Journal Entry 1 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

back cover:
In this first of the Cottage Tales, animal lover and all-round good samaritan, Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit, is ready to help solve local mysteries. And with her entourage of animal friends, she sets out to win over the human hearts of Sawrey...

England, 1905. A Londoner - a female Londoner - has just bought a farm in rural Sawrey. The locals don't know what to make of Beatrix Potter. They've never heard of an unwed woman buying and running a farm. Some meet her with genuine warmth; other's keep her at arm's length. Beatrix, recovering from the death of her fiance, believes she can heal in the countryside, a quiet place to work on her children's stories. But when a villager dies unexpectedly, with allegations of foul play, Sawrey turns out to be anything but quiet... 

Journal Entry 2 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I thought this might be too disgustingly twee for me but, despite the talking animals, I quite enjoyed it. Such a lot happening in the tiny village.

I can't help thinking the author would have been better advised to use a fictional character rather than taking liberties with Potter's life; it would have given her more leeway at the very least, & provide more scope for creativity. The talking animals are another mistake; as asides their thoughts could be quite amusing, but they are given too large a place & become ridiculous. The human interactions provide enough interest to sustain the story.

I did enjoy the human story, & even some of the animal conversations, but it was a bit twee for me so I won't bother with any more of the series (apparently there are to be eight Cottage Tales). 

Journal Entry 3 by catsalive at Mystery VBB, Virtual Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, February 19, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (2/19/2009 UTC) at Mystery VBB, Virtual Bookbox -- Controlled Releases

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Sent to elsi in USA for the mystery vbb. 

Journal Entry 4 by elsi from Sanger, Texas USA on Thursday, April 23, 2009

Arrived in today's mail. I selected it from the Mystery VBB because it seemed like it would be a very fun read. It's going into the TBR stack for a short while. 

Journal Entry 5 by elsi at BookObsessed VBB, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, March 13, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (3/12/2010 UTC) at BookObsessed VBB, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases

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Mailed to Kiri who selected it from the Everybook VBB at BookObsessed.com 

Journal Entry 6 by Kiri from Santa Rosa, California USA on Monday, March 29, 2010

This arrived about a week ago.. I didn't log it (sorry Elsi) I got a trifle absorbed reading it. =)