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

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Summer-y Covers On My TBR

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is about Summer-y Covers so I'm taking a look at books on my TBR that have summer-y covers.

1.  An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan

2.  Tea and Treachery by Vicki Delany

3.  Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

4.  California Girls by Susan Mallery

5.  The Bookshop at Water's End by Patti Callahan Henry

6.  Best Beach Ever by Wendy Wax

7.  Sunday at Sunflower Inn by Jodi Thomas

8.  One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski

9.  Hark the Herald Angels Slay by Vicki Delany

10. Now and Then Friends by Kate Hewitt

Year of the Projects - Riviera Gold + Deadly Appraisal

 
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: Riviera Gold (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #16) by Laurie R King

Project: Finish Up Series

Blurb:  It's summertime on the Riviera, where the Jazz Age is busily reinventing the holiday delights of warm days on golden sand and cool nights on terraces and dance floors. Just up the coast lies a more traditional pleasure ground: Monte Carlo, where fortunes are won, lost, stolen, and hidden away. So when Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes happen across the Côte d'Azur in this summer of 1925, they find themselves pulled between the young and the old, hot sun and cool jazz, new friendships and old loyalties, childlike pleasures and very grownup sins...

My Thoughts: I've really been enjoying getting back to this series and focusing on catching up on the newer books.  It's definitely a series best read in order and best read reasonably close together.  I feel like I'm missing a bit because I read some of the earlier books 20 years ago and remember very little of them.  This was a fun book because not only did a character from the previous book come along but a former regular character shows up as well.  This was an entertaining read with a fantastic setting.  I enjoy following Mary and Holmes as they investigate and this was no different.  Looking forward to reading the next book.  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

Goodreads:  Deadly Appraisal (Josie Prescott Antiques #2) by Jane K. Cleland

Project:  Finish Up the Series

Blurb:  Josie Prescott is settling into her new life in New Hampshire. Her antiques business is thriving, she's beginning to make some close friends, and her relationship with the local police chief is becoming more interesting. Not bad for someone who has completely uprooted her life as a New York City auction house expert in order to get a fresh start in a small New England town.
With so much suddenly to lose, Josie can't help but worry when murder invades her seemingly quiet community. Josie is sponsoring the Portsmouth Women's Guild Annual Black and Gold Gala and is looking forward to receiving a kindly worded thank-you for her efforts. Instead, the Guild representative, Maisy Gaylor, dies a horrible death in the midst of the banquet. Who could have wanted to kill earnest, drab little Maisy? "Funny, isn't it," muses the hostile Detective Rowcliff, "how a lot of people end up dead when no one has any enemies."
Everyone who had access to the wine Maisy drank, including Josie herself, soon comes under suspicion. Can Josie manage to ferret out the truth, keep her business running smoothly, and continue to put down roots in her new town, or will everything prove too much for her to handle on her own?

My Thoughts:  This was a fun mystery.  The victim is someone that no one could possibly want to kill - or would they?  Since Josie is a possible victim as well as the host of the Gala where the murder occurred she is drawn into the mystery.  I really enjoyed this second book in the series.  Josie works with a lawyer from the beginning as well as with a local reporter who is both a friend and an annoyance.  I had an idea of the who but there were a number of possibilities that kept me guessing.  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

The Wizard's Daughter - Keeper Shelf Review

Goodreads: The Wizard's Daughter by Barbara Michaels

Rating: Really Liked It
Source:   Purchased

Description:  A penniless yet strikingly beautiful orphan, Marianne Ransom's indomitable spirit has enabled her to survive a cruel life on the backstreets of Victorian London. But it is her gift of second sight that carries her into the world of money and privilege—a power brought on by a strange twist of fate. In the opulent home of a wealthy duchess, Marianne is being called upon to summon her late father—a noted mystic—from the grave. But Marianne's exceptional abilities have become a perilous trap. And suddenly knowing too much could prove fatal.

Genre: Fiction - Historical 

Why I Picked This Book:  I'm rereading my Keeper Shelf books this year to see if they still deserve their spot.

My Impression:  This is one of the Barbara Michaels books I haven't read very often and I remembered very little about it.  At the beginning I thought this one might be one to declutter.  Marianne is so woefully naive I was cringing for her.  Through a perfect storm of unfortunate events Marianne finds herself singing in a club that she shouldn't even know existed.  But just as suddenly as she landed there life changes once again she finds herself living in luxury and immersed in the world of spirtualism.  

Barbara Michaels' writing style is always incredibly readable and this book is no exception.  I was pulled in from the beginning until the very last page.  But what really saved this book for me was how she developed the character of Marianne.  She lives a lot of life in a very short period of time between the covers of the book and as she learned about herself and took as much control of her life as she could I liked her more and more.  

