Liz Talley: Prince Not Quite Charming

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33223286-prince-not-quite-charming

Book Blurb:

A city girl can survive…

Or at least that’s what New Yorker Frances Genovese hopes when she agrees to stay in Morning Glory, Mississippi for a few weeks after her brother’s wedding. Though she may not know much about small-town living, she does know a thing or two about the new restaurant her brother’s building. But she didn’t bargain for a big country boy naysaying her vision. And she darn sure didn’t expect to be so attracted to the infuriating contractor.

Clem Aiken knows two things: what it means to be a country boy and the target market for the new eatery. When he and Frances clash on her ideas, he figures there’s one thing to do – teach the sophisticated beauty what it’s like to live in a southern small town. Frances reluctantly gives Clem three days to change her mind about the restaurant design. After all, how hard can it be to bait a hook, fry chicken or go honky tonkin’?

Tropes:

*Novella *Opposites attract *City Girl FMC x Country boy MMC *State Challenge Mississippi

*small town romance *forced proximity *working together *happy ending *just kisses

Thoughts:

Frances is a sophisticated woman from NYC she ends up in small town Morning Glory Mississippi for her brother's wedding and agrees to stay while her brother is on his honeymoon to help with the finishing touches for his new restaurant (Pizza), she went to school for marketing/business and has a lot of great ideas... that would work in fancy parts of NYC.

Clem is a country boy he knows exactly what the people in Morning Glory like... and it isn't upscale touches that Franny wants... after some immediate clashing with the owners sister they come to an agreement she won't enforce any of these changes she wants until she gets to know the town and it's residents a bit better.

Clem and Frances then have a bit of fun around town fishing, dancing, learning to fry chicken and collecting eggs and chatting with more locals... Clem even feels open enough to show Franny his side project that he doesn't show many people and we get to know that Clem and Frances both have some insecurities when it comes to family issues. 

With this I wasn't expecting a super deep book, I was expecting a light, sweet and fluffy romance and that's what this was it was a cute cozy romance with some small town charm.  There were a lot of stereotypes in this book when it came to the MMC and FMC and they may have been a bit on the exaggerated side at times.

There are some things in the story that I do think could have been better worked out if the book had been longer leading to many things feeling more rushed, their whole initial encounter is over the course of a few weeks with time jumps.  

I did find myself more drawn to Clem who was a sweet teddy bear who was good at fixing things and had a heart of gold.  Frances on the other hand was a bit more of a prickly pear and was very undecided about everything... including Clem.

But over all it was a cute quick read and I might at some point check out more of this series.  I read this one as part of my 50 states challenge.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Amy Boyles: Witch's Block

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61444132-witch-s-block

Book Blurb:

At forty-three, Paige Provey is at the height of her career. As the author of a successful paranormal book series, she has a legion of fans who all believe she has powers herself. But when Paige's ex-husband reveals that she's a fraud, she quickly finds herself and her career canceled.

But Paige is still under a publishing contract, so she must put out a new book--one that will save her career. The only problem is her crippling case of writer's block. So she heads to a lakeside community to refill her creative well.

Only while she's there strange things begin to happen: Paige speaks to a woman who she swears is transparent, and everyone in town dresses as if it's Halloween. Not only that, but there's a very mysterious (and attractive) man who claims to hunt monsters.

As if that's not weird enough, when Paige's ex-husband winds up dead, she becomes the primary suspect in his murder. Can Paige write another book, figure out the mystery surrounding Willow Lake, and also prove her innocence? Or will all her dreams go up in flames?

Tropes:

*Cozy Mystery *paranormal *Witch *Magic *Different magical beings *Crime 

*amateur sleuth *author FMC  *ghosts  *small town

Thoughts:

Paige (FMC) finds out that just as quickly as she can rise to fame she can crash just as fast when her ex-husband reveals during an interview that she is a fraud, she has built her career by saying she is a medium seeing ghosts for whatever reason even though her ex is a total tool the public believes him and she is now cancelled.

Paige is still in need of producing more books per contract but she is out of ideas and her moron of an ex outing her has led to her being a pariah... all while demanding more money from her while not working himself... due to an injury that happened when he was being a peeping tom (gross!).

