Welcome to book review twenty-five of fifty-three for this year’s virtual coffee shares. I’ve selected books related to the theme at Brewing Coffee, Twisting Words & Breaking Pencils—coffee, books, and puzzles.

Wake Up and Spell the Coffee
Author Samantha Silver
Published in February 2020
Publisher is Independently Published
Available in eBook (234 pages), Audio, and Paperback
Vampire Mysteries | Werewolf & Shifter Mysteries | Psychic Mysteries

The above-noted categories for this book aren’t accurate. There are no werewolves, vampires, shifters, or psychic aspects to the Wake Up and Spell the Coffee. It’s a cozy mystery with a witchy main character. It’s book one in an eight-book series.

You can find my full review on Goodreads. The review.

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If we were having coffee, I would share the link to my post titled “Double-sided page layout.” The mirror margin is one thing I learned about while formatting my self-published (print format) novels.

If we were having coffee, I would share some more about the new book I’m writing. Cozy mystery wasn’t a genre I read until I started prepping for this year’s Weekend Coffee Share. I like the genre. It’s an influence on my newest book. One thing I noted about the genre is that most cozy mysteries feature animals, often the sleuth’s pet. One of my characters is a dog; he’s introduced early in the narrative as a puppy. My other influence for this K9 character is my boxer Riggs.

If we were having coffee, I would share that I don’t have a puzzle picture to share this week. I am working on one, but it isn’t finished. I will likely finish it before our next virtual coffee. It’s a 1000-piece Buffalo Games puzzle called “Peace like a River.”

Let me pass you the coffee bean grinder so you can tell me about your week.

By Shari Marshall – 2025