Friday Fives - Five Reviews for Books in Series I'm Currently Reading

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.  I'm working on catching up on series and decided to put a few reviews of them all together here.

1.  Guilty as Cinnamon by Leslie Budewitz - This is the second book in the Spice Shop series and I think I enjoyed this even more than the first book.  I enjoyed the mystery and the characters as well as getting to know Pepper a bit more.   The environment of Pike Place Market is a fun setting for a cozy series as there are lots of different shops and people coming and going which makes for plenty of room for different suspects and motives.  So far I've really enjoyed the books I've read in this series and am looking forward to reading more.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

2.  Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates - Lucy's past has come back to annoy her when her ex-boyfriend and his determined mother show up for the weekend of her engagement party.   While Ricky is drinking heavily and his mother is pushing the boundaries of subtlety while trying to entice Lucy to marry Ricky instead of husband to be, town mayor and dentist Connor.  Things get a little more tricky when after a rather uncomfortable dinner they stumble over the dead body of Ricky's father who is also Lucy's father's law partner.  I really enjoyed seeing Lucy's parents - especially her dad since he hasn't really made an appearance in the series.  This kept me entertained from beginning to end and I didn't figure out the whodunnit until right before Lucy which made for a fun read.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

3.  Lost Hours by Paige Shelton - Beth is coming to terms with everyone knowing who she is as well as having her long missing father back in her life.  When a woman covered in blood is found on an unoccupied island with a wild story of having been kidnapped she's pulled into the investigation.  The woman's story raises some eyebrows from the start but things become more serious when it turns out that nothing she says can be taken at face value.  There's a lot going on in this story with lots of moving parts.  I really did enjoy the mystery and it was nice to see Beth really finding her footing and starting to decide what she wants moving forward with her life.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series as this one ended with a touch of a cliffhanger regarding one of the long running plot points.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

4.  Peril in Paperback by Kate Carlisle - It's been awhile since I read this series and I forgot how fun it can be.  This was chaos in a murderous house party complete with an ever changing mansion, a full house of guests - some likable, some not - and a blizzard.  And because Brooklyn Wainwright is on the scene there are books scattered about in the most unlikely of places.  After the first murder occurs and the weather leaves them stranded more than a few guests are acting suspiciously and Brooklyn starts investigating.  This was a fun read though a bit disjointed with more than a few coincidences.  I love the book talk and the house seems like a lot of fun with trapdoors and all kinds of tricks.  The ending was a bit jumbled but overall I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

5.  Golden Malicious by Sheila Connolly - This series is probably one of the first cozy mystery series I really got into it and while I did enjoy this one I wouldn't say it's withstood the test of time as a favorite.  This was an interesting read and I like Meg and Seth and the rest of the side characters though Bree takes some warming up to.  The mystery here feels secondary to the more slice of life feel of the book.  I learned a lot about how to manage an orchard and how invasive pests are dealt with as well as historic home renovation.  I enjoyed it but if I had come to this book just looking for a murder mystery I'm not sure I would have been all that happy.  Some of the threads running through the story do connect to the dead body but is that body a murder victim and how is connected with an invasive bug threat.  I do like that Meg's life running an orchard isn't portrayed as all sunshine and roses.  Farming is definitely hard work!  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and I did like reconnecting with the characters but this is more a book about the life of an apple farmer who happens to stumble on dead bodies vs a mystery focused book.  My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)