Paige wanting to get a fresh perspective goes to Willow Lake she used to love going there for vacation maybe it will help spark some inspiration... only things go downhill quickly when a series of unfortunate events lead to her seeing things that she was never able to see before like why is the woman in her cabin see through, and is everyone in town in on some kind of joke?  

She also runs into a movie star handsome man who reports that he hunts monsters... what that can't be a real job!

Things get worse when her evil ex shows up in town demanding more money from her (that she doesn't have) and then ends up dead... guess who the prime suspect is, now she has to clear her name, write a new best seller, and deal with all the wildness going on in town.

likes/dislikes

easy to follow world building, there was magic, paranormal activity, and many different beings living in this magical town... our FMC is confused as well so we are learning right along with her.

Fun, cozy mystery with some laugh out loud moments, was it chaotic --> yes, did I enjoy it anyways --> yes

There is a subplot for romance so we have the whole brooding, handsome stranger MMC (Grim), I see you!

The ex-husband was so ridiculously awful that he was almost cartoonish but it fit the vibes of the book

Paige is 43 but has been telling everyone she's still in her 30's, but acts like she's way younger than that and is a bit naive at times.

Overall this was a fun mystery that ended on a cliffhanger I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes next! 

Have you read this one?  What did you think?

Neena Noon: To Vex & to Hex

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244967566-to-vex-to-hex

Book Blurb:

Lucy Ansari has a magical life. Literally ― she’s a witch, managing a perfect little bookshop. And whenever she's a little lonely, she turns to Charles ― her beloved, ageing boss ― to keep her company.

Disaster strikes when Charles has a medical issue and his prickly (and gorgeous) grandson Grayson arrives. The English professor from Dublin has never bothered to visit before, but now he’s determined to look after Charles and his bookshop, and Lucy’s ideal life is thrown into disarray.

But Grayson is as stubborn as he is handsome, and he’s set on winning Lucy over, one way or another. As sparks fly between them, Lucy and Grayson may find themselves spellbound by more than just magic…

Tropes:

*Netgalley ALC *Fantasy *Witch FMC *Human MMC *Professor MMC *Enemies --> more

*Spice *forced proximity *Irish MMC *miscommunication/no communication *dual POV

*misunderstandings *Small town charm *Cozy fantasy *bookshop

Thoughts:

Lucy (FMC) is the manager at a local bookshop and she loves her job and her boss/store owner Charles.  She still lives with her parents and they keep discussing how they wished she would apply herself and get a "real" job... but this is a real job, not everyone is meant to be a doctor (like her parents).

Lucy and Charles share time together and he is more of a stand in grandfather since her parents are distant and cold... they both also have magic.  Things are about as good as can be at the book shop until Charles suffers a medical emergency and his handsome grandson comes to "help" at the book shop.

Grayson (MMC) is a professor in Dublin but is now taking a longer term break to help his grandfather, and to help run the store he would like to get to know his grandfather better after many years away.  His parents died when he was young and he was sent to live with his Uncle over seas who didn't want him... it hurts that his grandparents didn't want him either but he wants to make this work.

Lucy sees Grayson as a danger to Charles and the bookstore... she doesn't understand why he has shown up now after so many years away other than to cause problems and she makes it known fairly quickly how little she wants him at the store.

Lucy and Grayson have an enemies (ish) relationship as they learn to work together in the store while Charles recovers and end up in a forced proximity situation which may just be the beginning of some new feelings for them... and they are not dislike.

But Grayson is going back to Ireland soon, would it really be wise for a relationship to start when it will be over due to distance before it really even begins? 

Likes/Dislikes

I appreciated that Lucy cared for Charles so much he had lost his wife and she wasn't close to her parents it was really a found family.

I felt the narrators John Hartley and Maya Dhawan did a great job with telling the story and the voices making the characters clear and different from each other.

Lucy's magic seemed to be a back burner plot used to move the story along when it was necessary when it came to cleaning, changing clothes and helping people match to a book they would love and sending irritating hexes towards Grayson, might be a personal thing but I was hoping for a bit more with the magical parts to this book it kind of felt like an after thought.  We don't get to see much of Charles magic or her parents magic but it was all for household chores for the most part.  We really don't know much about the magical world or the community and the story didn't really need the magic part since it was such a small piece of the story.   

I liked that the FMC had some small personal growth towards the end considering how prickly she was towards Grayson for a good majority of the book.

A big portion of this book focuses on miscommunication and no communication which was frustrating to me as even a small conversation at any of the points where there was tension would have been helpful to our couple, it's very repetitive when it comes to these issues.

Lucy and Grayson are in their 20's but their characters and their pranks and hexes read as much younger and immature.  It really pulls from insta lust as Lucy and Grayson both discuss throughout how much they want the other one... even when they are at odds

I struggled to like Lucy throughout the book just because she was so mean/rude to Grayson for no good reason other than he was there trying to get to know his grandfather... she didn't bother to truly listen to him when he told her why he was there and she continued to try to get him to leave for the longest time. 

The story had some cute and cozy moments that I did enjoy but I did spend a lot of time frustrated with all the misunderstandings from not talking and expecting the other person to be a mind reader.

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Sill Bihagia: Red Demon

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237531241-red-demon

Book Blurb:

The lone survivor of a massacre. The genetically enhanced immortal who spared only him.

On an isolated planet where unity is as engineered as its people, two human lines nearly drove each other to extinction rather than acknowledge their shared humanity. The empire that maintained peace for the last century cannot afford to show the cracks in its control. But when Jesse's mining town is slaughtered under mysterious circumstances, it's clear ancient bigotries linger, and rebels now have access to magic or tech capable of wide-scale genocide. But Jesse only sees the Red Demon fleeing the scene of the crime, a bio-engineered immortal who should protect the empire instead of killing her own kin. Lost and alone, Jesse sets out on a path for justice that will bring him face to face with both his misconceptions—and new enemies.

Faruhar, the so-called Red Demon, is not the mastermind Jesse expects. Guilt ravages her fragmented mind over crimes she cannot remember committing, and a code impressed on her by a few kind people she cannot forget. And when she and Jesse face off, hatred quickly turns to hesitation, as they together uncover a mystery that might unravel their world’s fragile peace.

A twisty science fantasy with tense fight scenes and a spicy romantic subplot.

Tropes:

*High Gravity ALC *Fantasy *Romantasy *Sci-fi *found family *spice *paranormal

*deception *hard truths *genetic modifications *some magical elements *dark fantasy

Thoughts:

I'm going to start with being honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to listen to this book and when I started it took me a bit to get into this, I felt like I was being thrown into the middle of a story that has already been told and maybe is the middle of the series... or maybe very well developed in the authors head (which I'm sure it was).  Throughout the book I was able to catch on the just of what was happening but I do think it would be helpful if the audiobook had some of the information in the beginning instead of some information explaining some bigger things at the end.

In this world there are genetically modified people, ghosts who can take over others bodies and magical elements that only some people posess.

Jesse's family and friends are tragically killed leaving him alone and vulnerable to not only the elements but also to the immortal being that he saw fleeing the scene... he isn't sure why he was spared and he makes it his mission to take revenge on her for all of his losses she is dubbed "The Red Demon."

Jesse finds a new home with a blacksmith and his son in a different Village he trains with them and grows stronger years pass by but he has never forgotten his revenge mission.  

Jesse is offered a military position from a shady higher ranking officer who wants more from him than military service... as he weighs his options someone close to him makes a surprise decision that makes him wonder what is next for him.

When his life changes again and Jesse comes face to face with the red demon once again after more tragedy he begins to realize that things are not as they seem... and maybe he has been looking at things the wrong way all of this time.

This is a story of loss, finding your own family, forging your own path, and sometimes letting go of what you thought was going on and allowing a new point of view to clear your clouded vision so you can shine light on the truth for others.

There is a side of romance but it is more in the background as the story focuses on Jesse uncovering what is really going on in the world around him as he tries to make things right again.

Some Likes/Dislikes

Different from my usual reads, once I got into this book I did want to find out what was going on in Jesse's world and what would happen next for him.

My heart truly went out to Jesse and Faruhar who were doing the best they could in an unforgiving world and survived brutal losses to keep pushing forward.

I did appreciate that there was a lot of action throughout, but I do feel that some of this could have been trimmed down.  This was a really complex world and I felt that sometimes it was so much information thrown at me that the pacing was slowed down with the info overload.

While there was some interesting world building I don't feel like I had enough back story throughout the book, the war is mentioned but it was just glossed over when I felt it should have been a bigger part of the story, I don't feel like I fully understood why the two different human lines had been fighting during the book there was a lot of high tech items mentioned that we kind of just have to absorb as this is what's happening.

