Elle Hartford

A truly modern, fun, and engaging cozy!

In the interest of being totally honest, let me say that at first, Coco was seriously making me feel under-accomplished, haha. She's got a very successful career, which she outlines in chapter one. But as the story progresses, you get to see her worries and anxieties, and how much she loves her partner and her friends. This really endeared her to me, and I was rooting for her very strongly in the end!

The setting is modern and luxurious, moving from beachfront condos to galas to an up-and-coming main street shopping strip. Much as I adore a small-town feel, I quickly got the hang of Coco's life and enjoyed riding along with her to local stores and high-end clubs. And her friends! Their humor and wit kept me grinning, and it was clear how closely-knit they were.

The mystery itself has some dramatic twists and red herrings. I enjoyed Coco's practical–if also somewhat obsessive, haha–approach to sleuthing. The conclusion is very suspenseful and all the loose ends are wrapped up–including a bit of appreciation from the police, which was sweet!

Overall, I found myself sad the book was over, and I'd happily recommend it to anyone looking for a modern cozy. Looking forward to the next one!

I really enjoyed this modern, urban take on a cozy mystery. The relationship between Yale and Celine was really sweet to see unfold!

I have to admit I had some reservations about Yale as a main character at first, because she comes across as very technology-averse in the first chapter, and I think in the past I've had bad experiences with MCs who were kind of holier-than-thou about technology use (or reliance, haha). But readers learn later that that's not at all where Yale is coming from, and she's actually a very endearing sleuth.

The mystery itself was a great puzzle, and the investigations definitely made me hungry for all kinds of tasty snacks! ;) Overall, a fascinating read great for a quiet afternoon.

I very much enjoyed the characters and their relationship in this book! So much fun for a rainy afternoon. The ending was magical, too. <3

> slight spoilers ahead<

I will say, the mystery element wasn't super engaging at first–I think because of the lack of viable suspects, perhaps, or because I didn't understand enough of the world at first to see how the crime could be investigated? However, the conclusion to it was very satisfying and all my questions were answered. I really liked how it circled back around to the beginning, too!

Overall, the attitude and sheer fun of this book was very engaging. I'll most likely check out the others in the series :)

Okay, so, I adore this series. I love the setting and the narration is quite charming.

However . . . even though I do love the book . . . I have to say that this installment had the same problem as the first book in the series, which is that the culprit was pretty apparent, pretty early in the story. Maybe I am naturally suspicious at this point, but it would have been good to have some other truly possible suspects to mull over.

Aside from that, this was another quaint and whimsical afternoon escape!

I just adore this series. The narration, the characters, the setting–I love returning to them all with each book! This one had some amusing new faces and even a trip out of town, which was fun to tag along on. The mystery itself had a few neat twists but I think hands down the best part was all the fall vibes! Very cozy. <3

I LOVE the premise of this mystery. From the author's note at the very beginning, I knew I'd relish my time in Shady Hollow. The characters are perfect, the commentary is funny, and the setting is idyllic. Exactly what I needed!

[[slight spoilers!!]]On a plot note, I have to say that I did figure out the murderer, and I was a little disappointed there wasn't a more twisty twist, if that makes sense. This was the one weakness of the book, in my opinion. But it wasn't nearly enough to keep me from going on to the second book!

Darker than I usually enjoy my fairy tales (well, fairy tales are often dark, so perhaps I should say “more modern” than I usually like my fairy tales, haha)–but I will say, I did enjoy the ending!

An interesting world and very strong characters! I saw a quote calling this “a romance wrapped in a western wrapped in a fantasy” and I think that is exactly right. It was actually a tiiiiny bit too “gritty” for my cozy tastes sometimes, but I am a self-proclaimed wimp with an overactive imagination, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. ;)

The letter element (and the mail deliverers!) was cute and insightful. I did kind of wonder why they never exchanged names at least . . . I mean, that would have cut short the plot, though ;) The characters' reflections and developments were the best part for me, definitely.

Overall I'd particularly recommend this to people who like that somewhat apocalyptic or western/cowboy flavor to their fantasy & romance. It's not my personal jam, but I did still enjoy the characters' growth!

A collection of some head-scratching mysteries, with varied settings and subjects! I especially liked the Egyptian tomb mystery, myself. Of course, the stories are of their time, and do reflect some of the prevalent stereotypes, etc–so a grain of salt is required for some!

I received this as a gift and wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a very engaging and rewarding read! I loved the mother/daughter relationship, and while the tension did get pretty high there for a while, I really appreciated how everything turned out. Some of the side characters' storylines are unexpectedly endearing, too. Overall, this was a fun and ultimately uplifting read!

I loved the unique shop and the cheese knowledge! It's a very fun cozy, for sure. My tender heart felt bad for all the different love interests, though, which distracted me from the mystery a bit, haha. But it was fun to see such a community effort in solving the crime!

