Andrea Ward

This book has a wonderful combination of puzzles and history. We get a real look at the history of segregation. It doesn't soften it, but it isn't gory either. We also get a great story of friendship and kids solving puzzles. I liked the flashback chapters. We get to see a variety of people deciding how to live with segregation and its consequences. I also really liked the friendship between Candace and Brandon. This is a book that both entertains and educates.

Another great family story! The Vanderbeekers come together to help their neighbors. There are plenty of secrets and new friends and hijinks. I was very concerned about the happy ending for awhile, but the happy ending came through in the end.

I loved the fall setting and the plan of the Thanksgiving training. The characters were all well done. They were very suspicious and petty and frustrating. Some of them grew into better people as the training went on. Some of the secrets were easy to figure out, but The Who behind the secrets was a surprise right up until the end. I also liked the but at the end where Miranda thinks of how she vet people better next time.
This was a great book full of characters that drove me nuts. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books.

I liked the setting of the 70s. I liked that Ellison wasn't really fitting in with the people around her, but still managed to find people to help her. I figured out who it was a little before the ending, so that we well done. I'm not sure how I feel about the why if the murder, but that is on me for not reading the blurb before I started listening to it. Not sure if I will continue with this series or not.

I like the setting of the Keys. I like Eva, Vicky, the detective and the book club members. I like that there were a references to the books they were reading. The mystery was good. It was more of a why done it than who done it, but there was plenty of mystery and suspense.
It was shorter than I would like, so we didn't get as much character development as I would like and we didn't spend as much time in the B&an as I would like. However there are other books in the series to do both of those things.
There seems to be a love triangle starting in this one. I don't like those, so I'm nervous bout book 2.

I loved the Silver Sentinels and the way that Kelly worked to integrate herself into the small town. The mystery has a few twists that I didn't quite expect. The solution was well done and explained the ‘bad guy's' actions well. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised by both the cozy and the mystery.

I like the character of Phyllida and that she can observe the upstairs and downstairs groups. I like that Agatha is a side character. The ending was a little believable and a little unbelievable. It kinda brought me out of the historical part of the story.

Miriam is more comfortable with who she is and the position she is in. She knows who she can count on and how she can make some positive changes. This really made the small town cozy part of this mystery into a very strong part of this story. I loved this part of the story.
The mystery has several twists that I didn't expect. The solution was unexpected as well. The sleuthing was well done because it was reasonable in comparison with the other things going on with Miriam. I liked the mystery part.
The mystery in this one is related to the first book. I think you can figure out what happened in book 1 based on conversations, but you will probably want to read book 1. And those conversations were well done because they were not just info dumps. The way that the two books connect makes whole lot of sense and the implications of that connection really drive this story. I can't wait to see what happens with all this in book 3.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books

I could have stayed the Halloween cooking competition for the whole book! That was a wonderful fall festival that I have never heard about. That is one thing that made this book special.
I like the futher development of Grant and his decisions about his future. I like to see Ari and Carly slowly moving forward and having some struggles and doubts. I like the various grilled cheese sandwiches that were described. I like getting to know some of the regulars at her restaurant.
Carly is slowly working towards being a better slueth, but her interview techniques need some work! I found myself wanting to give her advice to help her interview people better. Evelyn made some odd choices that made some of the mystery feel contrived instead of a regular pace for a mystery. That is a really nit-picky thing and the only complaint I had about the book.
The mystery is well done. There are lots of suspects holding on to secrets, so a lot of them look suspicious. The pace at which secrets are revealed is well done as well. I figured out who it was before Carly, but really had no clue why. So part of the reveal was still a surprise for me.
Good mystery, great characters, wonderful setting, and a fun fall festival!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press.

Two investigations and a few really bad people to fight off. I was so worried for Dale, Mo, Queen Elizabeth and Harm! But they come through in the end.

I love Sam! Her internal voice is so much like mine. And she is not a size normally portrayed in cozies. I also love how her insecurities and conversation avoidance can get her into trouble, but she does eventually talk it out and had people around her that help draw her out as well. Her relationship with Jason and her friendships develop really well in this one. The mystery and bad guy were surprising. I was totally wrong with my guesses. Sam's investigation techniques were not the best, but she tried to make amends. Good mystery, great characters , and a cozy setting.

Wow! The bad guy was really bad! I didn't expect to have so many people to dislike in this one. It really made me want to see the bad guy caught and to have all the other annoying characters put in their place.
I also liked that Shannon and her team were building a tiny home community for veterans. That is a really cool idea. There were several characters that I met and that I loved as well.
A really enjoyable addition to this series.

Only One Spell

I really liked the coffee truck and the healthy recipes. I like that Maddie was still learning about being a witch. I like that her investigating was a little clunky since it was her first investigation. Some of the dialogue felt too simple, but it didn't detract from the story too much.

