of have this habit of guessing the murderer or the culprit whenever I read mysteries and crime thrillers. Here it was Peter. He sort of planted himself in to the thick of things. The fact that he went back to the crime scene, to scout or probably get some items left that may point to him, is one indication. It just so happened that Abigail was there also and bumped into him. Second thing that led me to believe it was him was that he mentioned someone who might have done it. Trying to misled Abigail's investigation by pointing his finger to someone else is definitely a sign of guilt. Third thing was, he sort of misdirected Abigail's attention from him by supposedly being interested in dating her so she would not be focused on her sleuthing. And a lot of other clues that more or less pointed to his direction. Good thing, the Carrier ladies talk a lot and they examine everything from all angles. Points for Abigail too for not totally believing everyone, including being misled by Peter's supposed to be affections for her.

I totally enjoyed this story. Yes, someone died but it was not gory or morbid at all. This is probably the lightest murder mystery I have ever read. Light because of how fun this quirky characters make the investigation sound. I can't wait to read the second book of this series. What else would the sisters get themselves into this time?

I give this book 5/5 historical plaques. I haven't been reading a lot of mystery stories lately. I try to diversify my reading and read all other genres. My readings have been a mixture of a lot of other genres but mysteries have not been included into the mix until this book came. This reminded me of my first love of the mystery genre. This is how I got addicted into reading, buying and spending sleepless nights with my head buried in a book. I just got this feeling that I never get reading other genres when reading a mystery. Especially mystery and suspense books by my favorite authors. I just get lost in the pages and be immersed in them for as long as it takes. Thank you, Anna B. Madrise for reminding me this great feeling of having unraveled and solved the mystery myself.

Did I mention that the book includes recipes too. Yes, for someone like me who is also interested or more of a frustrated chef, I find these recipes really helpful. I will try them one day and see how they taste.

Good job, honey; ya couldn't have done it without us.

- Anna B. Madrise, Chirp No More -  

Other books by Anna B. Madrise:

Ruffled Feathers (Shearwater Mysteries #2)