Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis

This is the fourth book in the six book (for now) Lucky Harbor series and I thought it was so much better than the last one (number six) I read.  This is Mallory's story.

Mallory Quinn is a nurse at the Lucky Harbor hospital and she wants to start free clinic for those in need.  She is the town good girl (although I'm sure there must be more than one).  One evening she joins her friend Amy at the diner for chocolate cake.  There is a freak ferocious windy and snowstorm, which causes a tree to fall on the diner, thereby knocking out the power and several windows.  Amy and Mallory are hiding with their soon to be third best friend, Grace, behind the counter, when Mallory hears a noise at the door and goes to investigate.  Caught in the branches of the fallen tree, is Ty (quintessential bad boy/Mr. Wrong), the Mysterious Cute Guy, new to the town. 

Ty is an ex-Navy Seal recovering from a catastrophic injury suffered when the plane (or it could have been a helicopter, I forget) his team was riding in crashed over the ocean.  Ty was the only survivor.  Now he is banged up once again.  Mallory etal,  rescue him and get him in the ambulance, where he is taken to the hospital and patched up again. 

The next time we see Ty is at the auction to benefit the free clinic, he is supposed to be Mallory's date, but he does not remember what happened during the storm.  Unfortunately, the whole is expecting him to be Mallory's date.  Will they, won't they, you be the judge.  Will Ty go back to the Seals?  Will Mallory's clinic be a success or a failure?  

An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette

Cute new cozy series, the ex-boyfriend is an ass, and the main character is funny, quirky (but not too quirky), and she talks too much for her own good. 

This new series is based on Hayley Snow, who lives on a small houseboat with her friend from college.  Haley moved to Key West after a whirlwind romance with  Chad and taking him up on his offer to move in with him.  Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately because Chad is a real piece of work) eight weeks after Hayley moves down to Florida she returns home to find him in bed with Kristen Faulkner. 

While Hayley is waiting to hear about a job as a food critic, Kristen is murdered and Hayley is the prime POI. 

The Three Fates by Nora Roberts

I'll be back later to tell you about this book. 

First of all I liked this book much better than the average Nora Roberts book, but not as much as I liked The Witness. 

Little Shop of Homicide by Denise Swanson

Devereaux Sinclair returned to her hometown after she quit her job and right before her boss was arrested in a Ponzi like scheme.  She bought the local dime store and makes extra money making themed gift baskets. She's also acting as caregiver to her feisty grandmother who just may be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's or she may just be faking to get her beloved granddaughter home.

When Devereaux's ex-boyfriend's fiancee is murdered in a bizarre manner, Devereaux becomes the prime suspect, and the investigating detective wants to take her down, mainly because he lost money in the Ponzi scheme.

I liked the series, but I found the names of the characters overdone.  Maybe it's just me, but what's wrong with a name you can remember.  

Corpse in the Crystal Ball by Kari Lee Townsend

Everything is going well for Sunny Meadows.  She's been cleared of the murder charge, Detective Mitch Stone is looking like a maybe in the romance department, the town in welcoming her with open arms, and her parents have gone back to NYC.   And then Mitch's ex-girlfriend, Isabel, shows up in town.  Beautiful, smart, and obviously wanting to get Mitch back.  Unfortunately, in no time at all she's dead and Mitch is the primary suspect. 

Suspended from his job, Mitch vows to investigate on his own.  The police department has other plans, they ask Sunny to look into the death and clear Mitch, if he can be cleared. 

Kari Lee Townsend's fortune teller series is one of my new favorite series.  The characters are funny, real, and  just the right amount of quirky.  If you like cozy mysteries, I recommend this one. 

Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

Forever and a Day is the sixth installment in the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis.  I read the first four and they were entertaining, but they all really have the same plot.  However, the characters are likable and I am easily entertained.  Plus it was only $3.50 at B&N.com for my Nook.  My Nook just loves cheap books. 