I had heard good things about this one and it didn't disappoint! The characters are compelling right away, so even though it is a little short, not a word is wasted. I wanted to know how the Gingerbread House tournament was going to end. I wanted to see Huckleberry clean and happy. I wanted to see Cinnamon stick up for herself. So I couldn't put it down!
This was a great start to the series!

I enjoyed this installment of the Pancake House series. I liked meeting Winifred and getting to know Tommy better. The bad guy and motive were a total surprise. I liked the way Marley got into and out of trouble at the end of the book My only complaint is very small. There were a couple clues that took Marley a really long time to figure out. That is a rather picky complaint though.

The Outer Banks is a wonderful setting! A small two , a lighthouse, a book store, and a few other fun places around Cattail Island make this a fun unique setting.
The characters are wonderful. Callie, Toby, Tin Man, Antoinette, and her uncle are wonderful characters. Some of the others grew on me and became more than I expected.
The mystery is good. I can see how the police would think this was a suicide and how some people could think it wasn't. I was pleasantly surprised with the solution.
The romance is a slow burn and I love that! It leaves me wanting more in the next book!

I picked this book because the series is set in Melbourne Beach. I also love an old hotel setting. It took a while for the mystery to happen, so there wasn't much investigating that could happen. There was a slight twist at the end and little but was unexpected, but didn't really change the bad guy though. The mystery was so late into the book because there were so many characters to introduce. It is book 1, so obviously we have people to meet. It was a little hard to keep them all straight, but I was listening to the book. So a physical book might be different. Also I imagine the other books will be better because we have met everyone already. The author did a great job of making me hate a few people. Those characters were easy to remember. So the setting is great. The mystery was okay. The characters grew on me.

I listened to the audiobook and it was read by the author. I think that made the book better because it felt more like him telling you a series of stories about his life. At times that approach as a series of stories was good, but other times it wasn't. Sometimes that approach made me feel too distant from the story, so I didn't feel like I could judge for myself about the people and the situation. Sometimes it was too much telling and not enough showing.
I had no clue that he was on Fox until after I agreed to listen to the book. So I was a little concerned about the amount of political opinion that would creep into the book, but he did a good job focusing on his life story. There were a few times there was political opinion, but not much.
Overall it was an interesting series of stories, but there was too much telling and not enough showing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for the opportunity to review the audiobook.

I liked the way it went back and forth between chapters and letters. The storyline with both of them was strong and suspenseful. I suspected several people and in the end one of my suspects were right because I suspected everyone at least once. The bad guy gets caught at the end, but it still ends in a creepy note. These characters will stick with me.

I loved the characters! I loved the pacing and the world that was created. I loved the way they played with monsters. This was a really fun read.

I liked the setting of New Orleans and all the food talk. I liked the vintage cookbooks much more than I expected to. Ricki is trying really hard, but she is not perfect and misses the mark sometimes. I appreciate her humanity and that she doesn't take that too seriously. She does take seriously her friendships and responsibilities. I liked that part of her character as well.
There are a lot of suspicious people around as well. I guessed wrong multiple times about motive and murderer. So I was along for the ride as Ricki was investigating.
This was a strong start to the series. I liked the character development we saw and the mystery. I can't wait to see what is next.

Paisley stumbles on another historical mystery and we meet some new people ready to help her discover the answers. I like how many people are ready to try to set right a historical wrong. That gives me hope.
I also like the ending of this one. I can see how the ending happens that way and I like the way that justice is done. Just as in the other book in the series, the mystery deals with some heavy subjects. But again, the number of people that want to see justice done is encouraging.

There were lots of twists in this one. I was surprised more than once. The history was dealt with very well. I liked the solution because of the twists and history. The romance progressed at a logical pace. The investigation was well done also. I am still really enjoying this series.

This is a beautiful book about families and mistakes and triumphs and traditions. It shows us the negative effects of racism and colonialism and sexism, but it doesn't let the characters drown in it. There is hope for overcoming and having a better future. There are hurts and mistakes made, but there is also forgiveness and second chances. This might be one of my top books for 2022.

I love this series! I learn so much about Brittany in these books and of course I have to look up pictures of the places where Dupin and his crew are investigating because the descriptions are so beautiful.
Again Dupin missed sleep and pushes himself to the edge to find a crazed murderer. I figured it out shortly before he did. I liked the way Dupin had to keep looking and looking to find the motive for the murders. Everyone seems suspicious, so thank goodness Dupin had so many good people working with him to help him go after all the information he needs to solve this case. I am impressed with the amount of information that he has to investigate. I had no clue there were so many little things he has to find out for an investigation, but it all make sense. And that might be my favorite thing about this series. There are lots of things to investigate, but it all makes sense.
Of course there are some other dramatic events along the way that get in the way of Dupin's investigation. I was surprised how the distracting event was going to get resolved.