The Sunday Post! April is here, got flowers?

   

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

I have to tell you, I think I am developing a case of Spring Fever. Our weather is super uneven with days below freezing and other brief bursts of temps hitting near 60 degrees/15 Celcius. I can't wait for the T-shirt weather and open windows!!! Ahhhhhhhh, yep I've got it bad! 

How is the weather by you? Are you enjoying warm weather? Tell me all about it!

Mother of the Bride Murder ARC from Net Galley!

 Here is the tagline from the publisher: "As part-time Tinker’s Cove, Maine reporter Lucy Stone says “oui” to her daughter’s surprise wedding invitation in France, she must also make a different kind of vow—to catch a killer!"

If you've read my blog before,  you know I enjoy the Lucy Stone cozy mystery series. I've read many of the books over the last five years and I was delighted that Kensington and Net Galley provided me with an ARC for Mother of the Bride Murder which will be published April 25th. 

I am of the opinion that sometimes you connect with a cozy sleuth and sometimes you don't and that is A-OK.  I connect with Lucy Stone even though I don't always agree with her.  We live in Lucy's head in these books and so we really get to know her thoughts and opinions. After reading many of her adventures, I find that the reason I will read this series as long as Leslie Meier writes them is that Lucy and the Tinker Cove crew feel like real people. They are written with depth and the dialogue sounds just like you might have in your own daily life. 

Reading this book I was worried about Lucy's relationship with Toby more than I was about the actual murder. I'm glad that by the end of it, they were in a good place.  However because of what happens, now I'm pretty concerned that Molly is never going to want to move back to Maine.  I miss the days when Molly lived nearby. She's a great daughter-in-law. 

I was also reminded in this book that Elizabeth is my least favorite of the daughters, she always seems to be too interested in wealth. See, the characters are normal everyday middle-class-ish people you probably know. I could write a really long post going on about everything in the book like I was telling you about my neighbor, that's how Lucy feels after you read some of this series.

My rating for this book is 4. It's a good solid book, I liked that much of the drama involving the Stone family could have been avoided if Marie and Hugo had been upfront with their guests. I do prefer when the whole book takes place in Tinker's Cove. 

If you haven't read any of this series, you can read this book, you don't have to know all about the other books. 

Get Ready !!The Latest Installment from #ItHappenedOneMidnight #NetGalley

Here is the description from the publisher: 

"Saranna DeWylde brings her trademark mix of quirky charm, sexy comedy, and a touch of magic to the third Fairy Godmothers, Inc. installment, as Ever After, Missouri’s resident fairy godmothers Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet are doing their best to restore their hometown’s deep well of enchantment by conjuring true love, one happy couple at a time. This time, the godmothers set their sights on their very own goddaughter, a romance novelist whose fib about a fake engagement is about to transform into a friends-to-lovers story worthy of the bestseller lists…"

 Part of what keeps bringing me back to this series is I love the godmothers! I mean sure their charges are great and it's fun to see them fall in love--or admit they are in love. But it is just delightful to get to know Petunia, Jonquil, and Bluebonnet.  I can't wait for Saranna to give us a book where one of the godmothers has a romance! 

In this book, we see the romance of Juniper and Tomas. This one is a friends-to-lovers. Now even though this is the third book in this series, and I should be certain that a HEA is destined to happen at the end, I still was real worried Tomas would blow his chance for a HEA with the love of his life.  That's good writing.

The humor this series is known for continues and we get to spend time with some of our Ever After favorites. If you haven't started this series yet, now is a great time to start as you'll get to read two books, and then this one will be out!  Put this series on your Christmas List! Then we will all have to wait for the next installment and hopefully a Rumplestilskin sighting! 

4 stars for It Happened One Midnight thank you NetGalley!  I loved the opportunity to read this joyful book! 

#CozyMysteryDebut! The Guest is a Goner and Valentine's Day Talk

 

Look at this old cute picture of how cute is that kid and how colorful are the clothes.  The shirt has a great reminder for all of us Love Yourself!  Anytime is a good time to celebrate love, but it's almost Valentine's Day so let's talk about that, do you have any tradition you observe, a special dinner or night with your loved one? Is it all about the romance or the friendships?  Oprah Magazine has put together a list of 35 different ideas to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2021.  I like to use seasonal decor to celebrate the holidays so as I posted about a couple weeks ago, I have my DIY Valentine's day decor and as you know I like to cook, so a chocolate dessert is in order. 