I read the first book because it was based in Lucky Harbor, Washington, a mythical city where all the men are 6' 4" gods with six pack abs and probably able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  I read the next two books because I wanted to see what happened to the other two sisters, then I read the next two because I'm still trying to figure out where this town is and why I'm not living there.

And so it goes. 

Grace left her job at a financial institution after her boss made a pass.  She started driving and ended up in Lucky Harbor, where she decided she just wanted to have fun jobs for awhile. Barely able to make ends meet, she takes a job as a dog walker for Doctor Josh Scott, a single father of a five year old son, and guardian for his paraplegic 21 year old cranky pants sister.   Grace ends up babysitting  for the son, looking out for the sister, and making Josh Scott re-evaluate what he wants out of life. 

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

What a bunch of whiny, indecisive women.  I wanted to reach through the pages and slap the childishness out of Annie, the daughter of Bethanne, granddaughter of Ruth.  Then I wanted to shake Debbie Macomber for turning her characters in 1950s caricatures of women.  

I've read most of the Blossom Street books, mostly because they are yarn shop based, easy-to-read (and put down), and there was always a knitting pattern included.  However, in this installment there was no yarn shop, no knitting pattern, and I couldn't wait to be down reading. 

It starts pretty good.  Ruth has decided to drive from Seattle to Florida to attend her 50th class and see her high school boyfriend. She runs into her ex-daughter-in-law Bethanne (from the first Blossom Street book) at an outdoor restaurant and Bethanne, who is now a successful party planner/entrepreneur, and Bethanne volunteers to drive with her.  Then Annie, Bethanne's college educated daughter's boyfriend goes off to Europe suddenly with two friends and leaves her home, so Annie decides to tag along.  Unfortunately for Bethanne, and also us readers, Annie's sole purpose in life is to get her parents back together, even though Grant (the ex and Ruth's son) left Bethanne and the children for another woman, married her, and then after they divorced he decided he wanted the now successful Bethanne back. 

The first day on the road Annie decides to change all of Ruth's plans and drive to Florida through Tigard, Oregon, where Grant was born.  In the diner of a long ago friend of Ruth's they meet a group of bikers.  The next day their rental car breaks down at a lake and here come the bikers to help them.  One of the bikers is Max and he and Bethanne are soon connecting, much to the chagrin of Annie and Grant, who Annie keeps informed of every little move Bethanne makes. 

So now Bethanne must make a decision and it only takes her 400 pages.  

Pleating for Mercy by Melissa Bourbon

Pleating for Mercy is the story of descendants of Butch Cassidy, all of whom have a special power.  For instance, Harlow's grandmother is a goat whisper and her mother can make plants grow and grow and grow and grow.  Harlow, on the other hand, has not yet found her talent. 

A designer in New York, Harlow moves home to Bliss, Texas, when her great-grandmother dies and leaves her home to Harlow.  She takes it as a sign that this is the time for her to open a design studio.  Her first customer is a childhood friend whose wedding is in two week and the bridal shop where she ordered her dress has packed up and left town, taking her money with them. 

The bride and bridesmaid come for their fittings and before Harlow can even start to sew, one of the bridesmaids is murdered out by Harlow's front gate.   The bride is one of the prime suspects and Harlow takes it upon herself to try to sort out what happened. 

Of course there is a hint of the romance that may blossom in future episode and Harlow discovers her hidden talent. 

This is a great start for a new cozy series.  The cast of characters are fun and interesting.  There's a little bit of SW history thrown in to the mix.  I'm looking forward to picking up books two and three. 

The Root of all Trouble by Heather Webber

I read all of the Nina Quinn series years ago and was a little sad when Heather Webber (Blake) abandoned Nina to write other series. Even though I love all of Heather's characters, Nina was my favorite. Then, because good things come to those who wait (and stalk on Facebook), a new Nina Quinn showed up available for my Nook.

