Vis-a-vis #cluedocrimechallenge ...

@Leniverse suggests that it would be fun to read (and then announce) a book that meets criteria for a suspect, a room and a weapon (e.g. Mrs Peacock in the conservatory with the lead pipe!) as a final extra challenge.

I love this idea 💕

If you come across combinations that could solve the mystery, please do share!!!! 👀

This is not necessary for completion of the challenge. Just an extra bit of fun.

And finally, here is the Bingo board to keep track of your progress!

Don't forget to tag @Ruthiella and myself in your posts so we can see what you're reading 👀

Challenge starts beginning of Feb, so you have a couple of weeks to assemble your TBRs!

Enjoy! 💕

4/4 prompts

- Wadsworth - A butler is involved!

- Secret passage - A genre hybrid / mashup mystery

- Mr Boddy - A crime that isn't a murder

- Yvette - Translated from French

3/4 prompts

- Candlestick - Has fire on the cover

- Dagger - Has a dagger or knife on the cover

- Lead pipe - An author you want to give another whack!

- Revolver - A spy thriller

- Rope - Nautical / set on a boat

- Spanner - A humourous mystery

2/4 prompts

- Hall - A country house murder

- Study - College or school setting

- Ballroom - Has a fancy cover! 🧐

- Billiards Room - A middle grade or children's mystery

- Dining Room - An author you've been meaning to try

- Kitchen - Food item on cover or in title

- Lounge - A scruffy paperback

- Conservatory - Flower on cover or in title

- Library - A British Crime Library Classic or American Mystery Classic (Otto Penzler series)

1/4 prompts

- Miss Scarlet - A romantic mystery or romantic suspense

- Mrs Peacock - Has a bird on the cover or in the title

- Colonel Mustard - Author or detective has a mustache

- Rev Green - Sleuth is religious OR set in a religious setting such as a monastery / vicarage etc.

- Mrs White - A debut crime novel

- Professor Plum - A cold case mystery

It's officially here! #cluedocrimechallenge 💕

The challenge runs from 1st Feb - 31st October and will consist of 25 prompts which I will announce in the next 4 posts.

Prompts are divided into Rooms, Characters, Weapons and Miscellaneous!

A Bingo board will follow so you can keep track of your progress!

I'll post the prompts, then tag people who expressed interest in the comments section.

Good luck 🔎🕵🏼‍♀️🫆🐾

If you like fluff, and you like filth, I have a new favourite book for you!

Romance isn't my go-to genre, but every now and again I dip a toe. This was wholesome and adorable, with excellent chronic illness rep.

At first, I found Chloe a bit mean (one thing she did in particular got to me), but as the story progressed, I couldn't fail to be charmed.

The writing is expositional and cheesy, but who cares?

Red is too pure 😄🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while, but #ihavequestions again!

What are you really in the mood for this January?

And what books are on your radar to suit the mood? 👀

For me, I've felt like a change so I'm reading some romance (very unlike me!) and I'm after some easy, entertaining reads that make me feel like I'm ticking stuff off my TBR.

What about you?

Repost and tag me! 💕💕

Buddy read with @Branwen and @DaveGreen7777 💕💕 LOVE YOU BOTH!

This was an enjoyable Tolkien-inspired epic fantasy. I feel like I can't really rate it properly because the story is only just beginning!

Chosen one vibes, hordes of Trollocs, the classic struggle of good versus evil, local folks at the inn going feral for bangers played on the flute!

I liked it best when they reached the cities, or when Moiraine started kicking ass!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The world's most judgemental book on Buddhism.

Life. Ur doin it wrong.

The final straw was advice on how to tell your obese partner that they are causing you social embarrassment and asking them to lose weight so you won't be sad.

Laughter is a bad habit. You're chopping vegetables too loud. Your voice is grating. You need to throw away all your stuff. You're parenting wrong and you shouldn't still be grieving.

Nope.

⭐️⭐️

Christmas Crime Challenge was so much fun that I wondered if there would be any interest in a longer (but more spread out) crime reading challenge running from Feb-Oct?

It would be BASED ON THE BOARD GAME CLUEDO! 🔎🕯🗡🔧

Tagging participants in the #christmascrimechallenge to gauge interest.

This would be the #cluedocrimechallenge !

If there is interest I will email @ruthiella and start plotting...

