Linda

A wonderful sweet romance. The attraction between Trinity and Zane was really well-written without being over the top and the romance had a good slow burn to it. The little boy Finn was adorable and really helped make the story extra special. It's the first of the Wildflower Ranch series that I have read, but I will definitely read the others.

This was a great romance and an engaging story. Very much a slow burn as Gracie Lee meets the movie star Wei-Fang Lei and her leading man Sam. Wei-Fang Lei needs a break and although Sam objects Gracie Lee looks like Wei-Fang and takes on the job of being her for a few months. She and Sam begin to spend time together and get to know each other. There is also the friendship between Wei-Fang and Gracie that is very sweet and I enjoyed the character of Gracie so much. She was a people pleaser, who didn't always trust and believe in her own worth and she had so much growth during the story. It was also funny and I listened to it on Audible and the narrator was terrific. Definitely one to pick up this year.

I enjoyed this story and Kristin Hannah never disappoints. It's about 2 sisters who have a rocky relationship with their mother, who is Russian, as she has always been very aloof and frosty with them, although they never understood why. When their father is ill, he makes them promise that they will learn more about their mother and when he passes away they feel they have to keep that promise.

The characters are well developed and the plot is fascinating, my only issue with it is that it seemed to take a long time to get to the “meat” of the story. Once you do, however, it was riveting and heartbreaking.

I read this as an Advance Reader Copy. Thank you to Net Galley, the author and publisher. This is my honest review.

This is the 18th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and the first one that I have read. Now that being said, I really enjoyed it. It mentions a few things that happened in other books, but not so many that I couldn't follow what was going on and get invested in the characters.

It takes place in the beautiful mountains of Ashland, Oregan with a pastry chef named Jules. The Mount A ski resort near her home is popular with locals and tourists alike and when someone is murdered there, the whole town is in an uproar. Jules finds herself in the middle of the mystery and with the help of her friends and her stepfather who is the town's police chief, sets out to find the killer.

The mystery was interesting, the backdrop of the area was compelling and sounded beautiful. The characters were mostly likeable and I enjoyed the relationship between Jules and her husband and family. It also had some great cooking tips and wonderful descriptions of some mouth-watering food.

I can definitely see why the series is so popular and I look forward to reading more.

Oh my goodness! This book was incredible! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for giving me an advance reader copy. This is my honest review.

Caitlin and her older sister Olivia are left home alone one evening and Olivia is taken by a masked intruder. Sixteen years later she returns, or does she? Caitlin isn't sure if that is her sister and she also has seen the masked intruder around. She is terrified for her whole family and doesn't know where to turn.

This story is an amazingly complex psychological thriller. There are plenty of twists and turns, some wonderfully complicated characters and it will keep you guessing right to the end. If there is one book you should read this year, it's this one!

This book was wonderful. Learning more about the character of Jax and reading about his friends and his dog Ace again, felt like coming home. The warmth of the character's relationships and the great writing really drew me into the story.

In this one, we learn more about Jax's mysterious beginnings and his growing relationship with a singer named Laura. His dog Ace is all grown up and is still helping Jax and now Laura as well, to solve mysteries and helping to keep them safe.

If you haven't read a Jax Diamond book yet, I highly recommend them. They take place in the 1920's-30's during a time when mob bosses and gangsters were big in places like New York and Chicago. Gail Meath does a marvelous job of bringing it all to life once more.

Thank you to BookSirens, the author and publisher the chance to read this book and this is my honest review.

Sunni has moved back to Firefly Junction where her sisters live, to fix up an old inn and turn it into a bed and breakfast. To raise some money she is working at the local newspaper, but all she is being given is fluff pieces. She is told to go to the high school to do a story on the custodian who has just retired. When she gets there she finds out that his retirement may have been forced and it turns out there are a lot of secrets surrounding it. When he then turns up dead, Sunni goes into full investigator mode and starts searching for the truth.