Nina Quinn is a master gardener who transforms yards while the owners are gone for the day. She hires ex-cons recommended by her parole officer cousin and they are all a loyal family. As a favor to her across the street friends, Nina plans to re-do their backyard until a tree falls down in a storm and a body falls out. Nina is sure that her cop ex-husband has arrested the wrong person and sets out to figure out the mystery.

Thrown into the mix is the new coroner who looks just like the first boy Nina liked, a boy whose whole family died in a small airplane crash when he was just 15. 

I recommend that you read all of this series in order. The characters are just that, characters and the mysteries are not that easy to solve.

Red Velvet Revenge by Jenn McKinlay

Red Velvet Revenge is the fourth book in the cupcake bakery series and in this installment, they take the cupcakes on the road.

When Melanie and Angie get the opportunity to escape the heat of summer by selling their cupcakes at the Juniper Pass rodeo, they jump at the chance.  After retrofitting Oz's new cupcake van, Mel, Angie, Tate, Oz, and Marty accept the invitation of Slim Hazard to join his legendary annual rodeo.  The rodeo starts with a parade, where someone shoots Slim in the shoulder.  While the local sheriff is investigating what is thought to be a stray bullet, the rodeo star is found murdered. 

I really like this series.  The character are not perfect and act like real people,  I love that the author set this mystery "on the road", as I always question just how many murders and murderers can a small town harbor. 

Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly

Kathleen Paulson is the head librarian at the Mayville Heights city library.  She has recently concluded supervising a complete rehab of the building and the library is thriving.   In between refurbishing the library, she and her cats solve murders, this is the third since she arrived in town.

In Cat Trick, Mike Glazer is back in town after a leaving Mayville when his brother died in a car accident.  Mike is the owner of a company that sells vacation packages and the town in hoping he will put Mayville on their list of places to see. When Kathleen stumbles upon Mike’s body in a demonstration tent on the boardwalk, she decides to do a little investigating of her own.  Unfortunately, Detective Marcus Gordon, would rather she stayed out of it and investigating on her own could jeopardize their almost relationship.

Kathleen does try to keep Marcus in the loop, but her two pushy magical cats sometimes make that very hard.

I like Sofie Kelly's books and quirky characters, I like cats, books, and 6' 4" good looking detectives.  I'm not all that fond of cats that talk to people and solve crimes.  I would like this series a bit more if there was less cat finding clues and more people interaction, but that's just me.   Still it's a really good cozy mystery. 

The Bride's House by Sandra Dallas

I love Sandra Dallas' books.  Not only do they entertain me, keep me interested, and make me not want to stop reading, they also make me want to learn more about the places, people, time periods, and items.  In The Bride's House, I found myself Googling Molybdenum at 1:00 a.m.  Maybe I'm the only one who has never heard of molybdenum, but if you don't know what it is, it makes steel more steely.  But I digress.

The Bride's House is the story of 16 year old Nealie Bent, who in 1880 runs away from an abusive father and ends up in the mining town of Georgetown, Colorado. Nealie loves being on her own and away from her father and is working and living  in a boarding house where her job is feeding the men who work in the mines.   At the boarding house Nealie meets, and is courted by two men; a miner named Charlie Dumas, and Will Spaulding, a young man sent by his wealthy grandfather to learn the business from the ground up.  '

Nealie's daughter, Pearl, falls in love with a young man who does not have the approval of her father.  He sabotages their plan to marry and sends Pearl's suitor away and lets Pearl think that he bought him off.  Pearl's relationship with her father flounders, but she is strong and when she gets a second chance at happiness, she jumps at it.

In 1950, 18 year old Susan is spending the summer at The Bride's House and falls in love with Joe. As time goes on she learns first hand of the strength of the women who came before her and the lies and secrets hidden at The Bride's House. 

Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington

I always like a mystery where the characters aren't 20 somethings (oh when did I get so old), and in this new series Lila Watkins (mystery solver) is 45, her soon to be love interest/cop is in his 50s, and they are both vital  and there's a spark almost immediately..

