Murder in a Scottish Shire by Traci Hall

 

Murder in a Scottish Shire - Traci Hall - 3 Stars 

This is the first book in A Scottish Shire Mystery series. This is set in Scotland and follows Paislee, a 28 year old single mother, who owns a knitting shop called Cashmere Crush. She makes specialty sweaters, socks and more. Everything in her life seems like it’s going wrong – she receives an eviction notice, her estranged, homeless grandfather shows up after his son Craigh’s disappearance so he moves in with her and her 10 year old son, Brody and their dog, Wallace. Things get even worse for Paislee when she finds Isla, an employee of hers, dead. The story kicks off here as Paislee tries to solve the case.

This cozy was a lot of fun because of the Scotland setting and Scottish narrator. I liked the mystery but found myself bored at times and even though this was just 300 or so pages, it felt too long on the audio at times because the mystery wasn’t progressing a whole lot and we were following some other side stories and characters. I did like our characters though, especially her little boy Brody! So sweet. As usual, I loved the Scottish references and dialogue.

One thing missing was romance and sometimes the story got a bit dry at times, but it wasn’t bad. I think this series is off to a good start and look forward to reading more. I hope for some romance with our main character in the next books! Love her.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5281534397
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44G9Mft
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

Something Old, Something New by Amy Clipston

 

Something Old, Something New - Amy Clipston - 3 Stars 

3 stars - In this story, we have Christine Sawyer who has achieved her dream of opening an antique mall 10 years after high school graduation. She used to being the nerdy, hiding in the shadows twin sister, whereas her twin sister Brittany was always the popular one, head cheerleader who dated the homecoming king and quarterback. Then we have Brent Nicholson, who is having a tough time in life as he lost his construction business and continues to think of the past where he suffered a career-ending injury. Brent goes to help his great-aunt Midge to help make it ready to sell, when he ends up partnering with Christine after finding all the antiques in his aunt's home. They start to get close but the problem? Brent dated Christine's twin sister Brittany in high school, with their relationship ending their sophmore year of college many years ago.... Christine finds herself between a rock and a hard place of trying to figure out what to do as feelings for Brent start to develop....

This book was a clean, contemporary romance published by Thomas Nelson. No faith content, but a cute, clean contemporary romance. Overall, 3 stars. It was just ok, it didn't blow me away, wasn't bad but wasn't the best either. It was just a simple, light read with a small-town romance. I personally didn't care for the twin sister, Brittany, who gave Christine so much grief over hanging out with her ex. Brittany was married now and had moved on from the situation, and it was many years later at this point. The reason they had broken up was also full of assumptions and miscommunications. So it just felt a little repetative and annoying to keep seeing her sister make her choose between Brent and her and make her feel guilty for being around him.

I did like Brent's aunt Midge, she was funny and entertaining. The characters were fine, they had some chemistry throughout and I enjoyed them working together. I didn't love the conflict at the end of course, but it was fine. I am also not the biggest fan of the trope of dating a sister's ex-boyfriend, regardless of how long it had been, but I knew that when getting into the story of course so I am not knocking the story for that at all.

Overall a cute, clean, quick romance read with small town and family vibes. Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4849852060
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PUBlxm
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/459708
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz

 

The Rose and the Thistle - Laura Frantz - 5 Stars - LOVED this book! The setting. Characters. Romance. LOVE!

When I first read the synopsis of The Rose & The Thistle by Laura Frantz, I KNEW this book was going to be a new favorite of mine. I love stories set in Scotland, particularly during the 1700s and the added details surrounding the Jacobite Uprising, the Scottish Highlands/Lowlands, the Stuarts, the Scottish dialogue – were perfection! This was my first Laura Frantz read and it will NOT be my last! 5 big stars for such a stunning Christian historical fiction with a sweet, clean romance between a “Sassenach” Englishwoman and a hunk of a Scotsman!

Set in 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley, who is the daughter of a Jacobite sympathizer and enemy of the British crown, finds herself forced to flee her home in Northern England to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland. She is sent there for her protection when she meets the Scottish Laird, Lord Everard Wedderburn. Everard has recently assumed his position as Laird of Wedderburn Castle and proceeds to honor his father’s last wish to offer Lady Blythe protection since she was his father’s goddaughter. There is so much political turmoil going on during this time between Scotland and England so keeping her safe is going to be a task for Everard. The story takes off from here as we learn all about their families, history and how they get to know one another.

As I said, this book was right up my alley. I am a big Outlander fan, so I am already familiar with so much surrounding this time period in Scotland, the Jacobite rebellion, the Stuarts, Culloden War, and the Scottish dialogue. Laura Frantz truly transports you right in the middle of this phenomenal historical setting in Scotland and you truly root for the characters in each situation. The romance is a slow burn that made my heart SO happy at the end. I love a Scotsman in a book and this book did NOT disappoint! I also loved the faith messages interweaved throughout the story.

For those that struggle with Historical settings at times, I think this would still be a good book for you because I was not bored in any way. I feel like she truly brought to life the history of Scotland during this time with our characters.

Overall, my Scottish loving heart was SO happy to have read this and I hope many of you will pick this one up! I can’t wait to read more of Laura’s books this year! Thank you to Baker Publishing, Revell and NetGalley for a copy of this book to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4840572436
Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3OdHmUI
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/465055
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

Stay with Me by Becky Wade

*EDIT - RE READ JANUARY 2023 - loved just as much all over again!!