The story is interesting with a good mix of characters and the potential love interest between her and the local police officer is cute. The only thing that I didn't feel fit the story was the addition of the inn being potentially haunted and her sister holding a seance.

Overall a great read though with a satisfying ending.

Olivia has moved back to Apple Station, Virginia which sounds like a place where nothing bad could ever happen. She is living with her father and working at the local newspaper doing pieces about Christmas treats and various things. Then she gets cornered by a man who thinks she's someone else and she's told that the family of the police officer she's falling for, may be involved in a jewel heist.

With some help from her father and the neighbour who works in security she begins to investigate and figure out what this means for her relationship, all while trying to keep his family and hers safe.

A great story with some wonderfully engaging characters. This is one story where I love the supporting characters so much. Olivia's father is so sweet and endearing and her neighbour Sam is terrific and always has her back.

I received an advance copy of this from Book Sirens. Thank you to the author, publisher and Book Sirens for the opportunity. This is an honest review and I will be checking out the earlier Olivia Penn Mysteries to see what I missed.

I gave this 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. Blake Brumley is a tv star on a hunting/fishing show and has his adopted daughter Bella as part of the action ever since she was small. When he's shot, investigators Heather and Steve are nearby and come to Bella's rescue offering to help her find out who shot Blake. She agrees, but also wants them to find her biological parents.

The story is interesting and you get a real insight into the victim and the life he lived to get where he was; rich and famous.

My main problem with the book was the portrayal of Steve as a blind man. He wasn't newly blind and just struggling to get around, yet people were leading him to chairs, cutting up his food etc. I have the experience to know that a person with no sight would quickly learn to do those things by themselves and having someone do this would not normally be appreciated or needed.

Overall the book was worth a read though and I will look for others from the author.

This is the 3rd in the Christmas Tree Farm series and Holly has a reviewer staying at the inn, but she's not very nice. She is very entitled and is making lots of demands. When Cookie finds out she makes a joke about hitting her with some “Christmas spirit” while she is waving around a giant nutcracker. When the person is found dead and Cookie's fingerprints are all over the murder weapon she finds herself in a world of trouble.

The characters in this series feel like friends now and I found myself as invested in solving the murder as Holly. As usual though she is asking lots of questions and stirring up trouble for herself as well as her friends. Her boyfriend Evan isn't happy about what she's doing and she isn't happy that Cookie has been accused, so there is lots of drama and Christmas craziness.

A sweet Christmas story. Decker is buying a house from an older woman who is going into a nursing home. Before she will sell it though, she wants it fixed up and be able to have one last Christmas Eve in her home. Decker and his daughter Sophie stay there to do that, but Decker hires Annaleise to help him decorate the house. He is very protective of his daughter and doesn't really want her getting too close, but she had her child stolen from her and put up for adoption so she is very taken in by Sophie's intelligence and curiosity. As sparks begin to fly between her and Decker, a lot of things come to the forefront.

This story has a lot of beautiful descriptions of the house and the lead up to Christmas. The characters are engaging, particularly Sophie who is very precocious. It's a bit predictable, but as a Christmas story it's terrific and really gets you in the holiday mood.

A beautifully written story about a man who's son has special needs and he's trying to prepare him to be a responsible man. His son has so much love to give and when he hears about the animal shelter having a “Dog for Christmas” program he begs to get involved.

This story has well thought out characters and some sweet family moments. It's perfect for Christmas and is bound to have you rooting for everything to work out.

This was such a terrific story. Sophie's dog Max goes missing and when she hears about a dog napping ring in the neighbourhood, she fears the worst.

This is a fun, cozy Christmas read with a welcoming small town, engaging characters, lots of fun dogs too and an intriguing mystery with a few twists and turns to keep you guess. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to read another one from Belinda Page.

I absolutely loved this book. You know when a book is so good and you can't put it down and you read far too late into the night. This was that book. It had everything I looked for in a holiday story; romance, coziness, a blizzard, not 1 but 3 holidays, and did I mention romance?!