--> to simplify things a bit I'm going to think of it like the Dr. Seuss story of the Sneeches the one group had no stars they fled their planet and came to this new to them planet as refugees.  The other group were native to the planet but didn't feel that the no star sneeches were like them at all... over time the no star sneeches developed modifications to get their stars (genetic code changes) --> in the book this whole situation was confusing.  

Faruhar (the red demon) we didn't get much from her side we know she has a faulty memory but I would have liked to find out more of how she got to where she is now.

There was a big build up and then the ending kind of just felt rushed

I appreciate the advanced listening copy and did grow more interested in the story as it progressed the Lead Narrator Brandon Francis did a great job.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Lucy Score: Mistakes Were Made

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/227081378-mistakes-were-made

Book Blurb:

He's looking for the perfect wife. She's looking for the perfect one-night stand.

Literary agent Zoey Moody doesn't like small town life, but here she exiled from Manhattan's publishing scene and trapped in a tiny Pennsylvania town with her BFF and only remaining client, Hazel. The problem? She's totally broke.

All she needs is for Hazel's next romance novel to become a gigantic hit, and Zoey will be back in New York. Nothing will stand in her way. Nothing except her six-foot-two-inch landlord, Gage Bishop. He's smart, serious, and sexy. Worst of all, he's ready to settle down.

Zoey might be the most beautiful woman Gage has ever met, but it's clear they're all wrong for each other. She's allergic to commitment and can't work a calendar app; he's looking for a wife and has the next five years all planned out. She's afraid of animals. He lives in a literal barn. But when Gage's world is rocked by a devastating family secret, he turns to Zoey for one night to forget everything. That one night just might change everything…or ruin it.

Tropes:

*Rom-com *over 500 pages *Lawyer/construction worker MMC *Small town Romance

*Spice *State challenge Pennsylvania *landlord *Quirky side characters *fun pets

*opposites attract *Found family *neurodivergent FMC  *frienemies to more *banter

Thoughts:

I was looking forward to getting into this one after finishing the first one a few months back.  While it can be read as a stand alone I would recommend reading these in order as the characters from book one are in this one too.

Literary Agent Zoey (FMC) has moved to small town Pennsylvania with her bestie and now only client Hazel.  Life as she knows it is kind of falling apart she lost her job, her flaky cousin who is renting her apartment neglected to tell her that the building managers changed and are turning it into condo's... now she doesn't have regular pay, she is homeless and she may be stuck in this middle of no where town longer than originally expected.

Gage (MMC) is a lawyer, super smart, and soon to be brother in law to her best friend... it's unfortunate he's also handsome and his abs are made from granite, he's nice to everyone in town but her... what's up with that?

Secret is Gage wants to settle down... he's into Zoey but knows she's not the settling down kind of woman so tries to keep his distance... but fails miserably starting with fixing up the apartment over his office space so that Zoey can have a place to stay.

The fun meddling small town residents come together and really make the story so much fun, especially when some of these residents are animals of all different types... that Eagle is a menace and makes his presence known in big ways.

Zoey is funny, a bit scatter brained but she has tons of great ideas and she is fierce she will have your back when it matters and is a great friend, her family is terrible... 

Gage is stable and responsible, he is a rule follower and pretty much the opposite of Zoey but he truly sees her and begins to fall for her flaws and all... if only she wanted something more than one night.

I loved watching Gage and Zoey try to fight their attraction, they were so sweet together and Zoey helped Gage add a bit of fun to his life.  I loved how they had their own code to be honest with each other it really helped with open communication.

I love how the community comes together when it matters to take care of their own! 

Felt the 3rd act situation lasted longer than I would like but over all super fun read with loveable lead and side characters and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

If you love a small town rom-com with a lot of heart add this to your TBR!

Have you read this one?  what did you think?

Amanda Sellet: Ticket to Die

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250727442-ticket-to-die

Book Blurb:

High school junior Virginia Tillis isn’t jetting off to Florida for spring break, so she figures the highlight of her week will be sleeping in . . . until her eccentric Grandma Lainey shows up at her house and invites her merry band of retired actor neighbors to crash the party—along with Felix, Virginia’s new long-distance boyfriend.