The last half of the book takes place in a rather gloomy Scottish estate riddled with secret passages and occupied by strange characters (and lots of cats).  The conclusion does involve a decent helping of coincidence but that in no way takes away from my enjoyment of the story.  While this isn't one of my favorite Barbara Michaels it is one I thoroughly enjoyed and one that will be staying on my Keeper shelf.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Of course!  Michaels is one of my absolute favorite authors. 

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy compelling writing, Gothic overtones and don't mind suspending belief a little this is an entertaining read.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

Friday Fives - Five Books with Summer in the Title

 

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  We are in the middle of summer and I have decided reading about summer is infinitely more preferable than actually being in the middle of summer.  I don't mind the heat so much or even the humidity but I am not a fan of the mosquitos and we seem to have a bumper crop here this year.  So here are 5 books with summer actually in the title so I can get all the joy of summer without the mosquito bites.

1.  A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams 

2.  Boardwalk Summer by Meredith Jaeger

3.  Summer at the Garden Cafe by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

4.  Summer Hours by Amy Mason Doan

5.  The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis

Do you prefer real summer or fictional summer?

Books from the Backlog - Peach Pies and Alibis

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams

Blurb:  Ella Mae LeFaye's Charmed Pie Shoppe is wildly popular in Havenwood, Georgia--which is not surprising since Ella Mae can lace her baked goods with enchantments. The shop's extraordinary success seems destined to continue when Ella Mae meets an engaged couple who hire her to handle the dessert buffet at their wedding.But Ella Mae has a lot on her plate. She is also searching for the origin of her magical powers--and hoping to determine if the spark of attraction she feels for the handsome Hugh Dylan is authentic or just her new abilities gone awry.

Then Ella Mae discovers a high-standing member of the community dead, and a wedding guest becomes seriously ill at the event she's catering. Now she'll have to use all her sleuthing skills and culinary talents to prove her pies don't contain a killer ingredient . . .

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I own the entire series and have only read the first book.  I really need to finish it up!

Castle Deadly, Castle Deep - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Castle Deadly, Castle Deep (Dinner and a Murder Mystery #2) by Veronica Bond

Rating:  Really Liked it!
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Autumn has arrived at Castle Dark, and Nora Blake has settled into her role as an actor in Derek Corby's castle murder-mystery troupe. She is troubled, however, by the setting of Derek's fall mystery: the catacombs in the depths of the castle. Yes, these catacombs are part of a set, the skeletons and cobwebs mere props, but Nora feels uneasy in the shadowy passages beneath Castle Dark. When a man is killed during one of their first shows, the eerie catacombs become a place of terror.

Joined by her castle companions, Nora attempts to find the motive for killing a seemingly innocent victim. Some of those answers appear to lie with the local community theater, the members of which Nora has come to know because she has joined Derek's latest town production. As Nora practices her lines at Wood Glen's Blue Curtain Theater, she realizes that everyone around her is an actor, and all of her suspects are perfectly capable of convincing others of their innocence. Nora soon discovers that someone else is in danger and that she may also be in the sights of the killer. With the help of her handsome boyfriend, Detective John Dashiell, Nora will have to go off-script to prevent a murderous encore. . . .

Genre:  Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  The first book in this series was one of my favorite reads last year so of course I couldn't resist this one!

My Impression:  I thoroughly enjoyed this read.  I love Nora and really enjoyed that her relationship with Dash had some realistic bumps in the road and they dealt with it in fairly sensible ways.  Ibsen's The Doll's House has long been one of my favorite plays and I would not be surprised if it is one of the author's favorites as well as she very much brings it to life.  I loved adding in the community theater as a natural way to bring in new characters from the town that surrounds the castle.  

The town of Wood Glen is delightful with a number of interesting stores and baked treat mentions that made me wish I had a snack at hand!  While I did  love the parts in town and meeting the new characters my favorite was when the castle and the castle's residents had page time.  I did miss the focus on the dinner theater but Nora's adorable kittens the Brontes got enough page time that it almost made up for it.  

Between the play, the dinner theater, Hallween decorating, kittens, family visits, and money problems the mystery did at some points seem to drift to the back.  I loved the other things enough that it didn't bother me in the slightest but this might be better if this series is read in order so that you can really connect with the characters and the setting.  I don't think you'll be disappointed!  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I've really enjoyed this series and now I want to reread Ibsen.

Would I Recommend this Book?   If you enjoy cozies with a fantastic setting, likable characters, and a dramatic flair this series is really a must read!

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *