Tag: Fiction

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Berry Purple Betrayal by Emily Oberton

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Berry Purple Betrayal
  • Author: Emily Oberton
  • Series: Hadley Home Design Cozy Mystery #3
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: Darlington Hills, VA
  • Main Character: Hadley Sutton
  • Other Characters: Irma, Carmella, Reid, Dennis, Lydia, Vincent, Terence, Aunt Deb
  • Pets: dog named Chip and a cat named Razzy
  • Stars: 5

Another great book by Emily Oberton. This is the 3rd book in the Hadley Home Design Mystery series and I loved it as much as the 2nd.

In this installment, Hadley once again finds herself in the middle of a murder, but this time she is the prime suspect. She has to race against time to prove her innocence. While she is trying to prove she didn’t commit murder, her friend Carmella has a mystery of her own. Carmella and Hadley are searching for the culprits who vandalized the high school where Carmella is the principal. During Hadley’s investigation into the murder, it turns out that there were several people who had a motive for murdering the victim. But could Hadley’s investigation get her killed!!

This book has so many twists and turns and the list of suspects just keeps growing as Hadley Unravels family secrets. If you enjoy small-town mysteries with a great protagonist, quirky characters, multiple suspects, surprises, and a bit of romance, this series is for you. This may be my favorite of the entire series. This is the last book in the series at this time but I am really hoping there will be more.

Happy Reading!

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Pearl White Peril by Emily Oberton

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Pearl White Peril
  • Author: Emily Oberton
  • Series: Hadley Home Design Cozy Mysteries #2
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: Darlington Hills, VA
  • Main Character: Hadley Sutton
  • Other Characters: Aunt Deb, Reid, Vincent, Willy, Dennis, Carmella
  • Pets: A dog named Chip and a cat named Razzy
  • Stars: 5

This is the second book in the Hadley Home Design Cozy Mystery series and I loved it. It had everything I love about cozy mysteries. I started reading this book with a bit of skepticism since the first one was so obvious. But since there were a lot of things I liked about the first one, I wanted to give this series another chance. I am so glad I did.

I really like the protagonist, Hadley. She’s intelligent, but risks her life at times. Perhaps not the wisest, but I still love her. Hadley relocated to Darlington, VA after her boyfriend broke up with her. She landed a job staging rooms for photo shoots and loves her job even though her new boss can be cantankerous and rude. Everything is going great until Hadley finds a dead body in her boss’s Kitchen. Of course, her boss, Vincent, is the prime suspect.

Hadley is afraid she will be out of a job if her boss goes to prison, so she works hard to prove her boss’ innocence. Her investigation leads her into some dangerous situations that could get her killed. As she gets closer to someone, could he be the killer!

This book takes the readers on a bit of a roller coaster ride with a series of twists and turns to find a killer. I really thought I had the killer figured out, but there is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. This is the type of mystery I love.

If you love a cozy mystery in a small town with a fun-loving protagonist, quirky characters, pets, and twists and turns to find a killer, you will love this book.

Happy reading!

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Lemon Yellow Lies by Emily Oberton

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Lemon Yellow Lies
  • Author: Emily Oberton
  • Series: Hadley Home Design Cozy Mysteries #1
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: Darlington Hills, VA
  • Main Character: Hadley Sutton
  • Other Characters: Kent, Erin, Aunt Deb
  • Pets: A dog named Chip and a cat named Razzy
  • Stars: 4

This is the first book I have read by this author. I really liked this book and the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I found the ending too predictable.

Interior designer Hadley Sutten has a bad breakup with her boyfriend who is locally famous so she sees him everywhere. She needs a break and needs to be somewhere familiar. Her favorite aunt’s hometown of Darlington, VA is the perfect place to escape to after a breakup. She lands a job interview in Darlington so she packs her bags and leaves her home in New Orleans. Hadley has plans to start her own design business, but in the meantime ,she needs a job. While waiting for her job interview, she meets Kent, who hires her to furnish his outdoor living space for his fiance’s surprise birthday party. Along with working in his backyard, she has also agreed to house-sit and take care of his dog while he is away on a business trip. Who would hire an interior designer that they just met to house sit? I guess that is why they call it fiction.

When Hadley meets his fiance, it doesn’t go well. The fiance is a bit stuck up and doesn’t seem to like anything Hadley is doing to the backyard. The plot thickens when the fiance goes missing. There are a lot of lies and secrets as it leads us to the truth.

The cast of suspects is growing & Hadley’s life could be in danger as she uncovers some secrets that gets her closer to the truth.

I love all the twists and turns in this book and it was so engaging, I couldn’t put it down. I loved Hadley even though she was a bit naïve and trusting. I was going to give this book 5 stars until the ending. I like a mystery that is hard to solve and leaves you surprised at the end. In this entire book, I knew who the most obvious suspect was, but I was hoping for more of a big twist at the end and it didn’t happen. If you read this book, let me know in the comments what you think.

