Review: A Dark and Stormy Murder

A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Star Review. A Dark and Stormy Murder (A Writer's Apprentice Mystery)is the first book in a new series by Julia Buckley.

Lena London wanted to be an inspiring writer after she read Camilla Graham’s novel, so how lucky was she when she landed a job as Camilla’s newest assistant! She will live with Camilla in a Victorian home, and help her with her newest mystery. All is right with the world for Lena, or so she thinks. In the small town of Blue Lake, Indiana, Lena is about to learn that anything can happen, especially when a dead body turns up on Camilla’s property.

Like the cover of the book and title, this book gives a dark tone to this mystery, which is pleasantly a nice change from reading other cozy where everything is sunshine and diabetic sweet. The characters are well put together, and for the most part likable. The plot is well thought out. There is actually two mysteries needing solved in this one. The author does a good job of intertwining them together, to where the reader doesn’t get lost or confused. I felt the speed of the book was perfect to where you can enjoy the book as well keeping up to speed with everything happening in the stories, while you caught up in the suspense of the mysteries.

For this book being the first in a mystery, I liked the fact that it really enhanced the fact that it was a mystery and we really didn’t have to spend three quarters of the book hearing all the backstories, and what brought them to where they are today, and then spend a few chapters for the murder to happen and then then a few chapters to find out who killed who. I do look forward to reading the others in this new series, as I have never read anything by this author, and I enjoyed the book so much.


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Review: The Things We Knew

The Things We Knew by Catherine West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 stars Review. This book had me hooked before I had finished the second chapter. There’s something to say about an author when they can draw you in so quickly and leave you thinking about the book for days after you finish it.

Catherine West really brought the characters to life. She really made them more like a normal family with different personalities’, she touched on subjects that many families deal with, like drug addiction, gambling, loneliness, etc. etc. and you can’t help but get emotionally attached to the characters. The book moved at a good pace, was very well written and thought out, and at times, left me breathless.

Lynette Carlisle mother passed away years ago, and it left her father broken hearted. He turned to alcohol and gambling though it didn’t help him in the least to easy his pain. Her siblings have left the area to start their own lives, so it’s up to Lynette to care for her father and their childhood home that is crumbling down. When Lynette goes to the bank to get a loan so that she can start repairing the house, she runs into her old flame, Nick. After seeing someone from her past, things that she had buried would soon come to light for her. Somethings she wants to remember, other things she doesn’t remember and those could be the cortical things that could help her move on.

This book was a page turner for me, with twists and turns around every corner. Pure enjoyment reading this book, and I wouldn’t be upset if there was more books telling more about the other character’s or even the future for Lynette or Nick.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.


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Review: Valley of the Moon

Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 star review for Melanie Gideon Valley of the Moon. First I’d like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have not read anything by Melanie Gideon, the author of this book until I read this book, and I must say, I did enjoy her writing and I look forward to reading books from her again. It’s nice when you find a new author and bring her/him into your little fold of authors, and how can you not like an author who was inspired to write this from the movie ‘Brigadoon’. If you have not seen this movie, then I suggest you run and watch it right away!

The story is wonderful, the characters are well developed, complex, unique, and come to life right before your eyes. I found this book to be suspenseful, entertaining, enjoyable, fun, heart wrenching, warm, fast pace, touching, fun and all around an enjoyable book that I will tell others about and encourage them to read it. I was sad to see it come to an end, but I also had a satisfying feeling when I read the last word.

In 1975, Lux is a single mother who is barely making it to support her and her son. When her son goes to spend the summer with his grandparents, Lux takes a little, well deserved vacation to Sonoma County, known for being the wine county in California. One night she goes to bed and wakes up to dense fog moving in, as she steps out into the night air she is transported back in time to a farm. Here she meets Joseph Bell, founder of Greengage farm. The time is early in the 19th hundred. Lux is told by the farm residents of how they have become trapped in this time-wrap loop that brings this farm back to life when the full moon is upon them. Lux is relaxed at the farm and has time to think about her past, present and what her future holds for her and her son.

The author did a wonderful job of doing the chapters going back and forth between Lux and Joseph, and didn’t leave you confused. Valley of the Moon is a wonderful read that will transport you to a different place and time, and helps you forget about what’s going on in your life, and gives you time to escape from work, kids, family, bills, and yes even the summer heat.


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Review: Last Wool and Testament

Last Wool and Testament by Molly MacRae
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Star Review.

Kath Rutledge is coming back to the small town she grew up in in Blue Plum, Tennessee for her grandmother’s funeral. But before she gets to the funeral she is stopped by the local cop for speeding. When she explains to him why she was in such a hurry he makes the remark that she is “Crazy Ivy’s “ grand-daughter. Kath doesn’t like the fact that he referred to her grandmother as crazy. After the funeral she goes to her grandmother’s house to start clearing out her house, but her key doesn’t work and she soon learns that her grandmother didn’t own her house anymore. She moves in to a cottage that she soon learns was where the former tenant died. Deputy Dolt , who stopped Kath on her way to her grandmother’s funeral is the one that informs her of this, however, he claims that Ivy was the one that killed the tenant.

Kath is determined to prove her grandmother’s innocence, which means delving into the death of the man who just happened to have died in the same cottage where Kath is now living and is mourned over by the ghost.

This was a fun little cozy to read. This is also the first book in the Haunted Yarn Shop series and I do intend on reading the others in it. I found this book to be funny, entertaining, hilarious, fun, and an enjoyable read. The author did a good job on descriptions and really made you feel like you were in the small hometown where the book is taking place. The characters in this hometown feel book knew everyone and everyone’s business. The author made the town seem picturesque.