I've not started on the colouring in yet, but STICKERS!!!!!!!!! @Branwen and I both have Illumicrate journals to decorate and track our reading 💕💕💕💕

I may have got a little carried away 😅

And this is my final couple of hauls before starting my 3 month book buying ban. (More specifically it is a stuff-buying ban... I cannot move around the house for stuff!)

Fortunately, past-Rae preordered a lot of stuff so books are likely to still turn up. Plus I'm allowed to explore Kindle 99p deals so... 😉😉😉😉

Festive #shelfie for those who love books and crystals 💕💕

Ugh. If you want to read what annoyed me about this one, I've ranted about the insufferable characters, surface level themes, and lack of action over on Goodreads.

TLDR: read Flesh instead

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Aaaaaaand that's a wrap! (Only 2 days late, but I've done them all 😁)

Thank you to everybody who has joined @Ruthiella for the #christmascrimechallenge

It's been a blast and we'll host the event again next year, I'm sure! 💕💕💕💕

Happy New Year xx

Overall, I enjoyed this collection, and if this is anthology #7, I'm assuming the stories in 1-6 are even better!

A mixed bunch from some big names, with some stories working better than others.

I'm knocking off a star for the inclusion of a story that I read as containing a whole load of homophobic dog whistles (and not much else.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://youtu.be/qqfBn4ATJOU?si=1b7fQ0IN6As0oPil

The Rae's Choice Awards 2025 😅

Instead of doing a top 10, I give a quick top 5 and then give credit to the Funniest, Weirdest, Creepiest and Most Annoying of 2025 💕

You couldn't get away with writing a character like Rebus these days. Readers are a lot less tolerant of his flavour of morally grey. I had to put my brain in neutral to read it.

Here we have a character-driven slice of Tartan Noir, that manages to be engaging and atmospheric. It is the story of a serial killer of pre-teens, and we aren't given a lot to go off suspect-wise.

Readable and gritty, but of its time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I seem to enjoy a boat mystery, despite my professed impatience with boat books in general.

This one started off well enough, but became difficult to follow due to all the names and sides and espionage.

It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A truly ghastly woman is murdered on an excursion to Petra. So ghastly in fact that the first half of this book is quite unpleasant to read. There wasn't really anyone to root for at all.

Luckily once Poirot gets on the case, we once more have a proficient mystery to unravel.

Not my favourite, but Christie is still a better plotter than most, even on an off day.

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This is the vibe. Eating cake in my cake pyjamas.

This devilish locked room mystery pulls out so many tricks and tropes that I associate with the golden age. But it predates the golden age!

I found it much less fusty than Sherlock Holmes and it has certainly aged better.

Despite containing so many classic elements, I imagine this was breathtakingly original in its day. I really enjoyed the ride.

I hope to discover more of the canons next year!

Recommended!

#christmascrimechallenge

Me: I think you'll struggle to find a book I don't already have...

My sister: ...

My two xmas books! Cute mini-haul 🥰🥰

So happy to see everyone getting on board with the #christmascrimechallenge

Hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am!

I've still got a few squares to go, and I've found some great reads along the way so far 😊

@Ruthiella

I expected a mystery novel, but this was more like an Argentinian Desperate Housewives.

Thursday Night Widows is a portrait of social class explored through a gated community full of secrets and drama.

I'd have liked a bit more speculation about the deaths that the book opens with. A few more clues, a bit more background etc. But this was an excellent piece that satirised privilege and showed the instability of wealth and reputation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://youtu.be/FFIfWNyMiao?si=oMFpBk9ynW4giqFC

If you're doing the #christmascrimechallenge and want some especially xmassy mysteries, I've reviewed some here!!!!

I bought the hat just for this video 🤣

Ho ho ho etc.

@Ruthiella

This is a #blameitonLeni purchase 🤣

@Leniverse

@PuddleJumper I've got my #roll100 sorted for 2026 💕

There were exactly 100 books on this graphic in my Illumicrate book journal so I used it! 🩷

Work xmas do yesterday and my body has been totally broken from... mini golf? 😅😅😅 Oh boy.

This is one of the items from the incredible December Illumicrate box... a gorgeous, illustrated reading journal to track my 2026 year of reading!

@Branwen has one too so I can't wait to journal together 💕💕

This is kinda what's been happening for #christmascrimechallenge @Ruthiella 💕💕

This absolutely shouldn't have worked... and yet it kinda did...

Is it a novel? Is it a collection of short stories? Is it a puzzle book?

Well... yes!