Happy reading!

Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Any Day Now by Robyn Carr

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Any Day Now
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #2
  • Genre: Romance, Drama
  • Takes Place: Sullivan’s Crossing
  • Main Character: Sierra, Connie (Conrad), Sullivan
  • Other Characters: Cal, Maggie
  • Pets: Molly
  • Stars: 5

In this installment of the series Sullivan’s Crossing, we meet Cal’s sister Sierra. If you remember from the first book, What we find, Cal is a drifter who eventually marries Sully’s daughter, Maggie. They are now having a baby and Cal’s little sister, Sierra, comes for a visit.

Sierra is escaping a troubled past and hoping it doesn’t catch up to her. She finds solace with the residents of the small Colorado town and Sullivan’s crossing. I love her bond with Sully who ends up being a surrogate dad. Then there is Connie (Conrad) who helps her move on from her troubled past. Her bond with her brother just grows stronger and she begins developing a sisterly bond with Cal’s wife, Maggie.

This is a story of starting over, family, building relationships, and learning that your past doesn’t define your future. Then there is the rescue dog that Sierra adopts. Sierra saves Molly from an abusive situation and she becomes the therapy that Sierra needs. Everyone falls in love with Molly, even the readers.

Between Connie, Sully, Cal & Maggie, Sierra finally finds the family she needs.

I love this book. I love the location, the characters and, of course the dog. The author really knows how to describe the scenery as if you are there and the characters so you really know them. This book is definitely worth reading and now I can’t wait to read book #3.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

—Confucius

Happy Reading!

Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Romance

What We Find by Robyn Carr

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: What We Find
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #1
  • Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
  • Takes Place: Sullivan’s Crossing, Colorado
  • Main Character: Maggie, Sully, Cal
  • Stars: 5

I have to admit, I read this book because a TV series based on it is coming to the United States in the fall. I really want to see the series so I decided to read the book first. This is the second book I have read by this author so since I loved the first one, I decided to read this one.

This is a story of second chances and finding happiness. Maggie is a neurosurgeon who is facing a lawsuit when a high-risk emergency procedure results in the death of a teenager. She wants to escape her high-stress job, so she goes to a place she can feel secure. She goes to see her dad in Sullivan’s Crossing, named for her great-grandfather. Sully, Maggie’s dad, manages the campground and general store his family has owned for generations. Maggie just wants to relax and feel at peace when another tragedy strikes that has her staying longer than she originally intended.

A mysterious drifter named Cal, shows up at the campground and Maggie is very suspicious of him. There is some obvious chemistry, but they both have a past they are trying to escape and secrets they are keeping. As the story unfolds, you will learn about their secrets and how it has affected them.

This is a beautifully crafted story with a beautiful setting and characters you will fall in love with

If you love a sweet contemporary story of moving on from a painful past and learning to start over and trust again, you will love this book. I am excited to read the rest of the story to see where it takes Sully, Maggie, and Cal.

Just living is not enough… One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

—Hans Christian Andersen

Happy Reading!

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Once upon a Mystery by Kathi Daley

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Once upon a Mystery
  • Author: Kathi Daley
  • Series: The Bookstore at Holiday Bay #1
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place:  Holiday Bay, Maine
  • Main Character: Lou, Velma
  • Other Characters: Eden, Alex, Hazel
  • Pets: Lou’s Cat Toby
  • Stars: 2

I was really looking forward to this series since I am a fan of her other series, The Inn at Holiday Bay & Bistro at Holiday Bay. Bistro as well as this series is a spinoff of The Inn at Holiday Bay.

I was disappointed in the first book of this series. If you have read The Inn at Holiday Bay then you know that Lou came to Holiday Bay to help out her niece, Vanessa, who owned the local bookstore. Lou is a widow who has been at a loss since her husband passed away. She feels like she no longer has a purpose so when her niece Vanessa offers to sell her bookstore, Lou jumps at the chance. She leaves her life in Minnesota and moves to Maine.

This book had a lot of potential but somehow dropped the ball. There is a death and a mystery surrounding that death but there wasn’t enough suspense surrounding it. The climax was a big letdown.

There also wasn’t enough Character development. The story spent more time on Lou remodeling the bookstore, reflecting on her husband’s passing and the changes in her life that I found myself being a bit bored with the story. There were too many characters, and I really couldn’t connect with any of them. The mystery wasn’t even much of a mystery and it was barely mentioned, except in the beginning and then again at the end. I like a mystery with twists and turns and this one just didn’t have that. I like to finish a book either feeling good and uplifted or have that wow feeling because I never saw it coming, and this one did not deliver.

This is not a series that I am looking forward to seeing where the characters go next. I will probably give book number two a chance, but if it isn’t any better than this one, then I won’t finish this series.

I feel like there have been enough books in Holiday Bay and maybe she should move on.

Happy Reading!

Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

Virgin River by Robyn Carr

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Virgin River
  • Author: Robyn Carr
  • Series: Virgin River #1
  • Genre: Romance
  • Takes Place:  Virgin River
  • Main Characters: Melinda, Jack, Doc, Preacher
  • Stars:  5

This is the first book I have read by this author but I watch the TV series and love it so decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. Reading it I was able to put faces with the characters and dive deeper into them so I really felt like I knew them.

Melinda Monroe recently lost her husband. Everywhere she goes reminds her of him She is tired of everyone asking how she is doing and looking at her with pity. She works at a busy ER where she met him. She needs to get away to somewhere where no one knows her.

She reads a want ad for a Midwife/Nurse Practioner in a remote country town of Virgin River, population 600. Rent-free cabin included. She applies for the job and is hired so she packs up to move to Virgin River, sight unseen.

When she gets there it isn’t what she expected. The cabin is a shambles and isn’t even safe to live in. The Doc is very unpleasant and says he doesn’t need any help. She doesn’t know what to do.

Hope, a town resident, thinks Doc does need help so she is the one who placed the ad. Melinda (Mel) feels like she has been misled and this wasn’t the right decision for her /she decides she is going to decline the job and move to Colorado to be near her sister.

Finding a baby abandoned on Doc’s doorstep May change her plans. And of course, she meets the local bar/restaurant owner Jack Sheridan who may have something to do with her decision whether or not to stay.

This is a great story. If you have watched the TV series you will love this book. Even if you haven’t watched the TV series, you will love this book. It is a story of loss, starting over, finding love again and moving on. You will fall in love with Jack and Mel and you will even grow to love Ornery Doc. I loved all the characters In this book and I fell In love with Virgin River.

Happy Reading,

Fiction, Women's Fiction

Making Waves by Meredith Summers

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: Making Waves
  • Author: Meredith Summers
  • Series: Lobster Bay #3
  • Genre: Women’s Fiction
  • Takes Place:  Lobster Bay Maine
  • Main Character: Maxi, Andi, Jane, Claire,
  • Other Characters: James, Mike, Rob
  • Pets: 2 cats – Rembrandt & Picasso
  • Stars: 5

If you have read the first two books, then you already know that this series takes place in the coastal town of Lobster Bay and is about 3 best friends and their friendship and challenges. I really am loving this series and all the characters. They seem so real that I start to think of them as friends. Lobster Bay is a place I would like to visit.

This book can be read as a stand alone but it is best if you read them in order. That way you can get to know all the characters. This book’s focus is on Maxi. Maxi and her husband have been married for years and have recently become empty nesters. Everyone thinks that Maxie& James have the perfect marriage but do they? Maxi starts to wonder as her suspicions rise. Maxi’s dream has always been to become an artist so when she meets a guy who is opening an art gallery in Lobster Bay, could this dream finally come true?

Over at Tides, the Bed & Breakfast owned by Jane, is planning their first event, a wedding with a Bridezilla and mom who is even worse. This wedding could be what they need to save Tides, so it is very important that it goes off with a hitch. But does it?

Jane’s sister, Andi, is trying to make some tough decisions. Does she go back to her Job, Does she take the job her old boss offered her in New York or does she stay in Lobster Bay? You will need to read the book to find out.

I recommend this series. I can’t wait for book #4.

Happy Reading,

Fiction, Women's Fiction

The Bucket List by Rachel Hanna

Chapters & lattes
  • Title: The Bucket List
  • Author: Rachel Hanna
  • Genre: Women’s Fiction
  • Takes Place: South Carolina
  • Main Character: Jill
  • Other Characters: Monica, Levi, Annie, Lila
  • Stars: 5

Wow, Just wow. That is how this book left me feeling. Rachel never disappoints. This book had me captivated by the very first word until the very end.

Jill’s best friend, Monica , dies way too young. To Jill’s surprise, she is in Monica’s will, but there is a catch. Monica left her a bucket list that she wants Jill to complete. She has to complete each task and then blog about it. Monica’s lawyer will keep up with the blog to confirm that each task is completed.

Jill has anxiety and she is not adventurous at all. Her husband died suddenly 15 years ago and it takes everything in her just to get out of the house. Of course her best friend Monica was the complete opposite and would go on all sorts of adventures. This is Monica’s way to get Jill out of her comfort zone.

This book was very relatable. I loved all of the characters but I could really relate to Jill in so many ways.

It is hilarious, sweet, romantic and all about discovering things about yourself that you didn’t know existed. I highly recommend this book.

Quote from the book:

“Anxiety is a thief. It steals your focus. It steals your fun. It steals your peace. It steals large chunks of your life as you zero in on your symptoms and your thoughts instead of paying attention to everybody around you. For the first time in my life, I’m determined to defeat it. I’m determined to tell it to sit in the back seat while I take us on the rides. Instead of letting anxiety drive, my new goal is to put it in the trunk.”