2013 Reading Challenge

I've reset my book count sidebar and made my first entry. I thought some about upping my reading challenge, but have decided not to do it. For this year, I'm going to keep the challenge at 100 with the proviso that I'll try to write short reviews for each of the books. I don't really feel I'm very good at that. When I read Goodreads reviews, it seems that everyone just summarizes the story. Once someone has done that, what's the point? And I guess that I don't think my personal opinion really is very important. However, maybe I'll gain a little insight for myself on what it is I really like in books. That could be helpful when that inevitable question comes from a patron, "What would you suggest?"

So my first book of the year is A Dark and Stormy Night by Jeanne M. Dams. This series definitely falls in the "cozy" category - an older American woman who lives in England and seems to be plagued by dead bodies falling into her path. I like the character and have enjoyed following the relationships in the stories. I've read this one out of turn - it's the last in the series and although I have the one before it here to read, I accidentally skipped it. (It's the last on my list and I've started it.) This final book is my least favorite. There were a lot of characters and they didn't seem as thoroughly drawn as those in the earlier books. It alsoseemed the action was slow. If any of you are tempted to read the series, be sure to start with the earlier ones.