And lastly, if you like flowers, get yourself some flowers! Don't wait for someone to do it for you, give yourself the gift of beauty in your home! 

Now on to my book review!

The Guest is a Goner by Carly Winter My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I Need to Know The Answer To The Cliffhanger at the End!

I have to say right up front that the cliffhanger I am talking about is outside the central mystery of the book. Don't worry you'll know why the guest is a goner and who did it! The Cliffhanger is the answer to something I was curious about as a reader and for that reason, I'll be sure to pick up the next book in the series.

This book is the first book in the Sedona Spirits series and is a spin-off of the author's "Tri-town Murders" series, but you don't have to be familiar with that series to start this book. I was drawn to read this book because I thought the title was a hoot and I enjoy paranormal cozies. Bernie and Ruby are a likable duo, grandma Ruby is a free spirit and Bernie is very straight-laced. Their lives have both been affected by Ruby's hardnosed parents and it's interesting to see how Bernie's great-grandparents have had a hand in Ruby's, Bernie's Mom's, and Bernie's personalities and decisions. In the book, Bernie does some important self-reflection and that's a real plus, it's so good to see characters focusing on their mental health.

One of the main components of a cozy mystery is the town and the townsfolk. In this book, it turns out that Bernie is surrounded by terrible townsfolk. At the end of the book Bernie really only has her grandma and a potential love interest and that was rather sad. I hope in the next book Bernie makes new friends with people who aren't murder suspects.

When the killer is revealed it is done Scooby-Doo style, which I *loved* So fun! I also learned that in the Sedona area there are wild boars and they are called javelinas. Lastly, I highlighted one line from the book to share: "The bowling alley smelled like oil and feet."--What a great line!

Overall this is a short cozy, has a quirky duo to root for, and paranormal elements and I will read the next book to see where we go!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

View all my reviews

Downward Death - A New Cozy Mystery and I Try A New Recipe! #COYERCHALLENGE2021

As you can see here I overcooked the crescents by about 2 minutes. 

 Kraft food sends me recipes all the time and many of them involved crescent rolls which I think I could easily eat a whole batch by myself! They are so light and flaky!  Ham and Pineapple Crescent Rolls I followed the directions on this recipe. I will say if I were to make this in the future I would dice the ham and mix all the ingredients into one spread and spread that on the crescent rolls and then roll them up. Overall it was a good way to use up leftover crushed pineapple!

I received an ARC of Downward Death by Stella Bixby, below is my review and as always the opinions are mine!

Ellie Vanderwick is a bit of a loner. She was raised in foster homes and has lived off and on in her converted VW Bus since she was 17.  Her dream is to help people to be pain-free and more flexible through yoga.  This story begins with Ellie being bequeathed a farm in Iowa courtesy of the grandmother she never knew.  So far so good right?  Ellie will be the outsider coming to a new town. We've all read that before right?

But wait! Ellie has a secret, her hair is a mood ring.  Yes, it changes color and texture based on her mood and feelings.  I thought this was a unique and fun way to add a little magic to a fairly standard cozy.  She also has a pet pig as her cozy companion!  

At the beginning of the book, there is some major corn confusion that made me say out loud-- "Is anyone going to tell her?"  I don't know if I got it because I am a Midwesterner or if it's common knowledge.  (you'll have to read to know what I am talking about, I don't want to spoil you).

Within the first three chapters of this book, I was already invested in Ellie V's life. I wanted good things for her and her Penelope, and I was ready to fight a couple people in the town on her behalf and hug others.  Stella Bixby has done a wonderful job in this book of really pulling the reader into the story.  The mysteries of Ellie's hair, who her parents were, and how will Ellie support herself were enough to keep me turning the pages, even before the murder occurred. 

I read the second half of Downward Death in one sitting,  The mystery keeps you guessing and you aren't sure which of these characters is terrible enough to be a killer. As I have said before, I prefer it when a cozy mystery killer is just an awful person motivated by...well I better not say this killer's motivation- that might help you guess who done it! 

When the book ends, some of the mystery of Ellie's background is solved, but much of who she is is left as an overarching mystery for future books.  I really enjoyed this series and can't wait to read the next book. I am hoping that Ellie's mother is alive and well and will show up in a future book!  I also hope Katie & Earl's daughter features in a future story!