5 stars ya’ll! Becky Wade is a new favorite author for me! Must read all the books!

Stay with me is the first book I have read by Becky Wade. It’s the first in the Misty River series. This story tackles the difficult topic of opioid addiction paired with God’s redemption, love and grace.

This story is about Genevieve Woodword (Gen) and Sam Turner. The story starts with Sam finding a random girl asleep in his guesthouse on his farm, which turns out to be Gen. He soon finds out this is due to her being under the influence of pills and quickly decides he doesn’t want anything to do with her because of issues from his past.

Gen is a very famous bible study author and has an addiction to Oxycontin after being prescribed them for an injury about a year ago. She continued to take them long after she should have stopped and developed an addiction. She decides she wants to get clean but the only way she can do it is away from her Mom and Dad’s house. She decides to ask Sam if she can rent his guesthouse on the farm in an effort to try and get clean.

Because of the issues from Sam’s past, he wrestles with this decision but ultimately allows her to stay to try and get clean. He helps her throughout that journey.

There is also a side “mystery” somewhat regarding Gen’s parents. Gen keeps getting these strange letters in the mail that reference something her parents did many years ago. Her sister Natasha and her try to figure out what this could be throughout the story.

Gen is also 1 of 5 called the “Miracle 5” who survived a big earthquake 18 years ago on a mission’s trip. While we take the journey with Sam and Gen in this story, we also see snippets of the past of what happened during that earthquake and we get to see details from the other characters involved.

This was such a great story about God’s grace and truth during times we don’t feel like we deserve it. No matter what God does not abandon us in the struggles we face and that is shown in this story so well. I loved the characters, plot and detail surrounding the farm. The setting was beautiful and there were so many times I loved seeing the characters each dinner, get to know each other and make jokes about their groceries or other things. LOL I also loved her sister Natasha, she was so relatable.

There were moments in the story where I laughed, teared up and was deep in thought. I think this was such an important read and I can’t wait to read more by Becky Wade!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4724143389
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OaPc1g
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/38726
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker

 

Live and Let Chai - Bree Baker - 4 Stars - A cute southern charm cozy mystery! (Book 1 in the Seaside Cafe Mystery Series)

What a fun little cozy mystery with all the southern charm, tea, cafe and beach vibes you could want! I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading the next in the series. This is set in the town of Charm, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. Everly Swan has returned home and has a beautiful little home on the beach. She has opened a tea shop called Sun, Sand, and Tea cafe that sells a variety of teas and foods! We love to see it! All of a sudden, Everly stumbled upon the body of the town councilman she has been arguing with for a long time, dead from what appears to be poison from her teas! She becomes the number one suspect and Detective Grady Hays starts trying to solve the case....but he won't be able to solve it without the sleuthing of Everly to clear her own name.

This was a lot of fun. I need to try the recipes out in the back of the book! Some great tea recipes! Liked we had a little romance going on toward the end too. Really engaging story and really appreciate no language or explicit content. A fun clean cozy mystery!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5222594525
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PWcARl
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

Winter Brides: A Year of Wedding Novella Collections

 

Loved buddy reading this with my friend Amy! We both really liked the first 2 novellas but didn’t love the last one.

A December Bride - Denise Hunter: 3.5-4 stars

This is actually a Hallmark movie - which is pretty cool. I could see that for sure. This is about Layla trying to get her home staging business up and running when some circumstances happen where Seth gets them in a situation where they have to pretend they're dating and engaged. He agrees to let her decorate his home for Christmas Home Show and the story takes off there. Liked this pretty good, but the ending was too rushed.

A January Bride - Deborah Raney: 5 stars - loved!

This is all about Maddie who is an author and needs a place to write her manuscript because her house has some electrical issues going on. Ginny, who is her 80 year old neighbor, recommends Art's house that used to be a bed and breakfast. She goes to his home for about a week, each day, writing her story. Each day they write letters back and forth, never actually meeting in person. Each one of them thinks each other is an older person, Ginny's age, which adds a lot to the story. You are rooting for them to finally meet the entire time and loving them writing letters back and forth. Loved this one. So engaging and the characters and chemistry were great. Would love to check more by Deborah out, as I had never read anything by her before.

A February Bride - Betsy St. Amant: 2 stars

This didn't make any sense to me.... This starts with Allie leaving her fiancé at the alter because she is afraid she will make the same mistakes as her mom, aunt and grandmother.....Marcus doesn't know why she left. So much miscommunication. The characters keep getting forced back together but.............this just was so ridiculous of a story. The last chapter had some good redemption and realization points and this was the only short story that had a couple who already come in knowing each other for a while, but still did not like it.

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5214103483

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NQp1f4
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s

Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson

 

Christmas in Winter Hill - Melody Carlson - 4 Stars 

Melody Carlson’s Christmas books can be hit or miss for me but I really enjoyed this one! This is all about Krista Galloway and her 8 year old daughter Emily who move to Winter Hill, Washington for Krista’s new job as Winter Hill’s city manager. Krista is recently divorced and grew up in foster homes - always having a disappointing Christmas each year. This year, they hope all is different as Emily and Krista start anew in Winter Hill.

This was such a cute, heartwarming Christmas read with all the makings of a beautiful Christmas movie! Some nice faith content, hometown family vibes, wonderful Christmas details - all the fun things you want at Christmas time. 4 stars.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5212490206
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43qRkGw
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUXgZGhqm4&t=64s