Everyone has boarded a flight to Toronto in December. It's a rare December when Christmas, Hannukkah and Ramadan are all taking place around the same time. Maryam and her family are going to her sister's wedding and Anna is racing to have the perfect Christmas with her boyfriend and his family. But when a Winter storm finds them making an unexpected landing, all their plans change.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, the author and publisher. Thank you to them and this will be an honest review.

This book has some really cute elements to it and I enjoyed the Gingerbread Dog House baking competition as well as the fact that the whole town is dog related.

When the owner of Ginger and Spice, two rambuncious dachshunds, is killed; Cat Hawl is in for a surprise when she is tasked with looking after them. She is really more of a cat person. She is also in charge of the competition and she needs to find the killer. She really has her hands full.

The story has a lot of heart, however, I found some of the plot a little hard to follow and I'm not a big fan of the author's style of writing.

That said though, it has all the cozy Christmas feels and lovers of this series will be over the moon with a new Barkview Mystery.

Thank you to Book Sirens, the author and publisher for a copy of this book for free. This is my honest voluntary review.

I wasn't sure when I started this book that I would care for it as I'm not a big fan of historical mysteries, but I've changed my mind. This book was incredible. I really felt for the main character Jax as he always tried to do what he thought was the right thing. It didn't always work out and when he ends up with a dog as his new sidekick, it's the sweetest relationship.

The dog (Ace) really adds to the book in a good way and isn't just there to have a dog in the book. He's smart and resourceful and just the type of pet (or partner) that Jax needs.

I felt so connected to them and to their friends Max and Carla. It really made the book feel cozy to have such interesting characters and I can't wait now to read the next book in the series.

The plot was interesting and I was in the dark the whole time about who was stealing toys at Christmas. Great book and I can't wait to see what else the author has available.

This is the first of the Alaska Cozy Mysteries and the first one I have read set in Alaska. Sarah is a homicide detective that gave up her career and moved to the small town of Snow Falls, Alaska after her husband left her. She now writes mysteries under a pen name. When she finds a snowman in her yard similar to one she wrote about she is worried that someone she once put in prison may have figured out her pen name and be after her.

It's a good start to a series and although we don't get much of the small town vibes, we do get some and Sarah has a potential love interest as well as best friend side kick. I think it's a great beginning and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

This was such a heartwarming Christmas romance. Charlene (Charlie) Yang is a driven Dr. who has moved to Jewell Cove to get away from the high-powered life her parents wanted her to have. She is happy being a small town physician. It is a little hard to fit in when you are the new person in town though.

As she's helping to put the doll in the manger for the town's Christmas tree lighting, she meets Dave, an ex-seal and they have an immediate connection. He shows up again the next day for the Christmas tree lighting, but this time as they go to leave they discover the manager doll has been replaced with a real baby!

They are flung together was they deal with looking after the baby and the romance begins to develop, but they both have baggage they need to deal with too.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Patti Davis and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed this book so much. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's really not a book about politics and a political family, as much as it's a book about a dysfunctional family and trying to heal and break that cycle.

Patti Davis is an incredible writer and writes from her heart. Both her parents Nancy Reagan(Davis) and the former President Ronald Reagan have passed away. With all families though, what your parents have told you and how they have treated you, stays with you even after they are gone.

This is her story about feeling like an outsider in her own family. A family that never communicated and never faced up to anything difficult. If you come from a dysfunctional family (or even if you don't) this is a great read. I underlined whole paragraphs in the book and really felt that she had a lot of great insight and wisdom to pass on.

In her 70's now, Patti Davis has come to terms with much of her childhood and has reached an understanding about why her parents were the way they were. Fascinating book and so well written. I can't recommend it enough, no matter what your politics are.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book, and to the author and publisher as well. This is my honest review.

I thought this was such a great story. Delilah is running a catering business and is asked to cater a Prohibition party in support of the local library. She gets ready and leaves for the party in the middle of a storm. The hostess calls her and tests her that a VIP guest wants a special pizza. Delilah isn't happy about it, but she agrees to make it.

