Four small Artifacts

Ryoko, Meditating Skeleton, 81 pieces. Punches above its piece count because of the skull-like hexagonal shapes and limited color range. Very good (can't really say cute) whimsies. 3/5

Vikram Madan, Stop and Smell the Daisies, 171 pieces. Ok, I think I have to say "cute" for this one, and the coffin-shape pieces are fun, but I object conceptually to the crossbones with bunny ears (there's no bones in bunny ears!). 3/5

Renoir, Pears, 166 pieces. Another well-designed small cut; I really enjoyed all the curved pieces. 3/5

Amadeo Simonetti, Rug Merchant, 269 pieces. More conventional hexagonal pieces here, with a complex image that can be hard to track from piece to piece. 3/5

Venice Canal

 Whimsy Wood Puzzles, 500 pieces. I haven't always been super fond of this maker, despite some interesting cuts and images, but this one really shows craft and ingenuity. The border full of dropouts works almost like a Teaser puzzle, since things that look like connectors often fit in only half the space you imagine they'd take up, making fitting the border together a challenge--one I liked a lot. 4/5

Black Bear, Sue Coccia

 Liberty, 651 pieces. I think this might be their largest Coccia, and it delivers--including a tiny dropout that makes assembling the legs more complicated. There's also a bonus 3D puzzle that isn't part of the cut otherwise. 4/5

color line cutting

moose next to tiny dropout

birds and butterflies

deer, wolves, and other woodland creatures

more deer/moose/etc

paw prints--perhaps the unique pieces here?

check out the beaver gnawing at the stump

Bouquet of Flowers on the Ledge

 Mr. Gogo, 345 pieces. As usual, beautifully cut, with the addition of dropouts that add a bit of complexity. A pleasure for the hands and eyes. 4/5

San Francisco, Jan Davidson

 Liberty, 670 pieces. A nice Liberty with a lot of blue; some minor color variation but mostly it's done by shape or putting boats together and then placing them among the blue. I like that kind of thing but maybe avoid if you don't. 3/5

two tables, one cat

bicycles with one trailer (I don't think I've seen that one before)

music

dragon

streetcar (for the SF vibes) and temple

Harmonie, E. Grasset/F. Gaudin

 Sr. B Puzzles Workshop, 437 pieces. A nice image with unusual dimensions and a stylistically similar mini-puzzle. The only whimsy is the signature piece. 4/5

Over the Rainbow

 Stave, 120 pieces. A very nice Teaser with good colors and fun teaser pieces with lots of curves. 7/10

Whitehall in Snow

 Wentworth, 250 pieces. A fine standard Wentworth. 3/5

A Story Map of France

 Liberty, 745 pieces. This giant was a challenge because of the tiny details on each piece combined with an overall consistent style, which could make finding a piece's general area difficult. 4/5

clever signature piece

nautical area--tattered French flag, plus rooster/chicken

Napoleon on horse, which I haven't seen before, near scientific instruments

Liberty leading the masses next to a windmill? at least she's not tilting at it