Mindy's Book Journey

  Title: A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons Author: Kate Khavari Genre: Historical Mystery Series: A Saffron Everleigh Mystery #1 Published: 6/7/22 by Crooked Lane Books I received a copy for review from the publisher through Netgalley.  Set in 1923, Saffron Everleigh is attending a party for University College of London for the botany department where a woman is poisoned. Her mentor is the main suspect, and Saffron must prove he is innocent.  Saffron is a great main character. She has to deal with unfair and uncouth treatment from some men, but she is the first female research assistant at the University for good reason. She is smart, tenacious, and a brilliant botanist. These are all great skills that help her to solve this mystery with the help of another researcher Alexander Ashton. There is a romance between the two that develops as well. I would say this mystery was well researched and had a cozy feel. The story took it's time developing characters, clues, and crea

  Title: Little Bird Author: Tiffany Meuret Genre: Weird Fiction, Horror, Fantasy Published: June 7, 2022 by Black Spot Books Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.  Josie is having a hard time dealing with the death of her father and her failed marriage. She avoids dealing with these issues with alcohol. Until a strange plant full of vines starts taking over in her backyard. Things get weirder when a talking skeleton shows up in the middle of the plant. These new dilemmas may just force her to face everything she has been avoiding. Little Bird is a strange story with unforgettable characters. Between the snarky alcoholic Josie, the cutest chihuahua Po, and the talking skeleton named Skelly you are not bound to forget this crew any time soon. This book shows the destructive effects that grief can have on someone's life if they cannot work through the feelings. I really enjoyed trying to figure out why Skelly was in Josie's yard. The subject