This was an interesting mystery involving a dysfunctional family, a 5 star hotel in the country and a snow storm. What more do you need for dark family secrets to come out and someone to commit murder?
Continue reading “The Christmas Party by Mikayla Davids”
This was a fun and steamy romance book that is a quick and easy read. Winter Harris was fired from her management job at a prestigious hotel in Aspen and was forced to take a demotion and work at a lower tiered hotel in Vail. Fighting to work her way back to management and impress her annoying boss, she is tasked to work as a VIP manager for three mystery guests at the hotel’s most exclusive cabin. She meets the men who are all gorgeous, powerful businessmen. Winter is instantly attracted to all three men, and finds it difficult to remain professional.
Continue reading “Wrapped in Winter (Three Kings Duet Book 1) by Penny Asher-Darke”
This is a pretty good historical fiction mystery set in Victorian London. Flottie is the teenage housemaid for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. She occasionally assists Mrs. Hudson, the cook, and Holmes in his investigations. This time, Flottie helps solve a 23 year old mystery of the missing solid gold Christmas canary that belonged to a wealthy family and was handed down over the generations. It was displayed as the Christmas tree topper every year, until it was mysteriously stolen during a house party.
Continue reading “Mrs. Hudson and the Christmas Canary (Holmes and Hudson #6) by Martin Davies”
This was a cute and fun LGTBQ+ contemporary romance. Paris is a hot mess. He’s got a cat, a degree, a roommate and a love for baking. But, his constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a hot mess. His roommate enters him into the country’s biggest baking competition (think The Great British Bake Off) and he’s excited and nauseas at the same time, thinking he’ll be the first one sent home. To his surprise, he wins the first challenge, despite hitting a fellow contestant, Tariq, in the face with his refrigerator door. But, the public scrutiny is harsh, interacting with the fellow contestants is nerve-wracking, and Paris spirals.
Continue reading “Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble (Winner Bakes All #2) by Alexis Hall”
This was a satisfying conclusion to a good YA Fantasy duology. The events pick up a few months after the first book. The girls continue to search for a way to break the curse, but are waylaid by personal issues that distract them from their goal. As they make progress on finding out the origin of the curse, more girls start dying.
Continue reading “The Wicked Remain (Grimrose Girls #2) by Laura Pohl”
I’ve been a bit ambivalent about the author’s previous books, but I enjoyed this one. It’s a good mystery/thriller that kept my attention and kept me reading late into the evening. Amelie is a young woman that is used to struggling to survive. Down to her last few dollars, she befriends a group of wealthy women and begins working as a housekeeper and cook for one of them. This brings her into contact with Jed Hawthorne, a wealthy billionaire. Before she understands what’s she gotten herself into, she’s married to Jed and forced to be his perfect trophy wife. Then one night Amelie is snatched from her bed and wakes up in a pitch-black room with no idea where she is. The captors don’t speak and she doesn’t know why she’s taken, or why she feels safer with the captors than she does with her husband.
Continue reading “The Prisoner by B.A. Paris”
This is another fun and exciting Elvis Cole mystery/thriller. This time, Elvis is hired by a mother desperate to find her son Josh, a controversial podcaster. She thinks he’s in mortal danger, and although she’s quirky and has a flock of professional bodyguards following her around, Elvis takes the case. And the cash. As Elvis starts to look into the son’s life, he once again attracts danger and enlists the help of his buddy Joe Pike to watch his back.
Continue reading “Racing the Light (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #19) by Robert Crais”
This is a good locked-door mystery set in an alternative universe England where King Edward VIII did not abdicate and marry an American divorcee. In this story, his lineage sits on the throne. As the story begins, King Eric has required his immediate family attend Christmas as Balmarol and he’s sent all of the staff away, except his chef Jonathon and his head security officer. During an after dinner speech, King Eric begins to speak, begins choking, and falls to the ground. Moments later, he’s dead. Each member of the family has motive and opportunity, is keeping secrets, and they’ve elected the chef to investigate the murder.
Continue reading “A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge”
This is a very good first book in a new YA Fantasy series. In a dystopian world decades in the future, Blue Haven is a 17 year old who dreams of becoming a warrior. Over 150 years ago the Shadow Elves, humans infected by a zombie apocalypse-like plague, ravaged the world and decimated the population. Blue lives in a small farming community in the Smoky Mountains, where they are the last survivors of their world and not much happens. But Blue’s superhuman sight is showing her troubling images of green-eyed strangers and handsome Shadow Elves. But, that can’t be right because leaders of her village insist the Shadow Elves were all killed and they are safe. As Blue investigates her visions, she discovers the leaders may have lied. About everything.
Continue reading “Blue Shadows Fall (Blue Shadows Fall, #1) by Lenore Stutznegger”