Once at the party she realizes that a few people are behaving strangely. When one ends up dead and everyone is trapped at the party, she takes it upon herself to find out what's going on.

This had a real Agatha Christie feel to it, similar to, And Then There Were None. The characters were a real mixed bag of ones that you loved and ones you hated, but you still didn't know who were “really” the good guys. Also having them trapped in the house and the storm raging outside made it even better.

This is not the type of cozy mystery that I gravitate to, but it was incredible. Cleopatra Fox's parents died a few years ago and she lived with her grandmother. When her grandmother eventually passes away she goes to live with her Aunt and Uncle and their children at the Mayfair Hotel. Her parents had been estranged from them, so she knows very little about them.

One of the guests ends up being murdered on Christmas Eve, so Cleopatra starts to question the staff and try to help solve the case.

The characters are all great in this story and the whole hotel is like a cozy small town. We get to know the doormen, maids, manager and more, as well as Cleopatra and her family.

I was intrigued with the characters and the mystery, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I absolutely loved this book. It's about a disabled pet boutique owner named Josie who is attending a music festival when one of the band members is murdered. Her grandfather used to be a PI, so she channels some of that energy to help her solve the murder. This is a novella so it is shorter than a regular cozy, just to get you used to the characters. The characters are interesting and well rounded and I loved having a disabled main character. She gets around on her orange mobility scooter and also walks with a cane. I thought that aspect was very well done and believable.

The vampire aspect of the story is also fun and instead of swearing they say things like, “Fang Off” which gives me a chuckle. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

I thought this was a very honest, raw look from Brittany Spears at her life. She knows that some of the decisions that she made wen't always the greatest, but who among us wouldn't say the same things about our own lives.

She was very young when she started singing and has become a very strong woman, but along the way she feel in love with the wrong men and she also trusted her family to have her back, which they didn't. Then when she wasn't able to see her children and was suffering from Post-Partum depression she was left on her own and hung out to dry in the press and with her own family who profited off her misfortunes and then took over her life with a conservatorship.

The story made me feel sad for all that she has endured, but I feel she's in a better place in her life now and hopefully she has come through the worst of things. A great read for Brittany fans as well as for anyone who has ever been let down by their family or made to feel as though they aren't good enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Sir Hardy Amies was an interesting man who led an accomplished life. The book goes from his childhood until he passes away at age 93. He served in WWII as an intelligence officer and then opened his own fashion house and eventually chose clothes suitable for Queen Elizabeth II. He spent time with many famous celebrities and people of influence.

As a gay man his time in the forces and even afterwards were spent hiding that part of himself in some ways. The armed forces at that time was under a “don't ask, don't tell” mentality.

The parts about working for the Queen were very interesting. I only wish there were more of them. I thought from the front cover, that it would be a large part of the book, and I didn't feel it was.

I also felt the author referenced Sir Hardy Amies own books far too frequently when looking for a quote or trying to make a point. Perhaps I was just not the target audience for the book. I think people interested in fashion design and the historical aspects of it, as well as people living in the UK who may know of his designs, would really enjoy this indept look at the SOE Hero. For me, however, it fell a little flat.

Julie Anne Lindsay has quickly become one of my “must read” authors as she never fails to deliver a wonderful story. This one is no exception. Winnie is running Smythe Orchard with her grandmother and they have decided it's time to expand. They are going to get a loan from the bank and keep the orchard open all year long and do Christmas at the Orchard as well. They will give sleigh rides, have customers sample their apple cider and play some games.

Everything goes horribly wrong though when a neighbour is found dead on their property and Winnie's grandmother is suspected of killing her. Winnie starts her own investigation, much to the annoyance of the local sheriff, to clear her grandmother's name.

The characters and town are all well thought out and this has all the cozy feels you are looking for in a Christmas cozy. Definitely a 5 star read!