Archives

Review: Murder in the Mystery Suite #cozymystery #amreading

May20

Murder in the Mystery Suite 

Synopsis
Jane is the manager of a resort that caters to book lovers. In order to draw more visitors, she decides to organize a themed Murder and Mayhem week. When a guest ends up dead and it looks less and less like an accident, Jane is on a mission to find out who did the dirty deed and why.
All the while, Jane is also juggling her responsibilities as a single mother of two young boys and caregiver of her aunt who is not in the best health.

Opinion
This is a cozy mystery for bibliophiles. The story flows well and makes for easy reading. The villain should have been obvious to me but there were enough twists and red herrings to make it interesting.

Image result for whodunnit
Aunt Octavia was my favorite character. She might have been elderly, but she was very feisty.

Image result for old lady goals
This was a book club pick. I probably would not have chosen this book on my own.  That being said, it was entertaining. I am glad that I got it and was introduced to this world. I want to read the rest of the books in the series to see what other adventures Jane encounters. Plus, I want to see how her love interest develops. You know I am always looking for a love story.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BUY. I am not usually one to recommend cozy mysteries, but I loved this one. I think it is because I was reminiscing to back in the day when I would watch Murder She Wrote with my mom. The additional plot twists added a little something extra that makes me want to read the rest of the books in the series.

Series: The Book Retreat Mysteries
Print Length: 306 pages
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC

buy_this_book

-Letter Z– Werebear Hero’s Nurse @AprilAtoZ #atozchallenge #bearshifter #IRromance

Apr30

Alyse Zaftig – Werebear Hero’s Nurse

Z is for Zaftig

Werebear Hero’s Nurse

3heart

Synopsis
Shane is in the military and is discharged after he loses a foot. He needs a nurse to help him while he recuperates. He is also a bear shifter.

Alicia is the nurse who is helping him. She works as a home health nurse.

Opinion
First of all, the story was short.
It can be summed up as this: boy meets girl. Girl is a nurse and takes care of him. Boy fires girl so that he can date her. they live happily ever after.
There is a little bit more to the story than that summation, but that is pretty much it in a nutshell. because of that, there is not a lot to the story that is outstanding to me.
I thought the story was cute because of how Shane tried to win Alicia over. I did think that the story went too quickly. A lot was glossed over that I think could have helped develop the characters to the story.
Because Shane was a werebear, he had super fast healing. That was the only reason that him being a shifter added to the story. Other than that detail, this could have just been another interracial romance.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. The story was good but too short for me.

Book details
Print length: 256 pages (I dont think thats right though- story was short)
Series: None
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥

buy_this_book

 

-Letter X– Across the Tracks @AprilAtoZ #atozchallenge #IRromance #BWWM

Apr28

X is for Xyla (Xyla Turner)

Across the Tracks

4heart

Synopsis
Lisa and Rich had a negative racial experience with each other as children. While Rich did not give it another thought, it helped to form Lisa into who she is and the career choices she decided to make as an adult.

When Lisa and Rich meet as adults, there is an intense attraction. They have to decide if they will act on it and how it will impact their lives.

Opinion
I loved this book like I have not loved another IRR (interracial romance)!!! This story was REAL and focused on how true love can conquer everything. I think a lot of IRR gloss over the negative aspects an interracial couple has to face. There are the sideways racist comments and people that will try to sabotage the relationship for no other reason than they do not want to see the mixed couple together.

Rich probably had the most development to make in the course of the book. He was a product of his environment because his father was so prejudiced. I know men like Rich that have racist families but they do not let that define who they decide to love.

Lisa might not have been overtly racists, but she had her own internal issues that she had to come to terms with and decide what was most important to her.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
I say BUY especially if you are a fan of IRR. This is a story like no other.

Book details
Print Length: 167 pages
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Series: None

buy_this_book

-Letter W – Never Kiss a Stranger @AprilAtoZ #atozchallenge #stepsiblingromance

Apr27

W is for Winter (Winter Renshaw)

Never Kiss a Stranger (Never Say Never)


Synopsis
Addison and Wilder meet using a dating app (similar to Tinder) and agree to one night. No questions asked. No last names.

The next day, Wilder decides that he has not had enough of Addison and they keep hooking up.

Then, they find out their parents are getting married and they will be step-siblings.

Opinion
When I read the book blurb, I imagined the characters differently. While I appreciated the explosive between-the-sheets chemistry, that is not enough to base an entire relationship.

I thought that Wilder seemed immature. He was too much of a dominating alpha male and super needy at the same time.

Image result for how is that possible meme
Even with that, I was planning on rating the story 3 hearts ♥♥♥.

THEN, the whole plotline where their parents were getting married emerged. Up until now, I was only slightly annoyed with Wilder’s erratic emo tendencies.

Image result for plot thickens meme

Addison and her sister freak out as if being step-siblings would make them appear to be hillbilly. Ridiculous!

By this time, she is in love with Wilder.

She is going to throw it all way FOR WHAT?

Nothing that made sense to me. Hence the story lost another heart ♥.

Step-sibling romances are not taboo if they did not live/grow up together. They met as ADULTS! It was not that serious. A good PR person could have been able to spin any possible fallout if there had been negative publicity.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. The story is okay, but the attempt at conflict was overly dramatic and fell short of its intended purpose in my opinion.

Book details
Print length: 274 page
Series: Never Series Book 1
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

buy_this_book

-Letter V- Kiss of Fire #BBWromance #dragonshifterromance @AprilAtoZ #atozchallenge

Apr26

V is for Vale (Catherine Vale)

Kiss Of Fire (BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance): Dragon Shifter Romance 

2heart


Synopsis
Ross Cameron was cursed to become a dragon by a witch because he refused her sexual advances. Years, later, he is able to have the witch killed but the magic that turned him into a dragon remained.

When Arianna comes to his castle to do research about the legend of a dragon in the area, he falls for her. However, he does not know if she will stay once she learns his secrets.

Opinion
I thought the story was a little sad because of all that Ross suffered. He was basically a slave for hundreds of year. Some of the things that Ross was forced to do while under the witch’s spell were depressing.
I felt like they jumped into bed with each other too quickly and the whole story seemed choppy.

Image result for buzz kill gif
I was not sure how each detail flowed with the rest or if some of the characters mentioned were important to the plot.
Plus, I did not understand why the author had Arianna look so much like Ross’ dead girlfriend.

What was the point? 

As much as he protested (it was mentioned A LOT), I still think a part of him was attracted to her because she looked so much like his dead girlfriend.
Image result for buzz kill gif

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. After reading, I did not finish this book with a satisfied feeling of happy-ever-after. I felt sad in a hope-they-make-it kind of way. If you like dragon shifter romances, you might like this because the storyline was different than many other from the same genre.

Book details
Heat Level: Steamy 🔥 🔥 🔥
Print Length: 153 pages
Publisher: Growling Romance; 2 edition (October 5, 2016)
Publication Date: October 5, 2016