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mborer23's review
3.0
An unlikely cozy mystery involving a button store and a beautiful movie star with an upcoming wedding and a past full of secrets.
ewil6681's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chrisrin's review
I read about a hundred pages of this book before I decided to save myself the aggravation and give up. Josie was an okay character and if Logan had spent more time focused on Josie and her personality I would probably have finished the book. Instead Logan spends a lot of her time rehashing how bad Kaz, Josie's ex-husband, is for her but how hot he is and how every time she runs into him she thinks about getting back together because he's so hot... never-mind that he's a bit of a con man, a moocher, and a gambler. I have no use for that kind of guy and when Kaz horned his way into yet another aspect of Josie's life I had had enough. I flipped through the book and Kaz hadn't died yet, so I decided I will pass on the rest of this series.
tregina's review against another edition
2.0
A competently written mystery with an interesting set-up, even thought it wasn't quite as engaging on a character level as it could have been. And yet, I probably won't be continuing with the series, because the protagonist's ex-husband and his manipulative, stalkery ways made me so uncomfortable every time he showed up, and from the preview of the next book it's clear he'll be a continuing presence in her life.
I actually picked this up because I think button collecting is fascinating, and something I knew very little about, but there wasn't nearly as much of the minutiae of it as I hoped (even the portions that were critical to the solution of the murder).
I actually picked this up because I think button collecting is fascinating, and something I knew very little about, but there wasn't nearly as much of the minutiae of it as I hoped (even the portions that were critical to the solution of the murder).
jmj697mn's review
3.0
Not too bad for the first in a new series. I was pretty annoyed that they spelled one of the assistants names wrong--it was "Wynona" through most of the book and then on page 97 it's spelled "Winona." It's little things like this that really annoy me and should be fixed before final publication. I will probably try the next one, but I hope it's a little better.
hugbandit7's review
3.0
not bad for a first book in the series but it didn't grab me like others. would have given it 3.5 stars if we could do 1/2 stars.
git_r_read's review
5.0
Here's what I adore about reading cozy mysteries, I learn something new in each one. It's either the niftiness of owning a cupcake bakery or managing a fab New York coffeeshop or making quilts or owning a bookstore, running a library or solving crimes with two Siamese cats.
BUTTON HOLED is a new one on me. Josie Giancola is a bit of a nerd for buttons, all kinds of buttons. And she has a button shop. She knows the walk-in clientele might be limited, but she has a healthy online button business, too.
One of her walk-in clients is movie star (and major league not-nice-person),
Kate Franciscus, who demands the best of Josie's specialty buttons for her one-of-a-kind wedding dress for her upcoming wedding to uber wealthy Prince Roland.
Then Kate ends up dead in the Button Box and it's up to Josie to help solve the case so she can get her buttons back in order and her life back to mellow.
Excellent characters abound through the book. Along with Josie, there's the crusty retired cop, the schmoozy ex-husband, and the hottie detective. Add in the new-to-me button collecting gig and it's a winner all the way around.
Five win-win buttons beans....
BUTTON HOLED is a new one on me. Josie Giancola is a bit of a nerd for buttons, all kinds of buttons. And she has a button shop. She knows the walk-in clientele might be limited, but she has a healthy online button business, too.
One of her walk-in clients is movie star (and major league not-nice-person),
Kate Franciscus, who demands the best of Josie's specialty buttons for her one-of-a-kind wedding dress for her upcoming wedding to uber wealthy Prince Roland.
Then Kate ends up dead in the Button Box and it's up to Josie to help solve the case so she can get her buttons back in order and her life back to mellow.
Excellent characters abound through the book. Along with Josie, there's the crusty retired cop, the schmoozy ex-husband, and the hottie detective. Add in the new-to-me button collecting gig and it's a winner all the way around.
Five win-win buttons beans....
cj_mo_2222's review
5.0
Josie Giancola is not sure what has her more upset – having two gigantic men in ski masks threatening her in her new button shop or the fact that they’ve dumped out several drawers of her collection of nearly 100,000 buttons! Luckily, Josie is able to slip away into a back room to call the police and manages to get her shop back in order before celebrity client Kate “The Great” Franciscus arrives to select antique buttons for her custom wedding gown. Josie gets some good publicity from having such as famous customer until Kate returns to the store to look at more buttons, but becomes a victim of murder, with an antique button hook as the weapon. Now Josie has the paparazzi hounding her for a story, as well as her ex-husband Kaz begging her for gambling money. Just when Josie thinks things can’t get worse, she find out the detective that has been assigned to Kate’s murder case is none other than Nevin Riley, a former blind date from hell.
