Caitlin Gonya
Bio
I love reading. Everything and, just about anything, I can put my hands on. I was guided towards writing, so I started with book reviews, and am now feeling ready to showcase some of my stories. I would appreciate any constructive feedback.
Stories (47/0)
Book Review: A Calculated Whisk by Victoria Hamilton
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. A Calculated Whisk is the 10th book in the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries written by Victoria Hamilton. I have not read any of the previous novels nor have I read anything from Victoria Hamilton before.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
Doctor Who's Greatest Companion
Donna Noble is the greatest Doctor Who companion, and there has been no one since to change my mind. 1. She tells the Doctor what he needs to hear and not what he wants to hear. Sometimes, the truth is hard, but it is necessary. Their relationship is not a romantic one, but a true friendship. While there were times that the dialog seemed rude, it was quickly realized that it was meant more as an eye-opener than it was as a mean comment. Donna rebuked him when he needed it, but also encouraged and soothed him as well. She “helped” him by pushing the button to make Mount Vesuvius erupt, thus sharing the emotional burden. She also forced him to recognize his daughter, despite how she was conceived. Donna understood that the Doctor needed to have companions, so she recorded a message telling him to find someone who would “keep him going.” The Doctor made sure that Donna was taken care of, after their adventures, by gifting her with a lottery ticket for her wedding. She believes it to be a cheap gift, but Wilf and Sylvia know that is so much more.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Geeks
6 Reasons to Love Doctor Who
Doctor Who is the greatest fandom to ever be created. Here are the many reasons why: 1. The Doctor, of course, must be number one. There are many sides to the Doctor. There is the best friend being shown to Amy and Rory, then there is the lover to Rose and Riversong, and there is the familial with Donna and Clara. Those are just the ones I grew up with. Obviously, the orginal Doctor Who played by William Hartnell showed us the true family man when he traveled with his grand-daughter. The Doctor showed his audience that there is more than one type of person, but he also displayed the concept of becoming a new person. The show calls this regeneration and each new Doctor brings those new personalities. However, at the end of each episode, fans are reminded that it is still the same doctor, just a different face.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: The Return of the Pharaoh
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I have not read anything by Nicholas Meyer before this novel. This is Mr. Meyer’s fifth Sherlock Holmes pastiche, and I believe he did the Great Detective admirable justice.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
Book Review: Getaway With Murder
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Diane Kelly begins a new cozy mystery series titled Mountain Lodge Mystery. In the first novel Getaway With Murder, Misty Murphy, alone with cat Yeti, are celebrating her fiftieth birthday with a mutual divorce, as well as purchasing an older mountain lodge on the Blue Ridge Mountains. She might have bitten off more than she can chew, however, when she sees that the old lodge appears to be falling off a bluff. Enter Rocky Crowder, handsome handyman, and his trusty sidekick dog Molasses. With Rocky around for maintenance, Misty can focus on acquiring guests, and she is off to a fantastic start when she becomes fully booked her opening night with a yoga group needing a place for their retreat. Feeling the zen-like atmosphere, Misty and group are caught completely off guard when the yoga instructor is found murdered. Now Misty must scramble to protect not only her guests, but also the reputation of her lodge or else she might lose everything including her life.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
Book Review: The Mystery of Albert E. Finch
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I love the Victorian Bookclub Mystery series by Callie Hutton, and was so excited to see a third one in the series. Lord William Wethington and Lady Amy Lovell have gotten married! What should be a happy occasion is marred at the wedding breakfast when Lady Amy’s cousin Alice Finch jumps dead in to her food. Amy and William battle wits again with Detectives Carson and Marsh when they decide that Alice’s husband Albert is the killer. With Amy’s mystery writer identity revealed to all, and the couple’s previous successes, Albert has requested their assistance to proving his innocence. Unfortunately for everyone who is investigating, suspects begin to pile up including Albert, and soon a second body is discovered. According to the same detectives and to William’s consternation, the happy couple is not allowed to go on their honeymoon. To add insult to injury, Amy’s father, brother, and Aunt Margaret have temporarily moved into William and Amy’s home as unexpected repairs are being done to their own home. Now that there is a threat to their happiness, the two decide to take matters into their own hands before there becomes one to their lives as well.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
A Painter's Life
I wake up in the early mornings when it is quiet and the day hasn’t quite started, and I simply observe the shadows of my bedroom. If I actually venture outside, then I take in the fog and/or early sunlight. I shiver in the chill or sweat as the temperature rises. When it is night time, I observe the clouds, stars, and sometimes the firelight of the fire pit that my husband has lit. I enjoy the warmth but not the mosquitoes as they bite. For me, these are the times to have my cell phone so I can take pictures of the atmosphere for when I attempt to grab that feeling when I am painting. That wondrous feeling of living in a moment of perfection.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
There Are People Other Than Doctors in Healthcare
One of the most rewarding careers is in health care, according to everyone on the planet. What many individuals don’t tell you is that you do not have to be a nurse or a doctor to have that rewarding career. I am a medical biller, coder, and auditor, and the love I have for my job is what has sustained me throughout the pandemic.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Journal
Notes from a Married but Independent Woman
The first time I mowed the grass it was as a favor to my parents. I thought that it would be helpful since they were busy and it is a lot of yard. My parents have four children, the only boy being the oldest of us all, so I had never mowed the grass before. I figured I could do mow the grass, it couldn’t be that hard. So I pulled the push mower out of the garage and started in the front yard. It was actually a lot harder than it looked because the mower was heavy.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Fiction
Frozen Meetings
Marisa held tightly to baby Jo, as they watched Daisy and Ash skate around the frozen pond. Ever since those women had entered the library, Marisa had felt chilled to her bones. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t done with her yet. And protecting her sisters was her first priority.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Fiction
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Fifteen year old Enola Holmes, the baby sister to Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, is requested by Dr. John Watson to check on her brother as he is currently in a state of melancholy. Since their sibling reunion, Enola had not seen her brothers and was eager to assist. However, upon arrival another lady appears, needing Sherlock’s unique skills to find out what has happened to her twin sister, Felicity. Tish has received a letter from her brother-in-law that Felicity has died but Tish believes it to be false because twins always know. As Sherlock appears to be ignoring the lady, Enola takes it upon herself to find Felicity. Gradually, the case becomes interesting to Sherlock and soon brother and sister are working together to find, and save, Lady Felicity. Only now the case has taken a diabolical turn as Enola soon discovers that this is not the first of the Earl’s wives to have gone missing. Enola must use all of her resources to save the lady in question. She must even call upon her old friend, Viscount Tewkesbury.
By Caitlin Gonya3 years ago in Lifehack