The author has created a likeable heroine that has a sense of humor which provides for a refreshing twist from the good, perfect life heroines that we read so much about in other mystery series.


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Review: Night and Day

Night and Day by Iris Johansen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Stars for Iris Johansen’s newest Eve Duncan novel. First off I’d like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to have the opportunity to read this book and give my honest review.

If you haven’t ever read an Eve Duncan book, I do so highly recommend you read one. Night and Day is the latest in the series. Like all the other books in the series, this is a fast pace, heart pounding, intriguing, entertaining, adventure, and danger. Johansen’s knows how to pull the reader into the story as if they are in the story and can vividly see what is going on and sometimes you feel like you’re actually there participating right beside Eve.

This book is a continuation from the previous two books Shadow Play and Hide Away. It’s a miniseries within a series. With this one being a wonderful conclusion to the miniseries, it did tie up this storyline nicely, HOWEVER, I will say that I don’t believe we will be saying goodbye to Eve; this was like a special event, in which I enjoyed reading.

I love the character of Eve, she has grown on me so much through the other books and I’m glad to say she hasn’t changed. She is one tough little character that I wouldn’t want to make her mad. I would love to hang out with her and her boyfriend Joe. The characters have always been well developed as well as the supporting character’s the crimes have always been intriguing, the story was well written, fast pace, page turning, and one book that you just can’t put down.

The story picks up from Hide Away, where Eve has taken Cara somewhere to hide her, but Joe finds out that someone is after them. Eve takes Cara out of the country to keep her safe from her enemies, but Eve becomes their next target. Cara’s mom, Natalie thinks that Eve has found a legendary treasure and wants to get her hands on it, she likes having power and being able to control everything. One thing I liked about Cara was not only was she stubborn to the core, but she was very mature for her age.

I highly recommend this book as well as the whole series to everyone who enjoys a crime, mystery book.


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Review: The Tea Planter's Daughter

The Tea Planter's Daughter by Janet MacLeod Trotter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars. I’d like to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes place in the early 1900’s, Clarrie and her sister Olive are growing up on their father’s tea plantation. With their mother dead, the two girls are being raised by their father who is still grieving over his wife’s death and drowns himself in alcohol to help him deal with the loss. When the family becomes financially ruined, the girls must leave the only home they have known in India, and travel to a new country, England to live with relatives.

Clarrie, is a very strong willed girl who grows throughout the book. She is strong willed, determine, feisty, stubborn, she protects her family and fights for the underdog, she also quick to judge, makes decision and choices that are either good or come with consequences. No matter how you look at her, her journey is remarkable. She goes from having money to penniless, to a successful business woman, in a time when woman were laughed at, frowned upon, belittled, and where humiliated by men.

This book was told mainly from Clarrie, although Olive was involved, her character was one of those typical girls, who needed love, would tear up as if on cue, needed to be taken care of, instead of making it on her own and using her own brain. I did get tired of Olive’s ways, and tearing up at everything. However, Clarrie character was one I did enjoy as she was a much stronger woman. She built a relationship with Wesley, and her father didn’t approve because of who his family was.
The author did provide history, emotions, love, hate, jealousy, grief, hardship, courage, hope and triumphed. There were plenty of twist and turns not only for the pages, but also in the lives of the characters as well. A very good read.


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Review: The Diva Serves High Tea

The Diva Serves High Tea by Krista Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Krista Davis has done it again! She has brought a fun, relaxing, enjoyable, humorous read. Sophie, Natasha, Bernie, Nina, Francie, Mars, Wolfe, Alex, and the whole town of Old Town are all back for another fun filled adventure.

When Sophie receives a late night text from Natasha stating she has an intruder in her house, Sophie races across the street just in time to see a person dressed in black, running down the alley. With Natasha inside knocked out Sophie calls the police, when Natasha comes to, they let her know the ambulance is on it's way and in true Natasha style, she starts ordering Sophie to get her her make-up bag and fix her hair.

The next day, when Sophie is talking to Mars, her ex-husband and Natasha boyfriend she finds out that Mars and Natasha broke up, of course each other says they broke up with the other. Mars doesn't want Natasha to be alone so he calls Natasha mother, Wanda, who is totally the opposite of Natasha. Wanda arrives on the day that Natasha's big antique auction, with her own herbs, oils, and all her new age potions. Natasha's little event takes place at a newly opened business called The Parlor, a cute little tea shop that serves teas, desserts, and a lot of gossip. Robert Johnson, owner of an antique store across the street allows Natasha to store her auction items in his shop is found dead the next day in his house by none other than our Sophie. When Sophie reaches Robert the only words he says is "Rosie". The autopsy listed his death of dying from botulism, the health department shuts down The Parlor, because Robert was seen eating there.

Sophie can't believe that the new tea shop was the cause of Roberts death, and her friends can't believe it either, so they start looking for clues, and wondering who this Rosie person is. When Alex's friend's soon to be ex-wife is found in the alley, again the name Rosie is mention. Sophie knows now that Robert didn't die of botulism poisoning, but was murder. Sophie and her little team of amateur sleuths, set out to find out who killed Robert, and who exactly is Rosie.

This book was so much fun to read. The mystery happened rather quickly in the beginning of the book. The characters are well developed and since getting to know them in previously books they are like visiting with old friends that you haven't seen in a year. The description of the town, and the people that live them, makes you feel like you're apart of the town.

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