The Year of Projects - Barefoot Beach + Staging is Murder

I do love a good list.  It gives a nice sense of order and focus and I love making lists about the books I want to read.  Last year I focused just on series I was behind on.  The project went great and I caught up on a ton of series but I felt like I was neglecting other books on my shelf and books at my library.  This year I have a few lists going - Series, Library, Clear Off My Shelves, and a random TBR Bingo where I pull books off my Goodreads TBR.  Here are a few of my most recent reads.

Goodreads:  Barefoot Beach by Debbie Mason

Project:  Read My Library List

Blurb:  Wedding fever has taken over Harmony Harbor this summer, and the local matchmakers have set their sights on Theia Lawson, a former navy pilot who's in town for a stay at Greystone Manor. And while Theia's got her reasons to put this small town behind her as fast as she can, there's a certain tall, dark, and irresistible man that she can't seem to get off her mind.
Firefighter Marco DiRossi wants to beat the matchmakers at their own game so he conspires with Theia to pretend they've already fallen in love. It's only for the summer. What could go wrong? Yet as the beach season draws to a close, Marco and Theia find their pretend relationship has led to very real attraction. But when a secret from the past is revealed, jeopardizing everything they hold dear, can this unlikely couple find their way to a happily-ever-after?

My Thoughts:  This author always catches my attention with her delightfully summery covers but unfortunately the book itself didn't work for me quite as much as the cover did.  I loved that Thea was a former Navy pilot and that Marco was a firefighter.  It seemed like an interesting combination.  As well I love a small town setting.  Part of the problem is that I assumed this book could be read as a standalone and while the romance itself everything else going on the book really isn't so reading it felt a bit like walking in mid-conversation and desperately trying to catch up.  But the main reason is that I never really connected with any of the characters.  I never really liked Marco and while I liked Thea a bit more she made really terrible choices and I could never fully buy their romance.  I can see why the author has so many fans but it just didn't click for me.  My Rating: Just Okay

Goodreads:  Staging is Murder (A Laura Bishop Mystery #1) by Grace Topping

Project: TBR Bingo

Blurb:  Laura Bishop just nabbed her first decorating commission—staging for sale a 19th-century mansion that hasn’t been updated for decades. But when a body falls from a laundry chute and lands at Laura’s feet, replacing flowered wallpaper becomes the least of her duties.
To clear her young assistant of the murder and save her fledgling business, Laura’s determined to find the killer. Turns out it’s not as easy as renovating a manor home, especially with two handsome men complicating her mission: the police detective assigned to the case and the real estate agent trying to save the manse from foreclosure.

Worse still, the meddling of a horoscope-guided friend, a determined grandmother, and the local funeral director could get them all killed before Laura props the first pillow.

My Thoughts:  I love the premise of this series.  There's a bit of old houses, a bit of digging through clutter, and a big of home interior design - and of course a murder or two.  I liked Laura fairly well.  She's a nice person desperately trying to get her business afloat who gets pulled into a murder investigation where she is quite sure she is way over her head.  What kept this from being a win for me was the pacing.  I usually expect a somewhat uneven pacing in the first book of a series because of all the setup but this felt like it took more than half the book to really gain traction.  As well, I'm never a big fan of an over the top nemesis and the one in this book was so over the top that I cringed anytime she had page time.  My Rating:  Liked It