Lila is a survivor, on the day she gets laid off from her job at the local newspaper, she makes one phone call and gets a job as the intern for a small publishing company.  Unfortunately, on her first day at work a homeless man is found murdered in the lobby while Lila is out getting coffee.  Then her son and his friends drive her car onto the football field at the high school and wreck the car and the field.

So what does Lila do?  She decides to sell her house to pay for the damages and moves in with her mother the next day.  Say what?  Seriously? 

I think this could be a great series, but hopefully the next one will have more continuity and make more sense.  I want to like them, but these characters do really stupid things and aren't very believable. 

At Last by Jill Shalvis

At Last is the story of Matt, hunky park ranger, and Amy, the diner waitress, and reformed bad girl.  Amy was a "bad girl" because of life circumstances; an uncaring and absent mother, the loss of the grandmother who raised her until she was 12, and a step-father who tried to sexually assault her when she was 16.  Consequently, she was on her own from the time she was 16 and used what she could to survive.

Amy moved to Lucky Harbor and started her life over, she made a few good friends and avoided men like the plague.  She chose Lucky Harbor because she had discovered her grandma's old journal and wanted to retrace the path that her grandma and grandpa had hiked when they were very young.

The first hike goes terribly wrong and Amy gets lost.  She calls her friend, Maggie for help and Maggie sends Matt to rescue Amy.  Amy doesn't want help from any man, but they get stuck overnight together and Matt sets out to woo Amy.  However, Matt has his own issues and has trouble figuring out what he really wants too. 

I really like the Washington location and the storyline can be fun.  But when I finish the books I'm left thinking why can't there be a little more story.  I mean we have a very small harbor village, where all the men are 6'4", built, athletic, successful in their chosen careers, looking for a life partner, perfect houses, beyond excellent in bed, and massively handsome.  Really, where is this village? 

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Carrie McClellan, a well established writer of historical fiction, go to Scotland to research and write her upcoming book on life in the 18th century.  Carrie names her character Sophia Patterson in honor of one of her little known ancestors and rents a cottage on the bluffs near Slains castle, where she retraces the life of Sophia, a distant relative of the Duchess of Slains, who has taken in Sophia after all of her family dies.

The Winter Sea tells two stories.  One is the story of Sophia Patterson and in the other the we learn of  the similarities between Carrie's life and the life of Sophia, because as Carrie researches she starts to remember things that could have happened to Sophia. 

It is obvious that Susanna Kearsley researches the locations, time periods, and people in her stories. The location in Scotland was richly described and I want to visit Slains castle and walk about the ruins.  I want to befriend Sophia and Kirstie and sit with them on the beach while the waves go in and out.  I want to sit in a pub with Stewart, Graham, and Carrie and talk about the rich history of the area.  I want to stay all night in the little cottage that Carrie rents from Jimmy Keith. 

Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend

What a great cozy mystery!  The dialog reads like someone is actually speaking and the quirky characters are fun.

Tempest in the Tea Leaves takes place in Divinity, New York which is actually any small town USA.  Everyone knows everyone, everyone knows your business, and you can't get away with anything.  The books opens as 29 year old Sunshine Meadows packs up her on VW, moves out of her parent's penthouse in New York and, against their wishes, moves to upstate New York to open a fortune telling business in a haunted home she bought with her trust fund.  Needless to say, Sunny's lawyer mother and heart surgeon father do not approve of her lifestyle choices anymore than they approve of her changing her name from Sylvia to Sunshine.

Sunny's first customer is the town librarian.  While reading the tea leaves, Sunny tells the librarian that a man is going to murder her, and sends her on her way with some tea leaves to relax her.  She then calls the police to report the predicted murder, unfortunately she waits about 30 minutes to long and when the police detective arrives, the librarian is already dead, poisoned by the tea Sunny sent home.