"Button Holed" is a fantastic debut. It has an unusual setting, a shop called “The Button Box” that sells collectible buttons, located in a converted brownstone in Chicago. While the Chicago background doesn’t have a strong presence in most of the book, something related to the city’s sport teams provides a valuable clue to the solution of Kate’s murder.
The information about buttons in interesting and is included throughout the book and in a small section at the back of the book. Josie is brought into the investigation in a believable way – her knowledge of buttons is needed to help research a clue in the murder. So the buttons aren’t just a side ploy, but key to the main plot of the book.
Populating the great setting are several interesting supporting characters: Josie’s young assistant Brinna Martingale – full of tattoos and attitude -, friend, neighbor, and retired Chicago cop Stan Marzcak, and Ex-husband Mitchell “Kaz” Kazlowski. Josie is still attracted to him but knows he is a gambler and a liar. However, after the initial awkwardness, there is hope that Josie and Nevin can get past their disastrous first date and become friends, or even more.
Josie’s assistant Brinna is very aggravating in the beginning of the book, but I love the direction the author took in regard to that character as the story progresses. Kaz is annoying because of the way he tries to take advantage of Josie’s good nature and lingering attraction to him to try to get money out of her to cover his gambling debts. Although this is the first book in a new series, the narrative refers back to several instances that Josie was taken advantage of in the past. However, from her actions in this book, it’s clear Josie has matured and learned to stand up for herself and her ethics in her business and personal life.
The combination of interesting setting, memorable characters, believability, and possible love-interest in the character of Nevin result in an interesting mystery and a wonderful start to a new series. Mystery lovers who enjoy Laura Child’s scrapbooking series will feel right at home in “The Button Box”.
This review was originally written for the "Season for Romance" E-Zine. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
"Button Holed" is a fantastic debut. It has an unusual setting, a shop called “The Button Box” that sells collectible buttons, located in a converted brownstone in Chicago. While the Chicago background doesn’t have a strong presence in most of the book, something related to the city’s sport teams provides a valuable clue to the solution of Kate’s murder.
The information about buttons in interesting and is included throughout the book and in a small section at the back of the book. Josie is brought into the investigation in a believable way – her knowledge of buttons is needed to help research a clue in the murder. So the buttons aren’t just a side ploy, but key to the main plot of the book.
Populating the great setting are several interesting supporting characters: Josie’s young assistant Brinna Martingale – full of tattoos and attitude -, friend, neighbor, and retired Chicago cop Stan Marzcak, and Ex-husband Mitchell “Kaz” Kazlowski. Josie is still attracted to him but knows he is a gambler and a liar. However, after the initial awkwardness, there is hope that Josie and Nevin can get past their disastrous first date and become friends, or even more.
Josie’s assistant Brinna is very aggravating in the beginning of the book, but I love the direction the author took in regard to that character as the story progresses. Kaz is annoying because of the way he tries to take advantage of Josie’s good nature and lingering attraction to him to try to get money out of her to cover his gambling debts. Although this is the first book in a new series, the narrative refers back to several instances that Josie was taken advantage of in the past. However, from her actions in this book, it’s clear Josie has matured and learned to stand up for herself and her ethics in her business and personal life.
The combination of interesting setting, memorable characters, believability, and possible love-interest in the character of Nevin result in an interesting mystery and a wonderful start to a new series. Mystery lovers who enjoy Laura Child’s scrapbooking series will feel right at home in “The Button Box”.
This review was originally written for the "Season for Romance" E-Zine. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
cheryl6of8's review
3.0
Well, it took me a lot longer than I anticipated to get through this one. It wasn't bad, it just didn't catch my interest for the first half. The mystery aspect was decent and Jo is a good character, but I am not really that interested in her love life. The ex-husband character didn't interest me and I didn't really buy the possibility of her and Nevin. I liked the button stuff, but there weren't enough descriptions of the various kinds except the boxwood button for me to connect with them. All in all, not bad, but I don't know if I will seek out others in the series.