I really enjoyed this quirky, chaotic read. After the ambiguous "puzzle" elements of Miss Winter, it was just nice to have the puzzles politely announce themselves!

Flawed festive fun.

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They've released the prompts for Book Riot's Read Harder challenge 💕💕

I may use this for my HRCYED readathon... or is that too ambitious 😅

Here's my video reacting to the prompts and deciding on some possibles -

https://youtu.be/aREoYEvZ0uw?si=8PifIqcwIP-Qno0q

Festive mystery number 6 this year, and I'm starting to flag.

This one is a short Christmas thriller with creepy moments of neighbourly torment.

For me, if a story requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief, there has to be other stuff to outweigh it, and this one just didn't have enough to balance out the implausibility.

If you're interested in a mildly festive romp with a psychopathic heart, give it a go, but it wasn't my fave.

⭐️⭐️

I would like it to be known that I solved both of the mysteries!

This was OK, but the characters were a bit two-dimensional and it didn't feel all that festive. If I'd travelled to a secluded village to play a murder mystery game, I'd expect more than a few A4 handouts.

It also stressed me out that I was supposed to be finding clues, but hadn't the foggiest what was meant by that. In the end, I solved it without writing much down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was so ridiculous, but SO funny 🤣🤣

Will make you feel amazing about being single ❤️

https://youtu.be/qlg0H-BbEIY?si=tM4w53okPnPlciuu

I made a Non-fiction November video!

#nonfictionnovember

A brilliantly written manifesto for inclusion, positive change, and integration. Concise, succinct, informative, and the next book you need to read on Art if you've been reading the classic texts.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love reading books that are about art, but also about life. We get a blend of memoir and commentary that is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Olivia Laing explores loneliness through the lens of five artists working in New York City, and the result is an incredible piece of writing.

Laing is more attracted by the provocative than I am, and I don't agree with all of their interpretations, but that's art for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you're looking for a murder mystery with twists, intrigue, tension, and suspicion... this ain't it. Everyone is still alive 3/4 into the story.

It was, however, a cosy slice of festive cheer. So if you can overlook the glaring lack of mystery and just enjoy it as a dinner with clashing personalities and a rustic feel, it is at least Christmassy.

Despite the festive minutiae being described, I did enjoy this more than Clement's debut.

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For anyone who is thinking about writing a cosy Christmas mystery, I have some advice. If you're going to do a cheesy set up with festive puzzles or (in this case) characters called Colonel Colman and Reverend Teal... it does not work to start tackling highly triggering subject matter.

It doesn't matter how sensitively it is handled, the book loses its identity as a cosy and leaves you feeling sad.

CW in comments.

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Oh hai Good Morning... how's that TBR coming along?

#pebblecat #catsoflitsy

This was a veritable festive bloodbath!

A group of VIPs get locked in a Christmas department store by a Poundland Wonka handing out sus hot chocolates... CHAOS ENSUES.

This was packed full of secrets, deception, gaslamps, creepy passages, automata, firelight, and one grisly grotto. Twists and turns galore, this was a high adrenaline page turner that somehow still managed to feel Christmassy.

Loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you're looking for a gossipy tell-all with lots of lurid details, Tim Curry makes it clear from the start that he isn't going to spill the tea on his love life or fellow celebrities!

This is a dignified look back over the roles he has taken on over a lifetime and how they shaped a varied, ambitious and celebrated career.

My favourite of his roles is, of course, that of Long John Silver in the wonderful Muppet Treasure Island ❤️

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This was a big step up from the last 2 festive mysteries Benedict put out. Much more polished, pacey and fun.

The metaphors still suck, the cheese level is insane, and the 80 year olds read like 30 year olds. That said, this was a Christmassy romp with plenty of action, and I enjoyed it more than the others!

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#christmascrimechallenge @Ruthiella Set in Winter!

On today's episode of "things Rae might live to regret"...

Whose idea was this?

And why did I buy them?

I read this charming little novella on Audio, and I'm glad I did because you get the full impact of the music.

It's a book about a young man who inherited his profession from his Pop - collecting shrimp with a horse and cart. He meets a film director whose acquaintance opens up his world.

At first, I thought this was going to be very boring, but there were some truly touching moments. Moving, understated, and sweet.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://youtu.be/QZkjTuw3Tvw?si=97d1Shc_4_tBKZbE

Thoughts on this year's Booker winner.

Still ill and droopy lol.