Of course, Sunny is the number one suspect and, of course, the detective is good looking, and thinks Sunny is a flake and a murdered.  When the mayor tells the detective he must utilize Sunny's physic abilities to solve the crime, mayhem ensues.

A Killer Read by Erika Chase

A Killer Read by Erika Chase is not my favorite book this year, in fact, the only thing I really liked about it is the mystery was not easy to solve.  The characters were likable, but it honestly just felt like an advertisement for all the other cozy mystery writers.  Interspersed in the plot were quotes by other cozy writers, titles of other cozy mysteries recommended by the characters, book lists for all the characters of current cozy mysteries, with a few Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, etc., books.  It was a real turn off for me.

A Killer Read is set in Ashton Corners, Alabama.  The Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straw Society is meeting at Molly Mathews old Southern manor when a stranger is discovered lurking in the foyer.  He says he came in to use the phone, because his car has broken down.  After he uses the phone, he leaves, then is found shot to death by the members as they are leaving.   About the same time as the murder, a manuscript starts showing up in the middle of the night at Lizzie Turner's house.

As the members of the ACMR&CSS try to solve the murder, they uncover long buried secrets from the past, which have to be solved along with figuring out why the stranger was at Molly's and where he fits in with the town.

A Deal to Die For by Josie Belll

It's always fun to find a new series where the characters are not 25 years old.  You know, characters who are more like the people who are reading about them.  That's what Josie Bell, aka Jenn McKinlay and Lucy Lawrence, gives us in this series about a group of four women, who spend most of their free time looking for bargains.  

In A Deal to Die For, the second in the Good Buy Girls (get it) cozy mystery series, Maggie Gerber is just getting ready to open her new secondhand store right across from her arch nemesis, sleazy, man eater Summer Phillips. In order to stock up on merchandise, Maggie and the rest of the Good Buy Girls will be attending the local street fair where wealthy resident Vera Madison will be selling expensive vintage clothing.  When Vera ends up dead and a woman shows up and claims she is the rightful heir of Vera's home and property, Maggie and her friends set out to solve the mystery and ensure that Vera's daughter, Bianca, gets what should be rightfully hers.  

I like this series, but I would like to see a lot less of the interactions between Maggie and Summer.  We get it, they hate each other, let's move on to a healthy competition for customers and goods.  More mystery, more interactions with the group, and less mean girl fighting.  Make Summer a minor character and the series will be a lot more fun in the future.  Better yet, move her out of town. 

The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon is a famous art restorer working at the Vatican when a woman's body is discovered.  Was she pushed or did she kill herself?  Gabriel Allon is a retired spy and assassin from Israel. Gabriel is asked to investigate her death and sets out to do so in this thriller which I got from Audible for a bargain price.

I liked the story, but I think I would have liked it more if it had been a book that I could have skimmed back through to check a fact or character.  For a person who like thrillers with lot of people getting killed, this series is definitely something you would like.  For me, I like a little less gore as I'm driving to the store. 

All Sales Fatal by Laura DiSilverio

All Sales Fatal is the second installment in the Mall Cop Mystery series by Laura DiSilverio and it is on sale for Nook and Kindle for just $1.99.  The mall cop in the title is E. J. (Emma Joy) Ferris, decorated war hero recovering from a catastrophic knee injury she got in Afghanistan, daughter of a famous movie star father, and granddaughter of a (kind of retired) CIA agent, who is making time at the local mall while she waits for a police job to open up for her. 

E.J. finds a murdered teenage boy with gang affiliations outside the mall, unfortunately the security cameras in that area have been sabotaged.  Shortly thereafter her boss disappears and E.J. sets out to find out what happened.  Was it one of his three ex-wives?  Is something nefarious taking place in that corner of the mall and did the boss discover it or was her perhaps in on it? Will Detective Hellend ever treat her with the respect she deserves and is there a spark?  Will she find out who the cookie man really is and is there a spark?  Some of these question will be answered in this installment, but for some we'll just have to read Malled to Death.