When the entire group takes a ride on a murder mystery train run by her grandmother’s old friend Teddy, they expect to solve a fictional crime in theatrical style—until the leading lady vanishes. Did Teddy do away with his co-star? Or is there another culprit on this mystery train?

With a storm closing in and suspects galore, Virginia, Felix, and their golden age crew have to figure out what happened to the missing actress, clear Teddy’s name, and decide if dating someone in a different state is worth the aggravation . . . before they reach the end of the line and spring break is dead in its tracks.

Tropes:

*Netgalley ARC *Cozy Mystery *Teen/YA *closed room situation *forced proximity

*trip gone wrong *Teen romance *Who Dunit?  *Amateur detective *Quirky side characters

Thoughts:

Virginia not wanting to go with her mom and her fiance on their trip ends up spending spring break with her grandmother... but her grandma has a surprise they are going on an adventure with her partner and her actor friends... best of all Virginia's long-distance boyfriend Felix is coming along too!  Spring Break is looking great.

This is book 2 in the series but can be read as a stand alone, I didn't read book 1 and there are some mentions of book 1 with some spoilers so I would recommend reading them in order.

The group meets up with more of Grandma Lainey's actor friends on their trip and everything starts out as expected on a fun mystery train... until things go off script and now there is an actual missing woman... could this be murder?  Will the group be able to figure out what happened?

This was a cute cozy mystery with Virginia and Felix doing their best to help the rest of the group solve the mystery... while occasionally sneaking off for kisses.  

Due to being on a train together there could only be so many suspects... but did anyone have the motive?  Could it be her soon to be ex-husband?  or her current boyfriend who is co-star of this mystery train?  Or maybe even the reporter who went to high school with her? 

There is an actual detective on the train but since we get the mystery from Virginia's side we don't really know how far along the detective was in the case.  

Teddy (the current boyfriend of the missing woman) was obnoxious and self centered he had been in a popular tv show and acted as if everyone should give him a standing ovation any time he came into the room... are you even that concerned your girlfriend is missing?  

The pacing was kind of off for me with a lot of places that felt slower where there didn't seem to be any forward progression in the plot.      

Have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Ann M. Martin: Dawn and the Halloween Mystery: Babysitters club Mystery #17

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/558324.Dawn_and_the_Halloween_Mystery

Book Blurb:

When Dawn witnesses a holdup and Stoneywood's trick-or-treating is called off while the investigations are underway, she and the other members of the We Love Kids Club decide to catch the robber themselves

Tropes:

*Mystery *Halloween *Robbery *middle grade *who dun it *amateur sleuth 

Thoughts:

I picked this one up to fufil my bingo board challenge for the month "Halloween" (I have a lot of arcs/alcs and wanted something shorter).  

This took me back in time, I loved this book series when I was younger and it felt like coming back to visit with old friends... only since this is later in the series Dawn is visiting her father in California and with those friends, her BSC friends pop up throughout the book but in a long distance way.

By the time this book came out I wasn't still reading the series regularly so this was my first time reading this one, even though it's later in the series it can be read as a stand alone (if you want to read Dawn and the Surfer ghost it does give spoilers for this one). 

Dawn witnesses the get away of a suspect fleeing the scene after a robbery, after this the investigation starts up and the kids are upset about Trick or Treating being cancelled until the culprit is caught (this part didn't make much sense to me as they were robbing stores... not homes but I guess extra safety ?).  

Dawn decides that she should investigate some leads too and her friends in the we <3 kids club help with the investigation... --> they are 13, kids... please do not try this (at all!)

This gave me a bit of murder she wrote vibes in that the police department didn't seem to be doing all that great investigating insert Dawn (Jessica) to do some leg work for the case.

There is a subplot from the BSC members where the girls go with kids and their families to hunt for a new home and sort out that issue... while it was nice to get a drop in from the girls I grew up with... I felt this whole situation took up way too much of the book when I wanted to get back to the mystery.

I felt this story veered away from the main mystery plot a lot as they discussed healthy meals, costumes and the party the We <3 Kids club was planning for the kids at the local elementary school for halloween since the city has cancelled Trick or Treating.  

It was nice to see that Dawn is now ok with her dad marrying hip young Carol.

I can see how a younger person reading this might find it exciting... as far as everything goes with this one It fell a bit flat and all the plots were a bit predictable and unrealistic.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think?