Very atmospheric, with a great setting!

[slight spoilers] The book reminded me a lot of The Writer's Apprentice series, which isn't surprising, since it's the same author under a different pen name. ;) I actually had a hard time at first relating to the main character, not to mention keeping track of the actors; the first part of the book is learning lots of details, and motives don't become clear until midway through. But, that said, the characters' relationships are super sweet, and the ending was very satisfying! Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Castle Dark. :D

Tatar's basic premise seems to be that the hero is a superhuman, conquering, often violent figure, while heroines are characterized by curiosity, compassion, and an interest in justice. She argues for the development of a new Hero's Journey. For my part, as a female author with a female amateur sleuth, I particularly enjoyed Tatar's thoughts on curiosity . . .

Check out my full review on my blog: https://ellehartford.com/book-review-heroine-1001-faces/

I really enjoyed the cast of characters, and the antiques shop!

Very fun dialogue and funny situations! A nice light read.

I will say I thought the pacing was a little off, which is the reason for 4 stars, and I wasn't super in love with the characters themselves, but it was an enjoyable read.

Much of the story involves Maggie's two younger coworkers, who are lots of fun, and of course her boss, who (I'm agreeing with Maggie here haha) is one of the best people in town. The theme of ostracisization is a little tough in this one, but it's wonderful to finally see Maggie embrace her actual relationship! ;)

Definitely a clever perspective, and like everyone else, I love Chet. ;) He was the highlight of the story for sure!

Up front: I received a free audio book in exchange for an honest review. And I'm happy I did!

I was familiar with some of the characters from Instagram challenges (definitely check out Helen Garraway's social media feeds!) and very excited to learn more about their story. Sentinals Awaken brought to life a wonderful world to escape to, and fascinating characters (human and animal alike!).

The plot moved along quickly, and I could easily picture it all in my head as I followed along. Also–and this is really important to me in fantasy–the wry touches of humor really brought the dialogue to life!

Though the entire book was fun, I must say my favorite part was the interplay of past and present. I'm a total sucker for mysteries of the past in fantasy stories, plus it really makes for great worldbuilding!

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to fantasy and D&D lovers. I raced through it as quick as I could!

Also, I loved the narration. I thought it was perfect!

I picked this up secondhand without having read the rest of the series first. I have, however, read other books by sort-of the same author (the wife of this husband/wife team). I found that it was easy to pick the book up–what backstory I needed, I got–and I did really enjoy the interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a character.

However, this book is written in a close third-person where the perspective shifts between several characters with each chapter. It's easy to follow, but personally, the style isn't for me; it prevents me from feeling that strong attachment to one or just a few characters, which I love. The narrative is naturally a bit decentralized. I'm in awe of the authors for being able to keep track of all their characters (and who knew what when!) but it's not my favorite way to read a mystery, I've realized.

This was an interesting next chapter in the Nancy Drew series, with some very intriguing characters. Another nice, light mystery!

A great read for anyone remotely interested in forestry or ecology! It's part autobiography, part scientific narrative, and accessible enough for anyone to follow. It really shows the complexities of forest management and the forest itself.

I'm not normally the audience for this book; I think this is best for urban fantasy/women's lit readers. It was good, and the premise was fine, but it didn't quite catch hold of my imagination. I found the ending to be predictable, but perhaps that's just me! It definitely was an atmospheric, dark-fantasy mystery, and would certainly appeal to anyone who loves that twisted carnival vibe.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read, and I don't say that lightly of an instruction “handbook.” I've read a number of writing how-tos and most end up being a bit dense – not in a bad way, but all the information in them starts to feel heavy. This book doesn't have that problem at all. It's still super informative, but each essay moves right along, and interspersed are succinct, useful quotes from authors regarding writing.

The essays also cover a number of topics, from groundrules of mystery and descriptions of subgenres to outlining and setting to building an online community. I'm particularly interested in cozy, so the medical/thriller stuff wasn't as relevant to me, but that was only a few essays. Overall the book was still well worth it – I must have bookmarked at least half the articles for reference later, and I know I'll be coming back to it in the future!

Very human and diverse characters! And as a writer, it was fun to read a mystery set in the “book world” :D

I will say, the ending seemed to go on for a while and the actual mystery solution wasn't entirely satisfactory to me (slight let down after the drama of the sleuthing, I thought, but definitely plausible). But the way the characters ended things was very nice. The highlight of the story was definitely the character relationships! (And the dog!) :)

I'd accidentally read one of the later books from this series already (not to mention other books from this author duo) so I knew what to expect. The narrative switches between perspectives of all the characters involved, focusing mostly on Kate and Charles. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop most of all, I think. The peek into the world of some notable Victorian authors was fun for a history nerd, too! ;)